In honor of Earth Day, we are featuring a pair of pants that Mother Nature would most certainly approve: Tree climbing pants.

When the grandfather of the tactical pants, the rock climbing pant, failed to impress, Arborwear created a pant ready to handle the swift movements of scaling trees while packing enough durability to fend off branches and twigs that can get in the way.

A blissful marriage between a canvas work pant and the rock climbing paint, these 12.5-ounce canvas bad boys also host a Rugged Gusset™, industrial stitching and double knees.

But who wears tree climbing pants aside from the obvious?

Well, Arborwear’s “Pants in Action” illustrates that indeed some other interesting folks do. There’s a wild mushroom hunter (whose mushrooms we won’t be eating, no offense!), an Irish motorcyclist, an organic goat farmer, and the list goes on…

So, today when you’re out hugging trees, why not ponder climbing one. It will give you a spectacular view of the natural world, and it will connect you with the environment in a whole new way.

Now it’s time to watch someone try to climb a tree *without* the right pants. Huge mistake, right?

If you’re looking for straight-up tactical talk, look no further than Trigger Pull Tactical. The blog is operated anonymously by TP (Trigger Pull), a veteran law enforcement officer who also served in the military and now works with a full-time tactical team. His description is vague and for good reason, his agency has strict rules about name and title usage outside of work.

So, why risk it by blogging? TP says he blogs for one reason: To make tactical operators out there think.

On his blog, he often shares informative articles and insights from his own experiences, careful to not reveal too much information. TP told us he’s been writing for quite awhile, though he has been blogging for less than a year. Along with his blog, TP just started hosting a weapons and tactics forum over at OfficerResource.com.

You emphasize that tactical operators should think. Who is out there not thinking? Is it something civilians should worry about?

I don’t think anyone specifically is not thinking, rather I believe there is room for improvement in the tactical field. I believe many tactical teams are under trained, under staffed, under paid. With that comes a lot of bad decisions. The old way of doing things is to gear up, grab your weapons, hit the door, arrest the bad guys, and hope for the best. The tactical field has come a long way in the last 25 years, but many teams and agencies still have the old way of thinking.

What’s something you’ve witnessed in your line of work that had you smacking your hand to your forehead?

I laugh at this question, because there is probably too many to even narrow it down to just one. Let’s just say I’ve seen, been involved in, and will continue to see head-smacking things in my line of work. Let’s just hope they are few and far between.

Your blog is anonymous. Has anyone from work called you out on this? Does anonymity give you more freedom on what you disclose?

Nobody has called me out because nobody knows who I am. Other than my wife, nobody knows Trigger Pull’s true identity. Anonymity is nothing I really wanted to do myself, but rather something I had to do or this project would be counter-productive. If you read my postings and articles you will notice that I never use names, very specific instances or locations. This is so I don’t get in trouble with my agency, and more importantly so that NOBODY ever finds out my true identity.

You explicitly say in your “About” section that you’re not blogging to sell tactical gear. However, if you had to pick a favorite brand and/or item that has helped through the year, what would it be and why?

Hands down — my EOTech. They are simple to site in, take a lot of abuse, and you never miss.

Let’s say you weren’t in the tactical field. What can you picture yourself doing instead?

A high school teacher or coach and a maybe fitness instructor on the side.

What’s your hope for 2010?

We lost 125 police officers in the line of duty and 469 American Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009. Although I realize we will lose more and that’s the price of doing business in this line of work, I hope those numbers dwindle drastically.

Vinny Chase from TV’s Entourage recently had a security problem. In the most recent season, an intruder broke into his home and stole some of Turtle’s underwear.

This quickly prompted the movie star to hire an Israeli security company to keep him safe. The elite security team which followed Vince around for a few days were all donning tactical pants! What else?

Tru-Spec’s 24/7 pants are gaining in popularity with tactical operators around the globe.  Their cargo pockets are billed as being roomier, and have the added bonus of having internal magazine compartments baked in.  And at $36.99 retail, they come in a few bucks cheaper than the old 5.11 standby.

What we find striking is that this is the lowest priced pair of pants we’ve found that have the hidden slider waistband, which we strongly prefer over the standard “bunched” elastic look offered by 5.11 and Propper.  If you haven’t seen these pants in person, be sure to check them out at your local retailer.

Line Drawing of the 24-7 Mens Pant

TAD Gear Force 10 Pants

TAD Gear isn’t exactly a household name.  So it’s no wonder we’ve only recently discovered this high end manufacturer, who has a series of tactical pants that attempt to trump all others.

The TAD Gear Force 10 Pants emphasize all the finer points of garment construction, including stitches per inch, top quality threads and cottons, and a US based labor force.  In executing all these details without compromise, they’ve created an incredible line of pants that approach $100 a pair – more than double the price of a typical pair of imported tactical pants.

There’s no denying the quality of the garments – they are top notch, and feature some innovative functionality. We find their pricing interesting, as law enforcement and military types are rarely top earners.

Chalk us up as fans of the Force 10 Pants.  But we’ll be watching closely to see if such a high end offering can gain momentum in a market dominated by lower cost imports.

Learn more about the Force 10 and other TAD Products at TADGear.com.

“I brought 5 pairs of these to Iraq where I work as a contractor. They are comfortable and stand up to the KBR laundry well. They have a cell phone/radio/flashlight pocket, and pockets on the legs. The leg pockets are good for taking food out of the DFAC. There’s a metal ring for your keys or ID badge. There’s a strap on the hip where you can hang your Kevlar if you need to. The back pockets seal with Velcro so nothing will fall out. These are really good pants for hostile environments. Get the khaki color because it hides the dust well. The 5.11 Polo’s are good too.” – G.P.

“Outstanding product, durable, comfortable and functional. Cargo pocket space is great. Moving the mag pocket to the left side works much better.
Like the double knee with pad holder.” – Gregory M. Palomares

“I’ve been buying and wearing 5.11 tactical cotton pants for 4 years. As much as I love the design I would MUCH rather pay $5 or $10 — or even more to bump up the quality of the dye (on black) and the fabric. They just fade and wear MUCH more than other black jeans shorts and shirts that I have had for years. 5.11 cotton fade and wear little holes on the edges of pockets and bottom hem very quickly. I use cold water and have a modern low heat dryer. I have a closet full of too many worn 5.11s that I can only use for ‘yard work’ and one pair fit for work that will stay nice for 3 or 4 months before it fades and wears out too. Again I have lots of black clothes that do hold up to which I am comparing these 5.11s. I do have a pair of your nylon pants that do fade less but cotton is warmer.” – Teach

“At last year’s SWAT Round-Up, I noticed that pretty much all the staff were wearing 5.11 Tactical Pants, and that these pants looked really good. I asked Mike Foreman, the Round-Up’s organizer and head honcho how he liked them, and he said they were great. Well that was enough for me.

I’ve had three pairs of my own 5.11 Tactical Pants for the last year (in beige, o.d. green, and navy blue), and have been…

very satisfied with them. They’ve been durable and comfortable, and are obviously well made. So far, they’ve held up well to repeated washings (and dryings) over the last year.

The 5.11 Tactical Pant is currently the premiere cargo pant worn by federal law enforcement and police personnel, particularly during training. Chances are, if you see someone in law enforcement wearing a pair of cargo pants or cargo shorts while training, they’re wearing 5.11 Tactical Pants.

So, are they perfect? Well, in my opinion, a couple of things could conceivably be modified for my personal tastes. I’ll call them my druthers. First, I’d like to see a “cell phone pocket” added to the left leg, just like the one on the right leg. The “cell phone” pocket is the narrow pocket on the right leg immediately to the left of the main front pocket. It looks like it’s the ideal size to hold a spare pistol magazine, and it basically is. The reason Royal Robbins should add this pocket to the left leg is so that righties like myself can use it to store a spare pistol mag and access that mag quickly with the left hand under stress for fast reloads.

The second modification I’d like to see is strengthened/reinforced pockets. When stuffing spare loaded (and thus heavy) pistol mags in your pockets, it’s reassuring to know that those pockets won’t rupture while running or after repeated washings. The pockets as they are now might hold up to plenty abuse, but I’m just not sure about this. Frankly, I’d have more faith in them if they were reinforced a bit with some more material.

Finally, I’d like to see waist and leg sizes in one inch increments as opposed to two inch increments. For instance, I’d like to try a pair of 5.11’s in a 31” waist and 33” leg. Right now, I have to settle for 30” waist, 32” leg because the 32” waist, 34” leg size pants are a little to wide and long for me. My 31”W, 32”L’s are a little too tight and short, but they work.

Understand that very few pieces of clothing are perfect. 5.11 Tactical Pants at least make the attempt, and are better than anything else I’ve found so far for tactical training. Hopefully, the good folks at Royal Robbins will read this piece and make my desired “modifications”. If they were to do so, they’d make what is currently a great product even better.

Can’t wait to try out one of their new shirts.” – David Crane

“I believe these are the best casual pants I’ve ever owned. Even though I’m not in a hostile environment (unless you count grad school as hostile), their durability and features are welcome additions. I love the weight of the cotton and the bar-tacking and other little touches — like the extra reinforcement at the pocket edges to protect against abrasion from clipping on knives, flashlights, etc. The pockets are roomy and lay flat when not in use. Although I generally avoid Velcro on clothing, they use the high quality stuff on these pants and it’s not annoying or cheap-looking at all. And if those are not reasons enough: the cellphone/magazine pocket is exactly the right size for an iPhone — I tested it with both the original and a 3G model and it’s almost as if it was custom made for it (I swear must have been).” - P.H. Adams

“I’ve been looking for a good pair of cargo pants for a while when I found these. That they come in colors other than black and khaki seems nothing short of miraculous.

I’m a professional computer geek who does a lot of network support, so having a bunch of pockets to stash an assortment of small tools, patch cords, and small bits of electronics is essential, in addition of course to the wallet that’s way too thick to sit on comfortably, the PDA, cellphone, iPod, and a digital camera.

My only complaint is that some have 5 belt loops and some have 7 and there doesn’t seem to be any way to specify which way you want it. my first pair of black pants had 7 belt loops, the second had only 5. My green pants came the opposite. The ability to specify would not be awry.

Personally, I’d also love to have another cellphone pocket on the other leg.” – littlegeekATcox

“5.11 pants are by far the most superior product on the market for the tactical professional. Plenty of cargo space and unique touches make these pants a must have. They stand up to rugged terrain and hostile situations. You will not find a more durable line of clothing. HIGHLY Recommended!” – Steven D. Hanks