Remember the HEL-STAR 5 strobe from Core Survival we wrote about back in June? Here is some video of it in action, attached to a Gentex Parachutist Helmet during a military free fall jump at Eloy, AZ. It is designed for use by parachutists while in freefall and under canopy to identify one another.
It’s hard to find a SOF unit that doesn’t use Adventure Lights and, occasionally, you’ll see a VIP light attached to a helmet in one field expedient fashion or another. Up until now, there hasn’t been a purpose built solution to affix your VIP light to your helmet. This new mount gives a solid platform to mount the VIP light to helmet via Velcro. Additionally, the mount is available in two configurations. The one-way bezel will not allow the user to accidentally trigger a visual light function, while the two-way bezel allows the user to start from a visual or IR setting.
Adventure Lights VIP Helmet Mount
Made in Canada, both mounts are available in Black as well as the new Tan color which will soon be a standard color on all lights.
Adventure Lights are available through www.adsinc.com.
It’s getting cold out there. Whether stalking game or humans, there can be periods of time where you are sitting, and your hands freeze up. If you’re like me (and designer Paul Lewis), you don’t like to wear thick gloves. But, the MOLLE Muff from FHF Gear keeps your hands warm and at the ready.
It features a Cordura outer and a fleece inner with a mesh pocket for handwarmers. It attaches to your vest (or belt) via a single row of PALS webbing. Paul intends for you to mount the MOLLE Muff low, out of the way of your kit but you still have the option of mounting up on the chest. Additionally, there is some elastic in the attachment that allows for some give.
Coyote Brown and MultiCam are now in stock and ready to ship for winter. Ranger Green and Black should be in stock around Christmas. Other colors will be custom orders.
Made in USA!
A simple, “FIELD NOTES” is emblazoned on the cover. While they make a whole slew of notebooks, my favorite is the 48-page memo book. It is 3-1/2†wide by 5-1/2†tall making a perfect fit for a pocket and it’s well made so it won’t fall apart when you’re using it. Bound with a rugged three-staple saddle-stitch process, envelope brown and burnt orange are standard covers but over the course of a year, they release several specialty colors that sell out almost immediately.
I prefer the graph paper since I’m not much of an artist and it makes it easier for me to sketch but ruled and plain are also available. Made in USA.
Go over and read the FLIR Scout TS-Series review on Gizmodo. If you don’t, this article won’t make sense.
Over the past couple of years FLIR has been trying to commercialize their IR sensor technology. FLIR builds a solid product and their military and commercial grade products are everywhere. Considering what you are getting, their personal vision products are fairly inexpensive, and the resolution is pretty good. So good in fact, that Gizmodo’s reviewers came to the amazing conclusion that, “IT LETS YOU SEE IN THE DARK, DUDE.” Amazingly, they were dumbfounded by the notion that although field replaceable, a screw driver was required to change the batteries even though the unit is waterproof. What’s more, they were a bit put off that the FLIR used up batteries even though it only uses 4 x AA.
“You need a screwdriver to remove the batteries, which is screwy because a) They’re supposedly “field-replaceable” and b) The thing eats batteries like they’re covered in sugar and sitting in a pie dish.”
I have to admit I read Gizmodo. But what do hipsters do when you give them military grade hardware? Why, they use it to photograph themselves urinating of course. Score one for the marketing machine at FLIR. It’s the weekend so I’ll give you my opinion raw. When I read this article, I formed this image in my mind’s eye that involves a monkey violating a football.
Bottom line, civilians are absolutely amazed by shit military folks take for granted. Conclusion? They need to man the fuck up and serve their country instead of reading about it on hipster websites.
-EG
We don’t run articles like this much on SSD anymore since most of this type of content is found over at Tactical Fanboy. But, who doesn’t love James Bond? And if you’re into kit as much we are, then Major Geoffrey Boothroyd aka “Q” was probably a personal hero. This video was shot during the filming of “Goldfinger” and introduces us to the real Geoffrey Boothroyd who inspired author Ian Fleming to introduce the character to the series. In fact, it was Boothroyd who suggested the Walther PPK as an appropriate sidearm for 007. My favorite quote from the video? “The most important thing, irrespective of whether we’re dealing with revolvers or automatic pistols is stopping power. And again, this is again a very debatable thing. You can look in the manufacturer’s tables, for muzzle velocities, muzzle energies and all the rest of it, but, after all in real life, we’re shooting at human beings.”
Also, there is a longer version available at BBC.co.uk that may be regionally blocked for some.
BattleComp, a new and very popular compensator on the rifle market, has once again sold out of their BC 2.0 and has also announced they are working on a 24×1.5 AKBC for the near future. The 1.5s are now back in stock and they’re working diligently to restock the others.
Chances are you’ve seen BCs before, even if you weren’t aware that was what you were seeing (they’ve been to Haley, Costa, Rogers, Vickers and other classes, often appearing on instructor rifles). The BattleComp is exactly what the name implies, a “Battle Compensatorâ€. It is not intended to be the best muzzle brake or best flash hider on the market and doesn’t claim to be. However, they do claim to be the best combination of the two, and the most well rounded. Most reports we’ve found seem to support this assertion. (There are two common “schools of thought†when it comes to modifying a rifle barrel—either flash hider or a muzzle brake…BC’s designers basically said, “Why can’t we combine the two?”)
“You can run a dual port break in a shoot house or a target structure,†says Alan Normandy of BattleComp, “but the fireball and the concussion will make people not want to be standing right next to you. You need something to tame the concussion and mitigate the flash. Muzzle brakes as previously designed did nothing about the flash…given the choice between the two, a lot of cops go with flash hiders because they’re cheaper and because they can train to accommodate the recoil management…you can’t train to accommodate flash. We figured, there’s gotta be a way to do both…we should be able to have something acceptable in each category…â€
That led to the development of the BattleComp. Note: the 1.0 is a standard BattleComp. The 1.5 has an extended hood on it so it would meet the 16†barrel length required for people running a 14.5†barrel (surprisingly, this is one of their most popular models). The 2.0, which came out back in January, is starting to outsell the 1.0. It is configured for the addition of a silencer on the end. Most BCs you see will be on AR15s, but they’ve appeared on long guns, FALs, AK74s, 6.8 SPC rifles, the .300 Blackout and other weapons (and is the standard compensator on most War Sport and Legion Firearms rifles).
For more information, check out the BattleComp web page or find them on FaceBook.
-DR
Not to be confused with our upcoming 12 Days of Tactical Christmas giveaway, Grey Group is offering an unprecedented 12 days of deals. During the Very Grey 12 Days of Christmas which began on the 23rd of November and runs through the 4th of December, Grey Group will announce a new deal on their Facebook page a few hours before they go up on the website. These are some pretty significant discounts and they’ve even thrown in some training as well.
