If you care about being comfortable outside, what you wear and what you carry in large part determines how comfortable or uncomfortable you are. It may even determine your wellbeing. Vertx understands this and makes clothing designed to keep you comfortable in a wide range of environments from urban kid-taxi duty to tactical hog hunting.
Lets face it. Lots of companies make “tactical” clothing, but not all of it is created equal. I think some companies simply compete with each other to see who can sew the most pockets onto a pair of pants. Purpose driven clothing should be designed with that purpose as the guiding priority.
Another fact of tactical clothing: Many makers use old-fashioned materials. The tactical world is a hi-tech world. We expect gun makers to have innovation, or at least take advantage of what others have created. If we are looking to purchase night vision equipment, we expect regular advances in the technology. Why should we expect less from tactical clothing manufacturers? The days of thick, heavy clothing that doesn’t adapt to the needs of our bodies are gone. Or at least they should be.
Something most of you don’t know about me is that I used to be a wilderness guide. I took mostly teenagers backpacking, rock-climbing, rappelling and such for up to three weeks at a time in the wilderness – Colorado, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and some right here in Texas. My fellow guides and I spent way too much of what little money we earned on the latest gear. Proper gear was considered so important, we required those who came with us to have similar, if less expensive, gear. Why? Because heat, cold, or moisture could turn a great experience into a terrible one. Even a life-threatening one. I learned a lot about what to wear, along with when and why certain types of fabrics are used. I also learned that bulky and heavy clothing slows you down and makes for an unnecessarily large and heavy pack.
Whether I’m hunting or running errands around town today, I expect the same performance from my clothing. You should too. Who really wants to sit in a deer blind freezing while waiting for Bambie? And who, while hunting pigs or coyotes, wants to carry an over-size pack for extra coats to wear after the sun goes down? Or how about those tactical pants that are effectively three layers thick with 47 pockets covering them? It’s not so awesome when it’s 95+ degrees. Not to mention that I don’t really want to walk around the mall with my family looking like a police SWAT officer ready for action.
The designers at Vertx are bringing tactical clothing to the 21st century, using the newest textile technology. For example, they created a light weight, low bulk, highly compressible jacket which can keep you warm when it’s 20 degrees, but adapts as temps climb to the 50s so you don’t get overheated. It’s called the Integrity Base Jacket. Add to that the superlight Integrity Waterproof Shell Jacket which is both waterproof and breathable. Here’s an outside the box idea: Vertx collaborated with Fighter Design to create pants with low profile vents in them. They’ve even been aerodynamically tested to ensure maximize ventilation. They’re called Phantom Ops Powered by Airflow. And they look good too.
Now, you can go to any number of “camping centric” retailers and buy clothing that uses all these modern materials. But much of it is not the best gear for hunters or shooters. Like the camping community, hunters and shooters need specialized gear.
If all you are doing is trying to look cool, some generic cargo pants and jacket from The North Face, Mountain Hardware, or similar brands will do. But if you want something for a carbine class, hunting, or SHTF, then having pockets that are designed to hold pistol or rifle magazines work much better.
Speaking of cargo pants and pockets, that’s another thing that Vertx has done right. Whether you are hunting or in “tactical” situations, the noise made by your clothing is your enemy. Vertx doesn’t use hook and loop on cargo pockets. When you have to be quiet but need something from a pocket, you just reach in and get it, with complete stealth. The closure on the pockets is sewn in such a way as to secure the contents without any kind of noise making extras, while remaining easy to get your hand in and out.
One of the first things I liked about Vertx clothing is the low profile look. I prefer to blend in and not attract attention. When wearing Vertx, I have all the benefits of tactical clothing, without have a look that screams, “I have a gun” or “I’m law enforcement”. With Vertx, I can take advantage of the “tactical” features while still looking reasonably fashionable, even around Dallas. It’s approved by my wife who generally doesn’t like it when I wear other tactical clothing when we are out.
You may get the feeling that I’ve drunk the proverbial cool-aid when it comes to Vertx. That’s not far from the truth, but I will tell you my brother and fellow SHWAT™ founder has managed to blow out a zipper on a jacket pocket. Turns out there was a quality control issue with the zipper manufacturer and Vertx has already pulled the jacket off the market until that issue can be resolved. And we’ve been fans of Vertx since before they were fans of SHWAT™.
So if you ask what my favorite brand of hunting/tactical clothing is, you now know that Vertx is it. Vertx likes to say their clothing is for the “operational athlete”. I agree. You can look good and feel comfortable while being dressed for whatever might come your way.
