Two years ago, I wrote an article that was pure regret and anger. I purchased the “Heat” replica vest from Forgotten Weapons. The vests were shown in a Forgotten Weapons YouTube video, and many of us broke two cardinal sins. First, we preordered something; second, we purchased something from a YouTuber. The vests sucked. They were absolutely massive. My XL was down to my thighs. They were cheaply made, retention sucked, and they were a waste of $100.
It turns out the crew at Kommando Store read my article and figured they could make a “Heat” vest better. That’s according to a message I received from Kommando Store. After Forgotten Weapons produced crappy vests and seemingly had no plan to make it right, they decided they could do it better. They promised to do it right and be worth your hard-earned cash. They did just that and provided me with their vest to test and review.
What Is the “Heat” Vest?
“Heat” is a mid-1990s Michael Mann film starring Val Kilmer, Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, and of course, Al Pacino. I love the film. It’s a man’s movie, pure and simple. It explores the loneliness of modern society and obsession and mixes in some sweet gunfights along the way. It’s a brilliant movie, and it’s often most remembered for its intense post-bank-robbery shootout.
During the bank robbery, Val Kilmer and Robert De Niro are rocking Colt carbines and spitting 5.56 at the cyclic rate. They both wore these custom vests under their rather stylish suits. These vests were discrete and hid under their jackets with ease. Each vest held a multitude of magazines for their rifles. In the 1990s, discreet, low-profile chest rigs weren’t really a thing.
It was such a cool part of the film, and the vest is iconic. In the past, airsoft companies have produced replicas, and fanmade options existed. However, we’ve never seen a dedicated, real steel version. Forgotten Weapons tried and failed, but the Kommando Store took it a step further. Supposedly the magazines were sewn into the original custom vests, and they weren’t functional.
Kommando Store wanted to change that and to produce a vest that could be perfectly useable by the end user.
The Kommando Store “Heat” Vest
As soon as you open the package and handle the vest, you can feel the quality. It’s very well made. The “Heat” Vest is 100% American made with American-made materials. The majority of the vest is made from a semi-stiff resin-finished polyester mesh fabric that makes it stiff but still fairly flexible.
The magazine cells are made from mil-spec elastic webbing and mil-spec hook and loop for long-term quality. The zipper that seals it up is a YKK locking model. Overall it’s made to last and to perform, and that’s evident from the jump.
The Kommando Store Heat Vest is a three-piece system. We have a rear component and two front and side pieces. It’s all attached via velcro, which makes it easy to size the vest, perfect for the height and width of the end user. This makes it easy to tailor and customize to get the “Heat” Vest just right for you.
The vest is designed to hold eight thirty-round AR-15 magazines. Six mag pouches are horizontal, and two are vertical. In the film, they were stock standard STANAG magazines, but that’s no longer the standard in 2023. The elastic bands have some room, and they seemingly fit everything from STANAG metal mags to Magpul PMAGs, Lancers, MFT mags, and even the Daniel Defense 32-rounders. Anything longer than the 32-round magazines will not fit.
Loaded and Ready
The vest’s wide shoulders and supportive design makes it plenty comfy when packing 240 rounds of 5.56. It’s surprisingly comfortable and maybe a little front-heavy. It works best when worn just slightly tight. The vest breaths pretty well, and even in heat and humidity, it is pretty comfortable. It’s more of an overshirt than a sweatshirt when in action.
The Heat Vest uses smartly designed magazine cells that make retention a nonissue and makes access easy.
Two elastic straps wrap around the magazine and secure it to the vest. One of the two straps that wrap around the magazine is secured via hook and loop. It holds the magazine but can also break away with a twist of the magazine, making it easy to retrieve and load into your weapon.
You need to organize the Heat Vest smartly to make your reloads rapid. Just make sure you practice and find out what works well for you. With my vest, I oriented the rounds pointing downward and towards my dominant arm. That makes it easy to spin the magazine out of the vest and throw it into the gun. It’s surprisingly fast, but it takes a second to learn to reload properly when compared to a normal rig.
Retention is stellar. I can jump, run, and maybe even do a somersault and not worry about the mags falling out. If you remember, the “Heat” vest from Forgotten Weapons will spill mags out even during a brisk walk.
The “Heat” Vest We Deserve
Kommando Store has done it right. They’ve produced a functional, comfortable, and retention-capable “Heat” vest. It’s practical, or well, works with real steel guns. I don’t think I’d toss it on to take Fallujah, but it might be fun to wear to a match and to LARP on the range. The “Heat vest is extremely well made,” and it’s an excellent replica from a ton of gun guys’ favorite action films.
The “Heat” Vest from the Kommando Store is a quality product and one that works brilliantly. If you want to reenact some “Heat” action on the range, you know where to shop. Outside of the “Heat” Vest, Kommando Store has tons of fun stuff, including surplus, novelty items, and beyond. Plus, they are a great — and often hilarious — crew of people.
