Tuesday, October 16, 2007

I Could Be Manly With a Purse, Right?

I think I want a purse.

Don't get me wrong; not like a girl purse, with flowers and Hello Kitty on it. A Tactical Purse in a Tactical Color with a holster and a magazine holder inside. You know, manly and stuff.

What I'm actually looking at is a Maxpedition Versipack Jumbo, and you'll notice if you click through that Maxpedition does not use the P-word to describe their product--ever. But I've concluded that I basically want a piece of equipment to do what a purse does for a woman--and if you define a thing by its function, that makes this thing a purse, at least when I'm using it. Hear me out, now, and let me see if I can explain why I want one.

I really need a better way to carry a gun. In Illinois, the only legal way to carry a gun on one's person is to have it unloaded and completely enclosed in a case, box, bag, "or other container." If you want to comply with the wildlife code, the container must also have been designed to carry a firearm. Under the criminal code, you could carry your GLOCK tupperware in a real piece of Tupperware if you wished, as long as it was unloaded.
This means you can't carry in a standard holster; it doesn't completely enclose the handgun. Good people have done brave things to establish that it is at least arguably legal, under this standard, to carry a handgun in a fanny pack designed for the purpose.
Fanny packs, however, are clumsy, slow, uncomfortable and slow to put on and take off. I have a black one that holds my P220 and a magazine--barely--in the gun compartment, but I hate the thing. And frankly, I end up just carrying it in my hand when I'm going into a car, which essentially makes it a clutch purse.

In addition, I've lost my wallet several times in the last week alone. I have to change clothes at least twice on a normal day so I can dress professionally and still work out, and it seems like the wallet, keys and phone are always getting lost in the shuffle. I notice that my wife always knows where hers are, because they're always in her purse. I'd put up with a lot more than a few wisecracks about carrying a purse if it meant I'd never lose my wallet again. I realize it won't, but I have hope that it will help. I'm hoping it will also make it easier to carry a few other useful items, like a granola bar, light, CPR mask, and gloves. And the Jumbo model has a carrier for a water bottle on the back, which might come in handy.

6 comments:

Less said...

I don't like the Versipack for the same reason that I don't like "photography vests"...

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they essentially scream "Kill me first!!"

What I do like and use to carry a firearm legally in Illinois are things like these:
http://www.onesourcetactical.com/index.asp?
PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=921

(I had to break the link up onto two pages...)

There is a larger one too:
http://www.onesourcetactical.com/index.asp?
PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=453

Strings said...

Hell, we can't carry (legally) up here except open!

however, there's usually a sling pack in my car or saddlebag: it's kinda my "bag o' tricks". Between that and my colours, I could probably carry enough hardware and equipment to deal with a moderate zombie invasion. And speaking of my colours...

I use a Coronado Leather concealment vest. You might want to look into one, as they DO completely cover the weapon, and ARE made to carry a weapon. They can be pricey, but I felt it was worth it (or will be, if we ever get WI straightened out)...

Don said...

It's not about coverage, it's about enclosing the gun in a container of some sort. Holsters and pockets built into vests don't cut it.

BobG said...

"I Could Be Manly With a Purse, Right?"

Only if it matches your shoes...

Carteach said...

I use a Maxpedition versa pack.

Nice piece of work that does exactly what it says it does. Tough, ugly, and holds everything I want it to while being more than comfortable to carry.

Two points:

1) For carry, practice the draw a lot, as it takes time to work out.

2) EVERYONE looks at you when you carry it. It's clearly a military looking 'purse' and just about as clearly is designed for CCW.
If you want stealthy carry, the maxpedition ain't it.

freddyboomboom said...

I bought a fatboy versipack to carry stuff on our recent vacation.

It worked very well, and had plenty of room.

Plus, there are lots of places to clip on extra pouches and stuff.

And nobody looked at me, but then we were in Europe.

I don't think I'd get too many looks here in Oregon, either. Lots of guys wear all kinds of shoulder bags, up to messenger bag sized.

Less: you might want to learn how to use the "a" html tag, it would make your links like this and this.

More basic HTML coding can be found here.