One of the brands I encountered at Enforce Tac and IWA earlier this month was Hexonia. They have been working on Gladius, the German Army’s Future Soldier System and produce some very interesting knit garments.
They’ve done a lot of work on the clothing subsystem of Gladius which includes ballistic undergarments as well as Combat Shirt. Hexonia’s approach to ballistic underwear, called BALUW is the combination of three dimensional production techniques utilizing specialty yarns. As you can see, they offer body mapped knits for the torso of the garment. Their production offers ergonomically shaped products with significantly reduced number of seams, or in some cases, no seams at all. BALUW is worn as a first layer directly on the skin. The tight fit is to ensure that it can’t be blown away from the skin by a blast wave. Even the elastic zones are made of ballistic material and increase comfort without reducing the level of protection.
Their material combination also has excellent physiological properties. It has a very smooth hand against the skin and doesn’t lead to any abrasions. Additionally, thanks to the hydrophobic materials, sweat is absorbed readily and wicked away from the body. What’s more, the material is flame retardant with no burn, melt or drip. Finally, BALUW can be washed at 60 °C.
Earlier this month, during Enforce Tac, I met with German company Tactical Trim and one of the brands they represent, Israeli firm FibroTex. In addition to walking me through some of their multi-spectral camouflage solutions, they mentioned that they were hosting an Operational Camouflage Workshop in Germany this Spring in Winterberg and would be interested in attendees from qualified military/police organizations.
Attendees will get hands-on experience with items like the Nightwalker suit.
If you’re interested in attending (and yes, all attendees will be vetted) contact eyal@fibrotex-tech.com.
Offered in the Netherlands by Profile Equipment, these garments are intended for wear in hot weather and the proprietary fabric is treated with Permethrin as well as being FR.
The ripstop weave fabric is a blend of four different fibers. Additionally, stress points and slotted buttons are bartacked and they’ve incorporated wide belt loops for duty belts as well as height adjustable kneepads in addition to easily removable labels and washing instructions to prevent irritation.
Patch Panel announces move to complete in house production of customized Cordura patches, with enhanced offerings, and lead times.
In 2012, Patch Panel (WMI Sports Ltd.) began offering IR Name Tapes as an industry first. In time, this grew to call signs, name plates, unit patches, and now, their exclusive Identification Panels. Throughout this time, we went places we had never expected, including military unit, division, and regimental sized orders, as well as the opportunity to support many police units with roadside safety marking patches, as well as identification units.
Starting as a small company, we naturally did not have the resources to produce items entirely in house, and were forced to outsource parts of our production to save costs. This meant that the lead times just kept growing to weeks, and even months.
At the beginning of 2016, Patch Panel initiated the steps to move all production to our facility in Peterborough Ontario, where production quality could be controlled to exacting standards, and produced expediently by their Canadian Forces Veteran production team.
Today, we are happy to announce that long lead times are a thing of the past. Dropping from 10 weeks, to 10 days, and even an option to expedite to 2 business days. We are now able to provide the patches you need, in short order. All of these changes help us support our goals to generate more domestic manufacturing, as well as employ more veterans in our workforce.
Nuremberg, 05.03.2016. UF PRO revealed 7 new products at the annual IWA exhibition in Nuremberg. If you didn’t have the opportunity to visit their “jungle” booth in hall 9, here is some news straight from the UF PRO booth.
“Tough gear for rough weather.“ That’s the mantra for the new generation of Monsoon rain jackets, which were designed to offer extreme reliability and functionality during extreme weather conditions.
“Does 100g lighter gear compensate for less reliability and functionality? We don’t think so. That is why, during the design process of our new Monsoon jackets we focused on guaranteeing superb waterproof reliability, comfort and functionality, rather then saving grams and thus not including crucial functional elements, like the air/pac inserts or our Hood/Harness system“ said head of product development at UF PRO, Armin Wagner.
UF PRO is going to add 3 new jackets to their Monsoon rain gear; the more civilian styled Monsoon jacket, the heavy duty Monsoon XT jacket and the lightweight Monsoon Rain Shirt, which has been designed to be worn underneath a plate carrier.
“Our specialty has always been the designing of waterproof gear and with the new generation of Monsoon jackets, I really think that we are bringing a game changer to the waterproof garment market“ added Armin.
UF PRO also introduced their updated Striker XT combat pants and shirt, which should be available by the end of May. One of the biggest updates with the new generation of Striker XT pants is that the camouflage version is going to have the stretch panels also in camouflage. This was until now only the case with the Striker HT pants in MultiCam, where UF PRO combined the MultiCam NyCo fabric with the Schoeller-dynamic stretch material in SloCam.
A complete novelty to the UF PRO product range is the new addition to their Striker combat range- the new Stealth Smock.
“We wanted to design a smock, which would allow you to stow everything you need for a 24 -36 hour mission in it, without the need to carry an additional backpack or a chest rig. It was of course clear from the start that the problem isn’t going to be how to design a jacket with large pockets, but how to make sure the jacket stays comfortable to wear, even loaded with all that gear. That’s why we integrated a special air permeable load-bearing system into the jacket, which fixes the pockets onto your hip and thus helps to distribute the weight evenly.“ Armin reflected on the design process of the new Smock, which is going to be available in Flecktarn, MultiCam, PenCott GreenZone and RAL 7013 Brown-Grey.
UF PRO also introduced their new summer products, consisting out of the P-40 Shorts and the P-40 Shirt.
The shorts offer the known pocket configuration from the P-40 All-Terrain pants. The knee can be adjusted in length and can either cover the knee or stay above it.
The P-40 Shirt has integrated breathable mesh material in areas of high perspiration, air/pac inserts in the shoulder area and a high collar for extra sun protection and protection against abrasion in case of wearing a rifle sling.
Chambered in .22 LR, this bolt action target rifle from Savage Arms will replace the L98A2 which is a rim fire variant of the SA80 for Army cadets. The bolt has been removed on the rifle in the photo. It will take the name of No. 9.
Solace Power, a wireless power technology company has been announced as top cutting edge technology for 2015 by Sikorsky Innovations. You can read the full release below:
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (PRWEB) March 01, 2016
Solace Power, developer of leading edge wireless power technology announces that it has been recognized as a top innovative technology company by Sikorsky Innovations, a Lockheed Martin Company. As the winner of the Sikorsky Entrepreneurship Challenge, Solace Power has been awarded a monetary prize, and the opportunity to jointly explore the impact of RC2 technology on Sikorsky’s product line.
“The Sikorsky Entrepreneurial Challenge was a fantastic opportunity for Solace Power to showcase its unique wireless power technology, and earn validation from one of the world’s most innovative companies.” said Neil Chaulk, Vice President of Business Development. “We are looking forward to working with Sikorsky to develop leading edge technology in the aerospace and defense market.”
Solace’s technology allows companies in the aerospace/defense, automotive, industrial and consumer electronics markets to eliminate the need for cables and connectors in many applications. Companies can take advantage of Solace’s spatial freedom and flexible integration capabilities to reduce manufacturing/maintenance costs, reduce cabling weight, and improve overall application design for the next generation of products.
“The Entrepreneurial Challenge, from an industry perspective, is truly a one-of-kind gateway, where disruptive ideas can quickly gain exposure and a customer base within one of the most exciting transportation verticals globally,” said Chris Van Buiten, Vice President of Sikorsky Innovations. “We look forward to exploring the applications of the exciting Solace Power technology.”
The Sikorsky Entrepreneurial Challenge has been designed to accelerate innovators and disruptive technology concepts with applications in the vertical flight market.
3/1/16 – 1947, LLC located in Portsmouth, RI USA is pleased to announce a partnership with Tacticaltrim of Berlin Germany.
Tacticaltrim is licensed by 1947, LLC to offer the suite of MULTICAM® fabrics & webbings to EU and EMEA countries. Tacticaltrim will assist EU and EMEA companies with fabric procurement FOB Germany. By handling duties, credit terms, VATS and transportation costs, Tacticaltrim will make the ordering process more efficient for companies located in the before mentioned regions.
Companies are free to contact 1947, LLC directly with pricing, fabric inquiries or any information regarding the MULTICAM® pattern. The Tacticaltrim partnership does not refrain companies from buying directly from 1947, LLC however Tacticaltrim will streamline the purchasing process for EU/EMEA clients.
The MULTICAM® hang-tag and sew-in labels will be fulfilled by Tacticaltrim for these purchase orders.
Please stop by Booth 9-305 at the IWA Outdoor Classic to say hello March 4th – 7th.
