During OR we posted an short teaser about Camelbak’s new line of bladders designed to be fitted directly to armor vests. The Direct Armor Attachment System has been adapted to three new packs ArmorBak, ThermoBak, and the Ambush AB 500. They are designed to attach to the armor’s PALS webbing via a split bar side release buckle. Examples we saw at OR and AUSA were in UCP and Coyote. You should expect to see these hit shelves right after SHOT Show.
Photos from Military Times.
Simply amazing. This tape is a fix all. This self-fusing tape has a 700 PSI tensile strength, insulates 8,000 volts per layer, withstands 500° F degrees of heat (260° C) yet remains flexible to -85° F (-60° C). The possibilities are almost endless with the stuff. It isn’t effected by wet, dirty, or oily surfaces and can be used as easily to repair a leaky radiator as to stop a bleeding injury.
For reasons such as these, Rescue Tape is found in every Battle Damage Assessment and Repair kit. Rescue Tape is available in 1″ and 2″ widths in eight colors (Black, Red, Clear, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, White).
For more info go to Rescue Tape. To order go to Supply Captain.
We are always interested in meal supplements or replacements that will aid the Soldier whether in garrison or deployed. We recently had an opportunity to sample several new flavors of ProBar. Overall impression? Pretty darned good. Most of the flavors were quite tasty but reviewers were 50/50 on the Kettle Corn bar.
Ounce for ounce, the ProBar is lower in both sodium and protein than most other bars. They do this for two reasons. One, to help reduce your need for water and second because the carbohydrates that the ProBar is packed with are the perfect fuel for a body hard at work. Made from 17 whole foods of which about 70% are raw, and they accomplish this by blending rather than baking the bar.
They come in an ever expanding variety of flavors including: Superfood Slam, Art’s Original Blend, Whole Berry Blast, Nutty Banana Boom, Apple Cinnamon Crunch, Cran-Lemon Twister, Koka Moka, Cherry Pretzel, Maple Pecan, Kettle Corn, Cocoa Pistachio, and Sesame Goji.
Tech venture capitalist Adam Grosser worked with a thermodynamics team at Stanford, to build a thermos-sized device that contains a refrigerant that’s triggered when the device is heated and then left to cool. It acts like a powerful cold pack, turning anything from a jug to a hole in the ground into a twenty-four-hour minifridge. At roughly fifty dollars apiece, Grosser’s device could potentially bring people in the developing world high-maintenance medicines. Imagine how this same technology could be adapted for military use.
Photo from Hero Design Lab.
After seeing our article on Cabelas’ Cotside Nightstand, a reader alerted us to Canada-based Wheeler’s Cot Organizer manufactured under their CPGear Brand.
Constructed of mil-spec materials such as 420 denier nylon pack cloth, nylon mesh, and nylon webbing, it’s a bit pricier than the Cabelas model, but you get what you pay for. If you would prefer to spend your money on non-Asian alternatives, then the CPGear model, manufactured from quality materials in a NAFTA and NATO partner country, is the one for you.
This report comes from one of our readers currently deployed to the CENTCOM AOR. He also tell us that the Z-mask from McNett that we previously reported on is a “lifesaver for night shift guys”.
Not every cool, Soldier friendly textile gadget is made by a tribe of retired SOF operators in a basement workshop with long lead times. Some are available from pedestrian sporting goods suppliers. Case in point: The Cabelas’ Cotside Nightstand.
The standard green folding cot is a fact of life at staging bases and most primitive FOBs. Be it 150 troops in a circus tent in Kuwait or up on the 4th floor of a JSS in Baghdad, every military member sleeps on a cot at some point. One of the constant problems is where to put “the little things†that one normally sticks on a nightstand, such as travel alarm clocks, flashlights, reading material, eye mask (link McNett eyemask here), or iPod. Sitting them atop an assault pack or duffel bag inevitably ends up with some of your treasures on the floor on getting stepped on by your tentmates, especially if you are packed in.
A simple, inexpensive solution is the Cabela’s Cotside Nightstand. When rolled up, it takes up about as much room a Nalgene bottle but unrolls to 74 x 11.5 and attaches to any standard cot or metal framed bed with Velcro straps and shockcord loops at the ends. When attached to a cot, there is still 3 or so inches of free space below the edge to access your high speed ninja flipflops or more pedestrian shower shoes and running shoes.
Numerous pockets allow stowage of books, sidearms, flashlights, small “netbook” laptops, and a clever fold down shelf for travel alarms is near the head. In addition, there is a full length sleeve for long guns but it’s impractical to use with protuberance laden M16/M4 type weapons. The can holder will hold a Green Beans coffee cup or a 500ml bottle of water but isn’t big enough for the standard 1L water bottle.
It’s made of a Cordura-esque texutrized polyester and the construction is on par for its price and purpose. It could be made more robustly out of 1000D Cordura but that would needlessly increase weight, packed bulk, and cost.
For tent/primitive FOB living, it is definitely a “must have†and is worth cramming in your duffle or load-out bag.
About $25 from Cabelas.
As you enjoy your Thanksgiving meal take a moment to consider what our Astronauts on the International Space Station are eating. Its a turkey dinner with the trimmings but conventional, it ain’t. But fortunately for NASA crew, rations have come a long way since the tubes used on the Apollo program.
A reporter from Discovery News got a chance to sample some of the cuisine last week. His opinion? Bland. io9, a science fiction blog also has a few photos.
Made from 1000D Cordura and lined with 400 weight pack cloth the TAG Advanced Rolling Loadout Bag features four exterior pouches. Additionally, there are four removable pouches inside of the bag. The frame is made with 6061 aircraft grade aluminum and powdered coated with a black “crinkle†finish in order to resist wear.
One of the problems with other bags is that items in the bag push against the wheel. This not only makes it difficult to pull the bag, eventually, holes are worn in the bag’s fabric and your kit gets wet and dirty. This design features wheel wells to prevent this from happening. Additionally, the axle is one solid piece and runs through the frame in order to prevent the wheels from breaking off. The large ball bearing wheels give a smooth ride over uneven surfaces. Finally, the bag can be easily removed from the frame if needed for cleaning, modification, or repair.
TAG has already sold about 1000 of them and can’t keep them in stock. For this reason, none of TAG’s retailers have them yet. I was lucky enough to get one and it has served me well on several trips. The Advanced Loadout Bag isn’t cheap, but like I always say, “Buy Quality, Cry Once”. TAG regularly runs discount specials and that is a great time to invest in one of these bags.
The Advanced Loadout Bag is a roomy 39″L x 17″H x 12″D for a total of 7,956 cubic inches. Berry compliant with a 100% lifetime warranty, the Loadout Bag is available in a multitude of colors including Coyote, Ranger Green, Black, UCP, and Multicam. The interior is solid colored.
To order visit the Operator’s Choice.
Pictures from TAG.
