Who are we?

We believe protection should be accessible to everyone and our goals are simple. We want to make protection practical, wearable, and accessible for everyone. That is why we are targeting an MSRP of $150 USD / $200 CAD, making protection something an everyday student, commuter, or family can afford. The backpack is designed to incorporate protection comparable to NIJ level IIIA standards, offering defense against most common concealed carry weapons. We also focused on real-world usability: the bag is fully water-resistant for Canadian weather conditions, and the total weight remains only 1.8kg, so it carries comfortably throughout a full day of work, school, or travel.


Why?

The rise of gun-related crime across Canada has made many of us uneasy. According to Statistics Canada, between 2013 and 2023, firearm-related violent crime increased by roughly 55% nationwide. Toronto continues to lead the country in total incidents, with more than 40 firearm-related violent crimes per 100,000 people recorded in 2023 within the Toronto CMA. A recent Toronto Police Service report also showed 461 shootings or firearm discharges within the city in 2024. That is more than one incident per day, not including unreported events or incidents outside the City of Toronto’s boundaries.

In October of 2024, a shooting took place near Yonge Street and Empress Avenue in North York. Multiple shots were fired during what appeared to be a road-rage incident. This happened on a Monday morning, in broad daylight, in one of the busiest areas of North York—right where commuters, families, students, and workers move through every day.

This incident occurred only two minutes from where I live. Like many in the area, I regularly go to North York Centre station on my way downtown. I visit the restaurants there, I’ve taken my family to the mall above the station there, and I go to the Fit4Less at that exact intersection nearly every day. The realization that this happened in a place so familiar was deeply unsettling.

The idea that my mother, my partner, or any of my acquaintances passing through that intersection could be struck by a stray bullet felt disgusting. That moment is what pushed me to start researching personal protection and, ultimately, led me into modern armor solutions.


Why body armor isn’t practical 

Once I began researching armor, I quickly realized why most people never use it. Traditional body armor is built primarily for military, enforcement, or tactical use. It is not designed for ordinary routines like commuting on the TTC, walking to school, or picking up groceries.

Wearing a ballistic vest for every day tasks is simply unrealistic and impractical. Most vests are rigid, heavy, and restrict movement. They add noticeable bulk under clothing, become hot and uncomfortable, and feel even more socially awkward if worn over clothing. You cannot realistically wear one to class, into the office, on public transit, to the gym or to social gatherings without feeling and appearing out of place.

Traditional armor is also not very accessible to the general public. The cost is all over the place, sizing is limited or inconsistent, and many products require special ordering or technical knowledge of the materials if you want something comfortable. Something as simple as incorrect sizing can be very uncomfortable for full-day wear and weight quickly compounds the issue.

Most armor add several KGs of impractical load to the chest and back area, it is something that becomes noticeable over hours of movement. If you are already carrying a laptop, books, lunch, or personal items in a backpack, layering that weight directly on top quickly becomes burdensome.

And then there’s how others perceive you. Wearing a vest signals danger, even when none is present. It attracts attention if visible. If concealed, it still feels like wearing emergency equipment, and that is something no one actually wants to think about during normal daily life.

So while armor exists, it is far from practical for ordinary people. It is not something you would wear to run errands, board a subway, going to the gym, or enter a classroom. We don't want to look tactical, we simply want realistic everyday protection that is discreet, familiar, and fits seamlessly into everyday life.


Why a backpack makes sense

If wearing traditional armor daily is unrealistic, then the next question becomes: what form of protection can we use without changing how we live?

Almost everyone carries a backpack everyday. Whether you are commuting to work, attending school, or traveling between activities, a backpack already belongs in the routine, and integrating protection into that does not require a change in behavior or appearance.

A backpack also sits exactly where protection matters most, the upper torso and the vital organs, the most vulnerable areas of the body. Whether worn on both shoulders, slung over one side, or carried infront of you on public transit, it naturally sits between you and potential harm. This means the protection is always present, always facing outward, and always placed exactly where critical shielding is needed.


Why not just buy a regular backpack and add a ballistic plate?

At first, that seems like the obvious solution. Just take any bag and slide a plate inside. But that solution introduces its own set of problems.

  1. Weight shifts and sagging: for instance, ballistic plates are dense and require structural support. In a normal backpack, the plate could sag downward or rotate. Even a few milimeters of displacement could reduce real protection.
  2. Poor alignment and inconsistent coverage: the plate is required to be purchased seperately by the user. Different bag dimensions might make the plate sit off-angle, too low, too far back, or tilted.
  3. Structural limitations: standard bags are not designed to absorb or manage force transfer. Often leading to over-deformation.
  4. User assembly errors: there are many potential user induced errors and failure points if the bag requires assembly. The plate might not be inserted correctly, the size might not be ideal for the bag, the plate might require repositioning depending on the contents in the bag, or simply the plate is inserted in the wrong direction.

And most people, especially kids, will simply not do that correctly.


Built-in, not inserted

Our design integrates the protection into the structure of the bag.

This means:
  1. Weight sits evenly and stably: the plate remains fixed and not hanging or sagging downward.
  2. Coverage area never changes: it is always angled correctly, aligned with the shoulder. The armor always maintains correct alignment relative to posture.
  3. There are no seams that may tear, there are no zippers that could burst under stress. 
  4. No adjustments needed, no setup, no risks of forgetting or misplacing the armor.

We control the design, and work closely with our manufacturing. We can ensure that every armor is perfectly integrated into each bag. When everything is built in, there is no assembly, no uncertainty, and no maintenance.

You never need to attach anything, remember to insert anything, or worry about proper sizing or coverage area. The protection is simply always there, and it will never move.


The design process

We began by studying what already existed on the market currently. We visited a handful of armor manufacturers, just to familiarize with the products.

Military/Police gear manufacturer showroom

Tactical gear manufacturer showroom

Hydraulic heat press for ceramic and PE

Ceramic-PE composite plates before cutting


From there, we inquired for their source of fabric/textile and visited a handful of suppliers ourselves.

Discussing and learning about different fabrics with the bossman himself

Different types of kevlar fabric

Different types of PE and PET fabric

Textile mill and its knitting machines


After visiting multiple manufacturers and asking questions directly in person, we decided on a combination of UHMWPE, polyester, and EVA. This construction offered the protection we wanted without sacrificing weight, comfort, or practicality.

The next step was finding a manufacturing partner capable of executing our design properly. We visited several manufacturers, reviewed their production and quality assurance in person, and ultimately selected the one that demonstrated the strongest standards and consistency.

A bag manufacturer in Guangzhou

Prototyping the protection layer

Prototyping the bag design

In April of 2025, GA-BP01 was born. The design was heavily inspired by Nike and the Jodan brand. We wanted a bag that blends seemlessly into everyday settings, something that is visually familiar instead of flashy, tactical or bulky. After this, we began testing the effectiveness of the backpack.


The backpack performed reliably against 9mm and .44 Magnum rounds, showing no penetration. However, we did note that 12GA 1 1/4 oz slugs could produce excessive deformation, which highlighted an area we needed to improve.


So we refined the design. The GA-BP02 includes two additional 2 mm hard-PE reinforcement panels and an upgraded 4 mm EVA impact-absorbing layer, significantly improving the deformation. We also enhanced the backpack by using water resistant fabric and redesigned the layout for more compartments and better everyday functionality.


The latest GA-BP03 iteration incorporates enhanced back-panel foam for better comfort, along with a chest strap to enhance support. The exterior design has been streamlined for a cleaner look, and additional functional elements have been integrated to improve daily usability.