Trauma Pads Make for Better Bulletproof Clothing
Body armor is designed to protect your vital organs from penetration by projectiles. While that will keep you alive, projectiles often pack a pretty hard punch as well. Bullets that hit body armor have been known to crack ribs, break collar bones, and cause massive bruising and possibly even internal bleeding without actual penetration. This is why a trauma pad is an important accessory to any body armor kit. Most body armor and bulletproof clothing retailers sell pads as a separate, add-on item. But at Wonder Hoodie, we feel so strongly that body armor trauma pads are important that we are supplying every NIJ-IIIA panel we sell with a soft trauma pad. That’s right, your purchase of our Bulletproof Hoodie or our other Bulletproof Jackets will include a free layer of trauma pad protection.
What Does A Trauma Pad Do?
Body armor trauma pads come in all shapes and sizes as well as many different materials. They all do one thing; reduce the blunt force trauma received when body armor is hit with a projectile. Blunt force trauma is the damage done by the impact of the projectile, as opposed to the damage done by the penetration of the projectile. Because the body armor stops the projectile from penetrating, all of the energy is expended at the point of impact. When the projectile hits the body armor it creates what’s called back face deformation (BFD). This is the “bend but don’t break” aspect of body armor. The round creates an indentation in the armor. Adding a trauma plate to your body armor kit can greatly reduce the injury caused by BFD.
What Are They Made Of?
Body armor trauma pads typically come in two types, hard and soft. Hard trauma pads can be made of metal, ceramic, or plastic. Soft trauma pads can be made of fabric, although several layers are required to provide the protection needed. Metal and ceramic are the most popular types of body armor trauma pads, but they are heavy and bulky. Military-grade body armor comes with ceramic trauma plates called SAPI or E-SAPI (SAPI stands for Small Arms Protective Inserts, the E- stands for Enhanced). Soft trauma pads are good for adding to armor that already has trauma protection built-in. This provides you added protection and lessens the blunt force of the round impact.
Do I Really Need A Trauma Pad?
Most newer and high-end body armor kits are made of a material that distributes projectile energy effectively. But entry-level armor and bulletproof clothing don’t always include that technology. No matter what level of armor you’re wearing, it’s always a good idea to include an additional trauma pad. It is another layer of protection to keep you safe. Adding an extra pad to body armor will never reduce its effectiveness, it can only increase it. Here is a great video of what the damage of a round impact looks like with and without additional body armor trauma pads.
Wonder Hoodie’s Commitment
At Wonder Hoodie, we feel so strongly that trauma pads are an essential part of any body armor that we are giving away a free soft trauma pad with each purchase of our bulletproof apparel. While most other retailers will try to sell you body armor trauma pads separately, ours are free. Take comfort in knowing that Wonder Hoodie is committed to providing you the maximum level of protection at affordable prices.
Acknowledgements:
- Adam Zimmerman as guest contributor
- Edward Correa (R&D Team) as editor