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Tag "Camp Gear"

The Arc’teryx Law Enforcement & Armed Forces (LEAF) collection has grown this month with a slew of new offerings.

Arc’teryx is well known for their climbing and upper-end outdoor clothing, but the LEAF lineup takes the lessons learned from the outdoor enthusiasts and applies it to the ultimate outdoor adrenaline activity. The LEAF articles are based around law enforcement and military needs, and with the Arc’teryx clothing I’ve used, I would say they’ve done a solid job. Materials that hold up, stitching that doesn’t leave you exposed, clothes that are cut right, and designs that look and feel good in uniform and out.

Military Times is looking forward to laying hands on this new lineup, and being able to give direct feedback based on real-world use. We’ll get the specifications for the new items up as soon as we can get them, but for now, check out the pictures and get an idea of what is starting to emerge on the market.

http://leaf.arcteryx.com/




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I love hip flasks, but they’re usually too fancy for practical use. I’ve owned a handsome little stainless steel flask for years. It’s very slim but too heavy. And I always worry about losing the cap. It’s now in the gadget drawer gathering dust.

I don’t have a flask fetish or anything; I just like my gin — even if I’m on the road. Is that so wrong?

Anyway, Stanley is coming out with three new styles of flasks in its NINETEEN13  line. I recently had the chance to try one of them out. Its flat, leaf green color blends well in any camp, field or ballgame setting. The screw-off cap stays attached to the flask by a black rubber arm that’s sturdier than it looks. It prevents the cap from being dropped in the dirt, and it helps the flask stand up when it’s turned upside down to dry.

It holds 8 ounces of your favorite poison and doesn’t appear to taint the taste. The Beefeater gin I kept in it for four days tasted like I poured it out of the glass bottle. The stainless steel body weighs just 4.75 ounces, that’s about half the weight many traditional flasks. It’s made in China, but most things are these days.

In addition to the green, the new flasks also come in black with a cool scull and dark gray with “UNBREAKABLE” written on it. The green model features the standard, nineteen13 star logo. Stanley’s new flasks will be available sometime this fall at www.stanley-pmi.com for about $20 bucks.

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Carbon Flash
Jetboil’s new FLASH stove is an all-in-one design, combining burner and cooking vessel in one 14oz unit. The latest update to the personal cooking system is a cozy that changes color to indicate a hot pot. Space-savers will love how everything stacks inside FLASH’s 1 liter vessel/drinking mug. Pull it out and you’re only 2 minutes away from boiling water and don’t even need a match to light it thanks to the piezo-electric, push-button starter.

FLASH will be available in four colors- Gold, Violet, Sapphire and Carbon.  Look for it in stores and online beginning October 2009. MSRP $99.99.

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Pacific Outdoor Peak Oyl Elite

Spring 2010, $115

Looking at the selection of sleeping pads on the market it seems most are variations of the same foam design. Foam thickness, weight and size are all important, but Pacific Outdoors differentiates their latest, the Peak Oyl Elite, by using different densities of foam, gel and air channels intelligently placed to maximize 4 season warmth and comfort. The gel insulates better than foam, but weighs a bit more. Even so, the regular sized pad (20″x72″x1.5″) is 27 oz, is still among the lightes 4 season pads on the market. They’ve also used palm oil to make their foam which is a more environmentally friendly material than petroleum based foams.

Therm-a-rest Ventra Down Blanket

Available Now, $200

The Ventra is a home run for cot sleepers. Therm-a-rest made the down comforter for family campers, but the single sized, 650-fill down comforter can be combined with a foam mattress to give a crappy cot the footloose feel of a single bed. You can use a set of adhesive-backed snaps to keep it from sliding off the side of your cot or mattress. It’ll keep you warm down to 40°F while giving the ventelation and freedom of a blanket. Available in regular 2 lbs, 48″x76″, and large 2.5 lbs. 58″x80″. Sadly, the two colors are red and yellow-green. Since this won’t see a lot of  tactical use, the lack of subdued colors isn’t a huge issue.

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Rank AwayWhen the stench of your body armor starts making you feel a little lonely, it might be time for Rank Away.

McNett Tactical’s new Rank Away spray-on odor eliminator is designed to use on stinky tactical gear, boots, gloves and anything else you have been wearing for months on end.
The secret is in the silver. Silver controls bacteria. Cool.

The company whipped the concoction after soldiers asked if McNett had a solution to gear funk, Jessica Skowlund, sales executive for McNett Tactical.
“They were like ‘dude my gear has some serious rank to it. I need to get the odor out,’” she said at Shot Show 09.
You just spray it on and wait 12-24 hours for it to cure. The more you use it, the more the silver builds up and better controls odor, she said.
Rank Away costs $5.99 for a 4 ounce bottle.

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orange-sparky-1This is for all you survival geeks out there – a new one-handed fire starter that weighs just under an ounce.

The Ultimate Survival Technologies Sparkie weighs about three times less than the popular Blast Match and is also more compact.

The spring-loaded striker stores inside the orange or tan handle and pops out with a light squeeze.

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