Is anyone here using, or have any exposure to or experience with the LE duty gear sold under the “Duckbill Law” brand name?
It’s marketed as lightweight, flexible, stable, anatomically contoured alternative to standard duty leather gear. It appears to be much like some other similar offerings over time, with a few distinctions, with likely similar benefits and issues.
All input appreciated.
Since the inquiry above, I had opportunity to meet the inventor of the Duckbill line and hear a presentation by him. He had a number of the belts and accessories for display as well.
In a nutshell, the gear is not unlike the Uncle Mikes Mirage and Bianchi Accumold Elite lines. It’s a lightweight nylon material with various finishes (clarino, BW, plain) for uniform appearance. Belts were flexible. Apparently they are available in straight cuts only, no contours. The “modules” (pouches/cases) were available for popular accessories but wouldn’t fit all of them. Some examples included ASP cuffs, and different carry methods of OC in various sizes. No open-top mag pouches are available yet, and the current design will need some tweaking in order to do them and still maintain retention.
Two features of design got my attention…
The first was a reduced footprint of gear on the belt. Materials and construction typically used in leather and some other nylon products, belt loops, anchors, and the pouches take up a good deal more space than the widgets they are carrying and are very space inefficient. Pouches with smaller footprints are highly desirable, as long as the gear is securely fastened to the belt and accessibility is maintained. This was a good point, and a direction other gear makers have been heading.
The second was the “anchoring system.” The Duckbill applies hook and loop closures as the pouch attaches to the external duty belt, anchoring it in place. It then applies hook material to the backside of the loop to interface with the recommended loop-lined inner belt. This puts additional hook and loop surface area in contact with the inner duty belt (near 360 degrees) keeping it in place. Duckbill points out that movement and adjustment of individual pouches is a significant contributor to problems in the wear of existing gear. I think that’s overstated, but it’s an interesting feature. They even offer a loop-lined pad that attaches to the belt loop and back side of the duty holster. This is more anchoring of the holster’s belt loop, and pads the holster against the body.
They also assert that with 360-degree hook and loop contact, there’s no need for keepers. However, if they’re desired they’re available. The problem with their theory is that in the absence of keepers, the duty belt can still rotate, or be lost in the event of buckle failure.
They do not make duty holster. With current offerings being so good and the retention mechanisms proprietary, a duty holster line from them would not be competitive.
Overall build quality on handling was better than the UM, and close to the Bianchi. Some pieces had more obvious reinforcement on stress points than others. Wear will almost certainly be consistent with UM and Bianchi… external abrasion and tearing of the exterior finish layer, finish taping separating, and exposed layers ultimately separating.
The gear is sewn in Canada.
The big selling point is to 1) reduce weight on the hips and stress points, 2) reduce movement of it once placed in good spots. Both are worthy ideas. The Duckbill attempts to compete directly with existing leather duty gear, and less directly but increasingly with the trend toward LE load carriage via external vest.
If you’re looking for a UM or Accumold alternative, this may be worth looking at. Otherwise, except where noted specifically it’s not particularly revolutionary.
To their credit… The owner was quite personable, a believer in what he was selling, is willing to work with customers in product development, and is well intentioned. Perhaps something will come of his efforts a little farther down the line.
FYI, for the knowledge base, if this stuff appears in your boxes or patrol rooms.