All posts tagged Metro traction

Original Swat Footwear have you heard of them before?

We have been stocking the Original Swat footwear products for almost 3yrs now and have put in 3yrs of running the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo for them.  It’s nice to get positive feedback from customers about a product year after year and this past year was the most successful.  When the customer base grows and they keep coming back, you know you’re doing something right.  These tactical boots keep getting lighter and lighter and it’s always fun to see someones face the first time they pick them up.   The Original Swat style 1232 are my favorite because the air cushion that it has really gives you more support.  I’ve got worn down feet and I can really tell when the sole of a boot or shoe is giving in.
After spending about $20 per month on replacing Doctor Scholls for my feet the costs of having sneakers that were light, but lost support really started to add up.   I picked up a different kind of gel insert that supposedly has a 2yr warranty, but we shall see,  the lightest tactical boots that we have right now are the Original Swat Chase low series.  These are available in Black and Tan.   If you compare this product line to most of what you see at Cabel’s or Dick’s Sporting goods, you’re probable dealing with atleast a 40% lighter boot.  That really means something to a Police Officer or  an Operator.

 

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The Atlantic City Police and Security Expo

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.

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The cost of everything is going up, but some things are worth it

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.

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Atlantic City Police and Security Expo

Join us next month as we will be representing the Original Swat footwear company and the Atlantic City Police and Security Expo.    We had a very successful event at the New York Tactical Operations convention last month and we moved a lot of inventory.   It’s always good to work events like this to get product feedback and to see what customers are asking for.   There are always slight modifications a manufacturer can do after a product has been fielded for awhile and there have been some minor changes in the time period we have been dealers for the Original Swat boots.   One of the nice things about carrying this line of footwear is that it is not all tactical looking.  The SEK900sz and is considered to be the cadillac of the line.   The all leather boots are very supportive of the ankle and great for kicking in doors.

The less tactical looking Metro traction boots feel  more like sneakers and less like boots but have a very street friendly sole.   It’s important to know that your footwear can handle certain surfaces.   The Dress Oxford boots go great with a uniform and even for those in the CCW world, it’s good to know that you can still move quickly without slide across surfaces.   You can not run well at all with dress shoes and anyone that has taken a defensive training course knows that movement is extremely important.  Original Swat boots will be sold at the Atlantic City show at extreme discounts to Law Enforcement so stop by if you get the chance and say hello.

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Sneakers aren’t going to cut it so don’t try

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.

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A literal test run on Original Swat

I got to sit on another Carbine Course last weekend here in Ohio.   We wrapped it up at the NTOA Conference a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh and I was invited to sit in on a Counter Terrorism training session.   The students practice truck stopping and clearing a tractor trailor.   One of the things I noticed when the students were preparing for the class was that they were all complaining about how hot their clothing was and in late September, we were still having 90F weather.  The truth of the matter is you really have to prepare for that kind of discomfort and be prepared to be sweating it out in your gear.  When you gotta wear body armor, it’s going to be uncomfortable in hot weather.

Since we have started carrying the Original Swat boots in our inventory, I was keeping an eye on the students that were wearing our stuff.  I wanted to see how fast these individuals were moving and see if I could see any slippage.  One of the biggest complaints I got from students when asked about what they liked and didn’t like about boots was durability.   We’re still waiting to hear back from the students we sponsored  on the boots we supplied, but it’ll probable take about 12 months to get an accurate response.  I did hear a lot of positive things about the traction of the boots and how well students could move on roads without slipping  because the high humidity did give a slippery startup in the morning.

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