Presenting a range of its popular cold weather garments
Staying warm and comfortable is key to maintaining optimum performance during missions and ensuring personnel do not suffer from cold weather injuries. It is for this reason that forces demand the best from their cold weather clothing.
Swedish company Woolpower is presenting a range of its popular cold weather garments at this year’s Enforce Tac at stand 12-524, through German distributor Scandic. The garments, including – tops, trousers, headwear and socks – are in use with both US and European forces, including here in Germany with Special Forces units, the regular army and law enforcement personnel.
German Army personnel currently receive the garments when deploying overseas but plans are afoot to equip every soldier in army with the warm clothing. Around 500,000 garments have been delivered over the last ten years.
Woolpower uses a unique material called Ullfrotte Original that was developed in the early 1970s in collaboration with the Swedish Army and their requirements for robust cold-weather clothing. Jesper Rodig, CEO of Scandic, told MONCh that the material is made up of two-thirds merino wool and one-third man-made fibres.
“One hundred percent merino just wouldn’t last,” said Mr Rodig, noting that the synthetic fibre gives the material strength and allows for better sweat management. “You can have it on for days and take on a lot of moisture without feeling wet and it doesn’t smell.”
Ullfrotte Original is knitted so that one side of fabric is flat, while the other side that touches the skin has terry loops that move moisture from the skin, while also trapping air to aid with retaining heat in cold conditions. Tops and underwear are available in 200, 400, and 600 on the insulation scale (merino wool per square metre), while the socks can also go up 800 on the insulation scale.
The company also offers Woolpower LITE, which is a thinner fabric that can be used all year round and used as a base layer underneath the thicker Ullfrotte Original fabric, keeping personnel toasty in the winter and cool in the summer.
Grant Turnbull