RothcoConceal-Ops Plainclothes Vest - Ultimate Everyday Carry Utility

TWO Part Review:FIRST, this is a spring/summer/fall weight vest (also the Rothco Outback vest is the same but no concealed carry). It is reasonably light, has a vertical vent and an interior mesh liner in the back BUT in very hot weather you may find the vest somewhat uncomfortable.* Batman had his utility belt and now you can have this personal warehouse for all your "stuff". The Amazon photographs do not really do this vest justice. They say it has 16 pockets. LOTS of pockets! Vertical pockets on each side, pockets with zippers, pockets with velcro flaps,a D ring, the pocket with a flap on the outside back is ideal to carry maps, a folding poncho or misc. documents. You can't easily see it but the two flapped side pockets each have TWO open top pockets/pouches behind them for more storage. An unmentioned but IMHO a VERY big plus is the zippered pocket on the INSIDE back of the vest. This pocket can ONLY be accessed with the vest off your body. It is probably the closest thing I have ever seen to a "pickpocket proof" pocket! Ideal place to keep your cash, passport, travellers checks, tickets and such that you only need to access when needed. If you travel, camp, ride a bike, or just to go anywhere this vest allows you to take a ton of misc. Camera, pills, mints, earphones, walkman, cell phone, etc..all readily accessible in your vest! I will never travel again without it. I agree that the only downside is keeping track of WHAT is WHERE with all the pockets. I tried to mentally use this pocket for money and that pocket for credit cards or such but that is up to each person to do what works for them. One of the big challenges is to not load too much into it.....SECOND: The "concealed carry" function is usable but not ideal. It is not meant to carry larger handguns.You are given 1 interior OPEN TOP holster shaped pocket on each side. These are sewn in place on one edge, the bottom and half way up the edge that faces the zipper. Each of these has a slightly stiffened flap with about a 1 inch square of velcro holding the top corner of the "pocket" in place. Be very aware, as sold, THERE IS NO REAL HOLSTER in the CCW "pocket". Put a handgun in these and it will probably flop around and maybe even fall out if you bend forward too far. MY solution & recommendation is to get a small holster with velcro on both external sides. I had a local seamstress sew velcro pads INSIDE the CCW pocket. Now I can insert the holster at the best angle and it is firmly held in place by the velcro pad sewn in the vest. There are several nice inexpensive ones here on Amazon or on Ebay.Like:  Replacement Concealed Carry Leather Holsters with Hook Velcro and Thumb Break- In S, M, L (Medium) Or This one:  5.11 Tactical Holster Pouch, Black The vest maker, Rothco, has a couple of holsters but I haven't tried them. Try to get a holster that encloses the gun not just a loop or such. Mine even has a velcro thumbreak. Without the added holster concealed carry might be problematic. I am very happy with my slightly modified vest. This vest can be worn pretty much anywhere for travel or social events (with or without your handgun as needed). Not everyone needs all the storage available but better too much than not enough.... BE SURE TO USE THE SIZE CHART. For the price, I feel it is a great buy. Hope this helps.Sorry my photos are black on black and thus hard to see MD

Bought this vest as a gift for a male who normally runs XL in shirts - 5'10, 220 lbs. I actually ALMOST bought an XXL for him, since it is a vest and sometimes vests run tight, and i was thinking about the gun being inside (needing more room)... but the XL came, and was too large. I would say the one we got was about a size larger than expected. Kind of looked like a tent on him. Returned it and will re-purchase a L. the vest itself seemed high quality and nice. it was a decent weight, with lots of pockets etc. It did look militant and also concealed the weapon very well. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because of having to return it for a smaller size.

I purchased my first Rothco Plainclothes Concealed Carry Vest (size 4X) in June 2015. The vest lasted two years with heavy use in the summer months, moderate use in the spring and autumn months, and no use in the winter months. I could continue to use the vest, but there is a large tear in right side near the “hand pocket” and the snap for the strap that secures the vest closed ripped out a couple of weeks ago. I use the snap/strap to secure the vest closed exclusively and all the time. I have never used the zipper.The vest is okay; not great, but the selection of vests of size 4X is limited, so “beggars cannot be choosers.” I did just buy another of the same vest as a replacement, as I have not found anything better or that I think will be better in size 4X. To be sure there are a lot of pockets, but as other reviewers have stated, many of the pockets are small – too small for me to get my hand into. That being said there are a sufficient number of pockets that are large enough to be useful [to me]. I can carry my wallet, keys, mobile telephone, flashlight, insect repellant, sidearm, extra magazine, and other equipment (all at the same time) without issue. As another reviewer commented, the design of the vest is flawed as the weight ends up being distributed on the back of the wearer’s neck rather than on the shoulder’s so bear that in mind if you intend to stand or walk for long periods with the vest on, and loaded with that much, or more, weight. I never wore the vest for more than three hours at a time, but on occasion I did find the weight distribution issue to be problematic.I never found the vest to make me overheat, even when hiking on trails. The vents in the back do a good job of circulating air, provided you are not wearing a pack. On the downside, the vents do allow biting insects to access the wearer’s back – so insect repellant is advised in areas where biting insects might be an issue. As for appearance, the vest “screams” “concealed carry” to almost anyone who is familiar with firearms. So wearing this vest to conceal a sidearm is only a small step away from open carrying (again with regard to anyone who might be familiar with firearms). I think in my case, that I just look like a “weirdo” anyone who is not familiar with firearms. While I am okay with that, I think I will devote more time to working out at the gym so that I can “trade” wearing this vest for more “traditionally stylish” concealed carry garments that are only available in smaller sizes that 4X.

I've had this vest since February 2017 but it's only been worn three times. Took it out today and when trying to retrieve a ring of car keys out of one of the many pockets I heard a ripping sound. Upon checking, the stitching on the pocket is giving way. As this is advertised as a concealed carry vest I don't see much hope of it being able to carry the weight of my Sig and rwo extra mags. The vest looks good, wears very comfortable and has pockets galore. But I'm changing my 5 star to 3 stars as I don't feel it's as well put together as you would expect for the price.

Purchased this vest some time ago, thus have been able to evaluate it fairly and honestly! Well designed and made, very strong, excellent stitching, many pockets, durable zippers and able to withstand hard wearing. Purchased this vest for use at events and travel with my amateur radio club. This vest holds it's shape even when numerous heavy items are placed in the many pockets and pouches. I have washed this vest many times and after a little iron touch-up it looks as good as the day I purchased it!

I used this vest for work for three years and it wasn't until Christmas 2016 that it started giving out. Even then, it has a wealth of pockets to replace the worn ones. Only downside is that the zipper pulls all broke.Really, thus is a good, reliable vest. It withstood thousands of deliveries and much abuse!

It's a pretty nice vest. I'm a biologist and use it as a field vest. The pockets are pretty handy but I'd rather have fewer pockets with some with more capacity for bigger items. A synthetic fabric would have been better, because once this gets wet it stays wet for the rest of the day. If you are out in the rain or walking through wet brush it will get soaked and become quite heavy.

Not what I expected . Rugged vest , more like a fisherman’s vest . Lots of pockets , good quality . Seems the only thing lacking was the pouch for the handgun needs to be more snug or a strap to hold it in place better .

Actually bought it hoping to use it for photography, the layout is not ideal, but well made, and if you feel the need to bring a handgun on a photo shoot, this might be the ticket (kidding of course).