Forloh, a U.S. manufacturer of technical outerwear, is dropping its Forloh AllClima Rain and SoftShell Jackets for hunters embedded with Recco Reflectors. Forloh, is one of the first hunting brands to adopt Recco’s search technology for the hunt category.

Recco “is working with search and rescue teams in the U.S. and around the world” to expand the use of the Recco SAR helicopter detector that allows helicopters to quickly search for people on the ground across vast areas. By pioneering this technology in the hunting industry, Forloh is working with Recco to increase the margin of safety for the hunting consumer.

“The very nature of hunting means the hunter is attempting to go undetected to its prey, which means hunters are extremely difficult to find in the event of an emergency or accident,” said Andy Techmanski, founder and CEO, Forloh. “Given Recco’s push to expand this technology with the helicopter operations of search-and-rescue teams, we were amazed to learn that it hasn’t yet been integrated into hunting apparel, and we jumped at that chance. Being prepared is one of the basic requirements when planning any hunt, and the integration of Recco reflectors into our gear gives our customers and their families back home an added margin of safety and additional peace of mind.”

Recco’s patented technology is a two-part system. Rescuers use Recco detectors to locate a Recco reflector which is carried by the wearer integrated into clothing or other gear.

Rescue professionals have been using Recco handheld detectors for avalanche rescue since the early 1980s, and the system has grown to a global rescue tool used in 900+ locations in 28 countries. The newly introduced Recco SAR helicopter detector is a larger detector unit. It is mounted under a helicopter and enables rescue teams to vastly reduce the amount of time it takes to search large areas.

“Unlike snowsports which are often enjoyed within a resort, wearing bright clothes on clean snow, backcountry hunters are more often at the bottom of valleys or on steep, treed sidehills, wearing camouflage and far away from other people or help,” Techmanski said. “It’s a no brainer to put this technology into apparel for hunters and since our gear is built to be versatile for many kinds of outdoor pursuits beyond hunting, other backcountry enthusiasts.”

In the last two years, as its new helicopter-based detector unit has come into use, Recco has worked to get its technology into use with five search-and-rescue teams in North America including Two Bear Air, a philanthropy-funded organization that provides aviation support for search and rescue teams in Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington. In Europe, a dozen search and rescue teams are using it, and Recco is working to facilitate its adoption by more SAR teams in North America and globally. Along with western Montana, SAR teams in Salt Lake City and Seattle, as well as Vancouver and Canmore in western Canada, are equipped with helicopter-based detector units. More than 90 SAR teams in North America and worldwide are equipped with the hand-held Recco units.

“Working with Forloh, we are excited to enter the hunting market, a completely new segment for us, and to help make hunters searchable with the help of RECCO technology,” said Fredrik Steinwall, CEO at Recco. “The outdoor market, where we have been on the market for a long time and are well known, is closely related to the hunting community. So for us, this is a natural progression. To be able to do this with a technology-driven brand like Forloh feels very inspiring.”

Due to the proximity of its manufacturing within the U.S. and the ability to quickly adapt its production, Forloh was able to quickly integrate Recco reflectors into its AllClima Rain and SoftShell Jackets in less than two months. Starting November, all AllClima products will come with Recco technology integrated.

Photo courtesy Recco