GORE-TEX Black Eagle TACTICAL 2.0 Low / Mid by Haix®
Gore called for 100 police officers to volunteer to participate in a large-scale Tactical GORE-TEX Footwear trial. Overwhelmed by 2,367 applications, Gore decided to set up two tests rather than the one test that it had originally planned. Between March and June 2014 two groups of 100 police officers tested GORE-TEX Black Eagle Tactical 20 Mid and Low boots by HAIX® and then shared their experiences with a test institute.
Gore's main aim was to find out how well Tactical GORE-TEX shoes and boots met the everyday needs of the modern police officer. On foot patrol duty and in their cars. When standing, running and jumping. Outdoors and indoors. In rain and in dry, warm, summer weather.
This is what some of the participants had to say about waterproofness:
Wet grass, puddles, heavy rain, mud. Cleaning the boots afterwards with lots of water was no problem at all and they could be worn again in next to no time.
... Actually, waterproofness is critical in all kinds of situations. It's horrible having wet feet and that really affects your performance. But that wasn't a problem with these test boots...
Waterproofness
"I was very impressed by the performance of the test shoes. Particularly in challenging weather conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm. The waterproofness is very impressive. These shoes have a good grip, are extremely lightweight and to top it all they have the look of a sports shoe. All good reasons to recommend these shoes."
BEST WATERPROOF PROTECTION
...I was also involved in an operation mounted to search a rural area with streams running through it and didn't get wet feet – AMAZING!
Waterproofness: I was very impressed by the performance of the test shoes. Particularly in challenging weather conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm. The waterproofness is very impressive. These shoes have a good grip, are extremely lightweight and to top it all they have the look of a sports shoe. All good reasons to recommend these shoes.
Waterproofness: A critical feature during operations involving exposure to unknown liquids - often found around stations - and in wet weather.
HIGH BREATHABILITY
I feel great – working a night shift at the moment, temperature inside the office at 1.15am is 29°C. My feet feel warm, however my socks (trekking socks) are totally dry.
On warmer days they keep your feet comfortably cool – they don't stop you sweating completely but you certainly sweat less than in other daily duty boots without GORE-TEX.
LIGHT WALKING COMFORT
Unrivalled in terms of wear comfort. When we are wearing our duty suits it is better to wear the boot style with the high-cut upper.
An excellent piece of work. These shoes are lightweight, well made and have a comfortable fit - a joy to wear.
VERSATILE
My daily duties included all kinds of situations, ranging from firefighting operations to incidents in heavy rain. The shoes withstood the water.
ALL SEASON
In colder conditions they keep your feet comfortably warm and in much warmer conditions the temperature is well balanced so you don't even begin to get sweaty feet.
CLIMATE COMFORT
The inner lining makes sure that there is a pleasant climate inside the shoes in all weather conditions.
WOULD RECOMMEND
These shoes look great. The fit is excellent. They are waterproof, breathable and very comfortable to walk in. I would recommend these shoes to everyone.
I had absolutely no doubts about recommending these shoes to my colleagues. They certainly made an impression on me.
The test was conducted and the data analysed by HYVE, a Munich-based innovation and market research agency.
partner
HAIX
Manufacturer of the test shoes and boots: GORE-TEX Black Eagle Tactical 20 Mid and Low.
GORE-TEX and WINDSTOPPER® jackets with stretch technology
TESTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL POLICE TRAINING SYSTEM (NAPLES)
The challenges confronting the police have been on the rise for decades, particularly in large cities. Above all else, the increase in the number of petty crimes calls for higher standards around safety and responsiveness. Officers also often encounter extreme weather conditions, such as heat, cold, or heavy rain. Whether their missions involve rescue operations in response to flooding incidents or helping motorists stuck in snow, police officers need garments that provide them with protection and freedom of movement in a diverse range of situations.
GORE-TEX jackets built around the innovative Smart Garment Concept and featuring Gore stretch technology successfully fulfil these performance requirements. The fabric is durably waterproof, windproof and breathable. Incorporating extremely elastic features, it also offers high levels of comfort and freedom of movement, further enhanced by stretch panels in the areas of the elbows, hips and knees.
Within ten years I.T.P.S., an international police training association, has trained over 7,000 officers from 80 police force areas. For a period of two years, the association's instructors wore GORE-TEX and WINDSTOPPER® jackets with stretch technology under real-life conditions: indoors and outdoors, in high temperatures and heavy rain, and also in stressful situations such as when arresting a suspect.
We all agree that the Gore jackets with stretch technology meet the needs of the job and the demands it places on us.
(Christiano Curti Giardiana, president of I.P.T.S.)
ALSO SUITABLE FOR EXTREME WEATHER
Gore's innovative Smart Garment Concept meets the key requirements of a modern functional garment. The jackets provide durable protection in different weather conditions and can easily be worn with other layers underneath, for instance an inner liner for added warmth.
We sometimes stand outside in the cold for hours on end, often in the rain. That's why we need garments that will withstand bad weather.
(William Albano, instructor).
COMFORT AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Stretch panels relieve the parts of the body that come under strain when you make certain movements or adopt a particular posture. The stretch panels at the sides of the jacket allow for the natural extension motions of the upper body and sideways movements of the wearer.
A police uniform jacket has to offer ultimate ease of movement in all situations, whatever shift the officer is working and whatever the policing task.
(William Albano, I.P.T.S. instructor).
GORE-TEX daily duty footwear proves successful in user trials at Munich's Oktoberfest
Climate comfort confirmed
October, 2015 - Security personnel need daily duty footwear that is not only pleasant to wear but also delivers climate comfort across a wide range of weather conditions, temperatures and activities. The Tactical GORE-TEX Footwear product class satisfies all these requirements.
This was the outcome of a user trial conducted at Munich's Oktoberfest by Gore and security company Securitas in Autumn 2014. While working at the festival 20 Securitas employees wore Meindl's Police Trek GTX, a daily duty shoe manufactured in accordance with EN ISO 20347: 2012 and featuring highly breathable GORE-TEX fabric. At the end of the trial period the security officers filled out a questionnaire and answered questions put to them by a Gore representative at personal debriefing sessions. The test persons confirmed that the footwear concept was waterproof, highly breathable and offered climate comfort and a generally pleasant feel – even at elevated temperatures or high levels of activity. All of the test persons, without exception, would recommend these shoes to others.
THE ULTIMATE TEST FOR WORKERS AND THEIR WEAR
Attracting over six million visitors in two weeks, the Munich Oktoberfest is the ultimate test for workers and what they wear. Security personnel have to cope with all kinds of scenarios: heat and cold; dry and wet conditions; routine and stressful situations; periods of low intensity activity alternating with vigorous activity. Securitas, the largest private security company in Germany, has supplied security services to the Oktoberfest, the largest festival of its kind in the world, for the past seven years. In 2014 some 250 Securitas security officers worked at the festival. Their main responsibility was the 6,000-seater Schottenhamel tent, where the first beer of the season is poured to rapturous applause, and the beer garden outside with seating for up to 4,000. Securitas is also responsible for patrolling the perimeter of the fairground. Fifteen of the 20 test persons wore the shoes over a period of 16 days - for between 6 and 9 hours a day. Some of them even wore the shoes for up to 16 hours a day because they kept them on when they went off duty. Depending on their security role and where they were deployed at the Oktoberfest, the security officers covered distances of up to 20 km a day.
A CONVINCING PERFORMANCE - EVEN IN EXTREME SITUATIONS
The test shoes scored well with the wearers in many respects. They all confirmed that the shoes were totally waterproof. As one Securitas employee said whose job it was to work outdoors:
Even after several hours of heavy rain in the first week, no water got inside my shoes.
The weather at the 2014 Oktoberfest could not have been more changeable: there was heavy rain, brilliant sunshine and outdoor temperatures ranging from 4°C at night to 25°C at midday. Nevertheless, over two thirds of the test persons said that the climate inside the shoes was always pleasant - even when they were working inside the tent. As one of the wearers said:
Whether I was running to a hotspot, breaking up a fight or diverting a crowd of people with a colleague – my shoes were always comfortable.
NOT MUCH OF A SWEAT
The breathability of the shoes also met with a positive response. 75% of the test persons said that they had either only sweat very slightly or not at all.
Even after being on duty for a full twelve hours, my feet didn’t feel sweaty at all. You can't say that about most other shoes,
commented one of the test persons. Almost half of the wearers said that they had sweat less in the highly breathable GORE-TEX shoes than they had in the shoes they had worn in the past. Furthermore, the Meindl Police Trek GTX shoe made an impression on the test persons with its wear comfort, fit, weight and walking comfort. Another key advantage was also mentioned: the flexibility of the shoe sole, which at the same time offered a firm footing and even held out when one of the security officers stepped on broken glass.
The footwear concept with highly breathable GORE-TEX fabric fully copes with the demands and requirements of the Oktoberfest,
says Reinhard Reis, Securitas Munich area manager, by way of summing up the results of the user trials.
It is imperative that our security personnel have the right footwear so that when they are working, they can concentrate fully on the job in hand.