[Blackwater OPS]

If you only plan to use the vest for airsoft it won't matter, but if you think there is a chance you will need to use it to stop a round don't chance an older vest. It could have been exposed to extreme heat or otherwise stored improperly thus rendering it ineffective at stopping a round, which you will never know untill it is too late. Also as far as those old Nam era jackets go, two things. One, any vest is likely to stop anything if you have it from a clothesline and fire at it, the flack jackets will stop a .45. Its not an effective test because the vest can swing back, likewise if you wrap a top quality brand new lvl II vest around a tree and fire sub-sonic 9mm rounds at it they will penetrate. Does not mean the vest will not be effective. Two, on the other hand, I have heard that those robbers in the infamous North hollywood shootout/bank robbery were among other BA wearing cut up sections of those surplus jackets taped together and they stopped 9mm. Bottom line, use only the best if your life will depend on it.