OPSEC Airsoft Radio

I'm sat at work on Christmas Eve, only for the morning I might add, and I'm listening to OPSEC Airsoft Radio on iTunes for the first time ever. It's Episode 121: Zombie Apocalypse '09, and it's actually very good. I thought it was going to be very American (and, as they're based in South California, it is centred around their scene) but as I'm listening, an Australian has just phoned in, which is pretty cool. I also found out that you have to have an actual firearms licence to own an airsoft gun in Oz. Bummer.

If you're at a loss this Christmas, give OPSEC Airsoft Radio a go.

Merry Christmas.

Art of the Tactical Carbine Volume 2: Outtakes

British Army to get new camouflage pattern in 2011

It's all gone multicam for the British Army. Officially called Multi Terrain Pattern (MTP) (although we all know it's actually Crye multicam). According to the article in the Daily Telegraph, it will be made in China and will be the first pattern change in 40 years (although I'm pretty sure it's not). At least it's not ACU.

Condor Tactical Gear

I've just had a reply from Condor about where to buy their products in Europe. I was specifically interested in their Rip Away EMT Pouch, which I have subsequently found on the Soldier of Fortune website, but only in coyote brown.

Condor replied very promptly to my enquiry with the following...

Thank you for your interest in our products, base on the info you have
provided, here are some of our dealers in Europe. You can try the following
online European dealers:

WWW.RECON-COMPANY.COM

www.speedgames.com

http://WWW.SOLOINT.CO.UK

http://WWW.SOFMILITARY.CO.UK

http://www.sexywebbing.com

Sincerely,


Condor Outdoor Products

UKAZ

Site Update: the link to ASCUK has been replaced with a link to the all new UK Airsoft Zone.

UK Airsoft Zone

...is going to be the replacement for ASCUK with moderators Beaker, Fluffy and Aitch at the helm, for good or for bad, best of luck to them. There's only a placeholder there at the moment, but UK Airsoft Zone will be found here.

ASCUK gone for good. Where to go now ?

Now that ASCUK is dead, and I quote from a post on Arnie's Airsoft forum from Aitch, one of the now, ex-moderators of ASCUK:


Right, save speculation, I've avoided posting until I knew what going on, now I know what is what here goes,
It's dead and will not be coming back,

Short version is we were trying to buy the database/url etc as fluffy had no interest in it anymore, the deal fell through, so end of an era,

None of us foreseen this sudden closure and It leaves alot of people stuck mid deal with sales etc, stuffs a lot of sites with forums who will have no idea what is happening, I can only apologise for this, out of my hands, it went down a few years ago and came back after a few weeks work went into it, if it does return this time I will not be involved with it,
I'd have like to have been given time to inform users/and sites of closure but s**t happens, thanks to all who supported the place over the years,

Hey, atleast it means there will be no more forum rivalry

Now stick the boot in lads

Ian.


There are more than a few forums out there that will be grateful of the traffic including at least one that is being set up to take ASCUK's place in the form of Simply Airsoft and a placeholder, Aitch.com that Aitch has set up.

In the mean time, entertain yourself with the following forum links. I've been a member on Arnie's for a good few years now, so I'd suggest you start there, then try these others:

Airsoft Ireland
Manchester and North West Airsoft Community
Zero In
Airsofters.co.uk

Or just google it and take your chances. Goodbye ASCUK, parts of you I'll miss, other bits I won't but thanks for being there for as long as you were.

ASCUK no more?

Looks like ascuk is gone for good according to a thread over on Arnie's airsoft forum. Not sure how much to believe because the two sites have always had a healthy rivalry, but the evidence is pretty compelling. Never mind. Just a shame about the dreadful auction format they have the classifieds in cos the rest of the site's always been pretty cool.

G&P Single Point Sling

Just received a G&P single point sling from KHMountain in Hong Kong. only paid £6.99 for it via their eBay shop, which is a bargain, even if it is crap. The stitching is a bit untidy but it seems sturdy enough for what I'll be using it for. Will chuck it on the rifle when I get home and try it out.

Sweet little bullpup double-rifle

Read more about it on The Firearm Blog.

Site Update: new links sidebar added

I've just added a complete links sidebar with graphics instead of the short, text placeholder that has been there since I redesigned the blog sometime ago.

New photos of the L119A1

Now that I have improved my photography skills and got to the point where I know what most of the knobs and buttons do on my Sony DSLR, I can finally put up some photos of my gun that I am happy with. These were taken under artificial light on shutter priority with a 10 second exposure. They seem to have come out okay.

The specs of the rifle are as before. Please note that this is an airsoft rifle and not capable of firing, or being converted to fire, real ammunition:

L119A1: Guarder Colt Canada metal receiver, Marui M4 internals & stock, AR15.net stock pad, DBoys RIS, delta ring, foresight cup, DragonRed L119A1 barrel, Blackhawk mag pouch, Guarder oversized grip, ACM ACOG. there is still a few things I want to change about the gun including upgrading all the internals, fitting a tight barrel and getting the RIS to stay still - it currently twists slightly around the barrel, cheap Chinese tat.

The rifle is sitting on a bunch of my gear. Some of the stuff you may spot in the background:

TT 2-Piece MAV with Warrior triple M4 pouch, TT canteen pouch and TT GP pouch. Desert and DPM assault vests, DDPM windproof smock, Warrior assault pack, SOTech plate carrier and my custom PLCE webbing. Hope you like the pics.

Tactical Tailor Two-Piece MAV

Just received from one of the guys on ASCUK is the newest addition to my tactical gear collection, a TT 2-piece MAV. I've wanted one of these for a while, having not been very satisfied with my SOTech Hellcat. Not sure how I'm actually going to configure this, but I've had an initial crack at it to see how it feels.





It's going to stay pretty lightweight as I want a simple rig. It needs a hydration pouch but I'm pretty happy with it so far. The X-Harness is very comfortable and the whole things sits well and is much more solid and stable than the Hellcat which, with its integral magazine pouches had a tendency to loosen up when you'd used up all six magazines. In it's current configuration above, it is carrying a Warrior triple M4 double mag pouch and Tactical Tailor Multi-Purpose Pouch and Canteen Utility Pouch. The name canteen utility pouch is a bit misleading though, as it's barely big enough for a US canteen and nowhere near big enough for a '58 pattern bottle and mug, which is a shame.

I'll possibly do a bit more about this when I've loaded it up and/or used it in anger.

AR57

I just found this while surfing for info on setting up the TT 2-Piece MAV (one of which I should have by the middle of the week). I ran across the Weapon Evolution forum which looks pretty good in itself, and on it was a link to this site about the AR57, an AR15 upper receiver which accepts P90 magazines. There's a few videos of it in use on YouTube, one of which is below.

Green Zone

New from the Paul Greengrass/Matt Damon Bourne Trilogy team is the SpecOps & Spooks thriller Green Zone. Check out the Trailer.

Zombies beware, the chainsaw bayonet is real !

I'm not entirely convinced that this is a very good idea, but let's roll with it for now...

Super High-Speed Camera Capturing Bullet Impacts

Thanks to GlynneH for this.

Tactical Bacon

This morning I was made aware of TacBac, or tactical bacon to the uninitiated. 18 servings of bacon. In a can. A can with an M4 on the label. And it will that will last you ten years (obviously unless you open it). Doesn't come much more tactical than that. Or does it. DaveB then posted a link to an innovative way of making regular bacon much more tactical...

New Links Section

I've just added a new links section and some new links to my Centrepoint Airsoft Links Page. They are all links to sites with information about survival and bushcraft. Enjoy.

MilPictures.com

MILpictures is a team led by the multi-internationally awarded photographer and former sharpshooter Tom Weber. He has set for itself the goal to not only produce theme-specific photos and videos of military and police special forces, but to do so in never before seen artistic and technical quality.

MILpictures produces fine art photography with real Special Operations Forces units and combines these with pictures taken of models/actors. Many of the extremely complex battle scene reproductions are captured using a high-resolution, large-format camera equipment, so that every detail of the end-product stands out. Consequently, such images could never be found in those taken of real combat actions. To protect the identity of the elite soldiers still on active duty, faces may be digitally re-mastered or actors built into the actual scenes.

MILpictures produces, markets and sells various products ranging from posters, t-shirts, mousepads and much more. Copyrights for pictures found in the archive may be purchased for advertising purposes; in addition, Milpicture services can be booked for special photo/film projects involving military/police scenarios. examples of such services include projects for computer games, military outfitters, magazines, and military/police force reenactments.

Blowing Shit up With Miniguns...

Had to post this video too, just for sheer gun-porn value.

Firefight in Afghanistan

This is a very unique bit of footage featuring some really interesting 'First-Person Shooter' shots with one of the US troops wearing a helmet camera. Some great footage.

The Lockheed Martin Multiple Kill Vehicle

Still only a prototype, but still cool and scary as hell, this is not a crackling killbot from the next installment of Terminator, but the Multiple Kill Vehicle (or MKV) from Lockheed Martin which, according to Wikipedia, is 'a planned U.S. missile defense program whose goal is to design, develop, and deploy small multiple kinetic energy-based warheads that can intercept and destroy multiple ballistic missiles, including possible decoy targets'.

Looks like it's been shelved as part of the new US administration's defence budget cuts, and is probably somewhat old news, but it's the first I've heard of it and definitely worth a post here.

Airsoft Velocity Calculator

Here's a really useful/interesting application that will give you load of information on the flight characteristics of your BB round. According to the website:

ASG Calc is an utility software for AirSoft allowing you:

- to calculate the power/speed according to the weight of the BB used

- to carry out conversions in 4 different units (Joules, FPS, KM/H, M/S)

- to visualize the ballistic curve

- to calculate the time of load of the batteries (with an integrated timer)

Download ASG Calc here.

US Congress to Bin ACU

Looks like the US have finally realised how bad the Universal pattern is. Congress have ordered the Army to find something that actually works. Read reports at SoldierSystems.net and the StrikeHold blog.

Fantastic Pictures of US NSW Small Arms

One of the regular contributers over on MilitaryPhotos.net has posted photos from his visit to the US Navy Special Warfare armoury. There are some amazing pictures of all manner of SEAL small arms including regular and heavy barrelled FN SCARs and some rarities like RIS-equipped MP5 SD's. Well worth a look. The pics start about half way down this page.

Airsoft UK

Had an email the other day from the guys at Airsoft UK who have just set up their website aimed at getting new and younger airsofters into the sport, which should always be appreciated and supported.

Their site can be found here or by clicking the banner below. I've also added a link to my airsoft links page.

Second attempt at Twitter Auto-post

See previous post.

Centrepoint Airsoft Twitterfeed

I've just signed up to Twitter (well, yesterday) to see what all the fuss is about and I'm finding it quite addictive. If you want to follow me, you can find me here.

This post is also a Twitterfeed test. (Edit: which failed. Will try again later).

More L119A1 Barrels

Seems that someone else has started making barrels for L119A1 SFW conversions. Airsoft Global are advertising a two piece 119 barrel conversion for both M4/M16 Series AEGs for US$58 and for WA M4/M16s for US$64. A bargain.

Art of the Tactical Carbine 2

More gun training digital style from the boys at Magpul. This time with extra gangsta.

USA buys enough Guns in 3 Months to Equip Chinese and Indian Government

Jesus Christ, they also bought 1,529,635,000 rounds of ammunition. That's right, 1,529,635,000. That's ten figures. A billion and a half rounds. Either they are worried about possible gun restrictions under the Obama Government, or they know what I know. That there is no such thing as Swine Flu and that it's just a cover for an impending zombie plague.

Read the full story here.

Ranger's Rules

Found last night whilst Stumbling is this very interesting and still relevent (if you disregard the various bits about hatchet attacks) guide to small unit tactics from the days of Major Robert Rogers of Rogers Rangers fame. You can visit the actual site (which is just the following text) here. The fully unabridged version of the rules can be found here.

Rogers' Rules of Ranging (1757)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Major Robert Rogers was one of America's great military commanders.
Fighting in the French and Indian War with his celebrated "Rogers' Rangers," he revolutioned warfare with his use of green uniforms (a forerunner to today's camouflaged clothing), adapted Indian tactics and "Rules of Ranging." His St. Francis Raid is recounted in the first half of Kenneth Roberts' book /Northwest Passage/.

The value of these rules was proven by Rogers and later by Lt. Colonel William Darby when he issued these rules verbatim to the First United States Ranger Battalion in World War II. The Rangers still use these rules today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. All Rangers are subject to the rules of war.

2. In a small group, march in single file with enough space between so that one shot can't pass through one man and kill a second.

3. Marching over soft ground should be done abreast, making tracking difficult. At night, keep half your force awake while half sleeps.

4. Before reaching your destination, send one or two men forward to scout the area and avoid traps.

5. If prisoners are taken, keep them separate and question them individually.

6. Marching in groups of three or four hundred should be done in three separate columns, within support distance, with a point and rear guard.

7. When attacked, fall or squat down to receive fire and rise to deliver. Keep your flanks as strong as the enemy's flanking force, and if retreat is necessary, maintain the retreat fire drill.

8. When chasing an enemy, keep your flanks strong, and prevent them from gaining high ground where they could turn and fight.

9. When retreating, the rank facing the enemy must fire and retreat through the second rank, thus causing the enemy to advance into constant fire.

10. If the enemy is far superior, the whole squad must disperse and meet again at a designated location. This scatters the pursuit and allows for organized resistance.

11. If attacked from the rear, the ranks reverse order, so the rear rank now becomes the front. If attacked from the flank, the opposite flank now serves as the rear rank.

12. If a rally is used after a retreat, make it on the high ground to slow the enemy advance.

13. When laying in ambuscade, wait for the enemy to get close enough that your fire will be doubly frightening, and after firing, the enemy can be rushed with hatchets.

14. At a campsite, the sentries should be posted at a distance to protect the camp without revealing its location. Each sentry will consist of 6 men with two constantly awake at a time.

15. The entire detachment should be awake before dawn each morning as this is the usual time of enemy attack.

16. Upon discovering a superior enemy in the morning, you should wait until dark to attack, thus hiding your lack of numbers and using the night to aid your retreat.

17. Before leaving a camp, send out small parties to see if you have been observed during the night.

18. When stopping for water, place proper guards around the spot making sure the pathway you used is covered to avoid surprise from a following party.

19. Avoid using regular river fords as these are often watched by the enemy.

20. Avoid passing lakes too close to the edge, as the enemy could trap you against the water's edge.

21. If an enemy is following your rear, circle back and attack him along the same path.

22. When returning from a scout, use a different path as the enemy may have seen you leave and will wait for your return to attack when you're tired.

23. When following an enemy force, try not to use their path, but rather plan to cut them off and ambush them at a narrow place or when they least expect it.

24. When traveling by water, leave at night to avoid detection.

25. In rowing in a chain of boats, the one in front should keep contact with the one directly astern of it. This way they can help each other and the boats will not become lost in the night.

26. One man in each boat will be assigned to watch the shore for fires or movement.

27. If you are preparing an ambuscade near a river or lake, leave a force on the opposite side of the water so the enemy's flight will lead them into your detachment.

28. When locating an enemy party of undetermined strength, send out a small scouting party to watch them. It may take all day to decide on your attack or withdrawal, so signs and countersigns should be established to determine your friends in the dark.

29. If you are attacked in rough or flat ground, it is best to scatter as if in rout. At a pre-picked place you can turn, allowing the enemy to close. Fire closely, then counterattack with hatchets. Flankers could then attack the enemy and rout him in return.

Two New Links

Got a couple of new links for you, dropped through my inbox by Rick, the webmaster for the sites. Both are US airsoft retailers.

There's some pretty cool stuff on there, if you buy anything from them, don't forget to tell them who sent you.

Midweek Motivation

The Monday Gunfight

This week's shootout comes from Luc Besson's movie Leon (aka The Professional) starring Jean Reno, Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman.

24 Hour MilSim Game

Hollow Rock, to its population, is typical small town USA. But all that is about to change....

After a conspiracy theory is published on the World Wide Web concerning the details of a biolab, human testing and all located within "small town USA" then it was only a question of time before it was scooped up by the tabloids and national media.

No one could have guessed how far the shockwaves were about to travel as the events that followed were beyond what most people could have imagined.

But then when you throw in a corporate private army, US Army troops, a Government Special Operation team, the CIA, and a town population armed to the teeth, then things can only be described as "slightly delicate".

The Uprising it's going to be an Airsoft tour de force!!!

The Event
SENNYBRIDGE
7-9 AUG '09
£75 EACH
24HR MILSIM

This is a BamakoBampots organised Charity MILSIM game with all proceeds going towards the BamakoBampots charity.

There will be a special competition on the Friday night from 1800 till 0200 run by the Airsoft League which will pit teams of 5 against each other in a pistols and shotgun only timed event. The winners of this Charity league game will receive a Trophy a number of individual prizes.

The main game will run from 1030hrs on Saturday through to 12 noon Sunday the next day and being MILSIM will not stop during the night. Ambient low level lighting ( red low watt) will be placed at certain points around the village to ensure that those without NVG can move and play safely whilst ensuring enough darkness that those with NVG and torches can still play strategically.

This is a 24 hr Charity MILSIM game and all proceeds go to the BamakoBampots Registered Charity (registering number: 1123419).

For more information, check out The Uprising website, or email info@the-uprising.org.

Jackal 2 Makes it's Public Debut

Midweek Demotivation (if you're a Somali Pirate)

Bad Ass Cool Accessory

As I was browsing the internet during my lunch break, I found a blog unimaginitively, but accurately called The Firearm Blog which contains some nics pics and bits of news. It also has a long list of links to other firearm sites, one of which (BrassCasing.com had a great link about these amazing party-conversation-starters, AK-47 bullet ice cube trays.

How good is that ?

Cat Shit One: The Animated Series

Whilst looking for the Animal Mother clip for my monday Gunfight post, I found a trailer for an adaptation of what appears to be a set of Manga (I don't speak or read Japanese, unfortunately). The trailer is for an animated film called Cat Shit One. It's about Special Forces operators in the middle east (presumable Iraq or Afghanistan) but the operators are rabbits and the bad guys look like they are camels. Aside from this, meticulous detail is paid to all weapons, gear and drills. Due out 2010, according to the website. Enjoy.

The Monday Gunfight

I've been a bit slack on keeping up the regular items that I had planned on doing every week. I'll start doing them again, but they will continue to be on the sporadic when-I-can-be-arsed basis that they have been up to now.

Here's a scene from my favourite Vietnam movie, Full Metal Jacket and features one of my favourite actors, Adam Baldwin. It's the scene where Animal Mother (played by Baldwin) makes a full on M60 charge into enemy sniper territory to rescue his buddies Doc J and 8-Ball. Get some!

Coolest iPhone Application Yet...

Already bored with your sniper rifle? Howsabout an iPod mount?

The Hurt Locker

Directed by the amazing Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days, Near Dark), The Hurt Locker is a new movie starring (among others), Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lily and Guy Pearce about a US EOD unit in Iraq.



Interview with Kathryn Bigelow about The Hurt Locker at 'Spout'

Intelligent Armour & Intelligent Training Ltd

I've just had a mail from Alex at Intelligent Armour about his company's websites so I thought I'd give them a quick plug here, as well as permanent links on my Airsoft Links page.



Intelligent Armour Limited

Stockists of Blackhawk and 5.11 Tactical gear; Body Armour and Ballistic Helmets & Plates.



Intelligent Training International Limited

Defensive Driver Training courses; taught by Police and ex SAS instructors

He also sent me a link to a video of his company's work on YouTube...

Cool as...

Magpul folding SMG concept.

First and Second Line Options

I've rebuilt the Hellcat rig by swapping around some of the pouches on my first line and the Pointman pouches that I reviewed elsewhere on this forum. The whole thing now consists of the following:

First line: TAG Padded Patrol Belt, (L to R) Tactical Tailor triple pistol pouch, Pointman medium utility pouch, Maxpedition medium roly-poly, Pointman large utility pouch, Pointman double frag pouch.

Second Line: SOTech Hellcat Mk2, custom PLCE X-Harness, Tactical Tailor general purpose pouch, Blackhawk admin panel, Tactical Tailor canteen pouch, Viper triple pistol pouch, UKDPM Camelbak 3L (on back).



The first line is now usable on its own as it can carry 3 pistol mags, 3 M4 mags and two frag grenades. Add a pair of HSGI suspenders and an HSGI drop holster and it should hold up quite nicely as a lightweight urban doorkicking loadout for the summer.

Belt Kit

I thought I'd stick this up here as well. This is my first line battle belt. It sometimes comes with a pair of HSGI braces (I refuse to call them suspenders) and an HSGI drop leg holster, in this instance, they're not pictured.



It's labelled up, so I don't really need to over what each bit is and what it's for. Loose ammo usually goes in the canteen pouch and stuff like a monocular, cam cream, tools and the like go in the GP pouch. not much more to say really.

It fits in with most loadouts. The HSGI braces came off as it was very rarely heavy enough to warrant them except when the holster was also being used. It fits in nicely with most loadouts and can carry a load of stuff in conjunction with something low-profile like my SOTech Hellcat. The belt is comfy and doesn't slip down and the whole thing carries everything short of mags. I might get a M4 magazine subload for it to make a nice tidy first line that can be used without a vest.

As well as the super high-speed belt kit, I also have a full set of customised PLCE that has been with me for ages and has gradually improved with age. It's just about exactly how I want it now, with the possible exception of a sandbag across the back of the yoke and some sniper tape instead of the nasty brown electrical tape securing the loose straps. No point in going over what's what, it's all pretty straightforward. double ammo, triple utility, medic pouch, single ammo and a FFD pouch on the yoke. All this sits on a PLCE belt with rollpin ends and a hippo pad underneath.

Home-made X-Harness

I saw on a forum that someone had made an x-harness for their webbing. It looked pretty straightforward so I had a go myself.

Essentially, it's a PLCE side-pouch yoke with all straps removed. I got a roll of 2" OD webbing (very dark OD, I have to add), some 2" lock monster buckles (free, as a result of a bit of begging to the manufacturer) and went to work with the sewing machine. This is what came out the other side of a few hours work...

Airsoft Carbines

As I've photographed everything else, it didn't seem right to leave the gats out.

16"
L119A1
Guarder Colt Canada metal receiver
Marui M4 guts (upgrade on the 'to-do' list) & stock
AR15.net stock pad
DBoys RIS, delta ring, foresight cup
DragonRed L119A1 barrel
Blackhawk mag pouch
Guarder oversized grip
ACM ACOG
DBoys PEQ
Cheapo torch with DBoys switch and mount

CQB
M4 metal receiver
Marui RIS & fittings
DBoys PEQ
Spiderfire torch with DBoys switch and mount
SPR-style flip-up foresight
CQB stock (can't remember the make)
G&P Aimpoint with DBoys mount




Still on the to-do list is a full internal upgrade for the L119A1, and possibly a 10" L119A1 CQB makeover for the shorty, but might leave it and spend the cash on a DMR/sniper rifle (AW338 or SPR). Haven't decided yet.

GEAR REVIEW - Snugpak Response Pack

This thing is genius. It’s technically a bum bag, which immediately makes it really uncool (my girlfriend actually laughed at it, which is not unusual when I buy tactical gear, but there you go). On the plus side, it has a carrying handle on the top so it can easily be grabbed out of the boot of a car, or from under the bed, for example and the belt strap can be tidily tucked away inside the back, where there are also MOLLE straps to allow it to be attached to a battle belt or MOLLE vest, or something along those lines.



There are four main compartments. A small one at either end, big enough for a small first aid kit, Petzl Tikka head torch and multi-tool (which is how mine is equipped) or similar sized goodies. The main compartment is big enough to keep a well appointed first aid kit, a ’58 pattern canteen, cup & hexi-burner (maybe not quite that much) or something along those size lines.





I keep a bunch of bugout bag essentials in mine; mini-maglite, survival tin, hexi-burner, monocular, chemlites, titanium spork and a few other odds ‘n’ sods. The fourth compartment is a zip up wallet-like secion on the front with a mesh pocket inside suitable for smaller bits and pieces: triangular bandage, silva compass, led torch etc.





There are a million and one things that you could use one of these for. As mentioned above, I use mine as a sort of emergency, bugout & camping bag (see pics) to keep a load of bits together in the same place that may or may not come in handy on days out camping, hiking or skirmishing. they retail for about the £17 mark so they're also cheap enough to have a couple.

As you can probably see, you can get a hell of a lot of stuff in them (the '58 pattern bottle and mug are carried in a seperate pouch mounted on the belt. I've been carrying it in the boot of my car during the recent bad weather and found it so useful, I bought my girlfriend’s brother one for Christmas. He uses it when he’s out on his motorbike.

GEAR REVIEW - Warrior Pouches

Triple 5.56mm Pouch £12.95
NEW from Warrior, a triple 5.56mm mag pouch that holds 6 x M4 5.56mm or 6 x SA80 5.56mm mags. There is plenty of room inside these pouches and the addition of non slip internal linnings and elastic retention means that even single mags will not rattle round, the tension is just right. There are 4 x attachement arms on the back for secure and sturdy fastening to any molle style rig or platform. Made from 1000D Cordura.

Small Vertical Pouch £8.96
New from Warrior the Small Vertical Pouch with dual zips and full opening for easy access. Allows the organised storage of numerous small miscellaneous items. An internal mesh pocket can hold a mobile phone, Multitool etc and opposite 2 molle loops can hold chem lights, knife etc. The main compartment will accommodate and or hold medic kit, gloves, hat, glasses, NVG monocular, binos, compass, torch, note book or GPS.

I can’t say much more about the Warrior pouches than has been said above. The construction is excellent, especially the mag pouches which have a nice rubberised section on the flap that sits on top of the magazines and, presumably, reduces wear on the cordura, and the elastic retention is really tight, tight enough to hold a single mag in without it moving around. They are a little bit snug with two mags in when new but will presumably loosen up a bit. The utility pouch was a bit of an impulse buy, partly to see what the quality of the gear is like and I’m not sure what I’m gonna use it for, but I’m sure I’ll find something. Keys and mobile phone when skirmishing spring to mind as there is a mesh pocket (ideal for a phone) and elastic loops (keys secured via karabiner perhaps). I’m sure there are a million reasons.

I’ve put the pouches on my SOTech plate carrier for the time being. This wasn’t for any particular loadout (although it is suitable for some PMC urban shenanigans), but with the addition of a Blackhawk Serpa holster and a SIG226, would do for UKSF.





Having bought these pouches from UKTactical, I’m seriously thinking about getting myself one of their RICAS vests. Under a hundred quid for a fully loaded releasable plate carrier sounds too good to be true, especially when you compare it to a similar product like the Eagle plate carrier, which is more than that on it’s own. If the construction and quality of these pouches is anything to go by, it’s not.