5.11 reviews

3.3

49% would recommend to a friend

(255 total reviews)
avatar

Troy Brown

39% approve of CEO

45% positive business outlook

5.11 has an employee rating of 3.3 out of 5 stars, based on 255 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The 5.11 employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

255 reviews
4.0
Nov 12, 2025

Buyer

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people to work with

Cons

Leadership is all over the place and are constantly changing directions

1.0
Mar 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some mediocre benefits that the company provides

Cons

My time working at 5.11 Tactical was nothing short of a nightmare, and I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. The lack of leadership is glaring, and it became clear that they’re more focused on profits than actually taking care of their employees. The higher-ups offer little to no training, and instead of stepping up to fix issues, they’ll just let you go when things go wrong, refusing to own up to their own mistakes. It’s almost like they don’t want to take responsibility for their failures, and that just shows how disloyal and unethical the company truly is. Store leaders are bombarded with unnecessary responsibilities that only serve to burn out employees. They keep piling on tasks to the point that sales associates and managers alike are overworked and stressed. It’s a toxic environment where there’s zero regard for personal lives or employee well-being. They don’t compensate for your time, and the demands are never-ending. The company will try to manipulate you into staying, using empty promises, but they’ll quickly discard you if it serves their bottom line. They claim to be a “team,” but treat you like a disposable cog in their machine. Their product is low to mid-tier at best, and with no support from leadership, it’s almost impossible to succeed while trying to sell subpar items. Ultimately, 5.11 Tactical has failed as both a company and a leadership team. They don’t care about their people, don’t want to fix the problems they create, and will throw you under the bus instead of owning their mistakes. If you value your time, well-being, and career growth, stay as far away from this company as possible.

1.0
Feb 20, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Typically, very nice and respectful clientele. - Generous discount - Annual Uniform allowance for both PT and FT - Store comradery - Small staff teams (comes with obvious drawbacks)

Cons

- There is little to no opportunity to move up in the company past Store Manager. - HR and upper management (Above store managers) have consistently mishandled complaints and issues in retail stores. - Several HR and upper management personnel have recently resigned or been fired. - Only the top-performing stores receive new products quickly. It can be months before lower/mid-performing stores receive new products.

Viewing 37 - 39 of 255 Reviews

Glassdoor has 263 5.11 reviews submitted anonymously by 5.11 employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if 5.11 is right for you.