In January 2012 FirstSpear introduced the first production tactical vest with a laser cut MOLLE compatible platform along with Tubes, a new standard for rapidly donning and doffing ballistic protection. Since then the technology has been fielded with assets of the United States Department of Defense, State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies and early adopters from the international special operations community.
Ronnie Fowlkes, VP Business Development – “Everyone said the technology wouldn’t work when we first released it and thought we were crazy when we said we were discontinuing MOLLE permanently. Now, everyone else is trying to catch up and move this direction.”
Today, we take a look at some of these vests after more than five years of continuous field use.
Lieutenant Dan Colasanto heads up the Garland Police Department and SWAT Team and was one of the first teams to test, evaluate, and field the original Strandhögg plate carrier system more than 5 years ago. Those original vests are still in service with the Garland PD today. According to Dan, “Through heavy use and long continuous hours we have had zero issues with the carriers and they have exceeded our expectations.”
Letter
Garland SWAT Vest
We have been FirstSpear customers since the company started. The 6/12 system provides superior performance and durability compared to other carriers I have used in my 25 years of service in law enforcement and 22 years of SWAT. –Lt. Dan Colasanto – Garland Police Department
Tubes single hand operation was a game changer all on its own and the perfect complement to 6/12. When the two technologies are used together they can afford the operator about 40% reduction in weight compared to vests with the same features.
With increased demand from end users and adoption by operators within the US DOD, FirstSpear has agreements in place with industry leading manufacturers and OEM partners to license FirstSpear laser cutting technology and integrate Tubes into systems supporting the warfighter, law enforcement and security professionals. An enormous amount of energy was put forth to bring these disruptive technologies to the front lines and FS welcomes additional equipment manufacturers to expand upon the success of Tubes and laser cutting technology for their own equipment solutions.
Scott Carver, President & CEO – “After years of investment and development in new technology, we’ve demonstrated lighter weight, improved performance, and now real world durability at a level never seen before. In an effort to get this technology to the men and women who need it as rapidly as possible, we are actively working with other domestic manufacturers to help them integrate laser cutting and Tubes in to their vest systems.”
FirstSpear was founded in 2010 by a team of former service members and industry professionals dedicated to building the most advanced load bearing equipment and armor platforms for todays armed professional.
