Arms Merchants of South Central
Pentax K-x now available in Tan and OD
Why is there a hole in the center of a parachute?
New gel could speed wound healing
Archive for August, 2010
Stuff We Didn’t Write About
Sunday, August 15th, 2010S.O.Tech Gear on Entourage
Saturday, August 14th, 2010This is the latest installment in what has become an ongoing series showcasing tactical products in the movies. This week we see S.O.Tech’s Callahan plate carrier worn on the HBO hit series “Entourage”. S.O.Tech’s products are no strangers to Hollywood and have been spied in countless films.
This is the lead character “Vince,†played by Adrian Grenier, wearing a black S.O.TECH Callahan convertible plate carrier with hydration pocket on the rear. The scene involves Vince playing an actor in an action movie in the season opener of Entourage, as well as the following episodes. In this scene, Vince survives an accident on set that changes his character’s attitude toward Hollywood.
Eat’N Tool
Saturday, August 14th, 2010
Columbia River Knife & Tool’s (CRKT) I.D. Works line has a new member called the Eat’N Tool. One look and you’ll understand why. New York based designer Liong Mah took a spork and pimped it hard, adding three metric wrench reliefs (10 mm, 8 mm, 6 mm), can opener, and the right side of the handle is ground to provide an emergency screwdriver blade, which will also work as a pry for opening canisters. The Eat’N Tool is available in a bead-blast finish (9100C), or with a food grade black non-stick coating (9100KC).
Thanks to Beyond Issue for telling us about this one.
Warrior Expo East Recap
Friday, August 13th, 2010For those of you that missed the Warrior Expo East presented by ADS, the video will give you an idea of what it was like. The event was simply fantastic. You have already seen a few of the surprises that were unveiled at the show and we can assure you that more are on their way, including a major announcement from ADS. Additionally, are looking forward to introducing our readers to new subjects such as Maintenance and Recovery Operations.
We spoke with most of the vendors and the general feeling was very positive. While some related that it could be months before they see any orders based on the meetings they had at the show, everyone agreed that they would see an increase in business.
On the other hand, attendees were very positive about not only the access to the latest technologies and equipment but also the seminars and demonstrations that were part of the program. The real key to this success is that these events combine users with requirements with vendors who provide a variety of solutions. Add to this ADS’s access to several procurement vehicles and you’ve got the trifecta. It’s hard to get all of these ingredients together and they have succeeded.
Make sure you don’t miss next year’s event. And if you can’t make it, keep an eye out for a regional show coming soon to your installation. Until then, be sure to visit the ADS Youtube channel to see all of the Warrior Expo videos.
ResQ – New FR Fabric from Milliken
Friday, August 13th, 2010The Army has been investigating new Fire Resistant fabrics for some time now in order to offer more capability for our troops. Milliken has just released their new fabric called ResQ. Check out the details in this associated document.
Excalibur Products Group
Thursday, August 12th, 2010Apparently, ’tis the season to upgrade websites. Fortunately, all of the ones we have seen are very well done and the new site from Excalibur Products is no exception. We have mentioned their packs in the past and they also offer a couple of sleep system options but according to the main graphic on the new site, they have quite a bit on their plate and we are looking forward to seeing some more of their products.
www.excaliburproductsgroup.com
EMA Tactical’s AKMR
Thursday, August 12th, 2010We’re not big on the AK74 or other AK variants, not because there’s anything intrinsically wrong with the weapon, but because there’s only so much money or ammo and gear unless you eat Ramen noodles for every meal. Now, Ramen noodles are good but they’re not that good, so we’ve spent most of our money and time on M4 and AR15 clones. That being said, the AK breed has seen an incredible Renaissance in after-market accessories and modifications over the last several years—that’s a Good Thing if you’re a shooter that owns one of the estimated eleventy-five gozillion AK47/74/SKS rifles floating around out there.
EMA Tactical has developed several pieces of kit for the AK, and one of their most popular (and least expensive) pieces is the AKMR. That’s the AK47 Polymer Magazine Release Extension, said to “provide easier access to the magazine release and quicker magazine changesâ€. It’s intended to allow the shooter to release the magazine more quickly, by providing a larger surface area on both sides, the front and bottom of the trigger guard. This could, conceivably, make the difference in a fight under stress, when fine motor skills degrade. We believe this piece of kit potentially qualifies for the Mad Duo TactiCAL designation (as opposed to TactiCOOL).
Mounting the AKMR doesn’t require a gunsmith and does not interfere with the trigger or trigger function. It’s made in Israel, of polymer, so far only in black (though why color would be a deal-breaker we don’t know, unless it was a choice between pearlescent salmon and chartreuse).
We asked Jay Portz about the AKMR when we first got word it was available in large numbers. “Boys,†he said, “the best trivia I can give you about the AKMR is that our dealers are ordering them fifty or a hundred or more of them at a time. There are so many AK47s out there, and the AK was designed at a time when ‘ergonomic’ and ‘ambidextrous’ weren’t part of the language, so the demand for a product like this is great.â€
From everything we’ve seen and heard, that appears to be a spot-on assessment. We haven’t shot one ourselves (yet; we will be using one at a Sonny Puzikas class in November) but once we have the opportunity we’ll advise further. The shooters we have talked to advise the AKMR makes magazine changes much smoother and thus much faster. “No more fumbling for the mag release, it’s right there, wrapped around the trigger guard next to your trigger finger,†one told us (he’s 1/1 scale, not 1/6 like us if you were wondering) so we definitely want to check it out.
The EMA Tactical AKM is available at their website www.ematactical.com or any number of other distributors. They retail for $14.99 at most places.
If you decide to get one for your rifle, do us a favor. Mention that you read it on Soldier Systems in a piece by the Mad Duo. We’ve arranged for special prices with other companies before (like 5.11 Tactical, Duostock, Wellco Boots and the Weyland-Yutani Defense Industries Division.).
If you have any ideas for us to review, drop us a line at BreachBangClear.com or FaceBook.com/MadDuo; unless you’re going to complain about our opinions, writing style or philosophy in which case don’t bother. MAD DUO OUT!
Tyr Tactical
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Awhile back one of our readers sent us a cryptic message telling us to keep an eye on a website. They had put up a simple splash page but there were no details. Last weekend, we were told the page had changed.
We emailed the reader who had given us the heads up and asked him what the deal was. He said he didn’t know so we razzed him for sending us a snipe hunt. Then, this morning we refreshed our browser and lo and behold, something very new appeared.
According to the website, the man at helm of Tyr Tactical is Jason Beck who previously ran Diamondback Tactical. We can’t wait to find out more about this. For example, what is this PV material?
