Rogue Elite

We got a good look at what was coming out this year at the Police and Security Expo for 2011.   We recently got feed back from our customers about what they wanted to see from the Original Swat footwear line and we were happy to find out that Original Swat was already producing it.   The new 1160 boot has shank protection and composite toe instead of a steel toe.   With new technology there are really no reasons to have a steel toe anymore.   That is probable one of the biggest complaints that I’ve gotten from people that went on hiking trips in the winter that thought the boots would keep them warm, but instead, the steel toe made them colder.

Many people working in security don’t want to have to take their boots off every time they go in our out of a security, but they still need the protection.  Many products that use to use steel for protection have been replaced and Original Swat boots has been on top of that.   Where are you going to get kind of product for less than $100.  Shank protection is important for this day and age when so many blood born diseases exist in the drug infested urban areas.  Stepping on a needle is something that can easily be prevented but also can be life altering if it occurs.

If you’re looking for tactical footwear that gives you the support to haul heavy gear around, ask your UPS delivery guy.   Those guys are hauling weight around and they can’t slow down.   When you have to get away from wearing boots that weight 5lbs or more, support and safety are important, but you really feel it at the end of the day.   If you put that kind of weight on a UPS delivery guys feet, his butt is going to be dragging half way through the day and he’s not going to get the job done.   There is a lot to be said for take a pound or two off of a firearms weight in the battlefield because the guys that haul them all day long are the ones that will tell you they can feel the difference.

One of our biggest selling boot from Original Swat footwear is actually not really a boot.   Its the 1230 Air M.T. low, this boot is a shortened version of the extremely popular 1232 Air 9″ which is probable is number one of the Original Swat boots.   The first thing people notice about the footwear is that the boots are very light.   Nobody is going to complain that the boots aren’t bulle proof, but they gotta hold up and not wear you down.   Next time you’re out and about, look at who is wearing the Original Swat footwear, you may see you’re local UPS guy wearing them.

The beauty of having a retail store and not just being and e-commerce business is that you get face to face and hands on experience working with customers and products.   You can talk about something over the phone all you want, but sometimes you can learn things just by watching someone use a tool.   I just got a demo on how to draw a firearm from a shirt that I never saw before and it looked like something from a martial arts movie, but it was funny watching a big fat guy show you how he busts bad guys.   This cop was explaining how he made an arrest on a criminal a few days ago and seeing the reasons he moved that way was interesting.

When it comes to what people want with boots, the ability to shine boots seems to be pretty important to many of our customers.  Original Swat footwear comes with a 1yr warranty on all of their stuff.   It’s great being a dealer for a product that is backed by it’s manufacturer.    The newest bit of info we got from our customers is the arguments over lace up boots and original swat side-zip boots.   Some guys have had bad experiences with zippers but I think like many things, it’s how you handle something. Some people don’t know how to close a car door and they end up messing everything up.  Last month I watched somebody ride a door shut and he bent the door so bad it didn’t close right.  I bet he has problems with his zipper, too.

This past week we worked with the company Original Swat and part of our experience at the Police and Security Expo was to learn about the product line.   There were several new colors and styles that aren’t even on the Original Swat website yet and many of our customers were ordering them.   We definitely noticed there were the more popular sizes and we also learned a lot about the competition and what people wanted someone else to make.   Original Swat got a lot of feedback about the Waterproof boots especially the zip up waterproof 1234.   Some people don’t like zippers because they seem to think they won’t hold up, but that isn’t something I’ve ever seen be a problem.

The only issue with the waterproof boots with the zipper was that some people said it felt like there was something rubbing them in the inside of the boot.   One thing that you do  have to remember with footwear is that there is a break in period.   People seem to forget that when they put on something like Original Swat boots that there is a  lot of flexing that needs to take place for the boots to adjust to someones foot.  Whenever I’ve put on sneakers, I’ve had little sore spots at the top of my feet until the footwear flexed.    The real thing to remember is boots are for support and protection, and if you don’t need all of that support, go with some type of shoe.

We got a lot of feed back from people we ran into at the Police and Security Expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey.   There was a lot more foot traffic this year than previous years which was somewhat shocking considering the bad economy.   One of the best things about selling the Original Swat footwear was the price points.   From what many of the customers have told us, they spend sometimes 3xs as much money on boots for 3 times as much weight.

The Original Swat 1232 have a air cushion in the sole and that were by far the biggest seller.   The other thing people like about that style is that it has a side-zip and that it was light.   Original Swat boots has a 1 year guarantee on their footwear and this is a great thing for a dealer to deal with.  If there is a factory flaw and the boots come apart. You will just need to send in your receipt and Original Swat will replace the boots.

We will be attending the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo for Original Swat footwear and this will be our 2nd time attending the event.  It’s always nice to work at these conventions because we get to meet our customer base and learn about new products.   There are always new products coming out and slight production changes.   Nobody designs the perfect product in a Laboratory, the perfect product usually comes after it is fielded and then customer feedback and design improvements take place.   Just look at the number of F15 fighter planes we have and also the changes that have taken place.  You can make a nice design, but there can always be application differences that can broaden your product line.

Nobody in the Security field wants to wear steel toe boots, considering how so many locations will have metal detectors you can’t be setting off all of the beeps every time you take a BG through.   The Classic 9″ safety toe from Original Swat boots has a composite toe that gives you the same protection.  Other options are the Air 5″ and the Classic 9″ light safety toe.   It’s not common to have boots that are lighter than the old steel toe boots but still give you protection like the Air 5″ boots give you.   There are many more products that we will be having on display at the Police and Security Expo.

I recently got into a conversation with an old timer in our area that talked about the good old days where gun shops and hunting stores had everything you needed. Now you gotta drive an hour or more to find a decent gun shop and most of the time you’ll find disorganized merchandise and even unpriced items with knowledge lacking individuals.   I remember taking a trek to a shop looking for an LWRC upper and the guy tried to sell me an LWRC upper receiver for $1700 and told me that they were hard to get.   I stopped at another shop and ordered the exact same one from another dealer for $1200.   Sometimes knowing what you are looking for, holding it in your hands and knowing  you like it before you buy gets consumer confidence going.

Ordering gun parts and tactical gear and accessories is no different.   We sell an awful lot of clothing and many of our customers show fear of ordering until they hear a voice on the other side of the computer monitor.   We can do quick searches on the internet and find out that some of the top responses are companies with over 300 complaints by  the better business bureau.   Tactical gear and accessories like Original Swat boots and tactical pants are big sellers but people want to hold them in their hands or try them on their feet first.   Now that we have a retail store it’s nice to have people stop in and know they got what they came for.   Unfortunately there is still the need for people to try stuff on and the internet hasn’t killed every business.

We have gotten lots and lots of feed back from Women that work in the Law Enforcement Community about how they are constantly forced to wear and buy men’s clothing and there are not  a lot of options.   We have been selling the Woolrich Elite women’s pants for several years in contrast to the 5.11 tactical pants and we still get lots of complaints about the fit of the clothing and how well they work for the various shapes and sizes of women. Tactical clothing that men wear rarely works with women and we hear it all day long at work.   Smaller sizes for men doesn’t mean hip sizes fit for a woman.

One product line we are proud to be selling is the Original Swat boots for Women.   There are 3 products in the Original swat boots line for women.  The Standard 1150 the Zip up 1152F and the most casual or street friendly 1151F.   The boots size variations are pretty broad and not just meant for petite women.   It’s amazing to see the product fit and variations that need to be made for women.   Just because it’s made for women doesn’t mean that it’s meant for dancing.   There are more women seeing combat situations and by the number of customers that we have had over recent months that call up before being deployed and are ordering tactical gear and accessories for combat, its a whole new world.

We have been hit with various price increases over recent weeks related to shipping costs and clothing.  There have been some pretty big price increase on clothing due to production costs and cotton shortages.   We are guessing that there will be price increases on the clothing in 2011 more than once because even our manufacturers don’t know what the forecast is going to be.   We are still crossing our fingers hoping that Eotac has not gone away for good and something will eventually emerge from it.   We just got notice of a price increase coming from some of our footwear suppliers and its probable the same old gear.
Raising prices in an economic downturn tends to not work very well for us, but we have notice a trend away from certain product lines and increases in others.  Sometimes an economic slow down means you have to spent your money wisely because there isn’t any room for waste.   Original Swat boots are well made and even though we have not been selling them for very long, I’ll tell you that as of today, we have only gotten 2 complaints about production issues and the Company took care of both issues for us and the customers have been happy. we’ve sold over 1000  pairs of boots this year and that’s less than a percentage point in customer dissatisfaction.   If you are spending $50-$ 70 on a pair of boots and getting your money’s worth, it’s worth the money.

Another recent event at a local Carbine training event gave me another perspective on seeing novice weekend warriors show up at a class for the first time.  Besides the usual guys that have gear fall off, magazines fly all over the place, guns break, scopes come loose, pants tear.   I saw a guy try and shoot a course in a pair of sneakers.   I know that sometimes people think that being able to move fast is important, and it is, but not having good foot support is really bad.   Unless you have no intentions of having to run around very fast, sneakers are good for you, but i’ve seen so many twisted ankles and stumbling that I would never take a class with anything but boots.   I have a couple old steel toe relics in my closet, I haven’t used them very much, but they are so hardly worn that I can’t thrown them away.

The tactical footwear that I have the most experience with to date is the Original Swat footwear.   I’m not going to boast that they are the best boots out there, but they were well within my price range and I have not been disappointed by them yet.   I am presently wearing 3 kinds of Original Swat boots and I still hate it when I have situations where I can not wear them.  Considering how much weight I am sometimes asked to carry around, I really don’t feel the stress on my feets since I’ve been wearing the Original Swat Air 9″ 1232 boots.   After about 8 months of wearing them I did feel the support begin to wear out, but that’s 8 hard months of work for less than $100.   I could have saved money on some medical bills if i would have been wearing these years before.