Why must it be so hard to find a good pair of trousers. I looked all over for a good pair of hiking/ camping pants with a long list of requirements. After research and many recommendations I settled on grabbing a pair of the 511 Taclite Pro pants. After a year of testing the pants I am ready to finally ready to review them. Actually I meant to get around to this a while ago but better late than never right.
The 511 Taclite Pro pants have the following features:
- Made from 65% polyester and 35% poly cotton ripstop
- Features eight pockets, two front, two cargo, two patented slash rear pockets, one cell phone/magazine and one knife pocket.
- Treated with HT Teflon® wear resistant finish
- Rear web strap
- YKK® zippers
- Prym® snaps
- Clip loopFor
I was at a gun store once picking up a double magazine holder and saw that they carried the taclites. I had them narrowed down as one of my choices for hiking pants and since I prefer to get things local and in person. I’m pretty sure I paid around $55 for them, making them the most expensive pair of pants I’ve ever bought. I decided to get my monies worth and wore them extensively to test them out.
Comfort
First of all is the comfort factor, since I don’t care how much utility I get from my pants if they are comfortable I ain’t gonna wear them. These pants fit very well for the size I bought. Which can sometimes be a crap shoot with sizes being arbitrarily guessed at by different makers. I will never understood why pants the same size from different makers will fit completely differently. The fabric also feels pretty good, some nylon can feel like sandpaper on skin.
Quality
I will have to admit that these pants are tough. For being made in Cambodia they stitching and quality is very good quality. Besides some very minimal fraying in places the stitching has held up very well. I have not worn any holes in the pants yet where other newer pairs have holes worn in either the knees or the bottoms where they get stepped on. In the knees the reinforced material there definitely helps protect from holes. I am sure if these were made in America they would easily sale for twice as much for the quality they are.
Utility
This is the real reason to buy these pants. For hiking having a mostly nylon pant is essential. While I would prefer 100% Nylon the 65% combined with the Teflon coating has done great when hiking in rain and wet condition. They do great resisting small amounts of water and when they finally do become wet dry very fast. There is plenty of pocket space. Almost too much to be honest. You can store a lot in these pants, which is tempting to do. It’s very easy to load up all your pockets with crap, which will then hinder your mobility. I usually try to keep the cargo pockets empty. I feel that a lot of weight there is awkward. I Actually wish 511 made a taclite without the cargo pockets. The cell phone and knife pocket are incredible useful though. I love having a dedicated pocket for my knife and cell phone. The rear slash pockets are really deep and can hold a lot of needed. I’m not real sure the purpose of the web strap on the back though. I’ve used it at the range to tuck magazines in and it does good at that. Other than than I guess you could strap on some items that have clips. Being left handed though I would prefer it to be on the other side for most things. The clip ring needs some work to be more functional though. I feel it should be a bit bigger and sewed in place so it wont rotate around. I’ve clipped things on it, like a Nalgene bottle with a carabinner, and have trouble getting it off because it’s too small and moves around too much. The belt loops are bigger than most pants and will accommodate my SOE Cobra Riggers Belt. I’ve used these for hiking, camping and range trips and they have done well in all situations
The Bad
Nothing is without flaw and these pants are no exception. I’ve listed the clip ring issue already. My personal preference would also be for these pants to not contain any cotton in them at all. It’s the 35% cotton in them that make me iffy about using them in winter. Tennessee winters are usually very mild so I am not that concerned here but would not recommend the to northern readers. Another personal issue is the use of a snap buttons over the push through button I’ve not had any issues but I feel the push through ones are inherently more reliable. One last gripe is that these pants are dirt magnets. They get so dirty and normal washing detergent does not really get rid of all the dirt. I use them hard and it does not really bother me too much. I can tell you thought that if you were them to a primitive skills gathering and wear them the whole week they will become foul. I would also prefer a less tactical pants. Something more Grayman to draw less attention.
I am almost conflicted to recommend this pants. I’ve seen rave reviews on them. I myself think they do a good job and are not too bad a value for their quality. However I’m very picky and I am still looking for a pair that meets all my needs. I will say this though if you find a good deal on these I wouldn’t fault you for grabbing a pair.
Do you own a pair of the Taclites? How do you feel about them? If not them whats you go to hiking/ camping tactical pants?
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I don’t own Taclites, but I have a friend who is in the military and I get all of his surplus when he’s done using it. LOVE cargo pants. But I think you are right, you do tend to stuff the crap out of them, which can throw you off-balance. Need to be selective in what you do pack in there sometimes.
Just wish they made a good business casual “cargo” pant to wear and put all of my EDC in so I don’t have to use a bag for everything.
I have sworn by Taclites for years. I have a couple different pairs. I am not ashamed to say that I would wear mine weeks at a time between washes. I’m also a farmer who rarely need leave the farm except to go hiking. I put the knee pads in em, work gloves, one flashlight, one headlamp, carpenters pencil, sharpie, multi tool, harvest knife, cell phone, wallet, kerchief, keys, and a .22. All very comfy with plenty of durability and dexterity. The knee pads are defenitely very awesome. im always having to iz something, dig beds, or kneel down to play with my youngest daughters. Perfect homesteading pants but kinda intense to wear to town. My teenage daughter insists I wear jeans now and at least “try to be normal.” I’ve been missing having my EDC pants. It’s crazy how much I use gloves, multitools, and flashlights.
I will say the crotch stitching has begun wearing on mine, but a little preventative stitching on my part has patched em up good.
Re pants.
When I was on active duty, even in Winter, in places like Germany, the lighter weight Uniforms were prefered, simply due to if wet, dried faster, than the heavier weights. While I will agree that cotton is not the best on cool/wet weather, if wet, quicker drying is better than longer and heavier wieght due to soaking. I will freely admint there is no perfect solution, however with practice, most issues can either be avoided , or over come. The review, in and of itself, looked pretty solid. Not be nasty, but IIRC, such an article used to be the standard of quality Journalism 🙂
I also have had a quest to find the perfect outdoor pants. I bought a pair of Tac- Lites last fall and had pretty good experience. Here in Alaska cold and wet is the standard in summer and winter so quick drying was at least my #2 condition. 100% synthetic outdoor pants were not to be found at my local stores without shelling out 300 bones for Sitka gear so these were it. They are wearing good other than the crotch stitching is letting go and will have to be fixed soon. I recently learned about rail riders brand, 100% synthetic, and will be trying them out. The cargo pockets are good for retention reloads at the range or finding berries while on a hike but other than that just in the way. And I also have no idea what the strap is for.
Regarding the strap over the right, rear-pocket:
So I was wondering the same thing and searched out the internet as best I could. What I understand the strap to be for is climbing gear. It’s the go-to feature for clipping on carabiners when you need to free up your hands when one a climb/hike.
Makes sense to me since the “5.11” brand is named for a rating system of rock climbing.
Hope that helps.