Clothing | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for the ‘Clothing’ Category

USAF Issues Fleece Wear Guidance

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The 98th Air Force Virtual Uniform Board (they really ought to consider renaming that thing) released a policy message last month dictating wear of the new Air Force sage green fleece as an outer garment for the airman battle uniform. (italics mine)

According to the message, the sage green fleece which is made from PolartecÂ® Thermal ProÂ® may only be worn over the ABU top. It is not authorized to be worn solely over a T-shirt or thermal underwear when worn as an outer garment. So at least it can actually be worn as an outer garment but once again the fashion police take precedence over operational value.

According to the message signed by Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III, deputy chief of staff for Manpower and Personnel, at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, authorized wear of the sage green fleece requires the following:
– a Velcro ABU print last name tape with dark blue block lettering, centered between the zipper and sleeve seam on the wearer’s right chest,
– a Velcro ABU print U.S. Air Force tape with dark blue block lettering, adjacent to the name tape and centered between the zipper and sleeve seem on the wearers left chest,
– a Velcro subdued cloth rank with a solid sage green background, flushed and centered above the last name tape on the wearer’s right chest,
– the fleece must remain zipped no lower than halfway between the name tape and the collar,
– the collar must be folded over and resting on the shoulder, chest and back when the zipper is not completely zipped,
– the bottom length of the fleece must be as close to length of ABU top as possible,
– the sleeves must be worn down at all times, (obvious shoe cleriksm right here. They are always up in arms over flight suit sleeves pushed up)
– the fleece must be kept in a neat, serviceable and professional appearance at all times.

Items authorized for wear with the fleece include black or sage green leather, suede or knit gloves, black or sage green watch caps, black scarves that are tucked in, and black ear muffs. Yes, black earmuffs. I have never actually seen anyone wear these so if you have a picture please send it in.

The uniform board has authorized wear of the sage green fleece without name tapes and rank as an outer garment until Oct 1, 2010. Both the black and the green fleece without tapes and rank may be worn as a liner to the all-purpose environmental clothing system, or APECS. The black fleece will phase-out Oct 1, 2010. You will only need name tapes and rank if it is worn as an outer garment. Naturally, the sage green fleece jackets will be made available first to deployed Airmen and eventually available at AAFES/MCSS. ADS also offers the Gen III clothing so you might want to check them out.

Looks an awful lot like the Level 3 garment found in ECWCS Gen III to me. Sage Green, Foliage Green. Is there really a difference? So, all told, big win for Airmen. They get to wear a practical garment at home station. Also, big win for the shoe clerks who seem to ruin every good idea with rules that make no sense.

Posted in Air Force, Clothing | Comments Off on USAF Issues Fleece Wear Guidance

Ranger Hoodie

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

TAD Gear has just released version 5 (yes 5!) of their Ranger Hoodie. Manufactured from Malden Mills Polartec Windpro Fleece, it continues to feature a four panel construction Alpine cut, thumbhole cuff, and low-profile TAD Gear Aero hood. There have also been a few improvements with this new version. TAD Gear has removed the Cordura from the lower sleeve which seemed to seemed to stiffen it. Additionally, the stitching on the cuff has been improved and the the sleeve length has been decreased by an inch.

There is plenty of room to store your mission essentials with eight pockets in total:

2 large chest pockets
2 interior stash pockets inside main chest pockets
1 lower back dual zippered poacher’s pocket
2 updated, larger upper sleeve pockets
1 small ID pocket on lower left sleeve

Naturally, there are 4″ x 5″ velcro loop swatches for morale patches. It also comes with an optional pen tube which is removable and can be repositioned or used with other velcro items. The Ranger Hoodie is available in Sith Black, M.E. Brown, U.E. Gray, and M.E. Green sizes X-Small through XX-Large. All that and Made in the USA.

To order visit www.tadgear.com.

Tags: TAD Gear
Posted in Clothing | Comments Off on Ranger Hoodie

EOTAC & Extreme Outfitters Establish Jacksonville, NC Showroom

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

EOTAC, manufacturers of tactical and discrete wear have teamed up with Extreme Outfitters to establish a showroom in Jacksonville, NC at the Extreme Outfitters store.

“After the success with our flagship showroom in NYC, we sought out a store that would be a great follow up. Extreme Outfitters is that store. Located near Camp Lejeune, Extreme Outfitters serves the military, law enforcement, and civilian communities offering both tactical and outdoor equipment,” said Fernando Coelho, President of EOTAC.

“The EOTAC lightweight tactical pant is undoubtedly the most comfortable, durable well thought out tactical pant I have ever worn! You can keep buying more of the same or you can choose EOTAC and get in the game!,” said a very enthusiastic Steve Siderias, President/CEO of Extreme Outfitters.

Here at Soldier Systems, we think this is a great team up and can’t wait to see where this leads.

For more information about EOTAC’s line, contact Extreme Outfitters at (910) 355-2118 or visit them online at www.extremeoutfitters.us.

Tags: EOTAC, Extreme Outfitters
Posted in Clothing | Comments Off on EOTAC & Extreme Outfitters Establish Jacksonville, NC Showroom

How Not to Prepare Print Advertising

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

The tactical consumer has become pretty savvy. The latest issue of SWAT magazine came out last week and literally the same day it hit the news stands, readers were on the forums critiquing the lack of attention to detail exhibited by Woolrich in their ad for the Elite clothing line.

Here are but a sample of the myriad of issues with this particular ad:

Backward rifle scope
Slings are soup sandwich
Armor is so low as to be dangerous

Time will tell how expensive this mistake will be for Woolrich. On one hand some online have related that if Woolrich can’t pay attention to detail on their advertising, how can they produce a decent line of clothing but on the other, the net is abuzz with talk of Woolrich. Someone once said that there is no such thing as bad publicity and this one has gone viral.

This isn’t the first time an ad for a tactical product has come under scrutiny. There is the infamous HK catalog cover featuring a magazine loaded with rounds facing the wrong direction. Another example was early in the US Army’s “Army of One” campaign, a television spot featuring a Special Forces support Soldier atop a mountain showcased an M4 with a backward M68 optic.

So, a note to tactical advertisers. Find someone you can trust and who knows what they are doing and consult with them throughout the creative process. At the very least it will save you some embarrassment.

Tags: woolrich
Posted in Clothing, weapons | Comments Off on How Not to Prepare Print Advertising

Thanks to Tactical Impact and Tactical Arms Sponsors

Monday, October 26th, 2009

Last week I was offered the chance to join the cast and crew of “Tactical Impact” and “Tactical Arms” on the set at US Training Center in Moyock, North Carolina.

The US Training Center facilities are fantastic and provide the team a variety of backgrounds to accommodate filming. Viewers who have attended training sessions at the Xe campus will recognize the range complex and if it has been awhile since you last visited some of the additions would surprise you. In addition to ranges and various backdrops, US Training Center also features an on-site dining facility and hotel-like accommodations.

While I was there they were filming an intro sequence that will be featured on an episode of “Tactical Impact” focused on Special Forces. As the cast and crews are the same for both shows, segments are shot in overlapping schedules. Very little of the work is conducted indoors so it can lead to some long days in weather extremes from the North Carolina heat to cold rainy days that hover just above freezing. Cold and wet describes my time on set perfectly.

It is on days like this that the material provided by sponsors goes beyond the “This will look great on screen” to “Man, good thing this product performs as advertised”. And perform they do. Early this year as production for this season was ramping up, show co-host Larry Vickers called me and asked if I could recommend some equipment to be used on the show. After speaking with producer Eric Sherertz and soliciting input from co-hosts Jason Falla and Kyle Defoor, I contacted several companies to see if they would be interested in providing products for use on the show. The response from industry was fantastic, so keep your eyes peeled while watching both series for some of the newest products in the tactical market.

EOTAC provided a variety of clothing items from their Operator Grade line including specially embroidered shirts for the cast and crew. Additionally, Propper provided embroidered TAC.U uniforms as well as several items from the Adventure Tech line. Under Armour donated jackets, hats, and gloves. Additionally, several cast members use Vickers Tactical gloves. Arc’teryx LEAF was well represented through their US distributor Uber Group.

Footwear companies who have participated include OTB Boots, Tactical Research, and Salomon. Both Smith Optics and Revision Eyewear provided several styles of eyewear for use during the season and SOG Knives provided their popular SOG tool as well as pocket knives.

Bulldog Equipment also produced variants of their Mirage Camouflage uniforms for the show. As you can see from the photos Mirage does a great job of blending in with the environment used on the set. Additionally, Daniel Defense provides the DDM4 for use in many of the tactical scenarios depicted on the shows.

Despite the inclement weather, it was a great day and both cast and crew were able to get the film in the can thanks to the support of these sponsors.

Tags: Larry Vickers, Tactical Arms, Tactical Impact
Posted in Admin, Arc'teryx, Boots, Camo, Clothing, Training, weapons | Comments Off on Thanks to Tactical Impact and Tactical Arms Sponsors

Canadians Seek Combat Shirts

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

The Canadian DnD has just issued a tender through Public Works for 25,270 “Hybrid Shirts” in CADPAT(AR) to be delivered by 31 March 2010. The documentation describes the “Hybrid Shirt” as having “a knit material body and FR fabric arms in Canadian Disruptive Pattern Arid Regions (CADPAT AR)”.

Something you have to know is that everything purchased by the Canadian military is purchased through Public Works and Government Services Canada. I know it sounds kind of odd to us Americans but it’s how they do things.

As for the requirement itself, it’s kind of interesting. Industry insiders tell us that the specified body material is the Cordura no-melt, no-drip fabric we wrote about last year. Incidentally, the Tru-Spec Combat Shirt also utilizes the same Cordura fabric for the body. The Cordura fabric offers a lower cost alternative to the more expensive performance FR materials used in many combat ensembles. No-melt, no-drip fabrics are sort of a “do no harm” option and are generally based on natural fibers with performance enhancing treatments.

What is intriguing in all of this is that there is a Canadian connection to this fabric. Tac Wear had the exclusive on that fabric for awhile and pioneered its use in military base layers. In fact, they produced the initial run of t-shirts, some of which were offered through military outfitter Ranger Joes near Fort Benning, Georgia. Wonder how TW will dare on this procurement.

So the news is good for the Canadian soldier. Sort of. Eight years into the war they are finally starting to procure proper load carrying systems and uniforms. Unfortunately, the Hybrid Shirts won’t be available until Spring of next year. On the other hand, for those of you who can’t wait, CP Gear offers a full range of load carrying solutions as well as combat clothing such as the OTW Shirt seen above.

Posted in Clothing, Foreign, FR | Comments Off on Canadians Seek Combat Shirts

OTTE Gear -DK Jacket

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

OTTE Gear debuted their new line of DK Jackets at last year’s SHOT Show. Several military organizations had been looking for an enhanced version of the Combat Jacket design and OTTE Gear has worked a couple of these changes into the DK lineup. Now that it’s starting to get cool outside, I thought it would be a good time to show it around.

The jacket features a generous cut. With many of the current combat-style jackets on the market I wear a Large. However, with the DK from OTTE Gear, I still wear a Large but I can layer effectively which makes the jacket all the more versatile. Additionally, the DK is offered in two weights; Standard (unlined) and Heavy (lined with X-static, same as the Alpine line). The Heavy was the first to be rolled out but OTTE released a lighter, Standard version for when temps are a bit more temperate.

Some of the DK’s features are fairly standard. For example, there is a stand-up collar and flat pockets on the biceps which have Velcro to attach patches. But that’s where the similarities end. The cuffs in addition to being partially elasticized, have an adjustable tab closure and the two large hand slash pockets can be used to vent the jacket. This is a feature not normally found on a combat softshell. However, ultimately the most interesting mod to this design is the 20 inch pit zips which allow for venting as well as an â€œon the goâ€ conversion of the jacket to a short sleeve. OTTE uses elastic straps to keep the sleeves rolled up and out of the way. This is particularly handy when under heavy load and just venting the pits won’t do.

The DK features Schoeller NanoSphere protective finish to keep the jacket water resistant and repel stains. Made in the USA and available in Small – 2XL from OTTE Gear.

Tags: OTTE Gear
Posted in Camo, Clothing, Multicam | Comments Off on OTTE Gear -DK Jacket

First Ascent

Sunday, October 18th, 2009

First Ascent is a new line of hard core outdoor line from Eddie Bauer in collaboration with Whittaker Mountaineering, and Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. They’ve set their sights high with this undertaking as the name itself gives nod to a first successful summit of a mountain. In a way this is Eddie Bauer getting back to its roots. They claim that First Ascent is the most significant line of gear in a generation and for them this would certainly be true. It’s been about that long since they produced anything like this. Back in the 70s, if you were going mountaineering, chances were good you’d be using Eddie Bauer. Somewhere along the way they drifted to a lifestyle brand. It’s good to see them coming around full circle.

The Hangfire Hoodie is a great example to give you an idea of the type of products in the line. It is made from a combination of two-way stretch under the arms and anti-pill fleece. The design features an off-set zipper to aid layering as well as a Napoleon pocket.

To see the entire line which includes clothing, packs, and other equipment visit First Ascent online.

Posted in Clothing, Off-Duty | Comments Off on First Ascent