In recent years, the tactical clothing market has practically exploded with a cornucopia of new products, all touting that they are the next revolution in clothing for military and law enforcement.
As is to be expected, a lot of these products are much ado about nothing, but every now and then you do see some real innovation. TRU-SPEC Atlanco has long been a supplier to both the US military and to law enforcement in the US with their varied lines of classically cut BDUs, ACU, and even a line of more discrete tactical clothing. The line that we'll look at today, however, is probably their most over-built and heavy duty apparel line; the TRU XTREME. The TRU stands for "Tactical Response Uniform" and is TRU-SPECs' answer to the needs of police SWAT teams, FBI HRT, and other, mostly civilian tactical teams. That's not to say that they're not built tough enough to handle military use, but the features, cut, and so on, might get you in trouble with the uniform nazis. Anyways, let's move on to the meat of the review and we'll start with the specs from TRU-SPEC. Since this is an entire clothing system, we're going to look at the specs for each part as we move through the review and we'll start with the Combat Shirt.
Combat Shirt:
Description
Constructed from 50/50 nylon cotton rip-stop sleeves with a No Melt, No Drip CORDURA®Baselayer™ 60/40 cotton nylon body
Mandarin collar that can be worn up or down to keep out debris and lined with the jersey fabric in the collar for added comfort
Zipper front closure with zipper hood for comfort
Loop faced shoulder pockets for patches, with hook & loop closure and hidden front zipper pocket
Articulated elbows
SuperFabric® elbows
Tri pocket with document window and 3 exterior pen/pencil slots on the sleeve with tunnel system for alternating tri-pocket from left to right arm
Angled cuff for added wrist/ hand protection with adjustable hook & loop closure
Imported
TRU XTREME Vest:
Description
Constructed of 50/50 nylon cotton rip-stop material
Designed to fit over combat shirt to create a more uniform look without changing out
Mandarin collar can be worn up or down to keep out debris
Zippered with hook & loop closure on front placket with a smooth uniform appearance
Bellowed chest pockets with inverted pleat, hook & loop closure and hidden front zipper pocket and pencil stall
Imported
TRU XTREME Pants:
Description
Constructed from 50/50 nylon cotton rip-stop material
Slider waistband for a comfortable fit
1" wide belt loops with 2-1/4" opening
Customized TRU-SPEC® original PRYM™ snap with YKK® brass zipper closure
Hidden internal handcuff key pocket in waistband
Reinforced front slash pocket openings to cut down on wear
Deep front pockets with hidden internal pocket
2-knife/accessory pockets with stiff fused inner lining on both sides
Diamond shaped gusseted crotch for ease of movement
2-leg cargo pockets with inverted pleat and angled opposing pleats, mitered flaps with hook & loop closure creating a unique pocket bellow that expands into a large space
Internal hidden front zipper pocket on both leg cargo pockets
2-bellowed lower leg cargo pockets with inverted pleat and mitered flaps with hook & loop closure
SuperFabric® covered external knee pockets with external openings for knee pads secured with hook & loop closures
Articulated knees for added mobility and comfort
Expandable zipper lower leg opening with mesh lining
1" clean finished leg hems with elastic and adjustable button closure
Imported
Now, we're actually going to look at one more item, but it appears that it is either not made anymore or it is out of stock on the TRU-SPEC website, and that's the TRU XTREME Jacket. You'll see pictures of that further down, but for now, just think of it as being the vest and the sleeve portion of the Combat Shirt. The features are pretty much identical.
What you can see from the above specifications might at first glance look like a million other tactical uniforms out there, but there are numerous details that really stand out. One is the use of SuperFabric. Now, you might wonder what that is, and the best explanation I can come up with is that it is essentially synthetic stingray skin. Or at least, it works exactly the same way. You have a durable and flexible fabric substrate which is then covered with durably bonded nodules of a fairly hard plastic. The result is an incredibly abrasion-resistant material which retains the ability to move with your body. The overall effect is almost completely identical to stingray leather.
But enough of the background, let's look at some pictures. There's going to be a lot of them... Fair warning.
We'll start with the Combat Shirt.
Moving on to the vest, this piece is meant to be worn over the Combat Shirt, typically while "in garrison". Or pretty much anytime you're not wearing a ton of armor and gear.
Now, we'll take a brief look at the jacket. As the jacket has many features in common with both the Combat Shirt and the Vest, we're going to look primarily at the differences.
Lastly, let's take a closer look at that SuperFabric, shall we?
So, now you've seen all the features of the TRU XTREME line. It's a remarkably well-designed garment line and I've enjoyed using it for a variety of different tasks. It is comfortable, even for extended wear and seems to be exceedingly durable. I've also noticed that the fabric seems to do an outstanding job of shedding dirt and dust. Even after being practically covered in the fine New Mexico dust, a quick dusting off with your hands and the TRU Xtreme looked clean again. The cut is generous, but not overly baggy, and it moves extremely well with you, never getting in the way. I am for the most part very impressed with this. Oh, and that handcuff key pocket that is mentioned in the specs? Yeah, it's there. It's subtle, it's unobtrusive, and no, I'm not going to show you where it is. No point in making it too easy.
Oh and one last thing; all pockets are symmetrical. Now, what I mean by that is that the layout, position and number of pockets is exactly the same on both left and right sides of the garments. I. LOVE. This. One of my biggest pet peeves is this odd fashion these days of putting pockets only on one side. Very wisely, TRU-SPEC did not fall into this trap!
Color options should be enough for just about everybody as it comes in everything from black to MultiCam. The items you see here are in the Olive Drab color way.
Now, that being all said and done with, let's look at the negatives.
The forearm document holder/pen stall is a little on the bulky side and on one of them, a snap broke the first time I attempted to remove it. I have no problems understanding their reasoning for including this feature, but I've found it to be somewhat redundant.
I found a lot of loose threads. Almost everywhere. And more appear as you wash the clothing. Interestingly, I found no bad seams, but the manufacturing process seems to result in a lot of excess, loose threads and that is somewhat annoying. I'd like to see some more attention paid to cleaning up and finishing the garments, especially given that the price point isn't exactly on the cheap end of the scale. And just general QC. That busted snap shouldn't have happened. It was just poorly set from the factory, something that really should have been caught in QC.
My last minor nitpick is the mesh used in the lower leg expandable portion. The material is certainly comfortable and you really don't notice it, but that lower edge frays incredibly quickly and if there is a weak point in the TRU XTREME as far as materials go, that would be it. Reinforcing that bottom edge with some edge-binding tape would go a long way to completely eliminating this issue.
Other than these relatively minor nits, I really can't complain. I like this stuff a lot and I have every intention of wearing it to pieces.
Recommended.
Thanks to Stephanie at TRU-SPEC for letting me review these products.
Constructed from 50/50 nylon cotton rip-stop material
Slider waistband for a comfortable fit
1" wide belt loops with 2-1/4" opening
Customized TRU-SPEC® original PRYM™ snap with YKK® brass zipper closure
Hidden internal handcuff key pocket in waistband
Reinforced front slash pocket openings to cut down on wear
Deep front pockets with hidden internal pocket
2-knife/accessory pockets with stiff fused inner lining on both sides
Diamond shaped gusseted crotch for ease of movement
2-leg cargo pockets with inverted pleat and angled opposing pleats, mitered flaps with hook & loop closure creating a unique pocket bellow that expands into a large space
Internal hidden front zipper pocket on both leg cargo pockets
2-bellowed lower leg cargo pockets with inverted pleat and mitered flaps with hook & loop closure
SuperFabric® covered external knee pockets with external openings for knee pads secured with hook & loop closures
Articulated knees for added mobility and comfort
Expandable zipper lower leg opening with mesh lining
1" clean finished leg hems with elastic and adjustable button closure
Imported
Now, we're actually going to look at one more item, but it appears that it is either not made anymore or it is out of stock on the TRU-SPEC website, and that's the TRU XTREME Jacket. You'll see pictures of that further down, but for now, just think of it as being the vest and the sleeve portion of the Combat Shirt. The features are pretty much identical.
What you can see from the above specifications might at first glance look like a million other tactical uniforms out there, but there are numerous details that really stand out. One is the use of SuperFabric. Now, you might wonder what that is, and the best explanation I can come up with is that it is essentially synthetic stingray skin. Or at least, it works exactly the same way. You have a durable and flexible fabric substrate which is then covered with durably bonded nodules of a fairly hard plastic. The result is an incredibly abrasion-resistant material which retains the ability to move with your body. The overall effect is almost completely identical to stingray leather.
But enough of the background, let's look at some pictures. There's going to be a lot of them... Fair warning.
We'll start with the Combat Shirt.
The Combat Shirt is meant to be used with armor or load-bearing vests. The torso portion, except for the shoulders, uses a Cordura base-layer material which is no-melt/no-drip. It's quite comfortable and seems to do an excellent job at wicking away sweat. The torso portion is quite long and stays tucked in, even when crouched. The shoulders use the same ripstop material as the sleeves to protect the shoulders from abrasion. The collar portion uses the Cordura baselayer on the inside and the ripstop on the outside. Thanks to the cotton content, it is also pretty resistant to developing odors.
The Cordura baselayer material feels largely like a good quality technical t-shirt. It really is very comfortable against your skin.
The zipper has a flap that protects your chin from the zipper teeth. All the zippers on the TRU XTREME tends to use these zipper pulls. They are textured for grip and are pretty glove-friendly.
Here you can see how the baselayer material is brought up into the arm pit to facilitate better wicking and breathability. All seams are unobtrusive.
The bicep pockets are quite well-designed. There is a large bellowed pocket underneath the loop-covered flap, with a flatter, zippered side-entry pocket. You can see the zipper-pull for the rear pocket in this picture.
An interior shot of the rear zippered pocket. This is a pretty nice feature and seems to add no extra bulk when not in use.
Here you can see the bellow pleat used for the main bicep pocket. It faces to the rear, to minimize the risk of it catching on terrain features.
The elbows have a pad pocket, with a hook-&-loop closure. Any nunber of different pads could be used here. The weird-looking material you can see on the elbow is the SuperFabric.
The cuffs are well-designed and angled to provide fuller coverage. I find them to be eminently comfortable with or without gloves and they offer a good range of adjustment. In this picture you can also see the removable pen sleeve/document carrier.
Inside shot of the document portion. Clear vinyl window lets you see the contents. I'm not entirely sold on this idea as it does add some considerable bulk and stiffness to that portion of the sleeve whe n it is installed.
A shot of the attachment method. Three Prym snaps are used. It is somewhat similar to a MOLLE arrangement.
A rear shot of the Combat Shirt. Note that the elbows are articulated. Generally mobility and comfort in the Combat Shirt is impeccable.
Moving on to the vest, this piece is meant to be worn over the Combat Shirt, typically while "in garrison". Or pretty much anytime you're not wearing a ton of armor and gear.
The vest has four pockets total, using a similar pocket design as the bicep pockets that the Combat Shirt uses, with a bellowed, flapped front portion and a zippered, flat, rear pocket.
This gives it a very clean, stream-lined look when the pockets aren't in use. They're almost completely unnoticeable which is exactly how it should be.
Note however, that as standard, these do not come with hook-&-loop mounted for nametapes or rank patches. However TRU-SPEC sells a conversion kit that comes with the hook-&-loop and optional fabric for embroidering.
Inside shot of the rear pocket. It fills the entire portion behind the front pocket. The side access also lets you access it while wearing a vest or armor, if you do choose to wear such gear over the vest.
Inside shot of the bellowed front pocket. These pockets will hold a surprising amount of stuff.
The left pocket has an opening in the top of the flap. This is ostensibly meant to function as a pen "stall". I can't really say that I've used it much for that. My sunglasses fit nicely into that opening though...
The front is closed with a durable, self-cleaning plastic coil- zipper and hook-&-loop patches, This arrangement should look familiar to anyone familiar with the ACU.
The same goes for the mandarin collar. This is an identical layout as you see on the ACU.
The collar here is laid down the way you would wear it in garrison or when not wearing it with armor.
Rear shot of the vest. The vest is a pretty simple garment, but it works well and is quite comfortable.
Note that there are no seams directly on top of the shoulder. This minimizes pressure spots when using it with a pack, armor or an LBE vest.
\
Now, let's take a look at the pants.
The pants have a veritable profusion of pockets. It really is quite impressive. Two front-slash pockets, each with a hidden internal pocket big enough to hold IDs, credit cards, or other small items. Two Accessory/pocket knife/flashlight pockets above these front slash pockets. Two rear, bellowed pockets with flaps that can be tucked away. Two large bellowed thigh cargo pockets with an internal smaller pocket, with rear zipper compartment that is readily accessible when seated in a vehicle or otherwise seated. And finally, two lower leg pockets.
Note also that the knees have a pad pocket that is accessible from the outside.
Inside shot of the thigh rear zippered pocket. I like carrying a wallet or phone in this. This pocket is also a good fit for a field notebook or other relatively flat items.
Expandable waistband detail. The pant really moves well with you, thanks to this, which also makes carrying a pistol IWB very comfortable.
Outside shot of the thigh cargo pocket. These pockets are very roomy and the bellows work quite well.
Lower leg pocket. Also bellowed, which helps keep contents from shifting around too much.
The lower leg also has a side zipper, with a mesh backing. This allows you to cinch down the lower leg elastic around a boot, but still remove the boots without having to readjust the elastic. It's a very clever system. The mesh fabric could be a little more durable though, as it has started to fray at the bottom edge. Perhaps a reinforcement tape could work here.
And here's the lower cuff adjustment. This is one of the best approaches that I've seen and is far and away a better solution than the vast majority of drawstrings and such that you see in the market. I'm seriously taking my hat off for TRU-SPEC on this one. Brilliant solution.
The rear pocket arrangement can be seen here. Note that the pants have a diamond-gusseted crotch and articulated knees. I find them to be highly mobile, despite the lack of any stretch material and they don't impede my movements at all, even in extreme positions. I can't say the same for pretty much all my 5.11 pants.
Close-up of the diamond gusset crotch. All the seams are quite sturdy and are typically doubled.
A shot of the accessory pocket with a Benchmade 710 pocket knife in it.
And here with an Inforce 6VX flashlight. Both items fit very well into these pockets.
The pants are self-pocketed, meaning that the pocket liner is the same fabric as the rest of the pant. Exceedingly durable and one of my favorite options on hard-use pants.
As you can see, the jacket combines the pockets of the vest and the Combat Shirt and can be used in the same way any typical uniform jacket would be. As I am not military any longer, I've taken to using this as a general light jacket for which it does an admirable job.
The armpit is vented, which is a nice touch. These vents are also completely unobtrusive in use.
The back of the jacket is also vented, and is lined with a wicking, breathable mesh material on the inside.
You can see the vented back here.
And a look inside the vented area. Note that the vent is kept in place with a couple of hook-&-loop patches.
In this shot you can really see the individual plastic nodules. It is a remarkably effective system at mitigating abrasion and providing puncture resistance.
And here, the label that denotes this as being the real deal.
So, now you've seen all the features of the TRU XTREME line. It's a remarkably well-designed garment line and I've enjoyed using it for a variety of different tasks. It is comfortable, even for extended wear and seems to be exceedingly durable. I've also noticed that the fabric seems to do an outstanding job of shedding dirt and dust. Even after being practically covered in the fine New Mexico dust, a quick dusting off with your hands and the TRU Xtreme looked clean again. The cut is generous, but not overly baggy, and it moves extremely well with you, never getting in the way. I am for the most part very impressed with this. Oh, and that handcuff key pocket that is mentioned in the specs? Yeah, it's there. It's subtle, it's unobtrusive, and no, I'm not going to show you where it is. No point in making it too easy.
Oh and one last thing; all pockets are symmetrical. Now, what I mean by that is that the layout, position and number of pockets is exactly the same on both left and right sides of the garments. I. LOVE. This. One of my biggest pet peeves is this odd fashion these days of putting pockets only on one side. Very wisely, TRU-SPEC did not fall into this trap!
Color options should be enough for just about everybody as it comes in everything from black to MultiCam. The items you see here are in the Olive Drab color way.
Now, that being all said and done with, let's look at the negatives.
The forearm document holder/pen stall is a little on the bulky side and on one of them, a snap broke the first time I attempted to remove it. I have no problems understanding their reasoning for including this feature, but I've found it to be somewhat redundant.
I found a lot of loose threads. Almost everywhere. And more appear as you wash the clothing. Interestingly, I found no bad seams, but the manufacturing process seems to result in a lot of excess, loose threads and that is somewhat annoying. I'd like to see some more attention paid to cleaning up and finishing the garments, especially given that the price point isn't exactly on the cheap end of the scale. And just general QC. That busted snap shouldn't have happened. It was just poorly set from the factory, something that really should have been caught in QC.
My last minor nitpick is the mesh used in the lower leg expandable portion. The material is certainly comfortable and you really don't notice it, but that lower edge frays incredibly quickly and if there is a weak point in the TRU XTREME as far as materials go, that would be it. Reinforcing that bottom edge with some edge-binding tape would go a long way to completely eliminating this issue.
Other than these relatively minor nits, I really can't complain. I like this stuff a lot and I have every intention of wearing it to pieces.
Recommended.
Thanks to Stephanie at TRU-SPEC for letting me review these products.
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