2/22/10

"Curious it is," Yoda would say, "tactical clothing fad to happen."

Marching in lockstep, a veritable Clone Army wearing bellows-pocketed trousers, rigger’s belts and tactically correct sunglasses has descended on the industry. It is a most amazing phenomenon, this Grand Army Of The 5.11 Republic.

I’m sure you’ve seen them—mid-30 to early-40 males—usually good physical condition with a shaved head and some sort of affiliation to law enforcement, military or related field. In addition to the “tactical dudes,” the ranks of the Clone Army have been swelled by a host of those with tactical aspirations—mostly oversized guys in their 40s who bought an AR and a Blackhawk chest rig. (An aside: I would love to know what their best selling size is—robust?)

Now days it seems as if everyday is “Tactical Tuesday” at work. How did this happen? How, and when, did a sizable segment of the shooting industry suddenly, for no apparent reason, start dressing alike?

The story begins innocently enough with a company by the name of Royal Robbins, the creation of a mountain climbing enthusiast and outdoorsman named Royal (his real first name) Robbins. His clothing company specialized in hiking shorts, mountain climbing pants and related outdoor apparel.

One of Royal’s products was a pair of trousers made for mountaineering with heavily reinforced knees and backend with a sewed-on strap for hanging carabineers. Royal named these pants the 5.11 model in reference to the numbered grading system used by climbers to rate difficulty of a given climb. The most difficult rating was class 5, level 11, or 5.11.

The Royal Robbins model 5.11 trouser was made for mountaineering, but the same rugged, durable features that made it suitable for El Capitan also made it ideal for others who are hard on clothing. The FBI Academy at Quantico, Va., began issuing Royal Robbins 5.11 pants, and they were sold in the Academy’s pro shop as well.

Pretty soon word began to spread that the “FBI pants” were pretty cool. The strap designed by Royal to hold carabineers was mistaken for a strap to hold the bottom of a holster tight against the body and keep it from “printing” under a shirt. There was also a small pocket on the right side, probably made for some sort of mountaineering paraphernalia, that was mistaken for a spare magazine pocket. (That right-handed shooters would want such a pocket on their left side was over-looked.)

All of a sudden you were cool if you wore “FBI pants.” The trouble was that Royal Robbins apparel was sold in places like REI and other green-leaning sort of stores that gunowners rarely frequented. The pants were hard to find.

Enter a man named Dan Costa. With a cherubic smile and sunny personality, Dan is a serial entrepreneur. He has made millions in several business ventures. He is just an amazing capitalist with a knack for turning around faltering businesses and making them hugely successful.

Dan bought Royal Robbins, and even with no background in the gun or law enforcement industries, he was undeterred. He knew a scorching hot brand when he saw one. He immediately plucked the 5.11 trouser model out of the Royal Robbins line and formed a separate company called 5.11 Tactical with, at the time, only one product—the mountaineering pants.

Other products quickly followed. With some of the most brilliant brand development this industry has ever seen, Dan parlayed 5.11 Tactical into an all-encompassing line of clothing that he literally defined and created—tactical clothing.

Quietly, unnoticed, Dan sold Royal Robbins. All he wanted was the 5.11 design and related trademarks that was now the separate property of 5.11 Tactical. Back went Royal Robbins to the REI world.

Meanwhile, 5.11 Tactical was growing like Hewlett-Packard in the ‘70s. The line expanded exponentially into footwear, outerwear, gloves, caps, watches and even children’s clothing.

And then, with the timing of a Warren Buffett, Dan sold. The reported figure was $200 million, and while I can’t verify this, I believe he initially paid less than $1 million for Royal Robbins.

Somewhere along the way, a Clone Army sprung up. It was led by Supreme Chancellor Costa, but this time there was no Jedi knight to interfere. And the march goes on.