Making the Team Wendy All-Terrain and Ballistic Mandibles

Looking back at the creation of the EXFIL^® mandibles

This summer marked one year since the release of the EXFIL^® Ballistic Mandible and the EXFIL^® All-Terrain Mandible.
 
In order to create the mandibles, we utilized a unique blend of test protocols and aimed for an ambitious combination of protection and dexterity. For instance, both products were designed to allow the operator to achieve a solid cheek weld. And both mandibles are lightweight.  Our non-ballistic mandible, the all-terrain mandible, weighs 0.71 pounds. The ballistic mandible weighs 1.30 pounds.
 
Even with lightweight structures, we didn’t compromise on safety. The Team Wendy ballistic mandible’s protection area is an impressive 72 square inches. It meets the same level of fragmentation performance as the EXFIL Ballistic and SL, along with stopping 9mm rounds at 1,400 feet per second. Both mandibles are designed to provide reliable blunt impact performance in accordance with Team Wendy’s specialized impact test protocol TW-TP-1901, in which a full helmet fitted with a mandible is conditioned to an environmental condition, placed on a NOCSAE headform (the same used to certify football helmets), and dropped at the 10ft/s impact velocity required for typical ACH blunt impact protection. Then it is additionally tested at an increased velocity that amounts to a doubling of the kinetic energy. The system must keep headform accelerations below 150G in all these scenarios.
 

It wasn’t easy balancing light weight and durable protection. We spent months sketching, designing and tweaking the mandibles. When testing began, we combined testing methods for tactical helmets with the testing methods for body armor. In order to achieve the high level of built-in impact protection, we developed the specification on our own and conducted tests at various conditions and drop heights over and over, recording our results and making adjustments to the internal frame of the mandible until we consistently exceeded our performance objectives.
 
Our ballistic helmet mandible – and our non-ballistic mandible – needed to be just right.
 
When it came time to test the ballistic panels on the mandible, one of our methods was to insert an aluminum panel behind them at a fixed distance. Rounds of ammunition were fired at varying speeds, and we studied the damage to the aluminum afterward. The more we fine-tuned, the less damage there was to study.
 
A new opportunity grabbed us along the way: What if we gave operators the option to scale their mandible?
 

So, we added configuration options to the ballistic mandible. You can swap a Cordura^®-and-nylon/spandex-covered ballistic nose panel with a vented, all-terrain nose panel that sheds weight and improves ventilation. A unique feature in the mandible space.
 
The two mandibles share the same basic framework – their frames are each composed of a glass-reinforced polycarbonate combined with a flexible TPU. The ballistic mandible’s outer cover is made of Cordura^® and ultra-suede. The outer cover of the all-terrain mandible is made of mesh and ultra-suede.
 
Also, they come in two sizes, size one and size two. The EXFIL^® Ballistic Mandible corresponds to the operator’s EXFIL^® Ballistic or EXFIL^® Ballistic SL helmet size. Each is offered in four colors: Black, Coyote Brown, MultiCam^® and Ranger Green.
 
While we were at it, we made sure the EXFIL^® All-Terrain Mandible also interfaced with Team Wendy bump helmets, the EXFIL^® Carbon and EXFIL^® LTP. The size one all-terrain mandible fits both LTP helmet sizes (provided the helmet is fitted with our Rail 3.0).
 
Combine our mandibles with the EXFIL^® Ballistic Visor, and you’re fully covered.
 
In the end, the mandibles do more than just protect the operator’s face and ears from blunt impact and debris. The products have stayed true to Team Wendy’s continued vision of providing comfort and customization along with top-notch protection.
 
By Ron Szalkowski
Director of Product Development and Research Collaboration

Do you have a story about how protective headgear saved you in the field? We’d love to hear from you. Share your story with us by emailing info[at]teamwendy[dot]com.