Tag Archives | TacPack

The November 2016 TacPack is one of the coolest and most interesting yet.

Hopefully you are familiar with the concept of TacPack by now. If not, you can read the reviews of the previous TacPacks for some background on this subscription box. I recently received the November 2016 TacPack. Here are the details…

This month’s box is a very solid value. The items seemed to strike a great balance between value, quality, usefulness, and level of interest. This is probably my favorite box yet in part because it exposed me to an interesting product that I am still trying to wrap my head around.

Nelson Precision Manufacturing AR.5 – All of these subscription boxes come with bottle openers. If you subscribe for long, you will end up with a ton of them and they are easy to forget about. Every once in a while you get one that stands out and the NPM AR.5 certainly stands out. It is basically an accurately crafted half scale 80% AR-15 lower that opens bottles. I have tested it thoroughly on a variety of bottles and can confirm that it works VERY well. Best. Bottle Opener. Ever.

Black Rifle Coffee Company Mug – This mug rocks. I happen to like Black Rifle Coffee Company. I also happen to like enameled steel coffee mugs and early American history. This mug hits all those notes. It is a lot nicer than most of the enamel ware I see these days. Hint: You can also drink whiskey out of it.

Burnproof Gear Boot Laces – Burnproof gear makes cool stuff, especially if you have a suppressor you need to cover. They also make really nice boot laces. These kevlar laces are super strong and have a great texture so they don’t slip which makes them very good boot laces (good boot laces are hard to find). They offer heat resistance and high tensile strength so they have all sorts of survival applications.

Exotac polySTRIKER – I own and use several Exotac products. You can never go wrong with putting one of their products in these boxes. If you don’t have a ferro rod, you need one (or two, one to practice with and one to carry). You can always find a place to tuck a good ferro rod. Inclusions like this rank just about as high as possible on the usefulness scale as it pertains to subscription boxes.

ReadyMan Home Defense Hand Grenade – You know ReadyMan for their survival cards but they actually have a lot more than that going on. They offer a variety of products and advocate readiness in all forms. This Home Defense Hand Grenade isn’t on their website currently but it is extremely interesting. It is basically a puck shaped object that has bright strobes and screeching siren. You push a button, there is a short delay when you can throw it, and then it goes off with the intent of working as a distractionary device. In the confines of a dark room or hallway, it would be very disruptive.

I need to think more on how best to use something like this. On one hand, it makes a certain amount of sense on its face and I can see how it would be useful. On the other, the home owner is already faced with an interesting conundrum when confronting the bump in the night… You have two hands but need to carry a gun, a cell phone, and a flashlight at a minimum and there may not be time to jock up with gear. Something like this has merit and I have enjoyed thinking through how it might be used effectively.

There is also a coupon included so you can save 20% off at ReadyMan.

Check out TacPack to get in line for the December box which TacPack is saying will contain a high value knife along with a bunch of other slick kit.

Hopefully you are familiar with the concept of TacPack by now. If not, you can read the reviews of the previous TacPacks for some background on this subscription box. I recently received the October TacPack. Here are the details…

The October Box is solid in terms of value but the usefulness of some of the items may vary. This box contains a handful of items that retail higher than the fodder included in most subscription boxes so there are fewer items than you may find in a typical box but the quality is also better the most.

BreakThrough Clean Battle Born Grease – You can get by with just gun oil in most cases but grease is always good to have on hand. It stays put better on handgun slide rails, trigger engagement surfaces, and similar places that are hard to access or prone to leaking out all over you. This 12cc syringe makes application easy and could last you a few years in most cases. This is a solid inclusion.

Tactical Oatmeal Mag Carrier – This kydex magazine carrier is pretty slick. It is designed to accept a wide variety of belt hardware or MALICE clips (included). Additionally, it may be stacked with other Tactical Oatmeal Magazine Carriers in a variety of ways. The included MALICE clips will let you mount it on PALS webbing (though it can’t really be weaved) or your belt. I am not sure if this example is indicative of all Tactical Oatmeal products but while the design and molding is solid, the finish could use some work. The edges are left sharp and there is still bits of kydex left in the mounting holes. It isn’t pretty but it is functional.

Cittac EDC Beetle Buster – Cittac makes steel targets and very slick flat-pack target stands. They also make these little steel Beetle Busters. If you like knuck-like bottle openers or EDC tools, you’ll like this.

Trayvax Wallet – While I do not care to carry an exotic wallet, I can admit that this Traywax Wallet is pretty cool. It is actually of made thin steel with an adjustable strap to carry cards. It also has a place to stow a key and it blocks most RFID signals by nature of its steel construction. It’s very slim and I suspect it will last a long, long time.

Gang Bangers Anonymous Patch – Another patch for the patch wall!

Check out TacPack to get in line for the November box which TacPack is touting as the highest value yet.

Hopefully you are familiar with the concept of TacPack by now. If not, you can read the reviews of the previous TacPacks for some background. I recently received the September TacPack and here are the details…

September’s box is another one that delivers not only good value, but useful items. The usefulness of the items included continues to be my favorite thing about TacPack’s subscription service.

Nine Line Apparel Swag Pack – Nine Line Apparel is represented in a big way in this month’s box. They included a sticker, a koozie, and a t-shirt. I have a tool chest so I can use the sticker. I like cold beverages that come in cans so I can definitely use the koozie. I also [usually] wear clothing so I will get a lot of mileage out of the All Rifles Matter shirt. I always pleased when these boxes include a shirt.

Bellflower AK47 – This is an aluminum bottle opener that is shaped like an AK-47 and can be attached to your keys. It’s anodized in a gold color so you can feel like an oil baron or sultan while you are opening bottles. Even if you don’t put it on your keychain, you need a bottle opener for every drawer in your kitchen because they tend to disappear over time and no one wants to try to remember which drawer the bottle opener is in.

ReadyMan Survival Card – ReadyMan makes a variety of these cards. The one included in this box has a variety of fish hooks, frog spears, and other useful survival goodies packed into one easy-to-carry credit card form. I have a few of these tucked into various kits.

Wild HedgeHog Tactical – Wild HedgeHog Tactical really came through in this box. There is a coupon for 20% off at their site and one of their Ouch Pouches which is a compact, water-resistant first aid kit. You can never have too many first aid kits. This is the type of useful item that I really like finding in my TacPack.

Armaspec ST-45 Ambi Selector – This is a solid inclusion for both value and usefulness. If you are reading JTT, you almost certainly own an AR-15 in which you can use a short throw selector.

Check out TacPack to get in line for the October box which TacPack is touting as possibly their best yet.

Hopefully you are familiar with the concept of TacPack by now. If not, you can read the reviews of the previous TacPacks for some background. I recently received the August TacPack and it is my favorite so far. Here are the details…

I judge subscription boxes based not only the monetary value they deliver but also the usefulness of the items. I have purchased subscription boxes before and found that they may deliver a good monetary value on paper but be full of useless nick-knacks. That has not been my experience with TacPack and this month’s box is a prime example. I will use every single thing in the box. So far, TacPack boxes always deliver on value and I have been pleased with the usefulness of the items.

Exotac Fireseleeve – I supported the crowdfunding campaign that launched these and I think they are great gear. Exotac’s Firesleeve makes the already great Bic lighter even more functional by making it water-resistant, easier to grip, easier to keep lit without burning your thumb, and adding a lanyard loop.

America Grip Dagger Multi-Tool – This thing is slick. It’s an AR-15-centric multi-tool that is unlike any other that I own. It is especially solid for clearing some nasty types of stoppages. It has a tool for removing cases with head separation and a clever tool that is radiused for hooking under the rim of stuck brass. It can also be used to push pins, adjust optics, as a flat blade screw driver, and bolt scraper. Best of all, it folds into a very compact shape that can be clipped just about anywhere. This is going into my range kit.

Kershaw EDC Pack – Many of Kershaw’s knives are pretty inexpensive but they aren’t cheap if you get my drift. I have always had good luck with them so this is a nice inclusion. The pack includes a small multi-tool, a Kershaw knife, a flashlight, and a branded dog tag. The multi-tool is okay. The flashlight is pretty cheap but it works. The dog tag is silly. The knife, however, is solid and you always have room for a solid knife in a kit or tool box.

Breakthrough Clean Battle Born HP Pro – Everyone needs more gun oil. I don’t worry much about my gun oil because, regardless of the brand, I am going to use it the same way. I add lots of it so the gun stays wet, apply lots more when it starts to dry out, and repeat. They all work if you use them that way. However, I do like when a lube provides good protection from corrosion which, in my unscientific experience, Breakthrough Clean products do. I have to say that I like the precision applicator bottle on this Breakthrough Clean Battle Born HP Pro quite a bit. I also like that a 10% off coupon code was included for future Breakthrough Clean purchases.

GBA Sticker – Your tool box probably has room for another sticker.

On the whole, I think this is the most solid box to date. Previous subscription boxes that I have tried became progressively more nick-knack oriented. TacPack seems to keep going strong and may even be improving over time. I’ll take a few useful, high-value items over a pile of useless junk that is included to pad the monetary value any day. Well done TacPack. Well done.

Check out TacPack to get in line for the September box.