Laundering Vests
To wash your Hellweg armour carrier or load bearing vest:
- Remove armour panels and plates
- Remove all items from pouches and pockets
- Close all zips and hook and loop fasteners
- Wash in cold or warm water at no more than 40degC
- Use mild detergent
- Hang to dry in the shade
- Do NOT dry clean
- Do NOT use fabric softeners, bleach or solvent
- Do NOT tumble dry
- Do NOT iron
Cleaning Armour Panels and Plates
Do NOT submerge or machine wash amour plates or panels. Doing so may impair their performance and will void their warranty.
To clean, remove amour plates or panels from the vest and wipe with a damp cloth, if necessary, using mild detergent.
Storing Vests and Armour
Incorrect storage of armour can damage it and degrade its performance over time. Therefore armour must be stored as follows:
Store soft armour panels, including ballistic and stab resistant panels either:
- In the vest, with the vest on a hanger.
Do NOT lay the vest on a flat surface with the armour panels in situ, as this may cause damage due to creasing and folding. - Removed from the vest, laying flat on a shelf or similar, with no folds.
Hard armour plates must be stored either:
- In the vest, or
- On a shelf or in a cupboard, protected from accidental knocks and drops.
Dropping hard armour plates on hard surfaces may cause damage detrimental to their performance and generally cannot be seen by visual inspection. Impact damage will void their warranty.
If impact damage is suspected, contact us and we can arrange X ray inspection.
Implementing Ballistic or Stab Proof Armour
Prior to rolling out the use of body armour in your department or company, the following should be considered:
Storage:
While soft armour panels are durable, creasing and crushing them can degrade their performance, so they should be stored on hangers rather than laid flat. Each vest will weigh north of 3.5kg (plus accoutrements), so you’ll need heavy duty racks and hangers.
Hard armour plates should be stored on shelves/racks when not in use – dropping them can cause internal damage.
Damage:
Periodic inspection for visible damage should be incorporated into standard operating procedures, as damaged armour may provide lower levels of protection. Inspect for:
- Perforation, puncturing or holes on armour covers
- Impact damage
- Folds or creases to armour materials
If armour exhibits visible damage, do not use it - contact us (with photos) for further advice.
Serial numbers:
While we keep serial number records indefinitely, we strongly recommend purchasers keep a list of armour serial numbers, the assigned user and the armour manufacturing date.
Armour life:
The performance of Hellweg ballistic and stab armour is guaranteed for 5 years from the date of manufacture date. We recommend keeping records of manufacturing dates so that armour can be removed from service at the end of its life.
Disposal:
Ballistic armour is considered a prohibited weapon in all Australian states, so suitable disposal procedures need to be followed. We offer an armour destruction and disposal service, which includes a certificate of destruction.