Archive for the ‘Clothing’ Category
Sneak Peek – Cub Cubs Watch Cap Mini
Sunday, September 25th, 2016Wild Things – 1/4 Zip Power Stretch Pullover
Friday, September 23rd, 2016Made from Power Stretch® by Polartec® which features 87% recycled fiber content, for those of you into thst sort of thing, Wild Thing’s 1/4 Zip Pullover incorporates four-way stretch and flatlocked seams to reduce chafing.
The 1/4 center front zipper is great for ventilation and has a fleece zipper guard. There’s also a left chest pocket with coil zipper along with thumb loops and a dropped tail to keep your lower back covered when you stretch.
Magpul Fall Apparel Line Now Shipping
Thursday, September 22nd, 2016With Fall comes Magpul’s second release of apparel, a few new styles that will keep you warm and active outdoors as the temperatures drop and the adventures change. These new additions to our “Everyday Wear” apparel continue the direction of mating traditional styling with modern engineering to create performance essentials that are as useful in the work week as they are on the weekend. By mixing natural fibers like wool and cotton with more modern synthetics we have created several new styles that you can use and abuse, wash at home and never have to visit a dry cleaners.
Everyday Wear, Everyday Where?
www.magpul.com/products/apparel
Oxcart – V2 Jeans
Tuesday, September 13th, 2016
V2, or Version 2 is a low-visibility everyday wearing jean designed for concealment and comfort. The jean was developed based on Oxcart’s 10 year experience working with denim in the apparel industry.
Utilizing a fabric from Cone Denim of North Carolina, they cut and sew right in Los Angeles.
The mag pockets were designed in a way to sit more comfortably on the body while allowing persons to be in a seated position with materials in the pocket. The tactical jeans they had seen on the market utilize access through the back yoke but Oxcart wanted to step away from that as to not risk the sewing integrity on the back yoke or seat area. Their thinking was to allow the pocket it’s own structure for functioning.
The front thigh pockets are a cleaner version of a welt but work in the same manner. The depth will conceal a handgun magazine as well as small flashlights, knives and even Snickers bars.
Where the jean shines is in the stretch, mobility and comfort of the fabric characteristics.
The final process in making the jean is a rinse and enzyme treatment. The same type of process premium denim jean makers use for their high end jeans. The rinse will remove fabric shrinkage to size properly while the enzyme helps soften the fabric from it’s “raw” form. Additionally, the waistband is lined with MultiCam NYCO.
The intention of the jeans is everyday wearing while offering LE / Military / Civilian to utilize it’s features for range or field use.
Features:
– Made from 11 oz Cone Denim
– 9 Pocket Access with 4 of those designed for Low-Vis concealment
– 2 Hip pockets allowing Mag, Phone, Radio access
– 2 Thigh pockets allowing knife, handgun mag, flashlight access
– Standard Front Pockets feature a deeper pocket bag
– Relaxed Straight Fit – leg opening will cover most boots or Salomon shoes
– Pre-Laundered with an enzyme treatment to remove shrinkage and give a softer hand feel
– YKK Zipper / Washer Rivets
MSRP: $140, pre-orders start today with 2-3 week lead times.
Made in the USA!
NSW Seeks Rugged/Civilian Clothing
Monday, September 12th, 2016Naval Special Warfare Command (NSW) recently released a Request for Information (RFI) to industry. They are conducting market research to identify, as potential sources, companies who may possess the expertise, capabilities, and experience to explore industry’s ability to provide NSW with civilian/rugged clothing. They are particularly interested in small businesses providing feedback.
This RFI is interesting for several reasons. First off, we are seeing a formal inquiry from a SOF component for civilian outdoor clothing. Personnel have been wearing such items operationally for quite awhile, but this indicates making them an issue item. In many instances, civilian clothing is procured by the individual, either with personal funds or with a civilian clothing allowance, when authorized. Although some civilian clothing has been directly issued by units in the past, due to the restrictions of the Berry Act, it is quite difficult to do legally. However, one way is for a unit to buy the non-Berry items while deployed overseas and for the expressed use of overseas only.
The Berry Act may well be an issue for this potential program. As you can see, all of the example types of clothing they are seeking, are foreign sourced. Unless the program remains extremely small, and below Berry’s low threshold, it will be the driving factor for cost as well as performance. But the planning numbers belie such an argument. Conversely, the numbers aren’t very high either, at least from standpoint of the brands they call out. So making the business case is likely difficult for many brands to stand up US manufacturing. Granted, there is clothing made here in the US, but they differ from those in the chart below.
I’d really like to see additional Made in USA outdoor clothing options. Hopefully, NSW will find what they are looking for.
Interested parties should visit www.fbo.gov
Beyond – A6 Stretch Rain Jacket
Friday, September 9th, 2016
I’ve seen early versions of the new A6 Stretch Rain Jacket from Beyond. The jacket incorporates panels made from what WL Gore called Topo stretch waterproof breathable fabric but niw its marketed as GORE-TEX® Flexible Fit Fabric®. They’ve combined it with a Lightweight, 3-Layer GORE-TEX® Waterproof Laminate for a very lightweight, high performance jacket. One of the advanatges to the Flexible Fit Fabric® is that they can offer a slimmer cut garment which will move with you and expand as you add underlayers.
The A6 – Stretch Rain Jacket utilizes the latest in fabric technologies to offer unparalleled comfort in a fully waterproof jacket. Featuring panels made from the new GORE-TEX® 3-layer waterproof stretch fabric, the A6 – Stretch Rain Jacket works with the user by adding stretch to key areas such as shoulders, chest, and sides. This not only allows increased mobility, but also optimizes comfort by expanding to accommodate garments layered underneath the hardshell.
Features:
• Designed around a HALO jump profile
• Fully waterproof stretch panels throughout
• Full-featured hood accommodates a helmet and stows away securely in collar. Hood is equipped with a structured brim, dual face opening, and crown adjustments
• Bicep pockets with vertical zips
• Waterproof zippers throughout
• Zippered hand pockets
• Hook and loop wrist adjustment
• Drawcord around waist with adjustments concealed inside the hand pockets to reduce snagging
This will be a limited run of 500 and are available for purchase by contacting mission@beyondclothing.com.
Wild Things – Active Flex Jacket and Pant
Thursday, September 8th, 2016If you’re looking for something practical to obligate End of Year funds toward, I present the new Active Flex Jacket and Pant from Wild Things. They showed me a prototype at Warrior East and I am impressed as there isn’t anything quite like this currently on the market.
The Active Flex garments feature an athletic fit with mechanical stretch in the fabrics throughout to accommodate movement. These garments are super breatahble due to the use of a Tweave soft shell (520e) and yet also provide warmth for static operations due to the PrimaLoft Silver Active insulation which makes them suitable for use as an outer layer when active or integrated into a layering system. For example, add a wind shell and you have a strong static insulator.
Materials Common To Both Pieces:
• Tweave Durastretch Soft Shell Fabric
• 2 oz Climashield® Apex® Insulation
• Polartec® Power Shield® liner
• YKK Zippers
Benefits
• Add a wind layer to convert to static insulation and for enhanced weather protection
• Designed for high metabolic activity – superb breathability reduces sweat build-up and the need for constant donning and doffing layers
• Excellent abrasion resistance of the soft shell outer layer
• Much quieter than typical nylon or polyester shell insulation
It contains fully covered zippers, hidden cord lock adjustments to eliminate snagging, two hand warmer pockets set up high, inside chest pocket and a fully adjustable fitted hood that can be worn over a helmet.
Features:
• 4 way stretch, DWR and Near IR treated nylon soft shell fabric provides stretch and far more abrasion resistance than a traditional nylon or polyester woven shell fabric
• Lining fabric is bonded to 2 oz. Climashield Apex Insulation so insulation moves as you do.
• Power Shield liner fabric wicks and enhances breathability
• Articulated elbow for maximum movement
• Size adjustable waist and hood
• Hand warmer pockets set up high for comfort
• All zippers covered for added protection and to eliminate straight lines through your camo
• Fully adjustable helmet compatible hood
• Weight: 2.0 lbs
The pants have 2 hand pockets, articulated legs, belt loops, full waist adjustments, gusseted crotch, and zippered leg openings.
Features:
• 4 way stretch, DWR and Near IR treated nylon soft shell fabric provides stretch and far more abrasion resistance than a traditional nylon or polyester woven shell fabric
• Lining fabric is bonded 2 oz. Climashield Apex Insulation so the insulation moves as you do.
• Power Shield liner fabric wicks and enhances breathability
• Articulated knees
• Size adjustable waist
• Hand warmer pockets with zippered closures
• 10” leg zippers
• All zippers covered for added protection and to eliminate straight lines through your camo
• Weight: 1.13 lbs.
Offered in Coyote and MultiCam. Naturally, as with Wild Things products, these are Berry Compliant.
UF PRO – Striker Stealth Smock
Thursday, September 1st, 2016
As announced at this year’s IWA exhibition in Nuremberg, today UF PRO will be releasing their new and innovative Striker Stealth Smock to the international market. The UF PRO Striker Stealth Smock merges features of a combat jacket and a load bearing vest in a very unique way.
Ever since the paratroopers of WWII adopted the classic smock design it has been the trademark of elite users worldwide. However, with the increased use of chest rigs and plate carriers many have questioned whether such a design is still valid for the modern battlefield. To answer this, the Design Team at UF PRO have completely reinvented the concept with a unique twist.
The concept of the Stealth Smock was born out of a project with a German military unit which was in search of a jacket that would offer a full pocket functionality for their most essential gear on a short-term mission.
UF PRO came up with a design so that the jacket could carry a wide range of gear; the Stealth Smock can be loaded with as much as 12 – 15 kg, but in order to maintain user agility with a fully loaded jacket, they had to rethink the whole concept of a smock design.
A substantial part of the new Stealth Smock is the breathable load bearing system, which consists out of two modules; a waist belt which not only carries the weight but also fixes it onto the hip area, and a huge area of air/pac® inserts in the upper torso and back area which carries the remaining weight.
The special thing about the Stealth Smock pocket configuration is that it is modular. The integrated front MOLLE system allows the wearer to either attach his own or the new UF PRO pouches.
The Striker Stealth Smock can be equipped with the UF PRO Elbow pads, and benefits from the excellent Hood/Harness system which allows unhindered vision, air circulation and good hearing while wearing the hood.
MultiCam and PenCott GreenZone variants are created using a combination of 50% Nylon, 50% Cotton Ripstop, and 100% CORDURA fabric in the reinforced areas, whereas Flecktarn and Brown-Grey make use of the Polyester, Cotton Ripstop blend, and 100% CORDURA fabrics, all of the very highest quality and durability.
The unique load bearing system of the Striker Stealth Smock combined with the choice of first rate fabrics and some cutting-edge design ensures that even fully loaded the jacket does not get caught up around you whenever you make a move. It ergonomically distributes the weight over the whole torso and provides truly excellent levels of comfort and performance.
Find out more about the Striker Stealth Smock at ufpro.si/striker_stealth_smock
