PMCI April 2018 | Page 13

SH Day 3, and the miles were taking their toll, not to mention a bit of a late “business meeting” in the ever-popular Finnegans and a memorable trip to Burgerista! IWA is a VAST show and one day I’ll take a step-counter… the start of the third day though took our steps to the stand of Direct Action. These former “special” guys from Poland have been making some serious headway in the “nylon gear” market and rightly so as their designs are cutting-edge yet solid and workmanlike. I just laid hands on their “MUSTANG” belt system which I’ll be reporting on in due course after a few range sessions, but their new “TEMPEST” chest rig is something that I’d like to get my mitts on! Sticking with “Euro” gear folk I always drop in to see Tasmanian Tiger; the company introduced a new line of navy blue equipment for law enforcement this year along with some new designs in the lightweight, low-profile cheat rig market which look very slick. Their TAC Flightcase looks a very interesting concept too! Going “small but beautifully formed” we couldn’t help but stop by the stand of the awesomely named “Badass Tactical” from Italy, and once again they put a smile on our faces with a demo of their two piece shooters belt and “tear-away” medical pouch. They especially have some neat designs in terms of medical packs and hope we’ll be able to bring more of their gear into the spotlight soon. Before I wrap up, as usual I have to make a couple of “honourable mentions” of things that I saw that I thought to be first rate. Out of Russia Gienna Tactics had some great new clothing designs to show us, and I’ve already been speaking to Sergey about some gear for test; I really liked their pant models which showed a new and innovative design for knee protection, and the fact that they work with some properly “old skool” camo patterns gave me the hugest grin! Also I have to mention Viridian Weapon technologies for some outrageously good pistol lights, some of which feature top-end video capture options for our LE brethren. Okay, and I MAY have got carried away with all the magazine- fed semi-auto shotguns and the MDR, but that’s just me and I said I wouldn’t talk about firearms… As always any report like this can only show “the tip of the iceberg” and we spoke to so many people, and saw so much goodness that I can only apologise to those not mentioned; I would say a huge thank you to all that took time to speak with us. I’ll just say that IWA 2018 was a tremendous show both for me personally and for PMCI which is now getting great recognition in the community, and I hope to see just as many folk from the UK tactical world in Nuremberg next year; IWA has already been fixed for Friday 8 to Monday 11 March 2019 (Enforce Tac for 6 to 7 March 2019) so get it in your diary and the PMCI crew look forward to seeing you in Germany next year! MOVING ON! pmcimagazine.com