Viper Tactical Titanium Range

‘Urban Grey’ has been one of those stories that just keeps going and going; the ‘grey’ story really took off in 2012, when Arc’teryx LEAF launched their ‘Urban Wolf’ line of clothing. In the ensuing years, numerous tactical manufacturers have followed their lead and followed suit by developing their gear in tones of grey, and very recently we’ve been seeing ‘grey gear’ being worn by some very special police and military units. The latest player to enter this arena is our very own, UK-based VIPER, with their initial range of TITANIUM products.

TITANIUM has really been chosen for urban and industrial areas, and it breaks with tradition and introduces a grey colour blend for modern, built up environments. A new alternative to traditional blue or black, grey is less traditional and therefore a less recognisable as a ‘uniform’. TITANIUM provides a covert tonal shade for use in urban settings.

What VIPER have done is to look very closely at some key clothing pieces initially, and keep things ultra-low profile and pared back. Whilst all the features that you’d expect are present, they’ve been added in a much more subtle way, so as not to immediately scream out ‘tactical’. Recently, my local shop, Platoon Stores in Rochester, brought in the first of the new products, so I was able to get ‘hands on’ as the first of the stock arrived.

Cap It Off

The first item of clothing is a solid ballcap; the ELITE Baseball cap is a classic, nononsense design, made from a mix of ripstop tear resistant nylon and cotton. It has a front Velcro ID panel and simple Velcro side adjustment, so one size fits most. Priced at just £9.50 this is a ‘no-brainer’ of a brain cover!

Priced around £21.00, the VIPER Tactical T-Shirt is a great piece to wear next to the skin. It’s made from super-heavyweight 220g cotton, with a straightforward round neck and two upper sleeve pockets with Velcro. This is a great design, fits well and works extremely well in the summer months.

The Contractor Pants are the latest design to be launched in the VIPER trouser range and I have to say that they are a really super, well-thought out design; it’s one that works superbly well with the ‘covert’ theme, as the cut is very ‘civvy’, with some very low profile pocketing. Made from rip-stop PolyCotton, the pants feature two deep bellows cargo pockets, with inner felt lined utility compartments, two handwarmer pockets, and two rear seat pockets. The knee panel is fully reinforced, with a compartment for a kneepad insert (you’ll need to buy these separately or make some yourself!). They also have a gusseted crotch and an elasticated waist panel on the rear for added comfort, a YKK zip fly with button, and drawstring tie bottoms. With a price tag of £39.99, you get a lot of trouser for your money!

 

Tactical Jacket

Last but by no means least, is the Tactical Elite Jacket; this is an established VIPER design, and I’ve been wearing a black version for some time now and it’s really stood up well to an awful lot of abuse! The Elite jacket is made from water resistant Micro- Shell material, offering maximum comfort on all but the very harshest of wet weather days, and there’s even a hood with an adjustable peak stashed away in the collar. There are three external pockets in the main body area of the jacket, two upper arm utility pockets with Velcro patches, and a small zipped pocket on the lower left arm for ID cards or small map cards. The main closure is a strong, two-way YKK zip, and there are also underarm zipped vents so that you can regulate your core temperature effectively, and elasticated cuffs with Velcro. This really is a cracking jacket and costs £54.99, which is super value given the level of performance it provides!

I have to say that the new TITANIUM range features some of the best designs that I’ve ever seen from VIPER, and the grey colour that they’ve achieved is really very, very good indeed; I’d go as far as saying that in my opinion it’s one of the best grey tones on the market right now. In addition to the extremely affordable clothing, there are also pack models that are already available to go with it; I’m testing a couple of the models at the moment and will report back on those in due course. 2016 is shaping up to be another great year for VIPER; I for one can’t wait to see what they do next!

In the meantime, to keep up to date with the new VIPER tactical products as they become available please visit www.viperkit.co.uk. You can also follow VIPER TACTICAL via their Facebook and Instagram pages, which are regularly updated.