discreet

Maxpedition Beefy Pocket Organizer: A great EDC tray for travel or discreet home use

Maxpedition has been around for a while now and has proven themselves in the tactical nylon industry. They are known for making bombproof gear. I’ve used several smaller pouches and one of their Falcon packs in the past. One of the most durable small day packs I had ever tried and used. I recently saw a buddy of mine using one of their pocket organizers as a storage place for his EDC loadout. I recently did a similar review on the GORUCK Wire Dopp Pouch. Today I’m taking a look at using the Maxpedition Beefy Pocket Organizer for my EDC.

I do have the traditional leather EDC tray in my office that I empty my pockets into before going to bed each night, but there is something about having a compact discreet option as well. I really like having the ability to keep all my EDC essentials secured inside the Maxpedition Beefy pouch, so that I can just grab it and go. This is especially handy if you’re traveling and staying in hotels. In the event you need to evacuate, not having time to grab all your stuff, at least you can grab the essentials and be able to sustain yourself short term. This is also a nice option to have in my office or around the house because it doesn’t scream tactical or I have weapons. When zipped up, it just looks like a standard zippered pouch, nothing more.

It has its pros and cons compared to the GORUCK Wire Dopp Pouch. Let’s take a closer look.

<br />

The Blackhawk Diversion Bag – Secure and Discreet

A few months ago I was prepping and planning for Hurricane Irma to make landfall in Florida. I had food, I had water, and I was generally ready to evacuate. One way thing I was deeply concerned about was my firearms. Your standard firearm’s cases stand out and make themselves nice and obvious. I wish I had something like the Blackhawk Diversion bag. The Blackhawk Diversion bag is a very discreet firearm carrying case that is an exceptionally well-made piece of gear.

What’s a Diversion bag?

The Blackhawk Diversion bag is essentially a firearm carrying case that looks like a gym bag. On the outside, it’s as plain as can be. There is no hook and loop, MOLLE, pals webbing, there is only a single, very small Blackhawk logo on the bag. It comes in a variety of non-tactical colors. There is really nothing that gives away the true intention of the Blackhawk Diversion bag.

Kel Tec Sub2k and Rem Tac 14 working side by side

It’s the hidden features that really show how tactical this bag is. On the inside, we have a three-panel padded divider that’s completely removable. These padded panels protect your firearms from bumping into each other as well as being dent and dinged when the bag is set down. This padded divider separates guns and gear, as well as providing a more discreet total package. The internal padding prevents the bag from bulging awkwardly from barrels, stocks, and foregrips.

On the left and right side of the bag, you have two pouches that have an internal zippered wall. These allow you to access the inside of the bag, or to expand the bag to accommodate a silently larger weapon. These pockets are a very nice touch.

What Fits?

This is the big question. The bag itself doesn’t appear to be very big, does it? Its looks are deceiving though. It’s capable of holding a wide variety of full-sized rifles provided they are fitted with an under folding, or side folding stock. This allows the little bag to hold rifles like the SCAR 16s, AKs with folding or side folding stocks, AR 15s broken down, AR and AK pistols with stabilizing braces, and more.

On top of guns, you can mix a variety of tactical gear inside the bag. The bag easily accommodates a plate carrier with soft armor and a long gun. On top of that, you can squeeze in a dozen mags, an IFAK, a chest rig, and just about anything else you’d need in a tactical go bag.

The Blackhawk Diversion Bag is an outstanding piece of gear. It’s a must-have for any low profile loadout. The Blackhawk Diversion bag was included in our Operator Crate for the month of October.

Check out the Crate Club to get a monthly crate of quality gear that’s hand-picked and tested by Special Operations veterans.

*Originally published on the Crate Club Knowledgebase

Build a small emergency kit for her as a Christmas gift

It’s that time of year where most guys are wondering what the hell to buy their wife, girlfriend or significant other for Christmas. Depending on what they do on a daily basis for work or commuting you may want to consider getting a few items for her to have on hand in an emergency. Not necessarily a go bag, but a few items to increase her safety and survivability. Here are a few products I’ve selected to increase safety and survivability.

Small handheld flashlight

A small handheld flashlight comes in handy more often than not. It’s useful for both finding your keys in the dark or for temporarily blinding a threat, giving you a few valuable seconds to get away and call 911. The Streamlight Protac 1aaa is not by any means a high lumen tactical light, but what woman wants that. The Protac 1aaa, as the name states, runs on a single AAA battery which is common everywhere and puts out enough light (115 lumens) to disorient someone in the dark.

First Aid Kit

A first aid kit is going to get the most use day-to-day versus a trauma kit. If she is shuttling around kids chances are someone is going to need a band-aid. There is a multitude of pre-built kits available, but the one I have found to be the best bang for your buck, as well as practical, is the Ouch Pouch from Dark Angel Medical. It is compact enough to be thrown into a purse or diaper bag. The contents are all organized into small zip lock type bags and easy to find and access.

Small but practical & durable folding knife

A small folding knife that is partially serrated is what I would recommend. Why partial serrations? For urban environments chances are more likely that you’ll encounter a medical situation such as a car accident than you would an assault. Folding knives aren’t meant to be used for personal defense, although with training and practice you could push it into that role. You may need to cut through a seat belt to rescue someone else or extract yourself from your car. If you’re rendering aid to someone you may need to cut clothing to exposure the injury in order to stop the bleeding. Serrations make cutting through these materials and many other much easier, safer and quicker. For these reasons, I recommend the Spyderco Delica. I’ve owned one for several years and it has never failed me.

Glass breaker and discreet impact weapon

Being that vehicle glass is tempered it can be hard to penetrate unless you have a rescue tool or something along those lines, but let’s face it, who has those tools readily available? We’ve covered the importance and effectiveness of a steel barreled pen, but those do not have the ability to break auto glass in an emergency. The Discreet Stabbing Tool takes the steel barreled pen to the next level by having a Tungsten tip on one end which is great for breaking glass to get yourself out of your car or rescue someone else from theirs. This tool can also be used as an impact weapon to create space between you and your attacker so that you can escape.

A bag to carry it all in

If you’re wanting to go all in and get her a bag as well to carry her emergency kit in along with other daily essentials, then I would suggest taking a hard look at the Vertx EDC Transit sling bag. For a review of this specific bag from a female perspective, check out our review HERE.

The key here is to build one tailored to her daily habits and routine. You could also include other smaller items such as a lighter, whistle and Ibuprofen. A good resource (and gift idea) is Clint Emerson’s book 100 Deadly Skills.

ZZZ Custom Works | Czech Convertable Pack

ZZZ Custom Works | Czech Convertible Pack

Think I finally found the perfect balance in an urban discreet bag that is packable and useful even in its collapsed version. ZZZ Customs Czech Pack. Will do a few more post about it in a bit. It’s everything I ever wanted in a minimalist pack.

Check out the following video of Ed demonstrating how discreet and packable this bag really is.

sling bag and backpack mode. The two ample storage compartments are
accessible in either mode.
The storage compartments can hold most
smartphones and point-and-shoot cameras.
Provisions are on the bag for
carabiners. This allows you to fasten carabiner compatible water
bottles.
Sling bag can quickly be employed to
back pack in a matter of seconds.
Bag is contructed out of packcloth,
1000 denier Cordura, and ripstop.
Backpack is a light duty backpack that
can easily carry a days worth of textbooks or a full bags worth of
groceries.
Ideal for travel. This is the perfect
carry on bag for air travel.

Available directly from ZZZ Custom Works HERE for $59.99.

Author – Ed is a security specialist and combatives instructor with over 10 years experience in public safety along the northern border area of Mexico. He runs seminars and private training specific to anti-abduction, escapology, free hand and unconventional edged weapons work. He is also director of Libre Fighting Systems in Mexico.

Follow Ed on Tumblr to read more like this

Video: Russian Special Forces shooting drill | Not for the faint of heart

The following video is an advanced shooting drill run by the Russian FSB Alpha teams. Although the video is almost 3 years old, it’s too insane not to share. The Russian military has always leaned more towards the extreme side of training for both Spetsnaz and the elite FSB Alpha teams. What are your thoughts on this type of drill? Too risky?

Featured image courtesy of Vickers Tactical Youtube Channel

Black Scout Survival Tactical Pen

Black Scout Survival’s entry into tactical pens is a solidly built writing utensil with a focused tactical utility while keeping it surprisingly affordable.

‘Black Scout Survival™ is a lifestyle- a mindset. To be prepared for any situation no matter the environment. Black denotes the covert and “grey” aspect of our lifestyle. SCOUT is an acronym encompassing our ideology (Survival Concepts in Outdoor and Urban Terrain). A Scout is always at the forefront. They are the intrepid. The Inventive. The determined and stalwartly proud.’ -Black Scout Survival

Almost anything can be tactically utilized, including a regular old pen. But in recent years, the market has been blowing up with tactical specific pens. Other than the ability to merely write, they have defense and tool capabilities that are design intended.

As any good tactical pen should be, the BSS TAC Pen serves equally well as a writing and striking device.

For the purpose of this review, I’ve made direct and sole comparisons to the Tuff-Writer Operator Pen.

I’ve equipped the Operator Pen for over 2 years and across 20 countries with plenty of writing but thankfully never needing its tactical function. This and the Black Scout Survival Tactical Pen are both capped, aluminum bodied refillable pens. But the Operator Pen costs $99 whereas the BSS TAC Pen is $23.