Are female soldiers satisfied with the fit and function of body armour?

Effect of Torso and Breast Characteristics on the Perceived Fit of Body Armour Systems Among Female Soldiers: Implications for Body Armour Sizing and Design

“…The fit of body armour also has important implications for job and combat performance. That is, poor-fitting body armour can impede a soldier's ability to run efficiently, to shoulder and fire a rifle, to manoeuvre in and out of a vehicle and to complete other mission essential tasks (Mitchell et al, 2010;Choi et al, 2016Choi et al, , 2018Coltman et al, 2020Coltman et al, , 2021a. Consequently, designing and sizing body armour to properly fit all soldiers is vitally important for military organisations to achieve correctly.…”

“…These integration issues are amplified if the body armour system is ill-fitting. Soldiers wear body armour during operational deployment and training or field-based exercises for 5.2–6.4 ± 4.7 h per day (Coltman et al, 2020 ). It is therefore vital that a body armour system (comprising front and rear hard and soft ballistic plates encased in a carrier) interfaces appropriately with a soldier's torso (i.e., fits correctly) and integrates well with other elements of a soldier's combat ensemble (Furnell et al, 2017 ).…”

“…Previous research has revealed that most female soldiers are dissatisfied with the fit of their current body armour systems (Epstein et al, 2013 ; Toma et al, 2016 ; Coltman et al, 2020 , 2021a ; Davis et al, 2020 ). Specifically, questionnaire data related to the fit of body armour was completed by 147 female Australian Defence Force (ADF) soldiers in both combat and non-combat roles.…”

“…Specifically, questionnaire data related to the fit of body armour was completed by 147 female Australian Defence Force (ADF) soldiers in both combat and non-combat roles. Of the women surveyed, 68, 56, and 12%, respectively, found the body armour to be ill-fitting, too large, and too small (Coltman et al, 2020 ). Similarly, researchers investigating the fit and function of body armour in the United Kingdom found that female soldiers reported numerous instances of discomfort, particularly at the hip (Davis et al, 2020 ).…”

“…A primary source of poor body armour fit for female soldiers is how it is sized and designed (Epstein et al, 2013 ; Toma et al, 2016 ; Coltman et al, 2020 , 2021a ; Malbon et al, 2020 ). Although several anthropometric surveys have been conducted on global soldier populations to inform the design and sizing of protective equipment, military body armour is commonly issued to soldiers in a limited, unisex sizing range (Todd, 2007 ).…”