One question about Israeli combat vests

[renesch93]

There are different vests available. Who decides which soldier gets which type? Are soldiers free to choose or do they buy/are they allowed to buy the vests themselves?

[yotman]

During basic and advance training you use the vest that the unit supplied to you depends your class (medic, gunner granadier etc.). When you finish training you can buy a vest, but nowdays most units make their own vests, which are called 'AMLACHIYA' , like the one you can see on the left guy from the second picture.

[Trenk]

you guys wear ballistic plates inside your vests, or just antishrapnel inserts? I mean during training and during war operations.

[GiladS]

you guys wear ballistic plates inside your vests, or just antishrapnel inserts? I mean during training and during war operations.

During operational activity most IDF infantry uses Hashmonai body armor vests (ballistic plates) over which the combat vest is worn.

Some have specially made workshop vests that are tailor made within the unit, as Yotman mentioned, and provide the possibility of a having ballistic plates being placed inside.

[gilgoul]

The spreading of the vest comes from the time when ceramic body armour have started to be widespread, simply because the older ephod doesn't fit right over those, and the body armour aren't systematically distributed on a soldier base but on assignement base.
Otherwise, it would have been cheaper and probably better to get a modular system a la MOLLE.
but without body armour, the good old ephod is far superior for most roles, since it distributes the weight carried on the hips and not on the shoulder, it ain't as hot, and with minor modifications, is really comfortable.

[Trenk]

So you actually use ephod without body armor these days for some tasks? Maybe some recon battalion use them to increase speed and silence even for sacrifice of ballistic plates?

[yotman]

Don't know about recon battalions, but we use ceramic vests for all of our tasks.