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Gore-tex Extended Comfort Range Footwear Technology Now Available

Sunday, January 13th, 2013

W L Gore & Associates, Inc has announced that its most advanced comfort technology is now available in tactical military and law enforcement footwear. Available in desert tan and black from the Belleville Boot Company, Propper International, Reebok, and Shoe Technology Company (STC), GORE-TEX Extended Comfort Footwear provides protection outside in challenging conditions and comfort inside the station, vehicle, or garrison. GORE-TEX Extended Comfort Footwear enables military and law enforcement professionals to have a single pair of boots for the widest range of climates. Like all GORE-TEX products, this new technology delivers durable protection from exposure to rain and inclement weather while allowing moisture vapor to escape from the boot, which helps keep feet dry and more comfortable. The unique single-wall construction of GORE-TEX Extended Comfort Footwear eliminates the need for extra lining, making the footwear a more lightweight alternative.

Tags: Belleville Boot Company, Propper International, Reebok, Shoe Technology Company, WL Gore
Posted in Boots, Industry, Materials | Comments Off on Gore-tex Extended Comfort Range Footwear Technology Now Available

SOCOM Adopts Polartec Alpha as Insulation for PCU Level 3a

Friday, January 11th, 2013

This isn’t the first time that we’ve mentioned SOCOM’s Block 2 PCU Level 3a or its use of Polartec’s materials. Polartec has a long history of providing innovative fabric solutions for not only SOCOM’s Protective Combat Uniform program but for all of DoD. What’s more, their manufacturing partner is Patagonia. They too have a long history of supporting SOF and other specialized units going back to the 80s. In 3ID LRS I was issued blue Patagonia polypropylene long underwear and pile jacket and overalls in Germany in the late 80s. Later, Patagonia developed the Military Advanced Regulator System. Now, they are responsible for the design and manufacture of PCU. Below is the press release on this new insulation technology option for USSOCOM.

Polartec and Patagonia Collaborate to Provide Breakthrough Fabric Technology to Every Special Forces Operator
January 8, 2013 – (Lawrence, Mass.) – Polartec, the developer, manufacturer, and marketer of Polartec performance fabrics, has worked closely with the U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) to develop Polartec®Alpha, a new synthetic insulation technology that creates the first-ever breathable “puffy” garments for active warmth. The Special Forces are the first adopters of this breakthrough fabric technology and are presently fielding Polartec Alpha jackets designed by Patagonia to all SOF operators.

Unlike down and existing synthetic insulations, Polartec Alpha provides active warmth that allows air exchange for breathability and comfort in more dynamic situations. It was developed to meet the specific performance requirements of the United States Military Special Operations Forces. The development brief required materials that are warm, wind resistant, highly durable, quick drying and more breathable than any existing insulation products. In field and lab testing, Polartec Alpha received the highest testing results of any Polartec product ever tested by the Special Operations Forces evaluation team. The garment will replace two to three layers, reducing costs, saving weight in the field and improving combat effectiveness.

In close collaboration with Polartec, Patagonia designed and developed the overall garment design for SOF. The company spent months maximizing the details of the design to take full advantage of the performance characteristics of Polartec Alpha. The final product is the SOF Protective Combat Uniform Level 3A Jacket, a standard issue piece fielded to every Special Forces Operator in the service.

“Polartec Alpha is a significant technical achievement that has created an entirely new class of fabric technology,” says David Costello, Polartec’s Military Business Manager. “This fabric innovation has been made possible due to our longstanding relationship with the Special Forces and has come to fruition in a final garment through the creativity and drive of the Patagonia design team. The demanding mission profile of the SOF operators requires absolute performance from every element of the operator’s ensemble. Polartec Alpha meets this test and has tremendous potential as a platform for future development.”

“Patagonia constantly works with suppliers to push the limits of what is possible. We have been pushing these limits with Polartec for several decades now; the result has been many groundbreaking products over the course of those years, culminating into this pinnacle innovation. This technology allows technical product designer/developers an interesting new challenge for the next several years; to ‘dial in’ the perfect CFM (or breathability) of a low loft garment,” says Eric Neuron, Patagonia’s Director of Strategic Product. “Without the demands and feedback from Special Forces Operators, this jacket and technology would not exist. We are very proud to support their needs. ”

Tags: Patagonia, PCU, Polartec, USSOCOM
Posted in Clothing, Materials, PM-SOF | 4 Comments »

Murdock Webbing Introduces New Patterns and Products

Wednesday, December 26th, 2012

As far as I’m concerned, Murdock has become synonymous with Jacquard weave webbing. They offer a durable, double-sided webbing solution that is Berry compliant with the camouflage pattern not printed on, but rather woven into the webbing. And now, they’ve introduced not only new patterns to their line, but additional products as well.

Available camouflage patterns include:

-MultiCam: Rigid, Elastic, Bungee, and two belt weight constructions. New Heavy Duty Gun Holster with exposed rubber in development.

-AOR1 & AOR2: Rigid. Elastic and AOR2 Heavy Duty Gun Holster with exposed rubber in development.

-Realtree: Hardwoods, AP, Max 4, Hardwoods Blaze, Pink.

-A-Tacs: AU & FG rigid.

-OCP: Rigid in development, Multicam alternative for D.O.D. contracts.

-UCP Digital: Rigid, Bungee, Elastic.

-MTP: Rigid.

Rigid webbing meets or exceeds the specifications for AA55301 and are available in 19mm, 25mm, 38mm, 50mm. Custom widths and weights are available upon request.

Murdock also offers these additional options:

-Nanosphere: Murdock Webbing is the exclusive narrow fabric company to offer Schoeller’s NanoSphere technology. NanoSphere repels water and dirt to create a self-cleaning finish and enhance durability.

-FR: Their FR elastic webbing passes APEL specifications using the rigorous ASTM 6413 vertical burn test method.

-Silicone: Multiple applications of silicone are available and are applied in-house.

-Monster Edge: Innovated at Murdock, Monster Edge significantly increases the useful life of sling and tie down webs at a competitive price while still providing ease of sewing.

-Durability: The jacquard woven construction has proven to be very abrasion resistant in repeated laboratory tests. Even after 2000 abrasion cycles, patterns are still intact. In the field this translates directly to an end product that remains effective, in terms of camouflage concealment and functionality, for a very long period of time.

-IR: MultiCam, AOR1 and AOR2 rigid webbing meet all NIR requirements established by Natick, and have been approved by a government certified lab.

As noted above, Murdock is currently still in development of UK MTP pattern and US Army OCP Four color design as well as holster material, but only small fine tune adjustments are left before releasing them.

The A-TACS AU and FG, as well as the AOR1, and the MultiCam belt weights are approved.

Please contact Ray Clarke, VP of Sales, at 1 (800) 375 2052 x3014 or ray.clarke@murdockweb.com for samples and price quotes.

Be sure to visit Murdock Webbing Co at SHOT Show in booth #8307.

www.murdockweb.com

Tags: Murdock Webbing
Posted in Materials, Multicam | 6 Comments »

Tactical Tailor Licenses Blue Force Gear’s Helium Whisper

Monday, December 17th, 2012

Blue Force Gear has just announced they have licensed their Helium Whisper technology to Tactical Tailor. Helium Whisper technology is a single piece modular backer made of a high performance laminate called ULTRAcomp that can be integrated into virtually any load carrying pouch during manufacturing.

“Providing exactly what the customer requires is our goal, incorporating this technology into our product allows us to do it very easily, that’s exciting,” said GW Ayers, Tactical Tailor’s Director of Sales. “Helium Whisper will support our efforts to fulfill an immediate SOF LCS Contract requirement.”

Tactical Tailor is the second company to license this lightweight technology after Velocity Systems announced in July it had licensed Helium Whisper which resulted in significant weight and manufacturing savings.

“We are excited to have engineered a system that other respected load carriage companies are choosing to utilize,” said Ashley Burnsed, Blue Force Gear’s CEO. “At the end of the day, we are all working towards the same goal – to improve the soldier’s safety and survivability.”

Blue Force Gear provides the backers directly to the licensee and they develop the best way to integrate them into their pouch designs. They can reduce weight up to 60% over traditional MOLLE attachment systems.

UPDATE – Tactical Tailor MALICE clip fans fear not. They aren’t going to stop using them or manufacturing them.

Tags: Blue Force Gear, Helium Whisper, Tactical Tailor
Posted in 330, Industry, Load Carrying, Materials | 9 Comments »

Duro Launches New MultiCam Fabric Website

Friday, December 14th, 2012

Duro Textiles, LLC holds the license from Crye Precision, LLC for printing MultiCam fabrics and has just launched a completely revamped website. Developed by Rubic Design, there are a lot of cool new features.

Let’s face it. The old website was a bit of a pain to order from. You had to wait for shipping to be calculated and you had to have a google account. But with this new launch, those issues are fixed and Duro has integrated new features. Shipping charges are automatically calculated (including international shipping) and checkout is much more streamlined.

In addition to a whole slew of use cases for the various fabrics, the new site allows you to browse the various materials. You can even filter the fabrics by application. They’ve also launched a few new fabrics including TenCate’s Defender-M FR fabric. Additionally, you can now sign up for a newsletter service to make sure you stay up-to-date.

This video gives you a great idea of what it takes to print MultiCam fabric.

Here is an exclusive offer for SSD readers. Use the SSDMULTICAM promo code for 10% off your order through December 21st. Then, through the 31st of December enjoy a 5% discount with the same promo code. This is limited to web orders only, but can be used by new or current customers. And, Duro let me know that they expect to see a few of the larger companies take advantage of the discount for last minute web orders before the end of the year. TacHackers, don’t forget to check the fabric overruns for some great deals.

multicamfabric.com

Tags: Crye Precision, Duro Industries, Rubic Design, TenCate
Posted in DIY, Materials, Multicam | Comments Off on Duro Launches New MultiCam Fabric Website

Arc’teryx Shows You How to Care for Your Gore-tex Garments

Thursday, December 13th, 2012

Arc’teryx warranty specialist Devon explains why it’s important to regularly wash your Gore-tex garments and how to do it.

www.arcteryx.com

Tags: Arc'teryx, WL Gore
Posted in Arc'teryx, Materials | 1 Comment »

PrimaLoft Partners with GORE Military Fabrics

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

We’ve mentioned this project before with our exclusive coverage of USSOCOM’s latest Block 2 variant of their Protective Combat Uniform but PrimaLoft and GORE Military Fabrics, have officially announced their teaming to provide a new lightweight loft garment.

This unique partnership between two of the outdoor industry’s leading component suppliers, PrimaLoft and GORE Military Fabrics, has resulted in an innovative layering garment called the Lightweight Loft jacket. The jacket has been adopted as level 3B of the PCU Layering System.

Designed by Patagonia, the PCU issue Lightweight Loft jacket is a combination of PrimaLoft FUSION insulation combined with a Gore 2-layer FASTPACK membrane laminate. Developed as a comfortable soft-shell, it is also durably water-resistant, windproof, easily packable and dries quickly. The Lightweight Loft garment is ideal for layering and works within the PCU (Protective Combat Unit) System used by the Special Operations Forces. In addition, the garment has been printed in several camouflage patterns (some of which include n-IR signature reduction).

“We are very pleased to partner with GORE Military Fabrics on the launch of this highly anticipated lightweight loft garment,” stated Michael Joyce, president and chief executive officer of PrimaLoft, Inc. “The Special Operations Forces (SOF) community has worn PrimaLoft in the field for the last decade and it continues to be the insulation gear of choice worn by the entire U.S. Military. By combining our proprietary technology with GORE Military Fabrics, we are able to offer a distinctive advantage to the U.S. Military to keep our troops warm, dry and comfortable while in the field.”

”Gore has played a pivotal role in providing durably waterproof, windproof, and breathable products to the U.S. military,” says Tim Quinn, Product Specialist at Gore. “We are excited to co-develop a cutting-edge solution with PrimaLoft that offers enhanced comfort, versatility, and improved weather protection. Gore will continue to support improving the mission effectiveness of our warfighters by engineering a broad range of protective fabric technologies that offer distinct capabilities, such as advanced weather protection, flame resistance, and signature reduction.

Tags: Gore Military, PrimaLoft
Posted in Industry, Materials | 8 Comments »