I ordered some 5.11 Defender-Flex jeans when they had their Cyber Monday sale for $30 a pair, down from about $70.
I love them.
Not because they are full of tactical pockets, which they are, but because they are pajama jeans for men.
They can advertise the stretchiness of the pants all they want showing bad-ass guys jumping through an obstacle course in them. But let’s be serious, all I’m jumping over is Legos left on the living room floor.
They are cotton/Lycra and comfy. But tactical.
I’m sorry, I had to say it.
Thanks for sharing. Truth be told,I think most of us here, seldom do barrel rolls, ninja somersaults, or superhero landings. I have always been mildly amused that most of the makers of truly GOOD gear, have ads that always feature the bearded, tattooed, operator guys with 18 inch biceps, no necks, and the thousand yard stare in their eyes. Whereas in reality, most of us, the customers, are average guys, some of us older, some of us are vets, and we try to hit the range every couple of weeks. But hey, I know the ads are to get attention, and they do work for that.
Well I do hit the gym four days a week and have 18 inch biceps, but I’ll agree I’m no tactical operator.
Wha—!? That’s just crazy talk!
Next thing you’re going to tell me is that long-legged, perky breasted, raven-haired bikini models don’t drink Budweiser!
Well… I DID see Bruce Caitlin chugging a White claw, if that counts….
I have a bunch of magpul pants for exactly the same reasons
I’ve been buying the same pair of 5.11 atac shield boots every year for over 10 years. They are great boots and I love them.
I’ve had a pair of 5.11 hardknuckle gloves that finally wore out after about 12 years of riding, airsoft, and shooting. They were great gloves and I love them.
I’ve bought the same 5.11 belt 4 times now because it is cheap, sturdy both for carrying a gun and for long lasting (first one lasted about 6 years before the stitching failed) and I love it. Quality has sadly degraded on these and I won’t be buying another one.
I try to avoid the tacticool look because I’m not tacticol and I’m not ssome poser. But 5.11 makes some good products that are durable and priced accordingly, not everything they make is overpriced shit.
Some of their stuff is good. I have a 5.11 range bag that is the best money I every spent on range gear.
I’m old enough to remember when 5.11 wasn’t a tactical company. 5.11 started out as a line of clothes under the Royal Robbins outdoor clothing brand. 5.XX is a scale use to grade rock climbing routes, and 5.11 is the hardest grade of climb. (It used to max out at 5.10 until people started climbing routes that were deemed harder than 5.10 so they went to 11.)
The original 5.11 pants were made for rock climbers. Those strap across the back pockets for for holding carabiners. FBI and other Fed LEOs started wearing them because they were durable, had lots of pockets for gear, were easier to move in than Dockers, and when pressed looked a lot like khaki pants and they could wear them plain clothes.
That started the trend which eventually got 5.11 spun off as a tactical clothier and the rest is history.
Their original 100% cotton pants are still the best. I’ve been wearing them since I was a Boy Scout, before they were a tactical company. The green official Boy Scout pants were polyester and were terrible in the South Florida heat and humidity. Our council let us wear OD Green BDU pants because they were all cotton and more comfortable. Then Columbine happened and no more military surplus pants. The green Royal Robbins pants were adopted by a lot to troops as the replacement.
You are likely still younger than me, but glad to see another guy who remembers these things!!!!The “11” always amused me, after I saw the Ruttles showing their amplifier going to 11 on the dial. Stay strong and free.
When Robbins himself created the Yosemite scale 5.10 was the hardest anybody could do. Some routes were attempted but nobody was able to make it all the way. Then a new generation of climbers with better equipment came along and those impassable routes were passed. So they just upped the scale. I think it’s up to 5.14 now as harder and harder routes get negotiated by more extreme athletes with lighter and stronger gear.
I had no idea of the history, we’re roughly the same age as I recall (30’s) but I didn’t find 5.11 until they were well into the tactical stuff and I found them for the belt first then the boots. It is crazy to think that a stiff leather belt with a plastic insert running the length basically didn’t exist 10 years ago.
Our scout troop was pretty lax with uniform requirements, sure you needed the shirt and the neckerchief, but the pants were not required. Perhaps that was a benefit of being in a single digit troop 🙂