Tactical Tailor

Archive for the ‘Outdoor Retailer’ Category

Hide/Dry from Arc’teryx LEAF – Debuting at SHOT Show

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Arc’teryx LEAF is the first to offer a technical outerwear line designed for military and law enforcement in GORE-TEX® fabric with Multicam® print, uniting the best available windproof waterproof/breathable technologies with the most versatile and adaptable pattern.

Durable GORE-TEX® fabric maximizes protection and comfort during prolonged exposure to harsh environments. The MultiCam® print is designed to reflect the surrounding environment. Disguising shape and volume by taking on the background tone, its non-blocked pattern also balances scale and contrast, even at close distances. Both of these properties work with a third optical principle, the brain’s tendency to blur a design into its background, to offer protection across a broad range of light, elevation, seasons and environments.

In the Hide/Dry series, exceptionally durable, weatherproof, GORE-TEX® MultiCam® is taped and laminated into high performance garments, making it a one kit solution to secure exposure in harsh, wet and varied environments.

Hide/Dry LEAF products for 2012 are the Alpha Jacket and Pant, Alpha Parka and Gryphon Halfshell™ and Pant. Hybrid garments combine GORE-TEX® fabric in MultiCam® print with breathable, armour-compatible Tweave® Durastretch® for comfort and temperature regulation under kit.

Hide/Dry enables operatives to do exactly that: hide and stay dry in severe environments.

See the new Hide/Dry line at SHOT Show in booth #10526 and at OR in booth #3018.

leaf.arcteryx.com

Velcro USA Inc Unveils New Printed Hook and Loop Technology

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Velcro USA Inc, has announced its official launch of printed loop technology at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2012. This product allows loop product to blend with the camouflage patterns of soldier and professional user uniforms, thereby improving overall performance of clothing and individual equipment. That’s right, camouflage printed Velcro is finally available.

In a press release Velcro USA had this to say:
Printed loop technology has been a priority for Velcro USA Inc since it was determined by the Department of Defense that signature management is paramount for our men and women in uniform. Focusing on every opportunity for improvement in signature management necessitated the development of previously unavailable printed loop that would blend seamlessly into combat uniforms.

This isn’t the first time that Velcro has developed new products specifically for the military. They went on to say, “Velcro USA Inc has been working with the DoD for several decades to develop hook and loop technologies that directly meet unique mission needs. The company has recently invested significant energy in a robust research effort to arrive at next-generation products that improve performance of uniform and equipment for our soldiers and end-users. Notably, printing on loop type material is extraordinarily difficult, particularly when ensuring that the stringent technical requirements of the DoD are met.

“This printed loop technology is a breakthrough product that greatly enhances soldier performance in combat and meets a direct need of the US military. We are extremely proud at Velcro USA Inc. to work with the DoD to develop solutions for the needs of our men and women in uniform,” said Will Tagye, Senior Marketing Manager-Government for Velcro USA Inc. “Our employees in New Hampshire are dedicated to manufacturing in the United States and ensuring that we do not lose the capability to develop and field these vital technologies for our soldiers and professional users. This is just the beginning of many new exciting products to expect out of Velcro USA Inc.”

The new printed hook and loop technology is available to DoD contractors and other tactical and commercial customers now. Interested parties may see the technology firsthand on several new pieces of equipment at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoors Show (SHOT) in Las Vegas, January 17-19, 2012 or at the Velcro USA Inc. Booth, #155-317, at Outdoor Retailer Winter 2012 taking place in Salt Lake City, January 19-21, 2012.

www.velcro.com

H2O Gear Follow Up

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

This is a follow up on our pre-OR post on the skis from H2O Gear (H2OG). Former Eagle Industries owner John Carver teamed up with renowned Ski Guide Dean Cummings to create H2OG. Most of their offerings are aimed at the recreational ski market, albeit, a small niche of more discerning customers. However, they’ve taken Dean’s vast guide experience and John’s passion for the military to produce of dedicated military skis based on a design for back country use.

Their H2O Gear ATG (access the goods) ski line is handmade in the USA with custom designs including details from Dean’s years of experience used to identify light lumber to construct the skis. Their tapered sidewalls are heat fused to wood cores to protect the skis from edge damage while also keeping the ski durable, damp, and impact resistant. Additionally, their skis are fully protected by oversized, 4001 thick edges that wrap 360 degrees around the ski.

The military model is a super damped “hybrid ski” made from Ash and Aspen and features a reverse side cut which may seem counter intuitive to most but makes it easier to feather. It’s a shorter ski and designed to traverse junk, or icy snow.

Here are a few photos:

These aren’t a stock item offered to the general public but can be had by those who need them. Contact www.h2ooutdoorgear.com

OR – eno Twilights

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

We’ve got a few items left from our OR coverage we want to wrap up this week. One of them is Twilights from Eagles Nest Outfitters. No matter where you deploy to, chances are good your tent, hootch, or whatever you call home is as dark as a crack den in the middle of the day due to folks sleeping off the night shift. Twilights consists of a string of 23 LED bulbs powered by 2 x AA batteries. It’s a very simple, effective, lightweight and low volume answer to the problem of lighting your rack so you can find stuff or lay there and read before you fall asleep.

eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/twilight

OR – CiloGear, The Coolest Thing at OR

Friday, August 12th, 2011

At OR everyone asked me about the coolest thing I saw. Granted, I’m a bit jaded, being exposed to new stuff all of the time. I’ve always maintained that the coolest stuff at OR can be found on the fringes and CiloGear is no exception. Well, no exception to that rule, because everything they do is exceptional. Well known within the climbing community Cilo caught the eye of a couple of military climbers. The rest is history being written.

These aren’t mainstream packs that a Grunt is going to use. They are way too specialized for that. For example, you aren’t going to see a pack covered in PALS webbing. If it’s there, it’s there for a reason. These are very specialized tools for a specialized community. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, CiloGear was started by climbers, for climbers. They build to order and keep waste to an absolute minimum.

Taking this whole philosophy into account, as you can imagine they use some exotic materials to create their packs. Early on I talked about the advantages of Cuben fabric. They’ve embraced the technology and also run with a couple of forms of Spectra.

Take for example this 75L WorkSack. That is a 75 liter beast but when you consider the weight, you ask yourself, “How?” It weighs in at just over 2 lbs.

If you are the right customer, then CiloGear has the right gear for you.

OR – Klymit’s Inertia X Frame Recon

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

After seeing Klymit’s new sleeping pads last year, military personnel called out for a new version specifically for their needs and Klymit listened. They have introduced the new Recon model in Coyote Sand. While you’d probably consider these more for cold weather use, at OR a Klymit rep related to us that troops have been using the Inertia XL in the heat as well. It seems that the air gaps help with the circulation.

Here you can see the new Recon bracketed by the new Inertia X-Lite, a half pad for the ultra-minimalist (6.1 oz!) and the Inertia XL which first caught our eye last year. Additionally, these other currently available models will be offered in Coyote Sand as well, and designated as Recon to differentiate them from the standard models. We are told that Extreme Outfitters has an initial stocking order in for the new X Frame Recon and we hope to update you soon on its availability.

www.klymit.com

OR – Princeton Tec Spectrum

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

Princeton Tec launched their new Spectrum headlamp customization program at OR. Using a new website, you are guided step-by-step through the process of customizing the colors of each headlamp component.

Available soon at spectrum.princetontec.com.

OR – Powertraveller

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

There was lots of power storage and generation at OR. One company was outside in the sun, showing off their wares. Powertraveller’s Powermonkey-eXtreme utilizes their MPPT technology and just won the German Outdoor Red Dot Award.

Waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 1 m of water, the powermonkey-eXtreme boasts a 9000 mAh capacity Lithium Polymer battery making it capable of recharging most 5V devices, including an iPhone up to 6 times, a Garmin Edge 800 up to 6 times and standard mobiles up to 12 times.

The powermonkey-eXtreme has two output channels; one channel outputs 700mAh max (standard USB) as well as a DC port offering 2.1 Amps max to support Apple iPads and other tablet computers. It can be recharged in three ways; via the universal mains charger, via the solar panel, or via USB. It holds a charge for a long time meaning you can leave it for up to 1 year and it will still hold 75% of its charge.

Powertraveller CEO Jerry Ranger is a former Royal Marine Commando who served in the SBS so it was great to hear that
lots of military personnel were checking the Powermonkey-eXtreme out. Granite Gear is coming up with a dedicated mobile tactical carrying solution!

www.powertraveller.com. Powertraveller products are available now for sale in the US from www.tacticaledge.com. Their US Distributor is Outdoor Tactical.