They might be garish or sophisticated, bizarre or comical, technology-heavy or explosive-proof. All sorts of suits outfit the men and women who work hard everyday – to fight bombs or keep the peace. Here we showcase a few of the cool, functional or just plain insane fashions fit for the fight.

Defusing bombs? It might be handy to put this on. The 60 pound, armor-layered Hurt Locker ensemble certainly can't guarantee survival (it has the nickname "Demon Suit" for a reason). But it sure is your best bet against a pressurized explosion. With hard-armor plates on top of multiple layers of strong heat-resistant synthetic fibers, it protects against the shockwave from the blast as well as flying shrapnel. Here's a much more detailed explanation of how these outfits keep you alive. (And a photo of Danger Room's Noah Shachtman in one himself.)

And in case you're wondering, the current world record for fastest mile in a bomb suit is nine minutes and 58 seconds. What Staff Sgt. Jeremy Herbert was doing running that far, who knows.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons