ApocalypseEquipped

Friday, January 11, 2013

Review: Platatac - Urban Dax pants

I had very good fortune to be asked to try out some prototype pants before Giftmas, and I have to say, I really like them. I've covered a lot of Platatac's gear in the past, and for good reason. They are locally produced, excellent quality and I have a really good rapport with the guys in the shop. I'm really pleased that I get to test out their gear, and more so, that I got the chance to play with a prototype, or at least, a pre-release set ... They are in-store now, I believe, and so I had to get my act together and do some writing, after sneak-previewing them in my "No Really" post.

These are the Platatac EDC trousers, which are probably going to be called the "Urban Dax" and here's what I can tell you about them.

Made of a cotton ploy blend ripstop fabric, these are both light and breathable. I really noticed this in recent weeks as the Australian summer rolled into full effect. What they are not is flimsy, however. This is a densely woven and almost stiff feeling fabric, but resistance free. After a bit of wearing in, they loosened up, but kept a characteristic "sail-like" feeling. I really like this, mostly because they kept looking sharp, even after some punishment. Being able to blend in to an every-day setting is of great importance to me, and this fabric really did it. It is also silicone treated, and I'll get to that later on.

A simple straight leg, relaxed fit with a reasonably high waistline makes for a comfortable hot or cool wear. My partner Omega (of Fashion Adjacent) commented how smart they looked (perhaps in contrast to the more "outdoorsy looking" cargo pants I sometime wear. That was high praise. I even wore them to Giftmas dinner, with not a second look from the family.

They certainly had the look of slacks over other cargoes. Great for blending in whilst still being very, very effective EDC wear. Lets talk about that for a minute. These are some seriously well thought out and feature rich pants!

The main hand pocket is well placed, and deep, with the opening lines being broken to a just-off-vertical mainline, and a second , just-off-horizontal seam. This distinction gives you ample real-estate for clipping in a pen, pocket knife or flashlight, without them either sliding around, or putting a tell-tale strain on the pocket. The hem is also reinforced to reduce wear and fraying and the carogo-pocket below has a peek-a-boo gap left in its hood seam to allow cordage, and the like to feed through. At the belt-line, one both sides of the pants, is a secret pocket, about credit-card sized, sewn right up to the waistline stitching lines, very hard to pick and if lightly filled, ideal for a safe stash.

On the front of each thigh is a mobile-phone sized open-topped pocket, which I was happy to keep my iPhone in its silicone case in whilst knocking about, and didn't have any worries with it falling out.

Inside the main-hand pocket is a simple coin-catcher. I kept my ConStel Micro LED lantern in one of these, fit perfectly, and I barely noticed it. In the other set I kept a set of these rappel rings, on a loop of cordage, which I pass over to Tactical Baby when she needs a play-toy, and use as worry-beads in times of stress. Never hurts to have a set on-hand, in case of unexpected haulage needs either....

I splattered them with cooking fat, mud, chicken mess, dribbled lunch, a variety of baby-mess, silicone lube and they bore up tremendously.

The silicone coating will wash out eventually, I'm told, but after a week of hard wear, including Giftmas Dinner with my family, they were still looking good. I only washed them to test how they washed.

The twin cargo pockets are at once spacious and cleverly tailored to tuck away when empty. The billowed sides are sewn such they stay flat when emptied of a load, which added to their tidiness for every-day urban wear. However, make no mistake, these are built for storage! With hook-and-loop patches to close the lid of the pocket, and matching tabs inside the pocket let you stow the lid out of the way when you need free access to your pockets. An additional button closure keeps your contents secure when you expect some upside-down adventure. As well as the main cargo-pocket, twin internal pockets give you extra gear securing options.

I kept my DMT sharpening stone in one of my cargo pockets, my OscarDelta Deep Carry tube, and a variety of work paperwork in the others, without putting a dent or sag in my day. These are some serious EDC pants.

The back sides of each cargo pocket also feature two extra sets of pockets. The larger, inner pocket is big enough to fit my Surefire 6PX on one side, and my Gerber multitool on the other. The outer pockets are for pens, which worked really well for me. This was great, and they were well fitted, not giving me the "pocket full of junk" swinging about that it might have. I occasionally forgot they was there.

From this angle, you can see the webbing adjustment waistband, which gives you a nice range of fits, as well as elastisised siding to keep them snug when you bend and duck (no plumbers crack full of grit, thanks). The center most belt loop at the back features the only branding, a subdued Platatac logo on its extra wide space. The two back pockets are also good and deep, like the front hand pockets,the back-right pocket also has a button closure, to secure your needfuls, and I could happily walk around with my SIGG bottle in either of them with no trouble. The seat of the pants have a extra panel sewn in for padding, and wear-control.

The crotch is also deeply gusseted, which I found really comfortable, especially when wearing knee-pads. The main closure is button and zipper, with a webbing sewn button, and a very long and solid zip, good for getting in and out, without worrying about snagging or popping buttons.

A set of double-diamond shaped sewn in panels to add to wear-resistance and a touch more padding to the knees. These were a great design, although I found that with my extra-long legs, the panels were a little higher up on my legs than I'd have liked. being more knee-thigh than shin-knee. I let the Platatac guys know, and perhaps they will adjust the placement in revisions (unless it's just my mutant legs ...)

These are probably my favourite pants to date. More comfortable and elegant than the Blackhawk! Performace pants, and more feature rich than the 5.11 Gear TacLite Pro pants.

I haven't quite had the opportunity to "thrash them to death" as instructed, but I'll keep giving them a good hard wear doing a variety of adventurous things, in adventurous places, with adventurous people, and see how they hold up. I think I'd have a hard time doing them much harm, without collecting some new bruises and scars myself though.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Home Front: Temperatures

Temperatures last week at home (Melbourne, Australia) were hitting 43oC (109oF) for a couple of days, with nights of 32oC (90oF) or so. This was pretty bad, but manageable. We thermally shielded the house by closing blinds and turning off heat-sources as best we could, made sure our creatures had shade and water, and spent time out of the heat as best we could.A Fan at night helped somewhat.Triceratops Girl spent the Thursday and Friday nights off the mountain, down on the coast with her grandparents, the cool-front came through on the Friday night.

Breaking news today is that the Bureau of Meteorology forecast for next week indicates tops of 54oC (130oF) for central South Australia. This is so hot that the Bureau had to add colours to the metric. Never-before recorded highs, significant bushfires in east coast and central NSW and the usually cool Tasmania means this fire season is only just getting started.

Prepare. Act. Survive. as the CFA recommend....

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Events: Upcoming IRL Shooter "Patient Zero" and Tough Mudder

Picture from the IRL Shooter site

I have two big events coming up, which I am really looking forwards to. The first is the IRL-Shooter "Patient 0" live-action lasertag based zombie game. I was originally booked in to do it mid-December last year, but was admitted to hospital in the days before the event, so missed out. Now that I've fully recovered, and have managed to pull another team together, I'm set to go in again. A 1-2 hour full immersion anti-zombie game, filled with chills, spills and corporate intrigue, which sounds really fun. They equip you with everything you'd need (M4-M203 looking lasertagger/game-stats box, with no external sensors or cables). Helmets (with optional-extra Contour Cams to record your event) and tactical-vests and overalls.

Picture from The Age's 2012/11/18 story

They also allow players to do their own costuming (although they do not allow any phones, cameras, personal sights or flashlights, or personal weapons). I'll be going in a cut-down and de-tooled version of my "Apocacalypse Equipped: no, really" loadout. and will offer my team-mates a selection from my collection too. One member of each team is the designated radio-operator / team leader and is on constant communication with HQ (for better or worse)

The zombies are professional actors and the storyline of the event is fast paced and action packed, by all accounts. I'm really excited to be doing it.

The second event I have coming up is the second Melbourne Tough Mudder, which I will be doing on Saturday the 19th, at 11am at Phillip Island.

This year I am going with just one friend of mine, rather than a team of guys from the IT departments of several places (friends of workmates).

Having done the course in 2012, and subsequently a similar (but 10km shorter course) of The Stampede I am looking forwards to the obstacles, especially if there will be any new ones, and some of the old ones (I especially like the climbing ones, and the slogging-through-mud ones), but not so much the running. I hate that.

The best part is that having come through my Löfgren syndrome and now it seems all my ankle-pains have vanished, I may be able to run without wincing at every step.

Picture from Tough Mudder website

This year i'll be going in essentially the same kit as I did The Stampede in, with the exception of my boots, as my Altamas dieD at the Stampede so I'll be running in my Bates Delta-8s boots this time. They will suffer, but my feet will thank me.

Its likely to be hot, or at least, very sunny, 26-18oC (78-64oF) is predicted but next week a top of 33oC (91oF) is predicted. We'll see how it goes in a fortnight ... Phillip Island is exposed to the Bass Strait winds which range between 40-15 kph (25-9mph) which may not sound a lot, until you are sodden, mud-covered and running up a hill into it ... All a part of the challenge. Hopefully I will do better this year than last year, even without as much running practice, because I will be prepared mentally, and better equipped...

If you're going, let me know. If you'll be a spectator, be on the look out for me and my "Zombie Control Officer" sign ...

Friday, January 4, 2013

Wish Lust: Gost PaleoBareFoot - Chainmail shoes

Hot on the heels of my Danner boots post (yes, I went there) I saw a post on Gizmodo about these very interesting free-running shoes.

These are shoes are made of 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. This is some pretty fine link... The kind that one might find in a butchers glove or hobbit chest.

What have the good people at Gost made?

Armoured running shoes, thats what.

According to the documentation, each ring is fused, and the entire process is automated. What would have been a seriously laborious manual task has seemingly been reduced considerably, allowing these to be made at an industrial level.

So, what might they be good for?

"Barefoot running" Or at least, mostly bare. The site talks about the tactile advantages of running, and walking barefoot, that the human foot fares much better when it can respond to the environment beneath each footfall, whilst still being protected from cuts and abrasions.

I've worn mail in the past, and there certainly is something to be said for its feel, AND its protective ability. Made in a very good range of sizes (and half-sizes) and with integral lacing, the PaleoBarefoots boots can also be fitted with a neoprene anklet, to reduce chafing on the top of the foot when running.

The makers of the Barefoot however are quick to point out that on slick modern [edit, thanks Jorg! ] polished surfaces like marble, wood, tiles, they do not give a good grip, but on concrete the Paleos have an excellent grip and recommending wearing them in outdoors environments. [/edit]

Water drains right out, mud squishes away. Sand, sharp rocks, thorns, bindies, broken glass and old rust nails. All worries of the past to the fleet-footed paleo runner.

I'd wear them as part of layering, in a disaster situation. to avoid the same kinds of hazards, as well as Punji stick type man-made ones.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review: Platatac - PRR Personal Radio Pouch

One of the things I love about writing about, and being an enthusiast in this area, is the ability and willingness to adapt existing pieces to alternate uses, both by the end user like me, and also the manufacturers. The difference between having something "fit for purpose" and "made for purpose" can be an expensive one, when it comes to custom work for exotic items. It's grand when you can meet your need. This was exactly the case when I wanted to find a skeletonised case for my new out-doorsy SnowLizard SLXtreme iPhone case. Here, strapped to my Bullock-Echo daypack. I'll probably have it strapped onto my OAGRE vest for the next endurance challenge I do, or my MAC for Stargate LRP.but it's well suited here for everyday or camping use ...

I could walk in, discuss needs and have something perfect on-hand to suit my need. In this case, it was in the Platatac PRR Pouch. Designed to take the SPR or equivalent radio systems , this was perfect for me. Being only 120mm tall and having a shock-cord / press-stud closure meant that meant that the forwards facing camera of my iPhone would be exposed for "on-the-go" pics and photos, while being open sided (and bottomed) means that when I crawl belly down through muck at the next Tough Mudder, I wont be scooping up as much to take with me through to the next water obstacle!

It also leaves access to controls and the like freer.One of the things I am looking forwards to is to have clear GPS signal to track my run and this case will ensure I have good LOS.

As well as an internal 38mm webbing sewn in to add to stiffness, the back side has some interesting options. The twin PALS/MOLLE attachment strips are standard fare on a Platatac pouch, but the built in rows feature hook-and-loop on both sides, to facilitate mating with a similarly fitted belt, or, ignoring the hook-and-loop, having the twin rows next to each other means it will fit to any standard 50mm belt, sideways as well.

I found that this pouch would also hold my iPhone is its Opt Silicone Armour case but not nearly as well as it does the Snow Lizard case, but at least I can still use my headset....

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Review: Danner - Striker II GTX boots

I had the good fortune to win some boots (by speed of clicking, ability to read and understand simple instructions and generally having the right-sized feet at the right time, and I wanted to tell you a bit about them.

Previously, I've reported on my dear departed Altama Tan Desert Boots my all-day-every-day Bates Delta-8's and the hard-core stomper HyTest boots . These however, came to me a while back, and have sat unworn except on a couple of "cant be bothered shining my other boots" occasions. Right up until I was in Hospital recently. I took the chance with some new boots for my sore feet, as the insides of the Bates were starting to get a bit ragged, and snagging my sore feet on boots from one examination to the next was getting to be a pain. These are the Daner Striker ii boots

The first thing you notice about them is they are light, at 1400g (50oz) they are 200g lighter than the Delta-8's,which is a real boon, if you want to cut down on legwork but keep the support and security of a full height 8" boot.

The outer of the boot is a mixture of a 1000d Cordura like nylon, giving a breathable, flexible and tough-wearing series of panels, which can take the punishment that is common to feet, whilst being fast-drying and tear resistant.

The lowers are a full grain leather, and are double and triple stitched throughout, which I really appreciate. I've had boots in the past pop stitches from rough use, so having multiple lines of stitching always gives you that "one is none and two is one" security to fall back on. The tongue is flared ans sewn right up to about the second last eyelet hole, to keep puddle stomping feet a little dryer. I would have liked this to go all the way up, but that's how it goes sometimes. The lacing is a mixture of eyelet and hooklet, starting at the ankle, with spacers cut into the leather to allow you to tension the foot-ankle-foreleg areas seperately.

The outsole is made of the
Danner TFX® Lite, which is to say, a oil and slip resistant plastic, with a fairly light tread pattern. I have had a couple of little skids walking on oil-patches on concrete parking lot floors.

One thing worth mentioning that you can't see is the liners on the inside. I get sweaty feet, so having full GORE-TEX® lining which is breathable and wicking is great, but on top of that, is Thinsulate™ Ultra Insulation which adds the perhaps unnecessary for me lightweight cold climate protection.Still, I'd rather have well breathing but insulated feet than cold wet feet, any day.

Inside the sole, a nylon shank lends stiffness and support, and the TERRA FORCE™ X Lite design does in fact give me good arch protection and support (much needed after my recent ankle troubles) as well as a really comfortable wear.

These are good every-day boots, and I think they will serve me well in the upcoming summer heat, and the adventuring I have planned.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Review: Card Sharp -credit card folding safety knife

My fellow blogger Ninja Space Monkey blogged about getting his monkey-paws on one of these awhile back and I was lucky enough to get one as an early Giftmas present from my partner's boyfriend, who share several interests with me (obviously). He didn't have ANY of the issues in getting it that Mr Space Monkey did, as he acquired it from the improbable http://www.alibaba.com/ a site of dubious renown.

This is the Card Sharp, a credit card sized folding safety knife.

Unfolded it is a little ungainly, the plastic body is flexible, not only along the folding seams, but also the main parts. It is a polypropylene type plastic, not polyethylene rather than the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic of regular credit cards. The blade is recessed, which adds to the thickness of the unit overall, but also protects the edge, and the user, when it is stored. It locks into "safe" storage with a rotating disk which covers the tip.

A Series of lugs, and lug-holes can be seen on the opposing edges. These lock together when the blade is flipped out, to form the handle and keep the unit fixed in position.

When it is extended, the long thin blade is held quite snugly, and firmly bu the folds of plastic. Small crenelations at the back of the blade give a gripping place, and the folded corner that extends forwards of the blade acts as a subtle guard against fingers slipping forwards onto the surprisingly keen blade. The blade, being very thin, is actually akin to a razor or scalpel, with a very fine point, and whilst feeling very fragile, birdlike even, made quick work of this orange.

This is the kind of "keep in your wallet, purse or binder" blade that comes in handy when you have a box that needs opening, oranges sliced, threads and cloth cut and splinters extracted.

Not very Apocalypse resistant, perhaps, but certainly useful, and worth keeping on hand for those every-day occasions where having a little blade comes in very handy and you can be the hero of the moment, in your own small way.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Review: Cold Steel - Boar Spear

One of my first big "you have a job now" purchases once I got a "real job" (that is to say, a job in the field I studied at uni for 5 years for) was something I had to have ordered in for me. This was years ago, but I haven't regretted it one moment.

It was the beginning of my long friendship with the Platatac guys, because when someone walks into your outdoor and disposals type store and asks you to order a boar spear, and you grin, nod and find the catalog, that made me feel I'd found my brand. (edit: get in quick, they have one up on eBay)

Now, obviously, this isn't the kind of thing that they make themselves, or even keep in stock, but they had other products from Cold Steel under the counter and were only to happy to order one in for me, deposit on the counter and all (it would have been a big-ticket item to get stuck with if I'd done a runner on them). Shipping wasn't cheep, but I have to say, it was well worth it. This is the Cold Steel Boar Spear and it is seriously bad-ass.

The handle is a serious Premium American Ash pole, well finished and rounded. Hefty without being burdensome, and considerably thicker than the bo-staffs that I'd been very vaguely shown how to wield by friends. It was also a lot thicker than the oval handled naginata hafts I've held, and the long spear equivalent, the yari. It deals a serious blow when swung, jabbed or butted with.

The head of the blade is an impressive 47cm (18 1/2"), with a bit over 30cm of that being the broad leaf head blade and all told, the whole piece measures in at 208cm (82 1/8"), and 1.9kg (4 1/4lbs).

The broad crossguards are rolled from the same piece of 2.4mm (3/32") SK-5 Medium Carbon steel that the rest of the spearhead is. These are here to keep your prey from riding up the spear after a successful strike, to maul you. They also serve the purpose of hooking over shield-walls, and catching and deflecting other weapons, when used in war. Not that they have been used extensively in war since the middle ages, but the practice is sound!

Cold Steel report that the blade is cold forged from their medium carbon SK-5 steel then heat treated to a spring temper, and is designed to flex under stress instead of breaking.

The blade also features a reinforcing rib, hammered into the spine, which stiffens it further, whilst also giving the haft a deep well to seat into. Holes in the neck, between the crossguards and the blade allow it to be screwed into place, or detached to transport, store or to use the blade by itself as a short-sword.

The edges are keen, and have given me no trouble over the years, although I must admit, I haven't been hunting with it, I have done drills, cutting and thrusting practice with it to great effect. This is a truly awe inspiring piece, and sends a very clear message when leveled at someones chest that you are not to be trifled with. (Oh, you'd like to think I don't know this from experience, but I'm afraid I do).

Cold Steel now offer a "Secure-Ex®" kydex-type material sheath, complete with press-stud quick release, and attachemnt options, but when I got mine, I made do with heavy leather, and whipped up a functional sheath.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Review: Mystery Ranch - Cinch Strap

This is an awesome piece of kit that I saw from footage of the 2012 SHOT show, and when I saw that the guys at HorNest also stocked MysteryRanch gear, I was really excited. Mystery Ranch makes hardy, heavy-duty packs, accessories and other needful gear, that is specifically NOT "ultra-light". They cater for Military, Backpack hunting, Fire/Rescue and Adventure users.

They have some really innovative kit, and their pack designs really set them aside from many others, and from all accounts, you get what you pay for.

The item that caught my eye most was a piece of load-relief called the Mystery Cinch. This 60g (2oz)
strap and buckle system is designed to offer relief to one of the worst aspects of wearing a backpack, the dreaded arm-pit pinch.

This occurs when a pack's straps slip over the side of your chest, and snag the sides of your pectorals, digging and chafing, biting into the underarms. Over long exposure, this can cut, blister, bleed and could lead to chronic long term injury to serious load-luggers.

The situation is made worse for those wearing a chest-rig, plate carriers or the like. Shoulder pads of carriers and vests alike tend to slip backpack shoulder-straps off their intended wearing locations, get them hung-up and generally leads to the arm-pit digging... The Mystery Cinch acts to alleviate this problem, and it does so in a really interesting way. You can see here where the cinch has pulled the improvised straps of my Platatac Bullock Echo daypack out of my armpits and onto my shoulderpads, where they could do their job.

Here's where the magic is. The ends of each Cinch is a tab of rigid plastic, with a press-stud fixed to the middle, and it fits into the channel of your chest-rig's PALLS/MOLLE, between two rows, and the straps loop-end affixes around it, locking it in place. This gives a really secure attachment, using your harnesses own integral construction to give a rock-solid means of mounting this accessory.

Pack-based sternum straps don't offer nearly the same kind of functionality.

The strap closes with a powder-coated metal buckle and tongue, much like a seatbelt, with a press-stud security clip, to ensure you don't get a premature release (and no one wants that). This is really useful, because the buckle itself is a very-quick release, almost a hair-trigger, even. This is actually an advantage, because it means that if your pack is set up right with plenty of strap length, a quick pull of the release tab will let you shed the pack in a moment, no more wrestling strap over shoulder pads and harness when unpleasant things are happening to you and yours.

Here you can see the Cinch set up on my FirstSpear OAGRE tactical-vest running it under the bottom of my ZuluNylonGear CAOS admin pouch showing how the webbing of the MysteryCinch folds around to capture the strap of my pack and keep the top side of the straps vertical and out of my underarms, and the bottom side snug to my waist. The cinch straps don't take up very much room, and apart from placement right at the edge of the pectorals, but could be adjusted to suit your build and rig.

The key is that it needs to be placed to keep your straps out of your armpits and have the buckle accessible to make use of its quick-release functionality.

Some of the other features of the MyseryCinch are the little details they have included to round off the product. The tongue-end of the buckle includes a hook-and-loop webkeeper which rolls up and secures the excess webbing included for one-size-fits-most loads and users. All the stitching and hardware are top-notch and thoroughly dependable feeling.

When not hooked up to a pack, the Cinch can just be clipped up, and stows out of the way across your chest, not all that different to the clasps of the OAGRE or Platatac MAC front-opening panel, or on a plate carrier, just out of the way.

This is a rock-solid accessory, with some real advantages for wearers of PALS/MOLLE equipped chests who have to lug packs about. Adventure, Fire & Rescue and Military folks would be really assisted by this really simple addition to their load-out.

Friday, December 21, 2012

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.....

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