Chris Costa shared some photos of the bag he uses for times he finds himself more than an hour away from home, as well as its contents.
The bag itself is a Costa Ludus x MAP System by London Bridge Trading. The equipment come from the following sources:
Carbine – War Sport Industries, LLC
Pistol – Salient Arms International
Lights – SureFire, LLC
Holster – Raven Concealment Systems
IFAK – Dark Angel Medical, LLC
Survival Kit – Solkoa
Light Accessory Loop – Thyrm
TNVC, Inc
Nightlife in Wyoming:
Training in low-light/no-light is a logistical nightmare for the average training company. Range hours, noise ordinances, and liability issues all conspire against night courses. Considering how rare they are, when Costa Ludus (www.costaludus.com) invited us to attend his Restricted Visibility Elements Theory (RVET) course in Wyoming we had our tickets bought, bags packed, and guns shipped faster than Senator Yee can make an illegal arms deal.
photo by Weaponcraft LLC
Despite being a small populace, flying into Jackson Hole is easy enough thanks to its proximity to Yellowstone National Park and world class ski resorts. You get both barrels of the Grand Tetons the minute your head pops out of the aircraft door and the scenery doesn’t stop all the way into downtown Jackson. The city itself has maintained an old west’ feel through the decades but mostly now with boardwalks and saloon doors. The brothels, gambling houses, and open sewers are long gone… for better or worse.
Photo by Weaponcraft LLC
A ridiculously scenic hour drive south from Jackson puts you in Freedom, WY: It’s here, at the Northern end of the Star Valley, that Costa and his team built their headquarters aimed squarely at hosting students before and after full days of firearms instruction. Courses range from basic handgun marksmanship (HET1) to more advanced and specific offerings such as Vehicle Elements Theory (VET).
photo by Costa Ludus
The Costa Ludus HQ loft, finished just prior to the first Premier course, looks like a well-lit Cabela’s man cave replete with flat screens, overstuffed leather couches, full kitchen, and fully-stocked Yeti coolers. The concept here is that students get extensive time to dig into Costa’s personal experience with gear, tactics, and 90’s era action movies- review the classics if you want to keep up. Extended question and answer sessions easily wove through the casual conversations during meals and prior to range time.
The guys over at Thyrm, manufacturer of the SwitchBack, shared with us a recent review by on Firelance Media of the Costa design, which they developed in partnership with Costa Ludis. Occasionally, we like to share content from others on the blog space, so here’s the review in its entirety. Read it over and be sure to tell the original author what you think.
When I was out at SHOT SHOW, I had a few minutes to catch up with Chris Costa and he told me about a new product coming out from Thyrm, called the Switchback. A few weeks later, Andrew Frazier, owner of Thyrm shipped me two versions of it, a small size for a light like the Surefire EB1, and a large version, for a light like the Surefire Fury.
I’ve been carrying the Switchback daily for about 2 months and I really like what the product has to offer. Check the video below for my full review.
You may have seen an article come out recently from David Reeder at Recoil Magazine outlining his experiences. If you haven’t read that article, do it right after watching this video. It explains a lot of the finer points of the buzz surrounding the Switchback.
TL;DR
In a nutshell, the Switchback is a good product that is worth purchasing and for about $20 you can try it out and not have buyer’s remorse. I really like the thought that went into the design and I’m going to keep one on my Fury for now. I’ll probably find myself switching it with the Raven Clip depending on the day. I have quite a few low light classes coming up, including shoothouse and vehicle classes and my goal is to really put it to the test while under stress. Most of us don’t practice low light techniques enough as it is. Buying a Switchback is not going to suddenly change your world. What it WILL do is give you a solid piece of gear for your pocket light and it will make you practice your light techniques more. To me that’s worth the price.
Review by Matt Stagliano – firelancemedia.com/review-the-switchback-by-thyrm-and-costa-ludus
Thyrm is pleased to announce the launch of the Costa SwitchBack™ Tactical Flashlight Rings in collaboration with Chris Costa of Costa Ludus.
Chris brought his extensive operational and instructional experience to the SwitchBack™ design, evolving it into a very flexible, tactical tool that bridges the gap between flashlight and weapon-light.
SwitchBacks™ mount securely between the tailcap and flashlight body allowing for:
-Faster Deployment
-Enhanced Retention During Firearm Manipulation
-Natural, Two-Handed Shooting
“Many of the original flashlight techniques developed by Ken Good and Dave Maynard are still relevant and we wanted a product that would work with their techniques in addition to newer methods of employment. Likewise, we have a lot of respect for instructors like Matt Graham who showed the community the benefits of additional retention features on flashlights. The SwitchBack™ builds off these techniques and enhancements, taking it to the next level of capability and durability.”-Chris Costa
Made in the USA and currently available in two sizes, SwitchBacks fit the most popular SureFire flashlights including:
Large: G2X, 6PX, P2X and P3X Fury, and some older models
Backup: EB1 and EB2 backup lights (without tailcap shroud)
