Review: Shemaghs and Furoshiki

I had a request from a reader to cover the myriad uses that the Arabian headcovering, the shemagh (or keffiyeh, or ghutrah as I learned the word) has. Rather than just covering the one form of "big square of fabric" I thought I would mix in the very similar, but culturally diverse Japanese multipurpose carry-cloth, the traditional Furoshiki.

 Whilst fairly divergent in purpose, each style relies on the same thing: a single, square piece of fabric.

Fabric is everywhere, and whilst patterns, weaves, materials, sizes and shapes may differ, it is a fairly simple thing to be able to put your hands on. With the increased Western military presence in the Middle East (yes, its been 22 years since the First Gulf War,) this fairly ubiquitous piece of  Arabian attire has worked its way into the mainstream western culture. I lived in Dubai between 1989 and 1991, and the red-and-white ghutrah in the middle there was from then.

Starting up kendo in 1997, I was exposed to the use of squares of fabric to bundle up our keikogi and hakama, in furoshiki style, which allowed us to keep it neat, tidy, transport it and also letting the often very sweaty clothes dry after a hard session. At least, far better that it would if stuffed into a plastic shopping bag, or gym bag.

I wont spend a lot of time on furoshiki, as it is an art all to itself, rather I will show you a couple of links. This picture was produced by the Japanese Ministry of Environment as a means of demonstrating the many ways different sized packages and items can be bundled into a square of fabric, offering stable, padded and accessible wrapping for a variety of goods.



I've mentioned shemaghs before, as I picked one up off the street her ein Melbourne as part of my eagle-eyed urban-salvage mentality, but I have quite the collection of them. Warm in winter, shady in summer, easily stowable and highly variable in wear and use, the shemagh is a versatile and essential part  of being apocalypse equipped.

There are a variety of sites that can show you "how to tie a shemagh like the military"so I'm not going to go through a step by step, rather, I will show you some of the ways that I have worn mine, and that you might find useful.

Most of these involve folding the square into a triangle, which leaves the little dangling tassels on the short edges, rather than the forwards long edge. I learned to wear min in Emirati and Bedouin style, which usually consists of a single triangular fold, and topped with the double ringed agal but any cord or banding could suffice, and keep it on your head, whilst providing much needed shade.

Even without an agal, it is possible to keep it on your head in fairly easy terms. Just flicking one of the corners around your neck and towards the back will give it enough weight to hold it down onlt your head, and less lifting surfaces to blow off as easily.

You can wear it like this to cover your nose and mouth, both as a dust/sand/debris hand smoke filter, as a sun-block, but also to obscure your identity if that kind of thing is useful to you, say if you were throwing rocks at tanks in Gaza or new York...

I've worn mine like this in the sun, rain, hail and snow, and have found that it's a very versatile piece of clothing able to be adapted to meet the ever changing Melbourne weather.

Rolled loosely, that same triangular fold gives you a long length of insulating material I wrap around your neck, whether it be to trap heat in the cold, or soaked in water to give evaporative cooling to the wearer. In this way, it acts in similar fashion to the HeadSox and HeadOver tubes, but far lower-tech.

It's worth noting that certain colour patterns may be more significant than you might think, and it is well worth looking into when you are traveling, but there isn't really a hard and fast system in place. If in doubt, ask a local, or wear something in "modern" patterns.

Pulling up the front of that self-same scarf, you have a very functional face-shield to guard against identification, sun, dust, sand and debris, even some (it has been often claimed) dispersion agents like CS gas with a vinegar treatment, apparently.

 A slight tug and it's either up or down, and you can also cover your ears with the same fabric.

I've also used mine as a sieve, putting fruit in it and washing them through it...

Having also spent a bunch of time holidaying in south east Asia, I've seen similar fabrics worn wrapped around the head in a ring, more as a sweatband than as a sunshade. Worn with the tassels on the outside you also have built in bug-bothering dangles not unlike the mythical cork-strung hat of the Australian bush.



Not just a piece of clothing, however, the shemagh can be utilized in a variety of ways  (such as in its Japanese configuration, for furoshiki) and I hope I can show you a couple of these too.

So here is me having using my shemagh as a triangular bandage to immobilize an arm, something I covered recently in my First Aid Certificate Level 2 course (yay, skills ...)

Depending on the circumstance, and the need, this can be done extremely quickly. I moved from the SE Asia head wrap to this sling in about 15-20 seconds. If you take a little more time, you can make a much neater, much more supportive sling.

Similarly, I could have rolled it into a tight rope, and used it as an emergency tourniquet, or as the binding of a splint.

Other uses that I've had for it is as a shade cloth, picnic tablecloth, as a belt, a child-toy-leash and as a mondo wet-towel-snapper.

When folded up, a cotton shemagh makes a quite reasonable bandage, either as a deep square, to stem urgent bleeding, or to hold down dressings. Filled with ice they make cold compresses, left alone they make good padding for bruises, sprains and bites.

All in all, whether it be for headware, packaging, or all manner of other applications, this simple piece of cloth, however it is names, coloured or decorated, is an essential piece of kit, that I wouldn't want to travel or adventure without, let alone survive without.

Review: Global Gear - Zombie Outbreak DeadHeadvest

Here is another fun piece from the Global Gear's Zombie Outbreak "Tactical Response Gear", which I've already covered some items from, the Hydro Bugout Pack and the Grunt Plate Carrier.

This time, it's another chest rig, the Dead Head Tactical Vest, in the same multicam looking pattern as the Grunt Plate Carrier, and in this case, is very similar tot he look of a couple of other vest's I've seen come up recently on Dvor: and OpsGear as well.

However, Global Gear is local, and I'm always keen to cover things that local businesses  stock. No point having to wait 6 weeks shipping when the zombies come, is there?

What can I tell you about this vest?

Firstly, like the Grunt Plate Carrier, the pouches are made of a textured vinyl, finished with nylon webbing. This isn't as big an issue for me on this vest, as the backing is a nylon mesh material, to which the pouches, webbing and other panels are sewn.

The left side front panel of the belly of the vest is covered with loop-field, to which is attached a twin magazine pouch panel, with a retaining loop of webbing. This can be swapped out for the included "fast draw" pistol holster, which for some reason comes attached over the left shoulder. (More on that later). As well as the removable twin-pouches, the left side features a single fixed magazine sized pouch. Above these are a triplet of pistol magazine / flashlight/ utility pockets, and a small radio pocket at the left shoulder.

Over on the right side, over the fairly chunky mid-line zipper, are three more fixed magazine pouches, each with the elasticized sides, hook-and-loop fixed lids and drainage grommets that this line features. Above these lays a wide admin type pocket, that has a panel of four shotgun shell loops of elastic attached to the lid with hook-and-loop. these could be removed to put a nametape or ID to the chest. The right shoulder is fitted with a thinly padded patent-leather panel, as a shooters-rest.




The back of the vest features three sets of three reinforced bands of nylon, like a kind of "super PALS/MOLLE" which is apparently for fixing larger tools to. This is actually a pretty good idea, as I'd like some way of attaching my Stanley FUBAR, my DeadOn Annihilator Superhammer my Fiskars log splitter or the ever needful Deuce by Zombie Tools to my rig, and these loops offer a means.

You can also see the "quick-draw" pistol holster that is currently attached to the back, left shoulder. Why you'd put a pistol holster here is a bit beyond me, unless its there for a buddy to draw, but I made use of it anyways, slotting my RangerHawk axe in it because I'm fond of keeping something handy for close encounters....

The pistol holster includes a small pouch for an extra magazine, or perhaps in this case, a sharpening stone. A hook-and-look lashing secures the holster through one of the d-rings present on top of each shoulder.

 A couple of neat features are that inside each of the front panels is a zipperable pocket, for paperwork, or items you want to keep more secure. The main back panel also features a hydration pouch pocket, behind a hook-and-loop seal, although there are no attachment points to hang one.

The vest comes with a wide belt, adjustable by virtue of being hook-and-loop sandwiched between nylon webbing, with a big fastex style buckle. Each side of the belt features a removable single pistol magazine/flashlight pouch, and is mounted tot he vest by virtue of a set of press-stud and hook-and-loop loops.

You can see here the three size adjustment straps for the the torso, fairly standard, but a great add to be able to adjust to fit yourself comfortably. One issue I had was that the chest piece seemed too tall, in that the front and back sagged a little, although I may need to adjust the shoulder pieces, but this only does so much.

I found that this vest was a  higher quality construction than the Grunt plate Carrier, mostly by virtue of not being mostly all vinyl, other than the pouches, and it certainly would suit a costumer, recreational hunter, weekend adventurer or MilSim player very well.

Review: Platatac Light Field Pack

Time to have a look at some of the big-bags!

When I started doing more camping, whilst in Calgary, I got my first "big" backpack, (which I may dig out and go over, some day soon). Whenever we traveled as a family as I was growing up, we had a policy "pack only what you can carry" so I got pretty good at packing well, and also lugging heavy bags. A better bag means better packing, as well as easier carrying.

Having learned these lessons, I have frequently loaded my EDC bags to such a point that they became unwieldy, leading me to downsize from my Crumpler Messenger bag, to my faithful and very versatile Platatac Bullock Echo but there are times when you really do need to haul a bunch of stuff, either bulky items, or in high quantity. When this is the case, a little day pack just wont cut it. You need a proper backpack.
This is the Light Field Pack from Platatac, and it does the job!

First up, like almost all of the Platatac bags, this one is made from the rugged 1000d Cordura I've come to expect. Slick and hardy, no rough finishing, just an all over, well put together package with quality materials. The pack comes in two main components; the main body, and the removable helmet cradle and internal organiser.

The front of the cradle has 6x8 PALS/MOLLE, including a 4x2 loop field for name-tape, patches and the like. It has Fastex style buckles to connect to the compression straps on the main pack in three different locations, top, middle and bottom.

The strap-side of the pack is a sculpted, heavily padded and well fixed set of straps, with built in D-rings, adjustable and movable sternum straps and well placed, Fastex-style clips at the base of the traps for both quick release, but also comfort when wearing.

Here's a side view, showing off the 35L  capacity of the main pack, as well as the extensive 5x8 PALLS/MOLLE channels. The compression strapping is maintained on the sides by sets of Web Dominator clip. The flap at the top right of this picture is an access port, for hydration tubes, cables or running line. 

You can also see the triangular "wing" that the shoulder straps connect to the pack via on the bottom right, as well as the helmet cradle. My OpsCore style bump helmet fits nicely in the cradle, but I've also used it extensively as an "extra cargo spot" to carry my bundled kendo keikogi which is both bulky and needs airing, after training, I can tell you.

I've found that I have been able to rapidly adjust the tension of the compression straps to fit my load with a quick pull and readjusting of the leftover webbing via the Web Dominators. The nylon eyelets the webbing runs though doesn't interfere with the PALS/MOLLE channels, which is great for those who like their pouches as much as I do.

The inside of the fully openable main compartment is also fully PALS/MOLLE lined, for all those pouch-addicts I just mentioned. As well as a 3/4 length zippered pocket on the inside, the outside of the  main compartment flap also features a deep zippered pocket, and another, very large loop-field, for more patches, ID and the like. 

You can see here that I have stored my kendo armour in the main compartment, with the big helmet, gauntlets, chest-plate and groin plates wrapping the lot up. It was a tight fit, but once the pack had loosened up, I have been able to cart my whole kendo setup (baring the shinai/bokken) in one bag, with a drink bottle attached by PALS/MOLLE to the outside. 


Inside that main compartment there are a vast array of options as well. On the right side, a very large zipperable pocket, good for documentation, maps, briefings and the like. The bottom of the pack features another of the zippered pockets, good for tools and other heavy items. The back face includes a third zipperable pocket at the mid-line. 

As well as the zippered pockets, there are two elasticised hydration pockets, one at the back, and another on the left side. loops throughout the internals give a variety of dummy-cord, or shock-cording options, as well as acting as hanging points for hydration bladders. I'll be fitting a bladder to mine, to take the place of that externally attached bottle holder. 1L just isnt enough water for me after training, and the added weight going in isn't an issue. It will get lighter before I get home, that's for sure.



There was one more zipper, hidden away at the bottom of the back of the inside of the pack. By turning the pack inside of itself, you gain access to the built-in, moldable lumbar support.

This stiff plastic body has a reinforcing aluminium bar, inside a nylon sheath. This can be molded to offer the best support to the pack, and it also gives the whole thing a considerable amount of rigidity, making for easy packing, unpacking, and sitting up, when being accessed.

Drainage holes throughout the pack ensure that unexpected (or deliberate) dunks don't leave you hauling 35L of bilge around with you either. Stitched or grommeted, I'm glad they're there.

 

Another great hidden feature is the hip-belt pad, which as well as featuring a 3x4 PALS/MOLLE surfacing, and deep padding. The hip belt will clip together to give a very stable belt, perfect for long hikes with a heavy load. For those times when you don't need this kind of extra support, and don't want all the extra real-estate hanging out in the breeze, they have their own little pockets, which are hook-and-loop closing. When tucked up they are hardly noticeable and certainly don't add to bulk, or take away from storage space in any appreciable way.

Here's the inside of the helmet cradle, showing off the webbed "hinge" between the PALS/MOLLE attachment and the front flap. This forms a very useful "bucket" that you can drop your helmet, or other cargo into, secure in the knowledge that it will stay put, and you wont loose any little items"out the sides" between straps as you might in a open-bottomed beaver-tail. 

You can see here the three sets of compression clips, as well as one of the multiple loops for running a retention cord, or shock-cord through. Loads of extra features!

Here's the inside of that helmet cradle front-panel. "The Office", as Sam from Platatac called it.

On the inside of the lid, are two mesh-lined, zipperable pockets, one running the whole length of the panel, the other, midway.

On the bac of the compartment, two more zipperable pockets, the lower of the two being bellowed for easy stuffing as well as three elastizised pockets at the bottom.

This is a serious admin pouch, and there is plenty of versatility to cover all your gadget storage. I have carried my iPad, chargers, pens, paperwork, and food in this section, but be aware, having a helmet in the cradle will press up against the contents... pack wisely!

As with the rest of the pack, all the zipper pulls are threaded with paracord, for ease of grip, and deadening the metal-on-metal clinking.

Here is the whole pack from below, you can see the grommets on the cradle, both inside and out, as well as the sewn-in drainage eyelets of the main compartment.

You can also see the PALS/MOLLE connectors of the cradle piece tot the main pack, with four tabs, in channels 1, 4, 5 and 8. Bear this in mind if you plan on trying to swap the cradle onto any other packs.

Lastly, check out the 3x8 PALS/MOLLE on the bottom. This pack is BUILT for accessories!


Lastly, I wanted to give you a few shots of the pack on me, whilst bearing a load.

DEPLOY TACTICAL BABY!

Sitting happily in the back of the pack, with two sets of compression straps securing her, Tactical Baby was comfortable enough to be walked around for a while, until asked to stand up and wave.

At no point was the pack unstable, or did I feel any way at risk of spilling my precious cargo, (although I made sure I was over the bed when she stood up)

She just held onto the built-in drag handle and I have my very own Pink-Yoda ,

This is a serious pack, good for times when you need more than just a day-pack, but not quite the kitchen sink.

If I had any gripe with it, it would be the way I was using the bottom compression straps when I wanted to open the main compartment, they held it shut beyond the zipper pulls a little, but not so much as that I couldn't easily unload, just not "flat".

It is thoroughly dependable, comfortable to wear and haul loads in, even in the muggy Melbourne summer, slings on and off easily, without snagging and is filled with features.

Video Review: IRL Shooter - Patient 0: Team Shinbashi 26-1-13

Here is another follow-up from my recent adventures in the "IRL Shooter: Patient 0" Lasertag zombie game ...


Our initial kit-up and training

Moving through the facility and decontamination

Running around and decisions made under presure

Multitasking: Sweep and clear AND hacking!

Chaos, casualties and karma

As you can see, the facility was very dark, very atmospheric and the zombies/actors very enthusiastic. The comms/storytelling was rich and immersive.

Review: EcoFuture - Aqua Prove

So, full disclosure, following on from my review of EcoFuture's Organic hand-cleanser and Biodefence Athletic Foot spray they asked me to work as a consultant for them, and advise them on their documentation and product specifications. I was delighted to be on-board, and looking forwards to working more with them on upcoming projects. I'm not, however, being paid to blog, or review their products, but when cool new things come my way that I think have something to bring to the field of being Apocalypse Equipped, I'll bring it.
Microbial water contamination is a big deal, and anyone who has traveled in the developing world can tell you, it can be very un-fun. When sophisticated modern water treatment is out of your reach, having a reliable alternative treatment method is key.

This kit offers one method, utilising Chlorine dioxide as a bactericide, anti-viral and protozoal cyst killing agent, which works by oxidising and disrupting the cell membrane, cell wall and proteins of these microorganisms, whilst being safe to humans, and leaving no environmentally harmful residues.

It produces 0.2% aqueous ClO2 in a pouch/pocket sized bottle, from a single capsule into the dropper bottle. Once dissolved, 4 - 8 drops to 1L (32Oz) of water, left standing for 5 minutes, should be sufficient to treat most water safely.

It is packaged in a sufficient quantity to purify 250L (66gal) of water, and in a bottle small enough to include in ones on-flight baggage. This is a really great idea, and from my testing, adds no noticeable taste to the water in my Nalgene, my SIGG or my hydration bladders, unlike iodine tablets.

I've splashed some drops around in my bottles empty, when I've thought they might be a bit "on-the-nose" or slimey inside, and they have come back really well, no stains or marks, and better still, no more stink.

When I head away from regular treated water, either adventuring, traveling, or off-grid, I'll be glad of this, to keep me regular, in a good way.

Review: Tactical Tailor - Hydration Joey Pouch

I was very fortunate to have one of my articles snapped up by David Reeder of KitUp! and he then put me in touch with Casey Ingels of Tactical Tailor to do some reviews for them. I of course was overjoyed to be part of the team, so here we go. 

First up, in quite the pique of humor, the guys thought it would be funny to have me look over the Joey Hydration Pouch. For those of you who don't know, a joey is a baby kangaroo  so, it's a perfect name for this little pouch. Here is what I can tell you.
Made from 1000D Cordura, and in coyote brown here, this pouch fits the Source 0.75L bladder that comes as optional extra through Tactical Tailor.

The double zipper closure gives not only very secure storage, but also gives considerable protection to the contents as well as giving easy access. Paracord zipper pulls eliminate metal-on-metal tells and drain holes at the bottom of the pouch ensure you don't scoop up too much of the wilderness as you are adventuring, without exposing the bladder to significant risk.

 The back of the pouch is a close stitched 5 row, two column PALS/MOLLE region, which arrived with two 5" MALICE clips giving you a variety of attachment options.

I fed mine through the 3" loops, to give it a belt-wearable test, but it would do just as well lashed to the side of a daypack, or chest-rig.
The entire body of the pouch is wrapped in three rows of PALS/MOLLE to make the pouch even more useful, as a platform

 
The lid of the pouch has a panel from under which the hydration tube can escape, left or right, but the brilliant thing about this pouch is that it not only fits the 0.75L Source pouch, but also a 1L (32oz) Nalgene bottle.


Here is me out testing the pouch. As I said, I wore it on my belt, here lashed to the d-ring of my Triple Aught Design Amphibious shorts via the hook-and-loop retention strap on the source drinking tube.

This setup has allowed me to go for my run, drink as needed and drop the tube, without it slipping and slapping all over the place, or letting Tactical Baby get too good a grip on it as she slipped through before taking me down in classic hapkido fashion (I presume).

For times when lugging a whole 3L bladder is just too much effort, when considering the need for a bag to carry one, like the Platatac Bravo and only a small volume is required (or for those weight conscious expeditions) this is a dream come true.

Between this and my ITS Skeletonized Bottle Holder I don't intend to go thirsty any time in the city, ever again. This is an extremely well put together pouch and certainly lives up to the expectations of something named after Australian wildlife.  Stay tuned for more from Tactical Tailor ....

Events: IRL Shooter - Patient Zero

I was fortunate enough to manage to get a team together to do the full immersion Lasertag LRP event by IRL Shooter before the season closed. I had originally been booked in for the week that I found myself hospitalised, and missed out.

I really enjoyed the event, and thought I would give you all a heads up on what was all about, how it ran, how it worked and most importantly how it tested me.

Before going in, I met up with my team and laid out several sets of vests, webbing and plate carrier sets. Five sets in all, in various levels of hooah, to give them all a chance to suit up in "the real gear" so we all matched and looked like a unit, of sorts. My collection of coyote-brown and khaki gear really would have looked good, but all but one of them opted out. So much for my dreams of a bad-assed looking team of operators. I wore a heavily de-tooled version of my Apocalypse Equipped loadout, as IRL Shooter have a strict no-weapon/lights/electronics rule. (yes, I know... I'm the mayor of POG central ...)


Arriving at the facility we were greeted by a cheerfully brusque NCO in Grey Area Protective Services (GAPS) blacks, and signed us in. Prior to the event each member of our six person team had been mailed a RFID card, and documentation regarding our mission and service duties. We signed in with the NCO, I stepped up as the team leader, and we were shuttled into the main facility. we were asked if we wanted the PG language version or the R-rated, extra salty. We unanimously chose extra-salty, much to the delight of all the GAPS staff. Sr Drill Instructor Hartman would have been proud of the creative use of language.

We were greeted by a second, far less cheerful NCO, who gave us all a fairly resounding chewing out for being late, and called out one of us for being the latest, with a "drop and give me 10" pushup penalty. They were, at least, impressed with my rig, and the rig the other guy wore. Yelling.

We were loudly ushered through the comms-hut, where several workstations of controllers sat, with multiple low-light security camera feeds and communication boards were set up. Frog-marched through this area to the armory, we were fitted out with helmets, and standard black-SWAT vests for those who didn't have them already. I had booked in to have a helmet cam, so my helmet had a mounted Contour cam. More yelling.

Through to the armory proper, we were issued with our lasertaggers, very realistic M4/M203 mockups. These pieces were movie-prop quality, and each weighed around 4kg. The M203 barrel housed the lens system, much like the ones we use for Stargate LRP, but had a built in single/auto selector switch included on the electrics housing, built into the right side of the M203. A reload button was indicated, and the speaker was built in to the left side. Holographic red/green sights were minuted and we were instructed in reload, fire selection and sight lighting settings. The M4s also had a weapon light mounted. More yelling and "how to shoot and clear rooms" instruction. Being team leader I was fitted with the teams single push-to-talk Motorola, which I mounted in one of my many pouches. Always good to have the right tool for the job... Likewise, I put my own sling on my M4, which came in very handy later on. We were told we had 30 round magazines, with "unlimited reloads" so to go to town. I opted for single fire anyways.

We were instructed in the correct anti-zombie safety: we take damage incrementally if within 3m of the zombies, from a mixture of toxins and contagion. Head shots are the only true stoppers. Just because they go down doesn't mean they will stay down. Then came the safety briefing. No touching the actors. No hand-to-hand. No breaking down doors or walls. No using the M4's as pry-bars or sledgehammers.

The mission was simple: kill all the zombies we found, find the missing "Team Alpha" (we were "Team Delta") and determine what had become of the mad scientist responsible for the outbreak in the first place, in the labyrinthine medical-research facility that had been sealed off. More yelling, on the ready line, and..... GO!

The facility used for the game was a disused boot factory complex in one of the Northern suburbs of Melbourne, only a couple of streets away from my partner Anastasia's place. The weather had been quite hot, although a cool change had come through, but it was still hot on Australia Day as we entered a dark, smokey, noisy and destroyed facility. The set dressings were really good. We passed through infirmaries with rows of curtained beds, cafeterias, kitchens, toilet and office blocks, or multiple floors and levels.

The radio connection to the comms center provided instruction as to our route, local objectives and always, always "hurry-up, hurry-up". Every radio signal was expect to be followed up with a reply, and produced a sense of constant pressure. Each order needed to be relayed to my team, whilst we encountered random zombies, reanimating bodies, blinking, flashing and swinging debris to work through and around and all the while, in poor lighting. It was great.

Photo swiped from the website

I broke our six person team into three 2-person fire teams, and we swept-and-cleared with quote good efficiency for a scratch team who had never really worked together in this fashion (two of the people were work colleagues from IT, one was one of the guys I did my first Tough Mudder with, a friend from kendo, and their friend. That last team-mate was the only one of us with actual military experience, but at least all of us had some some kind of Lasertag, paintballing or actual shooting. We kept pretty good communication up between us, and the fairly linear nature of "Patient Zero" made it easy for us, as "go forwards, consider anyone you come across to be infected, kill all the zombies" is a pretty easy SOP and Rule of Engagement to follow. I bolster that with an additional proviso, in that as there was the suggestion that there might be a second , hostile organisation present, we would "kill everything we found, unless otherwise ordered" this led to a couple of "I wasn't finished with that survivor yet" moments, but all in all we made a ruthless, efficient and effective sweep-team.

The RFID cards opened doors along the way, (plot allowing) and the radio worked (even if the storyline was occasionally verbose, but totally entertaining). Technically, a couple of elements I found might need a little work. The M4's lacked any force-feedback, but that would be a cherry on the cake of an otherwise excellent prop, but it was the gun-lights and speakers that I would recommending improving. The gunshot-sound effect, and health feedback grunts were quite soft, especially over the ambient sound effects and radio calls. This meant knowing how many shots were going off around you, your own shots, injuries to yourself and team-mates was difficult. Even of distorted, volume over quality would have been an improvement. I understand the need not to blind the actors too, so a 600Lumen tactical light from SureFire mighty overkill, but the lights we had were very hard to pick up on the helmet camera. Perhaps a compromise of boosting the levels on the camera might suffice. Again, the darkness was great for the atmosphere.
 

From an operations point of view, I was pleased how I managed my team, we were a surprisingly cohesive force, I think most of my instructions were easily understood and tactically sound (even the part where we went "off map" by pushing through some cardboard boxes to get to a door I spotted through a barricade). We achieved our mission objective of locating the missing Alpha Team, interrogating them (but perhaps being to thorough with our "kill everyone" policy, before all information could be extracted, due to some motivated trigger fingers in our team. I located and collected the "origin virus" sample, and although my secret contact had been killed, (yes, ere are secrets between teams and Command) was able to successfully pass this on.

The gameplay was fast and frenetic, the game world was rich and wide (check out the masses of in-game web links to parent, competitor and whistle blowing entities related to GAPS). Here is a lot more to this than "shoot the zombies" Lasertag. The prosthesis on the actors were awesome, they looks the part, for sure, and all had creepy mannerisms to really bring the fear. The biggest issue we had was the intricate "all or nothing" booking, which was difficult to navigate and coordinate, but in the end, totally worthwhile.

I found it really challenging, enjoyable and certainly a test of nerves under pressure. I'll be back for more, for sure!

Stay tuned to http://irlshooter.com/ their FB page http://www.facebook.com/IrlShooter and twitter @irlshooter for details of the upcoming season.