Are there bulletproof umbrellas or bullet-resistant umbrellas?
Now and then we get asked if our Unbreakable® Umbrella is bulletproof and/or stabproof and whether we can make its canopy out of a bulletproof fabric, such as Kevlar® or Spectra Shield®. Keeping in mind that the Unbreakable® Umbrella weighs under 2 lb, the question “Is it bulletproof?” shows ignorance of the way the so-called “bulletproof” fabrics work. I say, “so-called bulletproof” because those fabrics are not really bulletproof, merely bullet-resistant, provided there are enough layers of them. For example, to stop a 9×19 mm pistol bullet, it takes about 15 layers, or at least a 0.20-inch (about 5 mm) thickness of Kevlar®. This will give you an idea how heavy and expensive a Kevlar®-covered umbrella would be: Kevlar®-covered ParaPactum® umbrella made in 2011 for bodyguards of French president Nicolas Sarkozy weighed 2.2 kg (4.8 lb) and cost about $17,000.00 apiece — and it did not stop bullets.
According to the British newspaper Daily Mail (31 March 2011), a source at the elite RAID police unit, which tested the ParaPactum® umbrella, said:
“This umbrella will keep him pretty safe. It won’t stop bullets, but it will reduce their impact considerably.”
Sarkozy’s umbrella could work well as a protection from objects thrown at him from high-rise housing projects, and as a barrier between a pressing crowd or an attacker unarmed or armed with a short blade. It could not shield from stabs with pointed blades such as a dagger or a thin sword. BTW, see Self-Defense Tip #104 — Cut-Resistant Fabrics and Knife Attacks.
But the maker of ParaPactum® umbrellas didn’t settle at that level of performance. As new materials became available, in 2024 a bulletproof version of ParaPactum® umbrella was released, weighing 3.4 kg (7.48 lb). It is able to stop pistol bullets up to caliber .40 S&W (resistance level IIA), but don’t try it against the 5.7mm x 28mm pistol ammo with its level IIIA body armor-piercing capabilities, or against magnum calibers.
Currently, the non-bulletproof version, weighing 2.23 kg (4.9 lb), costs about 10,000.00 Euro. To learn the price of the bulletproof version, inquire at parapactum.com or at semper-invicta.fr.
Below are videos of the original ParaPactum® of 2011, and further below, videos of the current, bulletproof version.
ParaPactum® of 2011
ParaPactum® of 2024
Self-defense tip from Thomas Kurz, co-author of Basic Instincts of Self-Defense and author of Science of Sports Training, Stretching Scientifically, and Flexibility Express.
Self-Defense Moves
To learn how your natural reactions can instantly defeat any unarmed attack, see the video Basic Instincts of Self-Defense.
Defend Against Weapons
To learn how the typical street weapons (club, knife, razor) are used by an experienced streetfighter and how to practice with them, see the video Self-Defense: Tools of Attack — Club, Hatchet, Blackjack, Knife, Straight Razor.
Mental Toughness
To learn mental techniques that let you calmly face any threat and act rationally in the heat of a fight, click here.
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I understand that making a normal-looking umbrella bulletproof or stabproof is a fantasy, but how about slashproof?
After looking for a strong umbrella I came across your website and looked at your telescopic unbreakable umbrella.
I immediately wondered if you guys have ever thought of strengthening the canopy with a Dyneema like material.
Dyneema is a dutch product and is used in sails, slash proof gloves and armor worn by law enforcement agencies and the military.
Have you heard of this material? I would love to see this incorporated in the umbrella design.
I can imagine someone opening the umbrella as a last resort when confronted by an assailant armed with a knife.
Thank you for your suggestion. We were considering using a cut-resistant fabric for canopies of our Unbreakable® Telescopic Umbrellas and our Unbreakable® Walking-Stick Umbrellas but any that offered adequate cut resistance were too heavy (areal density in g/m2) to work with a skeleton of a normal-looking umbrella. Further, such fabrics lose their cut-resistant properties when exposed to sunlight or moisture.
Cut-tex Pro would be an acceptable slash proof canopy material and should be considered. Also, I have some ideas for bullet resistance I’d like to share.
Cut-Tex® PRO has areal density of 447gsm (grams per square meter), which is from six to eight time heavier than normal umbrella fabric. It is too heavy to work with a skeleton of a normal-looking umbrella.
But how about graphene? It’s more reliable and not as heavy as other materials listed above. Only problem is that it’s expensive.
You can forget graphene. To see why view How To Make A Bulletproof Vest Out Of Graphene at https://youtu.be/PcLd4h095DQ
Wow – great evaluation and information considering the question of a bullet resistant protective canopy for your unbreakable umbrellas at present – which are great as they are currently and I have two of them, one for my wife and one for myself.
Guess we just need to wait for the technology to catch up with the practical improvements and cost effective solutions we would like to see.
I am a great fan of science fiction, much of which we have seen become ‘science fact’ in just our lifetimes.
Thank for developing such great a great personal protection product that can be carried almost anywhere without causing alarm in others in the process.
Your thoughts and insight would be welcome regarding using umbrellas to protect from paintball, pepper ball and the various “non lethal” rounds being deployed against protesters in HK and the US.
Fabric canopies of any umbrellas slow down the “non-lethal” projectiles. Canopy fabric with anti-UV coating, like the one Unbreakable® Umbrellas are covered in, being thicker does a better job at it.
BTW, while the “outdoor” protests made important accomplishments, they can be and are hijacked by police provocateurs and their tools, i.e., looters. So there has to be a better way of raising public contempt and disgust for sadistic police forces.
I read the defense ideas with great amusement, perhaps one day a material suitable will become available, meanwhile, do not dismiss the self defense advantages of an unbreakable umbrella, it can provide a barrier between an assailant and yourself and deflect an attack of pepper spray if deployed in time.
Have you not read about the non-Newtonian soaked kevlar fabrics? The ones I’m aware of use a kevlar fabric impregnated with a suspension of silica nanoparticles which act as a non-Newtonian fluid, becoming solid under pressure waves. https://www.sciencealert.com/liquid-armour-is-now-a-thing-and-it-stops-bullets-better-than-kevlar
The article you quote tells about a “shear-thickening fluid,” or STF, created by the Moratex Institute of Security Technologies. Even though the STF was presented in 2015, the Moratex Institute does not show any info on applications of the STF in bullet-proof fabrics. See yourself their page on implementations of their research for ballistic protection (Ochrony balistyczne). None of the shown examples are covered in fabric light enough to make umbrella canopies out of. Or look at this video, titled Liquid body armour proves to be bullet proof: https://youtu.be/L5Ts9lYZIDk
I know this Sarkozy’s ParaPactum umbrella. It is not armored and its canopy is not made of Kevlar. Moreover, you have to be strong to open it because the ribs of this umbrella are reinforced. Nevertheless, it is good for protecting yourself from stone throwing or cans of all kinds and of course to hide from the sight of the paparazzi.