For those of you asking for more lumens, SureFire is introducing the XC1-B which ups the lumens from 200 to 300.
You’ll notice a slightly different form factor with the battery cap slightly protruding.
Additionally, the switch now offers momentary on as well as constant on.
Bottom line, more lumens, same run time.
We showed you this helmet yesterday in conjunction with the release of the Ballistic Ears and Visor. It’s completely new and called the EXFIL Ballistic SL. It weighs 2.22 (size 1) or 2.31 (size 2) complete with shell, rails, retention and impact liner.
It also introduces the SL Rail which is 25% lighter than the standard EXFIL Rail and will accept the Ballistic Visor.
One way to tell the SL from previous versions of the EXFIL Ballistic Helmet is by the Wilcox SL Shroud (at the top of the dual image). It offers a 35% weight reduction over the the previous W Shroud. Manufactured from an aluminum insert and glass filled Polymer body, it is compatible with retractable lanyard systems.
It’s certified to NIJ IIIA. The 9mm backface signature is <25.4mm @ 1195 ft/sec. Frag performance is 17 gr v50 >/= 2400 ft/sec.
Two years ago, WL Gore launched Katana, the first fabric in their Advanced Combat Fabric line. This latest version is called Excalibur. While Katana was dialed in for hot weather use, Excalibur is more a broad utility fabric. Think cold to hot weather. This is thanks to its 18% ePTFE fiber content combined with NYCO. It also offers high durability due to the construction which features twisted ePTFE adding strength by increasing tear and snag resistance. Also, it dries faster thanks to lower water weight gain. All of this combines to a higher strength fabric for a given weight.
To put this in perspective, current NYCO fabric used in ACUs is 6.5 oz. Katana, which is primarily for hot weather is 5.3 oz and Excalibur is 6 oz per square yard. What’s more, NYCO’s air permeability (how well it breathes) is 8 cfm, while Katana is 70 Cam and Excalibur is 40 cfm. Katana allows you to radiate heat very rapidly promoting evaporites cooling. Excalibur on the other hand hits the sweet spot for cooling while keeping cold wind from blowing right through your clothing.
Excalibur is currently undergoing evaluation by all of the services.
You can always buy a 6x magnifier, but you can’t buy one of these.
At AUSA, Knight’s Armament Co displayed an example of their 7.62mm NATO Assault Machine Gun. Basically, it’s a big brother to the 5.56mm variant we recently featured. Since they are finalizing production of the 5.56mm gun, they wanted to start development of the 7.62mm version in order to provide as much part commonality as possible between the weapons.
It weighs in at 12.5 lbs, features a hard Picatinny Rail on the Receiver and can be fired without the removable stock.
FN America breaks down SCAR modularity in this single graphic, which also serves as the backdrop to their AUSA booth.
Notice the caliber options along the bottom: 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 6.5mm CREEDMOOR, and .260 Remington.
Although the set of inserts for the Arc’teryx LEAF Assault Pack won’t be released until SHOT Show 2018, they made a soft debut last night at the Arc’teryx LEAF event in Washington DC.
Look for Assault 30 & 45 variants with grab and go features to take full advantage of the Assault Pack’s design.
Visitors to the Arc’teryx brand store at 11th and H ran into this sign on the door yesterday.
That’s because Arc’teryx took advantage of the international participation in AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition by hosting a LEAF reception at the Washington DC store last night.
In addition to some great food, it was an excellent opportunity to get members of the user community together with Arc’teryx personnel and representatives of the supply chain.
A few door prizes were given away by the store and a fundraiser was also held on behalf of the Special Operations Care Fund with Raffle prizes donated by Arc’teryx and Velocity Systems.
I’d like to thank the Arc’teryx LEAF team for hosting, as well as the Washington, DC Arc’teryx store staff for their hard work.
On a final note, one person was missed at last night’s event and that’s the lady who put it all together. Thanks Jo Salamon! Hopefully, this will become an annual event and Jo will be there with the rest of us.
