16 February 2010
Frank Borelli
Across the span of the last few years I've reviewed my share of tactical pants from various manufacturers to include 5.11 Tactical, BLACKHAWK! Warrior Wear, EOTac and others. Recently I had a conversation with a relatively new uniform manufacturer and one of the major points of discussion was fading and wear spots. The conversation made me go and get out several pair of pants to see how they had faded and where / if those wear spots were a concern. Since clothing is, to some extent, an investment I thought it would be worth sharing.
The three most worn designs of tactical pants I've worn in the past few years have included:
- Warrior Wear pants from BLACKHAWK! including those with their Integrated Tourniquet System
- Royal Robbins - the design that has evolved over the years from 5.11 Tactical
- The EOTac Operator pants
Shown to the right here is a current pair of 5.11 Tactical pants. I started wearing 5.11 Tactical pants when they were popularly known as Royal Robbins back in the mid-'90s. Back then the knife/magazine/utility pocket was on the right side but most of the remaining design features were the same. The deep back pockets and cargo pockets with their velcro closures were there. The strap on the back pockets was there - although few people realized that it was originally a design feature to hook carabiners on. The pants were originally designed as climbing pants. Since then 5.11 Tactical has moved the knife/magazine/utility pocket over to the left side and has widened just enough to make it large enough for most cell phones / blackberries / smart phones. They also reinforced the pocket edges where their pants got worn out from knives being pushed in and pulled out repeatedly.
I've got 5.11 Tactical pants in my closet in still serviceable condition after ten years. The navy blue, black and OD green pairs have faded a bit from hard use and lots of washes. Fade can be reduced by turning them inside out to wash and by washing them in cold water. Aside from the color fade, though, they are still in good condition. I know a few female officers who have had the pants wear out between their thighs. This isn't meant as a sexist comment. It's merely an observation. Because of the female shape, if they purchase the pants too small - so that the legs fit snug - then the inside of the thighs are constantly rubbing together and the cloth wears itself out. It's important to note however that those ladies walked a beat and put many miles on those pants before the cloth was either so thin or completely worn through and therefore no longer wearable.
Aside from that wear issue, the only time I've seen the 5.11s need to be replaced is when they were torn or stained beyond repair or cleaning.
Next on my list is the EOTac Operator pants. As you can see in the photo, they are similar to the 5.11s but trust me when I tell you appearances can be deceiving. When the Army adopted the new Army Combat Uniform, or ACU, they picked a uniform that had slanted flaps / openings on the cargo pockets and elastic drawstring closures in addition to velcro. Note that the EOTac Operator pants have slanted flaps / openings on their cargo pockets and use velcro closures. Also note the additional pockets at calf level. When you're crammed into a transport van or flying in a helicopter, it's often easier to get things out of that calf pocket than it is out of the cargo pockets. Additionally, if you take a look at the hip pockets you'll see that the openings are like quarters of a circle with the top half missing - because it'd be above the belt line. This balanced design is both functional and more aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
I've had my EOTac pants for better than a year now and they haven't shown any undo signs of wear. The pants I have are khaki so fading isn't an issue. Regular stain treatment works on the few times I've had mud or other dirt stains on them. I don't feel like these have as much room to move in as some of the competition, but that's easily corrected by getting the next size up. Since virtually all of these tactical pants have stretch / elastic / or collapsible waists, then getting them a size "too big" isn't really a bad thing. It means you have more room all around if you don't mind your pants looking just a tad baggy around your hips.
Last on my list for today is the Warrior Wear line of pants from BLACKHAWK!. The variations in these has grown since the first introduction of their heavy canvass pants which were a design improvement over anything else on the market at that time. Made of a sturdier material, the WW pants included the following:
- A knife / magazine / utility pocket on both sides
- Elastic straps inside the cargo pockets, sewed to hold the most likely items (magazines, folding knives, etc)
- MOLLE/STRIKE webbing above the back pockets instead of a single strap
- Hidden zippered pockets above the back pockets for holding items more securely
Those all seemed like common sense improvements to me and I was quite pleased with the WW pants when I got them. For the report's aake, I've had my WW pants in navy blue and OD Green for a couple years now. I've always washed them inside out and in cold water and I've seen very little color fade.
After a bit, BLACKHAWK! also released their Integrated Tourniquet System pants which included two tourniquets in each pants leg: one high on the thigh and one centered on the calf. Designed to be activated with one hand in under 15 seconds, the tourniquets offered an immediate solution to controlling blood loss on the battlefield and on the mean streets here at home. Since the release of the ITS pants, BLACKHAWK! has come out with a line of Tactical Non Tactical (TNT) pants that don't LOOK like everyone else's (or their own) "tactical" pants, but they still offer functionality and a few extra design features for carrying added items. I haven't had the opportunity to test them personally yet, but I know a couple officers who regularly wear them and they've had no issues.
Coming up I'll be wear testing a new set of uniform items from Triumvirate Enterprises: their Protocol uniforms. Stay tuned!
Happy Trails!
