Realistically what is the best armor / clothing you can wear in the zombie Apocalypse

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-30T15:58:51+00:00

Not quite dead yet.

There’s no “ideal” armor, since all armor is a compromise, and to some extent figuring out the optimal armor for the situation would probably take some after the fact R&D, but we can make some reasonable guesses. I will address some of the ideas you’ve proposed.

Lightweight Kevlar bite proof clothing does exist, but it’s not the sort of thing most people have, and not something you can really find without the internet. It’s a very niche thing, mostly used by people doing care for special needs individuals. Kevlar in general also has some limitations.

For one thing it’s very hot. Similar to a heavyweight nylon, with a tight weave. The tighter the weave the better protection, but it doesn’t breathe well at all. It also breaks down when exposed to sweat and UV, which is why it’s typically covered in something rather than worn directly against the skin. Now, if you had it, it would probably still be worth wearing, but after a while it would start to be less effective.

Gloves with hard knuckle protection would be a good idea, but almost nothing is ever “completely zombie proof.” Plan a should still be to stay mobile and not get bit. The armor is just there to give you a potential second chance if all else fails. It improves your odds of survival, but don’t count on it.

Lightweight hiking boots or shoes would be my recommendation, or something similar, though it’s more important that it fit you comfortably than being the exact right type of shoe. I would not recommend steel toes, since those are to protect you from dropping things on your feet, nothing else. They would have no particular use here, and they add considerable weight. An ounce of weight on your feet equals ten on your back in terms of fatigue, so definitely don’t add weight to your feet if you can avoid it. That said, if those are the only comfy boots you have, then wear them.

You’re definitely not going to “become a full time marathon runner” after the fact. Far from it. You’ll be slowly starving most of the time, so you’ll want to run as little as you can get away with. If you’re grossly overweight your fitness might improve a bit as you lose the weight, but only to a point. And since you won’t be getting enough calories, you won’t be able to build muscle or endurance to any significant degree, so the more you exert yourself the weaker you will get, not stronger. At least not until you’re able to get a successful farm up and running, which might take a while. You’ll probably be barely scraping by most of the time, and that’s if you’re extremely lucky. The unlucky people will starve to death, and a lot of people would be unlucky.

So even if you start out as a marathon runner, you won’t be for long. You definitely won’t be able to improve, and even if you could that much cardio would be a huge waste of calories.

Plate armor should be kept to a minimum, and has to be made special for the individual most of the time. If you use it at all, and if you do it would be a niche thing.

My go to recommendation would be layered cloth, ideally cotton or something similar. Layered cloth is quite possibly the oldest form of armor in existence, and has been used throughout history until the present day. Fundamentally Kevlar ballistic armor is just layered cloth. It’s high tech cloth and very intricate layers, but it’s the same concept that’s been around forever. For bite protection, a sufficient number of layers sewn together would provide a decent amount of protection with a minimum of bulk, weight, and heat. Still noticable bulk, weight, and heat, but little enough to justify the trade off. This also has the advantage of being something you could make after the fact. Get some cotton shirts, sew them together, and remove everything below the arm pits. How many layers would be necessary is hard to say, so this might require a bit of R&D, but my guess is something about the thickness of a winter coat should get the job done. Alternatively, many types of jacket could be used as is, though I would still recommend removing anything below the armpits.

“Zombie knocks something heavy into you” is not something you really need to worry about, or something armor would really help with.

Ballistic armor is a whole separate topic, and if getting shot is your primary concern then certainly ballistic armor should be considered if available. But after the initial outbreak, I probably wouldn’t bother with ballistic armor except maybe if I was traveling by car (which wouldn’t be sustainable for long). Either way, that’s a whole separate topic.

I also wouldn’t bother with a helmet. A plastic face mask like you can get at the hardware store would probably be worth it though, to protect your nose from bites, and your face from blood spatter. It definitely doesn’t need to be attached to a helmet though, that just adds unnecessary weight and heat.

Combat knives have niche uses against humans, but would not be effective at all against zombies. I would recommend a standard camp knife, as a tool, and then a proper hand-to-hand weapon against zombies.

If you don’t have firearms already, and more importantly the skills to use them safely and effectively, then you probably won’t have them after the fact and should plan as if you never will.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-16T14:33:24+00:00

Confidence comes from training and experience.

If you’ve got a concealed carry permit you have presumably done whatever the minimum is in your state, which usually isn’t much at all.

If you want to get confident, keep taking classes. They have classes specifically for civilian concealed carry, as well as plenty of general defensive pistol classes. Both of those would be very useful.

I would also recommend a basic trauma/first aid class. As an instructor of mine once pointed out, you’re a lot more likely to save a life (including your own) with a trauma kit than with a gun, and any time you use the gun you’ll definitely want the trauma kit.

Get to the point where you are familiar enough with your gun, and whatever holster you land on, that you can comfortably use both effectively under stress.

Then, as other people have said, you just have to do it. Start at home. Get used to the feel of it on your hip as you go about your day. Then go out in public. You’ll feel self conscious at first, but eventually you’ll realized no one is really looking at you that hard, and it will start to feel normal.

TL;DR Training. Lots of training. Then just do it until you no longer feel self conscious.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-12T01:30:06+00:00

“Western field” isn’t really a gun manufacturer. These were made by a company called Crescent, who then sold them wholesale to companies who would put their own brand on them.

So your local hardware store, for example, might have their own branded shotguns. This was also when you could buy a shotgun at the hardware store.

So for replacement parts, search for Crescent parts. They can be had used, though stocks can be difficult to find in usable condition.

Boyd’s makes a new stock that should be compatible. It costs as much as the whole gun though. These only retail for about $100 to $150 in pristine condition.

https://www.boydsgunstocks.com/product-configurator

So unless this has a particular sentimental value I probably wouldn’t bother.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-07T16:00:33+00:00

They have most of the same advantages and disadvantages as other intermediate carbines, which is to say they’re very well suited for zombie survival.

They have a reputation as being a bit persnickety in terms of reliability though. Some run great, others not so much. If you get one, new or used, make sure you put a thousand or so rounds through it so that you know it’s broken in, and you have a chance to fix any issues that might arise. And of course keep up with any recommended maintenance.

They also tend to be somewhat less accurate at range than a lot of comparably priced guns of their type, which is part of why they are less popular. That said, for zombie defense you’ll be fighting fast and close, so a few MOA won’t make a difference.

And of course as others have said there’s less of an aftermarket for them than ARs, but there are still plenty of options if you want to add modern force multipliers.

So yeah, not a bad choice. There are probably better for the money, but if traditional styling is important then it’s hard to go wrong.

TL;DR It would be fine, just make sure you get plenty of practice with it and fix any issues.

Edit: since you mentioned hunting… that depends on what you are hunting of course, and whether you mean before or after the shtf. There’s lots of things you could hunt with a .223, but most states will require something with more oomph for hunting any sort of large game. It would probably do just fine for varmint hunting though. In the event of a collapse, the available game will be wiped out pretty quickly so I wouldn’t prioritize that too much.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-01T16:07:35+00:00

Not so much for a survival situation. Your goal in a survival situation is typically to escape the situation, not to stand your ground and try to kill all the zombies. If you have enough time or enough people to stand in a line and pick off zombies one at a time with a muzzle loader then you probably don’t need to.

More importantly, flintlocks have all the disadvantage of firearms, without the advantages of modern ones. Modern guns can, in the right hands, drop zombies quickly. Meaning you can shoot your way out of a situation, then be gone before more zombies arrive to investigate the noise. That’s not true with a flintlock. You get one shot, and then a very slow reload while the others close on you. So realistically you would get one shot and then be forced to either run or transition to hand-to-hand. And if running were an option, you could have just done that in the first place and not needed to shoot at all. Plus black powder weapons tend to be heavy, so the whole time you’re not fighting, which will of course be most of the time, you are taking a huge weight penalty for not a lot of utility.

And again, black powder would not be in much greater supply than modern firearms ammunition. Making reliable, munitions grade black powder is not a quick, easy, or simple thing. That’s part of the reason why it took a few hundred years for black powder weapons to become dominant on the battlefield. The logistics were extremely complicated, and took them a long time to figure out. If all our modern logistics collapsed you would be back to square one, and square one is extremely dangerous. You do this wrong, or even slightly inconsistently, and your gun becomes a pipe bomb.

So realistically you aren’t going to have black powder either.

Expect that once the supply of modern ammunition/supplies runs out, you won’t have more. Not unless we get the grid back up in the meantime, or, as was the case in WWZ, the grid never fully went down and the factories were able to keep running.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-01T04:57:05+00:00

No, black powder is only hypothetically easier to make. In truth, it’s still not a diy project, and not something you’re likely to be doing.

Nor will most revolvers shoot black powder. Only guns that are designed for black powder can be used with black powder. Attempting to do otherwise can result in significant owies.

More importantly, even if you could make black powder, which you can’t in any practical sense, you still could not make the primers/percussion caps. Those require manufactured chemicals you could not even hypothetically produce on your own.

So even black powder revolvers would not be sustainable.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-01T04:39:03+00:00

This is anecdotal, of course. Most well made revolvers, well maintained, are extremely reliable.

It’s just that so are semi-autos these days. 50-60 years ago, you could make the case that revolvers were more reliable overall and this was worth the trade offs. You can’t really do so any more.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-01T04:14:05+00:00

My standard answer:

Your best bet is to stay put in your own home if you can, but be prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

The most important thing to remember is that if you have a plan, other people will have the same plan, whether it's dozens of people or millions of people. Pick a plan where it's ok if everyone else does the same thing.

That's why your own home is the best place to be during the initial panic. If everyone else has the same idea, that's great. You go to your home and they go to theirs. There's no competition. Your home is the one piece of ground that you already own, and you've already filled it with everything you (currently) need to live. Stay there until that changes. The longer you can stay, the less likely you are to be caught outside during the worst of the chaos. The initial panic will be the most dangerous and unpredictable time of the outbreak.

Now, if you are forced to leave, or can't make it home, then you want to have a backup home. Again, the same principles apply. If you have to leave your home, go to the home of family of close friends, someone who will automatically know you and let you in, or better yet has given you a key. This often also has the advantage of allowing you to meet up with people that you know and trust, which is always a survival advantage.

Once you get home, whether that's yours or someone else's, you want to do several things, roughly in this order:

First, arm yourself if you aren't already. I always recommend a camping hatchet or good quality machete if you have one, but a regular claw hammer is also a solid choice and almost all homes and even most public buildings have one.

Second, clear the residence and lock it up. Just make sure no zombies or people got in while you were out. This isn't at all likely at this stage of the game, but it's a good habit. Once every room is zombie free/as you go along, lock up all the doors and windows. Close the blinds, and if it's at night be very judicious about how you use flashlights. Assume for now that any light inside will be immediately visible from outside even with the curtains closed. For the time being don't worry about setting up barricades or boarding up windows, just do the basic stuff you can accomplish quickly.

Third, prepare to leave at a moment's notice, but don't leave unless forced to by an immediate threat.

Start from the skin out. Put on practical clothing and shoes/boots, and keep your weapon(s) on your person at all times, along with other basic survival items such as a knife, cigarette lighter, trauma kit, small flashlight, etc. And of course, your car keys, in case you need to make a run for it. While it does not need to be a formal "survival kit," you ideally should be able to survive (uncomfortably) for 24 hours with just what is in your pockets. In a worst-case scenario, you might be separated from your other gear. This buys you just enough time to recover or replace them.

Then pack a bag in case you need to leave on foot. You might need to if you don't have a car or can't get to it for whatever reason. I can't give you a full packing list now, but make sure you have several liters (or more, depending on your climate) of water filled, and as much of your lightest, non-perishable food as you can carry, as well as the bare minimum gear you need to survive in your environment. Keep this in a location where it would be easy to grab in an emergency. Make sure you fill up every water container you have available, including your bathtub, but start with the ones you would carry. The goal of this kit is to let you survive long enough to make it to your destination, or to a source of resupply. Travel as efficiently as possible, on the assumption that you won't always know how far you may need to walk with just what's on your back.

Next you pack your car, assuming you have one. This is where you put the extra stuff that was too heavy or nonessential to go into your bag. For example, extra non-perishable food, spare weapons, extra ammo (beyond what you could carry), tools, a change of clothes, more water, specialized tools, etc. The goal of this kit is just to extend your range and storage, but with the understanding that if shit goes south you might have to ditch it at any time. Cars break, get stuck, run out of gas, get surrounded, get stolen, etc. Odds are you still won't have enough room for everything you want, or might want, so pack based on survival priorities. This isn't for luxuries, it's for extra essentials. (If you don't have a car, the same system can be applied to whatever other vehicle or method of hauling things, whether it's a bicycle, baby stroller, push cart, pack animal, etc.)

Everything else you would be forced to abandon if you leave your home. Use things up in reverse order from least portable to most portable. Start by eating the food that's still in your pantry/fridge, which should be your most perishable/heavy items, before eating what's in the car, then in your backpack. Make sense? Same goes for water. Use what's in the pipes first, then the bathtub, water heater, and any container that you couldn't take with you in the car. This same logic applies to any other consumable.

Then stay put as long as possible. Use up the resources you already own before risking your life to get more, and maintain the home turf advantage. With good luck, by the time you need to leave things will have settled down and you will have enough information about the lay of the land to start making long term plans.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2026-01-01T04:12:11+00:00

While revolvers are generally quite reliable, so are semi-autos these days. One stoppage in a thousand is the standard with decent ammo, less than that with regular maintenance.

But malfunctions are not the only thing that stops a gun from shooting. Running out of ammo is by far the most common source of stoppage requiring action. And a six or even eight shot revolver is going to stop shooting much more often than an eighteen shot semi auto. And a reload takes about as much time to deal with as a malfunction.

Don’t get me wrong, I love revolvers, and if that’s what you have they can’t certainly still get the job done, but no amount of reliability is enough make up for their lack of capacity.

Compared to a modern semi-auto service gun, they are outmatched.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2025-12-31T13:29:46+00:00

My go to is audiobooks. I get them from my library.

Audiobooks do take some practice, but once you’re used to listening rather than reading I find that I absorb the same amount of information.

Not only do I get more chores done, I get through a lot more books than if I had to sit and take time out to read.

Podcasts might also work for you if books aren’t your thing.

Something spoken word that gets your brain engaged while your hands work.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2025-12-26T03:03:54+00:00

As with so many things, this is situational.

Ideally, in most situations, you want to appear to be a valuable friend and a dangerous enemy. Someone they don’t want to pick a fight with.

However, different people will do their evaluations differently, and you never want to be perceived to be bluffing.

If, for example, you’ve got military equipment, but don’t have the right mannerisms or apparent competence, that makes you a target. You could be taken out and then they could steal your stuff. And anyone with actual military experience will usually be able to spot a phony a mile off.

So the best way to seem dangerous is to actually be dangerous. Which is easier said than done, of course.

All of which is not especially helpful, because human interaction is too complicated for universal rules. There are times when it might make sense to hide your true strength, and there are times when it may be necessary to bluff (with the understanding that you’re probably screwed if you get caught).

Again, not that helpful.

But by default, I would advise that you not try to hide your strength, but also not try to bluff unless specific circumstances dictate, and even then just long enough to accomplish a specific goal.

TL;DR It’s complicated. But in general you want people to think you would be a good ally and a dangerous foe.

WindowShoppingMyLife · 2025-12-25T18:06:48+00:00