Yes, CamelBak is Selling Gloves
By Rocky Thompson on October 29th, 2010
photo from Kit Up!
First off, if it weren’t for military contracts, a lot of outdoor companies would be hurting. All the way from Gore-Tex, straight through CamelBak, to several of the much smaller climbing gear manufacturers. There’s nothing wrong with helping out the military. What’s odd here is that a hydration pack company is making gloves - tactical gloves. This word ‘tactical’ had always kind of confused me. At one Outdoor Retailer Show I was talking to a Benchmade rep and asked him what a particular knife was for. He called it a ‘tactical’ knife. I asked what that meant and he shifted from one foot to the other while looking at me. Then I asked, “You mean it’s for stabbing people?” His answer, “Self defense.”
So CamelBak’s flame-resistant, tactical gloves were showcased at the US Army show in DC. My question: What special insights does a hydration company gain from their foray into backpacks that qualifies them to make gloves? Well, I guess it’s the same thing Oakley brought to the table with their bloated line of tactical gloves.
Write a comment…About 5 years ago Camelbak bought Southwest Motorsports, a specialist manufacturer of gloves for military applications.
The “tactical” comes from the boardroom’s tactical decision to try and poach another market segment.
Screw tactical, I want some strategic gloves.
Yeah, they bought SW Motorsports - who’ve been around for a while. They seem to share some designs with Mechanix, and share the same market segments: motor racing and military. I doubt Camelbak will change much apart from the name on the label
I think the bottom line is that Oakley/Camelbak/whoever is filling a market need that hasn’t existed before. To the aircrew and special ops communities, those Oakley gloves are the gucci stuff, because they don’t know any better. If BD or some other core brand came out w/ a tactical line, they’d create sales for themselves. Arc’teryx is already all over it w/ their LEAF line. Who else wants a piece of that DoD pie?
CamelBak bought the company that makes the gloves Southwest Motorsports
OR makes military stuff: http://military.outdoorresearch.com/site/index.html