All posts tagged Tactical Clothing

Tru-Spec Tactical Shirts and BDU Shorts for Men and Women

We have plenty of customers that can wear shorts for most of the year but there are some season changes that we deal with and Summer and Winter affects what inventory we stock.    We tend to sell most of the same inventory all  year long due to the fact we sell clothing both Nationally and Internationally as well as local.   It’s sometimes funny to see people in Alaska and Michigan buying sweatshirts while people on the East Coast are well into hot weather.  Usually when all of the IDPA competitions or State competitions are going on we usually see an up tick in sales of womens tactical shorts and pants.  Depending on the environment and the terrain of the competition it’s one or the other.   There are knee pad options with most of the tactical pants we sell but the Hatch knee pads and the Blackhawk Neoprene tend to sell very well.   We have many of the same complaints about inseam lengths for various tactical shorts because just like pants, not everyone is the same height and wanting shorts that have a 7 inch inseam or 9inch will not be available with every company we deal with.

The biggest selling point with the Tru-Spec product line is that they are very consistent in sizing and they are also very durable.  If you have ever seen the Tru-Spec 24/7 Series pants, the Tru-Spec 24/7 Series shorts are just a cut down version of those.   I tend to prefer those Tru-Spec tactical shortsTru-Spec Tactical Shorts over the BDU style because I don’t think it modern times with CCW and Cell phones, flashlights and various knives, that having large pockets where cargo just floats around is all that great.  I’d rather have a pocket for all of my stuff so I know which direction it is pointed and treat each pocket much in the same way I’d treat a firearm in a holster, it stays where you leave until you need it.    The BDU style shorts tend to be popular with the people working in EMS because they are inexpensive and they don’t need a bunch of pockets.    The Tru-Spec ladies clothing is hands down our best rated product line for women, according to our female customer base!

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Blackhawk Lightweight Tactical Pants shortage?

Blackhawk Tactical PantsWe have been a stocking dealer for a great many tactical clothing companies because we know that much of this industry is about preference and what the Mission at hand.   We get lot of Law Enforcement that stop in our store because they are going to the range for training and all that is required is “black pants” primarily because they know they might be doing a lot of knealing in dirty environments and if they were wearing anything but Black pants, they might be stained for good.  Most of the pants we sell have some type of knee pad inserts although I don’t really find many of them to be all that practical, you just have to make sure you pull them out before you wash them  otherwise the foam inserts will break down much quicker.

We have been big fans of Hatch knee pads although Blackhawks Neoprene knee pads are very popular.   Recently it has come to our attention that a major production change has occurred and these  Blackhawk Tactical Pants and much of their clothing is now being moved to Puerto Rico.   Although that is not continental United States, its nice to hear things like this and it’s also a long list of companies from Proper, Original Swat Footwear, ATS Tactical Gear and others that have been moving manufacturing out of China and  Asia, hopefully this reset in manufacturing over the last several years will stabilizing the availability and prices and we have even see companies like 5.11 increase prices since the whole Asian monopoly on manufacturing has hit everyone.

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New inventory and new colors this Fall

TruSpec softshell jacketsWe will be getting a sneak peak at the Fall Tru-Spec outwear sometimes this week and we heard TruSpec will be doing another Softshell jacket promo in late November or early December.   The Sofshell jacket really is an excellent water proof jacket even though i’ve been  in situations where the jacket worked and I’d say I was dry.  I won’t use it for scuba diving but this is a very versatile jacket to use for most of the year.   I have a closet with heavy winter jackets and rain coats that I rarely use because the bright yellow rain gear is just too goofy looking to wear around except while working traffic or major events.  I have to worry about getting in and out of cars and keeping my gear in easy to reach locations and this means pulling my knives and flashlights out of my pants pockets and moving them up to the jacket.

We do sell the Tru-Spec waterproof pants and some other outwear but much of that look Police uniforms, these jackets are something that looks like a security or military contractor, TruSpec Softshell jackets also have velcro patches so you can attach any Team emblem or security department or just an American Flag.  We recently started selling the Blackhawk Patches until Elite Survival Systems approached us and made up several other color patterns.   This Jacket is something we have in stock for the most part of the year due to it’s versatility and according to the positive product reviews from local Law Enforcement.  A large part of the Upper Police Department are now wearing our stuff.

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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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Why would you want to wear Tru-Spec products? An honest review of their tactical pants

truspec tactical pantsWe did not know what we were going to be carrying when we found out several years ago that the Elite Operator Tactical line was going to cease to make clothing and also the warning signs about what was going on with the Woolrich Elite Series tactical line.   Those products were very popular with customers that wanted comfort and tactical clothing that fit the way it was suppose to.  In all of the  years we sold those products, nobody called us up complaining that pants shrank or road up on them when they sat down.   Fabrics and quality control are things that not every camouflage pant is going to have.  There are some paintball camo pattterns that are cool but they are very much a BDU and not very comfortable.

The new Tru-Spec Gen 2 BDU pants are really the best BDU pants we’ve sold because they have a zipper fly and not those out dated button down fly.   The Tru-Spec 24/7 series pants are uniquely designed have have very specified pockets for knives or flashlights.  The truspec tactical pants like the new boot cut Gunny pant is a more updated look with open pockets and larger knife or flashlight slots.   These have been the most popular tactical pants for us right now because of the prices that we sell them in comparison to much of the Blackhawk and 5.11 product line.   Much of this is about preference, but quality is definitely there.

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New tactical pants for this Fall? How about lower profile pants?

tactical pantsIn 2013 we saw the launch of the Tru-Spec Simple Tactical product line and considering how well it has sold so far I expect that there will be a womens line and possible a few more colors.   The Simple Tactical product line is basically a mild tactical pant that probable has 40% fewer pockets if you compare it to 5.11 or other Tru-Spec tactical pants, namely the 24/7 series.    That’s a really nice pant for $39.95 and sometimes you can get them cheaper especially during the 1,2,3 sales that Tru-Spec has done atleast 2x’s.   Some people don’t like particular waistbands and the Simple tactical is more stretch.  You will notice that those will be tru to your waist size and you won’t be able to stow gear is pretend you are really a smaller waist.

This year we took on a few 5.11 products which we normally stayed away from but now that Woolrich Elite Series Tactical is no longer making their product line, we brought in the 5.11 covert Khaki 2.0 which is a good improvement over the regular Cover Khaki.   These pants are now the least tactical pants we (looking that is) and after washing an wearing I didn’t notice any of the shrinkage that so many of our customers complain about.  I guess 5.11 put a little more quality into their white color tactical clothing.  We’re still testing out various types of shirts to see if we can find anything anywhere near as nice as the Woolrich Elite Series concealed carry shirts.   We really missed that product line.

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Coming Promos from the Tru-Spec tactical apparel line this Fall

Tru-spec jacketsWe’ve been selling the Tru-Spec tactical clothing line for several years now, just about 2yrs to be exact and we have been learning about all of their tactical clothing, from the materials they use in them, to the features that they have built into them.  The thing we really love about the Atlanco Corporation is that they are really showing  support for their dealers and the product pricing is very competitive.  We are always getting asked if we want to carry various product lines like, 5.11, Blackhawk, Vertx and many more, but from our standpoint, we want to the least negative feedback from our customers and the lower returns due to unhappy customers.   The Tru-Spec 24/7 series is still a growing product line, but the polyester blend is the preference our Law Enforcement customers want.

Last Fall we ran the Tru-Spec softshell jacket promotion that we basically aimed at our Law Enforcement Clientele.   The Tru-Spec Jackets that we move the most are the softshell tactical jackets.   These give you excellent water resistance with a very cool tactical look and this jacket is by far the most versatile out layer we sell.  Versatile in meaning that this jacket is not too heavy that  you need to take it off if it gets hot, these will breath very well and can be worn in most Fall and Spring temperature variations.   In many parts of the Country you don’t need a very heavy jacket, and most rain gear doesn’t breath like this so you don’t un-necessarily sweat up a storm.   We have excellent reviews from our customers about this jacket and the only negatives are from guys that are too big to fit in them in the first place.

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Concealed Carry in Pennsyvania from Winter to Summer

Tru Spec shirtsThere are all 4 seasons up here in the Northeast and today it’s actually over 100F and in this part of the area you can tell it’s so hot that hardly anyone is outside.  Sitting by a pool is going to mean you’re going to be burning up and you’ll probable need to be in the pool to be comfortable.   This is a good time for me to break out the new products we brought in from Tru-Spec.   The Tru-Spec performance polos are just want you want for this type of weather but going from the Woolrich Elite and 5.11 product lines to this meant we had to see what fit or cut differences there were.  The Eotac tactical product lines had a performance polo also and it had more of a tactical or competition shooter look to it.   These Tru-Spec shirts are cut a little tighter around the sides but are very long, so depending on the body type these may not be great for concealed carry but if you are pocket carrying it’s a none issue.

These shirts are probable 50% lighter weight than the 24-7 Series standard polos.   If you want a more uniform or tactical looking shirt try the TruSpec shirts that we have listed for men and women.   Tru-Spec has a very broad product line and they have moved more from just being  a Law Enforcement or Tactical line.   They have concealed carry shirts now, polos, tactical shirts for men and ladies and most of their products are several dollars less expensive than their competition.   The new lightweight and ultra light shirts like the gunny shirt, gunny vests give more versatility to the tactical lines appeal.  Most of the shirts are a polyester or polyester cotton blend.

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truspec softshell jackets

Truspec softshell jacketsWe rarely get tactical clothing in our store that can be used in more than a few seasons because the notion of wearing an article of clothing in the Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer isn’t going to be that common.   Other than socks and underwear, what don’t you change up?   Sure you can wear a t-shirt through most of the winter but you’d probable freeze to death if your car broke down and you had to go outside.  Their are some really nice Parka type items like the Woolrich Elite Parka but now that that has been discontinued, we’ve moved on to stock much of the Tru-Spec tactical apparel.  Their softshell promo with the discounts and sales have helped customers discover something new and useable.

We’ve noticed that a lot of our Law Enforcement like loose fitting clothing and others don’t mind tight fitting clothing and this usually applies to people that are in shape vs out of shape.    The Tru-Spec Softshell jackets are  not loose fitting, they are specifically designed to be type around your body but the multiple zipper pockets give you access to gear around your belt.  These work very well in 4 Season climates where you might get lots of rain on a cold but not freezing weather, or in Spring Weather where getting wet means getting sick.   These jackets would be considered rain gear even though they do have a very athletic and tactical look to them.

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Most versatile rain jacket?

Truspec softshell jacketsWe’ve sold a lot of outwear over the years and the Woolrich Elite Concealed Carry Chino and the SigTac jackets are going to be missed because they were all very well made items but somehow those companies just couldn’t compete in the tactical apparel world.   I’ve not seen a SigTac jacket in years but people still and ask us what happened to them.   There are a few links out there that direct people to us from gun forums but they are badly outdated.   The Woolrich Elite Series tactical barn coat that is another item that was well liked but fell off the production line very early.   5.11 tactical has some nice stuff but they have gotten expensive and plenty of people have fallen off the 5.11 wagon just based on price increase.

When it comes to concealed carry jackets, well, there aren’t too many companies that are going to mass product something like that because there are so many firearms that designing a jacket around that isn’t really cost effective.   If you want a very useful tactical jacket, the TruSpec softshell jackets are a very big hit and we have been selling them with the American Flag patch  which gives them a cool yet patriotic look.   These softshell jackets are going to be tight against your body but they have access points so  you can still get in to your gear or guns.   We’ve had several customers come in our store that said it’s the most versatile jacket they own because it’s something you can wear in the Fall or Winter or even a mild summer day that will help keep you dry.

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