All posts in Eotac

Elastic waistbands, it doesn’t feel right without it anymore

I just put in an order for several new Galco holsters that I’m going to try to work with a few regual jeans I own because I recently hurt my side with a kydex holster on a pair of jeans that were suppose to be for CCW but I found them to royally suck because they didn’t have an elastic waistband.   I’m half wondering if this 5.11 tactical jean has been discontinued because I see them being sold at clearance levels of under $20.   I’m still testing out various type of tactical clothing from Tru-Spec and Blackhawk, but I’m a little overwhelmed with what I have being tested out right now.   I had to give up on IWB holsters for these 5.11 pants because they just don’t cut it.   I will be trying a Don Hume Jit holster and see if that works.

I had good luck with the Eotac 502 jeans because they had an elastic waistband, but I actually had issues with the Woolrich Elite tactical pants that were almost identical looking.  The waistband on the Woolrich 44909 seemed to be thicker and my IWB holster from JS holsters had trouble clipping onto the belt due to the thickness….weird.   I personally like the idea of having less tactical pockets on jeans because jeans really can’t be tactical looking if you want them to be CCW.  Most guys are going to want the straight leg pants and a more washed look to them.   I really have limited ways of carrying in the summer because every time I have to walk out of the door at this time of year I have to wear layers of clothing or a heavy jacket and it’s hard to really test out shirts.

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Bitter cold, but wet weather CCW

Up here in the Northeast we are getting wacked with an early December.   I’ve been juggling between heavy winter coats and an Eotac 501 half zip sweat shirt.    I have found that wearing a good base layer, T-shirt and a sweat shirt of some sort, usually is good enough to get me through the day.   If I have to worry about covering my head and it’s below 30F I always take my Han Solo Hoth winter jacket.    It works for it’s intended purpose, but I personally don’t like wearing heavy jackets in the winter and carrying a firearm.   The heavy winter jackets don’t breath very well and there have been multiple times I have done my Christmas shopping in this configuration and was dying from the heat once I was in a shopping mall for more than an hour.

I have notice there has been some turmoil with Woolrich Elite products but they came out with several new products this past year that impressed me.  The most impressive item I saw was the Woolrich Elite Parka.   This was one of our number one selling Christmas items and they did a good job designing it.   This Parka is a Waterproof layer you can wear over your clothing and it will breath better than a heavy winter jacket that is water proof.   I don’t like the idea of carrying firearms in out wear, but I can carry my flashlight and spare magazines when I’m wearing this.   In Fall or Spring weather this jacket can be folded up into a glove compartment and be used for those Fall or Spring showers that come out of no where.

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Standard and lightweight tactical pants

I am starting acquire a very large collection of tactical pants, and although I am liking some of my 5.11 and Blackhawk pants,  I find it very hard to jump around with the various types of tactical apparel.   There are too many variations in where the pockets are and right now, I’m trying to sort through various locations in my home for a folding knife that I believe I left in a pair of pants, but can’t find.   We recently got feedback from a women that had the Eotac style 702 pants, she liked the fit, but said there were too many pockets and wanted something more casual.   Well, the answer to that is to  not buy tactical pants thinking you are going to get something casual.

The reason the tactical clothing market has gotten so big is because so many new markets have been created and there is a need for clothing for people to wear at work.   Everyone carrying a gun over in Iraq may not be active in the United States Military and there are just as many military contractors over there.    If you want to wear something in the winter you are going to need heavier material, but if you are wearing pants in the summer you are going to most likely want a cotton ripstop material.   We get people calling on the phone all the time for the most “versatile” tactical pants that we sell, but we always have to come back and tell people “for what”.    I remember the years when I was monitory gun forums and just about every other discussion forum would have an individual come in and say, “which gun is better, Glock or 1911” and the answer is always “for what”.     I only see 4 really good tactical clothing companies right now, but there are a few niche CCW companies that I monitoring.

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Tactical Pants and real CCW

I have been trading back and forth between 5.11 tactical clothing, Woolrich Elite Series and the much newer Eotac brand.   I will admit that I understand that many of these brands may be personal preference, but there are  huge differences in the fit and feel of the pants.   If I just take the covert pants from 5.11 and the Woolrich Elite 4909 pants vs the Eotac pants.   Woolrich and Eotac look similiar, but none of them fit the same.   While I find the 5.11 pants to fit more like normal fitting jeans, the inside the waist pockets are not very useful if you are going to be sitting down a lot.   I can carry a small j-frame revoler inside the pants without a holster, but the locations of the pockets aren’t very comfortable.

I took a Sig 239 9mm 8rd magazine and put it in the rear pocket and when I sat down it, was not comfortable to wear at all.   I think these pockets lend themselves more towards putting a wallet or handcuffs in them than a firearm and accessories.   Next I tried putting a Streamlight Scorpion in various positions and none of them worked.   I tried to pocket carry and inserted a Smith & Wesson 38 Special I had around and it could not be concealed in these tactical pants at all.  They were in 5.11 tactical pants, but not these?   With both the Woolrich Elite 44909 and the Eotac 205 jeans, these were not the traditional straight leg jean, and the fit was different for each.   I personally like the Eotac color, Woolrich pants were too purplish and baggy.   Both pants were pocket friendly and my vote would go for Eotac by far.   I do think the rear ID pockets are a little over done when you keep the water bottle pocket below it.   That strikes me as a little too tactical and not discreet.

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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.

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Matching guns to gun cases

I am a strong believer in marking all of your gear, not just because you need to have your name on it, but it’s a good to keep your stuff well organized so you don’t run into an “aw shit” moment when you didn’t pack up something vital for your daily events.  I just spent a weekend hanging out with someone that locked up all of his guns, but didn’t keep all of the keys together and couldn’t open up one of the gun cases.   I suggest people have a range bag to keep tools and range magazines in and then a good tactical vest.   The reason I suggest these is it’s best to really keep putting everything in the same place and know that every time you go to the range, items A and B are always with you, and then bring whichever gun or ammunition you need.

I always match the rifle case to the gun and leave the magazines or the bare minimum of 3-5 of them inside the case pockets.   Sight in tools are always in my tactical vest along with ear plugs, shooting glasses and even a small bottle of bug spray.   I wear my Eotac Style 101 vest under some of my hunting jackets just because it’s a little bit of an overkill for hunting, but it has everything I need in it.   I keep field dressing gloves, tactical gloves and elbow pads in this, also.

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Concealed carry vests that work

I am going to begin counting the days for an upcoming hunting trip to Maine.   This will be my first hunting trip in the New England States and I will be planning for some very cold nights, but moderate temperature days.  Along with toting a Mini 14 for deer,  I will be carrying a sidearm as I normally do.  I prefer to hunt on the move for deer until I find a really good position and then wait for a few hours.   I know I am pushing the limits by using a 75gr A-max bullet in a .223, but I wouldn’t be using this if I know it couldn’t be done.   There are several gun shops in the area that show the deer that were taken and many of those were done with the Mini 14.

Since I own and wear much of the Eotac apparel line, I have everything in my inventory to pick from.   The Style 103 vests are really meant as concealed carry vests and they are not really tactical.  I know that may be just my opinion, but the coyote brown and od green vests look very nice in the outdoors.   Since I will be in a cold environment, I don’t want to constantly take gear off and on, in really cold situations, I prefer to wear base layer clothing with a t-shirt and sweatshirt and then a vest on the outside for concealing my Sig 229 .357 Sig.  I keep a few Mini 14 5rd magazines along with my knife and flashlights in the vest and if I need to ditch some of the hunting ammo, I just take it out to lighten the weight and I’m ready to head into town with my CCW rig already on.

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Tactical clothing accessories that you shouldn’t forget about

The first thing I noticed when I took my first Carbine Class and got down prone was that the ground was still wet and I could feel every stone jamming into my elbow when I got down in a prone position.  With todays accessorized M4 Carbine with every light, laser and optic configuration, we have to realize that our bodies could use the same ideas when it comes to the clothing we wear.    The Eotac duty gloves are good for the times when you need to worry about hot barrels and flying brass and aren’t very bulk at all.   Elbow and knee pads are something that I have found are very useful, but there are huge variations in the way that they fit on your body, not to mention that most of the time, the only way to find out is to actually try them on.

I have several sets of knee pads, but the ones I find the most useful are the Blackhawk Neoprene, because they seem to just feel more comfortable.   I already have enough worries about snag and movement restriction when wearing tactical clothing and sometimes I really have to watch how I move around corners so my tactical pants don’t catch on things.   The Eotac style 201 pants come with a foam knee pad that works quite well, but the only draw back is for the knee pands in the tactical pants to properly align themselves over your knee caps is to be kneeling on both knees at the same time.   This is something I had to get use to when getting into firing positions.   The Style 202 and 203 lightweight pants also use the same foam knee pads and from my experience they last a pretty long time if you take them out when they are not being  used or when you are doing your wash.

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Retiring your summer clothing for your Winter CCW

We got new windows installed on the house this year and for the first time ever, it didn’t feel so cold when I woke up yesterday as it was outside.   I guess all of that green energy improving we did really did make a difference, I guess I’ll know for sure when the heating bills start to come in.   It’s always this time of year that I have to remember to close every window in the house because its warm during the day and it night it gets down to almost freezing and then back through the cycle until Winter comes in full force.   Yesterday I retired my lightweight pants and concealement vests for my new Eotac Style 103 concealed carry vests.   I always have to force myself to wear clothing for awhile to get the real feel and use of each pocket before I really can comment on them.   It was a few years ago that I really started to hate some of my  non-Eotac pants because I always had a heck of a time trying to get my wallet out of them whenever I was driving through toll booths.   When I wore my Eotac pants, it was easy to access every pocket.

I would have to say that the Eotac Style 1o3 concealed carry vests are not heavy weight, but they are not lightweight.   They are also not lined which in my opinion doesn’t matter.  I like the idea of wearing base layer clothing, wearing a T-shirt or polo on top and then the a jacket or vest in the winter, instead of wearing a giant heavy winter coat.   I do not like the idea of basing my concealed carry method around a heavy coat, because there are too many situations in the winter where it can get really hot and keeping my jacket on in those situations can become impractical.   Base layers and vests seem to breath better than all of the winter coats I have.   Although The Eotac vests are being made in the military looking lizard pattern camo, the brown and O.D. Green vests are very outdoor friendly and won’t look too tactical.  I can easily carry 3 full sized Sig 228 magazines in the front pockets as well as a knife and flashlight and the weight does not yank at me.

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Think about the magazine holders before you buy

I was at a Zombie competition over the weekend and I have to say that this was by far the most professionally run competitions and some of the best tactical gear and firearms I have ever seen on a firing range.   There were several shotgun courses which meant there were plenty of people showing up with shotguns and gear, part of the fun of the competition is that every that competed in this everyone that was there had to lug the gear that used with them at all times.  Even though you still have to see a lot of Made in China on the gear, the designs of holsters and magazine holders has improved.

There were a few tactical vests that I got to see that were specifically designed for shotguns.   I’m doing a little research on what kind of vests these were, but it was impressive.   Uncle Mikes and Fobus make kydex magazine holders which work very well for IDPA or competitive shooting, but they are not the most vesatile for real hard use.   Eventually these holders will get a little loose with hard usesage and you will hear a rattle when moving fast.    Carrying magazines that have straps on them are not the best for competition or CCW because I personally think it’s one more thing to have to flip out of the way.  For combat these work fine and for some competitions they work, but I strongly recommend the use of the Blackhawk single and double stack holders.

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