Review: CE Jay Engineering - Phoenix Jr IR Beacon

As I posted recently, I had a surprise delivery arrive, and wanted to let you know all about it. A "restricted export" item, I feel very privileged to be able to play with it, hard to get out of the US.

This is the Phoenix Jr IR strobe beacon

This 30x20x20mm (1.2x0.75x0.75") block of acrylic weighs only 8.5g (0.3oz) and has a 9v battery attachment point on the bottom, slightly covered by a lip. Inside the acrylic you can see the three IR LEDs and the simple controlling circuit board. Simplicity in design! 

The 9V battery will provide 200 hours of strobing, according to CE Jay Engineering, and even after draining the battery of its primary charge, they suggest that giving it a2-3 hour rest can eek out a short while of extra strobing, in a pinch. The flash rate of 20 milliseconds every 1.3 seconds was specifically chosen to prevent confusion with small arms fire, which is a VERY good thing, to my thinking. 

The clear case, and design allows for a 360 degree viewing angle, from around the beacon, and a 240 degree viewing angle from the vertical( due to the battery, obviously). 

Whilst not "waterproof" the beacon is purported to function whilst immersed until the contacts fail due to electrolytic corrosion. That's pretty impressive. No switches, no moving parts, just the 9v connectors. Plug in a batter, and it's on. Pull battery off, and it is off. 

I tested it with my Yukon 3x42 NVG, placing the beacon on my car and walking down the street until I lost line of sight, and I have no doubts that this beacon would be visible for hundreds of meters more. To get a decent photo, I took it inside, and with my iPhone, took a couple of "down the relief" shots.

Unlike some IR LEDs, those used in the Phoenix Jr are totally invisible to the human eye, with no tell-tale red pulse. This means for covert use, either in static positioning, or secreted on your person, and even through clothes, you can signal to NVG equipped observers. 

I am throughly impressed with this piece, and am going to see a out placing an order for the non-export restricted waterproof carry case for it. I think this kind of item that would be ideal for assisting Search And Rescue teams finding me in the event that I have a misadventure. That or IFF when I am out laser tagging. 

Review: Get Home Bag - Bug Out Bag

Some friends of mine asked me recently for recommendations for Bug-Out-Bags, after watching the NatGeo "Doomsday Preppers" show, and The Colony.

I don't have a "Bug-Out-Bag", per se,  but I do have two "Get Home Bags". One in my car, and one is my every-day pack. 

Here's one that NASA made ...

I've covered both before, as Items, and shown off what I keep in them from time to time, but as a unit, I thought it might be worthwhile laying it all out.

My primary, EDC and "get home bag" is the Platatac Bullock Echo, to which I've added a couple of extra pouches and loaded up a fair bit. This is the bag I have with me everywhere I go, and I still manage to carry my iPad, days food and whatever else I need day by day in it. Great pack. It's a reasonable load that I carry, as you'll see, but I can run, climb, crawl, jump and probably swim with this all on me. I get some funny looks sometimes, but I'm used to that. 

1) waterproof poncho, OD / first aid kit

2) set of metric Alan keys on a split ring

3) compass

4) dmt diamond knife sharpeners

5) credit card tool / fire steel

6) wire saw

7) cord

8) Dead On Annihilator Super Hammer

9) ZombieSquad 1L Nalgene bottle

10) LaserBrite (single blue and low/high/blink red heads)

11) CRL Tactical cache

12) ZuluNulonGear CAOS admin pouch with small adjustable wrench, LED plyer multitool, Buck Tools Multitool, dexim BluePack 1200mAh ( 5V-500mAh) USB iPhone battery, UV laser pointer, kumquat carbon fiber credit card bottle opener, sharpie.

13) Figure 5 Benchmade safety cutter

14) microfiber towel

15) Berber Bear Grylls safety pack

16) Platatac Half Med pack with elastic bandage, forceps, non-latex gloves, cylume sticks, band-aids, bandages

17) GoSt PaleoBarefoots

18) Sea To Summit Alpha cutlery and chopsticks

19) survival kit in a can

20) Platatac HeadOver head sock 

21) SnowLizard solar, rugged, waterproof iPhone case

22) EcoFuture Aqua Prove

23) alcohol based hand sanitizer

24) EcoFuture hand sanitizer

25) EcoFuture foot spray

26) cable ties

27) toiletries bag with toothpaste, soap, safety razor, floss

28) essential oil deodorant bag

29) Spare glasses in hard case

30) nut and honey snacks

31) SAR GlobalTool Eclipse signaling mirror system

32) whistle

I also keep this, in the car. I consider this my "broken down in the side of the road" kit, but also doubles as my camping/kicking adventure bag. I have a full first aid bag in the car, and a fairly complete tool bag as well.

As I've covered before,  the Kathmandu Hip Bag is a very dependable, and feature rich, wearable pack.

With my FUBAR and CRKT Stiff Kiss it is quite the formidable survival pack.

Here's what I keep in it....

33) heavy waterproof poncho, Woodland camo

34) gaffer tape

35) camping propane gas

36) kinetic induction flashlight 

37) enamel mug

38) bug spray

39) sweetened condensed milk in a tube

40) roll of SES emergency marker tape

41) Gerber Bear Grylls survival pack

42) high-test marlin-fishing line

43) Petzl "figure 8" device

44) Kong locking carabiners

45) 5mm dynamic rope

46) matches

47) fishing hooks and sinkers in-a-tin

48) Sea to Summit 20L Kitchen Sink

49) hand carved snare with braided line

50) Miltons water purifier tablets

51) nails

52) Caribee backpacking stove

53) bandages

54) tea bags

55) whistle and flint

56) powdered chocolate.

I can wear both the Bullock Echo and the Kathmandu bum-bag at the same time, between the two I have a lot of survival kit in fairly small, wearable packages. Given that I don't spend a lot of time in the distant wilderness, but more urban sprawl, and country roadsides I think that in the event of a disaster in my region, I would be able to manage with this loadout for quite enough time to get home, or away, and overcome most any obstacle that I might come across.

For me the idea of a "bug-out-bag" is more of a "never coming back" bag, which would be a little more substantial, and aggressive, where these two are more a "get out of trouble" set. I can help myself, and others push through rough times with what I carry at all times, and have with me in my car...

After the Black Saturday fires of 2009 and the semi-regular flooding we are getting, I want to be ready, Equipped!




[edit] I've been asked if i would make Bug-Out-Bags for sale ... anyone interested?

Review: Laser Genetics - ND-3x50

After my visit to the SHOT Expo, I thought it was time to roll out one of my big lights. 

I had seen these whilst browsing the Canis Latrans Sports website (they do "replica" gear, where my Ops-Core style helmet came from ...) The idea of a laser pumped light sounded really cool, but I had no idea what to expect. I took the plunge and ordered one.

It turned out to be much bigger than i had expected (I did choose the bigger of the three versions available.) Here it is, the Laser Genetics ND3x50 laser designator (or a clone of the same)

The fist thing I need to tell you is that it IS large. The objective lens end is 60mm (2.35”) in diameter, and the barrel, whilst the standard 1" ring size gives the unit a 240mm (9.45”) over all length. It's a big light at 380g (13.5oz). However, it gives BIG results.

Powered by two CR123A batteries, the light has a maximum output of 50mW, which is purported to give a visible light at up to 4.8km (3 miles). It manages this by producing light at 532nm (green), apparently the easiest light for the human eye to see. 

So it's a huge laser pointer, so what?  

Built into the base of the objective end is a Rotary Optical Collimator, which allows you to dial in the focus of the beam, from 50mm to 320mm at 300mm from the end of the objective. That then spreads out to about 2m at 11m (see pics below), or , when dialed in tight, leaves a pretty much 50mm spot for as far as you care to through, up to about 450m (500yrd) effective range.

By "effective range" I think they mean when mounted on top of a scope, which, as it happens, they include mounts for with a "weaver style ring", a 1" scope mount (essentially a windage and elevation adjustable double sided mount, a tripod mount, as well as a pressure switch accessory. Lots of tactical options there. Just remember, this is a BRIGHT light, and you can see the beam in the night air, leading right back to the source. 

Tracers work both ways.

That said, the all aluminium body, with its anodised finish, o-ring seals and nitrogen charged lens cavity make for a pretty solid piece. One thing I noted were some imperfections. There is dust on the inside of the objective lens, and when dialed to wide-beam, there is a distinct "gibbous moon" effect where the lens is not quite right. This may be because this is a "replica" rather than a stringently QC'd piece.

Here are a couple of shots of me testing it indoors, from room-sweeping, to tight spot. In its room-sweeping end (or any of the wide angles, it also casts a secondary diameter, giving you a pretty good field of illumination at the "up close" distances, great for trails and sweeps.

I also took it out to the valley near Puffing Billy scenic railway, and had a bit of a play with it.


This is a really cool light, and I really enjoy taking it out and beaming it around. It is very powerful though, and I am always careful to steer clear of aircraft, delicate eyeballs and Sith Lords.

Review: Civilian Labs - Hazard4 - Loader RG Harness

Ages ago I covered an essential piece of my EDC, my custom made EDC holster harness. This faithful piece has been with me for years, and has reached the end of its life. I had contacted Darrin Talbott of Extreme Gear Labs to commission him to build me something, but alas, he's just far too busy to make a wacky one-off custom job for a blogger.

Check out his Facebook to see the cool Operator gear he makes. That news sent me looking for an alternative.

I was lucky enough to spy the Jerking The Trigger post on the Hazard4 Poncho and following the links, saw that Hazard4 offered a modular holster rig! Tay from HorNest did me a solid, and shipped some over.

Hazard4 are the "Tactical" arm of Civilian Lab makers of fine modular kit. The link I followed brought me to these, this is the Loader rig
with the optional extra anatomic harness.

What it is is two sets of the Escape Rig, one for each side. The two halves are identical, so I'll cover them as just the single unit.

Here are the two Escape halves, with the Anatomic shoulder harness, and another piece at the bottom to hold them together for stability.

The pouches are made of Dobby Nylon and have "PU X 2" treatment, and measure 12.5 x18 x4 cm
(~5" x7" x1.5") externally. The main panel is faced with two hook and loop closing pockets, one that fits my Surefire 6PX like a glove, and the other which his more squat. Both of these pockets are elastic sided, and open cornered. Bear this in mind when looking to fill them.

In this shot you can see some of the rotating buckles  that are fitted to each corner, each backed with a tab of the same padded material that backs the pouch for wearer comfort.  This is some very thoughtful and innovative design. no more buckle-pinch!

You can also see one of the tri-glide buckles that sit on the middle of each of the four sides. These are for accessory loop and strapping, and I'll get into that a bit later.

The 2013 version of this pouch has all black labeling and non-reflective zippers and fittings, for even lower profile wear.



The "back pocket" of the pouch is an open slot, wide enough for my receipt and card filled wallet, and is mesh-sided to cut weight and improve breathability and drainage. (Luckily Australian money is plastic, in case I ever take a dunk...) You can see another of those elastic-looped tri-glides here, to which I have dummy-corded my wallet. No more dropping it into the toilet, off piers, or leaving it on cafe counters for me!

My iPhone sits in the corresponding other side.

What you cant see is the wide swathe of black loop field, for affixing a hook-backed holster, like the Stick-Up.

You can also see the double zipper here of the inner pocket. Very useful!

Inside that inner pocket, you see where some real thought has gone into making these pouches. As well as the tough nylon outer, they are lined with quilted micro-suede

They also feature a series of webbing and elastic channels to fit your tools and needful gear, I have my SAR Dead Ringer comb and CRKT K.I.S.S. folder in mine on this side. Passports, and paperwork on the other side.

The pocket opens all the way to the bottom, but, like a good admin pouch, it has webbing retainers, keeping it from flopping flat, but catching it at about 45o so your pens, USB sticks, or whatever don't tumble off into the wide blue yonder.

The back pocket has a press stud on webbing closure, with two sizing options, which is great. I tend to clip my wallet in with the big, and my phone in with the snugger length.

The back of the pouch features a belt loop,wide enough for all the belt I tried it on ( both my 5-11 TDU belts, the 215Gear Ultimate Riggers belt, and the PM Leather Hobble Belt.

It also features a press-stud flap option, for quick-release needs.

Why even have a belt loop? Modularity!

 Those corner buckles attach to the included cross-straps, which are two fully adjustable nylon webbing straps, with a press-stud in the middle, to connect the two.

One of the coolest things about this whole system is that it can be worn so many ways.

All of the straps will "double-back" through the buckles for a really secure fit.and the tri-glide attachment points allow you to rig any number of stability or alternative attachment options. The rotating corner clasps mean that the straps stay flat no matter what configuration you wear them in, and they stay upright as you move, depending on how you wear it.

The included cross-straps are a little more versatile than the Anatomic straps, but not nearly as comfortable. The pouches can be worn under the arms, holster style, singly or in pairs, horizontally or vertically, but also on the hips on a sling, as a backpack, slung cross-ways like a bandoleer, on the thigh as a drop-leg or on the front of the chest or even as a shoulder bag.

I used one of the cross-straps to act as a kidney-height stabiliser,  having found that on their own, the pouches slid forwards when i bent over without them.

 Here's the package insert, showing some of the carry options.....


One last thing. Each of the pouches comes with a "Shuttle Pouch" which is made from the same Dobby Nylon, and lined again in the quilted micro-suede with mesh pockets along with nylon strapping. The Shuttle pouch is designed to fit into the "Back pocket" of the main pouch,and be clipped in. It features waterproof zippers and a set of webbing eyelets on each of the four back corners for dummy-cording (mmm, dummy-cord: looks silly, keeps your gear on you...)


This was a seriously feature and function filled set of kit.

I've been wearing it now for a few weeks, getting the configuration and fit right and I must say, it has been one of my better EDC investments for some time.  I wear it every day, almost all day in some cases.

I don't feel "dressed" with out it, and it really is my go-to item when it's time to run out the door; be it emergency, fire, flood or groceries.

Events: SSAA SHOT Expo 2013

I went along to my very first SSAA SHOT Expo last weekend and had a great time.

I've watched with envy as the American SHOT Expo's have been reported in the past and it was great to find out there was one in my own city of Melbourne.

Having missed out on the Land Warfare Conference last year I made sure that I would make it to this one.

I wasn't disappointed! Here's me plugging some pixelated piggies at the Australian Deer Association booth.

I met up with a friend of mine who has been working in private security, and we had a good wander around. The crowds were quite something, even for a Sunday afternoon, but I got to see it all. It was great to finally meet Ben Doyle Cox from Platatac as well

 I was able to make some great new contacts, like the fine folks at Alpine Country, distributors for Stony Creek who took a bunch of time out of their day to go through their whole range with me. I look forwards to seeing some more of their stuff soon, and perhaps giving it a go in the field.

McMillan Rifles had the big guns ... .338 Lapua, .50 cal, and all manner of reach out and touch someone shiny.

I had a good long chat with Joh Dahlgren, of  Dahlgren Trading, importers of Swedish hand made knives, axes and  wrecking bars.

These were some very nice pieces; handcrafted from Swedish steels and some very nice handles in American hickory.

I especially liked the four archeological replica style viking era axes.

There were all kinds of fun things in cabinets, and on the walls for us to check out like this Colt .22LR

I was surprised to see so many pistols, considering the Victorian pistol laws, but it was great to see them up close.









We also saw a whole bunch of taxidermy...

A whole bunch of rifles and scopes at the Gun Emporium, a veritable smorgasbord of shooters.

The Outdoor Sporting Agencies stand had a wide range of longarms fro ma variety of vendors.

Lightforce had a great range of on-scope lighting as well as vehicle mounting lights.

The Beretta stand had partnered with Pelican cases, as well as showing off their own large range of irons.













Probably my favourite pieces of hardware were these two bulpup conversions at the Frontier Arms stand.

I really liked these, and were I in the market for a longarm, I would probably look strongly at these.

They also had a cabinet of target pistols seemed a lot more in keeping, and they are gorgeous pieces of precision machinery.




























 I enjoyed checking out the Moroka.30 Stand, especially their Snakebuster Gaiters and meat carrier packs.












I had a great time catching up with the guys at LEGear, especially Josh, for whom I've done some reviews (1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) in the past. 

I also met the visiting CEO and Vice-President from FENIX who were there with LEGear. Look out for some more from them soon!

Lastly, I dropped in on 5.11 Tactical, and caught up with them too, chatting with Bill over from the US. I had a great time, and got the low down 
on a variety of their products, and scored a set of their Stryke tactical pants, stay tuned for a review soon.








All in all it was a great show, and next time I will have a real agenda, and a plan to cover it all a lot more systematically.

Review: Benchmade - Figure 5 cutter

A while ago, as I was packing up my kit to go and do the IRL Shooter: Patient Zero lasertag event, I seem to have mislaid my Gerber Strap cutter, which made me a bit sad, because I do very much enjoy having a safely cutter on hand, for a variety of adventurous reasons. 

Combat shears are all good and well, and I certainly keep them on-hand when I am out and about doing adventure things, as part of my response kit, but there are occasions where you just want to pull-place-cut your way out of a problem.

When LEGear.com.au put on a big sale, I was quick to snap up a variety of goodies, and this, the Benchmade 5 Safety Cutter Hook was one of them.

I have been carrying this one in my pocket along side my CRKT Eat'n'Tool since it arrived, and the two marry very nicely. The Delrin Snap-Fithard sheath offers a friction release carry option, and itself has a variety of features. 

With three webbing loopholes, as well as two lanyard or Tek-Lok capable holes, you can lash, loop or bolt it to pretty much anywhere. It will also take the MALICE clips from Tactical Tailor.
The deep crenelations on the spine give a really solid grip without tearing at the hand, thanks to their rounded shape, similarly, the "inside edge" where the middle finger rests, with its correspondingly smaller crenelations adds to that grip.

The main finger hole is 2.85cm (1.12") in diameter, making it a good fit, even for a gloved hand. The "mouth" of the blade section is 12.7mm (0.5") so can accommodate a wide variety of materials, and layers. 

 I will be mounting this one to my Zulu Nylon Gear CAOS Admin Pouch which in turn rides on my Bullock Echo daypack when its not in my pocket.
The safety hook aspect of it means that it is great for cutting cords, strapping and opening packaging, but as a rescue tool, there is something very reassuring about being able to go in fast hand hard to get someone out of a bind without worrying about gutting them.

The two extra holes are something of a mystery to me. They are not oxy-tank wrenches, (which are oblong), and they are in fact joined by a thin gap, that runs from the middle of the bottom, through the finger hole, and int othe second eyelet. I can only imagine these are cutting slots, and weight saving holes. Does anyone know what purpose they serve?

I cut a few things to test it out, some 1" webbing, a zip-tie and some paracord. Fast, efficient, and fit for purpose. Benchmade claim that even after 500+ cuts, the initial pull-to-cut strength is 4 times less that that of their competitors (1.8 kg or 4lbs) and will even cut 5 layers of webbing. That's a lot. I look forwards to using this more, but not NEEDING to use it, if you follow ...

Review: Benchmade - SOCP CQB dagger

So, in my recent delivery from Tay at HorNest Singapore, I finally laid my paws on this piece that I first saw on 2Cent Tactical (or at least, the Spartan Arms CQB version) but primarily from the Soldier Systems write up of this one specifically, the Benchmade SOCP Close Quarter Battle dagger.   


Being a dagger, this is a restricted item in Victoria, where I live, but I hold an exemption of the Weapons Control Act as a bona fide collector.

I had held one in the past, when in the Platatac retail shop. Now I have one.

 This is a piece of delicate, singing steel. This is no kitchen knife. No camp knife for chopping branches and making kindling.  This is for putting the pain into people.

Both the dagger and the red skeletonized trainer blade are made of 440C blade steel. The dagger weighs 62.37g (2.20oz ) and the trainer 65.49g (2.31oz), with overall lengths of 18.42cm (7.25") and 17.30cm (6.81") and blade lengths of 8.18cm (3.22") and 7.06cm (2.78") respectively.


Worth noting that on the dagger, the actual sharp edge only accounts for a little over a third of that length but comes to a wickedly sharp point.

10ga phlebotomy needle sharp.

The tail end features a large ring, with crenelations cut into its cap for a very positive grip and the narrow spine is shaped to fit a tight grip, with further crenelations cut into the middle "knuckle gap"for added gripping power.



The trainer and the dagger have the exact same layout, and this makes a very nice and safe transition, over more traditional "training" blades. The safety-red trainer looks, feels and acts almost exactly the same as its more deadly sibling, allowing you to train like you fight, and fight like you train.

Just what is it for then? This blade was designed to be an on-hand backup for a firearm in close quarters fighting.


The narrow spine and ring-grip allows the wielder to maintain a grip on a firearm, be it a pistol or longarm, and have it on-hand to fend off attackers in grappling distance, without switching hands.


One can quite comfortably be carried whilst you are using your hands for other things (just TRY to take my lemonade away).

The idea behind this blade is that it is not a "fighting knife", but a "last-ditch" weapon to buy yourself time in a very dire situation. It is light, fast and very very good at putting holes in things that need ventilating in a "never touch me again" situation.

Being able to hold a knife and still hang operate another tool, or object simply gives you a time advantage over someone who needs to drop an item and draw a knife.

Part of the key to this is the design of the ring grip and how the sheath works. The injection molded sheath with retention clip and lanyard holes fits neatly into a MOLLE channel, taking up three rows, and is held snugly in place by the clip and the flared end of the sheath.

The placement of the lip pf the sheath and the ring means that you can hook the tip of a finger through it, yank it up and out and into a usable grip from just slapping your palm against it, and making a fist whilst drawing back. Its an unusual maneuver, and I am particularly glad that I got the trainer, because I can see myself giving my gear or self an impromptu shave practicing this.

The sheath is available in olive drab or black, and it really does blend in, as well as only adding 28.35g (1oz) to your load. This is a stealth piece if i ever saw one.

A beautiful, functional, dangerously stealthy piece. I really like it, and am very pleased to have added it to my collection, and in the event of the breakdown in society, I'll be very happy to have it in my arsenal.