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Posted: 4/28/2012 9:05:32 AM EDT
After a lot of thought I decided to go with the molle version of the vest so I could set it up the way I wanted. Also, I can take off everything attached and wear the vest under a jacket without having anything stick out. The holster is made by Blackhawk and holds my FNP-45 w/ Streamlight TLR-2S. The knife is an ESSE-3. I have both the front and back soft armor inserts. I use this for home defense which is probably overkill.
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I'd suggest a better holster perhaps one that is rigid so you can re holster with one hand I'd needed I agree. I wish Blackhawk made a holster for the FNP-45. I've spoken with customer service and they said it was in the works...that was over a year ago. I use their quick attachment system for another rig and I love it. For me a weapons light is a MUST for that "bump in the night" scenario, so even IF Blackhawk made the holster, it wouldn't fit with my Streamlight attached. My only other option would be to have something custom made (kydex?) and somehow have molle attachments on the back of it. |
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Can you post a pic wearing it? A lot of people say that the Palm is a small vest and doesn't cover much area. What do you think? I can. The only problem is I'm 5' 7" 150 lbs and that "might" not give a true representation of size on the average guy. I covers my vitals just fine. If folks are looking for something with COMPLETE coverage including the sides then you are talking big bucks. This is great for household use and is very reasonably priced. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Can you post a pic wearing it? A lot of people say that the Palm is a small vest and doesn't cover much area. What do you think? I can. The only problem is I'm 5' 7" 150 lbs and that "might" not give a true representation of size on the average guy. I covers my vitals just fine. If folks are looking for something with COMPLETE coverage including the sides then you are talking big bucks. This is great for household use and is very reasonably priced. I'm 5'7" 160 lbs. Please post a pic! It sounds like this might be the first piece of tactical gear not manufactured by Fatso Tactical in 12XL. Finding gear for a 30" waist is hell. |
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Needs plates. If I ever require plates for inside my home that would mean something has gone majorly wrong outside my home. I couldn't imagine someone busting down my door in the middle of the night with an AR....unless it was the SWAT team. I do have an Eagle plate carrier and I might get some plates for it someday. |
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Can you post a pic wearing it? A lot of people say that the Palm is a small vest and doesn't cover much area. What do you think? I can. The only problem is I'm 5' 7" 150 lbs and that "might" not give a true representation of size on the average guy. I covers my vitals just fine. If folks are looking for something with COMPLETE coverage including the sides then you are talking big bucks. This is great for household use and is very reasonably priced. I'm 5'7" 160 lbs. Please post a pic! It sounds like this might be the first piece of tactical gear not manufactured by Fatso Tactical in 12XL. Finding gear for a 30" waist is hell. Here you go....This is a size LARGE. US Palm also makes a SMALL and X-LARGE: 
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Thanks for the pic. I'm about the same size as you and I had a feeling a large would give pretty good coverage. Seems it does. No problem. The only things I would change (and probably will) would be to cut the extra length of strap on both the shoulder and waist straps. Might add some more Velcro on the straps as well. |
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Can you get to your spare pistol mags easily? It looks like the flaps would be blocked by the holster. Yes. The only time I would be going for that extra mag would be when the pistol is out of the holster and in my hand. Easy access. 15+1 rounds of .45 in the first mag. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. A knife instead of spare mags? Hmmm... Not sure I see the reasoning in that. My opinion? Keep the mags, lose the knife. You don't need an outdoors survival/combat knife for home defense. A pistol should have spare magazines, especially when there is a vest for them to ride on. The "if I need more than X amount of rounds, then I should just give up because I can't win" attitude is mindset failure. Your magazine may malfunction or get jammed up, you may accidentally hit the mag release, you may be surprised that you fired more rounds than you thought you did, there may be more than one attacker, you may find that a lot of shooting in combat is suppressing fire... In these scenarios and more you will want a spare magazine. I don't see many uses for the big knife. You have a pistol, support it. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. A knife instead of spare mags? Hmmm... Not sure I see the reasoning in that. My opinion? Keep the mags, lose the knife. You don't need an outdoors survival/combat knife for home defense. A pistol should have spare magazines, especially when there is a vest for them to ride on. The "if I need more than X amount of rounds, then I should just give up because I can't win" attitude is mindset failure. Your magazine may malfunction or get jammed up, you may accidentally hit the mag release, you may be surprised that you fired more rounds than you thought you did, there may be more than one attacker, you may find that a lot of shooting in combat is suppressing fire... In these scenarios and more you will want a spare magazine. I don't see many uses for the big knife. You have a pistol, support it. I guess I've always thought of clearing a malfunction rather than inserting a new magazine, but I see your point. Dropping a magazine out of the pistol in the dark would be enough reason to load a new one. If I keep my pistol in my bio-metric pistol safe (I have kids) next to my bed then I probably don't NEED the holster attached to the vest. I had extra real estate on my vest and I put it on there for convenience. As far as the knife I was thinking it as a backup weapon in case things went south and I ended up with the pistol knocked out of my hand or I was on the floor in a struggle. Thanks for all these suggestions. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. A knife instead of spare mags? Hmmm... Not sure I see the reasoning in that. My opinion? Keep the mags, lose the knife. You don't need an outdoors survival/combat knife for home defense. A pistol should have spare magazines, especially when there is a vest for them to ride on. The "if I need more than X amount of rounds, then I should just give up because I can't win" attitude is mindset failure. Your magazine may malfunction or get jammed up, you may accidentally hit the mag release, you may be surprised that you fired more rounds than you thought you did, there may be more than one attacker, you may find that a lot of shooting in combat is suppressing fire... In these scenarios and more you will want a spare magazine. I don't see many uses for the big knife. You have a pistol, support it. I guess I've always thought of clearing a malfunction rather than inserting a new magazine, but I see your point. Dropping a magazine out of the pistol in the dark would be enough reason to load a new one. If I keep my pistol in my bio-metric pistol safe (I have kids) next to my bed then I probably don't NEED the holster attached to the vest. I had extra real estate on my vest and I put it on there for convenience. As far as the knife I was thinking it as a backup weapon in case things went south and I ended up with the pistol knocked out of my hand or I was on the floor in a struggle. Thanks for all these suggestions. If you're going hand to hand with somebody on the floor, you're not going to be worrying about pulling out a knife to stab someone. If you've never taken a class on how to actually fight with a knife, you shouldn't be relying on one to defend yourself. Drop the knife, keep the mags. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. A knife instead of spare mags? Hmmm... Not sure I see the reasoning in that. My opinion? Keep the mags, lose the knife. You don't need an outdoors survival/combat knife for home defense. A pistol should have spare magazines, especially when there is a vest for them to ride on. The "if I need more than X amount of rounds, then I should just give up because I can't win" attitude is mindset failure. Your magazine may malfunction or get jammed up, you may accidentally hit the mag release, you may be surprised that you fired more rounds than you thought you did, there may be more than one attacker, you may find that a lot of shooting in combat is suppressing fire... In these scenarios and more you will want a spare magazine. I don't see many uses for the big knife. You have a pistol, support it. I guess I've always thought of clearing a malfunction rather than inserting a new magazine, but I see your point. Dropping a magazine out of the pistol in the dark would be enough reason to load a new one. If I keep my pistol in my bio-metric pistol safe (I have kids) next to my bed then I probably don't NEED the holster attached to the vest. I had extra real estate on my vest and I put it on there for convenience. As far as the knife I was thinking it as a backup weapon in case things went south and I ended up with the pistol knocked out of my hand or I was on the floor in a struggle. Thanks for all these suggestions. If you're going hand to hand with somebody on the floor, you're not going to be worrying about pulling out a knife to stab someone. If you've never taken a class on how to actually fight with a knife, you shouldn't be relying on one to defend yourself. Drop the knife, keep the mags. I'm not sure if it is arrogance or ignorance, but this statement is heavily lacking in wisdom. A knife at 0ft is incredibly valuable. Keep it. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. The issue is you'll stab yourself. Why do you have it pointed towards your neck anyway. If you're philosophy is you dont need more than one magazine then you don't need quick access to a blade. Think about it. Pointy things that go up towards your carotid artery isn't sound tactical decision making. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. A knife instead of spare mags? Hmmm... Not sure I see the reasoning in that. My opinion? Keep the mags, lose the knife. You don't need an outdoors survival/combat knife for home defense. A pistol should have spare magazines, especially when there is a vest for them to ride on. The "if I need more than X amount of rounds, then I should just give up because I can't win" attitude is mindset failure. Your magazine may malfunction or get jammed up, you may accidentally hit the mag release, you may be surprised that you fired more rounds than you thought you did, there may be more than one attacker, you may find that a lot of shooting in combat is suppressing fire... In these scenarios and more you will want a spare magazine. I don't see many uses for the big knife. You have a pistol, support it. I guess I've always thought of clearing a malfunction rather than inserting a new magazine, but I see your point. Dropping a magazine out of the pistol in the dark would be enough reason to load a new one. If I keep my pistol in my bio-metric pistol safe (I have kids) next to my bed then I probably don't NEED the holster attached to the vest. I had extra real estate on my vest and I put it on there for convenience. As far as the knife I was thinking it as a backup weapon in case things went south and I ended up with the pistol knocked out of my hand or I was on the floor in a struggle. Thanks for all these suggestions. If you're going hand to hand with somebody on the floor, you're not going to be worrying about pulling out a knife to stab someone. If you've never taken a class on how to actually fight with a knife, you shouldn't be relying on one to defend yourself. Drop the knife, keep the mags. I'm not sure if it is arrogance or ignorance, but this statement is heavily lacking in wisdom. A knife at 0ft is incredibly valuable. Keep it. I would think if some guy was on top of you beating you in the face, trying to extricate a knife that is probably under the guys leg is the least of your worries. It can also easily be used against you or accidentally injure yourself if you don't handle it correctly. /Not a knife fighter //Seen enough threads here on that subject to know knives are not a good fall back weapon unless you know how to use them |
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One thing on chest mounted pistols.
They are great for those of us who have meetings and may have a threat within feet of us appear out of no where. Since our hands are there when we talk its easy to just grab and shoot. For the civilian/home defense purpose I don't see much good in it. You said you keep it in the safe (great). If you want quick access to your pistol put it on your hip. Since you're taking it out of the safe in the middle of the night or whatever, you should have the pistol out and ready, not in a flimsy mag pouch. So you could foreseeably wake up and then throw your gear on, hopefully with no knife pointed at your throat and a few more mags, and have a holster on your hip with gun in hand. If you're worried about weighing down your PJs with a holster, get a bet to slap it on to (not a warbelt), and you're GTG. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. The issue is you'll stab yourself. Why do you have it pointed towards your neck anyway. If you're philosophy is you dont need more than one magazine then you don't need quick access to a blade. Think about it. Pointy things that go up towards your carotid artery isn't sound tactical decision making. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the danger in having the knife where its mounted in the vertical position. |
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One thing on chest mounted pistols. They are great for those of us who have meetings and may have a threat within feet of us appear out of no where. Since our hands are there when we talk its easy to just grab and shoot. For the civilian/home defense purpose I don't see much good in it. You said you keep it in the safe (great). If you want quick access to your pistol put it on your hip. Since you're taking it out of the safe in the middle of the night or whatever, you should have the pistol out and ready, not in a flimsy mag pouch. So you could foreseeably wake up and then throw your gear on, hopefully with no knife pointed at your throat and a few more mags, and have a holster on your hip with gun in hand. If you're worried about weighing down your PJs with a holster, get a bet to slap it on to (not a warbelt), and you're GTG. What I'm wondering is a holster even needed if I'm grabbing the gun out of a safe and heading directly towards a threat. At no point would the pistol go in the holster. For those seeing a problem with the knife pointed vertically (even though its in a sheath), it would be mounted horizontal if I ditched the chest mounted holster. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. The issue is you'll stab yourself. Why do you have it pointed towards your neck anyway. If you're philosophy is you dont need more than one magazine then you don't need quick access to a blade. Think about it. Pointy things that go up towards your carotid artery isn't sound tactical decision making. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the danger in having the knife where its mounted in the vertical position. I can't help myself... 
Not sure if serious. Its not that its in a vertical position. Its that the vertical position you have it in has the blade pointed straight to your neck. |
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Upside down knife, less than ideal mag reload position all in all not my cup of tea. BUT if it works for then that is all that matters, Really not having any issues with the upside down knife or mag position. Since this is a home defense setup I was thinking of ditching the extra mags which would allow me to mount the knife horizontal on the bottom. If I need more than 15+1 rounds of .45 then I'm pretty SOL. The issue is you'll stab yourself. Why do you have it pointed towards your neck anyway. If you're philosophy is you dont need more than one magazine then you don't need quick access to a blade. Think about it. Pointy things that go up towards your carotid artery isn't sound tactical decision making. Maybe it's just me, but I don't see the danger in having the knife where its mounted in the vertical position. I can't help myself...
Not sure if serious. Its not that its in a vertical position. Its that the vertical position you have it in has the blade pointed straight to your neck. I see your point...but the blade is covered by a hard sheath....isn't that a safe situation? 
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When its inside yes but when you go to reinsert it you might be in for some accidental self inflicted surgery. Reason being is if you're in a rush and you look to sheath your glad you might miss. At best, you'll stab yourself in the place. At worse you could slice your throat. Plan your kit as you see fit to use it- yes. But apply consider the worse case scenario in which you have to draw your knife and look to sheath it.
I like knives in my pockets or if I mount one to a vest I put it handle up on the side or horizontal in front of me with the handle towards my non firing hand. |
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Muscle memory has more to do with gear placement than anything else. People like their gear where they are used to accessing it.
Practice with it. I do not see a home defense scenario where I have to put my knife away with speed. If I just field dressed some criminal in my hallway, I'll probably just lay the knife on the counter and wait for the cops. Actually, I don't recall ever being in a huge hurry to put a knife back in the sheath. |
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Have you considered a cell phone, a hand held flashlight and some hand cuffs. All light weight items you would probably use before a knife... not that I'm against knives.
Phone to update the Police as they head your way. You can use some older cell phones to call 911 even after your contract is up. I have an old one I use running. Extra flash light so you don't have to point your gun at everything you want to see. Hand cuffs in case you wind up detaining someone and not shooting them. Of course there are safety issues in cuffing someone by yourself, but at least you would have the option. Holster wise, how about a Safariland? They make a ton of models, with and without weapon lights, provide better retention then your pouch and have a molle attachment kit to mount on your carrier. Just my opinions. I do like the Defender. |
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Have you considered a cell phone, a hand held flashlight and some hand cuffs. All light weight items you would probably use before a knife... not that I'm against knives. Phone to update the Police as they head your way. You can use some older cell phones to call 911 even after your contract is up. I have an old one I use running. Extra flash light so you don't have to point your gun at everything you want to see. Hand cuffs in case you wind up detaining someone and not shooting them. Of course there are safety issues in cuffing someone by yourself, but at least you would have the option. Holster wise, how about a Safariland? They make a ton of models, with and without weapon lights, provide better retention then your pouch and have a molle attachment kit to mount on your carrier. Just my opinions. I do like the Defender. I have three phones next to the bed. Two cell phones and a home phone. If any phone calls are made it would be by my wife in the bedroom. Furry handcuffs are reserved for the bedroom as well. |
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