Police • September/October 2024 • Page 6

FIRS TLOOK THE NEXT GENERATION OF KEVLAR DAVIDGRIFFITH THEIMPROVEDPERFORMANCE OF DUPONT’S NEWKEVLAREXO LETS ARMORMAKERSUSE LESS MATERIAL FORTHE SAME LEVELOFPROTECTION. S ince DuPont first introduced poly-paraphenylene tere-phthalamide(K29) in 1971,it’sbeenknown simply as “Kevlar.”Lastyearthatchanged when thecompany in-troduced “KevlarExo,”anew kind of DuPont ballisticprotec-tion material andthe first Kevlar to be distinguishedbyname from legacy Kevlar. “It’sadifferentchemistry.It’sadifferentmanufacturing pro-cess.It’sall new,”saysStevenLaGanke,DuPontglobalsector leader,explainingwhy Kevlar Exowarrantedachangeinbrand-ing. “Partofwhatwewerethinkingabout when we came up with thenamewas we wanted to make sure people knew this Kevlar wasdifferent.” There aresomemajor technologicaladvancementsthatwent into thedevelopment of thenew Kevlar,but what really differen-tiates Kevlar ExofrompreviousversionsofKevlarisits strength. It’s significantly tougherthanthe previous Kevlar.“Kevlar Exois 30 to 40%strongerthanour legacy Kevlar,” LeGankesays. Usinga stronger fiber in themanufacture of soft body armor will have twoeffectsthatpeoplewho wear bullet-resistant vests will love.It’slighter andit’smoreflexible. In thepast, reducing theweightofbodyarmor oftenled to compromisesineitherprotectionlevel or flexibility.Toget the most protection whilereducingweight, thearmor oftenhad to be stiffer.Kevla rExo changesthatequation. LeGankesays Kevlar Exo’sstrengt hgives thearmor producersa material that canbemorecomfortable whileoffering thesamelevel of bullet resistance. Producingstrongerarmor material is even more crucialnow that theNationalInstitute of Justice(NIJ) is implementing its NIJ0101.07 (NIJ 07)bodyarmor evaluation standard.Thenew NIJstandardrequiresamuchtougher testingprotocolthanthe previous standard with more shotsfromdifferentanglesand more lab-simulatedwearand tear on thevest. Oneofthe goals of theNIJ 07 testingistoreducethe chance ofabulletskipping off of areaswhere thearmor hascurves, whichisofparticular concernfor female officers.LaGanke believes Kevlar Exocan help solvethisricochetproblem,which canaffect both male andfemaleofficers. “Everybodyhasadifferentbodyshape,sothe ricochet issue is notjustabout female officers,” he explains.“We didafocus groupwithsix different officers,including twofemaleofficers, andeverybodyhadadifferentopinion abouttheir currentar-mor. Butone thingtheyall really likedabout [armor made from Kevlar Exo] is howitconformed to theirbodies.”Bullets areless 6 POLICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024 likely to ricochet off of softer,strongermaterialthatconforms better to thebody, accordingtoLaGanke. Anotherofficer safety benefit to Kevlar Exo’sflexibilit yis that it makesarmor easier to wear when running, jumping, andfighting.“If you’re trying to getintoasituation or getout ofasituation,tryingtoget behind cover, or just gettingout of your patrol car, you’ll be more agilewit hKevla rExo.When youmove, it moveswithyou,” LaGankesays. PointBlank Enterpriseshasamulti-yearexclusivity contract with DuPont forusing Kevlar Exotoproduce bodyarmor for NorthAmericanstate andlocal lawenforcement,LaGanke says. Othermanufacturers canuse thematerialtoproduce armorfor federalagenciesand forwearers outsideoflaw enforcement. PointBlank’s first soft body armorfor lawenforcement fea-turing Kevlar Exowas beingevaluated underthe NIJ’s06stan-dard at presstime. LaGankesayshethinksthe productwill be addedtothe NIJ’sCompliant Products List andavailable for agency purchase by theend of thefall. At presstimeindependent labs were still prepping to evaluate body armorbythe NIJ07 standard.They areexpectedtobeready to do so in 2025. www.dupont.com PHOTO: DUPONT Theflexibility of bullet-resistant material made from Kevlar Exo makesthe armor conformbetter to theshape of thewearereven duringathletic movement.