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SHOT Show has never lacked new products. What it has often lacked is filtration. Thousands of booths present incremental updates, cosmetic revisions, and marketing language that sounds impressive on a placard but reveals little about performance once equipment leaves the convention hall. For 2026, Recoil Group introduced a mechanism intended to address that problem directly.
The inaugural “Top Brass” award tasked the Senior Editors of RECOIL, RECOIL OFFGRID, Concealment, and Gun Digest with identifying products that demonstrated real-world utility, novelty, innovation, and sometimes a combination of those attributes. Each editor walked the show floor independently and selected equipment based on practical relevance, durability, and problem-solving capability. OFFGRID Senior Editor, Patrick Diedrich, was assigned three awards focused specifically on preparedness and field use.
Outdoor Tech Award
Dark Energy – Poseidon XL
Key highlights:
- 27,000 mAh lithium-ion capacity
- 100W XT60 solar charging capability
- Four fast-charging ports
- Largest airplane-safe carry-on battery capacity
- Powers Starlink Mini for roughly 2–3 hours
- URL: Dark Energy
Portable power has quietly become critical infrastructure for modern field work. Communications, mapping, photography, navigation, and reporting now depend on electronics. A power bank is no longer a convenience item; it is an operational dependency. Most battery banks, however, remain consumer electronics wearing an outdoor aesthetic.
Dark Energy’s Poseidon XL was selected because it is engineered as field equipment first and electronics second.
The 27,000 mAh lithium-ion battery is built around environmental survivability. The housing exceeds MIL-STD-810G durability standards and carries an IP68 rating, allowing full submersion to six feet for 45 minutes while remaining dustproof and crush resistant. In practical terms, this is a battery bank that tolerates river crossings, heavy rain, snow, and pack abuse without protective handling.
Functionally, the Poseidon XL outputs and accepts 100-watt USB-C power and supports solar charging through an XT60 port. It can operate a Starlink Mini terminal for approximately two to three hours, recharge a 13-inch laptop about 1.5 times, and charge multiple devices simultaneously using four fast-charging ports. The unit includes internal voltage regulation and surge protection and is rated as the largest airplane-safe battery capacity currently allowed for carry-on travel. The device also includes timed shutoff modes to prevent overnight parasitic drain, a detail more relevant to expedition use than casual camping. The result is a power solution that bridges backcountry travel and modern connectivity rather than forcing a choice between them.
Tactical Minimalist Award
Sunshine Safety First Aid BRIK Micro
Key Highlights:
- Berry compliant
- 3.5 x 3 x 1.75 inches
- Kevlar aramid stitching
- Mil-spec elastic and hook-and-loop retention
- 10 ounces
- URL: Sunshine Safety First Aid
Preparedness equipment often fails for a simple reason: people leave it behind. Bulk and inconvenience are the most reliable predictors of non-carry. Sunshine Safety First Aid approached the problem by compressing a trauma stabilization capability into a footprint small enough to carry continuously.
The BRIK Micro (Bleed Resource Individual Kit) measures approximately 3.5 by 3 by 1.75 inches and weighs under one pound while maintaining a full traumatic hemorrhage response capability. Despite the compact dimensions, the kit contains a tourniquet option (Snakestaff ETQ Wide or SOF-T), QuikClot Combat Gauze, nasal airway, emergency trauma dressing, gloves, and supportive medical supplies.
The pouch itself uses Berry-compliant construction with Squadron 1000D laminate nylon, aramid Kevlar stitching, mil-spec elastic, and hook-and-loop retention. The design objective is constant carry rather than staged carry. It fits small packs, belt kits, and vehicle compartments without displacing other equipment. The significance of the BRIK Micro is behavioral. A medical kit that is present is infinitely more useful than a comprehensive kit stored at home. The product prioritizes accessibility and consistency over capacity while still addressing the most likely preventable cause of death in field trauma: uncontrolled bleeding.
Forged Innovation Award
Iron Ethos / SEAMARTEC – Orion Hatchet
Key Highlights:
- Overall length: 16.54 inches
- Blade length: 7.88 inches
- Blade thickness: 5 mm
- Blade material: D2 tool steel
- Handle material: Micarta
- URL(s): SEAMARTEC | Iron Ethos
SHOT Show 2026 marked the debut of Iron Ethos and Seamartec, a collaborative manufacturing effort bridging tactical and hunting/outdoor design philosophies. Their first major release, the Orion Hatchet designed by Jason Breeden, received the Forged Innovation award.
At first glance the Orion resembles a hybrid of a tracker knife, hatchet, and war pick. The unusual geometry is deliberate rather than aesthetic. The forward edge supports chopping and limbing, the reinforced point supports penetration and controlled splitting, and the handle geometry supports both hammer grip and choked-up control.
Constructed from D2 tool steel with a 5 mm blade thickness and a micarta handle, the 16.54-inch tool occupies a space between camp knife and compact axe. The design allows wood processing, shelter construction, and controlled carving tasks without requiring a full-size axe. It is part of the Mountain Peak Series and represents a new manufacturer entering the market with a defined identity rather than a derivative product.
The collaboration divides roles: Iron Ethos represents the tactical application side, while Seamartec targets hunting and general outdoor use. The Orion establishes a shared design language focused on durability and multi-role capability.
Closing Thoughts
The Top Brass award is not a popularity contest and not a marketing partnership. It is a field-relevance award. Each selection represents equipment intended to solve an actual problem encountered outside the convention center. For OFFGRID, that means survivability, reliability, and carry practicality.
Check out our in-person coverage of these companies at RecoilTV: SHOT Show 2026: The Best Survival Gear Nobody Is Talking About!
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