Archive | May, 2013

Squid Med Kit from Snake Eater Tactical

By Matt on May 15, 2013 in Preparedness, Survival, Tactical Gear

The contents of med kits can be expensive, so the concept of a drop-in organizer that lets you transfer the contents between pouches can make a lot of sense if you are on a tight budget. However, the organizer must allow immediate access and keep everything organized or it is not worth the cost reduction. Something like the Squid Med Kit from Snake Eater Tactical might be just what the doctor ordered (groan).

The Squid Med Kit is available in two difference sizes – small and medium. It is basically an organizer constructed from webbing and easily user replaceable 1/8″ shock cord that lets you turn any pouch into an organized and accessible IFAK.

You just load items like bandages, hemostatic agents, tourniquets, etc. into the Squid Med Kit and then drop it into a pouch or pocket. When you need it, you just open the pouch and pull the large, integral pull strap. Now you are free to remove items to work on yourself, someone else, or even pass the whole kit off to someone who may need it.

Check out The Squid Med Kit at Snake Eater Tactical.

Survival (Bracelet) of the Fittest

By Matt on May 15, 2013 in EDC, Other, Survival

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to an interesting project on Kickstarter for a paracord survival bracelet that has some pretty slick features. The KODIAK Survival Bracelet from Outdoor Element has features like a bait hook woven into the band, cord with integrated jute twine and fishing line, and a very cool buckle with an integrated ferro rod and striker. At first glance, these features sound tremendously innovative and Outdoor Element would be right to proudly proclaim that these are their original ideas. The problem is that the ideas may not be so original.

I have contacted all parties involved and started to piece together what is, in my opinion, a pretty unflattering picture of how cutthroat this industry (or any industry) can be. It certainly shouldn’t surprise anyone and it doesn’t surprise me. However, it is always interesting to get a window into the behind the scenes workings of an scene that is seemingly as simple and friendly as the world of survival bracelets.

Survival Cord

One of the central features of the KODIAK is that it uses paracord that has some of the inner strands replaced with jute twine and fishing line. The jute twine can be prepped to catch a spark which is a great way to start an emergency fire and the fishing line can be used with the bate hook for emergency fishing. Outdoor Element uses language in their video that indicates that this was something that they developed. However, Sgt. Knots has been selling the exact same product for years. Sgt. Knots verified that their cord is not being used with their permission.

Buckle with Ferro Rod Integrated

The other central feature of the KODIAK is a buckle with an integrated ferro rod and striker. It is, quite frankly, very cool. The problem is that the same concept has been publicly available since February 2012 and submitted for a patent (patent pending) by Wazoo Survival Gear. Wazoo provided me with a copy of the patent application when I contacted them. The question is whether Outdoor Element beat them to the punch with the patent application.

Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole

I questioned Wazoo Survival Gear as to whether they thought that this could be a coincidence. I was inclined to think it was since, frankly, there isn’t a lot of difference between many paracord bracelets. Some companies add a twist here or there, but functionally, it’s all been done before.

Wazoo Survival Gear claims that it can’t be a coincidence. They allege that they were contacted by someone who portrayed themselves as a representative for a company interested in a large purchase of Wazoo’s buckles in August 2012. They asked for proprietary information and patent application information in order to secure the deal. When Wazoo affirmed that they were working to submit a patent, the person broke off contact.

Wazoo Survival Gear claims that they were able to track this “buyer” back to the people behind Outdoor Element with some Facebook detective work. If this is true, it seems to blow away any doubt that Outdoor Element was unaware of Wazoo Survival Gear’s patent pending buckle. I have seen the emails and the originator of the emails does appear to share a name with a Facebook friend of one of the founders of Outdoor Element.

Survival (Bracelet) of the Fittest

Outdoor Element has been questioned regarding their claims and, in my opinion, their public response has not painted a flattering picture. Even the “Comments” section of their Kickstarter Project has not been immune from questions about the claims they set forth. Some of these questions have been met with somewhat threatening responses. In one response, a company representative goes so far as to provide his own street address so that the person raising questions can presumably duke it out with him.

To their credit, I did receive a very friendly and professional response to my inquiry with Outdoor Element regarding the perceived similarities of their product with other existing products. While the response was polite, it also almost completely ignored my specific questions about the products mentioned above…

“Matt,

Thank you for contacting us! It looks like you have a great blog, keep up the good work. We are very excited to bring our kickstarter project “The KODIAK” to the world and confidently stand by all the claims in our project. We welcome all to view our project and support us.

[URL removed]

We generously tip our hat to any and all entrepreneur(s) and inventor(s).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Price & Michael Mojica

Founders of Outdoor Element”

While Outdoor Element may not be handling the public relations side very well, they do have good branding, they are getting great exposure on Kickstarter, and the way that they integrated the striker into their buckle is very clever. That may be all they need to have a successful product launch. However, in my opinion, it would be unfortunate for that to happen on the backs of those who may have really done the innovative heavy lifting. Hopefully, things are not as they appear and some resolution can be reached.

Note: I have no affiliation with Wazoo Survival Gear, Sgt. Knots, or Outdoor Element.

Update: I reached out to Outdoor Element for further comment in the interest of giving them another chance to explain their side. It may be that they actually did beat Wazoo Survival Gear to a patent. Unfortunately, they did not respond.

TacStrike Update

By Matt on May 15, 2013 in Guns, Tactics and Training

TacStrike, makers of steel targets for high volume training, is changing they way they do business in order to better serve shooters. They have been busy lowering prices and reducing lead times in preparation for these changes. Here is the rest of the story from Rob at TacStrike…

“TacStrike would like to bring everyone into the loop on current events here at TacStrike. As you may have noticed we have been putting a lot of new information onto our wall and most of it has to do with sales and lower prices. As of last week Yvonne and I decided that continued pursuit of dealers (gun shops, sporting goods stores, etc) was detrimental to the future of the business.

Having dealerships forces a double pricing structure that makes everyone a little money but because steel is inherently hard to ship setting it so that dealers can make money on their end is a hard thing to do and stay competitive.

So effective immediately our dealers have been informed and they are clearing out inventory and/or I’m buying it back from them so that they are not stuck with it and TacStrike has slashed prices on everything we make.

Targets, Carriers, Steel, Gongs, Our Cardboard BSYF Targets and everything we have coming out have been deeply discounted to a new low price. No change in quality but a huge savings for the end users.

We are suffering a bit of a lead time right now but we will be fixed next week as I have production runs of everything we make in assembly and paint right now.

Our focus is still on training and you will continue to see great product lines that are training oriented coming to TacStrike and our target line growing as we take things from the drawing board to the range for T&E.

Yvonne and I are the only ones answering emails and calls and we touch every package as it heads to you. We are trying to be epitomi of a small business family and we are doing it while working our regular full time jobs with the hope that one day TacStrike will provide for our family.

We appreciate every one of you more than you can imagine.”

Thank you.

Rob Tackett
Owner: TacStrike

Check out TacStrike.com.

Review: BattleComp 1.0

By Matt on May 15, 2013 in Guns, Reviews

I have been able to test and review a ton of muzzle devices but one that I have never reviewed (though I have plenty of time on them) is the BattleComp. A few of you have even emailed me to ask if I didn’t like them. That isn’t the case at all. I have just never reviewed them. I recently purchased another BattleComp 1.0. So, while it was still looking new for pictures, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally put together a review.

Overview

The BattleComp 1.0 is made from 17-4PH stainless steel. It is available with a bead blast or black oxide finish. It features a single expansion chamber and several small ports around the circumference of the device except for the bottom portion which is closed.

Most of my experience is with the 5.56 versions, though I have tried a 7.62 version. This review will deal exclusively with the 5.56 BattleComp 1.0.

Background

The BattleComp is largely responsible for the current arms race that you see taking place in the industry between muzzle device manufacturers. It was one of the first devices on the market to be viewed as a compensator that is suitable for “tactical” use and it was somewhat revolutionary in how it balanced flash suppression, muzzle and recoil control, and reduced the concussive blast that is typical of most compensators and muzzle brakes. A lot of new devices have come on the market since the introduction of the BattleComp, but it is still the standard by which others are judged as evidenced by how frequently it is used as a baseline of comparison in muzzle device reviews.

Observations from Use

There are 3 main tasks that we generally ask muzzle devices to do: suppress flash, reduce recoil, and reduce muzzle rise. Most devices will either suppress flash well or reduce recoil and muzzle rise well. Combination devices (devices with the characteristics of a flash suppressor and compensator or muzzle brake), like the BattleComp, attempt to complete all three tasks. The extent to which the device does these things and other characteristics, like over-pressure and noise to the shooter and those around him, largely determine how the muzzle device should be used. Most muzzle brakes will not be suitable for the indoor spaces you will encounter in home defense and most flash suppressors will cost you valuable seconds in competition. It is up to you to determine which task or tasks are most important to you and your mission and then choose a muzzle device accordingly.

BattleComp takes on all three tasks fairly successfully. It suppresses flash, reduces recoil and controls muzzle rise and because it manages to do these things without the dramatic over-pressure and concussive blast that has traditionally plagued compensators, it is suitable for uses that typical compensators are not suitable for, like self-defense. Make no mistake, the BattleComp is still louder than a flash suppressor. Standing in close proximity to it won’t be pleasant, but it is tolerable, especially when compared to a comp or brake with large open side ports.

I find that BattleComp does an admirable job of suppressing flash. It isn’t going to keep up with a dedicated flash suppressor but it does a good job compared to most combination devices. On a 16” barrel, it suppresses flash nearly as well as an A2 flash suppressor. This may or may not be black magic because there are other devices out there that I have tried that look similar to a BattleComp (a cylinder with lots of tiny holes) but few of them suppress flash as well as the BattleComp.

BattleComp does a great job of reducing recoil. It is true that the 5.56 does not have a lot of recoil but reducing what little recoil it does have means faster follow up shots. Recoil control is an important part of muzzle control because the rearward motion of the carbine is translated into upward movement of the muzzle as the stock hinges against your shoulder. This is why lowering the stock in your shoulder can be an effective way to reduce muzzle rise – it reduces the hinge effect.

The way the BattleComp controls the muzzle is one of the best things about it and also its biggest weakness. I find the BattleComp to be very laterally stable which I find very noticeable and very impressive. Some muzzle devices let the muzzle bounce side to side very slightly. They seem to almost dance around in a circular motion. This isn’t the case in my experience with the BattleComp. It moves only one direction and that is down. Unfortunately, it moves down more than I would prefer. The bad news is that a muzzle device that pushes the muzzle down too aggressively isn’t all that different than a muzzle device that allows the muzzle to rise – you still need to move the muzzle back on target. The good news is that the movement is very predictable and you can be extremely fast with BattleComps.

Wrap Up

The BattleComp does push the muzzle down more than I prefer and that is a fairly serious issue for me. In spite of that, I am not sure that any device has surpassed its all-around versatility and functionality which is why I still use them. The BattleComp suppresses flash, reduces recoil, and keeps the muzzle very stable. It manages to do all of these things without kicking you in the teeth every time you pull the trigger. It isn’t the perfect muzzle device (hint: the perfect muzzle device doesn’t exist, at least not without a tax stamp), but it is one of the best.

Check out BattleComp at Brownells.com.