During our walk around the Shot Show exhibition halls, our attention was drawn to an inconspicuous stand with Tardigrade products that little known in Poland. The company offers products for the individual ballistic protection of the shooter, focusing mainly on the protection of the head and eyesight.
The most interesting, in our opinion, was the mini ballistic shield mounted magnetically on a firearm.
The visor is somewhat reminiscent of a similar patent from the James Bond movies, but as they say, if something works, it's not stupid. The cover consists of three pieces of ballistic glass and, as already mentioned, it is mounted on a weapon with extremely strong magnets.
The visor is really hard to disassemble, even intentionally (we checked that). One of the magnets is mounted on the weapon via a picatinny rail, the other is a permanent element of the shield. It can withstand an impact of a 17 grain FSP fragment at a velocity of 650 m/s or 2,130 FPS.
The shields are expected to become available in the third quarter of 2022 for a price of $ 699.
Another Tardigrade product that we looked at were the Ocellus safety goggles.
The Xtreme version goggles provide protection against fragments flying at a speed of 1877 FPS (572 m/s), while the standard for standard goggles is 770 FPS (234 m/s). The Ocellus Fusion model provides protection against debris flying at 1100 FPS (335 m/s).
The goggles weigh approximately 142 grams and the protective glass is 0.25 inches (6.3 mm) thick. The goggles are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2022 for $ 399.
And finally, the Tardigrade curiosity gadget - a control mirror called the Peekaboot.
The mirror is mounted on a Picatinny rail on the gun and allows, depending on the setting, a safe inspection of the room or a staircase before entering one or checking one's "six".
The mirror is closed magnetically, which protects the accessory against accidental opening. Like the products described above, the Peekaboot mirror will be available for pickup in the third quarter of 2022. The manufacturer's price is $ 69.
