I know that many of you have Shellback Tactical Banshee Plate Carriers so this may be right up your alley. Shellback Tactical is having a flash sale on their soft armor inserts for the Banshee PC. Enter the code “ARMOR20” at checkout to receive 20% off. Soft armor rarely goes on sale and this sale will only be valid for a limited time.
Propper is about to drop a ton of interesting new clothing items on the “tactical” market. The new clothing will be spread over 3 different lines that are focused at different markets (see the Soldier Systems coverage of all three lines). The line that interests me most is the Sweep Collection which features various outerwear and casual clothes many of which integrate magnetic closures to allow quick and quiet access to a concealed handgun.
I find myself especially drawn to the EL JEFFE Puff Vest and Profile Puff Jacket. I have always found “puff” jackets to be extremely versatile. They are great as stand-alone items and layer well for times that addition protection from wind and rain is needed. They also tend to be very easy to pack.
The EL JEFFE and Profile has features that should be useful to their target user group like pull out ID carriers on the front, a large pull out ID panel on the back, and slip resistant panels on the shoulders to keep slings from sliding (how cool is that?). The EL JEFFE Vest has double zippers to allow easy access to your CCW, while the Profile Jacket accomplishes the same thing with magnetic closures.
These items, and all of the new Propper items, are available to be pre-ordered from PredatorBDU.com.
Hollywood has been showing people bypassing locks with a credit card for years but never quite like this. The ITS Titanium Entry Card can be used to open far more locks than a regular credit card ever could.
The ITS Titanium Entry Card is a credit card sized set of lock bypassing tools. It is made from titanium and perfectly replicates the dimensions (including thickness .032”) of a normal plastic credit card. The compact dimensions, lack of magnetic signature, and credit card-like form combination are designed to make this tool set easy to carry and very discreet.
ITS Tactical designed the card to hold 2 complete sets of tools consisting of a tension wrench, a Bogota triple hump tool, and Bogota single hump tool. The versatility and compact size of Bogota tools makes the addition of a second set possible. Many credit card lock bypass kits provide several picks in various shapes that quickly take up space on the card. That is unnecessary with Bogota tools since the single hump can also serve as a very effective single-pin pick.
The lock bypass components are easy enough to remove from the card that I could do it with cold hands but they are also quite secure. The tools will not come out without purposeful manipulation.
The inclusion of a form fitting storage sleeve made from Tyvek is a nice touch. It can be used to help protect your actual credit cards from the wear that accompanies being carried next to a titanium card. It also gives the Titanium Entry Card set a less metallic and lower profile appearance at first glance.
I wanted to find out a few things in my testing. First and foremost, can the tools actually be used to bypass locks? Second, I wanted to see of the tools were still useful after being removed from the card and used. Finally, I wanted to see if there was any way to return the tools to the card after use. So, with the mission in mind, I set about bypassing locks. I picked and raked my way through dead bolts, padlocks, desk drawer wafer locks, and more.
These picks really do work. The Bogota tool design is proven and I have written about them at length in the past. With a little practice they can be used to successfully bypass locks by even beginners. Bogota tools can even allow some locks to fall to blind luck but as with anything, success and speed can be greatly improved with practice.
While these tools do work, the emergency nature of their intended use does show itself when you slide them into the keyway for the first time. These tools are designed to work in a pinch. They are not designed for lock sport. Most Bogota tools exhibit a high level of polish which allows them to move in and out of tight keyways more easily. That polish helps make the manic shaking/jiggling motion that is used for raking easier. However, it is impossible to apply this polish to the tools while they are still in the card so you will notice that the tools are a bit stiff in the keyway. This is especially true in a tight keyway. The good news is that they smooth out considerably with just a few passes in and out of the keyway. It seems that those first couple of movements inside the keyway smooth out a lot of jagged edges and then the tool just gets better with use.
The tension wrench is also very rudimentary which is completely understandable given the form factor. You will need a very, very light touch in most cases due to the short length and stiffness of the wrench. There is just no other way to render a tension wrench from a credit card sized piece of titanium.
The tools lack much of a handle to hold unto which is common across all credit card lock bypass sets. The size of a credit card just doesn’t allow much room for larger popsicle stick type handles. However, the small handles do have a lightness about them that does translate a fair amount of feel and touch for those delicate picking jobs. Again, these are last ditch tools.
I found that the tools are definitely useful after they are removed from the card. You should be able to get multiple uses out of the tools after they are popped out of the card unless you have a very heavy hand (which doesn’t serve you well in bypassing locks). You may even want to do some light polishing and drop the loose tools into your wallet with a wrap of tape on them, some heat shrink tubing, or a gutted length of para-cord shell to hold them together. They will lack some of the refinement of a full on Bogota Entry Tool Set but they are certainly useful.
There is also a simple solution to returning them to the card if you wish to do so. You can simple put them back into place and place a piece of masking tape over the card to hold the individual tools in their slots.
The main draw here is the form factor. This is the first titanium credit card pick set. It is easy to carry, discreet, and it works. This isn’t the type of tool a lock smith is going to add to his pick roll but it is definitely the type of tool that can get you out of a bind. Basically, it is well designed and effective for its intended purpose.
Check out the ITS Titanium Entry Card at ITSTactical.com.
I know you don’t want to hear this but Christmas is just around the corner. Unless you are planning to wait until last minute (again) this year, you need to take some action soon. Fight and Flight Tactical can help you get prepared with their new Christmas Stocking.
This stocking has all sorts of tacti-cool features like a Velcro field for adding patches, PALS webbing, a small exterior pocket, and a shock-cord retainer. What kid (or Trigger Jerk) wouldn’t want to find this stocking filled with Christmas loot on their mantle.
Check out the Fight and Flight Tactical Christmas Stocking.
RS Regulate is teasing their Facebook fans with what appears to be a pretty exciting new rear sight for AK rifles. We don’t know a lot about it at this point but we can speculate.
Teaser image from RS Regulate
RS Regulate is known for their optic mounts that utilize the side rail that is found on many AKs. This appears to be a peep style rear sight that attaches to the side rail. This would allow the sight to be positioned further back on the rifle which would extend the sight radius. Peep sights really don’t work as well unless they are near the shooter’s eye which is exactly where this would be.
This has the potential to be a very exciting development for the AK shooters. I will release more details and images when I have them.
