Hiatt, Safariland, TCH etc

I was wondering if anyone knew about the current status of Safariland's (BAE's) plans for the Hiatt range. I know they have released a few cuffs recently, including the new copies of the 2010 & 2050. I'm curious to know if they are going to be releasing the speedcuff again. Some suppliers do have new speedcuffs, but they appear to be old stock that were made in Birmingham. It's interesting if they don't, considering the popularity the model had with UK police forces, I would have thought that alone would have been of great interest to them to continue.

Also something interesting I have seen is that the CopQuest website is refering to the range as "Hiatt Safariland" and even has a combined logo, for example on the below link:

http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum946.php

Is this simply the supplier trying to make customers aware of the change and bring the Hiatt reputaion to the cuffs, or is it an official title? Safariland seem to still refer to Monadnock's name with the plastic cuffs on its site, however never a mention of Hiatt. Maybe it's due to the presence of Hiatt Thompson in the US for this reason? I sometimes wonder if Hiatt is simply seen by BAE as a by-product of the Armor Holdings purchase.

Finally, does anyone know how TCH have done in their first year? Are the Police switching to TCH rigid cuffs by default, or looking elsewhere? I do find it interesting they were able to keep the Hiatt factory and become a competitor to Safariland pretty much immediately after the closure, was this sloppy contract writing on BAE's part, or an amicable agreement with the former Hiatt staff? Are TCH winning over previous Hiatt customers who couldn't wait for Safariland to get its act together and start supply, or are Safarland simply not interested in the same customer base?

The Safarilands I have in stock do not bear anyHiatt marking, so I suspect thgey're trying to leverage off the old Hiatt name for a while. They do reference Hiatt's backloading technology.

They are nicely packaged in a plastic box with a hanger. It's one of the few plastic boxes, these days, that you don't need a chain saw to open.

Other than that, and a prominent "SAFARILAND" etched on the bow, they look like 2010s to me.

I was wondering if anyone knew about the current status of Safariland's (BAE's) plans for the Hiatt range. I know they have released a few cuffs recently, including the new copies of the 2010 & 2050. I'm curious to know if they are going to be releasing the speedcuff again. Some suppliers do have new speedcuffs, but they appear to be old stock that were made in Birmingham. It's interesting if they don't, considering the popularity the model had with UK police forces, I would have thought that alone would have been of great interest to them to continue.

Also something interesting I have seen is that the CopQuest website is refering to the range as "Hiatt Safariland" and even has a combined logo, for example on the below link:

http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum946.php

Is this simply the supplier trying to make customers aware of the change and bring the Hiatt reputaion to the cuffs, or is it an official title? Safariland seem to still refer to Monadnock's name with the plastic cuffs on its site, however never a mention of Hiatt. Maybe it's due to the presence of Hiatt Thompson in the US for this reason? I sometimes wonder if Hiatt is simply seen by BAE as a by-product of the Armor Holdings purchase.

Finally, does anyone know how TCH have done in their first year? Are the Police switching to TCH rigid cuffs by default, or looking elsewhere? I do find it interesting they were able to keep the Hiatt factory and become a competitor to Safariland pretty much immediately after the closure, was this sloppy contract writing on BAE's part, or an amicable agreement with the former Hiatt staff? Are TCH winning over previous Hiatt customers who couldn't wait for Safariland to get its act together and start supply, or are Safarland simply not interested in the same customer base?

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My understanding is that Safariland are now producing/marketing both Hiatt-style cuffs and Monadnock gear under the Safariland name and that they have, or will shortly, cease to use the name Hiatt.

HiattThompson continue to operate in the States entirely separate from Safariland.

TCH model 840 (equivalent to the former Hiatt Speedcuffs) are being manufactured in the old Hiatt plant just a few miles from where I live in Birmingham. And yes, they are being taken up by police forces around the UK.

Mike Riccard
a.k.a. Mikeintightpants
Birmingham, England

I was wondering if anyone knew about the current status of Safariland's (BAE's) plans for the Hiatt range. I know they have released a few cuffs recently, including the new copies of the 2010 & 2050. I'm curious to know if they are going to be releasing the speedcuff again. Some suppliers do have new speedcuffs, but they appear to be old stock that were made in Birmingham. It's interesting if they don't, considering the popularity the model had with UK police forces, I would have thought that alone would have been of great interest to them to continue.

Also something interesting I have seen is that the CopQuest website is refering to the range as "Hiatt Safariland" and even has a combined logo, for example on the below link:

http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum946.php

Is this simply the supplier trying to make customers aware of the change and bring the Hiatt reputaion to the cuffs, or is it an official title? Safariland seem to still refer to Monadnock's name with the plastic cuffs on its site, however never a mention of Hiatt. Maybe it's due to the presence of Hiatt Thompson in the US for this reason? I sometimes wonder if Hiatt is simply seen by BAE as a by-product of the Armor Holdings purchase.

Finally, does anyone know how TCH have done in their first year? Are the Police switching to TCH rigid cuffs by default, or looking elsewhere? I do find it interesting they were able to keep the Hiatt factory and become a competitor to Safariland pretty much immediately after the closure, was this sloppy contract writing on BAE's part, or an amicable agreement with the former Hiatt staff? Are TCH winning over previous Hiatt customers who couldn't wait for Safariland to get its act together and start supply, or are Safarland simply not interested in the same customer base?

Click to expand...

HiattThompson continue to operate in the States entirely separate from Safariland.

They are, but they seem to be moving away from H-T and towards just Thompson.

It seems that the Hiatt name will be extinguished.

I was wondering if anyone knew about the current status of Safariland's (BAE's) plans for the Hiatt range. I know they have released a few cuffs recently, including the new copies of the 2010 & 2050. I'm curious to know if they are going to be releasing the speedcuff again. Some suppliers do have new speedcuffs, but they appear to be old stock that were made in Birmingham. It's interesting if they don't, considering the popularity the model had with UK police forces, I would have thought that alone would have been of great interest to them to continue.

Also something interesting I have seen is that the CopQuest website is refering to the range as "Hiatt Safariland" and even has a combined logo, for example on the below link:

http://www.copsplus.com/prodnum946.php

Is this simply the supplier trying to make customers aware of the change and bring the Hiatt reputaion to the cuffs, or is it an official title? Safariland seem to still refer to Monadnock's name with the plastic cuffs on its site, however never a mention of Hiatt. Maybe it's due to the presence of Hiatt Thompson in the US for this reason? I sometimes wonder if Hiatt is simply seen by BAE as a by-product of the Armor Holdings purchase.

Finally, does anyone know how TCH have done in their first year? Are the Police switching to TCH rigid cuffs by default, or looking elsewhere? I do find it interesting they were able to keep the Hiatt factory and become a competitor to Safariland pretty much immediately after the closure, was this sloppy contract writing on BAE's part, or an amicable agreement with the former Hiatt staff? Are TCH winning over previous Hiatt customers who couldn't wait for Safariland to get its act together and start supply, or are Safarland simply not interested in the same customer base?

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Dennis,

You seem to be right, HT are going to become just Thompson. It may be due to the negative publicity around accusations that Hiatt legs irons were in use in Guantanamo Bay a few years ago, I know there were demonstrations outside the Birmingham factory.

Also, if Hiatt is seen as a discontinued brand, it wouldn't help Hiatt Thompson marketing.

Would appear from Mike's comment that TCH are building a new brand and are set to stay if they are getting Police orders. It's nice to have a continuation of the range, and from the UK company.