This is a review of the A9A Mission Pants from Beyond Clothing. If you haven’t heard of Beyond, they are a Seattle company that has been making outstanding outdoor clothing since 1996. Their tagline “Stitched in the states” say a lot about their company, everything is made and sewn in the USA. The location of the company in the Pacific NW says a lot about their outdoor background, everything from impressive rain forests, to mountainous terrain and desert is present in Washington State, as such they have a broad understanding of what outdoor enthusiasts need to stay warm, dry and survive in harsh climates. The have now taken their excellent clothing and with the same eye toward the fighting man, behold the “Mission Line” of gear.
http://www.beyondclothing.com/collections/mission.html?___SID=U
Your first glance at their line probably went straight to the price. As a kid who grew up wearing hand-me-down Tuffskins, I get it. It is important to note that they do offer a Pro program and once you are signed up they offer generous discounts. So if you are purchasing off a team budget or personal funds, the savings is pretty good. I purchased a pair of the A9A’s out of my training company account and they were worth every penny. Their prices are consistent with other high end manufacturers, two manufacturers in particular that start with an “A” and the other with a “C”. Both of those companies have been the gold standard for high end clothing for the SWAT cop and Warfighter. Beyond is going to give them a run for their money.
On to the pants. At first glance they are very similar to the “C” pants. Without question the quality of materials, sewing and attention to detail is very similar. As a comparison, if you already wear the “C” pants, these fit and feel almost identical to the G3 line. Main material is a 50/50 NYCO blend, no surprise there. The front pockets and stretch crotch are a Cordura nylon for additional strength and durability. The waist band is thicker, a little padded and sports an internal belt system. I hung a paddle holster with my G34 on it and wore it for a few hours. No problem supporting the weight.
The front pockets are built robustly enough that a pocket clip knife will have trouble tearing the material. The zipper fly pulls in both directions, bottom up and top down. You might think this is overkill, but the bottom up is awesome for Gatorade bottle operations when you get stuck on a UC cover, long barricade or vehicle takedown waiting for bad guys to get with the program. Obviously zip top down if you just wanna get naked or for #2. The cargo pockets have both Velcro and button closures.
I wore them for two days in the office and two days of training, the training was focused on Covert clears with NVG’s and Hostage Rescue in a large structure where covert techniques were used to get closer to the crisis site. I had previously cut two strips of Velcro to cover the fluffy side for the cargo pockets. Slap those in place and use the buttons to close the pocket if you need to. Want the Velcro? No sweat, just pull the Velcro strip off and leave it in the pocket until you need it. Rear pockets are zipper pulls so they are quiet, all the zippers are excellent YKK brand. Front thigh pockets easily fit a can of Copenhagen or for small, birdlike men and ladies, Skoal Peppermint pouches.
The Cordura nylon crotch is stretchy while going to kneeling and acts like a sweet “Junk Hammock”. The material has the same IR signature, (meaning none) as other pants in this category. The pants come with “Universal” knee pad pockets. Beyond does not offer their own knee pads, however “C” pads and knock offs do fit. The bottom of the knee pad enclosure has a full Velcro seam and the seam has to be opened for the pads to fit without trimming. I did not trim the pads, I let the bottom hang out and did not have issues with the pads moving or coming out. It would be nice if Beyond offered a knee pad so you could one stop shop off their website.
On the back of the knees there is two Velcro tabs to adjust the knee pads at the right spot. The ankles also have Velcro for a loose or tight fit at the boot. Obligatory calf pockets are sewn on both sides. In the flap of the left pocket there is a hidden “stash” pocket that would be very hard to find if you didn’t know it was there. It is small but easily fits a handcuff key, a CR2032 battery for your T-1, a tootsie roll or a rolled up $20. I tried to get two CR123 batteries in there but it is just a tad too small.
Overall I am impressed with the A9A pants. While purchasing I contacted them directly and talked with one of the employees. She was very friendly and helpful and I ended up emailing her several times with questions for the review. Her answers were always prompt and she clearly had knowledge of the product. Last, the pants were actually in stock and I had them delivered to my door in just a few days after ordering.
They will be adding colors to the line very soon to include Cop black and Ranger Green. If you are balking at the price, I would only say, save your pennies and try a pair. The difference between how these pants fit, quality of material, Made in USA, and the customer service is worth every dime. Buy once, cry once. You already do it with guns, ammo, first and second line gear. Your clothing should be at the same level for mission accomplishment.
I have not tried any of the other Mission line clothing but I will as soon as possible. If you would like a 5”X8” glossy of me wearing the pants, please let me know.

2015 Course Calendar

March 2-4, High Risk Warrant Service, Spokane County, WA

March 5-6, Ballistic Shield User, Spokane County, WA

April 13-15, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Kent, WA

May 25-27, High Risk Warrant Service, Kent, WA

June 15-19, Pistol Instructor, Kent, WA

August 17-21, Basic SWAT School, Spokane County, WA

Sept 14-16, Tactical Pistol, Kent, WA

Oct. 19-21, Carbine/Submachine Gun User, Spokane County, WA

Oct 22-23, Tactical Pistol, Spokane County, WA

Nov 16-18, Hostage Rescue, Spokane County, WA

Dec 14-16, SWAT Team Leader, Spokane County, WA

Late last year Samson manufacturing (http://samson-mfg.com/) put out a notice on Facebook that they were looking for people to test, evaluate, and then write about their products. I threw my name in the hat and was selected to take part in the process along with a bunch of other gun enthusiasts, competition shooters and hardcore MF’ers like myself. The group is a great mix of people with different uses and requirements. A side benefit to a large group is that we are all discussing the product in a closed group on FB, so you are actually getting some info in this review from their perspective and insight. It’s like 100 reviews in 1 package. Pretty badass.

The first products that Samson sent were their 3.5X magnifier and their mount for it, the R.A.M. I will break them down into two reviews. At Samsons website linked above they torture test the RAM mount pretty well. I froze the magnifier and mount overnight in the freezer, left it in a bowl of water overnight, and bashed it from a variety of directions simulating getting in and out of vehicles, doorways, and rapid prone position. The RAM flip to side was not affected by any of these with one exception. On one occasion going from standing to prone and smashing the magazine into the ground, I was able to get it to flip to side just from hitting the deck. I will say that I was trying to do this and was only able to make it happen once out of ten attempts. No lasting issues, I just rolled it back up into the locked position. After soaking in water, I shook it off but did not dry it. The small pin that holds the rotary lever in place showed signs of rust the next day. Hit it with a brush and some lube and it has not returned. The mount locks up tight on the gun, you can adjust the tension to make it immovable. I cannot get the mount to shift at all in any direction with considerable force being applied. It’s a pretty badass mounting system.

The magnifier itself has excellent glass. I was able to compare it with an Aimpoint 3X and it is easily on par with clarity. Behind a T-1, dot “smear” is about the same with both units. The Samson has screws on it that will allow you to adjust the dot to the center of the glass and it works well. I also compared it to a Vortex Viper PST 1-4X on my DM gun and glass clarity was on par with that and a Trijicon fixed 4X as well. The glass is impressive for the price, I have no idea who Samson is using to scratch the lenses but it is quality. Do not think that this is a Sniper scope, it isn’t, when used with RDS it will magnify or alter a crisp dot so it is not the same. It has a diopter ring for individual focusing of the image which is a plus. As a lefty rifle shooter, I mounted it to flip to the left. The flip actuator was very tight to the rubber coating and it was difficult to actuate without getting my thumbnail in there. I could not do it with gloves. The answer was to trim the rubber coating with a razor allowing relief in that spot to get access. It took all of five seconds and made a world of difference. Right side flip is already relieved at the factory.

When you consider that Samson has a list price of just $389 for the magnifier with the RAM mount, it is an incredible deal. Compared to Aimpoints with mounts costing twice as much, it really does make it affordable as an individual and for teams working on a budget. This is a huge plus for cops that might be assigned as a perimeter unit on one job and then entry on the next. The RAM mount is easily removed with gloves so the unit can be used as a monocular to obtain visual intel and also to discriminate targets without pointing a gun at anyone. With the flip to side option, officers could leave it mounted for entry work where only the red dot is needed, or pop it off and throw it in a dump pouch. I would leave it on the gun for active shooter events where I might want the magnification in hallways, and then flip it to side to enter classrooms, offices or stores. My team cleared an extremely large shopping mall a few years ago after a homicide. Witnesses were reporting that the suspects were still in the mall somewhere. The ability to see down the halls at distance and then enter stores with only the red dot would have been awesome and would likely have increased confidence to release a pill, or ten, with longer shots. Great product and I highly recommend it.

Last piece is this: you might think that I have to write a good review in order to get free product. Not so. Samson reps made it very clear to us that if the product sucked we were absolutely required to report that. In addition, those that know me personally will tell you that I would not fan boy junk when lives could be at risk. I have been using this thing on my duty carbine for the last few weeks because it’s an awesome piece of gear. Check one out, you won’t be disappointed.