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Archive for March, 2011

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Magpul Now Shipping MBUS II

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Magpul has updated their low cost Magpul Back Up Sights. Designed to fit a MilStd 1913 (Picatinny) rail, the MBUS II comes as two separate components; a rear and a front sight. Both fold down out of the way and flip up into place. The new versions are both slightly more streamlined than the earlier sights and they have improved the locking mechanism for the front sight post. For the rear sight they have developed the new N.A.W.S. (No Aperture Window Sight) option. It works when you fold down both apertures and frame the target within the protective wings for snap-shots in Close Quarters Battle situations.

My BHI-15 came with the previous version and it is a good choice but I am glad to see they have worked on the front sight post. Just make sure that you actually take your rifle out and zero the MBUS. It is an M16-style sight and has to be zeroed. Also, make sure you practice with it. While it will most likely be your emergency sighting system, it won’t do any good if you can’t use it.

Magpul has also been so kind as to provide a couple of notes on use: “Cannot be mounted to a railed gas block due to excess heat issues. Front MBUS must be mounted to a railed fore end on the same plane as the receiver rail. Because of this the sight is not compatible with the MOE Hand Guard.”

To purchase visit www.magpul.com.

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Posted in weapons | 1 Comment »

WPRC Announces New Members

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

The Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition (WPRC) announced today that five more industry leaders have joined its effort to better protect and equip American service members. As of March 1, 2011, Eye Safety Systems, Leading Technology Composites Inc., Smith Optics, Tactical Holdings (Wellco, Altama, and Massif Mountain Gear) as well as Wild Things Tactical have all joined the unified industry voice for operational readiness and warfighter safety.

The WPRC was founded in 2009 as an advocate for the development and fielding of top quality organizational clothing and individual equipment for American warfighters. The WPRC membership consists of small business and multi-national corporations with a shared commitment to US service members and a shared sense of purpose. Each WPRC member company is creating domestic manufacturing jobs, maintaining a critical supply chain and providing American warfighters with the equipment they need to execute missions safely and effectively. The WPRC has achieved success in its early stages by briefing key decision makers on critical issues of operational readiness. The WPRC and its expanding membership look forward to continuing their mission in the 112th Congress and beyond.

The WPRC membership roster is impressive to say the least and includes ADS Inc., Bates Footwear, Benchmade Knife Company, Bluewater Defense, Brookwood Companies Inc., Darn Tough, DuPont, Duro Textiles, Honeywell, Insight Technology, International Textile Group, Leading Technology Composites Inc., London Bridge Trading Company, Milliken, New Balance, Otis Technology Inc., Outdoor Research, Pelican, Polartec, Surefire, TenCate, Wiley X and W. L. Gore. For more information on the Warrior Protection and Readiness Coalition please visit www.warriorprotection.net.

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TYR Assaulters Sustainment Pack

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

TYR Tactical just released their new low profile Assaulters Sustainment Pack which can be worn with its integral shoulder straps or attached directly to the back of an armor vest. Take a good look at the photo below. You can see that the “comfort panel” consisting of the shoulder straps and padding can be removed and this is how it attaches to the armor.

It’s a pretty streamlined design with a 360 cubic inch main compartment and additional 680 cubic inches in the expandable, mesh beavertail. The ASP is manufactured from the patent pending PV material in 500D. Overall it is pretty versatile with three hydration ports in addition to the requisite internal hydration reservoir pocket as well as an internal storage zipper pocket.

For more info visit www.tyrtactical.com.

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Posted in Packs, PALS | Comments Off on TYR Assaulters Sustainment Pack

A Randall for the 21st Century

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Most of use who grew up at any point between the end of World War II and the first Gulf War have a bit of a romantic notion of the steely eyed killer with a Randall #14 Attack knife strapped to his field gear. If you are like me, you have probably wanted a Randall knife but for whatever reason, you never got around to purchasing one. It might be because they are so expensive, or the long wait time, or that, while classic they are generally shiny knives made from carbon steel that require a lot of maintenance.

But now, all of those excuses have been answered. Vickers Tactical in conjunction with Schoening Tactical is offering three distinct Randall combat models; the #14 Attack, 315 Airman, and #18 Attack-Survival. Called the VST series, they doing an after market mod to the knives to update them a little. Let’s face it, while the Randall designs are iconic, they have remained static for decades.

The main thing with the VST series is that they are offering subdued finishes; specifically parkerized carbon steel blades or bead blasted stainless steel blades to both protect the metal and cut down on their high sheen. You CANNOT get a subdued finished knife directly from Randall.

There is another advantage. You will get your knife much sooner than ordering directly from Randall Knives. Randall is running a five year backlog on individual orders since the vast majority of their business is dealer direct. So, if you want to purchase a Randall knife right now you have to go out and search their various dealers and look for the model and options you are seeking. Then, you have to worry about price since these days, Randalls have unfortunately become more collector knives than carry knives for military and LE. I have seen used models going for more than these are being offered for and not the VN-era models either.

It is important to note that only 100 of each model will be available and are priced so that a service member can actually afford one. Remember, Randalls aren’t cheap but these prices are fantastic, especially considering the extras and delivery schedule.

To order visit www.lhgk.us.

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Posted in Knives | 3 Comments »

Lamination Technologies

Monday, March 7th, 2011

The Firefighter suit shown in this video is made from a new fabric from Lamination Technologies can protect its wearer from flames at 1100ËšC for seven seconds and even after seven seconds the wearer will only sustain second degree burns over 17% of his body. If you add a second layer the protection increases to 12 seconds with 16% burns! Don’t forget, as we learned last year during our visit with DuPont, when you are talking FR clothing you can’t rely just on the rating of the fabric. Protection is determined based on the material as well as design.

Working with Prime Contractor Penn State University Electro Optics Center, Lamination Technologies has been developing lightweight FR solutions for the Department of Defense.

ltprotect.com

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Posted in FR, Materials | Comments Off on Lamination Technologies

Tactical NAV

Monday, March 7th, 2011

In what may well be the ultimate expression of the DIY ethos, Army CPT Jonathan Springer developed the Tactical NAV app for iPhone. In fact, he invested a considerable amount of his own money in the concept. Based on service as a Battalion Fire Support Officer in the 101st, he spend months developing the app which uses the phone’s inherent GPS to track the user’s location and correlate in a number of ways with other elements of information. For example, using compass and map data, photos can be not only date-time stamped but with geo-location as well. Another unique feature for this app is that it uses the Military Grid Reference System and is designed to geolocate within 24 feet. CPT Springer engineered a couple of other great features into Tactical NAV such as a compass lock function and one-button night-mode function for low light conditions. Finally, it makes sharing of route tracking and waypoint plotting as simple as sending an email.

Please be aware that there is another app that was released a few days after this one with the similar name of Tactical Navigator. It is NOT the same thing at all.

For more info visit www.tacticalnav.com. It is available on iTunes for the iPhone.

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Posted in Comms, Digitization, DIY | 1 Comment »

New Cut Resistant Fabric from the UK

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

PPSS Group has released a new cut resistant fabric called Cut-Tex Pro. They are using it to produce “cut resistant gloves and cut resistant clothing for police, prison, emergency services, social and health care, animal welfare as well as metal pressing and glass handling companies.” The fabric has been independently certified to BS EN 388:2003 Blade Cut Resistance Level 5 which is the highest level.

It is important to point out that this material is cut or slash resistant and not stab resistant. A stab involves a pointed object like an ice pick or a knife penetrating point first into an object. All of the force is directed behind the narrow entry point allowing it to go deeper. On the other hand, a slash or cut is what is being demonstrated in the photo above. The force is spread out across the blade making it more difficult to penetrate through protected layers.

Most corrections professionals wear cut and stab resistant armor, but short of full riot gear the arms and sides are generally unprotected. Particularly in the UK, LE is more likely to be cut than shot. Despite the efforts of government, threats can’t be legislated away, they just adapt.

While most cut and stab resistant solutions are of aramid (Kevlar) construction, according to PPS Group, Cut-Tex pro is a “combination of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and other technical fibres weaved by special high-density knitting machines”. They use this weave to to manufacture under garments that are inherently cut resistant so everything that is covered by the fabric is protected from cuts. Unfortunately, one of the downsides of polyethylene construction is its resistance to dyeing. Hence, colors like the Grey you see. So it will still have to be covered by other garments, but this does mean that it is a covert protective solution. No one will know you are wearing it and it will not get in the way of normal duties.

This looks to be a great technology for protecting from cuts and slashes and is available as garments or fabric. Please let us know if anyone gets their hands on any of it.

For more info visit www.cut-tex.com.

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Why It’s Good to be the King

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

King-schming, it’s all just semantics anyway when you are an absolute ruler. It’s a well known fact sonny Jim that Khaddafi is protected by a team of female bodyguards. Stories abound about these ladies but who even cares if any of this is true. It makes for one helluva good story.

See the rest at Acid Cow.

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