Extreme Tolerance

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Archive for the ‘Gear’ category

Why I Love/Hate LA Police Gear

August 18th, 2010

LA Police Gear is a cool site. They have a ton of useful stuff at good prices. I started ordering 5.11 pants from them and then continued ordering SAR gear as I get more involved with that.

First the good. They are a one stop shop. I can usually find everything I am looking for all in one place and at a good price. Tactical pants, molle gear, paracord, its all there. They also have good customer service. They always have been more than happy to answer my questions or re-arrange my orders.

But here is the down side: It seems I can’t place an order without something being on backorder. Now, by itself this is not such a bad thing. Brownells and MidwayUSA both have things on backorder all the time. But here is the difference. Looking at LA Police Gear’s site you have no indication as to the inventory status of each item, until you actually place your order. So then I have to call them up and ask them how long until X item is back in stock and then decide if I can live with that. It would be nice to make an informed buying decision in the first place.

If anyone from LA Police Gear ends up reading this, please go take a look at MidwayUSA and Brownells and see if you can implement real time inventory like they do.

This is my most recent experience. I wanted my gear for a Labor Day Search and Rescue training. I had two orders with LAPG, both of which had back orders holding up the orders. So I called them up and had all the in stock items moved to one order and all the back orders moved to the second. Then I canceled two of the bigger ticket items that were on backorder as I could get me at botachtactical.com for cheaper/immediately. Hopefully with this arrangement I will be ready to go with 85% of my new kit for the training.

In summary, one-stop-shop, good prices, good customer service, buzzkill inventory problems.

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Posted in Gear, Search and Rescue

Tags: Botach tactical Botachtactical.com LA Police Gear lapg

Under Armour Compression Shirts Updates?

July 20th, 2010

A few weeks ago I decided to refresh my collection of workout shirts. I like to wear the Under Armour compression shirts. I picked up two large shirts one tan and one black. When I examined the shirts closer, the tan shirt was labeled “tactical”. Aside from color differences I did not notice any differences until I hit the gym.

The “tactical” version is the cut that I am used to, while it appears the “standard” version has minor updates to the seam placement. Most notably Under Armour moved the neck-to-arm seam off the traps, rolling it forward toward the collarbone.

This might not seem like a huge update, unless you put very heavy things on your shoulders. It seems that every time I use the standing calf machine (the weight is applied to the shoulders) , I come away with lines down my traps, along the path of the shirt seam.

So what is the practical upshot here:
1) I tend to think the new cut is a minor difference but looks a little cooler.
2) More importantly, my wife will not ask me what happened every time I come home with those bruises.
3) although I have not tried it yet, I wonder if it would make a backpack more comfortable.

While I like the colors on the “tactical” version, I think the cut of the “standard” is better.

Bonus Anecdote: The day after I bought the “tactical” version, I went white water rafting with a high school friend of mine. This guy is an army lifer has done a few tours in Iraq. I loaned him this shirt because he needed a rash guard. It instantly recognized it, and it color scheme. He said that he had a bunch of these on his first tour and they really helped deal with the heat, especially while all kitted up. Basically these things rock.

I should also note that they call it “heat gear” for a reason. On more than one occasion I have had to quickly layer up, when conditions changed and my heat gear started doing to good of a job.

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Posted in Gear, Gear Review, Outdoors

Tags: Compression Heat Gear Tactical Under Armour

Nikon Prostaff 550 Rangefinder

July 8th, 2010

A rangefinder, like night vision goggles is one of those things that I have always wanted. Now, having put together a rifle that actually shoots far enough for bullet drop to be a factor (I don’t count .22s), I had the perfect excuse.

Compared to some of my other recent purchases, I have not researched this as much. I started casually looking around and then played with a bunch at Cabelas. Then when I found something I liked, my wife informed me that she would let me buy it, “for my birthday”. awwww…

At first I really liked the Redfield range finder. It is about half the length. Granted it more roundy, but it feels like holding a ball in your hand. However, the guy working behind the counter said that the Redfield does not work near as well as the Nikon. On paper they have the same range and the Redfield is cheaper. Not to diminish Redfield, which is owned and operated by Leupold, but the little reading I had done seemed to agree with the counter guy that the Nikon was better.

Cabelas says that the Redfield will work on reflective targets out to 550 and non-reflective targets out to around 300 yards. I have tested the Nikon. I can shoot trees out past 400 yards, I don’t think it gets much more non-reflective than an evergreen tree. Also I have done most of my testing in bright daylight, which the Nikon owners manual said was not optimal. I was able to take a the Nikon out to 646 yards on a reflective target. Take a look at the youtube, I recorded it.

In the youtube you will notice the cross hairs and then an X over those cross hairs. This is the continuous scan feature. This might be handy if you target was moving or in my case, if you are looking for something that will reflect the laser.

And Yes, it is a laser. I thought that was cool. Guess because its a laser you can’t point it an planes.

No if I were to do it again, I might take a longer look at the Redfield rangefinder. But I am very pleased with my Nikon Prostaff 550 Rangefinder. If you are feeling like spending more money they do make rangefinders that take angle into consideration, that way you calculate bullet drop as if you were shooting level.

Maybe someone at Redfield/Leupold can hook me up with a demo unit so I can actually compare them head to head. Come on guys I know you are just down the road.

Shot and edited on my iPhone 4.

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Posted in Gear, Gear Review, Shooting/Hunting

Red Dot vs Holographic in Real Life and Modern Warfare.

March 11th, 2010

Ever wonder why Modern Warefare 1 and 2 offer you both a red dot and holographic sights? I did and it turns out there may actually be some real life differences that the game applies.

Both a red dot and a holographic sights are reflex sights. Meaning they reflect a reticle. The advantage of these it you can have booth eyes open and the reticle retains its true point of aim. This is unlike iron sights where improper sight alignment screws your point of aim.

So back to Modern Warfare, in theory the red dot gives you a greater field of vision while the holographic it more restrictive. The holographic sight is more accurate due to parallax error. Essentially, what I stated before about retaining your true point of aim is not entirely accurate. When you get to the limits of the sights viewing angle, you will experience increasing deflection from your true point of aim. Holographic sights are better and retaining their true point of aim but the trade off is decreased viewing angle. Thus in Modern Warefare the holographic is more accurate than the red dot but dominating more of your field of view.

Most red dots like the Truglo that I recently bought use LEDs and the light source while EOTech uses a laser.

So there you go. Next time you are on the range or playing MW2 with your friends you can impress them with big words like, “refraction” and “parallax”, that is if you also read the Wikipedia articles I link to (which I found fascinating).

Later I will blog about my experiment with red dot sights and shotguns.

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Posted in Gear, Shooting/Hunting, Tech

Tags: holographic sight modern warefare red dot red dot sight sight

511 Pants: Tactical iPhone Pocket

February 16th, 2010

It seems to me that on items that its small things that take everyday items from good to great. Last weekend I posted about buying a few pairs of 511 tactical pants. And I spent all weekend in them.

Sure I was mostly loafing around the house and the most strenuous things I did in them was build some Ikea shelves and chop down a tree but never the less I got some quality pants time.

This may sound strange bu the thing that impressed me the most was how the iPhone fits exactly in the left upper exterior pocket. Not having it dodging my knife, keys and flashlight in my main pockets gave me a little piece of mind, plus it was always handy.

To put this in perspective I would consider my iPhone to be possibly my most critical piece of daily gear.

I should also note there are other features I like: the rear pockets are off set to the outside to when you sit down you wallet is not in an uncomfortable place. The rear pockets are also huge which is nice because it always seems faster to cram stuff in your back pockets. The strap above the right rear pocket made this ex-rock climber feel at home, nothing like a gear loop for quick access. When you squat, the pants do not cut of circulation to your balls, yet another plus.

I give them two thumbs up.

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Posted in Gear, Gear Review

Tags: 511 tactical pants

Building The Training Kit

January 26th, 2010

Among the things that I want to get done early this year is firearms training. So far my education has mostly been what I would classify as “informal”. I apply one of my golden principals, hang out with people who are better than you. Thus I have learned from ex-millitary, law enforcement officers and anyone else who will take the time to hand out jewels of wisdom. But to some degree what I have learned is sporadic. I can shoot left handed with one hand, but the basic ready aim fire type commands given during most instruction escape me. Thus the need to “formalize” my training, filling in all the gaps.

Training Classes Planned

I plan on taking the classes at the local shooting range. This is the same range and instructors used by the Portland (and Portland area) law enforcement agencies.
101A: The 101 class is, this is a gun, I tested out of that class. 101A is the “accelerated” course that preps you for the 102 class. In 101A you learn speed reloading, shooting faster and well as brush up on basics you may be missing or weak.
102: This is the class everyone talks about. Two 10 hours days. 1000 rounds. Essentially all the good stuff. This class has a reputation for kicking people ass.

Building the Training Kit:

Each class has a list of necessary equipment. Going through this list has been interesting. It has forced me to think about the gear I am currently using and how it applied to training.

101A:

Eyes: Check
Ears: My favorite ear protection
Gun: My trusty XD-9
Belt: I ordered a Wilderness Tactical Instructor Belt
Mag Pouches: Now here is a place to cut corners. I will never carry extra mags, this the pouches I use in training can be cheap. I had the extra crappy XD Gear double pouch but I went out and bought a slightly less crappy Uncle Mikes double.
At least 4 Mags: I had three, so I got an extra.

102:

All of the above plus.
2 to 4 more Mags: Need to hit the gun show.
Strong Side Holster: Ahh… So I love my IWB Comp-Tacs but, I was strongly advised to come to training with an OWB holster. Additionally, this could be something that I get continuing use out of. An OWB would work during the winter months when I am wearing layers anyway. OWB will also work while backpacking (where I can open carry). I could go buy a $27 blackhawk but I have decided instead to order a Raven Concealment Phantom. The Raven will give me a a few more options for carry plus meet the requirements of training.

Anyway, this is what I have been thinking about lately. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, drop me a comment.

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Posted in Gear, Shooting/Hunting

Surefire LED Conversion

December 24th, 2009

This is an update to a post a did a while ago about the differences between a standard Surefire lamp and a LED Surefire lamp. A friend of mine bought the Surefire LED Conversion and I filmed the process from start to finish. All 1:10 of it. I think the Surefire LED Conversion set him back around $30. If he uses and abuses this flashlight for years to come, he will more than make that up in batteries.

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Posted in Flashlight, Surefire

Tags: LED conversion Surefire

Its Fing cold. Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves Make It Better.

December 8th, 2009

Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves - Men's

No joke, between my wife and I we have probably bought 10 pairs of
Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves. They are not wind proof but they keep your hands warm and (more importantly) dry. The best part is you don’t sacrifice dexterity. I wear them any time I am in the cold.

I have a wool pair that I have not been able to find anywhere but the Columbia employee store. Love those to but I am not sure they shed water as well.

FYI, I pair of these will make cheap ass ski/snowboarding gloves into winners.

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Posted in Gear, Gear Review

Tags: cold weather Gear gloves Moutain Hardwear

Cool New Stuff from Surefire

November 10th, 2009

M300A Mini Scout Light: looks like by Surefire E1L but brighter (110 Lumens), comes with a remote grip switch and mounts to a rail.

E2D LED Defender in now 200 lumens.

I wish Surefire would provide an upgrade path for product like the E1L to take advantage of the brighter E1D or M300A LEDs.

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Posted in Flashlight, Quick Update

Surefire Outdoorsmen E1L

October 21st, 2009

By this point its no secret that I am a fan of Surefire. So it should not surprise anyone that I have bought another. I found that my Surefire 6P was not really pocket sized and I needed something smaller. After doing a bunch of research I settled on the Surefire E1L.

The E1L is significantly shorter than the 6P. It is also narrower. You can carry it around in your pocket without giving up to much space. It has variable outputs. Low: 5 lumens and High at 45 lumens. On the low setting it has 45 hours of battery life! Surefire does make a similarly size flashlight that can match the 6P LED’s 80 lumen output, the Surefire E1B. And the E1B is actually the same suggested retail price.

I chose the E1L over the Over the E1B (B for Backup) strictly because I could buy the E1L at REI, thus taking of 20% (during REI’s fall sale).

The one complaint I have about the E1L is the clip. If the clip could be reversed it would be perfect for attaching to the inside of you pocket (think the clips on pocket knives). That would avoid the problem of feeling around in your pockets to find it, especially when you need it fast.