Sniper’s backpack, battle uniforms, and mine detectors

War Games

Sniper’s backpack, battle uniforms, and mine detectors: Tactical stars of SHOT Show

By Allison Barrie

Published January 29, 2015

FoxNews.com

                                                                                                                                                                            Over the course of four days last week, more than 65,000 industry professionals from all 50 states and more than 100 countries convened in Las Vegas for the 37th annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show.
Always on a giant scale, this year more than 1,600 exhibitors showcased the latest and greatest in firearms, ammunition, hunting, shooting accessories and more.
A fixture in the hunting and shooting world, the show is increasingly a platform for innovation in the tactical space. Just 12 years ago, companies focused on the law enforcement and tactical consumer accounted for a mere 7,000 feet of the behemoth show.
But this year law enforcement and tactical consumers took up more than 170,000 square feet at the show.
Amid the smorgasbord of guns and gear for law enforcement and the military, here are three of the top picks making their debut at SHOT:
The Sniper’s Backpack
Looks like a backpack, works as a sniper platform.
The pack is an all in one solution – it carries your rifle, but also acts a shooting platform.
Tenzing Tactical Shooter’s Pack rapidly converts from a scoped rifle pack to a self-contained shooting rifle pack to a self-contained shooting rest.
One of the company’s slogans is “Hunt fast. Hunt light.” And that certainly applies to this creative piece of kit.
In fact, a sniper can even take aim and fire without removing the gun from the pack.
By keeping snipers fully equipped and mobile, this smart pack could help increase response time.
The Tactical Shooter’s Pack is designed to securely strap the rifle to the pack and to create a steady shooting platform.
There are two fold out pockets for additional ammunition and two specialized see-through pockets for ballistic cards.
The pack weighs four pounds and six ounces and has a padded removable waist belt that fits waists between 32 to 48 inches.
It’s got 16 compartments and pockets to stash gear and there’s an internal fluted aluminum frame.
Rain? No problem. The pack includes a fold out rain cover. It also has a foldout, adjustable rifle-securing boot.
Enhanced Battle Uniforms
Arc’teryx LEAF, the innovative defense focused wing of the popular outdoor company Arc’teryx, revealed its Enhanced Battle Uniforms at SHOT.
And the EBU acted as a lightning rod, drawing in masses of military and law enforcement during the show. The booth was heaving with operators keen to have a look at the new Recce Shirt and Assault Shirt and Pant.
One of the company’s slogans is “Focus on the task at hand and not on the equipment” and the uber-smart design on these three items reflects just that.
The Recce Shirt is a patrol shirt built to carry mission essentials comfortably over long distances and challenging terrain. The very smart pocket design and positioning on both the shirts and pants also provide maximum load-out. There are two internal stash pockets and two external chest Velcro pockets and two external chest drop-in pockets that fit smartphones as well as two secure upper arm pockets.
And with its spacious fit for layering underneath, Recce Shirt allows flexibility for a range of temperatures.
The Assault Shirt and Pant are highly technical - created for a range of combat applications.
The Assault Shirt has integrated pockets that fit removable articulated soft elbow pads as well as two secure upper arm pockets that smartphones can fit into.  Its low-profile hybrid collar can be worn open or closed to shield the neck.
The Assault Pant is reinforced in high stress areas and there are two hand pockets with an internal knife pocket as well as two seat and thigh cargo pockets.
The design on all three pieces has focused on the wearer’s safety. For example, Arc’teryx LEAF uses premium Cordura textiles that don’t melt and drip. And they’re compatible with body armor.
They’re all designed for maximum mobility.  The pant, for example, has articulated knees giving complete range of motion unrestricted by any bulk. There are also removable soft kneepads and LEAF kneecaps as options.
They’re available in MultiCam, Ranger Green, Crocodile and Wolf.
MineShark
What if there was a lightweight, compact, handheld tool that would let you see through the ground and identify hidden dangers?
The MineShark does just that - allowing its user to locate and see buried threats that could harm U.S. troops.
Made by Chemring, the MineShark is basically a handheld dual sensor that can detect a wide range of threats that troops face. From anti-tank landmines to IEDS (improvised explosive devices), the MineShark can detect the object and reveal where it is hidden.
It is a very smart, easy-to-use tool that could be essential for countermine operations, as well as battle area clearance.
This tool can “see” through not just ground, but even asphalt and cement layers to find and identify objects. It can locate both metallic and non-metallic objects constructed from the likes of plastic and wood.
It is based on NIITEK’s combat-proven ground penetrating radar tech and Minelabs’ advanced metal detector tech.
It is so good that it can identify single strand wires and carbon rods in challenging soil circumstances.
How does it work? The MineShark automatically detects the threats with two sensors working independently. It leverages two channel ground-penetrating radar and a single frequency continuous wave metal detector.
The MineShark’s recognition software interprets what it “sees” and helps the operator work out the nature of the buried threat.
Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.