Patrik Orcutt 02.23.24
Founded in 2003, 5.11 Tactical emerged as a brand dedicated to providing purpose-driven gear for law enforcement, military professionals, and outdoor enthusiasts. The company’s name originates from the highest level of difficulty in rock climbing, symbolizing the challenging nature of the professions its products cater to. Initially recognized for their durable and functional pants featuring a unique strap and slash pocket design, 5.11 quickly expanded its product line to encompass a comprehensive range of tactical apparel, footwear, and accessories. Over the years, 5.11 Tactical has become synonymous with high-performance gear that does not break the bank. Today I will be looking over one of 5.11’s more exciting offerings in the past few years, the V.XI XTU Pant.
5.11 Coverage on AllOutdoor
The 5.11 V.XI Pants was provided by 5.11 for this review and while I am allowed to keep the product indefinitely, this will not change my opinion on this product or any of 5.11’s current or past offerings. I have taken the 5.11 V.XI pants to the range on multiple locations and have also conducted a few home workouts in them to see how they breathe.
Specs: 5.11 Tactical V.XI Collection – V.XI XTU PANT
- Available Size Range 28″- 44″
- Available Length Range 30″- 36″
- Primary Materials – 58% Cotton, 39% Nylon Cordura, 3% Elastane 5.7-oz, Teflon™
- Color Options – Ranger Green, Black, Storm Grey, Dark Navy
- Kneepads can be removed and do come with Pants
- Country of Origin – Bangladesh
- MSRP – $200
Quality & Comfort: 5.11 Tactical V.XI Collection – V.XI XTU PANT
While I think we can all agree that when it comes to top-notch quality, 5.11 is a brand that most people, including myself, would not associate with. Sure they produce a lot of rugged and cost-effective options but you simply can’t compare a 5.11 jacket with an Arc’teryx jacket and expect the same quality of product. I’m happy to report that the V.XI Pant may be one of the highest quality products I have seen 5.11 come out with to date!
The Pants are comprised of a 58% Cotton, 39% Nylon Cordura, 3% Elastane 5.7-oz, Teflon™ blend. But what does this mean to an end user? To me this means that these pants are going to be rugged and breathable while having enough stretch to them for all-day comfort with a dash of fire resistance. 5.11 designed these pants to have strong materials like Nylon Cordura in high-wear areas while having elastane in the stretchier parts of the pants. This design philosophy is incorporated throughout the entire pant giving you a quality set of tactile slacks.
Comfort is one of the areas the V.XI pants really accel and it’s in not small part due to the Elastane incorporated in the pant’s construction. As mentioned before I used these pants for a few workout sessions to see how they handled heat and sweat. I’m happy to report these pants can handle a rigorous workout and dump excess heat like a dream due to their ventilation openings at the inside legs.
Overall these pants a very high quality and come with lots of neat bells and whistles you won’t see on any other pants at this price point. Some additional features include a comfortable waistband with Logo buttons, blousing straps, a shoelace hook attached at the leg opening, and a two-way zipper at the front fly.
Organization: 5.11 Tactical V.XI Collection – V.XI XTU PANT
The V.XI pants come loaded with pockets as any tactically minded pant should. The two most significant storage options are the large cargo pockets with volume folds and zipper closures. I found these to be highly useable and could hold a lot of gear inside of them. Inside the cargo pockets there is a smaller pocket designed to hold a NATO 5.556 mag but I found this to be a great place to hold your phone too. These pockets also feature a sinching strap to help keep bulkier items like gloves or headgear secure when moving. I found this to be a useful feature when I would through my bulky range radio in these pockets.
These pants also feature traditional, deep-hand pockets with reinforced edges and seams for holding tools like knives or radios. The rear butt pockets offer another storage option and while some tactile pants omit these pockets or make them so small, they are basically useless, 5.11 did a good job here giving you a good size pocket. These pants come with knee pads right out of the box and they are highly configurable to how much protection you think you may need. The pants come with a small amount of foam already incorporated into the knee pad and then you can add another, larger layer of foam inside the pant. Then you can add a hard plastic shell to the exterior of the knee for even more protection. I think this is a highly adaptable design and gives the end user lots of options on how they want to configure these pants.
Performance: 5.11 Tactical V.XI Collection – V.XI XTU PANT
After many range sessions and a few rigorous workouts, and just lounging around the house on a lazy Sunday, I can say that I am overall very impressed with the performance of these pants. They are highly breathable and allow for a wide array of movement but still are something I would consider to be very rugged.
Likes
- Very comfortable.
- High-quality pants for almost $100 less than other manufacturers.
- Well designed with thoughtful touches.
Dislikes
- 5.11 does not sell these pants in Multicam directly from their website.
Wrap Up: 5.11 Tactical V.XI Collection – V.XI XTU PANT
If you are in the market for high-quality, tactically minded pants that won’t break the bank, I really do think the V.XI pants from 5.11 might be the best option on the market right now that I have seen. I can say that I am overall very impressed with the performance of these pants. They are highly breathable and allow for a wide array of movement but still are something I would consider to be very rugged. So what are you waiting for? go get yourself a pair of these pants!
