SureFire

Archive for 2009

Soldier Equipment and Technology Expo and Conference

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Soldier Equipment & Technology Expo & Conference

We want to remind everyone that Soldier Systems Daily is a media partner of the 2009 Soldier Equipment & Technology Expo & Conference, November 17-18 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This relationship gives us access to report from the show floor as well as conference sessions. What’s more, Soldier Equipment & Technology Expo & Conference sponsor IDGA has graciously extended a 25% discount to SSD readers for full conference attendance as well as FREE exhibits-only passes.

The program will include a variety of speakers who will provide insight into current requirements and the state of the industrial base.

For additional information and access to your free or discounted tickets visit www.soldierequipmentexpo.com.

9th Annual International Sniper Competition

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Sal Palma at Sniperworx e-Magazine would like to announce that the 2009 International Sniper Competition is scheduled for October 15-22, 2009. This event will again bring teams from all over the world to Fort Benning to compete in 10 to 15 sniper related events.

The focus of the competition is to bring teams together to share battlefield lessons learned, provide training initiatives and ideas and to compete tactically and technically. The event is limited to 35 teams (70 snipers) not including unit coaches, commanders and spectators.

This is a world class competition hosted by one of our country’s finest Post. Ft. Benning, GA Leading the Way.

Sponsored by the Army Sniper Association.

Arc’teryx Combat Pant and Jacket Combo

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Grey Group is offering a fantastic deal on a Combat Pant and Jacket Combo. Both garments work great alone, as outer garments, or as part of a layering system.

Arc'teryx Combat Jacket in Crocodile

The Combat Jacket features athletic patterning and high-tech Tweave® Durastretch® fabric to ensure freedom of movement and breathability.

Arc'teryx Combat Pant in Crocodile

The Combat Pant has burly, extra-wide 2¼” belt loops and is crafted from breathable, four-way stretch Tweave® Durastretch® fabric. Designed for athletic movement under rugged conditions, these pants are equally at home in coastal forests, arid deserts, or on mountain ridges.

When purchased together, the combo would normally retail for $660 from most vendors but is only $399 during this special offer. This deal is only available in Crocodile and only from Grey Group.

HK416 Sub-Compact Carbine

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

HK416 Sub Carbine from the firearms blog

The Firearms Blog published what may be the only pictures floating around of HK’s 416 Sub-Compact Carbine. It was not displayed at this week’s AUSA annual meeting and rumor has it that was developed specifically for a British requirement. This is why it was only shown at DSEi and to little fanfare. Furthermore, it is entirely a developmental project and only a few are being hand fitted for the customer.

Beat a Master Lock Most Rick Tick

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Mark Edward Campos, a third year architecture student developed a great graphic on a method to defeat a Rotary Dial Master Lock. Of course the intent of all of this was to find out how a Master Lock works and not necessarily how to defeat it. Essentially, you determine the first number by pulling up on the latch while the dial is rotated. Next, a table of all possible first and second number combinations has been calculated for you. Then you tough it out and attempt the one hundred combinations or so left.

Master Lock Diagram

Hack A Day had previously published an article on this method but suggested that using a shim made from an aluminum can is preferable. It is a lot faster. I thought our readers might be interested from a security perspective in this video of the shim method.

TAG Columbus Day Sale

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Tactical Assault Gear is holding a 50%-sale from now until Midnight Pacific Coast Time on Tuesday 13 October, 2009. Everything is on sale and the discounted price is calculated in the shopping cart.

www.theoperatorschoice.com

Arc’teryx Launches Veilance Today

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Arc’teryx needs no introduction to the readers of Soldier Systems Daily. Their LEAF line has set the standard for technical military wear. Now, they have brought their expertise to a new area; performance menswear. The much anticipated Veilance collection offers a new level of urban camouflage for the armed professional. Finally, the pinnacle of performance is being engineered into garments that will fit in as well on a battlefield as a shopping center. A very limited offering of Arc’teryx Veilance was unveiled in select stores beginning October 1.

Veilance started with the question of why the philosophy of ‘form follows function’ was not a mainstay in clothing worn in the urban environment. Spurred by developments in garment technology, as well as by wide reaching technology based shifts in society and culture at large, the potential for an entirely new type of apparel has evolved. Arc’teryx has applied its expertise in performance design, basing Veilance on aesthetic style, superior quality and extraordinary performance for the urban arena. Technical textiles provide full weather protection and personal comfort. 3D anatomic patterning augments fit and drape and creates a distinguished look. Innovative features and premium components highlight the extraordinary finishing detail. Performing well under a myriad of activities and conditions, social settings, modes of transit, physical exertion levels, interior and exterior climates, the Veilance collection creates protection that is always comfortable and projects an aesthetic of quiet confidence.

Veilance Field JacketVeilance Field Blazer

Designer Conroy Nachtigall, a graduate of Central St. Martens in London, has reinterpreted menswear classics and combined them with state of the art manufacturing techniques and technical materials usually found in outdoor garments, creating this radically innovative menswear collection. The Veilance collection includes a GORE-TEX long coat and field jacket, WINDSTOPPER blazers and pants, fine Merino sweaters, and ingeniously designed dress shirts and tees. Continuing the trajectory established in outdoor and military sectors, the Veilance collection is the company’s entry into inspired clothing for day-to-day urban use. The Veilance collection will be manufactured in Canada in Arc’teryx’s own Vancouver factory and available in a limited offering this October from select premium men’s clothing stores: 290 Square Meters, Amsterdam; The Tannery, Boston; The Glade Firmament, Berlin; International Gallery Beams and Beams House, Tokyo; The Hideout, London, as well as direct from Arc’teryx.

For any of you who still aren’t convinced, check out this great article from Code magazine.

For those of you ready to experience Veilance visit veilance.arcteryx.com

*Note that existing LEAF and Pro customers will not be eligible for discounts.

-Eric Graves
Editor

KDH Does It Again

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Like the little engine that could, KDH wins yet another armor contract. This time for 57,000 plate carriers. So this makes IOTV, IMTV/PC, and now the Army’s Plate Carrier all at the same time. Not bad for a small business. I wonder how they are getting it all done. They have opened a new factory in Eden, North Carolina that is according to recent visitors, only at half capacity. Unfortunately, the real issue with capacity these days isn’t floor space or number of machines but rather human capital. Finding qualified, experienced sewers and other textile workers even in areas where plants have closed in the past is extremely difficult.

Lots of conjecture on the web about how KDH continues to win contracts but quite honestly, it probably has a lot to do with price. Estimates indicate that KDH probably offered the plate carriers to the Army at just over $300 a pop with soft armor based on the number of vests and the amount of the award. That is about half what other companies were seeking.

KDH Plate Carrier

Interestingly, the Army handled this procurement through GSA and this is the first time that they have used GSA to purchase armor due to concerns over ballistic ratings. Additionally, the GSA solicitation was open for a fairly short window and in spite of a requirement during Soldier Protection Demonstration VII that the carriers be releasable, the GSA solicitation dropped it altogether yet they retained the 9 lbs weight threshold associated with a heavier cut-away system. Of course, neither SOCOM nor the Marines have a cut-away plate carrier system. But these oddball requirements meant that companies that did not meet the requirements for inclusion in SPD VII were able to bid on the plate carriers through GSA.

KDH lists their Soldier Plate Carrier with Quick Release System on their GSA website for $439.29 so we are unsure if they bid that at a discount via GSA or a non-releasable system. According to the description of their vest it “Includes OTV/IOTV Specification(FQ/PD 07-05 Latest Rev. CO/PD 00-02 Latest Rev.) Lvl IIIA Equivalent Soft Ballistc Inserts and Integrated Side Plate Pouches. Also available with NIJ Specifica”.