5.11 Tactical (pronounced "five eleven tactical") is an American apparel brand of outdoor clothing, footwear, uniforms and
tactical equipment, primarily targeting the market of military, law enforcement and
public safety
Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...
personnel. The company is based in
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
, and operates a chain of retail stores with over 100 locations as of August 2023.
History
5.11 started in
Modesto, California
Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...
, as a clothing
line created by rock climber
Royal Robbins. Upon reaching the top of a climb in
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...
, Robbins noticed that the pants he was wearing were not suited for climbing and decided that he needed to design something more durable and with better functionality. He and his wife
Liz Robbins owned a boot and clothing company, Royal Robbins LLC, and began manufacturing
specialty pants by the name of "5.11" in 1968, which had a trademarked strap-and-slash pocket design.
The name "5.11" comes from a high level of climbing difficulty listed in the
Yosemite Decimal System
The Yosemite Decimal System (YDS) is a five-part Grade (climbing), grading system used for rating the difficulty of rock climbing climbing routes, routes in the United States and Canada. It was first devised by members of the Sierra Club in Southe ...
, which Robbins helped develop in the 1950s.
The difficulty level is somewhat jokingly defined as "after thorough inspection, you conclude this move is obviously impossible; however, occasionally someone actually accomplishes it".
Robbins sold a 51% stake in his company to Dan Costa in 1999,
who, after much streamlining, noticed that the 5.11 pants were becoming popular at the
FBI Academy in
Quantico, Virginia
Quantico (; formerly Potomac) is a town in southeastern Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 578 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., bound ...
.
Costa bought the entire company in 2002 and ended up selling Royal Robbins Clothing back to Robbins in 2003, but kept the 5.11 brand and spun off a whole new company called 511 Inc. or 5.11 Tactical. Partnering with the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
, Dan Costa and his co-partner Francisco Morales began creating additional tactical apparel and improving on the existing product line.
In 2006, 5.11 Tactical was ranked #211 on
''Inc.'' magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the nation.
In 2007,
TA Associates
TA Associates Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm and was one of the early modern-era private equity firms in the United States. The firm leads buyouts and minority recapitalizations of profitable growth companies. TA invests acros ...
, a Boston
private equity firm
A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...
, bought a
majority stake in 5.11 Tactical for $305 million.
In 2012, 5.11 Tactical purchased Seattle-based custom
outdoor apparel brand Beyond Clothing LLC, for an undisclosed amount.
An
April Fools
April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...
' joke that same year resulted in the production of the Tactical Duty contemporary
kilt
A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
. Also in 2012, the company announced it was moving development jobs to
Irvine, California
Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...
, while leaving some functions in Modesto.
In 2014, the company expanded into retail and opened pilot locations in
Riverside and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, and the following two years it opened stores in California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Utah and Australia.
In 2016, the company was acquired by Compass Diversified Holdings for US$401 million.
Retail stores
As of August 2023, 5.11 Tactical operated a chain of over 100 retail stores across 34 states in the United States, as well as overseas branches in Australia, Bahrain, China, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Philippines,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and Taiwan. Additionally, the flagship store was established in Finland in August 2020.
In 2023, they have continued their plan to open new stores with multiple locations under development.
In popular culture
Actress
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Company ...
and her co-stars wore 5.11 watches in the 2007 film ''
The Kingdom''.
In the episode "
The Truth Has a Ring to It" from the second season of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
series
Barry, Monroe Fuches (portrayed by
Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the NBC sitcom ''NewsRadio'' (1995–1999), as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and voiced Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland on the a ...
) is seen wearing a 5.11 backpack.
Table of 5.11 products featured in various video games:
References
{{Coord, 37, 42.1, N, 121, 0, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title
Clothing brands of the United States
United States military uniforms
Law enforcement uniforms
Clothing companies established in 1992
1992 establishments in California
American companies established in 1992