Light is Right
The Brand New Ultra Light Patrol Swat Vest
Est. Read Time: 3 Mins.
Foreword:
Last week, we shared a story of a police dog named Oliver who was stabbed multiple times and SAVED because he was working in his Patrol Swat Vest.
The blog post written below was sent to everyone on our free email subscription list in December 2020. It details our newest breakthrough at K9 Storm - Ultra-Light Ballistic Panels.
Oliver was one of the first dogs to receive the brand new Patrol Swat Vest with our Ultra-Light Panels. He was stabbed in it just 2 months later.
That’s pretty damn wild, and is another eerie reminder that being prepared can be the difference between life and death. Every single Patrol Swat Vest purchased from here on out will have the brand new panels.
Here is the story of their creation.
In 2019, we got a crazy idea.
What if we were able to make our ballistic panels even lighter and thinner than they already are?
Our current panels were already the lightest set-up on the market for dog body armor. Handlers around the globe have been working in their K9 Storm Vests with overwhelming success; tracking, searching, rappelling, extracting, and apprehending. We’re proud to say that these vests have even saved the lives of dogs in many dangerous scenarios.
So if it ain’t broke - why would we try to fix it?
Simply put, we wanted to change the conversation from “Why should I wear a K9 Storm Vest?” to “Why wouldn’t I wear a K9 Storm Vest?”
Olaf’s original Patrol Swat Vest was 12 lbs. and he captured over 100 people in his. Are working dogs weaker than they were in 1998?
I don’t think so, but I also recognize that just because dogs can work in something heavier, doesn’t mean they should.
Knowing this, throughout the years we’ve continued to push the envelope in terms of weight reduction, and most recently our custom-fit sizing process, to give a superior solution to the largest problem facing working dogs and their handlers today:
How do I do my job and come home safely?
This question drove us to start researching and shooting new test panels, in an attempt to find an even more perfect balance between performance and weight reduction.
The K9 Storm Preliminary Panel Testing Team
The process was simple but rigorous. Set up a panel, shoot it, and calculate the results. Over and over and over.
It was a fun but painstaking process. Jim’s brother, Don, an avid outdoorsman, had a connection at a local shooting range, so we were able to run many independent tests to find out what would work and what would not immediately.
After carefully combing through the mountains of data collected, we were ready to send off our top performing panels to ballistic labs around the world for official NIJ test results with calibrated weapons and scenarios.
Finally, after nearly a year of trial and error, our lab results came back with 100% certainty.
Our top performing ballistic panels are now 40% lighter and 55% thinner than anything we’ve ever made.
Comparison of Aerial Insertion Vest (left) and Patrol Swat Vest (right) panel thickness.
The overall weight, on average, for a completely bulletproof Patrol Swat Vest is now 3.8 lbs. It’s exactly 2 lbs. more than our non-ballistic Aerial Insertion Vest.
Name me something that weighs 2 lbs?
The amount is so minor that no dog, let alone a working dog built for power and speed, will ever notice it. 2 lbs. is basically the equivalent of carrying around your keys, phone, and wallet - except it could save your dogs life.
This is not a marketing gimmick either - all vests still cover your dog’s entire body, protecting the most vulnerable areas such as the center chest, underbelly, neck, back, and sides.
The stopping power is also heightened with the new panel composition. Rated to Threat Level II, the new panels are flattening .357 magnum bullets like pancakes. Our stab protection has almost doubled in strength also.
Big Bullets only. A view of the rounds we shot during preliminary testing.
How the bullets look after being caught in the new panels.
Advancement in technology is difficult. For every 1 breakthrough, there are a thousand failures. It’s our job to keep trying to answer the questions we’re being asked, because there is too much to lose for the handlers and dogs that are asking them.
Why wouldn’t you wear a K9 Storm Patrol Swat Vest?
You’ll have to be the one to answer that.