Our very own Sara Davidson is running-shoes-on-the-ground in Salt Lake City covering all the gear from Outdoor Retailer over on PT365 next best thing to being there!
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Sean Naylor at Army Times has the story on the mysterious helicopter that crashed in Osama’s garden. The helicopters that flew the Navy SEALs on the mission to kill Osama bin Laden were a radar-evading variant of the special operations MH-60 Black Hawk, according to a retired special operations aviator.
The helicopter’s low-observable technology is similar to that of the F-117 Stealth Fighter the retired special operations aviator said. “It really didn’t look like a traditional Black Hawk,” he said. It had “hard edges, sort of like an … F-117, you know how they have those distinctive edges and angles — that’s what they had on this one.”
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Jeanette Kozlowski over at Cat5 Commerce’s TacticalGear blog scored an interview with 5.11 CEO Dan Costa. While the blog is not an editorial product (it’s part of online retailer Cat5′s marketing efforts) they do get the CEO on some uncomfortable ground. With questions like, “Are you concerned with undermining your wholesale business by having such a minimal difference between MAP and MSRP?” it’s clear that the content is meant to calm his dealer network more than educate 5’11′s end users.
The interview is mostly Costa justifying the companies’ 25% price increase. He blames the price of oil, cotton, China’s trade practices, the labor market and currency exchange rates. He also talks about how his company isn’t really screwing affecting it’s retailers by cutting the difference between MAP (Minimum Advertised Price). This is a pretty complicated issue, but on it’s face it means smaller internet-based dealers are going to have to swallow hard to compete with 5.11′s MSRP-based own e-commerce site.
Other topics include Costa’s non-answer to a question on 5.11 possibly going public, why LA Police Gear failed to compete with 5.11 and a few other topics. It’s a good read that gets even better if you can read between the lines. I’m going to talk to some folks in the industry and see who else wants to talk about recent and future pressure on the the clothing market. -R
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Just last night I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to drop the SCAR-H’s lower receiver without breaking anything off. Then it was time for the bolt carrier, guide rod and spring. I sat there staring into the upper laying on my kitchen table wondering, “Okay, now how the eff does that come out???”
Well, look at that. “KALMAR305″ posted the manual for the SCAR family of weapons up on SCRIBD just this past Monday. It includes operating, maintenance and troubleshooting instructions for the MK16 (SCAR-L), MK 17 (SCAR-H) and MK 13 (EGLM). It’s not classified, but it is marked as authorized for distribution only to authorized DoD personnel and DoD contractors.
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This summer, I had a chance to watch the trailer for Danny Boyle’s telling of Darren Ralston’s 127 hour ordeal. You’ll recall Ralston cut off his own arm to free himself from a boulder that trapped him in remote slot canyon back in 2003.
The trailer was great, but I had no idea how powerful the whole film would be. The LA Times reports screeners are passing out after watching actor James Franco (playing Ralston) cut his arm off. I had already planned on catching this one in the theater, but now? For sure! It’s in theaters Friday, 11/12.
Some viewers need a hand after the forearm amputation in 127 Hours – latimes.com.
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The New York Times has an interactive look at the contents of 14 nation’s MREs. Worth a look if you think you might get the chance for a trade. You can get in idea how Polish Bogracz stacks up against chicken cavatelli.
Looks like almost all the nations MREs would be an even trade except for the Lithuanians and the Canadians. Save the Jambalaya for them.
A Taste of Home in Foil Packets and Powder – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com
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The up-and-coming tactical clothiers at Vertx are using their Facebook page to raise money for Navy SEAL Adam Brown’s memorial fund. Brown was killed while operating with his team in Afghanistan just last month.
Vertx blew past their original 10,000 and have upped their goal to 12,000. That’s $1 for every new fan they get on their page by April 30 (up to $4,400). Tell your friends, and let’s see if we can get them up over the top.
Update: My bad folks, I misunderstood and restated the terms of Vertx’s donation above.
Vertx makes some fine low profile tactical pants for people that need the utility and fit of cargo pants but don’t want to look like they just walked out of a Banana Republic.
For every new Facebook fan we receive by April 30th up to 10,000 12,000, Vertx will donate one dollar to the Adam Brown Memorial Fund. Please use the “Suggest to Friends” link below the Vertx logo to particiapte. Thank you.
via Facebook | VERTX’s Photos – Wall Photos.
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We just came across this M.R. Gustafson’s handy Ribbon Checker for USMC, Navy and Coast Guard uniforms. If you aren’t sure where your new ribbon goes, check it with this page. Just check off the ribbons from the list presented, and the site presents a visual guide to help you get them in the right order. Nifty.
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Whoops. A gun shop that calls itself the #1 Glock dealer in Georgia just took a #2 on Glock’s carefully scripted release plan for their Gen4 pistols. Check out the photos and details posted on Ed’s Public Safety’s Facebook page. The changes are pretty evolutionary, as opposed to revolutionary, so they shouldn’t cause a fan-boy revolt. The changes mostly bring Glock up to feature parity with it’s polymer-framed competitors.
Here’s a quick rundown.
- Looks like the G17 and G22 are the first out of the chute.
- New, less pointy RTF texture
- New dual stage recoil spring
- 3 backstrap sizes included
- User configurable mag release can run on either side of the grip
- Right side mag release requires the use of new Gen4 mags
- LEO price for the G22 is right around $500
Merry Christmas!
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http://media.podcastingmanager.com/2/6/4/9/0/219708-209462/vlog/left_side_reload.flv
Grey Group has a blog post that about 10% of you will find interesting. Zushwa is a good shot, he’s also a lefty. Rather than rant about the injustice suffered by left-handed shooters, Zushwa shares a handful of weapon manipulation techniques and illustrates them with a bunch of video.
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