Low visibility body armor

Abstract

A concealable armored vest is provided. The armored vest can include a ballistic insert and a contoured member that overlies the ballistic insert to obscure the outline of the ballistic insert from view. The foam insert can include tapered end portions that flatten as they extend laterally outward of the ballistic insert. The armored vest can also include a downwardly extending retention panel having a retention member to limit vertical movement of the vest. The retention panel can be tucked into a lower body garment, and the retention member can be oversized to inhibit the sliding retraction of the retention panel from the lower body garment. The retention member can include a longitudinal foam element generally parallel to the waistline and generally coextensive with the lowermost portion of the retention panel.

1 . An armored vest comprising:
 front and back protective portions defining a neck opening;   a retention panel extending downwardly from one of the front and back portions;   a ballistic insert supported by one of the front and back protective portions, the ballistic insert defining a strike face terminating in a lateral periphery; and   a contoured member adjacent the ballistic insert and transitioning rearwardly from the strike face to at least partially obscure the ballistic insert periphery from view.   
     
     
         2 . The armored vest of  claim 1  wherein the retention panel includes an elastic material. 
     
     
         3 . The armored vest of  claim 1  wherein the retention panel includes a retention member to limit vertical movement of the vest while being free from attachment to a lower garment. 
     
     
         4 . The armored vest of  claim 3  wherein the retention member includes a longitudinal foam element extending generally parallel to a wearer's waist. 
     
     
         5 . The armored vest of  claim 1  wherein the contoured member includes a curved stiffener extending laterally outward of the ballistic insert. 
     
     
         6 . The armored vest of  claim 1  wherein one of the front and back protective portions includes first and second spaced apart panels defining a pocket to supportably receive the ballistic insert and the contoured member. 
     
     
         7 . The armored vest of  claim 6  wherein the pocket defines first and second transition regions outward of the ballistic insert, the first and second transition regions defining a gradual reduction in pocket depth. 
     
     
         8 . The armored vest of  claim 7  wherein the contoured member at least partially occupies the first and second transition regions and flattens as it extends laterally outward. 
     
     
         9 . An armored vest comprising:
 front and back portions, at least one of the front and back portions including a ballistic material capable of impeding the penetration of a foreign object; and   a retention panel extending downwardly from one of the front and back portions, the retention panel including a retention member limiting vertical movement of the vest when worn by a user while being free from attachment to a lower garment.   
     
     
         10 . The armored vest of  claim 9  wherein the retention member includes a longitudinal foam element extending generally parallel to a wearer's waist. 
     
     
         11 . The armored vest of  claim 9  wherein the retention member is generally coextensive with the lowermost portion of the retention panel. 
     
     
         12 . The armored vest of  claim 9  wherein the retention panel includes an elastic material. 
     
     
         13 . The armored vest of  claim 9  wherein the retention panel is a first retention panel extending downwardly from the front portion, the armored vest further comprising a second retention panel extending downwardly from the back portion. 
     
     
         14 . The armored vest of  claim 9  wherein the ballistic material includes at least one of a pliant ballistic insert and a rigid ballistic insert. 
     
     
         15 . An impact resistant unit for an armored vest comprising:
 a ballistic insert defining a strike face terminating in a lateral periphery; and   a contoured member adjacent the ballistic insert, the contoured member transitioning rearwardly relative to the strike face to at least partially obscure the lateral periphery from view.   
     
     
         16 . The impact resistant unit of  claim 15  wherein the contoured member includes a curved stiffener extending laterally outward of the ballistic insert periphery. 
     
     
         17 . The impact resistant unit of  claim 15  wherein the contoured member defines a substantially continuous and unbroken outer surface. 
     
     
         18 . The impact resistant unit of  claim 15  wherein the lateral periphery defines a first thickness and the contoured member includes a tapered end portion extending laterally outward of the ballistic insert periphery and transitioning to a second thickness less than the first thickness. 
     
     
         19 . The impact resistant unit of  claim 18  wherein the ballistic insert defines a rear face spaced apart from the strike face and the tapered end portion is curved rearwardly to substantially align with the ballistic insert rear face. 
     
     
         20 . The impact resistant unit of  claim 19  wherein the contoured insert includes an intermediate portion generally conforming to the ballistic insert rear face. 
     
     
         21 . An armored vest comprising:
 front and back portions, at least one of the front and back portions including a ballistic material capable of impeding the penetration of a foreign object; and   an elastic retention panel extending downwardly from one of the front and back portions to limiting vertical movement of the vest when worn by a user.   
     
     
         22 . The armored vest of  claim 21  wherein the elastic retention panel includes a retention member to limit vertical movement of the vest while being free from attachment to a lower garment. 
     
     
         23 . The armored vest of  claim 22  wherein the retention member includes a longitudinal foam element extending generally parallel to a wearer's waist. 
     
     
         24 . The armored vest of  claim 22  wherein the retention member is generally coextensive with the lowermost portion of the elastic retention panel. 
     
     
         25 . The armored vest of  claim 21  wherein the elastic retention panel is a first elastic retention panel extending downwardly from the front portion, the armored vest further comprising a second elastic retention panel extending downwardly from the back portion.