Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/65600
FOCUS Uniforms & Accessories Vest Carrier, and many smaller aftermarket carrier manu- facturers. Most are made from a heavier weight fabric than a standard uniform shirt – which helps support the ballistic panels – but offer a pretty good color match to the standard shirt colors. Some manufacturers offer less color options than others. These carriers are based on traditional five-crease military style shirts, which have buttons and standard shirt scalloped flap pockets as well as epaulets. They are designed to look like the front and back torso sections of a standard uniform shirt. Attachment is via hook-pile on straps at the sides of the car- rier. Some incorporate elastic for an adjustable fit; some not. In some designs, Point Blank and ABA for example, there are a couple of small pockets on the front in the abdomen area under the standard pockets as well. Problems with these vests are the carrier is made to fit your vest panels, not you. Brian Limbert from D&G; Uniforms in Ohio stated he and his staff are trained to measure and fit an officer with armor that ensures maximum coverage and comfort. A standard complaint of the shirt-style carriers is that on most, there is no adjustment at the shoulders, which frequently brings the top edge of the vest panel up too high. The result is when an officer sits, the vest pokes him in the throat while at the same time leaving an exposed gap above the duty belt. The Tactical Style Carrier These types of carriers have been in existence for some time. They offer an armor option for plainclothes officers to quickly don their vests while performing search warrants or respond- ing to crimes in progress. They are now filtering into uniformed patrol and for good reason. Frequently these vests are made of 500 weight Cordura® nylon or similar, and they feature large sections of hook-pile material and come complete with I.D. banners such as POLICE and SHERIFF as well as attachable pockets for radios, pistol magazines and other gear. Similar to the uniform shirt-style carrier, these external ballistic panel car- riers affix at the sides of the officer via elastic straps. Most traditional manufacturers offer some type of exter- nal carrier in this category. Examples include the Point Blank R20-D Crossover Carrier; ABA's Xtreme® Series, which is available in either concealable or tactical carrier; Armor Ex- press O.C.S. – Overt Carrier System; GH Armor Systems Tacti- cal Outer Carrier, among others. Most of these types of carriers offer adjustable shoulder straps to avoid the throat and abdo- men gap issues that can occur with uniform shirt-style carriers. These external raid-type vests by many manufacturers have begun incorporating MOLLE webbing in the front, rear or both GH ARMOR SYSTEMS www.ghamorsystems.com EXTERNAL VEST CARRIERS Blauer Streetshirt™ 5.11 Patrol Duty Uniform, PDU Rapid Shirt and Coming this year from Blauer and 5.11 are shirts de- signed to be worn under external vest carriers. Both of these designs are scheduled to be released later this year and should increase officer comfort even more. According to Blauer, their Streetshirt is manufactured of "breathable, moisture-wicking mesh fabric, which cre- ates the ultimate performance uniform shirt that is both professional and comfortable." Designed specifically to be worn under the Armorskin external uniform vest car- rier, the shirt looks like a normal police duty shirt in the area not covered by the vest but better dissipates heat and increases comfort for the officer under the vest area. The PDU Rapid Shirt 5.11 is teaming up with Second Chance to release features like a knit bottom, advanced fabric properties in the area not covered by the external vest (PDU External Vest Carrier). According to 5.11 Tac- tical, the shirt "with its duty appearance from outside the external carrier to its moisture wicking and anti-microbial features underneath the carrier, the 5.11 PDU Rapid Shirt will keep you cool, dry and comfortable." for attachment of a large variety of officer equipment. This has become very popular with officers. For many small stature and female officers, space on the duty belt is at a premium. The external vest with readymade pockets or with MOLLE web- bing allows officers to shift equipment such as TASERs, radios, pistol magazines, etc., to the vest. This allows officers to carry these important pieces of gear but takes the weight off their duty belts. Officer back pain and health issues surrounding their backs and conditions such as hip or sciatic pain based on the weight of the duty belt and equipment are well known. Many officers have suffered back injuries from on-the-job motor vehicle ac- cidents or slips and falls. These external vest carriers increase officer comfort by helping to shift burdensome weight from the belt to the carrier. Officers love them for this reason. One officer who had several back surgeries and had the opportu- nity to wear this vest, commented he definitely appreciated the increased comfort during his workday and afterward. POINT BLANK ARMOR www.pointblankarmor.com SAFARILAND www.safariland.com 32 LAW and ORDER I May 2012