Outdoor Trade Show 2021

by Forces Tactical July 3, 2021

Forces Tactical enjoyed a cracking visit to the Outdoor Trade Show 2021 (hosted at Liverpool's Exhibition Centre, Kings Dock) and was able to catch up with old (and new) faces - a welcome reprieve to the isolation the COVID-19 pandemic has caused not just personally, but professionally! We made a bee line for our suppliers (some of which we'd never actually met in "real-life"!) and caught up with some old friends. So where do we start with the AAR...

Arktis had got some fantastic new products on show - an old hand and industry leader when it comes to technical fabrics. We were particularly interested in their compact waterproof gear which was lightweight, a sensible cut for operational use and designed to fill the gap that "Gary G" struggles to fill. Expect to see some options on FT as the Summer wraps up.

Forces Tactical visits Arktis at the Outdoor Trade Show 2021

Up next was Camelbak and their new range of laser cut, lightweight but characteristically durable ops packs: the H.A.W.G, Sparta, Motherlode Lite, Motherlode and B.F.M. We're not going to lie, we were sceptical as we love our "original" Motherlodes and keen to see what the new generation of bags was like in the flesh. Put it like this, we'll be stocking the whole range - a 20L, 30L, 40L and 50L option - they're very, very good!

Forces Tactical visits Camelbak at the Outdoor Trade Show 2021

We caught up with Jetboil, Silva, Keela and enjoyed speaking to a whole host of other, innovative suppliers who jumped at the chance to show us new designs, tech and approaches to real-world problems faced by those operating in (often) less than ideal conditions. Products from Modestone and Fidlock continue to catch our eye and their ranges are always growing.

Talking to a few of the other exhibitors, it was apparent that the supply of raw materials and manufacturing capability (or lack of due to COVID-19 etc.) was/is having a massive impact on the availability of products. We're keeping an eye on the situation and have placed pre-emptive orders with our core suppliers to make sure that we stay well stocked and ready to support our customers.

All in all, a very worthwhile day out!