All posts tagged gun pants

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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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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Summer and Spring options and the transition from tactical pants

We sell a lot of clothing via our online webstore and now that we have a retail location here in Pennsylvania we have people driving 2-3 hours just to try on some of the products we sell.  In 2011 we some of the most turmoil we have ever seen in the production of tactical clothing, we saw Eotac fall off the face of the earth, price increase,  companies leaving China and long waits to get in new production clothing.   We have heard from many of our customers that anything over $40 for a pair of pants is too much, but with inflation, it’s hard to stay under that unless you want to buy the failed tactical product lines.

Last Summer we were surprised to see how much the Blackhawk Lightweight pants sold and after trying them out for ourselves, we were kind of surprised people liked them so much.  Although these tactical pants seem to be made well, the fit on them just seemed too restrictive and several of our employees told us that they liked the Eotac, Woolrich Elite and TruSpec tactical pants the most.   Every style of   pants has a different appeal, but the hardest thing to do is to carry all of your gear in your tactical shorts that you were wearing with your pants.   The Woolrich Elite 44905 shorts

 

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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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Conceald Carry pants tend not to be….

We get the same phone calls every week and lately it’s been a great training tool for some of our new employees.  Many customers call out of curiosity but sometimes we have to display a lot of restraint about telling people which clothing they should be wearing and what size.   It is a hard thing to order clothing online because there are sizing variations between product lines as well as inconsistencies.   Sometimes people are just plain lazy and don’t want to research a product or ask their wives about sizing and we end up dealing with cranky people want us to exchange products because something didn’t fit right.

Along with sizing issues we get asked all the time about guns printing on shirts, pants and vests.   The only realy concealed carry pant that is out there  that are not tactical pants  is the Woolrich Elite Chino.   The Youtube video by Brian Miller gives you ideas on gun placements and how to prevent printing.  There are lots of variables and research and trial and error is something you will not be able to avoid if you want to reduce your chances on getting a wrong size.   We’ve been told by many of our customers that wore Woolrich Elite pants in the past, moved on to Eotac, and now are lost in the Wilderness and back to looking for something new.   We are now selling Tru-Spec, Blackhawk and 5.11 tactical pants, but the Woolrich Elite Chino is  our opinion is really the only real concealed carry pant.

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The trend is towards pocket guns and it ain’t gonna stop anytime soon

The real issue that we are seeing with guns and accessories is not everyone has been able to keep up with the guns that are being made today.  If I were a holster maker I would be cautious about making holsters for everything out there because there are some firearms that are simply not going to catch on. When it comes to carrying in the pocket, the responsible thing to do is to use a pocket holster.  I had some issues with one maker because the hammer on my 537 Smith & Wesson was getting caught and I had to cut out part of the holster to avoid snags.

On your journey towards finding the right gun and holster that works for you, take your time before you end up with a box full of holsters you didn’t really want sitting in your closet.   When  you are looking for clothing that are not like the usual tactical pants that you see marketed for concealed carry but really aren’t, take a good look at the Woolrich Elite chinos.  People always ask us if their gun is going to print if they were something like this, but the answer to that is to use a piece of cardboard to prevent printing.   There are a lot of very nice .380 pistols and I would have to say that they do seem to be easier to shoot than the 38 special snubbies, but with proper training, you can get what you want out of both and be very discreet.

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There is a difference between lightweight tactical pants

Not all lightweight clothing is as lightweight as you think.  When it comes to tactical clothing that we sell the most of, the Woolrich Elite 100% cotton ripstop shirts and pants are the biggest sellers to those serving in Iraq.  The need for clothing that protects you from the sun, but does breath and give you some level of comfort is important.   When you consider that needing to drink 5 or 6 gallons of water a day to keep hydrated in those climates that wearing clothing that cuts that down to 2-3 gallons just by wearing different clothing really means something for any group of soldiers.  If your unit can eliminate 1 gallon of water consumption per soldier that’s a big deal.

Many people seem to not realize that we have as many contractors over in Iraq protecting Government officials and Oil rigs ect that there has been a huge demand for things other  than BDU’s.   Lightweight tactical pants like the Woolrich Elite 44447 pants are as tactical as you can get, but 100% cotton rip stop is the lightest weight that you can have.   Some of the 65/35 polyester pants from Tru-Spec and 5.11 seem to fend off stains and water better but they do not feel as lightweight weight.   Also, the pocket designs aren’t as Carbine friendly.

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Concealment options, Office and Public environments

There are many modes of concealement a gun holder can use and it might do you some good to research 3 or 4 ways of carrying a firearm.   Belt through holsters are far more secure but if you use a good gun belt a clip on holster can work for you.   There are plenty of ways of messing a concealment method and having a holster fail and the last thing you ever want to do is get yourself in a situation where you have shown  your firearm in public and risk having someone call the police or risk getting fired.   Some business have laws about carrying firearms at work and others just don’t have any rules and the smart thing to do is not let anyone know.

We’ve been around the gun industry for a long time and we’ve learned that you don’t win people over to issues when  you are in their face.   Although you have your 2nd Amendment Rights and your CCW permit, wearing tactical pants and brandishing firearms isn’t the way to change peoples attitudes or win them over to  your side.  We have many business men that stop by our Store wearing a suite and tie and carry firearms for self-defense and nobody at their offices including some family members know that they carry.

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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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SHOT SHOW is around the corner

I guess because we’re already so busy at this time of the year the last thing we want to have to think about right after Christmas is learning about all of the new stuff coming in in 2012 that we’ll have to consider buying.   SHOT SHOW is the post Christmas shopping season for people like us and at first it’s fun and eventually it just becomes a business trip.   Out of the hundreds of new products that we’ll be looking at, it’s rare for us to find more than a half a dozen new products that really spark interest.

This year we do  have a wish list, we’d like to see more concealed carry clothing come out and not another clothing company making knock off 5.11 tactical pants.   We’re down to about 4 companies that we carry products for and although each has it’s strong points, we’re overloaded on tactical pants and listening to  our customers frustrations about the constant shortages or lack of product improvements has caused people to keep shopping.  We’ve had products that had good designs but the fit was not very good and people moved on, other designs were good for weekend warriors but for those that jump over fences, the products were failing.  Slight production changes would have sealed the deal, but did anyone listen in 2011?

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