GORE-TEX Military Fabrics

Archive for the ‘Boots’ Category

Belleville to be Awarded Contract for Mountain Combat Boot

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

During the PEO Soldier media round table earlier today, COL William Cole PM Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, stated that the Army has finally chosen a design for the Mountain Combat Boot from Belleville under the Soldier Enhancement Program. As the REF continued to purchase the Danner candidate boot, this news comes as a bit of a surprise since Danner looked like the “shoe in”. The boot is designed as a mid height alternate to the standard issue combat boot and better tuned for use in Afghanistan’s terrain where Soldiers often have to scramble up and down steep rock faced slopes. According to COL Cole a contract award for 25,000 pairs is forthcoming.

MultiCam Keens

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Spotted at the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in Salt Lake City is this example of an upcoming Keen shoe. So now you can have MultiCam Keens, but only if you’re a girl.

What’s Next from Salomon?

Monday, January 31st, 2011

About two years ago, Salomon introduced the Quest 4D in Grey to a couple of specialized military units. Uber Group, US reps for Salomon took a look at Salomon’s international offerings and came up with the Cosmic in Grey, bringing it right into the US market.

The boots are somewhat similar so the bottom line is; the Quest is sewn construction and the Cosmic is glued. While both integrate running shoe technology, think of the Cosmic as the next step based on construction. In the photo above, you can see the Cosmic in the foreground and the Quest peaking from the back.

Now, this last bit is cool as hell. Rumor has it that the Cosmic is vegan. Now how awesome would it be to know that you are being environmentally and socially conscious while you are hunting down Islamo-fascist terrorists? I mean, you would totally score with the chicks if you let slip “Well sure I terminate with extreme prejudice, but I wear vegan footwear while doing it.”

Available VERY soon from purveyors of fine tactical equipment.

So, What Is This ICS Technology You Speak Of?

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

We’ve mentioned Bates Footwear’s Individual Comfort System (ICS) technology in the past but this video taken by TacticalGear.com at SHOT Show gives you a great idea of what it all means. Thanks guys!

www.batesfootwear.com
www.tacticalgear.com

Magnum Recaps SHOT Show

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Magnum USA just released this cool video of their SHOT Show experience. Watch this space for some interesting news on Magnum products.

www.magnumboots.com

Bates Footwear Partners with Wounded Warrior Project

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Bates Footwear has announced they will be partnering with Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a nonprofit organization that supports thousands of wounded warriors each year during their transition back to civilian life.

WWP began when several veterans and friends, moved by stories of the first wounded service members returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq, took action to help others in need. What started as a program to provide comfort items to wounded servicemen and women has grown into a complete rehabilitative effort to assist warriors as they recover. Over 40,000 of our nation’s armed forces have been physically wounded during the current military conflicts. Hundreds of thousands more are estimated to be recovering from invisible wounds of war, including post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, and traumatic brain injury.

WWP assists wounded warriors and their families through a holistic approach to their recovery. Whether through caregiver retreats, combat stress programs, career and education services, or adaptive sporting opportunities, WWP empowers warriors with the tools essential to not just survive their injuries but to thrive and achieve personal and professional success.

Manufacturing quality boots and shoes to protect the men and women that wear them is part of the value that drives Bates to give back. “We are grateful to show our support and gratitude to warfighters who have honored our country with incredible sacrifice by supporting a worthy cause such as Wounded Warrior Project” said Ron Woznick, Bates VP & General Manager.

N.Tel – What’s It All Mean?

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Last week we reported that OTB was rebranding to “N.Tel”. This is not the true story. OTB is in fact coming together with athletic and tactical wear fully under the New Balance banner. The N.Tel is actually the philosophy that drives how the entire team at New Balance does business. NB looks at the military as a collection of athletes and designs clothing and footwear with this in mind. The game might not be the same as traditional athletes but the level of commitment and need for stamina and physical prowess is still there. NB has a set of capabilities that they bring to a challenge and they listen to their customers to see how they can use their skills to solve problems.

We sat down yesterday at Outdoor Retailer with the team and we can tell you that in addition to the OTB line and New Balance’s System 7 there is some really cool new products on the way including Berry compliant Merino pieces that will blow your socks off.

OTB Rebranding

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Right before last year’s SHOT Show, OTB Boots was purchased by New Balance. Now, a year later, we go to SHOT Show and see a brand new booth with banners proclaiming, “OTB, in alliance with New Balance” and “N.Tel Intelligence”. From what we can gather, the OTB line of products, along with new clothing and athletic footwear specifically tailored for the military is being combined into N.Tel.

Essentially, the message is “Your Intelligence Drives our Intelligence”. For those of you unfamiliar with this notion it actually an extrapolation of the concept “intelligence drives operations”. This means that you can’t go kill bad guys if you don’t know where they are and New Balance can’t produce their products without the input of Elite Soldier Athletes. Makes sense to me. However, I’m not too sure on how the name will play.
The only thing missing now is a dedicated website.

www.OTBboots.com,check it before it transforms into something new.