Self-Defense Tip #59
Bulletproof Umbrella?by Thomas Kurz, co-author of Basic Instincts of Self-Defense and author of Stretching Scientifically, Secrets of Stretching, and Science of Sports Training.
To read the previous installment click here.
Now and then we get asked if our Unbreakable UmbrellaTM is bulletproof and whether we can make its canopy out of a bulletproof fabric, such as Kevlar® or Spectra Shield®. Keeping in mind that the Unbreakable UmbrellaTM weighs under 2 lb, the question "Is it bulletproof?" shows ignorance of the way the so-called "bulletproof" fabrics work. I say, "so-called bulletproof" because those fabrics are not really bulletproof, merely bullet-resistant, provided there are enough layers of them. For example, to stop a 9x19 mm pistol bullet, it takes about 15 layers, or at least a 0.20-inch (about 5 mm) thickness of Kevlar®.
So, for an umbrella's fabric to stop even a 9 mm handgun bullet, it would have to weigh at least 7 kg (15.4 lb), and that's the weight of the bulletproof fabric alone. In addition, Kevlar® is weakened by water and by UV rays, so the Kevlar® would have to be covered by waterproof and UV-protective fabric. To support all that fabric, the umbrella's frame would have to be stronger and accordingly heavier. In the end, the umbrella would be very heavy and very expensive.
This will give you an idea how expensive it would be: Kevlar®-covered ParaPactum umbrella made for bodyguards of French president Nicolas Sarkozy weighs 2.2 kg (4.8 lb) and costs about $17,000.00 apiece—and it does not stop bullets.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail, a source at the elite RAID police unit, which tested the ParaPactum umbrella, said:
"This umbrella will keep him pretty safe. It won’t stop bullets, but it will reduce their impact considerably."
Sarkozy's umbrella can work well as a protection from objects thrown at him from high-rise housing projects and as a barrier between a pressing crowd or an attacker unarmed or armed with a short blade. It may not defend against pointed blades such as a dagger or a thin sword.
Here is more info about this umbrella:
www.metro.co.uk/news/859679-nicolas-sarkozy-uses-armour-plated-umbrella
An umbrella that would be truly bulletproof and stabproof would weigh as much as a millstone and would be as awkward to carry as one.
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