How We Changed The Uniform Wear Market From Head To Toe!
For most of us, the peaked cap is forever associated with the uniform clothing market. Despite uniform clothes being modernised significantly, the peaked cap hasn’t changed in 50 years. We know the peaked cap is here to stay for a while longer, so decided to see if we could design something a bit more comfortable and up-to-date.
After spending some time chatting with purchasing managers and groups of wearers, we discovered that existing caps are fairly universally disliked – no real surprise there then! Wearers tend to find them uncomfortable, old-fashioned, heavy and sweaty – and they dislike the black shiny peak and strap. Baseball caps aren’t the answer because they’re too casual looking. One of our large customers have just moved away from baseball caps and back to peaked caps for their uniform wear.
Current caps soak up the rain – if you are lucky you might get a waterproof cover that looks like a shower cap – but that can make you more uncomfortable because it’s not breathable. Fabric technology has moved on dramatically in 50 years, so we decided to see how we could use this to make a more wearable and comfortable Cap.
The result is our new unisex Patrol Cap, made from highly breathable, waterproof, quick-drying fabric. It’s much lighter in weight and more flexible, and therefore much more comfortable. The style has been modernised too, with a more sophisticated, slimmer profile and a slightly smaller non-shiny fabric peak. The style has been described as evolution rather than revolution. This is one example of where we like to give our customers choice, and we constantly striving to innovate with the best fabrics and designs.
The Patrol Cap innovation comes hot on the heels of Keltic’s exclusive Magnum Strider shoe, the UK’s first shoe designed for civil enforcement officers. The Strider incorporates ion-mask hydrophobic technology which actually repels water. Our plan has been to change the parking uniform wear market from head to toe, and with the Patrol Cap, our new ranges of clothing and the Magnum Strider, I reckon we’ve done it!