Can a grenade explosion penetrate a Level III bullet proof vest at blank range?

[JEDI]

I'm reading the story of the reporter that lost his hand in Iraq tossing a grenade out of the car he was in and saving the lives of the other passengers.

If you pressed your back onto the grenade and curled into a ball, would the grenade penetrate?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

you'd fly

 

[imported_bum]

Even if it doesn't penetrate the vest, you've still got some problems. Dunno anything about what vests can withstand though.

 

[sandorski]

I dunno, but even if it didn't the mere force exerted on you would be detrimental to your Health and Mortality.

 

[Sc4freak]

It isn't only the shrapnel you have to worry about, the massive force and overpressure generated by an exploding grenade would kill you.

 

[everman]

The blast concussion would probably cause internal bleeding, even if nothing penetrated the vest.

 

[Fenixgoon]

check with tallbill, he'd be much more likely to know.

also, if the reporter had any sort of plating in addition to a vest, that would help a lot

 

[VanTheMan]

The vest might stop a single piece of shrapnel, but I doubt it would stop all of the shrapnel. Even if it did stop all the shrapnel, the blunt force trauma of a grenade exploding against your back would most assuredly end your existence. It would be like getting hit hit by a truck, only the truck would have a lance on the front of it directing all the force into one small spot on your body.