Quote:
Originally Posted by Odie
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus
Apparently, kevlar has a bit of a half-life. After about 5 years, the fibers start to deteriorate, apparently making the vest less safe.
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I knew there was a shelf life, I didn't know the time frame. When I worked at the Sheriff office we had our vests inspected yearly. They never told us what the expiration date was.  |
From what I understand of it, the 5 years is a 'safe' shelf life based upon the manufacturers guarantees of five years from date of manufacture. This can be drastically shortened if Kevlar items are not maintained correctly, if they are not stored properly and even if they are subject to unusual levels of everyday 'wear & tear'.
Proper storage includes keeping them out of direct sunlight (or other sources of UV radiation), only folding them in the proper places, keeping them free from grit, solvents etc., not subjecting them to extreme temperatures or unusual levels of humidity and so on. For example, I read of one Arizona police officer's experience that the temperature and humidity they 'suffer' in Phoenix lowered Kevlar vest life expectancy to just 2-3 years under normal wear & storage.
They can and will last longer if given the proper treatment/storage but this needs to be strictly maintained (and this seems to be only a year or two longer, it's not like 10-15 years or anything like that).