Refine & Refocus- Recon K9 enters a new phase in product development
When Recon K9 first came into the market, formerly as Remington K9, back in 2014, we were engaged by USASOC to design a new and improved canine tactical vest. The customer had a clear goal on what they wanted the vest to achieve and how it should extend their capabilities as operators. The solution was
what we now refer to as The Operator K9 tactical vest, and it’s been the flagship product of our organization, even as we migrated from Remington K9 in 2014 to Capewell K9 in 2016 and, finally, to our true DNA, which is Recon K9. Through that single product, we developed a name and reputation for being able to create customer-centric canine equipment that quickly spread throughout the military, federal, and law enforcement communities both domestically and abroad.
Over the years and through our various factories, we were exposed to new machinery, textiles, and other capabilities. As the CEO and Chief Product Developer, this was like exposing a child to candy for the first time, and I wanted to go “Whole Hog” into new categories, items, and customizations. Hence, we began developing commodity-based items like agitation collars, leather leashes, tugs, bite sleeves, etc. While offering a wide array of items is convenient, it goes against why I created Recon K9 in the first place. Recon was to be the pinnacle of unique, customer-driven ingenuity, designing and developing kit that solved problems and was not an altered copy of some other tool already on the market. However, to provide our very loyal customer base with more options, we opted to increase our SKUs, offer more colors, and slowly increase our drop-down menu to provide you with the perfect “happy meal,” so to speak.
The reality is, a “Happy Meal” does not win Michelin awards because of its exceptional taste and quality. I have stated before that Recon K9 does not want to be all things to all handlers. Instead, we want to be the Only Kit for the Right Handlers. Dozens and dozens of small Mom & Pop shops can make a strong and worthy agitation collar. It takes nylon webbing, hook and loop, some solid hardware, and maybe a cobra buckle if you wanna be a little “extra.” And there you have it; you’re a tactical K9 product developer! We appreciate the work these retailers do and the convenience they offer handlers, the military, and the LE community.
As the manufacturing sector slowly crawls out of the COVID crisis that continues to plague supply chains, raw materials, and the labor force, many weaker contenders probably fell by the wayside or packed up shop for greener and perhaps easier pastures. However, at Recon K9, we have used this past year to refocus on what’s important to us, what has always made us different, and what we want to be when we grow up. In essence, we got off course for a little while, but we used the past 18 months to “Find Our Way,” taking a little reflection from our own tagline. Going forward, Recon will refine our offering to refocus on what makes us different and exceptional. Our roots are in tactical vest designs, innovative development, and quality you can feel and experience as simply being better.
If you visit our Clearance section on the Recon K9 website, you will see a whole slew of products that have been added there. While each of these are great products, and there is certainly nothing wrong with them, they are not items that define us or separate us from the pack. As we advance, Recon will focus our efforts on unique items where our intellectual property stands out and where our focus on details transforms a commodity item into a piece of must-have kit. We encourage you to take advantage of these fantastic discounts, as our goal is to refine these items as quickly as possible so we can focus on new and innovative canine equipment.
At the forefront of this realignment will be the highly anticipated DT Alpha vest, or more formally, the “DermalTac Alpha,” your K9’s tactical 2nd skin. While supply chain issues have plagued us since December, we are committed to getting this revolutionary product to market as soon as possible. We’re using the most advanced, laser-cut laminated materials to date, allowing on-the-fly magnetic attachments for ballistics and floatation. We have a new flagship product that will take us to the next phase in our evolution. We seek innovation over imitation, and to do that successfully, we must focus on becoming the best at what we do. We’ll still have many of your favorites, including our vests and harnesses and our much beloved Ventana muzzles. In addition, we have several unique items like our parachute jump bags that are used globally, which will remain within our offerings. However, going away will be those items you can get at many reputable canine equipment suppliers.
We appreciate your patience through these past 12 months as we made our way through two factory changes and multiple supplier issues. We have regained our footing and are aiming to climb to new heights. Our sights are laser-focused on bringing you the most refined, sophisticated, and highly engineered products possible. We trust you’ll be able to see the difference in a meaningful and impactful way.
