|
By Peggy Tartaro, Is it ever too early to start your Christmas shopping? If you go by the retail outlets, which started putting our Halloween candy in August (much to the delight of dentists everywhere, I'm sure), then no.
For most of us, however, the holidays are upon us soon enough that we don't really think too hard about gifts until the cool weather sets in and the Thanksgiving guest list is in the planning stages.
However, every once in awhile you do find that perfect gift months early and you do a little victory jig and later smugly tell your co-workers at the Labor Day picnic that you've made a good start on your Christmas shopping. With that in mind, here are a couple of nice items for the
truly deserving gun- and sportswomen on your list. (Or, it may
just be that either of these products move to the top of your
own wish list.) Galco bags are among the very best for this type of concealed carry. The bags look like the high-end leather pieces they are and very few people will mistake them for anything other than a really nice looking purse. The company started life in Chicago under another name, The Original Jackass Leather Company, in the late 1960s. Television fans may remember that the wildly popular series "Miami Vice" featured one of the company's shoulder rigs in a recurring role. By that time, the company had moved to Phoenix and the name was changed to Galco International. Their newest offering for women, the Frisco Holster Handbag is a fashionably oversized calfskin model with nickel-plated brass fittings, including a center front one which secures a large outside pocket with a magnetic snap closure. The top of the bag has a zipper close and is fully lined. Inside is another zippered pocket and a cell phone holder. The holster is a separate, side entry pocket that fits most defensive-sized handguns, according to the company. It has a lockable, nickel-plated solid brass zipper. The Frisco comes in black with a 13" drop at the shoulder and the overall dimensions are 10-3/4 high by 16-1/2 long and 5" wide. At a cost of $475 the Frisco is a big ticket item for you or a loved one, but like all Galco products, is a well thought out and crafted product.
The Galco website features a slew of testimonials from satisfied customers, including those using Galco gear in Iraq. They offer a gift card option for the indecisive, or multiple "giftees" in mind. Now that over 40 states have concealed carry laws on the books, someone you know is bound to need-and greatly appreciate-a gift from Galco. At this year's SHOT Show, Filson, an outdoor clothing line with roots in the Alaska Gold Rush and Northwest timber industry stretching back 100 years, debuted its women's clothing line, in their cozy, lodge-style booth. We "field" tested their wool Macinaw Vest in a variety of situations-Las Vegas Super Bowl parties, interminable airplane trips, dog walking, chilly evenings indoors trying to beat the gas company out of a few bucks and snow shoveling duty, and it performed perfectly and with a good deal of panache as well. Filson's long history of practical, long-wearing outdoor clothing has served their women's line very well. On the company's website (filson.com), we spied what look liked another multi-tasking winner: their women's Travel Vest. The US-made garment is available in sizes S-XL in the company's 100% cotton Cover Cloth. It is treated with a water- and stain-resistant finish and boasts 14 pockets, six of which have zipper closes. While the Filson website says it is "ideal for safaris, photo shoots and bird watching," the first activity that came to my mind was airport maneuvering. Those 14 pockets could be a godsend when it comes to long security lines and crowded overhead luggage bins. Imagine doffing your vest (and of course your shoes!) and sailing through the queue. Maybe the company should run a contest to determine how many days a traveler could survive with just the gear packed in this vest!
Filson has loads of stories about apparel being handed down from generation to generation because of its durability and timelessness. Maybe now would be a great time to award yourself this vest with an eye toward amortizing the cost for at least a couple of decades. For the man in your life, there is a men's Travel Vest-this one has 20 pockets and can be zipped into a Filson coat as a liner. It's available in men's sizes S-XXL in two colors (green and tan) for $175. I couldn't find an explanation as to why the gents get a half dozen more pockets than we do, but I'm sure it has something to do with them not carrying a purse.
Filson's website offers an array of gift ideas, but if you're lucky enough to live in either Seattle or Denver, the company has two lodge-style stores for a total shopping experience. The Seattle store is just a few blocks from where the company started and the Denver edition is in the Cherry Creek neighborhood. |
That's
why our annual Holiday Gift Guide doesn't appear until our November-December
issue (which is out in October and begun a month earlier, but
that's another story).
The company's website,
usagaco.com, shows nearly a dozen other carry purse options,
as well as waist packs, dayrunners and many holster options for
civilian, security and law enforcement women.
Of course, it would
also be a handy piece on the range. The sporty design would look
just fine, perhaps paired with either the company's long- ($65)
or short-sleeved ($60) shooting shirt, both of which come with
an action back and double sewn-in shooting patches. The shirt
is available in S-LX, and two color choices: light blue and desert
tan in a 100% cotton Cover Cloth.
And for woman's
best friend, Filson makes a Shelter Cloth dog coat with wool
on the inside and a durable oil-finish cotton outside. It comes
in three sizes (you measure from base of neck to base of tail)
in a color called "Otter Green," a dark olive tone,
for $72. There are no pockets on this one, but I've found most
dogs are smart enough to let others do the carrying for them!
