Andrew Bennett is a union carpenter from Bayonne, New Jersey, who's taking time off to join the fight in Ukraine. Bennett, 45, has never served in the military or in law enforcement, and he has no direct ties to Ukraine, but says he was inspired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's retort to western leaders: "I don't need a ride. I need ammunition." To get more news about bullet proof vest, you can visit bulletproofboxs.com official website.

In his suitcase: tourniquets, suture and hemostat kits, which he'll donate to the war effort, and two plates of body armor, which he'll wear himself.

Before his flight, Bennett tried on the plates, sliding them into the front and back pockets of an adjustable vest. The rig, designed to fend off large caliber bullets from high-powered military assault rifles, weighed about ten pounds and cost him a little over $800. More than that, the purchase made him realize the enormity of what potentially lay ahead. "This is life and death," he said. "It was a step closer to the reality of what I haven't been allowing myself to confront."
Bennett bought his plates from 221B Tactical, which has a stockroom in a midtown Manhattan highrise, a few blocks east of Penn Station, that's stacked floor to ceiling with ballistic gear.

The retailer's co-owner, Brad Pedell, says the demand spiked within days of the first military strikes on Feb 24. "Big time," he told Insider, adding "it's increased lead time. You're having to wait."

Just a few weeks ago, Pedell said orders for ballistic helmets might take three to four days to arrive. Now, the wait can be two to four weeks because manufacturers are swamped . One of Pedell's sources told him he'd sold out of helmets and couldn't offer them anymore. Pedell was shocked. "That wasn't a thought a month ago," he said.

To fill the gaps in his inventory, Pedell has had to find new manufacturers. "In the last month, it's changed my daily routine," he said. He's tapping old relationships and making new ones, all across the country. "You have to be well-connected."

Body armor retailers from New York to Maine to Iowa are saying the same thing: demand is through the roof and they're racing to keep up. Manufacturers are even adding workers and, in some cases, machinery.
It's just a matter of pumping it out," said Rob Hausman, CEO of Legacy Safety and Security in Davenport, Iowa, a company that manufactures, assembles and sells defensive gear. His sales are up "about 500 percent in the past month," and Hausman says he's tripled his staff to meet demand.

For other retailers, supply chains already strained by the pandemic have become more so. "It's put a lot of stress on the market with raw material," said Eric Stanton, owner of Armor Empire in Saco, Maine.

Stanton sells armor and his business is connected to a global company that manufactures protective gear and textiles. "There's limited supply and costs have gone up due to the shortages," he said.Those looking for body armor?—a group that includes Ukrainian institutions in the US, volunteer fighters, journalists, and humanitarian workers?—are increasingly stressed by the wait times

31-year old Bogdan Oleksyshyn of New Jersey is originally from Ternopil, a small city in western Ukraine. He bought protective gear to send to family and friends back home. "They need the equipment to not be basically naked on the battlefield," he said.

Oleksyshyn, a software engineer, had no experience shopping for body armor. "Out of my context," he said. But he threw himself into the work and spent $35,000 dollars of his own money on 40 armor plates, 20 vests, and 20 helmets. He found the gear at the start of the conflict, but he's had to search harder and wider in recent days. "Everyone is looking and everything is out of stock," Oleksyshyn said.