Great Satan, Inc.

I’ve previously established that I’m not tacticool, but I don’t mind admitting that there are some gadgets and widgets in the tactical gear world that I would be happy to own.  I now have another item to add to this list:  5.11 Tactical’s Taclite Pro pants for women.

I’ve looked at purchasing tactical pants in the past, but the options for women have always been extremely limited.  While there are a few companies that make women’s outdoor clothing, the vast majority of tactical and outdoor sports pants are made only for men.  Another issue that has prevented me from finding a pair of pants that are suitable for competition shooting is that I’m a bit vertically challenged, and pretty much all the tactical-ish pants for ladies I’ve looked at are ridiculously high-waisted.  I don’t enjoy wearing pants that go up to my armpits in my daily life, and that would be a serious no-go when I’m shooting.

5.11 Tactical decided to tackle the ill-fitting women’s tactical pants issues, and they have recently updated their line of pants for women with a more friendly fit.  I got the chance to see their new styling during Media Day at SHOT Show earlier this year, and they caught my eye right away.  One of the ladies in the 5.11 Tactical booth was sporting a pair, and they not only looked sharp, the waist looked to be at just about the perfect height (just under the natural waistline).

Thanks to 5.11 Tactical, I now have a pair of Women’s Taclite Pro Pants of my very own.  I selected my most often worn pants size, and I was very pleased to find that they fit great through the hip, seat and legs – not loose enough to be called “relaxed”, but still plenty of room to move around in.  The top of the pants fall just below my natural waist; I could not have asked for better placement.  I was surprised to find that the waistband was on the loose side (hey, maybe I lost some weight.  More cake!), but the little areas of elastic on each side of the waist seems to help keep the waist from drooping.  I’m almost always going to wear them with one of my competition shooting belts, so this is a non-issue for me.  I’m considering that a plus, as the slight looseness will allow me to throw a pair of long underwear on underneath without them being too tight.

The only fit issue I had to deal with was the overall length – a good two inches too long for me.  I knew this before I received them because they are only available in regular and long.  I managed to hem them myself with no problem (and I didn’t even cheat with hem tape this time), but I really wish 5.11 would add a “petite” length to their line of tactical pants.  After all, I’m perfectly average, according to the Government.

The Taclite Pro’s are made with poly-cotton ripstop, which is why I chose them over 5.11’s standard, cotton canvas tactical pants.  I figured I would get more use out of a lighter weight pant, and since they are treated with Teflon for a stain resistant finish, I have a chance of keeping them snazzy looking for a decent amount of time.  I have a habit of wiping my dirty, grimy magazines off on whatever I’m wearing, so having some stain resistance is a nice bonus.

To put these pants through their paces, I decided to wear them at the two big matches I shot in November:  The IDPA South Mountain Showdown and the USPSA Area 2 Championship Match.  The IDPA match was an all-day, 8 stage match, and temperatures were unseasonably low with dark rain clouds looming almost all day.  I was concerned the fabric would be too light for the weather (anything under 75 degrees=cold), but my legs never felt cold, and they were so comfortable that unlike everything else I was wearing, I didn’t want to rip them off after wearing them for over 11 hours.

For the Area 2 match, I wore them on Saturday, our second full day of shooting.  The weather was, again, unseasonably cool with the threat of rain.  Once again, the pants felt great all day.  I’m really glad I chose these pants for Saturday because it turned out to be the day with some of the most physically challenging stages.  The reinforced knees came in very handy while going prone and the deep front pockets allowed me pick up after myself quickly after pulling a couple of yard sales with my magazines.  In addition to feeling really comfortable in these pants all day, I also received an inquiry and complement on them from one of my fellow female squad mates, who is of similar stature and has the same problems finding pants to wear while shooting.

To see the pants in action, here’s a video of me shooting stage 7 of the Area 2 match.  Yes, the popper on the far right was supposed to go down.  (Note to self:  the *ding* of the steel does not always mean it went down)  Might I suggest focusing on my mag changes instead?

I really like these pants.  So much so, I’ve already purchased another pair in black.  I decided to purchase a size smaller then the original pair, and that might have not been the best idea.  The waist fits better, but the seat, hip and upper leg area are a little too tight (So much for more cake).  If you are a skinny-mini, you should be able to get away with purchasing a size smaller than normal, but if you’ve got some shape going on, I’d recommend sticking with your regular pants size.

The tactical pants reviewed above were supplied to me by the fine folks at 5.11 Tactical in exchange for my unbiased review.  The 2nd (and soon to be 3rd and 4th) pair I own was purchased with my own monies.

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I’ve only been shooting for a couple of years, but I’ve already amassed a decent-sized collection of cheap shooting glasses that don’t work well, and are now collecting dust.  I recently upgraded to a pair of $30 outdoor store sunglasses because I just can’t bring myself to drop a few hundred dollars on “professional” glasses, and the options for anything in between big box store $5 cheapies and full paycheck glasses are very few and far between.

Enter the 5.11 Tactical Deflect Shooting glasses. At $99.99 plus shipping, you get the glasses with interchangeable smoke, clear and ballistic orange lenses, a cleaning bag, eyeglass holder and molded carrying case with a strappy thing with a snap that I would guess is for use with other tactical gear (sorry, I’m new at being tacticool).

I’ve had a chance to wear the glasses several times while shooting in both daylight and at night with range lighting, and here’s my breakdown:

Fit and Comfort:  I was a little worried that the 5.11 shooting glasses would be too big, as I have an average, girl-sized head.  Not only do they fit me well, but on a recent trip to the range, C. Pig borrowed them to wear while driving, and they fit his larger-than-average noggin as well (he needs a bigger head to fit all the extra brains he has up in there).  I’m normally not a big fan of wide arms on glasses, as they can interfere with ear protection, but I’ve had no problems with them getting in the way or causing my ear muffs to gap.  These glasses have been so comfortable that I’ve been in no hurry to change over to my sunglasses on the drive home after wearing them for 3-4 hours on the range.

Optical Quality and Safety:  What was I thinking using el cheapo glasses all this time?  These babies are clear (both smoke and clear lenses), with no sign of distortion.  The first time I wore them was during a practice that started just before sundown, and it was way past dusk before I felt the need to change over to clear lenses.  There have been no signs of fogging, which is awesome, and one of the reasons most of the glasses I’ve purchased have ended up in the closet.

I’ve taken more than a couple shells to the face while wearing these glasses (extractor issues seem to follow me everywhere), and there are no signs of scratches or dings.  I’ve been really good about putting them back in their case after each use, but they have taken a couple of tumbles on the ground.  Again, no sign of scratching or dings.  I have always been clumsy with hard on my sunglasses, so while I know I’m living on borrowed time with the scratching, I’m pleased to see that replacement lenses can be purchased separately.  That may seem like a no-brainer, but I’ve got another pair of glasses that I’ve pretty much destroyed the smoke lenses on, and I would have to by the whole set again to get the replacement lenses.

Replacing the Lenses:  This is the only thing about the glasses that I don’t like.  The glasses come with instructions for changing the lenses, but I couldn’t get the lenses to budge.  After about 15 minutes of struggling with them, I finally turned them upside down and flexed them from the middle outward, and got the lenses to release.  Popping the new lenses in was a bit of a pain, but I got that figured out in about five minutes.  I have noticed that the lenses are coming out and going back in much easier, now that I’ve done it a few times.  Last week, I forgot to change the lenses out before heading to the range for an evening of steel shooting, and I was able to replace the lenses at the range in only a couple of minutes.

Overall, I am very pleased with these shooting glasses, and I guarantee they won’t be gathering dust with my other pairs of shooting glasses anytime soon.  The 5.11 Tactical Deflects are a great value, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to purchase a solid pair of shooting glasses.  For full specs on the glasses, visit the 5.11 Tactical website.

 Yes, these glasses were supplied to me at no charge by folks at 5.11 Tactical in exchange for my unbiased review.  I was not compensated for the above review and No, you can’t have them.

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