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Ibex To Close Doors In February

Monday, December 4th, 2017

For several months manufacturer of merino wool clothing Ibex, has been in financial trouble. Late last week, in the letter below, they announced they’ll closing their doors early next year.

End Of The Trail

December 1, 2017
Ibex is winding down. More specifically, Ibex is in the process of closing down its current business, and will cease operations as we know them sometime in February. As we sell through our remaining inventory, please understand that all sales are final, and we will not be taking returns or exchanges.

The passion inside the Ibex brand–for our products and for our customers–is very much alive, and we are confident that Ibex will get more time on the trail after we close out this current adventure. It has been an amazing one, and as we sell through our remaining products, we will remember the many great times we have all had together, and will be dreaming of what comes next.

We have always valued our relationships with our partners, fans and customers. We would not have had this epic journey if it weren’t for you. As we look to the end of this adventure, we are filled with gratitude and respect for those we’ve walked with along the way. To the shearers, spinners, knitters and sewers who helped us build our products: thank you. You helped us make great clothing, and we had fun doing it. To all Ibex employees, past and present: you filled this adventure with passion, love, and amazing stories (some of which best left untold). And to our customers: our goal was always to put you first and you rewarded us tenfold. Thank you for all the love and support.

All of us here have loved being a part of Ibex, being a part of a brand that has believed in the power of outdoor recreation, and of being impassioned members of the outdoor industry. It was core to what we did every day, and to what we all believe in.

As a way of honoring our passions, now through February, you have a chance to make a donation to one of two groups that have supported Ibex along the way.

Conservation Alliance
To help fuel and fund the protection and creation of North America’s wild places
Outdoor Industry Association
To help folks find jobs in the amazing outdoor industry
To support its Outdoor Foundation, which focuses on getting kids outside
Those of us left…we continue to take things day by day. We show up to work trying our best to support one another, to take care of our customers, and wholeheartedly try to create the best outcome for the Ibex brand. It’s not the work we had hoped to be doing together, but it’s important, so we push to bring our best.

As always, we thank you for the years of support and for the passion you have for our products and our brand. Please keep an eye out for great promotions on products we made with love, consider donating to the organizations above that have been a part of our world for a long time, and join us in dreaming about some epic next adventures.

We’ll see you down the trail.

Ted Manning, Ibex CEO

So long Ibex, we bid you adieu.

Tags: Ibex
Posted in Industry | 4 Comments »

Returning 2018

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017

Tags: Orion Design Group
Posted in Industry | 7 Comments »

Leupold Adds Shawn Skipper to Marketing Team As Public Relations Specialist

Tuesday, November 21st, 2017

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Leupold & Stevens, Inc., is pleased to announce that Shawn Skipper has joined the optics manufacturer as its new senior public relations specialist.

Skipper will head up Leupold’s public and media relations efforts, putting his years of editorial experience to work. Prior to joining Leupold®, Skipper was the digital managing editor of the National Rifle Association’s American Hunter title, where he covered optics, firearms, ammunition and accessories. An accomplished writer and editor, Skipper now brings his expertise in outdoor media to the Leupold team.

An avid hunter and angler, Skipper grew up in the iconic duck blinds of the Chesapeake Bay region before attending Seton Hall University, where he earned a degree in journalism and public relations.

“We’re ecstatic to have Shawn join us here at Leupold,” said Bruce Pettet, president and chief executive officer for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. “Over the years, we’ve gotten to know Shawn very well as he’s covered our products or joined us on hunts. His passion for hunting and his knowledge of the outdoors are going to make a great team even better.”

For more information on Leupold products, please visit us at Leupold.com.

Tags: Leupold
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Polartec Announces 2017 Apex Design Award Winners

Wednesday, November 15th, 2017

(Andover, Mass.) – (November 14, 2017) – Polartec, the premium provider of innovative textile solutions, announces the winners of its 2017 Polartec APEX Awards, an annual design award program celebrating the finest products made from Polartec fabrics, and the designers behind them. The winning products were selected based on skilled and creative uses of Polartec fabric technologies.

The winners are:

Adidas Terrex Agravic Alpha Hooded Shield Jacket, a women’s outdoor jacket made with Polartec® Alpha® insulation, designed by Tim Maud

Arc’teryx Nyara Wrap, a fleece wrap layer made from Polartec® Thermal Pro® fleece, designed by Edita Hadravska (available spring 2018)

Blackyak Combat Shirt, a hybrid shirt made from Polartec® Power Grid® fleece, designed by David Randall

Burton Minturn Hooded Full-Zip Fleece, a midweight fleece layer made from Polartec® Classic shearling fleece (available fall 2017)

Citera Neocity-65 Jkt, a practical M65-style jacket made from Polartec® NeoShell® breathable waterproof fabric, designed by Naoki Ei

Fox Racing Attack Pro Jersey, an advanced mountain bike jersey made from Polartec® Delta® cooling fabric, designed by Jake Theno (available spring 2018)

Mountain Hardwear Atherm Hooded Jacket, an ultimate breathable insulation piece, made from an extraordinary combination of Polartec® Alpha® Direct, Polartec® Alpha®, and Polartec® High Loft™ insulations

Norrøna lofoten Power Shield Pro Alpha Jacket, a revolutionary jacket made from a unique combination of Polartec® Power Shield® Pro breathable weather protection and Polartec® Alpha® insulation, designed by the Norrøna R&D department

Oiselle Flyout Tank, Short Sleeve and Long Sleeve, women’s tops made from Polartec® Delta® cooling fabric, designed by Nelle Horsley

P1G-Tac FRS Delta, a hot-weather field training shirt made from Polartec® Delta® cooling fabric, designed by 281Z Development Group (Konstantyn Lesnik, Oleksandr Polevara, Valery Chernenko, Artem Livushevsky)

Taylor Stitch Hawkins Jacket, a classic 60/40-style jacket made from new knit Polartec® NeoShell® breathable waterproof fabric, designed by Nick Kemp

Every winner is an embodiment of Polartec fabric innovation and design inspiration, and the winning designers are being recognized with a Malden statue, an industry award unlike any other, and images celebrating the Science of Fabric.

www.polartec.com

Tags: Polartec
Posted in Industry, Materials, Press Release | 4 Comments »

Warrior Protection And Readiness Coalition Announces New Additions To Board Of Directors And Welcomes New Industry Members

Tuesday, November 14th, 2017

Personal Protective Equipment Industry Association Adds Eight New Member Companies

MARBLEHEAD, MA (November 13, 2017) – The Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition (WPRC) is pleased to announce two new additions to its Board of Directors, the election of a new Chairman of the Board and the elevation of the founding Chairman to the position of Chairman Emeritus.

The newly elected Directors of the WPRC are Dr. Scott Hartley of BAE Systems and Mr. Bruce LaFlam of Milliken and Company. At the WPRC’s annual Board Meeting held in October, Mr. Frank Montie of Brookwood Companies was elected to serve as the next WPRC Chairman of the Board. Founding Chairman Mr. Luke Hillier will be stepping up to Chairman Emeritus of the association.

Regarding these recent changes to the Board, WPRC Executive Director David Costello said, “The PPE and OCIE industry is quite fortunate to have business leaders who selflessly step forward to lend their expertise and experience to the WPRC’s industry efforts. This leadership has been exemplified by founding Chairman Luke Hillier, who in 2009 had the vision of bringing a disconnected industry together to work towards ensuring that the U.S. armed services has a robust industrial base to support their future needs. The WPRC has tremendous momentum and our association will continue to benefit from his role as Chairman Emeritus. I look forward to working with our new Chairman of the Board Frank Montie, our Directors and members to continue to advance our industry’s advocacy programs.”

This year the WPRC has led efforts to expand domestic sourcing requirements to the Department of Homeland Security, worked to protect the Berry Amendment, promoted the use of Best Value contracting methodologies for the PPE/OCIE industry and supported additional funding for the Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) and the Rapid Equipping Force (REF).

As the WPRC expands its efforts, innovative companies have continued to join the association. Recently, Blue Force Gear, Brittany Global Technologies, DRIFIRE, INVISIO Communications, Mystery Ranch, SERKET USA, Source One Tactical, and Tencate Advanced Armor have joined with over 40 other companies to add their voice to the advocacy efforts of the WPRC. The added impact of these industry leaders is critical to advancing the WPRC mission to support the equipment and advanced clothing needs of the Armed Services and Department of Homeland Security.

Blue Force Gear – Blue Force Gear designs weapon slings and leads the lightweight equipment revolution with its Ten-Speed® multi-use pouches. Unrivaled innovation and attention to detail set Blue Force Gear apart from others in the tactical equipment industry. www.blueforcegear.com

Brittany Global Technologies– Established in 1939, Brittany is a leading manufacturer of specialty fabrics and technology solutions with a focus on advanced textiles for the U.S. armed services. www.brittanyusa.com

DRIFIRE – is the premier provider and developer of high performance flame resistant (FR) fabrics and protective apparel to the government, industrial, racing and consumer markets. DRIFIRE, makes flame-resistant apparel for every branch of the U.S. military as well as the oil and gas, chemical, and electric utilities industries. www.drifire.com

INVISIO – is a global market leader within advanced communication and hearing protection systems. The company develops and sells advanced systems that enable professionals in noisy and mission critical environments to communicate and work effectively, while protecting their hearing. www.invisio.com

Mystery Ranch – is committed to building the finest load carriage equipment in the world. A product-driven company from the beginning, MYSTERY RANCH designs packs for the job that needs to get done, for the people committed to doing it, with the best materials available and the most durable construction methods that exist. www.mysteryranch.com

SERKET – designs and manufactures technical apparel solutions for those who protect and serve in the Armed Forces and Federal Law Enforcement. The company’s mission is taking a cerebral approach to improving comfort and performance of uniform systems by embracing emerging technologies. www.serketusa.com

Source One Tactical – is a company with a mission to solve critical problems facing those in perilous environments. Using advanced innovation, the company partners with technology leaders to enhance operational effectiveness. www.sourceonetactical.com

Tencate Advanced Armor – is a major provider of personal protection solutions for police departments, federal agencies, and large multi-year government programs. The company provides a diverse portfolio of stand-alone (SA) and in-conjunction (IC) plates with special capabilities to meet the needs of those in harm’s way. www.tencateadvancedarmor.com

The WPRC is the unified voice of advocacy for the individual and unit level equipment needs of the warfighter and peacekeeper. The leading tactical equipment, apparel, materials, and technology companies of the WPRC are committed to ensuring that American service members and Homeland Security personnel are provided with superior products built by a robust industrial base, now and in the future. For a complete listing of WPRC member companies, please visit www.warriorprotection.net.

Tags: Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition
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First Annual ADS Inc UAS + Counter UAS Industry Day Wrapup

Monday, November 13th, 2017

Last week, I attended the First Annual ADS Inc UAS + Counter UAS Industry Day, held at the Va Beach Military Aviation Museum. Despite pressing foul weather, the museum offered ample room for booth space as well as in the hangar and apron area for demonstrations.

Attendance was restricted to vetted government and industry members, but the individual demonstrations were quite technical and required a basic level of experience with the subject. Terminology alone would have marginalized the casual observor.

The event focused on two sides of the Unmanned Aerial System coin. There isn’t a single drone technology. Consequently, countering them requires a layered approach, with multiple technologies to go after the signals; commercial and military, as well as novel, the result of tweaking existing systems to operate outside standard parameters.

Below is an overview of the various vendors to demonstrate at the industry day.

Aeryon Labs Inc.

Aeryon Labs focused on their Sky Ranger. It flies at 50 kph but will maintain station in gusts up to 90 kph. It also offers a 25-30 min flight duration with its heaviest payload (60 x zoom EO Offering the ability to read a license plate at 1500m) but can remain aloft for up to 50 min with lighter payload (FLIR Tau 2 EO/IR sensor).

Optimized to fly with tablet and stylus and boasting a 256 bit encryption datalink, it can also be controlled with a joystick.

The Sky Ranger offers a 120 to -20 deg operational window and integrates an auto landing using Sonar which kicks in at 10’ above the deck.

MyDefence

MyDefense is a Danish firm which offers the Wingman 100, a TRL 9, manwearable UAS detection system. It is currently in use with US prisons and EU militaries.

It is an RF detector with a 60 deg directional antenna and a max range of 1000m. It offers general direction detection by turning the body and compares signals to a limited library (recreational systems are absent). When a signal is detected, the Wingman calls out “drone” or “controller”. It also offers light and vibration alert features.

They are currently working with JIEDDO to introduce the Wingman 101 which features an Aluminum backplate and removable battery. This model will also connect to common military batteries and will pertain up to 3 days.

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin demonstrated their Indago 2 VTOL quadcopter. It can be folded up and transported in two Kevlar reinforced transport cases.

The Indago 2 offers the DUO+, ION30X, and dual IR sensors (NIIRS 8 at 400m) as hotswapplable payloads and will remain aloft for up to 50 min at a range of 2km and an operating altitude of 10-500’ AGL.

Batelle

Batelle’s Drone Defender is a handheld man-portable directional jammer, resembling the point and shoot operation of a rifle, which breaks the communication between the drone and controller and disrupt the GPS signal. The range is up to 400m.

Rohde & Schwarz

Rohde & Schwarz brought out their demo van which incorporates a full suite of EW/SIGINT capabilities.

Included in the van’s various capabilities is the Ardronis system which looks at 8 MHz of bandwidth at a time, searching for signal characteristics indicative of a UAS. In addition to geolocation of the signal, it can then characterize the signal using its onboard library. Library Data is updated quarterly. However, new drones can be added manually or via signal capture and classification.

AeroVironment

Aerovironmemt flew their Puma SUAS System, outfitted with the new I45 payload which adds a low level light camera with improved illumination over the I25. In fact, the I45 payload offers NIIRS 9+ at 1000m oblique.

The Puma boasts 2.5 hours of flight time and 20km LOS range, although there is also a 3 hour battery. It features auto land which allows it to essentially come straight down into a small area.

Dedrone

Dedrone’s DroneTracker is designed tospecifically go after commercial drones which are the most prolific form of UAS. It can be mounted to windows or building facades to identify approaching drones via visual, acoustic and frequency sensors. In addition to characterizing approaching drones, the system can tip and cue other sensors such as cameras.

FLIR

FLIR discussed their sensor packages as well as their PD-100 Personal Reconnaissance System, which includes the pocket sized Black Hornet 2 sensor, boasting EO or EO/IR sensors. The entire system weighs just 1.3 kg.

The Black Hornet 2 Offers 25 min flight time, 1.6 km LOS data link range and 5 mps ground speed, tolerating up 12 mps gusts.

Summary

UAS and CUAS technologies are rapidly changing. Fortunately, ADS plans to make this an annual event. If you involved in either, or both disciplines I highly recommend attending the next Industry Day.

To learn more about any of these technologies, visit www.adsinc.com.

Posted in ADS, Industry, ISR | 6 Comments »

RAMPART Appoints Sonny Sergerie, CD (Retired Chief Warrant Officer) as Quebec & Maritimes Sales Manager

Thursday, November 9th, 2017

Ottawa, ON Nov 8, 2017 – RAMPART International Corp., Canada’s leading supplier of operational equipment, is proud to announce Sonny Sergerie, CD (Ret. CWO) as the new Sales Manager for Quebec & Maritimes.

Having spent the last 28 years in the Canadian Armed Forces; Sonny brings a wealth of experience and significant leadership to our team.

Sonny will be responsible for contributing to the success and growing needs of our Quebec and Maritimes customers; these territories have grown rapidly since Rampart was established in 2010. Sonny will be based in our Ottawa office to provide our customers with the highest level of service, expertise and professionalism that Rampart is known for.

www.rampartcorp.com

Tags: Rampart International
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Haley Strategic Partners Grand Opening

Wednesday, November 8th, 2017

Over the weekend, I attended the grand opening of Haley Strategic Partners new facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I really enjoyed the museum-like atmosphere of the showroom floor, which you can see in the photos above, courtesy of BCM and taken by Jon Chang of Echelon Software.

Speaking of Bravo Company, HSP gave away a Jack Carbine as a doorprize.

In addition to the new SureFire / HSP collaboration flashlight, there’s also a new chest rig on the way.

However, the big news is the implementation of HSP’s D7 training. The proper name is D7 powered by VirTra, a firearm and tactics training technology company also located in Phoenix, with systems emplaced worldwide. The VirTra V-300 and V-ST PRO system are the simulators powering the new D7 training experience.

The VirTra V-300 has multiple screens that offer a 300-degree view, which includes peripheral vision and modified live weapons to enhance the transferability of the training to real-life scenarios. An instructor interacts as the student progresses through the simulation, offering a customized experience based on the actions of the student. For instance, based on how a student uses verbal commands or deescalation techniques, the instructor can tailor the reactions of the simulation. Each simulation is based on a real world case study, offers multiple outcomes, and is portrayed by professional actors.

Any light setting can be recreated and proprietary flashlights, which can be programmed to throw the same amount of illumination as the student’s carry light, work like real flashlights, lighting up the portion of the screens the light is pointed at.

I’ve only ever used single screen shoot/no-shoot simulators in the past. The V-300 gave lots of room to move around and had my palms sweating by the end of the active shooter scenario. If you need something more to get the adrenaline racing, they offer a feedback mechanism that gives the student a jolt of electricity if he is hit by fire from the simulator’s adversaries.

Additionally, VirTra’s V-ST PRO system, is used to improve firearm draw, basic body movements, trigger control, grip and marksmanship. HSP’s system can simulate targets out to 300m, but a planned upgrade will double that distance in the near future. Target types can be changed on the fly, including dueling trees, and the system also offers immediate feedback of where rounds hit on the target, without having to head downrange to paste targets.

Both systems utilize the student’s pistol and carbine, swapping the barrel for a proprietary laser system. Weapon function, including recoil and sound, is created via a CO2-powered magazine. While it isn’t quite the same as the real thing, it offers a reassuring feel. The system not only allows the student to use his actual firearms, it can be programmed to introduce malfunctions requiring immediate action.

Training will be offered in 2 levels: Small Group two-day class or a Private 1-on-1 class, custom-tailored to the student.

In this video, Travis Haley gives an overview of the technology behind this new program.