Guide to NIJ Levels for Ballistic, Stab and Spike Ratings

Information

All bullet or stab and spike restistant vests are tested to different levels, and suite different uses and purposes. When choosing a vest one can presume that a higher rating vest will be slightly less flexible and slightly heavier than a lower level alternative. Below are the tables issued by the NIJ (National Institute of Justice) containing the designated levels, and the rounds and velocities they will stop.

The standard might update slightly from time to time, but the changes will be minor and will not effect 99.9% of people. And it is probably worth mentioning that if these levels do indeed change are update, the vest that passed the old standard would more than likely pass any small changes. When a vest is certified to a certain level, this might not be the maximum level the vest will stop, but just the level of test it has been subjected to, however it would ~NOT be wise to purchase a lower level vest then needed on the hope it will perform higher. With all this said, it would be worth noting that every vest can be defeated, no vest is truly bullet proof, and any vest will always be able to be penetrated by a higher, more powerful calibre weapon.

If you need any help deciding which vest to choose please see our gudie to choose a vest (also contains information on sizing).

Threat Level	Round	Barrel Length (inches)	Velocity
Threat Level	Round	Barrel Length (inches)	Ft/sec	M/sec
IIA	All .22 LR, .25, .32, .380, .38 & .40 S&W .22Mag. 40gr Speer FMJ 9mm 115gr JHP Rem, Hornady, Federal 9mm 115gr Cor-Bon JHP 9mm 115gr STHP Winchester 9mm 124gr FMJ Rem 9mm 124gr IMI Black Tip 9mm 124grW-W Nato FMJ+P 9mm 124gr JHP Federal Hydra-Shok HP 9mm 124gr LHP Federal Nyclad 9mm 147gr JHP Win Black Talon & Reg. 9mm 147gr JHP Federal Hydra-Shok 9mm+P+ 127gr Win SXT 9mm+P+ 115gr JHP .357Mag 180gr Cor-Bon .357Mag 158gr SJSP Remington .357Mag 158gr Norma FMJ & SWC .357Mag 125gr CCI-Speer SJHP .357Mag 125gr Win JHP .357Mag 110gr JHP R-P Win .357Mag 158gr SJHP Win .357Mag 125gr Cor-Bon .357Sig 125gr JFP .357Sig 115gr JHP .357Sig 125gr JHP .40 S&W 180gr JHP All Major Brands .40 135 to 200gr All Known Brands 10mm 200gr Norma 10mm 200gr JHP Win Black Talon 10mm 135 to 200gr All Known Brands .45ACP 190gr JHP Super Vel .45ACP 230gr JHP Win Black Talon & Reg .44Mag 250gr Win Black Talon .44Mag 180gr JHP Federal .44Mag 240gr W-W "gas check" Shotgun Pellets #12 - 000Buck	4 4 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 6 4 6 4 6 6 6 5 4 5 6 5 5 5 5 5 16 16 6 4 4 24	1300 1155 1300 1225 1090 1200 1200 1120 1120 950 1050 1300 1250 1290 1250 1300 1450 1550 1450 1300 1350 1400 1350 1475 1100 1000 1050 1175 990 1200 900 1325 1475 1300 1200	397 397 397 374 332 366 366 342 342 290 320 397 381 393 381 397 442 473 442 397 412 427 412 450 336 305 320 358 366 275 259 404 450 397 366
II	.22Mag .40gr FMJ 9mm 124gr FMJ Remington 9mm 116gr Norma NATO FMJ 9mm 124gr FMJ (steel) GECO 9mm 115gr FMJ Fiocchi 9mm 115gr FMJ (steel) Sellier & Bellot 9mm 124gr FMJ (Norinco) .357Mag 158gr SJSP Remington .357Mag 125gr Speer JHP .44Mag 240gr SWC GC Remington .44Mag 240gr JHP W-W .45 230gr FMJ Winchester Magnum .50 325gr Action Express 7.62X25 85gr Tokorev VSP FMJ 12ga R-P 1oz .52 Sabot Slug 12ga 3" Mag Win 1oz .50 cal Sabot Slug	24 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 6 24 5 24	1800 1175 1150 1110 1210 1140 1140 1395 1550 1400 1350 1400 1425 1250 1250 1400	549 358 351 339 369 348 348 425 473 427 412 427 435 381 381 427
IIIA	9mm 124gr FMJ Remington 9mm 116gr FMJ Norma 9mm 123gr FMJ GECO 9mm 123gr FMJ Lapua .44Mag 240gr SWC GC Remington .44Mag 180gr Fed JHP .50 325gr Action Express 12ga R-P 1oz .52 Sabot Slug 12ga 3" Mag Win 1oz .50 cal Sabot Slug	16 16 16 16 6 6 6 5 24	1400 1350 1300 1350 1400 1600 1450 1350 1500	427 412 397 412 427 488 442 381 427
III	7.62 NATO Ball 150 Grain FMJ (308) 30.06 PSP 180 Grain .30 Carbine 110 Grain FMF 12 Gauge Rifled Slug .223 55 Grain FMJ (5.56 MM) 7.62 x 39 150 Grain FMJ	28 24 18 18 20 22	2750 2700 1950 1550 3075 2400

Spike/Stab Protection Levels	E1 Strike Energy		E2 Overtest Strike Energy
Spike/Stab Protection Levels	J	ft. lbf	J	ft. lbf
1	24+/- 0.50	17.7 +/-0.36	36+/- 0.60	26.6 +/- 0.44
2	33+/- 0.60	24.3+/-0.44	50+/- 0.70	36.9 +/- 0.51
3	43+/- 0.60	31.7+/-0.44	65+/- 0.80	47.9 +/- 0.59

Bullet Abbreviations
The following standard abbreviations are used to designate types of bullets or projectiles contained in the rounds tested.

FMC/J

FMJTC

HSP

LRB

LRN

LSWC

Full Metal Case/ Full metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket Truncated Cone

Hollow Soft Point

Lead Round Ball

Lead Round Nose

Lead Semi-Wadcutter