Modified Clothing for EDC prepping

Bill Masen - February 18, 2021

Modified clothing for EDC prepping

More and more preppers I meet are doing some interesting stuff with their EDC clothing, Poorer preppers like myself tend to modify or tailor proprietary brands of clothing to suit our own needs, I’m always adding extra pockets, re-enforcement patches, Fastex webbing and hangers, kit hanging loops, elasticised draw cords etc to my clothing. I always try to remove noisy Velco hook and loop tape with press studs or Canadian slotted buttons.

Equally many preppers choose to buy and wear clothing primarily designed for soldiers or police officers such as Combat Jackets, SAS smocks, M65s, Concealed Carry Jackets, Specialist Vests etc. And not forgetting our passion for tactical cargo pants either. Some folks spend huge amounts on first rate specialist outdoor clothing and still end up messing on with a sewing machine to get the product they want.

Also and very importantly in this ever more uncertain and violent world parents are also seeking specialist clothing for their children. GPS tagged clothing and shoes for the very young, GPS tagged phones for errant teens spring to mind but equally the enlightened urban families both prepper and ordinary types as well as the kids themselves have identified a need for even more specialist clothing.

This includes slash proof and knife resistant vests, hoodies, smocks and jackets for kids !! (What a terrible indictment of today’s society until you realise that in London alone over 200 kids have been stabbed to death in recent years which makes teen prepping more important than ever it was before.)

Slash resistant clothing is now very popular in places such as Washington DC, New York, London, Birmingham, Rome, Berlin and Tokyo for teens as well as adults. It is a newish product range some city preppers may wish to consider as well.

There is also a trend among our teens and city dwellers to reduce the risk of becoming victims of muggings and street robberies by wearing clothing that allows them to conceal the inevitable collection of electronic gadgets they have these days. Firstly it helps them reduce the risk of being targeted as in many cases they can conceal their personal kit about their person instead of in bags and rucksacks.

Jackets, Hoodies and Vests that look just like ordinary outdoor civilian fashion clothing but have huge numbers of concealed pockets and hidden routes within the clothing to route phone speaker / headphone wires etc, This again is a development that can in many cases be beneficial to the urban prepper community as you can very often carry a full EDC load in the pockets rather than in a bag.

Article on Kids stab proof clothing

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1552956.ece

Concealed 24 pocket Fleece

http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Fleece_Jacket.shtml

22 concealed pocket travel Vest

http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/New_Travel_Vest.shtml

26 concealed pockets Jacket

http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/Revolution-Plus-Jacket.shtml

Specialist Scottvest range Men and Women

http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/subindex_jackets_vests.shtml

Tactical multi pocket hoodie

http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/cotton-hoodie.shtml

Knife Slash Resistant Hoodies

http://www.bladerunner.tv/hooded-tops-c-76.html

Knife Slash Resistant Windjammer Jacket

http://www.bladerunner.tv/weatherproof-jackets-windjammer-c-83.html?brid=lip3989ubahf3t7ouffangro2

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Thank you for the article and links, Bill.

I am a fan of modified gear and hidden pockets.

Appreciate the info.

 

A bit of a necro-post here, awesome topic, I’ve only started prepping this year but even before that I usually ended-up modifying almost everything I own, not just clothes but gear as well because although the item might start off good it’s just never quite all the way to “as good as it could be”, sometimes things don’t even last 24 hours the way the factory intended them LOL

Now I know I’m not alone 🙂

 

I am looking at adding a few pockets to some of my gear. Any tips re strengthening etc would be appreciated. The above clothes are way out of my budget range.

 

Good morning LBV,

It will help if an initial  specific project example can be mentioned.

In some projects re additional pockets – and pouches – sometimes these additions can be bolted – literally – to the gear.

Don’t think of the shipyard at Newport News, Virginia but rather the small bolts around the size of # 6 – 32 bolts. They’re available at eg Lowe’s, Home Depot and hobby shops.  Hobby shops even have smaller than 6 -32.

Consider strengthing add-on pocket by adding  plastic file folder material to margin of pocket.  Glue in place and then sew on this pocket to gear. The file folder strips serve as bolts for entire job of sewing in place.  Of course, holes must be pre-punched along entire pocket margin for ease of needle. Am avoiding saddle stiching which requires buying stuff not used that frequently.

A tangent to your above post: Think about adding construction type suspenders to your belt.  Get the “H” type of suspenders. You’ll get extra places to mount pouches and at back – the “H” section, you can fold and lash stuff like a poncho, drag blanket, or even a bolt cutter tool.

As an aside, a couple of my add-on pockets and pouches are fitted with plastic containers … probably not around now … but I used some plastic cigarette containers with the molded section for a pack of paper matches.

 

LBV – what is are your sewing options – do you have a sewing machine?

There are pre made pockets with zippers that are used by travellers.

Regarding strengthening your gear – are you wanting to reinforce seams? Or is it something else? 

If you can be more specific, I may be able to help you as I sew.

 

At the moment looking for pockets to carry EDC without having to carry a handbag. I will be making jacket from scratch. Access to sewing machine and overlooked (wonderful library makerspace). So looking to reinforce pockets as I want to make sure they don’t feel like they are dragging down.

Will also be making my own go bags. I have some 420D Nylon. Most will be sewn on a normal sewing machine but will take heavier/thicker sewing to a cobbler.

 

LBV,

To prevent pocket sagging, you could line the pockets with a different fabric, or you could use a double thickness of the jacket fabric. It depends on what you are putting into them. Anything with sharp edges could also cut/wear through the fabric.

To reinforce the pockets, I would use a strong good quality thread, sew the original seam line and then sew a second line of stitching just outside the first, and finish with a third stitching just slightly outside the second stitching.

 

Thanks. Will let you know how I go.