Wearing BDUs 5.11?

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Now thats a pic I haven't seen in a while. Seriously, the pants and vest don't make you a mall ninja, its when you combine those elements with a belt that has no more space on it because of all the lights and extra mags you carry around, and all the other "tactical more in look than function" goodies.

If you are wearing the clothes for comfort or function, you fall outside of mall ninja territory. However, if you wear it all simply to look badass, then we can all laugh at you.
 
changing fashion

i think 15 years ago a 5.11 vest and bdu pants would garner more attention but recently a friend of mine (a young woman who only buys "fashionable" clothes from "fashionable" stores) bought a pair of black bdu pants that even had ripstop stitching for $80 from a "fashionable" store. I told her that you could get the same thing for $20 at the army surplus store but she wouldn't be caught dead in such a store.

I haven't run into anyone who thinks I carry a handgun just because I wear a 5.11 vest and bdu pants. Society has gotten used to the look. I think it started with the first desert storm when lots of music bands started wearing bdus. Also, the average citizen is unaware of concealed handgun permits and simply don't think people have guns.

In fact I'd wager that the average citizen would suspect a person wearing loose gang style clothing would have a gun more than a person wearing a tan 5.11 vest with black bdu pants.
 
I love my 5.11 pants and shorts. Very comfortable, and they don't look too out of place with a polo shirt or a sweatshirt. I think the 5.11 pants don't scream "tactical" as much as BDU's. I am one of those women who doesn't usually carry a purse so the pockets come in handy. I don't have a vest, you don't see many girls wearing them, but I can see how useful they'd be.
 
5.11 Pants

Just a jump in on this subject. 5.11 has a new material for their 5.11 Tactical pants that are Nylon.
I work PT in a store in Orlando and my wife works there fulltime, Pace Outfitters, Altamonte Springs.
The store is a major seller of 5.11 stuff and I have had many pairs of the 5.11 pants in cotton. As you know, they shrink and generally are hot in the warmer climates. Well the Nylon pants do not shrink (duh!) and they are much more comfortable in regards to the heat factor. They are lightweight and they come out of the dryer in great condition, no wrinkles!!!!!
They cost about $10 more per pair, but that last much longer...
Just my opinion.

Vest? Beats a fanny pack any day!!!! Many tourist wear them here to put all of their junk in!!
 
Where I work as a professional computer geek, 5.11 pants are not uncommon. Cami is not acceptable, but black, khaki, dark solid colors are.

Mine are in Khaki, but I'm a bland, midwestern white guy.

Geoff
Who is so boring it's a weapon! :rolleyes:
 
I love 5.11 tactical pants... they look good and the elastic waistband works extremely well with smartcarry. I own a couples pairs and plan on buying more.

I also own a 5.11 vest and wear it from time to time when I carry my Beretta 96 (sometimes I wear an untucked 5.11 shirt for the same purpose). As for the vest screaming gun, I had occassion to go to a sporting event while carrying (this is legal in my state), and security was checking for weapons at the door. They didn't think twice about my vest and just waved me through, despite making several other people lift up thier sweaters and seatshirts to expose thier belt lines.
 
Heck, the way I look at it is that I wore BDU's for 11 years in my life, I can wear them the rest of my life if I so chose.

And all my BDU's have been field tested :D (as in, I had so many pairs that when I got out I have enough to last me for awhile (as long as the ol' waistline stays about the same)).

Wayne

*edited to clarify: BDU's only about 9 years, I forgot that when I first came in the uniforms where still the greens.
 
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Geoff....a Midwest guy? in FLORIDA?!!! What the heckle and jeckle?

I am in MN and I intereviewed in FL (Coral Gables, Tampa, etc.) for geek jobs (see www.geeksquad.com before the Best Buy purchase) but I didn't get a job. So now I am a Finance Manager (ie see "Nerd" and "Bean Counter").

/edit: On a similiar note, does anyone have their other products? I was thinking about the light jacket for casual wear. As it doesn't scream "HAY GUESS WHAT I HAVE" like the vest does.
 
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I know I am getting older now that I dont realy care so much about what others think about the way I dress. I wear comfortable and practical clothes. The 5.11 shorts are great - I can hold lots of stuff. I am a ham radio geek, a chl holder, a computer geek, and so on... I got lots of crap to carry around - pockets are good. I will buy a pair of the pants one of these days also for the same reasons...

I bought one of the shirts to give it a try and was not as impressed. It would be functional for somebody that uses it the way intended but does not serve me that well.

Point being - who gives a flying .... what others say or think about what you do for your needs. I prefer comfort and practical application over making others either not notice me or notice me. Just dont care....
 
I think the Army did the wrong thing, doing away with them. We should have ADDED the BDU, not replaced the fatigue uniform. That way, when we needed battle dress, we could wear it, when we needed a fatigue uniform, we could wear that one!
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I just had this discussion at work yesterday when talking about the new Army Combat Uniform. I even went to far as to say that if soldiers have an office job, they should wear *gasp* non-utility uniforms to work! Needless to say this was a highly unpopular position.

As for looking like a mall-ninja just because you're wearing a piece or two of 5.11 gear or some BDU pants...that's just silly. As long as you don't go overboard and look like one of their catalog models you should be fine. Besides, a mall ninja would never be caught dead wearng anything but the latest and greatest in high-speed low-drag TACTICAL gear, especially when it would make him stand out like a sore thumb.
 
BatManX commented, "Geoff....a Midwest guy? in FLORIDA?!!! What the heckle and jeckle?"

What can I say, I signed my life away to get the soft cushy job of Gov't Geek, they pulled my chances of promotion (OK, I go to Orlando once a year and check the pulse of the Hub site Mgr, to see about promotion chances) and transferred me to FL from Cleveland, OH. Literally at the end of the year.

I've been here a year and four months, haven't seen a wild alligator yet, haven't gotten snake bit yet have gotten fatter and had health problems. I'm beginning to suspect FL is a plot to eliminate the elderly.

But, on the other tentacle, there is a decent indoor range in Jax, there is a gun dealer with some WILD sale prices and an eclectic selection, and I'm two hours from a free outdoor range, I'm visiting real soon now as soon as I recover a bit more from cancer surgery.

I like the job, I've got a stock tank in the back yard (don't call it that in front of a realtor, they get huffy) I'm in debt up to my tuchas and I'll have to work until I'm 85 or so. What more could a boring, mid-western white guy ask for?

Geoff
Who notes the only Gov't Geek job to come open in Cleveland when he was looking, had 600 applicants. Long Odds.
 
I just find the things to be comfortable and practical. FWIW my LEO buddies wear it for the same reasons, not to look tacticool. That being said, I try to limit myself to wearing only one "tactical" looking item to keep the snickering down, but then again I can wear shorts and a t shirt and still get taken for an officer or a soldier (must be the 9mm).

My big question is who knows of a bonafide case where someone was shot first while wearing a "shoot me first" vest? I have not heard of one. The closest I have heard is a detective being shot during a bank robbery, supposedly because the perp recognized his second badge wallet (and this was many years ago). If you really care, 5.11 makes a vest that takes panels and plates!

k
 
Other than suffering the ridicule of being a "mall ninja" by TFL members is it appropriate to wear BDU pants and 5.11 vest for a casual stroll through the woods or going to the movies?
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pshhawww!! this is obviously a trick question. there is no such thing as a 'casual stroll through the woods or to the movies'... just like asking 'when is a gun not loaded?'

cant believe you all supposed ninjas fell for it! i hereby lower all your ninja-tude by 1 point.

casual stroll???? geez, any fool knows that at any moment hordes of zombies can come spilling out of the woods, or scores or heavily armed terrorists can strike your local theater house.

spacemanmyninja-tudeneedsaboost,thinki'llbuysomethingtacticalthisweekendspiff
 
I have worn bdu's for years, (I live in the country) and there are lots of people around who wear bdu's all the time, but the only 'trouble' I ever had was from a 40 something year old punk who said he didn't like me wearing camo bdu's because he had fought in Veitnam and I didn't earn the right to wear 'em and he started a fight over it right there in the resturant. This happened several years ago.
I still wear my bdu's don't like vests too much though.
 
I wear BDU's most of the time. Usually khaki or OD green, but I do have a pair of woodland and one in subdued urban camo. I occasionally get bored with khaki and OD green. BDU's are comfortable, and they're cheap. I sometimes wear them tucked into my boots, as I live in a very wet, rainy area.
I really don't care what people think of the way I look. There are certain people who have opinions I value. The random guy on the steet? I could care less what he/she thinks.
I'm thinking about the 5.11 vest. I can always use more pockets.
 
I have two pairs of the khaki 5.11 pants (which I wear a lot), one pair of the shorts (which I wear occasionally), and a khaki vest (which I rarely wear).

I never wear the pants and vest together...looks too much like a boy scout or big game safari outfit...too much khaki.

The 5.11 stuff is great...roomy, lots of pockets, comfortable.
 
A friend of mine worked at the FBI Academy in Quantico. As a reloader for my classes, I wondered if once fired brass (they had lots of that commodity!) was on site. While visiting, I noted all the students were wearing many pocketed 511 pants. They were sold right there. I bought a pair!

I now own a bunch of them! Plus a couple of black ones, and a green one.
The green ones I bought on a holiday trip to England years ago.
My wife of 28 seasons, not liking to iron these pants, stitches a seam in them, looks like they have just been ironed! I own one vest, have not worn it for years. Used to wear it as my concealment cover when I shot IDPA.
Worn nothing but 511s for 40 years. Suits for weddings etc.

As an American Citizen now, living in Florida, I wear them in comfort in this climate every day. As an 85-year-old Grandad, with 8 Grandkids, colourful Florida shirts complete my pistol cover. I must say not too many of these pants are worn in Orlando, anymore. Times change.
 
You know, I think that the only people that know of 5.11 vests as "shoot me first" vests are people that are in the law abiding gun community. Do we really think that the average criminal knows when he goes into the bank or wherever to hold it up that he needs to look for the guy with the vest first? Do we really believe that the criminals are on the net researching concealed carry clothes so that they can better identify us? I think that's a stretch and a gun range myth.
/QUOTE]

It's actually true though. The average criminal may not pay attention but you can be sure that the ones who are really dangerous do. Their situational awareness is much higher than that of the average person because unlike the average person, these people have enemies/rivals. They'll pick the potential threats out of a crowd and either wait until you're gone or target you first.

Around here the gray man wears jeans and carhart.
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