Camp Holloway Discussion Forum Archive 04 - 01/01/04 to 02/10/06

ZYLON Protective Vests

Through my re-entry onto the Department I have run into an interesting issue that I thought I would post on here for the few visitors that are currently LEO.

Back in 2000 I purchased a vest from Second Chance. It was one of their Ultima II vests made of ZYLON. About the time I left the department, there were a number mailings about a class action law suit against the maker of ZYLON (Toyobo) and some recall information from Second Chance. I didn't pay a lot of attention to this stuff because at that time, I thought I wouldn't be using the vest any longer.... DOH !

As I have been finding out over the last month or so, ZYLON deteriorates over time. Many factors effect the rate but body heat, dirt, rough handling etc. will speed up the problem. All of these are inherent to being a Law Enforcement Officer... What I have come to learn is that effectively, I am wearing an $800.00 vest that will stop paint balls and BB's but anything else will probably penetrate.

Second Chance did have an upgrade program that I missed because of timing but this was probably a blessing. My understanding is that their "Pro Pack" upgrade was simply some additional material that you could incorporate with your existing ballistic panels. This made the vest bulky and un-wearable. Some departments that went this route immediately sent their Pro Packs back to Second Chance, "refusing them".

There is some light however. If you have a Second Chance vest made of ZYLON you can sign up to receive part of the class action settlement that was awarded in September of 2005. The settlement was 29 million and is suppose to be distributed between all ZYLON vest owners who have signed up. It may only amount to a few hundred dollars or less and you won't see it until around October 2006 but it takes a little bit of the sting out of having to purchase a new vest. Don't read me wrong, this still SUCKS and in my opinion, if I pay $800.00 to save my life, the damn equipment better do that or I should be provided, free of charge, for one that does.

This is not just an issue with Second Chance, any vest that was made of ZYLON is going to have this deterioration problem.

I believe another Class Action was filed against Armor Holdings which owns ABA, Protech and Xtreme Armor (they also own Second Chance now). Armor Holdings also has a ZYLON vest exchange program going on (check their site).

So, check your vests, if you have ZYLON, get it replaced.... If you find some recourse for Second Chance REPLACEMENTS, let me know !

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