Archive | Tactical Gear

Crowdfund This: Smith & Bradley Springfield Classic Field Watch

The simple field watch has been a functional and stylish men’s watch option for pretty much as long as it has existed. It is an absolute classic thanks to its slim, simple case, readable dial, and it’s chameleon like ability to go with a t-shirt and jeans on the range or a business suit at the office. The field watch is what you might call a classic.

smith bradley springfield pvd

Smith & Bradley’s new Springfield Classic Field Watch takes that clean, classic style and injects a dose of modern, muscular proportions. This timepiece is still an easy-to-wear field watch through and through but it’s style, proportions, and features are subtly more contemporary.

The Springfield starts with a 48mm case machined from 316-L stainless steel. It is large enough to look at home on large wrists but it is trim enough to work for anyone. Everything about the watch has been scaled up to meet the proportions of the case. The large crown is easy to use but also works as a design element. The long hand set fills the space of the face well without crowding it. The 20mm lug spacing ensures that you have more strap options than you would with the narrower lug spacing of a traditional field watch while also working with the larger proportions of the Springfield.

The 33mm diameter of dial let the designers at S&B convey a lot of information without making it feel crowded or unreadable. The 12 hour markings are very large and very easy to read, even at night thanks to the C3 Luminova (the hands are also C3 Luminova coated). The 24 hour and second markings are smaller and out of the way. The calendar placed at 3 o’clock on the dial is unobtrusive and easy to read. The dial is covered with a domed sapphire crystal. There is a Swiss Ronda Quartz movement under the dial, driving the hand set.

smith bradley specs

The Springfield looks great and it has good stuff under the hood but it also very affordable. This is Smith & Bradley’s 4th Kickstarter funded watch and it is also their most affordable by far. The single watch perk starts at just $159 which is downright impressive for a watch with sapphire crystal, Swiss movement, 316-L stainless case, C3 Luminova, and style this clean and versatile. The 2 watch perk brings the price per watch down even further!

The Springfield is built in the USA. It is available with a stainless finish or black PVD finish. It will come with a NATO style strap.

Check out the Smith & Bradley Springfield Classic Field Watch on Kickstarter.

smith bradley springfield breakdown

Shellback Tactical Hard Armor Plates

Shellback Tactical is bringing out their own line of hard armor plates. Both their Level III and Level IV options will be NIJ 0101.06 certified, made in the USA, and multi-hit capable. Shellback Tactical is now listed on the NIJ CPL list for these plates. Stay tuned for pricing and release information.

shellback plates

TOPS Knives Bushcraft Leather Sheath

“Dangler” sheaths aren’t for everyone but they work really well for me. They can make a knife more comfortable to wear with the waist belt of a backpack or keep your belt clear around your handgun so the knife doesn’t get in the way of your draw-stroke. They also keep the knife from digging into your side when you are doing actual work outside like splitting wood. There are a lot of companies making these and the prices vary greatly. I have found that the Bushcraft Leather Sheath from TOPS Knives is one of the best kept secrets among sheaths of this type.

bushcraft_sheath_black

TOPS Knives makes this sheath to work with their knives like the uber-popular BOB Field Knife, HOG 4.5, and Baja 4.5 to name a few. However, I have found that it will also work with knives like the ESEE 4, Bark River Fox River (and similar), Fallkniven F1, and many other knives of similar size and even slightly larger. If you have a knife in this very popular size range, you need to check out this sheath.

The sheath is constructed from thicker leather than many of the production sheaths I have seen from retailers. It has a fold-over design with a welt and it is double stitched. It also has a firesteel loop and a robust D-ring/belt loop set up. The quality is excellent.

The best part is that it costs $45 which puts it on par with other similar sheaths that are not as robustly constructed as this one. It also includes a firesteel/magnesium rod combo tool and a pretty good whistle which pushes it way over the top in terms of value.

The TOPS Knives Bushcraft Leather Sheath is available in black and brown. Check it out at TOPS Knives.

bushcraft_sheath_brown1

Chase Tactical – Warrior Wednesday – Warrior Assault Systems Assaulter Back Panel

Warrior Wednesday – sponsored by Chase Tactical. Every week, we will feature a product from Warrior Assault Systems. This week’s featured product is the Assaulter Back Panel.


The Warrior Assault Systems Assaulter’s Back Panel is another new product to roll off the line at WAS this year. The Assaulter’s Back Panel MOLLE’s on to the full range of Warrior armor carriers.

W-EO-BPMED-TMOP-1

The top section features a 5.56mm Triple Open Mag pouch with bungee retention sewn directly on to the panel.  The lower section has a removable General Purpose / Rip Off Medic Pouch. The Assaulter’s Panel comes with an internal hydration or bolt cutter pocket (Hydration Bladder not included).

The Warrior Assault Systems Assaulter’s Back Panel is currently available in MultiCam and Coyote.

All Warrior Assault Systems products are made from genuine U.S. Mil Spec materials and hardware.

Hot Bacon Alert! – PIG FDT Bravo FR Glove

SKD Tactical has announced the development of an addition to their excellent PIG Full Dexterity Tactical Gloves (FDT) line. The newest glove in the lineup will be called the PIG FDT Bravo FR Glove and it is chocked full of the same great features executed with premium materials.

PIG FDT Bravo FR1

The Bravo FR will have the same great fit and dexterity that you are used to with the current PIG FDT Alpha Gloves but they will make use of premium, fire resistant materials like Nomex and leather. One of the best things about the Alpha Gloves is the thin material used in the trigger finger and the Bravo FR Glove will retain that feature in the form of ultra thin sheep leather.

Major Features Include:

  • Multi-material Nomex and leather construction

  • Ultra thin 100% sheep leather trigger finger

  • Incredibly sensitive single layer 100% goat leather palm

  • Wider touchscreen compatible thread stitching on index finger and thumb

  • Flame resistant logo stamping

  • Lower profile Velcro minimizing abrasion on gear

  • Finger, palm and cuff fit modifications for heightened dexterity

Specifications:

  • Will be available in colors Coyote, Ranger Green and Black

  • Will be available in sizes Small, Medium, Large, X-Large and XX-L

The new PIG FDT Bravo FR Gloves will be available for pre-order on October 12th with an expected retail price of $67.95. The gloves are expected to ship in November.

PIG FDT Bravo FR2

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