IR and FLIR patches release

With this release TUG (Tac-Up Gear) is taking a major new step and breaking new ground on the Swedish tactical gear market.

As many of you already know Tac-Up is about just that.. to tactically upgrade your current gear with that little extra advantage kit!

A few years back we really wanted to offer IR patches and ended up with two flag patches that had the IR ability but was also reflective in “normal” light and in so doing were possibly ruled out for clandestine and “in the dark operations”. Anyway, the subdued grey/black Swedish flag (IR) patch became quite popular and in the end went out of stock and the other patch “the normal” blue/yellow flag patch (IR) (which is excellent as reflective patch in dark Swedish winter etc and is on a total sell out right now!) had more of a struggle to find its customers and are still available in the webshop today.

Now the thought of having professional IR patches as good as or better (if even possible) than what is found in let’s say the USA never left and was nagging far way back in my mind so when people started asking for when the subdued grey/black IR flag patch was going to pop up again in the webshop it was serious decision time.

First, i promptly decided not to remake the grey/black patch, i was thru with that fabric and design,  now i wanted the “real McCoy” – i mean professionally made IR patches with milspec standards suitable for service men and women right there on the ground in the field, right out of the box, and i wanted some new thinking in their designs and at last i also wanted it to show one thing in “normal” daylight and something else when seen through NVG´s or other IR optics just like real serious working IR patches do!

I already had the seed for an idea for the flag patches, Multicam and OD/Green with a more minimalistic cross than normal, a bit more aggressive but subdued look. I also wanted to take the JÄGARE (RANGER) tab into the year 2015 and be the first to cross the border into “IR patch land” on the Swedish market so to speak. The two flag and Jägare Tab patches were all to be of dual type which i like the most and in designs never seen or done before.

The Dual feature is visible when reflecting IR light on the patches, The flags will show “SWE” in large letters and three crowns and the JÄGARE tab will clearly show the text “SWEDEN”. All three IR patches thought as recognition enhancers in multi-country operations performed in the dark, used in the dark, but also that they could be used on a day to day basis attached to helmets, shirt arms etc and show off a professional look as well.

Actually i did not want to stop with the flags and tab….. Because NVG´s, FLIR optics etc are so common on the market now, that even if not “sprinkled” everywhere or found in every service and Homeguard unit yet.. they will one day be as normal as binoculars and then you as a member of a squad, your equipment or what not, will have the need to be extra visible to your mates or contingent members from air or ground in pitch darkness using FLIR and IR optics. So i stumbled across a great patch type that has these benefits and just had to also include them in my new ground breaking project.

So with this patch release you will also find square combo FLIR/IR patches (one military green and one tanish / gold type) that has both FLIR and IR reflective features and will be suitable to mark equipment, clothes and gear to be double as effective in night optics reflectiveness, both to be used for military and rescue-service purposes.

Getting all these TUG twists into products have cost a deal of thinking, time (money) and a wild guess there is a cavity, a vacuum, a need to have them available on the market, a chance taking of the larger proportion from my side, therefore the unique patches have ended up in the higher price range and there is also the matter of us not selling these to customers outside Sweden (so why is this written in English?.. well, we have stated it before that many of our followers are from all over the world and English is set to be the company language to a large extent) so are we shooting ourselves in the foot here with this new line of IR patches?

I would think not… people in need of being recognized in the dark should have the possibility to add this security to their teams buying of the shelf and now we provide such a possibility!

All the new IR patches has hook backing of course and if you want more specs and info you can visit them directly here!

Also do not miss out to watch our YouTube clips!

Stay Safe!
//Martin
Tac-Up Gear