Eli5 why aren’t ballistic masks more common in warfare?

Question

You very rarely see depictions of soldiers wearing bullet resistant face masks. I understand that these only protect from small caliber weapons but wouldn’t you take all the protection you could get?

In: 154

Answer 1

The main problem problem with protection mobility. It weighs a lot, can be stiff, and makes it harder to around, If the armor results in you moving a lot slower over an exposed area ot that you get tired a lot faster it can have a net negative effect.

If it is around your face it can limit your ability to observe your surroundings, it can also block your ability to hear stuff

If you completely block your face it will be a lot harder to breathe, it no a problem if you just walk but if you have to run to get away you quit out of breath.

It can also be a thermal problem. They block air circulation so it can get very hot when it is warm outside. Even when it is colder it can trap heat and make you sweat, wet clothes in cold climates is a good way to get cold when you stop moving.

So you do not what protection you can get. You could make protection of quite thick metal plates that none of the common arms soldiers carry than penetrate but then you can barely move around. You can’t make it protect you from heavy weapons. So what you wear is a compromise between protection, weight, and other drawbacks.

A ballistic face mask can protect against pistol-level threats, but it will not stop a bullet from a rifle. The amount of pistols used on a battlefield is minimal. What it could protect again is a fragment from explosive weapons. They are not common because the drawbacks are worse than the advantages

The main thing to protect your face is your eyes, they are very sensitive and you need to have them working. For these reason ballistic grasses are very common, they will not stop a bullet or larger fragment but small fragments too. They also stop material a projectile that misses you can throw ut like digt from the ground, pieces of wood, rock, etc. Something that you might not notice if it hits the skin can make your eye unusable.