Wish Lust: HHA new range. LFK and ASOT

I wanted to get the news out there that the fine folks at Hardcore Hardware Australia have released five new blades to their inventory.

I bought Omega one of their original LFK01 knives a few years back, and it is much beloved, and they have come up with a new handle design, as well as four new blade shapes as well. Check them out! I'm particularly partial to the LFK-07, I don't have any knives in that particular grind

"Good things come in small packages".
Based on the success of the original LFK-01 we have created a NEW & IMPROVED RANGE of compact fix blades. The LFK Series is AVAILABLE NOW through our shop for $129.00 visit http://hardcorehardware.com.au
Features inc:
- Full tang construction (6mm) D2 Tool steel
- Bevelled edging
- Robust Teflon coating
- Ergonomic G10 handle scales
- Ambidextrous friction lock sheath system
- TecLok belt attachment
- Available in Black and Desert colour coding

AND, just in the nick of time to replace my lost Benchmade SOCP CQB dagger, the HHA ASOT-01 has been released, both in its Black and Desert colours, (with a Slate gray version pending) and in the blue Trainer version too.

ASOT-01
Thanks for waiting out on this everyone! Our 1st production run has gone to our mates at PLATATAC Australia and to our International network. PLATATAC have the ASOT in 2 mounting options, in 2 live blade colours (black/desert) and the trainer (blue), so please visit their website or Melbourne retail store - all options are available as listed on their web site. For our International customers, the ASOT is available through the usual outlets - note Graphite Grey is exclusive to export sales at this time.

We’ve jammed a load of features into the ASOT whilst keeping it compliant with the Special Operations Combative Program (SOCP), we hope everyone likes the design enhancements and understands our legal limitations in Victoria manufacturing a tool of this type. For those of you that like to read, following are all the details on the how and why. If you have further questions, please drop us a line. 

The Hardcore Hardware Australia® ASOT-01 is designed as a fast access, multi-purpose CQB tool.
The distinct bevelled ring design of the ASOT-01 enhances the tool's accessibility and comfort, making it exceptionally fast and easy to draw. This feature also enables transition to a rifle or hand gun with no disconnection between the tool and firearm. The concave thumb recess at the top of the ring supports a positive grip and the application of downward force.
Unique to the ASOT-01 is its live edge identifier at the three quarter length of the handle. This characteristic enables the user to quickly identify the position of the single-sided cutting edge by feel. Ergonomic, textured G10 scales enhance the feel for a superior Grip, and are equally comfortable in either master or support hand.
 
Personalised mounting is critical for an instinctive and swift deployment. Therefore the ASOT-01 Kydex® ambidextrous sheath is available in both Tek-Lok™ and Molle-Lok™ mounting options. These can be customised for vertical, horizontal or angled wear. The provision of eyelet holes along both sides of the blade carrier facilitate alternative attachment to the body or gear via paracord or cable ties. A low profile design also allows the tool to be sandwiched between magazine/accessory pouches, or horizontally along the belt line to maintain optimum concealment and retention.
Advantages of the ASOT-01 over conventional blades are its balance, size, versatility and strength. It’s superior power and reliability comes from the 6mm (0.236”) D2 tool steel stock, which can withstand impact without loss of sharpness. The razor sharp, partial serrations will also aid more demanding cutting tasks. The ASOT-01 is also available as a soft-edge Training model in HIVIZ Blue.

Home Front: Impact testing

I wanted to do a bit of a demonstration on the effects of some of the impact tools I have been covering of late, and throughout my reviews.

Here's the lineup:
1)Cybernetic Research Labs Tactical Pen
2)Ti2 Techliner pen
3)RaidOps MF Delta
4)RaidOps TM Joe
5)Sharp Shooter keychain




I asked a group of my hitting and hacking peers and came up with "pumpkin" as as good a target for testing as any.

I wanted a good solid target, which would offer a fleshy impact simulation, not be pulped, but also not shatter on impact. I happened to have a butternut pumpkin handy and it being winter here, wanted some with dinner.

For good repeatability of the tests, I chose a downwards punch from about chest height for each strike. I didn't put any hip into the strike, nor follow through, just a static jab type punch. For the pen type tools I used a downward stab, from the heel of the fist. I braced the pumpkin with a pencil, just to stop it rolling, and turned it for each strike to hit a fresh surface 

The CRL. Tactical Pen sunk in only to the depth of the tool tip, stopping at the body of the pen. It collected a lot of material on the way out. In fact, my pen still has pumpkin wedged into the fluting.

The Ti2 TechLiner pen sunk in further than I would have expected for a blunt tool, but it's sleek lining offered little resistance. It also cored some pumpkin, but not nearly as aggressively as the CRL pen.

The MF -Delta had a fairly shallow penetration, with the flat head giving a regular indentation and the bottle opener head giving a shallower, but jagged indentation. I wasn't surprised that the Delta didn't dig in more, but it did feel very comfortable in the hand. 

The TM -Joe dug in a surprising amount, all the way to the "jaw" of the tool, which upon reflection, shouldn't have been surprising, given the chisel-wedge shape of the teeth of this tool.  

The SharpShooter was an interesting test. I did two, one from the key-end as a flail. Again with my hand held around chest height, and the second as a pen-strike as with the CRL and Ti2 pens. 

The flail end of the SharpShooter left a very shallow, but messy set of intends, one for each key, as well as the shackle, and even one from the ring (which I accidentally had left loose, rather than around my finger as per the instructions).






The pen end of the SharpShooter was fairly disappointing, but not unexpected, mostly because of the combination of the rubber stopper and the paracord knot. It left a bit of a bruise on the skin, but no discernible penetration. 

I then started cutting up my pumpkin, and got to see the trauma dished out by each tool.

The CRT and Ti2 pens showed their depth of penetration and the tissue trauma really nicely.

The MF-Delta's shallow penetration belayed the broad spread of trauma beneath the skin, which was quite pervasive all around the penetration, to a respectable depth

The TM-Joe offered a comparable amount of trauma, but deeper and wider. This is definitely the nastier of the two tools to strike with. I shudder to consider the combined effects of skin and flesh and bone when struck by this titanium tool.


The Sharp Shooter didn't display any significant penetration, nor trauma beneath the rind of the pumpkin (which was delicious, I might add).

All in all I'd say that the RaidOps TM-Joe was the most devastating tool to make a mess of a pumpkin with, and perhaps I will move on to some meat-tests with it, like I did with the SuperHammer and KA-BAR knives ...

Update: Go! hammock stretch goal.

I covered the Go! Hammock a little while ago as a Wish-Lust item. Jason Montgomery, creator of the Go! Hammock Kickstarter tells me he has had lots of people asking about the possibility of adding a bug net option. He is pleased to announce that all backers will have the option to upgrade, for a fee. He isn't yet sure about the upgrade price yet. 

This version of the hammock will have an integrated bug net that is sewn on.

A long zipper will be set along one side of the net to close it. The hammock can be used without the bug net by removing the ridgeline from inside the net, flipping the hammock over. The upgrade will include four stakes and four pieces of shock cord for tying off the net to keep it our of the way. 

Go check out the Kickstarter here!

Events: Battle Apocalypse lasertag

I previously offered my review of the Oz Apocalypse : Zombie Apocalypse lasertag event as a topic near and dear to my heart, but they also offered to take me and some friends along for one of their Battle Apocalypse events too.

This wasn't a scripted "make it through the maze" event, but rather a totally open-plan player- verses -player event. The connecting walls, closed by hurricane fencing for the Zombie Apocalypse event to make for a pretty linear dungeon-bash were opened up, such that all the areas were available, including the previously hidden "staff-access" areas, in between sets.

I've played a number of lazer-tag type games, and paintball, as well as the NERF-based LRP events, such as "After the Fall" but the realistic weapons, both in size and weight and in operation and action were a step ahead than anything I'd done previously.

We combined two times slots of teams, and got double-time in-game as a result (thanks everyone) and broke into two pretty evenly numbered teams. Initially we had a couple of people opt to wear the pain-belts (myself being one) but it turned out that an unfortunate glitch in the system would have seen me getting a shock not only anytime _I_ took a hit, but also anytime someone used the re-spawn transmitter in my line of sight, which also operated over IR much like the guns and targeting belts. We all opted out after a few false-shocks.

Given the frequency of deaths in every game, that was a wise move. We were all initially set up as a two-hit kill, with approximately 150 shots per magazine, with unlimited refills available, but back at the re-spawn site. I opted to go semi-auto for much of the first few bouts, gaugeing how effective I was with the taggers. I flipped over to 3-round burst later on, to be more effective.

It was a good example of seeing how different people act under pressure. The broken light, noise and tension was quite effective, and some people, communicated well, others didn't at all. We all suffered from "dead-men-tell-no-tales" violations, myself included, but I like to think I also backed up, and notified my team pretty well.

We were set up NOT to have friendly-fire count, which was a two-edged sword, but it meant for "safer" gameplay. I had adjusted my rig from the previous event slightly, and I also wore my Propper Multicam and Platatac CUS Punisher shirt combo, which kept me cool and pretty dry, though I did work up a sweat from stress and the activity in my plate-carrier and pads.

I had a blast, again, and we had a good time, as well as dong "better" than our opponents. My three friends and I worked pretty well together,
in so much as that we all had done this kind of thing before, some more professionally than others, I must say, be we certainly benefited from -his- experience, I would have to say.

Unfortunately the Oz Apocalypse season is over, I hope some of you managed to get a go in, and if not, get to have a similar experience soon, because it was a lot of fun.

Review: SharpShooter

I saw a cool impact weapon in one of my feeds, and got in touch with its creator, Karate Master Robert Moran,  to see if I could try one out. Master Moran was kind enough to send me one, and I've carried it in my pocket for some time now, and can give you my thoughts. This is the SharpShooter keychain and what I can tell you about it.

The keychain consists of four distinct components. The core element is the paracord that runs through the center. This is doubled up and serves as the main conduit for the Sharp Shooter's action.

Knotted at one end, a length of steel tubing, covered in a silicone sleeve for grip is set up to run freely, apart from a silicone gasket, which pins it in place as a friction lock.

A steel o-ring is looped into the main paracord loop and is used as the retention system for the keychain, and its as easy to use as wearing a ring. Being free-floating the ring and the steel tube can slide freely. 

The last component is the keychain component, which features a steel oval screw link as you might find in climbing or in boating. It holds your keys in a nice tight bunch, ready to open your doors, or perhaps offer a face-full of "please unhand me, uncouth ruffian" as needed.

The idea of the keychain is to offer an alternate means of carrying your keys as well as offering a flexible weapon, that unobtrusively sits in your pocket or purse.

Master Moran offers an instructional DVD as well as on-site training at his Dojo. The tool works by cinching up the pipe all the way to the top of the knot, up near the screw-link, and by slipping the toggle back, you can transition from a downward strike with the pipe as a pressure point tool, but which a flick of the wrist, you can "shoot" out the keys, to form an impromptu flail or mace. 

The ring keeps it secure and locked into your grip, but subtly enough that it certainly doesn't LOOK like you have anything other than a set of keys dangling over your knuckles. 

I have tried the flick and swipe techniques, and the strikes with the pipe piece a couple of times, on a couple of different materials, and with some of the techniques I remember being shown by Sensei Guest at a Bujinkan winter camp in flexible weapons, I could see how this could give you a very game-changing strike in a last-ditch self defense situation.

I'd suggest you check your local concealed weapons laws, but if you fancy adding a little something to your EDC to give you an edge, that doesn't raise a lot of eyebrows, for the otherwise noncombative members of your family, this might well be something to look into.

Review: Sierra Madre - Pares hammock

As first seen on BreachBangClear!

I covered the tent-component of the Sierra Madre Research system, the Nubé not long ago, and I wanted to also show off their very well thought out hammock component as well.

The Pares hammock system follows on from the design philosophy as on the Nubé, with its 100% nylon fabric body, lending it softness to the touch, stretch for comfortable shaping, resilience to UV degradation and both fast drying and breathable for comfort even on rainy days.



With a packed weight of 640g (1lb 6.5oz) the Pares stretches out to a massive 3.3m (10'9.5") long and a stretched width of 1.98cm (6'6"). This of course only gives you an indicator oh how much fabric is involved, not necessarily the usable space, but we'll get to that.

Packed into its own Pares Compression bag (SMr’s dry bag design), it bundles up into a 14cm (5.5") x 14cm (5.5") x 12cm (4.5") ball, with a long flap suitable to stowing both the accessory straps and the carabiners used to set it up.

Again as in the Nubé the compression bag features webbing that feeds from a single loop, so you have no dangling ends, and the loop itself is an attachment point. It's a very subtle addition and adds a lot of value. Simple a one handed pull on the loop tightened both sides.

 The Pares is recommended for a nominal user weight of 140kg (300lbs) but has a full tested strength of 450kg (1000lbs) so if you're either loaded down with gear when you hit the sack, or are just a big, solid kind of sentient being, you should be ok.

Nearly 50 percent wider than the ultra light xPlor model of the SMr range, this is a more spacious hammock than the others I've used any time recently, if you dont count the purpose built multi-person ones and provided me several comfortable nights sleep out at an event. I'm a tall critter, at 6'4" and my wingspan is almost 6'6", so to have a hammock that I can lay in sideways, couch style and still have room to go, sideways, was a big plus.

One of the things I really liked about the Pares was that those top layers, the light green, not only added padding when gound couch-style, but when laying down longways, curled over forming a cocoon, enveloping me and acting as an extra-bug screening layer. They also added some privacy when I was changing, and also when in bed, doing some reading by Orb-light.

The Pares includes a couple of really interesting features that set it aside from other hammocks I've used: Attached to that outer lip at two points, one at each end, on the right hand side if you're laying in it, are grab handles, which really help getting around within it, by letting you shift up or down in the otherwise silky nylon, as well as getting in and out easily. These are sewn into the well made top seam fairly securely, and I didn't have any concerns hauling myself up and around by it.

The other feature on the body of the hammock worth noting are the two attachment points at the mid-line.

These twin pieces of nylon hardware feature a loop-hole, as well as a webbing-wide hole, and can act as both a gear and accessory hanging points, but also fit the internal clips on the Nubé, inner liner, opening up the Pares from that cocoon effect.

At each end of the hammock is a heavy bundled knot, where all the fabric is drawn, and a loop of cord is exposed. These are where you affix your hammock to whatever you are suspending it from.

Those connection loops will let you fit any kind of attachment, but the Sierra Madre team have their own system. Their EZSlings allow you to easily hang your Pares hammock in less than a minute, or a little longer if you are fitting it with the Nubé as well. These consist of 315cm (10'4") of tubular webbing and high strength cordage with loops at one end, to feed through itself, and to the hammock at the other end. The cord is doubled and has a set of staggered knot to give you graduated attachment points The straps are rated to 450kg (1000lbs) as well, and the pair only weigh 185g (6.5oz).

To round off the package, they also protect the tree from scarring or any other damage that may be caused to a tree by small ropes used to hang your hammock. Looping it through itself makes a really secure hold to whatever you secure it to. I found that those graduated knots really made it difficult to get the hammock to just the right spot, I found. I adjusted it a few times, but had to do some fiddling to make it right, too much sag is too not good in a hammock. Not insurmountable, but annoying. I found myself touching the ground a couple of times until I adjusted it.I could have set it higher, but thats not the point. Still, it's just a matter of adjustment.

SMr also fit out their deluxe package with a couple of wire-gated carabiners to let you have clip on access to both the slings, and the attachment cords for easy, secure set-up and take-down. They themselves have a 22KN axial load rating and up to 2265kg (500lbs). No fear of falling on your ass from that angle, anyway.

One last cool thing with the SMr system, you can sling a second hammock under the first (if you have enough clearance) to create what SMr call Hambunks. This is a cool idea, and probably excellent with kids, but I don't think I'd want to have one of my buddies asses right in my face all night.  Not the way we eat in the field ...

This is a seriously comfortable hammock, and I really enjoy hanging out in it, camping 000

Review: Rhino Ropeworks - Hornet marlin spike

I do like a tool that has double duty. This is the Hornet from Rhino Ropework which I commissioned in both its olive green Cerakote, but also with a custom kydex scabbard.

This marlin spike is part rope working tool and part CQB weapon. Milled from marine grade 316 stainless steel right here in Australia, the Hornet is a smaller sibling of the Mad Stick, which I covered a while ago, and it's heft and no frills design is indicative of this.




With its grooved body, the Hornet is easy to grip, and the working end, which is separated from the body of the tool by a deep notch, tapers down to a working tip, which whilst not sharp, is a solid rope working end.

The 316 stainless steel makes for a good tool, for the kind of work it is designed for. Weighing in at 110g (3.9oz) and measuring
180mm (7") in length, and 12mm (just less than 0.5") in diameter the Hornet is a substantial tool.

I've used the tool for working knots, as fits its purpose, but I have also find it useful for a variety of other tasks, from flipping steaks on the BBQ to punching holes in cans.

The Cerakote coating adds further to the innate chemical and wear resistance of the steel the Hornet is made from, but I managed to wear it off the tip all the same in my testing and regular use. It's still smooth and fit for purpose, for all my abuse.

One of the nice additional features is the lanyard hole, which whilst a tight fit for even this lacing cord, would probably manage to feed paracord through it, with some careful melting if the end and some hard work.

As a marlin spike, I've found the Hornet is both robust and substantial. Its easier to work with than the clasp knife one I have. The angle of the spike allow you to really get some leverage into the splicing and loosening knots and other rope.

The tip is rounded so you don't have to worry about digging into the threads of cord you're working with. It works really nicely with paracord, as well as higher diameter cords and ropes. The tip isn't really suited to cords much finer than that, a 5mm dummy-cord is pretty much the finest I have managed to use it with.

It's a treat in the hand, the beveled tail-cap fits in the palm nicely, and the groves are slight enough to not grate on the fingers, but sufficient to grip the tool for even the toughest knotwork.

I received a tan Kydex scabbard in my package from Rhino Ropeworks, which was fitted by a third party, and I'm afraid to say that it isn't as well fitted as I might have liked.

It has a pinch-point around the mid-notch , but it just isn't -quite- tight enough. No fault to Rhino Ropeworks, it's just a very tight design, with very few features to "catch" on a friction lock.

I have used the eyelets to lash it to my American Kami Super Colubris and it has been a faithful accessory as my belt-carry when I am adventuring. It's proven itself useful in a variety of settings, and I'm glad that I have it.