Archive | 2013

Tough Hook on Kickstarter

By Matt on January 24, 2013 in Other, Tactical Gear

I like to keep all of my chest rigs and plate carriers hung up and organized. I have been using the “World’s Strongest Coat Hangers” that I first learned about on ITS Tactical. They work very well for me but I am always interested in the possibility of something that does a job differently.

The Tough Hook is a Kickstarter project that recently caught my attention. It is a heavy equipment hanger designed to hold gear like SCUBA equipment or body armor. It’s form is not that unlike many of the SCUBA hangers that are already on the market but it has a great handle feature that really sets it apart. The hanger can be flipped to be used as a carry handle for transporting your body armor or other heavy equipment.

You can learn more about Tough Hook on their Kickstarter project page and their Facebook Page.

Review: Laser Devices DBAL-D2

By Jon L on January 23, 2013 in Guns, Reviews, Tactical Gear

The new class of infrared lasers freely available to individual customers, Class 1, has brought once out of reach technology straight into the waiting hands of serious end users. One of the best offerings in this new category is the DBAL-D2 made by Laser Devices, Inc. In short, you are getting the same piece of gear the military is using, made at the same factory, but with less powerful eye safe lasers. What an opportunity!

Overview

The DBAL is a class 1, multi function, dual beam, IR/Daytime visible weapons mounted aiming laser with an effective range of approximately 250 yards. This capability is about the maximum usable range for even the newest PVS-14s, etc. Integral to the unit is a very powerful and widely adjustable IR illuminator with a range of approximately 800 yards.

IR/Daytime lasers are slaved, which makes zeroing a snap during daylight hours. Included is a rugged, self adjusting QD lever/attachment fully compatible with any modern rail setup. This waterproof, 12.5 oz piece of equipment is powered by a single CR123 battery with a lifespan of one hour on the highest setting.

Observations From Use

I purchased a DBAL-D2 with the daytime visible green laser from the very helpful folks over at Tactical Night Vision Company, and received it after an admittedly lengthy wait. I paid the premium for the green laser as it is daytime visible to about 100 yards. The red version is only visible to about 25 yards, which is a little short for my desired 50 yard BZO. I mounted this product on a BCM 16″ middy with an Aimpoint T1, Larue free float rail, Inforce WML IR/White light, and other appropriate accessories.

I found the function controls of this laser to be fairly intuitive with positive adjustments and an easy to remember layout, which is invaluable in the dark. While a rugged tape switch is included, I found it unnecessary as a momentary/constant on rubber clickie switch is conveniently nestled into the 10:30 rail position (if the device is mounted in the recommended 12 o’clock position). The INFORCE WML is a perfect companion here as it’s well sized for an unobtrusive 9 o’clock mount and contains a back up IR illuminator.

I spent a fair amount of time familiarizing myself with this piece of equipment in my night time back yard so that my first “dark” range time would be fairly seamless. I can’t stress how important this is to avoid fumbling and humiliation during later training. All I can say about the illuminator is that the power and range of focus is nothing short of amazing as viewed through my helmet mounted PVS-14. After a very easy and pleasant daytime zeroing session I was ready for a night fire evaluation!

The green daytime visible laser is powerful enough to be used as a backup sight to the Aimpoint, even in bright sunlight. I’m not sure how much I would revert to this, but it is a nice option. So far during testing I’ve had about 9 trouble free months with 4-500 rounds downrange. I have to slightly alter my hand placement because of the amount of real estate required on the top rail, but for what I’m getting it’s a great trade off.

The only (minor) suggestion I have to offer after this evaluation is more user friendly lens covers. My rifle is not subjected to super hard use and I found that it was just easiest to remove them completely. I’m not sure how possible it is, but it seems that some kind of clear sacrificial cover would be a nice option.

My dark range/time constraints limited me to a 100 yard no light evaluation on 2/3 IPSC targets. It was very satisfying to confirm the accuracy of the slaved laser system and I was easily and consistently able to hit these targets in full darkness with no adjustment besides what I had already done during daylight zeroing. I’m looking forward to testing myself and this gear at some point in the future at a night fighting tactics course.

LDI DBAL-D2 Class 1 IR Laser Narrow Illum

100 yards, illuminator tight focus

100 yards, illuminator wide focus

Wrap Up

This excellent piece of equipment is not stand alone, and, as a result, careful consideration must be given towards proper integration with a weapon and night vision device. I spent months looking at options and I carefully arrived at the decision to purchase this DBAL. Every time I’ve used it has been confirmation of a right decision. I highly encourage you to take advantage of the availability of this class of lasers, which only came about by a lot of tireless work and industry partnering by the folks at TNVC. Check it out for yourself today!

Vuurwapen Blog is Right – Fat Is Not Tactical

By Matt on January 23, 2013 in Tactics and Training

Listen… I am not a doctor. That should be obvious to those of you who read here once in a while. This isn’t medical advice. You should check with a real doctor before make any drastic changes to your diet. That conversation will probably go something like this… “Heck yeah you should change the way you eat! You could stand to a lose a few pounds.”

Vuurwapen Blog published a post back in December titled Fat Is Not Tactical. I was already on my path to better health when that article was published so it wasn’t exactly my inspiration or anything fruity like that, but it was timely and served as some positive reinforcement for the path that I was already on. Andrew, the author, talks about coming to the same realization that I did – I’m fat and I don’t want to be anymore.

It is silly to hit the range to practice all these “tactical” drills and buy all this “tactical” gear if I am going to carry around all this extra “tactical” fat. I was a walking contradiction in some ways. I was training skills that my body wouldn’t let me complete to their fullest. Maybe you find yourself in the same boat and you are wondering what to do about it. There probably isn’t really one right answer but I can share what has worked and is working for me.

Can you exercise yourself skinny with out changing your diet? Can a Lorcin get through a handgun course without breaking?

Remember when you were young and you could eat anything you wanted without gaining weight? Remember when you could burn off that entire pizza you ate by yourself just by playing a game or two of pick-up basketball? Yeah, me too… but barely. There are probably some guys who can still do that at my age, but I am not one of them. I am not that old but I have noticed that my body has been changing. Of course, it doesn’t take a keen whit and an impenetrable sense of situational aware to notice a few extra waist sizes and 50 extra pounds. I was exercising 3 or 4 times a week and could never really lose much weigh, if any. In fact, most of the time I was slowly gaining.

Exercise is certainly important, but, for me, loosing weight meant getting real about the way that I ate. There are people who will tell you that if you work out enough, you can eat whatever you want. That might work for some people who are already fit and skinny, but it just isn’t true for the guy who has 50 pounds to lose. That sounds obvious, but I was more than happy to cling to that as justification to stuff my fat face with cereal as a snack 3 times a day. This is what I found to be true for me: I get skinny at the dinner table and I get fit in the gym.

I ended up choosing to eat and exercise in way that was based on the Primal Blueprint. I cut out grains and refined sugar completely. That last sentence is easy to type and a lot harder to do when you have a wife and 2 kids under 4 years of age. Did you know that there are grains and sugar in approximately 457% of our food supply or at least that is how it feel when you are trying to cut them out. It is tough and it takes a lot of planning, but you have to take drastic action if you want to see drastic change. That drastic action for me has resulted in 30 pounds lost over about 3 months.

Here is the bottom line. Improving in any area of your life takes self discipline. Want to speed up your draw stroke? Get out the shot timer and hit the range regularly with a repeatable, measurable plan each and every time. Want to learn to pick locks? Break out the pick set because you are in for some long hours feeling around in a keyway. Want to lose weight and get fit? You are going to have to change your diet in some meaningful way.

Skinny you will outperform fat you every time. Vuurwapen Blog was right. Fat is most certainly not tactical.

Fox Knives USA Folding Spade

By Matt on January 23, 2013 in Other, Survival

I am kind of a sucker for e-tools. They are the kind of thing that it seems like you ought to have in every vehicle you own and that can come in handy whenever you are out in the woods. The reality is that I rarely end up using them but I am always glad that I had them when needed.

I recently came across the new Folding Spade from Fox Knives USA. It packs small like most e-tools and features a shovel blade that locks at 90°, 135° and 180° to the handle. It also makes extensive use of polymer which keeps the weight fairly low for an e-tool.

Check out the Folding Spade on FoxKnivesUSA.com. Do you have a favorite folding shovel? Leave a comment about it below!

An Ode to the QD Micro Flush QD Sling MOUNT-N-SLOT

By Matt on January 22, 2013 in Guns, Reviews

Some manufacturers seem to take sadistic joy in providing rifles with no useful sling mounting points. They get their jollies by selling you a rifle that you have no hope of ever mounting a sling to in any sort of realistic way. Thankfully, the sling mounting gods smiled on us when they handed down the idea for the QD Micro Flush QD Sling MOUNT-N-SLOT to Impact Weapons Components.

The QD Micro Flush QD Sling MOUNT-N-SLOT is the kind of thing that every Tactical Handyman should have a few of laying around waiting to solve a problem. Once you install one, you will start looking for more guns to drill holes in to install more. They are extremely easy to install and their design makes them very versatile.

I have used several of them to add slings to Magpul MOE Hand Guards. In fact, if you aren’t using one on your MOE Hand Guards, you are nuts. I have used them on Troy TRX Extreme Rails (they fit in the vent holes perfectly), A1 and A2 style AR-15 buttstocks, a GWACS CAV-15 Lower, AK front hand guards, AK buttstocks, and several other polymer rifle stocks. If you can drill a 1/2″ hole where you want the sling mount and access the back with a hex key, you can install one of these sling mounts.

The QD Micro Flush QD Sling MOUNT-N-SLOT might be the least sexy thing Impact Weapons Components makes, but it is probably their best product and that is saying something. Check out the QD Micro Flush QD Sling MOUNT-N-SLOT on ImpactWeaponsComponents.com. Remember to use the discount code “triggerjerk” for 5% off at ImpactWeaponsComponents.com.

← Previous 1 … 200 201 202 … 214 Next →

Navigation

Archive | 2013

Overview

Observations From Use

Wrap Up