Dressing the "part"...benefits and drawbacks?

I wear cargo pants. I wore them for years before I ever started carrying. I wear desert boots, I also live in the desert.

I think first we need to define “tactical”. I live in Colorado and around here you are far more likely to see someone wearing REI than 5.11 and it would be hard to spot the difference at a glance.

At work I wear the issue uniform 5.11 “tactical” pants and a 5.11 “tactical” polo (apparently the pen pocket on the sleeve is what makes it “tactical”) and the only thing I really like about them (the pants) is the strappy thing on the back because I can hang my keys on it. I also like the fact that I don’t have to pay for them beyond that they’re just not something I’d buy. I do like the way the Polo looks but not enough to pay 50 bucks for one, especially when I can get the same shirt (minus the pen pocket) at Cabella’s for 30 bucks I also wear Belleville 700 “duty” boots but that’s a comfort decision because I’m on my feet all day long.

When I’m not at work I don’t want to wear anything that resembles my work clothes. In the winter I wear Jeans, a flannel and a fleece vest or a fleece (not out of the norm for Co. at all.) I the summer I wear Cabella’s 7 pocket hiker shorts and a Hawaiian shirt (not unusual for Colorado either) and Tevas. If I'm doing something where Tevas aren't a good choice (as if) I wear the Belleville 790s because they are comfortable as hell and look like regular hiking boots.

I don’t want to sound rude but there’s a guy in my church that shows up every Sunday in whatever the NRA version of the 5.11 pants is, Whatever the NRA version of the 5.11 shirt is or with a “tactical” fleece (again from the NRA) and a hat that says NRA certified instructor on it. The rude part is when I see someone that goes to that great a length to “look” the part I assume they want every one to know they’re “packin’ ” with out being so crude as to announce it and I think it’s funny.

Trunk Monkey, you dress like I do. Swap out your black boots for my desert boots in the same pattern and 24/7s cargo pants and shorts and we are there. Here in Phoenix once it gets up above 105 which is June through half of September I got to sandals and cargo shorts. I like the 24/7s because they have magazine pockets inside the cargo pockets which hold a spare magazine and my cellphone upright in the pocket. Hawaiian shirt and a straw hat now that my hair has started to thin out up top. You can hide a cannon under a Hawaiian shirt.

Stevie-Ray said:

but I do wear a lot of NRA shirts

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See I am very opposite. I am very pro-gun and a member of the NRA. My parents bought me an eagle shirt that had the second amendment written on it and ended up getting rid of it. All I could think looking at the shirt was "Why don't I just put up a neon sign that I'm armed?"

See that guy in 5-11 pants, boots, NRA hat, and a photographer's vest? I bet he's carrying, or maybe that's just what he wants us to think. Maybe it's so obvious that he's carrying that he probably isn't.

Unless you see the firearm or it strongly prints, you just never know who's carrying concealed.

When I was an officer, I never wore the tee-shirts or ball caps stating where I worked, when off duty. Still don't.

I don't believe in giving anyone a heads up that I may be armed, or have an interest in guns.

So no camo, tactical, etc. Let them be surprised.

I don’t like drawing attention to myself. I haven’t worn my NRA hat or anything else with an NRA logo since the day I wore the hat to church and the Pastor gave me the stink eye all through service.

Just about the only logo’d item I wear anyway is my ball caps and they only say Cabela’s

(Is it possible he was just giving you the stink eye because you were wearing a hat in the church?

I agree with #31.

See I am very opposite. I am very pro-gun and a member of the NRA. My parents bought me an eagle shirt that had the second amendment written on it and ended up getting rid of it. All I could think looking at the shirt was "Why don't I just put up a neon sign that I'm armed?"

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Uh, because maybe you're not? What difference does it make? I wore them for the first 10 or 15 years that I wasn't armed. I have been armed since '02. So far I see no difference in how I'm treated. There is as much evidence of "you'll be shot first" as there is "you'll be left alone," and that is zero. In fact, since I've not had an incident I'd weight it more the latter, and I live in the Detroit area.

mljdeckard said:

Is it possible he was just giving you the stink eye because you were wearing a hat in the church?

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Nope, I was raised better than that as soon as I cross the sanctuary threshold the hat comes off.

1 Corinthians 11:4 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.

Sorry, but i find the idea of wearing tactical gear in day to day life as the true definition of a mall ninja. If fewer than 25% of the pockets on one's pants are occupied then it's just trying to look cool.

I do dig the 5.11 concealed carry shirts though.

I work at a grocery store, so I see tons of different people. When trying to pick up whether someone is carrying (hey we cashiers get bored! ) The first place I look is the shoes. Merrell or similar hiking boots or military/tactical boots? Gun related hat? Pocket knife? Too short a cover up shirt when they bend over to get their groceries out of their cart? Accidentally send their handgun flying when they pull out their wallet? True Story.

I don't care how "tactical" my appearance looks, though I make no effort to "look" like a gun/self defense person. No 5/11s (over my budget!) but no skinny jeans, pants way below my waist, or little skater shoes. I use all the front and back pockets every day, I like the cargo pants for a place to stuff random papers or something, and I throw a knife sharpener in one of the cargo pockets, and sometimes a spare battery. I can also put my pen (use that a ton) in the pen slot in the left cargo pocket, that way I am not reaching up to my pockets to get the pen (at work), where everyone can see my rigger type belt, flashlight w/ pocket clip, folder and clip, carabiner with paracord and keys, and maybe the OC spray in the back pocket. Off work, I wear jeans, and a button up with the sleeves rolled, or a polo, or maybe a tee shirt, always untucked. I often throw on an NRA hat too. All pretty typical in my area. And I like it.

The biggest thing to me is the shoes, I wore Army Desert boots for 6 or 7 months, before I switched to the Merrells. Both were pretty "tactical" looking.
I get comments on them sometimes. But I can't wear low cut tennis shoes due to flat feet, and high top basketball/athletic shoes? No thanks. I tried the high top Converse shoes after over a year of pleading from my girlfriend, but they slip all over the place and aren't waterproof. After being absolutely miserable in a muddy/woody airsoft match (forgot my boots) I decided it wasn't worth slipping or losing my footing in an emergency to look less "tactical".

No, back to the grocery store... We get some funny characters. There's a guy that comes in in a dress shirt, dress pants, embroidered cowboy belt, cowboy boots, and a black vest with a double stack 1911. He bent too much over his cart. There's a guy in a USMC sweatshirt who is strangly unaware that the sweatshirt only covers the grip of his 1911 in the OWB leather holster. Then there's a guy who comes in every day with a black Glock hat, untucked plaid shirt, and green 5.11 cargos, and boots like mine. And of course we have a guy who always has a photographer's vest with mag pouches and an obvious weight to it even when he is wearing a tee shirt and sweat pants. All types....

I've got to agree with not wearing anything purposefully "tacticool." That said, I usually do wear a vest with a gillion pockets because I don't really like to put the "must haves" that an old fart needs access to in pants/shorts, be they cargo or not. Specifically, 2 pr. glasses, cash with basic ID, wallet with serious ID, 2-3 sets keys, cell phone, spare mag/speed strip/speed loader (whichever), a knife or two, various notes from the business day, etc. Add to that a concealed carry rig and you then have your basic "homeless man without a shopping cart."

Now, for the ultimate disguise, if I just take a clear plastic tube, pour in a little stale beer, seal the ends and hang it from my belt....
...ssshhh...no one will know

I tend to project some contradictions, so as to not be so easily categorized. Certainly nothing about me suggests I'm carrying...except maybe the time I stuck a Shoot-N-See target of an especially nice grouping onto my shirt at the range and forgot it was there as I went about my day.

Basic ID= Amex.with photo ID & photo library card

Serious ID= Drivers' license, CHL (multi), Road service card, medical cards, Emergency contacts, etc.

If a situation occurs where you need to give up your cash...that's all you lose.
Money is easy to replace when compared to all that other stuff.

I blend in with most people in my area and I don't think I catch anybody's eye as carrying. I usually wear a pair of Nike's or Vans shoes. Either khaki cargo shorts or cut off cammies. A tee shirt with a plaid shirt untucked and the sleeves rolled up and a red sox hat. If it's a little breezy or rainy I wear a North Face wind breaker. In the winter it's pretty much the same although I wear jeans and some dessert army boots. The boots don't really stand out I've been asked on more than one occasion if they are timberlands. This seems to hide my compact 1911 in a iwb holster very well.

On the subject of wearing BDUs (or whatever they call them these days) the day I ETS’d my wife said “Now you can wear your BDUs for work clothes.” To which I replied “If I wanted to wear BDUs to work I would have reenlisted.” I said all that to say this “If you don’t have to wear BDUs, why would you?”

I dress like a dirty tree hippie. The benefit is no one ever notices I'm open carrying. The drawback is everyone treats me like a dirty tree hippie.

Whatever. I live in Vermont.

I'm a photographer. Nobody and I mean NOBODY is ever gonna figure out if/where I"m carrying amidst all of the other gear clanking around on my body!

I've worn camo for quite a large portion of my life. Woodland/hunting camo, not military. I fish all the time and I'll sneak out to the stream at lunch. When fishing streams with relatively spooky fish, camo does help immensely. I also wear hiking/hunting boots of some style almost all the time for the same reason. Long before I started carrying, many people assumed that I carried because of how I dress. The fact that camouflage is great at obscuring any printing is totally beside the point.

I do wear my NRA Instructor hat quite often, but I usually wear a simple camo baseball cap or boonie hat, or a cowboy hat. The cowboy hat it great at deflecting errant weighted flies from hitting me in the head due to my poor casting skills.

But this is Utah. You pretty much have to assume that anyone is armed. Ain't it great!

Matt

Why wear BDUs? When I was a kid, I thought they looked cool. Now, they are just pants I don't care if I get them dirty, and they last a long time. (A LOT longer than the new ACUs.)

Another factor is where you live. I live near the Tooele Army Depot and the Dugway Proving ground, and I work at UTNG HQ in Draper, UT. The highway past my house ALWAYS has ATVs on trailers, we are always headed out to either ride, shoot, or both. Not only do BDUs not attract any attention, open-carrying doesn't much either.If I lived in a less-out-doorsy area or state, I might worry about it more.

Stevie-Ray said:

Uh, because maybe you're not? What difference does it make? I wore them for the first 10 or 15 years that I wasn't armed. I have been armed since '02. So far I see no difference in how I'm treated. There is as much evidence of "you'll be shot first" as there is "you'll be left alone," and that is zero. In fact, since I've not had an incident I'd weight it more the latter, and I live in the Detroit area.

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I know logically that wearing NRA clothing or "tactical" won't paint me as being armed. I am well aware at how bad most people are at situational awareness. Such as the basketball players wearing white and black shirts tossing around a basketball. The task is to count how many times the ball is passed but a man in a bear suit walks through, and most counters don't notice. It is just one of those things in my head. Like the voices that talk to me.