All posts tagged Lightweight Pants

What’s the difference between Woolrich and Eotac?

It seems that Eotac is no longer in existence, but Woolrich Elite is still out there.  Its no secret that Fernando Coelho was involved with designing and marketting both product lines at some point the products like very similar.   The answer we always tell customers is the designs are different.   We did notice there has been some production changes to the original Woolrich Elite Series product line and the pants and shorts do have a much wanted change in the ID or wallet pocket.   The Woolrich Elite pants pocket designs were a little tighter and the fit was baggier but some people wanted that.

Woolrich has been around forever and it looks like they have survived bad economies and the tactical clothing shake down.  A few weeks ago we got word that another major clothing manufacturer just pulled out of China and is now making clothing in the Western Hemisphere.   Woolrich Elite pants are still made in China, and we have gotten price increase on all of their stuff, but according to the number of disgruntled 5.11 customers that we have, Woolrich Elite pants are the next best thing.

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Somewhat depressing but we’re hopeful

The Eotac website is down and there is plenty of fluttering going around the internet about their sudden disappearance.   As a dealer for the Eotac line, we were sent a notice that Eotac was going through their SKU numbers and re-evaluating the entire product line.  That doesn’t sound like Eotac has fallen off the face of the earth, but shutting down the tactical clothing website was alarming.   We recently heard that another clothing company has pulled out of China and is now making tactical clothing in Haiti.

If you listen to what Donald Trump has been saying for recent weeks, it’s obvious that China has this Country by the balls on clothing manufacturing and It sounds like some have actually taken the leap and moved out.   Considering the customer feedback we have gotten on the Eotac tactical pants,   I think in a worst case situaion, Eotac may have been bought out or should have been bought out to keep the superior desings from going out of existance

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Eotac pants shortage ? Whats going on?

I don’t think I can tell you I know what is going on, but I hope there is some salvation with the Eotac apparel.   Between the shortages in cotton and fabric materials and a bad economic it’s been hard to predict what will happen.   Our biggest sellers have been the Eotac lightweight pants because even though they may look like many other tactical pants, the pocket designs are the best designed pants for what I like.   The Woolrich Elite style 4441 are very close in design, but the draw back that I have seen was with the ID or wallet pocket.  You can shove a 20 oz water bottle in the back pocket, but try getting a wallet in and out of the ID pocket and you’ll know what I mean.   I guess I’m very old fashion and still haul a lot of business cards with me and I’m not looking to change that.   Tactical pants still gotta fit my car keys, gun and wallet for me to like them.

The style 203 pants have been hard to get almost since Eotac first emerged.   We waited for months to get the black pants in, but they never arrived and we heard rumors there was a production issue with them.   Since then we’ve been getting phone calls wonder if they were coming in and now we’ve been told that something else may be going on with these tactical pants.   Only time will tell if the production issue gets resolved, but we have the last of Eotac style 201, Style 202, Style 203 tactical pants that Eotac made.   I’ve seen a few clothing companies fold up this year because getting material has been so hard.   Finding denim material  was even harder to find.   Keep an eye here if some good news becomes available because we know there will be something announced soon.

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Tactical and concealed carry, they aren’t the same

I’ve been selling and watching the tactical clothing market for over 6yrs now and I’m still not blown away by anyone one manufacturer.   There are good points about several tactical pants makers, but nobody is doing everything right.   I’m still blown away that the 5.11 covert carry pants I picked up a few months ago were so poorly designed that I couldn’t fit a J-Frame revolver in the pants.    How they heck was somebody not fired over that one?   From what I’m seeing on the internet, those pants I got for $40 at a gun shop are selling for $19.99 at some 5.11 tactical dealer and I can see why.  I also find it odd that 5.11 still stamps there logo so that everyone knows they are tactical pants.

I’ve been reading and watching a lot of YouTube videos and getting feedback on Blackhawk and 5.11 pants because they seem to have a lot of variations of tactical pants.  The materials are more diverse than much of what Woolrich Elite and Eotac pants are made from, but I’m not feeling the urge to sink a lot of money in them.   Most people wearing tactical pants want comfort.   I learned that several years ago when there seems to have been a big exodus from 5.11 and so many people complaints about the fit and feel of them.   Pants riding up on an operator and shrinkage were the most common complaints.

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Eotac Style 202 pants

I’ve been growing concerned about some of the products I have learned to love in recent years because production issues in making clothing in China is having an impact on the availability of some of the tactical clothing out there.   I have gone from 5.11 tactical clothing to Woolrich Elite Series and then on to Eotac and picked up various tactical shirts, vests and jackets along the way.  I  had a Sigtac jacket for a short time, but kind of had no real use for it because I didn’t like the idea of carrying a gun in the jacket.  I always want the gun on my body and not in outerwear.

When it comes to the type of pants I want to wear, I am really stuck on wearing the Style 202 pants from Eotac.   I actually had switching over to the lightweight pants in the summer because the 100% cotton ripstop just doesn’t support the gear that I carry as well as the cotton canvas tactical pants.   The pocket designs on this are bellowed and hold more although snagging is a problem with all of the tactical pants I own.  Try washing dishes in the kitchen and you’ll learn to hate the cabinet knobs and handles.  I have a friend that has town his pants in the same area in his garage because of the same issue, but there are always compromises.

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Why bother with paintball clothing

I just got done watching  a few videos on Youtube that were all about tactical vests and tactical clothing.   I was laughing in the first 5 seconds because all that I noticed that was different than the stuff we sell was we didn’t have the words “splat” written across the vests.   I think the old round ball paintballs are going to be obsolete in another decade and airsoft is going to get really good that kids will be playing with guns that look and function like the real ones and use the same holsters and tactical vests.   I got a Sig 228 airsoft gun last year and I didn’t have to buy a single holster to practice with it.

The Eotac style 101 vests and some of the 5.11 tactical vests are all you need if you are playing paintball or airsoft with an AK or M16 type of gun, magazines pouches are there and will work very well.   The real thing to think about when you are playing paintball or airsoft is the same that you would think about if you actually going to think about real world gun fight training, tactical pants, tactical shirts, tactical gear.  Durability and weight are issues as well as worrying about snagging on things.   The crap you put on yourself the more you gotta think about what you want to wear when you’re laying flat on your stomach.  Try wearing everything that you would wear with your CCW or tactical clothing and just show up at a paintball game.

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Tactical clothing accessories that you shouldn’t forget about

The first thing I noticed when I took my first Carbine Class and got down prone was that the ground was still wet and I could feel every stone jamming into my elbow when I got down in a prone position.  With todays accessorized M4 Carbine with every light, laser and optic configuration, we have to realize that our bodies could use the same ideas when it comes to the clothing we wear.    The Eotac duty gloves are good for the times when you need to worry about hot barrels and flying brass and aren’t very bulk at all.   Elbow and knee pads are something that I have found are very useful, but there are huge variations in the way that they fit on your body, not to mention that most of the time, the only way to find out is to actually try them on.

I have several sets of knee pads, but the ones I find the most useful are the Blackhawk Neoprene, because they seem to just feel more comfortable.   I already have enough worries about snag and movement restriction when wearing tactical clothing and sometimes I really have to watch how I move around corners so my tactical pants don’t catch on things.   The Eotac style 201 pants come with a foam knee pad that works quite well, but the only draw back is for the knee pands in the tactical pants to properly align themselves over your knee caps is to be kneeling on both knees at the same time.   This is something I had to get use to when getting into firing positions.   The Style 202 and 203 lightweight pants also use the same foam knee pads and from my experience they last a pretty long time if you take them out when they are not being  used or when you are doing your wash.

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Tactical lightweight pants

Woolrich Elite lightweight pantsWe’ve been selling Woolrich Elite clothing since the beginning and have seen the changes in the tactical pants market over the last 5 years.   One thing we have noticed is the tactical pants sales change like the seasons do.   Our customer base knows that certain types of clothing just can’t be worth in hot climates, but for working in other environments, lightweight material just won’t hold up to the heavy use, and won’t shrink as much.    We get a lot of people calling or emailing us about whether or not the clothing shrinks, and they answer to that is not as bad as some of the other apparel companies that have been on the market for almost 10yrs.   We still don’t understand why some of these companies haven’t cleaned up their quality control.

Woolrich Elite lightweight pants are very well made and if you haven’t known this, Woolrich has been  manufacturing clothing for over 150yrs.   You may have issues with the fit or design, but we have to tell you that the Woolrich Elite lightweight pants tactical clothing is as well made as their civillian line of clothing.   The style 44441 pants are made of a 100% cotton ripstop material that is a big selling in the Spring and Summer months.   We’ve been running a clearance on some of their lightweight pants in Style 44447 just to clear out some inventory so check out our website Clearance section for some great deals on Woolrich Elite Series Tactical clothing.

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Tactical Cargo Shorts

Woolrich Elite SeriesThe lightweight 100% cotton ripstop pants are very comfortable, but in 90F+ weather I’m always going to go with shorts even if they are made of heavy material.   Protecting your legs from bug bites is also something to consider when wearing shorts and clearing out woodlands because you never know what is going to be swarming around you when you start sweating up a storm.   There are some bug repellents that can be worn on a belt, but with the work I will be doing, I prever to bring a spray bottle with me and store it on the cargo pockets.   Since I am also always carrying flashlights, radios, guns and other items, not having enough pockets means putting more on the belt line.    I find wearing too much on the belt being a real pain when having to do a lot of lifting so just about everything except my Glock 26 is stored in my Woolrich Elite Pants.

I have another trip up in the sticks where we have to do some land clearing.   The State is asking us to clear out a mountain range for fire prevention.   Working in emergency management we get everything from clearing car accidents and hostage situations.    One thing we also never know from day to day is what type of clothing we’ll be needing.   Most of us started out wearing 5.11 Tactical clothing because they pretty much held the market for years and there wasn’t much else out there.   A few years ago Woolrich Elite Series clothing arrived on the market although Woolrich has been in the clothing industry for over 150 years.  Woolrich Elite cargo shorts style 4905 are made of a cotton canvas material which makes them very hard to tear.   Unlike many of the lightweight style shorts out there, these have side cargo pockets which are great for storing lighters, bug repllent, hand wipes ect.   Due to the fact that wearing pants in certain hot weather means unnecesary sweating and water loss, you really have to think about how much clothing is necessary.    I’ve had shorts on in hot weather and felt comfortable until I came home with poison ivy.

 

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Fit and manueverability

Tactical PantsEotac has several pants styles that may look like 5.11 knock offs or something that you thought you saw coming from Woolrich Elite a few years ago, but the reality is you will feel the difference in manueverability and flexability when you’re wearing them.   We had a few customers say they preferred a competitors pants since they had more room in them for sitting and kneeling, but the reality is Eotac Pants were stitched and designed so the pants move with the body and they were designed for operators that are getting off the ground and working from standing, kneeling and squatting.  Think about all of the firing positions an operator with a Carbine can get in, now try doing that with Levi’s jeans, 5.11 pants, Woolrich Elite and then try it with the Eotac Pants and get back to us.

We’ve been able to watch the tactical clothing market grow over the last decade and we’ve seen big companies go from owning the business to dealing with real competition.   Due to the nature of the War on Terror, there is demand for clothing that is not BDU looking but has lots of uses for military and combat purposes.   Tactical Pants aren’t just about what they can hold.   Everyone has a different idea of what they need for their job, but putting tons of gear in your pockets can be done with a pair of pants that just has big pockets.

 

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