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Markets in everything
Mr Caballero's clothes can withstand shots from 9mm pistols to AK-47s and clients fearing knives can pay extra for stab-proofing.
The market is South Africa and the inspiration is Colombia. It's the stab-proofing that impresses me. Here is the story and I thank NS for the pointer.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on August 18, 2008 at 03:33 PM in Economics | Permalink
Comments
more useful in east london than in good 'ole
j'berg.
Posted by: sa at Aug 18, 2008 3:10:53 PM
Story about Caballero's bulletproof clothes was in Wired, without the South Africa aspect, four years ago.
Posted by: washerdreyer at Aug 18, 2008 3:41:43 PM
I visited their headquarters in Bogotá a few months ago. If you are lucky, Mr. Caballero will shoot you. One of the tourists the week before we went was shot while wearing the clothes and was thrilled with the experience. I only went because friends were going, I didn't want to bother them. But they were so nice to us and overwhelmingly friendly that I just wanted to post about the experience and encourage people to buy some of these cool clothes, at least if you need them. You really can't tell that the fabrics are abnormal, it is amazing. Now that Colombia is so much safer they depend much more on foreign sales.
Travis
Posted by: travis at Aug 18, 2008 4:25:12 PM
I visited their headquarters in Bogotá a few months ago. If you are lucky, Mr. Caballero will shoot you. One of the tourists the week before we went was shot while wearing the clothes and was thrilled with the experience. I only went because friends were going, I didn't want to bother them. But they were so nice to us and overwhelmingly friendly that I just wanted to post about the experience and encourage people to buy some of these cool clothes, at least if you need them. You really can't tell that the fabrics are abnormal, it is amazing. Now that Colombia is so much safer they depend much more on foreign sales.
Travis
Posted by: travis at Aug 18, 2008 4:32:55 PM
What a perfect adornment for any aristocrats garb! It's perfect for those casual summer days when the ownership class wants to free from any pervasive reprecutions in instituting and benefiting from an unjust economic system.
Posted by: alec at Aug 18, 2008 5:03:09 PM
are they shark and alligator-proof? i want one so i can go play with dangerous creatures. :)
Posted by: your mom at Aug 18, 2008 5:41:55 PM
Stories about bulletproof hoodies made the rounds a couple months ago, though I could have sworn that I saw the same thing about four years ago...
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3682725.ece
Posted by: Rationalitate at Aug 18, 2008 5:47:40 PM
What a perfect adornment for any aristocrats garb! It's perfect for those casual summer days when the ownership class wants to free from any pervasive reprecutions in instituting and benefiting from an unjust economic system.
alec, who is "the ownership class" to which you refer?
Posted by: at Aug 18, 2008 5:55:28 PM
RE: "I visited their headquarters in Bogotá a few months ago. If you are lucky, Mr. Caballero will shoot you. One of the tourists the week before we went was shot while wearing the clothes and was thrilled with the experience."
Either the clothes are VERY heavy, or he is shooting at people with a rather low powered weapon or both. Most body armor doesn't leave you thrilled with the experience of being hit by a bullet. Also I suppose he would have to shoot at point blank range, right up against the clothes. If he shoots at you from across the room he could always miss the clothes and hit you in an uncovered spot (
Posted by: Tim Fowler at Aug 18, 2008 6:01:41 PM
...if this gets widespread, how soon before guns have autotracking/autoaiming on faces? Cameras have face-detection technology already, wouldn't seem like an impossible addition. Incentives...
Posted by: shawn at Aug 18, 2008 6:20:16 PM
The perfect header? "Batman's clothes"
Posted by: jack at Aug 18, 2008 6:25:07 PM
The perfect header? "Batman's clothes"
Posted by: jack at Aug 18, 2008 6:25:34 PM
The perfect header? "Batman's clothes"
Posted by: jack at Aug 18, 2008 6:25:37 PM
"What a perfect adornment for any aristocrats garb! It's perfect for those casual summer days when the ownership class wants to free from any pervasive reprecutions in instituting and benefiting from an unjust economic system."
What a perfect comment from a radical lefty who enjoys the advantages of an economic system thought lifted millions out of poverty while spouting the class warfare rhetoric than killed 100 million people.
Posted by: assman at Aug 18, 2008 10:05:33 PM
"What a perfect adornment for any aristocrats garb! It's perfect for those casual summer days when the ownership class wants to free from any pervasive reprecutions in instituting and benefiting from an unjust economic system."
What a perfect comment from a radical lefty who enjoys the advantages of an economic system thought lifted millions out of poverty while spouting the class warfare rhetoric than killed 100 million people.
Posted by: assman at Aug 18, 2008 10:06:16 PM
What a perfect comment from a radical lefty who enjoys the advantages of an economic system thought lifted millions out of poverty while spouting the class warfare rhetoric than killed 100 million people.
And also reduced the murder rate drastically.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E2D6163FF930A15753C1A962958260
Posted by: Tracy W at Aug 19, 2008 6:05:28 AM
Rhetoric kills people - who knew? And such a nice round figure.
Posted by: Dan Tarrant at Aug 19, 2008 9:13:42 AM
Mr Caballero's clothes can withstand shots from 9mm pistols to AK-47s
Little skeptical of this. Rifle plates are generally hard, heavy ceramics, and easily conealed.
Posted by: LK at Aug 19, 2008 1:20:14 PM
