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[TheGearLocker]

Before SHOT Show, I ran across a company called SpecOpsShop and they had done some interesting work on the blouse and pants that we use to work, train, and in some cases play in. I hoped onto my Google machine to check them out and to see if I could see a set in person. The owner, Kyle Finch was nice enough to send The Gear Locker a set to review in PenCott’s “Badlands” camo pattern.

If you are not familiar with that pattern, it was designed by the UK company Hyde Definitions for semi-arid environments.  The pattern itself is very interesting to look at up close. It is made up of 4 colors: Green, Brown, Beige and some White.  It is definitly something I had never seen before. I could see it being used overseas in areas where you go from desert with areas of green vegitation, in areas where you have canals and tall grasses.  It is something very interesting to look at in person. I am defitnatly interested in seeing more of this pattern in the future.

The SOU shirt and pants are packed with features. You have a Velcro/Zipper front with a nice manderin collar. In airsoft, this is good to protect against neck hits. For those that use Plate Carriers/Chest Rigs, this adds some additional protection as well.

The breast pocket can be positioned to face inward, outward, or upright (you can choose this at the time of ordering).  And your shoulder pockets have a side-zipper that allows you access them without having to open the Velcro top. Which, in the wrong situation, can give your position away.  You have the standard Velcro on the shoulders for patches. In the pictures of this demo set, the Velcro is green. For production, Kyle told me it will be tan in color.

You also have two forearm pockets, which can be used to house small items or a chem-light. And the cuffs use buttons, not Velcro.

For the top of the SOUs, there are a lot of features going on there.

Now for the pants.  The first thing that I noticed that that the fly is a zipper, not buttons and where the top button goes, you will see a generous square of Velcro.   You have pockets on the front and cargo-style on the sides. SpecOpsShop also incorporated ITW’s Tri-Rings on the front on the pants. This was a request from SF operators in the field that wanted more stability with the drop-leg platforms they were using.

On the hip, you have a place to clip a knife or multitool holder with a section of webbing.  And the cargo pockets can be accessed via a zipper on the side (like the top) or from the top of the pocket.  Once inside the pocket, there is an elastic retainer that can hold a fully loaded 30 round magazine.  The ankles have Velcro clousers to help keep sand, bugs, and dirt out. And Kyle mentioned that people have asked for a lower leg zipper, so you can remove the pants without taking your boots off. So, that is now an option as well.

Front SOU Pants with ITW Tri-Angles and Velcro Clouser

SOU Pants – Rear Pockets

SOU Pants – Cargo pockets and side pocket

The Shirt normally retails for 124.00, but as of this reivew, I saw that it was 99.99 on their site.  And the Pants were listed at 114.99 and are available in Pencott’s Greenzone, Badlands, and SandStorm, Crye’s Multicam, ACU Digital, Woodland, 3-Color Desert, RealTree APG, Coyote Tan, OD Green, Ranger Green, and Black.

If you are looking for a new set of duds to wear into the field for training, work, or fun, check these out.

Here are a few pictures of the pattern at different distances in the woods here in New England

– Eric

 

 

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