Woolrich Elite Parka Fall outterwear
I have to force myself to wear certain types of tactical clothing that is available and wear it for a few weeks before forming a solid opinion. I’m always happy to find a company that puts out a good quality pant or shirt. I have had some very well designed clothes only to find out that the next time I picked them up the pants didn’t fit the same and it wasn’t that I gained weight. Woolrich has been in the clothing business for a very long time and although I know that there are several good companies out there that some of this just comes down to preference, but Woolrich knows their fabric and the quality is excellent.
Ever since I got into this business, I’ve been acquiring lots and lots of outerwear, but most of it sits in a closet for 3/4 of the year. Up here in the Northeast, we get all 4 Seasons, but sometimes we go from Summer to Winter in just a few weeks. I’ve had the Woolrich Elite Algerian Jacket, Barn Coat and half-zip sweatshirts, but I was really disappointed that the Barn Coat didn’t stay around because it was a nice cut and design. The Woolrich Elite Series Parka is a waterproof 100% nylon ripstop that gives you a good outer layer that isn’t too heavy and isn’t too light that you can’t carry gear or backup magazines. I’d have to say that this is very much a Fall weather jacket and I found it too be a little too warm to wear when it was about 78F and high humidity. It kept me dry, but was a little too hot.
The jacket may look heavier than it really is. I would suggest that you wear this in the Fall or Spring and use it as a surface layer and just add on base layer clothing is the temperatures get colder. We are discounting the Lizard patter jackets and the lizard patter Field Vest which also has similiar pocket designs. We have had virtually zero complaints about the fit of this jacket as long as the user reads our sizing guide and measure themselves properly. You will easily be able to carry fully loaded double stack magazines as well as flashlights and knives comfortable and not have to worry about printing. You will be able to carry small autos or j-frame guns in the outer pockets but I am not really a fan of carrying guns in coats, jackets or vests.
Next week there will be a Police and Security Expo in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Eotac will displaying some of their A-Tacs and Direct Action products. We’re still not sure about everything that Eotac has coming out this Fall and in 2011, but seeing some of the info about what is coming soon really makes us think that 5.11 Tactical is going to have some real compeition out there. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve had customers call us up and complain about the tactical pants that they have been wearing from 5.11. Many of them complain about how things use to be and how they end up with different sizing even though they keep ordering the same sizes. I was checking out some of the 5.11 tactical shirts that were the Covert carry design and I may pick up a few, but I personally think the Woolrich Elite CCW shirts are a much better feel. Even though we are very selective about the products we carry, I’d have to admit that every big name manufacturer has a niche market that some of their products perform very well in.
Elite Operator Tactical came out with a new tactical shirt a few months ago and although we like to test products out for a few months before we become too critical about them, we defanitely got a winner here. The Eotac style 410 Shooting Sports Polo is made of a 100% polyester material and is excellent for breath-a-bility. It’s been getting up in the 90F temps here in Virginia and it’s time to clear out the Spring weather clothing and get into summer gear. The Style 405 feel slightly lighter weight than some of the Woolrich Elite Series Polos I have worn in the past. We all have different styles and needs when it comes to what we want to wear, but I’d have to admit that the Polos I wore in the past were extremely hot and I could absolutely not wear them in 85F temps comfortable.
The blue colar CCW owner is probable the most common gun carrier you may run into. I’m not going to go into a class warfare thing here, but in my opinion, there’s no reason to look down on blue colar workers as opposed to white colar gun owners. The whole blue vs white thing seems to be a made up argument between people that spent $80,000 on a College education that got them absolutely nothing a small business owner already knew. Life is full of invenstment opportunities and we need to take advantage of those opportunities. Getting an education should be viewed in the same manor as buying a house. You spend money on something, you expect a return, and if the return wasn’t worth it, the investment wasn’t worth it.
To Members of TheRallyPoint, In Hopes of helping to promote TRP.org and our Mission Statement,We running a giveaway for the NEW Elite Operator apparel line from Rogue Elite,Eotac Shirts, Eotac Pants Shorts, Eotac Vests and Jackets, 1st Place-$250 of 
We get a lot of customers asking us about the new Eotac line of clothing. It’s no secret that the people behind Eotac were originally behind Woolrich Elite Series tactical clothing. Many of the products that first came out were very close to the Woolrich Elite products that have been out for several years and were also variations of what 5.11 Tactical has been selling. There are some differences that you will notices as soon as you put on the clothes and recently I had a phone conversation with a customer that mentioned he needed something that gave him more mobility that 5.11 pants.
There are multiple ways of carrying a firearm concealed. Each of them may be good for a certain environment, but one way may not work for all situations. Sometimes people get too caught up in one manor of concealment and the reality is that we should probable consider atleast 2 or 3 ways of concealing the same firearm. When I was at a Defensive Pistol course a few years ago, we were asked to bring a concealment garment to practice drawing our firearm. The majority of us didn’t show up with pocket pistols for the Class and having something that would work for a full size auto was difficult.
When a CCW carrier is carrying a firearm in the winter, we can understand why they may want a firearm in a pocket outside of their body, but I recommend putting some thought into how you wear your clothing and how a firearm can be reached in when wearing heavy clothing. Jackets that hold firearms will have to come off if you’re in a house or building that gets hot, so then what do you do with your gun? The Eotac Style 102 CCW Vest is cut very long and is great for concealing in warm weather, but not a firearm retention vest.
The Style 403 has a single pocket on the upper left of the shirt that can hold sunglasses or lightweight gear. See our sizing guide for your check and waste measurements. These shirts tend to run a little longer to help conceal gear at the belt line. Both the 403 and 4 pocket 404 shirt are available in Black, Natural, Light blue, Red and yellow. I would recommend trying atleast 3 colors to add to your wardrobe. With a shirt as lightweight like this, I wouldn’t hesitate to try the black shirts for summer carry.