Review: Platatac SCAR Mini Chest Rig

It's been a while since I've covered any purpose made tactical gear, having spent quite a few posts going over the pretty awesome set of birthday knives I received (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) so I wanted to get back into it with some really functional and multifaceted kit, such as seen with this, the SCAR mini Chest Rig, by Platatac. I took a departure from my usual khaki colour scheme, mostly to allow an option of distinguishing one set of kit for another when romping around doing Stargate LRP.

Unlike my full MAC rig, which I'd reviewed a while back, which offers front and back, side to side and sternum to belly coverage, with all the bells and whistles, the SCAR mini rig is a substantially cut back, being in principle a front piece, with shoulder and waist straps to keep it on. However there are still a number of features that Platatac have added to make it more than either just a plate carrier, or mag-rig.

The bottom half is made up of s set of four integral shingle pouches, each with a drainage grommet and featuring a three row, ten channel PALS/MOLLE field. Each of the shingles is closed by a loop of shock cord which feeds through the top row of MOLLE loops for each pouch, and back rough additional row of MOLLE loops above e shingles, Wu a reinforced tab of webbing for each shingle to act as a draw-toggle. Each shingle is reported as being able to carry 2x M4 magazines, or a single Styre magazine.

As well as the thorax belt of shingles, above is the SCAR rig features a sternum piece which offers a further three rows of six channels of PALS/MOLLE attachment goodness, although the heavy fastex type chest buckles do cut into the available space a little, and would make for a very snug fit if a pouch was fitted adjacent to them. This sternum panel is interesting in that it is not permanently attached to the chest straps, but rather feature a pair of press-stud loops which attach either through the plastic D-loops or webbing loops on the shoulder pieces. As well as the PALS/MOLLE field, this sternum piece also features a hook-and-loop closing map/document pocket at the top lip.

Looking at the inside surface of the rig, you can see the wicking mesh that lines the otherwise all 1000d cordura construction, but also the back of the shingle/thorax region has a built in pocket, and the sternum region a corresponding wide band of elastic material to accommodate a chest-plate, should that be required for your kind of activity. (as with my full MAC rig, I'll probably cut down a polycarbonate cutting board to fit in mine, for look and feel if not the innate properties of a cutting board). However, and here is where the SCAR rig shows the clever design thoughts put into this range of products, again, if all you need is a magazine platform, and are not going to be wearing a plate, the sternum piece can be unclipped from the shoulder straps, and folded down behind the thorax belt, dropping your profile, and heat retention.



The wide shoulder straps, which feature loops to secure cables or hydration tubes loop around the arms and fasten back around under the arms, and a similarly broad waistband secures the rig with another large fastex style buckle on one side. I found that when jumping about, the shoulder straps tended to slip somewhat, which is a situation I'd rather avoid in a crisis. To avoid this, I took the MacGuiver approach, and swapped out one of the shingle shock-cords and fitted it as a loop behind my shoulders. This might act as a slight delay if I had to shed the rig entirely, rapidly, but I'm not expecting to be sprayed with acid-for-blood xempnomoroh gore any time soon. Returning the now bereft single to normal function was just a matter of looping the cord through two sets of MOLLE, and as I also dnt expect to be dealing with extra tall magazines any time soon, not having at extra slack isn't much of a worry to me.

This is a pretty cool rig, a lightweight, low-profile platform, which I intend to use to supplement my available loadout options depending on the situation I find myself needing to respond to. Adapt, innovate overcome.

Video Review: Ontario Black Wind vs meat & bone

In the final of these three posts demonstrating the abilities of the KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives, Dead-On Annihilator, Stanley FUBAR and Ontario Blackwind, I will leave you with the abilities of the Blackwind, which I reviewed a while back. This now out-of-production blade is loosely based on a Japanese sword, being a single edged, two handed blade. This one is considerably shorter than a "standard" katana, and far less curved, being all but straight. It does lend itself to techniques that I am familiar with however, and I have used it extensively as a horticultural tool, hence my nickname for it, my "tree-chopping sword"


1 Ontario BlackWind vs beef leg-bone, following the KA-BAR Zombie Killer collection. Watch for flying bone fragments, which impressed the hell out of me. That's why I wore safety glasses!

2 BlackWind vs pig head. Now, this head already had some damage done, in the form of penetration tests from the KA-BAR's, but the damage dealt by the Blackwind goes way beyond this. I only have a little experience test-cutting, and have been away from kendo training for some time with an ankle injury, so my form was off, but it certainly got the job done, from a standing cut-chop point of view. (We generally practice a moving cut-slice in kendo) but fairly happy with how these two cuts felt, given the targets and placements.

All in all, I was very happy with these tests, the items I tested, and lastly, the great stocks I made from the leftovers. I hope you liked this series of posts, feel free to comment and make requests for my next video demonstration and review.

Video Review: FUBAR & Annihilator vs meat

Following on from my previous post where I demonstrated the kinds of effects the KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives have on a selection of beef and pig parts, today I compare and contrast The Dead-On Annihilator SuperHammer with the Stanley FUBAR.

For the two hammers, I did static tests with the the beef sides, leg bone and pig head on stacked logs. This was my first attempt at target cutting on meat, but was a very rewarding experience.

Again, I tried to limit myself to the, strikes and thrusts that I would use in a fighting situation, rather than what I might use in a demolition or handy-man type situation, in that I wanted to avoid over extension, and sufficient commitment to each strike to complete it satisfactorily whilst being in a follow-up position as well.

As I mentioned in the original post, and in the clips, all the meat was retrieved and used to make some really delightful stocks, the fat rendered for lard and the remnants fed to my chickens to supplement their pellet, grain and vegetable scrap diet.

So, on to the mayhem...


1 Dead-On Annihilator & Stanley FUBAR test vs prone sides of beef



1 Dead-On Annihilator & Stanley FUBAR vs beef leg-bone


Whilst being (presumably) off-purpose for these tools it was a very valuable set of tests for me personally, in that they demonstrated what kinds of effects these tools would have in the event of their being used in combat. Namely; messy and very unpleasant. I've had ribs and fingers broken from blunt-force trauma from weapons (accidentally during the course of kendo training) so can attest to how debilitating it can be, even with something as innocuous as the wooden bokken let alone a hammer. War-hammers were employed for centuries with devastating effect

Video Review: KA-BAR ZombieKiller blades

I wanted to do some practical testing of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives that I have been reviewing of late, and felt the best way to do this was to do some practice cutting. Rather than invite strangers into my back yard for tsujigiri - the act of testing a sword on a chance passer-by, or tameshigiri- on rolled, wet, tatami matting, I chose to use a variety of meat and bone sources. Beef brisket off-cuts (with both bone and cartilaginous ribs), a beef leg bone, and halved pig head were my targets of choice.I could have used cardboard, bottles of water, bamboo, tatami-rolls or even, horror of horrors, fruit and vegetables but I wanted a more authentic performance test.

I hung the beef sides from a beam, to give it the opportunity to swing and move freely and also did static tests with the the beef sides, leg bone and pig head on stacked logs. This was my first attempt at target cutting on meat, but was a very rewarding experience.

I tried to limit myself to the cuts, strikes and thrusts that I would use in a fighting situation, rather than what I might use in a demolition or handy-man type situation, in that I wanted to avoid over extension, and sufficient commitment to each cut to complete it whilst being in a follow-up position as well.

All the meat was retrieved and used to make some really delightful stocks, the fat rendered for lard and the remnants fed to my chickens to supplement their pellet, grain and vegetable scrap diet.



1 Hanging beef-sides Vs the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto are the smaller two, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper being the larger two.


2 Stabbing penetration beef-sides Vs the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto, along with the "War" Sword. The "Pestilence" Chopper did not have a stabbing tip so was not used for this test.


3 Beef leg bone the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper . I also tried out my "Tree Chopping Sword", the Ontario BlackWind which I reviewed a while back.


4 Finally, I tested the three stabbing capable KA-BAR's against the pig head for penetration.

I was really pleased with how each of these knives (and my sword) worked out. They did indeed wreak devastation onto the targets, effortlessly cutting and stabbing, chopping bone without a noticeable blemish to the edges or coatings.

I hope you enjoyed watching as much as I liked making these, and stay tuned for some hammering from the Annihilator and FUBAR, next!

Review: KA-BAR Zombie Killer sheathes

Having now reviewed each of the Four Horsemen of
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives, I wanted to give some attention to the sheathes that each came with. The reason being that these are not just simply somewhere to hold your knife, but significant kit in their own rights.

There are two sizes, one for each of the two sizes of blades, the "Death" Dagger and "Famine" Tanto are the smaller two, with the "War" Sword and the "Pestilence" Chopper being the two larger two.

The front of the sheathes features a hook-and-loop field for patches, drawstrings to close the large front pouches on each. A couple of grommets at the bottom to allow it to be lashed to your thigh whilst worn on a belt. The back of the sheathes feature three distinct MOLLE regions; a 2x2 and two 2x3 sets, for fixing it to other MOLLE kit, like a plate carrier, battle belt, pack or drop-leg rig. The MOLLE loops are just that, simple loops, the sheathe offers no PALS attachment straps to feed into whatever you are mounting it to, for that you'd have to look to something like the Maxpedition 3"or 5" TacTie to do so.

Each of the sheathes features a twin press-stud closure to secure your primary blade, the lower of the two clasps also features a hook-and-loop backing so you can flatten it down, out of the way if only the top one is in use. You can see a second set of eyelets through the back of the belt-loop here if further lashings are desired. That versatility is a very desirable component, and I was totally not surprised that KA-BAR had thought about it.
The scabbard part of this piece is made of the same GFN-PA66 plastic that the scales of the blades these are made for are fitted out with, and you can see here that as well as the main scabbard, for the big blade, the complementary Acheron blade has its own integrated GFN-PA66 scabbard, complete with press-stud closing flap. Again and again, KA-BAR shows that even in the little details, they have thought out ways to make a good accessory.




Lastly is the large outer pocket, which is fitted with a drawstring closure, and ships with this hank of the same toxic/radioactive green showstring seen in the drawstring, which matches the green scales on the handles of the big blades themselves. The pocket is spacious enough to fit several tennis balls. If you don't think that is hard-core enough, well, let Henry V fill you in as to why this is important. That said, it gives you an idea of the capacity of this pocket. It seems to me a good place to stow a small medical kit, fire-starting or sharpening tools, a spare magazine if you are that way inclined, or a snack.

The heavy Cordura type fabric is well finished, heavily stitched and reinforced and the length of the sheath is stiff, both from the internal fixed scabbards, but also from its construction, which gives a very sturdy, dependable and rugged tool in and of itself. Standard black, it may well stand out from the rest of your kit, unless that's the colour scheme you are going with. I really like these sheathes, they are perfect for the Zombie Killer knives they are designed for, and look forwards to fitting them to my kit, especially in the event of an occasion to make full use of them. Let's see if they stack up like Gerber's Apocalypse Kit seen in AMC's Walking Dead

Click to see them in ThinkGeek

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Review: KA-BAR Zombie "Pestilence" Chopper

To finalise my review of the big blades of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives I wanted to leave the biggest till last. Where the "Death" Dagger is slick, slash and stab blade, I found that the "Famine" Tanto is a brutally hungry hacker, and the "War" Sword is an angry and savage beast, the final (or First) Horseman's tool, the "Pestilence" Chopper.

Again, I placed the blade up against one of the Hibben-esque throwers I reviewed a while back, and the Acheron companion knife that ships with each of the Zombie Killer blades, and you can see that this is indeed a big blade. It's no sword, as with the other blades in the series, but it is certainly no butter-knife either. The broad, gently forwards-curved blade is reminiscent of a bill-hook knife this is a tool not to be taken lightly. Functional and simple, this blade is the longest of the set, at 40cm (15-3/4") with a whopping (or chopping, as the case may be) 26cm (10-1/4")blade edge.

As with the rest of the line, it features the same 5mm (0.205") thick SK5 steel blade, bead-coated in non-reflective matte black, which offers both rust-protection, but also improves the cutting/withdrawing action of the blade. The back of the blade is tapered at the spine, presumably to afford some head-space for deep penetration withdraw of the blade, an important factor whether you are chopping sugar cane, banana trees, green wood or human skulls (in kendo, we practice a kata which explicit relates to the efforts needed to extricate your sword from your opponents skull.)

As heavy as the "War" Sword, at 450g (1 lbs) but with a considerably different balance, the "Pestilence" Chopper is heavy in the hand, without feeling cumbersome. The same GFN-PA66 and pebbled ray-skin like texture in the scales of the grip, as well as the protruding knuckles kept it secure in my hand. The agricultural heritage of this blade comes through in how it handles and I felt the forward sweeping blade would make this ideal for snedding branches and probably make for good coconut opening and blackberry bush clearing. Even for its length the blade had no perceptible flex, but given the width, breadth and geometry, I wasn't surprised to not feel it manually.

This is a rough, rugged and practical tool, a formidable knife and a fitting homage to the Rider of the White Horse.

Click to go to ThinkGeek

Review: KA-BAR Zombie "War" Sword

In my third installment of the
Ka-Bar Zombie Killer Knives series, and following on from the "Death" Dagger and the "Famine" Tanto I bring to you KA-BAR's rendering of the formidable tool of the bloody-handed god, rider of the red horse War. In fitting fashion, the KA-BAR "War" Sword, whilst being more of a big knife than a short sword, to my mind (the line is often hotly debated by blade enthusiasts) its lines harken to the ancient Greek Kopis swords, which featured a heavy forward sweeping, chopping head to the blade.

KA_BAR's take on this blade is a big and beefy blade, a logical progression from the Dagger and Tanto, and again as different to these two. Featuring the same SK5 steel, lurid green GFN-PA66 scales (again, with black versions included to take the glare off) and tough bead coated anti-glint finish as the other blades in this series, the "War" Sword stretches out to 38cm (15-1/8"), 24cm (9-3/4") of which is gently curving edge. The blade weighs in at 450g (1 lbs) but given the balance, feels much livelier in the hand than the Tanto, I found. The edge geometry is the same 20 degree taper-grind seen in the rest of this line, but the primary grind runs all the way from the spine of the blade, with a length of the back of the head of the blade having a secondary grind, for about the third of the width, presumably to reduce the weight slightly, a very subtle addition.

The whole of the blade "sits back" of the mid-line of the handle, as seen in the "Death" Dagger, with the edge sitting close to the finger line, with the spine of the blade sitting beyond the back of the handle. This allows for the back of the blade to feature a deeply crenelated thumb-grip much like that seen in the "Death" Dagger, allowing for a choked up, "thumb-on-top grip" useful for a variety of styles. I should add that these crenelations are very comfortable on the hand. Big enough to grip, not so big as to gouge. Similarly the front finger guard is a good size, and certainly gives the feeling of stopping fingers slipping forwards onto the blade.


I really like how this blade feels in the hand, combining a hefty but not heavy slashing and cutting blade, with a tip capable of stabbing. It certainly feels lively in the hand, as if it were willing slashes and strikes.

Click me to go to ThinkGeek