I've got some SAPI plates I picked up from a surplus store outside JBLM a few years ago I've been meaning to replace and suppliment with some soft stuff. Been looking at these and looks like it might be what you're looking for as well.

http://www.bulletproofme.com/RP-Level-3-PLUS-Ceramic.html

>>17911
Proceed with caution with those. I desperately wanted them to be good because they're almost half the cost of competitive weight/rating, but none of this "independently lab verified" stuff has ever actually been shown on those particular plates, only on the crappy steel stuff. They're stuff is not listed on the NIJ website either. In fact I can't even find any "youtube testing" they make fun of on those actual plates.

A lot of stuff the owner says is gibberish and raises a few flags.

>>17913
If you contacted Armour Wear, the company that supplies Bulletproofme with those particular plates, you could have the certification information sent to you. But yeah, only their IIIA stuff is listed on the NIJ compliance site. Might be because that's the only product they've submitted for any government contracts or something? I dunno. But if you got the information, you could find out what lab did the testing and make a call based on that.

Bulletproofme is one of the oldest sites on the internet that has sold armor to civis, though. I have to imagine that they can't have stayed in business so long while making false claims as to the proofing of their products.

In any case, you make a good point. Researching what you plan to buy is never a bad move.

Dude just go on eBay and pick up some plates. I just bought 4 ceramic plates for $330 shipped. Shop around for a while. You might be surprised at what you find on there.

Any idea about eastern bloc soft vests and plates?

  US Army 1st Air Cavalry Division soldier with an E63 personnel detector, in Ankhe, South Vietnam. https://youtu.be/4kGpf9W5s3c

A US 1st Air Cavalry Division soldier equipped with an E63 (XM-2) personnel detector manpack. The E63 intake tube is mounted to the barrel of his M-16 rifle and a signal cord runs from the backpack to a speaker under his helmet. The soldier advances slowly through an area of heavy brush, during training in Ankhe, South Vietnam. Another soldier moves in the background. Location: Ankhe South Vietnam. Date: January 31, 1966.

I prefer this Vietnam War-era personnel detector.

Inexpensive to produce, but the training costs are high.

I just realized I have a photo of the inner workings

But does it also detect bombs and drugs, cure HIV/AIDS, or find lost golf balls and broken water mains?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADE_651
http://mashable.com/2014/02/26/egypts-miracle-hiv-device/

What about heart-beats?
http://www.pitt.edu/~kconover/dkl.htm

>>18148
Spend the same amount as a Baofeng and get a surplus Motorola XTS3000.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorola-XTS-3000-Model-III-H09UCH9PW7AN-800-mhz-Portable-Radio-Lot-of-5-/253058368963

>>18164

which won't talk to anyone

>>18148
My first radio was a Baofeng UV-5R that took two years of abuse. I reprogrammed it and stuffed it in the traveling box. Remember the box?

I spend the better part of a day with manuals learning to program the damned thing by hand to get onto local repeaters. Yes, it was difficult to program. That's why they make programming cables and CHIRP. Now, I cut and paste to different radios with different firmware. I play with RTL-SDR and have a Yaesu FT-897 base station these days.

And FIVE Baofengs, mostly for hiking using mobilinkd for APRS or otherwise messing around. They're brilliant for what they do, which is work as programmed, take abuse, and be cheap as hell. Sure, they look awful and have an ill-conceived interface. But for $25, you have a great little HT that you can take out and mistreat with excellent results.

>>18174
I taped a little piece of paper inside the battery compartment with instructions on how to program a repeater offeset, since I always forget the correct order.

And yeah they're not great, but they're good enough and have drastically lowered the cost of entry into ham radio. I think a lot of the hate just comes from the same old farts who got super angry when code requirements got dropped.

Anybody get contacts on AO-91 yet?

https://www.amsat.org/ao-91-commissioned-declared-open-for-amateur-use/
>The satellite was launched on November 18, 2017 as part of the ELaNa XIV mission, secondary payloads aboard the Delta II rocket that carried the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1) satellite to orbit. AO-91 also features the Fox-1 style FM U/v repeater with an uplink on 435.250 MHz (67.0 Hz CTCSS) and a downlink on 145.960 MHz.

East German Border Guard General Officer's uniform

>>18193
The east German SS uniforms were chosen because the Ossis wanted to have a "uniquely socialist" uniform different from the western uniforms (at the time more of a "military double breasted suit" like the Royal Air Force's uniforms) and uniforms of the Soviet occupational forces.

Of course as Germans are known for their cynicism, perhaps choosing the uniforms of the National Socialists was a subtle joke about how yes Hans, we are the baddies.

>>18193
They're actually based on Prussian uniforms, which is what the SS uniforms were based on. Simpletons never look past the Nazi use to see the true origin of that design.

I have a few pairs of fleece-lined pants I got at Walmart a few years back, they seem to have held up well. As for a separate liner I'd recommend the Polartec milsurp bibs:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-MILITARY-POLARTEC-BLACK-FLEECE-COLD-WEATHER-OVERALLS-MEDIUM-S-R/152283108769?hash=item2374c7d5a1:g:TfIAAOSw4shYA9yz

>>18191

*Wrangler fleece-lined pants.

Lamps are great for anywhere you need to camp up and need to illuminate a large area. My $25 lamp from bass pro has a battery runtime of something insane like 150hrs. I've had it for years and haven't needed to change the batteries once.

IMO that's difficult to keep on your pack. I would vote for running it on the molle on the back, keep it real fucking tight so it doesn't move and make sure your bag aint going to roll on it when you put it down. You'll have a longer pack but it's better for the back than off-setting the weight, and if you turn it on while walking at night (IF Ever, even) it could illuminate the area pretty well.

I wouldn't recommend carrying one in a BOB kit tho

>Rule 12: Backpacks should not be wider than a door frame, or thicker than a door frame width minus your body thickness.
Your shit's all fucked up, stow it properly.

Stash it horizontally across the top of the small external pouch.

I know I'm late to the party but...

Couldn't you get something collapsible, like this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C5QSENQ

  >>18169
The design reminds me of this.

The S-shaped clasps remind me of British equipment before and during WW1.
Some S-shaped clasps were engraved to resemble snakes.
http://gmic.co.uk/topic/8636-snake-buckle-belt/

UK P14 Leather Belt

post a pic of it first

>>18176
Normally I wouldn't get lured into such an obvious trap, but here it is:

I have one too. Sometimes wear it in public when going full-geardo. Last time, while waiting in line at a convenience store, some guy spent an awful long time reading it, before saying to me, "pr'ty bold t'be wearin' that patch."

>mfw

>>18178
Everyone I've shown the patch to liked it, but it was always just a religious artifact. It is a very bold patch. In terms of boldness, its like open carrying a single action army.

I'm makin more

>>18180
I bought one when they first came in on Kommando Store mostly for the historical novelty, but I've used it hiking and shooting a few times. Something to keep in mind about SA during the period is there was a huge range of equipment which is it has the "one size fits all" feel when you load it with kit.

Also it's 30+ years in the past of LBE development, so you will notice it's more cumbersome than even a cheap MOLLE vest and pouches laid out for you and your kit. I like it for the history, it absolutely will carry your stuff, but also accept it won't perform like any modern system for the collector-grade-prices you'll end up paying.

I've really enjoyed mine. The lenses were developed with sport shooters in mind, so they've done quite well for me shooting trap.

fuck I broke the nosepiece thing

>>18106
Two months, almost to the day.

The mind boggles.

https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Eyewear-DB116-Banraj-Glasses/dp/B0001YXRIC

My new favorite sunglasses. Pretty much just like older M-Frames, but they're $8 and MIL_PRF 31013 3.5.1.1 compliant.

Bretty fuggin gud.

I just got a pair of Smith Optics Chamber glasses. I say glasses and not sunglasses because I got clear frames. They're supposedly wider-framed than their Director model I had my eye on. Need that for my oversized noggin.

Affordable at only $80 and I believe Smith scored well in a Lucky Gunner test of eye protection years back.