The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Out on America’s West Coast, just to the left of California about 60 miles, lies a 21-nautical-mile-long geographical wasteland known as San Clemente Island. It makes up the southern tip of California’s Channel Islands, making it the metaphorical hell to the comparable heaven of Santa Catalina Island, which is located a bit to the northeast. […]
Here at SOFREP, we do a lot of talking about gear, training, and general preparedness. Pulling from our military, professional, and hobbyist backgrounds with firearms, we do our best to relate our experiences to you in an approachable way, and often, those experiences suggest that training, not equipment, is what will save your life in a […]
The process of purchasing body armor is not one to be taken lightly. There are a lot of elements to take into consideration: price, levels and type of protection, and comfort (which is commonly overlooked). The average cost for quality armor that offers N.I.J. (National Institute of Justice) level III ballistic, level 1 edged blade, […]
In our recent (6-24) post in the PT Program, we wrote that it was time for the next 12-mile rucksack march. And of course, like the old warhorse that runs to the sound of the gunfire, it seemed like a great idea at the time to do another dozen miles under the pain pill to […]
The Israeli Defense Forces are one of the very few modern and technologically advanced organizations out there who have been behind when it comes to combat clothing and camouflage patterns. The primary reason is likely the cost associated with the changes but also with how camouflage or anything concealment is perceived. For starters, we used […]
This axe is easily one of the best-constructed and rugged tools I have ever owned. The lineage behind Hults Bruk is long and full of rich Swedish history dating back to 1697 which only adds to the axes’ appeal. Upon opening the box for the Akka Forester’s Axe, I immediately noticed how much care had […]
This may be a bit presumptuous of me, but our dependence on technology has made us weaker militarily, in my humble opinion. That’s not to say we shouldn’t be incorporating technology where we can to make us more effective, just that if there are more primitive methods available we should not forget them. Sure, there […]
There seems to be some mixed info out there in regard to weapon lights and how to utilize them. One argument I’ve heard is that if your light is too bright you’re going to blind yourself out. Maybe this works for some, but if the room is pitch black, any amount of momentary light is […]
U.S. Marine and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force scout snipers take you behind the rifle during exercise Forest Light at Somagahara, Japan, March 10, 2017. Forest Light is one of various bi-lateral training opportunities conducted by JGSDF and deployed U.S. Marine forces to demonstrate both countries’ enduring commitment to peace, stability, and security across the region. […]
A survival knife is a tool and not a fashion statement but for any guys out there that have been in a survival situation or a school environment as in a training course, you’d know that. So it becomes a case of practicality over all else While I’m admittedly no expert on knives, I know […]
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