All posts in Tru-Spec 24/7

5.11 Covert Casual Pants Review

Today we got in a large quantity of the 5.11 tactical line, everything from Tactical Polos, EMS pants and the 5.11 parkas.   5.11 really has the EMS market and from what our customers have told us, it really is hard for them to even look for another brand.   Yesterday we got some complaints about some of the product that have been discontinued, but not everything that has been  discontinued was for reasons other than it was a  slow seller.  Sometimes products changes occur and recently some major production issues coming from Asia caused clothing to completely dry up.

The 5.11 Covert Casual pants are to this day the vest fitting 5.11 pants I own, but I’m still very annoyed that there regular line does not fit me so well.   Some of this may be subjective about tactical pants fitting properly, but I have 12 different 5.11 pants in front of me and only this one gives me the movement that I need.   The Covert Casual pants are made in some very nice colors other than the boring Khaki colors that everyone seems to make pants in.   The pockets are a little over thought, but if you can use them, you use them.

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Movement and fit with tactical pants

Although I might blog about tactical clothing for the majority of the time, I’m really not a big fan of the whole industry.   If you want concealment, putting the name Blackhawk or 5.11 on your clothing falls under the category of “Not Really” if you want to be running stealth operations.  I’ve seen enough drug busts go down that anyone working in Narcotics knows this.   I’ve often been impressed by the types and looks of some of the people that run Narcotics operations in Philadelphia and how good they are at tricking the bad guys.  Sometimes the guys running behind the scenes sitting in cars get to wear the tactical clothing, but not the front men.

Normally the guys doing the fence jumping are the hardest to impress.   Those are the guys that call up a day after the wore the clothing and tell us they blew out the tactical pants.   I must have worn about 20 different types of pants in the last 4hrs trying to find something that fits me right from my personal experience, movement is something that is really important to me.  The  number one place guys blow out pants is at the gun range.   As soon as they kneel down on the ground they’ll know what the fit and flexibility is.   What is claimed as tactical might be all about the looks and pocket designs, but they may not operate with the operator.

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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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Here’s a review on tactical pants from someone that drives a lot

As previously mentioned there are a  ton of people out there that aren’t carrying firearms around with them that wear tactical pants.   One of my best friends actually is a carpenter and he uses them for work.    The Woolrich Elite style 44429 pants have knee pad inserts that you can use for a pretty long time and don’t get bulky or snag on  you because they are inside the pants not outide.   Cargo pants and front pockets are tactical pants can be very useful when you drive a lot and even the discontinued Woolrich Elite 4904 pants were really good for this because they had a lower ankle pocket.

Ankle carry is not a very convenient way of carrying a gun, but if you are on the road and drive a lot, it does have its advantages.   When  you have a seat belt on and it’s hard to move around, its good to know that getting to your Wallet or firearm in your tactical pants is easy.   Woolrich Elite pants use to be very difficult with their ID pocket but they removed the velcro and improved on the opening.   Right now I find the TruSpec 24/7 pants to be the most comfortable and easiest to work in pants, but I find the side knife pockets to be blocked whenever I have to carry a large size auto in a holster.

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Pocket placements on tactical pants

There are a bazillion types of tactical pants out there and the funny thing about it is we have a huge customer base that aren’t even in the Law Enforcement or Military Community.   Most Cops are stuck wearing uniforms and most of our customer base that actually buy tactical clothing, tactical shirts, tactical vests and gun gear usually know what they are looking for.   Recently we sold a ton of ballistic eyewear to an EMS department and several of the Doctors working in local hospitals also stopped in to buy tactical pants.   We explained to them what the pocket designs were for and they explained to us that they use them for holding surgical tools.’

There are  not a lot of people out there that can really make a good concealed carry pant.  Several have tried only to end up on the clearance section of LA Police gear as tactical pants.  Not all of the tactical pants are used for carrying AR15 gun magazines.   Some are for holding cell  phones and even the Woolrich Elite 44447 pants can hold a small lap top computer.  Most pocket designs are about preference although there are a few pants that are completely over thought out and all you end up doing is losing gear in them.   Some pocket locations can also become useless if you normally carry a holster in that location.  Leg holsters can also void the  use of some cargo pockets.

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Lightweight tactical pants not all that lightweight

There seems to be a really big difference in the fit and feel of Tru-Spec, Blackhawk, Woolrich Elite and the defunct Eotac lightweight pants.   We mostly sold the 100% cotton ripstop pants which is what so many people wanted, but there are draw backs to that material.   If you want lightweight pants, you really can’t get any lighter than the 100% rip stop, but they will shrink faster than others.   We have a ton of 5.11 tactical pants inbound and we’ll be doing even more comparisons between the far more popular 5.11 pants.

It seems that Blackhawk and Tru-Spec are  using a polyester blend for their tactical pants and although they do feel heavier and are not as breathable, they are seemingly a more durable and stain resistant tactical pants.  Much of the tactical clothing is about personal preference, are bodies are not shapped all the same so complaining about fit may vary from one style and person to another.  Blackhawk pants are probable a little tighter in the legs for most people and the Tru-Spec 24/7 lightweight pants are a little looser fit.

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We want to hear from you

There are few tactical clothing companies that have really gained some traction in the tactical community and others have fallen off the face of the Earth.  Some were due to poor quality, bad designs or the economic problems of making clothing in foreign Countries were cotton prices have sky rocketed and that’s going to put a shot to the market.   Some companies seem to be more secure than others but we recently heard that some clothing manufacturers have raised prices almost $20 for a pair of pants.   Meanwhile, you can still get some 5.11 tactical pants for under $30.   I’m still amazed at the people that won’t pay more money for something that will hold up better thus making your money stretch out.

We were in this debate years ago when the tactical market exploded and competition was everywhere.  Since there have been cutbacks in military deployment and many of the private security contractors have left Iraq we have noticed a bit of a slow down, but it’s still up from a decade ago.   Woolrich Elite tactical pants are a few bucks more than some of the competitors but to this day it’s still one of the least complained about products we’ve sold.  Every once in awhile there are complaints about buttons falling off or tearing, but that’s all.   All clothing will shrink even if washed properly, we want to hear from you about what  you want us to stock and what you think about the situation in the tactical clothing industry.

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Washing clothing, does anyone read the labels?

I’ve gotten a ton of phone calls lately since so many people are looking to try out various styles of clothing that didn’t exist a few years ago.   The question I am constantly asked about when people look for the lightweight pants is clothing that doesn’t shrink.   We get tons of people thinking there are magical pants out there that never shrink and we have the answer for them.   Sure there are cheaper tactical clothing companies, but much of this has to do with how you wash and dry them.  I remember talking to a senior designer in the clothing industry that told me they had to run tests of some of their products after people were complaining they wouldn’t hold their colors.

Well, when you throw in fabric cleaner in your wash machine the brightens your clothing and you’ve just tossed in all of your black tactical pants and jacket, don’t expect them to remain black.  The same goes for washing and drying your tactical pants.  If you want your clothing to last longer, try washing them when they are really dirty, and hang dry them.   Most people I know don’t like to hang dry clothing because sometimes it may take days to dry.  I’m willing to bet that you can extend the life of your clothing by 30% of you take care of them.

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Changes in weather changes in clothing

In 2012 you can be sure there will be some pretty big changes in the tactical clothing market.   I expect there will be a few people fall to the way side because there are still production issues with making clothing in China and the economy isn’t getting any better.   Lots of police and government workers are losing their jobs and that will eventually affect the people that supply them.   Locally there were huge layoffs in the Trenton and Camden area and for the first time we saw unemployed cops.

Now that things are really getting tight, if you are looking for some really good deals please take a look at some of the great deals we have on clothing.   There are some really good Tru-Spec, Woolrich Elite and Eotac tactical pants on clearance and on sale.  We have a significant amount of the Eotac style 202 OD greens left.   For $34.99 you are saving on money and getting a better quality product.

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