--Mountaineering Equipment to include: rock, ice, snow and aid climbing; general mountaineering to include bivouacking items; accessories and repair kits. No clothing.

MOUNTAINEERING EQUIPMENT The Product Manager - Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM-CIE) at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Command, Soldier Systems Center, Natick, MA is conducting a Market Survey/Request for Information to improve the governments understanding of the current marketplace and to identify capable sources. The goal of this effort is to identify firms with Berry Amendment and Buy American Act capabilities to provide mountaineering equipment to replace the current Special Operational Forces Mountaineering Equipment (SOFME) Kit, the Snow and Ice Traversing Equipment (SITE) Kit, the United States Marine Corps Assault Climber (MACK) Kit, and new kits for the U.S. Army. The intent of this market survey is to see modern versions of this equipment using state-of-the-art materials and design features. Information is sought on items that are used for: rock, ice, snow and aid climbing; general mountaineering to include bivouacking items, accessories and repair kits. Offerors are cautioned that any future acquisition is subject to the Buy American Act and the Berry Amendment, 10 U.S.C. 2533a. Interested firms are requested to submit information on their product(s) within thirty (30) days following the publication of this synopsis. Information should include, but not be limited to, product cost, technical information (e.g. physical properties, performance characteristics, test methodology (e.g. UIAA, CE), certification/compliance, warranty terms, relevant company background/experience, ISO 9000 certification, and any other information that the company believes demonstrates the value of their product(s) and ability to meet the requirements. Initial information submitted will not be returned. If a firm chooses to submit a sample, no payment will be made by the government for such sample. Firms responding shall indicate whether or not they area small business. Any information provided in response to this market survey will be used for informational purposes only and will not be released. Any proprietary information submitted will be protected if appropriately marked. Vendor participation in any informational session is not a promise of future business. Responses to this notice are to be sent to Mr. Darren Bean, PM-CIE, Natick, ATTN: AMSRD-NSR-WP-WC, D-225, 15 Kansas St., Natick, MA 01760-5019. This notice is for market survey only. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. No solicitation document exists. The information received under this announcement may in the future be used to purchase items by the Government for testing and/or for developing an acquisition strategy. POC for this request is Darren Bean (508) 233-5840, FAX (508) 233-6493, or email [email protected] Email your questions to Product Manager Clothing and Individual Equipment at [email protected]