All posts tagged WinX2 Tactical 1010

Water proof size zip boots from Original Swat

This past week we worked with the company Original Swat and part of our experience at the Police and Security Expo was to learn about the product line.   There were several new colors and styles that aren’t even on the Original Swat website yet and many of our customers were ordering them.   We definitely noticed there were the more popular sizes and we also learned a lot about the competition and what people wanted someone else to make.   Original Swat got a lot of feedback about the Waterproof boots especially the zip up waterproof 1234.   Some people don’t like zippers because they seem to think they won’t hold up, but that isn’t something I’ve ever seen be a problem.

The only issue with the waterproof boots with the zipper was that some people said it felt like there was something rubbing them in the inside of the boot.   One thing that you do  have to remember with footwear is that there is a break in period.   People seem to forget that when they put on something like Original Swat boots that there is a  lot of flexing that needs to take place for the boots to adjust to someones foot.  Whenever I’ve put on sneakers, I’ve had little sore spots at the top of my feet until the footwear flexed.    The real thing to remember is boots are for support and protection, and if you don’t need all of that support, go with some type of shoe.

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Reducing the chances of slipping and falling

I am not in the military and have never served in Law Enforcement so much of what I may be discussing has already been put into the minds of those that have trained for street work.   There has been a change in our modern culture, I guess it’s partially from the changes that took place after September 11, 2001.   More Americans are being issued gun permits than ever before due to the potential threats of terrorism and an increase in crime due to the bad economy.   The tactical clothing market has been growing every year and there are even some small business that are only putting out pants and shirts for white collar CCW holders.   I’ll leave it up to another time to discuss the clothing, but white collar CCW is the pinnacle of concealed carry.

When I think of the number of times I had to carry a gun in an ankle holster or pocket holster for a wedding, the one thing that I always felt uncomfortable about was that the shoes I had to wear were difficult to run in and very easy to slide in.  I must admit that I along with many of my friends do not pick out our own clothing for these types of events and our wives are very picky about what kind of shirts and shoes we are wearing.  Most of the Original Swat tactical footwear is made for Law Enforcement applications, but I would highly recommend the Oxford shoes for anyone in the white collar CCW arena.   These shoes will look like dress shoes with superior traction.

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The Air 9″ Side Zip MTO 1232 from Original Swat

The first week I wore the Style 1232 I noticed only a little extra weight from the walking I did, but I actually noticed immediately that the soles of my feet were fine.   The inside of the boot fit me well and I did not develope and sores or rough spotss.   My feet also did not sweat real bad and I was working in 80F weather.    The boots didn’t breath as well as sneakers, but who would expect that.   After 2 months of wearing the same boots for almost 6 days a week.   I have had almost no pain my feet and I have actually been able to lift more than I normally can without issues.   I guess it sounds pretty bad to have to talk about my poor physcial health, but just because you are wearing tactical gear, doesn’t mean you have to be the fastest runner on your team.

We were new to the idea of carrying tactical footwear, but our customers basically gave us enough feedback on what they wanted us to carry that we went out and contacted Original Swat to find out about being a dealer.   All of our Staff are presently wearing the product line and we’ll fill you in as time goes by on various styles and what people think of them.   I personally got a hold of the Style 1232 from Original Swat boots and given that I have had my fair share of foot problems, I wasn’t really sure how well my feet were going to handle wearing boots.   I had the unfortunate experience of having foot surgery on both feed in the last few years and my physical movements have been restricted because of the problems.   I was forced to wear sneakers in most situations just because they were much softer on my feet.

 

 

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Choosing your footwear is a important as your selection in firearms

Maybe that is a stretch for some people, but I don’t think it’s really that hard to figure out.   Everyday we get in our car to get from point A to Point B because it’s the vehicle we need, but in climates where we have to deal with major seasonal changes, it’s time to put on different tires or drive the 4×4.   The traction on the tires you use says a lot about the type of footwear to use.   You don’t want big over sized tires that can slow your car down, nor do you want to wear shoes or tactical boots that are too heavy.

All of the Original Swat boots have outstanding traction, but you have to think about comfort.   Just as I would suggest you not expect to go into a hostile situation with a Glock 19 and that’s all you need, you may want an M4 or M16A3 in tactical footwear.  Sneakers will always give you speed, but in many of my converstations with SWAT Teams, they always want boots and gloves on due to the high probabilities of dealing with broken glass and hazardous material.  You may want to consider owning atleast 3 types of footwer from original swat.

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Ass kicking gear

Original SWAT has grown as a company and we’ve been told that production has been way up in the last year due to the demand.   Original SWAT boots are meant for those that are actually out in the streets even though they do have an Oxford dress boot for more office type environments.   The tactical boots are very comfortable and to be honest, the first thing I noticed about them was that they were not as heavy as I thought they would be.   One other thing I really liked about them was the ability to change the insoles out.   I’ve toted an M4 Carbine with about 20lbs of other gear an ammo and after about 6hrs of standing with it on, I could really feel my fit getting sore.   The people at Original SWAT knew that even if the boots don’t wear, the insoles do wear and it’s best to design the product around the ability to swap this part in and out.

When we were at the Atlantic City Police and Security expo, we did a lot of browsing for products we were  interested in carrying in our show room.   We are very happy with the Eotac tactical apparel line basically due to the improvements we saw over the previous product lines and due to our customer responses but we needed to add to it with Original Swat Boots product line.   The Wilderness makes a great belt that our customers love to wear and even our employees.   Eotac has their own logo on some of The Wilderness belts, too.    When it comes to footwear, quality control is extremely important to us.   We’ve seen some pretty bad knock off tactical pants that either fell apart after hard use or were not user friendly.   We did  a lot of research and testing and asked around to our customer base on what type of boots we should carry.  The Original SWAT boots were the winner.

 

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