All posts tagged Tactical Apparel

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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Tactical shirts, pocket designs and fit

I try to test out as much of the tactical clothing market even if something really isn’t my style.   I’ve seen things that looked like good ideas really turn out to impractical, over priced and become impossible to find because manufacturing them was too difficult.   There are always things that the tactical apparel community tries out and then the next thing you know those well know 5.11 businesses on the west coast are selling the pants for $19.99 that were going for 49.99.   Not everyone is so harsh when it comes to testing clothing out because not everyone wears the stuff 5-7 days a week.  I’ve found the only way to know how well something is made and how much movement I will have is to test it out myself.

I am not big on the whole tactical shirt thing, they have pockets all over them, some  have velcro and others are zippered.   I still find that losing stuff in them is easy, but I get more use out of the pants  pockets than I ever will in a shirt.   Woolrich Elite shirts tend to fit very loose, this even goes for the p pants and vests.   Some people like this because it gives them more movement and if not tucked in,  can help in concealing a holster.   Tactical shirts make you look more like a LEO than the pants in my humble opinion so if I’m carrying, concealing a firearm doesn’t do much for me when everyone sees how much tactical clothing I’m wearing.

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2011 SHOT show is here

This year there will be several new Eotac products coming out.   The new Direct action smock and the Recce pant along with the new A-tacs cam pattern that will be made for the Style 201 lightweight pants and the Style 407 long sleeve tactical shirt.   We got a glimpse of the A-tacs pattern last June at the Police and Security Expo in New Jersey and got a lot of good feed back on the pattern.   Digital patterns have come a long way in recent years and it really has good darn good.   I remember as a kid thinking that most of the woodland cammo made you stand out just as boldly as if you were wearing regular clothing and it all didn’t make sense to me.

You can ask many of those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan what they thought about the camo they had back in Desert Storm vs. the stuff that is now.   The Style 201 tactical pants are lightweight combat pants that are very much meant for a Carbine operator.   These 100% cotton ripstop pants have a unique fitting that gives you more maneuverability over similar designs.  There are some really cheap knock of pants that look like this and go for under $30, but they will not feel the same.   If you have a chance to stop by the Eotac booth this year.  Check out the new A-tacs pattern camo.  If you aren’t in the military, you may want these for hunting.    Very good for the American bow hunter.

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Getting picky about gun holsters is the norm

We get so many phone calls asking us basically asking us to tell people how to dress themselves when they get out of bed in the morning.   Maybe 5% of the questions we get asking about tactical clothing and concealed carry clothing are about how someone will look in the clothing once they put it on.   The same goes for gun holsters.  People often ask us how they feel and how well they are made and all of this really comes down to your personal preference.  I can give you a calorie count for every food item you eat, but you gotta tell me if you liked eating it.

Going through your house and pick out the type of clothing that you can wear all year long is probable impossible for you unless you live in a desert or the North Pole.  Just like we need rain coats when it’s raining and winter coats when it’s snowing, we need gun holsters and clothing for changes in weather and seasons.  Most people don’t carry a shoulder holster when they are living in t-shirt and flip flop land and nobody is going to tell you that you have to wear a leather holster in 100F temperatures.   You have to find what feels right and works for you and then think about another scenario for the other things.

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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 gear and taking to a paint ball game

I’ll admit this up front, some of the best combat training I have ever had was the number of years I played paintball with friends.  Not only did I learn communication skills and human behavior, but I learned about what kind of clothing I prefer to wear if I am going to be running around.  Things like car keys and cell phones can get in the way when you are laying down or swing you hands around.   Certain types of jackets can really restrict the amount of movement  you are needing and simple things like raising a gun up and trying to hold it in mid air can be stressful if you have lots of heavy clothing on.

The Eotac style 101 vests are very good tactical vests, but I realize the type of gear that swat teams and military may be putting on a vest may not be suitable for anything like this.   These vests are on the soft side and may be a little too long for those getting in and out of vehicles that may want handguns or gear to sit up higher on the chest line, but for playing paintball, these tactical vests is probable the best configuration for you.  The large rifle magazine pockets will hold paintball tubes and they are very deep that this will give you added security.   The soft flexibility is also useful and this vest will easily sit on top of whatever type of clothing you are wearing.  It makes a very good outerwear piece of clothing.   It is also easily washable although I do suggest you make sure you take everything that shouldn’t be washed out of the pockets, there are so many of them that it’s easy to get lost in them.

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Elastic waistbands, it doesn’t feel right without it anymore

I just put in an order for several new Galco holsters that I’m going to try to work with a few regual jeans I own because I recently hurt my side with a kydex holster on a pair of jeans that were suppose to be for CCW but I found them to royally suck because they didn’t have an elastic waistband.   I’m half wondering if this 5.11 tactical jean has been discontinued because I see them being sold at clearance levels of under $20.   I’m still testing out various type of tactical clothing from Tru-Spec and Blackhawk, but I’m a little overwhelmed with what I have being tested out right now.   I had to give up on IWB holsters for these 5.11 pants because they just don’t cut it.   I will be trying a Don Hume Jit holster and see if that works.

I had good luck with the Eotac 502 jeans because they had an elastic waistband, but I actually had issues with the Woolrich Elite tactical pants that were almost identical looking.  The waistband on the Woolrich 44909 seemed to be thicker and my IWB holster from JS holsters had trouble clipping onto the belt due to the thickness….weird.   I personally like the idea of having less tactical pockets on jeans because jeans really can’t be tactical looking if you want them to be CCW.  Most guys are going to want the straight leg pants and a more washed look to them.   I really have limited ways of carrying in the summer because every time I have to walk out of the door at this time of year I have to wear layers of clothing or a heavy jacket and it’s hard to really test out shirts.

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Bitter cold, but wet weather CCW

Up here in the Northeast we are getting wacked with an early December.   I’ve been juggling between heavy winter coats and an Eotac 501 half zip sweat shirt.    I have found that wearing a good base layer, T-shirt and a sweat shirt of some sort, usually is good enough to get me through the day.   If I have to worry about covering my head and it’s below 30F I always take my Han Solo Hoth winter jacket.    It works for it’s intended purpose, but I personally don’t like wearing heavy jackets in the winter and carrying a firearm.   The heavy winter jackets don’t breath very well and there have been multiple times I have done my Christmas shopping in this configuration and was dying from the heat once I was in a shopping mall for more than an hour.

I have notice there has been some turmoil with Woolrich Elite products but they came out with several new products this past year that impressed me.  The most impressive item I saw was the Woolrich Elite Parka.   This was one of our number one selling Christmas items and they did a good job designing it.   This Parka is a Waterproof layer you can wear over your clothing and it will breath better than a heavy winter jacket that is water proof.   I don’t like the idea of carrying firearms in out wear, but I can carry my flashlight and spare magazines when I’m wearing this.   In Fall or Spring weather this jacket can be folded up into a glove compartment and be used for those Fall or Spring showers that come out of no where.

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Having fun but having the right stuff

I would have to say that the vast majority of those that have anything more than a flashlight and optic on the M4 are probable putting something on our guns that we really don’t need, but just enjoy having on.   There’s nothing wrong with having an LWRCI upper with a quad rail or a MidWest quad rail if you think you can put it to use, but when we actually have to carry the Carbine for any real length of time, we’ll wish we could strip a few extra pounds of weight off the gun.  Many of our Staff have been attending competition shoots lately that have been really well run.   These events are everything from battle scenarios or even Zombie shoots.

Last  year in Pennsylvania we attended a Carbine shoot where the the attendees has to sign in at 8am and once they left the club house, they couldn’t drop off any gear and had to lug it all with them for the day.   All of the competitors were carrying M4 or AR15 variants and a few had AK rifles.    Ammunition loads were approximately 400rds of rifle and 100rds of handgun ammo.    I enjoy these events because we get too see some real hard use of tactical gear and tactical accessories.   We tend to not see things fail at these shoots because the competitors are in the higher class as far as skill and the types of firearms they use.   If you ever want to see what kind of optics work and which firearms and when things jam, go to a competition shoot at your gun club and sit back and watch.

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Standard and lightweight tactical pants

I am starting acquire a very large collection of tactical pants, and although I am liking some of my 5.11 and Blackhawk pants,  I find it very hard to jump around with the various types of tactical apparel.   There are too many variations in where the pockets are and right now, I’m trying to sort through various locations in my home for a folding knife that I believe I left in a pair of pants, but can’t find.   We recently got feedback from a women that had the Eotac style 702 pants, she liked the fit, but said there were too many pockets and wanted something more casual.   Well, the answer to that is to  not buy tactical pants thinking you are going to get something casual.

The reason the tactical clothing market has gotten so big is because so many new markets have been created and there is a need for clothing for people to wear at work.   Everyone carrying a gun over in Iraq may not be active in the United States Military and there are just as many military contractors over there.    If you want to wear something in the winter you are going to need heavier material, but if you are wearing pants in the summer you are going to most likely want a cotton ripstop material.   We get people calling on the phone all the time for the most “versatile” tactical pants that we sell, but we always have to come back and tell people “for what”.    I remember the years when I was monitory gun forums and just about every other discussion forum would have an individual come in and say, “which gun is better, Glock or 1911” and the answer is always “for what”.     I only see 4 really good tactical clothing companies right now, but there are a few niche CCW companies that I monitoring.

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