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review

Rad on Gear: London Bridge Trading Load Bearing Chest Rig

Rad’s not just an adventurer, he’s also the owner and operator of Tactical Airsoft Supply in Salt Lake City. This time, he’s busting out some of the gear he uses in matches and while working as an instructor.

This London Bridge Trading Load Bearing Chest Rig may be a bit pricey, but you’ll never have to buy another one — Rad’s used his for years now. Here’s Rad to tell you about it.

Check out London Bridge Trading Company to get your own!

Or you can scoop up this 1961A from Amazon for the deal we found below:

12 Gauge Microphones: The coolest way to record your music

Like so many of us that work from home, my office has slowly become a sort of shrine to the different lives I’ve lead over the years. From tactical gear to trophies, stacks of books to childhood toys, parts of my office can sometimes feel like a museum meant to help me remember all of the things I’ve been: Marine, journalist, rugby guy, MMA fighter, science fiction nerd, football player, and so on. Of course, none of the objects I’ve got decorating my bookcases or hanging on the walls date back quite as far as the dusty Dean acoustic guitar I keep within arm’s reach, just at the end of my desk.

Pictured: Where I spend half of my life.

Of course, I’m no good at playing it–never was. This guitar belonged to my father, who, as luck would have it, was also never all that good at playing. I keep it here because, for a few years during and after high school, it and the electric Fernandez Revolver Pro sitting in my closet served as part of my connection to the greatest group of friends I’d ever have: A small band of like-minded maniacs that used music as our excuse to have a good time. Of course, some of us were better than others, and while I may have muddled through a few chords and faked the rest through sheer confidence, the guys I was fortunate enough to play with were no such charlatans. Brad Martin, as one example, always had an ear for music, and thanks to him and Chris Raetz, our Spinal Tap-esque antics were always accompanied by a professional caliber soundtrack.

A lot has changed since then. We each went on and built our own lives as high school friends tend to do, but some things stayed the same: I still suck at playing the guitar, and Brad still has one hell of an ear for music.

Today, Brad’s the owner of a company called 12 Gauge Microphones, and true to his innate knack for musical mastery, his microphones have already found their way into professional studios all over the world. It isn’t just the great quality sound Brad’s microphones capture, however, that helped his startup grow into a successful enterprise, it’s also the aesthetic. Just as the name suggests, the first pieces of gear produced by 12 Gauge Microphones were studio mics housed within expended 12 gauge shotgun shells. It didn’t take long for the combination of quality and style to catch the attention of folks in the music industry and today, those mics remain among the company’s best sellers.

This setup was used to record Dee Snider in Finland (photo credit Peter De Wint)

Here at the Loadout Room, we tend not to spend much time talking music. It just isn’t in our realm of expertise, but I know I’m not the only veteran that keeps a guitar close at hand. Perhaps more importantly, I know lots of vets that are actually good at playing theirs — and if you want to record your ballad about the romantic times you spent alone in a port-a-john parked unceremoniously behind a chow hall, the rock anthem you wrote about police calling a flight line, or an instrumental beat for your interpretive dance about DD-214s, you can’t find a more appropriate recording medium than the guts of a high quality microphone stuffed into a spent .50 cal shell.

Order your own mics from 12 Gauge microphones by clicking the link below:

www.12GaugeMicrophones.com

 

Rad on Gear: Staying connected with Plantronics Bluetooth

In this edition of Rad on Gear, he’s back on the slopes and talking about ways to stay connected. Whether he’s listening to music or fending off calls from his adoring fans (sorry ladies, Rad’s taken), he’s been keeping his hands free thanks to his Plantronics Explorer PLT 500 bluetooth earpiece. This isn’t just some piece of kit Rad’s trying out – this is a piece of gear he’s purchased multiple times because he likes the quality so much.

Whether you’re on the slopes like Rad or just making your way through your morning commute, keeping your hands free makes everything easier (and often safer). Check out the deal we found on the Plantronics Explorer 500 below to get your own!

Rad on Gear: Get the job done with the Leatherman Wingman

In this edition of Rad on Gear, Rad’s talking about one of the most useful tools you can carry – the all important multi-tool. Now, it’s true what they say about having the right tool for the job, and for most tasks, there really is a right tool… but what if you’re out and about and run into a situation you need to solve? What if you’re out in the middle of nowhere and there’s no time to run back home for a specialized tool for gear adjustments and the like? That’s where having a good quality multi-tool really pays off.

Rad carries a Leatherman Wingman to help him solve whatever problems he runs into during his adventures. We’ll let him tell you why:

Rad on Gear: Crate Club unboxing and review

Rad’s hanging out with the Marines at Camp Pendleton in this edition of Rad on Gear, and appropriately enough, he’s talking about some gear he received from our sponsors over at the Crate Club.

The Crate Club has crates that’ll fit just about any budget, whether you’re an enthusiastic amateur outdoorsman or you’re a seasoned veteran looking for some good new pieces of gear to add to your kit. Here’s Rad to tell you about some of the stuff he just received.

Want to get your own subscription to the Crate Club? Follow this link!

Hitting the Georgia trails with the LifeSaver Liberty water purification system

Last year, I set out on a run-of-the-mill 14-mile hike with a good friend from my Marine Corps days. The plan was simple: carry everything you need for two days on your back, we’d cover seven leisurely miles on the first day, make camp somewhere with a view, and then hike back out the following morning. I packed a lightweight tent and sleeping system, some emergency gear, a few different forms of water storage and, of course, some water purification tablets just in case my storage proved insufficient.

After a pretty pleasant hike, my buddy and I set about making camp and gathering fire wood, and because of how much effort I was putting into the labor, I kept on sipping away at my water until I suddenly found myself just about empty. Not one to let dehydration set in, I filled up my CamelBak and other canteens from the nearby river, added the water purification tablets, and left my water to sit for a while. The following day, I had plenty of potable water… with just one problem. It tasted absolutely terrible.

Sure, taste isn’t a big deal in a survival situation, but when it comes to a pleasant weekend hike, I’d prefer my water tasted less like garbage water filtered through sadness and more like good old fashioned H20. That’s why I was so eager to test the new LifeSaver Liberty water purification system: it’s a water bottle and filter kit in one, and best of all, the clean water you drink from it doesn’t taste like something your dog would throw up.

My LiveSaver Liberty starter pack included the bottle itself, 4 carbon discs, scavenger hose, a protective silicone sleeve. With all the bells and whistles, this setup retails for a little shy of $120, but you can get the bottle itself (which is really all you need to hit the trails) for $100 or less from many retailers. The bottle can filter 2,000 liters of water before you need to swap out the filter, and with a flow rate of 1.2 liters per minute, this thing can keep you and your family hydrated until help arrives after a disaster, or help you survive one hiking-hangover without digging into your bad tasting purification tablets.

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