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thanks
I thank you all for your comment and criticism of my gear choice. I value all opinions as they sometimes cast light on matters I had not thought about.
To define why I chose the Patrol Vest I will outline what I plan to use it for and then if you have time maybe you could offer you thoughts on the matter.
As I am not using this vest (at this point in time) for military service, uniformity with others is not a concern.
Also, even if someone thinks I got the wrong vest for the wrong job for the wrong reason; I want to state up front that I didn’t buy this gear, or any of my gear, to win a fashion show. The only gear I own that I will worry about how it looks is my dress gear when I have to conceal carry in dress clothing. Then I pick out high quality leather that works with the clothing I am wearing.
The reason for the vest: I picked SOE/BDS because several of the employees of the company that I plan to be working for had their gear. I got a drop holster for the company and loved it. After establishing a trust with the company and wearing one of their vests for a weekend, (again a team member owned it), I looked in to my first vest purchase. I picked the Patrol Vest because it would hold two M14 mags. My primary is a M4 style AR-15, but we do a lot of rural work and at those times we do employ M14/M1As.
“The gear does not make the man” I know this and it can’t be said enough for those rookies like myself reading this.
My ‘daily wear’ equipment is a mix of custom leather, good boots, 5.11 vest and sometimes their polo shirt, 5.11 pants or BDU pants. I train 65% of the time in this gear, or street clothing (i.e. jeans and a t-shirt). This is for working in urban environments with the principle.
So why did I need a LBV? Where we live is a small metro area with lots of rural country housing and farm land in every direction for about150 miles (with lots of small towns and so on).
Two weeks ago is an excellent example of when we needed LBV. A husband and wife had acted as an informant in some local Methamphetamine bust. There were threats against them and their home. Their truck had been shot up one night, their tractor had been spray painted. The local sheriff in the county they lived in was only giving them 1-2 uniformed officers on their very large farm. We (the company not me as I am not fully trained) had a team of 4 or more out there every day 24/7 for over a week patrolling the property escorting the principles in and out of town as they went about their lives. The teams left the officers at the house, and spent their days and nights patrolling for people that wanted to take shots at the principles. They were in their gear for 8-12 hours a day.
My thinking, tell me if I am wrong, is a high end vest that is GTG for men working and living in it for 30 days will be more comfortable and of better quality for jobs like that I have described.
Peregrino, water is not a worry at this point in time, I didn’t think three small things of 1/2in foam would hold me up, but it would take a few pounds off… is this wrong? I am asking, as I know very little about working around water. Any and all info welcome on this subject.
The main reason for the foam was to take up just that much more space there for widening the space between the two sides of the vest in the front where the pistol mags are. It’s worth the time and testing before I go looking for other solutions. Any ideas?
I did not take offence to anything said; I took it as two professionals trying to guide me. I hope that is what you all were doing and that you weren’t busting my chops any more than you would any other rookie. I welcome any comments anyone has on the subject.
Also the photos were for evaluation not showing off. I thought if people in the know looked at where I was carrying things they might have ideas to make my gear better, and on the off chance, be it a small one, that I have thought of something outside the box, who knows, I might help someone.
thank-you
JPH
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