SoftPlate IIIA Body Armor
Turtleskin’s SoftPlate ballistic armor technology exceeds current industry standards for NIJ level IIIA performance with engineered safety margins for higher ballistic performance and blunt trauma protection. Our research and testing has produced a ballistic package with excellent V50 performance that is both flexible and provides for officer safety. The configuration of the SoftPlate ballistic pack also provides sustained blunt trauma performance over the life of the product.
The SoftPlate ballistic panels are manufactured using a high-pressure lamination process. After lamination, the SoftPlate panels are mechanically pre-flexed for controlled break-in. Our flex-hinge process controls the creation of fold points that provides flexibility without compromise of ballistic performance. TurtleSkin SoftPlate is unique as it delivers the bullet stopping power of a bonded ballistic package without the stiffness.
TurtleSkin IIIA
Durability and maximum service life was a primary criterion in the development of the TurtleSkin concealable SoftPlate armor system. With this in mind, our materials engineers created an aging test method, Combined Cycle Accelerated Aging (CCCA). This method can effectively evaluate service life performance using thermal exposure, humidity cycling and flex. TurtleSkin Armor packs are flexed 70,000 times while subjected to cycles of heat and humidity which replicate routine duty wear. Aged packs are then subjected to ballistic testing to ensure continued safety throughout the expected service life of the vest. The aging parameters used in this accelerated aging process are based on the specific materials chemistry of the SoftPlate laminate and are not generalized. Our ballistic packages are also tested according to the new NIJ life challenge “tumble” method. However, correlation between product life requires our CCAA approach.
TurtleSkin’s unique carrier design incorporates a neoprene suspension system that suspends the ballistic panel within the carrier to evenly distribute the load over the shoulders. This streamlined design improves comfort and concealability.
