Tactical Pro Shop and Benchmade have a strong presence at this years CATO show as well. In addition to show specials from Tactical Pro Shop, Benchmade knives is on-site doing free engraving during the show.
The CATO (California Association of Tactical Officers) Training Conference is an annual training event and 2 day vendor show that is open to Members and Law Enforcement / Federal Agencies only.
The Blue Lives Matter patch, designed by and available exclusively from Tactical Pro Shop, is made of PVC with a Velcro hook backing. The patch features a design honoring all Law Enforcement Officers. Half of the profit from these patches is being donated to COPS – Concerns of Police Survivors, a highly-rated 501(c) charity.
www.tacticalproshop.com/product_p/em-tps-blm
With Avengers 2 out, and Ant-Man on the horizon, it’s no surprise to see the work continues on the Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. Such is the case with this early picture of Crossbones from the currently-in-production, yet slated for a May 2016 release, Captain America: Civil War.
Crossbones, one of Captain America’s most iconic arch-nemeses in the comics, can be seen kitted up in gear from various manufacturers, including S&S Precision, Benchmade Knives, Safariland, G-Code, and AustriaAlpin/ITW.
If we didn’t know any better, we’d swear this looks like something our friends at Tactical Pro Shop were involved with, as they often are. We’re looking forward to seeing what other gear pops up, and for the movie in general.
More pics and info on the movie itself can be found at screencrush.com/crossbones-grillo-first-look
Tactical Pro Shop, LLC is a tactical products store located in Burbank, CA that offers many of the known tactical brands on sale today. It was started by founder Matthew Kime in the early 2000s due to a demand for a knowledgeable and well-stocked uniform and equipment shop from local law enforcement and military; it largely predates many of the hundreds of tactical supply shops currently in business country-wide.
Something that is likely lesser known about Tactical Pro Shop, however, is their involvement with the movie industry. Matt and his staff has experience and contacts in the movie and tactical industries that allow them the opportunity to provide gear and technical expertise for some of Hollywood’s greatest blockbusters. In fact, the posters of movies that TPS has had heavy involvement with adorn the wall above the entrance to the shop.
If you happen to be in the Burbank area, give TPS a visit; tell ’em Soldier Systems Daily sent you. And if you can’t, there’s always their online shop where you can purchase products from their entire inventory.
Let’s face it. Movies like “GI Joe” are gear porn for your eye holes. Our favorite moments are often Schwarzenegger gearing up in ‘Commando’ or Lee Marvin kicking some Nazi ass in ‘The Dirty Dozen’. So lower your guard for an evening and enjoy some explosions and exotic firearms with the added bonus of laughing on the inside (or maybe the outside) at what promises to be some very tactically appropriate one-liners.
It was no surprise to me to hear that our friends at Tactical Pro Shop, LLC. had again been involved with outfitting the GI Joe team. And, like an unscrupulous arms dealer playing both sides, they outfitted the Cobra troops as well.
“Our involvement usually starts with a phone call giving us the broad strokes like ‘were going to be in the desert’, and we round up coolest looking, or technically accurate, apparel and gear to fit those parameters,” related Tactical Pro Shop’s Matt Kime. He went on to say, “We are extremely fortunate to have earned the trust of the separate departments that are involved with the apparel and gear. And the Directors and Tech Advisors appreciate that our day job is outfitting the real-life versions of the characters they are depicting.”
“We treat our film projects with the same degree of confidentiality that we extend our Military and LE customers. In most cases, I avoid specific story details as much as possible, so I can enjoy actually watching the movie.”
Matt is particularly impressed with Ray Park’s depiction of Snake Eyes, 12 year old’s personnel hero, “I was fortunate to be able to visit the set in Louisiana for the filming of one of the final sequences of the movie, and the characters look amazing. The Snake-Eyes suit in this film is the truest to the character it has ever been. We did not have anything to do with the suit, but he does use some custom pieces we made pretty extensively.”
Matt told us to keep our eyes peeled for some custom pieces from Aker Leather, Blade-Tech, Viking Tactics, Yates, Line Of Fire, and a BUNCH more.
Go see GI Joe 2 and remember, it’s just a movie.
Received a note from our friends at Tactical Pro Shop that they are celebrating their grand opening Friday the 1st of March and Saturday the 2nd. In addition to giveaways and in-store discounts, Benchmade factory reps will be on-hand Friday and will laser engrave any Benchmade knife purchased that day for free.
TPS’s Matt Kime relayed that they were incredibly lucky to get a great big space at the corner of two major streets, in one of the most business / firearms friendly cities in Southern California (by comparison).
Their primary brands are Benchmade, First Spear, Ops-Core, Princeton Tec, Surefire, Blackhawk, Camelbak, Safariland, and InForce. They tell us they also offer a few dozen other great brands helping us round out their ability to make sure they are offering the best available solution for a given problem.
In addition to their solid LE customer base, and being a leading provider for the tactical equipment you see on the big screen, Tactical Pro Shop are also welcomes the general public with open arms. Though they do not sell firearms, they’ve pretty much have the rest of the spectrum covered.
To celebrate, they’ve extended SSD readers an additional 10% off, including already discounted items, during their 2-day opening event. If you are there, all you need to do is mention SSD. And, you’d better take some pictures.
Looking forward to visiting you guys next time I am in town.
