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Article: 05-2006
Introducing
Bullfrog Skin Vests
Continuing
discussion on Cover Garments
By: Ken O’Donnell
Two years ago ATSA’s newsletter posted an article I
wrote critical of the current style of vest marketed to us by the “concealed
carry” suppliers. In it I described
ideas for design, fabric and construction, and the type of apparel it should
coordinate with. Those may recall I had
been making individual pieces for myself at that time. I longed for one of the suppliers to come
out with a more suitable garment that I would purchase. But I couldn’t. None existed.
It appeared I was not the only one who had this same
desire. In the ensuing time period,
team members asked me to reproduce this vest, and with my limited time and
abilities I did. This spring my wife
and I decided to enter into factory production of my vest design. ATSA’s director, Skip Gochenour, graciously
invited me to make an announcement here on our team’s newsletter. I have contracted for production of a
garment to my specifications, and expect to have them available for sale at this
month’s NTI event.
The vests are assembled from a worsted wool gabardine
outer, and the interior uses a robust suit jacket/sport coat lining type
material. Two inside breast pockets and
two outside patch pockets enhance the vest to make it functional, yet still
remain stylish and fashionable for a well-dressed casual look. These do not look like a piece of gear. Those wishing to project themselves as
agents of the law, or falsely present an image as one, might be better served
looking elsewhere. The man desiring to
both be armed at all times and well dressed now has an acceptable cover
garment. No longer must we resign
ourselves to the extremes of either baggy, oversized clothing, or formal sport
coats to discreetly obscure our equipment.
I suggest this garment is a supplement to, as Skip
discusses at the NTI conferences, a total system. Nothing short of a trench coat will effectively obscure a nylon
clip-on holster attached to a 1” department store belt. Nor will the folks you work around be fooled
no matter what you wear if you talk passionately about firearms, or otherwise
advertise you have those interests. But
for those who seek discretion, appreciate the necessity for good leather (or
recently Kydex) to bear our equipment, and desire to carry the gear they use in
practice – perhaps such a garment has something to offer you.
The ideas we discuss as team members view the wearing of
arms as a system. A haphazardly
assembled collection of substandard gear, poorly selected clothing, and arms
chosen as an afterthought to what we can manage with our current attire does
not constitute a system. When my wife
was considering the selection of her own handgun (a practice I recommend as
opposed to choosing one for your spouse), she commented, “I have nothing to
wear with this.” She considered, as
women often do, her appearance and manner of dress, and assigned it of equal
importance to the selection and placement of the equipment. Men often do not associate the carrying of
arms and the clothing we wear as a package that compliments one another. Either they carry what they would prefer to
have – something along the lines of a mid-sized piece – and use baggy clothes
to casually cover it up, or don a sport coat for nicer look. More commonly, men will simply slip a small
subcompact into a pants pocket and consider themselves now armed.
I’d challenge those of us who carry an Airweight J-frame,
or a subcompact semi-auto, to be honest with ourselves about how often we train
with it. If we train with something
that we don’t carry, then we deceive ourselves when we consider its training
value. I can tread water using the
doggy paddle, but I don’t consider it swimming. Until I do a 500 meter with it, I might think it an acceptable
means to swim. Until we train with
limited gear, we might also harbor false optimism about its effectiveness.
Personally, I did not spend hundreds of dollars on leather
and supporting gear, buy quality handguns, outfit them with good sights, and
have them made into good carry pieces only to leave everything at home in the
safe and stuff a $300 compromise in my pocket.
It might make me feel better than nothing and get me by, but it’s hardly
part of a system.
The other consideration we discuss involves who shows up
at the scene immediately after we resolve the event. I will deal with the immediate problem in whatever manner
appropriate. I’ll not fret over things
I cannot control, but instead focus on what I can do to influence events at the
time. My concerns are the first responders,
and giving myself the time to communicate I am a victim, not an aggressor. I have no misconceptions a good appearance
of itself could convince anyone to consider my actions right, justified and let
me evade the legal processes.
I do however think that a poor appearance does not help me
avoid getting shot, having a shoulder dislocated, being thrown into the gutter
with a knee on my neck, or otherwise manhandled by those who show up with the
job to assign blame and figure out who to arrest. It does not serve my cause to emerge from a fight unharmed or
less harmed, only to be injured or killed by the police. Hurt is hurt; shot is shot; and dead is
dead. I won’t suggest one walk around
in a suit; it’s impracticable for the majority of us. But a nice appearance subliminally communicates things we want;
more importantly, a rough or poor appearance suggests things we might not.
View
yourself in a full length mirror. If
you were to come across yourself standing over a bleeding man, what assumptions
and conclusions would you make? Ponder
your appearance after a melee. You will
not look as you appear now. You may
have stained or dirty clothes from a scuffle, unkempt hair, your shirt pulled
about, untucked and possibly torn. I
suggest you will not take notice of your state and make no effort to correct
yourself in the interim between the event and the arrival of authorities. The mug shots we see on the evening news
portraying a haggard, disheveled man and comment, “He looks like a real winner
. . .” You could likely appear the same.
Perhaps now imagine yourself amongst your aggressor’s assembled friends
and family, gathered to point you out as the person responsible for his state. Surrounded by the clamor and excitement, you
should consider attempts to explain what just occurred will not immediately be
heard by anyone. If you think this is a
far fetched illustration . . . consider that confusion and commotion surrounds
such incidents with far more regularity than does silence and solitude. Even police officers get shot by each other
in such ways.
I won’t suggest you make radical changes in your wardrobe
to become someone you’re not. But a
nice appearance recently ruined looks different than a poor appearance recently
ruined. Just as when we decide to carry
arms we must choices to temper our behavior and attitude, I think we should
consider the same with our appearance.
A careless, “who gives a damn impression” just isn’t compatible with
being armed. When we discuss a system
that includes our clothing, we mean taking these concerns into account. If you don’t think appearance makes a
difference, ask any team member how practitioners treat the Terrible Teds the
years we’ve armed them, dressed in suits, and placed them inside the
shoothouses.
I have specific reasons for choosing the material used in
its construction. Wool, especially
worsted gabardine, has the quality of having its own body and drapes
nicely. It also breathes, has great
wrinkle resistance, and the texture looks visually pleasing. The lining offers a strong wear resistance
combined with friction reducing attributes.
It enhances a draw stroke and allows the garment to move freely,
separately from the clothing and gear worn beneath it. I personally hand select the fabrics used in
its assembly from the garment district in nearby Philadelphia. They are made by American labor here in
Pennsylvania in Adams County, an area rich in skilled textile manufacturing
history.
More information about the material used and color
selections, the concepts discussed that led up to this design, and the history
of how it went from a desire into production can be found at www.bullfrogskin.com. There I also discuss the attempts of others
to satisfy this need, and how they are lacking – especially in regards to
material.
I invite you to stop by the site, and if you attend this
year’s NTI, to visit with me in person and continue the discussion.