Run Forrest, run! And the M90 MI

You have all seen the movie where Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump starts to run and don´t stop for years….

Well, to be honest, this post is not about the movie Forrest Gump but rather about training, running and the influence of the camo genre. Bare with me and let me elaborate.

During the 11+ years of TUG existence (I started one day and kept on going…) I have often wondered about the camo clothing genre, reaching out of the military spectrum and to the general public. Notably there has been an increase for every year of the use of camouflage clothes as a fashion for both street wear and outdoor but also as means for use in more explicit colors like pink and bright yellow configurations.

Training camo gear
Some years back, the training community started to bring in camouflage clothing and accessories in a broader sense, ie they were suddenly more visible, and voila! It became a hit! Shortly it was vastly accepted even by the bigger brands as a sort of power clothing. Well you know, to enhance the look and feel of the user, toughen it up a bit if you will! Perhaps this went hand in hand with the more and more popular military style workouts, OCR, Rucking, Milruck etc.

Instead of the 80´s pastel colors advertising (picture a man and woman in full track suit identically in design, curly hair, big earrings, big glasses and thin mustache…) we are now often presented by a lone, pony-tailed, fit looking woman with black lines under her eyes (like American football players) sweating profusely, gauze around her fists, holding them up in a fighting position and captured in a kick towards a hanging punching bag! A tough picture with lots of action in it.. She will often be dressed in tight-fitting clothing from a known and highly regarded brand.

Often such sport promo pics will be enhanced in having camouflage paraphernalia or clothes in a thought through and even balance mix of “normal” colored training clothes vs the camo ones to add some “pazass” or “punch” to the look.

As you probably know Tac-Up Gear is all about supplying that bit of extra kit to enhance the rest of your gear, for tactical use. Not having perhaps the full product line, not full sets of uniforms etc, but bits and pieces to “tactically upgrade your gear”. But I found myself thinking about how integrated and important physical training is with actual tactical missions, so why was I not trying to  also boost and “tactically upgrade your training gear” aswell?

Why wasn´t I following in the “big players” footsteps with camo induced training clothes and accessories…? “You train as you fight” as they say… So to climb that wall or rush that house in a high adrenaline dynamic entry exercise, it would not be too bad to also have some running training as base for your physics! (Basically it would be a requirement but you know what I mean…. 😉

Now you now know this post is not giving full justify (or any at all) to the Forrest Gump movie, as hinted in the headline, but I could not let go of the running part. Running is possibly the easiest workout to take up on… Just on with some comfy shoes and out you go! The benefits of moving your body like in walking or running is vast and the physical improvements are noticed within a week!

It was with this in mind I started for real to look into the sports line of clothes for TUG, a new step to take… TUG´s own sports line starting out with focus on “top” clothes only. I figured a gym Tee/training T-shirt and Running Windjacket are base clothing for outdoor sports, so they became my immediate choices. But how would I incorporate camouflage in a fashion that would speak to a broader public, both men and women? How would I grasp and incorporate the TUG touch in my new items?

M90 MI (Mini)
Because I have been working with the Swedish M90 camouflage since the start, this is basically my favorite pattern. There was no question that I somehow wanted to put it in use for TUG´s new sports line. Also, I have always had a nagging feeling about making my own pattern: a smaller pattern of the original M90 camouflage, which is about as perfect as it gets.

You might say I had become influenced by how the 80´s US Woodland camo with its flowing and rounded fields now can be seen digitalized in the MARPAT pattern clothes and gear (yes, yes I know, but sort of… similar/same colors but change in bigger pattern to smaller “fields” that is what I mean). How could I get a modern looking twist of the M90 camouflage suitable for the sports line and yet keep the TUG touch and feel? The M90 Mini became my favored idea to follow.

When I approached a manufacturer for the new Training T-shirt and Windjacket, I first had the full size pattern in mind, as I have had on cotton T-shirts earlier etc. Mainly because I was stuck in that mindset. But by a fluke the sample fabric print was made smaller than traditional size and I immediately decided to keep it that way… in fact, my longtime idea about a mini/micro M90 pattern had just come to life through “ways unknown”. Somehow I feel the subconscious mind helped make this longtime idea come true!

M90 Green and not Grey
Why the green version of the pattern and not the grey one that is more related to training here in Sweden?

Well, many of you know about the full size grey/black M90 camouflage used by the Swedish Armed Forces in sport circles. That coloration of the pattern has become synonymous with forces personnel participating in different sports activities. It is often clear and visible to all that the wearer represents the Swedish Armed Forces, since the clothes wear the Armed Forces logo and text. These clothes are not for all to easily attain in shops, but for service people, sports units, military athletes and so on. (Just need to mention that as a twist, during the 90´s I did like the Woodland “City” camo in black, grey, white etc and had fantasies for it in M90 camouflage… But well, Swedish Armed Forces beat me to it! And a good work they did with the colors aswell!).

So, to be able to keep focus on my own line I decided to go for the Green M90 MI (Mini) camouflage instead of the Grey. It is stripping off a bit of the “For Armed Force Personnel Only Use” feeling, and opens up to a whole new public that want to sport (pun intended) some Swedish type camo gear among their training clothes, to boost the training and self-esteem!

The Runners Windjacket M90 MI (Mini):
By my own experience the sporting jackets nowadays are always missing pockets in the right size and in the right place… What if I have a large smart phone that I need to have in a pocket? What about keys? What about tissues for a runny nose and so forth? What about all that stuff at the same time? The pockets have never been enough to hold it all…

That said, I also wanted to incorporate a bit from my older design of the NOMAD Jacket which had many pockets.
Although I am aware this is a Runners Jacket that should feel light and have full movement, I felt it had to have 4 larger pockets with zippers. Making them so that they melt in to the design and not taking away the sport feeling or make the jacket too thick and bulky, with layer upon layer of fabric for the pockets, but still retain the design for sports as running or biking.

On the Runners Jacket you will find two chest pockets with a depth that reaches all the way towards the side seam at your arm and two more discrete waist placed side pockets, which all will hold your larger type of smartphone, key and other stuff. When closed, the side pockets melts into the garment and a viewer only notices the breast pockets zippers, which I prefer to use more frequently than the waist ones.

Both front and back have incorporated reflective stripes, to help with visibility during workout in the dark. The front stripe is vertical and the back stripe is horizontal. The label in the neck is printed inside the fabric instead of a traditional sewn label. This is done to avoid chafing or irritation of the neck. Adjustment of waist can be done with cord-locks on both sides. The zippers are kept small and tidy, remember this is a sports jacket and not your average outdoor / wood jacket. This is our new sports line, remember.. ;)!

The arms are long and having the cuff with a slit for thumb is really great on chilly mornings that are still too warm for full gloves.

The Runners Windjacket is, well, just that! An extra layer as shield for wind and possibly even for light rain but in its essence, a thin highly movable jacket for sports and workout! And I dare say that the M90 Mini pattern is unique for Tac-Up Gear, so if you want to stand out from the crowd – this is for you!

The Training T-Shirt M90 MI
Of course, to accommodate a Windjacket there should be something beneath – a Tee!
In the same awesome M90 MI (Mini) pattern there is no gym Tee like this one!
Featuring an elastic moist wicking fabric and sewn in traditional training t-shirt shape (no slim fit seams), the Tee is suitable for both men and women.

A reflective TUG viking ship logo on left chest helps out with visibility on early morning runs.
The neck label is printed instead of traditional sewn to avoid chafing or irritation of the neck.

And at last, not everybody wants to use camouflage gear, so TUG also have both the Runners Wind Jacket and Training T-shirt in a dark green color.

These TUG products are as unique as they get. Remember where you saw the M90 Mini first!
Now stop reading and start gathering your runners kit!
//Martin