Using this technique, Gaara can cover himself in a compacted layer of sand, providing an additional defence should his Shield of Sand fail; combined, these two are known as Gaara's . Though quite effective, maintaining the armour requires a large amount of chakra and stamina. Furthermore, it is nowhere as resilient as the Shield of Sand, since it easily breaks away upon impact, indicating that the sole purpose of the armour is to absorb impact channelled unto Gaara's body during battle. Another weakness is the additional weight of the sand which leads to decreased levels of speed and mobility. This weakness is easily bypassed by the fact Gaara is not a taijutsu specialist and uses long-ranged sand attacks and he uses sand as a form of transportation.