TAD Covert Pants
EDITOR'S NOTE: I just happened to have this ready at the same time that the Dauntless review went up. TAD Gear is not taking over this site. This is a coincidence.
I am a bit of a liar. I had made a claim a while ago to never write about pants or men's grooming products. I am not going to talk about grooming products, but I am going to talk about pants. In particular, I am going to write about the TAD Gear Covert Pants RS. I got a pair for my birthday and I have been wearing them ever since. If they were merely great, I would bother breaking a promise, but they are so good, so fantastic, that I decided: "Fuck it, I'll write about pants." I am not a model, by any means, so there will only be one picture and it will be of functional things, not me wearing the pants in dangerous situations or jumping out of windows (like on the TAD Gear site). I have no interest in other pants really, so this is a one time thing (until I break that promise).
First, here is the shot that matters to folks like us:
The pants are made of nylon cotton (NYCO) and I chose the ripstop fabric, though it comes in other variations (including DC for "doomsday canvas"). I got this material because it is not as bulky as the DC version, but still has a good degree of wear resistance, and who doesn't like the look of graph paper on your pants? The pants run exceptionally short around the gut and large on the leg. I normally hit around a 32-34 waist and a 32-34 inseam. I got one pair of Covert pants that were the wrong size (which I sent back and TAD handled quite well) and now I am comfortably wearing a 36-30, though I'd prefer a 35-30.
They are very good for carrying gear. They have a bevy of pockets like all cargo pants, but these are TAD pants so those pockets are well designed and well made. The main side pockets have reinforcement fabric sewn into places where gear clips on to the pocket. Inside they have a large main compartment and in the bottom a small pocket inside a pocket, which is perfect for a clipless knife or flashlight. They have pockets on the front of your thighs that work great for things like your phone. They also have the normal butt pockets and rear leg pockets which they show holding clips of ammunition, but I found perfect for holding pens, pencils and an engineer's rule (inches in tenths, as if you needed more proof of the inferiority of the imperial system of measurement).
I paid $109 for mine, plus shipping, which was fast and well packaged. I have worn them on hikes, through the snow using a thermal underlayer (they repel water and stains quite well), and quite a bit down in the shop and doing home improvements. I did not paint in them because, well, I would be very mad at myself if I ruined them with paint. They work in the office, on casual days, looking pretty close to slacks (though I wouldn't count on people not noticing). They are probably as dressy as jeans (not fancy hipster $600 jeans, but real people jeans).
Here is the best and most accurate way I can sum up how much I like them: if you offered me twice their price right now I would say no. After breaking them in they are amazing.
TAD Gear Stealth Hoodie I have my eye on you.
I am a bit of a liar. I had made a claim a while ago to never write about pants or men's grooming products. I am not going to talk about grooming products, but I am going to talk about pants. In particular, I am going to write about the TAD Gear Covert Pants RS. I got a pair for my birthday and I have been wearing them ever since. If they were merely great, I would bother breaking a promise, but they are so good, so fantastic, that I decided: "Fuck it, I'll write about pants." I am not a model, by any means, so there will only be one picture and it will be of functional things, not me wearing the pants in dangerous situations or jumping out of windows (like on the TAD Gear site). I have no interest in other pants really, so this is a one time thing (until I break that promise).
First, here is the shot that matters to folks like us:
The pants are made of nylon cotton (NYCO) and I chose the ripstop fabric, though it comes in other variations (including DC for "doomsday canvas"). I got this material because it is not as bulky as the DC version, but still has a good degree of wear resistance, and who doesn't like the look of graph paper on your pants? The pants run exceptionally short around the gut and large on the leg. I normally hit around a 32-34 waist and a 32-34 inseam. I got one pair of Covert pants that were the wrong size (which I sent back and TAD handled quite well) and now I am comfortably wearing a 36-30, though I'd prefer a 35-30.
They are very good for carrying gear. They have a bevy of pockets like all cargo pants, but these are TAD pants so those pockets are well designed and well made. The main side pockets have reinforcement fabric sewn into places where gear clips on to the pocket. Inside they have a large main compartment and in the bottom a small pocket inside a pocket, which is perfect for a clipless knife or flashlight. They have pockets on the front of your thighs that work great for things like your phone. They also have the normal butt pockets and rear leg pockets which they show holding clips of ammunition, but I found perfect for holding pens, pencils and an engineer's rule (inches in tenths, as if you needed more proof of the inferiority of the imperial system of measurement).
I paid $109 for mine, plus shipping, which was fast and well packaged. I have worn them on hikes, through the snow using a thermal underlayer (they repel water and stains quite well), and quite a bit down in the shop and doing home improvements. I did not paint in them because, well, I would be very mad at myself if I ruined them with paint. They work in the office, on casual days, looking pretty close to slacks (though I wouldn't count on people not noticing). They are probably as dressy as jeans (not fancy hipster $600 jeans, but real people jeans).
Here is the best and most accurate way I can sum up how much I like them: if you offered me twice their price right now I would say no. After breaking them in they are amazing.
TAD Gear Stealth Hoodie I have my eye on you.