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TruSpec tactical vest reviews from a 5.11 and Woolrich Customer

We’ve been selling just about everybodies tactical clothing except 5.11 tactical for years.   5.11 is so well known in the industry that just about every and their dog can give you first hand experience about wearing their stuff.   We do get an enormous amount of complaints coming from customers that use to wear the product line and want to move on to something else.   Any of the tactical clothing lines that have been in the business for more than 5yrs have pretty much proven themselves.  If you didn’t survive this long you probable were doing something wrong.  We’ve seen plenty of small knock off 5.11 tactical pants attempts by some big name companies by even though the pants were inexpensive they were downright trash.

We’ve been watching many clothing companies pull out of China and we pretty much have placed on our bets on 5.11, vertx and TruSpec being the biggest winners even though 5.11 gets lots of flak about quality control issues.   The Tru Spec tactical vests have done well since we lost the Eotac product line and many customers have been stopping in and asking about them for their IDPA shooting.   Competition shooting is a major new industry and all you have to do is look at all of the outdoor and cable shows that are showing 3 gun nation and more.

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The New Tru Spec Soft shell jackets

We are several weeks into the Tru Spec Soft Shell jacket promo and many of our customers are first time Tru Spec customers.   We have been monitoring the tactical clothing industry for several years and one thing is for sure, Tru Spec is easily one of the Top 3 tactical clothing products.  The new soft shell promo has given us a new line of products to our inventory that are geared towards Law Enforcement.  The Tru Spec soft shell is a very versatile jacket and not too heavy to wear in the Spring when things might warm up.  The hard thing about living up here in the North Eastern part of the Country is that we get all 4 seasons and sometimes varying degrees of winter.   If you have a heavy winter jacket, there’s a good change you might not use it for a few years because you just might not need it.

This jacket in black which is style 2454 is our biggest seller followed by the multcam camo pattern.  Multicam Tru Spec Soft Shell jackets are made of a different material than the Tru Spec tactical pants so there will be a slight color variation.   One thing people forget is that different materials absorb colors differently and you will have a hard time looking perfectly matched.    We’ve seen it several times in here when customers buy pants, shirts and jackets and have mismatched camo.  From what our customers tell us these have a very good use in Fall and Spring but might be a little light to wear in the dead of winter.

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Everyone is different, that’s why diversity works

Nobody eats the same food every day unless you have a bad diet or are just a down right boring person.   There are different seasons and different lines of work and every ones tolerances are different.  Yesterday we had a few more guys walk in here and tell us they heard that Woolrich is now making tactical pants just like the ones they had when they were in Vietnam.   The funny thing is Woolrich has been making them for almost 7yrs.   I have no idea what other companies are making anything like this but the demand for something other than 35/65 poly cotton blend tactical pants is definitely there.   I am a big fan of the material but there are some improvements Woolrich should have done to the tactical pant and some of our customers have asked for it.  Re-enforced ripstop pockets and a gussett crotch would be a good idea.

I personally where mostly Tru Spec tactical pants because they are very comfortable and in all honesty I’ve been wearing these pants for almost 9 months to test them out.   I have seen absolutely zero abnormal shrinkage and for these lightweight tactical pants I am very happy with them.   Most Tru Spec pants are priced under $40 and that’s not something we see across the market.  Blackhawk, Vertx and a few others come to mind and are you getting that much more performance for $10 more?  Well, it will depend on your line of work,  but for utility purposes and every day use, I will have to say that Tru Spec tactical pants are hands down the best lightweight tactical pant for the money.

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Expanding TruSpec product line into 2012

We have been continuing our expansion of the TruSpec product line in our store and online.   Many of the new soft shell products like the TruSpec tactical soft shell and the 3 in 1 Parkas are flying out the door, but the TruSpec tactical polos are the new products we are bringing in.  The color options are much larger with the TruSpec product line and we have heard from more than a number of our customers that they need white or tan color polos which is something many of our previous product lines did not have.   The TruSpec polos are lighter weight than the Woolrich Elite polos which is something that many have asked us for.  These tactical polos are slightly longer than some of the other polos you might find in a store.

There are many other new tactical shirts coming in this Fall and we will continue to add to our product line.   We are always looking for customer feedback about which product they want and the truspec shirts we are  now carrying was something that our customer have asked for.   There is a new conealed carry shirt that is very different in desing than the Eotac and Woolrich Elite product line but it also has a very office friendly look to it.   We have heard there is a new TruSpec tactical shirt coming out as well as another lightweight tactical vest.   Keep your eyes on the website and join our newsletter for up to date information.

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TruSpec Soft Shell promo kicking off October 1st

We are several days into our TruSpec Soft Shell promo and we have much anticipation.  After we saw so much turmoil in the tactical clothing industry in recent years, we jumped onboard with the TruSpec product line because the company has such a diverse Military, Fire, EMS and now concealed carry product line, it gave us a new angle of our already growing customer base.   There are many products that I personally won’t use like the TruSpec 3 in 1 parkas because these are meant for Law Enforcement because they have the obvious badge holders on the face of the jacket.   The TruSpec windbreaker is also a Law Enforcement product but there are some really cool new things we are bringing into the store.

The coolest looking thing we got in this month are the TruSpec soft shell tactical jackets.  We have sold many other tactical looking jackets from Sigtac, Woolrich Elite and others but the TruSpec jackets are a very nice addition to our showroom.   The TruSpec soft shell jacket is available in Black, Olive, Coyote and the new Multi Cam patter.  The Multi-cam jackets are probable going to be the biggest sellers since the military has adopted the multi-cam pattern.  Even our Smith Optics Elite product line has eyewear that is in multi cam.

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Coming this Fall at Rogue Elite

Not only have we finished setting up our new tactical shop here in Broomall, we are getting setup for the Fall outwear promo with TruSpec.  This year Gunny will be releasing his own tactical pant from TruSpec and we were happy to hear that this tactical pants has a gussetted crotch.  This has probable the only consistent complaint we got about the TruSpec pants.  They really are comfortable to wear and the pockets are very unique.  The material designs make it an easy transition from 5.11 tactical pants to the TruSpec design because they are both a polyester cotton blend.  Its hard to find places to try stuff like this on but now we have a location here in Southeaster Pennsylvania.

Tru Spec has a big 2 month long outerwear promotion going on from October 1st to November 30th and it will be a good time to stop in early October to get the best deals and selections.   There aren’t too many places to tryout things like this and Philadelphia Police and Security Supplies doesn’t usually mean that you are selling tactical pants.  Many stores that market that mostly deal with uniforms and the like but we are a full stocking dealer for Tru spec pants, jackets, vests, shorts and jackets.  We are located in the Broomall Industrial Park just right off of 476 South.  We are open Tuesday- Friday 12am-6pm and Saturday’s  10am-5pm.

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Climate changes and and carrying firearms

I’ve been carrying firearms for well over 2 decades and I’ve “been there done that” on most of the typical CCW mistakes.   There’s nothing like getting a nice winter jacket in the middle of the winter, carrying your Beretta 92FS while Christmas shopping using a Fobus or Blackhawk holster, and after 5 minutes of being there, realizing you’re going to sweat to death if you don’t take your jacket off but you can’t because you’re carrying in a paddle holster.   I learned that and realized that for the most part, I probable never would need a winter coat unless I was standing outside all day.   Modern synthetic materials are getting so good that fleece and wool are really going to be a thing of the past.  There trend is that body armor and armor plating will get thinner and lighter, it’s only a matter of time.

We’ve been watching the Vertx, Blackhawk and TruSpec product line for a long time and can see an obvious trend.  This Fall we are working on a TruSpec jackets and outwear promo and there are many cool things we can’t wait to see come in.  Vertx is kind of pricey but really good stuff, we’ve been happy with the Woolrich Elite outwear especially the Twill Jacket.  Unfortunately last year was a  bad year for outwear because of all of the warm weather.  From a retail standpoint, hopefully we get a Fall and Winter Season.

 

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5.11 tactical pants vs TruSpec tactical pants

To this day I am still not happy about what I saw happen with Woolrich Elite and the rise and Fall of the Eotac product line.  I’m amazed that some of the product improvements never took place with the Woolrich Elite tactical pants and the demise of Eotac partially because the pants just never were available.   We had a completely confused customer base and now that price increases have occurred many people are shopping around for something close to their price range.   From what we are seeing there has been a big shit towards TruSpec and Vertx because so many of our customers were disgruntled 5.11 clothing wearers.   Much of my expereinces with the 5.11 product line have been good and they were and are the pioneers of the tactical clothing market.

We like seeing companies that actually have warranties on their product lines because with a bad economy and an over loaded tactical clothing market, we’d rather see the companies back up their products than have to deal with complaints about durability ect.   When going from product line to product line, The TruSpec tactical pants that we’ve been selling have had a  good reputation and after selling the product for almost a year, we’re seeing more and more repeat customers.  The TruSpec womens pants and shorts that we  have been selling have a 100% positive response so far and the sizing is very good.  Recently we started stocking the TruSpec EMS pants because so many people had sizing issues with the 5.11 version and were happy to find something else.

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What people are saying about the differences in material

When we first got into the tactical clothing business Woolrich Elite Series was the first company to come out that was different than 5.11 tactical.   The 5.11 pants and shorts we were wearing were a poly cotton ripstop material and not cut very well.   I have some of the 5.11 covert carry jeans and they are just downright lame as far as design and fit.  The Woolrich Elite jeans were a good idea but the colors and fit were not very good.  To date the only concealed carry jean that we sold that got a good response were the Eotac 205 jeans and we are sadly not going to see those again.

The cotton canvas pants seem to be liked because of the comfort of the material but when people want lightweight pants, it’s either 100% cotton ripstop or it’s going to be a poly cotton blend.   We had an electrician come in here and say that the TruSpec tactical pants we sold were not approved for his job and only the 100% cotton ripstop pants were due to fire safety.  Both pants may look the same but they are not the same when it comes to moisture resistance and comfort although I find the TruSpec pants to be best fit for me for the poly cotton blend.

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Tactical Clothing is mostly about preference

I just got off the phone with a customer that asked me if we sold clothing that was “true to size” i informed him in the last 7yrs of selling tactical apparel, that I can’t answer that question because the times that I did, it was usually a customer looking for an answer so that if the clothing didn’t fit, he’d blame me for tell him that it would fit him.  We’ve sold many Wilderness belts over the years and although we never get complaints about how the belts hold up, there are so many sizing issues with these belts that even The Wilderness has a disclaimer on the end of their order processing about not taking back returns.

The differences between Blackhawk, Tru Spec, 5.11 tactical, Woolrich Elite and even the rare inventory of Eotac clothing that is floating around can sometimes have more to do with quality control than original design differences.  We’ve pruned much of our tactical clothing product lines and discontinued much of what got too many complaints about.  The differences in fit between such things as tactical polos is considerable and we’ve always been a big fan of the Woolrich Elite  product lines although tru-spec has gained some ground with us.

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