5.11 "Tactical" Shirts

Don Rearic

Don Rearic

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
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I can't stand the word "tactical" being used for everything. That having been said, the 5.11 Tactical shirt with the two concealed-in-plain-sight pockets is an excellent piece of gear.

I thought I would bring this up since everyone is Izula and RAT Fire Kit crazy at the moment, as am I. 8-)

This shirt is something you might want to carefully consider. The only bad thing is, unlike a pouch, bag or tin, you have be wearing one of these shirts if you build a kit around it and even I don't wear one all the time. However...there is always a "however." 8-)

You can carry a good amount of stuff in one of these shirts. It has two standard breast pockets, one of them with a zipper closure for added security (why they didn't go ahead and both of them that way is beyond me...). It has a couple pen-slot pockets on the left sleeve as well.

The two concealment pockets are velcro closure and very deep. They conceal items well, and a lot of them! I cannot speak about the khaki/tan, but stuff in the black shirt does not print.

Anyway, if you want to bang around Geocaching or whatever, or you might find yourself in whatever environment where you don't want to carry messenger-type bags or even small belt pouches, etc., you might want to consider these shirts. Carrying the Izula Kit, Fire Kit, wallet, wireless phone, extra keys, medium-sized compass and a section of map folded up and a small PSK with a footprint similar to a wallet is 100% doable with these shirts.
 
Along this same line of thought...

A while back I switched to wearing Carhartt carpenters pants as everyday wear. Due to this I can now take some of my EDC stuff off my belt and move it to the pants pockets comfortably, such as my SureFire light and cell phone. These pants are a helluva lot better than BDUs and don't look "tactical" (I'm growing to hate that word also). They're also light years ahead of standard blue jeans. The ones I'm wearing now have the doubled material in the knee and front of the pants. They're tough as hell and carry a lot of gear comfortably. They are every day survival wear in my opinion.
 
I know, I have yet to get any just yet. I know TJT wears them and Jim Keating has sung their praises for over ten years now. The 5.11 pants are great, too. To those that don't peruse "tactical" based magazines and websites, they just look like "cargo pants." I have been wearing them off and on now since about 1999 back when they were Royal Robbins. I might have to pick me up a pair of them Carhartt pants though.

When you go on them trips down to Central and South America, I know they will wear like iron, but do you find them to be too hot?
 
I have a the 5.11 pants, they are nice except for the Velcro, I just can't stand Velcro on pocket flaps. Check out the Cabela trailhiker pants if you like the 5.11 pants, I swear they are the identical pants for less $$
 
IUKE12 said:
I have a the 5.11 pants, they are nice except for the Velcro, I just can't stand Velcro on pocket flaps. Check out the Cabela trailhiker pants if you like the 5.11 pants, I swear they are the identical pants for less $$
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I find that the Cabela pants wear out very quickly for me (blown inseams, frayed seams, holes in the pockets all in less than a year of moderate use). I won't be replacing the pairs that I currently have which have been relegated to around-the-house wear once they've all worn out beyond repair.
I've been very hard on my 5.11 'tactical' pants over the same period of time and they're far more durable. IME, the two aren't even comparable.
 
I wish the 5.11s were less than $50.00 a pair, but I guess nothing comes cheap anymore that's worth a damn.
 
Most retailers have them for $40 regularly. Sometimes you see a better deal on them, too. While they're not cheap, they are one item that is well worth the price, IMHO.

I'll check out the shirts next time that I'm in the store as well. They sound pretty nice based on your description.
 
They are very nice. You can have wallet, wireless, spare keys, wait a minute, I already posted all of that stuff! :rolleyes:

I like "Photojournalist" types of vests, pockets, pockets and more pockets. The 5.11/Royal Robbins design is absolutely wonderful but it is like wearing a very well-designed boat anchor. It is heavy because of the concealed pockets, etc. The old Banana Republic Photo-Vest was about the best ever made. DOMKE makes a "PhoTog" vest and it is just about the lightest you could hope for.

Between the pants we are talking about, Carhartt's and 5.11 and the 5.11 "tactical" ( :barf: ) shirt, you add a vest like that and you have more pockets than you could possibly need. :D

The 5.11 shirt, the point being, is a lot like having one-third the capacity of one of those vests in a simple shirt that only has two breast pockets plainly visible.
 
I like the 5.11 tac-lite pants as they dry fast and I have to ride my bike in the rain a lot.
 
R.A.T. said:
Along this same line of thought...

A while back I switched to wearing Carhartt carpenters pants as everyday wear. Due to this I can now take some of my EDC stuff off my belt and move it to the pants pockets comfortably, such as my SureFire light and cell phone. These pants are a helluva lot better than BDUs and don't look "tactical" (I'm growing to hate that word also). They're also light years ahead of standard blue jeans. The ones I'm wearing now have the doubled material in the knee and front of the pants. They're tough as hell and carry a lot of gear comfortably. They are every day survival wear in my opinion.
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AMEN! I carry my Pelican 706LAPD light in the left leg "hammer handle slot", it is secure and low profile. I can carry a small fixed blade and a folder in the right leg slot.

As much as i like my EDC soft briefcase, sometimes its not a wise idea to carry around a lot of gear. I like to leave my hands free for the walking "stick"

left leg slot with LAPD light
DSCF4644.jpg


right leg with Handley Bladesmith TAC EDC and Emerson A-100 in upper pocket:
DSCF4645.jpg
 
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R.A.T. said:
Along this same line of thought...

A while back I switched to wearing Carhartt carpenters pants as everyday wear. Due to this I can now take some of my EDC stuff off my belt and move it to the pants pockets comfortably, such as my SureFire light and cell phone. These pants are a helluva lot better than BDUs and don't look "tactical" (I'm growing to hate that word also). They're also light years ahead of standard blue jeans. The ones I'm wearing now have the doubled material in the knee and front of the pants. They're tough as hell and carry a lot of gear comfortably. They are every day survival wear in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I agree the Carhartts are great jeans. I wear them to work everyday and carry a lot of tools in the pockets so in a survival situation i can image all the pockets coming in handy. I like them in the relaxed fit.
 
Do the 5.11 pants get hot? Are they alright to wear in 70-90 weather? An will they keep you warm in 30-50 weather?
 
They're cotton so they provide limited warmth in the winter. In the summer, they're not that bad because they are cotton. :D

They make shorts in the same basic pattern as well although I don't have any of them.
 
Do they? They just looked too trendy for me. I think the whole "tactical" thing is just about kaputt, at least I wish it would croak out and die...finally. I have few folders left, I have the BM/Ritter Mini-RSK which is a tough little folder...an Al Mar SERE 2000 which is probably the best folder I have ever owned besides a large CRK Sebenza in the past.
 
Yeah, they have "tactical" watches as well that I kind of just put on my own personal ignore feature in the past. It's like they take popular stuff like knives, flashlights, watches and a few other things, slap "tactical" on it and sell it to schmoes who don't know any better.

I've seen you around for so long and you never post about junk and that says something for their quality, it's just nothing I would have considered because if there are two things I can't stand it's whoring out the names of various Special Operations Units as well as The Marine Corps and tagging everything with "tactical" on it so it is hyped up and sells.

In a similar vein, I don't really need a knife from X Company that has a Heckler & Koch name and logo on it, or a flashlight from some "tactical" company and then you end up paying for the name on the light or knife as well as the MSRP of the item to boot!

I'm just cynical I reckon. Mm-hmm... :D
 
Don Rearic said:
In a similar vein, I don't really need a knife from X Company that has a Heckler & Koch name and logo on it,

I'm just cynical I reckon. Mm-hmm... :D
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Nah, you've just figured out marketing and got tired of it, no harm in that.

I can't say to much, I spent WAY more than I should have to get a Blackwater labeled Benchmade Griptilian, since I collect Grip's. :D
 
Chris,

Yeah, but if you collect a certain knife, that's different. You ain't no fanboy of some bizarre tactikool craze or sumtin'. :D
 
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