All posts tagged Woolrich Elite Lightweight Operator pants

Everyone is different, that’s why diversity works

Nobody eats the same food every day unless you have a bad diet or are just a down right boring person.   There are different seasons and different lines of work and every ones tolerances are different.  Yesterday we had a few more guys walk in here and tell us they heard that Woolrich is now making tactical pants just like the ones they had when they were in Vietnam.   The funny thing is Woolrich has been making them for almost 7yrs.   I have no idea what other companies are making anything like this but the demand for something other than 35/65 poly cotton blend tactical pants is definitely there.   I am a big fan of the material but there are some improvements Woolrich should have done to the tactical pant and some of our customers have asked for it.  Re-enforced ripstop pockets and a gussett crotch would be a good idea.

I personally where mostly Tru Spec tactical pants because they are very comfortable and in all honesty I’ve been wearing these pants for almost 9 months to test them out.   I have seen absolutely zero abnormal shrinkage and for these lightweight tactical pants I am very happy with them.   Most Tru Spec pants are priced under $40 and that’s not something we see across the market.  Blackhawk, Vertx and a few others come to mind and are you getting that much more performance for $10 more?  Well, it will depend on your line of work,  but for utility purposes and every day use, I will have to say that Tru Spec tactical pants are hands down the best lightweight tactical pant for the money.

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More items on clearance at Rogue Elite

While we transition over to the new 2012 products, we’ll be liquidating a lot of clothing inventory, the Eotac pants we got in late last year has dwindled down to just a few color options and not too much in the size ranges from 30 waist to 38, it’s time for anyone that wore those clothes to transition back to Woolrich Elite pants or move on to Tru-Spec or Blackhawk.   Most of what we are hearing from people is that they are looking for pants under $40.   Just like $4 gas prices, many people don’t like the idea of spending more than $40 for a pair of pants and that’s partially why so many have not strayed away from 5.11 tactical pants.

I am noticing that Woolrich Elite has discontinued a style of womens pants with a virtually identical pant but with a new low rise.   Considering how many times we’ve seen people try and cut into the tactical pants market and fail we’ll be watching this product like a hawk.   We have had a really good response from Tru-Spec womens pants because the cut just seems to be very versatile.  We did a promo a few years ago and TruSpec 24/7 pants really won amongst women.  We are doing a major product liquidation of Blackhawk lightweight pants to make room for our new 2012 product lines.

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There is a difference between lightweight tactical pants

Not all lightweight clothing is as lightweight as you think.  When it comes to tactical clothing that we sell the most of, the Woolrich Elite 100% cotton ripstop shirts and pants are the biggest sellers to those serving in Iraq.  The need for clothing that protects you from the sun, but does breath and give you some level of comfort is important.   When you consider that needing to drink 5 or 6 gallons of water a day to keep hydrated in those climates that wearing clothing that cuts that down to 2-3 gallons just by wearing different clothing really means something for any group of soldiers.  If your unit can eliminate 1 gallon of water consumption per soldier that’s a big deal.

Many people seem to not realize that we have as many contractors over in Iraq protecting Government officials and Oil rigs ect that there has been a huge demand for things other  than BDU’s.   Lightweight tactical pants like the Woolrich Elite 44447 pants are as tactical as you can get, but 100% cotton rip stop is the lightest weight that you can have.   Some of the 65/35 polyester pants from Tru-Spec and 5.11 seem to fend off stains and water better but they do not feel as lightweight weight.   Also, the pocket designs aren’t as Carbine friendly.

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Waiting for the News from SHOT Show

This is the time of year where we have to think about what we intend to bring into our inventory and as the years have added up, we’ve been scrutinizing the clothing that we have come in more and more.  If a company doesn’t stand behind their product or we get too many customer complaints, we will drop a product line.   Having a product line that holds it’s own even if it costs more is worth more to us than selling tons of gun accessories that break and fall apart and dealing with the headaches of exchanges and returns.   Most people know these days that gun stocks and accessories can get broken if mounted improperly and bull shitting your way into excuses isn’t going to work.

Every company has put out a dud product and I’d say about 15% of the new products that come out won’t be around in 9 months and will be on somebodies closeout or discontinued rack.   We’ve been selling Woolrich Elite pants for years now and we’ve been hearing rumors there are new tactical pants coming out in 2012 at SHOT Show.   Hopefully this  year will give us some stability in the tactical clothing market and somebody will put something out that is well designed, doesn’t tear in the crotch and doesn’t cost $80 a pair.

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Clothing prices and companies leaving China

We’ve all been aware that for the last few years the value of the US dollar has declined but so has the entire World economy.  Cotton prices have gone up almost 80% and even trying to get stuff made in India which is an alternative to China has been a problem.  We’ve  heard credible rumors that a certain tactical clothing company had serious production issues and basically got done in by Corporate squabbling, a bad economy and product issue in China.   We also got notice this week that Original Swat Footwear has pulled their factory out of China and no longer makes stuff there.

Tru-Spec makes all of their own clothing and has their own factory and seems to have done fairly well even in a bad economy which has made us invest in the product line.  One thing that is very important those wearing tactical pants is not only the quality, but the availability.  There are some product lines that become so scarce at certain times of the year that customer get tired of the backorders and they move on to another product line, if this happens with a new clothing company, you’ll be sure to see that it won’t gain any traction.

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Woolrich Elite style 44429 pants

There is still an awful lot of confusion going on for customers that have been buying the Woolrich Elite products since their original inception.   The thing we’ve always liked about selling Woolrich products is the name basically sold itself.  That’s a hard thing to do in this cluttered tactical clothing market, but I have to say that 90% of the times people have walked in our doors and saw the name Woolrich, they always referenced a jacket or layer of clothing that they’ve had for decades.   There have been some changes since the original Woolrich Elite Series clothing came out, but the quality of the products has not changed.

Looking over all of the  items that have sold over the  years in our store, the Woolrich Elite Style 44429 mens tactical pants is one of the most popular.   These tactical pants are built like a tank and the only thing some people have said that was negative was that they were a little on the  heavy side.   I’ve compared them to some of the 5.11 tactical pants that say they are 8.5 oz cotton canvas, but both pants do not weigh or feel the same.  There has also been a slight product SKU change from the original Woolrich Elite product line.  The Style 4429 pants are the same as the 444429 pants.  The only real change we have seen is the wallet id pocket has been slightly altered and opened up.  If  you wore Eotac style 202 pants, this is really the only alternative.

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Concealed Carry Pants, Right?!!?!

I have always been more of a jeans guy and that’s the straight leg style not the baggy pants.   I have always been looking for a good pair of CCW pants that really just had nice big hand pockets so I can drop a gun in their and not have to worry about it popping out or sliding out.  Regular clothing won’t cut it and there are safety issues with pocket carry if you are not careful.   A good pair of CCW pants won’t have the pockets sewn directly into the seams because that will allow the gun to fall out in certain positions.   The Woolrich Elite 4909 were too baggy according to our customers although many of same customers that came back for the Eotac version said the Eotac pants were too tight in the thighs and the rear pockets were unnecessary and made the pants look tactical.

I ran out and picked up a pair of the 5.11 Cover Carry jeans shortly after I heard that Eotac was no longer going to be around and was trying to find another line of clothing to fit into the concealed carry market.   No such luck on the Covert Carry tactical pants, they aren’t suppose to be tactical but they were over thought and useless.   I rarely trash a pant design but you couldn’t even carry a j-frame in the hand pockets.   If you ask me for CCW pants, the only pant that I am going to tell you looks CCW are the Woolrich Elite Chinos, it’s somewhat of a relief to actually have the confidence to tell the truth.

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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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More and more options for tactical clothing, but does the quality suck?

I answered an email from a customer that ordered several styles of shirts from us but they complained that they ordered all of the same sizes, but the fit was not the same.   We’ve been in the clothing business for long enough to know that sometimes styles and sizes get mislabeled and your wifes home cooking skills did not advance you to the larger sizes. All clothing manufacturers claim to be durable and consistent but the truth is that this is not a reality.   The same company may have variations in sizes and might even change the quality of the fabric just to save a few bucks.   Some clothing makers even out source stuff which compounds the quality control issues.

Making good clothing is a talent and you can have the best designs in a tactical pant but then wreck it with poor quality and poor consistency.  I’ve heard rock albums get ruined by bad mixing or poor recording.   Look at the And Justice for All album from Metallica and how many bass players are still pissed off at the bad mixing that went on.  The point is that great talent still gets wasted on tactical pants and tactical shirts.   There are some really nice CCW shirts from Blackhawk and 5.11 but sometimes when you hold them in your hands they don’t feel as good as they look.

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