Thread: protective gear for a class

I am going to be doing a two day defensive carbine course at Oregon Firearms Academy in June. Having experimented with getting in the dirt to do some prone shooting I think I am in need of some knee/elbow pads. Any suggestions? Will the pads I've seen at Home Depot do the trick as fas as the knees go?

Also, I have one Bladetech mag carrier. Should I get a second so that I have two mags available plus one in the gun? I am assuming that mag changes in a class like this would be similar to dumping pistol mags to get your gun back in the fight .... so no need for a dump bag?

thanks

Pants w/ cargo pockets do fine for dump bags, I'd make sure you have a good set of eyes and ears. Any knee pads will do (I'm a scrony bugger, I just use elbow pads from some skating equipment). Ever thought of some thin shooting gloves? Maybe some Mechanix gloves?

The above is a good start. I want tough kneepads, Blackhawk sells their v.1 for a reasonable $10. Mechanix gloves are great but if you’re running an AK hard I’d get something with more burn protection, GI flight glove are an inexpensive option. They can be rolled up if you don’t care for the gauntlet style or they become too hot in the summer heat.

I will add a baseball cap or boony hat to keep hot brass out of your glass and protect you from the sun. A Shemagh or other neck protection for the same reason. Speaking of the sun you’ll want to rehydrate, Camelbaks are convenient and work great while on the move. And finally, bug spray.

Also check their web site, often trainers will post required and suggested gear.

We have knee and elbow pads for sale in the pro shop at OFA, we also have some loaners in the event you don't want to purchase your own. If you want to use a dump bag, you can. Whatever your personal defense system is with your rifle (Chest rigs, vest, etc) you can wear them. You can have as many mag pouches as you want. You can carry your mags in your cargo pockets, it is all your personal choice. Check the course annoucement for recommended items at www.oregonfireamsacademy.com, bring what you thing will make you comfortable for your two days of rifle/carbine fun! Hope this answer's your questions
See ya there!

Thanks everyone. I have good eye and ear pro, good gloves, hat, pants etc. Guess I'll go with another Bladetech mag carrier because a chest rig is probably a one time use and a bit expensive for that. Think I'll also check the local Lowes/HD to see if anything inexpensive there will get me by in terms of knee/elbow padding goes. I found out the hard way that dropping to a knee or prone and hitting a rock "just right" tends to ruin a guys concentration. Then again, if it were a SHTF scenario I wouldn't probably have any padding available.

Thanks to OFARICK ... I checked the OFA pro shop before posting and didn't see any offerings in the knee/elbow pad possibilities.

I have knee pads from home depot. Pretty cheap, but a nice flexible plastic outside with a foam liner. They work well for crawling on all fours.

I prefer pants with built in knee protection over strap on knee pads. Knee pads move and bunch up your pants around the straps behind your knee. this gets really old esp when your crouching or your leg is bent for long periods. You can get built in knee protection in almost all the "tacticool" pant makers (5.11, Blackhawk ect..) but Carharts work just as well. I have a few pairs of each

Kevatc I believe OFARICK covered it well. The knee pads we have at the OFA Pro Shop on campus are Blackhawks and somewhere in the $15 to $25 price range. We have some Tin Man Dump pouches as well. I've asked Vivian to put the knee pads on our on-line Pro Shop so others will benefit from you making us aware of this. I didn't realize they were not on line.

As a general rule I'd suggest you train the way your going to fight/defend or for your home defense. Id suggest you resist the urge to buy a bunch of gear you might later find out during the class is a waste of money. Usually at the end of a carbine class the students can hold a garage sale with all the gear they realized they didn't need but thought they did. Pants pockets work amazingly well in holding magazines and spare cartridges. If you have any concerns or more questions feel free to call the office and one of the staff would be tickle to answer all your concerns/questions. That is what were there for!

Originally Posted by OFADAN

Kevatc I believe OFARICK covered it well. The knee pads we have at the OFA Pro Shop on campus are Blackhawks and somewhere in the $15 to $25 price range. We have some Tin Man Dump pouches as well. I've asked Vivian to put the knee pads on our on-line Pro Shop so others will benefit from you making us aware of this. I didn't realize they were not on line.

As a general rule I'd suggest you train the way your going to fight/defend or for your home defense. Id suggest you resist the urge to buy a bunch of gear you might later find out during the class is a waste of money. Usually at the end of a carbine class the students can hold a garage sale with all the gear they realized they didn't need but thought they did. Pants pockets work amazingly well in holding magazines and spare cartridges. If you have any concerns or more questions feel free to call the office and one of the staff would be tickle to answer all your concerns/questions. That is what were there for!

Thanks Dan. I agree with the concept of train the way you are going to fight but having spent a time or three at OFA I know that repeated kneeling in gravel all day can start to take it's toll on the knees. I would hope a HD scenario might not involve all day kneeling in gravel. On a side note ... that Vivian is AWESOME. She accomodated a special request from me and I can't thank her enough. I am so very thankful she was able to make some changes on my behalf when she could've easily cited OFA policy and left it at that. There is a reason that OFA is not only a great place to train but also a SPECIAL place to be. I am very grateful!!!

Yea Vivian really does rock. I'm tickled she was able to work it out for you. Both the combo of really high caliber students and amazing staff including those behind the scenes is what makes OFA a mighty special place. We have one student who comes to OFA at least twice a year and drives one way 9 hours because he likes the positive and open learning environment.

People are constantly calling for a tour of OFA to "get a feel for the place". I tell them a tour isn't going to give you anything. You just got to experience it first hand. After 15 years it still is a thrill to be out there

Say I wasn't referring to the knee pads just the chest or mag pouches and dump pouches etc. I just hate to see people invest in gear that they may later on regret. We see it too often. Heck at my last mid range rifle class I took with Rick, Terry and LiL Joe I bought a piece of really cool Tacticool gear that I knew would be amazing and the envy of everyone there at the class.. It literally didn't make it past the first 15 minutes of verifying our zero when Clint Smith came over and asked me why was I still fighting and using this contraption. He then said because I bought it I'm obligated to use it right. I took it off and it is still sitting in my armorer's box. Geez Dan listen to your own advice!