A Kevlar Vest.
A Kevlar Vest, also called Kevlar Armor, is one of the most important pieces of Gear that Max can carry during Combat. While worn, it increases the number of Wounds Max can suffer before falling unconscious and being Captured by his foes.
Kevlar Armor is always worn on any non-Break-In combat, and can be manually selected for Break-Ins as well.
Description[]
A Kevlar Vest is a large padded piece of armor worn on the chest, made of thick layers of a strong material that can resist bullet impact. It is one of the 11 pieces of Gear that Max can take with him into Combat situations.
While it is worn, the Kevlar Vest increases Max's durability to damage. It allows Max to take 3 Wounds during a single Combat scenario without falling unconscious. The fourth Wound will knock Max out.
Without the Vest, Max can only suffer 1 Wound without being knocked out (the 2nd Wound will knock Max out).
Gear Selection[]
A Kevlar Vest on the shelf, as it appears in the Gear Selection menu.
Like any other piece of Gear, a Kevlar Vest can be brought along for a Break-In by selecting it in the Gear Selection menu.
The Vest counts as taking up 1 Gear Slot, out of the total 5, like any other piece of equipment. If Max is already carrying 5 pieces of Gear but not the Kevlar Vest, it can only be selected if at least one piece of Gear is de-selected first.
Once the Break-In starts, if Max is not wearing a Kevlar Vest one may randomly be found in a Floor Safe, assuming one exists in the Hideout you broke into. There is no guarantee that any Floor Safe will yield a Vest. If Max is already carrying a vest, he cannot lose it during a Break-In.
Non-Break-In Combat[]
Other than Break-Ins, where the Kevlar Vest has to be manually added to Max's Gear (see above), the vest will automatically be given to Max for every instance of the Combat Mini-Game.
Surprisingly, you will also be given a Kevlar Vest on any Escape attempt - even if Max was not wearing one when he was Captured!
Usage[]
While the Kevlar Vest is in Max's inventory, it is constantly "active" and does not require any manual activation. You can simply take more Wounds without passing out.
Note that the Kevlar Vest does not protect against Gas.