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Archive for December, 2009

Mayflower Launching New Site

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Mayflower Research & Consulting, LLC will be launching their new website in the next few days. Unfortunately, they have experienced several problems with their current site which have dropped orders and issues with the contact page as well as email. They always want to stay on top of things so they have invested in a ground up rebuild which will add several new features including: personalized account access, order tracking (once shipped), direct customer feedback through testimonials and customer rating of individual pieces of kit. Additionally, Mayflower is expanding at a controlled rate to meet the demand of both its valued customers (the pointy end in the war on terror both domestic and foreign) as well as their high end retailer accounts.

Here is a sneak peek of the new look. Be sure to checkout the new site once it is up.

Mayflower's New Homepage

Top 3 Soldier Systems Shockers – 2009

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

There were three major shockers this year and all happened over the last few months.

1. Blackhawk’s Serpa is New SOCOM Holster – After a Natick sponsored shoot off at the US Training Center in Moyock, NC, the Blackhawk Serpa was chosen as the new holster component for SOCOM’s series of Load Carrying System (LCS) Kits.

2. Army Adopts KDH Plate Carrier – In fact, KDH wins every major armor contract in the latter half of 2009. After a GSA-based solicitation KDH was chosen to provide the US Army with 57000 Soldier Plate Carriers the first of which are to be fielded in January for use in Afghanistan.

3. UK Releases Multi Terrain Pattern – With a little help from Crye Precision the MoD adopted a new pattern blending the color scheme of MultiCam with the feel of DPM.

New Gridded Fleece from Blackhawk

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Thermo Fur JacketBlackhawk Products Group has launched their 2010 lineup. In addition to a myriad of tactical nylon and armor solutions, they have also expanded their clothing offerings. While their is quite a bit to choose from I thought a great starting point would be their new gridded fleece. The line is fairly extensive and includes the Thermo-fur jacket (shown), a gridded fleece jacket, 3/4 zip pullover and hoody, and something unavailable until now in the tactical industry a lightweight fleece vest. Only the Thermo-fur jacket features an exposed nap with the other tops in the line having the nap against the skin. Additionally, all of the garments feature an athletic cut and Blackhawk has incorporated the latest construction techniques including laminated chest pockets. I have a Thermo-fur and it is a very comfortable jacket and will zip in to Blackhawk’s Warrior Wear hard shell released last year to add insulation.

The garments are manufactured from a high loft gridded fleece and are offered in Black or Coyote Brown. Visit www.blackhawk.com for more information.

High Caliber Training

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

High Caliber TrainingOur friends over at EOTAC gave a us a heads up about the new Tier 1 Group offshoot High Caliber Training. They both share the same 780+ acre training facility located near Memphis. They also share many instructors but T1G maintains a military and law enforcement focus while the HCT concentrates more on civilian training. However, it isn’t all that HCT does, as they run several LE courses as well.

Neither T1G nor HCT are part of the Freedom Group as often reported but rather are owned by Cerberus who also owns the Freedom Group. You can definitely see that they are sister companies when you take a look at the course catalog which caters to the Remington, DPMS and Bushmaster brands.

New British Elcan Update

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

The new weapon sight selected for use by the MoD is a special variant that utilizes a 4 power optic in a custom chassis. It is not variable like the Spectre DR.

New Weapon Sights
Photo: UK MoD

The new Spectre sight is seen on the L86 carried by the second Soldier from the left.

The Koala: Coming Soon from Kifaru Tactical

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Developed based on a Kifaru message board poster who “envisioned a pouch carried on the chest that you could easily and quickly access a handgun from” the Koala was born.

Koala Interior

The design is very versatile. Here is a list of the carry options:
Koala Worn-Chest carry with an X-Harness and belly strap.
-Shoulder carry with a shoulder sling or contoured shoulder strap.
-Backpack with shoulder straps and waist strap with a dual adjust buckle.
-Lumbar pack with new Omni/Lumbar waistbelt
-Chest carry with a backpack using the new Lift-Kit
-Malice clipped onto a pack
-Malice clipped onto armor or a plate carrier

This article is really just an introduction. For a full synopsis make sure to visit Kifaru’s forum. The Koala will be available soon from Kifaru Tactical.

Arc’teryx Rho Tops and Bottoms

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Arc'teryx Rho Top The Rho series is available in two weights. The standard wight is made from Polartec® Power Stretch® fabric and the lightweight is manufactured from Mountain Merino Wool. Merino is inherently no melt, no drip as well as anti-microbial. In both cases, the fabrics are extremely comfortable and stand up to plenty of abuse. The tops feature zippered collars and the bottoms come with pass through crotch. The standard version is available in Crocodile (shown) and the lightweight in Black. These are high performance, mountaineering grade pieces.

Sure it’s expensive, but it’s Arc’teryx. Don’t you deserve it?

Kunai Pen

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Kunai Tactical Pen

New from Prospec Design Inc., the Kunai pen has been getting quite a bit of exposure here in the US thanks to tactical photographer, Ichiro Nagata. It is so elegant that I would refrain from calling it tactical yet it is strong enough to stand up the job of glass breaking with ease. The Kunai pen uses Parker refills.

Ichiro Negata demonstrates use of the Kunai pen

Thus far we haven’t found a US importer so you will have to look for it on eBay.

Note that Ichiro is wearing protective clothing. Using the Kunai pen to break glass is dangerous and should only be accomplished by trained persons wearing the proper protective equipment.