Bounty hunters lead a hazardous life. While some bounty marks will surrender peacefully when detained, a significant majority will resist, often with deadly force. Most bounty hunters will be significantly more skilled in the martial arena than their intended marks, but modern blaster weapons are a significant equaliser, and a lucky hit to the chest with a high energy bolt is just as deadly as a purposefully aimed one. The majority of bounty hunters will thus quickly invest in protective suits in order to prolong their careers. The choice of armour is entirely up to the individual hunter. Some might choose a light suit of alloy mesh and ballistic plates in order to maintain maximum mobility while still providing a measure of protection from blades and bolts, while some might choose heavier, more restrictive suits that provide a greater degree of protection at the cost of mobility.

Typical heavy armour used by bounty hunters would comprise a cuirass of hard material designed to attenuate the impact of ballistic projectiles and energy bolts as well as disperse the force of blunt and edged melee weapons. Shoulder protection in the form of pauldrons and spaulders are often included, as is a gorget to protect the neck. These are frequently worn over a heavy fabric body suit that would have some flame-retardant properties. Greaves are sometimes worn to protect the lower legs, although leg protection is usually sacrificed in the name of mobility – experienced bounty hunters would say that they always set up the encounter with the bounty mark in such a way that terrain or man-made object cover their lower bodies, thus negating the need for lower body protection. Bounty hunter armour is seldom powered, as the cost and complexity of maintaining a suit of powered armour is usually quite prohibitive, and a deterrent to most who are involved in this line of work.