Mayhem Tactical Uniform Review

Oct. 25, 2014
The company name is MAYHEM and they’re producing some good products to help protect we law enforcement professionals FROM the mayhem of the streets.

There I was… stalking the vendor jungle in Atlantic City; also known as walking the expo floor at the Police & Security Expo (PSE) held annually.  One of the vendors that caught my eye is new to the industry but is doing some strong work right out of the gate.  The company name is MAYHEM and they’re producing some good products to help protect we law enforcement professionals FROM the mayhem of the streets.  After meeting them at PSE and having some follow on conversations, I received a uniform set and a tactical vest carrier for T&E.  Here is my report.

Tactical Shirt

Although I have been familiar with mixed-fabric uniform shirts for some time, I’ve never really worn them much.  Most of my uniforms have been BDU or ACU style for tactical assignments.  My agency doesn’t have a full time team so a tactical uniform has never been specified, approved or issued.

When I received the Tactical Shirt from Mayhem, like I do with every other uniform item (except boots), I washed it first and then set about wear testing it.  For the past several years I’ve been wearing XL shirts but for the past year I’ve been upping my fitness program and shed some fat (although not enough yet) and this Large fit me just perfectly.  The torso made of performance material is just long enough to tuck comfortably but not so long it could serve as a short dress (you guys with short torsos know what I’m talking about).  The shoulder, where the cloth sleeves curve in the conversion from vertical to horizontal, hang just right at the point of my shoulders but the cloth also runs up the top of the shoulder to the base of the collar so the support for the sleeves is stronger.  The sleeves are just a tad long for my arms but the adjustable hook-n-loop cuffs keep the sleeves from sliding down over the tops of my hands.

The quarter-zip front and the full collar (as opposed to the ACU type collar) help with comfort.  More often than not I wore the shirt without the tactical vest carrier (see below) so the collar was folded down and the zipper half way down.  When I zipped the zipper all the way up the collar stood back up, all the way around, to form a mock turtleneck type of collar.

Both sleeves have a hook-n-loop patch panel at the top for easy patch application.  Those patch panels are covered with a blank square of cloth so if you don’t want to have or don’t use any patches, the panel is covered and protected. That way it doesn’t just attract things like lint, dog hair, threads, etc.  One observation here for washing: when you wash the shirt, take the patch panel cover cloth squares off.  They tend to curl at the corners in the dryer and therefore stand out from your arm.  Both arms of the shirt also have hook-n-loop closed elbow pockets for pads if you want to insert them.  If you don’t need hard pads or don’t want to buy the sometimes expensive neoprene / closed cell foam pads, I’ve found that cutting down some old/used computer mouse pads works just fine.

On the left sleeve forearm is a pen pocket (that will hold three pens) and behind it, closed via a vertical zipper, is a “hidden” pocket that might be good for carrying small folded documents, etc.  It’s about the size of an 8”x11” piece of paper folded in half twice.  I’ve had some follow-on conversation with the folks at Mayhem and they may be adding a similar pen/hidden pocket on the right sleeve but with the “pen” pockets specifically sized to fit most contemporary LED “penlights” than run on AAA batteries.  Since 92% of us are right handed, having pen pockets on the left sleeve makes sense.  By the same token, having access to a small flashlight on the right sleeve (grabbed with our left hand) makes equal sense.

All in all, I like this shirt.  It is, among the uniform shirts I’ve tested, the best fitting (for me personally) to date.

Tactical BDU Pants

These pants are pretty much what you’d expect from a BDU style pant with a few happy surprises.  Made from a PolyCotton Blend Rip Stop fabric the pants have an extra two inches of elastic stretch in the waist and an extra inch of length in the legs.  Why?  For two reasons:  first, shrinkage can happen.  I’ve bought clothing that was “pre-shrunk” only to have it shrink plenty and clothing that I was told would shrink that never did.  With the extra waist space and the extra length, if some shrinkage happens, you’re still good to go.  If not, you’re still good to go.

The seams are all multi-stitched with heavy duty thread and have reinforced knees and seat.  There are hidden interior pockets in the knees of the legs for pads and the cargo pockets are as you’d expect… with a twist.  Inside the cargo pockets, along the bottom inside edge, is a hook-n-loop panel.  It’s there to hold in the removable pocket organizers that Mayhem also produces.  You can get a cargo pocket organizer that holds two rifle magazines (AR type), one pistol magazine or a folding knife, and two pens or penlight(s).  The other option is a pocket organizer that is a holster and will easily hold up to a mid-size weapon such as a Glock 19 or similar size.  The organizer that holds magazines/pens can be put into either side; the holster type organizer has to be specifically right or left side (duh).

I’ve tried out both and like them.  The guns I used for testing out the holster organizer included a Ruger LCP (.380), Kahr CW308, Kahr CW4543 (.45ACP) and a Sig P232 (.380).  I have had some discussion with the folks at Mayhem and a change of security for the holster is in the works.  Currently there is a nylon strap that wraps over the grip of the weapon and secures down via hook-n-loop.  They’re making changes either to an adjustable thump-snap strap OR a pull through hook-n-loop with the pocket flap adding additional security.

At the cuff of the pant there is a neat feature as well.  The blousing string – built in – has a spring-loaded string “keeper” that keeps the ends secure.  No more flapping ends that can dangle from the cuff when you were trying to keep them tucked out of sight.  That’s a feature that most companies wouldn’t pay attention to and is indicative of the thought Mayhem put into their design.

Tactical Carrier

Mayhem makes two exterior carriers for vest panels: a Tactical exterior carrier and a Uniform exterior carrier.  The difference is (primarily) the appearance of the pockets.  Both carriers have chest pockets but on the Uniform carrier the pockets look like those of a uniform shirt as opposed to just being plain utility pockets.

To see a complete list of all of the features of the Tactical Carrier, you can check out the Mayhem webpage for it.  For the purposes of my wear test, I equipped it with my Level IIIA panels and added on the pouches I wanted for “tactical” use.  In my case that meant pouches to hold six AR magazines, three hi-cap pistol magazines and my radio on the front.  On the back I put a hydration pouch down the center and a tac-med kit on the lower left side.  The carrier is well equipped with plenty of standard MOLLE webbing so adding pouches of the type you want and where you want is pretty easy.  Conversation with the folks at Mayhem indicates they will one day be producing pouches as well, but they are not as of this writing.

On the top half of the front of the vest are two pockets, hidden pen pockets and a hidden document pocket that has zippered access center chest.  There is also a microphone loop just above that and non-slip rubberized material that covers the front of both shoulders for securely mounting a rifle.

The vest is pretty adjustable both for length and girth with an abundant cumber bun that is still enough to provide back support while really snugging the vest against your body.  There are four buckles with adjustable straps for securing the front panel to the back panel and the adjustment straps are held down against the outside of the back panel with hook-n-loop material so that they don’t flap around.  There is also a built-in suspension system that attaches to your duty belt if you so desire.

The top four rows of MOLLE webbing on the back are faced with hook-n-loop so you can attach patches as necessary: agency patch, POLICE panel, blood-type, etc.  There is also a drag handle above that with a hook-n-loop center connector so that the handle isn’t flapping loose all the time.  It’s held relatively flat until you need it (and let’s hope none of us ever does anywhere but training).

The carrier was comfortable to wear over the tactical shirt and, once adjusted properly for fit, was comfortable for at least six hours (the longest period I had to wear it during testing).

In Closing

Mayhem also makes an entire line of gloves specifically designed for various purposes and will soon be expanding their uniform line.  One of the strengths of the company is their ability to do relatively small custom orders and their future ability to do custom dyed colors.  As I said earlier, they are a relatively new company to our industry, but I’m looking forward to seeing what they do next and am impressed with what they’ve produced thus far.  Check them out online at www.intersport-group.com.

Stay safe!

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