Laminates Vs. Plain Woven Fabric

 

There has been much debate on the effectiveness

of laminates Vs the older style plain woven Kevlar 129

or Twaron aramid fabrics. Back in the 1980's the plain woven

Kevlar 29 aramid fabric and the tight 31 x 31 pic count (yarns per inch)

was the mainstay in the bullet resistant armor market. The only real innovations with plain woven

fabrics that has changed in the present day was the discovery that you could actually take the same yarn

and weave with fewer pics per inch, and get the same performance by weight by reducing fiber crimp,

thus allowing the yarn to transfer energy faster down the weave gradients. The discovery of air entangled yarn with low twist was also a excellent improvement. The remaining improvements have been fiber property increases. As of late there has been a small group that has touted the benefits of sticking with 30 layer, and now 31 - 32 layer

( because of the new smaller NIJ test template required for new testing) aramid plain woven vests because of the benefits that this system has against contact hits and vest longevity. It's true that the plain woven aramid fabric is very stable, but there are many disadvantages as well, For example:

 

 

1. The 19.4 - 20 Oz/Sq. Ft (typical weight of plain woven aramid vests) is susceptible to hard cased submachine gun rounds

and even more susceptible against the 7.62mm x 25 mm steel cased lead core round fired from cold war "throw away guns" that were dumped on the American market by the hundreds of thousands in the 1990's. Comparatively, laminate vest systems of proper design do quite well against these threats at lower weights.

 

2. The reason why laminates made their way on the market in the first place is simple, "submachine fire"; the impacts of multiple hits at 3-A velocities (1430 Ft./Sec. +/- 30 Ft. Sec.) from hard cased 9mm rounds impacting an aramid vest almost simultaneously; generally this will overwhelm a plain woven vest especially in close proximity shot spacing. Laminates do a much better job than plain woven goods in this scenario.

 

3. Laminates have lowered the weight and thicknesses of vests so much that there is no excuse for not wearing protective apparel. The idea that woven fabrics breathe is just not true.  Lighter weight and thinner vests comprised in part or entirely of ballistic laminates are more effective against a broader range of threats, thus have paved the way for officers and military personnel to wearing protective apparell as a mandatory practice.

 

There is no perfect material, and this is why "hybrids" of woven fabrics and laminate material combination packages have inundated the market in such huge numbers over the last 16 years. Millions of yards of laminate materials have been sold since 1993 and if there was a better way, or a perfect material that did it all, armor manufacturers would be using it! So remember anyone touting that an all aramid plain woven fabric vest is the best choice, please remember every material has an Achilles heel, and the most important issue is not material choice, it's understanding what threat the vest is designed for. Engineering and design are the most important aspects of manufacturing a protective vest.

 

The manufacturers we are affiliated with are all responsible and trusted entities and "Have Never Had Claims Filed Against Them". All of them have been in business over 15 years and some more than 20 years.

 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.