InSport International, Outdoor Research and Malden Mills Receive Military Contracts

Congress' fiscal year 2006 Department of Defense Appropriations Act has passed and includes substantial funding for three leading outdoor industry companies. InSport International, Inc., Malden Mills and Outdoor Research will design and manufacturer base layers, garment systems and gloves for the U.S. Military.

InSport International received $2 million in funding for U.S. Marines base layer t-shirts. InSport partnered with Malden Mills in the development of innovative yarns and fabrics that form the InSport Polartec Power Dry with X-Static T-Shirt. The Congressional earmark will fund procurement of approximately 200,000 of these anti-microbial, moisture removing base layer garments for U.S. Marines in cold weather combat.

Outdoor Research will use $1.8 million in funding to support development of the U.S. Marine Corps Contact Glove. The PS150 Contact Glove with Polartec Power Stretch with X-Static will allow Marines to conduct precise technical work such as operating computer and electronic equipment while protecting their hands from the cold weather combat environment.

Separately, Malden Mills received an additional $15 million contract for four Polartec garment design studies. Malden will complete a third year of R&D of electronic textiles for the Army’s Combat Casualty Care program, which provides remote physiological monitoring of soldiers in combat.

Three new Malden Mills contracts will fund cold weather fabrics for the Army, Marines and Navy. The Army Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) uses a range of Polartec® fabrics to meet peacetime and deployment requirements for cold weather operations. The Marine Corps Mountain Cold Weather Clothing and Equipment Program (MCWCEP) includes an integrated clothing component, which consists of a next-to-skin layer, a light and heavy weight insulating layer, a protective shell, and an outer insulating layer. Finally, the Navy Air Warfare Center’s Multi-Climate Protection System (MCPS) is a modular ensemble that provides total performance by layering thermal protection and shell garments.