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Archive for the ‘Off-Duty’ Category
Gear Hog Launches Next Week
Saturday, July 16th, 2011Switch Vision
Sunday, June 5th, 2011
Extreme Outfitters just added Switch Vision to their lineup. They use earth magnets on the lens and in the frame to switch out lenses, making lens changes a snap.
For a limited time, Extreme Outfitters is offering them at 25% OFF retail plus a free pair of low light lenses in Yellow. This is an exceptional deal considering Switch glasses already come with Polarized Non-Mirror lenses as well as an extra pair of Rose Amber Lenses. That’s free sets of lenses as well as a matte Black frame.
To order yours visit www.extremeoutfitters.us.
Osprey Luggage System
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011I need to start out by telling you that I am going to keep the article on the product level and also let you know that Osprey works and guys are using it.
So then, why Osprey? That’s a darned good question. There are a couple of successes we can talk about. It’s a privately held family business owned since 1974. Their business is solely focused on Packs and Luggage and according to “Leisure Trend” is the #1 manufacture of back packs in the outdoor industry. Finally, you can’t talk about Osprey without mentioning their Almighty Guarantee. It’s retroactive to day one of the company and applies to any product, whether or not you are the original owner. No lost registration cards. You send it back, Osprey repairs or replaces and ships it back to you. Now that’s a guarantee.
Now that we’ve gotten the why out of the way, let’s get down to the what. Osprey offers a lot of products but for this article we are going to talk luggage. If there was a de-facto “Osprey Tactical” it would be our friends at Outdoor Sports Marketing. They spend most of their time on the road talking to customers and based on this experience have packaged three civilian line products into a luggage system that they feel best suits the Warfighter or Government employee. It consists of the Shuttle 110, Porter 46, and Daylite. This gives the Traveler 1 bag under the plane, 1 bag over head, and 1 bag in hand. These bags can be purchased individually or as set. Additionally, they are intended to work in tandem. For example, the Daylite can also be attached to either the Shuttle 110 or the Porter 46. You get modularity, scalability and flexibility in one kit. Let’s take a look at each of the bags (photos not to scale with one another).
Available in Earth and Charcoal, the Shuttle 110 gets its name from the number of liters it can accommodate which translates to 6600 cu in. It also features a 16″ wide chassis with large protected wheels as well as plenty of pockets to organize gear of different shapes and sizes including main compartment, large base compartment, side pockets, top slash pocket, and a zippered side pocket. I got one of these last year and it great to travel with. It’s easy to maneuver and the wide stance of the wheels doesn’t teeter like cheapo luggage I’ve used in the past.
The Porter 46 is Maximum Legal Carry-on size and converts to a backpack using an easy-stow harness and fabric wing hipbelt. It can also be carried with a strap for over-the-shoulder carry. Once again, the 46 denotes the number of liters which equates to 2800 cu in. This makes for a great carry on bag. It’s a roomy, duffle-style bag with four carry handles that make it easy to manipulate. The Porter 46 comes in Earth, Crimson, and Charcoal.
The Daylite offers 750 cu in of load carrying capacity as well as a padded backpanel, a small zippered front pocket, open topped side pockets and a laced bungee. The Daylite can also be attached to the other bags in this article to facilitate movement. It’s available in Granite, Alpine, Tundra, Pepper, Salsa.
Inquiries for Tactical Distribution should be directed to Outdoor Sports Marketing at info@outdoorsportsmarketing.com or 866-893-8676.
Ops-Core Base Jump Helmet in Red 
Thursday, May 5th, 2011
Up to now all I have seen are artist renderings of the Base Jump helmet in red. The colors weren’t coming out quite right, but Ops-Core had one fresh out of the mould on display today at the Warrior Expo West. Additionally, they attached the new Contour HD camera mount I recently wrote about. With its ARC rails and NVG mount, the Base Jump is unlike anything that has ever been available.
As you can see, it is a very vibrant red and will be perfect for locating bobbing heads in the water during water jumps or other MAROPS training as well as for high adventure and extreme sports use. You can configure the Base Jump helmet with a variety of lights, cameras and other accessories using the VAS shroud and ARC rails to suit your activity and it is a great lower cost alternative to the more expensive carbon fiber FAST Bump Helmet for many applications.
For more info visit www.ops-core.com. It is featured in their catalog which can be downloaded here.
All of Ops-Core’s products are available through www.ADSinc.com/Ops-Core.
Magpul Heavy
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011What do you get when you combine a kickass team of small arms design and manufacturing specialists with a love of motorcycles? You get Magpul Heavy, home of the the Ronin motorcycle. We wrote about the Ronin during SHOT Show 2010. The Ronin started life as a Buell 1125R sport bike (no longer in production) and then received the “Magpul” treatment.
While Ronin is an experiment, so to speak, we would certainly like to see Magpul continue to carry on with similar projects. Go see for yourself what we are talking about and let them know if you’d like one.
www.MagpulHeavy.com or on Facebook
Not Your Typical Kit Bag
Monday, April 4th, 2011
The new Kit Bag from Hill People Gear is something a little different that what you might expect. Rather than a big, lumbering holdall, it is a compact Admin-style pouch that fits right up front where you can access it. Designed primarily for civilian applications, it interfaces well with a pack and surprise!, includes a pistol pouch. The 7.5†x 2†x 11†sized pouch is designed to carry a pistol with a weapon light mounted and a few other essentials without interfering with a hip belt. It can be worn attached to a pack’s shoulders traps or with its included H harness making it very stable, even when running. This can be a great piece of kit for someone who doesn’t want to carry in a holster or fanny pack and can also use the convenience of a fold open admin pouch to access items such as maps as well as other gear.
You will notice that they are partial to Kifaru (as are we). In fact, you may also notice some similarities with the Koala and that is because it was initially designed by the folks at Hill People Gear.
The Kit Bag is manufactured for Hill People Gear by First Spear meaning it is made from mil-spec materials and is Berry compliant. Available in Ranger Green, Foliage, and Coyote, to order yours, visit www.hillpeoplegear.com.
KÖPPEN Now Available at Dick’s Sporting Goods
Thursday, March 31st, 2011Billed as “Performance Gear for Outdoor Athletes”, KÖPPEN clothing is now available from Dick’s Sporting Goods. KÖPPEN looks to be a mid-price brand that offers many of the features found in more established brands. Unfortunately, it seems that the savings may be the materials side. We really aren’t sure what technologies are being used.
Take for example, the unfortunately named Tsunami jacket. It is available in Black, Nautical Blue and Sunset, it is made from a waterproof/breathable fabric named HYDRO PROTECT. There is no other description, but at $80 chances are good it’s a coated fabric.
Men’s and Women’s jackets, pants, shirts, shorts, and mid-layers are all available. Find the entire KÖPPEN line at www.dicks.com.
Mammut iPhone App
Friday, March 11th, 2011Swiss outdoor manufacturer Mammut Sports Group AG has developed an iOS app primarily for recreational use called the Packing List. Best of all it’s free.
The Packing List app is designed to help you pack for a variety of high adventure activities like climbing, mountaineering and snowshoeing. Although each list template is assembled by the pros, you can customize it or even create new packing lists. What’s more, you can invite team members to share your list for collaborative trip planning and add new items not already loaded into the app.
