I recently had a chance encounter at my local coffee shop. Two guys from a local body armor shop had been in there having a business meeting at the same time I was in there working. As the two men approached the owner to talk to her, she immediately called me over to introduce me to them, since we had common goals within our jobs. Well, one thing led to another and I was invited to the SHOT STOP office to go over their product line and talk about ways to partner with the Loadout Room and Hurricane Group.
Before I get into the visit, I have to say I was really impressed when they offered to brew up a pot of Black Rifle Coffee. That is by far the best way to start a meeting. Nothing like talking body armor, ballistics while sipping on a cup of Silencer Smooth coffee.
As we started going over their product line of body armor plates, the one thing that stood out to me was the weight of these plates. From my experience with handling other armor plates, the issue has always been weight. SHOT STOP is putting out plates that meet or exceed ballistics ratings at half the weight of leading manufacturers. Now, most of that is due to the materials and technology they employ in the manufacturing process.
The one product that really intrigued me was the level 3 insert for backpacks, yes I said Level 3, not 3a. Their backpack inserts are rated Level 3 and will take multi-hits from .308 rounds. It’s a rigid plate, unlike the 3a soft armor many of us are familiar with. Even though it is rigid, it’s lightweight and will not bog down any students or business people that want to carry this every day.
SHOT STOP also has a few projects still in R&D that are going to revolutionize and disrupt the ballistic plate industry. Some of those projects include concepts for defensive measures against active shooters inside schools. Stay tuned for more on that as they continue to move forward and adapt to newer technology and the industry requirements.
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