Being a bit of a pragmatist, I am always on the look out for gear that offers multiple features that I find useful and in some cases can be used for different purposes. Having walked miles in blue jeans in years past, I got tired of my wallet making chafe marks on my buttocks and started to look to see if there was something else I could use to cure that problem. I tried a pair of 6-pocket BDU bottoms and found immediately that they were a solution, as moderate gear placed in the thigh pockets eliminated the problem I had with the blue jeans.
Fast forward to the present and it seems that there are limitless companies making "utility pants" all of which have been manufactured to equally limitless fabric patterns and quality specifications as well.
From primarily a consideration of leisure, there are times where pants that convert to shorts become quite practical - especially when water gets involved as it does here every year. "Zip offs" may not be the most fashionable garment, but from a perspective of traveling through multiple environments on the same trip (cold/hot/wet/dry) with space and weight being limited for one reason or another, these pants become indispensable. I have purchased zip offs in the past and all of them I own incorporate thigh pockets into the design - I wouldn't consider any that don't having learned the practicality of this design over the years. There still remained one problem with convertible pants however and that is they always seem to be built with lightweight fabric that may or may not hold up to rugged environments should you take them through a thicket or forest that includes some thorny, spikey vegetation of some sort.
I've taken average zip off pants through what I would consider is moderately rough environments and I have to admit they hold up surprisingly well considering how lightweight the fabric is, but as I'm doing it, I'm always thinking I might have to be a little extra cautious with my movements in the terrain because I don't want to rip these pants - also, they are no good for protection from the elements - the fabric might not rip, but as the material is quite thin, you wind up with extra scratches on your skin you wouldn't have had if you'd had taken a BDU or another pant with thicker fabric.
Looking for a zip-off that incorporates tougher fabric that is more abrasion resistant than the typical lightweight nylon material most are made of led me to the 5.11 convertible bottoms offered (at this time) exclusively by L.A. police gear company.
Here's the link:
http://www.lapolicegear.com/5tatazipofft.htmlLooking through the LA police gear company's website, I realized that if I ordered two pairs of these pants I could get the knee pads and a hat au-gratis using a coupon code found on their website.
It has been a couple months since I placed the order. I believe it was about 10 days from the day I ordered to the time I received the package, which I felt was reasonable for standard delivery across 3/4 of the U.S.. The package arrived with the pants in the correct size (only khaki is being offered as a color right now) and a hat but no pads - a call back to the company allowed them to send the pads out within a few days. Had I known what the pads were going to be like, I wouldn't have bothered - but I wanted to try them out anyway to see if I would find any practical use for them - and it
was part of the deal after all. 5.11 "tactical" Mouse pad anyone?
The package was packed very nicely from the company and the pants and hat had the mfgr's tags on them and I have to say I was impressed somewhat with the presentation of the shipment. Before I pulled the tags off, I inspected both pairs of pants to ensure all the fasteners worked and seams were sewn properly. I could not find a flaw down to the highest level of scrutiny - the stitching on both pants is extremely uniform and precise. All the thread ends were trimmed and my general thought is that this company has obviously taken some effort to ensure a high level of quality.
The TDU convertibles are made of a 65% polyester, 35% cotton ripstop fabric that I would describe as about the same thickness as 100% ripstop cotton bdu material (I have some warm weather BDUs here and the material is very similar in thickness), but the material feels different in the hand due to the synthetic weave. It seems a tad stiffer to me.
These pants have 7 pockets: 2 slash pockets on the side that have been built up (double fabric layer) on the bottom end where a clip knife is often placed on the pocket, 2 rear pockets in which the top of the pockets are angled diagonally (slashed) and secured with velcro (or some other hook and loop fastener), 2 thigh pockets with pocket flaps that secure with velcro and a small knife/extra pistol magazine/cell phone pocket on the left side of the pants between the slash and thigh pockets that is also secured with velcro.
These pants have a nylon "D" ring on the right hand side of the waist, a cotton band across the right rear pocket (perhaps originally designed to hang carabiners for climbing applications - 5.11 named for a particularly challenging rock climbing route obviously), a metal zipper in the crotch of the pants, a metal snap to close the waist above the crotch and also on the inside of the crotch there is a short liner that attaches with a button used as a secondary fastener perhaps to keep certain anatomic parts from getting caught in the zipper? "Self repairing - or coil loop" plastic zippers are found at the location where the pants zip off above the knees and on the inside of the cuffs to allow for ease of getting them over footwear. The belt loops are "overbuilt" on these pants - wide and double stitched. There are pockets for knee armor in the lower removable leg portions of these pants - the armor is secured by a double fabric seam, no fasteners are used. The armor pocket entry hole is smaller than the armor/armor pocket, when the armor is inserted folded and then expands, it hits the seam in the locations above and below the side pocket which keeps the armor in place.
I've had almost 2 months to use these pants both in work and leisure environments in most facets of my daily life. The first thing I 'm going to tell you is that I like them and I would recommend them for anyone else who wants a set of practical traveling pants. They are lightweight, sharp looking, fit well (at least in my opinion), comfortable enough for any environment (obviously liners will have to be worn for cold weather) or activity that I can think of, are definitely tough enough for most things and in my opinion, they are a good value for the money. I have not found any "zip-offs" with even remotely as heavy, quality fabric compared to these.
Like all products however, they are not perfect and here's where some improvements could be made:
1. The knee armor as supplied is a joke. It's simply a swatch of cut out 4-5mm thick neoprene faced on one side. Kneeling down on this stuff, I can feel a concrete floor right through it. Remembering a drill I went through once jumping for cover from fire, I nearly took my knee out on a rock and I don't think these pads would have added any comfort from that blow. They are not even a light substitution for knee pads. The armor pocket will not cover the knee when fully articulated, either. The pocket needs to be elongated toward the shin for full knee coverage. When the neoprene is placed into the armor pockets, it is obvious to anyone who looks at you it is there - and it will make your knees sweat. Multiple layers of kevlar velcroed in would be a huge improvement - but again, the pockets need to continue further down toward the shin to protect the knee adequately. At least the knees have an extra layer of fabric (as they should) and if you need some protection in a jam, stuffing rags into the pockets would definitely help protect your knees until the fabric blows out - and the good thing is that would take a bit of force based on how the pants are constructed.
2. The little pocket on the left hand side is good for about 1 thing: an extra pistol mag. Maybe some of your cell phones might fit in there, but mine, a Motorola razor will barely fit (too wide for the pocket) and is hard to retrieve when I am able to get it in there. Since just about nobody needs a pocket exclusively for an extra pistol mag and this particular pocket is what quickly and easily distinguishes 5.11 "tactical" pants from any other, it should be eliminated. Pants that scream "tactical" due to a ridiculous marketing slogan could possibly bring the wrong sort of attention.
3. The material dries very slowly when compared to nylon. One of my personal favorite uses of convertible pants is the ability to use them for swimming shorts. In the past, I would take off the legs, throw them in the back pockets and go swimming and leave them off for the rest of the day, then when dark thirty comes, put the legs back on to shield them from elements (mostly flying biting pests). With typical zip offs, they are made of lightweight nylon and dry off very quickly - maybe 30 minutes? The non-5.11 zip offs I have come with full size pockets in the rear so the legs can be folded and stowed with a decent level of security. With the 5.11 model, you're looking at easily 2 hours to dry - possibly 3 or more while wearing them under ideal conditions after submerging them - if you're seriously moving along after a dip, that means its possible to experience some crotch chafing, which is not a good thing. Also, with the lack of a full pocket in the back, the legs will barely fit folded beneath the velcro in the back pockets. Both times I've swam in these pants, I've taken the pant legs and thrown them into a seal pack instead of stowing them into the rear pockets - I just don't want to lose the lower legs on the pants in the water somewhere. For just using them as shorts casually, the pockets secure the legs fine. No amount of running is going to allow for losing the pants on ground - water is very different. I would like to see some full pockets in the rear of the pants instead of having them slashed diagonally. Zippers would work very well for this application.
4. The cotton strap above the right rear pocket can get caught on objects in various environments (such as your kitchen if you have knobs on drawers such as I do). It doesn't make sense to go climbing without a riggers/tech belt or harness (which I believe will fit into the belt loops - although I haven't seen the need to try one recently), and frankly I doubt you'll find a need for the strap for much of anything - therefore they should eliminate it on these pants. It's a liability, not an asset. I'll be cutting mine off after this review.
5. Velcro (or hook and loop) fasteners are loud and inferior to traditional bdu trouser thigh pocket button fasteners - get rid of the velcro on those pockets and instead use double hidden buttons for fasteners which are spaced appropriately (mil. spec for this works very well). Also, the thigh pockets are too small. The placement of the pockets is good, but the pockets should wrap around further to the back and with pleats identical to mil. spec trousers.
6. The fabric is a tad loud when running. I am not a fan of loud clothing for any reason. I am not sure what they could do to remedy this other than use a different weaved fabric. I have experienced 65/35 fabric before that is quieter than this on certain BDUs - but, I have not tested how those fabrics dry, so not sure if there is a difference there.
7. Khaki is the only color so far - and a crap one unless you're never taking these into habitats that include vegetation. It's a nice looking color from a fashion standpoint, but mine are already showing stains that wouldn't show on my typical standby field pant color: dark olive, or in 5.11 color category what is known as "tundra". Khaki makes sense if you have to go with one color and are selling this to the multitude of people most of who live in urban environments. If they sell enough of these pants, they will likely start producing them in various colors.
I really hope 5.11sells the shit out of these pants, and although I would like to see some changes/improvements, they're still some of the most useful pants I've seen so far.
Photos:
Worn as pants:
As shorts:
Life is short. Eat, Drink & Be Merry!