The Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (ESAPI) cut is very common within the armed forces that need mobility for rescue operations. It provides a higher level cut on the top two edges than the Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI).
These ceramic plates that come with the swimmer cut are ideal for tactical situations where a lot of mobility is required. It provides a greater amount of comfort and movement while producing only a small decrease in the surface area of the plates. Even at that, it will still protect all your vital organs like the heart and lungs.
The swimmers cut (also known as spear cut) plates are not like most plates whose edges are cut at the around 45 degrees; the swimmer plates are cut at a much larger angle to produce the desired comfort. The cut on these plates ensures that they hug your body snugly which affords better mobility and is ideal for people who need it.
These armor plates are not suited for everyone or every situation as they are specifically useful to personnel who constantly undergo activities like running, climbing and even crawling; especially swimming. These plates are particularly useful to members of Special Forces teams who are engaged in extreme situations.
The main idea behind the use of this ceramic plates is to disrupt that kinetic energy and spread it all over the plate. At 2kg, these ceramic plates are much lighter than their metallic counterparts of the same protection level. They could be up to 40 percent lighter than metals like steel and titanium, and they are much stronger than those materials.
This ceramic plate directly involves making a wise decision where you have to choose between having more mobility and having a marginally bigger area of protection.