Vest

[jnclement]

I think I'd be forced to use a belly band, or thunderware.

[therooster]

Originally Posted by SRSpano

What do you guys think about using a vest such as the 5.11 to conceal with a t-shirt and shorts. I'm trying to come up the the best way to carry all day (I work outside) while staying compliant.

Thanks

i work oustide too, and i carry all day everyday. i wont tell you what to do because what works for me may not work for you and vice versa.

i use 2 methods of carry. 1, i carry in an Comp tac C-tac IWB holster. 2, i also use a Comp tac Locking pabble.

when i carry with my IWB i do not use my vest... obviously... a Tee shirt or a button up shirt does the trick. this is how i normaly carry when it gets real hot out, like it is this time of year.

when i carry OWB i use my 5.11 vest and it works great. i love it, i use it for everyday carry and for competition. despite what everyone belives on this board; in my oppinion the 5.11 vest is absolutly not the "shoot me first vest". i came to this conclusion when i had my life threatened at gun point (more than once) and i can assure you that the last thing the agressors were thinking about was what i was wearing. i also had an experience of almost drawing on a guy that came up from behind me (while wearing my 5.11 vest). i turned imediatly went to the ready position and had my weakhand on my chest and started to pull my vest out of the way. i stoped when i realized the guy was not an imediate threat, but i stayed in my ready position and on high alert. the guy asked me if i wanted to buy some cologne. i replied to him with a firm NO. then he looked at me, saw the vest, and asked if i was going fishing.

so, even while standing in the ready position having followed through with the very first step of the draw the guy still had no idea what i had on my hip. remember that you are dealing with the general public, most of them are blind, they are sheeple. everyone of us on this board might know if a guy is carrying when we see him wearing a 5.11 vest, but we have a trained eye, we know what to look for... and that is something that the general public doesnt have.

[EME]

I have two vest a tan one and black one. I also wear a short sleeve safari type shirt with a colored type tee shirt in the summer. I for one do not think it screams gun to the average person on the street. They don't even know what it's all about. And even if they do, who cares. If you don't print or show your firearm, let them think what they want too. We gun people look at a person wearing the vest and of course it screams gun, but we'v all done the looking and studing. I was at the mall the other day and saw two people wearing vest. One guy was dressed up in a white shirt and tie and another was just wearing it normally. When I wear mine I have my cell phone in a pocket which can be seen easily by anyone who might even care. Hopefully they will think no pockets in the tee shirt so he's got a garment on which has several pockets for carrying personal stuff, like phones, wallets, pens and etc. But, as stated above, who cares. Just my
$.02 worth.

[NiK]

Originally Posted by jnclement

I think I'd be forced to use a belly band, or thunderware.

Whenever I get the urge to carry the XD, I use an invisible holster aka thunderwear. Works really well for me, the draw is fast, it's visually undetectable, but you can't really reholster single-handedly if that's a concern.

[The Tengu]

Belly band holsters are great solutions for summertime carry.

[SRSpano]

Thanks for all the info. I accually have 2 vest. One is a 5.11 and the other is a Safari vest. I am a large guy (5'9" and 220) and have tried IWB. It just doesn't work for me. I am self employeed and do commercial contracting and maintenence. I have tried a really big t-shirt with my Galco Concealment holster and it's OK but if I reach of when I sit the but sticks out and sometimes it halfway prints. I have been trying the vest now for a few days and they work great. I guess I'll keep wearing them even if I look like a dork. Hey I'm 48 and shave my head, I allready look like a dork!!!

[one-eyed-fatman]

If it works for you that's all that matters.