Blackwater Gear: A PREreview

On Thursday, 21 October 2004, Blackwater hosted its Open House. It was an impressive day and the big announcement was the beginning of the Blackwater Gear line. This week we're going to take a look at most of what that Gear line will encompass, but first I have to clarify something (just for the doubters). I am not on staff at Blackwater. I don't get a paycheck from Blackwater. I write Frank's Reviews essentially because I volunteered and Gary agreed. It's important to understand that anything I say good (or bad) about Blackwater, their Gear line, or anything else pertaining to them, isn't being said because I'm "toeing the company line." That said, the Blackwater Gear line looks to be impressive and reaches far beyond what I (or some other writers who spoke with me) expected.

Here's what my cynical suspicious cop mind first thought when I heard that Blackwater and Michael's of Oregon had teamed up to form Blackwater Gear: my first thought was that an opportunity had been seen to increase sales of Michael's gear by adding the Blackwater name, and that Blackwater saw an opportunity to open a new line of revenue by putting their name on gear. By the end of this review you'll see that simply isn't the case and nowhere near the truth.



Blackwater Gear was born out of the partnership between THREE companies with others acting in support. Blackwater and Michaels' of Oregon are the best known two out of the three. The other one is Crye Precision (part of Crye Associates but more on that in a bit). That said, who makes what? And based on what input?

Crye Precision manufactures the armor chassis and designed the uniform with its multi-cam (trade marked) pattern. Michael's of Oregon manufactures the holsters, accessory pouches, modular vest system, etc. It is important to note that Crye Precision designed the accessory pouches and we'll see full integration of everyone's role in just a minute. Supporting companies are Benchmade Knives - making Blackwater Gear Knives (the Nimravus line with some minor detail changes that matter) and Armor Skins producing gloves for the Blackwater Gear line. There's also a company called TerraMar that manufactures the clothing worn under the uniform, and the material that is part of the uniform shirt. There is a hydration system that is integral to the Blackwater Gear line, but I'm not at liberty to say who is manufacturing it. However, I do know that whatever bladder system is used, it's being carried in pouches designed by Crye, manufactured by Michael's. So, after all that, what role does Blackwater play?



Last week, in my review about Night-Ops flashlights, I noted that a good company lets the operators tell the engineers what they need, and then the engineers make it happen. This prevents the engineers from limiting the operators in what they can do by providing less than optimal equipment. Blackwater provides the front line feedback and design specifications that are required to insure that the Blackwater Gear serves the warrior first and foremost. Crye designs the equipment based on requirements put forth by Blackwater as a result of feedback from their operators in the arena of combat. Crye and Michael's both manufacture to the exacting standards Blackwater dictates based on the feedback of those front line combatants. Blackwater Gear as a whole is using its collective brain and the end result is truly unique functional uniforms and equipment platforms. Let's examine a few pieces in detail.

Before I forget, let me tell you that the BG line will soon be available in Ranger Green, Desert Khaki, and black (for law enforcement) in addition to the multi-cam (shown in all the pictures). It is important to note however, that the multi-cam pattern finished first place in 98% of the multi-environment tests conducted by the US Army's Future Combat Systems, and in the 2% where it wasn't in first place, it was in third: Top three 100% ain't bad. The Crye Associates / Precision products are still part of the testing and evolution of the US Army's Future Combat Systems. When you look at some of the pictures, it's easy to see why: do you remember the movie "Universal Soldier"? It kind of reminds me of that - but for real, not science fiction, science-FACT.

Earlier I mentioned that TerraMar makes some of the material used in the uniforms. The (Blackwater Gear hereinafter referred to as BG) uniform shirt can be had one of two ways: with the TerraMar torso and regular uniform shirts sleeves in the multi-cam pattern (shirt tucks in), OR as a full BDU shirt in the multi-cam pattern (shirt hangs out like current BDU). The TerraMar torso tuck-in shirt is an integral part of the heat management system that is incorporated in BG.

With contemporary systems a soldier wears a t-shirt (cotton or polyblend), a BDU shirt, sometimes a field jacket (with or without liner) and then flak jacket / body armor with web gear or LBE over that. When you think about it, that's a lot of layers of clothing and equipment with no airflow underneath. The BG line was specifically designed to insure a minimal stand off between the soldier and the equipment. Starting with the TerraMar material that helps to wick away moisture while insulating heat - or breathing it away as necessary - the BG armor chassis is designed to maintain airflow between it and the soldier. That space serves another purpose too. The armor chassis supports Crye proprietary armor plates and will work with current military issue armor plates. That standoff distance between the soldier and the armor chassis is additional space that can absorb blunt trauma from incoming round impacts without negatively affecting the troop. How much standoff space there is depends on the body type and size of the wearing soldier, but an average would be between one-half and three-quarters of an inch (personal observations made during the Open House).



The armor chassis is fully MOLLE compatible but the Crye designed Michael's manufactured pouches are easier to get on and off by the user (without your hands cramping) and are just as secure on the vest as the regular MOLLE attachment system. The most common armor chassis configuration I saw was plate front and back with miscellaneous pouches around and two hydration pouches: one on either side of the back plate. The armor chassis has attachable shoulder covering and fully wraps the torso for less open side exposure. In some of the pictures you can clearly see the stock pads on the chassis. They are thick pieces of rubber that can be modified to support your comfort as you mount a long gun. They are essentially non-slip rubber with a big lip on the outside so that the gun doesn't slide off the end of your armor into your bicep - where you get nice bruises from recoil.

Last item I have to mention about the BG uniform shirt before moving on is the optional integrated elbow pads. Colored to blend in with whatever uniform pattern you're wearing, the pads are removable and provide protection that doesn't slide down to your wrist under strenuous activity.

Moving down the body to the uniform pants we find some things that make life easier for others and us. If you look closely in some of the photos you'll see that the zipper on the pants goes from the top of the crotch, down between the legs, off to the left underneath that buttock, up the left side of the buttock and then back across the top a little more than halfway. Why would you need to unzip your pants that far? Makes it awfully easy to, ah, void waste products without having to strip down. With pants that unzip that far around you can even lower and raise your underwear. The pants also have a long zipper on the outside of either leg. I had to ask about that one because I couldn't see the need to ever use them. The answer is: I wouldn't. The medic who needed to get to any leg wound would. The benefit is that the medic could unzip the leg, dress the wound, and rezip the leg. That saves him from having to cut my uniform off of me and then me having to operate with missing or flapping cloth until I could get a fresh uniform. I tend to like anything that makes the Medic's job easier. Built into those zip-up legs are integrated kneepads just like the elbow pads on the shirt. Colored to match, removable but secured in place so they don't end up padding your shins or ankles. Whether you get the kneepads or not (they are an option), the pants are reinforced from the top of the knees down for durability.



There is a waist belt that's part of the BG line and it is nicely padded to support the back and prevent lower back injuries. Put anything on it that you would normally carry on your web belt but be more comfortable in the end. On the belt, vest, armor chassis, etc. all the buckles are colored to match whatever color scheme you have (rather than all black no matter what) and the buckles are designed to be IR diffusing. That helps prevent human looking patterns if the enemy is looking for you using IR equipment.

What does the future hold? Well, first, bear in mind that the Blackwater Gear line is not just an update on what we already have. It is a whole new concept in soldier wear and support, designed from the ground up based on the needs of combat warriors. The BG line was specifically designed from the bottom up to be the next generation on the evolutionary scale of military and law enforcement uniform, armor and tactical gear. That said, here's what we haven't seen yet... but it's coming.

Helmets: Crye Associates / Precision is currently working on their own helmet design. Shape, materials, ballistic characteristics are all sure to be different than anything else out there.

Boots: Footwear is in the works as well but not to prototype stages yet.

Packs, Bags, etc: The BG line will eventually include long range packs, drag bags, equipment bags, etc. However, they are not considered a priority at the moment. The Blackwater Gear companies are focusing on getting the soldier properly uniformed, armored and equipped before worrying about stuff that isn't on the body.

So, as I said at the beginning, the Blackwater Gear line is a far cry from just a few pieces with two names on them. The BG line is truly the next step in uniform evolution and it's still evolving. Keep an eye on the Blackwater website for additional information as it becomes available!

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