Review: Tensile style Skytent

I love tents and I love hammocks, and I've expressed a desire for one of the Tentsile aerial tents for a long time, but they are quite expensive. Not wanting to miss out forever, I kept an eye out and checked out AliExpress, where real things go to be replicated. For Giftmas I bought myself the one-person equivalent. I always feel a bit bad buying knock-offs but at the very least, its getting the very innovative concept out there.

So, given my ongoing stroke recovery and my work situation, we haven't ben able to go away camping, so I hadn't been able to tryout my aerial tent. Australia Day came around and we were invited to BBQ in a park, sounded like the perfect opportunity to try it out. I took some extra webbing strapping, in case we had trouble finding tree's to sling it on, but as it turned out the picnic table we picked was close to three gum trees. I unrolled the skytent from its stuff-sack bag and took stock.

The contents included the triangular base, made from webbing reinforced ripstop with a low (70D) Cordura number and (high quality silicon coating to give it a waterproof index of 2000-3000 mm) the base, which is about 4m a side, had built in reinforced eyelets for the two sets of shock-cord threaded anodised aluminium alloy poles and a light, waterproofed (to 1500-2000 mm)fly sheet to connect to.

It also came with three sets of 6m (19') loop-ended webbing, and shackles to for it to the base. At one end a ratcheting system for increasing the tension was supplied.

The base triangle comes with a breathable B3 bug-screen net with twin zippers. Built into the "roof" are two sleeves to feed the poles through to keep the roof in place and add stability when setting it up and to drape the fly over.

Once set up, which took a bit of doing (pro-tip; set the tent part up on the ground in the middle of your space, then string your straps. I rigged my straps with a truckers hitch. Getting partial tension on the tent to set it at a good height was just matter of sliding the webbing up to the right height, one tree at a time and tightening the truckers hitches once they were even. PRO-TIP 2: get the three corners as evenly high as possible. this will stop you sliding "downhill" on the slick ripstop nylon.

Once set up, the remaining slack can be eaten up with the ratchet, but this takes some doing. I'm glad we weren't setting it up in the rain. Once fully tensioned which it really needs to be, we put the fly on, which  had nylon hook hardware and shock-cords. The 240D fly has a single up-and-down zipper which coupled with the wide door in the flyscreen, makes a nicely framed entry/exit and window when pegged back. with its attached toggles.

The interior is spacious, the 4m sided equilateral triangle provide  almost 7m². of floorspace, with 1.2m (the almost 4') of loft, with its quite steep sides, there is  a lot of real-estate.

The wide webbing reinforcements throughout the base distribute weight nicely. I'm 192cm (6'4") and weigh 90kg (200lbs).  Laying right down the middle, legs splayed to the bottom corners, I was very comfortably supported.

This skytent is rated to carry 400kg (880lbs) and the heavy-duty ratchets buckles have a staggering 2.5 ton minimum breaking strength. Even so, the makers recommend only stringing it at a maximum 1.2m / 4' from the ground. As a good rule of thumb, you shouldn't set a hammock up from higher than you would want to fall from. Or climb into.

The supporting poles that give the skytent its vertical structure are seated in these washer equipped eyelets, and with the shaped ends of the poles, they seat securely and remain in place even with the rambunctious efforts of Tactical Baby. The seams are all also all double stitched. The whole tent is well finished.  I had had worries about the quality, given it was a knock-off, but it's been well made and put together.

All packed down, the tent weighs3.0kg or so, including the included webbing and the ratchet. and packs down into a stuff sack measuring 50cm x 20cm x 20cm. It's not too bulky nor heavy and would make an excellent addition to a backpack for a camping trip.

Internally as I've said it is spacious, but good set-up is key. if any one point of the triangle is higher or lower than the others the effect is a slow and steady slide to the lowest point.

I took it camping off to a full-emersion live action roleplaying weekend, "After The Fall" .

So I found myself three trees and set myself up. As with most tents, second time was much quicker and easier, and i'd had my lessons learned from my first attempt so it was pretty quick.  I even slung a second hammock along side, for lounging in when I was in my full tyre-armour kit. TO somewhat disguise the bright green of my tent and its fly sheet  I draped the whole thing in some scrim. One thing I didn't want was anyone tripping and falling onto me as I slept, so I put it a little higher than previously.

So high in fact I needed to step up onto one of my tactical milk-crates that I pack my camping gear into. I also stowed my kit under the hammock, off to one side from the Skytent, in case I did have a fall.

Inside at one of the three apexes was a pocket system which worked quite nicely with a jumper stuffed in it as a pillow. I used the zipper as an attachment point for my night-light as there weren't any internal loop hangers.


All in all I am both impressed by and happy with my SkyTent, and would heartily recommend you al lgo check out the original design at TENTSILE - Stingray

After an afternoons romping by Tactical Baby, and perhaps more roughhousing than was necessary, one of the poles has been warped and now adds an uneven curve to the dome, but no real issue there.  Certainly no fault in manufacture. I've managed to straighten it out a little but eventually  I might either replace it or run it through a pipe bender in reverse.

The Skytent handled nicely when occupied by two. even if one was little and bouncy and the other big and lumpy. Alas, I haven't tried it with two adults, but they are rated for it.

I put  a yoga mat in it when I camped, just as insulation, it was plenty comfortable to lay in in warm weather but any breeze below will chill you right down. Setting up an under-quilt like those made by the Go-Outfitters would work  a treat, but you'd need a triangular one.   

One thing I found was that the fly lifted and flapped about a bit, so I lashed it down underneath with some handy paracord.


All in all and excellent product and not just a gimmicky concept. all the benefits of a hammock and tent combined.


Pro-tip #3: set your doorway at chest height if you-re expecting friends to pop by. Nicer conversations for everyone when you can be eye-to-eye.

Review: Strike Industries - Simple Plate Carrier

This is a really interesting piece of multifunction kit. Strike Industries, in conjunction with J Tech Gear have come up with a multifunction plate carrier, that doubles as a carry case for a laptop. They did my Sling Catch, and Picatinny vertical sling mount
so I've been keeping an eye on their new developments, and was only too pleased to see this cool piece become available, and to receive one! 

This might seem like an unusual combination, but considering the kinds of products on the market now in the US to attempt to protect kids from the alarmingly frequent mass-shootings at schools, the idea of having every-day items with the potential for containing armour is not new. In Australia, we are lucky to have pretty low rates of weapon related violence, but, being prepared for disaster, even the personal and human initiated kind, is what this blog is about. This is the Simple Plate Carrier, and it is anything but merely "simple"...

I've talked about what I use as a plate-substitute before, when reviewing my Platatac MAC rig, and whilst not ballistic protection,  I have again included Polyethylene cutting boards, shaped to the right size.

These not only give me the rigidity and bulk of plates, but I figure that they would also afford me some stabbing, cutting and blunt force trauma protection. Perhaps not as cool looking as a set of Mad Max tire armour, but far more modular, lighter and functional. I have a 34cm x 24cm (13 1/2" x 9 1/2") board in the front internal pocket here, which closely mirrors the SI Plate that Strike industries offers

The back compartment houses both my 15" MacBook Pro, a spare battery, and my iPad.

The rugged cordura-type nylon material of the case is very well stitched, with reinforced seams and bartacking on all the attachment and stress points, without being heavy, stiff or bulky. The wide webbing of the strapping is fixed at the upper edge with vertical fastex type buckles, and at the bottom edge with horizontal buckles of the same type and more importantly, size. Lastly, and this was a big point of interest for me, the back of the carrier features a sewn in handle, laying flush with the back, to turn the whole thing into a modern buckler if needed ....


I found that the laptop charger didn't fit very neatly in the case (it formed a bulge where the plug sat) but because the front of the carrier has three rows of PALS/MOLLE, including two side-by-side and covered in loop-pile, for patches, ID tabs and the like, I was able to affix one of the black Platatac FUP pouches I have, and give myself some extra storage capacity, with out bulking the carrier up too much, or making it too obviously a piece of MIL-SPEC type kit. There is a second panel on the lid flap for a flag-size patch. Depending on how big and full your carrier gets, there may be a third loop-filed exposed, for even more patch-goodness, here's my AFT's Jungle Recon extolling the love of his job...


And here is how the shield handle works, from behind. The main strap is wide enough to give a good bunched grip, knuckles flat against the back of the pad. Because of my very long forearms, by elbow poked out a little of the back when I stand "en guard", so I gave an alternative hold a shot, with my hanad gripping one shoulder strap, arm looped through the hand-hold and the other strap over my elbow.

Both seemed to feel pretty good, and with advantages and disadvantages according to the style of defense used.

When carrying the unit around, I tended to sling the the shoulder strap such that the entire carrier sat under my arm, rather than behind me.

This meant that I could bring the other strap up and over my opposing shoulder, to drop the carrier into the classic "front pack" configuration.

"Nice Target" you might say, about the patch, well, as Batman and the Punisher have said in their respective comics, "I cant armor my face" (although, these days this isn't as true. )


So here I am striking a pose, Simple Plate Carrier as a shield, with my trusty S&W Tactical Pen as my on-hand "please don't make my use this" incentive.

You can see that my elbow hangs out, but when taking a better "buckler and dagger stance" this would be less of an issue. with a combination of the polyethylene cutting board, the laptop and the material of the carrier itself, this was a substantial and solid barrier to put between my vitals and someone without my best interests at heart. All in a package I can happily carry about day to day.

One of the great things about this carrier's design is that the shoulder straps, being all of the same design, can be swapped from position to position. Instead of a "backpacks/frontpack" style carry, simply by changing the straps from top-to-bottom, to top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, giving you an "around the neck, around the waist" configuration.

All the straps feature a slide adjustment and an elasticised loop to secure loose ends.

This is the classical "Plate Carrier look" and it's a little more conspicuous, but certainly more secure. Wearing the carrier in "frontpack" style, when leaning forwards, it was occasionally tricky keeping the carrier in place, unless I had another pack on my back pinning the straps in place. Good for backpacking and travel in unusual and possibly insecure places, but not full-time.

For the best performance and security, over-the-neck is the way to go.

I've been looking for a means to carry a laptop about. My CSI folder is awesome, and it carries my iPad about in safety, either inside, or slipped beside it in my Bullock Echo daypack, but the Simple Plate Carrier offers the modularity of a inconspicuous armor carrier for a little urban insurance, as well as a means to carry a laptop, and an iPad around safely and securely.

I felt there wasn't much padding for the bottom edge and sides of the laptop compartment, but that was easily solved after-market with a sheet of closed cell-foam. I really liked the lines, and as always, the multifunctionality of the carrier really appealed to me.

Just be sure to remember that neither the iPad or MacBook's are bulletproof .... not to mention cutting boards .... be safe, be equipped and know the limitations of your gear...

Review: Patches, Patches, Patches

Patches, Patches? we don't need no stinking patches! or so you might recall if you're as fond of misquoting movies as I am. That said, there's a lot to be said for patches. Growing up in Houston, I was the luckiest 4yo around when all my clothes had Apollo, Gemini, Mercury and Space Shuttle patches sewn to them. A long hiatus came till I was involved in Warhammer 40,000 and other Sci-Fi and acquired a few to put down the spine of my great-coat. Getting into the Stargate LRP, and other military based roleplay, I had opportunity to start collecting some more, and recalled my great love of them. Here's a sample of those I've collected recently. First up, the Patch Set #1 from Action Figure Therapy. I can't begin to say how funny these guys are. They're majestic, man! I've posted previously about wearing these on my CSI Folder and MEOP pouch

Next up are this set from the hard-bodied climbers and trackers of Triple Aught Design I've done a little climbing and trail blazing, and really appreciate their ethos. They also have an awesome sense of style. The big Praetorian shield with its climbing axe and gladius was a must-have, and as a big Conan-fanboy I needed the "A symbol. Perhaps on a shield.Two snakes, coming together.Facing each other..." patch. Figured it would well suit Stargate as well. I have a big affinity for our canine friends, especially the tenacious coyote, so paw prints and Dog&X-bones glowing rubber Ranger Eyes were also needful. The Spartan molon labe, "come, take them" crest is both fannish and inspirational. The plain disk is just the 6.5cm AFT patch backing, for scale.


Next up are a couple of Stargate SGC patches which are another fannish addition, and make the costuming for the Lasertag LRP that I do that little bit more authentic feeling. As I've seen these, at conventions and at comic and merchandise stores, I've snapped them up, so now I have a garrison and subdued version to hump around in the bush with. Interestingly, the "bright" version is backed with an iron-on plastic backing (which I will be fixing to more hook-and-loop hooks shortly) so I can chop-and-change to suit the costuming needs.


I needed some proper military issue type badges for my outfit, and after some shopping around, I found that the folks over at US Patriot Tactical had a great system for putting together what you need. Nametapes, rank and service branch, skill tabs and a lot of units as well. I wrote the character I run with in Stargate LRP up as a MSG, formerly of the 10th Mountain. I'm also bucking for a promotion, in-game ... I lived in Denver as a very small boy, have family and friends there now (completely independently, it's just nice up there) but was also home to Camp Hale a training center for the 10th in WW2. .
 Between my climbing, and living in Denver and Clagary, Canada after evacuation from the Persian Gulf in 1991, I have an affinity with that kind of thing. Anyways. US Patriot Tactical were a good source for the patches I needed, although they keep their stocks to current-cam standards, and I'm running US Woodland in-keeping with the Stargate show.  I also picked up some corresponding subdued-met rank pips, to go the whole hog. With the way shipping to Australia goes, it's always better for me to buy a whole bunch of things, especially of they are little, or shipping costs out-strip the cost of the items.
That's what you get living on a large, isolated and tectonically and biologically stable landmass.

The last items I'll cover here today are the nametapes I have, which are in my Stargate LRP character's name, rather than mine (although I do have my father's Viet-Nam era BDU blouse with -his- name and unit patches on it). Nametapes are awesome, and for anyone who tends to go backpacking, hiking or travel with packs on planes, I heartily recommend getting some made up and putting on your gear for easy ID in lines, piles and at the luggage carrousel.

It would be totally remiss of me to leave out my beloved Zombie Hunter patch from MilSpecMonkey. Tactical Baby and I wear this on her baby-carrier but it has had pride of place on my CSI folder, and on my arm at costume events like the Melbourne Zombie Shuffle  I love The Monkey's work, and look to add a few more to my collection, shipping being the biggest hurdle, so I have to wait till there are a -bunch- of things I want to get, and include some patches along with it.

Patches are great. Identification, unity and morale can all be boosted with a well placed and recognized symbol. Not to mention a great way to patch the holes on the knees of Tactical Baby's pants when she starts running about ....

Review: Stanley FatMax FUBAR

A couple of years ago I received a catalog in the mailbox from a local hardware store, and whilst flipping through it, came across something that immediately stopped me in my tracks. I've had a few hammers over the years, from ones I inherited from my father, to the bastard leftovers of shared-house shed tool boxes but I'd never before bought my own. I've even reviewed a multi-tool hammer I bought as a gift last Giftmas, but this is something different. This is the Stanley FatMax range FUBAR and it is a real beast. At 1.13kg it's a pretty heft piece if steel to be swinging, but this is no tack-driver. This is a breaker.

Made from a single piece of forged steel, with no fitting joins to weaken the tool, just a rubberised and textured grip covering the middle of the bar, this is a piece designed for some serious durability. It's design incorporates 4 tools in one, which as I've previously mentioned is always a draw-card for me. I appreciate extra functionality that doesn't compromise the efficacy of the tool. The head-end features a large striking face, positioned and balanced fairly well for rough work; pounding big nails, and bashing things into shape. As I said, it's not a tool for delicate fittings.

The back of the head features my favorite part, the toothed jaws are designed to fit and grab common lumber sizes (2x4 and decking boards). This is great, and I've demolished a packing crate in less than a minute with this, salvaging almost every piece for handy-work, where a regular hammer would have taken a lot more effort, time and risk of injury. Right tool, right job. I've also made bricks go away with it, not only popping one brick out of a wall, but also shattering them into gravel when the need arose.

The tail end is made up an angled pry-bar, with a nice broad chisel edge for getting a good "bite" into whatever you have slated for forceful opening, without being a snapable knife-edge. It also features a nail slot, beveled into the body of the tail, so as not to reduce the structural integrity of the edge. I've also used it as a lanyard loop. As you can see, the tool is coated in a protective coating, but has flaked off revealing the tempered steel underneath on the areas of hard wear. The hardened steel has taken pretty much all the beating I have dished out with only some light scratching, and I am fully satisfied with this as a demolition tool.

There has been some debate I've read about this as a post-Apocalyptic hand-weapon, and whilst heafty, and oddly shaped, I'd suggest that with practice, it would be a valuable addition to your arsenal. By practice, I mean using it as intended without mangling yourself or those around you. Whether tearing down improvised barricades, or putting them up, I'm glad to know I have a FUBAR in my car, to FUBAR anything that blocks my path. Just like Stanley the Honey Badger would. FTW.

Video demonstration anyone? 

Review: Platatac MEOP Medic Pouch

 A while back I purchased a Khaki Pouch Combo deal from Platatac and I recently had a good occasion to make use of one of its components, the MEOP Medic Pouch and I wanted to share the good times I had with it. This large pouch is just bursting with functionality. Firstly I'm really pleased with having it in khaki, matching my other gear nicely. As with all the Platatac gear, its made from the hardy 1000d Cordura and fitted with MilSpec buckles, zippers and webbing. The MOLLE loops, of which there are 7 rows of 5 columns on the front, and 7 rows of 2 columns along each side. This is a phenomenal amount of real estate for further attachment of pouches externally. Another addition is a loop-side hook-and-loop strip at the top front of the pouch (to which I have attached a "Problem Staying Solved" morale patch from Action Figure Therapy's Army Ranger). The top panel the pouch has two rubber gaskets for hydration tubes (or any other protuberance you may require, I'm thinking cables that audio / mic cables could feed through it).
The back of the pack has two separate rows of three of the PLMRS (Platypus Light Modular Recovery System) MOLLE/PALS attachment system straps, and a set of left and right zippers, for attaching to bigger packs, or to strap two of these pouches together. Another feature is two full sets of dual Fastex clips, top and bottom as well as two sets of buckles for feeding tape or webbing through. One interesting aspect is that the pouch can be folded up on itself, either for empty storage or when loaded, to minimize bulk. 

I had this pouch mounted on my Young Guns belt recently, for a New Years Eve party, which we took Tactical Baby to, and instead of taking her usual baby-bag, I wanted to pouch it all. This is where the MEOP comes in so handy! Not only is it -covered- in MOLLE, its insides are likewise covered in it too. Both the back and the "lip" of the pouch, which zippers all the way down, have a full 7x5 grid of attachment points. The top of the bag also has a double sided strip of hook-and-loop for perhaps holding that hydration system or iThingy cables. However, my New Years loadout for Tactical Baby was this. inside the MEOP, I slung several nappies, bound with some safety-orange paracord I mistakenly bought, below that I also lashed in a packet of baby-wipes, and along side this, changes of clothes, and a rolled up change mat. Along with a plastic bag fed through the MOLLE of the "lip" I had everything I would need in case of poo-nami. 

Everything fit into the pouch, and it even folded, enabling me to cut down on the bulk that would have otherwise dangled downwards off my hip. Access by popping the top two Fastex clips, and a quick unzip was speady, and the pack unfurled beautifully, and smoothly.


Now, baby wrangling may not -seem- like much of an adventure for a rugged and apocalypse ready loadout, but I assure you, if you have ever had a screaming baby who needs a fast nappy change, and you fumble, spilling your cleans and soileds, you can easily translate that to disaster mishaps.  This pouch is modular, versatile and rugged. I braved the uncertain looks of my baby's mother and staked Tactical Baby's wellbeing on it when I loaded it up, and it didn't fail me. I can easily recommend this as a means to secure and transport your needfuls in an orderly fashion, be that a trauma kit, nappy bag or whatever.

Review: Platatac CSI Folder.

Before I get into the more juicy and hard-core content from my friends at Platatac I thought I would cover what is probably an unsung winner in their range. Let me introduce to you the Platatac C.S.I. Folder This is an zippable, A4 capable folding administrative binder. I got mine in khaki, as its unobtrusive in my work environment, but still fits within my aesthetic (healthcare IT fixit-booyah, in case you were wondering). You'll note that as well as the subdued Platatac plata-skull logo on the front, which I love) there is a large square of hook-and-loop for patches (AFT's Ranger and MilSpecMonkey's Zombie Hunter decorating mine) and a business card holder. The whole folder is made from Cordura, the same as all of Platatac's gear. I filled the carry handles with a couple cable-ties each, giving them a little bit more substance, and ensuring I always have a few more at hand, JIC.

The folder zips open fully to reveal a variety of storage options. On the right hand side, a clip board which is backed with some sort of semi-rigid material. The left hand side is where the action is! There are 4 card holder sleeves, in two of which I keep my work and personal business cards, the other two I've stored cards I've collected and ID when needed. I found that my cards frequently spilled out, but a small clip sorted that. There are three pen pockets, and a larger pocket that I keep a multi-tool and yet more cable-ties in. 

A firm believer in redundancy, I have a small adjustable wrench and another tiny multi-tool with LED attached to that pocket via a recycled HDD magnet. There are two small general purpose pockets, (one with a hook-and-loop closure, the other with elasticized mesh), in which I keep memory-sticks, a Dexim iPhone battery ,  spare headphones, needle and thread, electrical and milipore tape and safety pins. All things I frequently find need for. I also keep a permanent marker and have recently added my fully awesome UV laser to it. 

There are also two internal document pouches, one opening at the far left, which is accessible when the folder is being carried, if the top is left unzipped. I store a variety of paperwork here, as well as my iPad, which has been a real boon, not only providing a case for that, but also giving me a handy place to stuff paperwork that comes my way. The second document pouch opens between the general purpose pouches and the pens-and-cards pockets, essentially a secret compartment, where I store my sensitive papers and infrequently needed items.

The final feature of this folder is that behind the left hand side of the folder, and closed by sets of hook-and-loop, are two middle-seam opening plastic map windows, which are capacitive, i found, and not only have been useful to use when orienteering, but will also protect my iPad for use "in the field" in the rain.

I love this folder, I've had a few over the years, but I can honestly say that I can not expect to retire this, unless Platatac comes up with something even better! Boardrooms or bushwacking, a very solid piece of adminstatum!