All posts tagged Eotac tactical pants

New TruSpec tactical pants coming in

We heard the rumors a few months ago but we finally got to hold the new TruSpec tactical pants in our hands.  These pants are part of the new Gunny approved tactical pants, shirts, vests and gear that will be available in late October.    They are similar in looks to the tried and tested tactical pants and are made of the same material with a polyester cotton blend, but then you will notice the differences.   As a tactical gear and clothing dealer, we have sold lots and  lots of brands of tactical pants and we see the reasons people want to move to something else because it may have some function or feature that they need.   There is no “do all” tactical  pants and much of this comes down to  your price range and preferences in pocket designs.

The new gunny tactical  pants have larger knife or flashlight pockets and this will help prevent the limitation on the size of knife a user can place in them.   The best feature about these tactical pants are that they have a gusseted crotch which was probable the number one reason we lost customers to Blackhawk tactical pants or vertx styles.   In todays standards of what tactical clothing is suppose to do, if it doesn’t  have a gusseted crotch it is going to get a FAIL mark.    Some of the new lightweight vests that are coming out are also very nice and we can’t keep enough lightweight vests in stock already.

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Blackhawk lightweight tactical pants are a hit

Sometimes when new stuff comes out we just sit back and let our customers tell us if it’s a good product.  Now that several of our tactical pants competitors have fizzled out we’re looking for tactical clothing that is made our customers don’t complain about.   I will admit that these tactical pants have a different fit to them and when I move in them they do not seem as comfortable as the Tru Spec and Eotac pants that I am use to.  But to each his own when it comes to fit and comfort.  Material makes a big differences to me in certain climates and although I have worn 100% cotton ripstop pants for 7yrs. The Tru Spec and Blackhawk Poly Cotton blend do not really bother me at all.

Some people want to get away from the 5.11 tactical pants that they have been wearing and right now there is so much out there to keep against 5.11 tactical clothing.  I see a few companies have attempted to design their own tactical pants but those are really just cheap range pants or better yet, yardwork tactical apparel.  We’re still waiting to  find out about all of the manufacturing changes that are taking place and hoping we don’t have any distruptions in product lines again.  TruSpec seems to be very aggressive in getting their products on the market with month long tactical pants and tactical polo promotions.  Next fall we will be on board for some nice outer wear promos.

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What to do about tactical shorts?

We have been selling the Woolrich Elite product line for almost 7yrs now and one of our favorite shorts is the style 4905 which later became the 44905.   There was something that happened at Woolrich a few years ago where all of the products had numbers added to the sku number and an extra digit was made so some long time customers get a little confused.   These tactical shorts were well received because they have a 9 inch inseam.  The style 4908 which became the 44908 was a shorter 100% cotton ripstop short but does not have cargo pockets on the side.
This year we may be bringing in the Tru Spec tactical shorts because we’re seeing so much turmoil with clothing manufacturing that we have to be able to sell what our customer are demanding.   Last year we saw the demise of what was our number one selling tactical pants product line because there was so many problems making the stuff overseas that production became almost impossible.  We have also learned of new issues with making some of our favorite tactical clothing lines and we’re wondering if there will be more fallout later this year due to that.  Get your clothes why you can because the prices are going up.

 

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Tru-Spec promo in full swing

There are so many choices in the tactical clothing market and even though I am shocked by the number of boot and clothing companies that are still emerging, we won’t touch those as a dealer until we hear from enough of our customers to warrant bringing it in stock.  When we first got in on the tactical clothing market, it was pretty much a 5.11 tactical clothing market and many, many in the tactical clothing consumer market were not happy with what happened to 5.11 tactical.   It seems that the original founders of the company turned it into a major money making tactical accessory and forgot about quality control and comfort.

Not every good idea can work and we’ve seen several discontinued shirts, pants and jackets in recent years that were good idea but they just didn’t sell.   When it comes to being able to find a stocking dealer for tactical pants that have a proven track record, you really can’t argue that the Tru Spec tactical pants are a very good pant for under $40.   We saw another tactical clothing company raise their prices on tactical clothing almost $10 a item and that really hurts in a bad economy.  The Tru Spec poly cotton rip stop tactical pants are very similar to the 5.11 tactical pants in regards to material, but have a very unique pocket design.

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Tactical pants and movement

While studying up on some of the new tactical clothing coming  out in 2012 I was reading some of the reviews and comments on YouTube about them.  It’s funny how often you see people reference that everything is a rip off of 5.11 tactical pants.   I’ve only been in the tactical clothing business for about 7yrs and I have to say that, that is partially true.   It was 5.11 that really had the entire market and nobody came close.   The truth is they still have the market but there are several competitors that are pretty close.  Tru-Spec and Blackhawk probable gained the most ground but Proper is still a monster in it’s own category.

One conclusion that one must come to with tactical clothing is along with quality control, tactical pants must allow for movement.   There are plenty of styles of tactical pants that have been pushed out in the market only to die a slow death when people realized there were design flaws.   One thing that is absolutely a reality about tactical pants is that a gusseted crotch is a must.   The old standard stitching, double stitching, triple stitching isn’t going to cut it. It’s about reducing stress not fighting it.

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Here’s a review on tactical pants from someone that drives a lot

As previously mentioned there are a  ton of people out there that aren’t carrying firearms around with them that wear tactical pants.   One of my best friends actually is a carpenter and he uses them for work.    The Woolrich Elite style 44429 pants have knee pad inserts that you can use for a pretty long time and don’t get bulky or snag on  you because they are inside the pants not outide.   Cargo pants and front pockets are tactical pants can be very useful when you drive a lot and even the discontinued Woolrich Elite 4904 pants were really good for this because they had a lower ankle pocket.

Ankle carry is not a very convenient way of carrying a gun, but if you are on the road and drive a lot, it does have its advantages.   When  you have a seat belt on and it’s hard to move around, its good to know that getting to your Wallet or firearm in your tactical pants is easy.   Woolrich Elite pants use to be very difficult with their ID pocket but they removed the velcro and improved on the opening.   Right now I find the TruSpec 24/7 pants to be the most comfortable and easiest to work in pants, but I find the side knife pockets to be blocked whenever I have to carry a large size auto in a holster.

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All those tactical pants and what to choose from?

We recently got in another shipment of Blackhawk Warrior Wear and some of the Tru-Spec 24/7 in limited quantities.  Like many companies out there we have been trying to monitor what is going on with the clothing manufacturers because there are plenty of credible rumors going around about people leaving China and looking elsewhere.  Much of the 5.11 tactical products are geared to Law Enforcement and EMS, and they do a great job of keeping that market, but there is plenty of room for competition for comfort and quality control.   We’ve done a few movement tests with the tactical clothing that we got in and Tru-Spec was the hands down winner.

The 24/7 line from Tru-Spec would not pass as concealed carry pants  in my opinion because real concealed carry means not looking like you are packing a gun.  Most of the 5.11 tactical, Blackhawk tactical pants and even Woolrich Elite and the defunct Eotac line look very similiar from a few feet away.   The big difference is the fit in my opinion.   Guys with different body sizes mostly guys that are body builders.   Sometimes people forget this and that is why there are so many tactical clothing companies because none of them can accommodate everyone.

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Eotac Style 202 pants

I’ve been growing concerned about some of the products I have learned to love in recent years because production issues in making clothing in China is having an impact on the availability of some of the tactical clothing out there.   I have gone from 5.11 tactical clothing to Woolrich Elite Series and then on to Eotac and picked up various tactical shirts, vests and jackets along the way.  I  had a Sigtac jacket for a short time, but kind of had no real use for it because I didn’t like the idea of carrying a gun in the jacket.  I always want the gun on my body and not in outerwear.

When it comes to the type of pants I want to wear, I am really stuck on wearing the Style 202 pants from Eotac.   I actually had switching over to the lightweight pants in the summer because the 100% cotton ripstop just doesn’t support the gear that I carry as well as the cotton canvas tactical pants.   The pocket designs on this are bellowed and hold more although snagging is a problem with all of the tactical pants I own.  Try washing dishes in the kitchen and you’ll learn to hate the cabinet knobs and handles.  I have a friend that has town his pants in the same area in his garage because of the same issue, but there are always compromises.

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