Review: SureFire - Sonic Defender EP4 EarPro

I've covered a bunch of PPE in the past: body armour, rain and weather wear, helmets, goggles and buoyancy gear. What I haven't really covered before is ear protection.

I have always worn earplugs when out at clubs and concerts, sporting events (RollerDerby all the way!) but also for power tool work and for industrial noise. Generally I have worn the squishy foam earbuds, but have resorted to rolled up cloth, wadded paper and even Blu-Tack in order to preserve my hearing in loud environments. Mostly nightclubs.
The problem with all these kind of earbuds is the loss of clarity. Or you go to over-head ear-muffs and lose even more.



When I saw the Sure Fire Sonic Defender EP4 on Platatac's website, I thought I'd take the plunge with something more professional.

These hypoallergenic, medical-grade polymer framed plugs fit into the contours and folds of the ear, in ways that are both comfortable AND secure. No more foam popping out, these suckers stay in place, regardless of how much I am enjoying the PWEI reunion concert I am at, or rattling myself with a hammer-drill fortifying "the bunker". The triple flange design incorporates a patented Hocks Noise Braker® filter, lowering potentially dangerous noise levels above 85dB by upwards of 24dB whilst the little stoppers are in place, but allow for near-normal range of hearing when out.

I also noted that the high and mid-range loss was quite different to that with regular foam plugs, there was much more clarity in human speech, without the sharp high-end sting that naked-earways might expect, around loud sources. Removable lanyard lets you pull them out have them draped around your neck, or gear and not drop them in the muck, should you need to.

The soft, durable, and long-lasting plugs were comfortable wearing for hours, and I was able to answer a call on my phone with no problems. Being a low-profile design that allows you to keep them in place while wearing a mask, helmet, hat, headphones, or supplemental ear muff means you can wear them without being caught with unprotected hearing for those unexpected noises in non permissive environments ....

Review: Propper - STL II pants

As first seen on BreachBangClear ..... I really love being able to write for these guys, and upcoming articles for RecoilWeb too!


Here's another great piece from Propper's new line-up, the redoubtable  STL II pants, that came in my haul of Propper loot, along with a Liberty Bottle , the ICE polo shirt, (http://www.epropper.com/p-105-ice-mens-performance-polo-short-sleeve.aspx), their Gen Multipurpose Bag (http://www.epropper.com/p-217-gen-multipurpose-bag.aspx) and a 720 Belt (http://www.epropper.com/p-225-720-belt.aspx) all of which have reviews pending. Watch this space.

Here is what I can tell you about the STL II pants. I've reviewed some Propper pants before and appreciated the comfort and wearability of their design, construction and durability. The STL II's are no different. Made from a 97% nylon and 3% spandex, it has a generous cut and all the hard wearing seams are reinforced, and flat-finished, giving these pants a very comfortable fit. http://www.epropper.com/p-148-stl-ii-pant.aspx

The fabric is soft, breathes nicely and light, a far cry from my old canvas type cargo pants of yesteryear. I wonder how hard-wearing they will be in the long term, and whether they need to fall in the "slacks vs overalls" category of rough-use. I have a feeling running through acacia thorns wouldn't be a lot of fun in these.

On the upside, they feature gusseted crotch allows greater range of motion as well as giving pinch free fit for those of us who go-commando or even sport some jewelry ...

An interesting feature is that the bottom of the legs have a zippered expandable opening, for fitting over boots, as well as a reinforced "kick-panel"  to take some of the brunt for those who punish their back hems a fair bit.

The front pockets feature a reinforcing strip, for belt-clips of knives or key-holders, and are both deep and well lined. No holes poking through or awkward bulges with these. The thigh-pockets are zippered and discreet, as are the rear-pockets. A pair of looped fabric bands on the front two belt-loops

You might notice that I have stuffed my iPad Air into the thigh-pocket. A tight fit, but I'd call that a success, in my "can I pocket my iPad" criteria. This also further demonstrated the clean and subtle lines of these pants. When closed off, there are no bulging baffles or overtly "cool-guy" flaps on these pants. Perfect for blending in with the regular folks out and about, in the office, or in my day-to-day case, in hospitals and giving presentations in board-rooms, without making security nervous.

As Propper themselves state, you'd have to look twice at these pants to spot their tactical features.

Speaking of which, there is even a secret 12cm x 10cm pocket, in the back waistband seam.  Its big enough for me to stash my passports, or a phone, and when coupled with a pair of belt-pouches, is pretty much invisible.

For pants as cleanly cut as these, I like that they still have the "secret-squirrel" feel of their tactical ancestry.  As previously mentioned, they feel more like slacks than combat-pants, that is a plus and a minus, depending on how you look at it.

Sneak peek: SOG - BladeLight

Here's a quick Grill-Ops shot of the SOG BladeLight fixed blade. Talk about a lightsabre!

Wish Lust: Kickstarter UV PaqLite - Mule Orb

Here's a cool Kickstarter project that I am backing, and wanted to get the word out there.

This is the Mule Orb, by UV PaqLite,  who also produce the the UVGlowStik, the 6" ToobLite, a UVO ring necklace and the flexible signature UVPaqLite sheet that I have covered previously as part of their Scout Pack.

The UVPaqLite line gets its signature glow from the solidified clear epoxy, in which crystals of  glow-in-the-dark strontium aluminate are suspended. These crystals offer significantly more "glow" than the powdered SrAl₂O₄:Eu that goes into other moon-glow products.  

The trick with the Mule-Orb is that it combines those very efficient crystals with a USB rechargeable battery-powered LED. The hybrid option works in energy saving cycles: 4 second bursts of light from the LED's every 2 minutes keeps the crystals at a super bright level allowing users to maintain a glow stick illumination for at least 100 hours. Check out their existing Mule-Stick option.

The LED is activated in two ways; the first is to activate the lights for constant-on, acting as a flashlight which sines through one face of the crystal-embedded epoxy, and the second as the pulsed-recharge option, keeping the crystals charged. A built in photo-receptor allows it to also be set to only pulse in the absence of light, meaning you can leave it set outside and not have it pulse whilst it is lit by ambient light, further extending the battery life.

The Orb is water resistant, but not water proof, which is why the UVPaqLite folks have also designed this diving case, which I am also hoping to lay my paws on, with a 30m (100') depth rating, this would be excellent for all the PADI Open Water types out there, and given its operational life, might even suit the needs of all you cave and wreck certified types to act as markers and waypoint indicators.


All in all this hybrid option looks to be a really good investment, and certainly worth adding to anybody's bug-out-bag .

Go check out the KickStarter page, as well as their home-page,  their technology is the reusable, green-alternative to disposable cyalume sticks.

Review: EcoFuture - ChillShot

I had a funny delivery in the mail recently, and thought I might share it with you all. 

This is a stress relief supplement that was sent to me by the good folks at OurEcoFuture, who you may recall also produce the Aqua Prove water treatment, an organic hand sanitizer spray and a BioDefence foot protection treatment.

This is the Chill Shot, which is purported to promote a feeling of tranquility, reduced stress, less anxiety and inspires a greater sense of self confidence and lessening social inhibitions". That's quite a sell, in any-ones book. I gave it a shot.

With an ingredient list that reads much like a multivitamin tablet, mixed with the key "secret ingredient" Zembrin®, a Sceletium Tortuosum extract, with the more mundane but standard vitamins A, D, B6, B12, C, E, Biotin, iodine, zinc, Phosphatidylserine (a memory/cognition booster) , calcium, folate, Pantothenic Acid (another vitamin, B5) and copper, its a content rich supplement in a 60mL package.
  
I've been a test subject for a nutritional biochemist before, so am no stranger to the taste these kinds of things can have, but for the unprepared, this might have been a shock. Think about chewing multivitamin tablets, and ashing it down with grapefruit juice. You know its working, but isn't necessarily what you'd want to base a cocktail on. 

At slightly higher volume of consumption, the effects are reported to  become more pronounced and produce feelings of euphoria, increased tactile sensitivity, as well as amplified libidinal desires, not to use if pregnant, nursing or operating machinery. and that hit is not intended for use by persons under the age of 12.


I found it to be a very gentle buzz, not unlike the Musashi energy drinks I used to have, quite different from the Red Bull/V type go-juice drinks. Think of it as a multivitamin shot, with a rounded calming effect, and you'd have the right idea. 

High stress survival situation, on limited nutritional value rations? This might be the ticket to help keep your head (and brains) when you don't have time to look after yourself or get enough rack-time. 

Sneak Peek: Ti2 - Sentinel X containers

Just arrived in the mail, following shipping misadventures... I'm really excited about these ... Stay tuned!

Review: Boker 343 scalpel folder

A while back I added a couple of new folders to my collection of pointies. Folding knives are easy to carry, easy to pack and easy to deploy. I've had little folders, from Swiss Army knives, to a more traditional liner lock pocket knife my cousin gave me and I lost in the deserts of the Arabian peninsula.

This delicate and swan-necked blade is the Boker 343, as far as I can tell, a little hard to tell for sure as it seems to be a discontinued line, although it is very similar to the current  Boker Urban Survival knife

This full gray titanium coated, 440C stainless steel blade features ambidextrous thumb bolts for ease of opening. The 5.6cm edge is straight and scalpel shaped, and only 1.9cm at its widest. The long straight edge makes for easy resharpening, although I haven't found I've needed to do much to keep it keen.  This is a paring knife, not a machete, that's for sure.

Featuring a pocket clip on one side, the textured aluminium alloy scales are well formed and fitted, sitting nicely in the hand.

The liner lock has a smooth finish, with little to no wobble to the blade when extended, or when sitting folded. The bolts holding the piece together are very neatly set, and tie the whole look together very nicely.

I liked the feel of the blade in the hand, and the scalpel like wield it offered. Again, this is a precision cutting tool, not a hacker, or slasher.

Slightly too big to fit easily in PALLS/MOLLE webbing, this blade does however sit very unobtrusively and nicely in the pen-slot of admin pockets. The biggest problem I have with it is the slightly awkward opening and closing arc the swan-neck affords when you engage the liner-lock.





For what it is, this is an elegant knife, and sits without drawing attention to itself in my day-bag, waiting for a time when I might need a cutting tool more suitable than the knife in my multitool.