View Full Version : Special Operations Equipment Vest and other Gear
Special Operations Equipment Vest and other Gear
Admins I have made an honest attempt to search this forum for info on this topic. I have found that this company is only talked about a few times, manly about their riggers belt. If this is a re hash of any thread that I have not found please feel free to remove this post, and if you can guide me to that thread.
I am looking for opinions, and experiences with gear from ‘Special Operations Equipment’ out of Oceanside CA. www.soegear.com
What do you Guys think about their vest? What products have you all used? Are they a member of this forum? To my understanding they are a relatively small shop that makes everything in house, is that true?
I own a drop holster and a few small pouches, I also have the riggers belt. I have enjoyed them and they have stood up to everything I have thrown at them. However I am not using them daily, nor am I a professional.
P.S. I have a Vest on the way. I have no reason to think this isn’t going to be a great vest, just wanted to learn more about the company and what the pros think of their gear…
All post welcome, even those that say someone else makes better products. I am really fishing for story of their gear working when anything else would have failed and stories of their gear failing when it shouldn’t have.
Thank you all for your time.
Smokin Joe
04-28-2005, 14:08
I have been to there shop in Oceanside, your right its a small shop; I own a few of there pouches and a hydration cover from them....I don't wear there stuff everyday, but I have never ever heard anything negative about there products.
it does the job, some may have issues with the former owner etc, blah blah.
what type of vest did you get?
the LBV are ALL the same platform just with different pocket arrangements.
EGG
I got the Patrol Vest. http://www.soegear.com/store/40.htm
It just showed up the day after I made this post. I have not taken it out, but as of now, with out my body armor under it, it is a bit big even when everything is adjusted down… we will have to see how it rides with and without body armor and also how it rides with different layers of clothing at different times of the year.
I will keep you all posted on how it rides an what I have done with it, and I may add some photos of my kit soon.
If it is appropriate can you tell me what the back story is on the previous owner?
Rotor Strike
05-01-2005, 09:09
I got the Patrol Vest. http://www.soegear.com/store/40.htm
It just showed up the day after I made this post. I have not taken it out, but as of now, with out my body armor under it, it is a bit big even when everything is adjusted down… we will have to see how it rides with and without body armor and also how it rides with different layers of clothing at different times of the year.
I will keep you all posted on how it rides an what I have done with it, and I may add some photos of my kit soon.
If it is appropriate can you tell me what the back story is on the previous owner?
Previous owner violated parole and went back to the klink. I've used several different vests from SOE over the years as well as tons of other stuff they make. I have to say that I find their construction to be the highest quality of any I've seen. Stitching is somewhere well past overkill. Their gear is bombproof. As to the vests, I had a cutomized Force Vest, Frog Chest Rig, Lightfighter Vest, Surefire Vest, and a MOLLE Vest. All were GTG, but I have moved on to the likes of an Eagle CIRAS as I like my armor and gear on the same platform. Their holsters and other first line gear are top notch as well. Improved gas mask carrier on the dropleg platform is quite possibly my favorite deployment gear. All in all, I can only say that the LBV design might be a bit dated. However, they certainly have taken the LBV to it's pinnacle of evolution.
well umm.. ditto on what Ryan said. I dont see the LBV evolving further than where SOE has taken it. Also note that the design concept of fixed pockets is losing ground to the modular concept.
FWIW, I base my comments on having owned, FORCE, Lightfighter, MedTech and an AKFROG vest along with an SOE riggers belt.
EGG
The SOE Patrol Vest, (now the BDS tactical Patrol Vest http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd_bds_tactical_patrol.cfm ), has been great.
Special Operations Equipment is now BDS Tactical http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/
However if you enter www.soegear.com it will redirect you to the new site.
I have spent the past 3.5 months re-building my kit and adjusting things after every outing.
It still needs a bit of work and I could use a lot of guidance, which I should get when I run the rig at APT academy over the next 4-6 months.
I plan to put the closed sell foam in the left, right, and back soon (I just have to find some), that should help with flotation and also open the vest up a bit.
What I mean by open it up is that the two pistol mag pouches on the inside front of the vest at a bit close even when the vest is worn over my body armor. It makes it very hard to do a re-load under stress. I hope that the extra 1”-1.5” of space between them after the foam will give my hand more room to open the pouch and pull the mag.
Other than that most of my “problems” with the vest are not because of the vest but rather the improper configuration and placement of my gear. It didn’t take long that first 4 hours with it to get things to where they needed to be.
I would recommend this vest to anyone as long as they take my limited experience in to consideration.
Disclaimer:
That experience being a gun and gear nut that grew up around police officers and former action guys. I was then a competitive small-bore marksman for a few years. I am currently employed at a law enforcement supply store and will start training at APT to enter the field of Executive Protection until I sing a 18x after I finish school.
I have never been in a gunfight, and other than running drills with a local SWAT team I have NO professional experience.
I will post photos of my kit sometime after October 2, 2005 as I will have competed my first round of training at APT and should have a better understanding of my needs.
Thank-you all for your time, I have found this site to be a great help and I hope this thread will help others as it grows.
JPH
The Reaper
08-14-2005, 08:28
JPH:
The excellence of a piece of gear, like a vest, cannot be determined until you define what you want to do with it.
A patrol vest that is well-suited to an SF soldier on a 30 day mission is probably not going to be optimal for a SWAT team member doing high risk warrant service, or for a deer hunter sitting in his tree stand.
The Army should issue soldiers gear that is at least adequate for the task they have before them. Most Army and almost all Marine units require a degree of uniformity in the appearance of their members.
This is not a fashion show, you wear what you have to, and do not get extra points for having the most expensive kit or looking the coolest.
A load carrying vest is an important piece of equipment. On the other hand, you do not need a vest yet, do not know what will be issued, do not know what you will be doing, and do not know what you will be required to wear and carry.
The opinion of what an 18Z prefers or wears when patrolling with his team is not of particular practical relevance to PFC Schmuckatelli in the 158th Armor. Not busting your chops, just trying to provide you with a reality check.
I would not be spending a lot of money on HSLD gear until I made it through the SFQC.
The gear does not make the man, most of America's heroes served well with what they were issued. HS gear does not make a HS trooper. I would rather have one of the QPs here with 1950s pattern kit than an Airsofter with $5000 in Gucci gear. I know who would come out on top in the real world. You might look to NDD's sig line for some advice here.
Good luck.
TR
Peregrino
08-14-2005, 10:51
JPH - Heed TR's comments. They'll save you buying 4-5 versions of the same HSLD ninja warrior outfits over the next few years. Are you doing EP or are you going 18X? Two wildly different requirements. If its 18X quit wasting your money. Take what you've got, learn to live with it and wait until you get to a team. This is not the SF of 2-3 years ago. The teams will give you what you need to perform their primary mission. By now they have enough time in the box to know what works in their AO. They will tell you if there is something you should have that is not issued (or bought with team funds/OPFUND). As for the vest you already have - don't waste time/effort putting closed cell foam in it. You can't get enough flotation from the foam (in wearable quantities) to make it worth the bulk, heat retention, increased maintenance, and general PITA. No reasonable amount of foam will float a full combat load with body armor. (I witnessed the tests a CQB team conducted in Key West - trust me.) If you are going to be doing enough work around deep water that you're worried about flotation, get the pneumatic inflation water wings or life preservers. Check TSSI, AMRON, Safety Systems, etc. There are now several versions with NSNs that meet MILSPEC. (RIP Marines.) Buy it, practice/experiment with it, learn to maintain and repack it, and take it off your gear when you don't need it. FWIW - Peregrino
I thank you all for your comment and criticism of my gear choice. I value all opinions as they sometimes cast light on matters I had not thought about.
To define why I chose the Patrol Vest I will outline what I plan to use it for and then if you have time maybe you could offer you thoughts on the matter.
As I am not using this vest (at this point in time) for military service, uniformity with others is not a concern.
Also, even if someone thinks I got the wrong vest for the wrong job for the wrong reason; I want to state up front that I didn’t buy this gear, or any of my gear, to win a fashion show. The only gear I own that I will worry about how it looks is my dress gear when I have to conceal carry in dress clothing. Then I pick out high quality leather that works with the clothing I am wearing.
The reason for the vest: I picked SOE/BDS because several of the employees of the company that I plan to be working for had their gear. I got a drop holster for the company and loved it. After establishing a trust with the company and wearing one of their vests for a weekend, (again a team member owned it), I looked in to my first vest purchase. I picked the Patrol Vest because it would hold two M14 mags. My primary is a M4 style AR-15, but we do a lot of rural work and at those times we do employ M14/M1As.
“The gear does not make the man” I know this and it can’t be said enough for those rookies like myself reading this.
My ‘daily wear’ equipment is a mix of custom leather, good boots, 5.11 vest and sometimes their polo shirt, 5.11 pants or BDU pants. I train 65% of the time in this gear, or street clothing (i.e. jeans and a t-shirt). This is for working in urban environments with the principle.
So why did I need a LBV? Where we live is a small metro area with lots of rural country housing and farm land in every direction for about150 miles (with lots of small towns and so on).
Two weeks ago is an excellent example of when we needed LBV. A husband and wife had acted as an informant in some local Methamphetamine bust. There were threats against them and their home. Their truck had been shot up one night, their tractor had been spray painted. The local sheriff in the county they lived in was only giving them 1-2 uniformed officers on their very large farm. We (the company not me as I am not fully trained) had a team of 4 or more out there every day 24/7 for over a week patrolling the property escorting the principles in and out of town as they went about their lives. The teams left the officers at the house, and spent their days and nights patrolling for people that wanted to take shots at the principles. They were in their gear for 8-12 hours a day.
My thinking, tell me if I am wrong, is a high end vest that is GTG for men working and living in it for 30 days will be more comfortable and of better quality for jobs like that I have described.
Peregrino, water is not a worry at this point in time, I didn’t think three small things of 1/2in foam would hold me up, but it would take a few pounds off… is this wrong? I am asking, as I know very little about working around water. Any and all info welcome on this subject.
The main reason for the foam was to take up just that much more space there for widening the space between the two sides of the vest in the front where the pistol mags are. It’s worth the time and testing before I go looking for other solutions. Any ideas?
I did not take offence to anything said; I took it as two professionals trying to guide me. I hope that is what you all were doing and that you weren’t busting my chops any more than you would any other rookie. I welcome any comments anyone has on the subject.
Also the photos were for evaluation not showing off. I thought if people in the know looked at where I was carrying things they might have ideas to make my gear better, and on the off chance, be it a small one, that I have thought of something outside the box, who knows, I might help someone.
thank-you
JPH
Peregrino
08-14-2005, 21:52
JPH - YMMV. Nobody is busting your chops. You're doing an "apples vs. oranges" comparison. There is a significant difference between your stated purpose - executive protection in the US - and our reference point - combat outside the US. I'm used to a combat load that weighs in excess of 60 lbs and includes body armor with plates. Some of the guys, depending on mission, routinely carried half again as much. (Thank God I haven't had to do that in a couple years.) That's the standard for all of the QPs here. As for the flotation issue - I do have "some" knowlege about water ops. No amount of foam that you can wear and very few life vests will float that much equipment. Survival usually depends on ditching all but a minimal self defense load. And you had better be able to do it while holding your breath and sinking like a rock. Besides, your vest needs to be loose enough to fit over Level IV body armor if you're serious about going into harm's way. Padding it out with foam defeats that purpose. If you're not wearing armor then your vest is too big. Get another smaller one and save the current one for parka weather. FWIW - Peregrino
Thank you for clarifying where you stand.
I am wearing level IV body armor with plates.
Padding was not for comfort or flotation, as I said, I thought with my load (which is small when compared to yours) anything could help, but that was not why I was wearing it.
As to the apples vs. oranges thing, your right, but I still value your insight.
Thank-you
JPH
Special Operations Equipment is now BDS Tactical http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/
However if you enter www.soegear.com it will redirect you to the new site.
http://www.originalsoegear.com/
posting to a three year old thread to add information that has been brought up before. Theres a bunch of information contained within this forum - please do heed your own introductory post to read more.
Good luck and have a very Eggish day.
:D egg