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Posts Tagged ‘Multicam’

TAD Gear – Mission Capable, Wilderness Smart, Urban Ready….

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

One of the goals of Soldier Systems Blog is to introduce cutting edge products and services to our audience. Triple Aught Designs stands as the perfect example. If you had to pick one word to describe TAD, it would be “tacticool”.

From somewhat humble beginnings, they have carved out a market niche offering high end tacti-gadgets from a variety of the world’s best suppliers and have further expanded their offerings with their own signature brands to cover market voids. One example is tactical clothing. Their designs blend the best designs and construction techniques of the commercial outdoor clothing market with innovative tactical features. Their success is finesse. They have developed a subtle yet effective color palette and incorporated features, that are at once both effective and subtle. With the exception of the products offered in Multicam, nothing screams “gun”. I have been using TAD products for several years now and have watched their textiles evolve into one of the finest tactical clothing lines available. In fact, it would be hard to believe but TAD has been producing specialized clothing for the past seven years except that they apply every lessoned learned in each new generation of products. What’s more, they have gone from small production runs that sold out as pre-orders, to large production runs that well out within days of release. At one time you could say they had a cult following, but not anymore. While they maintain a devoted customer base on the the Usual Suspects Network forum, their clothing is being used by armed and other service professionals the world over. If anyone doubts their market penetration, you can easily gauge their success by the amount copies you can find on the web.

Not content with just taking the tactical clothing market by storm, they have recently begun to launch a family of specialized nylon load carrying solutions. They aren’t reinventing the wheel here. Every design they offer fills a vacuum in the market. A classic example is the PSP pouch they made up as a “tacticool” accessory. They had initially only planned on making 100 but once it was featured in the Army Times newspaper, demand was so great that they streamlined the design and put it back into production, at a lower price point. This product in particular has drown the interest of competitors. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then TAD is very well liked indeed.

I recently acquired both the Combat Anorak and Bug Out Anorak. I love the design and appreciate the different materials. The pic below is of me conducting testing of an armor panel. The day was rainy and I was wearing the Big Out Anorak.

Another Day on the Job

Check the entire line of TAD products at Triple Aught Designs

As TAD releases new products we will endeavor to keep up with them here.

SOD Boonie Hat

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

This is the first in a series of articles on the SOD line of products. I recently received a full set of SOD’s clothing. I have already made mention of the attention to detail that the crew at SOD pays to their designs. For their boonie, they started with Crye’s already fantastic design and improved it even further.
SOD Boonie Hat
The design features a wide brim with multiple stitching reinforcements. It is a little wider than the Crye hat but not was stiff as the Crye. The pile tape and, nylon webbing camo band, and barrel lock are all treated with the Multicam pattern.
SOD Boonie Rear
The sweatband is terry cloth as used in the Australian boonie hat.
SOD Boonie Hat Interior
Additionally, where the Crye boonie has only one slash vent backed with mesh netting, the SOD features two.
SOD Boonie Side View

SOD is currently in negotiations with a US distributor. In the interim, you can see SOD’s website here

A Website for the Do-It-Yourselfer: DIY Tactical

Friday, May 30th, 2008

I mentioned the gang at DIY Tactical in a recent post about the SOF Industry Conference. They are the go-to guys for folks who want to have it their way. They even service small government customers with repair materials. Mike Rinaldi, who owns DIY spoke with me about his customer base and some of the products he sources. The problem many smaller custom shops have is that they can’t meet the minimums from the mill for specialty materials. In addition to the hobbyist and small businessman Mike says he sometimes gets calls from larger companies doing prototypes of small runs and need to use a fabric they don’t normally stock. But they offer more than just standard Cordura. They also webbing, hardware, and thread. If they don’t have it, they will get it.

DIY also sponsors a forum for the burgeoning entrepreneur where one can get advice on anything from setting up a small business to how to time a finicky sewing machine. Remember, the late, great Logan Coffey started out in his room in the barracks.

DIY Tactical

The 330 Revolution Pt. 1

Tuesday, May 27th, 2008

Mayflower Research & Consulting LLC, a little known manufacturer of highly specialized load carrying systems displayed an ultralight chest rig designed for use by the military athlete at the recent SOF Industry Conference. Manufactured from a combination of 500D and 330D Multicam Cordura, the UW Chest rig is designed to carry 4 ea 5.56mm magazines, 2 pistol magazines, up to 2 small radios (MBITR) as well as two GP pockets. Additionally, the H style harness features loops to route antennas, comms wires and hydration bladder tubing. Lessons learned in the mountains of Afghanistan have been applied in the design of this innovative chest rig. Don’t let the lightweight construction make you think that it won’t stand up to punishment. The entire design is intended to take unneeded ounces off of the wearer’s load. When used in conjunction with other equipment built with this new approach the Soldier can take pounds off of his back. All buckles are ITW Nexus IR and all materials and workmanship are 100% American. In addition to Multicam, the UW rig is available in Ranger Green and Coyote in 500D Cordura. While most of Mayflower’s work is customized to the end user, a standard version should be available soon.

Mayflower US Chest Rig in Multicam

SOD Committed to Quality

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

SOD TC2002 Multicam Helmet Cover
I recently received a set of clothing from SOD in Italy. I have never seen such attention to detail. Imagine a finely tailored Italian suit but instead of pinstripe for the boardroom it was Multicam for the battlefield. This is exactly what SOD has accomplished. The pile is multicam. The buttons are multicam. The zippers are multicam. The barrel locks are multicam. The snozzberries taste like snozzberries.

Watch this space for a full report on the SOD line including a kevlar/denim blend assault pant.

SOD