Very happy with the service from Sean given my recent experience here. I don't work in a security field but my job puts me at risk plus I like to go to the ranges, shoot and hunt as well as enjoying a thoroughly physical lifestyle. I sustained a significant back injury in one of these activities from a nasty fall and a close friend of mine who had shopped here before recommended I come here to learn my options and make an acquisition.
If you ever wanted to make the jump and felt like some body armor would be nice to have in your life at a certain point but aren't sure where to start, BAO is the perfect place to begin.
Body armor is a relatively new thing in its availability to the general public in terms of price and reach. It's not that complicated but you have to do things a certain way otherwise what you buy is uncomfortable, too heavy, fits poorly or can even fail to work all while costing you an enormous pretty penny. You can certainly look and buy on line to dress yourself to look like some mech-warrior android thing for not a lot of money and the setup will be so heavy you will hardly be able to leave the house, not to mention looking ridiculous and attracting trouble.
With so much presence and ability to buy on the internet along with the attractive pricing one might wonder if it's worth visiting such a store: *ABSOLUTELY*. If you don't know what you're doing there's so much you can do wrong, including fitting or learning the care and maintenance that it's better to talk to the experts here that know what they are talking about. The pricing is more or less in line with what you find on the internet, some things a little more, some things a little less, but then there is the occasional sale as well. In short you won't save anything by buying online but you do so by going out on a limb, if you live in New England you might as well come here so their guidance will avoid heartache, aggravations and save you time as well as money.
Thanks to Sean's excellent advice I was able to purchase items that offered the protection I sought, were comfortable, ergonomic *and* concealable; in order to work the system really has to offer all three. Some things are more expensive than others, obviously if you want a really nicely fitting vest you need to pay more but their Coalition Tactical vests start around $100 dollars, are actually easier to put on well as put on and make for a nice first jump. Essentially their economy, base model product these vests are reconditioned police models so they dry them out, fix them a little, add some extra Kevlar so they will be a bit thicker but still work nicely. They offer more than basic handgun protection and can be upgraded with thin plates and for a few dollars more you can get a slightly thicker iiia vest for more protection.
Obviously beyond that things can get rapidly more expensive as with any objects to acquire the sky is the limit but if you're not part of an agency and aren't sure where to begin that's why you want to show up looking for Sean to guide you. In fact, instead of taking advantage of my lack of knowledge in the subject to sell me a bunch of crap I did not need, his advice ended up having me buy *less* than what I thought I needed, saving me money as well in more than one instance. Being a trained paramedic he is familiar with human anatomy and the mechanics of injury as well as trauma which is a nice adjunct making him a highly qualified purveyor of safety equipment, he's seen it all from gunshot wounds to falls and auto racing, motorcycle, boating or small craft accidents.
I wanted to add a word about the long shipping times for the little guy coming in to buy stuff for personal protection: most of the distributors and manufacturers contract with military or government agencies in large quantities. The small individual buyer of armor is left with having to acquire armor in between the fulfilment of these large contracts and is not a top priority; this is *NOT*, repeat, *NOT* Body Armor Outfitter's fault. The problem lies with the whole sale market and distribution, not the brick and mortar retailer. They do what they can but if AR 500 or Point Blank or whatever manufacturer has to fulfil a large order, BAO can email them and call them until the cows come home and it won't do you any good, so don't get mad if it takes 3 months to ship like it did to me. It's the nature of the beast and if anything, thanks to stores like BAO the little guy like you can finally get their share of the protection they want, need and deserve. If you're really set on walking out with some protection just ask Sean for a Coalition Tactical vest so you can walk home with something, it's not that pricey as already mentioned it's pretty good to start and that way you will appreciate your upmarket armor so much more when it arrives.
In conclusion, I am very happy with my purchase and service here, if you're thinking about it, take a visit and ask for Sean. read more
