Equipment & Apparel

Equipment & Apparel July 28, 2026

2026 Innovations in Body Armor and Ballistic Materials

Jake Ganor What are the latest developments and advancements in technologies designed to improve ballistic protection? The past year has been a relatively quiet one for advances in body armor materials. New composites, new soft armor materials and new metal alloys or ceramic materials have not been broadly fielded. UHMWPE (Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene) is more dominant than it has ever been – with Avient and Honeywell both struggling to keep up with demand – and advances in Kevlar®, beyond…

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Man in uniform walking with a flashlight/

Equipment & Apparel September 14, 2020

Duty Flashlight Selection

Eugene Nielsen While everyone recognizes the need for a flashlight, often very little thought is given to its selection. Although on the surface a flashlight is a relatively simple tool, there are a number of features which need to be considered. Flashlights differ greatly in convenience and performance. Every flashlight has its own compromises between size, weight, light output, battery type, and runtime. Advances in LED (Light-Emitting Diode) technology, as well as in battery efficiency, have resulted in flashlights which…