I had some extra bucks now and I was wondering if a Lexan (polycarbonate) face shield like this could help me against rubber bullets. The ones that cops here use are Fioacci 8mm rubber bullets that travel at 220m/s or around 497 mph. The lexan faceshield is 1mm thick and it has the EN166 norm. Also does a common hard hat protect you from rubber bullets too?
I don't know about these materials, but as someone who makes metal masks I can tell you this: get yourself something angular. Basically no mask is going to protect you from a head-on rubber bullet impact without being stupidly heavy. Your best bet against projectiles is deflection, rather than stopping. The sharper the mask, the more pronounced the effect.
cross-post this to !tactics@hexbear.net - you're more likely to get a decent response.
I wouldn't trust anything against rubber bullets unless it has been ballistics-rated - these might deflect the less-lethal rounds but it may also shatter, etc.. I'd prioritize ballistics-rated safety glasses before the face shields and I'd really want to do some digging into the specific polymers to find it's ballistics rating before trying these shields in a real field trial.
I was thinking of the faceshield as more of an added protection, since I already have ballistic goggles (NVG Profile) and a gas mask. But I thought that those things, combined with a shield and a faceshield, could help you against threats like rubber bullets and tear gas.
Hockey mask? The problem with just a shield is that the bullet is still going to push it into your face.