FAQs

What is DuPont Kevlar?
What are Spectra & Dyneema?
What levels of Stab protection is available?
NIJ Levels Explained

DuPont Kevlar®

Kevlar® brand fiber is an innovative technology from DuPont that combines high strength with light weight to help dramatically improve the performance of a variety of consumer and industrial products. Groundbreaking research by DuPont scientists in the field of liquid crystalline polymer solutions in 1965 formed the basis for the commercial preparation of the Kevlar® aramid fiber. Lightweight and flexible, Kevlar® has evolved over four decades of innovation to do everything from helping save thousands of lives around the world to helping make safer homes and vehicles to helping land spacecraft on Mars.

Fibers of Kevlar® consist of long molecular chains produced from poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. The chains are highly oriented with strong interchain bonding, which results in a unique combination of properties.

General properties of Kevlar®:

• High Modulus
• High LASE (Load At Specified Elongation)
• High Tensile Strength at Low Weight
• Low Elongation to Break High Modulus (Structural Rigidity)
• Low Electrical Conductivity
• High Chemical Resistance
• Low Thermal Shrinkage
• High Toughness (Work-To-Break)
• Excellent Dimensional Stability
• High Cut Resistance
• Flame Resistant, Self-Extinguishing

Back to Top

Spectra Shield® & Dyneema

Spectra Shield® products have been protecting military and law enforcement personnel for the past 20 years, and that history of innovation continues with the release of the Spectra Shield® II product line.

SR-3124, our Spectra Shield® II hard armor product, incorporates high-strength Spectra® 3000 fiber into our proven hard armor shield construction, to provide the highest levels of protection for breast plate, helmet, and vehicle applications.

SA-3118 and SA-3113 are our Spectra Shield® II soft armor offerings, providing the best known ballistic protection for military and law enforcement vest applications. SA-3118 maximizes ballistic performance, while SA-3113 was designed for added flexibility and comfort, while maintaining a high level of performance.

SR-1214 is our standard Spectra Shield® hard armor product, used in plate, helmet and vehicle programs throughout the world.

SA-1211, continues to be used in some of the most demanding vest applications, and is designed to meet the comfort and flexibility demands of the user, while maintaining strong ballistic performance and reducing the effects of blunt trauma.

DSM Dyneema®
The strength of Dyneema® is widely used in personal protection products, including bullet-resistant vests that afford people a high level of body protection without hindering them in carrying out their important duties.

The Dyneema® grade used for bullet-resistant vests is Dyneema® SB21 or SB31. Due to its ultra-high energy absorption, Dyneema® UD provides protection against all major threats. The UD construction makes backface deformation wider and less deep, thereby minimizing blunt trauma effect. Where other materials require trauma-reducing aids, Dyneema® UD does not.

No water repellant treatment is required. Dyneema® UD’s performance is not negatively affected by sunlight exposure or prolonged use, even in the hottest climates. Dyneema® UD-based vests provide maximum protection at an extremely low weight. Together with the high flexibility of Dyneema® UD, this translates into high wearing comfort for the individual user, ensuring that police officers actually wear them on duty.

Dyneema® UD is easy to handle and cut to size, and no additional stitching is required. No fiber filaments are released upon cutting or handling.

Back to Top

NIJ Levels

International standards must be applied to the evaluation and purchase of all armour products. The NIJ [National Institute of Justice - USA] has defined acceptable standards for the test and evaluation of all levels of armour. These standards can be easily modified and altered in accordance with each customer's operational requirements. The importance of adopting a standard for the evaluation and acceptance of armour, both pre and post contract cannot be emphasised enough, by doing so both the supplier and the buyer can repeat the evaluation test accurately and measure the performance of all products against a known and agreed standard. Click on the chart below to see all the NIJ Levels and Calibres.

Back to Top