I have both. I wear my under the shirt body Armour, my external stays in the trunk for raids or stage before you go in calls.

External vest only means more dead Cops to me. :crying: JMHO

Argue if you like, but I don't think it can be supported rationally. It's to hot , I'll just slip this off a few minutes and.... Bang .......

:faint:

 

Where I used to work it would be too hot to wear all the time. Sometimes we would keep one in our surveillance veh back seat and if we had time to put it on we would. We would usually have a little time once a suspect is spotted or once he committed a crime. We would always wear under the shirt vests! We also had a ballistic helmet in the backseat also.

 

I think the vest being looked at are "uniform" looking external body armor. Not wearing it would not be an option when in public since it has your badge on it and its worn as the uniform of the day. (I am just speculating at this point though)

 

Yep and you may as well carry with the Chamber empty... You can always grab your gear when the need arises. You know well those external vest are going to park everywhere but on an officer.

Happened to us when a new Chief hated our Stetsons and ordered us back into our locker dusty service caps. We never ever wore them, even in rains and snow. They always wound up sliding off the dash or in the back seat with the drunks.

Vest and over loaded duty belts were far into the future then.:whistling:

 

Most cops in Alaska use external vest carriers. They are awsome. You can get more gear off your belt and onto the vest which helps with lower back issues. You can take the vest off easily when in the office doing reports. External vests make carrying a back up gun easy and fairly fast to draw. I will never go back to an internal vest style again. They suck. There is no down side that I have seen to external vests.
Pat

 

Yep and you may as well carry with the Chamber empty... You can always grab your gear when the need arises. You know well those external vest are going to park everywhere but on an officer.

Happened to us when a new Chief hated our Stetsons and ordered us back into our locker dusty service caps. We never ever wore them, even in rains and snow. They always wound up sliding off the dash or in the back seat with the drunks.

Vest and over loaded duty belts were far into the future then.:whistling:

Bad example. In the office you can take your vest off. If you leave you put it on. We have a policy that you will not be in public without your vest on. It works.
Pat

 

I would say 85% of my department wears external vests, all year long. That is in 115 degree heat in the summer (hotter than that on the asphalt). I don't know of any officer who takes it off unless it is in the station. I have worn my vest inner and external and for me, I like external.

The plus to me is that I get to take alot of equipment off my belt (which my back thanks me for) and places that weight on my shoulders, I get as many extra pockets as I want for carrying various equipment, gives me an extra place for a backup gun and I think it keeps me cooler because the air can flow in between the vest and my shirt.

To each his own I guess.

 

They are said to be more comfortable, and easier to keep clean.

Some of the chaps that wear them around here, take them off when they are in the office.

Being able to shed your vest in SAFE environments makes it more likely that they will be wearing avest in public.

Some people don't tolerate vests well, and will try not to wear them at all.

If the comfort level goes up, so will vest usage.

The officers that have them here like them. Most are switching to them.

 

They're nice because you can cool off in the PD and actually get dry. One bad side is that guys would put all their stuff in the vest and not have a basic load on their belt...then run outside and not have it.

They can look toooooo tactical to some of the management.

 

In addition to our concealed vests, my department currently authorizes two external vests carriers for Road Patrol, one that looks like the uniform shirt and a "tactical" one made by a company that claims to supply the LAPD and several other agencies. I can sum up my opinion of the external vests in three words. Bag. Of. Ass....which is what my partners look like wearing them. Hell, even the operators look sloppy wearing them. I'm sure its more of a knock on the companies that are supplying us, but so far I am unimpressed.

Maybe I would feel different if they wern't being worn over our regular uniforms. Some agencies that allow their guys to wear polo shirts under external vests always seem to look better to me.

 

Only if the vest is the type that mimics a uniform shirt. A tactical or raid vest is only to be used when you want to be highly visible as an LEO.

 

I am ABSOLUTELY pro external carrier if the officer likes it. I had one made by Turtle Tracks out of Alaska and it was awesome. I wore it every day anytime I was out of my secure office. I carried me surefire a digital recorder and a second set of cuffs in the pouches. On my belt I carried my gun, mags, cuffs, radio, taser, keys, and OC. I also had a spare set of keys in the vest and a backup gun. It was cordura and stayed clean easily.

My management didn't like them and changed the policy to make them for "special operations only" making them a total waste of money because it takes a long time to take off the belt, take off the shirt, properly put the vest in the carrier, don the shirt, don the belt, and put on the carrier and vest. I am anxiously awaiting the day we get them back for daily patrol.

 

Some guys at a neighobering agency got the option to purchase a carrier for $30-$35 which is external. They would put their panels in the carrier and it goes over their shirt. If your not looking for it you cannot tell the vest is on the outside of their shirt it looks just like a uniform. A few paid the money and have been wearing them for about 2 months. I assume they like it or they would go back to the old way. Not sure but it is similar to the one at the bottom of the page.

http://www.americanbodyarmor.com/Ec...or.com/EcommerceCategory.aspx?ProductCategoryID=2&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

 

I think this is what they might be looking to buy? I cant imagine the director suiting us all up in the tactical entry external vest for everyday wear?

As for the officer ending up not wearing their vest? Thats already a problem with the under shirt vests we have no since its not mandatory per policy. Why officers choose to go out without a vest on still blows my mind to this day. (and these are seasoned officers that choose not to) I think the director is trying to get more guys wearing their vest if the vest is cooler and more comfortable without making it mandatory? I really dont know since I am just a pee-on.

 

We can wear a *****in Molle safariland external carrier. It's great, form fitting, light, offers great ballistics, etc.

 

We had both types available on our PD and this was YEARS ago(early 1990's) I used the outside/exterior one and liked it a lot more than the under the clothes one. I now am wearing a under the shirt one and on occasions it sucks lol...

 

We had both types available on our PD and this was YEARS ago(early 1990's) I used the outside/exterior one and liked it a lot more than the under the clothes one. I now am wearing a under the shirt one and on occasions it sucks lol...

You are talking about that stab resistant thing? I think at times I would have rather that we went to external with the option of having our little bit of equipment hanging there, with both anti ballistic and anti stab properties. It is more expensive for the short term, but if everyone had their equipment and kept account of it, it could be a good thing. Plus, they could be used for outside duties without needing the separate anti ballistic vest.

 

Most cops in Alaska use external vest carriers. They are awsome. You can get more gear off your belt and onto the vest which helps with lower back issues. You can take the vest off easily when in the office doing reports. External vests make carrying a back up gun easy and fairly fast to draw. I will never go back to an internal vest style again. They suck. There is no down side that I have seen to external vests.
Pat

Pat and I have argued over a number of things in the past, but I'm with him on this one, big time. The external uniform-style carriers are much better to me. I don't see the problem with officers taking them on and off, BTW. Do your officers take their gunbelts off, or their shirts? The external vest looks better and provides better protection in many cases, plus seems to have some comfort/health benefits. Like Pat said you canget some weight off the belt which helps with back problems, and while in the car the external carrier lets you cool down easier if you've been in the heat.

 

I actually just started wearing one. My agency gives us the choice, which means if you want one you have to front the money. I picked up a Mocean external vest carrier. I opted to have a name tape sewed on and a badge sewed on as well. Some definite pros about wearing an external vest is the fact you can take it off when you are at the station (which is the only time mine comes off). There have been times where I knew I was going to be doing a ton of paperwork...so I just popped the vest off and got comfortable for the long haul. Another definite pro is all the pockets on the outside. I carry my body mic up front and a small flashlight. The only real thing I dislike about the external vest carrier is my uniform shirts get all sweaty.

There are a few officers in our department who have already gotten smart and started wearing no badge or name plate underneath their vest...even though they are suppose to. I just hope they don't ruin it for all of us.

 

I've been known to wear both at the same time. Seeing an officer get shot with his own gun will make you do thinds like that!

 

Why would folks wear a name plate and a metal badge under the external vest that already has a badge on it? I thought the uniform external vest is designed to be worn as a regular all day uniform?

 

Why would folks wear a name plate and a metal badge under the external vest that already has a badge on it? I thought the uniform external vest is designed to be worn as a regular all day uniform?

Probably so that they are still properly "uniformed" while not wearing the vest in the station.

 

Probably so that they are still properly "uniformed" while not wearing the vest in the station.

Exactly! I don't have an issue with this...but the higher ups do.

 

Exactly! I don't have an issue with this...but the higher ups do.

Unless they allow cloth badges and name tags, that would seem really dumb.

When we are "in the station" we are generally out of the public eye, so it doesn't matter.

Our uniform policies say badge and nametag have to be on the outermost garment, not every garment.

 

No negatives in my book for the external carriers. Unfortunatly, in my area they are unheard of.