Type any variation of “how to survive an apocalypse,” and you’ll find hundreds of thousands of results. They could range from how to store food for long periods to what guns will provide the best protection without needing a lot of specialized work or repairs if something goes awry. There are plenty of tips and tricks to help you fill in the blanks and practice the skills you’ll need to stay alive in a survival situation.
One thing we don’t see often mentioned is the need for body armor. It might seem like overkill if you’re living contentedly in an off-grid cabin by yourself after the world ends, but there are a great number of situations where it might be useful or could even save your life. Let’s take a closer look at some cases where you’ll want to have body armor in your survival supplies and what types would be best for these situations.
Body Armor 101
Before we start taking a closer look at the kinds of situations where you might need body armor, here’s a crash course on the different types that are available. There are several options to choose from, but in most cases, we can break body armor down into five classes: Level IIA, II, IIIA, III and IV, according to the National Justice Institute. These classes are assigned based on ballistic performance, both unworn and conditioned.
Type IIA
Type IIA body armor is tested with full metal jacketed (FMJ), round nose 9 mm bullets, and needs to be able to stop both those and a .40 S&W FMJ bullet.
Type II
Type II body armor is also tested with the FMJ 9 mm but can stop rounds up to and including the .357 Magnum jacketed soft point bullet.
Type IIIA
Type IIIA is tested with the .357 SIG SMG flat nose bullet and a .44 Magnum semi-jacketed hollow point.
Type III
Type III is where we start to see hard armor or plate inserts, though it can come in hard and flexible styles that can be combined for additional protection. In both cases, the armor is tested using 7.62 FMJ steel jacketed rounds. It’s important to note that Type III hard armor plates only offer protection when used with Type III soft armor. Type III plates come in four varieties:
- 5-6 mm steel
- Hard polyethylene (Spectra)
- Hybrid
- Ceramic
Type IV
Type IV armor is designed to deflect or repel armor-piercing rounds. Like Type III, it comes in hard and flexible options and is tested with .30 caliber armor-piercing rounds. Type IV plates are primarily used only in military and law enforcement applications.
To sum it up, Type IIA and II, which are usually made with some form of Kevlar, will stop most knives and handguns. If you’re adding assault rifles to the mix, you’ll want to upgrade to Type IIIA, which will likely be made of some form of ultra-high, molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). If you’re going to be facing off against armor-piercing rounds, you’ll want to upgrade to ceramic Type III or IV armor.
8 Different Situations and the Ideal Body Armor
1. Economic Collapse
While the Great Recession of 2008 gave us a glimpse of what an economic collapse might look like, there aren’t many people left alive that remember what happened during The Great Depression after the stock market collapse of 1929. Today so much of our economy relies on digital transactions, banks, and even fully digital systems like PayPal and cryptocurrency. If an economic collapse did occur, especially one caused by or related to other infrastructure collapses, it would be devastating.
When people lose access to their funds, they start to get desperate. In 1929, this manifested itself as people throwing themselves from skyrise windows in desperation because they had just lost everything. That’s what you have to be on the lookout for, especially if you live in an area with a higher population of guns than people. That kind of emotion makes people dangerous.
Best Body Armor for an Economic Collapse
Type IIIA or III is ideal unless you’re facing off against law enforcement or members of the National Guard. While this isn’t recommended, Type IV armor can help protect against higher caliber or armor-piercing rounds.
2. Civil Unrest
There are roughly 330 million people in the United States. There are also 393 million firearms in the same country, which amounts to 120 guns for every 100 people. If the BLM riots last year and so-called “Capitol insurrection” are any indicators of how violent we can get, then full-blown civil unrest has the potential to get very bloody.
Best Body Armor for Civil Unrest
This will depend on the situation you’re in. In close-quarters combat where our opponents may have knives or other sharp objects, Type IIA or II might be sufficient. In general, Type IIIA or III will be your best option if you can’t avoid getting pulled into a press of people.
3. Natural Disaster
Natural disasters come in various colors and flavors. Wildfires ravage the landscape, hurricanes come in from the coastlines and earthquakes shake the very earth beneath our feet. Mother Nature can be incredibly hostile, and if the devastation is widespread, it can change the way the entire human race lives.
One example of a natural disaster that could have wide-reaching impacts is the caldera supervolcano located under Yellowstone National Park. Even if you disregard the loss of life from such a catastrophic event, you have to remember that the area it would destroy is essentially the breadbasket of North America. It would cripple much of the country’s ability to grow enough food for its population.
Best Body Armor for Natural Disasters
Body armor won’t do you a lot of good if you find yourself in the path of a wildfire or fleeing a tsunami. It’s people who will be the biggest threat. If disasters lead to supply shortages, they will start getting desperate — and that’s where the biggest danger lies. Type IIIA or Type III armor will serve you best.
4. Global Pandemic
We’ve spent the last two years living through one of the deadliest global pandemics since the 1918 Spanish flu, but we’ve been very lucky. It’s too early to determine the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the survival rate has been fairly high. It could have been much worse if we encountered a global pandemic with a higher mortality rate.
If Ebola started to spread with the same proclivity as COVID-19, precautions to prevent infection would be essential. This hemorrhagic fever can have a mortality rate as high as 90%. COVID-19, by comparison, has a mortality rate of around 3.4%, and seasonal flu is less than 1%.
Best Body Armor for a Global Pandemic
Body armor might not be the best choice for a global pandemic, though it can keep you alive if someone gets desperate and starts shooting. For the COVID-19 pandemic, the best armor was social distancing, face masks and frequent hand-washing.
For something with a higher mortality rate, better protection will be necessary. A full hazmat suit and filtered headgear may protect you if you encounter someone who is infected or contagious. There are not many situations where a full hazmat suit will be necessary, but it might be worth having as part of your survival supplies alongside your body armor collection.
5. Nuclear War
At some point in his career, Albert Einstein allegedly uttered these iconic words: “I don’t know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
Nuclear war is one of the human race’s biggest fears. Instead, what should have been an incredible innovation in clean energy became the most devastating weapon we could devise. A nuclear war would destroy massive areas, killing billions and leaving places uninhabitable for centuries to come. Atomic fallout would contaminate land, air and water, killing those that encountered it quickly or sickening them over time.
Recovering from a nuclear war, assuming you survive the initial blasts and live far enough away from any potential fallout, will be an exercise in desperation. People will fight and even be willing to kill for something as simple as food or clean water. Violence will be inevitable, and unless we can learn to live with each other, we’re going to need body armor to protect ourselves.
Best Body Armor for Nuclear War
At the minimum, you’ll need Type IIIA or III to protect yourself from desperate survivors looking for food or a safe place to sleep. If you think you’ll find yourself having to spend time in one of the fallout zones, you’ll also need a radiation suit with oxygen tanks to keep you from breathing in radioactive particles.
6. Non-Nuclear War
Nuclear war is a bigger threat than invasion in most cases, but that doesn’t mean the possibility doesn’t exist. Other countries might hesitate to invade the United States because of the sheer number of guns per person, but if war ever does come to our shores, a basic Kevlar vest isn’t going to cut it.
Invasion means military forces, and that means high-caliber weaponry with the potential for armor-piercing rounds. There is also the risk of close-quarters combat if you happen to encounter enemy troops on foot. If that’s the case, your shooting skills will need to be up to par. Make sure you conduct regular drills to hone your abilities.
Best Body Armor for Non-Nuclear War
This is one situation where Type IV body armor may be the best option, but it’s often heavy and is only designed to be worn for short periods. Keep some Type III or IIIA armor handy for daily wear, but if you’re going to be in a situation where you might encounter enemy troops carrying high caliber or armor-piercing rounds, wear the Type IV.
7. EMP/Grid-Down Event
We’ve become so reliant on electricity that losing it for extended periods can be dangerous or even deadly. The devastating winter storm in Texas early in 2021 is proof of that, with the event taking the lives of more than 210 people. If an EMP or some other malicious attack took down the power grid for an entire country — or the world — an unprecedented amount of people would begin to die.
Summertime would see heat-related deaths, especially in the elderly and vulnerable populations. Wintertime will see deaths related to cold exposure. Throughout the year, the lack of electricity will damage various systems and infrastructures. Hospitals will be unable to keep their supplies cold, and autoclave sterilization will be impossible. These are just a few examples. An EMP or grid-down event will essentially knock us back into the Stone Age.
Best Body Armor for an EMP or Grid-Down Event
Go for the basics here, because a grid-down event will be another exercise in human desperation. Type III or IIIA will cover you in most situations. You’ll only need Type IV armor if you’re contending with law enforcement or members of the National Guard.
8. Extinction-Level Event (ELE)
Extinction level events, such as an asteroid or comet striking the planet’s surface, don’t happen often. In the history of life on Earth, we have experienced five mass extinction events, and scientists believe we may be in the midst of a sixth. Each time, small pockets of life have survived, allowing flora and fauna on this planet to recover and repopulate.
Preparation, and quite a bit of luck, could give you the skills you need to survive if you happen to be in an area less affected by the strike. That means being prepared and ready to defend yourself and your supplies if you come under attack.
Best Body Armor for an Extinction-Level Event
As with many of the other examples we’ve made on this list, Type III or IIIA armor will cover most of the situations you may encounter.
Stay Safe Out There and Don’t Forget Your Body Armor
There are a lot of things that could go wrong that might end the world. With people getting more anxious and things becoming tenser, it’s less of a question of if and more of when.
All we can do now is be prepared, and that includes finding a set of body armor that will protect you if you find yourself facing someone with a knife or gun. They’re not foolproof, but you’re more likely to survive with your body armor than without.
[Note: This was a guest post.]
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