LA Police Gear: Clothing, by Pat Cascio

“Clothes make the man (or woman)” and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say that, or where it came from. However, I believe, they are talking about dressing-up, as in a suit coat and trousers, for a man; or in the case of a woman, perhaps a really nice-looking dress. The last time I had my suit on was when my oldest daughter graduated from college – about 18 years go – I doubt it still fits me, and I know that I don’t own a pair of dress shoes to go with it.

I’ve held two jobs in my life where I had to wear either a suit or sport jacket. One was when I worked in the advertising department of a large downtown department store – Marshall Field & Company. (Now part of Macy’s) And, in the other, I was the investigations manager of a detective agency, with offices all over the country. II was in-charge of all major investigations we had, as well as investigating charges brought against our uniformed guard division for using excessive force. If I never wore a suit, ever again it would be too soon. For me, the “uniform” of the day, is cargo pants, hiking shoes or boots, and a T-shirt, with a button down shirt over it in the summer months, to conceal my handgun. So, I’m not quite sure if “Clothes make the man…” applies to my usual clothing.

For many years, I wore a photographers vest to conceal my handgun on my hip, and then everyone started wearing these vests, to conceal their handguns on their hip – it was sort of a “badge” and whenever you saw someone wearing that vest, you could be sure they were carrying a concealed handgun on their hip, and then if you looked closely you could usually spot the gun or the outline of the gun. So I stopped wearing a vest. I went to wearing a sporty-type button down short sleeve shirt in the summer months. But it is never buttoned, so I can have fast access to my handgun on my right hip.

I wear cargo pants because they are comfortable, and give me more freedom in the overall fit of the pants, and it helps conceal a back-up handgun, on my ankle, too. These pants are some what baggy, and that helps conceal a gun in an ankle holster.

This brings us to some clothing, cargo/tactical pants and shirts, from LA Police Gear that I’ve been testing. For years, especially when I was a police officer, or doing private security, I purchased products from LA Police gear, because they have always had a huge assortment of just about everything and anything you could use in this line of work. Secondly, their prices are more than fair. I don’t know how they can sell so many products at the prices they sell them for. Some of their clothing is made in China, but there’s no way around this on a lot of things – most folks don’t realize that, about 95% of our footwear comes from China. Heaven help us, if we go to war with China. If we don’t win right away, we’ll be barefoot in short order. Products from LA Police gear are not made in a lao gai slave labor prison. No, they are made in reputable factories. If you buy clothing at Walmart, odds are that much of it is made in China.  [JWR Adds:  And Walmart sources from hundreds of Mainland China factories, so we have no certain guarantee that none of theirs is made with slave labor.]

One of the first items of clothing I tested from LA Police Gear is their Field Shirt 2.0. Many customers thought that this shirt was discontinued, but it wasn’t. It has been improved and it comes in new colors and they added two hidden document chest pockets. These shirts are light-weight – I like that – and made out of 55% cotton and 45% polyester ripstop material. One thing that is important, if you button your shirts closed is that the buttons are made out of tough melamine and that the two bottom buttons are break-aways. The back of the shirt is caped and tacked down the center, with a mesh lining inside. The shirt’s arm pits are gusseted for easy movement, too. The button down collar adds a little class to this shirt as well. And, best of all, this shirt is available in long sleeve as well as short sleeve. We are talking a shirt that is only $26.99 – about half of what you’d expect to pay.

Concealed Carry Shirts

If you wear a button down/up shirt, that is a solid color, it doesn’t hide the outline of your handgun on your hip, unless you go one size larger. Enter the Bombs Away shirt. Tne one that I tested has a pattern of the outline of an AR-15 all over it, so it breaks up the pattern of a concealed gun under it. We are talking a very lightweight shirt, that is 75% cotton and 25% polyester. There are double hidden chest pockets, and these shirts, on average only weigh about 4-ounces. Talk about lightweight and comfortable to summer wear – this is it. At only $24.99  it is a bargain! BTW, they also have one with bombs on it – like bombs being dropped from a plane. Thee is nothing PC about me at al, so I wear both of those shirts.

The type of cargo pants I’ve been wearing for at least 25 years of longer, were discontinued by the company I used to buy them from, when they were bought out. I wish I had known…I would have stocked-up on a lot of them. But now LA Police Gear offers their Elite Urban Ops Pant, and these are basically the same as their Urban Ops pants, but LAPG stepped up their game. These tactical pants are made out of 65% polyester and 35% cotton, and on average the fabric only weighs in about about 7.5-ounces. There is a single front slip pocket, and elastic waist band. A locking YKK brass zipper – not plastic – keeps the fly closed. A gusseted crotch makes these pants extremely comfortable, too.

If you use knee pads when out shooting, there are pockets in the pants for pads, very nice touch. On the right leg, there is a knife pocket, for your folding knife as well. Of course, these wouldn’t be tactical pants without  cargo pockets, one on each leg. The back pockets are deep and are of the stitched slit type – no buttons or Velcro needed. With these, your wallet isn’t going to fall out. We also have two hidden rifle magazine pockets on the backside, and 5 large belt loops. Their best feature is that they are Teflon coated to protect them from stains. My oldest daughter liked them so much that they became her pants – after my wife did a little tailoring on them to make them fit the daughter. Here’s the kicker, these pants are only $29.99 – and that is one heck of a deal for these high quality pants.

Workout Pants

Next us is the Benchmark workout pants, and they are still “tactical” looking, but lighter in weight, but still tough. They are made out of 55% cotton and 45% polyester, with cargo pockets, knee pad pockets, elastic waistband and reinforced heel, so if they drag a little bit they won’t easily fall apart on you. These are only $24.99 – again a bargain.

I’ve only touched on some of the military/law enforcement clothing that LA Police Gear has to offer, you can spend an entire day browsing their web site because they have so many different types of shirts and pants, and of course, plenty of uniform clothing as well. If you’re on a tight budget for your gear, it would be difficult to find a better place to shop for your military and law enforcement clothing and gear. I know when I was doing police work, I had to purchase my own uniforms and I was on a very tight budget, especially when I was the police chief in a very small rural town. They allowed me to work one day per week on the city garbage truck – I kid you not – to make a little extra income. Talk about tight budgets and even tighter pay – wow!

If you’re doing private security and you have to wear a uniform, and purchase it out of your own funds, I can’t think of a better place to shop than LA Police Gear. The money you’ll save will allow you to purchase more than one uniform for work. Or, if you’re like me, you just like wearing comfortable clothing, and you’re not into blue jeans as your daily wear. If you like cargo/tactical pants, because they are so comfortable, then this is the place you want to shop. Check out their web site. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the least, especially if you are looking to save a few bucks, but still get quality clothing for your daily needs. Yes, I did wear all of the described clothing, and more from LAPG, for testing for this article. So I can personally recommend the LA Police Gear tagged clothing.