All posts tagged Woolrich Elite 44441 pants

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.

Top

Lots of Turmoil in the clothing business

We have just got word that their were riots in the Apple factory in China and another one of our product lines is having trouble getting stuff made over there because of some of the flooding.  What the heck is going  on with that place?  Everyone seems to think we have to tip  toe  with China because they own so  much of our debt that they can pull the rug out from  under us.   The truth of the matter is we actually still own them.  They won’t get anything out of us if we go down and right  now they are actually having the rug pulled out from under them.   We are at a total of 4 of our major product lines has pulled out of Chinese manufacturing beacuse of the labor costs and price increase on raw products.

I have no idea what is going on with the clothing industry.  We have done some really big promos with Tru Spec and Blackhawk products as well as the Woolrich Elite tactical pants  product line and we’re under the impression they are all having some issues.  We are testing out some of the new products form Tru Spec this summer because one of our favorite clothing makers, Woolrich Elite isn’t making the 44905 shorts at the moment and that is something that really concerns us.

Top

Did anyone find anything new in the tactical pants realm at Shot Show?

We weren’t able to get out there this year but maybe next year it will be a possibility.   There have been several new shirts marketed towards the concealed carry market from TruSpec and Woolrich Elite.  This is one area where we thing Woolrich Elite Series has really gotten a stronghold on because the patterns and fit is really good.  For some reason no matter what the sizes say on other clothing and what the materials are made out of, the Woolrich products just seem more durable and better designed.

When it comes to tactical clothing, I think there is still a wide open market for more jackets, vests, sweatshirts and concealed carry pants.   There is a company called CCW Breakaways that has an interested design, but it looks at first like a one trip pony.   I’ll be interested to see if there anymore tactical pants that come out anytime soon but now it seems that everyone is thinking about money and not so concerned about who is better than who.   There are always ways around having to spend loads of money on expensive items and sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.  If you are that hard up for money, just carry a different gun or get a new holster, forget about $60+ tactical pants.

Top

Spring is just around the corner and

It may not be too early to think about what you will want to be wearing this Spring.  After selling a ton of the Woolrich Elite Chino pants this year we were hoping to see a pair of shorts that looked like that but that didn’t happen.   It looks like Woolrich is putting out more CCW shirts and some outer wear.  I laughed when I read several reviews about this years SHOT SHOW and how everyone was tired of seeing all of the overloaded tactical clothing market.  One question I’ve been wondering is where is everyone making this stuff these days?

Tru-Spec lightweight pants aren’t as lightweight as the Woolrich Elite 44441 pants and I’d have to say look kind of more casual but they still are tactical looking.  With the overloaded tactical pants market we’re still seeing more and more names popping up.   I’ve been seeing funky sizing issues with some of the Vertx pants and from a vendor standpoint, that’s something we’re going to stay away from for awhile.  If you can’t get your sizing right the first time

Top

Major Shift in Tactical Clothing

Now that 2012 is upon us we will begin our shift towards carrying more of the Woolrich Elite and Tru-Spec line.   Although we do carry some of the 5.11 tactical clothing, there is very much a demand for things other than 5.11.   Vertx pants are very nice but considering the price tag on the products it’s a little too much to dive into at this point.   We’re expecting consumer confidence to pick up once there are changes in Washington and we hope there are.   I would have to say that Tru-Spec and Vertx seem to have made the most traction in 2011 and we plan on riding that wave although the Woolrich Elite Chino pants are our favorite pant of the year.

We are making some major changes to the inventory that we are stocking and it’s time to clean house.  For a short time we have reduced the large quantity of Eotac tactical pants to $24.99 and making room for other things.   These pants are a fantastic deal and the designs were very well thought out although according to many of our customers the Woolrich Elite pants had a better durability a held up better after washing.   I personally  have seen very little sizing issues between Woolrich Elite, Eotac and Tru-Spec pants so it should be an easy adjustment for our customer base.

Top

Fabric and pocket designs are what it’s all about

Since there are so many types of tools and gear an individual can need these days, having clothing that get hold it is important, there is such a thing as zip off shirts and pants but the zipper locations tend to become uncomfortable especially in extreme temperatures.   Everyone has a different  type of cell  phone and cell phones are quickly replacing radios in many circumstances.   Having a pocket that is too large and allows too much movement of an object means that that item will most likely find a way to fall out.   Some tactical clothing if designed right, gives an operator wide range of movement and still securely stows and retains gear.

Just about every type of tactical pant out there has a picture somewhere that shows somebody putting a 20rd or 30rd magazine in a pocket.  Well from my experience tactical pants are rarely used for carrying rifle magazines, but some are specifically designed for this.   The best pant for storing M4 Carbine magazines is the Woolrich Elite lightweight tactical pant, but I will have to say that I wish the pant had a gussetted stitching.   While the pants are designed well, they do have a reputation for tear in some situations.

Top

More feedback about the Woolrich Elite Chinos

Just got off the phone with a customer that was looking for “discreet pants”  I know what he was looking for, but I asked him “Woolrich or Eotac?”   He said the Eotac discreet denim pants.   I told him that the product line is no longer being made and that all we have left are a few sizes.   The conversation went on about how hard it is to find pants that aren’t tactical.  So many companies are marketing to the concealed carry crowd, but 90 percent of them are not doing a good job.   There have been obvious fit improvements for some of them, but they still are way too tactical looking and that absolutely might get you killed in some situations.

Since the Woolrich Elite 44910 and 44909 pants have been discontinued and now that Eotac is out of business, the Eotac style 204 and 205 pants are going to be gone for good it seems.   Now what, the only answer we have for customers when they ask us about pants for concealed carry are, do you want tactical pants or the Woolrich Elite Chinos?   There are preferences in pocket locations, and Tru-Spec does a good job on their fit and durability, but all of these look tactical to us except the Woolrich Elite Chinos.  Check out the Youtube clip on our website.

Top

SHOT SHOW is around the corner

I guess because we’re already so busy at this time of the year the last thing we want to have to think about right after Christmas is learning about all of the new stuff coming in in 2012 that we’ll have to consider buying.   SHOT SHOW is the post Christmas shopping season for people like us and at first it’s fun and eventually it just becomes a business trip.   Out of the hundreds of new products that we’ll be looking at, it’s rare for us to find more than a half a dozen new products that really spark interest.

This year we do  have a wish list, we’d like to see more concealed carry clothing come out and not another clothing company making knock off 5.11 tactical pants.   We’re down to about 4 companies that we carry products for and although each has it’s strong points, we’re overloaded on tactical pants and listening to  our customers frustrations about the constant shortages or lack of product improvements has caused people to keep shopping.  We’ve had products that had good designs but the fit was not very good and people moved on, other designs were good for weekend warriors but for those that jump over fences, the products were failing.  Slight production changes would have sealed the deal, but did anyone listen in 2011?

Top

Tactical pants for fence jumpers

We’re going to go out on our soap box today and make the statement that if you’re tactical clothing manufacturer is not making pants with gusseted crotches, you’re going to be out of business in the very near future.   I remember when pants first started coming out like that and how much chuckling went on in the offices while sales reps were getting trained about the fact we all had to learn about the crotch area on the Blackhawk, Eotac and 5.11 pants.   While there are plenty of nice looking and nice fitting pants, they won’t work in the real world of fence jumping and Operator work.

It’s this time of the year where we run out of catalogs and listen to all of the hoopla about about what is going to be coming out around SHOT Show, but we never know for sure until later in the year.   As much as the tactical pants market has been flooded, there is plenty of room for fit adjustments and improvements on existing designs.   After all, everyone is basically just copying 5.11 tactical, right?   5.11 Tactical started it all and they still maintain the better part of it, but being that we’re dealing with a niche market, how big is the niche?

Top

Why does the industry think Concealed Carry Pants need tons of pockets?

That really is one of those big questions that doesn’t get answered by the big clothing makers because they don’t really want to answer it.   Concealed Carry pants are really from most people that ask about the stuff we sell, all about being able to wear them at work and pocket carry.   It often amazes me that what is marketed by a few companies always has supposedly hidden leg pockets with tabs that flap in the wind when you walk and tell everyone you have a pocket there.   Was Michael Jacksons famous leather jacket a ccw coat?   Probable according to what we’ve seen show up here.

What everyone really wants is something with big hand pockets and if it has extra pockets, they should be shapped to look like normal pockets.  To date, the only real pant that we have sold that wasn’t in the tactical pants category are the new Woolrich Elite Series Chinos.   Other than that everyone else has something that we would consider to be tactical.  If the rear wallet pocket has big pockets around it, it looks like rock climbing gear.   It’s all about what you want, but if you want CCW pants, you’ll have a hard time finding it in the tactical clothing world.

Top
1 2 Page 1 of 2