Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Tuxedos and Origin Stories

Gorillafritz has an interesting tale on professional attire for firearms instructors and the origins of the "tactical tuxedo".

"I was there, Gandalf..." (photo by Oleg Volk)

The shoot-me-first vest in that photo is an O.G. one from Royal Robbins. I bought it in late '01 or very early '02, before there was a company called "5.11 Tactical"*. The buttons still have the little hiking dude from the famously granola-y outdoor apparel company.

To this day I prefer Royal Robbins for my gun burkhas.


*The Wikipedia article has a good history of how 5.11 Tactical came to be.

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