I am a big fan of these gloves, and have gone through several pairs while over in the box.  I have used the originals and the fast fits, in the color black, and they worked great.  Now I own a pair of the originals, in the color ‘coyote’.  I kind of wish they made coyote colored fast fits, and I have notified the factory about this.  It would also be nice if Mechanix made a Nomex blend glove as well. For convoy operations, I would normally put on a pair of nomex gloves, but for out on the sites these gloves worked great. 

     What I used them for, are just basic daily duties while on static and roving patrol in the hot sun.  In the middle east, everything is scorching hot, and having some protection on your hands is vital.  It is also nice to have some gloves for those last minute work details, and what not.  Although, if you are going to string some concertina wire, I would suggest being careful while wearing these, or find yourself a pair of the wire gloves that are designed for that work.   

     The other reason I like these gloves, is the amount of dexterity I can get out of them.  The material is just thick enough to protective, yet thin enough to handle the controls of a weapons system.  And it is amazing how screwed up your hands can get, if you do a lot of active shooting with a pistol or rifle. These gloves are great for weapons cleaning as well. You do a lot of that, out there in the sand box and elsewhere, and this is where these gloves shine. These gloves are not for fast roping though, or any other kind of rope work.  

    As far as cost, these go for less than your really high end gloves, but cost more than your really cheap gloves that fall apart really quick.  They are a mid-range priced glove, that will last a summer of basic security work.  For sizing, I wear a size 9 Nomex flight glove, and I bought (and like) the size 10 Large with Mechanix gloves. Cheers. -Head Jundi

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The Viking Tactics 2 Point Sling

By Head Jundi

April 11, 2008
     Ok, here is a product I really dig, and one that I actually used on my last contract in Iraq.  It is the Viking Tactics 2 point sling(padded).  I do not like single point slings, and that is just my personal preference.  I like a standard two point sling system, that I can use to either A. create a better shooting platform if time permits or B. hang the weapon on my body anywhere I want and in any position I want.  Plus, I really like how easy it is to adjust.  Overall, it is very easy to use, and multipurpose.

     The construction of this product was great, and it gave me plenty of room(lots of slack in the webbing) to play with.  In fact, you could easily cut off a good chunk of the webbing, to make this thing more snag free. Any loose ends, I secured with some double-sided velcro strips. 

March 28, 2008

By Head Jundi

     In this review, I want to talk about the new chin strap that I bought for my RBR Helmet.  For those of you who wear a helmet from time to time, you probably appreciate as much comfort as you can get out of that brick you wear on your head.  Last summer, I wore that helmet a few times for convoy operations, and the chin strap system that comes with the RBR Helmet is really not that comfortable or easily adjustable.  Nor is the padding system in the helmet that great, and I will save that for a different review.  With that said, I decided to try and find a better chin strap, so I could upgrade my helmet.

     Usually what I do, in order to find new equipment or get new ideas about equipment, is to do my searches on Google, and the pertinent forums that talk about what the guys are using out there.  One of my favorite places on the Internet, for gear reviews, is Lightfighter.net .  There is quite a crew on that forum, and they really like to get down to business on reviewing equipment and talking shop.  I usually just read through all the posts, and try to make my determinations based off the various replies about equipment that is being used and liked.  I try to find reviews from guys who are actually in the field, and using  that stuff, because invariably, you stumble upon reviews from guys who really don’t know what they are talking about.  Hey, it’s the Internet, and you have to learn how to search out the good stuff.

     One of the posts on light fighter, under the helmets and body armor section, talked about the latest gizmo’s and doo dads from the 2007 Shot Show.  One of those items was a new chin strap system, produced by a new company called Ops Core.  Now I have stumbled upon all sorts of chin strap systems out there, but this Ops Core chin strap system really caught my eye.  The guys on the forum seemed to like it as well.

http://tinyurl.com/yo6k66

     So after stumbling upon this new, dang fangled chin strap system, I now had some search ‘ammo’, and started looking for a cheap price and any other reviews.  I could not find any, and Ops Core, at the time, was the only ones selling said item, and the Light Fighter crew were the only ones talking about it.  So I stuck with the info from Light Fighter, and absorbed it all.  And I tell you what, I was sold.  Here is the chinstrap I was sold on, and this is what the company had to say about it.

Well, I just bought a pair of these, and plan on putting them through the paces.  My first impression is that they are built pretty well and are very comfortable.  They did not give me a pair with tan retaining elastic on the lower leg pockets, and mine are black.(in the photo above, they are tan)  The material is a soft, lightweight cotton poplin type.(like the Sigtac Shirts, if you have ever seen those)  I don’t know how long these will last, but they seem to be a lot more functional than 5.11’s .  I would classify them as the best that Army style ACU’s offer, crossed with a 5.11 style pants.  I bought mine at Botach Tactical and I was happy with their service on this order. If anyone has used these out in the field, I would love to hear what you think?