Disaster And Emergency Preparedness: GEAR REVIEW: Attack of the Pants, BDU vs. 5.11 Taclite

BDU Woodland Ripstop

Where to buy: Army Surplus stores, 1,000s of online shops, Goodwill, Misc. Secondhand shops

Typical Price: At goodwill/secondhand shops $5-25; New online $20-40

Pros: The best thing about BDU pants is that they are cheap and in a large variety of styles that match existing “kit” items you may own such as bags, pouches, holsters, etc.

They are extremely versatile and (so long as you purchase the Rip-Stop version) they are fairly resistant to tears and are easy to stitch or patch. With a standard military sewing kit, you can patch any smaller tears that you may incur during your adventures.

There aren’t any built in “pockets” in the knees for Kydex or foam knee-pads, but this can easily be modified. This is one of the many projects I am currently working on and as soon as it is complete, I will write a post on that and then link it back here. à BDU Pant Knee Upgrade

The pants don’t have any zippers on them so you never have to worry about busting a zipper. In a truly tactical environment you will definitely want to have some spare buttons so that you can replace any buttons that pop off.

Cons: These things are crazy hot in the summer. They do not breath exceptionally well in damp air. However, in the winter a cold dry wind will cut through these pants like a fish net, so don’t expect to be able to purchase these as standalone winter pants. You will still need some kind of PolyPro or Long Johns.

It’s great that these things are cheap, but unfortunately, you get what you pay for. I am a huge fan of Multicam and I would like to test a pair of those shortly. For now, here is a teaser picture to show the difference between Woodland BDUs and Multicam. (I can’t knock DCUs, I love them, but if you aren’t in a desert environment they are almost pointless.)

BDU vs. Multicam

Can you find the guy in Multicam?

How about now?

5.11 Taclite Pro Pants

Where to buy: USCAV, most army supply stores such as Quantico, Ranger Joes, etc.

Typical Price: $40-60

Pros: This is an awesome pair of pants with every single pro that the BDUs carry with them. Additionally, these have many more pockets than the BDUs, giving you extra space to spread the load you are carrying around in your pants. (No Pun intended) My favorite feature is a tie between the slanted pockets in the rear and the dedicated knife pocket up front. These are just an extremely versatile pair of pants. The last pro (also a con for a slightly different reason) is that these are single color pants that are very streamlined. They can be worn around a daily wear pants without appearing to overtly tactical, especially when paired with a very plain polo shirt.

I could write a very long post about all of the positives about these pants. BLUF, these pants are worth every penny, to me.

Cons: Price, solid print (easier to detect).

CONS for cargo pants, period: The location of the cargo pocket is right where your drop-leg holster lies. So if you carry a drop leg holster you don’t have very many options around this. My personal preference to correct this is remove the pocket on an ACU style pant and use the extra material to re-enforce the opposing pocket to create a dump-pouch on the non-support knee. (I wear my holster on the right side and drop to my right knee when kneeling and firing, this makes my left leg the “dump-pouch leg.) I will write a post on this shortly and include the link here. à ACU Style Drop-leg / Dump-pouch pant Upgrade.

ACU/MUTICAM Style Pant Overview