Warfighting gear has dramatically improved over the past 15 years.
It goes by many names: Deuce gear, TA-50, or 782 gear. Whatever the nickname, load-bearing equipment is some of the most important kit carried by infantry, special operations, and anyone else whose job is to fight on foot. Since the advent of modular lightweight load-carrying equipment and the accompanying pouch attachment ladder system in the late 1990s, the commercial and government gear market has rapidly grown, particularly since the onset of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Tactical nylon” companies are not just producing innovations in load-bearing gear, but uniforms and footwear as well. Here’s a few areas where troop gear has gotten better.
1. Armor protection
The development of lighter ceramic armor plates like the enhanced small arms protective insert plate has marked a shift toward the plate carrier as the preferred option for individual protection. The newest plate carriers the Army currently issues include the soldier plate carrier system and the improved outer tactical vest, while the Marines use the improved scalable plate carrier and improved modular tactical vest. Commercially, there are dozens of companies producing plate carriers, with models from Crye Precision, London Bridge Trading, and Eagle Industries popular among special operations units and others able to use non-issued gear.
