Everything is better when it is modular. The new ChinookPAKs from Chinook Medical Gear represent a modular approach to first aid. Each consists of a LokSak full of items that pertain to a specific facet of first aid. You just pick the kits that suit your needs.
Check out all the ChinookPAKs at Chinook Medical Gear.
Extreme Gear Labs recently showed their Multitasker Series 3 Pouch. It is designed to hold a Multitasker Series 3 (and I suspect other generations of the Multitasker will fit too), all your bits, and there is even room for a Patriot Products Combat Optic Tool. The pouch features a hook and loop closure with loop material coverage on the front flap.
This pouch keeps your tools at hand so you can feel like Tactical MacGyver except without all the pansy anti-gun stuff. Check out the EGL Facebook Page for more details.
It is easy for me to recommend Elzetta flashlight lights when people ask which flashlight to buy. They are the toughest lights that I have ever seen, modular enough to grow with technology, and they are made by some great folks right here in the USA. Thanks to the introduction of their new high output options, it just became even easier to recommend Elzetta lights.
From Elzetta:
Elzetta Design, LLC is pleased to announce new High Output options to its line of tactical flashlights. When fitted to an Elzetta 2-Cell Body, the new High Output Head produces 650 lumens with a runtime of 1.5 hours. When the same Head is placed on a 3-Cell Body, patent-pending Automatic Voltage Sensing (AVS) Technology instinctively boosts output to 900 lumens with a runtime of 1.7 hours. To harness this much light, the new Elzetta High Output Head incorporates a solid-acrylic field-replaceable optical lens generating outstanding throw, generous spill, and a “soft edge” that no reflector-based flashlight can replicate. The new High Output Head is available with a smooth Standard Bezel Ring or optional Crenellated Bezel Ring. The Head fits all existing Elzetta Flashlights for easy upgrade, and with fully-potted electronics, legendary Elzetta durability is not compromised. All Elzetta Flashlight components are Made in the USA, interchangeable, interoperable, and available individually for the ultimate in modularity and customization. Elzetta Flashlights are now available in 96 unique configurations. With personalized laser engraving from the Elzetta Custom Shop, variations are truly limitless. For more information, visit www.ELZETTA.com.
This video does a great job of explaining all the of the features and technology that go into these lights:
Be sure to check out the full line of Elzetta flashlights!
The-Knife-Connection has expanded their line of custom machined G-10 handles to include the ESEE Laser Strike. The new handles retain the bow drill pivot functionality of the original handles. They are also relieved at the blade end of the grip to aid in various techniques that require a pinch grip. Like the other grips in this line, these have curves and swells in all the right places.
Check out the Laser Strike Custom Handles at The-Knife-Connection.
The Austere Provisions Company CORE Panel is one of those pieces of gear that doesn’t really need a specific use because you can just look at it and imagine about a million ways to use it. It is a blank canvas that is just waiting to fill a void in your gear.
The CORE Panel is made by Blue Force Gear for Austere Provisions Company. It utilizes Blue Force Gear’s MOLLEminus technology to keep weight and complexity to an absolute minimum while also amping up the durability.
It features a 3 row x 6 column MOLLE compatible matrix of slots and voids on each side of the panel. The 3 row dimension was purposefully chosen so that it matched the dimension of most chest rigs which maximizes the number of pouches that will fit. The interior of the CORE Panel features a hook and loop closed pocket.
The CORE panel also features a loop at each corner that is useful for affixing buckles and straps (more on this later). It has two compact webbing handles that can easily be packed into the interior pocket if you don’t need them.
The uses for this panel are limited only by your imagination. It is designed to serve as a multipurpose organizer. Basically, it is just a platform on which you mount pouches. You choose the pouches based on what you need the CORE Panel to do. If it will serve as an ammo organizer, mount magazine pouches. If it will serve as a medical insert, mount med pouches. If it will serve as an EDC organizer, mount utility and admin pouches. You get the idea.
Most people will probably use the panel as a drop in organizer for another pack or as a stand-alone grab-and-go type bag. It works very well in both roles. It will easily fit in most messenger bags, 3 day size packs, and even some of the larger assault packs. It is also really easy to just toss between your car seats or on the car seat next to you all by itself.
Once I had the CORE Panel in hand, I started to see all kinds of potential so I started experimenting with various buckles and strap. The loops on the side of the CORE Panel are sized to accept 1” repair buckles which makes it easy to turn the CORE Panel into a bandoleer with waist strap. You can just attach a few female repair buckles and then use straps from one of your chest rigs. Viola! You have an instant bandoleer that is capable of carrying extra ammo and first items.
I also experimented with docking the CORE Panel to the exterior of a pack and I was very, very pleased with the results. If you have the right buckles and something like a Velocity Systems Swiftclip set, you can turn the CORE Panel into a compression panel on a back pack or you can just use repair buckles to dock it like you would a Dock and Lock Pouch from Kifaru. The simplest method that I found was to just attach a couple Grimloc Carabiners to the loops. This allowed me to quickly dock the panel to another pack, even in places that might not have PALS webbing.
The CORE Panel is so versatile and works so well in the ways described above that I would like to see Austere Provision Company offer optional accessory kits that expand the capability of the panel. At the least, there is plenty of potential for a bandoleer kit that included a shoulder and waist strap. I am not a police officer but I spoke with one who liked that idea for use as an active shooter response setup.
As of right now, I have mine set up as a bandoleer of sorts. I have 2 spare rifle mags and a flashlight placed in a Blue Force Gear 10-Speed Pouch where I can access them immediately. On the opposite side, I have 2 utility pouches that can hold medical supplies, a cell phone, or whatever else I might need to respond to some sort of emergency around my home.
It seems that often, when a piece of gear is designed to be versatile, it does several things acceptably well but isn’t truly great at anything. That is not the case with the CORE Panel. It is an exceptional bandoleer and an exceptional gear organizer. It docks onto a pack like it was made to do so and even works well as a stand-alone grab-and-go bag. If you can’t find a use for the CORE Panel, check your pulse. This is one of the most versatile pieces of gear that I have ever laid my hands on. 10 years from now, I will still be finding new ways to use it.
Check out the CORE Panel at Austere Provisions Company.
