Outer vest carrier for issued soft armor - suggestions/opinions

[secondstoryguy]

I stop on the side of the road to charge and chamber check my rifle(SOP states we run rifles in patrol ready/ condition 3) and don a small go bag on the way to any rifle-worthy call. My thought is that doing an armor switch out would only add 30 seconds or a minutes to this procedure. I learned early on that making scene and then charging the rifle is wrong as you want as situations are dynamic and you want as few things to worry about when you make scene.

Would I deploy hard armor on any call? Probably not, it would be call dependent. I try to run my gear very lean/simple in my patrol car and not get carried away with extra widgets. I'm still on the fence about hard armor the logistics of deploying it being worth carrying it.

[Dave Williams]

.

This is the type of thing, with a plate in it, that I think we should all start considering in light of the assaults occurring these days and we should be wearing it as standard for the shift. Yes it will suck, but it will suck less than taking a 7.62 with no protection. For now I'm stuck with a Class A type of carrier that's essentially useless for carrying anything but the panels.

I'm just not convinced that having plates in the trunk are going to be much help as these things seem to evolve much too quickly to grab stuff out of the trunk. I think having extra kit, med supplies, etc., in there is a good idea so once the threat is dealt with you can retrieve and get to work helping folks. Not disagreeing with anyone who likes to carry extra gear in the car. It can never hurt.

A couple of my coworkers are adding steel plates to the vest we'll see how it goes.

[TheNewbie]

Bringing up this old thread because it looks like I will be forced to go to one of these. At one time I wanted it, but after finally getting excellent uniforms via Blauer, I am happy with the more traditional uniform. The change is not my choice, but I have some options of what to wear under it and can likely get my own carrier if I want it.


What outer vest carriers are you all using now?


What polos do you like for duty wear? I am reading about 5.11 polos and they have reports of fading easily. Especially darker colored polos like Black and Blue.

[sickeness]

Bringing up this old thread because it looks like I will be forced to go to one of these. At one time I wanted it, but after finally getting excellent uniforms via Blauer, I am happy with the more traditional uniform. The change is not my choice, but I have some options of what to wear under it and can likely get my own carrier if I want it.


What outer vest carriers are you all using now?


What polos do you like for duty wear? I am reading about 5.11 polos and they have reports of fading easily. Especially darker colored polos like Black and Blue.

I have worn a velocity systems LPAC for the past 5 years and not only is it a great piece of kit, it is probably the only item in the market that fits the bill. Most overt PC are intended for hard armor with the soft armor pockets as an afterthought. My issued 3a panels fit fine in the LPAC and the vest is easy to put on with minimal material for a more low profile appearance. I can fit a raid jacket over it if needed.

[Magsz]

I have worn a velocity systems LPAC for the past 5 years and not only is it a great piece of kit, it is probably the only item in the market that fits the bill. Most overt PC are intended for hard armor with the soft armor pockets as an afterthought. My issued 3a panels fit fine in the LPAC and the vest is easy to put on with minimal material for a more low profile appearance. I can fit a raid jacket over it if needed.

The V neck on the LPAC fits OK with your soft panels?

What issued 3A soft armor do you have if you don't mind me asking?

[DpdG]

We use the center-zip Point Blank Guardian in a color matched uniform shirt-like style, but with laser cut molle on the lower torso. Overall appearance is pretty low-profile compared to the popular Oregon City or more overt styles. Been using them for about a year and are quite happy so far. Sizing is quite simple as our armor panels are also Point Blank, so they just take the info off the panels.

Shirts under the vests are Blauer polyester armorskin and are fine, if somewhat inconsistent sizing wise. I have multiple shirts in the exact same size that fit pretty drastically differently. In addition, the gaps between sizes is quite large. A small only fits our smallest female, while a large is too big for all but our biggest guys. As an example, a shift-mate who is 5'9" and 160 wears the same medium size short-sleeve as me, and I'm 6'3" and 200. Mind you he swims in it, but the next smaller size looked like it was from Baby Gap.

[TheNewbie]

We use the center-zip Point Blank Guardian in a color matched uniform shirt-like style, but with laser cut molle on the lower torso. Overall appearance is pretty low-profile compared to the popular Oregon City or more overt styles. Been using them for about a year and are quite happy so far. Sizing is quite simple as our armor panels are also Point Blank, so they just take the info off the panels.

Shirts under the vests are Blauer polyester armorskin and are fine, if somewhat inconsistent sizing wise. I have multiple shirts in the exact same size that fit pretty drastically differently. In addition, the gaps between sizes is quite large. A small only fits our smallest female, while a large is too big for all but our biggest guys. As an example, a shift-mate who is 5'9" and 160 wears the same medium size short-sleeve as me, and I'm 6'3" and 200. Mind you he swims in it, but the next smaller size looked like it was from Baby Gap.

At my size (5'4", 165), I pretty much have to get everything tailored. The Blauer BDU style uniforms I have now are excellent, after a heavy dose of tailoring. Do they hold up well to washing? Many polos fade easily.


My armor is Survival Armor, so I will give them a call tomorrow to ask about 2-3 items on their website.


I am also looking at these that Chuck Haggard mentioned in this thread years ago. https://patroltacsystems.com/armor-c...rmor-carriers/

[DpdG]

At my size (5'4", 165), I pretty much have to get everything tailored. The Blauer BDU style uniforms I have now are excellent, after a heavy dose of tailoring. Do they hold up well to washing? Many polos fade easily.

As much as I'd like to give an answer, we've only been using these shirts since the spring so I'm not sure I have enough data. So far so good with care via department paid dry cleaning. We previously wore class b style Elbeco shirts with military creases, western pockets, and traditional wool/poly pants. Some of the shirts I was still wearing as of the change over this year were from when I was hired by this department in 2011. They were a bit tired and worn, but still serviceable. I doubt the Blauer will last like that, but frankly I don't intend to do another 11 years to find out.

[Magsz]

We are using Elbeco uniforms. The sizing issue detailed above is consistent with what Elbeco is producing.

I wear an XL t-shirt in the real world. I wear Elbeco shirts in size small. A medium is down to my knees and the short sleeves are below my elbows. I have zero clue who they are sizing these for.

We are using a center zip Point Blank external carrier with old fashioned molle. I hate this carrier. It's incredibly hot and I have barely any room for anything on it since the center zip takes up something like 30% of the useable space on the vest. I don't carry anything on my firearm side that could impede my draw and I don't carry anything on the left side of my body that restricts my arms. It's a step in the right direction but I feel like laser cut molle would be a cleaner overall look along with a side opening. Oh well, I don't make any policy changes or purchasing decisions here so it's better than what we had.

[DpdG]

We are using a center zip Point Blank external carrier with old fashioned molle. I hate this carrier. It's incredibly hot and I have barely any room for anything on it since the center zip takes up something like 30% of the useable space on the vest. I don't carry anything on my firearm side that could impede my draw and I don't carry anything on the left side of my body that restricts my arms. It's a step in the right direction but I feel like laser cut molle would be a cleaner overall look along with a side opening. Oh well, I don't make any policy changes or purchasing decisions here so it's better than what we had.

The laser cut definitely improves the usable molle space as there is molle on the flap covering the zipper. Even still- pouch placement is still something to watch out for. I have flashlight, OC, and cuffs on the front strong side, mags and radio on support side. Gun and taser stay on belt. Our smaller folks are more constricted on placement.