I have lived in Mississippi for ~18 years and before that, I lived in Las Vegas for four years. I like to think that I have a little bit of experience in carry a concealed pistol in a hot climate. For several years, my solution has remained essentially the same - a a light weight synthetic shirt worn over a t-shirt. For a t-shirt, I typically take a v-neck t-shirt and cut the sleeves off to promote as much cooling and air flow as possible. The t-shirt is a pretty essential part of the solution as it keeps the gun, holster, magazines, etc. from chafing. It also means that you end up wearing two layers which is not as cool as one.
Over the past two years, I've tried a variety of concealed carry shirts to see what works best as well as modifying off-the-shelf shirts for enhanced weapon access. I had seen the shirt offering from Vertx but let's be honest - I'm cheap. To date the most expensive shirt I had used was a Carhart at around $35. The Vertx offerings I had seen had been closer to $70, even with LE discounts.
Recently, I saw a Vertx shirt on sale for Independence Day and decided to try it. This particular model is called the Guardian and I ended up paying around $50 shipped.
What makes this shirt different from anything else on the market is that it includes a "skirt" sewn into the complete circumference of the shirt, at a level slightly below your solar plexus. The idea is that the skirt is tucked into your pants and protects your body from chafing while everything above the skirt is a single layer of lightweight synthetic that breaths and cools better. I was skeptical of the design and thought it gimmicky when I looked at it initially.
Today, I actually wore the shirt and my opinion has changed dramatically. While it has some quirks, the Vertx Guardian seems to be the best concealed carry shirt I've found. Donning and doffing is a bit weird as the shirt doesn't open in the front - you have to pull it on over your head.
The shirt was clearly designed with the help of folks who knew what they were doing. Each corner has a pre-sewn pouch should you want to add a weight or hide a handcuff key. The skirt is actually longer than the shirt itself so when you tuck it in, it really does anchor everything.
The fabric is very lightweight and stretchy. This means that the top half of the shirt cools well and that when you draw the gun, the fabric moves out of the way fluidly. I haven't had time to run it live fire and check with a timer but my subjective opinion is that this is the fasted closed-front garment draw I've experienced.
Other than price and the odd donning/doffing, there aren't many negatives about this shirt that I've seen so far. The only other quirk worth mentioning is that the skirt is fairly long and if you have to take a dump, it takes some thoughtful consideration to tuck it up and out of the way.
I'm so happy that I will be ordering a second one tomorrow. I'm not going to wear the Vertx exclusively but it will be my "go to" shirt when I know I'm going to be outside for any extended period of time.
Since it's probably easier to explain the concept with pictures, here's a link to YouTube video that explains the design:
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Originally Posted by Pepper
