Defensive firearm course clothing

[HCz]

For clothing wise I don't wear anything really special. Light colored T-shirt, bonnie hat or baseball cap, cargo pants and a good pair of shoes.

This more or less covers it. I wear casual clothing(cargo pants, long sleeve shirt) and comfortable shoes. No need to stock upon TAD gear or anything like that.

As for belt, I just use whatever I use in my daily life(mine is 1 inch wide one from Walmart). As for holster, you do want to look at something that is a bit more han those snap-on ones you can get anywhere. Kydex ones are great and anything from a reputable manufacturer should do it. Raveshield has good reputation, but their wait time is something you want to check.

[Javi]

If you want the most value out of your course, wear what you usually wear. The gunfight won't wait while you change into your 5.11's.

Seriously, it's a good idea to make sure whatever you do wear doesn't foul your pistol when you draw or get in the way when you holster, or get in the way of your mag pouches. I've had students who were constantly distracted by having to pull clothing out of their holsters before holstering to the point that they were sweeping themselves in the process. Not safe. Otherwise, if your clothes allow free movement and won't get ripped if you have to take a knee or go prone, they're good to go.

If you're looking at holsters, consider something simple, such as Uncle Mike's or similar Kydex holsters. You want retention, but don't want to have to continually snap and unsnap a holster strap or thumb break. Your draws and holstering will flow much smoother, one less thing to get in the way of learning what the course has to offer. Same for mag pouches.

I was actually thinking about that some time ago as well. I'm just a civilian so if it's training used for CCW later or home defense, I won't be wearing "tactical pants". Maybe I should just use my regular belt and jeans...I dunno, it would be nice to have more breatheable and flexible pants for a 8-9 hour class, though. The leather belt I own is pretty soft and flexible too. The Holster I want looks like this:


I never wanted one with a holster strap type one.

The vouchers do not have an expiration date. for gear wise I picked up sturdy nylon belt somewhere for like 10 bucks. Fobus molded mag pouch and a blackhawk serpa thigh rig.

I'd say go with what you have already, you'll see lot's of people take the class with jeans or cargo pants or something else and they are just fine.

Oh, good! Think they'll be at an Ontario show in October? Maybe I'll buy two. I was originally looking at a $20 Uncle Mikes belt, 2", and a Fobus holster. I have no experience with any holsters but I might go the "buy once, cry once" route. I don't have any cargo pants, only shorts, so that's why I was thinking about "tactical pants" or hiking cargo pants. If I buy those, I'll use them mostly for hiking since I'll be doing that more than taking classes(it's cheaper )

In addition to any mag pouches, get a gear pouch, or random stuff pouch, otherwise a pouch that closes, just to drop stuff in including loose ammo, extra mag, gum, bandaid, whatever.

I'll look into those, thanks!

[vintagearms]

5.11 tac Pro pants
5.11 operator belt
Bianchi pouches
Blackhawk CQB holster

[SDM44]

"Tactical" pants aren't needed, but either some cargo pants or (even better) a dump pouch on your belt will be very helpful when you want to keep loose rounds on your to feed (reload) your mags when you're on the line, but not shooting.

In fact, I highly recommend a dump pouch since loose rounds in your cargo pockets really sway & swing around on you while you're moving, or if you have to kneel down. Get something like THIS, but a generic one that you can find for less than $10 and is open on top (so you can just reach in, rather than fiddling with opening & closing a cover). Then if all you have are jeans with no cargo pockets, you're still good to go during the class.


As for the belts, I looked at both the Wilderness Instructor's belt and the Galco Instructor's belt..... both were nylon, came in either 1.5" or 1.75" widths, and both were reinforced. The Galco belt was actually slightly stiffer and worked better for my rig & setup. But both will do just fine for you. Turner's just happened to have both so I was able to try them out.

[Javi]

"Tactical" pants aren't needed, but either some cargo pants or (even better) a dump pouch on your belt will be very helpful when you want to keep loose rounds on your to feed (reload) your mags when you're on the line, but not shooting.

In fact, I highly recommend a dump pouch since loose rounds in your cargo pockets really sway & swing around on you while you're moving, or if you have to kneel down. Get something like THIS, but a generic one that you can find for less than $10 and is open on top (so you can just reach in, rather than fiddling with opening & closing a cover). Then if all you have are jeans with no cargo pockets, you're still good to go during the class.


As for the belts, I looked at both the Wilderness Instructor's belt and the Galco Instructor's belt..... both were nylon, came in either 1.5" or 1.75" widths, and both were reinforced. The Galco belt was actually slightly stiffer and worked better for my rig & setup. But both will do just fine for you. Turner's just happened to have both so I was able to try them out.

Appreciate your response. Both belts at Turner's huh? I'll have to check them out there.

[aermotor]

5.11 Taclite Pros are the way to go! Great deals at LA Police Gear and you get a free belt. I find it to be stiff enough but some people like to get a different belt. http://www.lapolicegear.com/511-tact...pro-pants.html

[jakekanen]

5.11 gear and LAPG branded "knock-off" gear, is what I mostly wear.

lapolicegear.com

^^This. You can also find holsters there, along with anything else you may need!

[Ricky-Ray]

+1 on a dump pouch or something like that. If you have cargo pant's those will do just fine also. You wanna carry extra ammo on you so when the instructors are talking you can be reloading your mags. You don't want to keep running back and forth getting ammo. First couple of times I took the class I used an medium sized digital pouch that held an old digital camera, worked just fine for me. Fanny pack will do the job also. You might not look tacticool but who cares, your using what you have. If you wanna look tacticool then go for it.

[aermotor]

I don't like the knock-off gear because most of the time they are 60% or morey cotton and that stuff gets hot and sticky!

Unlike something like the Taclite Pros that are 65% poly which are super lightweight, incredible comfortable, breathable and when wet dry off very fast. I think they are easily worth the extra cost.

I hike with them a lot and they are amazing. They also don't get any foxtails etc stuck in them.

[Ricky-Ray]

If you don't have them get a pair of knee pads. You'll be doing quite a bit of kneeling and you'll be glad you had them at the end of the day. A hydration pack also helps too but they do allow you to bring bottles of water/drinks out to the firing line and are pretty good at taking a few mins out to reload/rehydrate.

[SVT-40]

+1 for where whatever you normally wear.

If you want realistic training wear what you would normally wear every day.

Don't play dress up. It's supposed to be realistic. If you dress up as "tactical Timmy" every day well then go buy more "tactical" clothing. Otherwise wear a old pair of jeans and a old shirt. Running shoes and a broad brimmed hat for sun protection.

That goes for your gear too. Carry your handgun as you normally would including extra mags.


Spend your money on ammo not clothing. Wearing "cool" looking garments will not save your life. Realistic training will.

Train like you fight. Fight like you train.

[Mute]

A good belt and good, supportive shoes are your top priority in a class. It makes for a long day and you need to be comfortable and have your gear work. Clothing wise, just make sure you're comfortable and can move unrestricted. I have apparel of every kind that I'll use for classes and practice, from your basic BDU to 5.11 to Woolrich Elite. I find the clothes from Woolrich to be the best made, though the 5.11 stuff isn't bad.

[sholling]

Go with a good stiff belt and comfortable clothes - especially the shoes because you'll be on your feet 6-8 hours but I'd go with a pair you already own. I would consider investing in a good belt though just because a saggy belt is a PIA with 3lbs of gun and ammo hanging off of it but it's not a must for a class. This is a great excuse to finally get yourself a 1-1/2" wide casual-wear "gun belt". Think of it as an investment toward the day that carry comes to California as long as you size the belt correctly.

I wouldn't spend a ton of money on special clothes (other than the belt) but then again I wear BDUs and a good belt as casual wear just because I find BDUs comfortable. Those $17-20 "tactical pants" from LA Police Gear would probably be perfect but I'd just grab something out of the closet.

As for holsters and mag pouches you have a few decisions to make. I've owned and eventually thrown away or sold off most of what's been suggested in this thread but I take holsters seriously. You have to decide if this is something that you are going to use again. If you're going to use the holster for a few classes and nothing else then you'll get by just fine with a 'slow as molasses in January' Uncle Mike's or Fobus. If you plan to get into IPDA or want a good OWB holster for SHTF then I'd invest in a good CompTac or Blade-Tech holster and mag pouches but they're overkill for a single class. What I will never own again is another tacticool trigger finger activated push-button retention holster.

[Army]

You need to dress like a full time "operator", or special secret service guy. Full cammo, facepaint, chest rig, drag bag, helmet with coms, and aerial flares.

You know, the same way you dress every day. This is especially important for a civilian arms training DEFENSIVE class.

C'mon, think about it. What do you really wear on a daily basis? Anything above, or jeans/suit pants, T-shirt/dress shirt, windbreaker/dress coat. This is a defense class, not how to take out all the bad guys like some Bruce Willis character.

[Ricky-Ray]

Since you don't plan on taking the class next year, you could look in the for sale section and probably pick up some gear that you will need for the class for less.