In fall of 2024 at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference and Exhibition, Fechheimer showed its new line of Flying Cross-branded Power Flex class A uniform pants and shirts for law enforcement. The Power Flex line is Fechheimer’s latest advancement in its quest to make uniforms more comfortable and functional while maintaining professional appearance.

Denny Bogard, Fechheimer’s executive vice president of public safety, says the development of the Power Flex line began with the company’s staff working with law enforcement professionals and asking them what they wanted in a class A uniform. “We embedded ourselves with agencies and we did focus groups and began to understand the uniform issues officers were dealing with,” he explains.

What the Fechheimer team learned is that officers wanted a class A uniform that offers the comfort of a class B and the performance of athletic wear. They also wanted the fabric to be breathable so that the uniforms would be cooler to wear.

After hearing from the focus groups, Fechheimer’s team went to work developing Power Flex. Power Flex offers three major benefits over the company’s previous uniform material. It stretches in all directions so that officers can better perform physical duties of the profession, it breathes, and it’s easy to maintain.

Bogard says Power Flex, like all Fechheimer apparel, was “engineered from the yarn forward.” He adds it was challenging to make the fabric stretch to meet the requirements of the officer focus groups. “There are plenty of law enforcement uniform products that offer a two-way stretch and some that offer four-way stretch, all-way stretch is more difficult to produce. But we achieved it through the engineering and weaving of the fabric.”

Bogard explains that the primary benefit of all-way stretch is that it doesn’t inhibit the officer’s movement. “They’re always carrying around 40 pounds of equipment, so they can’t afford to have their uniform reduce their mobility,” he says.

All-way stretch wasn’t the only comfort and performance benefit that the company set out to achieve with Power Flex. To test the breathability of Power Flex, Fechheimer hired an independent lab for a full evaluation. “We now have validation that Power Flex is going to breathe three to 10 times better than our key competitors,” Bogard says. And the testing did not end at the independent lab. “We gave it to an agency in the Southwest, where it’s routinely 110 degrees all summer. The officers who wore Power Flex told us it made them feel 10 degrees cooler.”

Fechheimer managed to make the Power Flex series breathable and cool despite the fact that fabric used in the uniforms is 100% polyester. Bogard says he knows some officers have had bad experiences with polyester being hot and suffocating. “It can feel like a plastic bag if you don’t weave it correctly.” He explains that one of the reasons polyester can be so uncomfortable is that the fabric used in polyester clothing is often treated with durable water resistance (DWR) compounds, which reduce breathability. Instead of DWR compounds, Power Flex’s unique knit fabric allows it to be breathable and quick drying by absorbing and dispersing water.

In addition to their performance and comfort features, Power Flex uniforms are easy to maintain. They are machine washable, color fast, and wrinkle resistant. “It’s really wrinkle-free,” says Bogard. “You can wad it up in a ball and shake it out, and within two or three minutes, no wrinkles.”

Power Flex series uniform pants and shirts are now available for both men and women. Currently available in navy blue, with silver, tan, and black available soon.

www.flyingcross.com