ITS Tactical

Turn Your Trash Into Treasure with These DIY Cardboard Range Targets

Recent changes in culture and technology have made it more convenient and cheaper than ever to order goods and have them delivered directly to your home. However, any paradigm shift brings compromises. We spend more money than we should accumulating things we might not really need; our homes and recycling bins fill up with more packing material. In addition, the air quality suffers from the fuel burned by delivery trucks making more stops to nearly every building.

If you’re like me, you try to reduce your waste as much as possible by turning trash into treasure. In this article, I’ll show you how to reuse the cardboard from large boxes to make IDPA/IPSC-style cardboard targets. While these targets aren’t typically expensive ($0.25-$.75 each), they’re bulky, which results in shipping costs that offset the value and price-per-target. There’s definitely an argument to be made that your free time is worth more than the price of these targets and that’s completely valid and fair. However, I believe there are other benefits, some of which are difficult to put a price on, that may convince you that it’s still worth your time.

ITS has written before about how large boxes from high-ticket items (such as televisions) can make you a target for burglars.
Spare boxes are the perfect material for this project, as they’re almost identical to the material in IDPA/IPSC-style cardboard targets!
Every firearm owner will benefit from training and having a pile of targets available will increase your opportunity to do so.
You could use some exercise, fresh air and sunshine. Get outside and work with your hands.

Tools Needed

Pencil
Razor/Box Cutter (I prefer the adjustable kind w/snap blades)
Target Template
Cardboard (Thick enough to handle but not so thick that staples won’t go through it.)
Gloves (optional but recommended)

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Photos courtesy of ITS Tactical

The Spyderco SpydieChef: A Versatile Chef’s Knife in Your Pocket

By Piotr Ma

I’ll preface this article, by saying that I really like Spyderco and what they do. I’m also a big fan of Marcin Slysz, the talented knife maker who’s the designer of the Spyderco SpydieChef. He’s a humble guy living in the South of Poland and his shop must be one of the simplest professional knife making shops I’ve ever seen (considering he’s been professionally making knives for a living for about a decade now).

I’m also a sucker for titanium frame lock folders, so you can easily guess my reaction when I received my SpydieChef, I fell in love instantly. However, despite my immediate love, I decided to wait and use it for awhile before writing a proper reality-based user review. Now after more than six months, I’m ready to share my thoughts, so grab your coffee and enjoy the review.

Basic Specifications

Overall Length 7.78″ (198 mm)
Closed Length 4.46″ (113 mm)
Blade Length 3.32″ (84 mm)
Blade Steel: LC200N
Weight 3.8 oz (108 g)
Blade Thickness 0.118″ (3.0 mm)
Lock Type: R.I.L. (Reeve Integral Lock)
MSRP: $329.95 (Street price is about $199.95)

The Folding Kitchen Knife

A folding kitchen knife is definitely not a new idea and I’ve seen and actually owned one before with A.G. Russel’s folding Santoku. However, most of them were designed with the same type of pattern, which is taking a kitchen knife and shortening the blade so it can be used as a folding knife. The usual result (as expected) was a knife that was indeed good for kitchen use, but only for kitchen use.

Good luck trying to skin a whitetail with a folding sushi knife. Now the SpydieChef’s genesis was very different; it was designed foremost as a lightweight EDC folder with great ergonomics and a good edge-to-handle ratio.

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Photos courtesy of ITS Tactical

The Pack of All Trades? Using the CamelBak Urban Assault Pack for EDC, Training and Competition

Courtesy of ITS Tactical

By Doc Rader

If you’re like me, there’s something inherently compelling about packs and storage solutions. I definitely fancy myself a pack connoisseur, although my wife uses a slightly different term.

So when ITS approached me about reviewing the Urban Assault from CamelBak, there was no way I could turn it down. I was coming up on my heavy teaching season (I primarily teach wilderness/austere medicine in the spring), which this year had a significantly higher tempo than in previous years. My plan was to run this pack throughout the season, but I also had a couple of “personal improvement” events that I wanted to use the pack during.

Having used dozens of packs throughout my life and in all manner of environments from urban college campuses to more “austere” environments, I’ve developed a fine grasp of what works for me and my packing systems. I say “systems” because there’s no killer solution that works in all situations. My high alpine system is markedly different than my Sonoran desert system, which is different than my patrol bag.

While I’d like to say that I’ve found one bag to rule them all, that’s simply not the case. The closest I’ve come is a GORUCK GR2 and even that’s not perfect. One of the biggest features I now look for beyond overall durability is internal organization. Being a little OCD, I want a place for everything and everything in its place (though I still love you, kit bag).

Enter the CamelBak Urban Assault. I’ll admit, when I first got it I was a bit skeptical of its durability because it was pretty lightweight compared to my general EDC packs. I can’t tell you exactly why I formed that initial impression, especially given the fact that I ran a CamelBak BFM down range.

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Photos courtesy of ITS Tactical

ITS Tactical Discreet Messenger Bag

The tactical world has come a long way with new developments that allow us to adapt to our everyday surroundings with the equipment we carry. Not everyone works a 9-5 desk job and some people even prefer the outdoor mobile work environment over sitting at a desk all day. When we are on the move, we tend to take less “stuff” with us because we all know how difficult carrying and keeping track of certain items can be. Most of us have a variety of gear we carry and constantly change-up from time to time to fit our busy lifestyles. From the second you walk out the door, basic items we depend on to get us through the day are carried either on our person or in some sort of bag.

Here’s where the Discreet Messenger Bag from ITS (Imminent Threat Solutions) comes into play. This medium-sized over the shoulder style bag is low profile designed so that you can blend into any crowd and carry just about anything you need without giving away certain clues about what you’re carrying. It is very modular allowing the user to change-up its contents from one day to the other, whether you have a business meeting where you are in need of your laptop computer or just need to carry around files to and from the office. The Discreet Messenger bag has you covered and is a great way to manage multiple pieces of gear.

So starting from the outside of the bag, it’s made from a waxed canvas material that is naturally water-resistant keeping the contents dry if the bag were to get wet. There is a pass through zipper allowing you to reach through the top flap portion and reach any item you need in a hurry, especially a concealed handgun. The adjustable over the shoulder strap is can be lengthened or shortened for a variety of ways to carry.

Moving to the inside of the bag, the main interior pocket is loop lined so you can attach just about any accessory on the market that uses velcro. There are 4 expandable interior snap pockets that make swapping contents as easy as pull, swap and snap. The contrasting interior colors also help you to find certain items in your bag when in a low light situation or when needed quickly. ITS Tactical manufactures many EDC pouches that work alongside this bag to keep all your accessories nice and neat.

This bag is definitely worth the money. I purchased one about a year ago when they first came out and I can’t say enough about it. At first, I was going to keep this strictly in my vehicle as a ready bag, but since I personally carry a first aid kit, a SERE escape and evasion kit and many other items, this bag now goes wherever I go.

Author – Chandler Brookins is a former US Navy Veteran with multiple deployments to SE Asia and The Middle East, while attached to many Tier 1 Special Operation Groups. Chandler has also served as a Dallas Police Officer for 3 years, before focusing his efforts on civilian SERE training and security assessments.