Dear Jim,
Dragonskin Armor, from all non-PR reports, isn’t nearly as good as its designers would like us to believe. (Also see: this article, as well as this one.)
Dragonskin is claimed to meet Level IV standards, but has only been certified by the NIJ to Level III. And that’s only one model of several–others are not certified at all. They are being sued by the USAF over this fraudulent claim.
After several delays refusing to provide test samples to the Army, the Army purchased some and sent them to an independent lab. [The manufacturer] Pinnacle claims these tests were “incomplete.” True. Because Dragonskin failed the tests almost at once, so why continue?
It can’t survive high desert temperatures or other environments–the glue fails, the ceramic delaminates and it loses protection.
Meanwhile, despite Pinnacle’s vicious smear campaign, Interceptor [Body Armor (IBA)] does stop rifle fire and is saving lives. It is possible to do better, I’m sure. I’m hesitant to believe a company that falsifies its standards is the one to do so.
I hate to sound biased, but to me Pinnacle appears to be a scam artist. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the owner somewhere tropical with a suitcase full of cash in a few years. – Michael Z. Williamson
Letter Re: Dragonskin Body Armor Versus IBA
