Review: Blackhawk! Engineered-Fit Shirt

Here's another great item made by Blackhawk, that the folks at LEGear sent my way. This innocuous looking shirt is in fact part of Blackhawk's "WarriorWear" Line, of engineered base-layers. I've reviewed other Blackhawk! gear before, in their knee-pad range, and I have some pants from them lined up to look at as well. You may recall that I have reviewed this kind of shirt once before, and I was pleased to be able to look at someone else's take on the design and application of technology.

Here we go: The WarriorWear Engineered-Fit shirt comes in V-neck or crew-neck, I chose crew, as I like having full closure, keeping all my cat-bell like jinglies tucked in. The shirt is actually made of three distinct regions, in two different fabrics. The torso and biceps are made of a very fine Jersey knit in 92% Nylon, 8% Spandex and the underarm strips, running mid-pectoral to mid-shoulder blade are of a 95% polyester, 5% Lycra mesh. This gives you considerable breathing through sweaty armpits, as well as being stretchy for unrestricted movement.

The seams are all extremely flat, almost inappreciably so, and better yet, are placed off the shoulders entirely, giving no pinch points for packs, harnesses or plate carriers loads to press and rub on. Being a long, tall and skinny critter, I don't have a lot of padding that I can shrug off that kind of thing with, so having the seams off my load-bearing areas was a welcome relief. The material is actually brushed on the inside, to give even better contact to the skin,as this is a wicking shirt, and designed to be held tight to the body, both to draw away moisture, but also to prevent agaisnt-the-skin friction from your load. It is also anti-microbially treated, to help prevent stinky goon syndrome.

I can attest to this, having worn it all day under my it at Manifest overnight, then all day at a kendo instructors course. Kendo is a very physical activity, under both heavy gi and armour. The material kept me dry, chaffing free, comfortable all day, and didn't smell! It's going in my running kit at work

It's important to note, that sizing is really important with these types of shirts. You need a skin-tight fit to gain the most from them. The Blackhawk range of Engineered-Fit body-sculpted shirts (in that they aren't just flat panels of fabric, but are "body-shaped") have specific measurements associated for their sizing. To move from their "Standard Fit" and full "Compression Fit" (for those who want that), all you need to do is move one "size" down. I got myself a "Large" but could have probably done better with a "Medium", as the length was more than adequate to cover my long torso, as you can see here as I demonstrate a "traditional Provencal French salute". You can see there has been no ride-up, helped in part by the soft, next-to-body, jacquard elastic waistband, and the intrinsic stretch of the materials used.

I really liked the smooth, matte-finish surface the shirt has. I've now worn it solo, and under a variety of other tops, slept in it, trained in it and have been dry, comfortable and protected from some regular wear and tear. Definitely worth getting into!

Review: Schrade Army 10 Knife

I had the good fortune to get my hands on another knife to add to my collection. I've been quite busy at my day-job shunting pixels and yelling at vendors about patient safety to do much writing, but it's remarkable how a piece of good steel in the hand makes one feel better. So, in this blade, I am trying to recover my mojo, as it were, and get back on the horse so to speak. Without further ado then, let me present the Schrade Army-10 Knife which was sent to me from the folks at LEGear.

This is a fighting knife, branded as being "US Army" by Schrade which is cool, and I can totally get behind that, it fits both my accent and heritage, being a (dual-Australian/) American citizen and my father having been A US Army veteran (Vietnam, 1969-70) so, as you might imagine, I have a soft spot for the Army. However it's branded, it's the mettle of the metal that I'm most interested in, however.

Lets go into that shall we?

This is a moderately sized, fixed drop-point blade which measures in at 26cm (10.4") of which 14cm (5.3") is the plain edged blade. It masses in at 280g (9.9oz). Comparing that against the KA-BAR Zombie Killer "Death" Dagger with it's 21cm blade, 35cm overall and 340g in mass you can see that it is a far more wieldy blade. especially if you plan on strapping it to your person.

The metal of the blade is a 1070 High Carbon Steel, which is a tough, hard steel, and is commonly associated with hard-use applications like machetes and the like that can and will take a lot of rough use and abuse such as battoning and chopping. The handle material is black Kraton which is a synthetic rubber, and is springy and soft to the touch. The handle is bolted to the full tang with 4 hex-bolts, and leaves the spine of the tang exposed. I read some comments in researching this knife that the Kraton seemed "flimsy" and "rubbery" but I think this must be from folks used to G10 scales and the like. I found it married to my grip really nicely. The lanyard hole was nicely placed too, recessed from the Kraton.

The back of the tang features 5 crenelations that sunk below the spine and the handle, leaving it flush with the back of the blade, making it snag free, but by virtue of the rubbery Kraton, a good positive grip can be achieved without needing to tense the hand unduly. I was always taught to hold a handle fairly, but without choking it, whether it was a knife, golf-club, sword or whatever. Finesse comes from controlled motion, and a clenched fist is a ridged one.

You can see here the sculpting that is present in the Kraton on the back of the grip, as well as the "US Army" logo and decal on the side of the blade. Which was pretty, and unobtrusive printed on top of the black Teflon coated surface of the blade.

Those sculpted regions in the back of the handles marry up to a reverse grip really well, and the cutout for the lanyard hole in the butt of the knife is still nicely exposed in this grip.

In a forwards grip, the finger notch sits nicely between index and middle fingers, with a raised guard to stop fingers sliding forwards, and again ,that set of crenelations to rest a thumb grip on.

The nylon sheath has some features worth mentioning too. The primary belt loop opens up with a broad hook-and-loop band, meaning you wouldn't need to undo a belt to put it at your waistband. A thigh loop set of lanyards and cord couple this to keep it from flapping on the bounce. A press-stud closing PALS/MOLLE band, and corresponding loops give a downwards-draw carry option. the metal loop at the bottom of the PALS band was a mystery to me though, another attachment point? I don't know. It moved independently to the PALS/MOLLE strip.


The front side of the sheath carries a secondary, Fastex style clip closing pouch, with is attached to the main sheath by both a long and broad hook-and-loop field, but also by the straps that wrap around the sheath to form the PALS/MOLLE loops on the back. Having this pouch being removable, gives the option of either stripping it off (at the expense of loosing a layer of additional stability when MOLLE-bound), but also allowing that secondary pouch to be flipped so it opens "upwards" in the event the blade is worn "downwards". That was quite a clever addition. The materials of the sheath are adequate, but not exceptional. There is only one main press-stud closure for the blade, meaning it is not "jump-ready", but as I'm unlikely to be "Airborne" tabbed any time soon, this isn't really a concern for me. The closure does have an odd extra hook and loop layer to it, presumably to adjust the tightness of the closure, but I cant for the life of me think why the trouble was taken, and a second loop wasn't added.

All in all, this is a really nice knife, and I am very glad to have gotten my hands on it. Not the bestial monsters that the KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives are, this is a mid-sized blade for serious working people who need to get a job done, but space is at a premium.

I think I will be adding this to one of my chest rigs and experimenting with how best I want to carry it, because I certainly do want to. Often.

Review: First Spear Oagre Tactical Vest

I was very fortunate to receive one of these
Operational Assault Ground Reconnaissance Exploitation (OAGRE) Tactical Vest made by First-Spear from the folks at LEGear. You may remember I reviewed a couple of things from their lines, the Maxpedition SITKA bag and iPhone holster, and they were kind enough to hook me up with this cool vest. Cool to review and cool to wear, but we'll get to that. The first thing I noted was the sheer amount or real-estate on it. Not being a plate-carrier, like my Platatac MAC, it doesn't have to conform to the function of fitting armour plates, and can wrap right around the body. This is First Spear's khaki, which is a tab more brown than the Platatac khaki.

The main front zipper which secures the vest, is supplemented by three ITW G-hook closures, in adjustable webbing, which not only give a rock-solid close to the vest, but also allow for it to be secured shut without being fully zippered up, a benefit in hot conditions.

As far as PALS/MOLLE real-estate goes, there are 5 rows of 8 channel loops at the bottom of each front panel, with an additional 5 channel row on top and a 4 channel row above that. A loop field for name and designation tapes sit adjacent to the top MOLLE loop, as well as an additional downward loop of webbing, (mirroring one on the bottom, which correspond to the attachment by more G-hooks for the First Spear Beat Up hard plate armour.) Remember that this is a vest, not a plate carrier, but having that option would be a welcomeP one, for those in need. Each of those loop-fields features an access buttonhole, to feed cables or tubes, as needed.

The shoulders have a high friction panel at each shoulder, giving a good place to rest the butt-stock of a rifle or simply the straps of a pack, and afforded a nice solid placement. Those panels didnt move or slip, even when the vest was "naked". The shoulder straps also featured tube and cable securing elastics. On the back lay 7 rows of 6 channel PALS/MOLLE webbing. A drag handle is secured with a narrow hook-and-loop piece, to reduce snag risks, and is sewn down the whole length of the vest. A second hook-and-loop patch gives another ID point.


The front and back panel are joined at the waist by a series of buckles and webbing, which in and of itself isn't too exciting, but they allow for a variety of sized and shaped wearers, and the excess webbing is kept tidy by a very cool method: A Tactical Toggle is integrated in the end of each webbing, and bundles it away by rolling and looping with the shock-cord end. Clever use of an ancient system.

Here are a couple of close ups of the metal G-clips and nylon Tactical Toggles. It's also worth mentioning the "downwards through-MOLLE" quick-release belt loops, featuring a hook-and-loop and press-stud closure, and Fastex style quick release, these give the wearer the option to fasten the vest to a belt, useful if you've ever found yourself dangling upside down. Having your kit sliding up around your ears does not make freeing yourself (or force-pulling your Lightsaber) any easier.

One thing absolutely worth mentioning is the use of closed cell foam pads, in the shoulders, at the waistline and lumbar region of the vest. Secured and kept in place with pockets, these pads act as a buffer between you and your kit. Especially useful if you are going to be laden down with a lot of steel to sling, the placement of the pads acts to cushion the bottom most rows of MOLLE, where pouches would intersect bony hips (mine especially). These pads are easily removable to replace or augment, and First Spear suggest they add to the positive boyancy of the vest. Certainly do no harm in that regard. The back panel also has a hook-and-loop strap for securing a hydration bladder, up to 3L in capacity.


Additional to  all the innovative closure systems, intergrated padding, ample PALS/MOLLE real estate and loop-fields, one thing I haven't yet touched on is the material itself. At just over 1kg (2.24lbs) and made from a heavy-duty mesh, the entire body of the vest (apart from the shooter-shoulders) is breathable, and wicking. This is a rig for the greenhouse and the sandbox, for sure. The construction of the whole vest is excellent, with closed seams and heavy stitching. This is a dependable and feature rich platform that would give the wearer many many options.. Options are always worth having, especially in a medium to low-profile vest such as this.

Re-posters, thank you!

Over the last little while, I've been reaching out to some of the supplier and distributors of the kit that I collect (and have been reviewing) and I wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to those folks, explicitly, as a thank you, and a heads-up to you my readers.

First up, I'll point you to my fellow blogger, and gear-fancier, Ninja Space Monkey who has a great eye for the shiney, pointy and awesome that breaks ground on the internet; More than once I've read one of his posts and said "cool, I want one!" and its been a pleasure to exchange some data-packets in that regard.  You can read up on what he has to say and woot about here:
http://ninjaspacemonkeys.blogspot.com/

Next up, my favourite patrons of pantsless-mens wear, the lads (and lasses) of Utilikilts, who produce Seattle finest export, the Utilikilt, in all it's many-splendid styles. I have several these days, and can't seem to have a day go by without someone complementing me in them, or at the very least, asking if my legs are cold, or what I wear UNDER  my kilt. (The answer is always, "boots" ).  A quarterly publication from Utilikilts came out recently with one of my reviews, and they may yet have some of my pictures too, so be on the look out, and revel in the FREEDOM that comes with a kilt, for pants are tyranny!
http://www.utilikilts.com/2012-spring-anti-catalogue/3/

I was fortunate enough to be in touch with someone from marketing at LEGear, following a review of some of their stock, and they posted my review on their Facebook page, which was ace. I look forwards to hearing more from these guys.
http://www.legear.com.au/
http://www.facebook.com/LEGEARAustralia

Lastly, the good folks at Platatac and I go way back. Back in the late 90's I was working just around the corner, and was a frequent window-shopper, and occasional crazy-cool item buyer (the retail guys probably still remember me as "the boar-spear guy"). Since I've been writing this blog they've been great about helping me out with advice, and kit suggestions,  hooking me up with some super deals and posting my reviews on their Facebook page as well.
http://www.platatac.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PLATATAC/385059649151

 So, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's been following, re-posting and commenting. I really appreciate the support for my crazy little blog and my desire to share the joy of getting ready for whatever may come!