Bitter cold, but wet weather CCW
Up here in the Northeast we are getting wacked with an early December. I’ve been juggling between heavy winter coats and an Eotac 501 half zip sweat shirt. I have found that wearing a good base layer, T-shirt and a sweat shirt of some sort, usually is good enough to get me through the day. If I have to worry about covering my head and it’s below 30F I always take my Han Solo Hoth winter jacket. It works for it’s intended purpose, but I personally don’t like wearing heavy jackets in the winter and carrying a firearm. The heavy winter jackets don’t breath very well and there have been multiple times I have done my Christmas shopping in this configuration and was dying from the heat once I was in a shopping mall for more than an hour.
I have notice there has been some turmoil with Woolrich Elite products but they came out with several new products this past year that impressed me. The most impressive item I saw was the Woolrich Elite Parka. This was one of our number one selling Christmas items and they did a good job designing it. This Parka is a Waterproof layer you can wear over your clothing and it will breath better than a heavy winter jacket that is water proof. I don’t like the idea of carrying firearms in out wear, but I can carry my flashlight and spare magazines when I’m wearing this. In Fall or Spring weather this jacket can be folded up into a glove compartment and be used for those Fall or Spring showers that come out of no where.
The jacket may look heavier than it really is. I would suggest that you wear this in the Fall or Spring and use it as a surface layer and just add on base layer clothing is the temperatures get colder. We are discounting the Lizard patter jackets and the lizard patter Field Vest which also has similiar pocket designs. We have had virtually zero complaints about the fit of this jacket as long as the user reads our sizing guide and measure themselves properly. You will easily be able to carry fully loaded double stack magazines as well as flashlights and knives comfortable and not have to worry about printing. You will be able to carry small autos or j-frame guns in the outer pockets but I am not really a fan of carrying guns in coats, jackets or vests.
We we get into discussions with people that are looking for clothing that doesn’t make them look like they are carrying a gun, we listen to what the customer has to say and then we give them some options. We realize that dressing all tactical and clipping a folding knife onto a front pocket is usually a giveaway, but there is more to think about other than “what if they think I look like I carry a gun”. Well, how many times have you seen an Obama hippy pot smoking hippy with a camoflauge jacket on or cutoff camo pants? Does he look like he’s easy prey for a robber?
I’ve gotten the questions numerous times about what kind of jacket is best for winter carry. I’m not one to suggest that carrying a firearm in an outwear jacket is a good idea. There are expensive jackets out there where you can carry a gun and retain it in the jacket, but weight distribution is almost always an issue. Sometimes people need to realize that winter carry isn’t going to be as easy as summer carry because cold environments are going to mean big jackets or multiple layers of clothing.
I’ve seen a few military style jackets at Army Navy type stores, but most wearers are using them just for the look, but not because they really use it for any practical purpose. There are some military style jackets that have good outdoor applications, but recently the very innovative and emerging tactical apparel company called Eotac, has developed something new. The Eotac 502 Field Jackets is far superior to the Woolrich Elite Algerian jacket that has been on the market for a few years. Both jackets are based on the Algerian style military jacket issued in the 1950’s.
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