You Should Quit Describing Products as “Tactical” Here’s Why.
What if i told you that “tactical knives” often suck for self defense? Or perhaps that “tactical flashlights” are just flashlights with ridiculously shaped spiky ends? What does “tactical” mean exactly? The Definition from Merriam Webster’s Dictionary is below.
Definition of tactical
1: of or relating to combat tactics: such as
a(1): of or occurring at the battlefront
a tactical defense
a tactical first strike
(2): using or being weapons or forces employed at the battlefront
tactical missiles
b of an air force : of, relating to, or designed for air attack in close support of friendly ground forces
2a: of or relating to tactics: such as
(1): of or relating to small-scale actions serving a larger purpose
(2): made or carried out with only a limited or immediate end in view
b: adroit in planning or maneuvering to accomplish a purpose
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Okay, now that we’ve established that tactical is such a broad term that it is practically meaningless when applied to an object, lets talk about some commonly marketed “tactical” gear, shall we?
Above is the first result in Google Shopping using the term “tactical knife”. Anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of what a real blade is will roll their eyes and keep scrolling. So what makes that “tactical master machete” tactical? Even assuming the definition of tactical, was say “of or relating to chopping up bushes with a pink and black machete”, it still wouldn’t foot the bill. That couldn’t cut its way out of a tactical paper bag, so I will now execute a tactical retreat from that monstrosity.
That was an excellent example of the worst usage of the word, but how about EDC items like knives for self defense? Lets see…
OHH YEAHHH!!!! now we have finally found the ultimate TactiCOOL(ahem, I mean TacticAL) every day carry knife. Yeeaaaaaaaahhhh.
So that’s normally what you’ll find that includes the word in its name. Cheap, poorly designed, serrated folding knives(or very bad designs of stiffbacks) that haven’t been properly heat treated.(don’t worry though, it comes in POLICE BLUE!!)
Moving on, if I can wash this bad taste from my mouth…
Next up is tactical pens, which is practically the only way I ever use the word “tactical” to describe a valid product. I have a tactical pen, and I recommend you do too for the times when carrying an obvious weapon is impractical or illegal. This brings me to why most tactical pens are ridiculous. The whole idea is to have a nondescript object that you can carry anywhere for self defense, so check out how subtle these are…
Excellent. I’m sure the excessive, mock-military styling and the glass breaker won’t give it away. You can probably walk right into the white house with that on… Now consider how a tactical pen would actually be used. The only practical way is to hold it in your fist, with your thumb over the nice, comfortable, smooth glass breaker…
You’re getting the idea, I trust. Tactical is synonymous with cheap, idiotic, gimmicky, crap. Now if you want a “tactical” knife or “tactical” pen worth having, click the images below.
The below knife comes in a great many handle materials(no two are alike, so there’s something for everyone’s taste, that is just my personal favorite).
Below is my personal Tactical Pen, made by Bastion LLC. (I polished mine up a bit, but the stock finish is pretty nice) Click Here to go to their website. Their pens are under the EDC Gear Category.
Disclosure: I make affiliate commissions off both of these products(so do us both a favor and buy the awesomeness)
