Is Riot Armor Bulletproof?
To cut right to the chase, the answer is no.
There is no NIJ standard for riot armor, and the NIJ standard for riot helmets, 0104.02, only specifies that helmets should be subjected to low-velocity impacts in testing — in much the same way that cycling helmets and bump helmets are tested. The ASTM has a similar, if more comprehensive and more recently updated, specification for riot helmets in ASTM E3342. Like the NIJ’s specification, however, it does not require any degree of protection from ballistic or bladed threats.
There are no standards for riot armor, and in practice riot gear is generally only built to provide protection from blunt impacts.
This isn’t true only of the US; it holds internationally. There are a few foreign specifications for riot helmets, which are broadly similar to the aforementioned NIJ and ASTM specs in that none of them contain any ballistic requirements. But there are no specifications for riot armor, anywhere in the world — and so most riot armor is built very lightly, and is not capable of dealing with anything more serious than a thrown bottle or a swung broomstick. Due to the bulk of its foam padding, it looks much more protective than it actually is. Intimidation factor is clearly part of its appeal.
What is riot armor usually made of?
It all comes down to material. The average riot armor breastplate consists of a 1.5mm to 2.5mm thickness of a soft plastic — usually HDPE, ABS, or polycarbonate. Underneath this plastic layer, there’s typically a foam layer that can be anywhere from 6mm to 40mm in thickness.
Though bulky, these materials offer very poor resistance to bladed weapons. The thinnest polycarbonate stab vests, rated to level “Knife 1,” utilize a 5mm thickness of polycarbonate, which is far thicker than the plastic component in an average riot armor breastplate. And that’s just “Knife 1” — the lowest official level of bladed weapon resistance
The ballistic resistance of those materials is even poorer. They could be five times thicker than they are, and they still wouldn’t stop .38 Special from a snub-nose revolver.
As this is the case, many American police officers on riot duty wear soft ballistic panels underneath their riot gear. In Europe, officers often wear stab armor — and in rare cases even chainmail — underneath riot gear. In either case, this adds considerably to the weight and thermal burden of that riot armor, and can make it uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time.
The NovaSteel Breastplate and shoulder armor plates were designed with this problem in mind.
They are universal — stopping handgun threats, bladed weapons, spikes, and blunt impact weapons, all to the very highest degree of protection, to NIJ IIIA and well beyond “Knife 3” — and were designed to interface with riot armor arm and leg protections. Air channels improve breathability. And instead of up-armoring with stab plates, you can easily up-armor the Breastplate to Level III/RF1 with a 1.8-pound rigid armor plate.
This eliminates the need for compromise or layering, and offers riot armor protection that’ll provide more than just intimidation factor — it’ll provide real peace of mind.