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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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1
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8969
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21/3/09
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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None indicated
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8.0
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Description:
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5.11's tactical pants, featuring a lower profile than bdu's, but more pockets for better organization and storage. Some of the primary features are an included TDU belt, rear slash pockets, low profile cargo pockets, more than 1" width belt loops, zippered fly.
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Keywords:
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5.11 pant pocket cargo slash
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chickenzomby
Registered: August 2006
Location: Somewhere...my land nav needs work
Posts: 8
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Review Date: 21/3/09
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Positive aspects of the product (pros):
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Rear slash pockets, TDU belt included, belt loops, zippered fly, snap button and backup button fly
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Cons:
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Had to repair a section after the thread came out, design on the seam could have been better, noticeable wear on threads
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5.11 Tactical Pants
Ahh, 5.11, the gear that is quintessential for any PMC loadout and absolutely required for any fashion minded airsofter. All joking aside, 5.11 is a company that primarily markets it’s products for the LEO/EMS/Fire community. Probably one of their most popular items nowadays is their tactical pants, priced between $30-40 (depending on the location of purchase), and regarded as the JG G36c of non-military pants.
I received these pants on Christmas, so I’ve had plenty of time to be intimate with the design and employment of the pants. As can be seen, they are olive drab in color and have a number of design features that I will address later in the review, but for now, I will talk about how I’m using them and how they can be used in other ways.
Just for information’s sake, I’m using these pants on a daily basis as my general EDC pants, so they have seen considerable usage by now.
In EDC usage, they excel. The low profile cargo pockets remain useful for carrying basic essentials and smaller bottles of water and canteens, but lack the ability to store magazines as they are only made 2 dimensionally and not 3 dimensionally with the billows in the pockets like in BDU’s and other, larger cargo pockets. The various other pockets allow the carrying of knives, wallets, multitools, phones, radios, keys, and a ton of other items without any sort of discomfort.
My daily EDC kit:
Holds it all without discomfort. I think I actually add 10 or so pounds to my person when I add a .5 liter bottle of water.
For an airsoft application, they work. What I mean by that is that they are on par with BDU’s in the feature areas (they add some good things, but leave many desirable features behind), specifically in the realm of cargo pockets. Most cargo pockets nowadays have some kind of retention system to hold the contents “securely” (anyone who says that the ACU method works great is lying up a storm or is completely ignorant, and the MCCUU isn’t much better because the elastic wears out), but they are cavernous and double as a makeshift dump pouch. Not so with the 5.11’s. Do I consider this to be a big deal? No. I’m simply stating that they could have done a better job on the design, but if you don’t use your cargo pockets at all, then the reduced bulk of fabric will help out a little with drop leg holster. If only they were tall enough to fit AR style mags….. Cargo pockets are out in terms of usability during airsoft skirmishes, unless you carry some small, flat items and don’t like the larger cargo pockets of BDU’s.
I found them to work seamlessly with my gear. I really can’t say much more, as I wasn’t thinking about them, which is how gear is supposed to be. If gear is causing a concern, it’s getting in the way, or somehow forces the user to adapt to it, then it is not worth it and should really not be used, and Murphy’s law states that something will always go wrong with gear at the worst time possible. So I’ll say that they work for airsoft.
Now on to some of the features of the pants.
The beltloops are almost perfect in form and function. The loops are not little slivers of fabric like on BDU’s, they are, instead, 1-1.5” loops, which prevents the rear of belts from curling up in the back, as well as preventing the belt from riding up and rubbing on exposed skin (more annoying than harmful, but I still give 5.11 props because “belt rub” annoys me to no end).
The front pockets have a section stitched inward to prevent items in pockets from falling out. Works great, until your legs are at a 135 degree angle (don’t ask…) Pictures can only explain it.
The right slash pocket is really only useful for a knife with a clip. The left pouch is three dimensional, so it can store a pistol mag, multitool, iPod touch/phone, or other form of small item. They work well, but are very mission specific. Most of the pockets on the pants are useful only for EDC/LEO usage and not an airsoft pant, though they can still be used in airsoft.
Front right slash pocket
Front left pocket
Front left pocket with KJW P229 mag
Front left pocket with KJW P229 mag
Cargo pockets are low profile and great for flat items, but unlike BDU cargo pockets, they can’t really handle round items like nalgenes or lots of mags. They hold flat items very securely, but can’t hold much.
5.11 cargo pocket
5.11 cargo pockets with nalgene. Notice pucker.
MCCUU cargo pocket with same Nalgene.
Running through a few minor features, the zipper is a welcome respite from the buttons on BDU’s. It’s great because you can take a tactical leak, just unzip and whiz, as opposed to undoing the belt, undoing the buttons and then repeating the process in reverse order. I suppose I just like zippers over buttons.
Along the same lines, the designers at 5.11 must be cynics, because they follow the “one is none, two is one” philosophy on buttons/snaps. There is one snap that does what It’s supposed to do, and one small, slack type inside-the-fly button incase the snap fails.
Almost all of the 5.11 pants include their TDU belt. Great little belt that is easy to thread through belt loops (it even works perfectly with ACU beltloops, which are slightly undersized, so they get props for the design) due to the way the end is cut. They even stiffen the last two inches of the belt, where it ends, to help thread it through belt loops and the buckle itself. I’m duly impressed. The belt included was also OD in color, but tan pants come with tan belts, so that would be perfect for any kind and color of pant.
Another feature of interest would have to be the gusseted crotch. What does that do? A gusseted crotch is a way to prevent a crotch blowout. It’s one of the simplest, cheapest, and effective ways to do it, and it’s welcome, as I’ve seen and experienced a few crotch blowouts on pants, and patching fabric is very difficult to do properly. It’s a very good to go design
Just to throw this in here, I was surprised by the way they employed their bartacking (bartacking is a type of stitch found on some MOLLE gear, and almost all pant belt loops). They stitched it in an X shape, which is somewhat uncommon, as the majority of manufacturers tend to just do a single bartack and call it a day. Notice, also, the use of reinforcement on the pockets. That is done to keep the pocket from being torn to shreads by metal clips from knives and flashlights, but also to provide a thicker space for the clips to grab onto, and it works well (especially pens).
There’s a slot for knee pads, but it’s the MCCUU style, and requires the pants to be removed in order to insert them.
Now on to what has to be my favorite feature of the pants. The rear pockets are slash pockets, which is arguably the best type of pocket design. They can hold plenty of items, including lights, radios, keys (as there is a strip of 1” cotton webbing above the right rear pocket that allows the clipping on of keys) and a variety of other items, including MP5, M4, AK, etc. mags securely, and they can be sat down in with all of this stuff in them as well. I love this design and give credit to 5.11 for such a feature.
Pocket itself
A USGI canteen in the pocket
What’s that in the pocket?
It’s a P229!
Pmag fine too.
<pic (pocket, canteen in pocket, p229 in pocket, pmag in pocket)>
But there is trouble in paradise. After about a month of use, the inside seam in the left knee area began pulling out. I repaired it, but the point is that it began pulling after less than a month of hard use. Now, I haven’t heard of any problems like this from anyone else, but some of the thread in the knee area is shearing and tearing, , and the serged edge of the inside-out stitch is coming out.
What would have prevented this problem is for the design team to make both leg seams French seams, the commonly seen seam on BDU’s, though the 5.11 way of making a French seam is different from what a French seam actually is. Pics are in order.
5.11 French seam and inside-out seam, external
5.11 French seam and inside-out seam, internal
Proper French seam (MCCUU), external
Proper French seam (MCCUU), internal
To explain, a proper French seam has no edge exposed, but the 5.11 way almost defeats the purpose of using it.
The pants also rustle when one is attempting to sneak around. Very comfortable material, it’s just that it makes noise (It’s a 65% Polyester, 35% cotton blend). I will be sure and give updates incase I find any more problems.
Summing it all up, the 5.11 tactical pants need a few design changes, but are great pants nonetheless. The features make it ideal as a daily use pair of pants, and pretty good for an airsoft application, though the lack of large cargo pockets might put some people off. In addition, they are loaded with features, most notably of which is the rear pocket design (of course, there are plenty of other features, I just find myself using them the most). Would I recommend them? Yes. They carry over perfectly from airsoft into daily usage.
Let’s break it down:
Pros:
*Great features, makes a great pair of EDC pants
*rear slash pocket design
*Low profile cargo pockets (for some people)
*Great pants for any application
*Good cost considering ACU’s and such are $40 as well, not to mention that the hook and loop lasts longer, the belt loops are functional, it includes a rather nice belt, and the pockets are useful for most purposes.
Cons:
*Seam coming apart (one time occurrence. Still better than fabric tearing, Truspec)
*Noticeable wear on threads (tearing, shearing, etc.), though it hasn’t had ill effects yet…
*Designers should have used their heads on the seam design.
*Cargo pockets (for some)
For now, it’s a great pair of pants not just for airsoft, but also for any sort of application, from Boy Scout campouts, to running around on a bike, to carrying pretty much any and all EDC items, to airsoft, and to any amount of use at all.
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Registered: August 2006
Location: Somewhere...my land nav needs work