Why your body armor odor smells so bad, how it can kill you and a solution to get rid of it!

For many who wear body armor, THAT time of year is just around the corner. As the weather gets warmer, that ever so familiar odor slowly starts to creep back around. At first it's subtle. But before you know it, you can smell it as soon as you turn the corner to enter the locker room!

During my 13 years as a Police Officer I became accustomed to the annual return of the body armor odor or body armor "funk" as many called it. Truth be told, although the body armor stink was at its worst in the summer, the underlying smell was there all year round. Reality was, even in the winter I would get warm and moist beneath my body armor. Whether it was from sitting in the patrol car or inside headquarters doing reports for an extended period of time or being on a call inside the house of an elderly person who had the heat set at a cool 98°, I'd still perspire beneath my body armor while on patrol in the colder months. And that odor was still there. But it was nothing compared to the summer...

Now, if you wear body armor I don't even need to begin to tell you about how brutal it is to wear it when it's hot out. What's just as bad as the weight, constriction and general discomfort is that odor though. Most believe the infamous body armor funk is caused by your sweat. However, that's not entirely correct. The odor is, in fact, the dangerous bacteria which has now made a home inside your vest. There are a few hundred thousand (if not a million) bacteria in a single sweat-ridden body armor vest. So yeah, things can get stinky FAST! But c'mon...this can't kill you, right? Wrong.

As Police Officers we are subject to cuts and scrapes while on patrol, right? And if we are to get into a scuffle, we might even be subject to a more serious cut and/or scrape. Know anyone who shaves their arms or chest? Ingrown hairs are a common occurrence for those who choose to manscape. So what's this mean to you?

Cuts, scrapes and ingrown hairs can ALL easily become infected. And if you are putting a bacteria-infested vest on your body every single day, you are playing a dangerous game of roulette. Even a minor cut, scrape or ingrown hair can become infected with MRSA (a serious strain of staph that is resistant to some antibiotics). Once this enters the bloodstream it can KILL YOU. Don't believe me? Google it. Better yet...Google photos of it!

That being said, that stinky, sweaty body amor vest can become a serious problem really fast. So what's the resolve? How do you potentially mitigate going down the road of infection, antibiotics or worse? If you think Febreeze and Lysol spray is the answer...think again. Those just mask the odor more than anything. The bacteria is still there; alive and waiting. Additionally, of you think your skin isn't absorbing all the chemicals from those sprays and deodorizers, you're dead wrong. How healthy do you think that is for your body?

Ok, ok...so what can you do to help potentially avoid this mess? Start with not letting your sweat soak into your body armor vest. How about that? How, you ask. Easy! Get some separation between your undershirt and your ballistic vest so your sweat never has a chance to soak into your body armor.

The 221B Tactical Maxx-Dri Vest for body armor ventilation, cooling and comfort was designed to create a layer of air between you and your body armor to help keep you feeling cooler, cleaner and fresher all shift long. But the benefits last well after your shift ends. Because The Maxx-Dri Vest separates your body armor from your skin, your sweat does not soak into your vest. This, as you can imagine, helps mitigate the growth and build-up of dangerous bacteria inside your vest. No bacteria means no odor. That's why tens of thousands of Maxx-Dri vest users report that, since starting to wear a Maxx-Dri vest beneath their body armor, they no longer have to remove the panels from their vest and wash their body armor carrier. How great is this benefit alone?

Add to this the fact that you'll stay drier and cooler in the hot weather all shift long and won't be peeling off a sweat soaked shirt at the end of your shift and you have something that is gonna make you feel like a whole new person. And by the way, because The Maxx-Dri Vest mitigates the trapping of moisture beneath your body armor, officers have reported that, in the winter cold weather months, they remain drier and warmer. After all, in the winter, moisture is what gets ya!

Listen, let's face it...wearing body armor stinks; literally and figuratively. But if there is something that exists today that can make wearing body armor for police officers and soldiers in the military more bearable, why in the world would you continue to be miserable, stink and potentially get deadly sick?

The Maxx-Dri Vest is the answer and solution to body armor odor and discomfort. And the tens of thousands of 5 Star Reviews from your peers is proof of that. Oh, and the NIJ certified lab testing, official recommendation by The NTOA and listing on the U.S. Government GSA schedule are just a few more things to consider when making the decision to be cooler, drier, less sweaty, less itchy and MUCH more comfortable in your body armor. 

At 221B Tactical our mission is to help you to stay focused, stay safe and get home alive. Nothing is more important. The Maxx-Dri Vest will get you home healthier and smelling and feeling a heck of a lot better!