Velocity systems chameleon shirt

Introduction & Purpose

As we mentioned multiple times, there is a clear difference between low-profile and low-vis approaches when it comes to concepts of operations. US based and veteran lead manufacturer Velocity Systems is one of the few companies who know about this and has designed their Ultra-Low-Vis hard plates as a dedicated level 4 protective solution for low-vis and low-profile operations. With the plates being only a few millimeters thick they almost add nothing to the wearers profile. Most people don’t know that the ULV plates are part of a whole ecosystem of carrier systems, of which we already showed you the ULV Assault Carrier and its smaller brother, the ULV Carrier. But there is also a dedicated shirt, being able to carry the ULV plates for Low-Vis applications. The Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt.

FEATURES

This may destroy some people’s dreams; but working as part of a protective detail or during other operations that require a maximum of discretion, tactical clothing is a no-go.

Wide, untucked, plaid shirts will give you away quickly and won’t fit the dress code of more official occasions and events. Suits and business shirts will give away the print of a plate quicky, so you have to cut every millimeter of fabric to reduce bulk. Due to this fact the Chameleon shirt is basically a performance t-shirt with integrated front, back and side plate pockets.

When looking at the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt the first time you will recognize two zippers on the left and right side. Those zippers enable you to first put on the empty shirts and then insert the front plate yourself and the backplate with help of a buddy. The shirt is cut long enough to be easily tucked away into your pants.

Inside the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt, you will find two mesh pockets with a very slight padding and some additional fleece like liner material to soak away moisture. Those pockets are in fact the shirts plate pockets and feature a fold-over closure, this closure system benefits from needing almost no additional fabric and completely being free of Velcro.

As Velocity Systems ULV Plates are very, very thin but also quite heavy compared to other plates it is especially necessary for the shirt to have some load bearing capabilities. Those capabilities are achieved by reinforcing the shoulder areas with an additional mesh layer and reinforced seams. Basically, those reinforced areas act as shoulder straps if you think of the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt as a plate carrier. They also basically prevent the shirt from ripping apart due to the heavy weight of the plates which can produce some force during more dynamic movements.

The shirts collar features a slight V-Cut, so the shirt doesn’t stand out as much compared to a round- or even crewneck shirt when worn with a business shirt.

In the armpit areas you will recognize a light grey fabric. This mesh fabric is extremely comfortable and moisture wicking while having a very soft hand to it, while not being as stretchy as the shirt’s white primary fabric.The reason for the missing stretch feature in the grey area is found in form of two white elastic pockets on the left and right side of the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt.People observing the pockets for the first time may think they are intended for comms, E&E items or even mags, but they are dedicated pockets for the ULV side plates which are also made by Velocity Systems for certain customers.

PERFORMANCE

I have used the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt on certain close protection contracts for a year now and I really like how it achieves to reduce the already extremely low-profile of the Velocity Systems ULV plates to a level unknown to me before.

As you may have seen I took some photos where I wear a business shirt and a suit. I had to use slim fit clothing to make the ULV plates visible on the pictures.

I have used the Velocity Systems Chameleon Shirt on certain close protection contracts for a year now and I really like how it achieves to reduce the already extremely low-profile of the Velocity Systems ULV plates to a level unknown to me before.

As you may have seen I took some photos where I wear a business shirt and a suit. I had to use slim fit clothing to make the ULV plates visible on the pictures.

I would highly recommend to purchase multiple Chameleon Shirts as the shirt is on one hand treated antimicrobial but on the other hand it is still made out of synthetic fabric. So, switching them daily is a good thing unless you are out there for maximum social distancing.

When running with the Chameleon shirt you will sense that Velocity Systems had to make some compromises as the bouncing of the plates is reduced due to the integrated harness, but there is still some bounce going on. But as said before, this is a very specialized piece of gear that has its sole purpose in low-vis work. When donning the shirt without help I can highly recommend to insert the backplate before donning it and then inserting the frontplate when you actually wear it.