According to Wired’s online defense journal Danger Room, InsideDefense.com broke the story earlier this week that the Army is going to field a “Brigade’s worth” of the Land Warrior II system now known as the Ground Soldier Ensemble or GSE at the request of a “Special Forces Commander” at Fort Bragg.
Gerber Legendary Blades
Gerber was handing out samples of their “new” Shard which closely resembles the Artifact but without the blade. Also, “new” is a relative term as they have been handing out samples at several shows over the last year but are just now releasing it to the market. Gerber claims it is airport friendly and I put that to the test. On my flight out of Salt lake City I put it in the bin with my other pocket litter and it went through security just fine. A simple pocket accessory, it features a bottle opener, nail puller, and phillips head.
Sea to Summit
While most products being shown at OR won’t be available until January 2010 at the earliest, there are a variety of products you can get now. One example is the Alpha utensil set from Sea to Summit. A more economical alternative to titanium flatware, the Knife, Fork and Spoon set is made from hard anodized 7075-T6 aircraft aluminum alloy in a smooth matte finish and comes with a mini carabiner to hold it all together. The individual utensils have hexagonal holes cut out of the handle to reduce weight which provide three different size hex wrenches (3 mm, 4 mm & 5 mm). Available from Sea to Summit.
Feelmax
A lightweight, conformal design with puncture resistant soles make this Finnish footwear a show in for use in wet environments although several athletes have been conquering marathon events in the shoes. The Panka (seen below) in men’s and women’s sizes as well as the men’s Niesa both feature a lace up design, heel strap to assist with donning and a removable liner for drying.
Feelmax footwear will be available soon through OTE.
Craghoppers
Based on the popularity of the television show Man vs Wild starring Bear Grylls, British outdoor clothier Craghoppers developed a clothing line a couple of years back. Earlier this year, they conducted a direct marketing campaign for fans which laid the groundwork for the release of the 2010 line here in the US and Craghoppers’ first time exhibiting at OR.
For more information Craghoppers on the web.
CP Gear has launched a Youtube channel featuring informational videos of ever 50 of their products.
Check it out at www.youtube.com/cpgear.
We were recently presented with an opportunity to share some great coverage of the 2009 Special Operations Forces industry Conference with our readers. Thanks to Sal Palma.
Admittedly, great fascination and glamour surrounds the special operations community. Players are known as operators, and SOF has become media celebrities. In many circles, the SOF community draws more support, admiration and envy than sports figures, politicians and movie stars – deservedly so. However, this has not always been the case, and few know that SOF, as it is today, exists because of the work and vision of former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, then a Republican Senator from Main, and Senator Sam Nunn a Democrat from Georgia.
The entire article can be found at the jump.
Equipped to Survive
Doug Ritter from Equipped to Survive showed me a sample of his new micro light. It weighs ounces and can easily be clipped to key chains and zipper pulls. The light will be available soon through Adventure Medical Kits.
Mountain Khaki
Mountain Khaki began showing the new Snake River line which consists of a short, pant, and pant with zip-off leg in both men’s and women’s sizing. It is their first foray into synthetics. The UVA/UVB SPF 50+, 100% nylon garments are lightweight and designed to dry quickly. Look for them in early 2010.
Surefire
Last year we unveiled the Saint headlamp and this year we have photos of the new Minimus Saint. Oddly enough, the Minimus will reach the market before the Saint and you should begin to see them within five weeks.
The Minimus Saint can be created from a Saint with a few simple mods which include removing the battery pack and cable. The Minimus runs on a single 123A and provides 0-110 lumens at a lightweight 3.3 ounces. There is an SOS preset for the lamp and the amount of illumination is controlled by a potentiometer. For more info visit www.surefire.com.
The Mini Red Dot Sight is available with 3.5 MOA or 7.0 MOA dot size and is easily adjustable for elevation or windage with 1 MOA positive click adjustments. It also features an auto adjusting dot intensity but offers the shooter a manual dot intensity adjustment with four (4) brightness settings. Waterproof to two atmospheres (66 feet) for two hours, meets all other MIL-STD 810G environmental requirements.
The MRDS is available in Black and FDE. For more info visit Insight Technologies online.
We always find a gem tucked away in a corner at OR. This year we ran across newcomer US Canteen. Inspired the M1910 canteen and cover, their new line of Surgical Steel metal canteens won’t retain nasty flavors.
While there are several different carriers available on the website, the canteens themselves are also for sale. A single wall 24 oz model as well as a 12 oz double wall canteen designed to keep your beverage cool for up to eight hours. Both styles are available in Brushed and Polished models. The cap features a plastic stopper and brass chain. We haven’t seen a quality steel canteen like this since the issue production lines were shut down in the 60s.
For more information visit www.uscanteen.com.
For the next few days we are going to share some information from the OR Summer Market 2009. To kick it off we wanted to share this picture of ADS rep Bill Gassett hamming it up at Deuter’s booth.
Most of the usual suspects were on hand as well.
S.O. Tech has a booth that seems a little off the beaten path but it didn’t deter them releasing their new Adventure Pack System based on their successful Mission Pack System. In addition to the current tactical panels they have developed several specifically for the civilian market and these can easily be transitioned back over for tactical use by those who require more discreet capabilities. Additionally, S.O. Tech debuted their new K9 patch to add to their ever growing family of tactical symbology.
Eagle’s booth was very streamlined and focused primarily on the Waterpoint line was well as several of the new garments they have in production. Word is that the Waterpoint line will be expanding in the future.
Arc’teryx has some great new clothing coming soon on both the LEAF and commercial side. Look for a full report soon. Shown are the Freelance Jacket and Raider Pant. Unfortunately, these two items from the commercial line won’t be available until Spring 2010.
