All posts in Woolrich Elite

Breaking down doors may mean it’s time to wear gloves

My favorite part of these competitions is see who packed there gear the best.   I remember all of the arguing about which gun was better and which calibers were better in a firefight, but in reality, the guy that can supress his enemy will eventually be able to overcome them.  There’s always the 6’5″ 220lb guy that shows up with a battle rifle and is able to pull off the task, but he’s rarely in the top scorers in the close quarters fights.  Nobody want to get hit with any caliber bullet and putting more bullets in a target is better than the mythological one shot stopper rounds.

Last weekend we attended a Zombie shoot here in New York State where competitors from around the Country showed up for this fun event.   I enjoy going to these events because not only do we get a more diverse crowd of people there, it’s basically a live fire gun show and I got to use my tactical gloves on the firing line.   You can witness just about any type of optic for long range shooting or close quarters combat and get to watch the competitors challenge there skills and weaponry. At some of the faster paced or group competitions, another issue arose. Every other guy had an issue with hot brass flying down his shirt or burned his hand on hot brass or a hot firearm.  Now we’re getting to another realty of why it’s a good idea to pack the right gear and inlude a good pair of tactical gloves.

 

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Public Service Announcement- Eotac black pants are in!

The tacticl clothing market has become pretty competitive, especially after seeing some really good stuff coming from 5.11 tactical, Blackhawk and Proper.   After being at SHOT Show and several tactical operations and security expos, we’ve seen more than our fair share of companies trying to hold there own.   I recently read a critical review of someone who claimed there Woolrich Elite pants were not holding up and 5.11 tactical was better.  Well, I got news for you, Woolrich Elite has been in the clothing company for a long time, and if they were not making quality clothing the company wouldn’t be around for over 100yrs.  Many of our customers have different styles of tactical pants for different applications and I’d have to say that I’ve owned and have tried on some really nice stuff from 5.11 tactical and Blackhawk.

Elite Operator Tactical has been in the industry for the shortest time period, but they have a really good group of people designing there products, with lots of experience with working with other clothing companies.    The reality is this, even if you make a sturdy product, the designs of the pants, pockets and materials are going to change.  The Eotac Style 201 pants are very useful if you are toting a Carbine, but due to the size of the cargo pockets, they aren’t good for holding smaller items.   The long awaited inventory of Eotac pants that have been sold out for 6-12 months.   Eotac pants come with a Warranty on the durability of the product so you money is well invested in the line.

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Watch out for some of those hunting gloves

Now is the time  of year when most of us that go hunting will walk into our favorite sporting goods store and see an entire section devoted to us.   After having the fortunate experience of seeing some of the new A-Tacs camoflauge from Eotac at the New Jersey Police and Security Expo, I wasn’t impressed with most of the camflauge I saw at Cabelas and Dick’s Sporting Goods.   The hard thing about chosing camo is that up here in the Northeast, we have serious changes in patterns and colors from year to year.  There are times when the Fall leaves don’t change and you still have to keep your green camo on.   Other times you need your light brown and possible white mixture to fit in with a snowy background.

Every year I am in the hunting section trying to see if anything new an appealing is out, I see the same fingerless gloves that I wore almost 20yrs ago.   These are sold as hunting gloves but they aren’t tactical gloves.   I have personally seen people jam firearms because frayed strings and materian got jammed up in an AR15 magazine from the thumb area of the glove.   Fingerless gloves are very practical for hunting because they give you some level of warmth, but do not interfere with your feel of a firearm.   Are they hunting gloves or tactical gloves? Much of the padding on the thumb areas are meant for gripping a firearm, but if you use it to load bullets into a magazine, you have to make sure that you aren’t potentially wearing on the actual woven fabric and not pressing on the the padding.   I ruined a pair of fingerless gloves that I had after 5yrs of hunting with them,  by just using them for 2 range sessions with semi-auto handguns and rifles.

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Some range observations about tactical gloves

I always had issues with using gloves with firearms which stems from my young adult hunting experiences.   The gloves you thought you needed for a hunting trip wouldn’t fit in the trigger guard.  Not only was this a safety issue, it was uncomfortableto hold the firearm because you actually had to squeeze harder just to get through the fluffy texture of the gloves.  The tactical gloves have different applications.  Some are full length which goes up the forearm, mid-lengths are a little shorter, and then there are shorter gloves that basically just cover the hand.   The thing you have to think about is these slight differences are about as relevant as wearing long pants, lightweight pants, and wearing shorts.

The only real difference that I find relevant to what type of tactical gloves to wear are fingerless or full coverage gloves.   Actually, there is one more thing to consider.   Many of the guys that work in tactical operations want the trigger finger glove cut off and this is something else to think about when selecting your gloves.  The Vickers tactical gloves have various cut off points for trigger fingers and will not split or tear beyond that point.   The A106 Duty gloves are only available in black, but the A107 are much a little heavier and give you more wrist coverage.  These will elimnate the need for changing out the trigger guard on your AR15 or M4 variant.

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Choosing your footwear is a important as your selection in firearms

Maybe that is a stretch for some people, but I don’t think it’s really that hard to figure out.   Everyday we get in our car to get from point A to Point B because it’s the vehicle we need, but in climates where we have to deal with major seasonal changes, it’s time to put on different tires or drive the 4×4.   The traction on the tires you use says a lot about the type of footwear to use.   You don’t want big over sized tires that can slow your car down, nor do you want to wear shoes or tactical boots that are too heavy.

All of the Original Swat boots have outstanding traction, but you have to think about comfort.   Just as I would suggest you not expect to go into a hostile situation with a Glock 19 and that’s all you need, you may want an M4 or M16A3 in tactical footwear.  Sneakers will always give you speed, but in many of my converstations with SWAT Teams, they always want boots and gloves on due to the high probabilities of dealing with broken glass and hazardous material.  You may want to consider owning atleast 3 types of footwer from original swat.

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Woolrich Elite Parka Fall outterwear

I have to force myself to wear certain types of tactical clothing that is available and wear it for a few weeks before forming a solid opinion.    I’m always happy to find a company that puts out a good quality pant or shirt.   I have had some very well designed clothes only to find out that the next time I picked them up the pants didn’t fit the same and it wasn’t that I gained weight.   Woolrich has been in the clothing business for a very long time and although I know that there are several good companies out there that some of this just comes down to preference, but Woolrich knows their fabric and the quality is excellent.

Ever since I got into this business, I’ve been acquiring lots and lots of outerwear, but most of it sits in a closet for 3/4 of the year.   Up here in the Northeast, we get all 4 Seasons, but sometimes we go from Summer to Winter in just a few weeks.   I’ve had the Woolrich Elite Algerian Jacket, Barn Coat and half-zip sweatshirts, but I was really disappointed that the Barn Coat didn’t stay around because it was a nice cut and design.   The Woolrich Elite Series Parka is a waterproof 100% nylon ripstop that gives you a good outer layer that isn’t too heavy and isn’t too light that you can’t carry gear or backup magazines.   I’d have to say that this is very much a Fall weather jacket and I found it too be a little too warm to wear when it was about 78F and high humidity.  It kept me dry, but was a little too hot.

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Looking for Zombie killing options

Do search for gun clubs and shooting ranges in your State to find out if anyone is holding a Zombie shoot.   They usually occur in the September to October months.   Having some good tactical clothing that will securely hold your gear.   The Eotac Style 201 pants are my favorite because they hold 6- 30rd PMAGS and they are easy to run in.   Tactical vests like the Style 101 are not heavy and don’t make you feel like you are wearing a flak jacket.   There is a time and a place for different types of tactical vests, but mobility is important.  You may want to try getting your magazines loaded up with all of your gear and then try running 100yds with it and see what it feels like and if stuff starts to fly out of your pockets.   Mobility is extremely important.

There seems to be a new craze in competition shooting in recent years.   I’ve seen more high school boys coming home from class with Zombie survival guides, the recent 28 Days later type movies and the doomsday virus outbreaks.    I guess IDPA has lost some traction to the present generation, but I’ve attended a few Zombie survival competitions and they were very good training events.   The best thing about it was the amount of tactical gear that I watched fail, and the number of really novice mistakes people made.   Out of the 5 stages I attended, there was 1 stage that we saw about 18 firearms go down.   About half of those were AK variants and they were mostly magazine related.  Some guys never knew how hard it was to do a tactical reload on an AK if there was a round in the chamber and a fully loaded 30rd magazine.  People found out what happens after firing off the 1st round and the magazine falls out.

 

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Eotac Field Jacket #1

Eotac field jacketThe jacket may look heavier than it really is.   I would suggest that you wear this in the Fall or Spring and use it as a surface layer and just add on base layer clothing is the temperatures get colder.   We are discounting the Lizard patter jackets and the lizard patter Field Vest which also has similiar pocket designs.   We have had virtually zero complaints about the fit of this jacket as long as the user reads our sizing guide and measure themselves properly.  You will easily be able to carry fully loaded double stack magazines as well as flashlights and knives comfortable and not have to worry about printing.  You will be able to carry small autos or j-frame guns in the outer pockets but I am not really a fan of carrying guns in coats, jackets or vests.

We have been selling a few brands of tactical clothing that from the pictures you see on  our website, may look like they are the same thing.   The reality is much of what you saw from Woolrich Elite over the years was marketed and designed by the people behind Eotac.   While we let our customers debate over which products they prefer, the item we are selling now that we absolutely have an opinion about and aren’t afraid to say it is the new Eotac Field Jacket.   This field jacket is designed for modern gear and is based off of the Algerian jacket that was issued in the 1950s.  The fit and design of the pockets is superior to any simliar jacket and according to our customers this is the better jacket.   The only complaint we have gotten on the jacket is that it doesn’t hang low over the belt line so you will have to take that into consideration when thinking about CCW options.

 

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Great responses over Eotac Womens pants

tactical pantsWe have been waiting for the Eotac womens pants for almost a  year.   We expected them to arrive in June of 2009, but there were production delays which we suspect we’re due to re-design changes.   Later we were expecting them in the Fall of 2009, but once again, there were shipping delays.   We’ve been holding backorders for the Style 702 pants and just got around to fullfilling the orders in April of 2010 and we were crossing out fingers that the design would be well accepted.   When the tactical pants first arrived, we shipped a lot of them out to associates as beta testers to see what there opinions were before we started stocking the product.   We have carried other brands of womens pants in the past, but we dropped them because statistically speaking, the return and complaints about them were about 85% complaints about fit and sizing.    You may think that is a really bad stat, and it certainly is, but desigining womens tactical pants are much harder than designing mens.
Eotac has the connectios in the manufacturing industry to bring in the right people that know tactical, and know how to make products for women.   As of today, we have not had one single return where women could not wear these pants, we have had a few that had to return the pants for differernt sizes.    The production for the Style 701 womens tactical pants is still ramping up so there may be some shortages in certain sizes and colors, but we defanitely have a winner here when it comes to the product line.   Overall, the demand for the Eotac tactical pants has far exceeded the production capabilites at this time, so please keep in mind that this is something you need to jump on now before there is a 6-9 month gap in our inventory.   We recently sponsored a Ladies shoot at the Langhorne Rod and Gun Club and the top 3 scorers each received a pair of Style 702 womens pants.   The responses we got were great and we’re waiting for them to get more range time in and tell  us how they held up.

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New Direct Action line coming from Eotac

Rogue Elite will be running promos for the new apparel line called Elite Operator Tactical or which is more commonly named, Eotac.   We have seen the tactical apparel market explode in the last few years, but we have also seen some casualties.   There have been several small concealed carry clothing companies come out with pants or vests that have already gone out of business.   The art of designing tactical or concealed carry clothing is not an easy one.   The real problem that we see in many of the products that are showing up is consistancy and quality.   5.11 tactical has held a huge chunk of the market, but as many of our customers know, the original manufacturers made a higher quality clothing line and things have deteriorated.   Some of the 5.11 clothing I own is nice,  but on more than one occasion, the sizing was inconsistant.   I have seen some of the newer casual clothing and it does look nice, but I’m still wondering if I’d have the same issues if I wore their shirts.

Woolrich has been making tactical clothing for almost 5years now, but seems to have taken a real hit since so many dealers have dropped the line.   We have been told that many of the people that were originally behind the Woolrich Elite Series clothing split off from the company and are working with Eotac.    We wondered about that when Eotac first showed up on the market because so much of their clothing mirrored 5.11 Tactical and Woolrich Elite Series clothing.    This coming Fall there will be some real cutting edge products coming from Eotac, namely the Direct Action line.   The new A-Tacs camo is really nice and we will first get a glimpse of this at the Atlantic City Expo in June.

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