I had a chance to walk the floor at the Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City last week and got lots of gouge on gear coming down the pike.
Mixed in amongst the treehuggers and corporate types were a cadre of buyers from DoD SOF, Army SF, Army Rangers, the Navy Seals, AF Pararescuemen, the FBI, local search-and-rescue units and acquisition professionals from all four services. I’ll pick out a few gems and follow up with lots more in coming posts.
Get some gouge after the jump.
First up: Nemo Designs up in New Hampshire has got a military-only version of their innovative GoGo bivy. The new version is called the Tanto RF and comes with an olive-drab fly, not the tan color pictured above. It’s different from the commercial GoGo version in many ways, but the most significant is that it’s a two-wall bivy. The interior is a fine bug mesh with two doors and room for a big guy and an assault pack. It comes with a fitted rain fly, some stakes and a hand pump.
The cool thing about their bivys is the Airbeam technology. The Airbeam replaces the fragile and hard-to-pack aluminum poles with a highly-durable and quick-inflating tubular balloon. Now, I know what you are thinking, but this thing is tough and it works. The tech is solid and it’s been vetted and adopted by the SEALs. It’s also one of the few systems you can set up from the inside. Just connect the pump to the valve and pump for about 15 seconds and you have a shelter. Best of all: The whole thing packs down to the size of a football, bivy, poles and all.
We’ll be working on a photo recon on the Tanto for you soon.
PRO-BAR Lots of guys I spoke to were munching on Pro-Bars. The unprocessed meal-replacement bar is filled with fruits, nuts and flavor and can provide 350 to 400 calories in a 3-ounce bar. They come in 12 flavors and don’t have any preservatives. They last on the shelf for a year.
IBEX Marino wool clothier IBEX has a solid following in the cold-weather military crowd. A couple of pieces that peaked the interest of Alaska-based units included a base-layer hoodie — called the Hooded Indie — that includes thumb loops and a simple hood that serves as a light hat in cool weather. The Zepher Wind Boxer Marino Wool boxers drew solid praise from the free-falling types for the (large) windproof patch that keeps the breeze off the family jewels while providing a light, non-odor-retaining, insulated base layer.
Darn Tough Socks I found out that every Ranger in the regiment is getting a dozen pair of Vermont-made Darn Tough socks. This is in addition to the $1.5-million buy the Marines made to get good socks for every deploying Marine.
Lots more to come…
