If you’re like me there tends to be a lot of overlap between the video games you play and the hobbies you have. I don’t play much, but when I do it is some form of shooter game, with my most recent being Far Cry 5. If you read my review of Far Cry 5 you know that 5.11 Tactical has a few pieces of gear that makes an appearance here and there. One piece of gear is the 5.11 Sidewinder flannel shirt, which is perfectly at home in the out west setting of Far Cry 5. We got our hands on one and I’ve taken it down south… For better or worse.
The 5.11 Sidewinder Specs
The Sidewinder is made almost entirely from polyester. The main portion of the shirt is 100% polyester yarn dyed flannel. The shoulders are slightly different and are 91% polyester and 9% spandex. The shoulders also a dark grey versus whatever color you choose for your shirt. The shirt does have three different colors, Mosstone, Grenade, and Fireball. I went with Grenade.
The 7 buttons are all faux and are actually snaps. This makes it easy to get the shirt open in a hurry, which of course may be necessary to get your gun into play. The pocket buttons are the same.
There are two massive hidden pockets on each side of the shirt that is sealed via velcro. They are hidden enough I didn’t realize they were until I noticed some mesh on the inside of the shirt. These pockets allow you to easily store important documents, money, and other items you’d want to keep a low profile on.
Concealed Carry
One thing I love about flannels is the patterns really help conceal guns. It breaks up the bulge a gun creates and makes it easy to conceal a big gun. I’m a fan of full-size carry and shirts like this help me hide my gun with ease. It’s great for shoulder rigs. The fast opened RapiDraw system makes the system perfect for a shoulder rig to be honest. It’s easy to rock my Glock in my Gould and Goodrich in confidence with the Sidewinder.
The shirt is also a little longer than most which again is perfect for concealed carry. This means the shirt never rides high when you are reaching above your head, or bending over. It stays in place and doesn’t accidentally flash your gun.
Shoulders
The shoulders are a nice touch. This grey portion is slightly more reinforced and is perfect for wearing a pack, or more importantly a plate carrier. This area prevents the plate carrier from digging in and ruining the shirt’s shoulders. It also helps conceal the straps on my shoulder holster.
Fit, weight, and weather
This is a heavy shirt. It’s not a summertime shirt, and certainly not a summertime Florida shirt. However, I like you guys, and I love this shirt. It’s heavy, but ultra comfortable. As a 6 foot 4 inch guy finding a shirt that actually fits just right is difficult. Typically my sleeves are rolled because they are too short. The Sidewinder fits my gorilla length arms perfectly. I’m an XL and this shirt is an XL and it fits dead on for me.
This Sidewinder does offer me one huge summertime advantage. It rains here a lot in the summer and this shirt beads up rain perfectly. The polyester is a great material for rain resistance and it does dry nice and fast.
The Sidewinder is an excellent shirt that’s hard not to love. 5.11 designed the Sidewinder well, and you can tell they really planned it out. The Sidewinder is a well made, stylish shirt for all your covert needs.
