Gear Reviews

Ambitec USAF Plate Carrier Review

Courtesy of Ambitec Blog The plate carrier world isn’t exactly small anymore. With the rise of the plate carrier over the standard full-sized armor carrier the market responded with a wide variety of options. Seeing plate carrier evolve from what I used in Afghanistan in 2009 to what they’ve become in 2017 has been fascinating. It’s […]

My loadout for the Ukraine

So I did a loadout video when I was with the Peshmerga in Kurdistan and thought it would be interesting to do another one on the kit I used while I was in Ukraine. While much of the kit was pretty synonymous with my previous gear, a lot of it was different in brand and […]

The unsung heroes of Las Vegas and how to be an asset in these situations

Over the past two days we’ve seen several photos of the Las Vegas shooting where several concert goers were assisting the wounded despite bullets flying. We’ve witnessed several accounts of civilians and off duty law enforcement running into the hail of bullets to pull people to safety and provide medical attention until first responders could […]

The Kershaw Knives Barstow | First look

The Kershaw Barstow is an excellent example that form can follow function. Sure, we don’t need our gear to look pretty. We just want it to work. If it just so happens to look slick and work you are batting 1,000. The Kershaw Barstow is an interesting little folding knife that aims to stand out […]

Loadout Room tip of the day | Use an Exotac tinderZIP as a knife lanyard

Attaching a lanyard to your favorite pocket knife can add some multi-functionality to an already valuable tool. 550 paracord seems to be the most popular material for lanyards, but you can’t really utilize that for much due to the limited amount you can store in the form of a lanyard. Why not take it to […]

Stanley Master Series | 8oz flask review

There are few things more enjoyable and relaxing as getting out into the outdoors. Camping is obviously one of the best ways to experience this as you are immersing yourself in the wilderness around you. What’s more enjoyable than smoothing it out in the woods? If you ask me, I’d say drinking while you do […]

Tac-Tote Magazine Carrier | Ammunition resupply

When it comes to force protection, defensive, and offensive operations, a solid plan is the foundation that can determine whether a force succeeds or fails in accomplishing their mission. A defensive plan usually incorporates a multitude of topics, but I’m going to be focusing on one topic in particular for this review. Ammunition resupply. Why […]

CamelBak MULE hydration system

After having arrived at 2nd Ranger Battalion I began the process of being issued gear. Not your standard uniforms, those were provided by the CIF facility. Instead the Ranger specific gear: fast-rope gloves, Oakley sunglasses (ballistic with four different lenses), CamelBak, soft armor, ceramic plates, ruck, combat gear (Rhodesian, etc), sleep systems, you get the […]

Spyderco Matriarch 2 | Extreme cutting performance

The Spyderco Matriarch 2 conforms to the idea that your EDC blade should be a tool and your defensive blade should be a weapon. Looking back in the Matriarch’s family tree we see the original Spyderco Civilian, designed for undercover officers who were in a non-permissive environment for defensive firearms. With it’s distinctive reverse-s blade […]

Velocity Systems: Speed, direction and protection

With violence prevalent in the motherland and abroad these days, more people are packing around protective plates. True, the majority of those people are law enforcement officers (LEO’s), active military or are in the contractor world. Many more are civilians preparing for an event they hope never to see in their lifetime. Regardless of profession […]