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Archive for 2013
2013 Smith Elite Brand Video
Friday, February 22nd, 2013Polish Brand SPECOPS Introduces Mountain Uniform
Friday, February 22nd, 2013Interestingly, we were just covering military mountaineering and now the Polish brand SPECOPS has introduced a mountain version of their MBS-2 uniform. Dubbed MBS-2M, the initial version is in PenCott Badlands.
This new MBS-2M model is designed for wear in mountain regions with the associated inclement weather. The trousers have a padded high waist to keep snow and wind from coming in and accept suspenders to keep them from falling down when layering. There are also Cordura reinforcements on the hem for use with crampons as well as waterproof zippers for simplified donning and doffing.
215 Gear Supports Upcoming Discovery Channel Show – Rhino Wars
Friday, February 22nd, 2013Our friends at 215 Gear sent us this message:
215 GEAR™ is proud to announce its support for the Operators on the new Discovery show “Rhino Wars”. This show is based on a movement to stop the illegal poaching of Rhinoceroses in South Africa. Four Special Operations veterans lead the fight to stop the slaughter of the Rhino for its horn. The show premiers on Thursday, 7MAR13 at 2100 EST. More to follow.
WTF Moleskine?
Friday, February 22nd, 2013A friend of ours in the firearms industry received this email from notebook manufacturer Moleskine after inquiring about getting some branded notebooks for giveaways.
Thank you for your request but currently Moleskine Brand Guidelines prevent us from working with any weapon companies. Good luck and have a great day.
Sincerely,
XXXXX
Moleskine America, Inc.
210 eleventh avenue, suite 1004
new york, ny 10001
www.moleskine.com
Military Mountain and Cold Weather Work Shop – NENSA Adaptive Ski Program
Thursday, February 21st, 2013Profits from this year’s work shop will be going to the Military Adaptive sports program. Retired Sergent Major Pat Viljanen gave us a presentation on this truly amazing program.
Funded primarily with a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Adaptive Ski Program is sponsored by the New England Nordic Ski Association. The program supports about 20 wounded warriors per week at no cost to the participants. From these programs NENSA maintains development as well as competitive teams. Oddly enough, this is becoming a great winter alternative for those that participate in summer hand cycling.
Many SSD readers will find the biathlon particularly interesting which combines cross country skiing with rifle marksmanship, requiring both speed and accuracy. The adaptive program uses a .177 pellet rifle with scaled targets. The skills remain but the distances and target size are altered.
The competitors use sit skis of various forms that are purpose built for each type of disability. One double leg amputee program participant is even learning to ski with skis that incorporate a walker. These guys get good. Some of them are capable of doing 90 degree hop turns without the aid of poles, they have developed their core muscles so well.
Unfortunately, the VA grant that funds this program has already been cut and additional cuts are on the horizon so the donations from the work shop will be put to good use. For example, an air rifle costs about $3000 and a sit ski is around $1500 each.
Military Mountain and Cold Weather Work Shop – Over Snow Transport
Thursday, February 21st, 2013The discussion began with a focus on sleds. Traditionally called Ahkios or Pulkas by the US military, the issue model dates from at least the 50s and is pretty big. Small unit operations call for a smaller model and the USMC is now using a model by Wilderness Engineering. The Marine Corps – Large Transport and Rescue Sled or MC-LTRS weighs about 32 lbs.
Kifaru also offers a sled called the Combat Expedition Sled which is 15 lbs as well as a smaller Combat Armadillo at 12 lbs.
Next, the group discussed skis. Granted, snow shoes are much easier to train troops to use but skis are much more useful for military operations than snow shoes. The increase in mobility is tremendous. And, because the skis will always have climbing skins, they won’t end up being all that fast in the down hill so they are more controllable than you might think. Additionally, little military skiing is downhill but rather as a means to transit from area to another.
Additionally, an interesting point that came out regarding the military’s mindset regarding NATO bindings. Modern commercial boots and bindings are way ahead of low leather boots. In fact, New plastic boots are very flexible. While the military procurement system might not purchase boots that fit every single foot type, there are things that can be done to help with fit including thermo molding of liners. The issue isn’t the boots, once you come to grips with using a single plastic, two-piece boot, but rather the bindings. New bindings like the NTN and Tech bindings are designed specifically for these new boots and are easy to get in and out of. The Dynafit patent for the Tech Binding has sunset so anyone can now make them.
The Rogue Gunfighter Store Is Now Open
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
Right off the bat you’ll notice a limited run of mini penlights as well as some hats and patches. But the biggest thing is that the LVR armor carrier is available for sale along with the RG cut soft armor. Additionally, they will continually add more innovative Low Vis products as they get stocked.
Military Mountain and Cold Weather Work Shop – Shelters
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
NEMO Equipment offers a wide variety of shelters that will accommodate users from 1 to 20. Here, you see their Coda 1.5P SE which incorporates dual side openings as well as a vestibule.
For years the US military has issued a canvas tent for use in arctic environments. NEMO Equipment has developed a new shelter called the ISOPOD300X SE for a USMC requirement to replace this older shelter.
This slightly smaller ISOPOD100 (above) version is in Orange but its also offered in any of the NEMO SE colors such as Alpha Green, Coyote and MultiCam. This tent will handle a wind load in excess of 80 mph.
From above the ISOPOD300X resembles a cloverleaf. It’s a single wall tent and the Gore-tex fabric is also FR and offers blackout for light suppression. You can turn a light on inside and the tent won’t “glow”. It is under 150 lbs and this shelter will also accept a space heater as well as HVAC units.
They are also currently working on a new version of the US Army’s 10 men Arctic tent designed in 1952. Referred to as an Octopod, it will be a center pole design and fit in an akio.
