VANSON BODY ARMOR - Installation and Adjustment

The armor is attached to the suit with hook and loop Velcro fastenings and is positioned between the suit's outer leather shell and the lining. Access to this area is through a zippered opening in the lining of the jackets and suits. On pants there is an opening at the fly area of the lining.

The positioning of your armor can drastically change the fit of your garment, so follow the steps below and then readjust until you are comfortable in your garment.

To help in the break-in procedure, bend the armor parts at their hinging points multiple times before insertion.

KNEES:

Insert knee armor through access in lining and push it down the leg between the leather and the lining. Position knee armor with knee cap of armor aligning with the horizontal knee seam in the leathers. Press armor against inside of the leathers, "molding" the leather tightly to the armor shape. Make sure the hook and loop fastenings are securely attached.

SHOULDERS:

Insert and push armor up to the shoulder area between the leather and the lining. Position shoulder armor with center of armor aligning with shoulder/sleeve seam. Press armor against the inside of the leathers, making sure the hook and loop are securely attached. The armor should fully fill out the leather shell with no folds or loose leather. GP shoulder armor is made with a Left and a Right. Look for notches in the front edge of the foam pad.

ELBOW/FOREARM:

Insert and push the elbow/forearm armor up into the sleeve between the leather and lining. Push it down the sleeve, aligning it so elbow cup is at the apex of the inner elbow curve. You can find this point by putting the suit on and bending the arms tightly to slightly "crease" the inner leather. If your suit has a Powerstretch inner cutout – use this as a guide and place the elbow cup opposite this cutout. Press the armor against the leathers, "molding" leathers tightly to the armor shape. Make sure there are no folds, or loose leather in the outer leather shell and that the armor fully fills out the sleeve shape. Make sure the hook and loop fastenings securely attach to each other.

HIPS:

Insert the hip pad through the access in lining and push it down to the hip area between the leather and the lining. You will find Velcro attachment strips along the side seam. Make sure the hip pad is "open" and not folded up. Check that the hook and loop fastenings are securely attached.

BACK PAD:

Carefully "thread" the back pad through the opening in the lining with the pointed end of the back pad pointing down and the plastic panels facing the leather shell of the back of the garment. You will find Velcro hangers near the shoulders and neckline. If your suit has not had a back pad installed before you will find the empty hangers have a Velcro cover attached to the hook – this is to protect the lining from being "grabbed" by the Velcro. Use the "fuzzy" material of the back pad to attach the Velcro hanger(s) and the center back velcro stabilizing square sewn to the lining. Velcro attachment is meant to be on the inside – lining facing – side of the back pad. Back pad is meant to be suspended freely between the outer shell and the lining. Proper position of the back pad is 2" to 3" below the neck. Center the back pad in the garment, and "mold" the outer shell smoothly to the back pad. Note: to fit some back pads into some garments you may have to cut some of the exposed foam pad away – particularly at the pointed end – to fit as many hard plastic pads as possible into your garment.