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Tactical Gear is one area that has changed dramatically in the last decade. With the advent of new types of holsters, mag pouches, slings, optics, etc., the tactics and techniques of “gun fighting” have changed significantly in recent years. A lot of this new gear has been used with great success during the recent wars in the Middle East and helped soldiers and SWAT team members become faster and more accurate at their profession. Just ten years ago, you had a handful of companies making holsters and your options for carrying your handgun were fairly simple: you could get a leather holster or a nylon one and that was about it. Today, if you have a common handgun model, your options are endless and can be quite confusing. So where do we start?
I would say that the most important thing to look for when purchasing ANY type of survival or tactical gear is quality. When I first started preparing for hard times, I was on a tight budget and spent a lot of time trying to research and buy a cheaper version of the gear I needed that would “get me by.” Please don’t do this when at all possible. I literally have a huge box of unused gear I’ve purchased that either didn’t last or was insufficient for the task at hand and I ended up having to buy another piece of gear to replace it. If I had just saved up the money and bought a quality piece of gear in the first place, I would have spent less money in the long run.
There are a few things I look for when purchasing a handgun holster, but you first need to take into consideration how you are intending to carry. When carrying concealed, a lot of people choose tiny “pocket” guns for ease of concealment. I strongly discourage you from doing this. If you are getting robbed at your local mini mart and end up in a gunfight, you will wish you had a larger handgun with more rounds in the magazine...guaranteed. If you are going to make the conscious decision to carry concealed in your everyday life, then you need to make the conscious decision to dress around a practical gun-fighting-worthy handgun.
Pocket guns are fine to be carried in an ankle holster as a backup or when your dress won’t allow otherwise. For instance, I worked for a few years in a professional environment where khaki slacks and tucked in dress shirts were required. This prevented me from carrying my normal, everyday-carry Glock 19 and I was forced to keep it in my pack that I carried to work each day. But in all other circumstances I dressed “around my gun” to make sure I wasn’t obviously printing. If your normal style of dress is the new fad of tight “skinny” jeans and tight t-shirts, then you need to switch it up when you carry. Your pants should allow you room to carry in the waistband (IWB) style holster.
When I first got my concealed carry permit many years ago, I was regulated to carrying my Glock 19 in a shoulder holster, which limited me to carrying only when I could wear an unbuttoned shirt over the holster or a coat in the fall and winter. There weren’t a lot of good holster options for concealed carry (that I knew about) back then and it resulted in me not carrying very often during the hotter summer months. Then I owned my own business for seven years and it was important for me to carry on a daily basis. I sold the bulkier Glock 19 and purchased a Kahr P9 which I carried for years in a nylon IWB pouch. I was never really happy with the decision as the single stack magazine limited me to 6 rounds and I was never able to get nearly as proficient with it as I had been with my Glock. Around 2007, a friend of mine bought a Crossbreed Supertuck IWB holster for his Glock 19 and boldly touted it as a revolutionary new way to carry concealed. He let me borrow it for a few days and I quickly determined that I could carry his Glock 19 way more comfortably than the much smaller Kahr P9 in the nylon IWB holster. It was a literal game changer for concealed carry and I quickly sold my Kahr with its limited magazine capacity and bought another Glock 19 with a Crossbreed holster. Since 2007, I have never looked back.
Today there are literally hundreds of companies online and on eBay making similar Kydex IWB holsters that you can choose from including the bigger companies like Galco, which makes the King Tut holster ($60). Basically, this holster style utilizes a large piece of thick, flat leather that goes on the inside of the holster against your body and prevents the various curves and edges of your weapon from digging into your skin (which is why it’s more comfortable than any other style of IWB holster). It is wider than the actual gun holster section and it attaches to your belt with two metal clips on both sides of the holster. Using two clips instead of one (like the older nylon pouches) makes the holster stay in place very firmly when drawing, and your weapon doesn’t cant or tilt forward and back like the older holsters with a single point of attachment to your belt.
The holster itself is made from Kydex, which is a type of plastic that becomes flexible when heated, and it is molded for your specific model of handgun and any accessories you may have on it. This allows great retention for your weapon with a slightly audible snap when holstering. In fact, I can do a literal handstand and on occasion have gotten into a friendly grappling match with a close friend without my weapon coming loose. At the same time, a swift tug from the holster brings your weapon to bear without the added step of releasing a retention strap. A big benefit of a Kydex holster is that it retains its shape after you draw, unlike the old leather and nylon pancake holsters which flatten out after you draw your weapon. This allows you to easily re-holster your weapon with one hand, which is beneficial if you have your support hand occupied (i.e., keeping your attacker’s arm pinned behind his back while he is on the ground).
One thing to consider when purchasing this style of holster is to get the “combat cut” option if offered (some companies already do this or you can use a sharp razor to do it yourself). Essentially, you want to be sure the upper part of the leather near your handgun’s beaver tail is cut away in the same shape as your beaver tail, allowing you to reach full grip without the leather digging into the webbing between your thumb and finger. I highly recommend the Crossbreed Supertuck and Minituck models, which can be bought for around $70. I have had mixed luck buying knock-off brands from the various companies on eBay which sell them for around $40. You can roll the dice and try to save a few bucks, but you may end up buying a second one and you would have been better off just buying the Crossbreed from the get go.
The next style of holster is a regular on-the-hip style or Outside the Waistband (OWB) holster. Once again, this used to be dominated by your older leather and nylon pancake style holsters. Today, different type of polymers and plastics (especially Kydex) have taken over the market, allowing a more rigid and sturdy holster while eliminating the need for a retention strap. This is probably going to be the most comfortable way for you to carry your weapon after the SHTF if you are on a budget. The company that introduced this style of holster was Raven Concealment and they are still considered the gold standard when purchasing Kydex OWB holsters. Just like with Crossbreed’s IWB holsters, there are dozens of companies online and on eBay that have copied the Raven Concealment’s OWB holster. You will typically pay around $100 for a Raven holster, yet you can find companies on EBay that sell similar holsters for around $45. Purchase them at your own risk or if you are on a tight budget, but you may end up with a dud (on the bright side, if you purchase a holster from one of the companies that sell on eBay, they will usually work hard to replace it or fix the problem as they dread getting a bad review).
The most important thing to consider when carrying any holster OWB, is to make sure you are using an actual pistol belt. Your run of the mill Walmart belt will not hold the weight of a pistol and it will inevitably result in your holster leaning out away from your body due to the weight of the fully loaded magazine. There are multiple options for pistol belts, yet most are quite expensive. A good quality brand-named leather or reinforced nylon webbing pistol belt will typically run you well over $60. If you are on a budget, check out Lutzs Leather (lutzsleather.com) where they sell good quality leather pistol belts starting around $30, depending on the options you select. I received one of their belts as a Christmas present from my dad and after wearing it regularly for three years now, it’s still rigid and in great shape.
The subject of holsters leads me into what I believe to be the most important piece of tactical gear you can buy for a SHTF scenario: a high quality battle belt. After society falls apart, it is going to be vital to your safety that you carry a weapon on you at ALL TIMES with no exceptions! This does not mean leaning your rifle against a tree twenty yards away while you garden. You may not have time to reach it if a starving, desperate person appears from the edge of the woods suddenly. I would even take this a step further and recommend every late teenage and adult member of your group be armed at all times as well. The minute you get lazy in this area will likely be the time that a bad situation arises where you need to protect yourself.
Can you get by with a simple OWB holster and spare mag pouch or two on your support hand side? Sure, but it will not be the most comfortable way to stay armed...every day...all day. A good quality “Battle Belt” will support the load much better and allow you to carry more gear in relative comfort. On my battle belt, I carry two spare pistol mags and two spare rifle mags on my support side. On my strong hand side, I carry my Glock 19 as well as my trauma kit and sometimes a dump pouch on the rear of my battle belt. That’s it. I’ve seen battle belts that are loaded to the hilt with gear for assaulting a compound. That is not the purpose here. You are trying to carry the bare minimum as this will become a part of your everyday wardrobe for the foreseeable future.
As far as the actual battle belt goes, this is another area I would not skimp on. This piece of gear will get all-day, everyday use and you want something that will hold up over the long haul without the webbing and fabric tearing or coming apart. The two belts that I would recommend the most are the HSGI Sure Grip battle belt and the VTAC Brokos battle belt. If I had to pick my favorite between the two, it would be the HSGI because it is lined with Sure-Grip, a soft Neoprene-type material to “grip” your hips, allowing for a snug fit while staying comfortable. However, I tend to sweat, and in the hot summer months the idea of having a wide Neoprene battle belt snug around my hips while gardening or patrolling doesn’t appeal to me. For you, that may not be an issue. It is for that reason only that I personally went with the VTAC Brokos belt; it is still very sturdy yet offers a lot more breathability. Both of these belts come in various tactical colors and versions of camo for around $80. One thing to remember is that nearly every battle belt I have seen runs really small (short). I would highly recommend ordering the next larger size than you think you’ll need.
Remember when buying a battle belt that they don’t include an “inner belt.” This is one area where you can skimp a little bit, but I still don’t recommend doing so for long term use. The inner belt that I personally use is the Viking Tactics (VTAC) Cobra Belt which costs around $60. On a budget, there are a lot of “tactical” belts you can find on eBay for around $20 which will get the job done. One of the most important features to consider when purchasing an inner belt for your battle belt is having some type of “buckle” fastening on the front. Don’t get your typical nylon tactical belt that weaves through the buckle to fasten. For one, they almost always loosen over time and this will be compounded once you add a little weight to your battle belt. Second, you want something that you can quickly throw on and take off without adjusting each time you put it on. The one thing I would avoid, if possible, are the typical plastic buckles that come on most cheaper tactical belts; this is an item you will be using frequently and the plastic buckle is likely to break over time. If you are on a budget and that’s all you can afford, then I would recommend buying an extra buckle in case (or for when) the first one breaks. I would highly recommend that you purchase a tactical belt with a “Cobra” brand buckle, but you are unlikely to do so on a smaller budget.
When buying mag pouches for the molle webbing on your battle belt, there are a few important things you’ll want to remember. First, don’t buy the classic nylon or canvas mag pouches with the velcro flap on them. In fact, I would steer clear of these types of Vietnam-era mag pouches in nearly every situation except maybe for spare mag pouches on the outside of your bug-out bag. In any instance where you are in a gunfight and you need to reach for your next magazine quickly, you NEVER want to fumble with a velcro strap to get to the magazine. That is wasted time when fractions of a second count. The only reason those mag pouches were ever used were for retention purposes before today’s newer technology. The other drawback to those types of mag pouches is the difficulty in replacing a magazine in the pouch one-handed while performing a tactical reload. Similar to the old leather pancake pistol holsters “flattening out” after you draw, those flimsy fabric mag pouches make it nearly impossible to rotate your magazines from your vest to your battle belt one-handed when you get a break in the action.
My personal recommendation for mag pouches is HSGI Taco Pouches which have quickly become the gold standard. They have adjustable magazine retention built in without using a strap over top, stay open after you pull your mag, and come in most camo choices. As an alternative to Taco pouches, both G-Code and Wilder Tactical are now making similar style mag pouches you can consider for around the same price. Another alternative would be BladeTech mag pouches which are made from a rigid plastic and are popular with competition shooters. Last, you could also consider Kydex mag pouches from Raven Concealment or other sellers on eBay if you are on a budget.
One of the biggest things to remember is to get “single-stack” mag pouches and not “double-stack.” Double-stack mag pouches are too bulky and will get in the way if you need to lay prone (especially when you put them on your vest or plate carrier). They are also much more likely to snag on things as they stick out from your body too far. You want to be as lean as possible. Most importantly, you will experience slower mag changes as it’s much harder to grip a magazine when it’s pressed tight against another magazine. When attaching the mag pouches to my battle belt, I prefer to have two pistol mag pouches and two rifle mag pouches (some people prefer to only carry one spare rifle mag on their belt). I position my pistol mag pouches with one at the 11 o’clock and one at the 10 o’clock position. My rifle mag pouches go at the 9 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions. Never put your rifle mags in front of your pistol mags as it makes the pistol mags much harder to get to in a hurry.
On the weapon side of my battle belt, I position my holster at the 2 o’clock position and my trauma kit at the 4 o’clock position. I’ve seen some people wear their trauma kit in front of their pistol, but I find it digs into my stomach when I sit down. The most important thing is to make sure that your trauma kit does not interfere in any way when you draw your pistol.
On that note, I also chose to buy a specific holster for my battle belt; it has quickly become my favorite holster, hands down. Drawing a sidearm from an OWB belt mounted holster never really felt comfortable or natural for me. I felt as if I needed to contort my body to the left when drawing to make it easier for my weapon to clear the top of the holster. This was compounded the faster I got and the more I practiced. I had always wanted a kydex holster that would be securely fastened to my battle belt but somehow mounted about four inches lower than a standard OWB holster. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of “duty” type holsters out there that hang from a pistol belt (typically for police officers), but most of them use a thick piece of nylon webbing. This always makes the holster flop around when running and the only way to secure it is to use a leg strap on the bottom, which isn’t comfortable if you snug it tight enough to be effective.
Enter the Viper Holsters, Rockwell Tactical Series 1 holster (ViperHolsters.com). This holster was designed with direct input from the Rockwell Tactical Group, comprised of Green Berets and ex-military Special Forces and instructors at the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat School (SFAUC). I was going to describe their holster in my own words, but this direct quote from their website sums it up best:
“Viper was asked to evaluate the battle belt platform and identified certain instabilities in the battle/war belt platform. Viper crafted the Tac 1 specifically to overcome these weaknesses and provide rock solid sidearm transport. The Viper chassis drops and offsets the sidearm, provides clearance and cant for quick deployment and allows lower presentation ability when necessary. The separate chassis component allows us to tune the position of the sidearm specifically to the style of the operator. All this is accomplished while stabilizing a leveraged accessory and dropping it comfortably below the tactical harness/vest or body armor carrier. Although the chassis appears to be one piece, it is actually two layers of Kydex in different thicknesses in order to provide much greater rigidity and strength than a one piece unit. The RTG Tac 1 eliminates the shortcomings of the popular thigh rigs that have seen much service with elite groups.”
Within a week of practicing with this holster, I achieved a noticeable increase in my presentation speed with less unnatural contorting of my body while drawing. It IS expensive ($140+), but you get what you pay for and I personally believe this to be the best holster on the market today for a battle belt platform.
The next piece of gear I want to discuss is tactical vests. You can find multiple companies that make universal tactical vests, but I have yet to find one that is functional. When you combine a universal holster, universal mag pouches with Velcro retention straps, and one-size-fits-all approach to sizing, you end up with a very subpar product. In my opinion, a battle belt is a far superior way to carry your gear than a vest, but I also acknowledge that there may be instances where a battle belt won’t work for very specific reasons. If you do plan to carry your gear in a vest, do yourself a favor and build one from scratch with a holster and mag pouches specifically designed for your weapon.
Another piece of gear that is very important is a plate carrier and ballistic plates. I recommend keeping your plate carrier at your retreat location or storage unit and not at your home in town. In my opinion, if you bug out on day one or day two after the SHTF, you shouldn’t need a plate carrier on your way to your retreat. Things should be relatively calm the first few days and it’ll be a week or two before looters start to get organized into groups and start setting ambushes along the roadways. If you are travelling with a battle rifle and dressed as if you mean business, most travelers you encounter on the road should steer well clear of you. Besides, you are going to be carrying plenty of weight on your person already with your pack and battle rifle. There’s no need to add an extra 10-18 pounds to that equation. However, if you were ever forced to leave your retreat or it came under attack, having a plate carrier and quality plates readily accessible at your bug-out location would be a very wise idea to protect your vitals during a gunfight.
There are a plethora of options when shopping for bullet-proof vests and plate carriers, and you’re going to have to do some research into what’s best for you and your retreat members. Some will look towards the Kevlar type vests that the police wear, but in my opinion that is subpar protection for the threats you may face after the SHTF. The vests that police wear are considered soft body armor (typically level IIA protection) and designed for comfort since they need to wear them on a daily basis. Accordingly, they are designed to be lightweight and typically only offer protection from your average handgun rounds. After the SHTF, you are very likely to be squaring off at distance with people carrying their deer rifle or a battle rifle, which most police-style soft body armor won’t protect against. I would recommend purchasing stand alone “hard” plates as opposed to soft body armor. At a minimum you should purchase level III plates, which should stop up to six hits from a higher caliber rifle like .308 rounds.
Unfortunately, hard plates are not very comfortable to wear as they are bulky and heavy (just how heavy depends on what type you purchase). In the last five years, there have been a lot of breakthroughs in ballistic plates with newer technology making them much thinner and lighter. You can break down ballistic plates into three categories: AR500 steel plates, ceramic plates, and composite plates. If you are on a budget, the only type of plate you are likely to afford is steel.
There are a couple of factors that you MUST take into consideration before purchasing steel plates, however. First, the steel plate must be made from the proper AR500 steel from a reputable manufacturer with a FULL anti-spalling coating. Anti-spalling coating is a thick layer of Linex-type coating which captures the bullet fragments when it smashes into the steel plate and shatters apart. If you purchase a raw AR500 steel plate and get shot, the bullet will shatter against the plate and send tiny bullet fragments in all directions. They will typically imbed themselves in your neck and upper arm area if your arms are out in front of you (holding a rifle for instance). Those fragments act as miniature bullets themselves and could easily puncture an artery or become infected and life-threatening. A full thickness anti-spalling coating is not optional when buying steel plates!
The second thing to be aware of is that steel plates are by far the heaviest type of plate you can purchase. You’re looking at approxiamently 16 pounds of weight when wearing both front and rear steel plates. On the flipside, steel plates are very durable and will last you a lifetime. The other types of hard ballistic plates have shelf lives and the composite ones are sometimes known for the layers coming apart over time with hard use. Most ceramic plates are so fragile that if you dropped one on a hard surface like concrete, you could literally crack it, significantly compromising the bullet-stopping effectiveness of the plate. After doing lots of research, I purchased a set of Spartan brand steel plates ($180) from Thetargetman.com. In my opinion, that company is constantly innovating and testing to offer you the best product they can. You may choose to purchase from a different company, just be sure you watch test videos on their anti-spalling coating and make sure it is effective at capturing most bullet fragments.
If money is no option, then I would seriously consider getting one of the newer composite or ceramic plates. Although they are more fragile than steel plates, they literally weigh less than half of what steel plates do (typically around 8 pounds per set). The other drawback is that they will only handle a limited amount of hits (typically 6) before you run the risk of getting penetration from a round. At the same time, I wouldn’t let this stop me from getting composite or ceramic plates because if you are taking more than six hits to your chest, you’ve surely got bigger problems and have likely been shot somewhere else. There are tons of companies that make ceramic and composite plates; you’ll have to do your own research as these companies are constantly changing and improving the technology behind their products. The biggest issue with these types of plates is their cost. A good quality set of composite or ceramic plates will typically set you back between $600 and $1,000.
Once you have decided on the type of plate you are going to purchase, you need to make a decision on the type of plate carrier to use. There are multiple companies that make plate carriers, just be sure you don’t go with any of the cheaper companies like Condor because they probably won’t stand the test of time. Especially if you are carrying 16 pounds of steel plates, whatever plate carrier you choose must be made of quality material and have proper stitching to prevent it from falling apart through hard use. One of the most common types of plate carriers are the ones you typically see SWAT officers wearing with the full cummerbund that wraps around your mid-section and attaches with Velcro at the front of the carrier. I personally don’t prefer this type of carrier as they are restrictive, bulky, and can take close to a minute to put on and adjust properly. They also are going to be hot to wear during the summer and, in my opinion, the cummerbund section can sometimes get in the way of your pistol draw from your battle belt. This is compounded if you have mag pouches or gear mounted in that area.
Personally, I prefer a “minimalist” style carrier which is just big enough to hold the plates and that’s all. My plate carrier has a piece of webbing and buckles on both sides of the plate carrier to keep it snug to my body. I can literally throw this over my head in a pinch and with one snap of a buckle, I’m ready to go. I also prefer the minimalist type carriers as they don’t interfere with my battle belt nearly as much as a full plate carrier with a cummerbund. Again, that is just my personal preference and you may decide to go a different route. Either way, your plate carrier should be kept in a very accessible place at your retreat, because if you ever truly need it, it’s probably going to be a “right now” situation!
Some people will purchase plate carriers for their spouse. If your spouse is fully trained and part of your “tactical response team” at your retreat, then you should definitely get her plates as well. If she is not a part of your core team of fighters, than I probably wouldn’t go through the expense if you are working on a budget. Same philosophy goes with older teenagers. For younger children, I recommend buying a single composite plate and placing it in their backpack. If a gunfight erupts, you can teach them to lay prone behind their pack for protection. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to have the same system when you send them to school pre-SHTF (with the rise in mass casualty school shootings today).
For full plate carriers, I recommend the Mayflower and Paraclete brands from SKD Tactical which run around $200 -$300. For a minimalist plate carrier, there aren’t as many options. I personally use a Flyye Fast Attack plate carrier ($100 on eBay). To be honest with you, I purchased that plate carrier many years ago when I was on a budget and Flyye is not considered a high-quality brand. I have used that plate carrier on many training exercises and to date it has held up flawlessly with the stitching and material holding up perfectly. I am not saying that this is the best option for you and I will probably look to replace it in the future with a higher quality plate carrier as the Flyye starts to show wear.
I would steer away from overloading your plate carrier with gear and magazines. Once again, you want to stay as low profile as possible. There is no need for double magazine pouches and loading yourself down with a dozen spare mags. Double mag pouches on the front of your vest seriously interfere with your ability to comfortably lay prone will firing. Most special operational soldiers only carry 6 magazines on their person for an assault (unless they are going to be out for a long period of time without resupply), and someone in the squad always has extra magazines available in a pack. For the front of my plate carrier, I have three spare mag pouches. When combined with the two spare mag pouches on my battle belt and the one in my rifle, that makes a total of six magazines and 180 rounds readily available during a fire fight. If I am carrying my assault pack with me, I will also have three spare mags attached to the outside of the pack for quick re-supply. Again, remember, you are not taking the fight “to” the enemy. You should always retreat under cover fire, and 6-9 full magazines should allow you to do so.
I could sit here and make recommendations for gear all day long, but for the sake of “bugging-out” there is one more piece of gear I would highly recommend for your battle rifles: the Vickers Combat Application Sling by Blue Force Gear. Having a regular rifle sling that just goes over your shoulder doesn’t allow you to bring your rifle to bear quickly enough when you’re ambushed. Most two and three point slings that allow you to carry your rifle in front of you don’t secure it very well when you are forced to transition to your side arm or use your hands to ride a bike, climb a ladder, etc. This results in your weapon flopping around in front of you and banging against your knees when you run or snagging on foreign objects around you. The Vickers Sling has a large piece of webbing that you can grab and cinch the rifle close to your body when you need to use both hands for a task. The same piece of webbing allows you to quickly release the tension and bring the weapon to your shoulder. I realize that there are other manufacturers that make similar slings, but most use a knotted loop of para cord to tighten and loosen the sling. Especially when wearing gloves, that loop of para cord can be tough to grasp.
The next thing I’d like to discuss is clothing options. This is an area that gets a lot of discussion on the preparedness forums and the recommendations are all over the board. One myth I want to dispel up front, is the idea of the “grey man” concept. This is typically discussed for people who plan to stay in the big cities after the collapse and scavenge for their supplies. The premise is to blend in with your environment by wearing “normal” clothing for that area or by wearing a black contractor garbage sack to look like a bum. Am I saying that this is never a good strategy? No, but in most cases, you are utilizing this strategy because you have made the absolutely huge mistake of staying in an urban area and you are scavenging for supplies when you should have bugged out in the first place. Wearing a garbage bag over your body would prevent you from carrying a battle rifle with you as the bag would significantly restrict its use. If you wear the rifle slung over the top of the garbage bag, it immediately dispels the myth that you are a “grey man” and you would also have limited access to your mag pouches for quick magazine changes. If you wear your belt or vest over top of the garbage bag, than you might as well stop pretending to be a measly bum on the streets and go the opposite direction by projecting an aura of strength.
When bugging out during the first few days in a grid-down scenario, most people are going to be pretty low key and there won’t be any starving and super desperate people yet. Somebody that is experiencing some level of desperation, for whatever reason, during the first week is likely to confront soft targets of opportunity and steer clear of someone dressed like a soldier, mercenary, or operator. Once you hit the 2 weeks to 1 month mark, desperate and starving people are likely to attack you regardless of how you are dressed if they think you have food or something else of value. This is why I recommend that once you reach your retreat or bug-out location, you stay there for the first six months and only leave your property under the most dire and desperate of circumstances.
If you are wandering around and scavenging a month in after the SHTF, nearly every person you encounter is going to present a potentially life-threatening situation. Between months six and twelve, most of the US population will be dead or dying from disease, starvation, and looters pillaging, murdering, and raping. If you are forced to leave the safety of your retreat after the first six months, you are less likely to come across as many travelers or persons wandering around looking for food. On the flip side, if you encounter people away from your retreat after month six, they are going to be one of two groups: other preppers who were prepared ahead of time and will likely be quite suspicious of you, or the best and most savage of looters who were able to live through the SHTF likely by committing terrible acts of violence against their fellow man. Either way, both of those encounters are dangerous, with the second one being an especially deadly interaction.
So what should you wear? First of all, it is imperative that you dress for your environment. It is more important that you are comfortable and protected from the elements than any kind of image you may want to portray. In cold weather be sure to dress in layers so you can layer down as the day and night temperatures fluctuate and you perspire on your hike out of town. Sweating profusely during the winter is almost as bad as being under-dressed. Wet or sweaty clothing can cause you to be chilled even though you are wearing enough clothing. When bugging out, I highly recommend you portray an image of strength and try to dress like a mercenary or operator. However, I would steer clear of military-type fatigues as you don’t want to be confused with a soldier. First, there may be people who are angry that the military didn’t respond to help them or they may assume you are a deserter (which could go badly for you). Second, you may also experience people flocking to you for help, assistance, or discussions about “what’s happening out there?” All of these situations you want to discourage.
For bugging out, I would recommend a pair of Khaki or Olive Drab cargo or “tactical” pants and similar style shirts and jackets. My favorite pair of pants are TRU SPEC Xtreme pants. They are very well built and have a special coating over the knee area that is extremely durable. The other brand of pants I really like are BlackHawk Warrior Wear lightweight tactical pants which are also very well made with more hidden pockets than you can count and a flexible waistband for comfort. Once you reach your retreat or bug-out location, I would make sure you have quality clothing (not Walmart) that will stand the test of time as you farm and live an outdoors type of life far from your previous cubicle job. Consider brands like Carhartt for durability. Make sure you also take into account young children who grow up quickly and be sure you have the next available size of shoes and clothing for them as you can’t just run down to the mall for fall school shopping anymore.
Something else to consider would be a universal “uniform” for your retreat members when walking patrols or coordinating an assault. Typically, I see retreat groups buying “tacticool” military camo fatigues. I am not a big fan of this as, once again, you don’t want to look like soldiers. Also, there are very few environments in the continental US where standard military camo patterns are even effective. The two exceptions would be Multi-cam and A-Tacs type of camo which blend in to some environments nicely, but you still look para-military. In my opinion, for your retreat, you should buy the best civilian camouflage clothing for your specific area of the country. In the Northeast where I live, Mossy Oak and Realtree are going to blend into the woods significantly better than any of the military camo choices including Multi-cam. You could even go so far as developing an arm band or head band in a universal color to differentiate yourselves from the locals who may be sporting similar camouflage while out hunting.
I realize that not everyone can afford to own all the latest and greatest pieces of tactical gear. But as I mentioned, it’s essential that you attend a professional operators course for your handgun and battle rifle. What you will quickly see is that having the proper gear will make you a much better and faster gunfighter than using older and cheaper gear. I’m not saying that you should put off purchasing long-term food and rush out and splurge on all the tactical gear I’ve mentioned, but you definitely need to make it a priority and a portion of your monthly allowance for long-term preparations. Having the proper weapons, gear, and training could mean the difference between life and death if you ever end up in a gunfight in a lawless post-collapse scenario.