Purpose This paper aims to investigate the performance of four different textile materials used as an outer shell of the bulletproof vest. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, four different textile materials were used, polyurethane treatment was applied as a surface coating for the woven samples. Mechanical properties were conducted for all samples; scanning electron microscope and X-ray energy disperse spectroscopy were executed to show the surface morphology of samples and the chemical composition of the coating material. Findings One-way ANOVA was used to statistically analyse the results, which proved that all variables were highly significantly affected by using different textile materials, despite the stiffness variable being not significantly affected by textile materials. An overall evaluation was done using radar chart, demonstrated that Cordura material accomplished the best functional performance, using two types of calibres 7.62 × 54 mild steel core and 7.62 × 54 armour piercing incendiary; the common mechanism was localized burn because of the incendiary effect of the projectile in addition to tearing mechanism starting from inside because of penetration effect of the steel core. Originality/value This work was addressed to analyse the impact of using four different materials on its performance as the outer shell of bulletproof vest to achieve the desired degree of protection.