5.11 tactical jeans review pt 1
I finally did my rounds and checked out a few local 5.11 dealers to see what they had in stock. Something I always find annoying about stopping in these places is how much of a mess the clothing usually is. I always have to dig around for my sizes and rarely do any of these gun shops or police and security stores keep there crap together. The other thing that I find annoying is that so many of them clear out certain styles of clothing during the year like there is a non-season for polos and jeans. Some of these tactical clothing manufacturers are running huge shortages and various products are out of stock for 6-9 months at a time. I actually noticed many of the gun shops in my neck of the woods stopped selling 5.11 tactical pants because it was too much of a headache for them to deal with.
It was time to restock my tactical pants inventory and I’m not prone to sticking to only one manufacturer. I have worn 5.11 tactical pants, Eotac, Woolrich Elite and even SigTac. Each tactical clothing company and tactical gear manufacturer has it’s pros and cons, but I’d give Eotac and Woolrich Elite the edge on quality control. I am comparing the Eotac 205 concealed carry jeans to the 5.11 jeans and there is no comparison. I feel a difference in the movement of each jean, but I really don’t think I feel restricted in any way. They are both well made, but there are huge differences in the designs. The Eotac jeans are very similar to the Woolrich Elite Discreet MKII pants, but they are definitely not the same. The 5.11 jeans are what I’d call more for deep concealment. There are internal pockets that can hold a j-frame revolver or a small semi-auto and a few spare magazines. I find the pockets to be a little too deep and don’t really like the fact the guns are practically inside the pants. I tried putting a Sig 239 in the pockets with spare magazines and it was extremely uncomfortable when sitting down, so I would have to say you need something smaller than that.
Comfort is very important for those that are carrying 8-10hrs or more a day. I’ve carried various firearms over my life and sometimes it’s fine carrying something Monday-Friday, but if I’m still carrying it on Day 6, I can really feel it. I’ve found that driving in a car for long periods of time can really make IWB and paddle holsters feel annoying after a couple hours. I can use an ankle holster is some situations, but I’ve found that the most comfortable way to carry a full size auto for long periods of time is in a should rig. Leg holsters are probable a 2nd favorite, but that’s not going to work for concealed carry purposes. One thing to always be aware of is not sweeping body parts when pulling a firearm in the seated position while wearing a should rig.
I was trying to think about how to describe the situations that many in the 20-40 age range tend to deal with in the summer months that they don’t normally deal with when carrying. I’ve found it very difficult to carry a fiream to weddings because there is usually so much human contact from dancing to pats on the back and hugging. Many reading this might think it is not a concern at all, but you have to realize that not every social environment is going to be gun friendly and considering that there is usually heavy drinking, it is something to think about not bothering to carry.
My Sig 220 blasted its way through the first 8rds without a hickup. I did notice a mini cloud of lint around the gun, and maybe I should rethink some of the shirts I wear to try and prevent or reduce this, but I thought that lint can’t be any worse than dirt and these are combat pistols. I continued to put another 300rds of 45acp 230gr FMJ ammo and had a stopage. I had a friend tell me that the Sig Factory rep he dealt with says that the guns should run wet and that they are dependent on using more lubrication than something like a Glock. Although I’ve never gotten the bug to own a Glock, I guess I’ll have to acknowledge that Glock does have an edge over Sigs in this area. One thing I have considered doing is putting a little grease on all of my pistols, that way it won’t drain off as easily as CLP or similiar types of lubrication. That is something to think about for pistols.
Along with some of the other things stated in the previous blog entry is that anything not held down, will come loose. We are aware of that when we mount our optics and tighten things down so they won’t come loose and we also use things like loctite to bond it even more. This is something will really make a difference at the range, the folks that don’t use loctite and put 1000rds through a gun in a weekend may find out the hard way. We’ve talked a little about firearm retention, but the next common thing to think about is magazine retention.
When I was at this range and watching students, I saw the gun industry very well represented, everything from Blackhawk, Safariland, Uncle Mikes, military surplus, East German gear, holsters, chest rigs, speed loaders on the students. The military surplus stuff all work and was simple to use, but it wasn’t as fast to use and much of it wasn’t too pretty and very much for the weekend warriors. For serious gear, do some research before you buy and try and find a gun shop or gun show where you can actually feel and wear it before you buy. Many firearms owners have a pile of holsters in their closet for all the ones that really weren’t that comfortable, and blowing a bunch of money on chest rigs and mag holsters, tactical vest ect. that really don’t feel right is going to cost more than many holsters.