All posts tagged Philadelphia police supplies

What is the purpose of a Gun Holster?

Gun HolstersThe Mission Drives the gear, whether you know that phrase or not, you may want something that you can wear in the winter that easily accessible under a winter coat, but since you are planning for carrying in winter,  you need to have the appropriate holster, and if you don’t you’ll find out real fast when you can’t even get to your gun because your shirt is caught on it, came un-tucked  or you can sweep your clothing out of the way and grip your firearm.   The problem we deal with constantly, is that nobody really knows just by looking at a holster on how deep it will go IWB and this is all about body type and firearm preference.   One of the main reasons we like to push the Galco Kingtuk holsters on people is there really is a lot of versatility to that design if you are mentally willing to adapt to it.   It’s kind of a Crossbreed holster knock off, but we’ve done well with them and the only complaints are from people that think it’s too big.   Well, how many people think their car seat belt is too big?  You have to adjust it and all of the adjustments are up to you to fit it to your body when you sit down.

Something like the Galco Kingtuk, Desantis Scorpion and even the CrossBreed holsters have screws that can raise and lower the depth of the gun in the holster and there are always going to be levels of adjustment and adaptation.   So many firearms are getting smaller and more durable and recently the Smith & Wesson Shield has become the number one firearm that everyone is asking for Gun Holsters.   Everyone once in awhile I force myself to go to various firearm events, gun rentals and ask my friends to bring something with them whenever we have a group shoot, and that’s how I try to stay up with what might be catching on in the industry.   So much of the industry is geared towards Zombie Apocalypse and Competition  shooting and there are plenty of guns that just don’t do well and the holster options that are available will show it.   If it’s a popular gun, you’ll find a good gun holster if you search properly, if it’s not, better get a good gun rack in your gun safe to hang it on.

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511 Tactical Footwear, Brand Names and Picking the best

511 Tactical BootsOne thing about our product  line is that we never get caught  up with “this brand is better than another” so much of the tactical clothing and tactical gear world is getting what you paid for.   When it comes to comfort, it’s up to our customer to determine what works best for them.   Here in the Pennsylvania area we get all 4 Seasons, Summer, Winter, Fall and Spring so you need to switch up your clothing at some point.   This year was particularly harsh as far as winter goes and we added a few things to our “winter clothing” category and expecting our 5.11 Socks to include the heavier winter items.  5.11 Tactical is a monster of a company and and is hands down the best known product line and basically because they started it all.   There are a lot of Pros and Cons of every product we sell and we often pick the best products from 5.11 and leave the flashlights and Novelty stuff to the big 5.11 showcase dealers but there are plenty of 5.11 backpacks and gear that has a strong grip of the Emergency Management and Law Enforcement Market.

Like shorts and  pants, footwear needs to change up with the seasons and we’ve had a lot of people come in here asking us to carry some of the Taclite gear in the 5.11 Tactical product line and recently expanded the 511 Tactical Boots in our product line.   We hear a lot of the same stories from brand to brand like ” I don’t like those boots, they fall apart on me” or “they just weren’t comfortable.”   Comfort is your decision and if you have the same problems with a certain boot style or brand, consider  spending more money if you want years of durability.   So much of this can depend on what your work and footwear stress levels are, but here are some of the new products we are carrying online and in our Pennsylvania Tactical Store.

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The good thing about the Safariland product line

Safariland holstersThe good thing about Safariland’s product line is they probable have the best selection of CCW and Duty holsters for the majority of medium to large frame firearms.   My experience with them is they are not outrageously priced and can be a bit on the heavy side, but at least you can get a holster.   Now that so many people are getting compacts and sub-compact firearms for off duty, it is an issue that takes a lot of patience and research to find a holster and probable 10% of the time we just tell  our customers they might want to look into getting a custom kydex holster instead of buying a factory made holster and finding out they don’t like it.    We have been stocking more and more of the Safariland holsters for Glocks and Sig Sauer handguns because so many people, including our own State Police are using the Surefire  X300 on their Glock 21s and want an off duty holster that also holds the light.

Safariland probable has the best holster fit guide where you just click through the questionnaire and answer things like, Manufacturer, caliber, barrel length and if you want a light.   There are more left handed Safariland holsters than the Blackhawk Serpa product line and you can also use a non-xiphos flashlight in them.   The xiphos flashlights are really a bad idea and I can’t name a single person that likes the light, let a lone the Blackhawk Serpa/Xiphos  combination.   I saw a holster design last year for a new Flashlight option from Blackhawk but it was not available for many firearms and is an endless issue for Police or Citizens trying to use the same gun.   If you are using or want a Streamlight TLR1,TLR2 or Surefire X300U, your best bet is to research the Safariland product line.

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Sometimes you just want what you want!

original swat boots for saleI just got trying out a couple other brands of tactical boots and I wasn’t happy.  I think there are a lot of really nice boot companies out there and there are vast differences in the designs.   We always listen to our customers when they tell us what they are looking for, and usually, if we hear it enough times we end up filling out a dealer application.  Right now we’re checking out various body armor companies and there are a few vest carriers that we are also checking out, but back to footwear.  I’ve said in previous posts that I have foot issues and I know what I want as soon as it’s on my feet and I’ not in pain.  There are certain boots that need break in periods but I have yet to have that type of thing with Original Swat boots.

There are always new boots coming out every year from Original Swat Footwear Company but the Style 1232 are my primarily.   I tend to wear the Original Swat boots for sale that we stock in our store so I can give my own testimony.   The Style 1152 are probable our most popular side zip boot followed by the boots with the air pocket for extra support.   In the 4yrs we’ve been selling these boots only one boot in this style every popped a bubble.   Backed by a factory warranty, these boots are the best boots in the $100 and less price range and we will continue to stock them for the foreseeable future.

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Brick and Mortar stores for tactical gear and clothing

There use to be a well known Army Navy Store here in the Philadelphia Suburbs that was family owned and we use to go there to get our cub scout gear.  They had shovels camping gear, sleeping bags and war props.   Those were fun days for us but that industry just faded away in South Eastern Pennsylvania.  It’s hard to even find a place where you can check out a Swiss Army Knive.  The internet is a booming industry but there is still so much competition amongst brick and mortar stores.  I have friends that shop at Victoria’s Secret for clothing for their wives because shopping online is too hard.  In this industry the same things happen for women trying to find the correct style and color of tactical clothing.  Many will ask what multi-cam is and what color is coyote brown.

On the other hand the average guy will have no idea how to explain what color turquoise is and is going to want to walk into a store to see it.   Backpacks and duty bags are Mission driven and tactical clothing is no different.  The differences between 100% cotton ripstop pants, Blackhawk Polycotton ripstop pants, Tru Spec Polycotton ripstop and 5.11 lightweight tactical pants are also very different.  Pocket designs are unique, some are good for a knife, others have different cargo pockets and may or may not work for you.  We got asked this question all the time about the differences between Eotac and Woolrich Elite tactical clothing.  All of these products  have their pros and cons and it really depends on what your needs are.

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Training with new gear and being consistent

There is no debate about firearms safety, you either follow the rules or you will have an accident.   The problem with fireams training is everyone has an off day, not everyone wakes up in the morning and is at 100% mentally there.  Everyone trips or falls at some point, every slips on the ice they didn’t see and not everyone can think straight until they’ve had their cup of joe. I’ve seen more accidents with Glocks than any other sidearm, but I would say that Glocks are the most reliable firearm I’ve seen at training courses.

One thing that I have seen happen with gun owners, is they juggle firearms around too much.  It really is not a good idea to switch up your holsters and firearms too often because mental lapses can occur.  This seems to be the problem people are having with the Blackhawk Serpa holsters that are getting on the news.  If you don’t use this holster all the time, you may have a problem keeping your hand in the same spot and you’re more prone to curling your finger and causing an ND.  I very much like the retention design and the strength of the holsters, but I would not let a novice shooter start out with  one.

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Search gloves from Turtleskin

I do not have much experience with needing to use search gloves, but the liabilities of not using search gloves like the Turtlskin gloves are life altering.  Years ago I remember seeing a few fundraisers for emergency response individuals that all got Hepatitis C while working on the job.   You can spend your life trying to save other people’s lives and then find out you just shortened your life because you were exposed to the scum element of society and got HIV or Hepatitis C from a needle user because you got stabbed by a needle.

Blood splatter can occur just from someone spitting on you and that is one reason even the clear eyewear we sell from Smith Optics Elite is so popular.  It’s  not just about sunlight getting in  your eyes, but products like the Turtleskin gloves like the Bravo and Alpha gloves are what you are going to want to stow in your car if you are dealing with this type of environment.   Skipping this step can be easier but all you have to do is look at all of the beef and beer fundraisers for so many in the emergency response community and you’ll see why protective gear is so important.

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Rogue Elite now has a retail location

We are proud to announce we have moved from being an online E-commerce business to having a retail location.   We will be expanding our inventory and our location in 2011 but many of our customers in the Northeast have been asking us to open something in this area and we finally gave them what they were looking for.    Our  tactical clothing lines from Eotac, 5.11, Woolrich Elite and Tru-Spec.   Buying clothing online can be difficult and when people live an hour away from you sometimes they just want to drop by and try something on.   We have a pickup location and if you call for an appointment we can arrange to have the items you are looking for available to try on.

We are a showroom account for many tactical gear and tactical accessories.   Eotech, Trijicon and many gun optics will be in stock at our Broomall location.   We will be supplying many products for Philadelphia Police Supplies and regional demands.  Shooting accessories and some hunting gear along with ballistic optics and eyewear.   Blackhawk gear from the Blackhawk Serpa and other Warrior Wear products will be in house in the Fall of 2011.   To setup an appoint call or email us by looking up the Contact us part of our website.

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