Events: Snow trip - gear summary

I was lucky enough to be taken up to the snow for my 40th birthday not long ago, by my mum, who kindly took my whole family up for a long weekend at the Falls Creek snow resort in the Victorian Alps. Snow, in Australia? Yes, it snows here. Sometimes, in a few places. When we went there was a base-cover of around 80cm and it was forecast to be between -3oC and -6oC, with 24cm sow expected each night, or thereabouts.

It was a 5 hour drive, including an hour on the shuttle-bus, as we didn't want to go through the hassle of snow-chains and on-mountain parking, as well as windy, icy mountain roads. Leave it to the professionals, I say, and have a nap on the way.

That said, when we arrive mountain-side, it was sleeting pretty heavily, and continued to do so for the majority of the day. We lost a bunch of snow cover and everybody got damp. Some more than others. That's kind of what I wanted to cover in this post. What I wore to stay warm and dry. What gear  I took.
 Now, I cheated to some extent in that I hired ski-boots, and the outer-layer jacket and ski-pants for when we actually went skiing, (my first time in 20 years, since I lived in Calgary, Canada).

However, I also packed accordingly, for the times I wasn't skiing, and I'm glad I did.

I've had quite some experience in cold climates, both Canada, the UK, Danmark, as well as holidaying and I know they key elements to not having a bad time are to stay dry and warm. Not always both, but if you are one, or the other, you can usually get by. Cold AND wet? You're going to have a bad time.

Here's my layered approach to a trip to the snow:
I wore as my base-layer, the Platatac fleece leggings, and DriFire long sleeve shirt. I don't have any fancy socks, but tend to get hefty heavy-duty socks from the supermarket and wear them to death These ones are Kirkland's,, from Costco. nothing special, but long lasting and don't get stinky.
I wore my Danner Striker ii GTX combat boots, which could do with a thorough polishing, but I hit them with a liberal coating of Kiwi boot waterproofing spray and they worked a treat, even when I stepped through slush up past the ankle. Be sure to open the laces right up if you're waterproofing boots, and get in around the tongue to ensure you don't miss any leakage points.

I looped the leggings foot-hole stirrups over my socks, so they didn't ride up, and I had full coverage from toe to belly-button. Tucking my shirt into the elastic waist of the leggings then carried that all the way up to my neck. No cold draughts.

For my outer layer, I took my snow-proven Propper Adventure Tech shell outer pants, which offer a wind and water proofing layer that I really appreciate. They don't have a lot of pocket real-estate, but I made do, and didn't either loose anything, or lack anything on my adventures.

Over the DriFire shirts, I wore the lightweight Propper windcheater which provided me a really good lightweight dry-layer, as well as having a good neck-seal. My one was a bit too shirt, so my super-long arms tended to poke out, but I had a plan for that anyway.

As my outermost top layer, I chose my Baubax multi-function jacket, which is a semi-hard shell with a hood and thumb-hole fitted wrist extensions. I'll be covering this in detail some time soon. It held the sleet off really well, although the cuffs and the wrist extensions got pretty sodden. They could do with a dose of waterproofing spray as well, I think.

As far as outer layers went, it was a spot on combination for what I was expecting, although had I wanted to stay even dryer, I should have packed my Hazard4 Poncho Villa but I erred on the side of less gear. I should have left out my spare 90's era snow-pants I got when we moved to Calgary, but I'll pack it next time.

For head and hands, I wore my Peruvian fleece caps, along with one or two Headsox to keep my neck, mouth and ears warm. I wore my dual layer, long wristed Condor Nomex gloves which I also gave a liberal waterproofing. That can of spray was an excellent addition and I can't recommend them enough. I think I shall trial a few different ones soon.

I wore a skiing helmet, to which I mounted my Contour Cam in its waterproof case. I gave the misty fogging Arena Flakjack goggles, with a smoky lens fitted, which remained mostly useable when I was skiing, but I needed to keep taking them off and wiping them off. The goggles really helped me have a clear and wind-free view of where I was going at upwards of 40kph downhill, who knew? I didn't hit ANYTHING this time. (I killed two aspen saplings at least, when living in Calgary).

I wore my Platatac Bravo hydration pack, with a 3L Source WXP bladder in it. I have a Blackhawk Side Plate carrier mounted to the bottom of my Bravo, as its hook-and-loop top makes it an excellent flat-pack pocket.

All in all, I was really pleased with my loadout, but most of all, I can't go without saying that my favourite bit of cold-weather kit was the SORD StormTrooper belt-fitted muff. Not only did it's pockets keep my needfuls (like my Manta emergency strobe, CLIF bars, and the like), they also were a place for me to stuff my gloves, and also just plain keep my hands warm. Warms hands mean good-times.

500,000 hits! wow!

Overnight here, I clocked over 500,000 hits recorded on Blogger. (Google Analytics suggests its more like 559,000, which I think counts my FaceBook and Twitter accounts too).

It's been a great run so far, from December 2011 till now, and I have to thank the good folks at Zombie Tools, Snow Lizard, UV PaqLite and Tactical Keychains for re-posting my articles and sending so much traffic my way, the awesome guys at Platatac for always being there and really getting me started in the gear-review field, and David Reader and all the folks at BreachBangClear, RecoilWeb and previously KitUp! as well.

Without the support of these folks, and everyone else who's supported me, I'd not have had the success I have had, and will continue to have. Thanks to all my readers, I hope that it's been fun, informative and thought provoking!

Josh
Be Ready For Anything
be Apocalypse Equipped

Review: Snow Lizard - SLXtreme 5 iPhone case

Attentive readers may recall the Kickstarter for the rugged, batter and solar powered phone case, the SLXtreme that I covered a while ago. You may also recall how I took it on the Tough Mudder twice last year but it didn't survive the second attempt.

The hinge cracked and I had some water leakage into the unit, temporarily shorting out my phone, and killing the unit. I was sad, because it was otherwise a great piece of kit, but I also realised that I had put it through a pretty arduous test for a phone case.
However, undaunted, when I saw that Snow Lizard had gone on to make a case for the iPhone 5 (which I had subsequently upgraded to) I got in touch with them to let them know that I was keen to put it through its paces, and they kindly sent me a replacement, in the form of the new and improved SLXtreme 5. In safety orange no less.

It features all the same aspects as the previous model: latch-locking top opening, press-button battery-check and solar power switch, 2,550 mAh battery, membrane speaker

and mic covers, rugged buttons for volume and "home" buttons, a lanyard loop, capacitive touch-screen membrane.  It also sports a thumb-screw bottom sealing latch, and an access port for both USB charging and for the headphone jack. Forward and read-facing camera ports allows for photo and video capture and selfies.

There had been significant improvements as well.The in-built battery is 550 mAh larger in capacity over the "4" version.

 The bottom access port is now tool-free access (even though previously all you needed was a coin), the main latch is now a two-part metal, rather than polycarbonate.

The most exciting new feature however was the headphone jack socket and adapter. With an o-ring sealed plug, and matching sealed adapter, it is possible to have the phone safely cocooned and waterproof, as well as having access to headphone and mic jacks, a feature I've missed since my yellow Walkman days

As with the previous model, the SLXtreme 5 is rated at IP-68 with an operational depth of two meters, so in theory you can take SLXtreme anytime you are in or around water. It doesn't float, however, so I kept mine well attached to myself with a lanyard of paracord. This "open" shot gives you an idea of the engineering used in this cases creation, and it certainly paid off.

having access to the USB port (not the Lightning port of the phone, mind) allows you to charge the phone and its built in battery, but not synch, as far as I can tell.

The main port includes optically clear and easy to clean lenses, padding and improved closing latches, as well as hinges, substantially stronger in design than the previous model, I was pleased to see.


The solar panel was also improved, with a more matte finish to the surface, and what looked to be improved collector crystals internally.


The finish and the feel of the case as a whole was a lot more refined, and with the extra metal hardware, and the changes to the bottom panel, I was really impressed with the design improvements the Snow Lizard team had put into the next model.

When I took the plunge, (so to speak), and took my phone in its new case into the warm waters of Fiji, I knew I was going to give it a good test. With its "2m" depth rating, I was trepidatious  about how it would survive the trip, but as you can see, it worked wonderfully.
I had to remind myself a few times to use the buttons to control photo operation, as the main screen doesn't work under water, but I was able to switch between still and video controls on the surface easily enough, with just a flick of the wrist to clear water from the surface.

I found that the edges were a little tight, when dealing with water droplets, for dexterous screen manipulation, but the macro-control I needed worked just fine. The phone was bone-dry after almost an hour in the water (and subsequent jet-ski back to the resort), and the footage turned out really well.

All in all, I am thoroughly pleased with my replacement SLXtreme 5 case, and would highly recommend them to anyone who wanted to do some wet and wild filming, mapping, long distance phone calls and catching up on your favorite Apocalypse Equippedness blog from a beach-side or mountain-top retreat with their trusty iPhone.

Events: Tough Mudder #3 September 14th

Last weekend I participated in my third Tough Mudder challenge. Previously I reported on what I wore on my first and then subsequently, for the Stampede and then earlier this year, my second Tough Mudder. I see the Tough Mudder challenges as more than just an Endurance Sport event, but as a training and testing opportunity for me. Training myself to overcome obstacles, and go the distance, but also in anticipating the hardships my team-mates will face, and either preventing or mitigating them.


The Tough Mudder Pledge is a good starting point for this:

• As A Tough Mudder, I Pledge That ....
• I Understand That Tough Mudder Is Not A Race But A Challenge.
• I Put Teamwork And Camaraderie Before My Course Time.
• I Do Not Whine, Kids Whine.
• I Help My Fellow Mudders Complete the Course.
• I Overcome All Fears.

My team mates did not feel up to running the length of the course, which is fine, I hate running, but I can, and I have been training to do so. However, the discipline of NOT running, of not leaving a team-mate behind for personal glory, was what it was all about.

Here's the course for this time: MelbourneSpring2013-CourseMap
There were all the old favourites, as well as some new ones.
 One set of Berlin Walls was replaced for forwards sloped walls, giving no purchase to climb over. There was a "Warrior Carry" where team mates had to carry each other for a distance. A couple of different "over and under" climbs and my favourite, the Cage Crawl, where you had to navigate a long caged-in, water filled trench.

I took my iPhone along, in its SLXtreme waterproof case which unfortunately suffered a non-spectacular failure, with one of the hinge-caps breaking off, causing it to leak. This took my phone offline for a couple of days (rice in a take-away-tub, by a heater recovered it) but I managed to track half of our progress with it here: 11.84 km run with @RunKeeper.

That was a bit sad, but that's the way these things go. I also trialed a couple of other pieces of kit: I fitted my Contour GPS to my shoulder via the Picatinny adapter and fixed it to an ITS Picatinny-MOLLE adapter which in turn I mounted to my trusty First Spear OAGR vest.

Knowing there would be dark tunnels, I fitted my Princeton Tech Switch MPLS light to my MOLLE on my chest, along with my ill-fated SLXtreme case, and a  glow stick from UVPaqLite. I also tried out my newly-acquired rejected prototype Platatac hydration carrier that I scored from eBay, filled with Gatorade. I'll cover that separately, but it served its purpose adequately. TAD Amphibian shorts and my x-strapped (this held them on, but rubbed me raw) Blackhawk kneepads rounded off my regular load.

I kitted out with my Z-E-R-T patch and call-sign tab, as well as another off-market Platatac prototype admin pouch, which I kept a laminated copy of the course map, and a spare cyalume stick in case my team-mates needed some encouragement in dark places, when all other lights go out.

Lastly I wore my GoST Paleo Barefoot PRONATIV's along with their Lining Socks, which, after a 2km walk from parking to the event, 18km of course, and another 2km back to the car, were amazing.

This time I decided to collect loot, and picked up two discarded hydration packs, one I gave to a team-mate, the other I slung, as well as several "technical shirts" and a bunch of gloves. We'll see if any are salvageable.

I had a really good event, it was lots of fun, cold, wet, dirty fun. I feel that again I have proven to myself that I can not only achieve this kind of goal myself, but can also aid others in doing so too. Orange Headband ahoy!

Review: Propper - Adventure Tech, Level V APCU softshell pants

I took the family up to the snow recently (yes, it DOES snow here in Australia, just not very much, or in very many places) and I got to try out a few pieces of kit that I have been waiting for an opportunity to pull out in public.

My last trip to the snow, some three years ago was a very unfortunate event; sleet and hail fairly ruined out outing, and I had passed on most of my snow gear to the others in my party, and as a result ended up cold, wet and miserable. Not to mention a touch hypothermic. Having lived in the snow several times (Denver, USA / Surrey, UK / Calgary, Canada) I was kicking myself for my lapse of judgement, but as I say, the others in my party were ok, and looked after me.

However, THIS time, there would be no repeats! I payed attention to my ever growing collection, and selected not only a range of layers, but also spares, in the event that I needed them. 

The key piece that I tried out, however, were my new pants from Propper. I picked these up from an eBay sale, and as it turns out they appear to be a discontinued range from Propper. However, the Propper Adventure Tech, Level V APCU softshell pants were a welcome addition to my wardrobe, and certainly proved their worth on my trip to Mount Baw Baw for the weekend. 

I wore a Tough Mudder/ Under Armor shirt and my Platatac Half-zip fleece top  on top, with my HeadSox on my noggin.

I have very long legs, which usually means that I go for a size larger waist to ensure the right length, for pants which don't have a W/L sizing, but in this case that played in my advantage, as I chose to wear these as over-pants, over the top of a base layer of my Platatac sniper pants fleece layer in the first instance, with my Urban Dax as a mid layer, in the event of unpleasant weather.

I found that the mid layer was unnecessary for the beautiful crisp and dry conditions we faced on the mountain, so I felt I could really throw myself about in the snow. 


The material of the pants is a very light, 4-way stretch fabric which is extremely comfortable, both on the skin, but also from a breathability and wicking perspective. This is due in no small part to the Schoeller Nanosphere Treatment that Propper applied to the fabric. This treatment apparently mimics the natural self-cleaning effect of some plants whose leaves always remain clean, because particles cannot adhere to the finely structured surface, and is easily washed off when rinsed, without allowing water to penetrate. It combines with the weave of the fabric to offer a high level of protection from wind, rain as well. It certainly shed snow and slush well, as well as the mustard and BBQ sauce I exposed it to at the chalet. It also seems to resist washing out, so should retain its abilities when I do need to give them a wash.

Also, they were in Multicam! I haven't had many opportunities to wear Multicam. I tend not to wear camouflage "for fashion", (although I got a MC Tactical Kilt from 5.11 .... review to follow! ) so having an outdoorsy activity to test it out in was great too.

The pants have a wide padded waistband, as well as pretty standard belt loops. I actually felt that the softness and lightness of the fabric would have warranted thicker belt loops, just to make them a bit more substantial. but really, I didn't have any problems with them.

The main front pockets were almost horizontally cut into the front of the pants. This was an unusual feature, and it did mean that when using these pockets, I needed to dive my hand straight down in front of me, but certainly did ensure that my pocket goodies remained safely stowed.
 

The pockets are lined with mesh, rather than the same material as the rest of the pants, or some other full-weave liner, which was an interesting addition, but certainly didn't hinder me in any way. The overlap between the front and back lips of the pocket were constructed such that they overlapped nicely, and I didn't experience any wind-bite or water logging as a result of the pocket placement.

The just-above-the-knee cargo pockets were small for this kind of pant, but certainly functional. (they fail the "will it take my iPad test", but I certainly didn't want to be lugging that through the snow), but they were billowed at the back, for extra capacity, and the left set included a zippered side pocket as well. 

 

Whilst tromping about in these on the mountain, I found that I could easily stow my phone in its SLXtreme case as well as my Contour cam, in ITS waterproof case, as well as two to three sets of gloves and or mittens, without a spill or lost technology all day. I did find that the knee-pads I wore sat very close to the cargo pockets, and this impinged on their ability to be filled fully. This was a little annoying, but the knee-pads were -very- large.

The cargo pocket have hook-and-loops closures, and the top of the lid-flap had an opening for pen, light or knife clips, or could also trail a cable.

One thing that I found with these pants is that they stopped the wind dead. Whether I was standing on the top of a ridge, or zipping down a slope on a toboggan with the little ones, they simply cut the wind right out. They did so without the "zitch-zitch-zitch" that Gore-tex "hard-shell" pants might. 
 

This leads me to post this little guide to assist anyone else who occasionally gets mystified by ll the "hard-shell/soft-shell" jargon ... 

I've tried to find an explanation or scale to describe the "Level V" portion of the Propper scale (which goes to at least VII) but this might go some way to describe what different levels and ratings of waterproofedness and breathability mean.

One thing I found interesting about these pants are that not only do they totally lack any pockets at the back, but are also fitted with a wide elastic section, the full width of the waistband, for the entirety of the back of the pants.This meant that they did sit fairly snugly, even with the "slightly too large" size I got, and stayed snug when i was crouched, squatting on a toboggan, or kneeling to pick up and carry my small people. 

I really liked wearing these pants. I stayed snug, warm and dry. I tromped through snow and slush, picked up squealing kicking offspring and sat them on my legs , sat in the snow, built snow-dinosaurs and generally had a good time, all without a single sad, soggy moment.

It's a real shame these are no longer being made, but can still be picked up by searching for Propper Adventure Tech, Level V with the product code F7220, online. Good luck, stay warm and dry!

Events: Tough Mudder #2 Melbourne 2013

 I ran the Tough Mudder again this year, January 19th, which was a lovely sunny, breezy day here in Melbourne.

The event was held at the Phillip Island Raceway again, which lays an hour and a three quarters drive from Melbourne, and backs onto the Bass Strait. I had only recently been given the all clear from the ankle troubles of late last year, and had not had a lot of preparation, baring three or four runs, of 2 - 5km, so I wasn't sure about how I would cope, not only with my ankles, or my general lack of CV fitness as a result of my injury, the prednisone treatment (25mg daily, dropping 5mg each week to wean away).

Regardless, I had booked in, and was raring to go. I had tried to drum up interest from the folks I ran with the previous year, but no takers (although it turns out, a couple did the event as it happens).

For those who don't know what the Tough Mudder is, it is a 20+km endurance challenge, with 25+ military inspired obstacles. The events run world-wide, in all conditions, and feature some signature obstacles, namely, lots, and lots of mud, electrical wire filled corridors, and pools swimming under barriers, ice filled pools and all manner of climbing, crawling, and of course, running. I hate running.

The above pics are me before the race, in my running kit, pretty much the same outfit that I wore for the previous endurance event I did, the Stampede with the First Spear OAGRE vest, with my Source 3L bladder in the back, and snap-fixed to the 5.11 Tactical TDU belt, keeping the vest snug to me and my TAD Amphibious Shorts with my trusty Blackhawk! kneepads, which were again, a real bonus, so, "i told you so" to all the scoffing runners out there. You can see me, fresh from the Arctic Enema/Chernobyl Jacuzzi ice bath and dunk, fishing a couple of ice-cubes out from my kneepads. I also wore my iPhone, in its SLXtreme case mounted in the Platatac PRR pouch I got specifically for the event. On my head I wore one of my caps, which I had modified to carry a picatinny rail, in order for me to mount my Contour GPS helmet-cam to, via the Strikemark adapter I have. I also added a chin-strap to the cap, to help deal with the added weight of the camera, which seemed to work pretty well. I wore one of the Under Armour t-shirts from the previous Tough Mudder and my Ironclad gloves.

I also swapped out boots, having put my Altama's into retirement and for this event, I wore my Bates Delta-8's which really held up well, and cleaned up tremendously.

Here's one of me having scaled a 2m "Berlin Wall" and torn my number off in the process. Lesson learned, bring my own safety pins or lashing system. Their little pins were ineffective!

This is me and my running-mate, #7819 :) doing the SHINBASHI salute after coming over the Bale Bonds.

She and I knew each other socially, and upon hearing my interest in a running-mate, signed up, regardless of trepidation and obstacle-shyness. Far better a runner than I, we kept a good pace, she kept me going on the straights, and I helped her along on the climbing, jumping and swimming, crawling and squelching.

She started the race with a black headscarf to match her all-black running slicks. I was referring to us as "day-ops" and "night-ops". My gear was already mud-coloured, and my head higher up, so don't think that I was getting away unscathed ...

We did the course in just under 4 hours, I felt that it was actually a lot easier this year, even without all the extensive running I did prior to the previous events. This may be in no small part to mental preparation, and experience. There were no "I haven't done it before" nerves. I made it over every obstacle on my own steam, climbed every wall, made it across the slippery monkey-bars, made it up the Everest half-pipe on my first run. I was rally pleased with not only my pace, but the speed I overcame the obstacles in my path, but also how I was able to help me fellow Mudders.

Here I am, following the event, having stripped off the OAGRE, sporting my celebratory headband, and working up the guts to pull my boots off. Not a blister, or scratch, but a lot of grit and muddy water. It turned out that the time-lapse application I had hoped to run on my iPhone hadn't begun, but the SLXtreme and PRR combination had worked like a dream. The Picatinny rail I had mounted the Contour cam on needed to be at more of a down-angle, I took a lot of 3/4 sky footage, but see below for my links.

I dinged my shin whilst hurdling a log, and gave myself this exciting bruise on the back of my left thigh. Last year I had two of these, one on the back of each thigh. This year I pegged the moment when I got it ... scaling one of the 4m Berlin Walls, lesson learned? major muscle groups do not make good leavers!

A great event, a good challenge, and certainly a good conditioning and preparation experience.

Will I do it again? hells yes. As many, and as often as I can manage.

http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-1-1
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-1-2--6
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-1-4--3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-1-5
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-1-6
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-1--3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-2--2
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-4--4
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-5--3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-2-6
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-3-1
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-3-2
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-4-1
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-4-2
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-4-3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-4-4
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-5-1
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-5-2
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-5-3
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-5-4
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-5-5
http://contour.com/videos/watch/tough-mudder-jan-2013-6-2

Apocalypse Equipped, no, really.

So, the Mayan Long Count Calendar is widely believed to clock-over today.

It's also the Solstice...

AND the last workday before my FAMILY XMAS (Que dramatic spooky music)...

Apart from having to be at work, I wanted to give you all a quick insight into my "it's all hit the fan" load-out.

When the sirens and screams start, this is the kit that I would be strapping on, and similar to what I'd be dishing out to my family to load up and be ready. Fortunately I have quite the collection at the ready.

To be fair, this is my full "there is no help or law coming" gear, not just a "house-on fire, leave for mum's" and I would strive to abide by the laws on my land wherever needed. Wearing swords and the like "without reasonable cause" is frowned on here. In fact, the whole get-up would arouse considerable consternation for LEO's.


That said .... here is a break down of my "end of the world",  kit, because I want to be Apocalypse Equipped.....

1.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-platatac-mac-plate-carrier.html
2.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-strike-industries-tactical-sling.html
3.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-platatac-meop-medic-pouch.html
4.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-countycomm-dropline-carabiner.html
5.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-platatac-sr25-utility-double-mag.html
6.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/platatac-fup-pouch.html /
   http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-platatac-60-round-mk1-pouch.html
7.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-countycomm-breacher-bar.html /
   http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-countycomm-breacher-bar-sheath.html
8.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-zulu-nylon-gear-caos-admin-pouch.html
9.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-gerber-strap-cutter.html on a single-shingle I use for my 2-way radio
10.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-countycomm-premium-emt-combat.html
11.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-platatac-headstock.html
12.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/04/review-under-armor-shirts.html this one from Tough Mudder
13.  http://www.pro-tec.net/classic-skate-helmet.php
14.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-platatacgerber-branded-cap.html
15.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-platatac-bullock-echo-daypack.html with http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-dead-on-annihilator-superhammer.html  3L Source bladder and MOLLE zipper strips to mount it to the MAC
16.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-platatac-csi-folder.html
17.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-sigg-1l-bottle.html
18.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-snow-lizard-slxtreme-iphone-case.html
19.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-platatac-half-med-pack.html
20.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-zombie-tools-deuce.html
21.   not yet reviewed PRR Pouch
22.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-215-gear-sling.html
23.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-ironclad-landscaper.html

and that's on my top half, and not even what IN those pouches and bags....

now on to my lower half ....

24. Danner Striker II boots, replacing my http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-bates-delta-8-boots.html
25. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-platatac-young-guns-belt-braces.html
26. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/05/review-lazerbrite-tactical-pouch.html
27. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-platatac-3x-40mm-pouch.html on 90 degree mounts
28. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-platatac-modular-radio-pouch.html
29. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-platatac-drop-gas-mask-bag.html on a platatac-half-leg-rig
30.  http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-schrade-army-10-knife.html
31. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-countycomm-micro-grappling-hook.html
32. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-black-hawk-kneepads.html
33. as yet un-reviewed prototype Platatac EDC trousers: WATCH THIS SPACE, these are ace!
34. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/09/review-511-tactical-tdu-belt-175.html
35. http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/2012/07/review-ka-bar-zombie-sword.html
36. multitool ..... because MacGuyver demands it!

So there you have it....

There are a few more things that may or may not make it into my kit, and of course, the contents of those pouches and packs, but that's my expected load-out.

EDIT: Stupid predictions ... it's1130am 21/12/12 and STILL no flaming jade jaguars ....

Review: Snow Lizard - SLXtreme iPhone case

I backed a rugged, heavyset and multifunction iPhone case on Kickstarter, before but when the design of the iPhone 4 and 5 was still in question, I chickened out of one waterproof case, but later backed another. More rugged, more functional, and more feature packed, I was relieved to see another project offered, and I had the gumption to back it, and then I had to wait.

This was the case that I backed. Billed as the Aqua Tek S on Kickstarter, and produced by Snowlizard. When it was ready for release it was renamed by popular backer vote, to the SLXtreme. Offered in a variety of colour options, I opted for the coyote-tan, surprise, surprise.

The basis of the case is that it fully encloses the iPhone 4/4s in a water, dust and shockproof polycarbonate shell, whilst still leaving the majority of functionality available to the user. During the design and manufacture process, the forward and back facing cameras, and flash, volume up and down buttons, and the main home and power buttons are all accessible whilst in the case.

 It turned out that the mute/orientation slider and earphone ports were too difficult or impractical to accommodate.


The multitouch screen, mic and speakers are faced by a thin polymer membrane which alternately allows the electrostatic use of the iPhone screen and transmission of sound from the speakers, and to the mic. I was skeptical to start with, but was pleasantly surprised both by the crispness of the control surface (no real difference than any other screen protector) and of the sound, (slightly muffled, but perfectly acceptable sacrifice for the protection offered when adventuring).

The base of the case has an access port for charging and synching the device by micro USB, with the 32pin iDevice plug being built into the insides of the case, the port being protected by a sealed flap, which is secured shut with a thumb screw. Also held in the front base of the case are a set of blue LED battery charge indicators.

The top of the case latches open and closed to accept the phone, which sits very snugly, as it is built with low tolerances, and even complying with IP68 & Mil Spec 810, but not so snug as to be impossible to take the phone in and out, even with the screen protector I have on it.

The latch has a slide lock, to help resist those "unexpected underwater openings"

The two camera ports are equally well designed, and don't significantly degrade the picture quality,

All the buttons could be described as "stiff" and the inlay to get to the edge of the multitouch display is pretty tight, but I'd rather a little awkwardness over a busted screen or waterlogged phone any day. The stiffness of the buttons only goes to reassure me that they won't break, or be a source of failure and ingress.

The case is large, it's bulky. It is very reminiscent of the old brick phones around when mobiles broke into wide circulation. This however, is not a big concern for me, given the nature of the protection offered and the additional features built in.

As well as being rated to 2m submersion, mud, dust, sand and rain proof, shock resistant and generally ruggedized, this case also packs a built in lithium ion polymer battery, providing DC 5V - 1A with 2000mAh capacity, giving an impressive boost to the standby (380-hrs), talk time (7hrs 3G, 17 on 2G), internet usage (7hrs 3G, 10hrs on WiFi) and 46 hrs audio, or 11 hrs video play.

However, the SLXtreme goes one step further in that it's back face has a built in solar panel, capable of generating 10 minutes of talk time for an hour of sunlight. This may not sound like a lot, but in a survival situation, it is plenty of power to send text messages, power up the GPS features of the iPhone, read up instruction manuals and yes, make calls as needed.

I have a lot of navigation, mapping, surveying and "guide" apps on my phone, and for the times when I am off-grid, but still want access to my data, and the stored knowledge, knowing that I have a near infinite supply of charging power, is very reassuring.


The Snow Lizard team took a lot of flak over the delays in production, from the initial Kickstarter which was successful in March 2012, till when I received mine in November 2012, and the iPhone 5 coming out in the interim. I really feel for them, but had no such concerns. Kickstarting isn't an exact science, and I'm just glad I got a product.


I am happy with my "less than newest" model of phone, and the accessories I have for it.

The case is rugged, light (at 317g including the 4s, making it a tad under 200g of battery, solar charger, water, crud and shock proofing that I can take into the field with me, do the Stampede or Tough Mudder wearing, or whatever.

Not being able to plug my headphones into it is a drawback I am willing to live with, for what I get, and I look forwards to Snow Lizard to come up wit hthe PALS/MOLLE attachment they posted mock-ups of. Till them, its off to Platatac to ask the lads what they can do with me to include this case in my loadout.