SHTF Personal Protective Equiptment

[Macsforfire]

So I was wondering what everybody has (or is planning to get) in the way of PPE or self defence? Not in the way of weapons but purely in terms of protective equipment or defensive clothing etc. As for some background on my own PPE prepps I have a plate carrier with level 3A steel plates front and back and an additional level 2 ballistic Kevlar insert in the front. An MK6 ballistic Helmet, an ex police long Riot shield, a pair of Altberg warrior boots and a set of knee/shin pads and elbow/forarm pads lastly a pair of leather/carbon fibre hard knuckle gloves. I tried to Taylor my SHTF PPE to a worst case scenario, it isn't perfect as all this kit inevitably adds extra weight and so reduced mobility, however I reasonably fit so I wreckon I could manage a bug out if needs be.

[Trojanhorse]

Going for the grey man approach?

[Macsforfire]

Lol well you could say that. Seriously though I wreckon it's good to have balance, like to come across as an average joe but if the situation demands it then be able to hit back strong and have the gear to pull it off. For example would the grey man approach do any good if people were looting house to house regardless of appearances. I'm not inflexible however so it's unlikely I would be donning the tactical gear if we were say faced with a natural disaster.

[Plymtom]

I could look at this as a gapping hole in my preps, or perhaps further than I can afford or want to go, I do concede if I were ever to feel the need to run the gauntlet then some protective gear would be handy, but here's the thing, armour is only any use in numbers when facing numbers, I'd run and hide from a bunch of nutters with paintball or airsoft guns, and I'd certainly not put myself or family in harms way trusting to any amount of body armour if there was hell breaking loose, with no paramedic to call, nope thinking on it all I would get from too much gear like that is a false sense of security.

I'm not familiar with the grey man approach either what's that all about?

[Macsforfire]

The grey man approach is the act of blending in with the crowd, eg not looking like a prepper so you could rip your clothes, make your house look as if it had already been looted, hide your preps etc

[jansman]

I could look at this as a gapping hole in my preps, or perhaps further than I can afford or want to go, I do concede if I were ever to feel the need to run the gauntlet then some protective gear would be handy, but here's the thing, armour is only any use in numbers when facing numbers, I'd run and hide from a bunch of nutters with paintball or airsoft guns, and I'd certainly not put myself or family in harms way trusting to any amount of body armour if there was hell breaking loose, with no paramedic to call, nope thinking on it all I would get from too much gear like that is a false sense of security.

I'm not familiar with the grey man approach either what's that all about?

Grey man= HIDE. Or certainly do not draw attention to yourself, say like, walkin' down the road with a riot shield

[Plymtom]

Grey man= HIDE. Or certainly do not draw attention to yourself, say like, walkin' down the road with a riot shield

Fair enough and well put.

[grenfell]

If necessary I'd use my re-enactment gear for protection. A padded jack is a type of soft armour that is many layers thick and is very good at stopping injuries. Then I have helmets , mail , armour and shields and so on if I wanted to go that route.
You mention a long police shield. They really are a defensive shield that is only really much use when used by a block of officers. The round "short shield" version allows for more agressive use (offence often being the best form of defence )and are easier to use, carry and conceal. Police have found that its presence is also far more intimidating to a crowd than the long shield.

[badgersden]

a good motorcycle jacket will give quite lot of protection and you would not stand out,most people wear them even when they are not on there bikes,just dont buy the ones that look like Josephs multi coloured coat lol

[Macsforfire]

I went with the long shield for two reasons, the first was that it is excellent at blocking doorways say in a house and the second was that I had an opportunity to buy it lol. I did actually fancy the short/round kind as it would be much easier to use in fast combat situations however the one I have is just over waist height on me (I'm 6,2) so I could use it quite easily in conjunction with a good Melee weapon if anyone's interested it's probably still available on eBay as there was a few left when I bought mine, just search riot shield and the one I bought has a black Plastic and carbon fibre body with a clear plastic bit at the top for viewing your opponent they are top even if they are firmly in the overt security camp