Bulletsafe, the company known for making affordable 3A soft body armor, is considering a new bulletproof baseball cap product. In this article Doug describes the new product concept and offers his thoughts on the idea.
Bulletsafe is the company that makes the affordable level 3A soft body armor and bulletproof backpack insert I have written about in the past. Now they’ve got a new product idea and are using Kickstarter to determine its viability.
The concept is a baseball cap with a panel of armor in the front. The goal is to create a hat that police (or anyone) could wear on regular-duty that would provide additional head protection without having the “militarized look” of a full ballistic helmet. With the recent public uproar against “militarized police,” the thought is that this product provides some protection without showing it. The hat appears to be a regular baseball cap and could be embroidered with whatever insignia or logo is desired. Behind and inside the front of the hat is a plate of NIJ level 2A armor.
“We think it has the potential to save some lives and keep the peace at the same time.”
There are two questions the Bulletsafe team is using their Kickstarter campaign to answer. The first is whether it’s a product people will want. The second is whether people will believe it will work. They have successfully tested prototypes of the product and have found the concept to work but whether people believe in it or not is a separate consideration. Here is the video of their test.
If the product does make it to market the Guns & Tactics Team will be among the first to take it for a range test like we did with their vest. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing their prototypes at their booth during the SHOT Show in January.
I like the concept of concealed armor and the hat would obviously provide more protection than one without armor. Just as they did with their bulletproof backpack insert, I also really appreciate Bulletsafe’s approach to new product development by gathering people’s thoughts before diving into something. Whether the hat becomes a new product or not, it’s good to see some outside-the-box thinking when it comes to personal protection.
