Patent ID: 8370962

Claim:
A clam shell vest for wearing about the torso of a person, the vest comprising: a rear panel having a first outer surface, a first inner surface, a top, a bottom, and a pair of opposing sides; a front panel having a second outer surface, a second-inner surface, and a pair of spaced apart shoulder straps each shoulder strap removably attachable to the first outer surface of the rear panel; a cummerbund having a pair of ends, each end attached to a respective one of the opposing sides of the rear panel and at least one of the ends of the cummerbund being removably attachable to its said respective one of the opposing sides of the rear panel via an attachment system; the attachment system comprising: a blade attached to said at least one end of the cummerbund; a blade receiver attached to said respective one of the opposing sides of the rear panel such that the blade is laterally received within the blade receiver; a plunger having an upper surface and a lower surface, the plunger removably attached to the blade receiver in order to prevent lateral movement of the blade with respect to the blade receiver whenever the blade is received within the blade receiver; a cord attached to the upper surface of the plunger wherein the cord is attached to a respective one of the shoulder straps of the front panel; a keeper located on said respective one of the shoulder straps; and a stop located on the cord between the keeper and the plunger such that when the stop encounters the keeper further cord travel through the keeper is prevented.