Metrotactical

[SapperLeader]

I dont think of myself as metro tactical, but I do use some of the stuff here. I have been using oakleys and camelbacks before I ever got back into shooting. I do wear royal robbin pants, but thats more because Im a pocket junkie, and have been since I as four and had my mom make pants covered in pockets. Ive been wearing boots my whole life, as I prefer them to sneakers except in summer time. I also like 1911s, bhp, and long walks in the parks, so i guess it all balances out .

 

[Bravo11]

I've never owned a camelback. I usually slip a water bottle or two into a belt carrier or cargo pockets. Are they really that good of an item or is it just a "metrotactical" thing?

 

[Mark Tyson]

A lot of bikers, hikers and outdoorsmen use Camelback canteens - they are pretty nifty.

So what do you call the guy that has both, "tactical weapons" and traditional?

You call him an American!

 

[TechBrute]

A lot of bikers, hikers and outdoorsmen use Camelback canteens - they are pretty nifty.

Yeah, and the civilian line would never pass for Metrotactical, anyway. Too many bright colors. I personall opted for the desert, as it is the lightest color, and all the civilian ones use black. I don't want to walk around Six Flags park in August in Texas with a black pack that has my water in it. The particular desert Mule that I have doesn't have very much pattern on it, it's mostly just tan. I only own 2 cammie items: a boonie that's either urban or artic, I don't know which, and my Mule, which doesn't have much of a pattern on it.

 

[axeman_g]

Here is a metrotactical fashion failure

I started using a camelback for bird hunting a few years ago. It is a great way to carry water for yourself and dogs. My setters love being squirted in the mouth with water from the hose apparatus. Plus it carries a really good amount, just enough for a hunter and trwo dogs on a warm day for about 4 hours.

It goes really well with my Barbour upland coat, Filson chaps, llbean chamois shirts, OD jungle boots, Benelli Nova 20g, Glock 20 and slingshot for squirell tagging.

I am a "Skunk Eye for the Tactical Guy" candidate if there ever was one .....

 

[jsalcedo]

Is the camelback suitable for making one large martini for the man on the go?

 

[BerettaNut92]

Metrotactical isn't taking a Camelbak to patio brunch at the Cheesecake factory, it's taking a Prada bag to the range.....

 

[axeman_g]

oooohhh

so Jessica Simpson taking her Louis Vutton bag camping and skeet shooting would be "metrosexual" ... if she was a guy ... and if that was the case I dont think I would watch.

She could carry a CZ97 in that thing and nobody would ever know ....

 

[Bix]

jsaleco-

Not sure if the camelback would be good for mixing drinks, but I have found that Nalgene bottles make fantastic field-expedient martini shakers.

 

[Jim March]

Retrotactical: big-bore wheelgun in a Threepersons speed holster circa 1930ish . Or a "Tombstone-style" extreme-speed shoulder rig (only 1" of barrel covered, leather-covered steel spring across the cylinder) which dates to about 1880 and is STILL among the faster shoulder rigs ever made.

And let's not even start with Fitz-type triggerguards that are fast as hell and given modern safety sensibilities the heeby-jeebies. (Front half of triggerguard is hacksawed off!)

 

[DrDremel]

First let me say that I thought the term was funny and needed some explanation. Second, I am not saying if you have these items that you are a poser. But if you focus only on looks or brand of an item or firearm, and are not particularly good at using the items, that is someone that is Metrotactical.
Hey, I was tactical back when it was called practical and came in colors other than black or OD Green.
I was patriotic before being patriotic was cool.

 

[TechBrute]

But if you focus only on looks or brand of an item or firearm, and are not particularly good at using the items, that is someone that is Metrotactical.

No, Metrotactical (as per Skunk's definition, which is what I'm deferring to) does not refer to one's ability, only to their appearance. Being a bad shooter is just called being a bad shooter.

Focusing on looks and brand of an item is being "Uber-tactical," "having Tacticality," or being "Tacticool." Again having nothing to do with one's ability.

 

[BenW]

They have larger than normal front pockets so if you wanted to carry a Kel-tec p-11 in a front pocket hoslter you could

I prefer jeans so that when I walk up to people they can ask me, "Is that a Kel-Tec in your pants, or are you just glad to see me?" Of course I don't actually have a Kel-Tec because size matters (in self defense pistols).

 

[patent]

I originally intended it for those of us who are more likely to be seen in a Brooks Brothers suit or Hugo Boss slacks than Royal Robbins 5.11 Tacticals and Oakley boots, but under a thin veneer of Starbucks-sipping yuppieflage, we're just as tactical as Gecko45.

That was pretty much how I understood metrotactical. Camoflauge for those who have to work in the business world, travel through the city, etc. Can't blend in wearing black or camoflauge, but wear khaki slacks or a dark suit and you are invisible.

patent

 

[yayarx7]

jsaleco-

Not sure if the camelback would be good for mixing drinks, but I have found that Nalgene bottles make fantastic field-expedient martini shakers.

The CamelBak is great for mixed drinks. NOTE: SOJU and orange juice will stain the plastic a very ugly orange-brown.

The original CamelBak, with the inner water pouch removed, will hold 3 canned beers, and keep them cold for quite a while.

 

[BerettaNut92]

Engage! Engage! Engage!

 

[BerettaNut92]

Soju and orange juice..hmm....

 

[Brian Dale]

Oh...

It begins to sink in for Happy (sometimes a little slow on the uptake) Bob:
so when I wrote about wearing my "office-park camo" and fitting in with my surroundings, that means ...



Well, ok.

 

[bradvanhorn]

Soju?! Oh boy, I can feel the hangover already

I didn't catch all the responses about Royal Robbins pants... Here's my formula: brown shoes + Royal Robbins pants + some sort of polo shirt + cool looking shades + a butt pack (for their handgun) + maybe a ball cap = one federal agent; usually FBI or the like. Since I'm in the Marine Corps, I have come to believe this is the casual attire of nearly every NCIS agent I've ever encountered.

 

[Shalako]

Having witnessed a few Metros, I'd think Metrotactical would be more like:

"Ohh, don't I look just awesome in this LBV?!"

"I'm just not sure, do these goggles clash with my balaclava?"

"Oh, I hate glocks, my bracelet always snags in the hole thingy when I do speed drills."

...or some such. Not me though. When I get all my gear on and pose in the mirror, no one else ever hears about it.....

 

[Travis McGee]

I think 3/4 of the folks at the SHOT show were wearing RR5.11 pants, I swear. Mostly in stone or gray.

 

[Kodiak AK]

Shouldn't that be a black or a green card?

 

[cdislicker]

I'd have put skunkabilly on the red card.

On another note, just bought a new suit. The front pockets of the jacket were partially divided vertically. My first thought ... "built in mag holsters, cool!"

 

[atek3]

I love these threads too. Me, I were 5.11's, a Royal Robbins shortsleeve button down, and a RR vest, EVERY DAY. No boots yet. No oakley's either. I do prefer my pistols plastic, and my rifles black. Making me roughly 75% tactical. Not super 'metrotactical' though, as I have NOTHING metro (no conditioner, no nice clothing, never seen QEFSG, etc. etc.)

atek3

 

[Brian Dale]

word origins

Per Skunky:

I originally intended it for those of us who are more likely to be seen in a Brooks Brothers suit or Hugo Boss slacks than Royal Robbins 5.11 Tacticals and Oakley boots, but under a thin veneer of Starbucks-sipping yuppieflage, we're just as tactical as Gecko45.

On the other hand, threadstarter DrDremel proposes

a person that tends to only use or purchase items that are marketed as tactical or come in black, grey, or camouflage, also items in carbon fiber, kydex, titanium, or other similar materials.

We've already got lots of words for people who buy all of the latest cool-looking stuff. Some of these folks shoot really well; some are learning and want equipment that doesn't get in their way, and a few are complete posers. From Salon (Eeewwww!), an explanation of parent word "metrosexual":

... to determine a metrosexual, all you have to do is look at them. In fact, if you're looking at them, they're almost certainly metrosexual. The typical metrosexual is a young man with money to spend, living in or within easy reach of a metropolis -- because that's where all the best shops, clubs, gyms and hairdressers are. He might be officially gay, straight or bisexual, but this is utterly immaterial because he has clearly taken himself as his own love object ...

So by comparison, if we're looking at them, and if words had to be pedantic reflections of other terms, with the assumption that only the simplest parallels can be true, then "metro" means flashy and superficial, and metrotactical = gear geek.

That's not what "metro" means, though. A metropolis is the chief city in an area, the center of activity. It's a commercial center, and someplace where there's usually no room for a shooting range. People there are busy in commerce, government and the like. No big game hunting in the city, no snakes to be shot; you get the idea. Of course people carry arms for defending themselves, but outward appearance is of having attention focused on business. Suits, business casual — the "I have a good job" look. The gear and the skill are concealed beneath a veneer of ordinary business clothing.

I go with Skunky's definition.