5.11 Tactical has released a new signature buckle that fits their line of leather belts as well as other 1-3/4″ belts. Manufactured from zinc with a gunmetal finish the buckle offers a new look for 5.11 belts.
To order one of these limited run buckles visit 5.11 Tactical.
Daniel Defense set out to design a simple and reliable Back Up Iron Sight and they have more than succeeded with the A1.5 BUIS. The BUIS integrates the M16A1-style windage and elevation adjustments with a same plane small and ghost ring aperture. Once you adjust them, they are staying put.
The BUIS is manufactured from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum and mounts to a 1913 standard rail. It slides on and locks in place via a slotted fastener which is threaded into a self-locking steel thread insert. Once it’s on, it isn’t going anywhere. The BUIS is fixed so no need to worry about it popping up at the wrong time or thin parts breaking off. Additionally, the BUIS was designed to not interfere with the charging handle.
Larry Vickers summed it all up when he said this about the BUIS, “Finally a rear sight that has everything you need and nothing you don’t”.
For more information visit www.danieldefense.com.
Grey Group Training has the exclusive for tactical versions of FiveTen footwear. They recently offered low and mid versions of the Desert Enforcer. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond Grey Group’s control, the mid variant was not produced. While the low top is currently in stock many have continued to ask for a mid top shoe. Grey Group is currently weighing their options for future offerings and has an excellent offer for those with existing pre-orders for the Mid Desert Enforcer.
FiveTen has issued the following statement in regard to production of the shoe.
“Five Ten is a family-owned company that is dedicated to making the best outdoor sports footwear available. The Redlands, California-based company makes shoes with their proprietary Stealth rubber soles for a variety of outdoor disciplines. The world’s top climbers depend upon Five Ten climbing shoes. Five Ten multi-sport shoes are now essential equipment for downhill mountain bikers, paddlers, hikers, trail runners and climbers. From elite, world-class athletes to all outdoor enthusiasts, people know that Five Ten is the most authentic footwear brand available.
Through the years, Five Ten has received requests to develop a military specific shoe. Five Ten has stepped up to the plate and developed the Desert Enforcer, built for military operations from urban climbing to combat hiking. Military and law enforcement markets will now be able to benefit from the comfort, stickiness and reliability of Five Ten.
Five Ten has teamed up with Grey Group Training to exclusively launch the Desert Enforcer. Grey Group Training is a wonderful partner for Five Ten and is unique in providing the gear, instructors and technical expertise needed for a particular requirement. Grey Group’s belief is that there is a synergistic effect between the tools of the trade, the skill sets to use them, and the ability to source them both from one place.
The Desert Enforcer (low-top) is NOW available, exclusively through Grey Group Training (www.greygrouptraining.com). Because of various manufacturing issues, the Desert Enforcer (high-top) has been delayed. Five Ten is currently reworking time lines and will launch a solid ETA, ASAP. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience due to this delay. Five Ten is committed to the military market and plans on launching additional shoes to help support the mission. Please stay tuned and we appreciate your continued support.
Sincerely,
Five Ten
www.fiveten.com
Recently, there have been a great deal of new products designed specifically for the K9 and handler released on the market. In response to requirements from the community, 215 gear has developed several new products including collars, leashes, and leads.
Seen below is the Hands Free K9 Leash with Quick Release Buckle. It is a bungee type dog lead that extends from four feet to seven feet and is designed to allow the handler to have both hands on his weapon. 215 Gear has also integrated a large, formed non-slip control handle close to the dog for situations when more control is called for. The Leash attaches to a common riggers type belt, via a quick-release snap shackle and to the dog’s collar via a H&K type snap hook.
The entire line can be found here.
ADS is hosting their annual Warrior Days Expo July 15 & 16 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. In addition to the opportunity to see the latest equipment from over 100 leading manufacturers, ADS also offers the chance to attend some great seminars. Last year, they hosted Mark Twight who spoke about environmental clothing systems. The Warrior expo is an excellent opportunity for end users, GCPC holders, and acquisition officials to learn about ADS and their various services.
For more info and to register visit www.adsinc.com/warriorexpo.
ScienceNOW Daily News reports that researchers have developed a material that almost instantaneously changes from clear to dark blue when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, and it just as quickly reverts to clear when the exposure is removed.
For more than a decade, chemical engineer Jiro Abe and colleagues at Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan have been studying the light-sensitive properties of photochromic materials, including a compound called hexaarylbiimidazole (HABI). In its natural state, HABI is colorless, but when ultraviolet light breaks one of the bonds in the molecule, it produces a version that is dark blue. They found that by adding naphthalene to the compound, they could accelerate the color change to about 180 milliseconds. Adding a compound called cyclophane instead of naphthalene improved the clear-to-blue conversion even more–to about 30 milliseconds. According to an article in the current issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the cyclophane version of HABI reverts just as rapidly to its colorless state when the UV light source is turned off and the reactions can be repeated thousands of times.
Scientists see this as a great step forward in the development of optical storage drives. This could be a boon for transition lenses which take forever to change from clear to dark if they can develop ways to control it. Similar work has been ongoing for some time to protect vision from LASER as well as the flash associated with a nuclear detonation but such systems have been powered in order to make the nearly instantaneous transition.
Wearing their Rapid Equipping Force hat, The Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group set about to assemble a package of Commercial Off the Shelf Soldier Systems equipment to conduct a demonstration with members of the 4th Infantry Division deploying to Afghanistan. The aim was to demonstrate that these alternative technologies will enhance the combat effectiveness of our troops fighting in the brutal terrain of Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, a long brewing battle between the Army’s Acquisition community and the REF seemed to come to a head two weeks ago when the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology halted the shipment of the equipment package into theater and began to ask some very pointed questions about the capability of the armor package chosen. Long-term friction has come about as the REF continues to conduct rapid identification, assessment, and fielding of critical warfighting technologies while the traditional acquisition system takes a much more methodical approach and fielding of new systems requires longer lead times.
The system in question is the MBAV cutaway plate carrier produced by Eagle Industries used in conjunction with a hard plate only certified for use by USSOCOM. All of this is fully in the Army’s purview and unknown to most sitting on the sidelines of this issue, PEO-Soldier is in the midst of an evaluation of five cut away armor plate carriers. It is highly probable that the cutaway system chosen by AWG is also a candidate in this PEO-Soldier evaluation.
The situation seemed to take on a life of its own and after two weeks of consideration the Army has chosen to field the experimental package and it will be shipped for use by 480 Soldiers across two battalions of the deploying 4th ID. According to Army sources, short notice testing was completed to provide a safety release of the equipment. However, the new lightweight hard armor plates used by SOCOM will be replaced by the Army’s current issue plates.
Data collection will be accomplished by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
Survival Solutions Innovative Gear has released its Oversized Poncho/Shelter/Emergency Camouflage (OPSEC) unit. Essentially a poncho, they have integrated several new features.
It is manufactured from 70D Coated Ripstop Nylon, weighing in at only 1.9 oz. per yard and is generously cut measuring 104″ long by 59″ wide. The O.P.S.E.C. is constructed so the back is adjustable. When wearing a rucksack/backpack, the back of the poncho can be unsnapped and extend an additional 14″. If you decide not to wear a back pack, you can shorten the back of the O.P.S.E.C. with the snaps provided to a length consistent with the front. Additionally, to aid in shelter construction it has seven 15mm ring snaps and eight size 0 grommets. It is available in Snow, Multicam, Woodland, and UCP.
For more information or to order visit www.survival-solutions.com.
