Tactical Vests: Is there a discreet model for CC

[noshow]

My favorite warm weather cover-up are dark floral patterned Hawaiian untucked shirts, they are a fat man's best friend!

 

[noshow]

Not knowing OC

 

[noshow]

It's either A S&W model 36 or PPK-S both in a Galco IWB appendix style in the northeast region. I want the vest for Oct-Apr

 

[Muss Muggins]

Anyone wearing 5.11 anything is carrying a gun . . .

You could always go for something that looks less "tactical" and more outdoorsy like a hunting vest, especially if you live near a more wooded area where nobody would blink an eye at a hunter's vest.

That being said, unless you're talking about a vest that looks like something S.W.A.T. or Military would wear with all sorts of pouches, straps, bandoleers and a plate carrier on it, then it's most likely that the only person who is going to think you look obvious is yourself.
Honestly, I see folks obsessing all the time over their attire, thinking that certain styles or even brands of clothing along are somehow tipping folks off that you're carrying a gun, if not outright telegraphing it to everyone in a five block radius.

Believe it or not, ordinary people don't go actively scouting everyone around them, attempting to determine whether or not they are armed. That's an overly self-conscious if not outright paranoid way of thinking.

Personally, I wear 5.11 Tactical Pants, one of the brands that so many folks insist might as well be transparent because apparently everyone, including folks who have no interest whatsoever in firearms or mountain climbing is aware of the brand and instantly recognizes it at a glance, then automatically knows that you're carrying a firearm.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that I've been wearing 5.11 Tactical Pants for over a year now, I've yet to have anyone eyeballing my pants suspiciously, much less confronting me about how my pants or the gun they have ascertained at a glance based on style/brand is tucked inside the waistband.

Realistically speaking, 5.11 Tactical Pants look no different than any other style of heavy duty cargo pants, and normal people don't survey everyone around them, taking note of their clothing, or attempting to figure out who might be carrying a concealed weapon based on said clothing.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that there are paranoid folks who do that sort of thing, but then again, they're probably the same sort of folks who believe in all sorts of conspiracies ranging from the world secretly being ruled by an advanced subterranean society of humanoid reptiles to the sadly common belief that the average inept, out-of-touch, anti-gun politician is some sort of evil genius who has formulated an elaborate, long-term plan to systematically rob all citizens of their civil rights and rule the nation by force, even though they cannot possibly achieve their goals within their own lifetime.
But again, people who aren't paranoid don't think that way, ergo the probability of the average person you pass on the street figuring that you're armed based on your attire within reason, is extremely low. Just don't go around dressed like you're part of a S.W.A.T. Team or an actively deployed Soldier and you'll be fine.

Honestly, the sort of folks who think that styles or brands of clothing are an infallible indication that someone is carrying a firearm is most likely into firearms themselves, and is probably the sort who also thinks that anyone who wears clothing with Military Logos on them is in the military themselves, or that anyone who wears a baseball cap must be a hardcore fan of baseball.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Yesterday saw a guy wearing 5-11s.
Saw a Black Auto, didn’t get a good enough to ID it.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Be real. The average gun hating person never even heard of 511 tactical. Wear what you want.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I agree. Not saying everybody knows. Just saying I know . . .

Be real. The average gun hating person never even heard of 511 tactical. Wear what you want.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

HAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!! Muss, you crack me up!!!

I have lived in vests of all types for the past 25 or so years. There was a period of time when they were stylish and I liked the look so I bought a few. I didn't hide a gun with them (I was carrying a Beretta 950 BS in my pocket but that was long before the CHL law passed here), I just liked them. Then I started cowboy action shooting in the late 90s and everything I wore came straight from my closet, jeans, boots, appropriate shirt, and a vest. I had a few but then I got really into them and started having them custom made or buying fancy ones in western wear stores. All kinds of bright and blinding colors, all cut western.

Then, a few years went by and the CHL law passed and I started carrying larger guns IWB. Nobody EVER looked at me (except friends who knew me well) and said anything about guns and I never felt self conscious about it. I wore those vests everywhere, Israel, Italy, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, EVERYDAY to work, etc. Not once did I ever feel like I was being checked out by anyone for a gun.

GUN PEOPLE DO THAT. The rest of society doesn't give it a thought.

Moreover, over the course of time, I acquired a number of "outdoors"-type vests, the typical photo journalist or fishing type and, still, on planes, in theaters, restaurants, wherever, not one issue with anyone, not ever.

I think it's the gun community that's paranoid about vests - nobody else cares.

Scully makes leather concealed carry vests and so does Wyoming Traders. I had a number of those types from several makers before my fire in 2018 (lost all my vests) and I have a lot of new vests now that I can and do sometimes use to cover an IWB rig but the Wyoming Trader concealed carry vest I have has great pockets for gun, magazines, etc. You don't have to wear tactical clothing to easily hide firearms.

I don't know about 5-11s but Tru-Spec makes rip stop tactical type pants with excellent pockets for concealing firearms larger even than J frames. Again - nobody pays attention.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Just to assist, I'll drop a website in for you:

Wild West Mercantile

Copyright © Wild West Mercantile 2020

The one I have is a little lighter weight and doesn't have flapped breast pockets but it's pretty close to the one in the picture otherwise. Plenty of places on line to get one.

 

[Eric300]

Be real. The average gun hating person never even heard of 511 tactical. Wear what you want.

I wear this vest everywhere I go. Very discreet......lol

 

[oldiegoldie]

5.11 Covert is best i've found and have more than one. about $85. summertime i wear Scottevests. my vests serve same purpose for me as a purse does for women. and they do a good job of covering firearms.

 

[Smoke]

I wear this vest everywhere I go. Very discreet......lol

It's camouflage. They probably don't even see you

 

[Loyaljeeper]

Be real. The average gun hating person never even heard of 511 tactical. Wear what you want.

It’s not hippie gun haters I worry about making me. It’s gangbangers that have spent more time inside interview rooms, court, jail, and prison than half the cops in my hometown. A few years ago I was wearing 5.11 pants and a plaid button down working intelligence outside a club one night. Employees at the club knew I was going to stand with them at the door. About an hour into watching to see who was entering I got a text that I had been made. Local police had a CI notify them that everyone was talking on a Facebook about an undercover cop in “Fed-pants“ standing at the door of the club.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

It’s gangbangers

Well, if you're really on duty then I suspect the last thing you should be wearing is 5.11s. Jeans are far more appropriate.

ISCS stands for "Senior Chief Intelligence Specialist" so I've been there and done some of that. Years ago I was working on a project for the CINC in the library of the Southern Command in Quarry Heights, Panama, which was the HQ at the time. Tall, clean cut guy comes in, khaki pants, vest, white shirt. Earpiece, too, but that was just lagniappe as far as I was concerned. I was in uniform. I looked up, smiled, said, "Hi. You're CIA, right?"

He looks at me, flabbergasted. "How did you know?"

"Seriously? With that outfit, here in Panama?"

On a parallel note, in a prior life I was a pharmacist. For awhile I worked in a medical center in Spanish Harlem. Two VERY white dudes walk in, one is at least 6 feet and husky, the other one is solid but maybe 5'8", maybe less. They start to ask me something and I blurted out, "You two are cops, right?" They look startled and ask, "How did you know?".

"Seriously?"

I'm not a law enforcement officer and I don't play one on TV but after having been there and done that, or things like that, I can tell you that if you want to blend in then wear what the locals wear. Before I ever went to Panama I researched local customs and I told my Navy colleagues two things, the first being don't wear jeans and the second being don't wear shorts. Panamanaian men don't dress like that so your clothes say "AMERICAN"!!!

Gangbangers don't wear 5.11s. Same story, different time and place.

Europeans don't wear western style vests but at that point I was a total tourist so it didn't matter. But in America it does so I choose my vests a little more carefully between NYC and Durango.......

 

[Moo Moo]

I like my Caterpillar brand vest.

 

[HardToHandle]

It's either A S&W model 36 or PPK-S both in a Galco IWB appendix style in the northeast region. I want the vest for Oct-Apr

Seems like a sweet spot - concealable firearms, AIWB and seasonal clothing. I don’t think you could do any better, as that it is what I do as well.

Eddie Bauer had some lightly insulated zip front vests that had a stretchy synthetic side/back for a few seasons. They were GREAT to conceal at One or Two O'clock AIWB, but would print like nothing else anywhere else. That works for me too when it gets a little colder. I recall the Carhartt and likely LL Bean made similar Hybrid vests.

Men'''s Emberlite Hybrid Vest | Eddie Bauer

For what it is worth, Muss nailed it on 5.11 and even Vertx. You aren’t fooling any significant threats out on the street - there is a reason the 5.11 wear was referred to as “shoot-me-first pants” 20 years ago. Wear them if they meet your needs, but understand any street savvy bad guy keys on them instantly and evaluates you as a potential threat... or a potential victim who happens to be carrying a gun.

There are times I will choose to look a smidge overt... Swimming with sharks and all.... Most of the time I want to look like a kindly college professor.

 

[H Richard]

I bought one of the Eddie Bauer light weight insulated vests last year after Christmas sales. I always buy one size larger and it covers an OWB small 9mm carried at 4 O'Clock behind the hip. I can wear it up to 55 degrees or so and still be comfortable.

I have 5 vests, including a 5-11 type which is Heavy and stiff, probably my least favorite vest.

 

[Smoke]

This clearly is a real issue because it comes up over and over and over again on just about every gun forum out there.

I don't have any problem believing that 95% of the people I encounter on a daily basis have no idea what 5.11 means. They're not the people I'm worried about.

The people I'm worried about are the 5% that do recognize those clothes and know exactly what they are.

I said this the last time this discussion came up and it's true so I'm going to say it again. The next time you see any kind of cop getting interviewed on TV look at what he's wearing. It's almost always going to be the 5.11 pants and the 5.11 Polo. It's literally a uniform.

I've said this before but a criminal , especially a criminal, who's been arrested by somebody wearing 5.11s is going to know what they are.

They may not be able to tell you "Those are 5.11 pants." but I bet they can tell you that cops wear them. Those are the people whose attention I'm trying to avoid.

Another thing that I've noticed is it there is a certain type of concealed carrier who wears the Tactical Tuxedo on purpose because he wants people to think he's an "operator" . There was a guy that used to live in my apartment complex who would walk around in his Karate pants all the time. He wanted everybody who saw him to know he wasn't the guy you wanted to mess with without actually having to say it. That's what I think of every time I see someone who isn't a cop wearing the 5.11.

ETA

I have a Columbia Fleece vest that I wear in the winter. I wear Wrangler Cargo pants for my extra pockets and the only thing overtly "Tactical" I wear is my Wilderness Tactical Belt but since I wear my shirt untucked no one sees it anyway.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Started wearing vests back in the 1980s .... made/sold by "Banana Republic" for the yuppie crowd..........


At +60 I need pockets..... reading glasses, sun glasses, keys,car keys, wallet and money clip,flashlight, pen etc.

Today I've added Duluth Trading "Dry on the Fly" or "Working man's"vests and in the fall/winter lightweight fleece vest (1-3 zippered pockets) over a lite flannel shirt or oxford cloth shirt........ layered look and you can leave the fleece on indoors

Another good "cover" evenings and weekends or if you're retired is an LLB flannel lined "Hurricane" shirt.... one size large worn as a "shirt jac"..... been a standard with me for at least 30 years.

Fishing style shirts in the summer months are good to go..... mostly squared tales to wear. Expensive alternative the "Un-tuck-it" shirts worn by all the "millennial cool kids"

 

[uncleted327]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned, or possibly even knows, that Berne makes an entire line of CCW outerwear for men and women. Vests and jackets, heavyweight and lightweight. This is the Echo One vest. Every bit as good as Carhartt and for a vest to carry in you can't find better...