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.
One of the places I look to for my kit is LEGear, an online store for Law Enforcement, Military and Outdoor products in Australia and New Zealand, who refer to themselves as a “One Source – Total Solution Provider” for government needs. In June they opened a third brick-and-mortar store, this time in my home town.
In both a soft-launch and grand opening, the good folks from LEGear, opened their doors and hosted a BBQ, as well as spending time answering questions about their stock.
So, all you Melbournites interested in the full range of 5.11 Tactical gear, from boots to bags, belts and clothes, as well as Fenix lights, and Benchmade blades go check it out!
Here is one of my favourite go-to shirts for when I have some serious adventuring to do. This is the Platatac PunisherCool Under Shirts 2014 edition. I got mine in the 3-pack bundle, which means I can shirt-up and stay stink free for days at a time.
The shirts themselves are made from Drytech polyester and are designed to be worn under body armour, as a work-out shirt or whatever close fitting base layer you might need. Ive covered this kind of garment before in the Blackhawk! shirts and the Under Armour shirts. These kinds of materials wick moisture away from the body, helping keep you cool and also quick drying. I certainly gave this a test this year in both the Tough Mudder, and on my recent trip to Fiji.
There are even mesh panels under the arms to help with airflow, which really comes in handy if you are wearing a vest of some kind (be that a plate carrier, LBV or BCD/PFD) especially in a hot and or wet environment.
Decked out with Kryptek patterning printed onto the right sleeve, and fitted with a broad swatch of loop-field on the left, the tan material with subdued ANF for the platypus skull filler make this a cool-guy shirt that does its job. The back is printed with shout-outs to the major lines Platatac works with.
I've put this shirt through some pretty strenuous work; it's my running shirt, my Tough Mudder shirt, I wore it jetski-safariing and snorkeling. I've found it to be light, warm when needed, cool when needed and certainly quick drying.
I really liked having a loop-field to attach items from my ever-growing patch collection.
If you have need of a slick, comfortable and hard-wearing body-hugging shirt, you should totally give the CUS a try. Coyote adventure tested!
This is a "Lightweight Long Sleeve" top, from Platatac. Made from 100% cotton, it is a lot like a very much cut-down version of their CUTS pattern shirts, with none of the frills, just similar lines. I really liked that even in only a L size, which meant my super-long arms run a bit short, the waist length is super long, well below my hips. This means it sticks in my pants no matter what I'm up to, keeping my skin covered up in all circumstances, like a base-layer should. Being a cotton garment, you need to consider the risks of wearing it in cold and wet survival situations but that can just be a matter of good planning and situational awareness.
One of the things I rerally liked about this design (and this follows with the CUTS designs too), are the high mandarin collar gives great protection from both the elements (sun/wind/sand/grit) but also shields against chafing and rubbing when wearing harnesses, plate carriers and tightly strapped packs.
The chest-level zipper, lets you vent, when you aren't worried about covering up as much, and frankly, lets your inner "hello ladies" out. When I need to either block the sun, or keep warm in the cold and dry, this is the kind of thing I look to have as a base-layer. Keeps we draft-free, nonrestrictive and takes up little to no room for adding more layers.
The weather has turned here, and it's been time to break out the longer sleeves. My first selection, was this light but warm number from DRIFIRE, the Lightweight long-sleeve tee from their Layering Shirts and Tops range.
I got mine in XL, because of my super long arms, but was pleased to find it didn't swim on me, I assume this is due to the skin-snug fit they generally get worn with.
Some of the nice features of this shirt are that the ribbed collar maintains its shape, keeping it high and snug, without being constrictive. The soft fabric has given me no troubles with chafing, no matter what I've been doing, or how I've been layered.
Better yet, the antimicrobial blend of fabrics is designed to resist odor (proven after several days camp-side wear). It is also moisture-wicking and fast-drying, not through any coatings or washes, but through the propriety materials used. they wont wash out, or wear out.
Best yet, DRIFIRE gear is
made with no-melt, no-drip fabrics, so apparently they will not
melt or fuse to skin when exposed to flame or fire. This is excellent, as I really do not like being on fire. It's one of my least favourite things. Fire resistant clothes. This is a feature I'm willing to stake my skin on. Hopefully not one I'll put to the test though.
For a long sleeve street-wear alternative to my other regular stand by, like the Truspec combat shirt or the short sleeve UnderArmor shirts I really like this shirt. Feels like a soft cotton tee, wears like a performance garment.
Here's an interesting twist on regular gloves, and the astute amongst you might recognize the lineage of these, to that of the PaleoBarefoots PRONATIV and ANTERRA that I have covered previously. You would be right, and these are indeed the glove versions of those barefoot running shoes. These are the BAMANOS from GoST. I had been lusting after these for some time, as I am forever dinging, cutting and scratching myself when gardening, adventuring and clambering, especially in wet environments and regular gloves sometimes wont cut it.
Even my tried and tested Ironclad Landscaper gloves which I've worn lazertagging and in Mud Runs but also with the Condor Combat Nomex gloves there have been troubles with waterlogging and becoming wrecked with wear. That's where the durable chainmail links made of 0.55 mm gauge (1.4404") stainless steel with a 4mm external diameter chain and an internal diameter of 2.9 mm, same as in the shoes. The most exciting innovation, is the cuff links, with two sets of steel
clips with hooks that feed into a slightly larger set of rings, one
from under, then another wrapping over and hooking down, giving a really
secure fitting. Being fingerless gloves, the armour only protects the hand, and a little past the first knuckle and down to the beginning of the wrist. That protection however, is tremendous. I had no trouble gripping tools, and manipulating debris in them, although, being fingerless, you still need to be mindful of that, but for gripping wear, you're covered. The addition of the new PAWS grip-spots means that the otherwise slick steel of the rings has even better traction on smooth or polished surfaces. One thing I found, wearing rings under them was uncomfortable ... Jewelry off when you are battling the hordes!
I look forwards to trying these out on the upcoming Tough Mudder, and we'll see how well they perform in some really adverse conditions. Conditions that so many other gloves have failed under.
I lucked out with a eBay lot and snagged some new summer-weight boots, just in time for the scorching weather we've been having. I wear boots all day, every day, apart from when I am in my Barefoots, or in fact barefoot. I've been wearing the rather comfortable Danner Striker II's but I wore them out, the sides wore through, in this case, rather than the way both my Bates Delta-8 and Altama Desert boots dies, with splits in the soles. FOr heavy work, I fall back to my HyTest armored boots.
These 8" boots are fitted out with a suede / 1150 Denier ballistic nylon upper, with a friction and slip resistant outsole, it is even stamped Oil and Slip resistant. The outsole has a steel shank, which adds to the support of the boot (though it did set off the metal detectors at the airport at my last visit).
The tread is quite interesting, in what appears to be a proprietary Magnum pattern, unlike the Panama or Vibram styles I have been used to. They have given me no trouble, and give quite an even walking and running surface. I also like that they include a Flex Groove to avoid the split that killed my Altamas and Bates boots.
The boots are lined with a Dri-Lex® two zone comfort lining with Hydrofil® for breathability, and the FPS footbed with dual shock pads and antibacterial lining. Months of wearing these boots now, and they don't smell too bad, thus far.
The padded, broadly gusseted tongue not only keeps the laces from pinching and rubbing the foreleg (important for those of us with skinny legs), but it also acts to keep out debris, which has done so nicely.
I also really liked the built in boot-strap, which was offset from the mouth of the boot, meaning that I can feed my laces through them, without it riding up over my ankle.
As well as the boot-strap, they also feature 4 sets of eyelets, a set of speed hooks and then four sets of speed loops. This makes putting the boots on, and with a quick pull, the laces simply zip up tight and you are good to go.
I've given them a coat of spray on suede protector, which has kept some of the grot of my day to day life off them, but one thing I can say is that these are some comfortable boots. I look forwards to many seasons of wear out of them, but, we'll see. I seem to kill boots on a regular basis. I'd love to hear about what boots YOU get a lot of wear out of or can recommend ...
Since getting myself a tandem AquaYak, we've been getting out on the Bay a lot more, and I wanted to get myself some sun-protection for under my bump-helmet.
My dad had kept his US GI Boonie hat when he left Viet Nam, and I swiped it, but it seems as I've grown both up and out, and it's too tight to really be comfortable these days. I'm guessing his short-back-and-sides gave him a bit more room than my ponytail does, too.
I'd seen the Platatac GBH and GBH-R and thought it was time that I updated my cover. (1968 boonie on right, for scale and reference.)
I went in and after some back and forth to get the right fit, I settled on the GBH-R (which has a narrower brim).
This is a feature packed hat. Hats have features, you ask? Yes indeed. so, apart from the obvious; fit and cover, which the GBH-R provides with a circular stitched brim to add stiffness, it also features a sew-in cord chin-strap, with a traditional leather cord-lock (I remember teething on my dads). Inside, a mesh lining with hidden vents adds heat dissipation and wicking to keep hot heads cool.
I chose the pre-dirty looking ATACS-AU for mine, which is made of the windproof Nyco ripstop (the Multicam version is 100% Crye cotton ripstop). You can see it here up against my Multicam First Strike Snatch Bag which shows off the subtle patterns of the ATACS-AU, this is my first piece of this particular camo scheme and it is "street capable", in that it doesn't particularly -look- like camouflage, in the way Multicam or Auscam DPCU does.
The GBH-R also features a hidden internal shock cord retention around the brim, with cord-k at the rear to adjust
tightness.
There are a very robust set of branch-loops around the side band, which are bartacked onto the hat, and these are both well spaces and generous enough to stuff a variety of items, be they local foliage, spares, or even lures. I plan on rolling a coil of paracord around mine, following Stormdrane's fine examples.
Lastly, the GBH-R features a 35mm x 35mm loop field on the crown for IFF patches and badges. I have a glow in the dark patch on mine currently, helping me find it in the dark of a tent overnight, or the bottom of a kit bag.
I tend to wear mine "sides up" with the chin-strap acting as a retention loop. The hat has stretched to fit nicely, especially helped by some hot weather tree-cutting I did, getting good and sweaty, which also proved the quick cooling and drying properties of the Nyco ripstop. The other thing I like is that the whole hat is fabric, meaning it is both lightweight and crushable; when not being worn it can be mashed into a pocket, or into a pack, then pulled out, flipped open and it's ready to wear.
The key thing about this kind of shirt, and the reason I wanted one, was that it combines a 60/40 cotton/nylon blend t-shirt material body with a rugged 65/35 polyester/cotton ripstop blend arms and shoulders. Cool and comfortable torso, tough and rugged arms and shoulders for hard wear and outdoorsy adventure.
Basically I wanted a work shirt that would be good to wear in the long hot Australian summer, in or out of my gear. I always look first to military gear, because i know that it is often built extra hardy, and, essentially, for badassness.
The TruSpec shirts however, have added functionality that is well worth covering. As well as being a breathable, wicking and fast drying ,aterial, the "No Melt, No Drip" Cordura Baselayer fabric is reported to reduce the severity of burn
injuries and helps protect against flash fires.
Considering my proclivity for being too close to fires, both controlled, wild and just being stupid, I thought this was a great additional feature that whilst I didn't intend to test to stringently, would come in handy. As well as what it is made of, the folks at Atlanco gave some thought to those who might be wearing it, and what other utility they would look for. Both biceps house a zippered storage pocket, angled for ease of use.
I've also got a double sided call-sign panel from PatchPanel and one of their IR IFF squares in the built in tape-covered area. Very clever way of making this a "need-only" system of ID.
The other arm features flag, rank and nametape fields, as well as the zippered pocket.
You can also see here the padded elbow patch, with its double stitching and placement to really add to the build.
It was also great to not e that there were no shoulder seams, and all the seams were flat, which really minimizes chafing and pinch-spots, especially noticeable when carrying a pack, or doing repetitive work like chopping wood or digging in a field.
I also liked the cuffs, which also featured hook-and loop closures, to keep nature out, but also the gusseting that kept the fit true.
They offer these in several different sizes, in a variety of colour schemes. I opted for Large/Long in order to accommodate my super long arms, but could have done with a "medium" body fit, i think. The Khaki/Sand option sat nicely for me. You can see here how the tough shirt sleeves poke out of my First Spear OAGRE vest, whilst my torso has the softer wicking cotton/nylon t-shirt.
All in all a very comfortable, rugged and practical shirt, and one that I expect to get a lot of hard wear out of, no matter what I throw at it, or myself into.
When I visited the SSAA SHOT Expo, I paid a visit to the 5-11 Tactical stand, and met with their Australian and American reps, including the very knowledgeable founding father, Bil, who took me through the pants they were kind enough to gift to me, the 5.11 Stryke Pants.
Here in the OD green, with one of the 5-11 TDU belts I am fond of as well, I strike a pose with the ultimate urban test ... does the cargo pocket fit my iPad? Yes, yes it does.
From the get go, let me tell you that the material used in the Styke pants is really, really comfortable.
The secret to this, as well as the purpose developed propriety blend of poly/cotton
ripstop, is that it incorporates mechanically stretchy yarns, meaning the stretch and
recovery of the fabric is achieved without the use of spandex, but rather by the way the threads are woven. It is a lighweight, breathable, and even with the ripstop checkering, extremely comfortable to wear. Soft and yet no hint of flimsiness. Treated with a silicone based water and stain guard, they help up pretty well from my work, parenting and prepping splatter for their first week of wear. The cut of the pants was very generous, especially important if like me, you "go Commando" and find that tighter cuts pinch at the most inopportune times. These were a lot more comfortable than the 511Tactical Taclite Pro pants I have reviewed in past, great improvements! Even the waist band is well designed, but I'll get to that in more detail soon. On to the all important pockets!
You can see the main hands pocket, with their reinforced hockey-stick design (Bill tells me that was a specific request from Firefighters, to have somewhere to clip their radios. AN accessory pocket on the top of the thigh, the ubiquitous side-of-thigh cargo pocket, and just peaking from the side, the rear seat pockets.
What can you fit in them all? here, let me show you ...
I like my gear, and i like having it on-hand. However, being able to FIND it can be a real pain, unless some thought goes into pocket design, which in this case, it really has.
Similar to the Platatac Urban Dax, the cargo pockets sport internal compartment which are wide and deep enough to fit my bulky Snow Lizard SLXtreme iphone case as well as a Lazerbrite with little trouble. I can only suggest that the compartments would fit a 5.56 NATO magazine.
The hook-and-loop patches give a nice closure to the pocket, without being too invasive, and the styling of the pocket itself, with two baffles for expansion, we still quite discrete, an important aspect when wanting to blend in whilst still loading up.
Lets have a closer look at the front pockets.
As well as the twin, deep accessory pockets on the fronts of the thighs (seen here with the large HexBright FLEX filling it) but beside this, the main pockets have some interesting aspects that it worth covering in more depth. As well as being nicely deep, and lined, but the best features are the hockey-stick shaped low profile pockets. This near-horizontal edge is perfect for clipping pens, folding knives (like the CRKT K.I.S.S. seen here) or as Bill told me, the pocket radio's that the firefighters who commissioned the pant design in the first place asked for. The belt clip of the knife (or pen, or radio) sits on a reinforced patch of material, still in the pocket, out of the way but easily accessible. For items with longer clips, the people at 5.11 had the forethought to put an opening in the top of the cargo pocket, but you could also feed cables up through it I suspect. Two other interesting (and very thoughtful) features can be seen here as well. On the left-side belt loop, an opening can be seen, which is the space the self-adjusting tunnel waistband feed into. Similar to that seen in the Taclite-Pro pants, this allows the pants to stretch when you bend at the hips, without biting, or sagging, once you are upright again.
The second, innovative addition, is on the right belt loop, which features a vertical loop in addition to the regular horizontal one. Perfect for clipping ID or a badge, and in my case, a spot to clip my multi-tool retention lanyard.
Then there are the knees. As well as pretty standard double-cover knees, to help with wear and tear, and we all know what that is like, 5.11 have kept this in mind when putting in the seams for these. Low-profile and discreet as well as discrete, the addition of a second layer adds little bulk, but the real trick to these in on the inside! On the inside edge of the knee seam a small pocket opens up to allow the insertion of a kneepad. I put my Blackhawk! kneepad up here to show you what it looks like. The pocket is certainly big enough, but takes some delicate handling to fit the bigger pads in. All together these are some really excellent pants, I was thrilled to receive them, and their comfort was a really impressive collection of features.
My only disappointment was the back pockets, being a standard hook-and-loop straight topped pocket, unlike the signature 5.11 slash and retention strapped back pockets of the TacLite Pro's. That said, there was even an extra unlisted feature that Bill pointed out to me (always great to have the people behind the product there to show them off) In the bottom hem, eyelets have been sewn in place in case the wearer wanted to blouse them! Little things that show they go the extra distance with design. I also love the way 5.11 got their name ...
“5.11” is a rock climbing difficulty level as listed in the Yosemite
Decimal System. With skill levels ranging from 5.0 (easy) to 5.10
(difficult), 5.11 is even more grueling. 5.11 is officially defined as,
“After thorough inspection, you conclude this move is obviously
impossible; however, occasionally someone actually accomplishes it.”
Last April Fool's Day, 5-11 Tactical issued a statement that they would be producing a Tactical Duty Kilt, to go alongside their Tactical Duty Shorts and little did they know that they would be swamped, inundated with demand for it. They actually produced a small run of them, and unfortunately I was unable to get one here in Australia, even getting in touch with Alex Kavgas in Inside Sales at 5-11 Tactical (Australia).
Today in my Facebook feed, I saw that Mr Davin not only accepted the challenge, but upped the stakes, the winnings to us the kilt wearers, and to the charities that will benefit.
I was pleased to hear fromJörg Peitzkerof GoST Paleo Barefoots following my Wish-Lust review, and after being in touch for quite some time, and doing some editing, discussion and interplay on their forums (go check it out...).
I was fortunate enough to have a pair sent to me all the way from Germany to Australia. (This was a Herculean undertaking in it's own right).
Now, it is important to get this right out there first up. Measure, measure, measure!
There is no give to steel! If you don;t measure it right, they will not fit, and will and can not "wear in and stretch to fit" Luckily, I did just this.
The second key element to these amazing shoes is, they take some time to get used to. Both the feel and the wearing of the Paleo's takes a little getting used to, mostly due to the texture of the maile on the ground, but also the absolute absence of padding.
Fortunately, I have experience in bare feet, moccasins and camp-slippers, so adjusting was a quick process.
The shoes themselves are very comfortable, mine fit well, not too open, not too tight. The elastic cord closure that weaves through the top of the shoe had a tendency to pinch a little, but once adjusted (and acclimatised) it gave me no further issues. I may have lost a few hairs, but I was never aiming to be a Hobbit ...
So, I tried out my Paleos on a variety of settings, from seaweed and shell encrusted rocks, to hot sand, overgrown garden beds and in the Australian bush.
One thing I found was that they really did protect my feet from incidental stabbings. They also became pretty much forgotten once on, as long as I kept an awareness of the terrain changes in urban environments, (which is to say the polished floors of shopping malls, tiled floors and big stonework flooring in train stations) the world was my oyster.
I walked over broken glass, hot asphalt, mounds of shells and piles of branches. Not a single scratch. The fine links of the maile kept almost everything out, but obviously not everything. I found that the occasional spike of hay, or prickle made it through to give me a poke, but that was the extent of it. Sand and grit can make it's way into the shoes and if it's large enough,
it stays. A tad annoying, but a good fit should eliminate most of this.
As well as being very comfortable completely bare, much like a continual
massage, there are three sets of accessories that also come to assist
in your comfort when the conditions require it.
I took the Paleo's out running a few times in different conditions: along the beach, in parks, and in the bush, and occasionally I have felt the need to give myself some extra protection, and that's where these come in. Originally they shipped with the black neoprene socklette shown here, which act both to pad the top of the foot, and add a little warmth in cold conditions.
I'm wearing the Ankle-socks here which are a large, but felt really tight, but gave me the most protection. The wraparound ankle-sleeves were
more difficult to get fitted, but in fact were a lot more comfortable,
mostly because they adjusted to my foot and added padding where I needed
it.
One thing I can say is that they leave your feet filthy, especially in
an urban setting, where road-crud works its way everywhere, into my
skin, my toe nails, everywhere. This however, pales into obscurity when
you look at this. Those two round contusions are ring-maile wounds!
I was chopping firewood in my Paleos at ConFest and was hit with wood-shrapnel in my right big toe knuckle, and left toe side. This would have ruined my weekend if i'd been barefoot, and unpleasant if booted too. the rings may have caused this little wound, but saved me from serious bruising or mangling. All in a package that balls up and sits in a pocket when not needed.
I was so very impressed! I wear mine a lot, any time I get the chance. I get a lot of attention out on the street, at festivals, around the house and out shopping. I think they have significant wilderness applications, and survival options. These appear to be indestructible. Indestructible is a real asset in the event of a disaster, as is reliability. The Paleo shoes are comfortable, rugged, and fit any natural surface (barring polished artificial surfaces).
I was driving past a series of shops recently, and stopped at a set of lights and looked over and there it was, my local Kayak shop. I felt it was time, given the water only five minutes down the road from me and the fact that I haven't really covered any sort of transport caught my mind. I have used kayaks before, mostly in lakes and rivers in Canada, in the Rockies.
I dropped them a line after looking over their website and I was delighted to be offered the chance to trial a couple of their models. The first is the Snapper-Pro, the fully kitted version of the Snapper.
This is a 2.7m (8'10") long ‘sit-on-top’ kayak with a range of features, including coming in a range of colours, all in their propriety 'alkatuff polyethylene' material, which holds a UV certification for maritime plastics. Pretty impressive.
The hull is deeply molded and 0.8m (2'7") a the beam. It also only weighs 18kg empty (just under 40 lbs). I lugged it out of the shop, lashed it to my vehicle (more on this later), drove it home and looked it over before taking it out on the water.
I wanted to get a closer look at the hull cross section that had been hinted at on the website. It did indeed have a very interesting profile, and I was keen to see if this unique low-drag underwater shape that provided the speed and tracking through the water without the need of a complicated rudder that they advertised.
The last kayak I had used was a "sit-inside" type, you traditionally see, and required "eskimo-roll" survival training in the event of capsizing. On the AquaYak boats, you just climb back on like a surfboard.
Here is a cross-section of the hull, sitting as a display in the shop. The polyethylene hull is both spacious and well reinforced with supporting pillars scattered throughout. The pillars seen here actually form part of the self-draining system the boats share, as scupper holes that allow sloshed in water to drain back though the boat. The hull is around 6-8mm thick, and has most of the major features molded right in, with very few cuts or holes drilled into the body.
The kayak has acapacity of 120kg (265lbs) and as long as you keep in mind the operator (for me, that's 85kg, leaving 35kg of gear haulage) however, after handling it in the water, I wonder if that might be a very conservative rating. There are three storage ports built into the hull, fore, central and aft. The turn-lock sealed ports allow you to store a variety of gear in the hull, away from the worst of the elements, and keep your center of gravity low at the same time.
For the fishers our there, the central port comes fitted wit ha removable, drop-in bait bucket, all the better for catching the fishes with!
As I mentioned earlier, I didn't have any trouble moving it around, even on my own. I keep a couple of karate-belts i have collected over the years in the boot, which make for excellent roof-rack ties. The smooth edges of the hull laid right on the roof of my car and I lashed it through the built in safety lines. Getting it up and down was a pretty simple exercise, the biggest trouble was doing so in the high gusting winds I had on my paddling day. I have roof-rack rails, which aided in lashing, and I could, if i needed, have put a specialized kayak carrier on, but it didn't really need it.
Here's where I went, a little sheltered bay on Port Phillip Bay. You can see that it wasn't a very clear or fine day, it was drizzling on and off, a strong wind was zipping in and there was a bit of chop. There was also a fair bit of a hill to portage the kayak over. All part of the test I wanted to give it.
I got the Snapper-Pro off the top of the vehicle, put on my vest, and helmet, grabbed the paddle and trotted down the hill to the beach.
Getting it down on the beach, I unfolded the padded seat, and latched it to the loops bolted to the hull with the brass clips provided. With two forward, and two behind this padding fitted in nicely to the deeply molded internal seat. Webbing straps form each of these four points and allow you to customise the fit and feel of the seat. I opted for a slightly lent back approach, because i'm so tall. I sat in it on the sand to adjust, then got ready to push off.
I knew I wouldn't stay dry, but I wanted to stay light, and warm.
Pushing off, I moved through the shallows, and was amazed at the very shallow draft the kayak had. in barely more than ankle deep, I was floating just off the sand, and with a gentle push of a paddle, I was afloat.
Paddling out into the bay, it took me a few minutes to remember how to coordinate arms to hips, to ensure stability, and not to dig too deeply when on the shoreward side of waves.
All along the rim of the Snapper-Pro is a safety line, a heavy cord, mounted securely to the hull by a series of hard plastic loops. There are also two drag handles, fore and aft, to assist with hauling and climbing back in, should you go over. You can see here that my feet were right up to the front of the cockpit, as I have really long legs.
It wasn't uncomfortable, but an extra few inches would have made a difference for me.
One thing that I hadn't anticipated was the scupper holes letting water into the cockpit, and right into the seat of my pants. As I say, I had anticipated getting wet, so this wasn't a problem, but just be sure that you bear this in mind. For those with shorter legs than mine, there were a series of channels in the sides to act as in-situ footrests, which was a really cool idea. I found that I could access the center port with no difficulty, but the fore and aft ports were moslty out of reach.
The kayak was very stable in the water, and responsive too. I haven't paddled for 15 years, and quickly found myself zipping over waves, from end to end of the little bay, against the current, against the wind, and across both. It was only when I over-paddled and over-balanced that I had any troubles controlling it.
You can see over my shoulder, the elastic cargo netting, which I left empty for my trails, but would fit a decent sized pack, like my Platatac light field-packor a child quite happily (obviously, you don't put the child under the straps). You can also see the aft drag handle. Both the inter-hull cargo compartment, and the external cargo compartments in the aft and between my knees, so there is plenty of space to haul cargo, or passengers. Bear in mind the weight limits, and get your bug-out -kit waterproofed!
I had a couple of tumbles whist finding my water feet, and found that I could quickly (if not easily) haul myself back on board.
Not only did the kayak handle well, and was easy to right, haul and lug, it was sturdy and stable. I feel I could have fished happily off it (using either of the two built in rod-holders in the aft) although I would need practice to get my cast coordinated so I didn't dunk myself.
I had a real blast with this, and I think I will be trying to include more watercraft skills in the future in my planning.I also took a bunch of Contour Cam footage, and have included it below:
In both a soft-launch and grand opening, the good folks from LEGear, opened their doors and hosted a BBQ, as well as spending time answering questions about their stock. 
