Outdoor Research announced it had, in partnership with Prime Vendor ADS Inc., been awarded a multi-year $49 million contract from the U.S. Army for its next-gen Cold Weather Glove System (CWGS). The interchangeable system of five individual gloves with varying levels of temperature protection are customizable depending upon the Army’s mission requirements.

U.S. Army Contracting Command Aberdeen Proving Round Maryland will oversee the contract. 

The CWGS includes a fire-resistant liner (base layer glove), a next-to-skin glove for cool conditions, a trigger-finger mitten for cold to extremely cold conditions, a regular mitten that could combine with other gloves, and a white over glove for cold weather and snow camouflage. The CWGS is designed as “no melt, no drip” for protection against rapid heating during combat operations. 

Features include:

  • protection from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to -70 degrees Fahrenheit and can be worn independently or layered for scalable protection against varying temperatures;
  • combining the glove elements offers “fast doffing” or rapid removal for short-term manual dexterity and combat operations;
  • individual five-finger gloves provide index finger and thumb touchscreen compliance, while the mittens are waterproof, windproof and seam-taped for protection against cold weather elements; and
  • the over-white mitten is made of Alpine Multicam and fits over multiple glove/mitten combinations for camouflage in winter conditions.

“The contract award for the OR Cold Weather Glove System is the culmination of three years of work by our dedicated team of engineers and production staff and represents the largest contract award in the history of our company,” said Roger Barton, president, Outdoor Research. “Providing best-in-class cold-weather gear to the U.S. Military is one of the most important things we do as a brand.” 

Outdoor Research will manufacture the 100 percent Berry Amendment compliant CWGS in Seattle, WA and El Monte, CA. The facilities are vertical operations with skilled labor to manufacture the gloves.