Founded in 2004 by veteran police officer Suresh Madhavan and textile industry veteran Bradley Pedell, 221B Tactical is a privately held manufacturer and brand marketer of tactical gear and apparel. Through innovative use of materials, design and construction, its products provide thoughtful functionality, durability, comfort, convenience and safety.
Many of the company’s products offer features and benefits that did not exist and were not thought possible before. Hence the company’s name and slogan, Eliminate the Impossible, referring to fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, whose street address was “221B,” and who often embraced the most improbable of possibilities, which “must be the truth,” once you have “eliminated the impossible.”
Two examples:
1) Maxx-Dri Vest (MDV). The flagship product that launched the company. MDV makes wearing body armor more bearable for police, security personnel, military, and others—especially for long hours in hot weather. No similar product existed when it was launched 10 years ago. Made of an ultra-lightweight 3D material, Maxx-Dri Vest creates a layer of space between the base-layer shirt and body armor vest. The body can now breathe because perspiration can escape and fresh air can come in. The user stays cooler, drier, less smelly, and more resistant to rashes. Body armor users stay more comfortable, focused and safe. MDV is a revolutionary product. For the 10th Anniversary in 2024, the company launched Maxx-Dri Vest 5.0, which quickly sold out its initial run.
2) Equinoxx Stage 3 and K2 Dyna-Thermal. Stage 3 solves a heretofore unsolvable problem for police officers on duty in cold weather: How to stay warm and yet have the mobility and flexibility to do the job without compromising safety.
Police departments issue bulky winter coats that make it difficult to access gear on the duty belt, chase and handle unruly suspects, and which cause overheating and potential hypothermia from frequently going out into the cold then back into warm buildings and squad cars.
Stage 3 uses innovative design and materials (it’s a triple layer of three different materials heat-pressed together) to create a thin, stretchy shirt that provides full thermal protection to sub 15-degrees fahrenheit (-9.45C), blocks wind, resists water, and yet is breathable when coming in out of the cold to prevent overheating.
Stage 3 is made for police officers and others who wear body armor, with thinner material covering the core where body armor is worn. K2 Dyna-Thermal uses the same thermal protection throughout, including the core, and is for any outdoor activity—from construction work and motorcycle riding, to hunting, fishing, hiking, skiing and golf. The material for Stage 3 and K2 is so flexible that it allows for full freedom of movement. The product’s slogan is, “Wears Like a Shirt Yet Protects Like a Coat.”
Maxx-Dri Vest and Equinoxx Stage 3/K2 are only two of 221B’s many innovative products. The company offers hands-free flashlight systems, cut-resistant gloves, needle-resistant gloves, silver-infused moisture-wicking shirts, the lowest profile carrier vest, and tactical bags with amazing utility. For example, its PF-1 Armored Fast Access EDC CCW Bag is the only EDC CCW bag on the market that can be quickly turned into a full-body ballistic shield.
Every product is developed for and field-tested by those who are actually on the front lines.