All posts in 5.11 Tactical

More feedback about the Woolrich Elite Chinos

Just got off the phone with a customer that was looking for “discreet pants”  I know what he was looking for, but I asked him “Woolrich or Eotac?”   He said the Eotac discreet denim pants.   I told him that the product line is no longer being made and that all we have left are a few sizes.   The conversation went on about how hard it is to find pants that aren’t tactical.  So many companies are marketing to the concealed carry crowd, but 90 percent of them are not doing a good job.   There have been obvious fit improvements for some of them, but they still are way too tactical looking and that absolutely might get you killed in some situations.

Since the Woolrich Elite 44910 and 44909 pants have been discontinued and now that Eotac is out of business, the Eotac style 204 and 205 pants are going to be gone for good it seems.   Now what, the only answer we have for customers when they ask us about pants for concealed carry are, do you want tactical pants or the Woolrich Elite Chinos?   There are preferences in pocket locations, and Tru-Spec does a good job on their fit and durability, but all of these look tactical to us except the Woolrich Elite Chinos.  Check out the Youtube clip on our website.

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Some issues with tactical pants

Recently someone stopped into our shop and explained to us that they had issues with the Tru-Spec EMS pants because there wasn’t a lining in them to keep their 5.11 tactical shirts tucked in.   Every department has a different standard when it comes to shirts and that is very much a reason why the tactical apparel market has exploded.   5.11 still has a stronghold on the EMS and Uniform market and only one or 2 other companies are close to them.   I’m not sure where the hi visibility apparel is going to go, but I’ve already seen some big changes in the color schemes.

Hi-visibility apparel is probable going to take a few more leaps forward and only the ones that use it are going to have to deal with the changes.   Looking at how big the tactical pants market is now, I really don’t think there are going to be any huge break throughs until there is some type of new fabric that is better than polyester or cotton.  Given that clothing prices have gone up more than previously, hopefully somebody is doing some research into something stronger and more durable.

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5.11 Taclite pro pants the best from 5.11

According to our customer base, the 5.11 taclite pro pants are the best tactical pants coming from 5.11 right now.   I’m not sure exactly when these came out, but we saw a ton of them at the Pittsburgh NTOA last year.   We recently attended a pepper spray training course at a prison here in Philadelphia and everything we saw was either TruSpec or 5.11 tactical.   We started out selling just about everything other than 5.11 products because there seems to be a very big market for non-5.11 tactical pants.

Much of the tactical clothing business is about preference and fit.   Not everyone has the same job nor are they built the same way so why would everyone wear the same tactical pants?   Blue jeans have a few color variations when you buy them new, and maybe one or two fits, but nobody expects to carry lots of gear in them.   The differences between the TruSpec 24/7 pants, 5.11 tactical and Woolrich Elite Series pants are pretty big.  The material and the designs give you big differences in usefulness will depend on what you are using them for.   Some materials prevent stains better than others and nothing beats 100% cotton ripstop for hot weather.

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TruSpec pants in stock

We are now a stocking dealer for most of the TruSpec 24/7 Series which was brought about by customer feedback.   There aren’t many companies that have done very well in the clothing business over the last couple years and it’s very well know that a few companies have already fizzled out.   There has been an increase in quality clothing from many brands so there is no way we would claim that one company is better than the other.  5.11 tactical is a monster of a company and is #1 in many things, but Glock still doesn’t outsell all of the competition because sometimes people just want something else.

TruSpec from Atlanco does more military apparel than Eotac or Woolrich does and expands our product line into a whole new market.   Also, these tactical pants are Gunny approved and featured by the NRA.   The reality of the tactical clothing market is simple this, the customer will determine what is good based on quality and pricing.   Plenty of people refuse to spend more than $30 on a pair of pants, but people doing the hardwork and every day use of clothing will gladly spend $50 or more for a good pair of pants.

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Eotac and Woolrich Elite Product comparisons

Many of the same people that were involved with the startup of Woolrich Elite went on to work with Remington with the Eotac line.   From some peoples perspective they were the same products, but there were differences.   The reality now is that if you liked the Eotac line you’ve really only got one place to go back to and that’s the Woolrich Elite line.  We’ve heard rumblings that there is a new pant coming out from Woolrich Elite this year and we’re anxious to see if it’s an improved version of something that they’ve already had out or something completely new.

I’ll type out an Eotac vs Woolrich comparision.   If you liked the Eotac 201 pants, try the Woolrich Elite 44447 pants,  Eotac 202 pants, try the Woolrich Elite 44429.   Eotac style 203 lightweight tactical pants, try the Woolrich Elite Style 44441 pants.   There are minor pocket differences but you will notice a difference in fit.   The Eotac pants had a gusseted crotch which did give you more movement although there were complaints about Eotac pants being too tight in the thighs and people went back to Woolrich products or moved on to Vertx.

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Pants options for the shooting ranges?

There have been many times I have gone to IDPA competitions or local shooting matches and seen guys pack up gear and be on their way because they are afraid of the elements.   One of the funny things about the shooting community is the number of prima donnas that dwell in it with expensive firearms, but won’t run them like the are capable of.  One of those elements that firearms should be able to handle is the rain.  Especially when it comes to  using Military style firearms.  Some hunting rifles may get messed up in the rain but there are ways of preventing that.  Cheap optics will also become know and fog up on you.

One of the best things to market for this time of the year is rain gear.  For some odd reason we get a lot of rain in the Fall and the Summer here in the Northeast and most tactical pants are just going to hold water or get saturated.  Cotton Canvas has a bad reputation for this but this year we have something new.  The Woolrich Elite WaterProof pants go well with the Elite Waterproof parka.   Unfortunately Woolrich is only making these pants in black at the moment, but they easily roll up and can fit in a range bag for those rainy days.   It would be nice to see something in the future that is Hi visibility though.

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Sometimes you just have to wear different pants

Sometimes when we have to take over the work around the house that we are not use to doing, we have to put a different pair of pants.   When you have to do gardening you need to think about being in the kneeling position and sometimes throwing down a mat or old rug will help you get the job done without hurting your knees.   Some of the tactical clothing we sell actually ends up in the ER because the doctors that are wearing them like the fact the large pockets can be used for tools without having to worry about stuff showing or falling out.   There are some situations where we are putting a holster in a different position and the gear just doesn’t feel right.

One situation recently made me realize I was wearing the wrong pants for the situation was with the Tru-Spec 24/7 ligthweight pants.  These  tactical pants have a great fit for my body size, but the pocket locations for a knife or flashlight just didn’t feel right with the Blackhawk Holster.  When i had to reach for my knife I had trouble getting to it because the hold 3 o’clock holster and knife location didn’t work out so well.   If I was carrying IWB with my Sig 220 I wouldn’t have had  this problem, but it was another gear and accessory issue.

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Getting it out there !

For those of us that live in the civilian world and don’t have the dress code standards that Law Enforcement and Military men and women have, we have more leeway on what we can choose to wear.   A big thing to get in this business is Military and Law Enforcement contracts.   There are districts and Departments that have specific colors and dress code standards on uniforms and tactical clothing.  If you can get them, you may be set for a very long time.   Whenever a new line of clothing comes out it’s always a big deal to get it out on the public circle and get people to wear it.   If it is over priced or a pain in the butt to clear it stay around very long in this economy.

I’m not sure where the military contractors are going to go now that Iraq and Afghanistan seemed to have maxed out on man power and I doubt there will be another serious influx of personell there so massive expansive of the tactical pants and tactical clothing may be over.  The big thing for clothing companies to do is get to the police departments and get them something that actually functions well and can be used in the Narcotics, Homeland Security and under cover work.   Vertx seems to have done a really good job in growing some legs in that market.

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5.11 Covert Casual Pants Review

Today we got in a large quantity of the 5.11 tactical line, everything from Tactical Polos, EMS pants and the 5.11 parkas.   5.11 really has the EMS market and from what our customers have told us, it really is hard for them to even look for another brand.   Yesterday we got some complaints about some of the product that have been discontinued, but not everything that has been  discontinued was for reasons other than it was a  slow seller.  Sometimes products changes occur and recently some major production issues coming from Asia caused clothing to completely dry up.

The 5.11 Covert Casual pants are to this day the vest fitting 5.11 pants I own, but I’m still very annoyed that there regular line does not fit me so well.   Some of this may be subjective about tactical pants fitting properly, but I have 12 different 5.11 pants in front of me and only this one gives me the movement that I need.   The Covert Casual pants are made in some very nice colors other than the boring Khaki colors that everyone seems to make pants in.   The pockets are a little over thought, but if you can use them, you use them.

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Movement and fit with tactical pants

Although I might blog about tactical clothing for the majority of the time, I’m really not a big fan of the whole industry.   If you want concealment, putting the name Blackhawk or 5.11 on your clothing falls under the category of “Not Really” if you want to be running stealth operations.  I’ve seen enough drug busts go down that anyone working in Narcotics knows this.   I’ve often been impressed by the types and looks of some of the people that run Narcotics operations in Philadelphia and how good they are at tricking the bad guys.  Sometimes the guys running behind the scenes sitting in cars get to wear the tactical clothing, but not the front men.

Normally the guys doing the fence jumping are the hardest to impress.   Those are the guys that call up a day after the wore the clothing and tell us they blew out the tactical pants.   I must have worn about 20 different types of pants in the last 4hrs trying to find something that fits me right from my personal experience, movement is something that is really important to me.  The  number one place guys blow out pants is at the gun range.   As soon as they kneel down on the ground they’ll know what the fit and flexibility is.   What is claimed as tactical might be all about the looks and pocket designs, but they may not operate with the operator.

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