Ok well i'm going to lay down the basic rules of armour that we generally all accept;
1# Must deter damage from a Zombie in some way
2# Must be practical for what your doing; if your remounting an attack that you don't think you'll be retreating from you want Heavy Metal armour, whereas if you looking for a place to hide from the Horde then you want somthing light.
3# Another thing is Avaliability sure 16th century plate armour is sweet for full on zombie melee battles, but how the hell would you find one your size in this century ?
Ok so I live in New Zealand, and a popular tourist attraction is shark hunting/watching, they use a special chainmail. I havn't seen this BUT it seems Very useful as armour, it's light and flexible enough to swim in and it's able to stop actual shark bites even if they don't stop the pressure damage, but the main danger from a zed is the fact that if they pierce your skin your most likely dead.
1# Shark Chainmail, you could probably find it in fishing stores, and if you live near or on the coast it might be worthwhile to go get yourself some before or during the zombie apocalypse.
Some items around your house you could use or grab on the go;
Drainpipes/guttering can be used to protect your Forearms.
rip up your dining cloth if you have one or any material, and pad your knees and elbows possibly shins.
somethiing not known is the strength of cardboard, yes you heard right cardboard(it is made from trees/wood); if you get the cover of a hard-cover book put it on your friends chest i'll bet you, it'll block your punch, it's because even though the book normally would snap fairly easy the layers spread out the impact quickly so aslong as it has support behind it (your chest) it's a lightweight basic armour. Grab two cut some holes through it, a bit of rope/string think of one of those guys who stands outside the cafe with that sign trying to sell the stores products to you, usually outside Cafes ??? only smalle
If you don't have one already your going to want to buy a coat with lots of pockets not plastic as after continous use it will deteriorate, you want something like a Hikers jacket, or a blazer type jacket, if it has a hood it hopefully will be removable or have a pocket to fold it into...Because; Zed sneak up on you hood...if they grab it your dead which leads to my next need for it; it must split/open down the front with buttons or a zip?, because if you've ever seen a Jackie Chan movie you'll realise the benefits from being able to quickly ditch your outer shirt (Zombie grabs you just slip out of your coat better to lose what your carrying rather than lose your life).
now the list of home items you could use as basic armour(before you know the condition of the zombie outbreak, items which should be useful in any scenario, and that you can find around the home);
* Jeans or leather pants preferably jeans (less odour and easyier to clean)
* Overcoat style split down the middle jacket more pockets the better
* Singlet white, because stains are easyier to notice and you KNOW if it's clean or not
* T-Shirt you could go red or something like that to hide stains but i'd go white
* long cloth bind it around your shins/knees and forearms tightly it'll protect you from most cuts and if you do get cut you can use it as bandaging to close the wound (open wounds are deadly if they become infected by bactaria...or virus...namely virus Z (or 'S' if it's Solanum))
* don't forget the rope and painkillers !! also the stuff about Anti-biotics being useless; say you've fortified yourself in, you catch a cold ? get a chest/lung infection ? your dead without todays medicine; what good is an intellectual and technological advantage if you don't use it???
please post more! i wanna do an advanced list of gear you'll have to really hunt for but is perfect for many situations e.g. Sharkmail, and i also want to do an improvised list such as the cloth vambraces.
Go! think!
As long as aminals dun get reviveded, thinks "Black Sheep" all over again...see link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMyVljAP_A <- Black Sheep Movie Trailer...
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/9/9d/SpecialPoliceWong.gif |
Riding leathers may be all that I would need for protection. (the kind for use on sport bikes)
Why: No human could chew through the leather, and the knees, and elbows are re-enforced, and some aren't leather at all, now being made of Kevlar, with hardened caps on the knees and elbows too. Either way, cannot be bitten through, and they offer lots of room for movement, and do not hang off of you making it hard for one to grab you.
Pair that with a good set of boots, and you will be good to go. I would be wearing a helmet with face shield in close combat situations, but they have limitations, most importantly, they muffle sound, which could suck if you were looking for and listening for potential threats.
I'm from Australia and right now I can tell you right now sharkmail costs at least $20,000 AUD - $50,000 AUD
Not a viable option, i'd rather class IV body armour for that price... not to mention a decent rifle.
lol Biker helmet Beats a bucket, improvisations of Skater-helmet and sunglasses?...didn't think about headgear...
I don't think Head protection is that necessary...i'd do the Ninja hood style, because it would block inflectious fluids from your nose/mouth then sunglasses for your eyes maybe goggles ???
Ifthey're in reach of your head already i don't think a Helmet will do much...they'll already have your arms and body ?
oh yeh and if you turn, wouldn't the Helmet make it harder for survivors to damage your brain ? not good for them... a motorbike helmet should protect from most weapons like a normal hammer, long range pistol shots if lucky. Maybe something light enough to block clawing and bites but weak enough to allow someone to kill you???
As long as aminals dun get reviveded, thinks "Black Sheep" all over again...see link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMyVljAP_A <- Black Sheep Movie Trailer...
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/9/9d/SpecialPoliceWong.gif
who said anything about buying?? i'm going down to the Docks to steal oops i mean Scavange me some Sharkmail...and guns are too hard too get down here anyways...atleast in Auckland or Wellington which will be hit the hardest if Z-day ever pops up...lol
As long as aminals dun get reviveded, thinks "Black Sheep" all over again...see link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMyVljAP_A <- Black Sheep Movie Trailer...
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/9/9d/SpecialPoliceWong.gif
To us who've been here a while it doesn't need to be discussed more.
Most armor is going to be restricting, uncomfortable, too heavy, too hot to wear, or not very effective. If you can find something that isn't a combination of any of those things by all means use it.
I have to add something to the "too heavy part" if anyone wants to bring up chainmail or some other heavy armor. 20-60lbs is too heavy. Especially when you're going to be carrying half or that exact weight. If I'm carrying that much weight it better stop pistol rounds (fired from rifle) and/or intermediate rifle rounds. All them at close range. Either that or stop an ice pick or bowie knife.
Ifthey're in reach of your head already i don't think a Helmet will do much...they'll already have your arms and body ?
oh yeh and if you turn, wouldn't the Helmet make it harder for survivors to damage your brain ? not good for them...
Maybe something light enough to block clawing and bites but weak enough to allow someone to kill you??
What kind of fantasy world you live in? We can conduct a little experiment if you like. You wear that ninja hood crap and a friend can wear a helmet. I'll throw a rock, a brick, a beer bottle (empty and full)and whatever else I can find at your heads. We'll see who walks away without injury.
Obviously you've never experienced a headbutt. What the heck does that mean and how is it an arguement against helmets?
Why should you care? After all you're dead. If you really did care you'd have offed yourself before you were zombified.
Please name something.
Most armor is going to be restricting, uncomfortable, too heavy, too hot to wear, or not very effective. If you can find something that isn't a combination of any of those things by all means use it.
I have to add something to the "too heavy part" if anyone wants to bring up chainmail or some other heavy armor. 20-60lbs is too heavy. Especially when you're going to be carrying half or that exact weight. If I'm carrying that much weight it better stop pistol rounds (fired from rifle) and/or intermediate rifle rounds. All them at close range. Either that or stop an ice pick or bowie knife.
Ifthey're in reach of your head already i don't think a Helmet will do much...they'll already have your arms and body ?
oh yeh and if you turn, wouldn't the Helmet make it harder for survivors to damage your brain ? not good for them...
Maybe something light enough to block clawing and bites but weak enough to allow someone to kill you??
What kind of fantasy world you live in? We can conduct a little experiment if you like. You wear that ninja hood crap and a friend can wear a helmet. I'll throw a rock, a brick, a beer bottle (empty and full)and whatever else I can find at your heads. We'll see who walks away without injury.
Obviously you've never experienced a headbutt. What the heck does that mean and how is it an arguement against helmets?
Why should you care? After all you're dead. If you really did care you'd have offed yourself before you were zombified.
Please name something.
Sanchez what time of night did you reply at ? i didn't say crap about headbutting, headbutting is for people who can't fight, it leaves your back exposed while doing fairly minimal damage to your opponent,to a zed it just gives em an opportunity to shred your back.
Who the hell would be throwing bricks/beer bottles and the like at you in a post-z-day world ? most people would be armed with some more advanced melee or ranged weapon.
something your biker helmet won't protect against... they'll just go for your body and the possibility of practical body armour is almost nil...
In the Argument of a Hood vs Helmet; if it's a slow Zed the only head protection you'd need is from Fluid splatters etc you should be able to kill them before they reach your head or atleast keep them away from your head.
In almost any circumstance the hood would be better then the helmet;
Shamblers you should be fast enough to dodge thier blows towards your head or kill them before then.
Runners are supposedly strong enough to rape your helmet and simply ragdoll you so all it would do is prolong your death and hinder you movement ability
People; if they see you first they're going to most likely join forces with you if you are fighting with people your going to want to use ranged combat because you only need a body shot so ammo conservation isn't as necessary.
A Helmet would just provide fairly minimal protection while dulling your senses.
The Hood would not, allowing you to recognize threats before they were in range of you and being light you could still escape, the protection they offer is from the splatter...
As long as aminals dun get reviveded, thinks "Black Sheep" all over again...see link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMyVljAP_A <- Black Sheep Movie Trailer...
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/9/9d/SpecialPoliceWong.gif
In case someone doesn't want to read this entire (extremely long) post as to why a helmet is important I'll cram everything into one sentence that is easily understood (unless you're a complete idiot):
It protects the melon sitting on your shoulders which in turn protects your brain.
Now for the extremely long post with examples as to why a helmet is important and why you may want to keep one handy.
i didn't say shit about headbutting, headbutting is for people who can't fight, it leaves your back exposed while doing fairly minimal damage to your opponent,to a zed it just gives em an opportunity to shred your back.
Who the hell would be throwing bricks/beer bottles and the like at you in a post-z-day world ? most people would be armed with some more advanced melee or ranged weapon.
something your biker helmet won't protect against... they'll just go for your body and the possibility of practical body armour is almost nil...
People; if they see you first they're going to most likely join forces with you
if you are fighting with people your going to want to use ranged combat because you only need a body shot so ammo conservation isn't as necessary.
A Helmet would just provide fairly minimal protection while dulling your senses.
The Hood would not, allowing you to recognize threats before they were in range of you and being light you could still escape, the protection they offer is from the splatter...
Hell if I know. You tell me.
Here's a little thought muchacho. If I've got my hands full (long gun is my primary arm) and someone/something (zombie or not) is giving me a problem I'm going to whatever it takes to get them off as quickly as possible. That includes introducing their face to my armored noggin. Not to mention getting your head bounced off concrete/brick/asphalt during the scuffle doesn't feel that great.
When law and order breaks down people tend to do crazy stuff. Hell. They do that sometimes without law and order breaking down. Who knows. There is no telling what could happen. Besides, who says talking about armor is restricted to zombies only?
Let's say the outbreak is in another part of the country and it's contained. You might want to leave before/in case the quarantine fails. So you've already headed out the door with the Z-gear that won't get you shot planning to camp out in/outside the airport for a day or two if you have to. Problem is a whole lot of other people have the same idea. Remaining police are called in for crowd control. They fire on the crowd with less than lethal weapons (which can be lethal). Mob attacks/scatters/has orgy/etc. Maybe fall down and bump your head on the curb. Catch an elbow to the head. Get caught by an overzealous pissed off police officer who wants to test out the new baton he was issued. If you have extrordinary bad luck there is nothing like getting pegged in the side/back of the head with a bean bag or 40mm foam baton. How that would happen I have no idea, but hey. It can happen.
Maybe you decide to stay in the country. Thinking it'll be contained and if the containment fails it'll blow over. Problem is some little racial/political/religious group decides to take advantage of the small number of police in the area. Sticking it to those [insert color here] people/the joos/capitalist swine which turns into a full scale riot. Things are decent. Things are bad something happens to your relative/friend/significant other that requires immediate medical attention. Any stabbing/gunshot/serious burn will. [Equivalent of our 911 system] is over loaded with calls. You've got to take them there yourself. Things are worse when the car breaks down or is stolen (if you had one in the first place). Now you've got to foot it through through that mess. Rioters like to throw things. Not to mention they just might decide to beat your a**, rob you, bend you over a dumpster, kill you, or do a combination of those things. Not to mention it comes back to police use of LTL weapons.
So let's say outbreak happens. Already said people do crazy stuff when L&O go away. You already said guns are hard to come by in the country. Willing to bet a majority of the country doesn't hunt or take up archery. Also willing to bet spears are rare and doubt anyone really practices with them. Oldest ranged weapon I know of is the rock, and I doubt anyone will have a problem going stoneage on someone's a**. With a rock or anything that's disposable and easy to throw. Even back in the day when bows/crossbows were common use it wasn't uncommon to drop a rock on your enemy's head. Might be someone's way of warding off attacking goblins. Might be a few goblins doing it for kicks. Post-apocalypse when ammunition is practically currency they might resort to throwing random crap. Let's say I'm sitting on my rooftop or by my window and a group of goblins armed with only melee weapons converging on my hide intending to loot/rape/pillage. I can't afford to waste ammunition. Don't think I won't resort to throwing assorted crap at them while they're trying to get to me. They might decide to do the same thing. Let's say you're boots on the ground and you don't mean any harm to anyone. Other survivors might not know that. Which means you end up with a case of mistaken identitiy. They might not want anything do with you and want you to leave. How might they get you to move on? Maybe I'm having to work in an area with people who have firearms. While anything less than a ballistic helmet isn't going to offer protection against firearms might help against fragments from to round or whatever the round hits that's near your head. Sure would help to save what little medical supplies you would have by not having to treat any cuts. Hey... Come to think of it all that applies to non-apocalypse as well....
I don't know about you, but I sure would like to have a helmet handy in all of those situations. If I'm working in any [sub]urban environment I'm going to have a helmet on. If I can ever save up enough money instead of blowing most of it on guns/ammo it'll be one that offers ballistic protection. Luckily threat level IIIA is affordable ($350-$400), but it won't do much good against a majority of rifles.
I don't know about you, but that bike helmet would be better than nothing at all. Practical bodyarmor nil? What world are you living- Oh yeah. Pretty close to Australia. As my favorite Aussie puts it: "The never ending airport terminal." I think it's kind of funny you're saying that in your own topic about armor. I don't know about how things go down over there, but here in Americaland we've got armor out the wahzoo. You name it we've got it. Riot gear (offering full coverage) to threat level IV body armor. Although from what I've heard you can at least get stab proof vests. I wouldn't feel unprotected with a few items added to protect my shins/arms/neck/head. All of it can be bought a piece at a time and will last longer than cobbled together hobo-soldier armor.
Once again I feel the need to ask what world are you living in... If that's the view you hold I can expect you to be found lying in a ditch naked with your throat cut or a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. You don't know that, you can't prove that, and so far a number of events have proven otherwise. When civilization has broken down people become vile disgusting creatures. "Goblins" so to speak. So it's fair to assume if you run into other people they're not going to join you and they're not above clawing another human to death just to stay alive a little while longer.
Art of duh my friend. Comes back to what I addressed concerning ranged weaponry. Which I'd like to add unless you've got it already and got the training to use said weaponry. It isn't going to do you a damn bit of good. By the way, you may want to seek some more information or training concerning fights against armed opponents (guns and other wise). A mortally wounded enemy can still fight and kill you before they expire. Not to mention said enemy might not be alone...
And a hood with goggles doesn't? Hood on it's own restricts your field of view and provides little protection. Helmet does the same, but it provides more than minimal protection. All comes back to what I said at the begining of this post. It protects the melon sitting on your shoulders which in turn protects your brain. Besides most people would be worried more about head wounds than splatter. I'm sure someone here can tell you how bad those are. Friend of mine had a fall broken by his thick skull while playing basket ball. Passed out, suffered a bit of memory loss (still can't remember a number of things), and now has a touch of dyslexia.
Semi-off-topic:
Good arrows/bolts and throwing weapons are finite. They can be lost or damaged (sometimes beyond repair).
I am in NZ, so the likelyhood of me being shot ever is extremely low, our police don't have firearms and there's pretty much a ban(so heavily regulated half the cost of buying the weapon is used to pay tax's on it etc...) on pistols and automatic weapons, the one thing you can own is a hunting rifle...but you need get checked like once a month have to do a psychiatric test and all other kinds of bulls!t... <- North Island
Our body armour is pretty pathetic aswell, i have no idea why but i know that most of our Riot gear is held in Wellington and Christchurch but not Auckland, <- South North island and the South Island...
we still use riot gear from about 20 years ago, and when we got them they were 2nd hand from the English police...so they're probably about equal with hobo-armour...
Our danger level compared to America's is much lower, if you do get attacked by people it'll probably come from an Islander swinging his Machete around telling you he'll 'Cut your B@!!5 and F@#% you till you bleed' (i get this atleast once a year).
I do see the value of a helmet but when facing zed i'd prefer to be able to run, in the Riot system you described the helmet would be better...but a riot situation here is very unlikely...don't ask me why i've researched this and the last riot in Auckland was in 1986...the people just don't have it in them anymore...i think it's an Iron overdose...too much meat.
If you don't wanna read the above; in New Zealand we're surrounded in bush not North American pine forest bush more like indian/asian style bush but with pine trees and more clearings. Currently people say in a crisis we'll all go bush, or stay in already under populated urban areas, also if we tried to leave the country we'd use a ship, since we are an Island alot of sea vessals are avaliable (with refridgeration for storing meat from our meat industry).
Thanks 'mighty' Sanchez for the defense of the helmet...but i still think if you were only faced with fighting zed and not people a hood/goggles would be easyier to fight in...sorry but i focus on agility and simple running/guerilla tactics (BTW i'm asian...and can run, and the whole 'if your slowing me down' (which alot of my European buddies will be doing) i have no problem ditching you...
Hood for me Helmet for you, might want to write an argument for use of armour depending on your body type
As long as aminals dun get reviveded, thinks "Black Sheep" all over again...see link;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHMyVljAP_A <- Black Sheep Movie Trailer...
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/9/9d/SpecialPoliceWong.gif
Eh... Everyone is diffrent and may work better with something else... (Said this in melee...) But anywho... I know shark mail is used for diving but your talking about something still made up of alot of metal, it's going to be heavy as hell all the time. I can understand both your arguements on helments though but, I think I'd side with Sanchez... To much s*** happens in the beggining if I wore head gear (I most likely will not... I'm deaf enough I don't need to be blind...) it would mostlikely be a biker helment. I have a trench coat and yeah I wish I could wear it (Hey bada**) but it's to much something could grab on too... I'd go with my good old jean jacket... Nice amount of protection and lots of pockets
(Even two on the inside of it 
)... I think I'd wear som pads under that though (Like some kind of dense plastic you know...) I don't have that much faith in cloth (I think you had a good Idea though for having it on hand that way for a scrat or small wound... 
I myself might forget to bring things like that on my rush to get the hell out of the city...)... Another thing though Sanchez is right about people... You never know what someone is really like till the day it comes, I personally have a few doughts about myself but I will do what's nessisary (Sorry I hate my spelling too...) to protect the ones I care for. You say you haven't had a riot sence 1986... Get ready for a wake up call... Think mass chaos if the dead ever rise from the eternal sleep. There is no F***in way everyone in your nation will stay calm and I bett when it happens your streats will have just as much blood as our own...
Thank you for reading sorry I got a little off topic but I like to add a few things everyonce and a while... Thank you again for reading...
My score is 3776, what's yous? http://ww2.zombieinitiative.org/node/2515
hmmm
metal is pretty much useless in a zombie fight, so why go with something so heavy that It slows you down?
Preferable armor is light and sin't cumbersome, so instead of rationing metal why use not ballistic foam? The Bearsuit guy used it for the trojan armor, and it withstood a shot from an elephant gun, and could rip away in an emergency! On top of that, heavier plastics (those used on whitewater kayaks) could be smoothed down to deflect a bite. (could also give a mean right hook =D)