Gear is an interesting part of the law enforcement product portfolio. Though companies that provide gear must be responsive to changing customer preferences and evolving options for creating their products, they must also walk a balance between new technologies and the quality needs that will not change fundamentally as long as the human body remains involved in law enforcement.

Products like gloves, holsters, and boots remain as important as ever in the daily life of the police officer, right alongside newer tools like specialized mobile apps or body-worn cameras. But just because today’s tactical gear would probably be recognizable to the law enforcement professionals of previous generations, it doesn’t mean there aren’t advancements happening all the time that make this gear more useful in the present-day environment.

A Natural Fit

A prime example of this balance is found in StrongSuit Brands, a South Carolina company producing gloves for high-performance needs, including users in the public safety sector.

One of the key differences from other gloves, according to StrongSuit CEO Scott McDaniel, is a pre-curved design, which helps mold the gloves to the natural shape of the hand and makes for a better and more comfortable fit.¹ This allows more manual dexterity for key tasks like writing and, if need be, using firearms.

“Most gloves fit like an oven mitt, but we design our gloves to fit your hands. We want it to feel normal when you put it on,” McDaniel said. “You don’t have to fight the material. They can wear the glove to shoot or they can wear it to write with, whereas before you’d have to take your glove off. We get feedback from people saying it’s the best shooting glove you can buy.”²

The Enforcer model is the company’s top-selling tactical glove, but there are several different options. The Weathermaster gloves include a layer of neoprene and windstopper fleece on the back of the hand to provide extra protection from the elements. The new Q-Series line, which was just launched in December 2014, was developed in partnership with professional firearms instructor Gary Quesenberry, who is also a competitive shooter and a finalist on Top Shot, a reality television program airing on the History Channel that pits different sharpshooters against one another for prizes.

Many StrongSuit gloves mimic the human hand in another important way besides the fit. A special conductive material called NewTouch allows wearers to use smartphones and tablets—or any device with a touchscreen—without removing or cutting holes in the glove. Depending on the model, tactical gloves are equipped with NewTouch in the thumb and first two fingers or, in the case of its “TAC” models, all five fingers. “You can use your phone with the glove on. It’s so thin it gives you tactility,” McDaniel said. “We don’t want folks to have to remove their gloves to use their phone or touch screen device.”³

The gloves are thin and lightweight, but durable. And, although the gloves aren’t designed to hold up if officers are “crawling over gravel every day,” as McDaniel puts it, with normal use they can last for years.⁴

The GloGlov is another product that is helping to expand the utility of the standard-issue tactical glove. Made in Washington State by Excel Gloves and Supply, GloGlovs are outfitted with reflective materials that increase officer safety by making officers more visible and assist with activities such as traffic control. Another leader in tactical gear is New Jersey-based Some’s Uniforms, which supplies a wide range of gear and apparel ranging from glove and trim to full uniforms.

There When You Need It

The average police duty belt today can weigh 15 pounds or more. That’s understandable when one considers that firearms, ammunition, handcuffs, radios, flashlights, and more can be found on these indispensible platforms. Increasingly, mobile devices, weapons like pepper spray or TASERs, and cellphones are also regular fixtures.

Another common item found somewhere on the officer’s person is the emergency medical kit. This is one item every agency wants to ensure their officers carry, but medical kits need to remain unobtrusive enough that they do not become a burden and are left behind by officers. That is where Chinook Medical Gear comes in. The Colorado-based vendor sells various modules or kits designed for different public safety sectors and does so with convenience, as well as safety, in mind. With the number of duty-belt items going up, it can be good to know that efforts are under way to make the footprint of those options go down.

“Duty belts have become so cumbersome and heavy,” said Garett Dickinson, Chinook’s product development coordinator. “Our modules are as light as possible, but still help officers carry a medical kit. If you have to keep the kit in the car because it is too big or heavy to carry around, it kind of negates its value. So we want to make it as lightweight as we can.”⁵

In particular, two Chinook modules—the LEMK-CTP (Covert Trauma Pouch) and the LEMK-OR (Officer Response) Kit—are about half the size of a standard kit, Dickinson said, and as a result are small enough to be comfortably worn on a duty belt, in a cargo or vest pocket, or under plain clothes. “It fits in the coat pocket,” Dickinson said. “You can insert [it] behind the ballistics plate or fit [it] in a cargo pocket. But you want to have medical supplies on your person.”⁶

Prices on all Chinook modules range from $36.95 for a kit containing supplies to treat hemorrhaging to several hundred dollars for kits treating a wider range of conditions. But what Dickinson pointed to as a distinguishing factor is the service Chinook provides. Though Chinook kits can be ordered pre-filled or as empty cases, the company also fills customized kit orders, which can make purchasing easier for law enforcement agencies on multiple levels. “Not every department trains with the same tourniquet, for example,” Dickinson said. “We can assemble the kits based on specs from departments. If they don’t have the budget to train officers on something new or buy something new, we can help them keep the kits consistent.”⁷

Sales experts with Chinook also can help customers navigate the often-intricate process of finding and seeking financial assistance from government sources. Though these sources are numerous, programs and protocols often change and can be confusing to the uninitiated.

“We work with people every step of the way to provide them with the best trauma equipment they can carry,” Dickinson said. “We know the [U.S.] federal grants program and stay up to date on all the funding options. It can be such a maze of paperwork and acronyms that the process itself can be prohibitive on its own. So we do try to help people understand that better.”⁸

Some Things Never Change

Traits like durability and sturdiness will never be outmoded in law enforcement, no matter what else may change. That applies to the gear officers wear just as much as it does to the officers themselves.

That is something suppliers like the Dehner Company have never forgotten. Since 1929, the Omaha, Nebraska–based manufacturer has prided itself on the quality of its leather boots. Today, it still crafts boots out of 100 percent leather and is a leading producer of patrol boots, belts, holsters, cases, and a host of other items for law enforcement customers. “In the tight budget areas of today, people have cheapened the material that they use, and we’ve resisted that,” said company president Jeff Ketzler. “We’re more cost-effective in the long run because they get more service out of it on the back end.”⁹

Boots are still the Dehner Company’s signature item, and the pride it takes in their craftsmanship is evident in large and small touches. For example, some manufacturers sell an injection-molded footbed, which means that “if it wears out, you have to throw it away,” Ketzler said.¹⁰ Dehner uses a natural footbed that is more comfortable and easier to replace.

He said Dehner has gotten direct feedback that its products prevented injury to officers. “Our boots are a lot more substantial,” Ketzler said. “You just feel better knowing you have something like this. If you’ve ever laid a bike down, or if you’ve ever hit the pavement, you’re thankful for a good pair of boots … We replace boots a couple times a year for when people have hit the pavement. The boots are pretty messed up but the officer is OK.”¹¹

Tex Shoemaker and Sons, based in California, also crafts footwear and leather accessories for police professionals. Both Tex and the Dehner Company make their products in the United States. ♦

Notes:
¹Scott McDaniel (CEO, StrongSuit Brand), telephone interview, December 12, 2014.
²Ibid.
³Ibid.
⁴Ibid.
⁵Garett Dickinson (product development coordinator, Chinook Medical Gear), telephone interview, December 11, 2014.
⁶Ibid.
⁷Ibid.
⁸Ibid.
⁹Jeff Ketzler (president, The Dehner Company), telephone interview, December 11, 2014.
¹⁰Ibid.
¹¹Ibid.