Sunday, May 29, 2011

5.11 Tactical V-Neck Holster Shirt First Review And Impressions

Now listen here meow, I bought one of these see? It's a 5.11 tactical V-Neck Holster shirt. I got it from Global Supply Solutions who have probably the nicest showroom I've seen for a tactical store, they have a government contract for military supply and give discounts to military, government, and a few other careers. I ended up getting the Holster Shirt with a slight discount which is pretty good considering they usually run upwards of $60. I have been wearing the thing all day and found out that my small frame doesn't conceal very well. I am going to find out if it is just the smaller shirts that I wear or if I just can't conceal anything but I do like it, I bought it for running anyways so even if I can't it's not a problem.
This shirt always reminds me of the cover to "Bullit" because
of how the holsters sit. Anyways, the shirt takes a little getting used to, when  I first tried it on in the store it was very itchy where the pockets sit because of the lining, but after about 10 minutes I did not even know they were there. I had my Gerber Paraframe II, CKRT Folding Razel, Surefire G2, and Wallet in there and forgot they were there. very comfortable. With larger objects such as the Surefire and Razel the shirt I was wearing over it did "print" but not too much. I will be trying other shirts as the one I was wearing I've had for awhile and it is starting to get small on me.
 The picture series on this post will be showing how much larger objects "print" through other shirts. Here is my CKRT Razel. It is hefty and pretty wide so it is very obvious I am carrying something sizable in this shirt.
As you can see on the left pocket (on the right in this picture) you have an outline, that is the Razel. Charlie Whiskey's Smith & Wesson M&P .40 was obvious through the shirt I was wearing over this, the magazine and thumb safety were easily defined, but again, I am small and I had a smaller shirt on.
Here is a Surefire G2, it too is quite wide for a "pocket" light but what the heck, how much does it show?
To be fair, I pulled my shoulders back to make the knife and light print more but this will happen in a daily carry anyways so I feel it is best to show the "worst case scenario" so to speak. Overall I like it, after getting used to the pockets it really is a nice thing to wear, it's not too hot and very breathable as well. I do wish they had a "wife beater" style shirt though because if you are not wearing a collared shirt the back will show over the top of a T-shirt. I actually did send an email to 5.11 mentioning this but it is a minor problem all things considered. Even if you do not carry a gun (I do not currently) this shirt is nice for EDC'ers and for holding a cell phone and keys while running or working out. My main uses for this shirt will be carrying a knife and light to open up my pockets and lessen the movement restriction on a day to day basis. At $60 MSRP I was expecting slightly more for the money but we will see how it holds up with use. Again, I got this at Global Supply Solutions, if you are near them, go check them out. Seriously, awesome people and company, I mean they've got a freakin pool table and free drinks in their lounge! Also they have the most awesome business card I've seen but your gonna have to check out the post about GSS to see it!

4 comments:

  1. hard to tell, but it looks like the shirt may be a bit big on you. It should be tight like a compression shirt and you should wear another layer over top (preferably a snap-front shirt, double preferably a snap-front shirt that is designed to lay casually further reduce printing). Also note that the shirt is designed to hold sub-compacts tiny revolvers. This is a back-up gun holster. Good find!

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  2. Trust me the shirt is tight. I couldn't even fit into the smaller size at all.

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  3. 5.11 Tactical creates superior products that enhance the safety, accuracy, speed and performance of law enforcement, military and firefighting professionals. All the products of it including boots , jackets are really awesome



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