13C

The review of the CTT Custom holster from Chi-Town Tactical  is live over the 13C YouTube Page  I give my thought thoughts on the holster as well as some considerations for carrying AIWB  – Appendix Inside Waist Band .

StealthPro in white

This is part 3 in an on going series on armor and armor choices for home defense and EDC.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I don’t personally feel the need to wear armor on a day to day basis but having something in the kit allows you the flexibility to have that option should your normal day to day routine deviate from the norm.

Enter the Stealth Pro from Safe Guard Armor .  The Stealth Pro is billed as an “Ultra Concealment Vest” and I’d be inclined to agree.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been wearing my Stealth Pro around town in my day to day travels as well as on a few road trips to test it’s comfort for extended periods in the car.  Unlike an older vest I have (I would wear back in the late 90’s when I was a FF/EMT and in bad areas of the county), this vest has the upgrades you would expect in a high end product.

It has mesh in all the appropriate areas to help dissipate heat from your body, full shoulder support as well as a fitted neck.   The Stealth Pro comes in various levels of protection from 2 to 3A as well as options for edge and spike protection as well.

Keep in mind that no vest is bullet PROOF and that just because it’s a bullet resistant vest doesn’t mean it will protect you from knife or stabbing threats.  Lvl2 is rated for up to .357 magnum and Lvl 3A includes high velocity 9mm and .44 magnum.  You can read more about those rating HERE.

The cost difference between the lvl 2 and 3A isn’t very significant and neither is the weight difference.  The flexibility and movement of the vest won’t be affected much either, so in my case I went with the lvl 3A vest.  I didn’t select a vest with the added protection for edge or stabbing theats but both options are available with the StealthPro.

StealthPro w/ G19 AIWB

In my encounters with people around town, I don’t think anyone noticed I was wearing armor.  Being in the Midwest, when outdoors I always had a jacket on but I purposely removed my jacket promptly upon entering a building.  Wearing a jacket, it would be completely impossible to tell I was wearing armor.

No one noticed, that I could tell anyway.  I also wore my armor to church several times, including Christmas Eve service.  I got a few pasts on the shoulder as usual but due to the construction of the carrier, you cannot feel it when it’s under a 1/4 zip fleece or pull over.  It’s invisible to the eye and to the touch on the shoulder.

Obviously someone touching my back or chest would feel the vest.  Although given a decent weight fleece or hoodie, a sheep patting you on the back may not even notice it.

The vest offers great protection and wrap around coverage on the sides as one would expect.

VP9 OWB and G19 AIWB

Comfort when carrying.  I didn’t wear the vest without being armed and my usual EDC setup wasn’t affected by the vest.  I generally carry AIWB and did so for the majority of the time with the vest.  I also carried strong side OWB and had no issues either.  I include the photo for comparison purposes, I didn’t carry two firearms on my belt line at the same time during T&E, I alternated.

Overall I’m quite impressed with the StealthPro and glad I have it.   Various videos are on YouTube showing the ballistics testing of this vest so at this time I’m not inclined to shoot mine and I feel confident in it’s abilities.

As you sort through your armor choices, keep in mind that you may need to wear your armor outside the house at some point and in social situations.  I still find hard armor, rated for rifle rounds, preferable for home defense. If I could only choose one piece of armor to buy, I’d lean heavily to soft armor simply because of the flexibility to wear it discretely in various settings.

I’ll be revisiting this vest over the summer when temperatures here rise and report back on comfort during the hottest months of the year ad how the vest is holding up.  Given concerns about terror attacks on churches, I may likely add armor to my EDC while attending services, as one of the Sheep Dogs in my congregation it seems like a prudent thing to do.

Part One can be found HERE

Part Two can be found HERE

Note both handheld and weapon mounted lights.

This article is part 2 in an on going series.  Part 1 can be found HERE.

In the past body armor was something most people didn’t seriously consider as part of their home defense strategy or for EDC.  As things start to come full circle, the idea of keeping armor with your home defense gun just makes sense.  I don’t think you’ll find many people who would disagree with that and most would encourage it.

Armor for EDC purposes is currently at the phase armor for home defense was several years ago,  mocked by some and ignored by most. For me adding armor to my EDC isn’t something I feel like I need to do, however there are certainly occasions where having the option available is nice.

My first experience with body armor was back in the mid to late 90’s as a FireFighter and EMT.  Being low man on the totem pole, a probie, I got rotated into some houses that were in some pretty sketchy areas.  After one incident where a illegal alien wielding a machete chased another ‘migrant worker’ through my scene I felt like I needed to do something and I bought my first vest off a local officer whose department was issuing new vests to all their officers.  Times and money were tight and a year~ old vest was better than no vest.

Flash forward to today.  I no longer work in a “front line” role as I transitioned many years ago over to the definitive care side of medicine but I do have a home and family to defend both in the house and outside of it.

While I don’t feel the need to add armor to my EDC, there are occasions where I must travel into less than desirable areas of town.  In these instances having something available in the kit simply makes sense.  It’s no different than adding a spare mag carrier to your EDC routine.  While fate may favor the bold, it also favors the prepared.

Soft armor is going to be the most concealable option on the market today.  It’s also going to allow for the most freedom of movement and provide the most coverage.   Today I have a level 3A soft armor concealable vest (from SafeGuard) that is rated to stop most handgun rounds, including high velocity 9mm from a 16″ barrel.  While it offers great coverage, including on the sides, the trade off is that soft armor does not provide protection against rifle rounds.

For rifle threats I also have some ceramic plates that are rated for rifle rounds I’ll be covering in upcoming posts having to deal with hard armor options and I am looking to pick up some coated steel armor as well.

On the right is my old Second Chance vest and on the left is the StealthPRO. Note the form fitting neck, full support shoulders and mesh to help with heat build up.

My next article will be covering and comparing soft armor options, including a review of my lvl 3A StealthPRO and the advances in comfort from years past, including feel and ability of newer carriers to keep you cooler in the heat that with previous generations.

Look for the second article right here at 13C Gun Reviews  by next week.