Tactical Gadgets...Where Does It Stop ?

Tactical Gadgets have been all the rage the last few years, but how many of them are useful? In the last few years we have seen a virtual explosion of companies coming on the firearm scene who are pimping the latest gadget to help you shoot better. This recent exponential increase in the gear and accessories market has been spun into a frenzy with the threat of more gun control legislation the last few years. The other part of this phenomenon is that many of these new pieces of gear always seem to be designed by an annoymous “special operations professional”, a term that should always raise a red flag. Maybe I’m just naturally skeptical of anything someone doesn’t put their name on. I mean we aren’t talking about any piece of gear or equipment that would violate operational security (OPSEC/COMSEC) protocols, its just an accessory that is often times part of a monthly “box club” subscription.

The problem in 2016 is to figure out how to discern what gear are trinkets and gadgets and what is actually useable to you as a shooter. The first part of that equation is to take an honest look at who you are and how you shoot. If you are a private security professional or some other armed professional like law enforcement etc, your gear will be very different than the casual shooter. There are a lot of people in the world that fancy themselves to be a hi speed low drag gunslinger with plate carriers, helmets and a full load out, who really work in the accounting department. Now there is nothing wrong with being prepared for a SHTF scenario and being able to work in your kit and know how to use every bit of it. I can almost promise that there is a very small percentage of the people who actually own that type of gear, practice and train in it. This is why knowing yourself and being honest with yourself is critical.

In the interest of being able to evaluate gear I will admit I have acquired several pieces of gear to test and evaluate that really left me scratching my head as to what the designers were thinking, aside from getting paid crazy amount of money. I have also come across some really well thought out ideas that were amazingly cheap and effective. One of the stranger pieces of gear I have acquired is shown in the above feature image, this little gem is known as the FANG High Speed Shooting Stabilizer. It’s the epitome of gear gadgets that will be snapped up by legions of people who will just “have to have it”. Stop and think about it I mean someone makes a “tactical nut sack” that people actually buy. It’s as genius as the pet rock, totally useless but people buy it and makes the brains behind it rich.

THE FUTURE ?

I hate to sound pessimistic but I think if I had to predict the future of accessories I would say we haven’t yet seen the worst ideas yet. There are a ton of items that people buy that are just amazingly stupid in my opinion and I’m sure that at SHOT Show 2017 I will see some ideas that are great and some that are clearly designed to separate you from your hard earned money with little to give in return aside from a piece of 3D printed plastic. To keep things interesting we have compiled a quick list in no particular order of tactical gadgets that we here at the site have come to consider fairly useless. We hope you enjoy the list, If you have any suggestions on fads or tactical gadgets that are truly useless, drop us a line and let us know. We are always up for a good laugh.

THE LIST