Celebrate 20 years of the TLR-1

Archive for the ‘Load Carrying’ Category

Whiskey Two Four’s Belt 00

Thursday, January 9th, 2020

WTF’s Belt 00 is 1.5″ wide and works equally well as a loop lined inner belt or as an everyday belt. 

Belt 00 is made in the USA from milspec, Berry compliant webbing, hook, loop, and hardware.  Belt 00 uses heavy SCUBA webbing as a base.  SCUBA webbing offers a superb combination of stiffness and flexibility for a stable, comfortable belt.

Belt 00 uses a steel G-hook for a low profile, secure closure that won’t create a pressure point under an outer belt.  Low profile, unobtrusive, VELCRO® USA One-Wrap straps keep everything tidy.  A 1″ webbing strap allows for about 2″ of adjustment should cold weather clothing or eating too much ice cream necessitate.

Belt 00 adjusts from 28″ (71cm) – 42″ (106cm), 5.3oz / 150g

Available in black, ranger green, coyote brown, wolf grey, M81 woodland, A-TACS iX, and Multicam Classic, Black, Arid, Alpine, and Tropic.

wtfidea.com

Strike Industries Colby Belt

Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

The Strike Industries Colby Belt is designed for comfortable wear for extended periods.

One of the main customizable features of the Colby Belt rig is the ability to symmetrically adjust the length on both sides without having the loopback areas sit where the kidneys are, move. This is important because the majority of the weight distribution should sit on your hips for better ergonomics.

There are also eight Velcro straps that allow the user a level of modularity and retention based on their desired loadout.

www.strikeindustries.com/shop/si-colby-belt

High Speed Gear Releases New ReFlex IFAK System and Duty Mini Multi-Access Comm TACO

Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

SWANSBORO, N.C. – Jan. 7, 2020 – High Speed Gear® kicked off the new year with two new products, the ReFlex™ IFAK System medical kit and Duty Mini Multi-Access Comm TACO®.

These products were designed to meet popular demand and will be on display at SHOT Show 2020 in Booth 11162. While the Mini MAC is currently available for retail, HSGI® will fully launch the ReFlex™ immediately following SHOT Show.

The ReFlex™ is a two-piece system that was developed with direct input from active-duty medical personnel. This system is designed to organize and hold the contents of the U.S. Army-issued IFAK ambidextrous accessibility. The system comprises the ReFlex™ Carrier and Med Roll. The carrier can mount horizontally and vertically on belts, as well as on MOLLE platforms as small as our Operator Belt, while the roll can hang from a car head rest or IV rack without spilling its contents. These can be purchased together or separately.

The Duty Mini MAC TACO® was designed for the APX 6000/7000/8000 and will hold most other small, handheld radios and issued personal communications devices. The open-top and open-side design allows access to primary radio controls when holstered, while the hidden shock cord offers the versatility of the TACO® design in the sleek finish of traditional law enforcement duty gear.

“A new year means new gear,” Bill Babboni, HSGI® vice president of sales and operations. “The whole team at High Speed Gear® has worked diligently on these two products.  Part of the key to our success is that we continually reach out to multiple industry partners in both law enforcement and the medical community for testing and feedback while designing these products. We are excited to see these out in the field and know that the ReFlex™ IFAK will be a true enhancement for those who are looking to be prepared for all medical situations.”

ReFlex™ IFAK System MSRP: $100 – complete kit; $65 – ReFlex™ Med Roll; $40 – ReFlex™ Carrier

comp-tac.com/reflex-ifak-system

Duty Mini MAC TACO® MSRP: $49

www.highspeedgear.com/hsgi/41MA01-41MA01

 

Crimson Sky by Helikon-Tex

Monday, January 6th, 2020

Helikon-Tex has introduced the Crimson Sky color in several key products for those who require high visibility such as Search and Rescue or Range Control.

FirstSpear Friday Focus – Tac Belt

Friday, January 3rd, 2020

Today we are getting a look at the Tac Belt from FirstSpear.

Designed to integrate with the low profile 6/12 AGB sleeve and base belt lite, the Tac Belt features loop sections for securing the Modular v-ring and sewn on loop points perfect for attaching a non-load bearing carabiner.

The inside of the belt is lined with hook and will secure to loop style belts like the base belt lite. This belt is not a stiffened belt like the AGB and provides an ultra light and low profile platform to work from. Made in the USA.

Available in Black, Multicam, and Coyote. Does not include padded AGB sleeve.

www.first-spear.com/tac-belt

Kyle Defoor Goes Over Gear He Used in 2019

Thursday, January 2nd, 2020

Part 1

I wore this stuff more than anything else in over 40 military classes in 2019. For reconnaissance and sniper stuff I use the Crye Low profile chest rig only. For CQB classes I wear the Crye JPC carrier with my chest rig over the top. I use the Crye range belt with both JPC and chest rig and by itself for pistol and carbine only classes when full kit is not required and for most LE classes. The holster is a Safariland ALS which I use for military classes and I typically switch to an SLS for law-enforcement. The holster is in a UBL plate with the big fastec so I can switch easily to the pistol that the unit I’m training uses. The pistol pouches and single m4 pouch are HSG to make it easy switching from Sig, Glock, HK mags. All other items are from Crye Precision.

Part 2

I made an effort to ditch the leather jacket more this year and did most of my riding with a goretex shell (Black Diamond Liquid Point) with leather vest over the top (unconventional but I need the jacket anyway for all my jobs so I came up with a way to make it work). When cold I would have a small down jacket (BD First Light) under the shell- basically same as I would dress for the field except the leather vest, which is absolutely needed at highway speed to prevent flapping. This experiment not only made my moto loadout smaller but also reduced weight during the 15k miles of trips I took in 2019.

For helmet I switched back to the Biltwell Lanesplitter after Biltwell was kind enough to supply me with one of the few prototype transition shields. For wind reduction on the Biltwell helmet scroll back a few posts to see what I came up with. Bluetooth is Sena 10s.

For cold weather riding I use Gerbing Hero Heated Gloves. For 9 months out of the year I use Outdoor Research Firemark gloves which double as my work glove when I get to the range/shoot house.

I wore both Defcon Vans and new to me this year Redwing Heritage 8849 Moc Toes. The Redwings are legit for working on concrete floored ranges and shoot houses and also impressed me with how waterproof they are at speed on the interstate. I never got wet on my last long trip of 2700 miles and I went through a lot of rain.

Pants for riding in cold/rain over the top of my normal pants are goretex Arcteryx but I’m not sure of the model. They have hooks that go around the forward most part of your boot lace and that really helps keep you dry at interstate speed. Never once got wet.

I’ll sum up my riding choices with this…..it’s all a compromise once you’re not wearing a full leather race suit with armor and your not on a track. Experience and processor speed are what should determine personal decisions on how much safety gear you wear/ don’t wear when riding the streets……don’t bring emotion into it and don’t have mindset problems from the start.

Part 3

I wore Prometheus DesignWorks pants on all Moto trips and during cool weather on the range. I also exclusively use PDW wall beanies.

New to me this year thanks to the Northman was the insulated snap shirt from Kuiu. It is the warmest and most packable insulated piece I’ve ever seen. Good to the low 40s with only a T-shirt underneath.

New to me this year are Dixxon Flannels. They are made of a blended material so essentially they are synthetic. For me this makes them very useful because they can get wet and still provide warmth. They are so good that I quit wearing a base layer on top in the cold weather and just wear a Dixon flannel with a down jacket over the top. I’m seriously considering buying a Dixon flannel and using it as my insulated piece for cold-weather running. Because they are made for riding a motorcycle the collars snap down which also helps immensely when wearing body armor all day or being around any helo work.

Darn tough socks or a no brainer and anyone reading this page should realize they are the greatest sock ever made and come with a lifetime warranty.

I ran in New Balance 1080s this year but will most likely be switching to a Gore-Tex running shoe due to the harsh weather conditions I am generally in when I get to PT and also I can reduce packing by having a do it all shoe.

The Crye Precision AVS 1000 pack has been in my saddle bag or on my back the majority of the year wether riding my bike, flying in a plane or driving to the range.

The red wing heritage boots impressed me with over 10,000 miles ridden and countless ranges, shoot houses, and in the field. They are in desperate need of a resoling but I am impressed. Might look at Thorgood’s to have a second pair to rotate.

Part 4

Gear in Review 4 of 5

11.5” w/Vortex Crossfire and PEQ-15 for MIL and LE classes with SBT Brace for CIV jobs

16” w/Vortex Razor, SS Kreiger Barrel for CIV classes

16” w/Vortex Viper 2-10, KD4 barrel for MIL and CIV Scoped Classes

All BCM, all Bobro Mounts, all lights Streamlight Protac Rail-1, all slings VTAC.

Sig Sauer P320 for Army and CIV classes

Two Glock 19s for LE, MIL and CIV classes

Atienza Wicked, Northman BEDU, Headhunter Rat for all classes rotated out for various reasons.

Part 5

The constants;

Wilderness Tactical FF belt, Garmin Fenix 5X for the running, a cool hat, Smith Longfin sunnies, Olukai flops, Swiss Army Explorer, Streamlight Protac 1L, The Ring.

defoor-proformance-shooting.myshopify.com

Pelican GO G40 Case with 10000mAh Portable Charger and Wireless Qi Charging

Friday, December 27th, 2019

Pelican has expanded their GO Case line with the addition of the G40 Case with 10000mAh Portable Charger and Wireless Qi Charging.

Not only will this water (IP67 = submerged under 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes), crush and dust proof case protect your electronic items such as a cellular devices, it will charge them as well, using the wireless Qi charging capability. In fact, it will charge most phones up to four times.

The color for this model is Anthricite and Grey. So far we’ve found it for sale on Amazon.

FirstSpear Friday Focus – OEM Partner Series: Shaw Concepts

Friday, December 20th, 2019

It’s Friday and we have another edition of the FirstSpear OEM Partner Series where we take a look at a new company FS has partnered with and the equipment they build for them. Today we are checking out a great up-and-coming American equipment company, Shaw Concepts and the RAID Pouch.

Why was the RAID developed and why did you choose the Tubes system?

The RAID was developed from the lack of a good IFAK that could be easily removed and reattached. Most IFAKs on the market come off easily but once used don’t offer the user an easy way to pack up the contents and reattach the pouch. Some just dump out their contents, leaving the user to pick up their trash and just stuff it in their pockets or dump pouch. The RAID started out as a solution to this but proved itself to also make a great general utility plate carrier hanger pouch as well. The idea to use the FirstSpear Tubes came from my experience with the Tubes on the AAC I owned. They’re easy to connect and disconnect and they are short in distance from end to end making them fit well in the slim space between the plate carrier and RAID Pouch, something not many buckles can do well, which made it a simple choice. The ease of connecting with one hand without seeing it made it idea for lowlight and night time operations as well and that’s the sort of work our target customer base does.

Why did you choose FS manufacturing?

Once some of my designs caught a bit of traction and I found myself unable to fulfill the demand on my own sewing equipment I started looking into OEM options. FirstSpear turned out to be one and I was already familiar with their products and quality since I used their AAC Plate Carrier. I contacted them and to my surprise they answered and were willing to help and easy to work with.

Why is American manufacturing important to Shaw Concepts?

I fundamentally believe in American Exceptionalism and that as Americans it’s our responsibility to pioneer continuously. I also believe in taking care of fellow Americans and American Industries first. Most of us hate how much of what we use is made overseas and now that I’m in a position to choose to make things here or abroad I prioritize American manufacturing. Plus I get a sense of pride in seeing the ‘Made in the US’ tag on some of my products. I hope this shows in the quality of my products and the values of my business.

Why was Shaw Concepts started?

Shaw Concepts was started due to a lack of satisfaction in the gear offerings of the industry. Time and time again I found myself wishing for a particular piece of gear tailored to a certain purpose or just made well with the user’s comfort and use in mind. I found myself designing gear I wish I had and even making some early creations out of sea bag canvas with the help of my unit’s riggers. From there I started making things for fellow recondos around the barracks and coming up with new products like the RAID Pouch. I started an instagram (@ShawConcepts) for my creations; not planning for too much to come of it but people online and around the barracks were really impressed with what I came up with so from there it just kind of grew.

www.shaw-concepts.com/product-page/raid-pouch