gear

The Rush24 2.0 From 5.11 Tactical

The 5.11 Rush series have been around for almost 15 years now. This year we see the first update in the form of the Rush 2.0 series. We got our greedy mitts on the Rush24 2.0 and have been putting it through its paces.

What’s New With The Rush24 2.0

First, they added a concealed carry pouch. It’s hidden ingeniously but quick to access. It sits as a pocket between the front pocket and main pouch. It’s sealed with hook and loop, so it’s effortless to open and access.

Second, the inside of the main pouch now features a laptop pouch that allows you to fit a 15-inch laptop in it. This was added due to user demand. The EDC world has largely adopted military and tactical packs, so small things are changing to better accommodate every user. Plus, the tactical world is changing, the implementation of technology is being infused into our warfighters.

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The Rush24 2.0 comes in a multitude of colors, including tactical favorites like Multicam, but also black, brown, and various greens. The bag has a wide variety of pockets and pouches to allow the organization of everything from sleeping gear to pens and paper. Let’s look at the features that stood out to me.

Organization

You learn quickly how important pack organization is when it starts to rain on your field op. Your sprint to cover your gear, but you packed your tarp at the very bottom of the pack. Organization is critical. It doesn’t matter if it’s an EDC pack, a hiking kit, a bug-out bag, or whatever. You want it organized.

The Rush24 2.0 exists as a pocket packing machine. There are pockets everywhere. The side pockets allow for the easy stashing of important gear. From phone chargers to IFAKs, you can store it all for relatively easy access. Organizing your gear in the dozens of pockets is easy and accessing them even easier.

Pockets in the top, front, and side give you plenty of room to stash emergency essentials that you might need right away. I pack an IFAK and rain poncho in the quick access compartments.

Capacity

Thirty-seven liters of your junk can be shoved into the Rush24 2.0. This much space gives me enough room to pack for days at a time. I can pack at least 48 hours of supplies in this bag. If I stretch it a bit and eat thin, then the bag can last 72 hours. I can pack a sleeping bag, extra clothes, a few MREs, lots and lots of water, as well as a good flashlight, an IFAK, and so much more.

I’ve put the pack to the test in my adventure rucks and packed it with a 45-pound load to simulate the Wildland FireFighter pack test. It fit in without making the bag bulbous and tough to close. The extra pockets and dedicated hydration pack makes a huge difference in your capacity.

I’ve loaded the bag for EDC purposes from the office to the gym, and it served as a bag for both. I filled it up with weight to help shoot a gun like an improvised Caldwell Lead Sled. The Rush24 2.0 is a powerhouse of a pack with plenty of capacity for crossing the border into Iraq or going to that 3 PM college class.

Fit and Comfort

Remember when I loaded this bad boy with 45 pounds? Well, I also took it on a three-mile hike. That three-mile hike was completed in under 45 minutes to comply with the Wildland firefighter fitness test. That’s mighty fast for a hump, and it admittedly gave me a good perspective on the pack’s comfort.

Without an external frame, 45 pounds seems to be about the top weight I’d want to carry in this pack. The good news is 5.11 designed the Rush24 2.0 to carry a hefty load for a ‘backpack.’ A healthy amount of reinforced padding on the back. Padding provides an excellent degree of comfort, and the pads allow air to pass between you and your pack.

The shoulder straps are thickly padded and extremely wide. These wide pads provide a high level of comfort to the pack and help support the weight without the straps digging in. The Rush24 2.0 provides a high degree of comfort even when loaded down with heavyweight.

Inherent Quality

Is it made well? Well, it’s made from high-strength 1000D nylon that’s also water repellant. It’s tear-proof, and 5.11 sews everything on with what appears to be a double stitch. The zippers are all YKK high-quality, smooth-moving sealing devices. Duraflex makes the buckles, so you’re well covered here too.

Plus, when it gets filthy dirty, I just hose it down, dry it out and get back at it. For the price, it’s tough to make a better backpack. I’m sure you could, but selling it for under 150 bucks is next to impossible. Give it a peak and let us know what you think below.

Legend All-Weather Compression Socks

Socks are something I never thought about when addressing tactical gear. Not until my first deployment and I realized how valuable good socks are. I got my hands on the Legend All-Weather Compression socks and have put some miles on them. Proper socks are so damn important.

I deployed with the bargain bin socks the PX sold and didn’t think twice. An Any Marine Package showed up from a lovely group of generous individuals and packed away were expensive hiking socks. I can’t remember the brand, but they had an REI price tag on them and were made for hiking. After my first patrol equipped with good socks, I realized just how damn important good socks are.

The Legend All-Weather Compression socks are boot-length socks that go all the way up. They are made from a combination of merino wool, spandex, and nylon. The combination offers flexibility, comfort, and proven performance.

The Legend All-Weather Compression Socks In Action

That thought has been reinforced by the Legend All-Weather Compression socks. I strapped these bad boys almost a month and a half ago and since then have put more than 100 miles between both pairs. My goal was to put 50 miles per pair, and after that, I stopped counting the miles. Since then, I’ve worn them extensively in normal sock rotation, and whenever I need to hike, I grab them.

The Cold and Wet

I hit the ground running in a variety of environments. All-Weather is a mighty big claim, so I put that name to the test. I put miles on these bad boys in the cold rainy foothills of South Carolina. At a firearm’s media event, I climbed through various environmental conditions. I crawled up muddy hills of clay in cold and wet conditions.

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Yet, my feet never felt cold or uncomfortable. They were just right for the 30 to 50-degree temperatures I was facing. The Legend All-Weather Compression socks even got a good dose of being wet due to some uncomfortable puddle jumping. Yet, they dried quickly and didn’t leave me wet for long.

Keep in mind the moisture was minimal, and it was resigned to the toe of my sock. A full submersion would not dry very quickly.

Turn Up the Heat

Florida sucks y’all. If it wasn’t for the lack of state income taxes, I’d leave these swampy states. It’s almost always hot, and even in March and April, the heat is righteous. I rucked in hot and humid conditions.

My longest hump was five miles at high noon in Florida. I’m a big fella, and I sweat a good bit. That includes my feet, and normally I get nice gross, sweaty socks. The problem here is that wet socks rub, and they create blisters.

However, the Legend All-Weather Compression socks are moisture-wicking. My feet never felt wet and sweaty even after mile 5. The moisture-wicking really made a difference.

The Comfort Factor

The Legend All-Weather Compression socks are super comfortable. On these longer hikes, I noticed my feet didn’t go numb. That’s an issue I tend to have with normal socks when I add weight and ruck for time. The graduated compression hosiery promotes better blood flow and gives you the ability to ruck faster and farther.

The cushion on the sole and around the legs keeps blisters away and keeps the boots from rubbing your legs raw. Better yet, the sock never rolled downwards or sagged. The Spandex is in play here, and I’m grateful for it.

Overall I’m impressed by the Legend All-Weather Compression socks. I’ll probably take them out of my normal rotation and save them for hiking and field use. I’d hate to wear them out too fast. I plan to purchase a few pairs extra and toss them in the bug-out bag as well. Legend knocked it out of the park and if you are the type to hike, hump, ruck, conduct foot patrols, fight fires on mountains, then you owe it to yourself to get good socks for your feet.

5.11 Tactical Field Watch

I’m one of those guys that love watches. To me, it is not only a necessity, but it finishes off the “look” of whatever it is that you are wearing. As much as I’d love to have a nice smartwatch, I haven’t been able to pull the trigger on one yet. Why? Truthfully, I not only like the aesthetics of an analog or digital watch, but it really isn’t practical in my day-to-day life (except for the fact that it’d be useful while working out). To me, traditional timepieces just have more personality.

When choosing a watch for work, it not only has to have the “look”, but it has to be able to withstand whatever is thrown at it. That doesn’t mean that it has to have all the fancy bells and whistles either; because hey, I’m a firefighter, not a pilot. However, I expect it to keep time accurately no matter the abuse, and it has to remain relatively unscathed in respects to its finish. Let’s face it, who wants to spend their money on a watch because it looks good, only to have a scratched up POS a day, week or even a month later. Last but not least, I want the option to wear the watch for more than just work, because in the end, “all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.”

Chances are, that if you work in any field such as law enforcement, military, EMS, or fire, you’ve heard of 5.11 Tactical. They are a company that is known for quality, ruggedness, and durability. And (yes, I started a sentence with and), I can tell you from first-hand experience, that their customer service is pretty darn amazing as well.

The 5.11 Tactical Field Watch fits the description above for what I look for in an excellent watch. Over the past two months, the Field Watch has been worn almost daily, whether it has been on shift at the FD, coaching my kid’s baseball games, or heading out for the night with my beautiful wife. My experience with it has been completely positive, which can be very difficult to find when reviewing gear. I can tell you that it has seen some abuse over those two months; from traffic accidents with extrication to training, and worst of all, horsing around with my kids!

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The 5.11 Tactical Field Watch comes with a Nato style band, and my first time wearing one. To touch on that, all I can say is that if you have never worn one, do yourself a favor and get one; they are that comfortable. The watch itself has a good heft to it, giving it a durable feel. But what jumps out at you when looking at it, is the simplicity of it. The numbers and increments on the face are gray against a black background; easy to read, but not screaming to take over the look of the entire piece. There is a small orange window showcasing the current date. To me, having the date on a watch is a MUST. Every task that I perform during my day-to-day operations required time and date stamping and having this definitely helps.

The Field Watch has a uni-directional dive bezel with number markings at every 5 minute/second. On the inside of the bezel, just under the chip and scratch resistant mineral glass, are your markings for military/24 hour time. The hour, minute, and red second hand, all have a Phosphorus Luminescent paint on them that glows with the slightest charge. For you ladies and gentlemen out there that perform dive operations, the Field Watch is water resistant up to 100 meters or 330 feet.

One of my favorite points on this watch though is the finish. 5.11 Tactical knew that this watch would be used by many of us in the actual field. So just to the name it “Field Watch” wasn’t good enough. They finished this watch with Ionic Plating. For those of you not familiar with this process, a layer of titanium nitride and other strong materials are added to the base of the stainless steel and bonded together to create a lasting and durable finish. In fact, it is so durable that it is considered a permanent finish/coating.

As mentioned before, this is the first piece of wearable gear that I haven’t had any issues with of any sort. The 5.11 Tactical Field Watch is versatile; ready for day-to-day operations, but classy enough to wear on a night out on the town.

If you decide to give it a go, make sure to stop back and leave some feedback. Let us know what you think!

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Author – Tony Kuhn

The Tristar folding shotgun is ready for your wilderness adventures

The need for a lightweight, easily portable, but powerful weapon is one outdoors folk regularly have. Be it camping, hunting, or just a bit of adventuring anytime you step outside of civilization you should want a weapon that can bring you back. This Tristar folding shotgun fits the bill for me, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well made and how handy the weapon was. I purchased the weapon second hand after seeing it on a local ad. I could only find scant information on the shotgun, but the seller told me it was a prize to be won at the National Wild Turkey Federation Banquet and that is where he acquired it.

The shotgun is a single shot, folding weapon that is light, handy, and chambered in the powerful 12 gauge. The shotgun can chamber 3-inch shells and has a fixed choke. This shotgun is extremely lightweight, I don’t have an exact scale, but on a basic bathroom scale, the shotgun weighed right under 4 and a half pounds. That’s lighter than my 80 percent lower build AR pistol.

The shotgun has very few markings, and it’s branded Tri Star. The weapon says made by Artemis and a google search for Artemis shotguns gives me Khan shotguns, a Turkish firearm manufacturer. A bit of browsing at Khan’s single shots and I found some very similar models. These shotguns are known as the K100 and are made with sportsmen in mind. The shotguns feature ribbed barrels and wooden furniture, but they remain the same basic design, with the folding mechanism. The weight listed for these shotguns are right around 5 pounds, so under 4 and a half is pretty accurate for this bare bones model.

The shotgun is light but built like a tank. The barrel is quite thick, and the receiver is way thicker than necessary. The overall design is very simple, with an internal hammer and a 20-inch barrel. The safety is a simple push-button near the trigger guard. The finish is actually parkerized, which is impressive, and a desirable feature on a beat around shotgun. The sights consist of a small gold bead and a small little indent at the top of the receiver. The furniture is a very simple polymer material. The stock is actually hollow and can be used as a compartment for survival supplies, or it can hold 10 2 ¾ 12 gauge rounds. This also makes the shotgun capable of floating.

The shotgun, when folded, fits in my small Alice pack, a common companion on my outdoor excursions.

You pay for that lightweight when you start shooting the weapon. You get the full force of a twelve gauge round into your shoulder, and it is far from pleasant. Even with heavy steel loads you are going to feel some pain. Buckshot is pretty rough, and I fired slugs in two round strings, but that was enough to judge the slugs were quite accurate. A slip on recoil pad would be a welcome addition to the weapon. The basic gold bead works fine and the shotgun patterns well. The trigger is somewhat stiff but very short.

The folding shotgun patterns and accuracy

I’d talk about reliability, but it’s a single barrel shotgun, it’d be more impressive if it wasn’t reliable. The weapon has an extractor that pushes the shell out positively and makes it easy to grip and rip from the chamber. It reliably shot and extracted birdshot by Federal, 00 Buckshot by Federal, Remington, and Fiocchi, No 1 Buckshot by Remington, and slugs by Remington and Winchester.

A Brief History of NATO Watch Bands

In designing the Vaer watch, we tried our best to focus on the features and functionalities beloved by wristwatch enthusiasts. While some of our design features, such as the metal case ring and back-loaded case design, are invisible to the untrained eye, there are other features that clearly define the product’s identity.

One such feature is the interchangeable nylon bands. Colorful, comfortable, and waterproof – they’re a perfect match for our minimal, ocean-going timepiece.

A Functional Favorite

The nylon pass-through strap (often referred to as a NATO) is a unifying symbol for watch lovers around the world. Whether you’re collecting Seikos or Submariners chances are you own a few nylon straps. Not only do they provide a cool contrast to a steel or leather strap, they’re incredibly functional. If you own an expensive dive watch (and actually use it in the ocean) the last thing you want is to lose it because of a faulty spring-bar. Even the strongest steel bracelet is only as reliable as the removable spring-bars it’s attached to – if one breaks, your watch is going straight to the ocean floor.

The nylon pass-through strap solves this problem.

Since the band itself forms a full-loop around your wrist, it’s secured independently by each springbar. If one bar fails, the other one will still be there to keep the watch on your wrist.

Military Origins

The origins of this fail-safe design can be traced back over 40 years to the early 1970s when it was issued as an optional accessory by the British Ministry of Defence. Labelled simply as the “Strap, Wrist Watch” it quickly became known as the G10, which was the name of the order form soldiers needed to fill out to get it. It is very commonly referred to as a “NATO Strap”, as a shortened version of “NATO Stocking Number”.

The design of these early military straps is nearly identical to our version. Both are nylon, 20mm in width, and feature a second shorter piece of nylon attached to the buckle. The only key difference is the while the British originals used brass-buckles and keepers our hardware is made of brushed 316L stainless steel. Interestingly, the military straps were also highly customized. While originally issued only in grey, it wasn’t long before British regiments started customizing the straps to match their regimental colors.

Rise to Popularity

While it took a few more decades for the NATO design to catch on outside military circles, today these the bands can be found on an incredibly wide variety of watches. Many renowned watchmakers such as Bremont and Tudor now sell Nylon bands as an optional accessory with their watches – charging as much $100 USD for a single Nylon strap.

Other brands have taken the opposite approach, producing flimsy colored straps, that imitate the style of NATO, but lack the quality and design specifications to make the product useful for anything more than a fashion accessory.

The Perfect Band

We didn’t invent our band design. Nor are we the only ones selling the style.

However, for the price, our version is one of the very best of its kind on the market.

We selected a very dense Nylon weave that is sturdy, while still being supple enough to be comfortable when worn around the wrist. The band features 13 laser cut holes, spaced 5mm apart and spanning a range between 155mm and 215mm. The end of the band is rounded to a circle, and burnished by heat to not split or fray. Attached to the Nylon band, are four pieces of brushed stainless steel hardware – one buckle and three rectangular loops. The hardware is secured by 1mm machine-stitched nylon threading, made to match the color of the band, and stress tested to withstand up to 350 pounds of direct tension.

All together these numerous design features combine into a pretty damn solid strap. Adding in the ocean functionality, easy interchangeability, and opportunity for customization – I think its pretty clear why we believe it’s a perfect match for our watch.

Stanford Outdoor Supply’s B.O.S.S. Survival Kits are basically everything you could need in a bad situation and more

I’ve always had a love and hate relationship with all-in-one kits geared toward survival. One the one hand, I love the convenience of having a curated collection of gear assembled in one place for one easy purchase, but on the other hand, I’m really particular about exactly what it is that I like to carry when I’m in the field. Because most all-in-one kits are designed to cram as much cheap gear as possible into a small, marketable package, they tend to have a disposable feel to them… as though what you’re really purchasing is a mix of novelty and peace of mind, but not necessarily something you could really count on in a bind.

That why I was so interested in putting some of Stanford Outdoor Supply’s kits through their paces. There’s a B.O.S.S. kit for just about any situation you might find yourself in, meaning Stanford Outdoor Supply doesn’t expect you to buy into the idea that they can give you one little pouch that’ll solve all of your survival woes as other companies are often so eager to promise. Instead, each pouch comes with a specifically selected collection of tools and equipment aimed directly at a specific task or situation. In the world of survival, “one size fits all” really only counts for snow caps and shoe laces.

With so many options to choose from, you really don’t have to worry about being stuck with gear you don’t need.

I was impressed at the variety of kits Stanford Outdoor Supply offered, so I reached out to them directly. To my delight, I soon found myself interacting directly with Alan Stanford, who loaded the whole B.O.S.S. product line in a crate and sent it my way for me to spend some time banging through the gear and getting a sense of just how useful these kits can be.

For a few months now, I’ve been incorporating these kits into hikes, road trips, and the sorts of general outdoor trouble I manage to get myself into through the course of other gear reviews. To my delight, the gear included in these kits is easy to access and pretty resilient to abuse. Of course, many of these products aren’t intended to serve as your EDC for the next couple of decades — they’re meant to be convenient sources of the stuff you’d need in a bad situation. So far, I haven’t had any of the gear I’ve tried out feel flimsy or break through use.

It’s not all just useful gear. The land navigation kit includes everything you’d need — including a U.S. Army handbook on how to use the stuff, just in case you’ve never had the pleasure of going through combat training.

One of the best things about these kits are the resealable bags that they come in — and I’m as surprised as anyone to say that. Initially, I thought the bags would be nothing but a cumbersome bit of decoration I’d need to hack through in order to get what I needed. Instead, I’ve found that they’re malleable enough to be crammed into most packs with ease. On the occasion that I only want to grab a few pieces of gear out of a kit, they pop open just like a zip lock bag and close again just easily — allowing me to maintain a semblance of organization amid my ever-growing library of gear I’ve collected over the years.

Many of the kits also have clear backs so you can see what’s in them before you pop them open.

I’m also really pleased with the variety of kits offered — many of which are kits I haven’t seen marketed by many other suppliers. The 22-piece shelter building kit, for instance, has everything you need to build a luxury home in woods (at least compared to how I usually camp) and stowed easily in my 3-day pack despite my concerns about how tight that pack is starting to get.

It includes:

84×84″ OD Green waterproof tarp
6 Aluminum Guyline Tensioners
50′ 550 Paracord
6 Aluminum Tent Stakes
1 Mylar Emergency Blanket
1 Plastic Ground Cover
8 8″ zip ties
1 folding saw

The included saw is surprisingly rugged and made short work of dry wood for a fire.

Despite owning a plethora of IFAKs, first aid kits, trauma kits, and old surgical kits, their 12-piece Break and Sprain Kit doesn’t take up a ton of space and offers a number of first aid essentials my collection of other kits leave out. Things like a 24″ padded aluminum splint and finger splints would have come in handy over the years, as many of my most common field and shop injuries have included breaking my fingers and, on more than one occasion, a wrist.

Then there are the smaller, and I’d contend handier, kits like the Pocket Runner’s Aid Kit that’s got everything you need to make your trip back from the halfway point a bit more tolerable. Anti-chafing gel may not be something you often think of as a necessity, but chafing is not only a great way to make a hike or run miserable, it can become a serious concern in a survival situation – both in terms of limiting mobility and the threat of infection.

With first aid kits of varying sizes, you can easily stash them in your day pack or even diaper bag.

Other kits, like the 127-piece fishing and hunting kit, has so much function that I’ve yet to really see all of what it can do. To be frank, there’s so much great gear to be found in these kits, this is really just the first of a number of pieces you’ll see featured on this site discussing the various ways Stanford Outdoor Supply can make you better prepared for whatever you may find yourself facing.

Even the fire starting kits are jam packed with enough gear to make starting a fire in just about any condition a breeze.

These B.O.S.S. kits really do address both of my primary concerns regarding the “one stop shop” kits many other vendors peddle. Because they’re resealable and easy to pack, I can be just as picky as ever about what gear I carry with me, and I can even come home from the trails and sort whatever I’ve picked out back into the appropriate kits for easy organization. Further, because Stanford Outdoor Supply offers such a variety of specialized kits, you don’t need to break the bank to get exactly what you need for the types of situations you run into. Whether you’re looking for a little peace of mind while out for a jog, you’re in the market for an all-encompassing trunk of survival gear, or anywhere in between — Stanford Outdoor Supply has a kit that’ll do just what you need.

You can find their kits on Stanford Outdoor Supply’s website at prices starting at just a couple of bucks.