| Get Ready to Bug Out
The PremiTac Basic Universal Gun (or BUG) vest is a solidly built, simply designed, and fundamentally sound tactical vest built to precise, first-rate engineering standards. We put a lot of work into developing our PremiTac line of vests, and the BUG vest is an excellent choice for both beginners and seasoned shooters, as its self-explanatory, straightforward design principles mean that everybody can easily and immediately make full use of this superlative vest’s many thoughtful and practical features.
Whether you’re an experienced tactical operator or a weekend Airsoft enthusiast, a competitive sports shooter or an avid outdoorsman, a quality, dependable vest is a vital necessity for many professional and amateur arms owners alike. A good handgun vest can make time spent at a firing range or just plinking around in a field somewhere a lot more efficient, as all your weapons, magazines, and other tools and equipment are attached directly to your torso for quick, easy access.
You will find that the PremiTac BUG vest just makes sense. That’s why we designed it, after all! Many, many years in this business revealed a significant disconnect between entry-level and high-end tactical vests in the marketplace, with a strong need for ultra-heavy-duty gear without the massive price tag that renders these products just a pipe dream for anybody whose gear is not being purchased by a police department or other agency. Our vests are not cheap, but neither are they totally out of reach for the average consumer.
The BUG vest came out of Kickin’ A Packs ‘N Stuff’s initial R&D into exploring the possibility of assembling our own line of tactical vests and related accessories. Our design team is very slow and ruthlessly methodical in what we like to call “the thinking stage,” and by the time we felt comfortable enough to produce a working prototype, the design had more or less been completely defined down to the very finest of details. Almost nothing was altered after those initial vests were assembled.
Raising the Bar
The textile base of the PremiTac BUG vest is a ventilated, black nylon mesh manufactured from a variant on the popular synthetic called “nylon 5,10.” For those without a chemical engineering background, nylon 5,10 is a rare form of nylon made from substances that are similar to those found in common, everyday nylon (which is technically known as “nylon 6”).
As a result, nylon 5,10 does everything standard nylon can do, but to a far superior degree. The primary reason for this is that nylon 5,10 is a much more compact and efficiently structured polymer at the molecular level. Nylon is essentially a bunch of super long chains of molecules connected to each other in an endlessly repeating pattern. While the bonds between each molecule (or monomer) are quite strong, the forces holding each monomer together internally are not particularly resilient in standard nylon.
Nylon 5,10 introduces a more efficient and stronger internal structure that gives it higher abrasion- and tear-resistance than regular nylon, and better chemical safeguarding against the destructive effects of environmental vectors such as sweat (and other moisture), heat, dirt, oil, and the UV rays of sunlight. Unfortunately, nylon 5,10 is not easy to produce, which is why it is very expensive and hardly ever implemented in contemporary textile products.
Nylon 5,10 is, for all intents and purposes, the definitive version of the nylon fiber (exhibiting the best performance of any other variant) and its quality cannot be topped by the characteristic nylons being mass produced today. The complexity of making nylon 5,10 from scratch and the hefty price tag associated with such processes makes it commercially unviable for all but specialty purposes.
Nylon 5,10 is a rounded filament, meaning that if you could zoom into the material with an electron microscope, you would see that the yarns look like smoothly-rolling hilltops instead of patches of jagged, angular, textured threads. This is part of what makes nylon 5,10 capable of shrugging off the molecular degradation brought about by harsh environments and heavy regular usage, but it also makes the material extremely smooth and soft to the touch and very comfortable to wear for hours on end.
The Principles of Universality
The Basic Universal Gun Vest is a “universal” vest for a few reasons. First, the holster can be positioned for both strong side and cross-draw configurations – we recommend the cross-draw as that seems to work best for just about everyone.
The holster’s made from 1000-denier Cordura, an extremely strong twelve-carbon nylon of singular excellence, and is based on the design specifications of our N-Force Uni-Holster. As such, it accommodates just about any weapon out there, from small subcompact .32s and .380s to full-size .45 autos. A thumb-released snap-latch restraint holds your weapon firmly in place.
The BUG vest also sports five universal mag holders – two on the chest, and three opposite the holster. They are also assembled from Cordura and feature velcro adjustment that allows them to carry all standard and double-stacked magazines with ease. High-capacity and other extended magazines are not officially supported by our design, but as long as they’re not significantly lengthier than what you would expect from a regular mag (a few inches at most), our holders should adjust to fit them without too much difficulty. The mag holders also make handy storage units for knives, flashlights, and whatever else you might want to have on hand.
Thirdly, our BUG vest is a one-size-fits-all affair, with velcro adjustment in the shoulders and two sets of nylon cord lattices on either flank allowing the vest to be sized anywhere from a medium to a 2XL. The vest is designed to sit just above the belt for maximum mobility and comfort, and six snap-latch belt loops anchor the BUG vest to your belt (the loops will accept a belt with a 2.5” maximum width).
All the Trimmings
The vest is secured to your body by way of a single heavy-duty coil zipper bisecting the entire length of the front of the vest. Dual ribbed shooting pads made of rubberized closed-cell foam are ambidextrously integrated for both right- and left-handed shooters. These pads aptly prevent slippage and absorb recoil energy while firing a rifle or shotgun. A large pouch sewn into the nylon mesh in the rear of the BUG vest makes an excellent storage place for an optional water bladder, providing convenient and much-needed hydration while out in the field.
Two carbon steel D-rings (one on each shoulder) serve as suspension points for any number of items. Based on a design used by the Army in the early ‘90s, soldiers often used such D-rings for hanging shovels and canteens while on patrol or on the march.
Typical civilian usage includes hanging umbrellas, ropes, chains, or other objects you want to keep out of your hands and out of the way until needed. A series of nine military-style suspension loops down the rear of the BUG vest serve an identical function, and these are particularly well-suited for attaching a knife or other weapon sheath to the back of the vest.
Finally, the PremiTac BUG vest comes in two different lengths. The standard length is 22.5” and the extended length has an additional four inches added to the vest for a total length of 26.5” intended to accommodate the longer torsos of folks standing 6’ tall or more. The extended length upgrade is a freebie – we’re not going to penalize anybody for being tall! We have found that those extra four inches substantially enhance the comfort and stability of the vest while being worn by people with especially long torsos.
The easiest way to figure out if you need the extra length is to measure yourself. Take a measuring tape and start from your shoulder, extending the tape down until it’s a couple of inches above where you will be wearing your belt. If the measurement you get is roughly 22 inches, you’re good to go with the standard-length vest. If your torso is over 22.5 inches long, grab the extended length. It’s not an exact science and it doesn’t need to be – if you’re under six feet in height and/or you measure yourself somewhere in the ballpark of 22.5 inches, the standard length will be just fine.
Built for Life
The BUG vest is backed by our Kickin’ A Warranty, which states that all materials and workmanship will last indefinitely or we’ll fix the product or replace it for free. This doesn’t apply to misuse of the product, of course, (and it never applies to the zipper, the only exception to our lifetime guarantee) but we resolve to stand by our assembly techniques and the excellent skills of the sewsmiths in our workshop to the bitter end! Above all else, we aim to please.
If it’s a no-frills, to-the-point gun vest you need, the PremiTac Basic Universal Gun Vest couldn’t get any more so. Easy to wear and easy to use, with a strong, aggressive design aesthetic and hardy construction standards for the likes of which you would normally expect to pay triple the asking price, the BUG vest is built to endure any operating environment and the immense rigors of daily, heavy usage.
Its universal holster and mag holders, combined with flexible sizing and ambidextrous design, offer hunters, sportsmen, hobbyists, and LEO’s unprecedented efficiency and outstanding, world-class quality that everyone can afford. |
