Tacticool wasn't a thing when I was a young man, but I certainly started out putting much more emphasis on the gear itself.

I must have been ahead of the curve since my first 5.11s are labeled "Royal Robbins" from back when they were rock climbing/outdoor pants.

Both agencies I've worked for (past and current) have issued 5.11 pants as uniform wear so I have a few sets. Fortunately they've moved past the old patterns with the strap and the what-the-fuck-is-this-for-pocket on the front of the leg.

Personally, I found Kuhls and after a few years in them saw that a lot of the cool-guy trainers are wearing them now.

I'm back to Wranglers off duty...

I do, however still favor 5.11 shirts as I can carry an LC 9 in the big left-side document pocket and a cell phone, money clip and reload in the right.

I'd say I'm more "practicool" rather than "tacticool" because utility counts first. Form follows function.

If jeans, a t-shirt (and flannel in the winter), and a ball cap are tacticool then sign me up!

Otherwise...no.

My ball cap is camo though, so I suppose that counts.

Damn. I sometimes wear a ballcap that has some camo trim. But that means... Am I... Oh, god.

I think this thread has done great work.

It's good to see a lot of yall coming to terms with this.

First step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.

I'm cool, but not like this guy

Tacticool 1930's

.

That's not tacticool 1930s... This is tacticool 1930s:

I wasn't around in the '30s, but from the late '40s till now I don't believe I was ever tacticool or anything close to that.

I had a chance to play in SE Asia in the mid-60s and that was more than enough to satisfy any urge for more.

I will admit that when I married my wife, a nurse at the VA hospital locally, I did my best to avoid going there at all-hated taking her to work or picking her up when her car was on the fritz. Didn't want anything to do with wannabes in camo that I believed populated the VA facilities.

Fast forward to the late 90s-early 2000s, I went there and don't recall seeing anyone of that description.

Now, of course, the VA can't get rid of me.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
That's not tacticool 1930s... This is tacticool 1930s:

**********************

You raised the BAR, but gotta have a fedora.

.

I'll [Colt] Monitor the web and see if I can find you a photo with both.

Edit: Here you go. Clyde Barrow with a BAR (and a spare to the side) and sporting a fedora. Sawed off shotgun for extra tacticool points.

Clyde Barrow: 1930s Mall Ninja

If he were around today, he'd be rocking a camo ballcap with a Punisher skull velcro patch, cargo pants, a chest rig over a fishing vest over a Tapout shirt, a beard, an AR-15 with a bump stock and drum magazine, a Mossberg Shockwave with a chainsaw grip, and a Gucci Glock with a 33 round magazine and a 3D-printed auto switch slide plate.

It Depends .
Are banana hammocks tactical ?

That depends... is it a camo banana hammock?

Monitor for the Win

quote:

Originally posted by john1:
Both agencies I've worked for (past and current) have issued 5.11 pants as uniform wear so I have a few sets. Fortunately they've moved past the old patterns with the strap and the what-the-fuck-is-this-for-pocket on the front of the leg.

I said No, and I’ll stick with that, but I do have two pairs of the aforementioned 5.11 pants (complete with strap What the Heck is that for?) that I only ever wear for shooting classes. I sewed a piece of Velcro on the inside of the left hand side flapped pocket so I can tuck the flap in and it stays out of the way. When empty mags are policed up they go in this pocket. When they are reloaded they go in the pocket above. This is only for classes, not normal life, but in normal life I don’t usually carry more than two mags and almost never more than three.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
(complete with strap What the Heck is that for?)

That's a holdover from 5.11/Royal Robbins' start as a mounting climbing clothing company, before the FBI and other LE agencies adopted their climbing pants for LE wear.

It's a place to clip your carabiners and anchors.

(Yes, seriously.)

Here's the biggest problem with Tacticool:

https://y.yarn.co/99f25bcf-c9b...afb-7c6a8d4adddb.mp4

I have never been tacticool and probably won’t be in the future. Apart from possibly 3-4 alcohol soaked hours in the mid to late 1990’s, I have never been cool .

Nope. Never did wear any of that stuff off duty.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
I still have, and use, A.L.I.C.E. gear.

So no, probably not.

You're aging yourself, I didn't think ALICE gear was cool in the mid to late 70's when I was on active duty in the USMC.

I didn’t think it was cool in the 90’s when I was active duty USMC either. I certainly don’t think it’s cool now but it’s functional and I’m a cheap bastard so I hang onto it. If you are ever hiking in Florida and see a fat dude pouring sweat and bitching about the heat wearing a web belt and canteens in Alice pouches, come say hi.