The New iTWB

Archive for the ‘Off-Duty’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

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.

Tags: , ,
Posted in ADS, Helmets, Off-Duty, Outdooralamode | 5 Comments »

Magpul Heavy

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

What 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

Tags: ,
Posted in Off-Duty | 9 Comments »

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.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Load Carrying, Off-Duty, Packs | 10 Comments »

KÖPPEN Now Available at Dick’s Sporting Goods

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Billed 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.

Tags: ,
Posted in Clothing, Off-Duty, Outdooralamode | 1 Comment »

Mammut iPhone App

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Swiss 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.

basecamp.mammut.ch

Tags: ,
Posted in Digitization, Off-Duty, Outdooralamode | Comments Off on Mammut iPhone App

Camelbak Groove Filter

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Camelbak produced this video explaining how they test their Groove filter technology. The Camelbak Groove features a bite valve and replaceable filter elements. One of the main features of the Groove filter is that it removes nasty tastes so they recommend that you only use water. It seems the filter removes good tastes as well. Interestingly, the activated material in the filter is coconut carbon (anyone remember this?).

www.camelbak.com

Tags:
Posted in Off-Duty, Sustainment | 2 Comments »

A Lowkey Alternative to the Rigger’s Belt – Updated

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Mountain Hardwear has two alternatives to the GI rigger’s Belt for those that like the basic look but don’t want to scream “average”; the Double Back Belt and the Alloy Nut Belt.

Sure, they’re not life support capable, but either are the issue Rigger’s Belts which really are nothing more than a few feet of Type VIII webbing and friction adapters from a Parachutist H Harness. The issue belt might look cool but won’t do much for a you in a jam. On the other hand, the Mountain Hardware belts look really cool and come in enough different colors you can make up your own combatives belt system. What’s more, you won’t look like a toolbag if you wear one of them in civilian clothing.

Colors include Espresso, British Tan, Stone Green, Grill, Moondust and the boringly named Black. One size fits most.

Update- One of my colleagues who is a big MH fan told me he had purchased the Alloy Nut Belt and it just wouldn’t stay tight. I have had hands on the Double Back and the design keeps the belt secure but he feels that the webbing on the Alloy Nut Belt was too supple and slippery to stay secure. Looking at the two designs you can see that the buckles are drastically different and this may contribute to the disparity in performance. So at this point, the SSD verdict is Double Back = Good, Alloy Nut = Not So Good.

Thanks for the input Rob! If anyone else has any input please feel free to share it in the comments section.

Tags:
Posted in Clothing, Off-Duty, Outdooralamode | 3 Comments »

Arborwear Stretch Tech Pant

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

It’s literally been years since we last wrote about Arborwear. We hadn’t spoken with anyone from Arborwear in quite some time and they’ve always been considered a bit of a specialist brand. After all, the company was started by lumberjacks. But, we ran into Arborwear Team Captain Bill Weber at last month’s Outdoor Retailer Winter Market in SLC and it became blatantly obvious how much we have missed out on. They have just gotten better and better. They make a lot of great clothing but one thing that caught my eye was the Stretch Tech Pant. I’ve always loved the Tech Pant with its comfortable fabric and cut that moves with you. This new Stretch Tech Pant doesn’t disappoint.

They come equipped with two front pockets and two rear pockets along with a side cargo pocket and utility pocket. The bottom cuffs feature 18″ zippers and Velcro tabs to fit over boots. Available in Teflon-coated Charcoal four-way stretch fabric they include Black Kevlar knee patches which are darn near indestructible. Waist sizes 28-44.

www.arborwear.com

Tags:
Posted in Clothing, Off-Duty | Comments Off on Arborwear Stretch Tech Pant

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »