A Tactical Approach

I had the rare opportunity to sit in on the start of a revolution in late January, when I was invited to observe a planning process at 5.11 Tactical in Modesto, Calif. It wasn’t the type of revolution that you normally think of, involving the overthrow of a government, but, rather, a revolution that will change the way you think about uniforms and gear in the future.

5.11 CEO Dan Costa (front left) led the fire/EMS strategic planning process along with 5.11 President Francisco Morales.

A Brief History
For the past 30 years, law enforcement and military personnel worldwide have been wearing 5.11 Tactical clothing—both on and off duty. The company’s seven-pocket pants, with slash pockets and their patented tactical strap, have become legendary because of their comfort and functional design. Originally designed as climbing apparel by legendary rock climber Royal Robbins, the pants were first developed by Susie Tompkins, founder of clothing giant Esprit.

When Royal Robbins Clothing was struggling to survive, the Robbins family hired Dan Costa, a gifted entrepreneur with a knack for transforming declining companies into prosperous businesses, as a consultant.

Costa eventually purchased Royal Robbins and, by applying key business principles from his successful track record that included 25 years in the restaurant and food-processing industries, soon transformed the company into the black by working directly with factories, involving workers in design and development and finding direct sourcing.

Shortly after Costa bought Royal Robbins, he met with the company’s largest customers and one quickly stood out: the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va. “Our only law enforcement customer was looking for more products from us,” he says. “In addition to the 5.11 Tactical Pants, the Academy needed other specific products and asked us if we would be interested in producing them.”

The FBI wanted “tactical vests and a tactical shirt to go with the pants,” Costa says. The resulting law enforcement clothing line then became very successful, very fast. In 2003, Costa sold Royal Robbins and founded 5.11 Inc. to zero in on the public safety market.

The “5.11” in the company’s name is a reference to the Yosemite Decimal System rating for the highest level of difficulty that can be achieved in rock climbing. The word “Tactical” refers to the company’s tactical approach to designing its products, much the same way the fire service, EMS and law enforcement agencies develop tactical action plans at major incidents. Costa illustrates the highly strategic and tactical aspects of the clothing business by noting that there are 40 critical measurements 5.11 pays close attention to on each pair of pants it makes.

The 5.11 Tactical pants feature (left) elastic “moving” waistband, straight and angled pockets with Velco® and YKK zipper closures; (middle) equipment pockets and loops; and (right) a double layer of material in the seat.

Customer Focused
Costa also believes his clothing and gear should be comfortable, reliable and fair priced. So, while Royal Robbins’ 5.11 pants sold for $60 in 1999, today, Costa sells those same pants with improved quality and more features through 5.11 Tactical for just $39.99.

A key to 5.11 Tactical’s success has been their willingness to ask their customers what they need and what they want each product to do. Then they design them in accordance with the feedback and find the right sourcing so they can offer high quality at a great price.

That’s where I was able to watch Costa and his team really work their magic. After deciding to launch a new line of fire and EMS service uniforms and gear, Costa invited 50 representatives from fire and EMS agencies from throughout the United States to spend two 12-hour days at the company’s headquarters, and asked them to bring along their current uniforms and gear (including radio equipment).

In addition to his energetic and innovative core staff and regional sales representatives, Costa also flew in multiple representatives from each of the clothing and materials manufacturers partners from throughout the world.

Costa and 5.11 President Francisco Morales personally led the planning process, asking the public safety representatives not only what they needed and what they wanted, but how much they thought they should be paying for each item. Most impressive was the fact that Costa and Morales made pricing and design decisions right on the spot, promising special material capabilities and treatments, custom embroidery, silk screening and the addition of myriad special features the group requested.

5.11 CEO Dan Costa reviews the needs of attendees for station uniforms, jackets, T-shirts and sweatshirts.

Example: When company officers pointed out the need to keep a particular radio harness (worn over their shoulder) from moving around, Costa looked at the radio harness, called his manufacturing consultant to the front of the room and had him design an extra loop over an existing belt loop where personnel can tether their radio—solving the problem on the spot.

The same held true for the special needs of EMS providers, with Costa and his team agreeing to expand pants pockets to allow crews to store their stethoscope, and add dividers in leg pockets for easy access to trauma shears, small flashlights, knives and other gear.

But, as impressed as I was with the 5.11 Tactical planning process, I was even more impressed with the quality, durability and wide range of their products. As illustrated in the photos shown here, the company has designed padded knee inserts into pants worn by crews that spend a lot of time treating patients at ground level or checking equipment on their fire apparatus.

They also construct the seat in their pants with two layers of material, double-stitch key areas, place functional pockets at the proper positions and angles, and incorporate elastic waistbands that allow the pants to move with the rescuer. The 5.11 shirts incorporate flat seams for comfort and many feature built-in openings and loops that will hold remote microphones, pens and sunglasses.

Still to Come
By delivering what their customers want, 5.11 has mushroomed into an innovative company that now manufactures an array of items for all levels of public safety, including uniforms, footwear, 5.11 Undergear, gloves, watches and fire-resistant clothing.

The challenge for 5.11 will be to break into a market steeped in tradition and full of high-quality competitors. No matter what, the fire service will benefit from this innovative company presenting new clothing concepts and features requested by this focus group of end users. 

Samples of 5.11’s new fire and EMS clothing and gear line will be shown at the Fire Department Instructors’ Conference (FDIC) in April in Indianapolis and the company will roll out its new line in July. Watch for this new line of fire and EMS uniforms and gear at FDIC, in the pages of FireRescue and JEMS and at www.511tactical.com.

A.J. Heightman, MPA, EMT-P, is editorial director of Elsevier Public Safety, which publishes FireRescue. He is also the editor-in-chief of JEMS.