Raider Volume 8 Issue 7

TH E MAGAZ I N E FO R TH E ALPHA MALE

OUTDOORS - ADRENALINE - TACTICAL - ESSENTIALS - FITNESS - EXPLORE

BATTLE TECH INNOVATE RIGHT TO STAY IN THE FIGHT!

WE TEST DRIVE THE NEW RECON PLATE CARRIER!

TRIJICON OPTICS

LEADING THE WORLD IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERIOR AIMING SYSTEMS SINCE 1981 WE TAKE A LOOK AT TRIJICON'S JOURNEY

SLEEPING SOUNDLY SNUGPAK LEAD THE WAY TO A SOLID NIGHT'S SLEEP. WE BED DOWN AND SHOWCASE THE BEST OF THE BEST

MULTI TOOL TEST!

RAIDER ONLINE

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VOLUME 8 ISSUE 7

THE ULTIMATE POCKET COMPANION! THERE ARE LOTS TO CHOOSE FROM BUT WHICH ONE SUITS YOU BEST?

HOW NIGHTVISION WORKS SCALLYWAG TACTICAL KNIVES DSEI SHOW REPORT MENTAL FITNESS NOV15 RAIDER.indd 1

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CYAN, MAGENTA, YELLOW, BLACK

AIRSOFT IN June 2015 vol 11 iss 1

COMBAT PATROL UNIFORM®

EUROPEAN PATENT No. 001832254-0001 U.S. PATENT No. US D696,487 S Main bottom apparel from Urban Tactical Line®. Keeping the impression of casual pants, the UTP® provide load bearing capabilities and comfort typical for strictly utilitarian constructions. Designed for Law Enforcement operators, Urban Tactical Pants® enable carrying all essential equipment around hips and thighs line.

Low-profile pocket setup keeps the EDC gear and ammo close to body’s center of gravity, which, combined with stretchable fabric, leads to fluent and quick tactical movements. Furthermore, all these solutions give the outcome of clear and useful product for concealed carry tasks. UTP® are available in two raw material options, for hot and moderate climate as well.

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OUTDOORS - ADRENALINE - TACTICAL - FITNESS - EXPLORE

MEET THE TEAM

PAUL MONAF

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Email: paul@ebcon.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1775 750005

CONNOR MONAF

EDITOR Email: connor@ebcon.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1775 750005

BEN DICKIE

ART DIRECTOR Email: design@ebcon.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1775 750005

BEN WEBB

CONTRIBUTOR Email: webb@ebcon.co.uk

TRAMPAS SWANSON FIREARMS Email: trampas@ebcon.co.uk

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ILLUSTRATION Email: markus@ebcon.co.uk

SHARON MONAF

ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR Email: sharon@ebcon.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)1775 750005

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BACK TO BASICS Well, I’m back! It was with great sadness that I passed over the reigns to Raider Magazine a handful of months ago, with long time Ebcon employee Stephen taking charge and steering the ship. However, sometimes some things aren’t meant to be, and with this issue I have stepped back in, and I must say I’m glad to be home!

I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was a bit of a manic few weeks with taking back the reigns, and it was certainly a challenge getting back into the role having spent months focusing on other commitments, but after steadying the ship, I’d like to welcome you all to 60 pages of guns, gear and reviews that should keep you appetites appeased until next month.

One thing that Stephen brought to the table that will be continued is a lot of small, single page reviews on items. This not only allows us to work with specific items a lot more, but it also gives you a lot more information, as well as personal opinions forged through months of use. This month we’ve got our hands on some brilliant tactical gear, with items from UK giants Warrior Assault Systems and Viper Tactical.

Something that also saw a huge amount of love was the re-introduction of book reviews, so they’re here to stay! This month we had the chance to sit down and read about a range of small arms throughout the ages with ‘The World’s Greatest Small Arms’ written by Chris McNab. You can check this out on Page 23.

Enough about what’s staying though, and more about what else we’ve got in store for you this month! This years DSEI was a good one, with record numbers being broken left, right and centre. Had over to Page 28 for a greater look at this years show.

Trampas takes another look at some knife guru’s, this month working with American based Scallwag Tactical. Survival takes a look at the tools of the trade and Deployment Essentials starts to look at important kit to get ready for the coming Autumn months. Firepower sees us take a look at optics giants’ Trijicon and we also get hands on with a huge range of Multi-tools in this months Comparative Report.

We’ve also got another re-entry into the pages of Raider, with Battletech gracing our pages once again.

This month we’ve got something from the archives to wet your whistle for the upcoming months - an in depth look at Night Vision and the science behind it.

So as always, get a brew on, sit down and unwind knowing that Raider has your back, and that the old watch are back.

Connor

Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of articles in this magazine, but the publisher accepts no responsibility for any errors contained in material from independent sources or authors. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustration in any form without permission from the publisher/editor is strictly prohibited. We welcome articles, photographs or artwork. Raider Magazine cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage to unsolicited material. Please enclose a SAE if you wish your material to be returned. Competitions will be judged on the dates specified. No correspondence will be entered into and the judge’s decision is final. In the event of the published prize not being available due to circumstances beyond the control of the magazine, a suitable alternative of similar value will be provided.

READ RAIDER ONLINE VIA POCKETMAGS!

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VOLUME 8 ISSUE 7

CONTENTS 06 NEWS

NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE. WHAT’S HOT AND WHAT’S NOT!

09 SCALLYWAG TACTICAL

TRAMPAS TAKES A KNEE AND GETS FAMILIAR WITH AMERICAN KNIFE COMPANY, SCALLYWAG TACTICAL.

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14 TECHNICAL FABRICS

EVER WONDERED HOW TECHNICAL FABRICS ACTUALLY WORK? WE’VE GOT AN IN DEPTH REPORT THIS MONTH.

16 WARRIOR ASSAULT SYSTEMS

WE GET HANDS ON WITH WARRIOR ASSAULT SYSTEMS’ LATEST OFFERING THE RECON PLATE CARRIER.

18 VIPER TACTICAL

VIPER TACTICAL HAVE REALLY BEEN CHURNING THE PRODUCTS OUT RECENTLY. THIS MONTH WE CHECK OUT THE SPECIAL OPS CHESTRIG.

20 FITNESS: MENTAL FITNESS - PART 2 THIS MONTH, WE TALK ABOUT HOW TO TRAIN MENTALLY.

23 BOOK REVIEW

AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY ON SOME OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST SMALL ARMS BY CHIS MCNAB .

25 FIREPOWER

WE TAKE A LOOK AT OPTICS GIANTS, TRIJICON.

28 SHOW REPORT

A BRIEF LOOK AT THE BIGGEST DSEI TO DATE, HELD IN LONDON.

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30 CENTREFOLD!

GET SOME RAIDER GOODNESS ON YOUR WALL!

32 DEPLOY!

A LOOK AT SOME GREAT GEAR AIMED AT SOLDIERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AROUND THE WORLD.

37 GEAR ZONE

MULTI-TOOLS, AND LOTS OF THEM! THIS MONTH WE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR FAVOURITE MULTI-TOOLS ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF MANUFACTURERS.

42 BAGGED UP!

FOLLOWING ON FROM OUR LOOK AT BAGS. THIS MONTH - DIRECT ACTION.

44 ADRENALINE

HIGH ALTITUDE PARAJUMPING AT IT’S FINEST!

48 BATTLETECH

EVER WONDERED HOW NIGHT VISION EQUIPMENT REALLY WORKS?

51 DIRECT ACTION

OUR MONTHLY LOOK AT WHAT OUR ARMED FORCES ARE DOING ACROSS THE GLOBE

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R AIDER NE W S E XCLUSIVE NE WS FROM AROUND THE GL OBE - E XCLUSIVE NE WS

NEWS MAGPUL PMAG 15 GL9 - GLOCK OUT THIS FALL…

Magpul have recently announced that they much anticipated PMAG designed for the Glock system will be arriving this Fall.

“The PMAG 15 GL9 is a 15-round Glock 9mm handgun magazine featuring a new proprietary all-polymer construction for flawless reliability and durability over thousands of rounds. High visibility controlled-tilt follower, stainless steel spring, easily removable floorplate for cleaning, paint pen dot matrix for mag marking, ridged floorplate edges for better grip, and 15rd indicator windows.

Drops free loaded or unloaded. All with the same boring reliability you expect from an OEM magazine.

Compatible with the Glock 19 as well as sub-compact variants with some protrusion below the grip.”

We know that our American friends are more than looking forward to these, and you can expect to see a review within the magazine on release!

PATROL INCIDENT GEAR PIG FDT BRAVO FR GLOVE

If you’ve seen our views on the PIG FDT Alpha Glove, you’ll no doubt be as excited over this new release as we are.

Patrol Incident Gear has just announced the new FDT Bravo FR Glove. The Bravo FR Glove builds upon the features of the FDT Alpha Glove and adds FR capability, with full Nomex and leather construction, improved dexterity, and touchscreen compatibility on the index finger and thumb.

■ Ultra thin 100% sheep leather trigger finger ■ Incredibly sensitive single layer 100% goat leather palm ■ Flame resistant logo stamping ■ Lower profile Velcro minimizing abrasion on gear ■ Finger, palm and cuff fit modifications for heightened dexterity ■ Colours: Black, Coyote, Ranger Green; In sizes: SM to XXL.

RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES UPGRADE KIT FOR AK-74M Concern Kalashnikov has announced their Upgrade Kit for the AK-74M will soon be delivered to Russian Armed Forces and is being presented at the International Military - Technical Forum “Army 2015”, held in Kubinka from June 16-19. The modern rifle equipped with the new Kalashnikov Upgrade Kit can be altered to meet the needs of any tactical problem and expand the potential uses for the firearm.

We have already completed the first order, and have a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the modernization supply”, said General Director of Concern Aleksey Krivoruchko. “The Upgrade Kit is inherently versatile and can be installed in just 15-20 minutes on any Kalashnikov rifle in service with the army and law enforcement agencies.”

The Upgraded stock and bolt cover, along with modern handguard and forearm with integrated Picatinny rail, as well as an ergonomic fire control can improve handling of the weapons in combat missions for a variety of weather conditions. Modernization of machines previously issued can be carried out both at industrial enterprises, as well as directly in the armed forces.

For the first time the AK-74M equipped with a new Upgrade Kit, was represented at the parade in honor of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in Red Square. The Kit allows a 1.5 times increase in the effectiveness of combat use by the criterion of “the frequency of defeat” at a distance up to 300 meters at any time of day and in different climatic conditions.

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NE WS FROM AROUND THE GL OBE - E XCLUSIVE NE WS FROM AROUND THE GL OBE LUSIVE NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE - EXCLUSIVE NEWS FROM ARO THE DUCHESS OPENS NEW PM REVEALS MEASURES HOME OF KING’S TROOPVISIT INTHE LATEST AFGHAN er Rememb your is R a i d e ra z i n e . mag w us kno S o l e t u’r e u p t o o y t a h r w e w h e r e vr e ! you a

AS THE MONTHS PASS, WE HERE AT RAIDER GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE AND TEST KIT BEFORE THE GENERAL PUBLIC EVEN SEE OR HEAR ABOUT IT. RAIDER WATCH WILL BE YOUR GO TO PLACE TO The Duchess of Cornwall opened the new Woolwich home of The King’sYOU Troop Royal Artillery GET THE LATEST ON GEAR, GIVING ANHorse IDEA in and visit unveiled a plaque to the commemorate the David changeCameron of the name of the new barracks, OnMarch his latest to Afghanistan, Prime Minister has announced a packagefrom of ON WHAT TO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR! Napier Lines to King George VI Lines. measures to provide a significant boost to the British military campaign. Both UK troops and the

The Regiment from theirwill barracks St Johns Woodfunding in February this year, having been Afghan Nationalmoved Security Forces benefitinfrom increased and state of the art equipment. stationed there for over 200 years. The new state of the art facilities house 120 horses and 150 MANUFACTURER WATCH The Prime Minister announced: soldiers and cost £16.5 million. ✪To £33.1 millionthe for visit the development of the Afghan in 2010/11; including building BERETTA CLOTHING SYSTEM celebrate to the new state-of-the artNational facilities,Police the Duchess toured the forge, seven police stations to viewed the stations opened in Helmand lastonly month. veterinary centre andinstables, and aUK-funded demonstration of horses exercising Something we learnt ataddition the recent DSEItwo show (See pagepolice 28 for a12full breakdown), wasthe thatGun not do ✪ Beretta £135 million to carry double Remotely Piloted System (RPAS).

Carriages, which 13Reaper pounder guns which were firstalso used in the first world war.

The carriages manufacture some brilliant weaponry, butAircraft they supply uniforms to the Italian military. are used fire the guns during Thesystems Queen’sgoing birthday State Visits and Remembrance Thesetogarments are full clothing fromparade, undergarments to combat uniforms to Accompanied by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir David Richards, the Prime Minister arrived Sunday. seamtaped Clothing is both FR and variants at fully Camp Bastion inGORE-TEX Helmand outergarments. province, then travelled toavailable the Mainin Operating Basenon-FR in Lashkar Gahinfor The Duchess visited the officers’ at athe startlook of the visit, to board a horse-drawn open-top Vegetato Keep eyemess out for deeper into Baretta’s Systems in a later a briefing bycamouflage.

Commander TaskanForce Helmand, Brigadier James ChiswellClothing on the progress made by the carriage, as a Sociable Carriage. issue of known Raider!

Provincial Reconstruction Team to drive social, economic and political development in the area.

During her visit the Duchess also presented Afghanistan service medals to four soldiers from the He later met soldiers who crew and maintain the newly operational Warthog armoured vehicle.

King’s Troop who have just returned from frontline duties.

Visiting the Helmand Police Training Centre on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah to present graduation GEAR WATCH Before departing the Duchess unveiled a plaque to commemorate the opening of the King George certificates to newly qualified Afghan policemen; he revealed that the extra £33.1 million resources VI FROG.PRO Lines and Commanding Officer Major Mark Edward presented Her Royal Highness with a specially LASER CUT-AIR would help build or refurbish 48 police stations, including seven to be opened before spring 2011. engraved and polished 13 pound gun shell which had been used to fire the Royal Salute to mark the WARRIOR These improvementsPLATE to essentialCARRIER infrastructure, in addition to more resources for training, will start of Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on 6 February 2012. help the Afghan National Police appear both more visible and more professional to the Afghan The FROG.PRO LC-AWPC is FROG.PRO’s take on a PALS population, enabling them to carry out their role more effectively. compatible system consisting of a proprietary composite fabricMinister called LAHYCO, Prime Cameronmade said:of Hypalon and Cordura 500D. allows s to add such ones; as utility “I Itknow thethem thoughts willsome be ofspecial home features and of loved I would like personally to thank everyone holes for shock cord orfor slots QASM buckles. serving in Afghanistan thefor sacrifice they are making. I say to them, it is great work you are doing weight The inner ballistic and Its wesuper must light continue to (480g). do all we can to help you plates endure. pouches; thanks to theto Open design, suitable for any Afghan cricketers theTop British Army for six when they and met what for a two-day clashgrounds in the heart “This is my sixthknocked visit Afghanistan, toare Helmand Province, I see is some for of shape ofoptimism. rigid ballistic The profile design allowsbythe wearer as aamount concealed vest.

Helmand Province. cautious Theplates. amount oflow ground that’s covered the forcestoisuse up,itthe of markets AThe British team, selected from across alland three branches of the armed serving on Operation supplied adapters allow to attach the new LC line chest rigs asare wellforces other branded rigs. that are open, the number of it provincial district governors that inasplace, the number of Herrick 15, took a team from an thesecurity; Afghan National and a team of Afghan interpreters in a schools that are on open, the level of are Army lots of(ANA) signsand of positive improvement.”

We’re certainly keen to keep eye on thethere FROG.PRO LC-AWPC, will definitely be taking a two-day series cricket matches in Camp Bastion in front of over 1,500 ANA spectators. closer look in of the20/20 coming months!

The British Forces Afghanistan team trained for days to prepare for the game against the avid Afghan cricketers, and the three sides sized each other up beforehand in the cricket nets at the ANA’s Camp GEAR Shorabak, nextWATCH to Camp Bastion. But when the matches started the impressive Afghan teams took British Afghanistan to the cleaners, with victories going to both the ANA and interpreter sides.

AGForces WATCH CAP The British team were all out for 75 versus the ANA team’s score of 165, much to the rapture of With the cold slowly approaching, weflooded here at onto Raider startto congratulate their colleagues. The the audience of Afghan soldiers who theHQ pitch to look towards gear, making sure we’re prepared Soldiers from the out 2nd Royal Regiment delivering security in Afghanistan in their British team fared nowinter betterTank against the team of Afghan interpreters, scoringhave 169 traded for seven whileold the Viking vehicles and upgraded something even better, the mighty Warthog. months in advance. interpreters managed 183 all to out.

2 RTR will use Warthog’s outstanding manoeuvrability to bring firepower and armoured support Whilst things such as coats and shoes are items that a lot of On the second day, the two Afghan sides met in a play-off, with the ANA coming out victorious in the final. wherever andattention whenever are called the new vehicle at their disposal, 2 RTR people pay to,they one thing that seems toreflect slipThe peoples’ The matches were a huge occasion forupon. both To sides.

ANA team played in blue-and-red uniforms soldiers theatre are now as “Warthog Group” –ofand they are already building a reputation as minds in is the purchase of aknown good With the majority your presented at the beginning of thehat! one of the most mobile ground units under British command in Helmand. bodyon heat lost from body’s extremities (Head, Hand and match behalf of theyou Helmand The Warthog isisaimportant relatively light but arobust tracked vehicle. It consists of 2 cabs: the front cab houses Feet), it really you own good one!

Provincial Reconstruction Team, the driver commander is armed Design with a heavy turret.

The rear cab isinspiration for infantry.

Thehelps AGand Watch Cap fromand Prometheus Werx isweapons our latest purchase!

Drawing from which with development The new vehicle has greater armour more power than itsMarines predecessor, still the cold headwear issued to protection USN Sailors,and Seabees and Merchant duringbut WWII, projects inweather the region.

The British retains superb for which Viking was from known. the played AGthe Watch Capcross-country is made a premium grade merinothe wool sourced some of the leading team in ‘whites’ fromfrom the performance Able to operate in the most diverse demanding including moving through water, suppliers in Association.

EU, and then made usingand state of the art environments, equipment in California.

Army Cricket climbing steep slopes and drainage ditches the new Warthog provides troops with high levels One of the spectators incrossing the of protection whilst giving commanders the flexibility to operate in areas where the terrain and local stands was ANA Corps Commander MANUFACTURER WATCH infrastructure mean more agile vehicle is needed.

General Malouk, the amost-senior Corporal Tristan ‘Tiny’ Cordery DUECK DEFENSE Afghan National Army soldier in (35), from Fowey in Cornwall, is a veteran of two tours of Iraq and one Dueck, ofProvince.

Kosovo, and and has founder served in on has priorbeen deployments.

HeAmerican has now returned Barry the CEO ofAfghanistan Dueck Defense hitting up the firearms to Helmand Afghanistan a Warthog commander with now 2 RTR. He said:withassome market cool designs for a while according to our American friends, but we’ve only just “We canis choose between the heavy, grenade general purpose machine guns.

“There a veryBut good got the memo… hey, better late than never!or Something which definitely caughtThis our gives eye onme it’sas the Warthog the flexibility tailorThe myRed armament to the mission, and that’s a vital capability competition going aBackup releasecommander is the Redon, Dot SighttoBase.

Dot Backup Sight Base allows for attachment of the in order to succeed the complicated environment of Afghanistan. competition played indot friendship.

Glock mounted redin sights that are all the rage now, but follows up with integrated back up sight.

With this firepower comes good armour.

The Warthog can take rocket-propelled grenade hits, It is Barry good that British and Afghan Dueck - “I designed the RBU as a simple no gunsmithing sight base to eliminate lost dots machine are gunable fire and has better protection from IEDs. soldiers to spend quality when aiming.

Just align the fixed iron sights and your red dot is visible. It’s simple and it works”.

This combination of firepower and protection is what us Tankies are looking for in a vehicle. We’re time working together.” ready to go out with the RTR mentality and apply armoured tactics in support of our guys with boots on the ground.”

AFGHANS OUTGUN THE BRITISH IN A FRIENDLY CRICKET CLASH

ROYAL TANK REGIMENT UNLEASH NEW VEHICLES

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EDC: ACULEUS

SINCE THE DAYS OF THE CAVE MAN, OUR HUMAN RACE HAS USED SHARPEN TOOLS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES FOR EVERY DAY TASK. AS WE HUMANS LIKE TO BELIEVE, WE HAVE EVOLVED TO THE POINT OUR TASK HAVE GOTTEN MORE COMPLEX AND SPECIALIZED, BUT HAVE THEY REALLY? HUMANS STILL HAVE TO DO SIMPLE TASKS OF CUTTING, PRYING AND PEELING ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT WE HAVE ACCEPTED AND COME TO RELY ON MORE SPECIALIZED TOOLS SUCH AS SCISSORS, KITCHEN CUTLERY AND BOX CUTTERS TO HANDLE THOSE CHORES. THESE TOOLS ARE GREAT IF A PERSON HAS ACCESS TO THEM, BUT THEY ARE NOT SOMETHING THE END USER WILL HAVE WITH THEM AT ALL TIMES OR IN AN EMERGENCY. HAVING A GOOD EVERY DAY CARRY FIXED BLADE KNIFE IS HARD TO BEAT AS AN ALL-AROUND UTILITY TOOL. UNLIKE A SIMPLE FOLDING KNIFE WHICH IS GREAT FOR SMALL DETAIL WORK, A GOOD QUALITY MEDIUM SIZE FIXED BLADE KNIFE CAN COVER A WIDER RANGE OF DAILY JOBS FROM PICKING A SPLINTER FROM UNDER YOUR SKIN OR FEATHERING WOOD TO MAKE A CAMP FIRE TO DEFENDING YOUR LIFE FROM AN ATTACK ON THE METRO. Tr am pa s.

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Historically, carrying a good blade for personal protection and performing everyday task was simply a way of life that quietly faded away in the main stream as society became more “polite” and the modern man has been shunned upon for being aggressive and rough. This trend has put us as a civilization at a clear disadvantage. Crooked politics and slanted media coverage around the globe has falsely case an evil light upon the responsible citizen, whose only crime is to live in safety. In the modern world we live in today, the prepared citizen has to leave home realistically not knowing what the day will bring. In light of recent world events of terrorist attacks, natural disasters and social upheaval, the subject of carrying tools used for personal protection has become a hot topic. While the obvious “go to” tool some would say, would be a firearm if we were looking at the United States, this isn’t as simple of an answer in a lot of other places around the globe even including certain states in the U.S. such as New York or Illinois. A more feasible option is going back to carrying a reliable fixed blade knife that can be belt carried or easily concealed for the socially conscious. The problem for most people is finding a good, well-built knife they can trust to be their daily companion. This article looks at a great every day primary carry option from a proven top blade company by the name of Skallywag Tactical.

Back in May, I had the pleasure of meeting Craig Burhart of Skallywag Tactical while attending the annual BLADE SHOW in Atlanta, Georgia. This charismatic military veteran is one half of a dynamic duo steering the helm of this modest blade shop here in the United States, making a big splash in both the tactical and survival world around the globe. The unique Skallywag designed line of combat knives are beloved by warriors from all walks of life from elite military operators and paramilitary contractors to fearless bearded Vikings of the TBOC and even tactical Caribbean souls, who are pirates in heart, simply born 200 years too late.

ECOGNIZING the impending need for an everyday carry fixed blade, Skallywag Tactical was hard at work developing just such a tool when we first met them, even while attending the BLADE SHOW. A couple of months after the show, I got a call from Craig with great news, the everyday carry or EDC knife was ready and on its way for review. Three days later, I was greeting by the UPS man at my door with the new arrival from Skallywag Tactical titled the Aculeus. Named for “a sharp pointed process” or more specifically defined as “an insect’s ovipositor especially when modified into a sting”, one look of this razor sharp, bellied drop point blade will tell you there is a lot of sting ready for action!

■ ACULEUS FIRST LOOK Having enjoyed other blades from Skallywag in the past, I was not surprised the Aculeus would have a thick spine down the rear of the blade ending in a full tang that could hold up to any pressure an end user could exert.

Being accustomed to their standard massive sized blades, this handy 3.5 inch blade utility knife was in a different class all together.

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Overall, the knife was roughly 8.75 inches in length and extremely well balanced similar to a high end paring knife plucked from the kitchen of a world renowned gourmet chef. The non-reflective flat dark earth Cerakote finish set it well at home among my standard carry gear and khaki cargo pants.

The heart of this knife is the blade material called CPM154 which allows for it to retain its strong, razor edge while still being easy to sharpen. Before the recent advent of these commonly regarded “super steels”, knives were always a tradeoff between hardness and brittleness. The blade offers you a true edge on a platform strong enough to use as a pry bar. The full tang runs to the bottom of the Linen Micarta 3-D milled scales to form an inward sloped angle which is great for using to manipulate pressure points and use as a rear strike device in a self-defense situation.

The scales are very comfortable with rounded edges and a cross-hatched polynoid texture for great grip retention even under the wettest conditions.

Housing the Aculeus is a simple designed kydex sheath that allows for multiple mounting

options using MOLLE compatible loops. Due to the wide range of ways I carried this knife over a 4 month period, I opted to replace the standard MOLLE loops with the addition of Blade Tech quick release clips with just the simple turn of a screw. This allowed me to quickly lash the knife to my 5.11 RUSH pack while out on the river Bushcrafting and then pop it onto my belt at the end of the day, pull my shirt down to conceal the rig and head to dinner with my wife. The open top configuration retains the blade well, even mounted inverted while still being ready for fast deployment at a moment’s notice.

■ ACULEUS 24/7 As previously mentioned, I have now been carrying the Skallywag Tactical Aculeus every day, all day for about 4 months now with absolutely no complaints. The Aculeus gives you the feel and performance of a good heavy blade but without the bulk and weight which normally deters people from carrying on their person regularly. Between the MOLLE system on my pack, battle belt used for teaching firearms classes and my leather 5.11 every day wear concealed carry gun belt, the

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Aculeus has offered a comfortable carry and quick access. The blade has retained its edge through cutting 550 paracord, removing tags off clothing and gear as well as slicing through zip ties and peeling apples for lunch. The blade has not warped or chipped despite having been used to pry open the lid to metal paint can or remove the top to a can of soup when the pull tab prematurely snapped off.

Midway through the testing process, the Aculeus accompanied me down the St. Mary’s river at the Florida / Georgia state line for a day of Bushcrafting and testing other products. I knew I would be in need of a good blade but did not have a way of securing it to my swim trunks worn on the boat getting to our destination, so I simply clipped it to my 5.11 RUSH 48 pack and had it in a moment’s notice if need be. The Aculeus was used while setting up camp along the river’s edge for feathering and notching wood for improvised hand tools and starting an early campfire.

The blade cleanly cut into vines, green wood and cordage with enough sharpness to still be a first rate dinner knife that evening under the stars.

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A C U L E U S

Recently, during an event I attended celebrating World Beard Day; I had the good fortune to be in the company of a close friend and 4th Dan Nijitsu Master, Rodrigo Muller.

Some of our loyal readers will remember Rodrigo from earlier this summer in the Gunfighter section displaying his weapons and hand to hand fighting prowess. I wanted Rodrigo’s take on how to best deploy the Aculeus into a self-defense situation. Within minutes, Rodrigo demonstrated how easy the Aculeus handled and how it seemed custom made for close quarter combat with its stout bade and sure grip angel. An hour later, I was performing traps, simulated tendon slashes and finishing cuts with ease and controllability.

Personally having handled thousands of knives in my lifetime, I can honestly say the Aculeus ranks among the top 5 that I have held with as much confidence as I felt during my crash course in Nijitsu.

■ FINAL THOUGHTS After a considerable amount of time carrying the Aculeus, I have come to rely on this handy knife a lot more than I originally thought I

K N I F E

would. Having carried a pocket knife every day of my life since I was around six years old, the idea of a fixed blade for daily use seemed a bit over kill until I saw how easy one was to carry and how quickly task can be completed by doing so. With a retail price of around $260, this is not a cheap knife by any means. This is very fair price a totally custom, do-all-blade with the strength needed to never fail you in even the worst situation. I offer the Aculeus my highest compliment in saying I would trust this knife with my life and that of my family because I know first-hand the passionate and high quality materials that have gone into providing me with this tool.

Living in Florida, I have the Constitutional right of carrying a handgun with me every day and religiously do so with my trusty Glock 19 pistol, but this not hinder me from carrying a knife in addition. The Aculeus continues to be my first choice when I reach for my every day carry tools after dressing to start my day. To find out more about Skallywag Tactical and their amazing line of battle ready tools, visit them at www.skallywagtactical.com and give them at Arrrrrrrgh from Raider Magazine!

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SURVIVAL: BASIC SURVIVAL TOOLS 101 - BASIC SURVIVAL T

PACK LIGHT - PACK RIGHT

BASIC SURVIVAL TOOLS WHEN DISCUSSING SURVIVAL TOOLS THERE TEND TO BE TWO DISTINCT APPROACHES: ONE APPROACH ASSUMES THAT YOU HAVE FOUND YOURSELF IN DESPERATE STRAITS WITH ALMOST NO WARNING WHATSOEVER AND MUST THEREFORE MAKE DO AND MEND, USING YOUR TEETH TO BUILD A RADIO TRANSMITTER AND THE LIKE. THE OTHER APPROACH, AND ONE WE HAVE OFTEN TAKEN HERE AT RAIDER IS THAT YOU EITHER HAVE SOME WARNING OF IMPENDING DOOM OR MORE LIKELY ARE INTENTIONALLY VENTURING OUT AND THEREFORE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO PLAN WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU.

This month's article is very much of the latter persuasion and we are going to ruminate on what tools are worth taking with you and what should be left at home. As ever there are many variables to consider, the principle one being how much you are

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either willing or able to carry. We will discount forms of transport other than shank's pony because once you are talking about other forms, especially cars and other motorised transport the sky really is the limit and we'll end up having a discussion about the best 30” chainsaw to take with you... We will begin by mentioning (but not really) that a knife as it is such a given that we cannot imagine not having at least one on our person or in our kit. We have also written extensively on the subject previously. Rather we want to look at what else might be worth finding space for.

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SAW/KNIFE

Your knife will deal with a wide variety of cutting tasks but some are beyond even the best knife, or if not completely beyond it would take so long as to be impractical. Things like cutting sizeable branches or small trees are what we have in mind here. There are a couple of approaches you can take to this; a decent hatchet is an invaluable tool or you could pack a saw of some variety. Cable saws are often marketed at the “survival” market and there is no doubting that if you are trying to save space they are an adequate solution. We prefer something a bit more workmanlike and one that caught our eye recently was the Wolverine folding saw from Highlander Outdoor. Made from lightweight plastic with a rubber grip and equipped with an eighteen centimetre steel blade, the well-spaced

teeth are optimised for cutting both green and dead wood with ease. It weighs very little, locks in both the open and closed position for safety and costs very little, normally around £7.00. You can pay more and we wouldn't pretend that the Wolverine is the acme of folding saws but it works well and it's lightweight is a key consideration when weight really matters. Also worth a look are the Laplander from Bahco and the Gerber Bear Grylls sliding saw. Both of these come recommended but are considerably more expensive than the Wolverine.

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HATCHET

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MULTI TOOL

A decent hatchet is an ideal addition to your mobile tool kit. Hatchets are also generally well-priced, expect to pay £20 for a basic, serviceable tool, obviously you can spend considerably more on some of the more exclusive models. A good hatchet with a keen edge will fell and limb trees (at a push) and are ideal for general cutting, chopping and hammering tasks. It's interesting to note that in a world of high tech tools and man-made materials the majority of hatchets are still the tried and tested combination of a good steel head allied to a hickory shaft. Depending on your build and general strength it's probably sensible to choose one that isn't too heavy – something that weighs about a kilogramme overall is probably about right for most users although we appreciate that some of you may prefer a bit more weight behind your swing. Like a good knife, keep it clean, oiled and a with a good edge and a decent hatchet will serve you well for many years. Look out for hatchets from Gransors Bruks, Gerber, Mora amongst many others. Even if you can't truly try-before-you-buy being able to handle the tool before parting with your cash is probably worthwhile.

One of the more contentious items is the now-ubiquitous multi-tool. In days gone by all of us would probably have had a Swiss army knife in a pocket all the time. These days it's as likely to be a Gerber or a Leatherman. Despite it's name the multi-tool is not an all-in-one survival option. Many of the tools included have little relevance to the wilderness where there is a marked lack of flat or philips head screws and the blades are often too small for serious cutting tasks. That said, they may actually have real value in terms of maintaining your other tools, and in the absence of a knife, any blade is better than none.

Opinion within the bushcraft community is divided as far as their usefulness is concerned although it is significant that comments such as “not really a bushcraft tool but I'm never without my (insert name of tool here)” predominate. A few people come out in favour of the Victorinox Swiss Champ penknife simply because of it's flexibility. What we

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can say without too much fear of contradiction is that if you decide to carry a multitool, Leatherman or Victorinox should be at the top of your pile. We are big fans of Gerber tools but feel that those two companies produce multitools that are pretty close to unburstable, with Victorinox being the less well know in this field, probably due to their pre-eminent position as the maker of Swiss army knives, however their multi-tools are well designed and exceptionally strong. Take a look at our Comparative Report on Multi-tools on page 37.

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SHOVEL

Depending on your willingness to carry the weight, a folding shovel may be a worthwhile addition. They can be used for several tasks however it is important to choose well when purchasing as there are many copies of issue items out there that frankly are simply not worth the money you'll spend on them. Both Glock and Gerber make highly rated items, and the Glock has a saw concealed in the polymer handle which does kill two birds with one stone. If you can track down the Dutch/German issue folding shovel it should stand up to a lifetime of abuse, albeit at the price of a little extra weight. Anything made entirely out of aluminium is likely to fail sooner rather than later if used for serious digging tasks and there are many, many poor replicas of military issue folding shovels out there to lead you astray. Ironically the real thing won't cost you any more than a wholly useless copy so check and double-check before parting with your money. Steel rules as far as the blade is concerned as it's stronger, will hold an edge and withstand percussive use (read: hitting things hard). All folding shovels are a compromise, the short shaft offers less leverage and more effort, on the upside with a decent steel head you can sharpen one side and use it as a makeshift hatchet as well. Some users swear by the older style folding wooden handled entrenching tools, they aren't much heavier but are less convenient to carry due to that extra length. Having both types in our locker we fully understand this point of view but have slight reservations as far as transporting the fixed handle style. If we had to recommend just one, we would go for the NATO TriFold style, either German or Dutch surplus. They can be had for less than £20 and while not the lightest available they are least likely to fall apart when faced with hard use. Take a file to one side and put an edge on it and you will find it surprisingly adept at a variety of tasks.

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✔ RELIABLE HARDWARE Whatever you decide that you need, the old rule of buy cheap, buy twice applies. Not all of us are lucky enough to be able to ignore budgetary restraint and buy the very best, but making use of reviews and the experience of those who have used a particular tool can save you a deal of trouble and regret. The NATO tri-fold shovel for instance has a large and passionate following online. In part we suspect that there is a strong sense of nostalgia at play as many of those writing reviews are ex-military, but there are sufficient examples given of what the tool is capable of to suggest that for a modest investment you can acquire at versatile and hard-wearing tool that will do everything you need of it. There are plenty of online forums dedicated to the outdoors life, survival and prepping where you can find excellent suggestions alongside some wilder and weirder opinions!

✔ CHOOSE WISELY While there may be huge satisfaction derived from pitting yourself against nature with nothing more than a piece of paracord and a butter knife, most of us will aim for a degree of compromise between simplicity and the experience of enjoying the wilderness. A discrete but well-thought out selection of tools can make the whole experience easier as well as allowing you to achieve things that would be either impossible or at the best time-consuming without them. No-one wants to lug a Gorilla box full of hardware into the great beyond, but trading a bit of weight for a lot of convenience is a bargain well worth making.

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TECH-TALK TECHNICAL FABRICS - TECHNICAL FABRI

technical

FABRICS 101 SOMETHING WE GET ASKED A LOT IS WHAT EXACTLY GIVES TECHNICAL FABRICS ACTUALLY WORK, AND THE PROCESS BEHIND MAKING THESE FABRICS. SO THIS MONTH WE’LL BE OFFERING AN IN DEPTH ANALYSIS OF HOW TECHNICAL FABRICS IN GARMENTS REALLY WORK SO HERE IT IS….

TIME TO DEBUNK A FEW MYTHS! So, what are we really talking about when we use the phrase “technical fabrics”? Basically we are looking at fabric technologies with a very specific end use in mind that balance the three key areas of waterproofness (read general weatherproofness), breathability and durability.

Once again we’ll use the well known GORE-TEX products as an example here as they really are a market leader and Gore are continually developing new, ground breaking fabric technologies to meet the needs of their Brand partners; you only have to look in our “Tried and Tested” section this month to see an example of this!

Breaking it down W L Gore and Associates use two main forms of construction in their garments, Two and Three Layer (although there are other specific constructions in their massive portfolio). Two Layer construction essentially means that their ePTFE (expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene) membrane is attached directly to an outer face fabric with a loose lining; Three Layer construction means that the face fabric, membrane and inner lining fabric are all bonded together. Many prefer the Three Layer construction as it’s is easier to get on and off as a loose mesh liner can sometimes snag on gear.

Different seam tapes (to ensure seams are 100% waterproof and do not let water in through stitch holes) are used in the different constructions; Two Layer seam sealing tape is applied to the GORE-TEX membrane directly, whilst in Three Layer the sealing takes place over the inner lining fabric. Seam sealing is an art form in itself!

Simply put imagine an elephant, a mousehole and an ant! The mousehole is the microscopic pore in the membrane, the ant is a water vapour molecule and the elephant a water droplet; it’s pretty easy to see that although the ant can escape through the mousehole with ease, there is NO WAY that you could push the elephant through it without breaking the wall down! In garment terms that would mean tearing a ruddy great hole in your jacket!

So, water cannot penetrate the membrane, or can it? Logic dictates that eventually any fabric technology can be pushed to a point of

failure and this can be tested; in this case the applicable British Standard is ‘BS EN 343:2003 Protective Clothing. Protection against Rain’.

The Standard describes the tests that should be carried out to ascertain a garment’s level of waterproofness and sets out the performance standards that items carrying this description should meet. A Test House would carry out these tests in order to ascertain the garment’s ability to keep out water. This is measured in PSI (pounds per square inch) or Hydrostatic Head. Hydrostatic Head is measured in mm and pressure is measured in pounds per square inch.

The Hydrostatic Head is determined by a test whereby a fabric is held taut underneath a sealed tube of water 1 inch in diameter.

Over 24 hours it is observed to see how many millimetres of water the fabric can withstand before it leaks through. When the fabric begins to seep water, the “height” in millimetres is noted. This is known as the fabric’s ‘hydrostatic head’ which literally means: Hydro - Water, Static - Not moving, Head - Height.

The PSI relates to the amount of water

■ KEEPING THE WEATHER AT BAY

Let’s take a look first at waterproofness and how technical fabrics achieve this. The GORE-TEX membrane is the heart of all their excellent products. It contains over 9 billion microscopic pores per square inch. These pores are 20,000 times smaller than a water droplet, but 700 times larger than a water vapor molecule, which makes the membrane durably waterproof, while allowing perspiration (moisture as a vapour) to escape from the inside. An oleophobic, or oil-hating, substance is integrated into the membrane, preventing the penetration of body oils and insect repellents.

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THE ALTERNATIVE TO A FULL WATERPROOF IS A WATER RESISTANT SOFTSHELL JACKET. THANKS TO A DWR PRODUCTS, A SOFTSHELL CAN COMBINE INSULATION WITH A DEGREE OF WATER RESISTANCE THAT IS USUALLY ENOUGH TO SEE OF ALL BUT SUSTAINED RAINFALL.

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BRICS - TECHNICAL FABRICS - TECHNICAL FABRICS

GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT!

RE-PROOFING YOUR OUTERWEAR IS AN OFTEN-OVERLOOKED PROCESS THAT ALLOWS YOU TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR OUTDOOR WEAR, ESPECIALLY IN WINTER. IT’S NOWHERE NEAR AS COMPLEX AS IT SOUNDS AND IT CAN BE CARRIED OUT ONCE OR TWICE PER WINTER DEPENDING ON HOW HEAVILY YOU USE YOUR KIT.

pressure that a garment can withstand both from the pressure within the garment (the wearer) and the external conditions (the weather).

To be 100% waterproof, the British Standards of 3 PSI has to be met, which means that a fabric can withhold 1500mm of water pressure.

Pressure is not just as simple as the pressure of a rain storm, simply moving a garment when it is worn will exert pressure on the fabric.

Let’s put this in perspective though; if you were to sit on a wet, flat surface the mean pressure you generate is around 10,000mm!

If you were kneeling in a firing position then the point of the knee generates 15-17,000mm of pressure (smaller surface area, greater pressure) so let’s face it, a minimum legal rating of 1500mm just does not do the job. It does begin to explain though how a garment can be legally classed as “waterproof”, but in reality it really isn’t.

Back to GORE-TEX; what’s the hydrostatic head I hear you ask? Simple one this, as all GORE-TEX products have a MINIMUM testing level of 28,000mm… that’s right, 28 metres! Put another way I’ve seen top end GORE-TEX fabrics tested at over 70 PSI and not leak until they quite literally explode! Belt and braces time here folks.

■ KEEPING YOU COMFORTABLE

Comfort is a relative thing, but if you’re too hot, that can lead to heat exhaustion; too cold, hypothermia. Controlling the micro-climate inside your clothing system helps to prevent either. The body regulates itself effectively; as activity levels increase you sweat and the evaporation of this moisture helps to cool the skin. If moisture is not allowed to move away you will become “uncomfortable” inside your clothing system. We’ll get properly into the layering system in a future article.

Letting moisture escape from the system is a tricky balancing act. Behind it all is a law of nature, the Law of Partial Pressures. This law states that moisture as a vapour will naturally move from a warm, high pressure environment to a cooler low pressure one. If we are keeping

The third and final part of the precarious balancing act is putting this membrane technology together in a garment with a lining fabric and an outer face fabric that will ensure long term durability whilst not degrading performance. These fabrics are chosen with extreme care and tested for all kinds of heat, cold, flex and abrasion.

The tests are carried out both by Gore themselves and also independently.

a well balanced temperature inside our clothing system then on a foul weather day moisture will move away from our skin through the pores in our clothing and escape to the outside.

Sometimes we call this the “Temperature Gradient” as it sounds like moisture vapour is moving “down” from hot to cold.

So does a breathable fabric technology work in a rain forest? Yes is the answer, but due to the temperature inside the garment and outside the garment being more in equilibrium the transfer rate will obviously slow down. We all know we can work with Ma Nature, but never beat her!

This of course is also subject to testing; many methods can be used here to establish a Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate (MVTR) or a Resistance to Evaporative Transmission (RET) figure. Of the two I prefer an RET figure as it just plain makes more sense to me.

Skin is 100% breathable and has an RET of Zero. As soon as you cover it though you build up a resistance that slows down the rate at which moisture can be transmitted away; the thicker the barrier the more resistance and the slower the transmission. In essence this means that as you cover the skin with layers your system becomes less breathable so we will always be looking for technical fabrics with as low an RET figure as possible.

In some cases the clever folks at Gore have got the RET figure well down into single figures, especially on their bespoke technologies and the GORE-TEX 3 Layer Pro Shell garments. They’ve developed a completely new and innovative lining fabric here called a Micro Grid Backer which is thinner, but more durable, than the industry standard linings available elsewhere.

Thinner, less resistance, right?

So, with our GORE-TEX fabrics in place we have exceptionally durable garments which have at least a 28+ metre hydrostatic head and which can sit right at the very top of the of the “Extremely Breathable” category. They are put together under minute scrutiny by Gores many Brand partners from the very latest and finest face and lining fabrics.

The fact of the matter is that many people find GORE-TEX garments expensive but at the risk of being blunt they must have no real conception of what is going on behind the scenes! When you’re paying for a GORE-TEX garment you’re getting “Formula 1” levels of performance and that doesn’t come cheap. Of course, you can always buy a cheap “hatchback” but if your life may end up depending on the performance of your clothing system we have to ask the question “What is too expensive”?

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ON OUR RADAR THE NEW RECON PL ATE CARRIER

WARRIOR ASSAULT SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN A COMPANY ON OUR RADAR FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME, CREATING SOME OF THE BEST TACTICAL GEAR TO COME OUT OF THE UK. THIS MONTH WE FINALLY GET HANDS ON WITH THE NEW WAS RECON PLATE CARRIER, SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

RECON PLATE CARRIER The Recon Plate Carrier is part of the latest generation of Warrior Assault Systems gear, featuring their current features and also their timeless high quality materials and manufacturing processes. As per the majority of the WAS line-up, the RCP is produced from 500 denier Cordura which is half the weight of the previously used 1000 denier material. Despite being lighter, the 500d material still withstands 75% of the strain and abrasion that 1000d material can cope with which in practical terms is still more than enough for even hardcore usage in the field. It’s also treated to 100% water repellency making it impossible to soak through.

Genuine US Mil-Spec Webbing is also used in the production of the RPC and other WAS products. This webbing compliments and matches the main body material of the item in question and is available in Genuine Crye Multicam, Coyote, A-TACS AU, A-TACS FG and is available in Black, Ranger Green and Olive Green for special projects.

All these materials are UV-proofed and mildew resistant so even in the most terrible conditions they will not rot or degrade over time like some traditional webbing or load bearing equipment can. Additionally all materials used in the production of the RPC and other WAS gear is treated at the manufacture level to have as low an IR signature as possible helping the wearer avoid “glowing” under Night Vision observation.

The RPC is designed to hold genuine hard ballistic armour but is packaged with soft, lightweight fillers that are perfect for training. If you want to step the realism up to the next level, Nexus brand hard armour is available through WAS outlets.

“The RPC is the latest evolution of plate carriers from Warrior Assault Systems. Designed to be a lightweight and versatile low profile armour carrier, offering enhanced mobility without compromising protection.

The RPC has been developed to hold medium and large SAPI and ESAPI stand alone plates and the most common 10” x 12“ I.C.W. plates available.

Plate pockets have been backed with 3D mesh for added ballistic performance, comfort and dispersal of body heat.

The Recon Plate Carrier comes standard with ladder style cummerbunds that attach to the RPCs front via 2 removable ITW SR Clips. This allows rapid access when getting in and out of the RPC (ITW SR Clips have a combined breaking strength of 600lbs per side).

The RPCs shoulders can be worn in 3 different configurations as a slick low profile with the addition of velcro padded shoulders and wrap around sleeve for hydration and comms channeling.

The RPC comes as standard with a removable MOLLE front flap held in place by 2 vertical SQM clips and strong velcro which allows the panel to be removed and replaced with a wide variety of preconfigured weapon-specific pouch panels and Warrior’s new Pathfinder Chest Rig.

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£155.95 OVERVIEW

RECON PLATE CARRIER “Ladder” construction cummerbund that is MOLLE compatible and promotes unhindered airflow.

Vertical SQM buckles to attach panels and compatible chest rigs (Including Mayflower and Blue Force Gear etc).

Full front and rear MOLLE coverage for traditional pouch fitment.

Padded shoulder straps with comms/ hydration routing.

Velcro loop field for patches, plus angled webbing loops for comms routing.

Low profile emergency drag handle on rear panel. Fixed down with velcro.

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VIPER EVOLVED: THE SPECIAL OPS CHEST RIG

SPECIAL OPS CHEST RIG

VIPER TACTICAL HAVE REALLY BEEN CRANKING UP THE TEMPO OVER THE LAST YEAR. WITH MORE NEW PRODUCTS AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAN EVER BEFORE HITTING THE SHELVES WITH THE VIPER LOGO ON, AND MAINTAINING A REMARKABLY LOW PRICE POINT IT’S GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO IGNORE THE GEAR THEY ARE PUTTING ON THE MARKET. THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE RANGE IS THIS SPEC OPS CHEST RIG. Following in the footsteps of some of the large and “conceptual” tactical gear manufacturers like Mayflower R&C and Haley Strategic, Viper has designed and produced this all new, compact, fixed configuration, universal chest rig. Much like their peers they have opted for a lighter, more pliable material to construct this kit, instead of going for old-fashioned heavyweight 1000 denier Cordura, Viper have opted for 600 denier that’s nearly half the weight but close to 80% as resistant to wear and tear.

Built with a low profile, elasticated webbing H-harness, the Special Ops rig is designed to be worn in a mission-specific manner. That’s either alone, over a shirt, layered over standalone body armour, under a jacket or indeed overtly, over the top of a sock or other combat gear.

With colour choices including Viper’s MultiCam compatible V-Cam, Coyote Brown, Black or Ranger Green, there is a version to fit your environment or desired look and there’s adjustability to fit all wearers.

CAPACIT Y

Much like the popular HSP D3 chest rigs, the Viper Special Ops chest rig is built around 4 bungee topped universal magazine pouches.

These are sized to accept 5.56 and 7.62 magazines, such as AK or Galil varieties making the rig primarily suitable for 90% of the guns in use out there. Bungee toppers might not be the fastest choice but they are secure and losing a mag during activity is never going to yield a quick reload time. It’s all about a sensible balance of speed and security.

The open top design also make the pouches suitable for stowing a sidearm if desired. This further enhances the versatility of the rig and if you are prepared to sacrifice a single primary magazine, you can use the Special Ops rig as a standalone load carrying solution.

On top of these pouches you have three central general purpose pouches, all with velcro flaps to close them. The centre pouch also has a loop field on the flap to provide a space for morale or ID patches. These three pouches are suitable for radios, grenades or other pyro along with the sundries you generally need to carry out onto the field. The velcro lids allow you to seal the pouch securely and also compress the contents to ensure nothing projects out forwards too far.

On the extreme left hand side of the rig, two

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velcro flap topped pistol magazine pouches are positioned capable of accepting the vast majority of standard capacity pistol magazines out there. With them on the left, this orients the rig towards the right-handed user and unfortunately they cannot be switched over due to the fixed configuration.

The right hand side of the Special Ops chest rig houses a single flap topped general purpose pouch that is sized ideally for a multitool, folding knife or short flashlight. In total, this gives you the capacity for an entire skirmish worthy load out. If you play short, furious CQB games, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever want for more. If you do need to expand though, the Special Ops rig is ideally suited to teaming up with a belt order, whether a high capacity MOLLE system or a low-profile rigger’s belt mounted set-up.

market, you can expect to find them retailing for under the £30 mark. That’s astonishingly good value for money if you ask us.

Viper have sometimes had an unjust level of criticism levelled at them when it comes to quality but to not take a closer look at this range of new products that have hit the shelves in the last 12 months would be insanity. The designers working on these products have kept their finger in the pulse for what’s popular and what works and they have managed to turn out their take on things and in most cases, cut the price down by over half. The impressive factor is the quality of gear you get for your money.

Viper’s latest lines are lighter, stronger and far more feature packed than their similarly priced competitors.

£31.95

OUR THOUGHTS

Whilst in some cases, tactical gear is getting more and more expensive with crazy advances in materials and technology coming at a heady price, we are happy companies like Viper Tactical are keeping things grounded with solid products that don’t brea the bank. The RRP of this Special Ops chest rig is just £32 so in the open and competitive

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SPECIAL OPS CHEST RIG

Built in quad mag capacity & numerous utility/pistol mag pouches. The Special Ops Chest Rig is capable of bearing a substantial load in a minimal design.

This low profile set-up allows the rig to be worn beneath outer layers of clothing, like military jackets/smocks and also allows better manoeuvrability in confined and testing environments.

✹ One size fits most – Fully adjustable. ✹ 1x 4 capacity mag sleeve. ✹ 1x GPS radio pouch. ✹ 2x Pistol mag pouch. ✹ Velcro ID Panel. ✹ Quick release buckle. ✹ Impact reduction bungee straps. ✹ Made from 600D Codura. ✹ Available in four colour options Green, Black, V-Cam and Coyote.

RRP: £31.95 W W W.V I P E R K I T. C O . U K

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F I T NE SS

MENTAL CONDITIONING - MENTAL CONDITIONIN

part two

MENTAL CONDITIONING GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME L A S T MONTH WE S TARTED T O TAK E A L OOK AT THE EFFEC T S MENTAL S TATES HAVE ON YOUR PERFORMANCE , MORE IMPORTANTLY FOCUSING ON THE PERFORMANCE P Y R AMID AND HOW MENTAL S TATES EFFEC T THE P Y R AMID. THIS MONTH WE WILL BE L OOK ING AT HOW YOU AC TUALLY TR AIN YOURSELF MENTALLY, AND HOW MENTAL S TRENG TH C AN IMPROVE YOUR PERFORMANCE .

Last month we established that whilst physical fitness plays a huge roll in overcoming physical obstacles in life, having a level of mental strength can play just as large a part when it comes to succeeding.

Our main focus last month was the Performance Pyramid; a pyramid diagram that shows three levels of mental readiness that will help any individual succeed in a variety of ways. This pyramid held 9 different sub-skills (Attitude, motivation, goals & commitment, people skills, self-talk, mental imagery, managing anxiety, managing emotions, concentration) that when put together define the basics of mental strength.

This month we will be looking at a number of different ways to train your mental state, showing why they are good skills to partake in, but also looking at what they target specifically in regards to your mental conditioning.

■ MENTAL CONDITIONING

Conditioning your mental state is by no means as easy or as clear cut as training ones physical state.

It is also a hard one to gauge in regards to success.

Physical fitness has many indicators as to whether its working, and is very easy to gauge 9 times out of 10 as to whether you’re on the right path. Things such as an increase in physical fitness or change in bodyweight or body fat percentage are clear cut signs that your physical training is working. Yet mental conditioning doesn’t have these same signs.

Mental conditioning does however have huge benefits. Whilst there are many people out there who’s mental strength levels are naturally high, many people have exceedingly low self drive and determination; things both associated with mental conditioning.

Using the Performance Pyramid will certainly help you further your mental conditioning. One very simple way of helping you condition your mental state is by applying the 9 rules of the Performance Pyramid to every physical exercise you do, which will not only help you overcome mental boundaries but you’ll also start to notice a difference physically; be that through improved

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form or willingness to perform better, purely by applying the 9 principles to your training. But how you ask? Well put simply, when focusing on a set range of features, you begin to pay more attention to your training, which in turn allows you to properly engage the correct muscles as well as aid your concentration levels. Done properly, you’ll start to see a change in no time.

However, using the Performance Pyramid alone will not fully ready you for what’s to come. And thankfully there are a handful of tasks that will allow you to grow your mental fitness.

■ MEDITATION

Meditation is often looked on as the main method in which to find inner peace, a feeling of zen.

However, what a lot of people forget to tell you is that meditation is a brilliant way of improving your mental strength, and can be done in more ways than simply sitting cross legged on a mat, humming away to yourself.

Orthodox meditation methods, where the individual sits in a calm place, with no unnatural interruptions such as TV, music and other stimuli is

PREPARING YOURSELF MENTALLY IS SOMETHING THAT IS VASTLY OVERLOOKED BY A HUGE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE

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by all means a good method, and can allow you to focus solely on an individual thing, however both yoga and pilates can have the same effect.

Yoga is something I personally have grown fond of, as it allows you to both meditate and grow stronger. The ideas behind Yoga lend themselves well to meditation due to the calming notions behind it, and the Yoga itself lends brilliantly to both core strength and flexibility.

The lowdown? Meditation is great for you to find that calming place, and should you be able to access this place on demand as opposed to just through meditation, you’ll soon grow as an athlete.

■ COLD SHOWERS

Taking a cold shower is an age old method that helps condition your mental state. The idea behind it is that it mentally trains you to keep at it, pushing past any boundaries presented by the body, and truly locking yourself off mentally.

Essentially the aim of this is to withstand being in a cold shower for as long as possible. Now to begin with there is next to zero chance of you withstanding a full shower, so I’d simply suggest having your normal shower, and then just as you’re about to get out, turn the cold on and see how long you can withstand it.

Ideally you want to start to increase the time period with every shower, and should you shower in the mornings prior to work like myself, it’s a great wake up as well!

The Lowdown? Taking a cold shower will certainly improve your mental strength, conditioning you to shut down to outside stimuli and focus purely on your mental state. A great skill to have for those of you who take part in long distance or strenuous activities.

■ BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS

Too many people sit in their normal routines and very few actually break out of that cycle. Now you may ask what that has to do with mental strength, and you may wonder how exactly such a cycle would impact your mental state.

Well, essentially you’ll see two kinds of people a lot - those who are stuck in a cycle and afraid to try new things, and those who’ve enlightened themselves through new things. Now this is a huge generalisation, but you’ll often find that those who consistently break the mold are stronger mentally.

Say for example you’re training to be a 100m sprinter who for the last 6 months has purely run 100m in a bid to improve. Well sure, that individual will improve, but broadening his horizons will certainly improve his end result.

These changes should be thrown in at random, giving you the ability to see how both your body and mind react to sudden changes. After time both your body and mind will adapt, and sudden changes will mean nothing, which bodes well for mental conditioning in the fact that sudden changes will no longer throw your mind off of the end prize.

■ RUNNING AT BRICK WALLS

There really is nothing better for developing yourself mentally than throwing yourself in at the deep end and seeing whether you sink or swim.

Like everyone, we all have goals, and those goals can all be broken down into composite parts that help you gain those goals.

How we claim these goals are entirely our choice, and some will grab them with both hands whilst others will beat around the bush for a while before claiming them.

Now for those of you who really want to test yourself, set yourself a near impossible (in your eyes) but not physically impossible task and see how you last. For the past two months, every Friday I’ve been smashing deadlifts and squats till failure, and by failure I mean having to crawl out of the gym and driven home by my training partner because my body is done for.

You’ll soon start to see that what you think failure is, and actual failure are pretty far apart, and pushing through that perceived failure is where you want to get to, and feel comfortable in doing so. Find this and you’re laughing, no feat will be unachievable, and you’ll soon find yourself achieving anything you set your mind too.

ESSENTIALLY YOU’LL SEE TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE A LOT - THOSE WHO ARE STUCK IN A CYCLE AND AFRAID TO TRY NEW THINGS, AND THOSE WHO’VE ENLIGHTENED THEMSELVES THROUGH NEW THINGS. NOW THIS IS A HUGE GENERALISATION, BUT YOU’LL OFTEN FIND THAT THOSE WHO CONSISTENTLY BREAK THE MOLD ARE STRONGER MENTALLY.

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PICK UP A SUBSCRIPTION TO OUR DIGITAL ISSUES AND YOU CAN READ RAIDER MAGAZINE ON ALL OF YOUR DEVICES, FROM PHONES AND TABLETS TO DESKTOP PC’S WITH JUST ONE QUICK AND EASY ONLINE LOGIN! CHECK OUT: WWW.RAIDER-MAG.COM

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MEDIA REVIEW THE WORLD’S GREATEST SMALL ARMS

BOOK REVIEW

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SMALL ARMS AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY AUTHOR: CHRIS MCNAB - PUBLISHED BY C ASEMATE UK

WITH SUCH A VAST LIBRARY OF BOOKS HERE AT RAIDER HQ, IT TAKES SOMETHING EITHER HIGHLY INFORMATIVE OR SOMETHING THAT TOUCHES ON NEW GROUND FOR A BOOK TO EARN IT’S RIGHT TO SIT ON OUR BOOK SHELVES. THE WORLD’S GREATEST SMALL ARMS IS SOMETHING THAT HAS RECENTLY FOUND IT’S WAY ONTO OUR SHELVES THOUGH, PROVIDING AN INSIGHTFUL LOOK AT A RANGE OF SMALL ARMS THROUGHOUT HISTORY.

Small arms have developed hugely since the introduction of the machine gun in the 1870s.

Magazine-fed rifles, submachine guns, automatic pistols and, later, assault rifles and personal defense weapons have changed the face of infantry warfare, offering a range of weaponry designed for both the specialist and novice.

The World’s Greatest Small Arms features 52 weapons from the late 19th century to the present day. The book includes the best-known weapons from throughout the modern era, from the Gatling gun, SMLE rifle and Luger pistol, to the Uzi, FN MAG and the M110 sniper rifle. Great iconic weapons, such as the Colt M1911 pistol, Bren Gun, MP5 submachine gun, and Steyr AUG rifle are featured, as well as timeless classics still in use today: the M2 Browning 50 cal, AK-47 and M16 rifle.

Each weapon is examined over four pages and is illustrated with a color profile artwork and photographs, along with a description of the weapon’s development and history, key features and a full specifications box.

Including more than 200 artworks and photographs, The World’s Greatest Small Arms is a colorful guide for the military historian.

■ WHAT WE THOUGHT

The World’s Greatest Small Arms as written

by Chris McNab is a highly informative and well thought out book, covering some of the best Small Arms to come from a range of different countries. With both brilliant information and technical drawings, it certainly is a book we’d recommend to both firearms enthusiasts and those who simply want to learn about some of the best weaponry to grace the world.

■ ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chris McNab is an experienced specialist in outdoor survival techniques and military fitness training and the author of more than 50 books, including SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Hunting, SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Mental Endurance and SAS and Elite Forces Guide: Preparing to Survive.

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F I R E P O W E R

M A N U F A C T U R E R

P R O F I L E

TRIJICON HAS LED THE INDUSTRY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERIOR ANY-LIGHT AIMING SYSTEMS SINCE THE COMPANY’S FOUNDING IN 1981. WORLD-RENOWNED FOR ITS INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS OF TRITIUM AND ADVANCED FIBER-OPTICS, TRIJICON MANUFACTURES SOME OF THE MOST ADVANCED RIFLESCOPES AND SIGHTS FOR BOTH TACTICAL AND SPORTING APPLICATIONS. Backed by a Limited-Lifetime Warranty, Trijicon’s aiming systems are proven on the range and in the field. As a result, Trijicon has earned the trust of those who are most in need of aiming accuracy and dependability. The company is proud to count as their customers armies and law enforcement agencies worldwide, now including the British Army and the Royal Marines, with their instantly recognizable ACOG now sitting atop the latest specification L85A2s.

Based in Wixom, MI Tijicon In is an ISO 9001:2008 rated company, and they are committed to customer satisfaction through the design, development, and manufacture of superior quality products while offering expert technical support. Trijicon’s commitment to continuous improvement of products and services is paramount in their endeavours to continue as a world leader in the design and manufacture of high quality, innovative sighting systems.

Trijicon’s line of Brilliant Aiming Solutions™ consists of the following products: ACOG® (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight), AccuPoint®, Bright & Tough™ Night Sights, HD Night Sights, RMR™ (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex), Reflex, TriPower®, TANS (Tactical Advanced NightVision System), ATWS™ (Advanced Thermal Weapon Sight), and ACTS™ (Advanced Combat Thermal Sight).

Although all of Trijicons optics are first rate it’s the ACOG models in use with UK Forces that we’ll look at in more depth here.

■ BINDON AIMING CONCEPT

The “Bindon Aiming Concept” is an aiming technique developed by Trijicon founder and optical designer Glyn Bindon. Human vision is based upon a binocular (two eyes) presentation of visual evidence to the brain. The word binocular literally means using both eyes at the same time. We most often associate this word with binocular instruments such as field glasses or a binocular microscope. These instruments specifically strive to present the object to be viewed the same way to both eyes.

Vision research material was examined for its assistance to understand the optically aided weapon aiming process. Three major types of optical enhancement were compared. There are strong customer preferences in reticle designs, some simple reticles enhance the speed of target acquisition, others allow for greater precision in a given time limit.

The simple substitution of a bright red dot for the usual cross-hairs makes it very easy to keep both eyes open. Just as in the Single point or Armson

O.E.G. sighting, the brain merges the two images.

During dynamic movement, the scene through the telescope blurs because the image moves more rapidly due to magnification. The one eye sees the bright dot against the blurred target scene, so the brain picks the scene from the unaided eye. The shooter swings the weapon towards the target while perceiving the dot indicating where the weapon is pointed. As soon as the weapon begins to become steady in the target area, the brain switches to the magnified view.

A long search was made to try to combine the speed and non-battery features of the Singlepoint or Armson with the precision of the telescopic system.

This discovery was made several years ago. Trijicon has sponsored research in the field of human vision to better understand this generic phenomenon.

Although the study concentrated on the Armson O.E.G., some aspects are applicable also to the Bindon Aiming Concept.

The ACOG is available in a variety of configurations from the manufacturer with different reticles, illumination, and other features. Most ACOGs do not use batteries for reticle illumination,[ being designed to use internal phosphor illumination provided by the radioactive decay of tritium. The tritium illumination has a usable life of 10-15 years. Some versions of the ACOG have an additional daytime reticle illumination via a passive external fiber optic light pipe. Normally this allows the brightness of the reticle to match the field of view since it collects ambient light from

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around the sight, although there can be a mismatch in lighting, such as sunlight hitting the light pipe directly. Reticles have other features such as a bullet drop compensator and other different reticle shapes such as chevrons.

Some ACOG models incorporate rudimentary ghost ring iron sights as a backup for targets that are within 50 m (55 yd), but it is only usable when mounted on the carrying handle. Others include Docter or Trijicon reflex sights mounted on top. The ACOG ECOS line features both of these secondary sighting systems on the same scope.

Other features include Picatinny rails, flip caps, and the ability to be waterproof up to 11 m (36 ft).

Although the ACOG is designed for the Picatinny rail of the M16A4 and M4, with an adapter it can be mounted on the carrying handles of previous models. Trijicon later produced ACOG mounts and adapters for weapons besides the M16, including the Beretta AR70/90 series, SIG SG 550, Heckler & Koch, Bushmaster ACR, L85A2, and FN SCAR weapon systems.

■ IN USE IN THEATRE

The Ministry of Defences’ Future Infantry Soldier Technology (FIST) programme office wanted an “improved and lighter” system to replace the United Scientific Instruments L9A1 Sight Unit Small Arms Trilux (SUSAT), which was in use with the L85A2.

In 2000, the MoD contracted H&K to modify some 200,000 L85 rifles and L86 light support weapons, with improvements including a new hammer, cocking handle, gas plug and firing pin; the SUSAT was exempt from Heckler & Koch’s (H&K’s) £92 million revamp of the initially flawed L85A1.

It was at this point that the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) TA31RCO 4 x 32 sight,

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produced by Trijicon was chosen in a multi million pound MOD contract. At the time ACOGs were favoured by the US Special Operations Command, including Army Special Forces, USN SEALs and US Army Rangers as well as the UK’s special forces.

Designed for use with the M16/M4 series of assault rifles, it is seen as a very robust sight despite being 137g lighter than the 417g SUSAT. Features included dual illustrated reticle, enhanced adjuster caps and chevron reticle and crosshair. The new ACOG style sights have good day and night capability and have the ability to accept a red dot for CQB which is certainly one area where the SUSAT was lacking.

However, the ACOG replacement doesn’t remove the ability for the L85 to use the SUSAT, although the ACOG is a Picatinny fitment as opposed to the dovetail of the SUSAT. Making use of a simple slotted cantilever “Z” rail attached onto the existing dovetail rail the ACOG then sits on that. This is a very good decision rather that trying to retrofit a couple of hundred thousand weapons with Picatinny rails! If a SUSAT or another type of optic with dovetail mounts is required, and there are still many SUSATs in theatre, the cantilever is swiftly and easily removed.

Recently selected as the optical sight for the British Army’s L129A1 Sharpshooter Rifle the Trijicon TA648 ACOG is a 6X48 magnifying reflex sight intended for medium to long range use. It gives excellent target acquisition speed and accuracy. High quality optics mean this sight is usable in low light and the 6X magnification ensures that the sight can be used against small, relatively distant targets.

The latest version of this sight features a Picatinny rail on top to enable the mounting of a small Trijicon, Docter or Insight Miniature Red Dot Sight. This sight differs from most ACOGs in featuring a manual override for the otherwise automatic fiber-optic

P R O F I L E

illumination system to enable you to adjust finely to ambient light conditions. Night illumination is provided by a tritium light source.

The bright, red or green, upside down “V” reticle ensures very rapid shot placement whilst a ladder reticle gives aiming marks in 100 meter intervals from 400 to 800 meters (1200 in the 7.62X51 mm model). This bullet drop compensating or DDC reticle is available calibrated for either 7.62X51mm M80 ball or 5.56X45 mm M855 ball. For ruggedness the 6X48 ACOG is machined from the same forged 7075 T6 aluminum from which M16 receivers are made. It is anodized matte black to match the finish of most in-service weapons. The TA648 ACOG is waterproof to an incredible 100 meters and is dry nitrogen filled to prevent fogging. It mounts directly to any MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny rail with its TA75 base. The TA648 sight can be removed and re-fitted with no loss of zero.

■ EYES ON

With the L85A2 having undergone the H&K makeover, along with being upgraded with many new parts, including a slick Daniel Defence rails system, it seems only sensible that new optics should be part of that package. The Trijicon ACOGs have been fully “Tried and Tested” in the harshest of conditions, and combined with the piggy back CQB sight, they offer all the functionality necessary for the modern battlefield.

Speaking to guys that have recently returned from theatre they have nothing but positive comments on the ACOGs, and view them as a “tasty bit of kit”. The ability to “reach out” over extended engagement distances, combined with an easy switch to “close in and personal” has made the Trijicon ACOG a firm favourite with the troops... who can argue with that!

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EVERY YEAR, HELD IN THE EXCEL CENTRE IN LONDON, DSEI TAKE CONTROL, SHOWCASING A HUGE AMOUNT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY WORLD. OPENING ON 12TH SEPTEMBER, THIS YEARS DSEI BROKE VARIOUS SELF SET RECORDS, AND SHOWED WHY THE DSEI IS SLOWLY BECOMING A MAINSTAY OF THE DEFENCE WORLD! Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), the world-leading integrated event for aerospace, land, maritime and security capabilities, opened 12th September. The event, which runs until 18th September, provides a unique global business development platform where the world’s defence community will come together to do business, network, and listen to the most comprehensive conference programme to date. Event organisers, Clarion Events, are set to accommodate 1500 exhibitors representing over 50 countries, 32,000 visitors, 300 programmed delegations and more than 2,800 VIPs within the halls of ExCeL London.

Among the senior military and political figures who attended, attendees such as UK Government ministers and the Chiefs of the Royal Navy, the British Army, Royal Air Force and Joint Forces Command were present, including names such as

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include the Rt Hon Michael Fallon, Secretary of State for Defence; Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Procurement, Penny Mordaunt; Minister of State for the Armed Forces, Mark Lancaster, Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare & Veterans; Julian Brazier, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at Ministry of Defence; Rt Hon Anna Soubry, Minister of State for Small Business, Industry & Enterprise; and John Hayes, Security Minister at the Home Office.

The event’s ever growing strength across the spectrum of defence and security is evidenced by the attendance of record numbers of top-level figures from the procurement and operational communities, as well as government representatives and prominent speakers from major military powers around the world. DSEI is set to be the global high level gathering of senior government, military and industry.

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The three new strategic conferences on Monday highlighted the increased level of content of this year’s event, and coupled with over 300 seminar sessions and keynotes due to take place over the next four days, DSEI firmly stamps its mark as one of the industry's most influential platforms for the discussion of agenda-topping issues. Representatives from think tanks, military, government and industry will provide a full spectrum of fascinating perspectives across the diverse range of issues currently facing the sector from future maritime strategy and UAV technology to counter terror initiatives, and medical innovation.

The exhibitor line-up was a Who's Who of the prime contractor sector, featuring such industry giants as Airbus Defence & Space, BAE Systems, Bell Helicopters, Boeing, CAE, Finmeccanica, General Dynamics, L3, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Northrop Grumman, Rafael, Rolls-Royce, SAAB and Thales. DSEI is also a crucially important sales arena for SMEs, who will be there in record numbers this year. A matchmaking scheme helps SMEs access the primes' supply chains, while visitor and exhibitors alike can benefit from free workshops on how to do business in major markets, both mature and emerging.

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The air power dimension of DSEI has grown, with an abundance of aerospace platforms on display including Apache, Chinook, Merlin, Puma 2, Sea King and Wildcat helicopters; Eurofighter Typhoon, multi-role combat aircraft; and ScanEagle and Watchkeeper UAVs. Moored in the dock adjacent to the exhibition halls were eight outstanding examples of maritime capability. The UK Royal Navy is represented by the Type 23 frigate HMS Iron Duke, Hunt Class MCMV HMS Hurworth and River Class OPV HMS Tyne. The other vessels are the Royal Canadian Navy Halifax Class frigate HMCS Winnipeg; Belgian Navy coastal patrol vessel BNS Castor; German Navy K130 Class corvette FGS Ludwigshafen; Indian Navy Talwar Class frigate INS Trikandm and from France the Sea Owl Naval Training Ship VN Partisan. The dock will also host the renowned waterborne demonstrations

by Special Forces small craft. A major highlight was 43 Commando Royal Marines providing a demonstration of their boarding capability on two ORCs (Offshore Raiding Crafts), with the VN Partisan acting as the target.

DSEI 2015 featured the largest Land Zone to date.

One of the traditional strengths of DSEI, this focus area had evolved to feature even more suppliers,

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content and diversity, while an increased number of exhibitors are displaying land systems capabilities across the halls. Land domain exhibitors include such leading players as BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Esterline, Jankel Armouring, JCB Government & Defence, Land Rover, Patria Oyj, Rheinmetall, Streit and Supacat. A powerful new feature is the Future Soldier Showcase highlighting innovation in this important area.

Security is another growth area with the Security Zone having incorporated the highest ever number of first time exhibitors and providing a broad spectrum of security and counter terrorism products, equipment and technologies for police and paramilitary organisations. Evidence of DSEI’s position on the cutting edge of defence and security trends is apparent with cyber defence set to feature prominently.

DSEI’s policy of having themed zones make it easier for visitors to meet exhibiting companies and view their offerings, either on their stand, in a static display or in a realistic demonstration scenario.

Each dedicated zone has its own theatre hosting a programme of seminars that will run throughout the show. The four core components - aerospace, land, maritime and security - have now been joined by

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zones focused on important newer areas, such as unmanned systems and military medical innovation.

The vital contribution that military medicine is making to human welfare will be highlighted by a DSEI Strategic Conference which will take place on 15 September at ExCeL London. The event, entitled 'Ebola Learning Exploitation', was addressed by Air Marshal Paul Evans, Surgeon General of the UK Defence Medical Services.

Rear Admiral Simon Williams, Chairman of DSEI organisers Clarion Defence & Security, said...

"THE SUPPORT WE ARE RECEIVING FROM THE UK GOVERNMENT IS SOLID EVIDENCE OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE NATION'S DEFENCE AND SECURITY SECTORS. IT IS VERY PLEASING THAT OUR INDUSTRY'S PERFORMANCE AND POTENTIAL IN KEY AREAS SUCH AS INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND EXPORTS ARE BEING RECOGNISED IN THIS WAY. MINISTERS AND INDUSTRY HAVE BOTH DEMONSTRATED THEIR WHOLEHEARTED SUPPORT FOR THE DEFENCE GROWTH PARTNERSHIP, AND DSEI IS AN IDEAL PLATFORM TO SEE THIS PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION."

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SLEEPING BAGS

WITH THE WEATHER CHANGING AND THE AUTUMN MONTHS ROLLING IN, IT’S AROUND THIS TIME THAT WE HERE AT RAIDER HQ BEGIN TO MAKE SURE OUR COLD WEATHER KIT IS UP TO SCRATCH. COATS, THERMALS, SLEEPING BAGS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN SLOWLY BEGIN TO GET DRAGGED OUT OF STORAGE, RE-TREATED AND TESTED TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE. When we began sorting through our winter kit, we already knew of one item that would need replacing after failing on us in the field, so a new sleeping bag was definitely on the cards. Snugpak is our weapon of choice here and to be honest, there’s nowhere else we would look for relaible kit. With years of heavy use on our side and a plethora of knowledge from them, Snugpak is quite simply the cream of the crop and we’re happy to boast a solid relationship that we hold dear to our hearts.

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The first part of the Special Forces Complete System is the Special Forces 1; what we’d refer to as the good weather bag and Snugpak themselves point out that this is a summer bag but we’d stretch to calling it a good two seasons bag; with the bag being usable in both the summer and autumn seasons.

The Special Forces 1 is designed with the same fantastic Snugpak Softie insulation that gives the user a proven system to protect you from nature’s wrath.

When doing some research on the bag, a lot of people pointed out that the Special Forces 1 was merely the Softie 3 with a central zip. After doing a little digging on the claims I found that they were semi correct, with the Special Forces 1 being more an update on the old Softie 3 including the already mentioned central zip which acts as a quick release system as well as a reinforced foot so you’re able to sleep with your boots on.

The Special Forces 1 comes in at 220cm long, 80cm wide at the chest, 65cm at the knee and 50cm at the foot, and unfortunately if you don’t meet these size requirements you’d best start looking for another bag. One thing that the Special Forces 1 lends itself to brilliantly is those of you who want to pack light, with the bag only weighing 1200g and packs down into a tiny 16x16cm pack; not too much bigger than an Army issue canteen!

Snugpak’s temperature system has always been one that comes in two sections - A Comfort and an Extreme, and as you can imagine they’re pretty self explanatory and for such a tiny sleeping bag, the Special Forces 1 gives you some good temperature ratings as well, offering a 5°c Comfort rating and a 0°c Extreme rating.

The Special Forces 1 can lend these temperature ratings to a number of design features, the first being it’s mummy-style shape which helps the bag retain heat. You’ve then got the usage of Softie Premier as well as Reflectatherm fillings for maximum comfort and warmth. On top of that you’ve also got a water resistant outer shell thanks to the usage of Paratex Steelplate.

You’d be completely right in thinking that in most situations you could most probably get away with using the Special Forces 2 as a standalone bag; forgetting about the Special Forces Complete System altogether. As a standalone system you’ll struggle to find a better sleeping bag in Snugpak’s range, and it’s also one of Snugpak’s more expensive options, coming in at £154.95. With that in mind do you get real bang for your buck with the Special Forces 2?

First things first, is the Special Forces 2 a revamp of one of Snugpak’s older offerings? It is. From what we could find the Special Forces 2 is based on the Softie 10 although obviously takes all of the updates from the Special Forces 1 to make them compatible. I guess you could almost call the Special Forces two the jacked up brother of the Special Forces 1.

With that in mind you’ll realise that what the Special Forces 1 has, the Special Forces 2 also has, but in bigger quantities. Where the Special Forces 1 weighs in at 1200g, the Special Forces 2 adds 600g to that figure at 1800g. It packs down into a bigger pack as well; to be precise it stuffs into a 23x23cm pack when fully compressed. All of the measurements are the same so it’s still 220cm long, 80cm at the chest, 65cm at the knee and 40cm at the foot.

But the important thing regarding this bag is does it hold up to the temperature better than it’s smaller counterpart? It does, and quite considerably as well.

The Special Forces 2 comes with a Comfort rating of -7°c and a Extreme rating of -12°c. When you look at the Special Forces 1’s rating of 5°c and 0°c, that’s quite an improvement!

You’ve then got the inclusion of the Snugfit hood to ensure you don’t lose any heat and a two-way anti-snag zip allowing you to get in and get out in a hurry.

So is the Special Forces 2 worth the extra 30-odd pound? We’re definitely of the opinion that it is, and can you really put a price on that extra warmth the Special Forces 2 offers?!

SPECIAL FORCES 1

SPECIAL FORCES 1: £119.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

SPECIAL FORCES 2

SPECIAL FORCES 2: £154.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

SPECIAL FORCES 1 TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes” Adult Colours: Black, Olive, Camouflage, A-TACS, Desert.

Weight: 1200g Length: 220cm Width: (Chest) 80cm - (Knee) 65cm - (Foot) 40cm Pack Size: 16 cm x 16cm Origin: Manufactured in UK Seasons: Summer Temperature Comfort: 5°c Extreme: 0°c Outer Fabric: Paratex Steelplate Inner Fabric: Paratex Light Filling: Softie® Premier / Reflectatherm Extra Info: Reinforced Foot

SPECIAL FORCES 2 TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes: Adult Colours: Black, Olive, A-TACS, Desert, Multicam Weight: 1800g Length: 220cm Width: (Chest) 80cm Pack Size: 23cm x 23cm Origin: Manufactured in UK Seasons: Spring Temperature Comfort: -7°c Extreme: -12°c Outer Fabric: Paratex Steelplate Inner Fabric: Paratex Light Filling: Softie® Premier Extra Info: Reinforced Foot

-THE SF2PICK OF THE PACK!

SPECIAL FORCES

ZIP BAFFLE

To combine the two bags you’ll need the Special Forces Zip Baffle; something we couldn’t find on Snugpak’s own website, but can be found in a number of other sources.

Essentially the Zip Baffle is a central zip that allows you to attach the Special Forces 1 and Special Forces 2 together to create the Complete System. Once attached you’re able to zip/unzip the separate sleeping bags dependent on how hot/cold you are - Zip the Special Forces 2 around you to warm up or unzip to cool off.

SPECIAL FORCES ZIP BAFFLE: £19.99 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

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SNUGPAK

The Softie series of sleeping bags has been at the pinnacle of Snugpak’s production for years and a number of the Softie series have been reviewed in Raider in the past.

The Softie 12 Osprey is widely viewed as one of the best four season synthetic filled sleeping bags available, and with such a wide marketplace battling for such a title you should certainly take the Softie 12 seriously.

Those who’ve heard about the Softie 12 Osprey fall under two different categories those who have used them, and those who wished they had used one. Used in various locations from the heights of the Scottish mountains to the bottom of various self built snow holes, the Softie 12 Osprey has time and time again proved it’s effectiveness in a variety of temperatures. And like a lot of Snugpak’s range of sleeping bags, the Softie 12 has been assigned a NATO Stock Number, meaning you’re likely to see a few of these out in an operational theatre.

The Softie 12 comes in at 220cm long, 80cm wide at the chest, 60cm at the knee and 40cm at the foot. However if you find yourself to be someone who’s a tad on the tall side, Snugpak offer an extended version of the Softie 12, taking the bag from the original 220cm to 265cm; adding an impressive 45cm to the sleeping bag. When compressed the pack size comes in at 23x25cm and weighs in at 2000g.

Starting from the top, the Softie hood uses Snugpak’s ‘Snugfit’ technology. This Snugfit hood is tailored, pleated and fitted with a drawcord so it pulls into shape, similar to a jacket hood. To prevent the two-way zip from snagging either the zip baffle or the bag edges, an ‘anti-snag strip’ of webbing is sewn in behind the zip. The full-length baffle prevents any heat from escaping through the zipped area. Getting to the bottom of the bag, the foot is reinforced, and Snugpak’s website boasts that it is so strong you can even sleep with your boots on, something we tried and had to agree on!

Inside the bag, the loose liner of Softie insulation stays in place, ensuring maximum comfort for an undisturbed night’s sleep. You also have hanging tabs attached to allow for easy airing and drying. Another of Snugpak’s customisation feats is the ability to buy the bag in either a left or right-handed configuration. You can also buy the Snugpak Expanda Panel to make it a little wider. The Softie 12 Osprey comes with a Comfort rating of -10°c and an Extreme rating of -15°c.

Snugpak Softie sleeping bags are used in various environments including use by the UK Armed Forces for decades. Recently Snugpak expanded on that range with various new designs and it’s something that caused a little bit of confusion in the market; with ourselves being a little baffled in regards to the new Softie Elite range. So what are the differences?

The Softie and Elite range share a huge amount of similarities and are essentially the same style and are both ranges purpose built for military usage. The numbering system is indicative of their temperature comfort levels, with the Elite 1 being the warmest weathered bag and the Elite 5 being their cold weather bag. And obviously with an increase in thermal performance comes an increase in weight and cost.

There are however a few differences between the two range of bags, the first being their origin. The Softie range has always been built in the UK, however with the Elite, Snugpak have outsourced the production, with a lot of fingers being pointed towards China. Whilst this is by no means a bad thing, many purists out there will always buy UK based products. Secondly whilst both bags use Snugpak’s branded synthetic insulation fill combined with the metalised Reflectatherm fabric, the Softie range uses the higher performing Premier insulation. Along with a difference in fill, the outer fabric is slightly different as well. The Elite uses the tough ripstop Paratex Micro fabric; a lightweight, windproof water repellent and highly breathable material for wicking away moisture. Doesn’t sound all that bad right?! And it’s not, however the Softie uses a slightly better material in the Paratex Steelplate.

One thing that the Elite does come with as standard is the Expander Panel System.

When not in use it acts as a super thick zip baffle but can then be deployed to give the user an increase of 12.5cm in width. So looking at specifications, the Softie Elite 3 has a Comfort rating of -5°c and an Extreme rating of -10°c. In terms of dimensions, the bag is the standard 220cm long with a width of 75cm +12.5 at the chest, 65cm at the knee and 32cm at the foot and weighs in at 1600g, compressing into a 19x21cm pack.

Whilst not an all singing all dancing sleeping bag the Softie Elite 3 is by no means poor and for under £100 you’ll be hard pressed to find something better.

SOFTIE 12 OSPREY

TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes: Adult ■ Colours: Black, Olive, Desert Tan Weight: 2000g Length: 220cm (Extra long: 265cm) Width: (Chest) 80cm Pack Size: 23 cm x 25 cm Seasons: Winter Temperature Comfort: -10°c Extreme: -15°c Outer Fabric: Paratex Steelplate Inner Fabric: Paratex Light Filling: Softie® Premier Extra Info: Reinforced foot, extra length available.

PRICE: £149.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

SOFTIE ELITE 3

TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes: Adult Colours: Olive Weight: 1600g Length: 220cm Width: (Chest) 75cm + 12.5cm Pack Size: 19 x 21 cm (Fully Compressed) Seasons: Autumn Temperature Comfort: -5°c Extreme: -10°c Outer Fabric: Paratex Micro Inner Fabric: Paratex Light Filling: Softie® & Reflectatherm Extra Info: Expander Panel System

PRICE: £94.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

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S N U G P A K

S L E E P I N G

B A G S

O N

O U R

R A D A

SNUGPAK

SNUGPAK

The Snugpak Tactical 2 is one of Snugpak’s most sought after sleeping bags, with the Tactical range in general being a very strong range. Priced at a little over £100; £129.95 to be precise, it’s by no means an expensive bag but is it the wrong side of £100 to be on peoples buying list?

Compared by many to the cheaper Softie 6, what exactly does the Tactical 2 do to warrant the extra 10 or so pounds? Design wise they are essentially the same bag, with the Tactical 2 offering everything the Softie 6 has apart from the extra length available. For those of you who aren’t familiar with such features you need only look at the Softie 12 Osprey for a full list of Softie features.

The Tactical 2 starts to excel in certain areas though. For one it’s lighter, coming in at 1100g; 100g lighter than the Softie 6, and while that may not sound like much, every gram soon adds up when you’re carrying a heavy load and you’ll be kicking yourself for not going for the lighter option. It also compresses into a smaller pack, 17cm x 18cm to be precise; 1cm smaller than the Softie 6 and yet again whilst it’s not a huge number, it all adds up.

In terms of thermal performance it comes in at a Comfort rating of 0°c and an Extreme rating of -5°c. Not bad numbers considering that this sleeping bag weighs in at only 1100g.

Where the Tactical 2 starts to come into it’s own is some of the materials included in the bag. Whilst still using the same Paratex Steelplate for an outer fabric and the Softie Premier and Reflectatherm for it’s filling, the Tactical 2 does away with the usual Paratex Light inner fabric, opting for the Thermal Suede liner, designated TS1 by Snugpak. TS1 is an advanced short pile wicking fleece, which has a soft suede-like feel and helps move body moisture out towards the outer bag and away from the body. Another enhancement the Tactical 2 has is the addition of a pillow pocket in the hood - a brilliant idea in our eyes as it allows for something like a smock to be used as a far more effective pillow than simply just pushing it under your head where it’ll only spread itself out within 10 minutes and that multitool you left in your pocket will be poking you in the ear.

Another cheaper alternative, the Sleeper Light is designed for colder temperatures but can you really get an effective cold weather bag for less that £40?

Well yes, and no. It certainly isn’t going to survive an arctic expedition, nor is it being sold as a bag to survive such conditions. However what it will do is serve you as a good sleeping bag for general camping or for when you’re using a car to carry your kit around and want something for some added warmth when asleep in your motor.

The Snugpak Sleeper Lite comes with the same IsoFibre siliconised hollowfibre filling that some of Snugpak’s higher end sleeping bags use, giving brilliant performance; much better than traditional hollowfil fibres. With the use of such a fibre it doesn’t cut off it’s nose to spite it’s face either, with the bag being as comfortable as it is warm, and when unrolled the Sleeper Lite springs back to give maximum re-loft.

The Ripstop nylon outer fabric is some of the strongest nylon in the market as well, allowing the Sleeper Lite to be used in a number of environments without worrying the bag may rip or snag somewhere; something that you definitely don’t want happening!

The bag comes in the usual 220cm length with a 75cm chest width, 65cm knee and 38cm foot, compressing down into a 23cm x 23cm pack. With a Comfort temperature rating of 0°c and an Extreme rating of -7°c; pretty darn good for such a cheap bag!

Now I have a habit of keeping a sleeping bag in my car for those situations when I may need one; be that if I need to sleep in my car or I end up sleeping at someone’s house after a couple of unforeseen beers. I’m currently lugging around an old Highlander sleeping bag that I’ve lost the pack for, but I think in this bag I’ve found its replacement!

This bag really is a brilliant budget buy, so for those of you out there who are looking for a cheap but reliable sleeping bag then this is definitely what I’d be looking at. Perfect for the spring/summer climate in the UK, this is definitely something we’ll be keeping on hand for those nights we need something small and light!

TACTICAL 2

TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes: Adult Extra Long: No Colours: Black, Olive, Desert Tan Weight: 1100g Length: 220cm Width: (Chest) 82.5 cm Pack Size: 17 cm x 18 cm Origin: Manufactured in UK Seasons: Spring Temperature Comfort: 0°c Extreme: -5°c Outer Fabric: Paratex Steelplate Inner Fabric: TS1 Luxurious Brushed Polyester Filling: Softie® Premier & Reflectatherm

PRICE: £129.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

034

SLEEPER LITE

TECHNICAL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Sizes: Adult Extra Long: No Colours: Black, Olive, Red/Silver Weight: 1600g Length: 220cm Width: (Chest) 75cm Width: (Knee) 65cm Width: (Foot) 38cm Pack Size: 23 x 23 cm (Fully Compressed) Origin: Imported Seasons: Spring, Summer Temperature Comfort: 0°c Extreme: -7°c Outer Fabric: Ripstop Nylon Inner Fabric: Supersoft Filling: IsoFibre

PRICE: £39.95 FROM: WWW.SNUGPAK.COM

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21/09/2015 13:32

MULTI TOOLS COMPARATIVE REPORT

LETS FACE IT, THE LIKELIHOOD OF YOU BEING ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO CARRIES A TOOL-BOX IN THE BACK OF HIS TRUCK DAY IN, DAY OUT IS SLIM. WE’RE ALSO BETTING THAT IN THE LAST WEEK OR SO YOU’VE BEEN SAT THERE TRYING TO PRY SOMETHING OPEN WITH A SPOON. IF YOU FIT BOTH OF THESE CATEGORIES WE THINK IT’S TIME YOU WENT OUT AN INVESTED IN A DARNED GOOD MULTI-TOOL! SO WE’VE PULLED TOGETHER A CHOICE SELECTION OF SOME OF OUR FAVOURITES FOR YOUR PERUSAL...

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COMPARATIVE REPORT: THE SIX TICKS!

RIGHT THEN, WHAT MAKES A MULTI TOOL? 1

TOOLS

Whilst having a large amount of tools is all well and good, we’re of the opinion that less is best. The reason behind this is usually down to the fact that not only do half of the tools never get used, but the chances are the tools with fewer tools will be of a better quality. As we mentioned in the standfirst, multi-tools are not your be all, end all tool box, they’re just there to get you out of a sticky situation.

2

A CHUNKY STEEL BLADE

3

PLIERS

We’re of the opinion that a multi tool should always focus on getting two of it’s tools spot on; one of those being a nice, chunky steel blade. A blade can be used in a variety of ways; it can cut things, be used to pry things open, you can whittle bark off logs to make your fire. And lets face it, when using a multi-tool, the first thing you always try to use is the blade.

4

LOCK IN/LOCK OUT

5

FAST AND EASY ACCESS

A good multi-tool will always have a lock in/lock out feature for it’s tools; the last thing you want is your big chunky steel blade to close when you’re chopping something, leading to you being short a finger or two!

6

CHASSIS MATERIAL

A good multi-tool is only as good as the materials it is built from. It will not only provide you with brilliant quality tools, but it’ll also give you a well-made chassis to protect those tools. It doesn’t need to be made of Valarian Steel or be forged to Samurai Katana spec, but it does have to hold up to every day use and take a bit of stress.

You want your multi-tool to have very easy to access tools. Ideally you’re going to need to be able to open them regardless of whether you’re wearing gloves or whether your hands are near frozen.

The second of those tools they should be getting spot on is the pliers.

Originally known as ‘multi-pliers’, multi-tools are basically built around their pliers!

The Skeletool does an admirable job of trying to provide the user with as much as possible in as light a tool as they could make, something a lot of people will appreciate when carrying it in their pockets. Sure it’s not going to attract a user base of those who need a go to tool when they’re in theatre or working a job which requires a belt carried tool, but for those who just want something they can carry around with them to do menial jobs like changing a light fitting or opening a bottle of beer it’s perfect!

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RAIDE PICK OR’S THE PA F CK!

LEATHERMAN

CRKT KNIVES

VICTORINOX

What better way to kick off our multi tool journey than to look at what is often referred to as the original workhorse of the Leatherman family? The award winning, Leatherman Supertool 300 is the tool for the working man, providing everything you could possibly need in a solid, stainless steel chassis.

Whilst the tool is a rather large and heavy offering, coming in at 4.5 inches in length (closed) and weighs in at 9.6 ounces. Many will argue that the Super Tool 300 is too big and pointlessly heavy, but if you’re in the market for a excellent quality multi-tool you’ll be hard pressed to find something lighter or smaller.

One of the biggest selling points on the Super Tool 300 is the fact that the plier head has 6 tools built into it, making it more a plier section as opposed to an actual set of pliers. Worked into the plier section are a set of needlenose and regular pliers, wire cutters, hard wire cutters, stranded wire strippers and an electrical crimper.

Coupled with the fact that the Super Tool has a staggering 11 tools including two blades, four screwdrivers and all the other tools you’d expect to find on a multi tool, it’s safe to say that the Super Tool 300 will have you covered for a variety of situations.

The one downside to the Super Tool 300 is its lack of a pair of scissors. Although they may not be necessarily essential, you’ll always end up needing a pair in the most awkward of situations and being able to whack out your trusty multi tool is always a godsend, but with the Super Tool being packed to the brim, we’d struggle to see where they would fit!

Whilst the majority of the tools in this overview are very stereotypical in terms of their general blueprint, the CRKT Works Zilla tool is definitely the black sheep of the group.

Looking like nothing we’ve seen before in the multi tool market, the Zilla Tool definitely wins the award for being the most unique of the 9 tools on show.

A lot of multi tools fall into the trap of trying to include as much as they can, often leading to tools becoming hard to access, the Zilla Tool steers well clear of doing so and goes for the bare basics, making sure it does such basics to a high quality.

The Zilla Tool almost looks more a folding knife than a multi tool, and comes in at a huge 9 inches long and weighs in at just under 210g, making the Zilla Tool a little on the chunky side for something that only holds a handful of tools. That’s not to say the Zilla Tool is a bad choice though!

Moving on to the tools, the Zilla Tool holds a set of needlenose pliers, wire cutters, wire stripped, a part serrated blade, flat & Phillips screwdrivers and the tool no man should be without, a bottle opener. A switch in the middle of the body deploys the pliers, releasing the spring-loaded handle, with the body itself acting as the other handle. The large straight-edge blade unfolds using a convenient flipper that engages quickly and acts as a blade guard when cutting. At the opposite end of the pliers, a hex tool holds the hex screwdriver bits stored in the handle, which will also accept other standard hex bits.

If you want a be all, end all multi tool with a huge array of tools then unfortunately the Zilla Tool is not for you. However if you want something that does the bare basics very well at a competitive price, you’d be a little bonkers not to consider the Zilla.

Victorinox are one of the oldest players in the multi tool game and rightly deserve a place in such an article. Dating back to the original Swiss Army Tool, Victorinox have be churning out excellent product; now producing a wide array of multi tools for various situations.

Victorinox have a long history of producing a good product first time round, only making very minor changes when releasing an updated version and the SwissTool Plus II is a perfect example of this.

The original SwissTool was released over a decade ago, and is a perfect example of the business model Victorinox follow.

The Swiss Tool RS is what you could call a ‘walking toolbox’, containing a whopping 37 functions all in all, by far the most of all the multi tools in this overview and are all to a very good quality, held securely in place by a flap-type pring and lock when fully deployed. It’s slightly blunt-nosed pliers are completely concealed until you unfold the handles; handles which double up as a 230mm ruler, perfect for those of you using the tool in a working environment.

And although the pliers aren’t spring loaded, you can really crank them down hard without the SwissTool losing it’s comfortable feel, almost feeling as if the tool was fitted to your hand.

Something that makes the SwissTool Plus II extremely useful is the fact you can access the tools without unfolding the handle, something that a lot of other multi tools lack. Not only does this make your life a lot easier but it also allows you to deploy any tool you may need in a much quicker fashion.

Coming in at 4 ½ inches long, the SwissTool isn’t the biggest nor the smallest tool on test but when you take into account the fact it has a massive 37 functions you don’t want it to be too small! The fact that all Victorinox products come with a lifelong guarantee as well means you’ll always be covered; but you’ll have a hard time breaking it!

SUPER TOOL 300

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

420HC Clip Point Knife with Straight Edge 420HC Sheepsfoot Serrated Knife Needlenose and Regular Pliers 154CM Removable Hard-wire Cutters Stranded-wire Cutters and Stripper Electrical Crimper 5/16", 1/8” and 7/32” Screwdrivers Phillips Screwdriver Wood/Metal File Saw Bottle and Can Opener 9” | 22 cm Ruler Awl with Thread Loop Closed length: 4 ½ inches Weight: 272.15g Chassis Material: Stainless Steel

PRICE: £80.95 FROM: WWW.LEATHERMAN.CO.UK

THE ZILLA TOOL

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Pliers Wire Cutters Wire Strippers Part Serrated Blade Flat & Phillips Screwdrivers Bottle Opener Closed length: 9 inches Weight: 209.78g Chassis material: Glass Filled Nylon

PRICE: £38.95 FROM: WWW.CRKT.COM

SWISSTOOL PLUS II

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Corkscrew ■ Wood and Metal saw Metal file ■ Chisel ■ Blade Screwdrivers: 2mm and 3mm with bit case Phillips screwdriver Blade Scissors and Ruler (230mm) Blade Wire cutters Length: 4 ½ inches Weight: 425.243g Chassis material: Stainless Steel

PRICE: £77.00 FROM: WWW.VICTORINOX.COM

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GERBER

SOG

LEATHERMAN

Another massive game in the market, Gerber have been pushing some benchmark setting products for years now. Not only do they create their own range but they have various celebrity endorsements, with Bear Grylls being the most notable of them.

The Gerber Suspension is my personal favourite of the tools on show and is the one I myself use on a daily basis. Whilst not groundbreaking in terms of the amount of tools included or it being super lightweight, the Suspension is an awesome everyday carry, albeit a little on the heavy side.

The Suspension has a total of 11 tools, including all the must have tools and each of them is produced to a very fine quality. One nice little feature of the Suspension is the easy open tabs on both the serrated and fine edge blade incorporated in the tool, making it very easy to deploy the blade one handed, although closing it will often require both hands. The Suspension also has a more than adequate set of pliers, and the tool fits very nicely into the hand.

Something else we absolutely love about the Gerber Suspension is the fact you can completely dissemble the tool via a number of different allen key holes, providing you have the correct size allen key. Once the tool is taken apart it becomes very easy to not only clean the tool but sharpen the blades, something that is massively handy.

Whilst the Suspension isn’t exactly the smallest tool in the world, it’s by far the smallest tool in this overview, coming in at 3.75 inches; a whole half an inch smaller than most other tools. It also only weighs 255.146g, which on a whole isn’t all that heavy!

The one thing that screams out to me most about the Suspension is it’s price, coming in at as little as £50.00, you’ve got a tool that will perform admirably.

During the Vietnam War, members of the elite US Special Operations group MACV-SOG carried a unique combat knife into combat with them into the jungle on covert missions. The same knife inspired Spencer Frazer to found SOG Specialty Knives, with an aim to reproduce the famous SOG Bowie Knife. What began as a single commemorative knife soon grew into a huge line of various innovative tools, field proven by various US Special Forces units.

In that huge line of innovative tools comes a range of multi tools that are renowned for their brilliant build quality and the Powerlock is definitely in that category. Whilst there are a number of things worth mentioning in regards to the Powerlock, the thing most adored about the tool by its user base is the pliers and their operation.

The operation of the tool is spot on, whilst a lot of tools have a habit of having being very fiddly when it comes to opening the tools out, but with the Powerlock you’ll have no such problems, in fact a lot of people have said you’ll be hard pressed finding a better multi tool in that sense.

What differs the EOD version from the original is the inclusion of a set of multi-purpose electrical crimpers, and whilst they are aimed at bomb disposal experts we’re sure a ‘sparky’ will find them equally as useful.

One thing that really lets the Powerlock down is the fact that the tools themselves aren’t lockable, with the tool having a single plate to lock the tool in place once you’ve deployed it; a shame really as apart from that it’s a very solid multi tool!

The Leatherman MUT is possibly everything you could possibly need in a multi tool, and in our eyes is most probably Leatherman’s best tool in terms of usability in a survival, military or tactical situation.

The MUT is also Leatherman’s most modern looking multi tool; with the only other multi tool in Leatherman’s range similar in design being the lesser equipped Skeletool. Something that lends the MUT well to the military market is the fact it comes in Oxidized Black as well as Stainless Steel. Black definitely appeals a lot more and will definitely not be giving your position away at any point.

With a total of 21 tools, including removable/ replaceable screw heads to give you a wider range of choice when it comes to trying to undo/tighten stuff.

Another thing that points the MUT towards use in the military market is the inclusion of a carbon scraper and a punch. The carbon scraper is there to provide the user with a way of removing any dirt or carbon from the gun and the punch gives the user a tool to push the body pins out to dissemble your gun.

Usually in a multi tool the most multi functional part is the jaw head, however on the MUT, the base of the handle has more or less the same amount of tools, providing the user with a hammer, a replaceable cutting hook, a bolt overriding tool, carabineer and a bottle opener.

One thing that makes us feel reluctant to go out and purchase one is the price. At prices of around £170-180, it’s a fair outlay, but we’re sure when put in a military environment it’d definitely be dependable.

TOOL LIST

TOOL LIST

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

SUSPENSION

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Needlenose pliers Wire cutters Fine edge knife Serrated edge knife Saw and Scissors Crosspoint screwdriver Small and medium flatblade screwdrivers Can and Bottle openers Closed Length: 3.75 inches Weight: 255.146g Chassis Material: Steel

PRICE: £55.00 FROM: WWW.GERBER-STORE.CO.UK

POWERLOCK B61-N EOD

Double Tooth Saw 1/2 Serrated Blade 3-Sided File Large Screwdriver Phillips Screwdriver 1/4" Socket Drive Awl Can Opener/Small Screwdriver Bottle Opener/Medium Screwdriver Wire Crimper / Cutter Compound Leverage Comfort Grips Scissors Closed length: 4.60 inches Weight: 272.115 Chassis Material: Stainless Steel

PRICE: £75.00 FROM: WWW.SOGKNIVES.COM

MUT

420HC Stainless Steel Straight/Serrated Knife Needlenose Pliers with Military Spec Cap Crimpers 154CM Replaceable Standard & Fuse-wire cutters Saw ■ Hammer ■ Replaceable Cutting Hook Bolt Override Tool Replaceable C4 Punch ■ Replaceable Carbon Scraper Cleaning Rod/Brush Adapters Carabiner Clip Bottle Opener Large Bit Driver Electrical Crimper INCLUDED BITS: Phillips #1-2 and 3/16, Phillips #2 and 1/4 Screwdriver, Torx #15 and Hex 7/64.

■ Closed Length 5 inches ■ Weight 317.5147g ■ Chassis Material Stainless Steel

PRICE: £175.00 FROM: WWW.LEATHERMAN.CO.UK

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KNOW YOUR MULTI TOOL!

GERBER

LEATHERMAN

The Diesel, like any other Gerber multi tool, focuses on those of us who require the use of a good set of pliers. However the Diesel is not just a set of pliers, it comes with a great range of other tools to tide you over when you don’t have a toolbox handy. Starting with the plier design, the Diesel is one that is unique in operation. Although similar to various other Gerber multi tools, various other manufacturers are far off the mark when it comes to such a design. So what’s so different about them? Don’t get me wrong, they’re not some space age laser cutting, crazy gripping pliers, but what the Diesel does offer is a way to deploy the pliers with a simple hand flick, with Gerber calling it their ‘rapid deployable pliers’. This works by simply holding the tool in hand and giving it a flick, causing the pliers to slide out and lock into place when reaching the end.

The plier design is a brilliant one, and really offers the user something the other multi tools don’t, however due to the way the pliers are stored in the multi tool, it limited the amount of tools that could be stored in the multi tool to 12. You’ve got all the basics in there and by no means will the small number of tools in the Diesel hinder you, but in certain situations we completely understand you need a wider range of tools than what is provided; which is a shame as the plier function is one of the best in the market.

Like the Suspension, the Diesel also comes in at a ridiculously good price for a multi tool of its quality.

You definitely wouldn’t find another tool this good for around the £70 price range. It does make you wonder how Gerber are able to churn out good quality tools at such a damned good price! We’ve no doubt that if you’re after a tool that you could use in everyday environments where you don’t really need anything specialized, the Diesel would be a very good purchase, and the brilliant plier design really does stand out as one of the best on the market.

Once again I find myself looking at another Leatherman tool, which either highlights the fact that the multi tool market is riddled with rubbish attempts, or that Leatherman churn out a ton of really good multi tools.

Thankfully it’s the latter, and you really wouldn’t expect less from the grandfather of multi tools.

The Skeletool is another of Leatherman’s more modern takes on multi tools, with it being streamlined to strip off weight. The Skeletool comes in two different variants, the CX and the original; with the CX being the more expensive of the two. So what makes the CX more expensive you ask? Well as I mentioned the Skeletool is massively streamlined to strip weight, but on top of that the guys in Leatherman’s design team realised they could strip a ton more weight by replacing certain parts on the Skeletool with carbon fiber!

The result of this weight stripping exercise has led to the Skeletool weighing an impressive 141.748g, by far the lightest multi tool on test, and at 4 inches in length when closed it would make a perfect everyday carry.

One drawback with it’s smaller size is the number of tools packable in the package. There are only 7 tools in the Skeletool; around half as less as most of its competitors in this overview, however all are carefully selected and it does offer you a fair range of tools to get you through everyday life.

The Skeletool does an admirable job of trying to provide the user with as much as possible in as light a tool as they could make, something a lot of people will appreciate when carrying it in their pockets. Sure it’s not going to attract a user base of those who need a go to tool when they’re in theatre or working a job which requires a belt carried tool, but for those who just want something they can carry around with them to do menial jobs like changing a light fitting or opening a bottle of beer it’s perfect!

DIESEL

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Needlenose pliers Wire cutter Partially serrrated knife blade Cross point screwdriver, small, medium and large flat blade screwdrivers.

Can opener ■ Bottle opener ■ File Saw and scissors Closed length: 4.9 inches Weight: 243.806g Chassis Material: Stainless Steel

PRICE: £70.00 FROM: WWW.GERBER-STORE.CO.UK

SKELETOOL

TOOL LIST ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Pliers 2.5 inch blade Hard wire cutters Double sided screw driver Carabiner Bottle Opener Closed Length: 4 inches Weight: 141.748g Chassis Material: Steel/Carbon Fiber

PRICE: £80.00 FROM: WWW.LEATHERMAN.CO.UK

Some of the greatest ideas that have ever been realised date back way before you and of I were born - we’re talking centuries ago here. The Roman Empire was one that saw a vast number of new ideas come to life, things we possibly take for granted in this day and age; further developing ideas such as drainage, sewers and roads. Now you’re most probably wondering why I’m babbling on about the Romans in a overview of multi-tools…

Well believe it or not, the idea of incorporating several tools in one small portable unit dates back as far as Middle Roman times, with many opting to keep their eating utensils firmly kept in one unit.

Moving on to times a little closer to home, you could most probably call the Swiss Army Knife one of the earliest ‘modern’ examples of todays multi-tool and certainly holds the principle of having a variety of tools in one small chassis for ease. The original Swiss Army Knife issued to the Swiss Army included a blade, a reamer, a bottle opener/screwdriver/wire stripper and a can opener/screwdriver.

Turn the page for a look at one of the more modern adaptations of the brilliant Swiss Army Knife.

Moving on a few years, in 1984 Tim Leatherman sold his first ‘pocket survival tool’; a larger and more robust pocketknife based tool, which incorporated a set of needle-nosed pliers in a balisong-style mechanism. While being too big for most pockets, the tool is widely viewed as the ORIGINAL multi-tool and Leatherman are a company that to this day is still pumping out some brilliant examples of multi-tools.

Over the years a variety of companies have started to manufacture some fine examples of multi-tools; some sticking to the original concept of what a multi-tool is and others trying to re-invigorate a market that in many ways has been done to death.

That is by no means to say there has been little innovation in the world of multi-tools since their birth, with various new features being implemented along with various new alloys being used. But does the term ‘keep it simple stupid’ fall into place nicely here, or are these new ideas what were really needed?

CARRY LAWS

The carry law for multi tools is a bit of a grey area. Whilst the police on a whole understand the need for one in certain environments such as camping, you’ve also got to take into mind that many multi tools use lock blades, something that is highly illegal and can carry up to a 4 years prison sentence and a fine of up to £50,000.

We’re of the opinion that a large amount of common sense comes into play here, don’t make a habit of taking one out with you when you’re going shopping or down to the pub and you should be okay. Our best advice would be to contact your local police station to get more information.

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DIRECT ACTION EACH ISSUE WE HAVE BEEN TAKING THE TIME TO HAVE A LOOK AT A FEW CROSS-OVER PRODUCTS FROM A VARIETY OF MANUFACTURERS. THE PRODUCTS WE’VE BEEN INTERESTED IN HAVE PRIMARILY BEEN BAGS AND LUGGAGE, STUFF THAT YOU CAN USE EVERY DAY WHEN YOU TRAVEL TO WORK, SCHOOL OR SIMPLY OUT AND ABOUT, BUT STUFF THAT WILL ALSO TAKE THE ABUSE OF DEPLOYMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT USAGE. THIS MONTH WE HAVE THE DIRECT ACTION RANGE OF BAGS, AN OFFSHOOT BRAND FROM THE WELL KNOWN EUROPEAN BRAND, HELIKON.

£99.00

DRAGON EGG BACKPACK

Made from durable and water resistant 500D Cordura material, the Dragon Egg Backpack from Direct Action is a tactical low profile EDC hydration backpack. The pack comes with two hydration bladder compartments, dedicated laptop storage compartment, admin pocket with multiple inner sleeves and pockets, comfortably padded shoulder straps with added chest fastening for extra comfort, and removable hip belt with quick release buckle. Laser-cut MOLLE/PALS compatible system and number of a lateral compression straps allow for high level of customisation and flexibility, while multiple storage compartments offer great amount of carrying space. Additionally, thanks to the egg shape, the pack has smaller height and width then other packs with similar capacity and makes it more comfortable with belt kits or ballistic vests.

£111.00

GHOST BACKPACK

Made from durable yet lightweight and water resistant 500D Cordura material, the Ghost Backpack from Direct Action is a high quality tactical 3-day hydration backpack.

The pack comes with two hydration bladder compartments, detachable pocket organiser with multiple inner sleeves and pockets, comfortably padded shoulder strap with added chest fastening for extra comfort, and removable webbing-based hip belt with generous padding.

Additionally, the belt can be used as a standalone tactical belt thanks to the included low profile S-profiled shoulder strap with extra webbing for attachments. Laser-cut MOLLE/PALS compatible system and number of a lateral compression straps allow for high level of customisation and flexibility, while detachable pocket and multiple storage compartments offer great amount of carrying space.

£54.00

SMALL MESSENGER BAG

Made from durable yet lightweight and water resistant 500D Cordura material, the Small Messenger Bag from Direct Action is a high quality tactical single strapped bag.

Optimised for carrying a small laptop in a dedicated madden sleeve the Messenger Bag is a great option for access whilst on the go and incorporates a flap top to facilitate security and add an expandable MOLLE/PALS platform. The bag is equally at home as a fighting platform carrying or concealing a small submachine gun and extra magazines but will also be popular with cyclists going about their daily business.

Lightweight and versatile grab bag.

Perfect for skirmish and everyday use.

Laser-cut slits MOLLE/PALS. Velcro fastened full flap with release buckles.

Main compartment lined with Velcro loops for individual customization.

Padded sleeve inside for carrying of 11” laptop.

Large zipped pocket with transparent window for maps and documents on the reverse of the flap.

Zipped rear pocket.

Adjustable shoulder strap with non-slip pad.

Detachable waist strap (2.5cm wide).

Drag handle.

Velcro loop spot and pass-through zip on flap.

Anti-slip fabric on the bottom.

Duraflex - WooJin buckles.

Glove-friendly pull tabs.

Material: 100% Cordura 500D. Water resistant coating.

Size: 33x24x14cm.

Weight: approx. 850g.

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DIRECT ACTION!

DON’T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS

Direct Action is a series of professional products made

by Helikon-Tex, a well-known manufacturer of quality combat uniforms, waterproof soft shells and fleece jackets, underwear, camping and survival equipment.

Direct Action’s catalogue includes range of top quality bags and rucksacks, MOLLE system pouches, accessories, head gear, tactical uniforms and footwear.

Designed with law enforcement and security personnel in mind, the Direct Action range, now available at the UK based Military 1st online store, will also answer the needs of every deployment and outdoor enthusiast.

£74.00

£61.00

DUST BACKPACK

Made of durable and water resistant 500D Cordura material, the Dust Backpack from Direct Action is a tactical low profile EDC hydration backpack. The pack comes with hydration bladder compartments, padded laptop storage compartment and large front admin organiser with multiple inner pockets and transparent map pocket. Padded shoulder straps and removable hip belt allows for comfortable wear even with belt kits or ballistic vests, whiles laser-cut MOLLE/PALS offers additional platform for mounting of various MOLLE accessories i.e. backpack bags, first aid kits and pouches. Moreover, multiple side compression straps offers high level of customisation and flexibility and allow the backpack to be adapted to the size of the carried kit and prevent it from shifting inside the bag. This uniquely flexible hydration pack represents a perfect storage solution for mission essentials, camping gear, hydration reservoirs or laptops and is perfect as a oneday patrol pack or light daily travel bag.

FOXTROT WAIST BAG

Tactical Foxtrot Waist Bag from Direct Action is a highly practical EDC bag made of durable and water resistant 500D Cordura material. The unique pack features main compartment with inner Velcro loop for easy customisation, padded tablet compartment, padded back and side waist panels for added shock protection, and removable shoulder strap with padded wrap for extra comfort. Additionally, this highly flexible pack comes with multiple outer pockets for all your storage needs, laser-cut MOLLE throughout the bag for extra attachments, and highly elastic shock cord on top for strapping additional easy to access gear. The Foxtrot Waist Bag offers for high level of customisation and flexibility, and great amount of carrying space in a compact and travel friendly size.

Laser-cut slits MOLLE / PALS system.

Zipped mesh pocket under the opening flap.

Main compartment lined with Velcro loop.

Padded inner sleeve for secure storage of tablet.

Padded back and waist panels.

Two external side pockets with drainage holes.

Front admin pocket with multiple inner sleeves.

Two zipped pockets on side panels.

120x3.9cm adjustable/detachable shoulder.

Drag handle with padded wrap.

Elastic shock cord on top for additional gear.

Rubberised glove friendly zipper pull tabs.

Front Velcro panel for patches.

Fully MOLLE system compatible.

Durable Duraflex buckles.

Genuine YKK zippers and zipper tracks.

Material: 100% 500D Cordura fabric.

Weight: 1010g.

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F R E E - F A L L I N G

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HIGH ALTITUDE PARACHUTING IMAGES SUPPLIED BY - ANDY CHITTOCK AND THE 16 AIR ASSAULT PRESS OFFICE

THE TERMS HALO OR HAHO ARE SYNONYMOUS WITH THE WORLDS SPECIAL FORCES, WITH SOME OF THE WORLD’S ELITE BEING EXTENSIVELY TRAINED IN SUCH JUMPS. I’M TOLD THAT THERE REALLY IS NOTHING MORE EXHILARATING THAN THROWING YOURSELF FROM A PLANE AT ALTITUDES 15,000+... SO LETS TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT IT IS! High altitude military parachuting is by no means a small feat, there’s a 101 things that could go wrong at any moment and those trained in such techniques are on a whole the world’s best fighting forces - The U.S. Navy SEALS, The U.K SAS/SBS and Pathfinder Brigade, Russian Spetsnaz… You bet they’ve all been trained and have completed jumps in the past!

So what is a high altitude military parachute jump all about? Well, in a nutshell it’s a method of inserting personnel, equipment and supplies from a transport aircraft such as a C-130 at a high altitude (between 15,000 – 35,000 feet) via free-fall parachute insertion. Generally such a parachute jump is split into two different categories – HALO and HAHO.

HIGH ALTITUDE LOW OPENING

The origins of the HALO technique date back to the 60s when the U.S. Air Force was conducting experiments following the earlier work of Colonel John Stapp; a research biophysicist and medical doctor, in the 40s/50s on the survivability factors for high-flying pilots needing to eject and high altitudes.

Stapp’s works involved using himself as a test subject in various rocket sled tests to study the effects of very high g-forces, tests that led to the creation of the very first crash test dummy. On top of this Stapp also resolved many of the issues involved in high altitude flights in earlier work, helping develop pressure suits and ejection seats, which have seen use in jets to this very day!

As part of the U.S. Air Force experiments, dubbed ‘Project Excelsior; meaning ‘ever upward’, on 16th November 1959, Colonel Joseph Kittinger performed the very first high altitude jump at an altitude of 76,400 feet from an open gondola carried aloft by large helium balloons, a method very similar to the recent jump by Felix Baumgartner, a jump that Kittinger himself was part of in the background as the capsule communicator, directing Felix on his jump.

This first jump was nearly the end of Kittinger when an equipment malfunction caused him to lose consciousness. Thankfully the automatic parachute opener in his equipment kicked in

044

and saved his life. On 11th December 1959, Kittinger made a second attempt, this time jumping from around the 75,000 feet mark with success this time, earning his the A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal. His final jump on 16th August 1960, Kittinger set the world record for highest parachute jump, free-falling from a height of 102,800 feet. This all eventually led to the HALO technique being recognised as a valid form of entry into enemy territory.

HALO, an abbreviation of High Altitude Low Opening does what it says on the tin… The parachutist will jump from an aircraft, free-falling for a period of time and then opening his chute at a low altitude. The combination of high downward speed, minimal metal and forward air speed serves as a way to beat radar, allowing for a greatly useful stealth entry deep into enemy territory. It also allows aircraft to fly at altitudes that void the use of surface-to-air missiles.

During the Vietnam War, it became increasingly difficult for members of MACV-SOG to enter North Vietnam, and in turn had grouped to discuss new ways in which they could enter North Vietnam

without detection. One suggestion came from William Waugh, a SOG Sergeant Major widely known for his daring and usually unorthodox schemes… That suggestion was HALO jumping.

While suggesting the HALO idea, Waugh found a firm ally in Colonel Dan Shungel. Shungel had recently taken over command of SOG’s Ground Studies Group known as OP 35, and literally put his military career on the line by trying to convince MACV-SOG to accept the concept of HALO training and missions by select SOG personnel. Over that summer, Shungel brought over a trio of skydivers to put Waugh’s concept to the test. After much deliberation, Shungel and Waugh were given the green light to create their HALO team! And so after various training exercises, RT Florida became the first combat unit to HALO jump into enemy territory, Laos to be precise. After this first jump HALO become something used by various units, including our own 22 SAS in 1972, jumping into Oman. Over time HALO began to be used for other uses as well, with SEAL Team Six expanding its uses to drop boats and other large items into combat zones in conjunction with parachutists.

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HIGH ALTITUDE HIGH OPENING

The HAHO technique was developed to airdrop personnel at high altitudes when aircraft are unable to fly above enemy skies without posing a threat to the jumpers, allowing the jumpers to glide long distances to their intended drop zone. It was also developed to counter instances where the covert nature of an operation may be compromised by the loud noise a chute would make when opening via a HALO jump. To test the HAHO concept, a group of SAS parachutists once glided across the English Channel, successfully traversing the 30 miles between England and France.

In a typical HAHO jump, the jumper will jump from the aircraft and deploy the chute at a high altitude, generally around 10-15 seconds after they’ve jumped. The jumper will then use a compass or GPS device for guidance whilst gliding distances of up to 40 miles. The jumper tends to use a variety of way points and terrain features to navigate to his desired landing zone and would correct his course to account for changes in wind speed and wind direction. If deploying as a team, the team will form up in a stack while airborne with their parachutes, usually, the jumper in the lowest position will set the travel course and act as a guide for the other team members; usually achieved by use of night vision and IR strobes, allowing the team to keep tabs on each other without alerting any enemy of their position.

W I T H

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HALO IS AN ABBREVIATION OF HIGH ALTITUDE LOW OPENING

AND IT WORKS EXACTLY TO THAT EFFECT... THE PARACHUTIST WILL JUMP FROM AN AIRCRAFT, FREE-FALLING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND THEN OPEN HIS CHUTE AT A LOW ALTITUDE

WITH ALL GOOD THINGS COMES RISK...

With all kinds of parachute technique comes some form of risk, however HALO and HAHO jumping are a whole other kettle of fish. At high altitudes, the partial pressure of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere is low, too low to breathe unassisted.

As we all know, oxygen is required for human respiration and a lack of pressure can lead to Hypoxia (deprivation of oxygen). Also, rapid ascent in the jump aircraft can lead to decompression sickness if nitrogen isn’t flushed from the system.

A typical HALO exercise will start with a pre-breathing period prior to the jump where the jumper will breathe 100% oxygen in order to purge the body of nitrogen to stop decompression sickness. In addition, problems with the oxygen bottle and during the changeover from the pre-breather to the oxygen bottle can result in the return of nitrogen to the jumper’s bloodstream and, therefore, an increased likelihood of decompression sickness. In theory a single breath can elevate the jumpers nitrogen levels to a fatal level. A jumper suffering from decompression sickness may die or become permanently disabled from nitrogen bubbles in the bloodstream, which causes inflammation of joints.

A various number of outside influences can make the body more susceptible to hypoxia such as smoking, alcohol, drug use, fatigue and anxiety. A jumper suffering from hypoxia may lose consciousness and in turn be unable to deploy his or her chute.

Another risk is the low temperatures at high altitudes. At an altitude of 35,000 feet (the highest a HALO or HAHO jumper will jump from), the jumper faces temperatures of -45 degrees Celsius, a temperature that could lead to extreme frostbite if it wasn’t for the polypropylene knit undergarments and other warm clothing worn to prevent such an event from occurring.

HALO also carries the additional risk that if the parachute fails to deploy or lines become tangled when deployed, there is an awful lot less time to resort to the reserve or untangle the lines.

TYPICAL EQUIPMENT

On a typical HALO jump, the jumper will jump with the following...

■ Altimeter: An instrument used to measure the altitude that the jumper is at.

■ Automatic [parachute] activation device (AAD): Typically pre-set to open the main orreserve chute at a specific altitude or time.

■ Parachute: Square-type RAM parachutes are more maneuverable than the standard round chutes.

■ Knife.

■ Helmet.

■ Pair of gloves.

■ Pair of military free-fall boots.

■ Bailout oxygen.

■ 50–100+ pound combat pack with fighting and sustenance gear.

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NIGHT VISION UNDER OUR SPOTLIGHT

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NIGHT VISION

NIGHT RAIDS USED TO BE A TREACHEROUS TASK, ANY AMOUNT OF CIRCUMSTANCES COULD LEAD TO A HIGH DEATH RATE... YET WITH THE INVENTION OF NIGHT-VISION SCOPES AND GOGGLES, THE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH RAIDS HAS INCREASED TENFOLD. WITH TECHNOLOGY ADVANCING AT A RAPID RATE, NEW ADDITIONS HAVE BEEN MADE TO AN ALREADY WIDE RANGE; NOW WITH THE ABILITY TO GIVE TROOPS THINGS SUCH AS PERIPHERAL VISION AND DEPTH PERCEPTION!

DOES IT REALLY WORK LIKE THAT?!

The first thing you’re likely to associate the words ‘night-vision’ with is the latest spy or action movie you’ve seen, in which the budding protagonist straps on a pair of goggles, sneaks up on all the un-aware bad guys and pops them in the back of the head before they know what’s hit them… Then you most probably sit there asking yourself ‘Is there actually technology out there that does that? Is that how it really works?’

Well for those of you who have asked yourself this question in the past, here’s the answer – Yes, yes they do work near enough exactly how you see them in the movies! With proper night vision equipment you can locate a person standing over 200 yards away on a moonless, cloudy night! Night-vision can work in two very different ways; both leading to the same outcome but using completely different methods to get there.

IMAGE ENHANCEMENT

This works by collecting the tiny amounts of light, including the lower portion of the infrared light spectrum, that are present but may be imperceptible to our eyes, and amplifying it to the point that we can easily observe the image.

THERMAL IMAGING

This technology operates by capturing the upper portion of the infrared light spectrum, which is emitted as heat by objects instead of simply reflected as light. Hotter objects, such as warm bodies, emit more of this light than cooler objects like trees or buildings.

■ GENERATION 0

The very first recorded military night-vision devices were introduced as early as 1939 by the German Army, designed and manufactured by Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, starting in 1935. In mid 1943, tests involving Panther mounted infrared night-vision devices and telescopic rangefinders started. From late 1944 to March 1945, some Panzerkampfwagen V Panther Ausf G (and other variants) mounted with FG 1250, were successfully tested. By the end of World War II, the German army had equipped approximately 50 (or 63) Panther tanks, which saw combat on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The “Vampir” man-portable system for infantrymen was being used with Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles.

The Americans didn’t sit idly by whilst the Germans were making such advances, through the years the development of the M1 and M3 infrared night sighting devices; also known as the ‘sniperscope’ or ‘snooperscope’, began, being introduced in World War II as well as being used in the Korean War, in a bid to assist snipers.

These NVDs used active infrared, which needed a projection unit known as an IR illuminator attached to the NVD. The IR illuminator worked in a very similar way to a flashlight, but instead of casting out light, they produced a beam of near-infrared light, invisible to the naked eye.

This beam then bounces off the object and back to the lens of the NVD. These systems use an anode in conjunction with the cathode to accelerate the electrons.

The problem with that approach is that the acceleration of the electrons distorts the image and greatly decreases the life of the tube. Another major problem with this technology in its original military use was that it was quickly duplicated by hostile nations, which allowed enemy soldiers to use their own NVDs to see the infrared beam projected by the device.

■ GENERATION I

Originally dubbed ‘Starlight’ by the U.S. Army, generation 1 NVDs moved away from the use of active infrared, instead opting to use passive infrared. This system uses ambient light provided by the moon and stars to augment the normal amounts of reflected infrared in the environment, meaning that the devices did not require any form of projected infrared light. However, the design was flawed in the sense that on a cloudy or moonless night the devices were near unusable.

Generation-1 NVDs use the same image-intensifier tube technology as Generation 0, with both cathode and anode, so image distortion and short tube life were still a problem.

NIGHT-VISION DEVICES (NVDS) ARE OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS THAT ALLOW THE USER TO SEE IN THE DARK, PRODUCING IMAGERY IN LEVELS OF LIGHT APPROACHING PURE DARKNESS.

ACTIVE ILLUMINATION

Active illumination technologies work on the principle of coupling imaging intensification technology with an active source of illumination in the near infrared (NIR) or shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. Examples of such technologies include low light cameras.

SO WHAT IS NIGHT-VISION?

To put it simply, night-vision devices (NVDs) are optical instruments that allow the user to see in the dark, producing imagery in levels of light approaching pure darkness. NVDs have been around for the past 40 years now, with each new technological advance being categorized into ‘generations’.

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■ GENERATION II

A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Generation 2 night-vision brought with it major improvements in image-intensifier tubes. They offer improved resolution and performance over gen-1 devices and are a whole heap more reliable.

The biggest improvement in the gen-2 NVDs is the ability to see in extremely low light conditions, such as moonless or cloudy nights; environments in which gen-1 struggled massively in. This increased sensitivity is due to the addition of the micro-channel plate to the image intensifier tubes.

Since the micro-channel plate actually increases the number of electrons instead of just accelerating the original ones, the images are significantly less distorted and brighter than earlier-generation NVDs. Later advancements in GEN 2 technology brought the tactical characteristics of “GEN II+” devices (equipped with better optics, SUPERGEN tubes, improved resolution and better signal-to-noise ratios).

So how does night vision work? Well in order to grasp any understanding of the way it works, it is important to understand something about light.

The amount of energy in a light wave is related to its wavelength; shorter wavelengths have higher energy, with visible light, violet has the most energy, with red having the least. Just next to the visible light spectrum sits the infrared spectrum.

Infrared light can be split into three categories: ■ NEAR-INFRARED (NEAR-IR) Closest to visible light, near-IR has wavelengths that range from 0.7 to 1.3 microns, or 700 billionths to 1,300 billionths of a meter.

■ MID-INFRARED (MID-IR) Mid-IR has wavelengths from 1.3 to 3 microns.

Both near-IR and mid-IR are used by a variety of electronic devices, including remote controls.

■ GENERATION III

Generation 3 is the current use NVD for the United States military. Although there is very little change in the underlying technology used in GEN-2, these NVDs have even better resolution and sensitivity.

This is due to the photo cathode being made with gallium arsenide; which is very efficient at converting protons to electrons. Additionally, the micro-channel plate is coated with an ion barrier, which dramatically increases the life of the tube.

Omnibus VII (Gen III+) – Omnibus VII, otherwise known as GEN-3+ is the current, most up to date NVD system publically known about. Although the recent increased performance associated with the GEN-III OMNI-VII components is impressive, the U.S. Army has not yet authorized the use of the name GEN-IV for these components.

GEN-III OMNI-VII devices can differ from standard GEN-3 in two important ways: 1) An automatic gated power supply system regulates the photocathode voltage; allowing the NVD to instantaneously adapt to changing light conditions.

2) A removed or greatly thinned ion barrier, which decreases the number of electrons that are usually rejected by the standard GEN-3 micro-channel plate, resulting in less image ‘noise’ and the ability to operate with a luminous sensitivity of only 700 compared to the GEN-3’s 1,800.

The disadvantage to a thin or removed ion barrier is the overall decrease in tube life from a theoretical 20,000 hrs mean time to failure (MTTF) for Gen III type, to 15,000 hrs MTTF for GEN IV type. However, this is largely negated by the low number of image intensifier tubes that reach 15,000 hrs of operation before replacement.

It is important to note that while the consumer market classifies this type of system as Generation 4, the United States military describes these systems as Generation 3 Autogated tubes (GEN-III OMNI-VII). Moreover, as auto-gating power supplies can now be added to any previous generation of night vision, “auto-gating” capability does not automatically class the devices as a GEN-III OMNI-VII, as seen with the XD-4. Another point to note is that any post-nominal appearing after a Generation type (i.e., Gen II +, Gen III +) does not change the generation type of the device, but instead indicates an advancement(s) over the original specification’s requirements.

On top of these, there are various other NVDs either in use or under development that will see military usage. The United States Air Force have experimented with panoramic night vision goggles (PNVGs), which double the user’s field of view to around 95 degrees by using four 16 mm image intensifier tubes, rather than the standard two 18 mm tubes.

These are in service with A-10 Thunderbolt II, MC-130 Combat Talon and AC-130U Spectre aircrews.

On top of seeing usage by aircrews, the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, otherwise known as U.S. Navy SEALs, were equipped with Panoramic Night Vision Goggles during Operation Neptune Spear; the operation which saw the death of Osama Bin Laden.

The AN/PSQ-20, manufactured by ITT (also known as the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle, ENVG), seeks to combine thermal imaging with image intensification, as does the Northrop Grumman Fused Multispectral Weapon Sight.

■ THERMAL-INFRARED (THERMAL-IR) Occupying the largest part of the infrared spectrum, thermal-IR has wavelengths ranging from 3 microns to over 30 microns.

The key difference between thermal-IR and the other two is that thermal-IR is emitted by an object instead of reflected off it. Infrared light is emitted by an object because of what is happening at the atomic level.

Atoms are constantly in motion. They continuously vibrate, move and rotate. Even the atoms that make up the chairs that we sit in are moving around. Solids are actually in motion!

Atoms can be in different states of excitation. In other words, they can have different energies. If we apply a lot of energy to an atom, it can leave what is called the ground-state energy level and move to an excited level. The level of excitation depends on the amount of energy applied to the atom via heat, light or electricity.

Once an electron moves to a higher-energy orbit, it eventually wants to return to the ground state.

When it does, it releases its energy as a photon -- a particle of light. You see atoms releasing energy as photons all the time. For example, when the heating element in a toaster turns bright red, the red colour is caused by atoms excited by heat, releasing red photons. An excited electron has more energy than a relaxed electron, and just as the electron absorbed some amount of energy to reach this excited level, it can release this energy to return to the ground state. This emitted energy is in the form of photons (light energy). The photon emitted has a very specific wavelength (colour) that depends on the state of the electron’s energy when the photon is released.

Anything that is alive uses energy, and so do many inanimate items such as engines and rockets.

Energy consumption generates heat. In turn, heat causes the atoms in an object to fire off photons in the thermal-infrared spectrum. The hotter the object, the shorter the wavelength of the infrared photon it releases. An object that is very hot will even begin to emit photons in the visible spectrum, glowing red and then moving up through orange, yellow, blue and eventually white. Be sure to read How Light Bulbs Work, How Lasers Work and How Light Works for more detailed information on light and photon emission.

To cut a long story short, night-vision works in the same way as eating carrots helps your biological night-vision… Wear them and you can see people in the dark!

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ACTION! ROYAL MARINES HONE DESERT WARFARE SKILLS MORE THAN 1000 ROYAL MARINES AND ROYAL MARINES RESERVISTS ARE FEELING THE DESERT HEAT ONCE AGAIN AS THEY TAKE PART IN AN ANNUAL EXERCISE WITH THEIR DUTCH AND US COUNTERPARTS AS PART OF EXERCISE BLACK ALLIGATOR.

For the next six weeks the marines of Plymouth-based 42 Commando based will be honing their war fighting skills in the sweltering temperatures of California’s Mojave Desert.

Exercise Black Alligator is played out on the US Marine Corps’ huge all-terrain exercise area near the town of Twenty-nine Palms, California – a space eight times larger than Salisbury Plain to allow unparalleled use of firepower in training.

The full range of the Royal Marines’ armoury – Viking armoured vehicles, 105mm field guns, mortars, heavy machine-guns, Javelin anti-tank missiles and combat engineers – will also all be tested over the next six weeks. Alongside the Dutch and US marines, the Commandos will take part in live firing, perfect their urban combat drill and conduct a Battlegroup-sized live-fire Commando raid.

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Marine Daniel Stiggles from 42 Commando said: "This is ne of the best training areas in the world.

The training here is as close as it can be to the real life situation and you can't really match the level of training with what is available in the UK." Ex Black Alligator 15 forms part of the multi-environment training package that the Commando Group takes part in to ensure they remain at high readiness. This will also include specialist training in cold weather warfare in Norway; jungle warfare in Gabo; plus armoured vehicle, aviation and chemical warfare training.

Next year will see the men of 42 Cdo take over the nation’s high-readiness Lead Commando Group – a contingency force able to deploy anywhere in the

W A R F A R E

S K I L L S

world at very short notice.

However, Exercise Black Alligator is not designed to prepare the UK’s Commandos to act alone. The British elite marines have also been joined by 230 Dutch marines from the Korps Mariniers and will soon be bolstered by over 300 of the US Marines Corps’ own troops who will bring their own artillery, engineers and battle tanks to create an allied force of over 1,500 personnel.

Corporal Steven Court from the Australian Army 3rd Battalion is working with 42 Commando, and said: "I am having a really good time working with the Royal Marines, the boys have been really good and bought me up to speed with all their drills and treat me like one of their own.

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"It is another adventure, I've flown from the most eastern point in Australia to the western coast of the USA, I've done nearly a lap of the world to learn new skills, everything is shiny and new out here and it's good to see how the rest of the world does it."

Also taking part in Black Alligator is a selection of Royal Marines Reservists from units across the UK. The majority of Reservists have careers outside of the Corps and give up their time to support UK amphibious forces.

RM Reservist Finlay Shaw is a full time student at St Andrews University. He said: “As a reservist there is no distinction between us and the rest of the regulars, we are performing the same tasks and completing the same drills and exercises. Being fully integrated with the unit, there is a lot you can learn from all the other lads - there are a lot of skills you can pick up and see into the life of a regular marine."

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Following a series of exercises and drills, the final part of Ex Black Alligator will cumulate in a high intensity 'battle' in a purpose-built town featuring a complex tunnel system, buildings from one to five storeys high, grocers (complete with plastic fruit), bookstores, a pharmacy, hotels, hospitals and parliament buildings.

The buildings have been designed with special bullet-absorbing material, allowing this complex to be reused without the exercises causing any long-term damage.

Four Royal Marine companies, plus one Dutch, and one US Marine Corps will form together to participate in the final assault. They will yomp (fast walk) overnight to reach the town, before an intense 12-hour battle of unbroken urban assault through the outskirts and into the densely-packed town, fighting their way through more than 500 buildings to ensure they have cleared the enemy.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cantrill MC MBE,

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Commanding Officer of 42 Command Group, said: "Black Alligator is the highlight of 42 Commando’s training year and crucial to our regeneration to become the UK’s very high readiness Commando Unit in Spring 2016.

Expeditionary in nature the exercise deployment prepares us for worldwide deployment and allows us to bring together 42 Commando with its Battlegroup attachments, and with joint enablers such as Navy Merlins and RAF Chinooks, with Regulars and Reserves fully integrated.

"Crucially it allows us to train alongside our Dutch Marine and US Marine brothers, ensuring we are ready to operate together at a moment’s notice. Culminating in a 1,500 person Battlegroup final exercise on the best training estate in the world, 42 Commando will return to the UK with real confidence, ready to refresh amphibious skills, and jungle and arctic skills, and then assume the mantle of Lead Commando in May 2016."

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