OC Tactical Mag Pouches

I received these mag pouches quite some time ago and have been using them quite a bit since. OC Tactical is a company that makes custom and hand made tactical gear, ad from my experience I'll add to that QUALITY gear.

The pouches I've been using from OC Tactical are the 30 round and 20 round magazine pouches. The features of each are as follows:
- Each holds 2 magazines
- The entire pouch is made of 2 layers of Cordura
- PALS webbing covering the back.
- Bungee retention cord with cord lock around the front of the magazine. This bungee is replaceable because it is not sewn into the pouch. Another great feature for longer life of the pouch.
- Drainage hole
- Extra material on flap to prevent holes from use.
- Pull tab on flap.

The 20 round mag pouch can also be used for things like GPS units, Cameras, combat bandages, etc, etc.

I have to say that these are some of the best made magazine pouches I've used. The attention to detail is great, the materials are great, and the workmanship is great. Noticing things like the extra cordura material on the flap where a lot of wear comes in from rubbing of the mags are things that really stood out!

Another thing is OC Tactical's use of many different patterns and solid colors that are available. And if you had requests for gear or patterns that aren't up on the site you could email them and work something out.

Each pouch is available without buckle (as shown here) or with a SRB buckle for extra security.

Overall I wouldn't hesitate to turn to OC Tactical for gear used for real world tactical use. The pouches I've been using are excellent in design and durability!

20 Rd mag pouch - $24 w/o buckle
$26 w/buckle
30 Rd mag pouch - $25 w/o buckle
$27 with buckle

5.11 Quality

MOLLE Fighting Load Carrier

MALICE clip

Condor Mag Pouches

I just received these pouches from Tac Gear Store to use while training my younger brother's airsoft team. I got these for this specific purpose and not real world use. These pouches are made by Condor Outdoor and have a reputation as being for airsoft or light use only. You always hear things about Condor Gear as being cheap Chinese knockoffs. In fact they are made in China, and I would rather support made in the USA products, but the fact is that I don't want to dump all my money into airsoft gear to train a team (I love doing it, just don't need to put all my money into it) and I'd rather use that money for my real world gear. Half the stuff we buy is made in China anyway, so you'll never get away from that.

So getting away from that subject...I know this gear has been reported to fall apart with it's first use, however I found that to not be the case. In fact the first use it got was about 8 hours of military simulations. It held up great. You can tell the obvious difference in the quality. But this stuff is actually made pretty good. The fact that others had theirs fall apart during it's first use may be a QA issue at the condor manufacturing facilities. Perhaps it's a matter of just being the one that gets the bad mag pouch that slipped through the QA cracks...not sure.

So one of the pouches I got was a single pistol mag pouch (size 4in x 2.5in x 1in). Again, it seems pretty well made and the materials seem thick and as if they will hold up. One area I found may be a weak spot (big word being "may") is the top of the MOLLE strap. The MOLLE strap is double layered and thick but the top where it connects to the pouch is single layer and a little flimsy. I believe, however, that this is so that this area is a little more flexible to make adding this to your platform easier. The top flap of the pouch has plenty of Velcro to attach to the front of the pouch for different magazine sizes. The back of the flap also adjusts for length. I put a speed loader in this pouch which is designed like a pistol magazine. It was close as far as size as the length of the flap was all the way extended and only a small amount of Velcro was attached. The pouch has elastic around it as an added security for the magazine. You can also completely remove the top flap and use the pouch as an open top pouch due to the good fit of the mag and the elastic retention. Overall a good pouch for light or airsoft use.

The open top double mag pouch is another item I added to my gear. This item feels sturdy enough for it's intended use just as the pistol mag pouch. It features MOLLE attachment straps on the front so that you can add more pouches to the front of these shingles. The mags are held in by friction and a top elastic retention band. This band works pretty good and holds the mags in but is easy to move out of the way for removing the mags. It is adjustable by just re-tying it. It does seem as if this elastic will stretch out fairly easily and lose it's elasticity. It's definitely lower quality elastic, but so far works well. After a little use you may need to readjust the elastic....tighten it... so that it holds the mags better due to it stretching a little.

Both these items are 600D nylon, which is lighter than 1000D (therefor losing some durability) but still fairly durable. These pouches are available in coyote tan, OD, black, multicam (1000D cordura nylon), and ACU. I took my coyote ones and broke up the solid color with a little spray paint.

These pouches have proven to be as good if not better than what you would expect for the priced paid. After more use I will update this post if anything else is noticed.









Update:
Below is a picture of the mag pouch after some regular use and the seam started to rip at the top....so far it's still in use though...

Tuff-Writer tactical pen

Some will laugh a little at first at the thought of a "tactical" pen. But after it's explained, it's actually a pretty good idea. I like things that have multiple uses. This makes carrying less gear possible and makes every piece of gear useful.

When I was in the Marines, one rule was...you always have a couple pens with you at all times. It's one of those Marine Corps things. Well...most other professionals in the law enforcement, military, and security fields carry a pen as a daily piece of gear as well.

The Tuff-Writer has taken the pen to a new level. The Tuff-Writer is just as tough as it's name implies. Made of 6061-T6 Aerospace Grade Aluminum, the Tuff-writer sports a tactical finish that is hard anodized to Mil-A-8625 “F” specifications. This extremely hard finish doesn't wear off very easily. When it comes to toughness nothing was spared. The clip is made of cold pressed spring steel with nickel oxide finish and all connections are made with Black oxide stainless steel bolts and chemical welding. When you hold this pen you can tell it's made to last and take plenty of abuse.

Like i said earlier...I like a piece of gear that has multiple uses. This pen is not only a pen, but also a great defensive weapon. One end is more blunt to be used to strike or put pressure on pressure points for pain compliance, come-alongs, etc, etc. The other end is more pointed for even greater pain compliance.

Yet a third use for this pen is that the pointed striking end can also be used as a a stylus point on a PDA or other touch screen device.

The pen/defensive tool has some deep knurling on it to help you maintain a good grip on it. Make sure, however, that anything you put in a pocket next to this pen is just as durable. If you put a regular Bic style pen next to this pen in a pocket, the knurling will tear it up a bit.

The clip on this pen is also slightly bent up from the body of the pen...this makes clipping to the pocket or other area easily done and with one hand.

The hole you see in the cap, I assume is for a key ring for retention purposes when using as a self defense tool. I would prefer this hole be slightly larger so that a piece of 550 cord can be put through this hole for retention on the body when being carried. For instance, wearing the pen around the neck, or attaching it via a piece of 550 cord to the MOLLE/PALS webbing of a vest. The reason I would like this as an option is because when you take the cap off, there's really nowhere to put the cap. If you try to put it on the end of the pen, it doesn't fit just right and easily falls off. I've been just attaching the cap to a piece of my gear via the clip when I'm using the pen to prevent losing it.

Another feature when it comes to the cap is that is screws onto the pen...that means no lost caps then the pen is not in use.

The ink cartridge is gas pressurized and uses waterproof ink. Because of the pressurized cartridge, these pens will write upside down and under water. They are designed to work in frigid cold and blistering heat and will function in environments ranging from -30F to 250F. Unlike others, I haven't had a build up of gooey ink on the tip of the pen...so there isn't the need to wipe off the tip before writing like other all-weather pens I've used.

This pen feels a bit long with the cap on (6.5 inches), but this is for defensive use. However, if this is a bit too much bulk for you, the Tuff-Writer shorty is what you may want (5.75 inches).

Tuff-Writer also makes a sanitized version, with no "Tuff-Writer" logo, and a silver executive model.

I've been using this pen for almost a year now and I have to say that this is an excellent tool/pen/weapon system. It's something that you can carry inconspicuously as a weapon, and always have a pen with you at in one package. Durability is excellent. I've even seen someone hammer theirs through a 2x4 with no damage....that's a tough pen.

Color options: Stealth Black, Sniper Gray, Desert Brown, Sanitized Midnight Black

MSRP $79.95-$99.95 (depending on the model)

Made in the USA

HSS Gear Plate Carrier

I have been using this HSS Gear "Desert Shield" plate carrier for quite a while now. They have this plate carrier in multicam now, but I tested their Desert Shield version in coyote brown. In the display pictures there is no spray paint on it, but when I started putting it to use I broke up the solid coyote with some OD and black spray paint. (**note...the multicam version has some slight differences in design).

For starters, I haven't had the opportunity to test this plate carrier with plates in it. But I've used it in a load carrying capacity. It's very comfortable for load carrying and able to hold SAPI and E-SAPI plates. They are inserted through the bottom and held in with a decent amount of high quality Velcro.

The quality of the materials and stitching is great for such a value priced item. The carrier is made of double layer 1000 Denier nylon. I've used this carrier quite a bit and have had no quality issues. The MOLLE webbing isn't too tight or loose either. All side release buckles are of YKK brand. The velcro is extremely tough and durable too.

Adjusting the size is pretty easy. The shoulders adjust with strong velcro, and the sides adjust in 2 ways. There are side straps that attach via side release buckles (SRBs) and those are adjusted with straps and buckles. The plate carrier also has a cumber bun that can easily be adjusted via MOLLE system. To put the plate carrier on, I find it's easiest to leave one side closed and open the other side and get into it that way. The only thing that is somewhat difficult is getting the SRBs on the side snapped together yourself. It's just hard to reach. For my personal use, I'd rather just use the cumber bun, which attaches via velcro in the front,and get rid of the side buckles. Although, some people might want to remove the cumber bun in hotter environments and the side buckles allow you to use the carrier in that way.

Also on the back is a 2" drag handle. This is held down onto the vest via velcro. I've had my sling get caught up on this velro before, which in the heat of battle could become detrimental to your health!!!

One item I haven't gotten any use out of is the shooting pad that is made of the same nylon with a rubber coated padding. I can't get it to go on one shoulder or the other and appears to be for crew served machine gun use where you might hold the butt of the machine gun against the center of the chest where the plate is. I just haven't had a use for this.

The shoulder straps have padded sleeves that go over them to help with the added weight of the plates. They also have routing straps on the outer portion for routing your hydration tube through. A nice added touch. Also, the addition of side release buckles help you f=to get the vest off easier and faster if need be.

There is also a decent amount of velcro on the upper chest area, which is designed for the shooting pad, but is great for adding velcro backed name tapes and patches.

This carrier, as you can see, is a load bearing vest that uses MOLLE webbing. There are 6 rows of webbing on the front and 6 rows on the back. The cumber bun also has 3 rows of webbing as well. On this platform, with the cumber bun you lose a little bit of modular ability due to the fact that the cumber bun runs to the front of the carrier and pouches have to either be on the carrier orthe cumber bun. You can't overlap a pouch from the carrier to the cumber bun or getting in and out of the carrier would be impossible.

Overall I have to say that, for the cost of this item, I've been very impressed. In fact, I've now attached the proper pouches and made this into my SHTF vest. Comfort has been excellent and, once you get in on and properly adjusted, you start to forget it's there. If you're in need of a plate carrier with load carrying capabilities but don't want to pay out the nose for it this HSS gear carrier is a decent choice.

Colors: Coyote, multicam

MSRP: $80.00

Eagle Industries H-harness/chest rig

This is a custom H-harness made for our company by Eagle Industries. I'm not sure if you'll see it mass produced by them in the future or not, but I figured I would do a quick review of it here anyways. This is a chest rig that has attachment straps at the bottom to hold a duty belt. It holds 4 AR15 style magazines in 4 covered pouches. The back has 2 panels that have MOLLE straps on them so more pouches can be added here. There are quick release side release buckles on the adjustable straps on the sides and the shoulder straps are adjustable as well. The fronts of the shoulder straps feature MOLLE webbing and are padded. The front opens with 2 SRBs. This is a very durable set up. We've been wearing these for well over a year and have had very few issues with them. They hold up well as should be expected from anything made by eagle industries.

VTAC (5.11) pouches

These pouches are create by 5.11 in conjunction with Viking Tactics. Viking tactics president, Kyle Lamb, is a special ops combat veteran and the gear made by viking tactics has been field tested by Mr. Lamb and is rugged, yet affordable. I bought these items from United Uniform, a 5.11 full line dealer, and was very impressed with the price and the gear seemed to be very rugged just by picking the pouches up and checking out the features. The pouches I picked up are all made of rugged 1000D nylon, which is the industry standard for tough gear. I got most of them in "Flat Dark Earth" color, which is a coyote brown type color. The phone pouch which will be used in civilian wear I got in black. These are the only 2 colors at the time of this writing that the pouches are available in.

The first thing you notice right off the bat when you purchase any of these pouches is the "slick stick" MOLLE feature. The MOLLE straps on the back of the pouches slide up and down through a plastic UV-resistant ring that makes attaching and removing the pouches slightly easier. The MOLLE webbing that the straps feed through is very tight. This makes attaching the pouches slightly difficult, but insures that once the pouches are attached they won't shift around and will be very sturdy.

The first item I got is a double stacked M16 pouch with flap. This pouch as all others has sturdy Velcro that connects easily but holds the flap firmly. The pouch also features elastic around the mag area so that when one mag is removed the elastic helps retain the other mag. I was concerned right away that my Pmags may not fit in this being that it's a double stacked mag pouch and the Pmags have a wider base than a normal mag. This wasn't a problem if I slightly staggered the mags in the pouch. By puting one of the mags slightly higher than the other, this mag can be easily removed first. There is also a drain hole in the bottom.
The Pistol Mag pouch is basically the same design only fitted for pistol magazines. It has elastic retention and a flap that has plenty of velcro on it to adjust to many mag sizes. The flap on the mag pouch doesn't come undone to adjust for mag height...but the amount of velcro on the flap and pouch itself is enough for a wide range of adjustment.

The dump pouch I bought is the large folding style. It folds up into a nice pouch when not in use. When opened up it'll fit several mags...more mags than I currently use. One thing that is different from some other dump pouches is that this doesn't have anything in the opening to prevent mags from coming out. There is an adjustable elastic drawstring... that helps, but if that isn't pulled tight the mags can fall out when running or crawling. The drawstring has a slide lock on it which is easy to use and you can loosen the opening with just one hand. I keep the opening just wide enough to fit the mag and part of my hand in and the mags seem to stay in pretty well. This dump pouch has the "slick stick" MOLLE straps on the back and can be added to a vest or a belt. The pouch itself is made of 500D nylon, which is still durable, but easier to fold up.
Update: I have been using this dump pouch consistently for a while now and its durability is great and I haven't had any mags fall out with the opening about halfway closed.

The phone pouch I bought for my casio G-Z'one phone is the C4 case. It fits my phone perfect and it's designed to be used on MOLLE gear, but I use it on my belt just as easily. It has elastic sides and an adjustable strap to hold the phone. When worn on the belt it can dig into the sides a little bit but that is because it's designed to be worn on MOLLE gear and not the belt. I use this pouch on a daily basis and it's held up well so far.


Update (11/25/08) - I've been using this pouch on the outside of my duty bag for quite some time now. It's holding up well. The corners of the nylon are showing some "shiny" wear areas, but the nylon isn't wearing out just yet...it seems to hold up as well as most industry standard nylon.

The last piece of gear I bought is the medical pouch. It is a clamshell opening pouch which opens so that the user can easily access the contents. The opening "hinge" is on the bottom. It features a medical cross on the front to indicate that it is a med pouch. The interior features plenty of room for your medical gear inside 2 mesh zipper pockets on each side of the pouch and loops in the fold of the pouch for syringes. I really like the layout of this pouch and it can hold a ton of gear.

As for durability, time will tell and I will update this post if durability is an issue. But I highly recommend this gear and I can't wait to see it's durability.

Condor Molle Vest

This vest is made by made by Condor and sold by Cheaper Than Dirt. My younger brother is currently using it for airsoft. This vest is a MOLLE style vest that has 6 rows of MOLLE webbing on the front and 6 rows on the back. There are velcro strips on the front and back as well to add name tapes. This vest is fully adjustable on the shoulders (using velcro) and on the sides (using straps). There are straps on the bottom of the vest to attach a belt, however I found these to be quite snug on the belt. One thing that I noticed right off the bat was that th MOLLE columns nearest the front zipper can't be used to attach a pouch...they are not wide enough. Another thing that Tyler has reported is that the zipper has a tendency to split at times and can be difficult to zip up. There are internal zippered pockets for carrying things like maps, etc. The back of the vest also is a large mesh pocket where you could put a hydration bladeder, however, this pocket is the full size of the back and the bladder would move around significantly. There are D rings on the shoulders to route a hydration tube as well. The shoulders are lightly padded and feature a gripping material for shooting.
This vest has been in use my younger brother for some light airsoft use and he has said that the zipper gives him some trouble sometimes. There are buckles holding the vest closed as well, so it won't come completely open, but it is a failure point in the vest. Also, there is a small hole that has formed in the padded shoulder area. Aside from this it has held up well.
This vest is available in the following colors: OD, Black, tan, ACU camouflage.

Tru Spec Ranger Rac & Pouches

This is a fairly inexpensive coyote brown chest rig designed by Tru Spec that I got from Brigade Quartermasters. I hesitate to say cheap because it seems to be of very good quality (1000 denier ballistic nylon). The rack itself consists of a "cumber bun" and attached "bib", which can be folder down out of the way (behind the cumber bun). It has 3 rows of PALS/MOLLE webbing on the bib and 3 on the cumber bun. The waist can adjust from 32" to 65". The extra leftover straps had to be taped up after adjusting due to the elastic that holds them being too weak. Behind the cumber bun and bib are mesh pockets to hold documentation, maps, etc. The buckles on the rack and the grenade pouches were black....I painted them OD green with spray paint and also broke up the solid coyote brown with some OD, tan, and brown spray paint.

The mag pouch that I got with this is also made by Tru Spec. It is a one piece single that has 3 pouches on it, each designed to hold 2 M16 magazines. The magazines fit all the way into the pouch, so having a magpull attached to the magazine to help remove it from the pouch isn't a bad idea. Although, I didn't find it at all difficult to remove the magazines. The mag pouches also seem to be large enough to hold at least one AK47 mag, but I don't have any to test this out. This shingle comes with a shoulder strap that can be attached to the D rings on the top of the shingle and used over the shoulder. I used these D rings along with 2 zip ties to help hold the pouch to the rack. The pouch seems to be slightly loose at the sides when attached to the rack...so attaching these D rings helped greatly. I believe this is because the MOLLE straps need to be moved to the outside of the pouch a little more. You'll also want to be sure the snaps are snapped when going prone or running, especially when the pouch only has one mag in it, to keep the mags from coming out.

The Smoke canister pouches I got are also Tru Spec. They only came in ACU at the time so that's what color I got. The web page doesn't have a picture of them, so look here for a picture before ordering. These pouches can be used as a utility pouch as well and have an adjustable opening (with a elastic cord and cord locks) so that the top can be folded into the pouch and the opening exposed. The buckles on a couple of the smoke pouches stick a little, but seem to be loosening up. The MOLLE strap on the back could be better sewn, but has held up so far.
Overall I think this is a good piece of gear for it's cost. I would trust it at the range, for training, and for some light tactical work. I got a professionals discount from Brigade and the total cost with shipping for these items was around $75.

Update: October 2010

My younger brother uses this same Tru-Spec Ranger Rac but in Multicam for airsoft and for training in the civil air patrol. He puts it to good use and has held up well, except recently on of the quick release buckles snapped on it. See the below picture...