4 seasons of SEAL Team have provided us with a huge variety of kit and equipment to identify, source, review and ultimately incorporate into this blog. EDP (Environmental Disruptive Patterns) feature and have previously been covered under the blog 'SEAL Team - Behind the kit - Environmental Disruptive Patterns', of which this blog is a part. Choosing the correct kit and equipment as well as clothing is important to the operators and clothing is generally chosen based upon the operating environment. As in real life, events, environments and product availability all play a part as it has done on SEAL Team. For this blog I'll cover when Bravo has worn the Arc'teryx Wolf Urban Grey kit and detour around when it has featured their traditional 1set Line Gear.
There was a ton of gear to identify, however a lot of it had already been covered in my previous blogs and therefore it was fairly easy to identify. Fortunately the team do maintain a near identical setup across each of the operators and across the seasons. A number of small personal choices by the team regarding placement of pouches and inclusion / exclusion of other small pieces of tactical equipment have also been noted. There is some kit that I'm yet to identify, and the blog will be updated when I have the answers.
This blog was created from analysing and poring over tens of HD and non HD images, stills from the show, trailers and Youtube clips which has helped to create a base from which Bravos kit and equipment has been identified.
Arc'teryx
Arc'teryx products feature across the seasons and this episode primarily showcased their Wolf Urban Grey Shirt and Pants. So who are Arc'teryx? Arc'teryx is a company selling climbing gear and outdoor clothing since 1989 (formerly known as Rock Solid). The HQ is in North Vancouver, Canada and has 80 stores globally. Apart from civilian lines of equipment, Arc'teryx also caters for LEAF (Law Enforcement and Armed Forces) with specific EDP (Environmental Distruptive Patterns) such as Wolf Grey and Ranger Green etc. What's noticable is that a small number of products are manufactured in Canada, whilst the rest are manufactured across the globe.
Visit the Arc'teryx page here
Visit the Wikipedia page here
Equipment manufacturers
Bravo as mentioned generally use well known real steel manufacturers across all of their kit. In relation to gear worn used in conjunction with the Arc'Teryx Wolf Urban Grey kit, the following are the main manufacturers of note;
Season 3
Episode 4 - The Strength of the Wolf
Moored vessel - Chinese Port.
Entry method - rib.
This episode features Bravo training for a hostage rescue mission which is to take place onboard a moving vessel approaching Chinese waters. The team during their training phase wearing their traditional AOR1 gear. When Bravo is shifted to the tactical phase, the AOR1 is replaced with Wolf Urban Grey kit which is worn by the entire team. This episode was the only one across the four seasons that featured Bravo in Wolf Urban Grey kit, likely due to it being rarely used outside of a maritime environment for which it appeared to be most beneficial. One hinderance for me was the lighting of the ship they were traversing and the few available HD photographs that were in existence, were not ideal.
The episode as mentioned features Bravo training for the hostage rescue and during this stage, multiple loadouts (Bravos typical AOR2, AOR1 and Multicam) were utilised, however this blog will be focussed on the operational element of the episode where the Wolf Urban Grey kit was used. Below is a rough breakdown and details kit used by all of those across Bravo;
Helmet
Team Wendy Exfil Carbon / Team Wendy Exfil LTP - Black
Fitted with EXFIL Carbon Rail 2.0 - Tan / Black
Exfil Peltor Quick Release Adapters - Tan / Black
Team Wendy Helmet cover - Black / Multicam
Ops-Core FAST MT - AOR1 (HAYES)
Peltor Comtacs - Black / Tan
Princeton Tec Charge - Black / Tan
Wilcox L4G24 Mount - Tan
NVG Counterweight battery box - Tan / Black
S&S Precision V-Lite - Multi colour
Baselayers
1st Line Gear
Varies per operator, but was covered under previous blog 'SEAL Team - Behind the kit - 1st
2nd Line Gear
S&S Precision PlateFrame - Multicam / Ranger Green
Green
PERRY, SPENCER & SONNY - S&S Precision Gear Retention Track SMR PlateFrame Kit -
Coyote Tan
SAWYER - S&S Precision Gear Retention Track ELOS 5.56 PlateFrame Kit - Coyote Tan
S&S Precision Hyrdation Pouch (Old version) - Multicam
Tourniquet
Ancillaries
Princeton Tec Remix Pro MPLS - Tan & MC
Mechanix Original Gloves - Tan & Black TEA U94 PTT
Thales PRC 148
Boltcutters
Plasma cutter
Arc'teryx Leaf Mens Assault Shirt AR - Wolf
The Arc'teryx shirt is designed for multi use, for example worn with body armour or standalone. The wicking base layer enables it to be worn in hot and humid environments, enabling the skin to breathe easier or it can be used in conjunction with multiple layers to prevent heat loss. The shirt features mesh vents under the arm enabling airflow to cool the wearer. The elbow sections of the shirt also feature removable elbow pads. The velcro patch on both left and right arm also encompasses a V-LITE retention ring to enable it to be attached securely.
The Arc'teryx shirt used was identified by a number of distinguishing features which have been highlighted in the following images and detailed underneath. The features can be cross referenced with the official product images above.
First image
Arc'teryx logo in black (current products feature a dull grey logo) - highlighted red
4.5" x 4.5" velcro patch with S&S Precision V-Lite D loop - highlighted green
Daisy Chain Hard points (enable tying off of essential equipment) - highlighted blue
Upper arm pockets - highlighted purple
Second image
Daisy Chain Hard points - highlighted red
Upper arm pockets - highlighted green
Shirt ventilation button - highlighted blue
Shirt collar velcro - highlighted purple
Third image
Upper arm pockets - highlighted red
4.5" x 4.5" velcro patch with S&S Precision V-Lite D loop - highlighted green
Shirt collar velcro - highlighted blue
Shirt collar velcro - highlighted purple
Fourth image
Upper arm pockets - highlighted red
Daisy Chain Hard points - highlighted green
Shirt collar velcro - highlighted blue
The Arc'teryx official Youtube channel hosts a video detailing all of the key features of the shirt which can be found here;
Arc'teryx Leaf Mens Assault Pants AR - Wolf
The Arc'teryx pants were designed to provide maximum movement and airflow for the wearer. The pants features flexible knee areas enabling the wearer to bend and twist without feeling restricted by tight material. The knee area further encompasses knee pockets so that foam kneepads can be inserted and used. Double stitching and reinforcement of high stress area such as the knee, ankle, pockets etc ensure that the pant remains reliable and extends the products lifespan. The pants finally feature 7x pockets (hand, seat, cargo and internal knife pocket).
The Arc'teryx pants used were identified by a number of distinguishing features which have been highlighted in the following images and detailed underneath. The features can be cross referenced with the official product images above.
First image
Shaped kneepad (smaller than Gen 2 variant) - highlighted red
U shaped pocket with double stitching for kneepad - highlighted green
Vertical kneepad material stitching - highlighted blue
Second image
Delineated sharp corner cut pocket (Gen 2 are more curved) - highlighted red
Delineated sharp corner double stitched zip - highlighted green
Large cargo pocket and horizontal stitching - highlighted blue
Third image
Large cargo pocket and horizontal / vertical stitching - highlighted red
Curved upward double stitching for kneepad - highlighted green
Fourth image
Shaped kneepad and stitching (smaller than Gen 2 variant) - highlighted red
Large cargo pocket - highlighted green
The Arc'teryx official Youtube channel hosts a video detailing all of the key features of the shirt which can be found here;
Thoughts and opinion
The Wolf Grey kit only appeared in use once by Bravo, which makes it one of the rarer loadouts utilised by the team. Potentially they were only used once due to the cost of the Shirt and Pants being close to $600 together, and likely that the shows usual clothing manufacturer Crye Precision offered a good deal on bulk purchases. Considering the team would be ripping, staining and tearing them during production, cost is likely a factor. Wolf Grey also has niche environments in which to be used, i.e. in a maritime setting and potentially CQB and would appear out of place in Bravos typical operating environment.
If you're after a screen accurate loadout, Arc'teryx is the way to go, but it's a very expensive road. I can't comment on quality and reliability of the products as I'm personally not prepared to spend that amount of money on a shirt or trousers at this time. With the various loadouts used by the team in this episode, a screen accurate reproduction or a mixture of kit and equipment will certainly provide a good base to build upon.
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Final Note
I am not paid for my blogs by the manufacturers or companies that I purchase my items from. I am not offered freebies to promote a product. These blogs are purely written from my own experience in truth to help advise and inform others who may wish to purchase the items or understand more about them. If I am sent a freebie to review this will be stated at the beginning to make you aware.
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