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Thread: Time for a new IDPA Vest: Which One?

  1. #21
    I have one of those heavily starched Armadillo concealment vests. Fun fact: with it being as starched as it is, it's actually slower than my favorite fleece Woolrich Elite vest (which sadly has been discontinued).

    There is a line of thought among some IDPA shooters that the stiffer the vest, the better it moves away from the gun on the draw stroke, so you end up with these starched to hell vests like the Armadillo ones. The problem is that theory doesn't actually hold up - a heavily starched/stiff vest works great if your goal is to have a huge dramatic arm sweep to clear the vest. All the really great IDPA guys don't do that though, they use a much smaller movement to get to the gun, and generally speaking wear softer vests that allow more, for lack of a better word, flow of the garment.

    Instead of hurling my concealment vest off the gun, I've really focused my IDPA draw on just drawing the gun with as little wasted movement in the "vest" area as possible. It works a lot better with a pliable vest like the fleece Woolrich than it does with a starchmonster.

  2. #22
    Member cclaxton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by caleb View Post
    I have one of those heavily starched Armadillo concealment vests. Fun fact: with it being as starched as it is, it's actually slower than my favorite fleece Woolrich Elite vest (which sadly has been discontinued).

    There is a line of thought among some IDPA shooters that the stiffer the vest, the better it moves away from the gun on the draw stroke, so you end up with these starched to hell vests like the Armadillo ones. The problem is that theory doesn't actually hold up - a heavily starched/stiff vest works great if your goal is to have a huge dramatic arm sweep to clear the vest. All the really great IDPA guys don't do that though, they use a much smaller movement to get to the gun, and generally speaking wear softer vests that allow more, for lack of a better word, flow of the garment.

    Instead of hurling my concealment vest off the gun, I've really focused my IDPA draw on just drawing the gun with as little wasted movement in the "vest" area as possible. It works a lot better with a pliable vest like the fleece Woolrich than it does with a starchmonster.
    I agree with Caleb on focusing on the smaller, more efficient movement. That is the important thing here. But the last time I saw the supersquad shoot at the Carolina Cup, they all had ultra-starched vests, including Vogel. http://www.safariland.com/UploadedFi...R-2013-web.jpg
    Here is a good picture of Tom Yost going for his mags. You can see here how stiff his vest is. http://www.idpa.com/blog/image.axd?p...Yost-med-1.jpg

    This really does come down to personal preference. You have to try both and see what works for you. I know a Distinguished Master who has two types of vests, one stiff only on the strong side. He tried one that had not been starched, and found he was slower and got caught up once. The other thing to think about is the fit. I had an XL Woolrich that, even when starched, was still just too big for me and I would catch it on the draw occasionally. The Competition Concealment never gets caught for me, and rather than going up and then down I go straight for the gun, cutting out time and distance, and the garment simply moves out of the way. In the end that is what I want...go for the gun and garment moves out of the way.
    Cody
    That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;

  3. #23
    I wouldn't call Bob's vest that starched since it's flopping around pretty considerably. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

  4. #24
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    SE FL
    So what vest is Bob wearing then?

  5. #25
    Member cclaxton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rob_s View Post
    So what vest is Bob wearing then?
    It looks like Armadillo Concealment. Not for sure.
    Cody
    That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state;

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