May be returning to patrol. Upgrades?

[NCmtnman]

Just wanted to put my .02 in...

I went through a similar decision where I was issued a mic but saw a lot of guys running the ear pieces which I thought was only for the "cool guys". Turns out that after spending some time underneath a hovering helicopter (30ft off the deck), I made the switch to the earpiece as I couldn't hear my mic. My progression to a dedicated ear piece as well as a small push button lapel mic happened a few weeks later when I got my Motorola mic hung up in some mesquite and then later on that same mic fell off while chasing a subject. To add insult to injury, the mic bounced off of my M4, onto my boot, then into my face.

The less gear to get hung up the better for me. I also preferred to be the only one listening to dispatch.

[brooklynbacon]

I'm the opposite...I don't like all that buffy ass secret service mic crap..the perps know our codes anyways..something no one has touched on that's important..having a good flashlight or two. I recommend the Surefire (anything really) Fury light. It's bright as hell, and you can never have enough light. Also, practice drawing from your duty holster. Since you were in the land of the cheap suits for a while, you probably just had a belt holster on. Do some draws and reloads from your full battle rattle..good luck and welcome back to the bag..

[EM_]

...only a boot can't figure out how to have a convo and listen to the radio at the same time

Ya that was pretty 101 level stuff when I was still in the patrol game. LOL.

Ok...I've only been out of patrol a few years (and shudder at the thought of going back after 14 years)...but I'll add my $0.02 since my time was relatively recent.

Earbuds are a good call, just take a little getting used to. I found them very valuable in loud environments, which seemed to happen quite a bit (violent domestics, bar calls, etc.) and they didn't hurt to make sure you don't miss anything on the late, ahem, 'quiet' nights...I think the trick is in trying a few styles and sizes until you find the comfy ones.

I've not tried that particular Keen model, but the others are all comfortable as hell and anymore that's one of my main requirements. I don't know how well they hold up, but that was never a sticking point for me in patrol as per the contract we got one pair per year.

I actually liked the ASP cuffs, but they were my second pair, not my primaries. I gave them the nod understanding they were not as strong, but my back needed less weight. I just used normal issued peerless cuffs up front, and the backups...in back...

Always wore a backup gun, spare flashlight (still prefer SureFire), spare mags (I liked the newish safariland mag pouch that used 3 spare mags facing outboard, but didn't take up more space than the two mag pouch). If your agency allows the exterior vests then one thing that helped my back and hips a lot was the duty suspenders worn beneath the exterior armor.

And I never found any ASP very useful, so I ditched that completely and carried a wood baton. That's probably a policy thing though, and for us it was still allowed.

For the knife at a price point of "won't care if I lose it" I like the Spyderco Endura/Delica line, especially with a Waved feature. I might upgrade that to Benchmade, but only for the ones that are US made, and that's just a thing for me. If I can buy US, I do, but not at the cost of food out of my kids mouths.

It must've been nice for you guys who worked in places the recorder could be used. In IL that would have been committing a felony. Gotta love two party consent...

[voodoo_man]

Ya that was pretty 101 level stuff when I was still in the patrol game. LOL.

Ok...I've only been out of patrol a few years (and shudder at the thought of going back after 14 years)...but I'll add my $0.02 since my time was relatively recent.

Earbuds are a good call, just take a little getting used to. I found them very valuable in loud environments, which seemed to happen quite a bit (violent domestics, bar calls, etc.) and they didn't hurt to make sure you don't miss anything on the late, ahem, 'quiet' nights...I think the trick is in trying a few styles and sizes until you find the comfy ones.

I've not tried that particular Keen model, but the others are all comfortable as hell and anymore that's one of my main requirements. I don't know how well they hold up, but that was never a sticking point for me in patrol as per the contract we got one pair per year.

I actually liked the ASP cuffs, but they were my second pair, not my primaries. I gave them the nod understanding they were not as strong, but my back needed less weight. I just used normal issued peerless cuffs up front, and the backups...in back...

Always wore a backup gun, spare flashlight (still prefer SureFire), spare mags (I liked the newish safariland mag pouch that used 3 spare mags facing outboard, but didn't take up more space than the two mag pouch). If your agency allows the exterior vests then one thing that helped my back and hips a lot was the duty suspenders worn beneath the exterior armor.

And I never found any ASP very useful, so I ditched that completely and carried a wood baton. That's probably a policy thing though, and for us it was still allowed.

For the knife at a price point of "won't care if I lose it" I like the Spyderco Endura/Delica line, especially with a Waved feature. I might upgrade that to Benchmade, but only for the ones that are US made, and that's just a thing for me. If I can buy US, I do, but not at the cost of food out of my kids mouths.

It must've been nice for you guys who worked in places the recorder could be used. In IL that would have been committing a felony. Gotta love two party consent...

Loud environments = turn radio up, it has volume switch for a reason

ASP's are great, if you know how to use them properly they are an essential tool in police work. I do not mean striking, I don't even remember the last time I hit someone with an ASP, but I've used it to take people down, take people of cars (primary use) and for that it works great.

[EM_]

Loud environments = turn radio up, it has volume switch for a reason

ASP's are great, if you know how to use them properly they are an essential tool in police work. I do not mean striking, I don't even remember the last time I hit someone with an ASP, but I've used it to take people down, take people of cars (primary use) and for that it works great.

Did a lot of window breaking and door knocking with them...as an impact weapon they never did do it for me, and it wasn't lack of training (I was an instructor for years) I just didn't have the confidence after an ugly early incident. I always got better results with the hickory.

Side note I still preferred the C cell Maglite for car stops as it could be tucked under the arm to conduct the stop but also worked very well for other things very well in an emergency.

[brooklynbacon]

Did a lot of window breaking and door knocking with them...as an impact weapon they never did do it for me, and it wasn't lack of training (I was an instructor for years) I just didn't have the confidence after an ugly early incident. I always got better results with the hickory.

Side note I still preferred the C cell Maglite for car stops as it could be tucked under the arm to conduct the stop but also worked very well for other things very well in an emergency.

If you still like the mag-lite, there's a modification for it now, where you can turn it into a 1000 lumen LED light..just a bulb change and some minor wiring. I'm sure someone on here has the link to the guy who does it. I'll ask around, as I know there was a guy here in South Florida, who used to do it.

[EM_]

Cool idea. No longer out doing dangerous things in the dark but I keep one in my wifes rig. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks!