I found the perfect survival vest

I think if I needed a vest I would go modular and put stuff where I wanted it. it did look like a nice piece of kit and said it was made in USA, so that’s a plus
 
The price is so high because of the quality of the vest. It's phenominal. I own alot of their gear and am very , very impressed with the durability of it. You will not be sorry.
 
I have looked for hours and that is acutally the cheapest I have found most places are selling them for $350-400. I checked ebay too, but they didnt have any. If someone finds them cheaper please let me know.

Miketm- what else can you tell me about their stuff???
Thaks
Wade
 
This might be a very decent vest for a medic or paramedic. It also appears to be of very high quality and should probably last a lifetime.

I personally can't picture myself wearing it to the mall however. :D
 
wade said:
What do you think?
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Curious, how do you define "survival vest"?

1. Is it something you wear fully equipped all the time waiting for a disaster to strike, or is it something that sits in your closet?

2. If the first, do you expect to be doing any walking in it, or just sitting and moving around a little? I hike, and I have to tell you that if you actually use those side pockets for something, walking is not going to be fun, unless you like to walk around with arms stretched out, because those pockets will be in the way otherwise.

3. If you just need something for expeditions, wouldn't a good backpack be way more practical? I mean, you can't even put a backpack on with this thing.

Perhaps I am missing a point of this for non-military folks like field medics.
 
The gear is from SOTech. It's very well sewn with only the best materials made right here in the States. The founder of the company is ex-Army Special Forces and for the first few years, the gear was only made for SpecOps troops. I just returned from Afghanistan myself and used SOTech and had nary a thread out of place.
 
hwyhobo, some good questions
I have seen in several books and online sites people talking about making or using vests to carry their survival gear. The big advantage seems to be accessibility to all your stuff and it reduces the risk of being seperated from it. I would not plan on wearing someting like this every day, probably only on outings like hunting and fishing trips. And your right about the backpack, very practical and still a winner in my book. I was just showing this vest to those folks who like vest kits, this seems like the best one I have ever come accross.

Ebbtide, checked into the fishing vests and they dont seem to be tough enough when it comes to material. I also dont think that they would hold much of a load. I do some fly fishing and I know that my vest for that would not work too well. But thanks for the suggestion.

Some good points have been brought up here and have forced me to really think if this is a good idea for packing survival equiptment. I still like it, but agree that it would probably not be worn with a backpack, so it would become the only thing you had on which would still work for day trips. Thaks for the comments.
Wade
 
I played around with vests for a while, and quikcly found al the negatives pointed out above. They're hot, not terribly comfirtable and as such might be very tempting to ditch just when it might be needed the most.

I've since gone back a few hundred years to the versatile possibles bag. Take any old shoulder-slung bag, stuff it with survival goodies and you've got a possibles bag. Granted, you can't carry as much in a "man purse" as you can a vest dedicated to this purpose. But, you CAN take it with you everyday, everywhee, which is how I use mine. Whenever I'm out of the house, my possibles bag goes with me.

You have to really pick and choose what goes into a bag like this, and the first step is finding a bag that's suitable. But there are plenty of good designs, and you likely already know what you want to carry. Now, pare that pile down to the bare essentials, pack your bag and you're good to go. :D
 
What are you planning on "surviving" in this vest that the fly fishing one wouldn't do the job. Those are pretty slick looking BTW.

I can understand the need for the best in quality/construction if you are going to be putting some serious abuse on this thing, but if you're just going to pack it with "what ifs" for a SHTF then aside from being throw from a moving vehicle while being chased by zombies I'm not sure I see the point in blowing so much on something that will probably never be put in a situation that will test the limits of your expense.
 
Another down side to heavily loaded vests is that they just aren't comfortable. I have a fishing vest and a cargo vest that dig into the back of my neck with any kind of load in them.
Granted I can load the back pocket to even it out, but then it is twice as heavy.
You won't know the comfort level of the vest until you use it.
The odds are much better with a day pack.
And the shoulder bag is a given as long as it has a wide strap.

Pathfinder, they are some nifty items. A couple more on the site too.
 
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/BJR015-3202-1572.html

I've carried the SA version of this vest several times. If you want something to keep in the closet, fully loaded and ready to boogie, this is a comfortable all day carry... actually, much more comfortable than most of my packs... and I don't get as hot in them as I do under the pack... and my arms don't stick out to the side, nor do the side pockets inhibit my arm swing. I have also seen these modified by removing the pockets on the back - thus you can wear a pack, too. Otherwise, they carry large hydration reservoirs and can route the tubes easily.

Ideally, I think this is a good package to use for day trips, maybe overniters if you want to ruff it...

Given that, I still have gone the route of carrying a pack, and using an Air Force survival type mesh vest for my absolute must haves...
 
V_Shrake said:
I've since gone back a few hundred years to the versatile possibles bag. Take any old shoulder-slung bag, stuff it with survival goodies and you've got a possibles bag. Granted, you can't carry as much in a "man purse" as you can a vest dedicated to this purpose. ....

You have to really pick and choose what goes into a bag like this, and the first step is finding a bag that's suitable. ....
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I've been playing around with these. I don't need one so much for around town, but when I out into the woods/mtns with my kids I find a shoulder bag is actually easier and more comfortable to carry than is a backpack (since the kids are little and we don't tend to go out very far anyway). A fannypack would be better, but I've never found one that's big enough.

I thought a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack would be perfect, but for whatever reason it isn't all that comfortable for me. So I keep going back to my original bag, which is a Duluth Pack shell bag. That's made out of cotton canvas with a leather bottom. Tough as nails. It's flexible, so it wraps around my body which keeps it out of the way when I'm in the field. My only complaint about it is the original strap, which was made out of leather and about 4" too short. But I've since replaced it with a Lewis & Clark bag strap and that solved that problem.

Now, whenever I decide to take the kids and go poke up some trail somewhere, I just grab that bag. It also gets thrown in the car whenever we take a trip up to Tahoe or down to Monterey or someplace. I suppose this makes it my BOB in a way. It's big enough to carry the minimum survival stuff that I want with me, plus my Canon 20D and 24-70mm zoom lense. The only thing I can't fit in it is water, so I just hang a bottle off my belt.

Sorry for going all off topic here.
 
bulgron said:
The only thing I can't fit in it is water, so I just hang a bottle off my belt.
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That's a good catch, and it's another strike against the vests. If you're serious against survival in an area like mine where you are not likely to find water in the summer out in the wild, you need to carry enough for one day plus an extra for washing possible wounds (I've found that out the hard way). That alone would take half the space in a vest and would weigh it uncomfortably. On the other hand, in a backpack, even a small one, all those bottles disappear and can be nicely laid out with other items for balance.

I suppose everyone lives in a different environment. Everyday I encounter completely different circumstances than during weekend hikes, so I would carry totally different items. My credit card and a cell phone constitute my city survival kit. Out in the wild other items need to be added, so the storage needs change, but in neither case do they include a vest (except one for thermal protection).
 
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