All posts tagged Tactical Gear

100% cotton ripstop pants and comfortable tactical pants

We’ve tested the waters in the last year after Eotac faded away, and we have over a years worth of feedback about customers that have moved on to Blackawk tactical pants, TruSpec tactical pants and even Vertx.   Vertx seems to have gotten great reviews but not everyone is moving in that direction.  I have found the Vertx product line to be the most well received tactical pants amongst our window shopping operators.  You should see more and more products like this on our inventory in 2013.  In the meantime, most of our customers have told  us that they want cotton canvas pants, 100% cotton ripstop pants or the poly/cotton ripstop.

There are always slight differences with each pant that make it a selling point to a certain market.  Most of military contractors prefer the 100% cotton ripstop cargo pants from Woolrich Elite Series Tactical Clothing because it is really the only tactical pant to go back to or stay with since Eotac has gone. Many of our Law Enforcement Officers need a pant that has some time of lining in it to keep your pants tucked in, those customers go to 5.11 tactical pants or Blackhawk tactical pants.  Some tactical  pants are good for the office and others for Iraq.

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Kimber Pepper Blaster 2 replaces Kimber Guardian Angel

 ASP Pepper sprays and other less lethal options are great backup devices for concealed carry.  When it comes to CCW,  tactical knives can be used for self defense or every day carry and utility purposes. Tactical clothing designs vary in many ways and the ability to carry spare gun magazines in pockets and vests can be done, but it’s all about preference. Speed Loaders for the j-frame pocket carry make a nice backup. For more aggressive tactical purposes Blackhawk tactical gloves, Vickers tactical gloves give you a broad spectrum of applications.

For more tactical clothing and tactical apparel options, Woolrich Elite Series tactical shirts, tactical pants and tactical vests, we have a large selection depending on your preference of tactical clothing, the Kimber Pepper Blaster works well in either tactical pants like the Blackhawk lightweight tactical pants, Eotac tactical pants, light weight and CCW vests, Woolrich Elite Discreet Carry Twill Jacket, The Woolrich Elite Parka, and a large selection of tactical flashlight, gun holsters and magazine holders.

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More feedback about the Recon sleeping bags

It’s nice to see so many people walk into our tactical store and bring in their kids.   We always have a certain element of the doomsday people that are stockpiling guns and ammo for an impending disaster and although we make money off of them, it’s not a very good way of using survival tools and tactical gear.   The Boy Scout moto of “being prepared” is something that more people in our society should be thinking about.  The more our society becomes technologically dependent the harder it will be for people to survival mentally and physically if they live in urban environments.   Rechargeable flashlights, long term storage food and things like emergency blankets are things that smart people keep around.

The older I get the more I think about the “what ifs” because I have a family that would be dependent on me if something happened.   Keeping an emergency blanket or the recon sleeping bags in a vehicle for long term car breakdowns or bug out situations is something I have done on long car trips.   In a nightmare situation where an emergency evacuation of  a city while being on vacation or business is something that has occurred.   I have a few friends that were traveling to Japan and were luckily prepared to be stuck in an airport and ride out the delays in getting a plane out of the Country.

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Binoculars in your range bag

I have a pretty good range bag that I keep all of  my sight in tools and magazine conversion kits in it.  All of my hearing protection and sometimes a few loaded magazines.   The one thing I have always kept in there were my binoculars.   I have taught so many people to shoot firearms and there have been times that I totally forgot to bring a rifle with magnification on it when I was teaching new shooters to shoot with a 22LR and iron sights.  It’s good to start people out on iron sights whether it’s with a 22 bolt action or an AR15 A2 style rifle.   If the shooter is old enough and can handle the nose and the recoil the AR15 is a good starting point.

When you try to see those groups at 100yds, sure you can hit a once inch square at those distances and accurately group them, but if your sights are off or you are trying to determine where your novice shooter is hitting, you don’t want to have to call cease fires and check paper.  There are many differences in the light gathering abilities of optics but Bushnell binoculars are reasonable priced and for most practical purposes, they get the job done and won’t cost you hundreds of dollars.  It’s always a good idea to keep your lense clean and this can have a big impact on your light gathering and clarity.

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Every day or go to bag for the car, any suggestions? Yep!

We’ve had a lot of bags go through our store and 5.11 tactical seems to have a really good product and there Rush messenger bags and the Rush 72 bags are a big hit with the EMS and Paramedic community.   We did a  lot of thinking over the last couple years about what products we were going to be bringing in and one thing that we find more and more common in the Law Enforcement Community is buying products made in the USA.  Many customers are willing to pay more for an American Flag logo than for something made in China.  It makes sense if your job is to protect this national and uphold the Law of the Land and wear the gear and equipment that is made here.

That seems to be a bit harder these days although I have seen many tactical products showing up that are made in this Country.  The M4 Roller is the largest of the Elite Survival Bags that we stock and it was very well received by the SWAT and Paramedic departments.  This is a hard thing for people to know if they wants to buy if they aren’t holding it in their hands and going through all of the compartments.   This a really big bag and something you’ll want to pick up on location rather than buy it online.  If you are looking for a very comfortable grab and go or 24hr bag to leave in the car the Smokescreen concealment pack has a holster compartment for a firearm but also has a very low profile.  The navy version of the bag is pretty cool because it looks more like something that should say Nike on it.

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Boogie Regulator reviews from customers

The most popular selling Smith Optics Elite eyewear we have now is the new Boogie regulator.  Lots of military personnel have been putting in orders with us for this eyewear and for $40 it really is the best bang for the buck.  We were shocked when we saw the price tag on these because not only are they half the price of regular goggles that are probable more practical to wear for a SWAT Team or a tactical team.  We’ve seen numerous images of Chris Costa and Travis Haley wearing the Smith Optics Elite eyewear and the product line has really taken a strong hold in the tactical and military community.

It always amazes me how certain products we sell crossover to other markets and this piece of ballistic eyewear is one of those products.  We get a lot of Bikers showing up at our doors for boots and footwear but the Smith Optics Elite Boogie regulator googles cross over to anyone on a bike.   The gray lense and ignitor lenses seem to be more popular than the clear but many of the Police that are on motorcycles have been buying them also.  The venting seems to work very well if  you are moving and the ambidextrous adjustments for opening and closing the ventilation are easy to use.

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Rotating gun magazines and paying attention to useage

This year we are again attending the Contagion 2012 in Pennsylvania.  This is a yearly event and one of the best things about it is getting first hand experience at and a look at various guns and gear.  One of the things we can tell you that we see every year, is a lack of proper firearm training.  We haven’t seen any major safety issues, but we see guys walking up the range and firing guns at stages that go “Click” because they never properly loaded their firearm.   The Contagion event has been going on for about 4yrs now.   You get a good look at the footwear, eyewear, firearms, rifle scopes and some very high end looking AR15 rifles.  Even the guys that show up with the good stuff have problems.  Just because you spent $4000 on an AR15 and gear doesn’t mean you are going to survive the zombie attack.

This year we are a vendor and we are bringing lots of gun accessories and maintenance tools.   This is one of those events were having extra handguns magazines like Kahr magazines will be at hand.   Kahr pistols are very popular in the concealed carry community and they have a very good reputation of holding up.   We stock the Kahr factory magazines and highly suggest that if you are using them for a competition event that you bring atlease 6  magazines with you.  Avoiding excessive wear and tear on magazines that you may also be using for CCW is a good idea.

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Getting use to these TruSpec pants

It was a big change for me to switch over from what I have worn for almost 7yrs and then try a different pocket design and different materials.   I started out like many with the 5.11 tactical pants and my first pair of pants had horrible shrinkage.  So many of  our customers have made the same statements and always say they are looking for something else but afraid to order them online.  We often get asked “what are my sizes for TruSpec, Blackhawk, Vertx” ect. if they wear X with 5.11.   There are sizing variations and fit differences and it’s just one of those things about buying clothing, you really need to try them on before you buy.

The pocket designs on the TruSpec 24/7 pants took some getting use to but now that I have adjusted my gear and taught myself how to carry my knife, flashlight and weapons, I have been very happy with the quality.  The polyester cotton ripstop material makes these lightweight tactical pants and somewhat of an easier product to just wash and go.  I don’t like having to iron clothing that much and if you are in a professional environment and don’t have the time to let your 100% cotton ripstop pants de wrinkle themselves, TruSpec pants are an easy switch for anyone wearing 5.11 tactical pants.

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Surefire Vs. Streamlight

I guess that sounds like the beginning of a gun forum post but we get asked about this all the time.  There are many things that I prefer to not divulge to customers because so much of this is about preference and the job at hand.   If you are going to be using a flashlight for any length of time, and you have access to a charger, then you obviously want a flashlight that is rechargeable and has the appropriate battery packs.  Most of the Police around here are using the Streamlight Strion and Streamlight Stinger because they can charge them in their vehicles or the office and know where they are starting from, unlike batteries that have been in the flashlight that are already diminished.

If you have serious use of a flashlight, the differences between having a flashlight at 80% vs 100% is considerable.  If you are using streamlight flashlights for more than 8yrs, you’ll be able to relate to the improvements that have taken place with LED technology.   I originally had a Streamlight scorpion with a xenon bulb that only lasted a few battery changes before it need to be replaced.   I’ve had every ready Radio Shack flashlights that were tougher than that, but things have changed.   Surefire came in stock because of all of the requests for Carbine and Shotgun lights.  The Streamlight TLR-1 Flashlights are still king in this business, but Surefire has the hold on most AR15 and shotgun mounted lights.   We are actively monitoring requests for Veridian lights, but we’ve had very little experience.

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Feedback on Recon Sleeping bags from customers

I’ve learned that after 7yrs of being  in this business that when a new product comes out, the last thing you do is rave about it until you’ve sold enough of them to know there isn’t an issue with them. There have been many products over the years that looked great but then  you find out there is a recall notice in your mail box for them.  We’ve seen it with  gun holsters, firearms magazine springs, extractor springs and even footwear.  Stuff happens and one little ingredient in production can come forward as an issue 6 months later.  In the last  year we’ve stocked more products than we ever have before.

We have never sold sleeping bags before and from all of the camping i’ve done in my life, I don’t think i’ve ever used more than 3 bags.  We sold several of the Recon sleeping bags that Elite Survival Systems has been selling and we’re waiting for several places to get back to us about product reviews.  From my first hand experience I will have to say that just the size of these things and what they can be used for is impressive.  To have such a light sleeping bag that you can survive in means less weight on a hiking and camping trip and less stress on your feet.

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