Field of the Invention
The invention relates to face armor for use during law enforcement training and sporting activities, and in particular to face armor for use while training for line-of-sight armed combat or while participating in competitions using non-lethal training ammunition, the face armor including a face guard having closable side slits which accommodate the chin strap of a helmet.
Description of Related Art
Live person-to-person competition using line-of-sight firearms is uniquely effective at training for law enforcement or military operations. Non-lethal training ammunition (NLTA) is frequently used during such training to approximate real life situations as closely as possible. Similarly, paint capsules (“paintballs”) are fired during sporting, security, law enforcement and military training activities to mark other participants to indicate a hit. Since both NLTAs and paintballs are fired at substantial velocity against participants, this presents a risk of physical injury, particularly to sensitive areas around the face and neck.
Special protective equipment is usually required during training or sporting activities which use NLTAs or paintballs. An important component of such protective equipment is head armor designed to prevent projectiles from impacting sensitive areas of the face, head and neck. Head armor can include face armor, such as protective goggles and face guards, a helmet, and possibly a neck guard. However, face armor typical in the prior art can be bulky, may not be comfortable to use together with helmets of different sizes and shapes, and may interfere with proper sighting of shoulder weapons.