UK outdoor brand Craghoppers will launch in the United States in the Spring. The launch includes two lines: Craghoppers and Bear Grylls for Craghoppers. Bear Grylls is the host of TV’s “Man vs Wild”. A former SAS operative who broke his back in a parachuting accident in South Africa, he went on to be the youngest Briton to conquer Everest as well as climb remote peaks in Antarctica. All Bear Grylls products are designed, developed and tested in partnership with or by Bear himself.
One interesting aspect of the line is that they include NosiLife technology which has been tested independently by Europe’s leading test authority (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine). They claim it gives Craghoppers and Bear Grylls products the world’s only permanent insect-repellancy.
Note: We have updated story from earlier in the week.
I was finally able to get my hands on Surefire’s new High Capacity Magazines yesterday at the Pre-SHOT Show Aimpoint military shoot. I wanted to see how they worked and what the production fit and finish would look like. They seem to be well conceived and produced. They are available in 60 round and 100 round sizes. You will notice that once you get about 20 rounds into the magazine you can begin to feel the spring tighten up as the rounds are separated. Additionally, the design is quite reminiscent of a US GI mag in that it has a removable base plate for maintenance and cleaning. Also, ATS Tactical is working on a magazine pouch for them but Surefire expects many companies to have their versions of pouches available once these begin to proliferate.
Finally, despite numerous articles stating that the new magazines would be a perfect match for the USMC’s new M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle manufactured by H&K, they aren’t. As in most things H&K the engineers overdid it and came up with a better way to build a mousetrap. In this instance, the mag well has a different cant to it and the portion of the magazine that flares to accommodate the increased capacity is too high to seat in a 416-style mag well. This is the same reason you have to use Magpul’s EMAG rather than the PMAG.
Added: Much like the PMAG, the HCM will fit in some 416s. In fact, one of our readers brought to our attention that a 416 was used in a SureFire produced promotional video (see below). Unfortunately, the HCM currently does not work with ALL 416s and their derivatives so, it would not be in anyone’s best interest to pair them with the M27 at this time since there is no way to tell which guns will accept which magazines. H&K reps informed me that they will be doing some testing with the HCMs in the coming weeks. SureFire is going to work through this issue.
Overall, the new magazines will definitely have a place although anti-gunners are taking advantage of the recent tragedy in Arizona to once again introduce legislation to ban high capacity magazines. Unfortunately, we went down this path once before and it hurt the commercial base to the point that issue 15 round magazines for the M9 Beretta were junk because there was no profit-based incentive to produce quality magazines.
If you are at SHOT Show see them at booth #13968 or visit www.surefire.com
Tags: Surefire Posted in SHOT Show, weapons | Comments Off on More on the Surefire High Capacity Magazines – Updated
There were 29 entries for the Gear Design contest. Thank you to all who entered. Truthfully it was a tough decision but in the end, only one entry could be chosen as the winner. Based upon true requirement, ability of the design team to develop an innovative solution and then transition the design to a product that will impact the warfighter, Kristopher Walter’s concept of a carrying solution for the AT-4 and M72 LAW was selected. The design team feels they can work with develop a solution that will be adaptable to numerous munitions and one of the big draws to this design was that it will affect a large audience since everyone is using rockets.
Anyone who has ever been stuck humping a rocket can tell you that they are a true PITA and based on the awkwardness of the load, there is a certain degree of design challenge involved. Congratulations Kris! Also, thank you to Bearse USA who will produce 50 samples for Kris and Juggernaut Defense who will work on the design. Look for articles on the process so you can get a behind the scenes look at the process of turning an idea into reality.
New company Prime Outerwear is releasing several new pants including the Stealth Cargo Pant. Manufactured from cotton twill treated with Nanosphere, the rear pockets feature magnetic closures. Additionally, Prime Outerwear has developed what they call Intelligent Storage which is designed to be accessible whether standing or seated.
As you may recall we told you that the US Army’s Family of Camouflage solicitation was supposed to hit the street on 15 Jan which already came and went. Well word on the street is that it has slipped 15-30 days so keep your eyes peeled.
Posted in Camo, Contracts | Comments Off on US Army Family of Camo Solicitation Update
In addition to debuting the ACU in A-TACS at SHOT Show, Propper is introducing an entirely new product in spring called the TAC.U. In this photo you may notice a couple of different things about the combat shirt. The first feature that will strike you is the padded shoulders but there is a lot more going on. This is the first combat shirt we have seen with both adjustable cuffs as well as thumb holes. There is also only one bicep pocket but both forearms incorporate pockets.
Additionally, a new pant is also coming in summer. Both garments have a slick aesthetic but you notice lots of features once you get up close. Many tactical clothing on the market is pretty busy so it is refreshing to see something that at least looks simpler. We must admit that some of this may actually be the A-TACS pattern which seems to blend into itself so well that it may be swallowing some of the lines. However, the TAC.U will be available in several other colors including MultiCam following the initial push.
UK outdoor brand Craghoppers will launch in the United States in the Spring. The launch includes two lines: Craghoppers and Bear Grylls for Craghoppers. Bear Grylls is the host of TV’s “Man vs Wild”. A former SAS operative who broke his back in a parachuting accident in South Africa, he went on to be the youngest Briton to conquer Everest as well as climb remote peaks in Antarctica. All Bear Grylls products are designed, developed and tested in partnership with or by Bear himself.
