Here at the Loadout Room, we tend not to throw our hats into the Kickstarter ring all that often. It’s not that we aren’t a fan of crowd funding projects, it’s that we review gear — and most Kickstarters don’t have stuff for us to smash up on camera behind the office (what we call […]
army ranger
Grey Ghost Gear UGF Battle Belt
The current rage in tactical gear at my unit is the battle belt. The current generation of the battle belt has a padded inner belt; the exterior of which is covered in soft sided Velcro. The outer belt has an interior of hook Velcro and an exterior lined in molle. The most popular buckle used […]
An Army Ranger’s Preferred Folding Knife | Benchmade Griptilian
Someone asked me the other day what knife I brought with me to Ranger school. I completed Ranger school back in 2012 and with me, I had a Benchmade Griptilian. The criteria of a solid knife in school is pretty limited. First Is it light enough that you would be willing to carry it? This […]
Shorts, sandals, salmon and a Toor Knife
It started off as a typical Monday; some PT (Physical Training), a little admin nonsense and a short brief on the day’s planned shenanigans (I didn’t know what shenanigans were in store for that day). My coworker Nick is something of an avid fisherman. Normally, it is more of a casual dalliance but with the majority […]
Jerry Miculek walks us through the Battle of the Bullpup Rifles
Famed All-World shooter Jerry Miculek is a veritable encyclopedia of firearms knowledge. Hearing him compare a few guns is an easy way to get an education, certainly from a different perspective than most firearms reviews due to his unparalleled shooting experience. In the following video, Jerry walks us through a range day, comparing and contrasting […]
Things are getting real: How the 75th Ranger Regiment prepares to fight in the Arctic
Arctic tough 1st Sgt. Jonathan M. Emmett leads U.S. Army Alaska Aviation Task Force soldiers assigned to Headquarters Company, 1-52 Aviation Regiment, at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, as they conduct Cold Weather Indoctrination Course II (CWIC) training November 19, 2015. (Photos by Spc. Liliana S. Magers, U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs.) As the unconventional conflicts in […]
Gadsden Dynamics War Belt: Designed for the prepared civilian
A couple of months ago, Gadsden Dynamics sent out a War Belt for review. I put up my initial impressions here, but have now spent enough time at the range and over the hills to deliver a final review. For a quick refresher, the War Belt weighs only 10 oz (with optional AustriAlpin Cobra buckle upgrade) and is 3 MOLLE […]
Nikon Monarch 3K Rangefinder: Stabilized point of view
As technology marches forward, the limits of what was once thought barely possible have been pushed farther and farther forward. One mile shots were once a thing of legend (or fantasy) but are now within the envelope for many shooters. Long range hunting used to mean 200 yards for many hunters, now we have marksmen […]
Elite Survival Systems: Loadout range bag
In the never-ending search for the right range bag to haul handguns, ammo, ear-pro, targets, a staple gun (and many other things) to the firing line with, I’ve gone through a number of different (and inadequate) bags. Some were bigger, some smaller, but all had a deficiency that caused an unnecessary pain in the ass […]
“There’s Only One You!” | A children’s gun safety book
Like many lucky-enough-to-be raised in the best parts of American gun culture, my dad made sure my brother and I were well versed in every aspect of firearm safety. Lawyer, “Top Shot” instructor, author and former 1st Ranger BN. sniper Ryan Cleckner has released a kids book aimed at giving parents another avenue to further press […]