All posts tagged CCW pants

Rumors abound about Woolrich Elite Series Tactical

tactical pantsWe’ve heard some recent and credible rumors floating around the gun community that the Woolrich Elite Series Tactical line is being sold off.   It’s pretty obvious that the product line was basically smothered by the corporation but it seems that there were too many good products in the line to not have someone with investment potential to rebrand and relaunch the product line.  We heard rumors like this from The Eotac line and both companies were basically started by the same person.   I would like to see some production changes in the line because there were some stark product differences as far as function and durability, but those were slight.  We’ve been getting our feet in other angles of the tactical clothing industry but there was too big of a customer base for it to just disappear.

There regular clothing lines that you see in shopping malls just isn’t going to have the function you need and there is a good possibility that you will either ruin some of the clothing or get unwanted surprises.   What I mean by this is if you are pocket carrying a sidearm in a regular clothing pant poket there is a good pants it’s going to wear through quicker, a good  pair of tactical pants is going to have a ripstop pocket to increase durability.   I’ve had keys from my car wear through pants and the last thing I want is a magazine or a gun wearing through. Other things to think about are how the pockets are sown shut, tactical pants are not sown to the seams which prevents a device like a knife, gun, magazine or flashlight from falling out when you lean back in a chair.  I’ve seen and felt it happen with regular jean pants so be careful, hopefully the rumors we are hearing are true about Woolrich Elite Series Tactical.

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New 5.11 Covert Khaki compared to Woolrich Elite Chinos?

tactical pantsI really don’t know why all of these tactical companies left standing only deal with the Poly Cotton variations of clothing and never deal with the 100% cotton ripstop material.  Tru-Spec has a cotton canvas pant as well as the well known 5.11 tactical clothing company but there is a nich part of this industry that is having a really hard time finding a good quality tactical pant that is really comfortable doesn’t feel stiff when worn.   Plenty of our contractors and even electricians are not allowed to wear the polycotton materials because of the possibility of flashing or exposure to high heat.  Ask anyone in an emergency room what happens during fires and what the best type of clothing is to have on in those situations.   Many of our tactical shirts have nylon in them instead of polyester for this reason.

When it comes to having a true CCW pant, there really isn’t much out there.   They are either very cargo looking tactical pants or they have so many zippers or funky cuts to the clothing that you already know they are tactical pants because your suit pants aren’t going to look like that.   Now that Woolrich Elite Chinos are  not being made anymore, the new 5.11 covert khaki 2.0 is an improvement over the previous covert khaki pants and when I had a customer come in here and ask me if we carried them, I was surprised to find out they were 5.11 pants in the first place.   These pants do have the side zippers but they are hidden very well and the tabs are very small.  They do have a sheen to them which makes them look more like suit pants and they have permanent creases that give them that professional look.

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Be careful what you decide on for a pocket holster

They are not all the same even though they are probable all under $20.   We have several people coming in here and looking at the various pocket holsters and giving us some feedback.  I personally have a stockpile of Uncle Mike’s holsters that I picked up at gun shows and and ended up retiring them for something a little bit more sturdy.  Not that Uncle Mike’s products are crap, but they aren’t the best product for the buck.   I have carried Taurus revolvers in the past with clip on inside the waist band holster but the belt clips did not hold up when you bent over.  A good gun belt like The Wilderness or an Elite Survival Systems belt namely the Cobra Belt are great options to reduce this, but why not do something more secure.

The Uncle Mike’s holsters I have that were pocket holsters had a small piece of fabric that is suppose to cause some friction when the gun is drawn, but it’s not that good.  We have leather, nylon and kydex holsters here but the Desantis holsters that we sell a lot of are the Desantis Nemesis pocket holsters.  They have more friction material covering the outside of the  holsters, but they are closer to $20.   The Elite Survival Systems pocket holsters a huge seller because they are just as good and about $50 cheaper.   The Woolrich Elite Chino pants that we sell are probable a big hit in store, because the pocket holster shoppers are always looking for concealed carry pants that work for them.

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What people are saying about the differences in material

When we first got into the tactical clothing business Woolrich Elite Series was the first company to come out that was different than 5.11 tactical.   The 5.11 pants and shorts we were wearing were a poly cotton ripstop material and not cut very well.   I have some of the 5.11 covert carry jeans and they are just downright lame as far as design and fit.  The Woolrich Elite jeans were a good idea but the colors and fit were not very good.  To date the only concealed carry jean that we sold that got a good response were the Eotac 205 jeans and we are sadly not going to see those again.

The cotton canvas pants seem to be liked because of the comfort of the material but when people want lightweight pants, it’s either 100% cotton ripstop or it’s going to be a poly cotton blend.   We had an electrician come in here and say that the TruSpec tactical pants we sold were not approved for his job and only the 100% cotton ripstop pants were due to fire safety.  Both pants may look the same but they are not the same when it comes to moisture resistance and comfort although I find the TruSpec pants to be best fit for me for the poly cotton blend.

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Lots of Turmoil in the clothing business

We have just got word that their were riots in the Apple factory in China and another one of our product lines is having trouble getting stuff made over there because of some of the flooding.  What the heck is going  on with that place?  Everyone seems to think we have to tip  toe  with China because they own so  much of our debt that they can pull the rug out from  under us.   The truth of the matter is we actually still own them.  They won’t get anything out of us if we go down and right  now they are actually having the rug pulled out from under them.   We are at a total of 4 of our major product lines has pulled out of Chinese manufacturing beacuse of the labor costs and price increase on raw products.

I have no idea what is going on with the clothing industry.  We have done some really big promos with Tru Spec and Blackhawk products as well as the Woolrich Elite tactical pants  product line and we’re under the impression they are all having some issues.  We are testing out some of the new products form Tru Spec this summer because one of our favorite clothing makers, Woolrich Elite isn’t making the 44905 shorts at the moment and that is something that really concerns us.

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What is the job at hand and will your pants hold up?

There are so many different types of tactical pants on the market  and so many people will rant or rave about a certain brand.  Sometimes they just brag about how they got a great deal on the clothing and and they fit, others will talk about the features while others will talk about the comfort.   Not everyone is going to like the fit of a certain tactical pant because body types can vary.   I won’t get too much into discussing this but in the 8yrs we’ve been selling clothing, not everyone can be happy with the same product.   In recent years the discussion has been about gussetted crotches and if the pants will blow out on the range, well that still can happen with any pant.

The real issue is with lightweight clothing, the lighter the material the more likely it will be to blow out if it does not have a gussetted crotch.  Some of the Tru Spec tactical pants they we have tested out do not have this type of stitching but we’ve not heard of anyone blowing them out.  I would claim that these are fence jumping tactical pants, but the fit gives you pretty good movement.   I’ve seen some of the Eotac pants blow out but that was due to design it was really a manufacturing issue.   There are so many variables in getting a good clothing product on the market and if we use consistency, quality and price points, the Tru Spec pants are probable number 1.

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Tactical pants that keep you dry

If you are looking for something that keep your dry and gives you moisture resistance, you’ll probable want to try out the 5.11 taclite pro pants, Blackhawk lightweight tactical pants or the Tru Spec 24/7 pants.  There are plenty of other options out there, but for those shopping online that don’t want to have to go through a fiasco to find a stocking dealer in the Country where you can stop by and try something out, those are probable your best options.   We sell a lot of tactical clothing to people that are hunters and recently sold several pairs of Blackhawk lightweight tactical pants to some guys heading out for hunting season.  They liked the Blackhawk pants because they gave a level of moisture resistance but not rain gear.

For someone that knows what its like to wear tactical pants in warm climates, you know that it’s still going to be hot wearing pants, but you still may need some protection from bugs, sun or shrubs and sticks.  Our newest product line are the Tru spec tactical pants and they are also a poly cotton ripstop material.  The Tru Spec 24/7 pants our Atlanco’s number one selling tactical pant and from what we are seeing their claims of being tru to sizing is accurate.  The pocket designs on these pants are very unique compared to Woolrich, 5.11 and Blackhawk.  Some of those tactical pants are hard to tell the difference between because the pocket designs are so similar.

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Knee pads and tactical pants

There are some really nice knee pads from Alta that many of our customers have requested we sell.   We’ve been selling the Blackhawk knee pad and elbow pads for years, but after watching a really good review on the Alta knee pads on Youtube I was really impressed with the product line and there are some really good selling points over the Blackhawk knee pads. Not only are the knee pads a better option for material, the locking or latching knee pads are a better system than velcro.

Many of the tactical pants we sell already have knee pad options in them but they are a foam knee pad that goes inside the pants.  If you are looking for a lower profile look the knee pads are a nice option for range use on your tactical pants and will not be very bulky.  If you want to save your knees and not tear up your pants, you will want something over your knees.   All knee pads are going to cause you pants to ride up a little and varying types of material may ride up more than others.

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Did anyone find anything new in the tactical pants realm at Shot Show?

We weren’t able to get out there this year but maybe next year it will be a possibility.   There have been several new shirts marketed towards the concealed carry market from TruSpec and Woolrich Elite.  This is one area where we thing Woolrich Elite Series has really gotten a stronghold on because the patterns and fit is really good.  For some reason no matter what the sizes say on other clothing and what the materials are made out of, the Woolrich products just seem more durable and better designed.

When it comes to tactical clothing, I think there is still a wide open market for more jackets, vests, sweatshirts and concealed carry pants.   There is a company called CCW Breakaways that has an interested design, but it looks at first like a one trip pony.   I’ll be interested to see if there anymore tactical pants that come out anytime soon but now it seems that everyone is thinking about money and not so concerned about who is better than who.   There are always ways around having to spend loads of money on expensive items and sometimes you just have to work with what you’ve got.  If you are that hard up for money, just carry a different gun or get a new holster, forget about $60+ tactical pants.

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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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