All posts tagged Concealed Carry Vests

Woolrich Elite outwear

Woolrich has been around for a very long time, I have been to up State Woolrich inc. and seen the history of the product line and I was impressed that they were stepping into the tactical clothing market.   It has been almost 6yrs now and they are holding there own.   Each of us have our own tastes in the fit and finish and most of our customers have been happy with the product line.   There is more than enough competition out there from 5.11 tactical, Tru-Spec and Blackhawk, but I still have a bunch of the early style of Woolrich products that came out 4yrs ago and all of them have been washed and worn and are still in one piece.
The Style 44424 discreet vests is made of a 100% cotton rip stop and yes, it is one of those vests that some people claim is a shoot me first vest, but I don’t think that wearing a vest is a dead giveaway that you are carrying.   I think there are certain age groups and body builds where vests are appropriate and if you are a competition shooter you will know that this is exactly what you will want for IDPA competitions.   Unfortunately Woolrich Elite vests have been discontinued in some colors that we considered popular like the sage color, but hopefully at some point they will bring them back because so many people are still asking for them.   I would not recommend carrying a firearm in the front pockets, but considering on the size and weight of the gun you may be able to get away with it.  I strongly recommend wearing this vest if you carry a Beretta 92FS or Glock 17 or any large size auto or revolver.

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Fobus gun holster reviews

I am a strong believer in having atleast 3 magazines for every semi-auto handgun you own and having atleast one holster for it.   If you are every in a situation where you may have to give a family member a firearm, it’s in my humble opinion a good idea to have it in a holster especially if it is loaded.   Even though most gun fights are usually only a few rounds, magazines can break and nightmarish situations can occur.   I actually know someone that was in a defensive situation here in Philadelphia where he was attacked by multiple persons, and you could have used an M4 in a concealed carry situation and still may not have been able to hold off what had occurred to him and his family.

If I owned a gun shop, I’d probable sell Fobus holsters for half price to just about anyone buying a medium or large frame firearm.    These holsters are very good for open carry or for winter carry under a vest or a jacket.    The only down side to these holsters is that they can become uncomfortable to use when shooting on the ground.   I have a few of the magazine paddle holders and I find it to be a little too much to take if I have paddle holsters all around my belt line.   For real seriou

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Cold weather and wet weather and CCW

Recently we had a Thanksgiving Day parade here in Philadelphia.   The parade started off with snow and cold weather, but it ended up turning to rain about halfway through the days events.    It was a good reminder for people that wearing warm winter clothing doesn’t mean you’re going to keep dry.   I remember all of the warnings I got in Boy Scout camp about keeping dry even when we felt warm.   Sometimes we forget how much sweat we generate under our clothing in the winter, but we will find out when we have to get into a sleeping bag.

When you are looking to put on layers of clothing to keep warm and learning how to adapt your concealed carry methods to a warm, but dry way of carrying.   Check out the  Woolrich Elite Parka Style 44420.   This is something you can practically wrap up in  your car and will be easy to stow away when it starts to rain.  You can easily move some of your tactical gear, like flashlights and knives into this parka and keep from burying your gun under layers of clothing.

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5.11 tactical jeans review pt 1

I finally did my rounds and checked out a few local 5.11 dealers to see what they had in stock.    Something I always find annoying about stopping in these places is how much of a mess the clothing usually is.   I always have to dig around for my sizes and rarely do any of these gun shops or police and security stores keep there crap together.   The other thing that I find annoying is that so many of them clear out certain styles of clothing during the year like there is a non-season for polos and jeans.   Some of these tactical clothing manufacturers are running huge shortages and various products are out of stock for 6-9 months at a time.   I actually noticed many of the gun shops in my neck of the woods stopped selling 5.11 tactical pants because it was too much of a headache for them to deal with.

It was time to restock my tactical pants inventory and I’m not prone to sticking to only one manufacturer.   I have worn 5.11 tactical pants, Eotac, Woolrich Elite and even SigTac.   Each tactical clothing company and tactical gear manufacturer has it’s pros and cons,  but I’d give Eotac and Woolrich Elite the edge on quality control.     I am comparing the Eotac 205 concealed carry jeans to the 5.11 jeans and there is no comparison.   I feel a difference in the movement of each jean, but I really don’t think I feel restricted in any way.   They are both well made, but there are huge differences in the designs.   The Eotac jeans are very similar to the Woolrich Elite Discreet MKII pants, but they are definitely not the same.   The 5.11 jeans are what I’d call more for deep concealment.   There are internal pockets that can hold a j-frame revolver or a small semi-auto and a few spare magazines.   I find the pockets to be a  little too deep and don’t really like the fact the guns are practically inside the pants.   I tried putting a Sig 239 in the pockets with spare magazines and it was extremely uncomfortable when sitting down, so I would have to say you need something smaller than that.

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Don’t burry your weapons under clothing

I think there is a point that people really can get carried away with the CCW point of view.   There were a few wacky incidences that occured over the years where a gun owner got himself or herself into a gray area and really invited trouble.  The whole open carry debate can be a powder keg amonst many on our side of the aisle, but not invited problems is something we should be trained to think about.   Don’t put yourself in a situation where the method in which you are carrying is going to make you stand out.   For example, we have a lot of customers that carry full size autos that want to carry their firearms in jackets and they always want to know which vests or jacket it will work in.    If this is what you want to do, go ahead and do it, but if you are standing out on a football field at your kids football game and you are the only person wearing a jacket and it’s 70F out, you are going to be out of place, and may invite problems from a smart ass anti-gun person that knows you may be in a grey area by carrying a gun on school property.

I have stated several times that some of the toughest people I know don’t always carry firearms, and many of the best trained shooters are carrying j-frame revolvers.   This has slightly changed in the last few years since there are some reliable .380 pocket guns coming into the market.   I really don’t have much experience with these, but since many of them are new, it’s sometimes a good idea to just sit back and see how well the products hold up and what their reputations are.   There is not always a real need to get too exotic with gun holsters.   A good pocket carry gun could have 6 or 7 rounds of .380 or 9mm and depending on your body size, you may even be able to get a .40 S&W gun in there.  Pocket carry is probable one of the most comfortable ways to conceal a firearm and won’t restrict much of your movement.

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Firearm retention and concealment garment

The biggest issue I have personally run into when giving my opinions about various tactical shirts, tactical vests, tactical pants ect. is the designs of the pockets.   There are some regular clothing options that may work well for a certain firearm that you carry, but there can be some safety issues.   I have used shorts in the summer that had buttons on the pockets and I originally thought that it would kep retain the firearm in the pocket, but all it actually did was hold the handle of the pistol and it actually ended up working it’s way up above that pocket line.   Even though the pockets were deep, the buttons didn’t hold it in and the way the pockets stitched into the pant, there was room for the gun to actually slip up and almost out.   Eotac shorts are design so there pockets are not stitched directly up to the seams.

We get a lot of questions about the tactical clothing that we sell online and most of the questions turn to advice on how to conceal a firearm.   I still remember exactly who the person was that first told me that the best answer to that is “for what” because there isn’t a best for everyone and most of this is about comfort and not always concealment.   There are a lot of concealed carry vests out there that work very well for some  people, but to others they are too tactical or not CCW friendly.

 

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Concealment vests from an LEO perspective

I think the ultimate concealed carry vest that doesn’t make you look like you are carrying a firearm is more likely going to be something like a cloaking device seen in Star Trek.   Some of the conversations I’ve heard at conventions, gun shows and on the phone with people are somewhat comical.   I’ve seen under agents show up drug busts that I could spot ahead of time, just because they had nice cars and tinted windows.   The funny thing is the idiot drug dealers didn’t even see it coming. I think the proper mindset is don’t volunteer information, pay attention to your surroundings and be sneaky.

There are many levels of vests for the gun owner, some are going to be snapped on, locked down, and pulled tight.   Others go over your arms and just hang there.  The Eotac Styles 102 and Style 103 vests are go for street work because they don’t stand out as much like an assault vest, but they still have a lot of practical applications.   Both vests will hang below the belt line and will give you full coverage for carrying a paddle holster or OWB holster.  We still get more than a few phone calls every year asking if we have jackets or concealed carry vests for retaining firearms like a 1911.   While I strongly disagree with carrying primary firearms inside jackets and vests, it’s a personal choice and if it works for you then it’s good for your applications.

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Low-key tactical vest options

We’ve been selling the Eotac style 103 vests for less than 6 months, we got to display this at the NTOA conference and get feedback from Law Enforcement agents.   The Style 101 vest is a full tactical vest, it looks tactical and it is designed for an individual carrying an AR 15 or M16 style rifle.  If you are looking for a range bag, you should also seriously look into buying one of these tactical vests because you can fit just about everything a range bag could carry in one of these.

The Style 102 was something that we mostly sell to the IDPA competitor, defensive pistol student, or to someone that lives in an area where wearing a vest isn’t out of place.   Some of our security contractors like these because it is a dressed down look compared to the military style BDU look and a favorite for those working for Senators or Reps. traveling overseas.   They Style 103 Vest is something that is in between the tactical and concealed carry look.   It has pockets that can carry and secure flashlights, knives, phones and pistol magazines.   There are also napolean pockets for hiding primary or backup firearms.

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