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  1. #16
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    I have 2 pair of 5.11 pants that get worn every Friday night at the dirt race track and whenever I am cleaning out the thick brush, and to the range. They have held up with no arguments from me. And i understand some people might have a need for some of the soft goods depending on environment. But seriously someone can honestly say they need a $275 hoodie/sweatshirt? Hell I will pay $70 for a UA sweatshirt every 5 years and not feel bad about it...but $275....my grandchildren's children should still be wearing it at that price.



    For what I do and how much I do it for shooting I could grab khaki bdu pants from militarygear.com and be a ok with it. And I understand as a blogger your fan base might not want to hear that average gear is good for the average person. If you want to spend your money and review $275 hoodie, $500 pants and $900 windbreakers I am clearly not your target audience and reading your blogs are a waste of my time. I'm sure your fan base appreciates the review.

    Sent from my Windows Phone 8.1
    Just a regular guy.

  2. #17
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    Comp, I understand where you're coming from. And I agree with you, and I don't own any 1K blouse and pants sets from whoever. I don't need a lot of the stuff that I actually do own. I don't need as many AR's as I have. So why I won't waste money foolishly, like the $999 pair of shooting glasses, I could water down all my personal possessions as to just the absolute minimum, as to my needs, and get rid of a lot of things.

    Your point doesn't actually address that, from what I can see, it only has to do with people posting blogs full of all that, for me, I would consider to be foolish crap, and you would like to see more blogs that review more common sense items, that the rest of us "regular" folks, who probably make up the other 99% of us are willing to pay.

    But I see folks like myself, sitting in the Doc's office reading auto magazines featuring Lamborghini's, Bently's Porsche's etc. Or my personal favorite. Yacht magazine with multi-million dollar fully staffed boats. I doubt that anyone sitting there can afford one, but I enjoy seeing how the the luxury crowd lives.

    In that same respect, I don't begrudge people because they can affort to wear a $700 Technical Climbing jacket, even if they are only climbing escalators at the mall.

    Again, you did not, but I wouldn't accuse them of having mental health issues or]or other character fault just because they can afford to flush Benjamin's down the toilet, just to see if it works properly.

    At some point, these bloggers and reviewers are going to have to come down to earth and review "stuff for average guys", or go out of business. Their main audience's aren't going to buy the crazy expensive stuff, and the folks who provide these items are going to figure out that they're pissing in the wind, and find ways to get to their "target" audience, those who can afford and actually buy said stuff.

    When arc' tyrex and North Face became a fashion statement, I don't really recall, in the last several years that I've noticed, they're usually being worn by teen's being shuffled around by mom in her Mercedes SUV. If it has become a fashion statement in the gun world, it must be somewhere else. I don't see it around here. If I were currently LEO, Private Contractor, etc, I'd buy the very best quality that I could afford that met my personal needs.

    I guess my bottom line is, if folks can afford something that cost 10x what I can, no biggie. When reading blogs written for folks that want that kind of stuff, I just read on to the next thing.

    Me? I can afford fairly good clothing, or soft goods, I guess, but a lot of my "tactical" wear comes from the surplus store and is just the normal clothing issued to current active duty personnel.

    And just like the "market" has to "correct" itself every so many years, so will the bloggers and reviewer's, if they want to survive and keep an audience.

    FT
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  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hmac View Post
    What are your issues with 5.11? I realize it's sort of the Mall Ninja's clothing of choice, buy I don't care much about that...I've found it over the years to be easy to buy (Amazon), reasonably-priced (at least not outrageous), and of pretty good quality. I have a few pairs of their pants, a winter jacket (which I was issued years ago for the Bomb Squad), a couple of their bags that I've had for years and have held up well, and even their kilt, which my wife gave me as a joke a few years ago, complete with a D-ring sporran in my clan tartan and a ZT350 in place of a sgian-dubh. The kilt is pretty funny. I haven't had the occasion to wear it to a course yet. One has to be a little selective about that kind of thing.


    /
    I think the 5.11's I owned back in 2006-07 were made much better with better materials. They seemed to last longer and took longer fading. In fact, a couple of pairs from 7 years ago I still wear today. They are beat up, but still function for range use.

    The last 3 or 4 pairs I've purchased in the last couple of years seem to use cheaper materials, cheaper stitching, and have frayed a lot faster. That coupled with the price increase from 39.99 to 49.99, I don't find them to be the deal they used to be. I get that of course labor, materials, cost of doing business can't stay the same forever, and price increases are inevitable, but the competition has caught up. If 5.11 was still one of the few games in town, I'd probably continue buying them, but like I said, there are a lot of others to choose from these days for "tactical" clothing.

    Someone mentioned Vertx pants, which I've migrated to as well. The Vertx shirts have also lasted longer than my recent 5.11 polo's.

  4. #19
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    UW, would that be the Phantom OP's pants with the ventilation panels? If so, how are those working out for you?

    FT
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  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by UWone77 View Post

    Someone mentioned Vertx pants, which I've migrated to as well. The Vertx shirts have also lasted longer than my recent 5.11 polo's.
    I'll have to give Vertx a look next time I'm in need of some heavy duty clothing.

  6. #21
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    I haven't really done much soft gear reviews, mostly because it just doesn't excite me as much. Also the stuff I purchase for myself almost is never "tacticool" (my favorite soft shell lately is a $60 Columbia I picked up on sale and was excited to find a 'Tall'... plain black, no velcro.) All the HS/LD stuff I have was issued by the Army or my Department.

    Maybe that's something I could do more, I've been slacking on content lately anyway...

    I do agree that 5.11 is slacking a bit lately. I have a couple pairs of pants that I bought in 2006(?) that are still holding up great, and one pair that I got last winter and wore for some school stuff all spring and are about as faded an worn as the eight year old ones are. :-\ I also got a pair of their Skyweight boots to replace my 4 year old ones (comfy, holding up fine structurally, just heavy and tore up cosmetically) and the zipper pull broke when I was getting dressed for my shift, thankfully the old ones were still in my locker. I'm waiting for them to send a replacement pair and I'll give them a second chance, but it was a sad-face moment for sure.

  7. #22
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    Funny, OP, you said your "Skyweight" boots are "HEAVY" and tore up... I guess they don't live up to their name, huh...
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  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by FortTom View Post
    UW, would that be the Phantom OP's pants with the ventilation panels? If so, how are those working out for you?

    FT
    FT,

    I haven't tried the wedding tackle ventilators (I'm not really sure what problem that's trying to solve), but I have both these:

    http://www.wearvertx.com/Phantom-LT-...cal-Pants.aspx

    and these:

    http://www.wearvertx.com/Vertx-Origi...cal-Pants.aspx

    And have been very happy. I found the polyester ones to be a little swampy out in Anza-Barrago when it started to get pretty hot, but they are still lighter than the 98% cotton ones. It felt like the cotton ones breathed better (which would make sense), so I tended to wear those more. I had one pair that I always wore out there and between my battle belt and just normal wear on the rocks, the stitching has held strong. I do have some threads coming off of the belt loops, but it's not causing any structural issues, it's just from the Velcro inner belt grabbing the thread material as I slide it in and out of the loops.

    I also appreciate that it doesn't look like I have 15 pockets everywhere, since everything is recessed. The one issue I do have is that the back pockets don't go into the pants, they're outside, so they don't retain things very well. I've never lost my wallet, but it's not the most secure setup.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by gatordev View Post
    FT,

    I haven't tried the wedding tackle ventilators ...........
    GatorDev

    I thought I was the only one to refer to "it" as wedding tackle....

    Those prices seem right in line. I don't really worry about a pulled thread or three, unless it's my "formal wear tactical" I wouldn't mind trying a pair. My "dress tactical" somehow got a big oil stain on one leg. Don't have a clue how in the hell that happened, but I'm pretty sure there was beer involved, so I really do need a nice pair.

    The "tackle coolers" do look pretty interesting. I wouldn't mind a pair or two of either style for the range. If my knees are up to it, and I'm going to be eating dirt and gravel, I just wear my ACU's from Land, Air and Sea surplus. and some matching knee and elbow pads.

    Also thinking about wearing "cargo's" for Trap, to hold all my crap, instead of having it fall out of my vest and roll all over the place. Waiting to hear from Comp to see what he thinks of his, (If he has the ventilators).

    Thanks,

    FT
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  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by FortTom View Post
    Funny, OP, you said your "Skyweight" boots are "HEAVY" and tore up... I guess they don't live up to their name, huh...
    If that was towards me, should have specified, my old 5.11 boots are some 8" ATACs, the new ones were the Skyweights.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hmac View Post
    I'll have to give Vertx a look next time I'm in need of some heavy duty clothing.
    Hmac, I think you will be pleased with the quality. They also frequently have 20% off coupons good on your entire order. I recently used the 20% on their polos that were already 50% off. Made for a pretty great deal.

    FT,

    The pants gatordev linked are the ones I've had experience with. I haven't used the pants with the vent panels. However, I see that Milspec Monkey has a review up on them recently:

    http://milspecmonkey.com/index.php/w...-airflow-pants

  12. #27
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    I don't consider myself among the Gucci Gear crowd at all, but I do like the Vertex pants. They seem to fit well and they're construction is better than most. I don't mind paying a bit more on something that is higher quality and lasts longer. Since I'm thrifty, I've only purchased when I had a discount code. I do wish they would offer their so called tactical pant in a version without the articulated knee though.

  13. #28
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    I am pretty...un tactical I suppose. In 90 percent of my photography I am in a pair of boot cut Levi jeans and a T-shirt with a plate carrier over it. That is pretty well how I dress minus the P.C so it is what I usually wear lol. I do have some UA pants and a pair of Propper brand that were dirt cheap and have lasted well.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by DMViergever View Post
    I do have some UA pants and a pair of Propper brand that were dirt cheap and have lasted well.
    I have some Propper pants sitting around from the days when the uniform for the TAC Team was woodland camo and US Cavalry was to go-to "tactical store". It's been good clothing. The button fly was kind of a nuisance IIRC, but I"m sure they zip these days.

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by UWone77 View Post
    Hmac, I think you will be pleased with the quality. They also frequently have 20% off coupons good on your entire order. I recently used the 20% on their polos that were already 50% off. Made for a pretty great deal.

    FT,

    The pants gatordev linked are the ones I've had experience with. I haven't used the pants with the vent panels. However, I see that Milspec Monkey has a review up on them recently:

    http://milspecmonkey.com/index.php/w...-airflow-pants
    UW,

    Thanks for the link. I do believe I'll pass on the ventilated model. After some consideration, I think that they offer way to much of an entry point for ticks, ants, spiders, stinging nettles, and other stuff that a person in my area might find themselves in while scouting for fall hunting, or fishing in a stream, etc..

    FT
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