High Threat Concealment Low Profile System

Photo by HTC

In today’s firearms industry, designing and producing concealed carry holsters for your handgun and associated accessories can be done in the confines of your own home. This type of gear is usually designed for the everyday citizen to facilitate concealed carry and sometimes off duty law enforcement officers.

Where this specific niche has gaps though is towards the low profile, high threat area of work that many people put their lives on the line doing every day. High Threat Concealmentâ„¢ (HTCâ„¢) fills this gap with a quality, robust and adaptable system for personnel that need to conceal their equipment in a non-permissive setting, yet can still efficiently get to it if need be.

Overview

The Low Profile Systemâ„¢ (LPS) is:

• Made in the USA with mil-spec rated hardware.
• Completely modular, making it the most versatile concealment platform available today.
• Their minimalist, patent-pending design allows equipment to be customized for your specific mission which in turn increases response capabilities while reducing the tactical appearance of your overall profile.
• HTCâ„¢ uses only the highest quality thermoplastics available from Boltaronâ„¢, which is a fire retardant, ultra-high impact, abrasion & chemical resistant acrylic/PVC alloy.
• This sophisticated material offers greater abrasion resistance than stainless steel, and is insusceptible to extreme temperatures, deformation and caustic chemicals across the pH spectrum.
• The LPS comes with:
  • 1 Dual Pistol Mag Holder
  • 2 M4 Mag Holders
  • 1 Blowout Kit
  • 1 Gen 3 Radio Holder (or specific accessory pouch if user desires)
  • 1 Gen 3 Pistol Holster

High Threat Concealment Background

Photo by HTC

High Threat Concealment™ was originally started in 2005 as a need for private security contractors to have better quality and concealable gear in environments that required them to have as low visibility as possible. James Overton, the founder and President of HTC™, is a military veteran with multiple tours overseas as a private security contractor. Overton has been assigned to numerous high profile security details including the US Ambassadors to Iraq and Afghanistan, the current and former Secretaries of State, and has also augmented the Presidential Security detail for several Presidential visits to Iraq and Afghanistan.

When asked about the development of his products, Overton stated, “We developed these products as we were working in Kabul.  It took about six months to come up with a system that was comfortable and worked effectively.  We tested each design on real world missions.  If something didn’t work we’d go back and tweak the design until we found something that worked.” If you ask Overton what really started it all though, he’ll tell you it was HTC’sâ„¢ Radio Holder. While sitting in vehicles for long periods of time, Overton and his team would be constantly “hot miking” their radio. This led to a need to develop a piece of kit that could be molded specifically for their radio. From there, everything else fell into place. Designing gear for the specific context of low-visibility operation is a lot harder than one might think, especially when you have to look as inconspicuous as possible, yet still be able to get to your gear if necessary and be constantly in and out of vehicles.

HTCâ„¢ answers the call to an unanswered question, how to design functional gear that is predominately made to not be seen, and be completely changeable for the user or mission at hand. Many people can design Kydex rigs for everyday use at the range or concealed carry, but no one other than HTC currently has made a complete system out of a resilient material such as Boltaronâ„¢, is completely customizable and is currently seeing action by the Department of State and other various government organizations. Even though they are used in environments overseas as well as the aforementioned organizations, that doesn’t mean that HTC’s products can’t be applied to your lifestyle.

Our system was developed for use on low visibility operations but our system has a tremendous amount of versatility that allows it to be used to a variety of applications.  We’ve seen interest in maritime operations because of the lightweight nature of the material as well as the fact that it doesn’t retain water like nylon components.  We’ve seen interest in overt missions, home defense, as well as EMT/ first responder applications.

Whether you’re completing a mission overseas or securing the homestead, be sure that HTC’s LPS has your back.

Low Profile System

Ever since I saw a YouTube video regarding Overton’s products a year ago or so, I knew that I needed to find out more about his company as well as what his products were all about. When I saw that HTC was going to be at SHOT Show 2013, I knew that it was one booth I had to hit. After meeting Overton and Greg from Rogue Gunfighter, I found out that they are indeed more than fellow businessmen, they are actually true friends that are trying to develop products for a fellow cause. Even though they are actually two separate entities and companies, they work in tandem with one another in order to help themselves grow. If Overton has a client who needs a plate carrier he points him in the direction of Rogue Gunfighter. If Greg has a client who needs a sturdy belt system, he points him in the direction of HTC. They work fluidly with one another and it was an awesome thing to see firsthand.

Photo by HTC

After returning from SHOT and getting my hands on the LPS, it was first off awesome to feel how lightweight the entire rig is even though it’s made out of a much thicker material of Boltaron. Overton explained to me that I would have to Loctite the screws of the rig myself seeing that the user can set it up however they see fit. I had no issue with that and after securing all the nuts and screws, I was ready to roll.

HTC sells their own belt separately from the rig in two versions. One is their original design and is called their Tactical Cobra Belt. This is a familiar looking “riggers” belt that most people have either seen or currently use. Their second belt that was just released at SHOT is a blend of leather and nylon lined with Velcro to make a covert, inconspicuous looking dress belt; it’s named the Low Pro Belt. It’s paired with an inner, nylon soft sided Velcro belt that the user first threads through all of their belt loops on their pants. The other belt has already been threaded through the LPS and all the user has to do is “marry” the two belts together, thread the end of their belt through the first two loops of their pants, snap the actual buckle back on and the entire system is secure. From the outside with the user wearing a suit jacket or an open button up, it looks as if though they are in fact wearing a high quality leather dress belt. You can also use your own rigger’s type belt if the user desires but HTC’s belts will obviously integrate a lot easier.

Moving on to the actual holster portion of the LPS, everything is configurable to how the user desires. Personally I left the rig as it came going clockwise, my Glock 17 holster on the traditional strong side (3 o’clock, I’m right handed) with their Modular Accessory Panel™ (MAP) following suit with their Utility Pouch integrated into it (I got this in place of their Radio Holder) then next to that is their Blowout Kit which sits at your 6 o’clock, next to that is the dual M4 mag holders, and finally finishing out at my 9 o’clock weak side is the dual magazine holders for my Glock. As I mentioned earlier this is completely customizable and can be easily modified by removing a few screws.

The aforementioned Blowout Kit is something to have a closer look taken at. This piece of kit can either be used as a standalone Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK) or used in conjunction with the LPS. The great thing if used with the LPS is how efficiently it can be removed with either hand by an easily grabbed T-Handle in a “worst case scenario.” The T-Handle and the Blowout Kit are attached with a string and once the handle is pulled, along comes your first aid supplies in a compact, zippered kit. There is even place on top to attach a CAT Tourniquet if desired.

The entire LPS can be separated and used as individual units as well if the mission dictates. An example would be only needing your pistol holster and pistol mag holders for an extremely low-profile setting. Looking at it this way, the user has multiple configurations available all in one easily changeable system. With the purchase of HTC’s Inside the Waistband (IWB) soft loops, the user can even take their pistol holster and make it a concealed, strong side holster.

The Low Profile System as well as accompanied components can be ordered in all black or flat dark earth (FDE) for an additional charge. The pistol holster is currently molded for the Beretta 92/M9, various Glock’s, Sig Sauer’s, Springfield’s and 1911’s. They also have molds for Weapon Mounted Lights (WML) for various Surefire, Streamlight, Insight and Inforce models. HTC’s mag holders for their pistols can be made for single or double stack magazines ranging from .40 S&W and below and 10mm to .45 ACP. Their rifle mag holders can be made for the standard M4, SMG, SR-25 and even the Surefire 60 round magazines. HTC’s MAP can be used with the users current utility pouch if it utilizes a MOLLE attachment or can be integrated with their various pouches ranging from a handcuff pouch to a multi-versatile utility pouch. HTC even offers free shipping to APO/DPO addresses if the buyer is currently deployed.

Final Thoughts

Both High Threat Concealment™ and Rogue Gunfighter have an unspoken bond to the need of designing quality products to a specific context of low-visibility work in high threat environments at home and abroad. After sitting down with Greg and Overton during SHOT and seeing exactly what high caliber guys they were, there was no question that I’d support their products as well as their mission of spreading the word of these “F’n new guys on the block.” Just as with Rogue Gunfighter’s Low Vis Rig, HTC’s Low Profile System is no different when it comes to quality, craftsmanship and the constant desire to develop a great product.

After receiving the LPS in the mail, I decided to see how concealable it really was by walking around town and doing errands. One thing I will note is that I did this all with 2 M4 mags, 2 Glock mags and a Glock 17. I did not attach the Blowout Kit onto it because it does give you a larger, overall signature especially in the buttocks region. I obviously had an open button up shirt on to conceal the rig, but low and behold there was absolutely no printing even for my relatively small 160’ish pound frame.

Another thing to note is that my pistol holster was a tad tight so after contacting Overton he advised me to purchase a can of non-corrosive Teflon spray to go inside the holster itself. After that, a clean presentation to and from the holster occurred. I had no issues regarding friction with the rifle/pistol mag holders, and the pistol mag holders actually have a tension screw for the user’s desired preference. I work for an executive protection firm in the greater Boston area and concealment with the LPS in a suit worked flawlessly as expected. Again, the Blowout Kit was not attached because of the added overall width, but obviously abroad in an actual high threat environment that wouldn’t be of too much of a concern.

Overall, if you’re a private security contractor overseas with less than par gear, in the Law Enforcement or government capacity, or even an everyday civilian that wants different options to carry concealed or to the range for classes you should take a gander at High Threat Concealment’s Low Profile System™.  With HTC’s adaptable, functional, multi-purpose and quality driven rig, there is no other answer to be able defend your team, your principal, yourself or even your loved ones when the call needs to be answered.