Review: OtterBox Utility Latch

Here is a piece of kit that came to my attention following a comment by one of my readers after my review of my iPhone case . Up till then, my iPad has been naked tech, no case, cover or guard. It still lives in my CSI folder which in turn lives in my messenger bag but doesn't do anything for it when I'm -using- it. So here is what I have added to give me some more security and functionality. This is the OtterBox Utility Series Latch . The basic idea is that four elastic loops attached to a nylon webbing backing hoop over the four corners of the device. A loop of nylon tape gives an attachment point for the included S-clip.


That however is just the beginning, that nylon backing is a platform for a variety of very clever accessories. The webbing itself features a wide handstrap with removable padding that can either be gripped or slip over you knife-hand style. Because the central webbing is square, and the elastic loops are all equal, the device can be held portrait or landscape, as best suits your needs. Each corner of the webbing hosts a plastic tag with an eyelet, through which I have fed a length of shock-cord, purely as an extra place to secure any documents I get handed in meetings I don't take my CSI folder to.
Those tags are designed to take the accessory baggie that comes with the Latch, which is itself billed as a "angled stand" and performs this task well, with twin S-clips to again give portrait or landscape proppage, but I found it to be awkward to carry around with this in place, and have relegated it to my messenger bag, for when I need it. The included accessories are pretty cool in and of themselves. A rain-cover made of elastic hemmed waterproofed rip-stop. I'm not sure how useful this will be in a big wet, but for times when I am without a bag to store my device in, or when I know I will be in and out of a drizzle, or something.

The narrow shoulder strap will let me go hands free in a slinging fashion, should I desire, or offer me a platform to write on if i balance one edge of my device on my belt buckle. Seeing as I can type one handed on my iPad, and use the big S-clip to secure it to my holster-harness or riggers-belt I haven't had much use for this either. The wide elastic belt, however, I am very much looking forwards to using. It affixes through the main-body webbing, where the yellow nylon can be seen in the top picture, and becomes either a thigh-strap (for pilots, drivers, or boring meeting Angry Birds players) OR it can be fitted to the back of a car seat head-rest, for running back-seat movies and games for little people amusement. A very cool feature, with a lot of potential. The buckle end is sturdy, and the hook-and-loop fixture is long enough to fit a variety of legs I think.

Whilst I cant say this is a ruggedising or especially protective piece of kit, and I have had a couple of occasions where the elastic loops have slipped, and lost full grip on my device, which was a bit scary, I like how well it fits my grip, allowing me a much more natural tap-tap-tapping stance, without having to white-knuckle as I wander about reading my ITS Tactical App or browsing for more toys. A relaxed body responds to change much faster than a rigid one. One thing it does do to protect my device, is that the elastic loops act as spaces for me screen, padding and buffering its contact with whatever I put it down on. No more gran of sand scratches!.

Review: Petzl Shunt

Following on from my post yesterday on the Ascension rope ascending device which I use to go up ropes whilst strapped into my climbing harness or for hauling things as part of a pulley system along with the gear in my in-car bug-out-bag I thought I would tell you a little bit about another piece of cool climbing tech that I acquired to give me some safety and utility whist getting into tall places, out of deep holes and spanning chasms. So, here we go: this is the Petzl Shunt rope clamp. Another piece of excellent engineering from these people, it's frame is made from machined aluminium, and the internal smooth, sprung cam is likewise aluminium.This means the whole piece only comes in at 188g, for those conscious of how much gear they are hauling. The Shunt is designed to be either a one or two rope device, but Petzl make no bones about the safety precautions around this. it will take a 10-11mm single rope, or 8-11mm double rope.The ropes must be the same diameter, and either be a loop of the same rope, or a single strand. Hooking onto two different ropes is highly discouraged in their safety guide. They also recommend that a figure-8 ring is applied above the Shunt by  double carabiner-ended quickdraw webbing, giving you a two-stage system.

 So, here's how it works. Rope is fed into the device by pulling the sprung "tongue" out of the body, and into its almininium shell such that the tongue will be facing "in" towards the wearer. The "tongue" can then be released and will snap closed. A carabiner is then fitted through the large hole, and attached directly to your harness in most instances. When a load is applied to the carabiner, the rounded cams bite down onto the rope, pinching it and providing a hands-free stoppage on the rope. I use 11mm static rope, as I generally use it as a fixed line and not as a free-climbing top-roping safety line type deal. Petzl tell us that the Shunt will hold a static load of 3Kn (which apparently equates to 305kg(force)) on a single rope and 7.5kn (760kg(force)) on a double strand of 11mm rope before slipping.

In dynamic situations, it fares worse, with a 60-70cm slippage at 3-3.5kN on a single 11mm rope and a potentially unstopped slip at 1-8kN under testing conditions of a 2m, Fall Factor 1 drop for a me-sized 80kg accroding to Petzl. Sobering, but remember, this is a locking ascension device, rather than a dedicated fall-arrester, it is designed to slide up a rope, then hold you before the next slide up. That said, in the event of a slip and drop, it will take the weight , pulling the cam tight against the rope and doing its job to the best of its ability, as long as you just LET GO and let it, Likewise, it will NOT work if the "tongue" is impeded by your body, a wall, or anything else, it must be free to pull down to work. This has a cool feature in reverse, though, in that it will allow you to descend in a controlled fashion by squeezing the body of the Shunt towards you, releasing some of the tension of your load on the "tongue" and the rope will slip through. Letting go again will halt your descent. Again, combined with a figure-8 this allows secure, controlled movement on a rope. I also use mine in combination with my Ascension rope ascending device. (Shh, don't tell Petzl)

There is a small hole in the back of the "tongue" that I have attached a dummy-cord through, because, let me tell you, the springs in this are snappy, and I have had the misfortune of it "sproinging" out of my hands as I was getting ready to fit it to a rope. Fortunately for me this happened whilst I was testing the unit and familiarising myself with its use, rather than dangling from the sky somewhere. Better for me, better for whoever might be below me. Again, this is a really useful piece of kit, not without limitations, as the manufacturer very diligently points out in their manuals (PSA: read them, pay attention and familiarise yourself with all climbing kit before putting yourself or those around you at risk). I've had a lot of fun with this, without yet dropping out of a high-hide like Ian Malcolm.

Review: Petzl Ascension

I thought I would return to some of my adventurous kit, rather than the more military style gear for a little while. I've always been a scrambler, and a climber. Getting into high places and up tall things has been lifelong past-time. When I started to get into wall-climbing, and saw the cool kit available, I started expanding my collection of tools to get me up and down safely. I've already covered my climbing harness One such tool I've added to my armory is the Petzl Ascension which is a spectacular piece of engineering.The frame is made of a hard-anodised aluminium, which are colour coded for left and right handed use (the off-hand version looks exactly the same, but flipped.

It features a chrome-plated steel cam with bitey teeth with a nylon catch and a rubber over-molded plastic grip. It will take anywhere from an single 8mm rope all the way up to a 13mm, and the design of the cam includes a vent to self-clean muddy or icy ropes. For those who have never seen or used one of these, the idea is simple. with the rope fed into the bitey-cam's jaw, the sping-loaded cam is pressed against the rope, but due to the angles used, doesn't bite down when the rope is pull (or pushed) from top to bottom. It bites down when weight is applied bottom to top.



What this means is that when you are going "up" the rope, it moves freely, but doesn't move backwards. A safe method for ascension! Better still, the clever folks at Petzl have included a variety of attachment methods, to make this a very versatile tool. A small hole in the base facilitates a lanyard or foot-sling, (which -massively- improves the efficiency of my ascents, I've found). The main hole at the bottom connects to your harness in regular ascents, but between this, and the double set at the top, this piece can act as part of a self-belaying system or a hauling system, in conjunction with other similar tools.

This is not the kind of tool everyone will need or want, and does take some adjustment to not only use efficiently and safely but I've found that for hauling gear, or scooting myself up a fixed line, I couldn't ask for a cooler piece of kit. Its mountain-rugged, and hardy enough to take a 4-6kN fall, depending on the thickness of the rope you are using, and be sure to follow the Safety guide instructions as it has some limitations, especially with regards proper attachment and positioning. A very good piece of kit to have for multipurpose climbing utility!

Review: Arc'teryx climbing harness

I've been a rock-climber, off and on, for almost 20 years, in the indoor-wall sense, but have been a boulderer and a scrambler for my whole life. If there is a tree I want to be up it. If there is a cliff-face, I want to go down it. If there is a second story patio, well, you can fill in the rest ... Whilst I was at uni, with my first real job giving me a taste of financial independence, I saw a piece of kit that has been with me since then, and has literally been a life-saver. This is my climbing harness, by Arc'teryx.
Like a lot of my gear, it seems that this particular model has been superseded but don't let that daunt you, it doesn't bother me.

Lets have a look at what goes into a climbing harness. There are three main components; a reinforced padded waist-belt, leg loops and a connecting loop. The waist-belt is sometimes called a "swami-belt" and in this case, features a wide padded belt, which is surrounded by a webbing band, stitched heavily, and buckles to one side of the middle. Like a Riggers Belt, it has a wide loop sewn into it, through which the connecting loop is found. A series of plasicised loops around the back and sides act as attachment points for accessories. The leg-loops have retention tapes that attached to the beck of the belt and in this case, another heavy webbing loop is found at the back.

The leg-loops are similar to the waist-belt, in that they are padded and reinforced, and feature a tear-drop shape, rather than a full circle, as in climbing when your body's weight is supported by these three belts, cutting off blood supply, or restricting movement is a real hazard. The leg-loops run up, through the connecting loop and form a continuous belt supporting both your legs. I think I may have outgrown this particular harness, as whilst it still does up securely, the padding no longer quite meets in the middle as it did when I was a gaunt student and I have filled out into my more mature body. I'm still confident in its ability to do what I need it to, but I think if i get back into regular climbing, I'll need to find myself a new harness.

I will however be looking at the new Arc'teryx range to furnish myself with, as this is a belt I have put to the test, and bounced back to tell the tale. At the very least, it will remain in my preparedness kit, along with rope, carabiners and a figure 8 descender, for times when I need to get up there, get down there, or stay right where I am. Few things give me as much sense of security as well made climbing gear when my life is on the line. Literally.

Review: Sea to Summit - Alpha cutlery set

Having to "rough it" shouldn't mean having to tear at semi-raw food with your bare hands (satisfying as it can be). I was lucky enough to be the recipient of some new eating tools for Giftmas this year. Here's what I received: These are the Alpha Set cutlery from Sea to Summit and a more gorgeous set of metal to stick in my mouth I have not seem for a long while. The set includes a stand alone fork, spoon and serrated knife, connected through holes in the ends by the supplied carabiner. I've been caught out with my packed lunch, or in fact picnic having not thought to pack cutlery, or in fact the staff-room fork-goblins having visited again.


A set of these stashed in my bag would render any such disappearance moot. I really like the smooth lines and delightful feel of them in the hand. Made from hard-anodized ultra-light & very strong 7075-T6 aircraft aluminium alloy, they weigh only 37g and have a smooth, satin finish. Holes perforated through the handles add to their stiffness whilst reducing their mass, and this is further expanded but a fuller that runs through the middle of each utensil. The most exciting part however is that the ends of each utensil features a different size hex wrench (3 mm, 4 mm & 5 mm). Multifunction eating tools? Yes please! Being aluminium, I wouldn't be putting these to hard, frequent use but simply them being there, and thus, in my EDC, means I have another set of tools at my disposal should the need arise. Which it does, with recurring frequency. I like that the utensils take a break from the knife-spork utensil as seen in the Light My Fire meal-kit, which whilst serves a great function in minimalist design, can make for messy lunchtimes. The knife is serrated with a series of comb-like notches cut into it, and I'm curious as to how good a cutting edge this will give the aluminium blade.

 A full set of grown-up sized cutlery adds a certain amount of comfort in a desperate situation. Anyone caught with a broken plastic KFC fork and spoon from the bottom of the glove-box will know what I'm talking about. That said, I will not be giving up my titanium "battle-spoon" spork by SnowPeak which has been a feature of my CSI folder for some time now, and whilst I have been able to eat most everything with it (up to and including steak), so I look forwards to being able to do so using both hands at once with my new set, and I'll be interested to see how they compare. Dual wielding spoons, anyone?

Possum, dandelion and turnip stew again as you shelter in the ruins of what used to be a mall? Best have something decent to eat it with, and these are light, tough and portable enough to keep on you no matter what happens in your life!

Review: Kathmandu Hip bag

Here is a piece of essential kit that I received for Giftmas a number of years ago, which I have taken with me hiking all around Australia and New Zealand. It now makes up my bug-out-bag, and lives in the wheel well of my car, under Tactical Baby's car-seat. Being a sizable pack I've been able to use it as my sole day-pack when hiking up and around a number of mountains without being encumbered and more importantly keeping my hands and shoulders free. I've chopped and changed the contents a number of times, to suit my needs of the day.  It's also where my CRKT Stiff KISS and FUBAR live. I haven't been able to find what it is called, it seems to be out of stock, but here is what I can tell you about it.

There are three external pockets, one of which is a draw-string tightening bottle pouch, and two zippered pockets, each topped with a strip of SOLAS tape. The main body of the pouch holds an expansive chamber, probably at least 5L in capacity. Both the side pockets and main chamber are zippered, with toggles fitted for ease of opening, and are covered by well fitted lips to keep rain out. The whole pack is made of a hardy Cordura nylon throughout. Two sets of Fastex buckles on webbing straps are fitted to tighten the pack down, and there are three daisy-chain loops of webbing sewn onto the middle, perfect for fitting Cyalume sticks, I have three, red, blue and white, currently. The back pad is fitted with a wide band of closed-cell foam for padding, and also has a space between the pack and padding for fitting either a belt or perhaps documents. The side straps include some padding bands, both of which include a small, zippered utility pocket and come together in a wide banded Fastex clip. Two D-rings fitted to the top of the pack allow for shoulder straps to be fitted, to assist with load-bearing, or offering  alternate attachment points. A webbing handle finishes off the carry options nicely
Here's what I currently load out with: In the main chamber I have a tightly rolled woodland-cam waterproof poncho,  a linear induction flashlight (I taped over the emitter end, to cut down on light leakage). Two rolls of tape, an enameled mug, a roll of SES tape, a tube of sweetened condensed milk, 4 metal espresso cups, a bottle of bug-spray, a long length of high strength fishing line, a propane cylinder, the Bear Grylls  Ultimate Survival kit I've reviewed previously, and 50m of 5mm dynamic, along with two 2200kg carabiners and a Figure 8 Rappel Device.

In the outside zippered pockets,  I keep a snare kit, a Caribee camp stove, matches, Milton water  purification tablets, nails. In the other pocket, a set of bandages, BandAids, a survival whistle with a flint, tea-bags and instant chocolate. A Sea-To-Summit 10L Kitchen Sink lives in the bottle-holder, and in the side-strap pockets are another box of matches and a pill-tin with fishing hooks and sinkers.


By no means an exhaustive survival kit, but I like to think that with this in the car, I am able to be a whole lot more prepared for a road-side delay if I am out adventuring, or if the need arises, and we bug-out, an advantage over the elements.

Review: EDC holster harness

I have a lot of "things" on my person. My EDC makes most of my friends balk. Simply the amount of keys I seem to have accumulated would put many high-school janitors to shame, it seems. Included here are the previously reviewed EDC keychain tools, my mighty but petite Surefire flashlight, and my formidable and functional Folding K.I.S.S. but also seen here are a few other items worth noting. Two "little" pens (I used to have a Fisher Space Pen but its sleek little body slipped a pocket and was lost, years ago). A hank of fast-rope that was originally venetian-blind cord, a tiny box of Crumpler matches, a lonely looking ear-plug (woops) and my foxy Poken RFID based business card. Also on my -second- keychain, as well as a nautical grade Stainless steel carabiner, are my airport-safe nail-clippers, my VPN token and a USB stick I opened and embedded with paraffin to water and shock-proof. My wallet (with an accessory carabiner and dummy-cord) and a few hair-ties top off what would fill up my pockets on a daily basis, not including the iPhone I used to snap this pic.Where do I -put- all of this gear?

Here: A custom made holster-of-pockets that I had made by the very fine people of RemoteEquipment Repairs."Specialist Outdoor Adventure Gear Repairs"

I walked into their upstairs shop on day many years ago (perhaps as long ago as 10, because I had a dumb phone and a Palm V) and emptied my pockets, and the el-cheepo holster-of-pockets I had scored at a market somewhere and said "I need to fit all of this, under my arms, no hook-and-loop, big buckles and zippers, it needs to be rugged, black and adjustable." They delivered for a modest fee, a piece of kit that I now consider myself all but naked when not wearing. It features two internal pockets under the buckles, and a spacious zipperable pocket sufficient for passports, phones and the like. My sunglasses dangle in their case, which also contains my earbuds.

The nylon shows the wear of all-day-every-day use, but this has seen me right in every situation I have put it through. When I go to airports (after removing all the pointies) I unsling this, toss it through the X-ray, and wander on through. I've even decorated the front straps with badges and buttons, Jeans for Genes day, a poppy for Armistice Day, a Kodama sprite, a "boo-yah" button, and some words of wisdom from AFT's Jungle Recon and Army Ranger.

This holster has been a real boon to me, and lets me keep all my needfuls hands-free but on hand. When it finally goes to broken-gear heaven, I will give it a Viking funeral, but not before securing an even more rugged, modular and adjustable replacement.

Review: 215Gear Retention Lanyard-Frog Zero

I've done some pretty interesting and dubiously safe adventuring, mostly climbing up things and places that were not necessarily intended to be reached. Over the years I have put together a reasonable set of gear and kit for doing so, but one thing I've lacked is a dedicated retention lanyard. I've always made do with loops of webbing, lengths of rope and Expresses. I finally found a purpose made piece of kit to include when I venture up high things or perch somewhere I might be inclined not to fall off. This is the Operators Retention Lanyard by 215Gear. 

These guys make some no-nonsense nylon gear, and look to fill some niches that other suppliers tend to glaze over, in comfort, safety and K9 equipment. I especially liked their range of options for fittings, which are all high quality brands which they have fitted to their own well tailored nylon. This particular lanyard is made from 1" MilSpec tubing rated to 4,000lbs (1814kg), heavily constructed with eight, 42 stitch bartacks and is offered with empty loops, or fitted several different combinations of options. For example, I've currently fitted the empty loop end of mine with a 600kg rated Kong carabiner, but also have a higher rated carabiner which i swap out if I know I am likely to be experiencing higher fall risks. The other end has something quite special.

Here's what is on the grabby end; a Kong Frog which is an awesome piece of engineering, giving a 26kN safety rating (equivalent to 5,850 lbs, or 2653kg) to a one-handed attachment system when will lock down on whatever you can reach, even at what would normally be beyond safe carabiner reach. One drawback of the Frog is that the "jaws" are a little narrow and it will not fit over any of the random things I have tried, like my larger carabiners, but it does "bite" my 11mm static line, as well as this rope which I've previously used as a retention lanyard.

I really like this lanyard, and whilst have not had an instance where its full potential was tested, the fact it sits at 17 inches long and stretches to 26 inches means that I can hook myself up, have room to play, and be able to get physical feedback when reaching that limit, AND then give a little bit more slack for either squirming to reach something, ducking out of the way of something, or just pure shock-absorption. All in all, a very satisfying, compact, solid and dependable feeling piece of kit.

Review: Opt Silicone Armor iPhone case

When I upgraded to my iPhone 4S, I decided that I needed a new, rugged case.  I had looked into a Kickstarter program for a rugged, waterproof case, but when the big fuss over what the iPhone 5 would be like when it was released, and I chickened out. big mistake. There was no 5, and the 4S as we all know looks just like the 4. So I backed out, and thus, missed out. In the mean time, I needed something that would protect my new shiny iPhone. In my foray into the local iPhone skin shop, I came across this. Here is the Opt Silicone Armor Case. This isn't the first semi-rigid rubberized iPhone case I've had, however I think it is the best one I've had.

It has a grippy texture, rather than being slick, with ample knobby structures to give it positive hold in my hand, but not so much as to make it snag when withdrawing it from ones pocket. The case itself has openings at the back for both camera and flash, and an opening to show of the Apple logo, but fits so snugly that I haven't had an issue with dust accumulation. The earphone jack and mic opening is also sufficient for every headphone I've used with it thus far (a problem I've encountered in past) and the data port at the bottom works on the bases I have.
Most impressive however is the wire exoskeleton that holds the whole thing together and gives it its rigid structure, as well as protecting the corners (a common breakage point, I've noted). It also gives the case an attachment point for the included webbing and carabiner, which is an excellent means of retention. I clip mine onto my vest harness, along with my keys. This not only keeps my phone from falling, but the distance it gives is pretty much perfect for me to check my phone for messages and access to apps, all with "drop everything" security. It isn't the full immersion case that I was initially looking for, but it's sturdy, grippy and latches onto my kit, belt, bracelet, whatever. Good compromise, and keeps my shiny toy safe.

Review: Packlight

I am a firm believer in the Kickstarter program which enables people with great ideas but no capital to ask for backers to see them to their seed money. One such project was by the folks at Big I Design who had the idea to pack 45 high performance LED's into a flexible silicone body, make it USB rechargeable. I knew I needed to be a part of this, so I backed them. The reward bundle that I chose was pretty awesome, in that I got two Packlights (one red, one black) with USB charging cords for each, two packets of  Reflective tape and as an extra bonus two Solar Recharging Units, complete with plugs and fittings to recharge mini-USB, phones and iThingies. Pretty awesome bundle. 

I like the idea of a water resistant light source, that I can strap or affix to things and leave there to illuminate. Torches are great, but are not always the best tool for the job. The flexible body of the Packlight means that I can bend it across the back of a pack, the trunk of a tree or onto a wall. Each light has two hanging holes, which will fit a good sized carabiner or loops of paracord lanyards. The ends also house neodymium magnets, the "thin" end makes sufficient contact to support the whole unit from the side of a fridge under its own power. 

One of the most exciting things about the Packlight are its variety of lighting options. A tap of the power button gives a low output illumination of 1, 2 or 3 of the columns of LED's, as a battery life indicator. Holding the power button brings up the lights to full with the following options: Full Power, Outer 2 Columns, Middle Column, All lights flashing in a 1.5 sec interval, all lights flashing in a strobe pattern, rotating column (1, 2, 3) lights, SOS of all lights.

They are -bright- with a listed output of 260 Lumen, I see stars after looking at it.The lights come in at 330g which i think is pretty good considering the size and functionality that comes with the package. 

Aesthetically the only downside is the battery-pack/circuity node, but all that power and programming has to go somewhere, and when strapped to a backpack, I'm sure I wont care. We'll have to see how the USB plug pans out, I have a feeling I will want to tape it over if I know I'm going to be rained on a lot, but otherwise, an awesome addition to my adventure kit!

Review: CRKT K.I.S.S. knife

A number of years ago I decided that I needed a new pocket knife. I have had innumerate Swiss Army Knives, but since starting to carry a multitool, their functionality had been somewhat supplanted. I wanted something rugged and robust, yet compact and unobtrusive. There are some "don't carry knives" laws where I live, and I wanted to be within the scope of "lawful reason" for carrying a blade on my person.

This little guy fit the bill perfectly. Colorado River Knife & Tool's, Ed Halligan designed 420J2 stainless steel K.I.S.S. in "combination" style. This is a great knife, the tanto tip makes short work of any holes I've needed to punch in cans, bottles, leather, what-have-you and the frame-spring lock has never given me pause to worry about it failing and accidental self-amputation of a finger. 

Whats special about it?