I have had the chance to review the Claw Gear Stalker TDU Combat uniform and I was very impressed not only with its looks but also with its functionality. Throughout my years in Airsoft, I have seen the sport or hobby evolve to a new level. A level where players actually try and get themselves immersed into the combat experience in as much realism as they could possibly do. And as I have always mentioned, if a player is financially capable, there is nothing preventing them from getting authentic real world combat gears. The only thing that has to remain replicas are, of course, the firearms.

With the emergence of very serious and financially unburdened players, airsoft retailers have also stepped-up their game by making authentic combat gears available to them. There are loads of authentic combat gears out in the market today ranging from used second hand material to brand new and newly designed gears that were purposely made to suit the soldier out in the field of combat. And players who are able to afford to buy these gears go for the best possible design in order to get their money's worth.

When I reviewed the original design of the Stalker TDU combat trousers, I was amazed with how clever the design concept was. It was designed with the user in mind and at that time I thought that no other design would be able to out do it. A short time after that review, I had a chance to speak to Ian of Baseline Supplies and he informed me that they are releasing an MKII version of the Stalker TDU combat trousers. This made me very curious and wondered what they made to improve the already impressive design of the original one. Luckily, Ian was kind enough to send me a sample for me to review.

My first impression when I got the Stalker MKII trousers was that it actually looked better than the original one. One obvious thing that I noticed is that the designer addressed the concern that I had with the original one, which is that with all the pockets and MOLLE webbing that it had, it had a potential problem of being too heavy when loaded up and that the user could literally loose his pants due to the weight of the trousers.

My first impression when I got the Stalker MKII trousers was that it actually looked better than the original one. One obvious thing that I noticed is that the designer addressed the concern that I had with the original one, which is that with all the pockets and MOLLE webbing that it had, it had a potential problem of being too heavy when loaded up and that the user could literally lose his pants due to the weight of the trousers.

Some changes that I have noticed is that the waist line has attachments to accommodate suspenders to hold the trousers up in place. They also added a Velcro strap to adjust the size of the waist for a better fit. The webbing around the thighs of the original design was removed and replaced with another velcro strap around the thigh, again making it possible to adjust the fit or the looseness of the trousers.

The straps originate from the mid part of the side cargo pockets and extend outwards from both sides of the pocket. The small thin strap behind the knee pad of the original one has also been re-designed and replaced with two wider Velcro straps adding more comfort and fit around the back of the knee area.

The pockets also had a bit of an upgrade. From what I can see, the MKII seems to have more pockets than the original one. The design that I call "pockets inside pockets" still exist but it seemed that they added more. The two front pockets are very deep so less danger of accidentally of stuff from falling off. These pockets have additional two inner pockets them so that makes it 6 pockets already. Below each front pocket are two smaller open pockets which makes it 8 in all. The cargo pockets have two main layers, a slightly small outer one and a bigger main pocket. Inside the main pocket are another two pockets supported by an elastic web. From their size, they can hold M4 magazines. This now brings my pocket count to 14. The size of the opening of the main cargo pocket can be adjusted by a pull string located on the back side of the pockets. There is also a small Velcro patch on each front of the cargo pockets.

As we head lower, the knee pad design appears to be unchanged. On the outer side of each knee pad is another set of pockets with webbings inside and out and each pocket has a secondary small pocket outside. So we now have 18 pockets so far.

The bottom of the trousers also had a redesign. They removed the overlapping bottom and replaced it with a zipper and elastic seam and a Velcro lock. At the back, the design is again almost similar to the original one with extra protection given to the bum area. And lastly we find the rear back pockets, which brings my pocket count to 20 in total.

With the original version, all buttons are extra large for easy use even with gloved hands, a clever change that I noticed is that the cargo and back pockets which had buttoned covers on the original one now have a secondary covers that protect the buttons from getting caught or entangled with anything.

OUT THERE IN THE FIELD...

I had a chance to use these trousers during the Airsoft National Event here in England. The trousers were very impressive and vey comfortable to wear. The velcro straps around the legs made it easy to make the trousers fit my skinny legs preventing it from twisting around when I move. The Velcro strap around the waist was also enough to keep my trousers in place but I would still suggest using suspenders if you are planning to load up the pockets with heavy things like fully-loaded magazines.

The double pocket covers worked well as I was able to go through overgrown bushes without my buttons getting caught on the branches. Durability was also impressive, I slid down a hill on my bum and aside from mud stains, no damage was done on them. Please note that the slide that I made was done on purpose to test the durability of the trousers. I did not slip...believe me.

The only complaint I have was the stitches inside the crotch area were a bit sharp and were digging into the inside of my thighs when moving. I have raised this issue with Ian immediately and he promised to sort it out with the manufacturer although he mentioned that he has not had a similar complain from other customers who bought the trousers.

In summary, the Stalker TDU combat trousers MKII are a big improvement from the already impressive original design. A definite recommendation for anyone looking for combat trousers to use either for airsoft or for real life combat duty. Basically, what Claw Gear have done here is make a good product even better.

Many thanks to Ian Balfour of Baseline Supplies for sending us the trousers for review.