Stormtrooper armor / Legends Stormtrooper armor was a distinctive white plastoid body armor over a sealed black body glove worn by Imperial stormtroopers , and in this respect appeared similar to their Clone Wars Phase II clone trooper armor predecessors , having acquired its color from the austere tastes of its Kaminoan creators . The complete set of eighteen pieces completely encased the body and typically had no individually distinguishing marking outside of rank . In fact , the casual first - time observer sometimes mistook the Stormtroopers as a form of battle droid . Aside from the obvious physical advantages in combat , the Stormtrooper armor also acted as a form of psychological warfare : The armor was designed to be without distinctions to ensure that foes and citizens alike saw only a united and implacable force , lowering the enemy morale during combat operations . It also protected the troopers from very harsh environments as well as projectiles and kinetic energy weapons . The armor significantly reduced damage to the wearer from a blaster bolt , but it could be completely penetrated by a more powerful cannon blast . The body glove allowed for operation in warm or cold climates , however it could protect the trooper from almost any environment - - from total vacuum conditions to the very extremes in cold and heat for a very limited period of time . The Imperial Army soon acquired the use of the armor in the later years of the Galactic Empire . Rank was indicated with colored pauldrons . In certain situations , Stormtroopers sometimes wore camouflage armor to help them blend in with different environments . Private ownership of stormtrooper armor was strictly forbidden by the Empire . Protective measures . The most obvious function of the armor was protection against weapons fire and battlefield hazards . The armor , and the body glove worn beneath , were designed to disperse the energy of a blaster bolt and insulate the wearer , lessening injury . The body glove itself provided insulation and cushioning while also regulating body temperature during periods of exertion , and can also act as a compression sleeve to stem bleeding in the event that a stormtrooper was injured . It also has limited protection against radiation , as the body glove maintained cellular integrity in the event of a catastrophic reactor leak . Although standard armor lacked the durability to make the wearer immune to cannon fire , it could partially deflect or disperse energy from low , medium , and high - energy blaster bolts ; though the wearer may be incapacitated , survival would allow the trooper to receive advanced medical treatment that may return him to service . The chestpiece portion of the torso section of Stormtrooper armor were also the most powerful part of the armor , offering the greatest protection from shrapnel , projectiles , flames , and various corrosives , and is sturdy enough to disperse cross the surface area of the armor ' s plasteel all hits from blaster and other handheld energy weapons barring close - range direct impacts . The forearm portions of the arm segments are also reinforced enough to intercept vibroblades during close - quarters combat . It also deflected stun beams , and served as excellent protection against explosions and shrapnel , thereby drastically reducing the effective casualty radius of fragmentation weapons used against troops wearing such armor . It was almost impossible to kill a stormtrooper with a slugthrower unless the bullet was abnormally large , specifically armor piercing , or if it hit the body glove or visor lenses . Although this armor provided less protection from blaster weapons than wartime Phase I and Phase II armor , it offered superior protection from the elements . In addition , the stormtrooper armor could also deflect glancing bolts and reduce damage from bolts absorbed . Stormtrooper armor was fitted with air filters and fully sealed against chemical and biological attack ; the armor could even protect the wearer against vacuum for a limited time . A back - mounted tank contained 20 minutes of emergency oxygen . The aforementioned body glove also provided limited thermal protection . All components for stormtrooper armor and equipment is manufactured to the highest standards in the Empire . As a result , their armor lasted indefinitely , and could even be still found half - buried at decades - old battle sites . Most stormtrooper armor was integrated with standard personal ray - shield projectors ( in direct contrast of clone troopers ) in order to survive open blaster fire in case cover was nonexistent or limited . It also improved hand - to - hand combat , making standard troopers capable of surviving contact with vibroblades ( although did not provide any protection towards lightsabers ) . Nevertheless , the power consumption of shield projectors was very high and they tended to overheat and fail under sustained blaster fire or under prolonged contact with a lightsaber and unless the trooper carried a power generator ( which were very bulky ) the shield projector could take several minutes until it could be reactivated once it failed . These factors made personal trooper shields very rarely seen on prolonged engagements and / or where terrain had a certain degree of surrounding cover . Also lack of experience from novice cadets towards blaster and lightsaber firepower made the shield projector an underestimated and underused piece of equipment . Other features of the armor included : By 130 ABY , stormtrooper armor had reportedly been further strengthened to absorb and diffuse direct blaster hits . However , during the Battle of Borosk between the 407th and 908th stormtrooper divisions , it was observed that direct blaster hits seemed to render troopers incapacitated , although it is possible that the effect of the blast was dissipated and the trooper survived . By this date , slight modifications had been made to stormtrooper armor in the breathing system and back plate , and the leg armor were modified with separated knee pieces , which brought a visage likeness to the clone trooper armor . Also , in a return to the convention followed in the early years of the Clone Wars , the armor of NCOs were distinguished by different colors . For example , sergeants were identified by yellow - green stripes that ran the length of their arm , similar to the Katarn VI armor . In the early years of the Galactic Empire stormtroopers made use of Phase II clone trooper armor . Although not actual Stormtrooper gear , some pinup posters depicted female Stormtrooper gear as having a bare midriff and having what was compared to two gravity well projectors on her chest armor . Isila Drutch , an actual female member of the Stormtrooper Corps , noted that the depicted armor was impractical for combat , citing that no female , even if they were built like an Askajian , would require a chestplate with particular emphasis on the chest since they ' re going to be wearing a body glove made to survive in a vacuum underneath , and the bare midriff being unsuitable , citing her personal experience on her home planet of Parshoone for this . Helmets . Stormtrooper helmets consisted of four - layer construction . The outer layer was made of plastoid composite armor , the next layer was an anti - blaster mesh , followed by magnetic shielding , and finally an inner insulator . Cellular padding helped prevent head injury . During the height of the Galactic Empire , the standard - issue helmet included a rubber guard strip that acted as the border between the face and the cranium of the helmet . In addition , the cranium " shell " portion of the helmet was made of plastisteel armor , and contained osmotic filter plates on the sides and back of the helmet . For the rear osmotic filters , they contained heat dispersion vents for dissipating heat . On the front of the helmet , the helmet contained a pair of Soldex automatic polarizing filters . In addition , the characteristic frown on the helmets acted as natural air vents . In addition , there were also heat dispersion vents located near the Soldex filters . Dymak Exhaust Filters were likewise located near the rim of the helmet . The vocoder direct speaker interface was likewise located on the " chin " of the helmet , between two Bliar induction filters . Near the back of the helmet was a 3814 - 7 auto - seal conduit . On the sides of the helmet were auditory sensors , which were connected to a lateral conduit housing . Inside the helmet was a ComTech Series IV speaker system within the auditory sensor , which was equipped with a three - phase Sonic motivator and was connected via power conduits to atmospheric processing units , which included a Motivator sending unit and ventral power units . In the ventral area of the helmet ' s interior , the edges of the hemet were lined with Reifflex cellular padding . In addition , the interior of the helmet ' s front area contained a Voice activator housing , and the user would speak via a ComTech sensa - mic . The same equipment also came with a dermal cross link . The equipment was also between two Atmospheric transduction nozzles , which connected the Bliar filters to the atmospheric processing units . Overall , the helmet featured the same plastoid composite as the rest of the armor , although it also incorporated an inner layer of magnetic shielding . In addition , the ComTech ' s vocoder also had the effect of altering the Stormtrooper ' s natural voice to supply a more processed tone in their speech . Various sensors , specifically those relating to threat - targeting , were also incorporated into the helmet , although these only activate when its designated owner wore the helmet , as a security measure to ensure they could not be used by their enemies , as well as have the uniform ' s value be reduced on the black market . These features include filters that screen out chemical and biological contaminants ; heat dispersal vents that maintain a consistent temperature ; polarized lenses that collect non - visual data for display on the helmet ' s holographic HUD visual as well as adjusting for various environmental conditions ( ie , automatically darkening to prevent retinal damage from explosions ) , and auditory sensors which could record and play back sounds ) . However , the Rebel Alliance member Wedge Antilles implied that the visual sensors for Stormtrooper helmets are not immune to having blind spots . The helmet also contained an IFF transponder readout that allows Stormtrooper to identify his squadmates . Over time , the helmets evolved and implemented new technology . For example , earlier models included only simple eye lenses with very few visual modes available , such as infrared and standard targeting systems , but as technology increased , the helmets began to feature more advanced visual targeting systems including : Additionally , stormtrooper helmets contained features such as : By 130 ABY , stormtrooper helmets included updated sensors . The helmet ' s appearance was also slightly modified to appear as a cross between the Phase II clone trooper armor and the original stormtrooper helmets . A number of variations were also introduced to accommodate alien species that were newly allowed to enroll in the Stormtrooper Corps . Still , Stormtrooper helmets shared a very common difficulty . A helmet needed to be powered by using a general code provided by a central system . This was meant to prevent piracy or stealing of helmets . By doing this , if by any reason the helmet was stolen , the thief could not be able to access any of the visual modes of the helmet , making it very difficult to see through it . Audio / visual . A comlink with frequency changing options was built into the trooper ' s helmet . The comlink used linked encoding sequences to rotate frequencies every few seconds while keeping all troopers in the unit synchronized . If a trooper ' s helmet was removed without the trooper first hitting the comlink ' s control stud ( most likely found on the under - rim of the helmet ) , the frequency coding routine was automatically deleted from that helmet . The Comtech Series IV helmet speaker used three - phase sonic filtering for clear sound ( for troopers , it was connected to the audio pickup ) . It also had a vocoder for talking to non - stormtroopers . Video recorders were included in some helmets . Utility belt and backpack . Stormtroopers were also equipped with a utility belt . This would include : The backplate of the standard armor contained a power pack as well as a small supply of air ( see above ) . In certain deployments , stormtroopers were equipped with backpacks . These backpacks would contain : Behind the scenes . Stormtrooper armor as portrayed in the films is highly ineffective as combat protection and is generally hindering to the wearer . It largely contributes to the now infamous stormtrooper effect and has given rise to much fan speculation and outright mockery . However , this is countered by numerous role - playing , and other such sources , wherein stormtrooper armor is , on average , the best available armor , for protection versus weight / mobility restriction , and advantages , only being limited by its illegality to purchase , thus commanding exorbitant prices on the black market . Replica Stormtrooper armor is popular among fan groups , such as the 501st Legion , but ironically , is often produced illegally , in breach of intellectual property laws . In 2008 , George Lucas sued Shepperton Design Studios over its production of unlicensed stormtrooper armor , although the decision was not binding in the UK . In " Episode IV " , the mouth grill size on stormtrooper helmets is inconsistent . When a few stormtroopers go with an imprisoned Leia Organa , it is clearly seen that one on the right has a long grill , while the one on the left has a short one . This being due to the fact that two different designs were used for the helmets in the film . The first and most numerous being the stunt helmet which has a larger frown and the Hero helmet which has a smaller frown among other differences . In addition , Luke ' s line of " I can ' t see a thing in this helmet ! " in the film , while disguised as a Stormtrooper , was actually an ad - lib by his actor , Mark Hamill , due to the helmet prop not including proper eyeholes , and his belief that the cameras were not active when he said it . There are several anecdotes about the armor itself known to the film crews . The molded plastic back plate has two bars and a circular impression , comically called the " twinkies and donut " as if the backpack was an emergency food storage unit . The canister on the rear belt was originally going to be a lightsaber / laser sword due to early drafts of the artwork and film script having swordplay be fairly common , and laser swords carried by nearly every character . The armor was also noted to be somewhat uncomfortable to wear , and actors in it would tend to prefer to sit on saw horses rather than in normal chairs .