British Under Body Armor Combat Shirt

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Arid Woodland Camo Tactical Warrior Shirt

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Blauer Operational Trousers

Blauer Operational Trousers

Drifire T-shirt

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Tru Spec ECWCS Gen 2 Parka

This is the 2rd generation version of Tru-Spec's ECWCS parka. Based on the military version, but with more economical materials for a lower cost.

If you didn't know this was a commercial version of the ECWCS Goretex jacket you'd think it was the real deal. Features are the same, and quality is, for the most part, excellent. I've used this during training, for somewhat casual wear and pretty much any time it's rained in the last year or so and found it almost an exact match to the real deal.

The zipper is a plastic zipper, which is better than metal, but it is not of a quality like a YKK zipper. For the extent of features put into this jacket, I would have thought Tru Spec would have used a YKK zipper. The zipper is sometimes hard to start and zip, but isn't a show stopper. That is my only complaint with this jacket.

When wearing this in the rain I've only had rain get through once. This was during very heavy rain. When I took off the jacket my sides were a little wet. It was hard to tell where this came from since the inside of the jacket itself wasn't wet enough to tell where the leak came from. Either from the arm pit zipper or a faulty seam. I doubt it'd be from the seam since they're taped and it would be odd that it did this on both sides. I think possibly it leaked through the zipper area since normal zippers are used and not waterproof zippers.

When I first got this jacket I put it over the sink and poured some water in it. I let it set there for several hours. There was some slight dampening of the outer material, but no leaking through to the inside.

Durability has proven great with this jacket. No wear to the materials through the use I've put it through.

Here are the details of the features:

- Two way zipper with storm flap.

- Hand warmer pockets with velcro closed front pockets.

- Button up rain fly with a velcro closed document pocket on each side. These pockets open vertically and are hidden. In fact, I forgot that these jackets had these and it took me a week or so before I remembered and found them.

- Velcro closure wrists

- Reinforced elbows. This reinforcement is a thicker, higher abrasion resistant material and thoroughly covers the elbow area!

- Ability to snap in the Tru-Spec Fleece Liner

- Angled shoulder pockets w/velcro closure

- Hood that stows away in the collar.

- Drawstring cinches in the collar, inner waist, and bottom opening

- Rank tab on front for attaching rank pins/patches. This provides for a professional appearance as well as protecting the waterproof liner from being pierced.

- Underarm zipped vents.

- Velcro wrist adjustments

- Taped seams

Overall this is an excellent jacket and a great affordable alternative to the more expensive Goretex version of the ECWCS jacket. Durability has been good and on par with the issued jacket and quality is excellent (aside from the non-YKK zippers). Of course you do get a little swishing noise when moving just as you do with the issued jacket, but it's not excessive.

An overall good buy if you're looking for an affordable rain jacket/wind breaker for your outdoor or tactical needs!

Colors: Multicam, UCP, Digital Desert Camo, Digital Woodland Camo, OD, Coyote, Black

Found at AFMO.

Tru-Spec ECWCS micro fleece

The Tru-Spec micro fleece liner is designed not only as a stand-alone jacket, but also to be used inside Tru-Spec's ECWCS Parkas. This fleece is extremely comfortable, with the micro fleece and nylon liner, it's soft yet warm. On a chilly day it's great on it's own, and when the weather turns worse it's great insulation when combined with an outer wind resistant layer.

When combined with the outer layer the liner zips in and attaches at the cuffs and back of the neck via loops and snaps.

This fleece features an adjustable waist, via cord and cord lock and has elastic cuffs.

ID and rank can be attached on the front using the attached velcro loop patches.

For pockets you have 2 hand warmer style pockets.

Durability seems excellent, and quality is good. The only down side I can see quality wise is the zipper. I'm not sure why Tru-spec would skimp out on the zipper, but it's not a YKK zipper and tends to give you zipping issues every now and again and separates on occasion. For the cost of the fleece though, I suppose it's not a huge issue. This is meant as a liner for the ECWCS parka and it zips into it flawlessly. The zipper issues mostly come when using the fleece on it's own.

Overall I've found it to be pretty decent and serves it's purpose well.

Price ranges from $30 - $40.

Colors: Black, Coyote, Foliage Green

Sizes: Small - 3XL

Available from AFMO.

Rail Riders VersaTac Pants

I have been using the RailRiders VersaTac pants now for well over a year. I have to say, that I have been VERY impressed!!

RailRiders gets it's name from yacht racing in which the crew "rode the rails" to increase speed. Well, RailRiders has expanded out to all outdoor adventures and there clothing can even be seen on security contractors and special operations personnel as well. In fact these pants were designed with spec ops in mind.

The first thing you'll most likely say is "whoa, that's too expensive for a pair of pants". I know that was my first impression, until I started wearing RailRiders gear, and specifically these pants.

I've been wearing both the mid and light weight styles of these two pants. I'll first speak on this aspect of the pants.

The pair of light weight pants I received came in sage green color. I've worn these comfortably in both the winter and summer, but are a bit cooler in both environments. The mid weight pair are comfortable in both environments but are a little warm in the summer time. They're quite a bit thicker, using 6.6oz canvas weave nylon than the light weights, which use 3oz Duralite nylon.

When it comes to materials used in each, they both have great water resistant properties. This not only helps in light rain, but also helps to repel stains. A few days after receiving the pants I got a nasty grass stain on one of the knees during some hiking in the Adirondacks. This stain set for a day or two before being washed and when washed it came right out with no residual hint. The weave of the heavier canvas material has a slight texture that hints at a ripstop type material, even though it is not.

The only difference in features between the 2 weights is that the mid-weight reinforcements on the knees/seat is made of the same material as the pants, and on the light-weight pants the reinforcements are "RailTex" Nylon...which seems slightly more abrasion resistant than the pant material.

For features, here they are:

- Reinforced seat and knees

- Both the cargo pockets and the back pockets have the option to close using either velcro or buttons. The buttons are held on in a unique fashion. Instead of directly sewing them on, a piece of web material is thread through the buttons and that material is what is sewn to the pants. I find this to be a much more durable design. The stitching has less stress on it than if the the buttons were sewn directly on.

- Side Cargo Pockets
* Bellowed to expand.
* These cargo pockets have a very unique feature. On the front of the cargo pocket there is a full length zipper. This allows entry to the pocket from the front when seated or kneeling. This is one of the best features of these pants in my opinion, aside from heir overall high quality. It's always been an issue with me both in the military, security, and civilian life. While seated, especially in a vehicle, the gear in your cargo pants is extremely difficult to get to. I've been wearing these pants for over a year and have never had these zippers unzip on their own and have not lost anything out of the cargo pockets. If the zipper does get pulled slightly open it opens from the top down, so there would be less chance of losing anything. I've actually had one left open (my own fault for not zipping it up) and the contents still did not fall out. A feature that should be on all cargo pants!!
* An internal pocket for pistol magazines (a tight fir for double stacked mags) or anything else of that size. I've used it for mid sized pocket knives, pens, a jump drive, and many other smaller items.
* These pockets even have their own reinforcement in a way. The pocket itself seems to have an additional layer of cloth underneath the pocket. So any strain put on the attachment seams s reinforced to prevent the pocket from ripping off.

- 2 back pockets with flaps.

- 2 hip pockets with reinforcements for pocket knife use. These reinforcements really save on damage to the material in this area when using clip on pocket knives. The only suggestion I have to make this feature better is to also reinforce the inner pocket area just opposite of where the knife would be. I have seen some wear in this area as can be seen in the picture. These pockets are nice and deep as well.

- Gussetted crotch provides better range of motion. This is something I've seen carry over from the martial arts uniforms that helps with strain on seams.

- Reinforcements at the back cuff. Being only 5'5" tall I find this to be another extremely good feature for myself. I always wear out the back of my pants due to them hanging low on my boots/shoes or from walking on the back of them when not wearing footwear. This is an area that takes a beating from everyday activities and these are the first pants I've worn that have included this feature.

- Wide belt loop opening accommodates most pant belts, including the military "rigger's" belt.

- Another awesome feature is that there is 5 inches of expansion in the waist. This provides a little give for a better range of motion, and also for that extra "winter weight". These pants are extremely comfortable, and I believe this elastic makes a world of difference. It is also good for "inside the waistband" carry of pistols. Most pants don't have this elastic and if you carry a firearm on a regular basis you need to choose between something that's your size or something that is a couple sizes bigger if you carry your pistol in your waist band.

The overall quality of these pants is excellent. I have had some of the stitching on the cargo pocket velcro of the mid weight pants come loose, but this didn't concern me and in my opinion isn't a strike against the quality of the pants. This cargo pocket is on my "weak" side, and I tend to use it more because I don't use my gun hand when getting things out of my cargo pocket. Something I've just grown to do in my lifestyle. So this cargo pocket gets a lot of use. This was a quick fix and I still will say these pants are AWESOME and great quality. I know they're a lot of money, but they're definitely worth it.

For features, great as well. I've used these pants for more than a year and haven't babied them, and they pretty much look like they did the day I got them. In fact I've worn them as much as possible. They've remained comfortable and they are a pair of pants that I will buy in the future as well!!

Weights:
Mid-Weight: 25 oz
Light Weight: 15 oz

Colors:
Mid-Weight: Dark Stone, Forest Green, Natural, Black
Light Weight: Khaki, Black, Sage Green

Sizes: Sm-XXL, Sm-XXL (30 in. inseam)

MSRP: $98.00

RAP4 BDU

Real Action Paintball (RAP4) is a company that provides military, airsoft, and paintball gear for training and gaming purposes. They also make a good majority of the gear in their catalog. One item I got for testing was a set of RAP4 BDUs in the German Flecktarn pattern. I choose this pattern because it's a pattern that you can't normally find in new BDUs. Normally you have to settle with surplus gear in Flecktarn. RAP4 also has paintball and military load bearing gear, knee/elbow pads, vests, and belts in the Flecktarn pattern.

The Flecktarn pattern is comprised of 3, 4, or 5 colors depending on the pattern you get. It's "splotched" pattern creates a dithering pattern that's disruptive to the human eye.

The set of "cammies" as us Marines call them came with the top, bottom, and boonie hat. They feature the same good features that standard BDUs have and are made of 65/35 polyester/cotton blend material. The material is up to par with the other BDUs that I have in this material. The durability so far has been very impressive.

Boonie hat features:

1. metal mesh vents
2. webbing just above brim for adding camouflage.
3. Chin strap with plastic cord lock, a nice improvement over the leather slider on most boonies.
4. At the time of this posting only available in Large size...this is about a 7 1/2 size. If it's too big, you just put the chin strap around to the back and tighten it on the back of your head and this helps to size the hat for you.

Jacket features:

1. Four button closed pockets
2. reinforced elbows.
3. covered, button front
4. 3 button wrist adjustments. These are a little off from the standard BDU in sizing. I normally use the middle button on the sleeves, but on these I use the last button. Not a big deal, just a note. Also, I would make the cuff adjustment tabs a bit wider...they start out narrow and get slightly wider.

Pants features:

1. 6 pocket design - 2 thigh cargo, 2 hip, and 2 rear pockets.
2. reinforced knees
3. reinforced seat
4. drawstring cuffs
5. adjustable waist via pull tabs. These are wider than mil-spec and have plastic instead of metal adjustable buckle. They're more comfortable than the standard take up tabs.
6. Belt loops
7. Button fly.

RAP4 has really impressed me in not only their quality and design of their BDUs but their unique selection of camo patterns you can't find elsewhere. This style of BDU comes in:

• Woodland
• Flecktarn
• OD
• Urban Camo
• Black
• CadPat
• British DPM
• 3 color desert
• Digital Woodland
• Realtree
• Tigerstripe

They also have an 8 color desert that closely resembles Multicam in a different pattern of BDU and a tactical tiger stripe in a different pattern as well.

Sizes:
small
medium
large
X-Large
XX-Large
XXXX-Large

MSRP:
Boonie - $9.95
Pants - $29.95
Jacket - $29.95

Update (11-27-09): I was wearing these BDUs and ended up chest deep in mucky water. I had a pair of gloves and a Balaclava in the cargo pocket and only the top portion of the Balaclava, which was on top of the gloves was wet. Also, the shorts and t-shirt I had on underneath were only wet in a couple areas. The material these are made out of seems to be slightly water repellent in nature.

Tru Spec TRU - Multicam

This is another review of the Tru-Spec T.R.U. (tactical response uniform). I did a review of this uniform here on my page, but this uniform is slightly different. For one, there are some slight improvements/differences in this one than the original OD version that I tried. Plus I will touch on the advantages of the Crye Precision Multicam pattern camouflage.

I will cover all of the things I covered in the original review but add in the items that are slightly different in this version at the end.

I really like this uniform as an upgrade to the traditional BDU (battle dress uniform). One thing that I think should be noted in regards to the tactical application of this uniform is the large amounts of velcro on it. The velcro is very convenient and easier than the buttons of the BDU, however, it's much louder. This is one advantage of the original BDU (noise discipline). For normal military, law enforcement or security applications it shouldn't be a problem. But in the case where stealth is required, ripping open the velcro pocket on these could lead to some bad times for you and your team. You can place items you may need in pouches that are not velcro, but there's always the possibility of one of the pockets getting caught on something and that velcro ripping noise giving away your position. Aside from this issue, I think this is an absolutely great uniform.

TRU Top:

1- 2 horizontal chest pockets with velcro closures. These are much easier to get to while wearing a vest than the original BDU pockets.

2- 2 slanted shoulder pockets with velcro openings. These pockets also have velcro on the outside for attachment of unit patches. There is also a tab to cover up an IFF glint tab.

3- Zipper & velcro front opening.

4- Mandarin collar can be worn down or up to protect the neck, which is nice when wearing a vest that may rub on the neck. When worn up the collar closes via a velco tab. The tab folds under and velcros in place when worn down.

5- Reinforced elbows with pockets for elbow pads. The pocket openings are external which makes things more convenient.

6- Velcro adjustable cuffs.

7- Bellowed (bi-swing) back for more range of movement.

8- Pen pencil pocket on left forearm.

9- 3 pieces of velcro included that can be sewn on for addition of rank and name tapes.

Features of the pant:

1- 2 calf pockets with velcro closure. I don't normally use these pockets because anything that has significant weight to it causes the end of the pant leg to flop around when walking and running. Although I can see these being used inside a vehicle where they may be more accessible than other pockets when sitting.

2- 2 thigh cargo pockets with velcro closure. These pockets have a slanted opening with the idea of making it easier to get into. As with the calf pocket I think this is more useful in a vehicle than standing as I would have no problem getting into them with an unslanted opening. The pockets also have an elastic drawstring to help keep items in the pocket in case the velcro lets loose or isn't connected. These pockets also have a smaller pocket on the inside to help keep items in place. This is a sleeve-like pocket with a small velcro tab at the top to keep it closed. This easly holds a 30 round AR15 mgazine, but it's loose in the pocket.
One improvement over the TRU that I reviewed before is that the front of the pocket is bar tacked down where the original isn't. This is in the style of the original BDU Thigh pocket. I like this because it prevents the velcro pocket flap from getting snagged when walking through brush and ripping open. The pockets have drain holes as well.

3- 2 hip pockets with reinforced openings to prevent wear from a pocket knife.

4- 2 rear pockets with velcro opening.

5- 1 inch wide belt loops will fit up to a 2 1/4 inch belt.

6- Reinforced seat.

7- Reinforced knees with pockets for knee pads (Skydex pads work good). One thing I don't like about these openings (which are external) is that the opening is at the bottom of the pocket. I would think the opening at the top would make it easier to put the pad's in and remove while wearing the pants. Putting the thigh pocket a little higher would allow for an opening at the top of the knee pad pouch.

8- Drawstring at cuff.

9- Drawstring in waist helps if you don't have a belt. Initially I wasn't fond of this feature, until I forgot my belt and it worked great and wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it'd be.

10- Button fly.

One improvement over the TRU I originally reviewed is the bar tack on the front of the thigh pockets that I discussed earlier. The other is a stronger more durable velcro. The other TRU I reviewed had strong but fairly normal velcro. The velcro on this uniform is more of an industrial strength velcro. A big improvement in the durability if the uniform. Velcro can wear out, so the stronger the better.

As for the camouflage pattern of this uniform I say it really can't be beat for a general all purpose camo. Multicam is a pattern created by Crye Precision.

First it's designed to work in both the visual and infra-red spectrum. The camouflage pattern and colors tend to reflect the general colors around you allowing it to blend in to a wide variety of environments.

The pattern also works whether the observer is close or far from the person wearing the Multicam camo. Some camo patterns are large in order to break up the silhouette at further distances, but don't work up close. Others, like hunting camo patterns, are very detailed and work good up close, but gain a little distance and they tend to blend into a large blob which silhouettes the human shape.

Only a small portion of the human eye perceives colors, the brain fills in the rest from what it knows. Therefor with a lot of camo patterns the human eye will still see the human silhouette because it's a known shape and you'll see a human in camouflage. The advanced design of the Multicam forces the eye to see the camouflage pattern as part of the background.

If you look closely at the Multicam pattern you'll see that it's not just blotches of color thrown together. First, the background isn't just one color...it's a couple different colors theat fade and blend from one color to another. The patterns on top of them are not uniform. Some areas of the camo pattern are more green than any other color, other portions are broken up. Most camo patterns repeat and are uniform throughout the pattern...Multicam isn't. You'll also not that some of the pattern is has a crisp edge on one portion of the patttern, but fades on other edges of the pattern. Crye Precision spent a lot of time on this pattern and it really works great!

Overall, this pattern and uniform style is excellent. I've found it durable and very usefull in it's design and features.

Cleaning tip: Turn the uniform inside out to prevent the velcro from sticking to everything else. This also helps prevent wear on the uniform.

Sizes:
XS-5XL in short, regular, and long lengths

Available at AFMO.
$79.90 shirt
$79.90 trousers