This article originated on Tactical Fanboy
You may have already read that Tactical Concealment built the ghillie suits used in Act of Valor (see Tactical Concealment on SSD). They are very well known in shooter circles for the quality of their kit. That isn’t hype or bs, I’ve talked to several guys who use nothing else. Tactical Concealment essentially builds various “signature management” foundations for various uses, from full-blown ghillie suits to hoods and chaps and everything else. A recent offering from TC addresses those who require more limited signature management. It’s designed for use folks who require some outline work but don’t want to wear the entire thing (like assaulters, as mentioned, or members of LE tracking teams, or perhaps LE K9 units in a rural area…or even just MilSim shooters who want to get close to their target).
The piece in question is the Tactical Concealment Viper. It comes in two forms, standard and “Mosquito”. The latter is built of a new material that substantially decreases weight (you can, in fact, put it in a BDU pocket).
Note: you’re going to pay for this. It’s high end stuff meticulously made for guys and girls on the sharp end by a very small staff. If you’re looking for something less expensive, no worries, but this won’t be it. You get what you pay for. I have some Tactical Concealment gear and believe me, it’s solid and built to last. Go like ’em or friend ’em or whatever you call it on Facebook, right now, and tell ’em TANSTAAFL of Tactical Fanboy sent ya. You won’t get anything for doing so, but it will make me look good.
From the website:
“Whether you’re an assaulter or sniper the benefit of suppressing your visual presence to the enemy is extremely important. Tactical Concealment’s Viper is a new high-speed garment designed not just for snipers but for any operator who can benefit from having a tactical edge edge toward visual based camouflage/concealment. Specific to this type of operator is that the Viper is designed to be worn in conjunction and work in unison with combat loadout equipment including tactical vests, armored plate carriers, assault vests and any size backpack. Any tactical operator can now achieve the camouflage/concealment effectiveness of a sniper and his ghillie suit but scaled into a package that is practical and suited toward the working needs and working requirements of an assaulter…”
They are also incredibly overpriced.
There is a market for everybody and everything, maybe Joe your the type of guy who is happy in spending $29 for a paintball ghillie suit from cheaper-than-china and if that works for you then happy trails. If your very dialed into tactical operations and understand how specific designed assult style ghillies that work in unison with your tactical loadout gear can give you the cutting edge then you wouldn’t be bitchin about it. I understand that Tactical Concealent pricing had been historically high due to the middleman resellers that are involved. Personally I think this product is too specialized to be pushed to the masses and through resellers who require their 35 to 40% markup. I heard lower prices are in effect at Tactical Concealment as the resell side of things get cleared up. Dispite this their designs and innovation is rock solid and i am convinced you get what you pay for here even if its over inflated. There is a market for everybody and everything, pick your side.
I dislike that attitude that “since it is cheaper it must be worse/poor quality”. It’s never been shown to be a fact and never will be.
And also, there is nearly nothing innovative at all with Tactical Concealment’s products. They just have a hefty markup and great marketing.
If you want to see real innovations in camouflage then look at what the Israeli snipers use, a 3D printed camouflage with multiple depth levels:
http://strikehold.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/idf-urban.jpg
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/83/camo9wu3.jpg
Or this from another company:
http://cdn5.thefirearmsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/3d-custom-camo.jpg
All Tactical Concealment is doing is taking the age old ghillie design and marking up the price several hundred %.
@ Admin –
Stop deleting comments already, it’s gotten ridiculous. What’s the point of posting articles if you delete all the comments about them.
That camo offered by the Israel has been around for about 8 to 10 years, i know this because I have seen and used it. Have you tried too buy it joe? Answer is #1 you cant unless your a Israeli soldier, Israel does not sell their defense camo to others outside thieir country. There might be a slim chance you got a used copy that squeeked out into the surplus market but the stuff is simply not readily available, or in the U.S. for that matter. I have seen some surplus stores in Israel that make it available to their countrymen. #2 where do you see a price listing for those items? truth is those items run an arm and a leg within the defese sector they are available in. As for the link with the bricks replicas did you see the price on that? Its super expensive and also very specialized and nobody has knocked it being bad camo. There are different strokes for different folks but your blabbering comments about price and being hypritical when the price and availability of the items yov’ve listed are out of reach to foreign militaries outside Israel is and the other being outrageously priced makes no sense. I have not seen your complaint about Cryes offerings??? They are extremely innovative and the items cost Big Bucks. I have nothing further to say to you as you dont have your facts straight.
What the hell are you talking about?