First Order stormtrooper armor

"Even a Wookiee can't crush First Order armor."

- Captain Phasma

First Order stormtrooper armor was the standard armor of the stormtroopers of the First Order, a military junta inspired by the ideals of the former Galactic Empire. Noted for its stark white appearance, First Order armor was derived from the respective designs of its clone trooper and stormtrooper predecessors.

Description
The First Order stormtroopers wore stark white-colored armor, the design of which drew inspiration from that of the foregone Republic clone troopers of the Clone Wars and the Imperial stormtroopers of the Galactic Civil War. The First Order, during its conflict with the Resistance and its supporting government, the New Republic, sought to have the recognizable and once-feared stormtroopers once again lead the charge against the former enemies of the Galactic Empire.

The design of past stormtrooper armor was improved upon, adding at least greater flexibility through an updated joint design. Individual sets of armor were linked to First Order trackers. One stormtrooper captain, Phasma, wore her own distinctive stormtrooper armor polished in chromium as a representation of power. Other specialized stormtroopers, such as flametroopers and snowtroopers, wore a variant of the First Order stormtrooper armor representing their specializations. To denote rank, commanding stormtroopers wore color-coded pauldron armor plates.

The stormtrooper helmets had a glossy betaplast finish, which required constant cleaning. They were also equipped with a smoke filtration system and an external tank hook-up, although the helmets could not filter toxins. Aside from providing standard protection for the wearer's head, the stormtrooper helmet had both communication and targeting systems for the foot soldiers, although quadnoculars were required for any enhanced imaging. The helmets contained polarized lenses and night vision, but lacked advanced imaging gear in order to keep the helmet's weight down. The armor was immune to fire.

History
The signing of the Galactic Concordance in 5 ABY marked the end of the Galactic Civil War with the New Republic claiming victory over the Galactic Empire. In the aftermath of the war's conclusion, the Empire was further reduced in power through severe reparations and a disarmament policy imposed by the Republic. As a result, the mobilization of stormtrooper forces and the production of their armor were strictly forbidden by the treaty between the two powers. In the galaxy's Unknown Regions, however, a number of former Imperials regrouped and ultimately formed the First Order. Eager to reclaim the Empire's legacy by challenging the Republic's sovereignty over the galaxy, the First Order secretly violated the treaty's stipulations and engaged in a vast rearmament program, resulting in the production of a new set of armor for a new generation of stormtroopers.

Behind the scenes
For Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, director Rian Johnson subtly changed the stormtrooper armor seen onscreen from its previous appearance in The Force Awakens. The changes included changing the color from a creamy white to a toned-down off-white with a very slight grey tint; and altering the shape of the black "mouth" on the helmets to make them look meaner and more skeletal.

Non-Canon Appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens