Professional Gear for the Professional Guard
Professional Gear for the Professional Guard
James Hickey
It’s a question that I always try and answer in the security courses “what do you recommend I get!”. People are looking for experience and knowledge on products, they want brand names, heavy duty gear and they want it to work for them.
I have no problem giving people my two cents about the gear I use, but I always come back to one basic point. What works for me may not be suitable to your needs, everyone’s mileage varies.
So, what do you need to work in this industry?
Well certain items are standard; you will need some general items that work in all facets of this industry however you will also need some task specific resources. I will list out my suggestions below for good all-round gear that should work across the industry.
You will need without a doubt some form of First Aid equipment. You can quote me directly on this – if you don’t carry any first aid gear you are setting yourself up for failure when you need to succeed.
You need items that you will actually carry on you, otherwise it’s more or less useless. Standards should be a good pair of nitrile gloves (NAR Black Talon/Bear Claw are my choice), a CPR face shield and something to stop basic bleeds. If you’re working somewhere with kids, you’ll need children’s band-aids. Your set up should change based on the job you do.
For PPE, I always suggest Surefire EP4s if you are working in Crowd Control or any area where it gets loud and you hear ringing in your ears at the end of the shift. They can plug into your comms to make sure that you are hearing safe in noisy environments, and for the low-cost investment you can’t beat them.
Torches are worth their weight in gold when it’s dark and you can’t see. Anything that costs you $5 off eBay is worthless, and will end up as landfill when you realise they do not last. I love Surefire torches but I also love having money – so I usually go with a Klarus XT1C or XT1A. They’ve survived everything I’ve done to them so far and I have a habit or treating them like s**t. I want all the lumens I can get whilst also getting a good budget quality light. When I burn my current light out I’ll bite the proverbial bullet and buy a Surefire P2X Fury, and eat ramen noodles for the rest of the month/year.
You need to wear pants and shoes. Shoes need to be shined and pants need to be neat and not with a large rip running up the inseam which you have “Macgyvered” with some staples. I suggest 5.11 Ridgeline pants for a good all round pant, they have held up well for me and haven’t lost colour for the past 2.5 years I’ve owned them. You can have any colour you want so long as they are black. As for shoes, the 5.11 ATAC boots have served me extremely well, I cannot fault them at all.
Okay, last but not least we need to talk about a belt. This is a new one because I never really thought this was something I needed to tell people, turns out I am wrong. You need to wear a belt for several reasons, one ofwhich is that they hold up your pants. Secondly they hold your radio or any other gear you carry on a belt. While a cheap belt from k-mart will satisfactorily hold your pants up they are not designed to take the weight of a quality radio and any other gear you may load onto it.
A professional image starts with a professional appearance. The picture above is not a professionals belt. If you are able to spend a bit of extra money, get a sturdy belt that is designed to carry gear on it.
Overall these are just my opinions, These items work for me but may not for you. You like Magnum boots better than the 5.11 ATAC? Cool, buy them, they might be the best pair of shoes you’ve ever had. Some guy you know has used a $1 torch off eBay for 20 years and it’s never broken? No skin off my back, buy what ever you like, but buy something that is known for quality. These are just what I think is the most professional gear for the professional guard.
About the Author
James is our Security Trainer and Defensive Firearms Instructor. He has worked in the security industry for long enough to have made some bad decisions on gear and seen some even worse ones. Enjoys long walks on the beach, seems like a nice guy…
Currently seeking a sponsorship from 5.11 and Surefire because he believes in their gear and he wants to get the newest stuff so he can seem cooler than he is.