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Review: Zulu Nylon Gear MOLLE Visor Panel

By on June 10, 2011 in Reviews, Tactical Gear

We all have various pieces of gear that we keep in our vehicles. That gear may be for navigation, EDC, survival, or even just convenience. If all of that gear ends up piled into your glove box or center console, then it isn’t very useful to you. Gear is most useful when it is stored in a place that is easily accessed and well organized. Some gear, like seat belt cutters or glass breakers, are completely useless unless they are immediately accessible. Keeping your vital gear accessible and organized is the exact purpose of the MOLLE Visor Panel (MVP) from Zulu Nylon Gear (ZNG).

The MVP is no ordinary MOLLE panel.

The "back" of the MVP features slot pockets.

When open, the MOLLE panel, slot pockets, and hook and loop tabs are visible.

Overview

The MVP is a 12″x6″ wrap around panel that can be adapted to fit nearly any vehicle’s sun visor. The panel adjusts to fit the sun visor via 3 large hook and loop tabs that provide several inches worth of adjustment. One side of the panel features 2 deep slot pockets and the other side has 3 rows by 8 columns of MOLLE webbing.

The MOLLE webbing side looks like any other MOLLE panel until you take a closer look. There are a couple of surprises on this panel that make it far more versatile than any other panel on the market. You will find loop material in between the MOLLE rows and the upper and lower MOLLE webbing rows are actually made from heavy duty elastic! These two additions allow the panel to accept more than just MOLLE pouches. The loop material allows you to attach hook backed pouches or patches. The elastic MOLLE rows make it easy to stow small items securely, even without a pouch! The number of items that can be attached to this panel in one way or another will boggle your mind.

The panel also features sets of elastic webbing loops in 3 locations that are useful for securing items like flashlights or chem-lights. There are 2 sets of 2 loops on each end of the MOLLE panel and a set of 3 loops on the leading edge of the slot pocket side. The set of 3 loops are long enough to secure even longer lights like the 3xAA Maglights and they position the light so that it can be accessed, even if the visor is in the up position.

Loop material allows you to attach pouches or patches.

The versatile webbing set up lets you attach things like these Multitasker Tools in variety of ways.

Fit and Finish

The MVP is extremely well made. The stitches are straight and even. The edges are taped to prevent fraying and to give a clean look. Everything is reinforced where it should be and the materials themselves are all very durable. I expect that this will be the last visor panel you ever have to buy. It is just very clean work overall.

Mounting

Mounting the MVP is extremely easy. First, give some thought to how you will orient the MVP based on which way you want the slot pockets to face and the items that you place a priority on accessing. It is easiest to attach MOLLE pouches before you mount the MVP on your visor. Wrap the MVP onto your visor with the loop tabs facing into the passenger compartment (not forward toward the engine compartment) and attach the tabs loosely. Finally, tighten each hook and loop tab individually until the MVP fits tightly on your visor. This thing doesn’t even need to come with instructions. You can look at it and figure it out.

The MVP can handle just about any AA, AAA, or CR123 powered light. Like this Surefire E-Series...

This 3 AA Maglight...

Or this chem-light.

It really excels with task lights like the Inova 24/7 and especially the Princeton Tec MPLS Switch.

In Use

I have used the MVP in my truck for about a month now. In that time, I have been rotating various pieces of gear and combinations of gear on and off the panel to try and learn what works best and what doesn’t work at all. I ended up taking pictures for this post in three different sessions because I was constantly thinking of other things that the MVP could hold. It is great for holding admin gear like pens and small pads but you will find yourself scheming about a million other things it can hold.

Something that I learned early on is that you don’t want to over load the panel. The visors in my truck would hold quite a bit of weight and still stay up – at least when your vehicle is sitting still. Once the vehicle is moving, an over loaded visor will begin to sag into your line of sight. You can stow a lot of stuff on your MVP, but only testing when the vehicle is actually moving will tell the whole story about how much weight you can really hold.

The MVP excels at organizing your lighting. I found that I could figure out ways to attach nearly any AA, AAA, or CR123 powered flashlight I own to the MVP. The MVP also handles chem-lights with ease. I also found that task lights like the Inova 24/7, Streamlight Sidewinder and the previously reviewed Princeton Tec MPLS Switch could be mounted in ways that made them useful for illuminating the passenger compartment. The MVP is especially useful with these types of task lights since the red LED can be used to illuminate maps or documents without causing glare on your windshield at night. A chem-light positioned in one of the sets of elastic loops could be used to illuminate the interior of the vehicle. There are just tons of ways to make the MVP work efficiently with your lights.

The MVP can handle a wide variety of survival gear.

Larger knives like this Spyderco Endura work best clipped in the slot pockets.

Smaller knives like this Boker Plus Keycom can be clipped to the MOLLE webbing.

Don't forget that items can be store under the MVP as well. These Bogota Entry Tools are discreetly pinned inside the MVP.

The MVP is a great place to tuck a revolver speed strip.

I found that the MVP was great for carrying small pieces of survival gear – especially vehicle specific gear like a belt cutter or glass breaker. I easily attached a SAR Global Tool Eclipse Signal System for day and night signalling. Several methods of fire making like Bic lighters and fire steels could easily slide under the elastic MOLLE webbing. A Fresnel lens could be stowed in the slot pockets. You could even stow a flat folding water bottle like those from Platypus and some water treatment tablets on board.

The slot pockets on the MVP are the perfect place to store relatively flat items like maps or other documents. You need to be mindful of the thickness of the items that you store here because items that are too thick can prevent the visor from “locking” in the up position. In my truck, I was able to get away with items that are slightly thicker like a small pre-packaged poncho, an emergency blanket, and a signal mirror. I also keep some of the previously reviewed Waterford Press guides stashed in the pockets. The pockets are a bit too deep to store something like a business card or a parking garage ticket. It would be nice if there was a smaller business card sized pouch or a small slot in the side of the panel to quickly for smaller documents. However, I was able to simply wedge a parking garage ticket under the panel itself where it was held relatively securely.

Don’t forget that you can store things under the panel as well. I used the space to discreetly store my previously reviewed Bogota Entry Tools. I also found this useful for storing larger flat items that wouldn’t fit in the slot pockets like large maps.

The MVP can be easily detached from your visor if you need to leave your vehicle. You could even transfer the whole panel to your EDC (every day carry) bag or use it to carry several items that would be cumbersome on their own in the event that you have to leave your vehicle on foot. It serves as a sort of mini-BOB (bug out bag).

The slot pockets can store relatively flat things like these ESEE Navigation Cards or a Rite in the Rain notebook...

A poncho and emergency blanket...

Maps and Waterford Press guides...

Or even some gloves...

Conclusion

If you have gear that you keep in your vehicle for convenience or emergencies, the MOLLE Visor Panel from Zulu Nylon Gear will help you keep it organized. This, like every other design that comes from ZNG, show Joel’s gift for innovating a stale design in a way that makes it more functional, more visually attractive, and more versatile. There are other visor panels on the market but none with the amount of thoughtful design, innovation, and versatility that can be found in the MOLLE Visor Panel.

You can purchase your own MOLLE Visor Panel at Zulu Nylon Gear’s website.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me for review, free of charge, by Zulu Nylon Gear.

 

 

 

This is how the MVP looks in my truck. I tuck my sunglasses into the empty elastic loops on the left.

The back holds a map, some guides and an Inova light.

 

 

 

Review: Retro-Tactical Rimfire Pouches

By on May 2, 2011 in Guns, Reviews, Tactical Gear

Tony at Retro-Tactical has made it his mission to provide tactical gear for the weapons that the majority of the tactical gear makers have forgotten, ignored, or never even heard of. I first came across his work when I was looking for a MOLLE mountable 10/22 magazine pouch. He makes some really interesting items for everything from 1911s, to PSLs, to revolvers… that’s right, tactical gear for revolvers. When Tony offered to send me some pouches to review, I jumped at the chance.

Loose Ammo (top) and 10/22 Magazine Pouch (bottom)

10/22 Universal Gunsaddle

Overall Quality

The quality of these pouches is immediately apparent. The stitching is straight and clean. Many of the edges and seams are taped (though not all of them). The materials that Tony uses are top notch. The pouches are constructed from double layered 1000 denier nylon. It should take you a lifetime to wear a hole all the way through one of these pouches.

Attention to detail - The loose ammo pouch has a smaller drainage grommet to prevent .22LR cartridges from dropping out.

The attention to detail is very good. Tony uses two layers of nylon in the construction of the pouch and sews them so that the stitching from the hook and loop closure won’t show through to the front of the pouch. This gives a very clean look. This is the kind of detail that most users will never notice, but Tony took the time to think about.

The hook and loop closure on these pouches is very well designed. The hook side is oriented vertically on the underside of the lid and the loop side is horizontal on the front of the pouch. This allows the lid to be fastened as tight or loose as the user wants. The design and execution of these pouches is very thoughtful.

This hook and loop orientation allows the user to keep the lid as tight or loose as they want.

Loose Ammo Pouch

The first pouch that I tried was the MOLLE version of the Loose Ammo Pouch (there is a belt version as well). This is one clever pouch. It is designed to hold loose ammo in a way that is secure and easy to access. As you can imagine, designing a pouch that holds loose rounds as small as .22LR without spilling the while the user is moving takes some time at the drawing board. Tony designed this pouch with a flap of lightweight ripstop nylon that is secured at the front of the pouch (the side away from the wearer). The other side is secured with a piece of elastic. The flap completely covers the mouth of the pouch but is easily pushed to the side as you access the ammo. It is ingenious.

The interior flap helps keep the loose ammo inside the pouch, even when the flap is open.

The flap is easily stretched out of the way to access the ammo.

I tested this pouch several ways. I loaded it with 50 rounds of .22LR ammo, turned it upside down and shook it. It did drop some rounds but that was to be expected. Next, I conducted the same test but with the pouch right side up. The pouch retained all 50 rounds. This is more accurate test of what it will be like when worn. I also did the same tests but with the flap secured tightly. Nothing escaped. Finally, I secured the pouch to an out of the way spot on my MOLLE belt rig and ran through carbine drills on the range. I didn’t access the pouch for the drills. I just wanted to see how it would perform while the user was running, dropping into prone, and doing other shooting related activities. At the end of the day, all 50 rounds were still in the pouch.

The pouches can be closed very tightly to prevent any ammo from being lost.

This pouch is perfect for those who have tube fed rifles chambered in .22LR. It could be attached to the MOLLE belt pad of a pack (like those from Mystery Ranch or Kifaru) or a belt to keep your ammo right at your finger tips when you are small game hunting or hiking. It can even hold boxed .22LR ammo. I found that it would fit 2 boxes of .22LR with room to spare.

I’ll say it again: This is one clever pouch.

Ruger 10/22 Dual Magazine Pouch

The next pouch that I tried was what Tony calls the Ruger 10/22 Dual Magazine Pouch. I had the MOLLE version to test (there is also a belt version). It is essentially a revolver speed-loader pouch which I have found to work very well for the 10/22 10 round rotary magazines. I have been using a belt mounted speed-loader pouch for years to carry my 10/22 magazines so I was very pleased to find that Tony offered a MOLLE mount version.

The webbing straps help retain the magazines when the lid is open and keep them from noisily banging into each other.

Magazines oriented this way make for quick and easy reloads.

The interior of the pouch has webbing straps (just like a speed-loader pouch) that help retain and stabilize the magazines. They work well to stabilize the magazines but they can be a bit of a pain when you are trying to insert a magazine into the pouch. They tend to smash down under the magazine instead of wrapping around it. However, once the mags are in place, the straps do a fine job of retaining them. I also found that it become easier over time to insert the magazines. I am not sure whether that was because the straps loosened a bit with use or because I got better at inserting them.

It might also be nice if this had a split lid so that one magazine could be removed without fear of accidentally dumping the other magazine. That didn’t happen to me in testing but I could see how it might.

This pouch is great for mounting on the MOLLE belt of my favorite packs – the Kifaru MOLLE Express and the ZXR. It allows me to easily carry a couple of spare magazines for my 10/22 when small game hunting or hiking. The pouch allows very smooth reloads. The user clears the flap and presses up on the bottom of the pouch under the magazine that they wish to remove. The magazine slides up into the hand is ready to be inserted into the 10/22. It is quick and smooth. I envisioned this pouch on the waist belt of a pack all along and I am very pleased with how it worked out.

The rear of the pouch shows the 2x2 MOLLE webbing configuration.

Attaching the MOLLE Pouches

I should say a few words about attaching these pouches to MOLLE webbing. MOLLE pouches are threaded onto the MOLLE platform and typically this requires at least 3 rows of webbing vertically on the back of the pouch to do effectively. The above pouches are so compact that there is only room for 2 rows vertically.

I found 3 methods that worked very well for attaching them. The first was to use zip ties which actually worked really well. Tony has written about this on his blog.

The pouches can be tricky to mount. Annex Clips were used to mount the pouch on the left and MALICE clips on the right.

Annex Clips are the perfect solution for mounting these pouches.

The next method that I tried was the use of short MALICE clips. This worked but quite a bit of the clips were visible below the pouch. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but it did render an extra row of MOLLE webbing useless.

Finally, I remembered that I had some ITW Annex Clips. These were the perfect solution for the short pouches. I attached them to the lower row of MOLLE to prevent the pouch from rocking up when I tried to lift the flap. They hold very securely while still allowing the pouch to be moved easily.

Universal Gunsaddle

The final pouch is easily my favorite of what Tony sent me (and that is saying a lot). Retro-Tactical makes the Universal Gunsaddle for several rifles, including the 10/22 version which Tony sent me. This pouch is just too cool. It is essentially the same pouch as the 10/22 Dual Magazine Pouch above except it is sewn to buttstock saddle. It allows you to carry 2 spare magazine for the 10/22, unobtrusively, right on the buttstock of the rifle.

The Universal Gunsaddle lets you keep 2 spare magazines on the 10/22 itself.

Like the 10/22 Dual Magazine Pouch above, I believe that the Universal Gunsaddle could also benefit from a split lid. However, in my testing, it worked fine as is.

Attaching it is simple. You just loosen the cord-lock, slide the whole Universal Gunsaddle onto your rifle, and then tighten the cord-lock (more detailed instructions can be found on the Retro-Tactical Blog). There are webbing loops on the saddle portion of the pouch that has para-cord routed through them. This creates the “Universal” part of the pouch because it can be readily adapted to fit a wide variety of stocks. I tested it on a factory birch stock, the old style factory polymer stock, the new style factory polymer stock, and a Hogue stock.

The saddle part of the pouch is only as thick as 2 layers of 1000 denier nylon so it doesn’t interfere with the cheek weld at all. In fact, it is an improvement over the Hogue stock which can feel a bit slimy on a hot day. It would be cool if Tony could offer these with closed cell foam padding in the saddle to act as a comb riser for those who need it. Since Tony does do custom work, I suspect that he could easily accommodate that.

This Gunsaddle is just so handy. You can carry all of the ammo you need for an afternoon of small game hunting right on the gun. If you keep a 10/22 as a truck gun or a survival rifle, this pouch would be perfect for storing the ammo in such a way that it was always with the gun.

Overall

I am very happy with these pouches. The materials are top notch and the construction is very good. The designs and attention to detail are excellent. They function well and fill a void in my gear. Tony has shown that he definitely knows how to fill a niche. I had an absolute blast reviewing these pouches.

You can check out Tony’s whole niche filling product line at Retro-Tactical.com.

Disclosure: I received these pouches free of charge for review from Retro-Tactical.

Review: Revision Eyewear Sawfly

By on April 25, 2011 in Reviews, Tactical Gear

The consequences of poor quality eye protection can range from something annoying like an unexplained shift in point of impact to something as serious as vision loss. The first situation will ruin a day at the range. The second situation has life altering implications that can’t be reversed. High quality eyewear that is purpose built for shooting  is a must have for any shooter.

In this post, I’ll be taking a look at the Revision Eyewear Sawfly Shooters Kit. Revision refers to the Sawfly glasses as “ballistic spectacles”. The term ballistic spectacles speaks to their intended purpose of protecting the wearer’s eyes from the various hazards of shooting.

What Makes for Suitable Shooting Glasses?

There are several things that I look for in shooting glasses. These are the things that separate safety glasses meant for hammering nails from shooting glasses meant for the specific environment of the gun range (or police and military use). These are the things that separate the good shooting glasses from the great ones…

Ballistic Protection

The first thing is ballistic protection. The glasses should be rugged enough to protect your eyes from impact and cover a broad enough area of your face. If the glasses to break, shatter, or otherwise allow a harmful object contact your eyes without resistance, they are not suitable for shooting. The Sawfly has actually been tested and proven to stop 37 strikes of #6 shot fired from a 12 gauge shotgun. They will certainly shrug off brass, bullet jackets that bounce off steel targets, and various other debris. They are broad enough to prevent debris from entering at odd angles.

Shooting glasses should also sit a bit differently on your face than regular glasses for maximum protection. They should sit close to your face at the top of the glasses but still provide air flow to prevent fogging. I once witnessed a gentleman shooting at a public range that had a piece of freshly ejected brass fall between the top of his shooting glasses and his forehead. The brass settled on his lower eyelid and left quite a blister. His safety glasses were the type that are more suitable for factory work than shooting and he paid the price (though it could have been much worse). The top of the Sawfly frame sits very close to the forehead. There isn’t enough room to allow a brass casing to enter.

Optical Quality

Secondly, shooting glasses should be clear and distortion free from edge to edge. You can only shoot as well as you can see. I have seen poor quality safety glasses actually effect the point of impact of a shooter who was shooting iron sights on an AR-15. The shooter zeroed their carbine at the start of the day with good quality clear glasses with clear lenses. As the day wore on and it became brighter, he switched to sunglasses and immediately noticed a shift in point of impact. It was cured by returning to the original clear glasses.

Poor quality glasses have poor quality lenses that distort and obscure your vision. The Sawfly lenses are distortion free and clear from edge to edge. Revision Eyewear even offers the Sawfly in two sizes so that the fit of the glasses will not flex the lenses in such a way that view through the lenses becomes distorted. This is a very welcome feature for someone like myself who has a larger head.

Comfort and Fit

Comfort and fit are obviously important. If your eye protection isn’t comfortable or it is constantly shifting you may be apt to remove it or you might be concentrating on it rather than making the shot. The Sawfly frame features curved arms that are flexible to conform to the wearer’s head and adjustable for length. The arms have rubberized areas that help prevent them from shifting. They also feature a really slick low profile head band that snaps into place on the ends of the arms. The head band really helps to keep everything from shifting. Those of you who do more than shoot from a shooting bench when at the range will appreciate the head band. They also have a large, soft, and flexible nose piece. The nose piece is very comfortable and stays put well, even when wet.

Many shooting glasses share the same, often overlooked, flaw. The frame sits too low above the eyes. As a result, when the shooter goes prone and their head rocks forward slightly they end up trying to look through the frame instead of the lens. It is obviously impossible to look through the opaque part of your eye protection so you will often see shooters pushing their glasses up on their face when they go prone or other shooting positions. The Sawfly frame actually sits up over the eyebrows. This allows the shooter to tilt their head forward and still see through the lens. You never notice this stuff until you have to fight it on the range.

Other Considerations

Your eye protection also has to work well with other important range gear like head wear and hearing protection. I always wear a ball cap and use Sordin electronic hearing protection. It seems that most other manufacturers give this no thought at all. My previous eye protection has fat rubber arms that would break the seal my Sordins around my ear and would contact the sides of my hat causing the glasses to lift in the front. The Sawfly arms are very thin. They slip easily under the ear cups of my Sordins without breaking the seal and under the band of the hat. The way that the head band snaps to the frame also plays an important role here. Some head bands are pressed onto the ends of the arms which adds bulk but the Sawfly head band is very slim. They work well with all the typical range gear.

It can also be nice to have various lens types that can be chosen based on a specific situation. If you are shooting on a bright outdoor range you will likely prefer a dark shaded lens. A lens color that offers high contrast, like yellow or vermilion, can be a real boon when you are shooting on a dimly lit indoor range. The Sawfly is available as a kit with various colored lenses that can easily be swapped into the frame without tools. They can be tailored to your specific conditions in just a moment. The Shooter’s Kit that I received for evaluation came with Smoke, Clear, and Vermilion colored lenses.

In the Box

The Sawfly Shooters kit came with the lenses mentioned above (Smoke, Clear, and Vermilion), the Sawfly frame, a head band, a lint free cloth bag that can also be uses to clean the lenses, and a soft case with individual “envelopes” for storing the spare lenses. The soft case also features belt loops and a plastic clip that makes it easy to clip to the outside of a range bag or backpack. It is a well thought out kit.

Nitpicks

I have some nitpicks with the Sawfly. The arms are secured to the frame via small screws that are often found on glasses. I have really come to appreciate glasses that just snap together since they tend to “break-away” when they are sat on or crushed in a shooting bag. They can easily be snapped back together. Screw construction can be less forgiving.

I also wish that the head band had its rotation limited. It is a minor gripe but it would be nice if the band couldn’t become twisted. It won’t twist when it is on your head but it can twist when you put them on, take them off, or take them in and out of storage. It is not a big deal to straighten them out, but it would be nice if you didn’t have to deal with at all.

Conclusion

I really, really like the Sawfly. They solve a couple of problems for me – they play well with my Sordin hearing protection and the larger size prevents distortion caused from flexing to fit a larger head. I am not sure why more high end eyewear manufacturers don’t offer multiple sizes. The Sawfly has really performed well for me. I highly recommend them.

You can check out the Sawfly Shooter’s Kit and all the other Sawfly kits on the Revision Eyewear website.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me for review, free of charge, by Revision Eyewear.

, like the Revision Eyewear Sawly,

Review: TangoDown Vickers Tactical Glock Slide Stop

By on April 18, 2011 in Guns, Reviews

The Larry Vickers designed, TangoDown produced magazine release for Glocks is one of my favorite Glock add-ons. Given my experience with the magazine release, I have been very excited to try the new TangoDown Vickers Tactical Slide Stop for Glocks.

Background

When I reload, I use my support hand thumb to hit the slide stop. The standard Glock slide stop is poorly shaped for this technique so I add a Glock extended slide stop to all my Glocks. Most extended slide stops for the Glock are longer and some offer some additional thickness. They offer the additional leverage and surface area need to make the slide stop easier to operate. However, the additional length can make contact with the palm of the support hand when the Glock is gripped with a high thumbs forward grip. This contact can prevent the slide from locking back on empty or, worse, cause the slide to lock back before the magazine is empty.

The Vickers Tactical Glock Slide Stop is different from other extended slide stops. Rather than adding length to the lever, Larry Vickers designed his slide stop to extend out from the side of the Glock. It doesn’t hug the frame like the standard slide stops. It flares out from the frame. This creates a wider “shelf” at the top of the lever that, along with more aggressive texture, makes the slide stop easy to operate.

The Vickers Tactical Slide Stop flares out from the frame and then slopes back toward it. This creates two surfaces - one for pressing down and one for pressing up.

This image shows the Glock extended slide stop (top), Vickers Tactical Slide Stop (middle), and Glock standard slide stop to scale.

 

In Use

In my testing, the Vickers Tactical Slide Stop performed well. It always locked back on empty and it never locked back early. Over the years, I have adjusted my grip to prevent contact with larger extended slide stops. I was able to creep a little bit higher with my grip than usual without contacting the slide stop.

The Vickers Glock Slide Stop is very well shaped. I found the large shelf to be very easy to find and then depress with my support hand thumb. The shape and texture also allows me to operate the slide stop with my strong hand thumb, but users with smaller hands may have difficulty reaching it without shifting their grip.

The Vickers Tactical Slide Stop also makes it very easy to lock the slide to the rear. It comes out from the frame and then slopes down and back to the frame. This creates a sort of convex area that is textured that is very easy to press up with your thumb. This is a great aid in getting the slide locked to the rear for administrative type tasks as well as when clearing a double feed. This is the only slide stop for Glocks that I have seen where thought seems to have been given for making the slide easier to lock to the rear.

The shape and texture make the Vickers Tactical Slide Stop very easy to operate with gloves. That is not really true of the Glock standard or extended slide stops which are too smooth to feel very confident with while wearing gloves. They work, but the Vickers Tactical Glock Slide Stop works better. It is the texture that really makes the difference here.

There were no issues with holster fit (tested in Safariland 6280 and 6004, Comp-Tac MTAC, and various leather holsters). The additional width did not noticeably effect the draw stroke. It was a non-issue.

I had an issue with a very sharp edge on the Vickers Tactical Slide Stop. The texture on the slide stop is in the form of tightly spaced lines that are cut into the face of the slide stop. These lines were very slightly off center on my slide stop which put them right up to the edge, creating a sharp serrated edge. A couple of passes with some wet/dry sandpaper fixed the issue quickly.

Conclusion

I found the Vickers Tactical Glock Slide Stop to be a good solution for those who do not need an extended slide stop but do want to be able to quickly and positively operate the slide stop. It is a massive improvement over the standard Glock slide stop and doesn’t have the downsides of over sized extended levers. It works well for both releasing the slide and locking it to the rear. It is obvious that more thought has gone into this slide stop than most others on the market. The Vickers Tactical Slide Stop is the best Glock slide stop that I have used.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me free of charge for review.

Glock standard slide stop

 

Glock extended slide stop

Vickers Tactical Slide Stop

Glock standard slide stop viewed from above.

Glock extended slide stop viewed from above.

Vickers Tactical Slide Stop viewed from above.

Review: Manticore Arms NightShroud

By on April 11, 2011 in Guns, Reviews

The NightShroud from Manticore Arms is a flash suppressor that is designed for the AK-74s and AK-47s, like the excellent Arsenal SGL-21, with 24mm threaded muzzles. It is an excellent alternative to the ubiquitous AK-74 brake that is most commonly found on AKs with 24mm threads.

I found the NightShroud while I was looking for an alternative to a muzzle brake for my SGL-21. I wanted something quieter than the AK-74 style brake that came standard on the SGL-21. I quickly found that, since the SGL-21’s muzzle has 24mm threads, my options were extremely limited. Thankfully, one of those limited options was the NightShroud.

The NightShroud is very cleanly machined from 8620 steel and then finished with a slightly shiny black oxide. It certainly looks and feels well made. It features 8 indentations all the way around the collar so that you can tighten the NightShroud all the way down to the muzzle and still engage the locking detent. This is the type of feature that takes some extra machining but the results, a solid muzzle device with little to no wobble, are worth it.

I really just wanted something that was quieter and the NightShroud is certainly quieter than the AK-74 brake. However, it is the better part of an inch shorter and a bit lighter in weight!

AK-74 Brake NightShroud
Length (inches) 3.21 2.46
Weight (ounces) 3.60 3.30

The NightShroud does a great job of suppressing flash as well. It elimated the amount of flash that is visible from the shooter’s position. Only a very small, thin bit of flash is visible from beside the NightShroud. The performance is pretty impressive.

So if you own an AK-74 or an AK-47 like the SGL-21 with 24mm threads you should definitely check out the NightShroud. It is an excellent option in spite of the fact that it is one of the very few options.

The NighShroud is manufactured by Manticore Arms and can be viewed on their website. I purchased my NightShroud through Rat Worx.

Note: The Manticore Arms website cautions that the NightShroud may not fit some rifles like the SGL-21. I believe that is old information. The version that I recieved has a longer collar so it will fit a wider variety of rifles as evidenced by the longer overall length and heavier weight than those listed on the Manticore Arms website. The version that is now shipping is the an improved model that should fit most AKs with 24mm threads. However, you may want to contact Manticore Arms or Rat Worx to verify that the NightShroud will work with your rifle.

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