Explanation of different gauges of armor

[Dearmeat]

Ok, to start I am a noobe at all this. But can someone tell me the"Explanation of different gauges of armor"?

 

I've seen some sets of TK armor saying they were "60 gauge" some were "80 gauge" and others were "90 gauge". Now my thinking is the thicker the armor, the longer it would hold up. Is 60 Gauge thicker or thinner than 90 Gauge?

Is it lower the number of gauge it gets thicker or higher the gauge its thicker?

I have not yet purchased my first set of TK armor and want something that someone once quoted as "Running with the bulls" tough.

(I don't plan on running with any bulls, but say if I wanted to I would like to have armor tough enough to take a good lick. Just kidding. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.........

[Shooter]

Argh, I just read a thread on all of this and now I can't find it!

 

I'm new too, but when speaking of "80 gauge" it's the imperial measurement of 0.80. Conversion 0.80 = 2mm (approx) 80 gauge is pretty popular (used by AP for one) So the simple answer is the higher the gauge the thicker the armour. Generally you don't want anything too thin unless your collecting or for display cuz it won't be good for trooping.

 

Hope that helps,

[Daetrin[Admin]]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_%28disambiguation%29

 

Unit of thickness used for thin plastics; 1 gauge = 1/100 Mil = 1/100,000 inch = 25.4/100000 mm = 0.254 micron

 

Everyone should donate it Wikipedia - it's the font of most human knowledge!

[Dearmeat]

When I first started getting my items together for my suit, I had no idea what or where to start looking at armor. These forms have been very helpful. the first thing I noticed was the "DO NOT buy from Ebay" statements on here. That was the best advice I could have gotten especially after researching this hobby for the past two months. I'm still in the market for a suit of TK Armor. I have now after reading this decided to look at the 90 gauge armor. Now it's time to locate a maker of 90 gauge armor. Thanks for the insight on this guys.

[FIVE[501st]]

The gauge of the armor is only one part of it though... you have to also consider what it's made of that you're gauging. ABS is different than HIPS and / or of course fiberglass (which there's not really much of anyway.)

 

But I think you're getting the jest of it.

[Dearmeat]

The gauge of the armor is only one part of it though... you have to also consider what it's made of that you're gauging. ABS is different than HIPS and / or of course fiberglass (which there's not really much of anyway.)

 

But I think you're getting the jest of it.

From what I have read, I would like to have a set of 90 gauge ABS, "FX" I understand is like this. I have seen articles with "HIPS". My next question, would it be better if the HIPS armor was 90 gauge or would an 80 Gauge HIPS be as strong as 90 ABS? Having never bought this before, I have been researching and wanting the best for my buck if you know what I mean. Thanks again for the info and help.

[Shooter]

No'l makes an excellent point, gauge is only one part of it. Having just recently went through the tedious exercise of selecting armour myself, you really have to know what your goals and priorities are, because everyone's different and there is no "one" armour that is the be all and all. So many good makers out there and they all have their tiny differences. How important are things like quality, price, durability, screen accuracy? Also, is it readily available? How difficult is it to assemble? What is best for your body type etc.

 

You really can't get too much info on the subject, this forum and the great guys/gals on here are a tremendous help.

 

In the end I decided on AP because of it's reputation, quality, screen accuracy (aiming for EIB) and to boot he's a fellow Canuck, so you can't beat that

 

Hope that helps,