Depending on what season it is, wearing body armor can be a curse or a blessing. When it’s below freezing out, the concealable body armor under your uniform shirt (and whatever other outer garment) helps to insulate you and keep you warm. You’re almost thankful for it. But if it’s summer time and the temperatures are in the 90°F+ range, then that body armor simply adds to the discomfort you’re already experiencing. It’s ability to hold heat and absorb sweat is just no good… at all. For decades we’ve been trying to find solutions to the heat-insulation problem of body armor – concealable or otherwise – as we work in higher temperatures. Enter the I.C.E. system by Body Armor Vent.

I.C.E., or Increased Combat Effectiveness, is an after-market upgrade you can make to your body armor system that increases the potential for air flow between you and that armor. We were sent a 10x12 retrofit system to test and wanted to share the experience. Before we get into that, let’s briefly discuss the impact of discomfort on performance efficiency. In short, being overheated causes discomfort. At sufficient levels, it can cause injury and death. There are plenty of documented cases in the past when police officer, sheriff’s deputies, highway patrolmen and troopers have all succumbed to heat injury. That’s not to say that they necessarily died, but more than a few have been treated for heat stroke and heat exhaustion. In some cases, the body armor that is insulating their core contributed to the overheating of their body. By decreasing the discomfort and lowering the impact of heat insultation, a vent or cooling system helps to increase performance efficiency; hence, the name and acronym of this product.

Now, we received a test unit and immediately set about getting it fitted into an armor system. The one used was that owned by our Editorial Director (and he was none to pleased about having to wear body armor for a testing process that lasted several weeks).

First step was unpackaging and mounting the test unit. It was comprised of two panels, 10”x12” and trimmed at the top for shoulder cuts. This is common for any insert for a vest – think of how trauma plates / hard plates are shaped and you have an image of these. The panels felt (essentially) like ribbed and paneled felt (very fine hook and loop material) with rows of holes lined up in rows and columns. The ribs of the panels form a space between the body armor panel and the wearer’s body. The holes allow for air to move and for sweat to evaporate away.

Second step was mounting the panels into the armor carrier. Strips of adhesive hook and loop were also provided with the panels to be used. The directions advise to clean the armor carrier thoroughly and make sure it’s dry. The hook and loop strips can be cut to length, one for each side of the vent panel and a larger one in the middle. Prior to putting the panel in/on, the strips need to be allowed to adhese to the carrier and the directions recommend letting it sit overnight – preferably with a heavy weight on it. Once the adhesive hook and loop strips were in place, the vent panels were put in, adjusted to be in the right place for fit, and then… the wear test got underway.

The vest was worn daily for approximately three weeks. It was worn as little as four hours some days and as long as sixteen hours on others. The outdoor temperatures on those days ranged from low-60sF to low 90sF with high humidity (80%+) on most of those days. As a veteran lawman with over 30 years in uniform, Editorial Director Frank Borelli made the following observations:

·        At first it was easy to notice that the ICE vent unit was there. But after a few days, it was just another part of the vest and went unnoticed.

·         The unit did not cause any discomfort at all. (There was some curiosity about this since it does add a minor level of thickness to the body armor – about ¼” front and ¼” back).

·         On the hotter days, it was easier to remain cool while wearing body armor. Sweat did not get absorbed by t-shirt or armor carrier, but instead evaporated at a quicker rate.

Perhaps the most telling indicator of the performance of the ICE vent system was the fact that Lt. Borelli has no intention of taking it back out of his armor carrier. He’ll remove the panels for cleaning as necessary but other than that gave it two thumbs up and intends to continue regular use of it.

For more information about the ICE vent system, visit: https://www.bodyarmorvent.com/

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