All posts in Tru-Spec 24/7

Always a trend towards lightweight clothing

Some of the biggest sellers this year have been the new Woolrich Elite lightweight tactical shirts and the Blackhawk lightweight pants.   The reasons people want clothing like this aren’t always apparent.   We noticed that the majority of the lightweight tactical shirts we have been selling from Woolrich were the long sleeve shirts.  It seems that many of the troops or contractors in Iraq were wanted the long sleeve shirts to give them  sun protection but be 100% cotton rip stop, which is pretty much the only thing other than a t-shirt that does the job.

We’ve also noticed that Blackhawk tactical pants have gotten a lot of traction in the last year and seem to have moved into the top 3 selling tactical pants.   The reasons people want lightweight tactical pants are pretty much the same as the reasoning for long sleeve.   Bugs and vegetation can become just as much of a problem as sunburn and there are many environments were wearing shorts is absolutely not in consideration.   The Woolrich Elite lightweight pants are the lightest weight, but sometimes people want something that resists stains and does not wrinkle which gives Tru-Spec and Blackhawk the edge.

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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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Price points on pants, made in the US or made in China?

We’re still shuffling around trying to see what products we’ll be adding on to our product line for 2012 and there are plenty of things to consider.  One of the things we have always had to consider with tactical clothing is this.  Will people pay more than $50 for a pair of pants?  Most people don’t go out and buy one pair of pants unless they are looking to try them out for the first time, but for the people that have to wear the clothing 5 days a week or more, they will probable want 3 or more.  If you buy pants that cost $30 and buy 3 of them, yous spent $90, if you buy 3 pairs for $49.99 you spent $149.97 and that’s $60 dollars more.   Was it worth the buy?

If you figure that in and the cost of shipping how many gun shops will be able to sell that much clothing and make a profit.  We’ve always sold higher end products but when it comes to clothing, some people just don’t really care too much about their tactical pants and they just want cheaper clothing that doesn’t cost a lot.  After evaluating some of the product lines in 2011 we’re looking over what sold and what didn’t and looking at taking on some new product lines.  Will you pay $60 or more for tactical pants, what if they’re made in the USA?

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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.

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Some issues with tactical pants

Recently someone stopped into our shop and explained to us that they had issues with the Tru-Spec EMS pants because there wasn’t a lining in them to keep their 5.11 tactical shirts tucked in.   Every department has a different standard when it comes to shirts and that is very much a reason why the tactical apparel market has exploded.   5.11 still has a stronghold on the EMS and Uniform market and only one or 2 other companies are close to them.   I’m not sure where the hi visibility apparel is going to go, but I’ve already seen some big changes in the color schemes.

Hi-visibility apparel is probable going to take a few more leaps forward and only the ones that use it are going to have to deal with the changes.   Looking at how big the tactical pants market is now, I really don’t think there are going to be any huge break throughs until there is some type of new fabric that is better than polyester or cotton.  Given that clothing prices have gone up more than previously, hopefully somebody is doing some research into something stronger and more durable.

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5.11 Taclite pro pants the best from 5.11

According to our customer base, the 5.11 taclite pro pants are the best tactical pants coming from 5.11 right now.   I’m not sure exactly when these came out, but we saw a ton of them at the Pittsburgh NTOA last year.   We recently attended a pepper spray training course at a prison here in Philadelphia and everything we saw was either TruSpec or 5.11 tactical.   We started out selling just about everything other than 5.11 products because there seems to be a very big market for non-5.11 tactical pants.

Much of the tactical clothing business is about preference and fit.   Not everyone has the same job nor are they built the same way so why would everyone wear the same tactical pants?   Blue jeans have a few color variations when you buy them new, and maybe one or two fits, but nobody expects to carry lots of gear in them.   The differences between the TruSpec 24/7 pants, 5.11 tactical and Woolrich Elite Series pants are pretty big.  The material and the designs give you big differences in usefulness will depend on what you are using them for.   Some materials prevent stains better than others and nothing beats 100% cotton ripstop for hot weather.

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TruSpec pants in stock

We are now a stocking dealer for most of the TruSpec 24/7 Series which was brought about by customer feedback.   There aren’t many companies that have done very well in the clothing business over the last couple years and it’s very well know that a few companies have already fizzled out.   There has been an increase in quality clothing from many brands so there is no way we would claim that one company is better than the other.  5.11 tactical is a monster of a company and is #1 in many things, but Glock still doesn’t outsell all of the competition because sometimes people just want something else.

TruSpec from Atlanco does more military apparel than Eotac or Woolrich does and expands our product line into a whole new market.   Also, these tactical pants are Gunny approved and featured by the NRA.   The reality of the tactical clothing market is simple this, the customer will determine what is good based on quality and pricing.   Plenty of people refuse to spend more than $30 on a pair of pants, but people doing the hardwork and every day use of clothing will gladly spend $50 or more for a good pair of pants.

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Eotac and Woolrich Elite Product comparisons

Many of the same people that were involved with the startup of Woolrich Elite went on to work with Remington with the Eotac line.   From some peoples perspective they were the same products, but there were differences.   The reality now is that if you liked the Eotac line you’ve really only got one place to go back to and that’s the Woolrich Elite line.  We’ve heard rumblings that there is a new pant coming out from Woolrich Elite this year and we’re anxious to see if it’s an improved version of something that they’ve already had out or something completely new.

I’ll type out an Eotac vs Woolrich comparision.   If you liked the Eotac 201 pants, try the Woolrich Elite 44447 pants,  Eotac 202 pants, try the Woolrich Elite 44429.   Eotac style 203 lightweight tactical pants, try the Woolrich Elite Style 44441 pants.   There are minor pocket differences but you will notice a difference in fit.   The Eotac pants had a gusseted crotch which did give you more movement although there were complaints about Eotac pants being too tight in the thighs and people went back to Woolrich products or moved on to Vertx.

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Sometimes you just have to wear different pants

Sometimes when we have to take over the work around the house that we are not use to doing, we have to put a different pair of pants.   When you have to do gardening you need to think about being in the kneeling position and sometimes throwing down a mat or old rug will help you get the job done without hurting your knees.   Some of the tactical clothing we sell actually ends up in the ER because the doctors that are wearing them like the fact the large pockets can be used for tools without having to worry about stuff showing or falling out.   There are some situations where we are putting a holster in a different position and the gear just doesn’t feel right.

One situation recently made me realize I was wearing the wrong pants for the situation was with the Tru-Spec 24/7 ligthweight pants.  These  tactical pants have a great fit for my body size, but the pocket locations for a knife or flashlight just didn’t feel right with the Blackhawk Holster.  When i had to reach for my knife I had trouble getting to it because the hold 3 o’clock holster and knife location didn’t work out so well.   If I was carrying IWB with my Sig 220 I wouldn’t have had  this problem, but it was another gear and accessory issue.

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Getting it out there !

For those of us that live in the civilian world and don’t have the dress code standards that Law Enforcement and Military men and women have, we have more leeway on what we can choose to wear.   A big thing to get in this business is Military and Law Enforcement contracts.   There are districts and Departments that have specific colors and dress code standards on uniforms and tactical clothing.  If you can get them, you may be set for a very long time.   Whenever a new line of clothing comes out it’s always a big deal to get it out on the public circle and get people to wear it.   If it is over priced or a pain in the butt to clear it stay around very long in this economy.

I’m not sure where the military contractors are going to go now that Iraq and Afghanistan seemed to have maxed out on man power and I doubt there will be another serious influx of personell there so massive expansive of the tactical pants and tactical clothing may be over.  The big thing for clothing companies to do is get to the police departments and get them something that actually functions well and can be used in the Narcotics, Homeland Security and under cover work.   Vertx seems to have done a really good job in growing some legs in that market.

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