There’s been a lot of talk about the Helium Whisper attachment system (covered by Soldier Systems when it first came out) from Blue Force Gear. From an initial review, it really does appear to be as strong as it sounds (and it’s damn sure lighter than traditional nylon). I pulled, twisted and jerked at the backing I had and was surprised by just how resilient it was. They have video of someone doing chin-ups and pull-ups from some of this material (which we’ll post once they send it to us). I wouldn’t recommend it based on just that sort of evaluation but it’s certainly a promising start. We’ll have to see how it holds up long-term.
Helium Whisper is a very thin laminate backer that is both tear and abrasion resistant, that BFG advises actually outperformed 1000D Cordura. As you might expect, it’s extremely lightweight.
Here’s an example of how Helium Whisper stacks up to more standard pouches:
They’ve got a number of modular pouches and pieces in the Helium Whisper line, but one thing I was really impressed by was the spent mag pouch (dump pouch). This thing was itty bitty and weighed practically nothing. One quick tug, though, and it deploys into a simple but effective dump pouch. Very nice indeed, and one of the pieces from SHOT I will definitely be buying.
The entire BFG catalog is on line if you want to check it out.
-DR
Tags: Blue Force Gear
Start cooking Tacos!
Certainly seems impressive, especially if the strength claims are as good as they say. The only question is: would this method of construction make the products easier and cheaper to produce? And would those savings be passed on to the consumer?
In an interview, they said that due to the decrease in number of parts, it would actually be cheaper to produce.
I’ve been waiting for these to hit the civilian market, since even the elite troops get issued heavy nylon gear, that when loaded with pouches (and no gear inside of it) weigh many pounds.
Next up: lab-created spider silk to replace Kevlar and quantum mechanics-produced cloaking uniforms!