Posted on 06/18/2010 11:13:50 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Is this the end of the line for Velcro? According to USA Today, the US army has decided to ditch that once most fashionable and space-age of fasteners from the pockets of trousers issued to soldiers in Afghanistan, and replace it with the humble button. The Velcro fasteners have, apparently, been failing to cope with bulging pockets – as well as collecting dirt and sand and even, with that unmistakable, fingers-on-blackboard ripping sound, betraying soldiers' positions to the enemy. US sergeant Kenny Hatten wrote on an army website, "Buttons are silent, work just fine in the mud, do not clog up with dirt and do not fray and disintegrate with repeated laundering."
Let us pause for a moment to mourn Velcro's fall from grace. A Swiss engineer, George de Mestral, came up with its ingenious hook-and-pile design in 1948, after returning from an Alpine hunting trip to find his dog's fur covered with tenaciously sticky burdock burrs. Its heyday came with the Apollo missions, when astronauts used it to help them get in and out of spacesuits, and to keep their pens and foodtrays handy.
Velcro soon became the fashionable fastener of choice: in 1967, this newspaper fawned over a collection of Sioux Indian-style "ankle-to-calf gaiters", featuring some distinctly natty Velcro fastenings. It was even, apparently, used to hold together a human heart during the first artificial-heart surgery.
Now, of course, Velcro is confined mainly to ski-suits, aeroplane antimacassars, trainers and the art of Velcro-jumping, in which fun-seekers launch themselves against a Velcro-covered inflatable wall – which sounds a lot less dangerous than realising that the enemy can hear you opening your pockets in the desert.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
I have some clothes with velcro, and it has it’s place, but my wallet with velcro is a problem when trying to open it in a quiet place; I’d hate to be a soldier trying a covert op and having to get something out of a velcro’d pocket.
It is a nuisance for any infantry gear. It is all in the application, I suppose. Like nice and dry cockpits where the enemy isn't just around the next tree.
That would certainly appear to be so. It looked swell on the senior leaders strolling the halls of the Pentagon though...
regards,
True, but I have found that replacing the velcro is often more expensive than just buying a whole new blouse/pants...it’s a real drag. And, we look like we just rolled out of bed in the ACU even on our best days...but that is another topic!
regards,
All kinds of unwanted stuff sticks to velcro.
Grr.
“betraying soldiers’ positions to the enemy”
Well no chit! As soon as these things came out (ACUs) everyone said the same thing.
I can’t for the life of me understand how velcro got there in the first place. Didn’t the design team for the ACU have any soldiers on it? You know, the people who have actually worn a uniform and know what they need?
Now if they will just ditch the damned frog hat (beret) and return it to the Rangers and etc. who EARNED the right to wear one I will be happy.
If there’s a website for “pickpockets” then the demise of velcro is good news.
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