I was recently given the opportunity to check out some items from J Dewey, who you probably know for their high quality cleaning rods. The items were excellent, but, in the review, I mentioned that I have a pretty informal approach to cleaning my ARs. J Dewey took that as an opportunity to provide me with their AR-15 Field Kit which they said was a better match for the way I do things.
Overview
The AR Field Kit is basically just what it sounds like. It is just about everything you need to keep your AR clean in the field. The kit contains 10 items:
- Pouch with belt loop
- Bottle of FP-10 CLP
- Chamber rod
- Nylon coated steel cable (30”)
- Cotton bore patches
- Chamber brush
- Bore brush
- Stuck case remover
- Brass scraper
- Pick
Observations from Use
My contact at J Dewey was right, this does fit my cleaning style (if there is such a thing) more closely. While some guys seem to roll into a class with an entire tackle box full of cleaning gear, I could easily get by with just this kit which is barely larger than a deck of playing cards.
The cleaning cable is pretty clever. It features a patch loop at one end and a threaded end for accepting various accessories. There is a large, heavy duty plastic bead that can be slid from one end of the cable to the other to be used as a handle for pulling the cable through the bore. The steel cable itself seems quite sturdy and it has the same tough protective coating that J Dewey uses on their cleaning rods which, in my experience, holds up very well.
The fact that the kit includes several properly sized cotton patches is a very nice detail. Often, patches included in generic cleaning kits require trimming but the ones included in this kit are sized for the relatively small bore of the AR. They pull through easily.
The chamber rod is pretty straight forward and I think I actually like it better than a much more elaborate one that I own. It breaks down into the 2 sections for easy transport and it has a large T-handle that makes turning even a tight, new chamber brush easy. The chamber brush has held up well to use. Cheap ones tend to collapse and become fairly useless in just a couple of uses.
Even after you drain the last drops of the FP-10 CLP, you will want to keep the bottle for refilling. It is a handy size bottle of good quality that works well with the kit. Mine has been bounced around, crushed, and generally disregarded without any leakage.
The bore obstruction remover is nearly useless for me. It is basically just a long section of brass that can be attached to the cable in order to protect the threads. It won’t replace a break down cleaning rod (which I always carry somewhere on my gear) for tapping out stuck cases that fail to extract. I removed mine from the kit since I carry a cleaning rod for the same purpose.
I rarely do much scraping or picking but a brass scraper and pick are included. Their utility is somewhat limited given that that really isn’t anything to attach them to that can stand in as a proper tool handle. The chamber rod is the closest thing to a useful handle. They work in the field but they certainly won’t replace dedicated tools at home.
The carrying case that contains this kit is not quite bomb-proof, but it isn’t going to fall apart on you any time soon either. The belt loop is basically useless for me since I will carry the kit in a backpack or pouch most of the time. The pouch provides quick access to all the contents and can be repacked fairly easily without regard to fitting everything back in the exact same way it came from the factory. I appreciate that.
Wrap Up
J Dewey was right. This is a better fit for the way I tend to clean. This kit is compact, lightweight, and useful. It provides bare-bones cleaning essentials that get the job done in the field or between training days in a course.
Check out the J Dewey Field Kit for AR-15/M-16 in .223/5.56.
Disclosure: This kit was provided to me by J Dewey, free of charge, for review.
