Kevlar Clothing

[Uath]

A couple of years ago, I bought a "Draggin Shirt" at a discount motorcycle shop. The Draggin Shirt is a mesh kevlar shirt that's tight knit enough to provide complete coverage, but the mesh design lets air flow freely through. It's meant to wear under a motorcycle jacket, or by itself in hot weather. I wear the shirt while running and riding my bicycle. Sometimes, I wear it to town. I've got some kevlar sleeves I wear under it (like fingerless gloves that come up to the elbow).

It's not armor, but I figure it would really help against, dogs, wild animals, creeps with knives, etc.... I figure it might even help if I were hit by a car. You guys might be interested. I don't know how effective it is, but it makes me feel better.

[pialia]

Grab a knife or your neighbour's dog and test it?

[Uath]

No thanks, the ILLUSION of safety need not be too tested.

[buckmaster96]

it may protect against chop cuts. i know the kevlar gloves do and there fairly lightweight

[pialia]

No thanks, the ILLUSION of safety need not be too tested.

I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your original post, but didn't you just list things you figured it would really help against?

It's not armor, but I figure it would really help against, dogs, wild animals, creeps with knives, etc.... I figure it might even help if I were hit by a car. You guys might be interested. I don't know how effective it is, but it makes me feel better.

[Uath]

I'm not gonna trust it. I think it might be very effective against a slash, like from a razor. A poke with an ice pick..... now THAT'S a different story.

Still the shirt is VERY substantial and thickly woven. Dogs are really my worst enemy. I love them and I'm good at bluffing them off, but after 25 years of running, sometimes in strange places... Well, I say that, but I've never been actually attacked. It's come close, but it's never happened. Two, or more, dogs are my biggest worry.

I think, in an actual attack, have your forarms protected would be your best bet for fending them off. I run with 5lb weights, so I've got a good shot at caving their head in, if I can old them off long enough.

I wear the shirt all the time, so I guess I've gotten so familiar with it that I've forgotten its protective qualities. It's just my running shirt.

The shirt isn't warm at all, the wind passes right through it. It does provide great insulation though if a jacket is worn over it. Not TOO scratchy, but I typically wear a poly T-shirt under it.

This is Winter, Fall, and Spring, I'm talking about. 90 or more degrees, forget it.

[Uath]

The material reminds you of a fisherman's knit sweater. It looks like a sweater.

[Colt6731]

Is the shirt actually kevlar? I have seen some of those cycle shirts made from gortex. There are also some fabrics that are marketed or advertised as "kevlar" that are not the ballistic grade kevlar we think of. But IMO any synthetic fabric would give some protection although not against punctures. Kind of like the rash guard shirts we all wear under our grappling gear that keeps you from getting the mat burns and such.

[Uath]

Yes, it's 100% Kevlar. Here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Draggin-Shirt-...=draggin+shirt


In the real days of edged weapons, they gave as much tought to protection as to their weapons. A kevlar shirt thrown into your winter layerings couldn't hurt.

[sumtinfancy]

There are websites that sell what they say are blade/cut resistant garments, from gloves and forearm sleeves to jackets and even longjohns all lined with kevlar designed to protect from slashing knife attacks.

One such U.K based site HERE

Another one HERE

[stabman]

Cut resistant gloves aren't as cut resistant as many people think.
Better than nothing, but that's about it.

[sumtinfancy]

Cut resistant gloves aren't as cut resistant as many people think.
Better than nothing, but that's about it.

Some high end gloves are quite good

[stabman]

Some high end gloves are quite good

I'd have to test them myself.
Kevlar and Spectra weren't that impressive, neither were the ones with glass fibers in the weave.

[sumtinfancy]

I'd have to test them myself.
Kevlar and Spectra weren't that impressive, neither were the ones with glass fibers in the weave.

Fair enough, I haven't tested the kevlar ones I've got but the "turtle skin" ones shown above seem good, I was quite impressed by the way the needle bent when pushed into the material.

[CWL]

You've owned it for "years"?

Kevlar does have an effective service life which is greatly shortened by: temperature, moisture (especially sweat), UV exposure and flexing/bending of the threads.

I assume that your shirt gets all of the above, so i wouldn't rely on it for much protection of any kind.

Even if it was still puncture resistant (which I doubt in such a thin layer like your shirt), it will do nothing to protect against compression injuries that are likely from a dog bite.

[Uath]

I didn't know that about kevlar. I thought it was as resistant as any other synthetic fabric. Let me see, I know I had it last summer. I might have bought it the previous... No, I've had it three years now, I think. It seems good as new, except it's faded and it did that right away.

Like most runners, I wear mostly polyester or synthetic clothes. I only really wash them about once a week. After I run, I take my shorts and T-shirt into the shower and rinse them off before I bathe. I have hooks I hang them on. They dry overnight. I wear the same ones every day.
Actually, I'm a fan of Nylon Tricot (like the old baby-doll panties Seriously, it's an old fabric, but it's cooler and softer than any of the newer, more revolutionary, fabrics. As a funny sidenote, it's getting very hard to find, everything is polyester microfiber (another great fabric) or supplex nylon (tough and weather resistant, but scratchy).

Back to the topic, how about this for urban armor:

1) Polyester T-shirt
2) Kevlar shirt
3) Kevlar sleeves
4) Kevlar gloves
5) A thick Polyester sweatshirt, or hoodie
6) Another (3XXXL) Kevlar shirt over it.
7) Kevlar long underwear pants
8) Kevlar woven jeans
9) Steel-toed boots
10) A leather jacket

Sound funny, but you could walk into any mall in America (during the cold months) and nobody would bat an eye.

[idaho]

The only parts of clothing im planning to "get armoured" are gloves.
Accidental cuts, rescue actions, first aid situations, tactical entries and escapes, hth fighting - hands are engendered in many different situations, and even small cut can limit their effectiveness.
Urban armour? Nah. If I really, really need armour I would get a bulletproof vest. Protecting vital organs is crucial, other? Not worth the cost and burden.

[stabman]

Urban armour? Nah. If I really, really need armour I would get a bulletproof vest. Protecting vital organs is crucial, other? Not worth the cost and burden.

Actually, effective cut-resistant sleeves would be great for defending against knife attacks.
Hands and arms are where you see the most defensive wounds, and I for one don't like my arteries being opened up.
And round here, knife attacks are far more prevalent than shootings.

[Uath]

Come on now, almost all comic book heros and villians are wearing Kevlar uniforms these days. How about that??

My main problem is trying to get the "Moth" antennas to stand up atop my Kevlar bacalava.

[stabman]

My main problem is trying to get the "Moth" antennas to stand up atop my Kevlar bacalava.

You just got fired from your accounting job, and ran into a large blue fellow, eh?