5.11

[Joe113]

I see lots of 5.11 gear advertised but am missing the connection.
What does the 5.11 refer to?
Am I the only one who doesn't know?

thanks,
Joe

[Johannes_Paulsen]

It's just the brand name of a company that makes & sells clothing and other equipment for the 'security professional' market.

http://www.511tactical.com/

[JayBell]

I got a set of the 5.11 HRT boots pretty cheap on sale...light and comfortable, I like them.
feel like sneakers.

other than that, most of the 5.11 stuff seems malninjatastic.

[DPB]

Back in the old days (like four years ago), the 5.11 line was made by Royal Robbins. Royal Robbins (the dude) was a mountain climber, and the clothing line was somewhat "outdoorsy". Some of the clothing, mostly the pants, became something of a standard in some law enforcement agencies for "not quite uniform" wear, and for folks doing protective type jobs overseas.

The 5.11 has something to do with the difficulty rating system for mountains. A climber could explain this more specifically.

Around 2003-2004, 5.11 split from Royal Robbins. The quality became somewhat less consistent, and, as JayBell pointed out, some of their new stuff has a certain Walter Mitty style to it.

[MarcS]

5.11 is a mountaineering difficulty raiting in the Yosemite decimal system. At the time Royal Robbins was climbing half dome and other mountains in yosemite, 5.11 was the highest difficulty rating. Today climbs are rated up to 5.15. If you were ever wondering what that strap is for on the right back pocket, it's to hang carabiners off of. These are and have always been mountaineering pants. Someone from the FBI found them and liked them, so now they've gained wide acceptance in law enforcement.

[Joe113]

Thanks MarcS and DPB. I was looking all over for an explanation and thought it had something to do with ballistics or something.
Another riddle solved.

Joe

[Pa. Patriot]

Just got another pair of 5.11 shorts in the mail today. Love 'em

[OneLungMcClung]

MarcS beat me to it. Ditto on the 5.11 rating - it used to be the toughest you could find, therefore these are the toughest pants, so on so forth. FYI - 5.15 climbs have been compared to an "upside down sheet of glass" by some of my more accomplished climber friends.

As to mallninjatastic- I totally concur captain. Which is why I will soon own two pair of pants from them.......This line of clothing, more FYI, is now super popular because it is the issue clothing at Blackwater Training. If you don't want to be a shooter, you can at least look the part.

[MarcS]

frankly, i think the quality of 5.11 products has gone down significantly since they split from Royal Robbins. Not to mention it seems to be pot luck which side you get your magazine pocket on nowadays. I wear Woolrich elite now.

[JonEMTP]

I have a couple of pairs of 5.11 pants... and like them. I've not had a problem with the quality, so far.

I'm not a huge fan of the shirts... and their newer lines of stuff do seem to be a bit excessive... I don't plan on going to Baghdad anytime soon.

I have a pair of similar pants from Cabellas, and don't really like them, becuase the "mag pocket" is on the right, not the left, and isn't big enough to hold a magazine... so I have to leave the mag in a pocket (one of these days I'll buy a proper magazine carrier).