A place for me to review the various rugged, nifty and needful kit that I've accumulated, for every-day preparedness in the event of accident, disaster or world-shifting end-times Apocalypse, be it zombies, triffids or Mayan divide-by-zero errors.
This just in from Platatac in a recent press release via their FaceBook page ...:
"After the recent unveiling by 2nd Commando Regiment during a training activity, we can proudly announce the release of our NSN'd Assaulters Milk Crate (patent pending).
Build from carbon fibre bonded with inconel this bad boy can withstand over 16kn of force, 2000 Degrees Celsius, 10 sticks of TNT and pretty much anything a triple figure digger can throw at it.
The recently declassified Assaulters Milk Crate is a team essential item. With multiple lashing points for the Tuff Tactical Quick Release
Tactical Tie Off Point (TTQRTTOP) and light weight modularity the Assaulters Milk Crate is a must for all DA's.
Supplied with Two pieces of core flute and 4 black zip ties.
Available in 3 colours. (Blackout 1000x, Tactical Tan, Killer Wolf Grey)
Weighs just 6 grams.
RRP $499.00
Available for preorder 1st April 2016"
I've noted on the forums there may well also be a Blue Force Gear force-on-force trainer in the works as well, but reports also suggest that Multicam just wont stick to the frame. It's too high-speed.
Presumably you can add other modular features, but that may well come with package inserts
I was fortunate enough to have a couple come my way as well, and can tell you though mine were pre-release (note the unreleased Blaze Orange range-officer option peeking out underneath) and a possible SF/ SASR aquatic version in Blackout there.
These are some serious pieces of kit, with numerous uses around the bunker, in the field, and for all kinds of bug-out or bug-in use. They're so tough you could even transport perishable items like milk in them!
I'm hanging out for a possible titanium version, but I'm always a sucker for over-engineering.
My friends at HORNEST in Singapore sent me this Helinox product, and I've really enjoyed the Helinox Tactical chairs, which have accompanied me into snowfields and jungles, beaches and backyard cookoffs. So I was only too pleased to add some more Helinox products to my loadout. They are light, rugged, and portable.
The Helinox Tactical Umbrella is an ultra lightweight, yet highly durable take on the ubiquitous umbrella. Featuring a lightweight DAC aluminium pole at its center, which reminded me of one of my Easton Redline arrows and strutted with carbon fiber rods.
The canopy is teflon-coated polyester for superior water repellency and I put that to the test with some fairly heavy Melbourne summer rain, on several occasions. It worked really well, which was at first surprising given how small the umbrella is when stowed, being only 63.5 cm (25") long. The canopy boasts an UPF 25 rating (it blocks 96% of UV radiation)
It only weighs 210g (7.5 oz) but when opened up, it spreads to a broad full 100 cm (39.4") canopy. At that size, and weight the Tactical Umbrella is light enough to bring anywhere, and keep ready to deploy when the skies open. Never go without protection from the elements again, with the Helinox Tactical Umbrella.
What makes it 'Tactical"? I suppose that's mostly advertising wank by the marketing team at Helinox, but then again, with its coyote brown finish, metal free design, and lightweight, compact design, you can forgive them their stretch. It also goes by "Trekking" and that name is more than fitting. I strapped this to the side of my backpack and whip it out when the skies open, it's out of the way until needed.
Being one piece and not folding like other "trekking" umbrellas, the design is both metal and mechanism free. There is no latch to break, no springs to jam or break, the tension of the canopy and the carbon fibre struts is perfectly designed and opens which a gentle slide of the strut-ring. It's held in place by a hook-and-loop closing strap, which even features a small loop field on the back side, to affix a 1" sized patch, perfect for a ranger-eye!
The closed cell foam grip and strap give you pretty good retention, especially important given the very breeze catching canopy, which is one of the things I've never liked about umbrellas. This handle however, along with its cord retention strap, is solid enough and robust enough that even Tactical baby can manage it in a breeze. The balance is really good, and whilst it's not long enough for me to use as walking pole, a shorter person could easily. It has a tip of the same closed cell foam as the handle, which makes it unsuitable for use as a walking stick over the long term, but does avoid the eye-poking risk that regular umbrellas may offer. This is a two edged sword however.
Having a soft tip makes it less able to be used as a damaging tool, in he way a hard spike ended umbrella might be able to, such as with the Unbreakable Umbrella. I found that by gripping the handle and choking up to the bottom of the canopy spars, it was possible to hold the closed umbrella like a baton.
A soft tipped baton, perhaps, but a baton. With the carbon fibre struts and the aluminium shaft at its centre, it's pretty rigid, and could be quite effective as a last-ditch defensive tool. I think it would stand up against a knife for long enough to make a break for it, or for a skilled user to use some hanbo or singlestick techniques as a defensive or even offensive tool.
Another aspect of the umbrella that I really likes comes from it's short handle, but broad canopy. It was possible for me at 193cm (6'4") on a tall day to scootch down and be almost entirely covered by the umbrella as I squatted. Consider this for both conceilability, by obscuring yourself under it directly, which could be supplemented by local foliage to form a hide of sorts. This also equates for use in its primary capacity as a shelter from the rain, it is entirely big enough to shelter under in a serious downpour you could drop down and almost entirely cover yourself.
For raingear, I usually opt for a boonie hat, poncho and maybe waterproof pants . However, I've been wearing the Helinox Umbrella slotted into my Mystery Ranch 1Day Assault Pack and have found it was easy to store and then deploy when needed. It worked really well, and I've had no regrets looking that extra bit like a Kingsman ... from a certain point of view, anyway.
I received an email from the creators of this tool who have an ongoing Kickstarter project, who thought that you (awesome, Equipped reader) and I might be interested in.
I've covered several card-tools in past, including the Card-Sharp 2 knife (don't forget to take it out of your wallet at airports). I have a carbon fiber card tool already, the Kumquat but its only real "tool" is a bottle opener. Cute, but not overly functional.
This tool, however, has a lot more going for it, and I was only too happy to share it with you, to add an EDC option we can all carry. This is the CiFer "Unbreakable" card tool.
Constructed of a top layer of 2/2 Twill wave 200gr/sqm carbon fibre which is 0.27mm thick followed by 3 layers of 2/2 Twill wave 650gr/sqm carbon with a thickness of 0.6mm. This gives a final thickness of 2.07mm and the best possible strength.
The thin (0.27mm) carbon fiber fabric gives you the perfect looking finish and the addition layer of thin carbon provides a lot of reinforcing support. There WILL NOT be any kind of fiberglass, eGlass, performanceGlass backing layer.
Thanks to the extremely durable yet ultra light material - carbon fiber,
CiFer only weights as much as two credit cards (11-12 g).
The CiFer is a iPhone holder, cable management card (headphones can wrap in the side notches and the earbuds feed through the bottle opener), a bottle opener, a 7mm, 8mm, 10mm and 13mm wrench (along with a second 8mm one in the corner as a keychain hole and an etched ruler.
The phone holder will accept many flat-sided phones and tablets, but will not work with the iPhone 3 series.
The folks from Beyond Vision also gave the CiFer the "will it blend" test, and whilst the carbon fiber took some dings, in the end, it was too much for the blender body, shattering the vessel.
This is a pretty cool do-dad that I'd be happy to put in my wallet, especially as it could be carried through metal detectors. I do hope this tool makes it through funding, check it out.
This just in from Platatac in a recent press release via their FaceBook page ...:
Supplied with Two pieces of core flute and 4 black zip ties.
I was fortunate enough to have a couple come my way as well, and can tell you though mine were pre-release (note the unreleased Blaze Orange range-officer option peeking out underneath) and a possible SF/ SASR aquatic version in Blackout there. 
