Technology

Forged in Steel

All Hardcore Defense shields use a ballistic steel core to provide robust and resilient protection against a range of threats. Modern manufacturing control of chemistry and temper result in ballistic steels that are twice as strong as the rolled armor plate of the last century that nevertheless saved many a serviceman's life. Meanwhile the most common threat rounds today carry significantly less energy than the .30 caliber rifles and machine guns of yesteryear. Twice the strength and half the threat means ballistic steel is a very viable alternative to ballistic fiber based products - and at a fraction of the cost!

Why Metal is Superior

  • Rifle Protection  Most of our shields use grades of steel carefully tempered to be able to withstand rifle fire.
  • Ballistic Coverage Metals are tough, capable of stopping hits much closer to the edge of the ballistic panel than a ballistic fiber shield, which requires a mesh of fibers to catch and distribute the strike energy.  Multi-hit performance is similarly superior to ballistic fiber shields.
  • Blunt Trauma  Metals will flex and deform when hit as they absorbs the energy of a bullet strike, but the amount of backface signature and potential blunt trauma is much less than that of a ballistic fiber matrix.
  • Shelf Life  Unlike shields made from Kevlar, Dyneema or similar ballistic fibers, metals do not deteriorate with time.  Our shields will continue to provide reliable protection for decades.
  • Storage Conditions Steel and titanium are insensitive to the storage environment, in particular the heat and humidity that rapidly degrades high performance ballistic fibers.  Want to store your Hardcore Defense shield in the back of your car trunk in Florida or Texas?  No problem!  As long as the shield is stored such that the protective polymer coating stays intact to prevent corrosion initiation, the shield will be ready whenever you need it (and our padded handle and arm pads prevent direct contact with potentially uncomfortably warm surfaces).
  • Ease of Storage  All of our shield panels are flat, since unlike ballistic fiber shields the material is strong enough to provide complete rigidity without needing to add curvature.  This makes it easy to stash the shield in a car trunk, under a bed, behind a door, or anywhere else desired for discreet storage but easy access.

Why Hardcore Defense

Hardcore Defense is the original ballistic steel shield manufacturer, and we specialize in these products. We are not a torso plate company that decided to piggyback copycat shields into their lineup. A significant amount of engineering and testing effort went into the development of our handle and arm strap assemblies, and our patent pending designs provide superior performance in these areas. Accept no imitations!

We use only premium ballistic steel in our products. This is not AR550 or some other off-the-shelf commercial steel. AR stands for Abrasion Resistant and tells you immediately that you're dealing with commercial grade material intended for use as bulldozer blades and dump truck beds. AR steel is cheaper than ballistic steel and has roughly similar chemistry and properties, but the chemistry and heat treatment tolerances are looser and ballistic performance can vary widely between production lots.

The Waterjet Advantage

Our chief product developer has a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and decades of industry experience.  We thoroughly understand the science behind the materials we use and the ballistic threats our products face.  We use only waterjet cutting when manufacturing our products. Plasma and laser cutting leaves a heat affected zone at the edge of the panel and near the bolt holes which can cause the plate to crack and fail when struck.

Optimum Coverage for the Threat

Hardcore Defense shields are designed to provide the maximum feasible coverage while remaining compact and maneuverable enough for easy indoor use.  Our standard shield size is 15” wide x 25” tall, and covers the user from the lower face to the waist.  We also offer larger shields for operators needing increased coverage, and smaller shields for ease of storage and deployment within a patrol vehicle.  When applicable, our shoulder cutouts and lower tapers are as small as possible in order to maximize coverage. We don't have to oversize our cutouts to save weight to make up for using thicker panels of lesser steels. None of our shields have windows, which we consider a liability in most circumstances.  A trained officer with a sidearm can spot and eliminate a threat in seconds – unless he’s trying to reach around a shield and sight through a window, in which case bullets may be flying in both directions for considerably longer, greatly increasing the risk to the officer, his teammates, and bystanders.