Examining the Advantages of This Progressive Uniform
THE VEST MAN
www.thevestman.com
310-864-1567
External Vest Carrier Advantages
 Officers should be afforded every effort available to make them more
COMFORTABLE while on the job. Embracing this concept eliminates
much of the fatigue caused by summer heat.
 Every day officers put on their duty belt which can weigh up to 30
pounds with a fully loaded belt. Which can be as much as one quarter
of the weight of many female officers. This is not a natural place for
the body to endure that much WEIGHT.
 The number one injury reported by police officers nation-wide is
LOWER BACK INJURY. This is almost always caused by two common
practices: One is use of a duty belt to hold all of their needed items in
the field. Next, is caused by sitting in a police car or station for up to 12
hours at a time with items such as handcuffs or pepper spray or a baton
positioned in your back while seated.
Comfort
 Allowing officers to wear external body armor will give the officer
the opportunity to take his/her vest off when in the station or in
a safe environment.
 Officers are more comfortable while wearing an external vest
carrier – and because of this fact, they WILL now wear their
Kevlar more often – which leads to officers being safer while in
the field.
 External Carriers do not trap heat and keep it close to the body
like Kevlar does when worn underneath a uniform shirt.
 Officers in many areas have had issues with heat exhaustion, and
external carriers all but ends this concern because of the added
comfort value that the external carrier brings.
Weight
 Fully loaded duty belts can weight as much as 30
pounds
 External carriers can reduce the weight off the belt by
as much as 3/4 of that weight.
 Custom external carriers can have pockets made for
anything a duty belt can carry, including: Weapon,
ammo, pepper spray, handcuffs, pens, baton,
flashlight, gloves and mobile phones.
Lower Back Injury
 STEWART L. SHANFIELD, M.D. former Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff and
Chairman of the Board of Trustees at St. Jude’s Hospital in Fullerton, has
studied the negative effects of wearing heavy duty belts by officers. In addition
to his mentioned positions he was also selected as the Orthopedic Physician of
Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association in 2004, 2005, 2006,
2008 and 2010. Dr. Shanfield wrote:
 “The use of a load-bearing vest that transfers some of the items off the service
belt to the vest carrier while distributing some of the weight to the officer’s
shoulders and not solely concentrating the weight on the lower levels of the
spine will help prevent this work related cumulative trauma in the lumbar
spine for public safety officers.”
 “Lower back injuries are a leading cause of both short-term and permanent
disability in law enforcement. Needless to say, the loss of skilled personnel
coupled with the impact of adverse quality of life issues is distressing. The cost
to taxpayers in the form of workers compensation costs, lost work hours,
mandated light-duty assignments and long-term disability costs are staggering.
The introduction of the daily use of load-bearing vests would serve to
dramatically decrease taxpayer costs associated with back injuries.”
Over–The–Uniform Matching
External Vest Carriers
 These carriers can be designed to look just like a
uniform shirt from a few feet away and are very discreet
looking.
 This design only aides the officer by allowing the officer
to be relieved of some of the heat endured by having the
Kevlar under his or her uniform.
 This design does nothing to promote lower back health.
Over–The–Uniform Matching
External Vest Carriers
External Load Bearing Vest Carriers
 This external carrier can also be designed to look a great
deal like the uniform but shirt, but it also will have
pockets installed to hold a number of items that have
been traditionally placed on the duty belt.
 Police administrators can design this vest exactly as they
desire with limitations on pockets (i.e. no gun pockets
on the vest carrier), exact embroidery, color, cloth badge
or grommets for an officer’s metal badge, etc.
 This design gives officers relief from the heat endured by
wearing their Kevlar under their shirt while doing
everything possible to reduce the potential lower back
injury caused by a fully loaded duty belt.
External Load Bearing Vest Carriers
External Load Bearing Vest Carriers
Non-Uniform & Specialized Units
 The Load Bearing Vest Carrier is ideal for Detectives. If a hot call
occurs and a Detective wants to respond, he would have to put
on his vest, put on a raid jacket and then find all his tools for the
field, i.e. flashlight, gloves, additional ammo, etc. With a custom
external carrier he only has to grab one item and it will carry all
he needs while having sufficient identifiers on his vest.
 K-9 Units, Narcotics, Vice, Gangs and Surveillance Teams will
benefit from this Vest Carrier because it eliminates the need for a
raid jacket while making it easier for the officer to carry the tools
he needs for the field.
 Motor Teams also have found advantages to working with a load
bearing vest because they don’t have to struggle with the weight
of a fully loaded duty belt while getting on and off a motorcycle.
Specialized Units
Range Master
Significant Cost Savings with
Health Benefits One Fully Loaded
 Duty Belt
 Belt Accessories
 1 year Chiropractic Care
 Lower Back Surgery
$ 100.00
$ 275.00
$4,300.00
$27,000.00
Other Cost Factors to Consider:
 First year of Officer Training
100% Custom
Designed External
Vest Carrier made by
THE VEST MAN
VS
$180.00 $250.00*
 Disability Claims
 Workmens Compensation Claims
 Loss of Qualified Personnel
*Includes five (5) year
warranty. Price is
determined by pocket
and embroidery
selections.
The Vest Man’s
100 % Custom Guarantee
 Every vest is made exactly how each officer orders it.
Left handers are accommodated, as well as tall, short,
large and small officers.
 We DO NOT have any sizes – each vest is personally
crafted based on the officer’s existing Kevlar panels
and body size.
 Each vest is designed and hand crafted to fit the
pockets each individual officer requests.
 Each pocket is positioned EXACTLY where requested.*
* Unless there is an issue with safety, enough space, or functionality of the overall vest.
Simple Process
 The steps to getting a customized vest is are simple:
Outline your Ballistic Panels and Equipment
2. Take 3 simple measurements
3. Fill out order detail form
4. Include your cloth badge
1.
Turnaround time will vary depending on how many orders
are currently placed.
 Avg. time is four weeks from the time we receive your order.
The Vest Man Offers a Warranty
Unlike Any Other Maker and They
Stand By Their Product! So Does:
 The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
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Department
The Los Angeles Police Department
U.S. Marshals Service
U.S. Forest Service
The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s
Department
Kentucky State Police Troopers
Mesa, AZ Police Department
Champaign, IL Police Department
Faribault, MN Police Department
Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office – Idaho
The California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (Parole)
L.A. IMPACT Task Force
Kingsville, TX Police Department
The California Department of Motor
Vehicles
The Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office
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The Pasadena Police Department
The Redondo Beach Police Department
The Chico Police Department
The Stockton Police Department
The Concord Police Department
East Bay Regional Parks Police
Department
Manhattan Beach Police Department
The Oceanside Police Department
The Las Vegas Police Department
The San Diego County Sheriff's
Department
The Hawthorne Police Department
The Santa Monica Police Department
The Sacramento County Sheriff's
Department
The Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Kern County Sheriff's Department