Ironically, shooting is my least favorite part of studying body armor; yet, it’s what everyone envies about doing this research. There are plenty of smart people out there developing new materials and testing better ways to stop bullets, but my focus has always been the effect on the body.
I’m also working toward evaluating armor in a realistic way. Instead of testing a flat panel on a flat block, how about we simulate a body and the armor curving around it? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met anyone shaped like a block! In real life, there are air gaps between the officer and her vest (for men, too!).
Mapping What’s Really Happening Under the Vest
In my recently published study, I set out to see how large those air gaps actually are across three groups: officers wearing B-cup, D-cup, and F-cup bras. We used handheld 3D scanning technology to map the space under their vests.
By digitally overlaying scans of officers with and without their armor, we mapped exact air gap depths and compression points across key landmarks on the chest. The image pictured above shows the distance between the vest and the body at the xiphoid process, the pointed bottom of the breast bone.
Here is what the data revealed:
- Fit Isn’t Just Cup Size: Air gap depths weren’t dictated by bra size alone. The natural geometry of the chest and the shape of the armor panel drive how space is distributed.
- Gaps Are Real and Measurable: For the first time, we have empirical data mapping where armor floats and where it compresses against female tissue.
- The Base Layer Matters: Comfort and fit start before you even put the vest on. Undergarments play a big role in how armor sits across your torso.
Rethinking Armor Testing
When armor is tested with a clay backing in full contact with the panel, it completely ignores the air gaps and contours that exist when a female officer wears her vest in real life. In short, it isn’t testing a real-world situation.
We are using this research to be the change. Before this, no one had quantified or mapped these gaps—and it’s hard to fix a testing method when you can’t characterize the problem.
Here’s the full paper if you are interested. The abstract paragraph at the top contains all the need-to-know info. Need to get to sleep? Read the methods and analysis section of my paper (or any academic paper).