5.11 Tactical A.T.A.C.® 8" Side Zip Boot

I decided to do some reviews on items I use to help others make better buying decisions.  The first item I decided to do a review on is the 5.11 Tactical A.T.A.C.® 8" Side Zip Boot.  Now I have owned and worn four pair of these boots so far.  I am very rough on footwear and these boots have performed excellently.  These were my first 5.11 Tactical purchase and have been very impressed.  I have bought several other 5.11 Tactical items since due to the value and quality of these boots.
I have wide feet so bought the 12 Wides and they fit great right out of the box.  I am able to wear them for an entire shift on the first day without any problems.  I LOVE the side zip.  It is the best idea for boots ever.  I have heard of people having problems with side zips on boots, but with these boots I have never had a single issue and they have always held up like champs.  I tried a pair of side zip boots with a straight down the side zipper and had a very hard time getting the boot over my foot.  These boots have a zipper that follows the lace eyelets and are much easier to put on, but then zip up snug.  They shine up very nice and wear very well.  They fit like a tennis shoe.  The nylon sides stand up great, but unless you get a waterproof pair, don't get into too deep of water.  They have an awesome side pocket at the top that is perfect for a small knife.  I had a Ka-Bar Last Ditch Knife (LDK) in there and it fit perfectly and no one but me knew it was there.  With my last pair of boots I bought, they gave me a boot knife and it fits nicely in the pocket too.  It sticks out a bit higher as it is a bigger knife than the LDK.
My second pair of boots did seem to wear a little faster than the others.  I will admit that part of that was probably my fault.  I threw them on when I bought them and never too the time to adjust the laces and such after they broke in completely to fit right.  As a result, my heels rubbed the back of the boot and wore through the lining inside the boot faster than I would have liked.  It did not affect the way the boot wore but just wore quicker.  The other thing that happened to them was on the left foot something in the sole began to make a popping sound when I walked.  It was not very loud, but I noticed it.  I never figured out what was causing it because they were too comfortable to cut up to find out what it was.  And needless to say, it did not stop me from buying two more pair of these boots since.
One of my Sgt.'s has a pair he has worn for over 3 years and he has a parade gloss on them and they look brand new.  He must take much better care of his than I seem to be able to with mine.  I will end by saying these are great boots and I will continue to buy them as I need them.  They are not for everyone, but they are a great boot for a great price and will not disappoint.

Rifle Has Been Ordered

I got a call from the Remington rep today and was told that my rifle had finally been ordered. He said they told him it was a 30-45 day lead time. Guess they are not getting the special treatment he thought they would. Oh well. If they actually ordered the gun I told them to, it will be well worth the wait. I just wish they would have gotten their act together two months ago and ordered it then.

Another Update

So here we are over two months since my rifle was destroyed and guess what? Still no new gun. They did finally call and talk to me about it last week. They called to tell me they had a Bushmaster Patrolman rifle for me to come pick up. When I advised them that I never said I would take a Bushmaster, they insisted the Lt. said I would. As soon as I offered to get him on the line, they back peddled and began asking what I wanted. I told him what model was destroyed and told them I wanted a RRA Elite Operator 2 to replace it. RRA is running a smoking deal on them right now and they are actually cheaper right now than my original gun. He took my information and said he would get back with me. I called again the next day and he still had not done anything on it. Blamed the SHOT show in Vegas starting the next week. Then I got a call a week after the first one asking again about what rifle I wanted. As I expected, he was not listening. Then I was told it could still be a little while before they got it ordered due to the SHOT Show.

I talked to the other Officer whose gun blew up and he went last week to pick up his new gun. His previous gun was a Bushmaster Patrolman so it was replaced with an identical one almost. He had put a quad rail on his and it was damaged in the explosion. It was visibly bent right after. Remington said it looked OK to them. The Officer refused to accept the damaged one and they told him they would cut him a check from the main office in about 10 days. Then he had to worry about putting it on. They also made him drive to them to pick the gun up. It is about an hour and half one way. I have not at all been impressed with their customer service. He also told me that the rep said that the ammo blowing up has happened multiple times in the past.

Rifle Update

So, it has been a month since my rifle blew up in my hand and I still don't have a new one in my hand. Part of the hold up has been the time it took my Dept to get the stuff taken over to Remington. Though, I have to say if I were Remington, I would be bending over backward to make things right and sent someone to get the items. So the Lt. drove over and was hoping to get a tour of the plant and some royal treatment. He did not even get in the gate. The rep met him at the gate and picked up all the items and dismissed him. He said she was a little put out that we had made a Police report about the incident. She is also frustrated because my gun was not a Bushmaster.
She called the Lt. the other day asking him if I would take a Bushmaster to replace my rifle. She gave him the model number, but he did not write it down so did not know which one it is. I had to tell him I could not give an answer without knowing what gun they were going to give me. I am once again waiting to hear back. I did give him a RRA gun I would find acceptable to at least set a baseline. We will see what happens.

So yesterday I was at training with my department for patrol rifle. We were using our personally owned firearms and had finished training and were in the process of shooting a qual. We began the qualification at the 50 yard line where we fired four rounds.My first shot fired, but the rifle did not cycle completely.I cleared the malfunction by stripping the magazine and running the bolt a couple times, then replaced the magazine and fired the next three rounds without incident.We then moved to the 25 yard line and began the course of fire there.During that course of fire, I did not notice any malfunction prior to hearing a loud explosion, feeling gasses against my left wrist near the magazine well and feeling more recoil than usual.I began to do a malfunction clearance but then realized my magazine was missing from the rifle.I then looked at the rifle and saw that the upper receiver near the ejection port was swollen.

I inspected the rifle and found that the upper receiver had split at the ejection port as well as being pushed out.The dust cover was also arched.I could see the bolt carrier about an inch back from the forward position.I could see the extractor was pushed out from its normal position.Looking in the magazine well, I could see the bottom portion of the bolt carrier had split down from the main portion of the carrier.The forward assist was cracked.We retrieved the P-Mag and the front lip was visibly melted.I received no noticeable injury from the explosion other than some mild power burns on the inside of my left wrist.

I left the firing line to collect my things and take photos of my rifle.While I was taking photos, another Officer came back to the table and advised me that his rifle had done the same thing just a little while after mine had exploded.

My rifle was a Rock River Arms LAR-15. I bought it new two years ago and have put about 2000 rounds through it. The only problems I had with the gun during that time were from mag issues, either not being inserted all the way or on my USGI mags with the lips spreading and causing jams. The other rifle was a brand new Bushmaster with only about 80 rounds through it at the time. We were using Remington Premier Match 62 GR. HP (MATCH) R223R6 ammunition provided by the training staff.The lot number on the case was H16 NAI.This was the duty ammunition that we were going to use to qualify.

The rifles are being hand delivered to Remington next week for them to inspect and see what happened. We are hoping it is just a bad lot of ammo. We were told that they would make things right with us so we will see what comes from it.

So a few months ago, I made a big change in my career. I picked up and moved my whole family to a whole new part of the US. We came to a smaller area with a slower pace to life and a much lower cost of living. We are getting settled in and getting into a routine. One of the big changes from my previous department to my current department is I now have to buy all my own equipment except handgun, body armor, and radio. On top of that, I am a gear head and love my toys and gear. In my time, I have bought some awesome gear and some really lousy gear. I think I might also post some of my experiences on the gear I buy here to help others out. I will put out a disclaimer that I am not affiliated with any companies or suppliers, but I do tend toward being very loyal to those businesses that have treated me well. I will still try to provide a honest review of the actual item I buy.

Vanishing act

I'm driving on a stretch of highway one evening in my marked patrol car and all of the sudden, there is a SUV right on my tail. He whips into the left lane cutting between me and the vehicle that was in the right lane barely a car length back. I braced myself thinking he was going to plow into me, but thankfully he did not. He then darts ahead and cuts off the car that had been in front of me. I am trying to get caught up to him and get my lights activated and then the race is on. He is all over the road and into the median, speeding up to about 80 mph, then dropping to 40 mph. I was so glad that there was hardly anyone else on the road. I had got on the radio to advise of the pursuit and two other units got set up a couple miles ahead with spike strips and were waiting for him. We get up to the spike strips and thankfully he hit them. He kept going for a little bit while the air deflated and then he bailed off into the ditch just as we were about to get up to him and pin him in. We all hop out and get the driver into custody and haul him to my car where I begin to interview him.

He reeks of alcohol and has a hard time walking or talking. He begins to tell me that his brother told him to run from us or he would stab him. I asked where his brother was and he said he was at a house about 20 mile away. I verify with the other officers that there was no one else in the car when we got it stopped. I ask him how his brother was going to be able to stab him so far away and how his brother even knew we were pursuing him. He then told me that his brother had been with him in the vehicle up until the time we spiked the vehicle. I told him there was no one else in the vehicle and no one had run from the vehicle. His explanation was that his brother just vanished out of the car when we spiked it. He was all over the place with his explanation of what was going on.

We get him to a station to process him for the DUI and he begins the usual drunken highs and lows. One minute he is calm and cool, then yelling and screaming. He was upset with his brother and friend for setting him up and making him drive and run from us. He would then calm down and talk about what a great brother he had. He was only 19 yrs old and had already had convictions for minor consumption of alcohol. He will be one that we see on a regular basis for alcohol related calls.

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

So it was just after Christmas and it was the end of my work week. I was going to be taking the next several weeks off, so I wanted to have a nice quiet night. I had everything caught up and things were going well.

All of the sudden we get a robbery with a gun in progress at a local liquor store. I am not far, so I head to the area and am pulling up just after the area car arrives. I get out of my car and begin to walk in to see if he needs any help, when one of our unmarked traffic units goes out on a car in the parking lot. As he is walking up to the car, the driver takes off. The Officer said the driver matched the description of the suspect, so I go running back to my car and join the chase. I get caught up with it all up the road and pass by the unmarked unit. I was the third marked unit behind the suspect vehicle. The roads are kind of nasty with ice and snow. We have good snow banks on each side and the Sargents are telling us if we get a chance to put him in a snow bank. He heads up a road that only heads up to the mountains and is only one lane in each direction. He is running into both lanes trying to get away from us and all over the road. He makes a right turn onto another road that ends at the next main street up. From there the suspect can only head back down the mountain to town. Other officers are setting up up the road with spike strips and we are looking for opportunities to stop him. He makes the bend and is heading back to town, when the lead car sees an opening and attempts to force him off the road. As the officer makes contact with the rear side of the suspect vehicle, the suspect vehicle spins a full 360 degrees and the patrol car ends up barreling into the ditch. The patrol car pops back out but busted a tie rod, so he is out of the chase. The officers with the spike stips are just ahead and the suspect is able to get around them. The officer in front of me all the sudden gets on the radio telling me to pass him. The he says he hit the spikes and has a tire going flat. I pull up around him just as we are getting back into town and approaching another T-intersection.

Just as he is about to make a right turn at the intersection, I move into position and put my push bumpers into his right rear tire. He spins around and I have my eyes locked on the driver expecting at anytime for him to pull out the gun he had used to hold up the store and start shooting. Luckily that does not happen, but he opens the door and takes off running. I reach down to open my door just as another patrol car come flying up about 6 inches to my left to block the car from behind. Had I opened my door a half second sooner, it would have been gone. After he comes to a stop, both of us jump out along with several other officers that have arrive and chase him into the wooded area just the other side of the road.

He made it about 200 feet through the foot deep snow and then tripped over the railroad tracks. We all pointed in on him expecting him to pull out the gun and began yelling at him to show us his hands. He keeps digging his hands into his pockets out of our sight. We notice that he is having trouble pulling one of his hands out of the pocket and decided to take the opportunity to pounce on him and take him into custody. Several of us jump on him and try to get his arms behind his back to cuff him. We are able to get his left hand back, but he kept fighting with his right hand. Finally I was able to get his right hand pulled out from under him and got him cuffed up. As we pat him down, we don't find a gun but we do find some drugs, meth and heroin if I remember right. We get him hauled back to the street and get pulled off into a parking lot.

Another officer brings the clerk from the liquor store over to make an ID on him and amazingly, it is not the robber. The officer that has custody of him interviews him and find out the reason he ran is he was in the area for a drug transaction and thought that was why we were trying to bust him. Talk about the wrong place doing the wrong thing at the wrong time. Then because this was not related to the robbery and the chase ended in my area, guess who got stuck with the main report. Yep, yours truly, there goes my nice easy night getting off on time. I had to do the main report as well as take the guy before the magistrate for bail and then to jail. I also had to fill out forms regarding the damage that occurred to my car from hitting him and then the other police car coming in and hitting my front corner. I only wish I had a dash cam to have caught it all on video.