Kilts with Body Armor

[Shay]

I've worn some body armour- and I think that 'soft enough to move' materials wouldn't quite work if the material was just hanging.

Think of it like chain mail- it won't really stop a projectile unless there's something to hold it in place, and the hanging portion of a kilt would basically be carried along the bullet or shrapnel's trajectory after a short length.

You can read a little more about soft armour here. I'm just following a train of thought here, I know that's not what you meant.

Hard armour pieces are just that- hard. The take the impact into themselves and shatter or disperse it over their area. They are heavy, I believe made of ceramic, and need to be pretty thick. There is, as far as I know, no bullet-stopping body armour that bends. (Technically, Kevlar slows bullets because it bends to absorb the momentum) I vaguely remember the armour I had to wear was an inch or so thick, counting the covering fabric. And hot as hell.

However, if like you say- a gladiator-type skirting could be comprised of hard armour pieces held together with Kevlar 'joints' that would work except for the problem of cutting into the troop's legs- the hard parts would have to be perfectly tailored to each soldier (yeah, that's happening sometime soon) so when they sit, squat, and run, they're not catching the edges on the back of their knees. I guess it could be done on a one-to-one basis, but you'd need special machinery to sew the Kevlar fabric that would make the cost prohibitive.

By the way- body armour does have a spot over the family jewels for both men and women. Which chafes like hell for the fellas, but better that than... let's just say it's better to chafe.

That's my thoughts, anyway. Take them for what they're worth.

(PS- There are American girls there, too)

[Doc Hudson]

, but you'd need special machinery to sew the Kevlar fabric

Actually, an ordinary sewing machine can be used to sew Kevlar fabric, up the the thickness limitations of the machine. The needles pierce the weave, not the actual filaments.

The problem come in with the thickness of layers. Most kevlar vests have at least a dozen layers, and go far up the scale to an inch or more, like the one you wore. I think any industrial sewing machine capable of sewing that thickness would do the job.

[Shay]

Oh! I just know if we ripped the suit somehow, it had to be sent out special. Good to know! Maybe I'll make myself a Kevlar bra for really cold days.

[Doc Hudson]

Oh! I just know if we ripped the suit somehow, it had to be sent out special. Good to know! Maybe I'll make myself a Kevlar bra for really cold days.

Be sure to put a tartan cover on it. That kevlar might be a tad scratchy on tender skin.

[Sir Robert]

Davedove was saying that soft armor does not soften the blow, au contrare mes ami.

Soft armor catches the bullet and transfers a huge percentage of the energy 90 degrees to the line of flight by bunching up. Imagine throwing a softball at a sheet on the close line drying. No matter how hard you throw that ball it uses up its energy puckering up the sheet. Now make it 12 sheets. See what I mean?

What you may not see on TV is the "NUTGUARD" on the body armor. In Iraq it is there. The nutguard is an upsidedown tombstone shaped kevlar flap that hangs down in front to the knees. It is in fact the front half of an armored kilt.

[Miah]

the modern flack jackets do have a little part that comes down to protect you berries. most troops don't wear them that much unless they are going to be doing building clearings and such. While it is a great idea to protect the troops legs and such it is not the main goal of armor. The main goal it to trotect the vital organs, and thats about it.

[Doc Hudson]

the modern flack jackets do have a little part that comes down to protect you berries. most troops don't wear them that much unless they are going to be doing building clearings and such. While it is a great idea to protect the troops legs and such it is not the main goal of armor. The main goal it to trotect the vital organs, and thats about it.

Before anyone thinks legs are not vital organs, let me remind you of General Albert Sidney Johnston. He was wounded in the thigh at Shiloh, no one around him knew how to apply a tourniquet. Before they could get a doctor to him, a matter of less than 20, he bled to death.