Avon Protection looks to tactical ocular protection with new powered goggle

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The new product expands the company’s MITR product line, giving users in low-medium threat environments flexible and scalable protection against hazards while enabling them to complete their mission in safety and comfort.

When Avon Protection introduced the MITR-M1 Half Mask in January 2025, it filled a significant capability gap in the tactical low- to mid-level threat environment. In the eight months since its launch, orders for the low-profile half mask have rolled in from operators across military, law enforcement and first responder organisations where the mask is receiving a positive response from user groups.

"As recently as ten years ago, and certainly throughout my career as a Green Beret, soldiers had little more protection against airborne particles than a bandana and their sunglasses," Casey J. Galligan, Senior Director, U.S. DoD, Avon Protection, said. “Whether that was dust from a helicopter landing in the desert, to burn pits, or unknown elements coming off ordnance dropped in combat, there was no dedicated low-burden protection in that gap between disposable masks and full-face respirators.”

“MITR-M1 has given users who face low-mid level respiratory threats in their day-to-day operations the option to take full control over their own personal protection,”  he added. “Whether that’s in counter-terrorism, specialist firearms officers or special forces operations, the message we are receiving is that MITR-M1 with its ‘always available’ design gives that peace of mind that the air they breathe today will not leave them with health issues tomorrow.”

Now, Avon Protection introduces the MITR-PG1 Powered Goggle, designed to provide tactical ocular protection for users in this same military, law enforcement and first responder operational segment.

“We know that the eyes are equally as vulnerable as the nose and mouth to airborne hazards, so no matter how well your mask filters out these threats, if your goggle isn’t doing the same your protection solution will be ultimately ineffective,” Steve Elwell, President of Avon Protection, said. “But we also know that the existing way of using a single-piece full-face respirator to protect the eyes as well as the mouth and nose – is not always practical for the type of day-to-day operations being conducted at the lower end of the threat spectrum.

“That is why we have worked closely with our users to develop a system that keeps the wearer safe and allows them to scale up their protection to eyes, mouth and nose according to the situation at hand.”

Low-burden protection

As with the mask system, the MITR-PG1 Powered Goggle has been designed to provide low-burden protection. Designed to be worn alone or with the MITR-M1 Half Mask, the goggle features a wide-field-of-view single-piece visor with ergonomic rubber casing designed for the comfort of the wearer. It attaches to the user’s combat helmet via a strap system with Velcro anchor at the crown of the head and is designed to integrate with existing head-worn equipment.

The goggle features a single visor, an integrated, replaceable filter and blower system which constantly purges the air within the goggle, ensuring that the wearer's eyes remain protected against particulate hazards, in addition to CS and CN riot control agents and OC threats.

“Another positive we have seen during testing with our user community is that the constant air purge within the goggle means that users don’t experience any fogging despite the extremely high operational temperatures and individual work rates,” Galligan said. “So not only is the user getting that ocular protection from the dust and debris particles in the air, but they are also working with a cooler, more comfortable eye area throughout, and don’t need to deal with reduced vision through the visor even if they are sweating heavily.”

In addition to the hours of ocular protection the MITR-PG1 provides for riot control agents, the MITR-PG1 will deliver protection against the low-level particulate hazards that exist for missions carried out by specialist firearms officers, and special forces personnel, such as drug interdiction, riot control, and indoor/outdoor shooting range training.

Designed to meet the ANSI Z87+, ISO 16321-1, and MIL-STD shock and vibration requirements, the goggle is sized at H95xW220xD110mm and is powered by a 1x18650 protected cell that offers >8 hours duration from a single charge. Its battery status indicator includes LED and vibration alerts, which can be turned into stealth mode if required, and is also available with vision correction lenses.

“When we talk about the MITR-PG1 being low burden, we don’t just mean it is comfortable to wear for long periods – which it is,” Galligan said. “We mean low burden on the user throughout the entire mission envelope.

“That means the user knows the gear is lightweight, comfortable, easy to put on, and will not impede their ability to perform the tasks they need to carry out in tactical situations, such as sighting a weapon.”

This offers significant benefit to the wearer. A known challenge when developing protective equipment is that while a product may offer advanced protection levels, the wearer experience may be less than ideal. Particularly when operating in high temperatures and over long periods, the user may decide the discomfort or difficulty to put it on is not worth the risk for lower-level risk scenarios.

“That’s the MITR sweet spot: both goggle and mask are lightweight enough to be carried on the user at all times, comfortable enough to be worn for long periods, and low-profile enough during use that the decision to don the gear in demanding situations becomes a no-brainer,” Galligan said. “They can put it on and get on with the job.”

“At the end of the day, the best protection is the protection that will actually be available and be worn when a situation escalates.”

Integration focus

As with all Avon Protection products, integration is at the core of the MITR-PG1 design, to enable it to work seamlessly with the MITR-M1 mask and commonly worn ballistic or bump head protection systems, including those manufactured by its sister brand, Team Wendy.

This focus on optimising the way different systems work together is a niche within the CBRN protection market that Avon Protection has been carving for itself for some time now.

“If you look at the CBRN protection market, you will find it is flooded with products designed to provide a specific function – and many of them do that well,” Elwell said. “What is obvious though, is that users are struggling with how all these different systems work together when they are being worn by a single operator. The fact is, many don’t, and a lot of programme funding is currently being spent rectifying this issue.”

Avon Protection’s design ethos is to consider system integration from the outset in the design process, to ensure that there are no weak points in the areas that two different systems meet. To the company, this systems approach is fundamental in all product design.

Building on experience

Avon Protection’s strong standing in the CBRN protection market is built on a 140-year design heritage of delivering the industry’s most field-tested protective equipment to specialist personnel operating in CBRN environments. Over 4 million users across the US, UK, Europe and beyond are protected by its range of protective full-face respirators that combine design excellence with cutting-edge manufacturing to deliver the highest levels of protection in the market.

The Avon Protection team has also carried out riot agent chamber testing of the system. Also, more recently, targeted end-user practical assessments took place, which have garnered excellent feedback regarding anti-fog performance, comfort and equipment integration.

“But again,” Galligan said. "It’s that duration, protection, and active anti-fog capability that will truly make this MITR system a game changer for the end user in these low-medium tactical threat environments.”