I have been through a lot of personal gear, most of it expensive (on a cop’s salary anyway). All of it I have paid for.
I have definitely wasted my hard earned money on some quality equipment that has not lived up to its advertising. What follows is a guide to use when selecting equipment that will help you avoid the, ‘this things sucks’ experience.
There are 3 Critical Factors:
- Function – How does it work?
- Survivability – Is it going to break?
- Comfort – Does it hurt?
Function
Is the performance of this piece of gear suited to the operations I will be using it on?
A rifle light with four different output settings and three activation methods is not my choice for a rifle light to be used for room clearing.
I want my rifle light to come on when I push the power switch and go off when I let go. When it comes on, I want it to give the same instant high output beam of light every time.
Using unnecessarily complicated equipment can lead to failure. Select equipment that functions in as simple a way as possible.
Survivability
Can this piece of equipment survive the environment that you are working in? This is more than being tough enough to survive a SWAT call; have you ever thought about storage?
You probably keep your issued SWAT equipment in the trunk of a vehicle or in an SUV lock box. What do you think the temperature extremes are in there?
When we got IR lasers for our rifles, one question I asked was, ‘what temperature extremes the lasers were rated to?’ The interior of vehicles at my agency routinely reach temps over 110 degrees and go well below zero during the year.
A lot of people want to know if their laser will have a point of impact shift after the weapon they are mounted to has shot ‘X’ number of rounds.
Holding a reliable point of impact is very important. However, a reliable point of impact doesn’t matter to me if the laser will not work after one hot summer day locked in vehicle.
Make sure you’re the equipment you select can survive in your working environment.
Comfort
This is one of the most over looked considerations people make when selecting gear.
If a piece of kit needlessly beats you down, it is taking away from your ability to do your job.
Do not confuse this statement with heavy equipment like a breaching ram; by its nature a ram is physically abusive to carry and use. Carry a ram any real distance and swing it against a door that won’t budge and you will see what I mean.
On the other hand, my pistol belt and holster should not annihilate my body just because I am wearing it. The function of my pistol belt and holster is to securely carry my pistol and keep it accessible at all times.
If I constantly have to adjust, slide, and readjust my holster back into place at every moment because just wearing it hurts me, two things are bound to happen:
- I am going to get fatigued faster than I should
- I am going to be constantly distracted.
Either of these issues could cause me to miss something important, like a head peeking out of a doorway that I am supposed to be covering but I am not because I am adjusting my holster instead.
Anything you wear or carry is going to hurt if you wear it long enough. Select equipment that provides and adequate level of comfort for as long as possible.
In the End
If you are looking for solid equipment you must consider how it functions, if it can survive the environment you will be using it in, and if the piece of gear will destroy you physically.
It is about more than buying quality equipment; it is about buying quality equipment that has a good balance of function, survivability, and comfort.
If you don’t consider these factors, come see me about storing all the useless stuff you are going to collect.