Should You Wear Body Armor?

When I was a police officer I always wore my bulletproof vest no matter what. I knew some guys that didn’t wear theirs often and I always thought they were nuts, but hey, that’s their choice.

I’ll admit wearing a vest isn’t fun and is downright miserable during the summer months. I remember sweating through my undershirt in about 2.5 seconds and having to change it multiple times, especially when I was working a double shift.

But again, I was a police officer and I think it’s crucial that any law enforcement officer or military personnel should obviously be wearing body armor at all times. But what about us civilians who carry concealed on the streets every day?

Well, if you’re super paranoid…

And are preparing for the end of days (like that crazy preacher who can’t get the date of the end of the world right) then yes, you might want to throw on some body armor. But for the average person I would say don’t worry about running out and purchasing any armor this weekend. Why? To tell you the truth, it’s because you probably wouldn’t ever wear it.

You see, in the self-defense and gun world at lot of the suggestions sound good, but are highly impractical and nobody actually follows them. For instance, I know that 99% of people would never wear body armor even if it was given to them free because it’s uncomfortable, because it’s hot and because it wouldn’t fit under a lot of the clothes they wear.

In fact, I’d be highly skeptical of anyone that tells you they wear body armor and that you must too. I’d be willing to bet they watched one too many SWAT-type movies or read one too many issues of Soldier of Fortune magazine. (I’d also be willing to bet the person works at a gun store, but that’s another topic in itself.)

The bottom line is…

If you want to get body armor go ahead and do so. Make sure that you’re legally allowed to do so in your area and make sure you’re getting quality armor. A lot of places will sell you a $199 vest that only covers the front of your body and won’t withstand larger caliber bullets. A decent vest is going to cost you around $700, and if you’re going to buy one there’s no point in buying a cheap one that’s not reliable.

But if you’re like most Americans, don’t worry about buying body armor. Then again, if you live in Baltimore City, Detroit, Memphis, and a few other cities in this country you may want to forget everything I just said and get a vest today. Of course, a far better idea might be to move because one of the best ways to keep yourself safe and keep yourself from ever having to use a gun in the first place is by not putting yourself in bad/dangerous situations to begin with.