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Marines Seeking Enhanced Flame Resistant Combat Ensemble

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

In January, MARCORSYSCOM released a pre-solicitation for an “Enhanced Flame Resistant Combat Ensemble” or EFRCE. While it sounds like something completely new, really what the Marines are looking for is a version of the Blouse and Trouser from the Flame Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG) that incorporates but improved fabrics and Permethrin treatment. There are no plans to alter the current cut or design of this popular uniform.

In terms of a general description, EFRCE is similar to the current Flame Resistant Combat Ensemble (FRCE) in the Marine Corps inventory; however, the design and fabrics used to construct the FRCE have been modified to increase durability (as such, producing the EFRCE)…Also, of note, following contract award, each shirt and trouser of the EFRCE must be factory permethrin treated and must conform to the permethrin concentration levels and percent bite protection requirements, as established by the Marine Corps.

They want vendors to use the following fabric types:

Cloth, Type I – Woven, Woodland, Marine Corps Pattern (MARPAT) Camouflage Printed
Cloth, Type II – Woven, Desert, MARPAT Camouflage Printed
Cloth, Type III – Woven, Navy Working Uniform (NWU) II, Desert Digital Camouflage Printed
Cloth, Type IV – Woven, NWU III, Woodland Digital Camouflage Printed
Cloth, Type V – Knit, Coyote, Solid (All Uniform Types)

Based on this, as you can imagine, the EFRCE will be offered in 4 variants:

As you can see, the Marines and Navy have no plans to abandon their camouflage patterns anytime soon. But, Marines and Sailors will have a great uniform in both woodland desert variants.

Class 1, Type I EFRCE Blouse and Trouser, Woodland MARPAT, with Durable Insect Protection
Class 1, Type II EFRCE Blouse and Trouser, Desert MARPAT, with Durable Insect Protection
Class 2, Type III EFRCE Blouse and Trouser, NWU II Desert Digital Camouflage Printed, with Durable Insect Protection
Class 2, Type IV EFRCE Blouse and Trouser, NWU III Woodland Digital Camouflage Printed, with Durable Insect Protection

As of now, the EFRCE will be produced by Hub Zone-based small businesses.

Tags: FROG, USMC
Posted in Clothing, Contracts, FR, FROG, MARCORSYSCOM | 6 Comments »

OR – Wild Things

Friday, January 24th, 2014

Wild Things Low Loft Jacket – FR uses FASTPACK technology with GORE® PYRAD® flame retardant and 80 grams of PrimaLoft® Fusion (2.4 oz). The fact Thais new jacket integrates WL Gore’s PYRAD technology should be enough but that jacket integrates even more new garment technology. PYRAD is a treatment for existing fabrics so you retain most of the base fabric’s inherent capabilities.

The Wild Things Low Loft Jacket – FR is a lightweight insulation piece that is durably water resistant, windproof, highly breathable and fire retardant. It can be worn as a stand-alone outer-layer or as an insulating mid-layer with a cold weather clothing system. Low water pick-up and quick dry properties maintain the effectiveness and lightweight nature of the jacket. 80 grams (2.4 oz) of PrimaLoft® FUSION is used to provide superior lightweight insulation – wet or dry. PrimaLoft® FUSION has the highest warmth to weight ratio (clo/oz/sqyd) of any Berry-compliant synthetic insulation.

Air permeability is optimized to facilitate “fast packing” and low pack volume of an insulated layer. This enables the soldier to quickly don and doff (pack and unpack) the jacket as their mission and/or environment changes.

GORE® PYRAD® is a self-extinguishing fabric that offers protection in heat, flash-fire and arc-flash incidents. Key features include:
• Protection against heat and flame
• Increased thermal stability
• FR properties build into laminate structure – will not degrade with wash and wear
• Maintains physical integrity of the garment after exposure to flash fire

The jacket is designed for use by the dismounted soldier in cool to cold and dry to damp conditions. The lightweight and low pack volume enables the soldier to easily stow and carry the jacket while on movements. Once the soldier comes to rest, the combination of insulation with high breathability make the jacket ideal for “baking dry” any moisture build up in the base layers thereby maintaining soldier comfort and effectiveness.

Compared to the current ECWCS L3 Fleece, the Wild Things Low Loft Jacket – FR offers a much broader temperature range capability, greater breathability, significantly higher water resistance and windproofness, as well as lower pack volume. It also provides FR protection. In addition, it does not retain dirt and other contaminants like Fleece.

Tech Specs:
• Body fabric made with GORE® FASTPACK technology with GORE® PYRAD® flame retardant
• 2.4 oz PrimaLoft® Fusion
• 2 hand warmer pockets with brushed lining
• 2 bicep pockets
• Knit FR collar for comfort and protection
• Hanger loop
• Internal Napoleon pocket
• Elastic cuffs
• Drop tail for excellent coverage
• Sleeve and chest Velcro patches
• Jacket weight – 27 oz (1 lb 11 oz)

www.wildthingsgear.com

Tags: OR, Wild Things
Posted in Clothing, FR, Outdoor Retailer | 5 Comments »

Awesome News – Massif NAVAIR Elements Jacket and Pant with Battleshield X Fabric Authorized To Wear By NAVAIR

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

ASHLAND, OR, JANUARY X, 2014 – Massif® NAVAIR Elements™ Jacket and Pant with Battleshield X™ fabric has been authorized to wear by NAVAIR, adding sage green shade for rotary and fixed wing non-ejection seat pilots and aircrew.

“It has been less than a year since Massif and Gore announced the commercial introduction of this revolutionary new fabric for the Elements line of softshell garments, so we’re very excited that it’s now tested and approved by NAVAIR,” said Dave Bywater, VP of Government Sales at Massif. “The new fabric in these garments represents a real leap in innovation, ultimately resulting in better performance and protection for our troops.”

Massif Battleshield X fabric, featuring GORE® FR stretch technology, is a flame-resistant, water-resistant laminate developed specifically for the military and tactical markets, with a US patent-pending nylon face fabric. While nylon garments have a long history of performance in the outdoor market, it has never before provided adequate FR protection. Massif Battleshield X fabric offers a shift in flame resistance by combining filament nylon-faced laminates with exceptional FR protection. The result is an extremely durable, highly breathable fabric with a superior warmth-to-weight ratio that is highly water resistant and flame resistant.

Massif Battleshield X has been rigorously field tested in some of the world’s harshest conditions, and has proved itself over and over. In high-activity situations, Massif’s unique fabrics with Gore’s breathable stretch membrane reduce overheating and chilling from moisture retention and reduce user fatigue, keeping soldiers dryer, safer, and more effective in a wider range of situations and temperatures. What’s more, Massif Battleshield X meets the stringent requirements of ASTM F2302/ASTM D6413 and shows extremely low Burn Injury Prediction when tested on a manikin per ASTM F1930.

“Even after a more than a decade of providing garments and fabrics to the US Military, it’s still really gratifying to get another approval. It’s our mission to increase comfort and durability, improve life cycle costs, and provide the best flash-fire protection possible for our troops,” added Bywater.

The approved Massif® NAVAIR Elements™ Jacket and Pant with Battleshield X™ are available as a commercial off-the-shelf product. In addition, NAVAIR has rigorously tested and approved all products in Massif’s Fire and Ice Layering System for use by Navy and Marine Corps aviators, and fifteen of Massif’s products are included in NAVAIR’s State-of-the-Art Survival Items (SOASI) list, ensuring that Navy and Marine Corps aviators have access to the world’s most technologically advanced FR equipment.

www.massif.com

Tags: Massif, NAVAIR
Posted in Clothing, FR | Comments Off on Awesome News – Massif NAVAIR Elements Jacket and Pant with Battleshield X Fabric Authorized To Wear By NAVAIR

US Army Seeks Flame Resistant and Non-Melting, Next-to-Skin Fabrics

Friday, November 1st, 2013

Yesterday, the Army Contracting Command issued a Request for Information (RFI) / Market Survey on behalf of Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM-SCIE) and the US Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Command, (NSRDEC) in Natick, MA for Flame Resistant and Non-Melting, Next-to-Skin Fabrics.

In particular, the wish “to identify domestic products, suppliers and manufacturers as potential sources of knitted fabrics suitable for use in three next-to-skin garment types. These garment categories include:
A. Base layer underwear
B. Base layer underwear capable of maintaining a snug fit when soft ballistic protection is added.
C. Flame resistant shirts capable of maintaining fit and positioning of integrated ballistic protection.
1. Sleeve and side panel fabric (must have capability to be printed in IR compliant camouflage patterns)
2. Torso fabric”

In addition to basic information on any company that submits, the Government also needs:
-A fact sheet or white paper, detailing properties of the submitted fabrics, technical parameters, manufacturing location, relevant company background/experience and documented test/analysis information that would indicate performance properties against the required physical properties listed above.
-Five yards of each submitted fabric.
-Pricing for each submitted fabric in dollars per linear yard.

The RFI goes on to state that, “the Government may purchase up to 100 yards from one or more respondents for prototype development. ”

Most important, companies must review this document for salient performance characteristics.

Perspective companies have until November 29th, 2013 to respond. Full details are at the FBO posting.

As always, I will remind SSD readers that this is NOT a solicitation but rather a means to gather information from industry on the current state of the art. I encourage participation as these exercises influence future requirements.

Tags: Natick
Posted in Contracts, FR, Materials, PEO-Soldier | 11 Comments »

MDM – Additional Photos of ArmorWorks Protective Combat Shirt Mod2

Thursday, September 26th, 2013

On Tuesday we showed you the new Protective Combat Shirt Mod2 from ArmorWorks but I wasn’t satisfied with the photos. I want you to see the various features of this innovative design. In particular, check out the shawl collar, ventilated torso and short sleeves. Many in the SOF community cut off their sleeves in the heat and ArmorWorks has acknowledged this by pairing it with an FR long sleeved undershirt.

This diamond shaped section is a jacquard mesh for ventilation.

The OD sections of the garment are a proprietary two-layer, double-sided Kevlar knit/jersey construction first used in the Protective Under Garment (PUG).

Tags: ArmorWorks
Posted in Clothing, FR, MDM | 5 Comments »

MDM – DRIFIRE/Crye Precision PCU Level 9

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

In what is the biggest news of Modern Day Marine, DRIFIRE and Crye Precision have teamed up to introduce an FR, certified, PCU level 9 garment. This gives SOCOM its first SOF Unique FR combat uniform option that is available to any units on the SPEAR program.

DRIFIRE is offering their performance FR fabric called Foretrex and Crye Precision created the garment design. Foretrex is not only FR but also wear resistant, moisture wicking and anti-microbial.

It integrates the features found on the Crye Precision combat uniform, including the interface for the Crye knee pad, and is a great option for those requiring FR coverage.

Available in virtually any camouflage pattern, the first run is in Woodland camouflage. However, it is important to note that the stretch panels at the lumbar and knees are non-FR.

Tags: Crye Precision, Drifire
Posted in Camo, Clothing, FR, MDM | 22 Comments »

Find XGO at DSEi

Monday, September 9th, 2013

XGO is on hand at DSEi in the NC Dept of Commerce Booth # N7-384, Security and Special Forces Zone.

Tags: DSEI, XGO
Posted in DSEi, FR | Comments Off on Find XGO at DSEi

DRIFIRE’s NAVAIR Approved Flightsuits Available Through ADS inc

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

DRIFIRE offers a two-piece flightsuit and combat shirt that are approved for use by NAVAIR. Designed to work together, these FR, performance garments are well suited to ground as well as air operations. I think LE organizations who face flame threats should check these out.

Like I said, these are performance FR garments. In addition to their FR properties, they are also anti-microbial and moisture wicking. As far as flight clothing go, the DRIFIRE garments fuse combat and flying features making them great options for Multi-seat aircraft such as cargo and rotary wing. Both garments are offered in Khaki as well as Sage.

DRIFIRE FR garments are available for unit and agency orders through www.adsinc.com/drifire.

Tags: ADS Inc, Drifire
Posted in ADS, Clothing, FR | 8 Comments »