>>17819

When I'm camping I'll often take a GI wool blanket, fold the narrow end down about 6 or 8 inches or so to form a collar and fasten it at the neck with a large safety pin. I find this quite cozy.

Alternatively you could find yourself an Afghan Patu.

>>17819
I feel you. Sometimes I wish I could dress more like pic related.

Capes could make a comeback. The modern wardrobe is just designed for fashion anyways, often at the cost of function and comfort. Superheros and medieval fantasy are popular these days.

Look at jeans, they're inferior to other options in nearly every aspect. They're heavy, sponge like, restrictive, average to high in cost, even the pockets suck to use.

Maybe the sock is better than the foot wrap, but I'm sure we make some functionally poor choices else where. If you still think jeans are great, try on a pair of high heels.

For winter camping I've sewn a full on cloak out of old wool blankets. When it's 5 degrees and you're sleeping in the middle of the woods, who really gives a crap how you're dressed? It's heavy, sure, but so much dead air. Like small swords and capes, they aren't any less effective, just less... socially acceptable.

>>17820
You can't cut a main in twain with a smallsword!

>>17834
Pox to that. Nary a need to have a man cloven in twide whenas smallsword thro his offal.

I wonder how many litfags that mess will piss off. Probably all of them.

I've got a couple of TAD items and TBH neither have impressed me overmuch. The fleece gets cut through by a breeze, and the hardshell just hasn't held up well at all. I've had to glue the fucker back together and it's managed to start pilling up at contact points. I expected to have to re-apply DWR a few times, but thought it'd be pretty bombproof otherwise given the price.

Knockoff jacket came in last week. Wore it camping, I'll post more photos later.

>>17425

I'd be interested in knowing which knockoffs are good & which aren't.

>>17443
This was the one I bought:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261471617783?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=560812945198&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I wear an XL, bought the 3XL because lolAsian sizes and it fits me perfectly.

>>17381

Pretty much this. They have a huge sale going on this weekend and while I was browsing their site the only product that I think commands its price point is their stealth hoodie LT since no one else makes a tacticool jacket in c_change which is alot more breathable than goretex. For everything else Id rather spend my money on arc'teryx, cause deadbird shit is legit high quality.

How about just making some cut-offs? Hem up the bottom where you want.

Get yourself a pair of patagonia stand-up canvas shorts. They'll last foreve rand come with a lifetime guarantee. They work great in the heat and have more than enough storage in the huge front and back pockets.

>>17730
Seconded. They're great shorts.

>>17730

p.s.

Dem boots

I'm currently wearing some truspec, with a zippered fly. I've had them for a few years now with regular weekend wear and they're still good as new. Pretty great pants, would buy again.

Poly-cotton is great, it's still quite durable, while feeling like summer shorts. 100% cotton is closer to wearing jeans, it's heavier, stiffer, and takes longer to dry.

>>17652
>To sharpen or polish

it's the same thing if you don't let a knife get dull but just touch it up after some use. ofc, if you wreck an edge you'll need a rough whetstone first. I don't really use knives but I keep them polished razor sharp and greased up to prevent oxidation which kinda tends to creep up on an edge in the dampy conditions of my 5.11 pants.

I just bought the large kit last night. I doubt I'm going to need to sharpen anything right away, though.

>>17650
>>17655

wat.

>>17647
99% of the time, all you need is to reset the edge. To do this, you hone it, like with one of those chef's steels. Other than that, just use waterstones. Be sure to let it soak for a min or two submerged in water before starting. Often, also, cheaper stones are not very flat, and need to be flattened before hand. You can rub two stones together to do this, as they will wear away at the high spots first. When sharpening, don't use heavy pressure, especially if you are using a finer stone. Let the grit do its work. Very little material needs to be removed generally anyway. Also don't get too autistic with it unless you are using this for culinary purposes (or so I hear, I am no chef) or shaving. A true razor's edge won't survive 10 seconds of real work.

If you don't know what to use or how to sharpen, I would strongly recommend against doing so and learning with free-hand. Yes, having an understanding and practical experience with doing it by hand is a good foundation to be able to revert to - but it also means a lot of trial and error and learning when and where you're fucking up. And many people aren't even aware of when they do.

The stones seem decent. Arkansas stones are good and will work and perform well on a myriad amount of steels. Stay the fuck away from aluminum-oxide (corundum) stones, however. Ceramic and diamond are king as far as I'm concerned.

As far as "systems" go, of the ones I've bought and used the two best are the Lanksy sharpener and the DMT Aligner. DMT Aligner, especially, is pretty fucking boss and well designed (DMT's diamond stones are also very, very good). Lansky has diamond hones as well and is more versatile and cheaper. Look into which works for you. Whatever you get, make sure you have angle control options.

Spyderco Sharpmaker is sub-optimal because of lack of angle control past the standard 15/20 DPS and the "medium"/gray stones that come standard are shit and useless for reprofiling - you're going to need CBN or diamond. That's about another ~$50 on top of the system to begin with. Then you'll want SF stones because they're fucking awesome to finish with - that's about $15 each (yes, you'll need two). I'd just as soon avoid. I barely use my Sharpmaker outside of specialty sharpening now.

Despite it's legion of fans (...why?), the Edge Pro and it's many clones are some of the shittiest available. I hate the living fuck out of using them. Not only does the original Edge Pro not have a clamp system (automatic disqualification due to movements therefore causing changes in your apex angle), but the clamp system clones are annoying because you have to remove the clamp and turn the blade over to do the other side. Fuck these systems. I'm baffled that people actually like them.

Next on my list is a KME system. Expensive (around $200) and there aren't a ton of options, but it seems like one of the best designed systems out there.

TL;DR version: That's okay, but it's just decent-looking stones in a wood box to make you pay more for it. I'd suggest a DMT Aligner or Lansky guided sharpener. YMMV.

>>17812
I had the Lansky sharpening system. Damn good, I miss it. But I had to leave it behind in Florida because it was too heavy for my check bags.

I need to pick up a whet stone and start doing it by hand again. I got too comfortable with a sharpening system that I feel I lost my competence doing it the old fashioned way. I need to get that back.

I remember seeing whet stones at Harbor Freight. It was a glance, so I don't know if they're any good or not. I'll go investigate and see if they're worth the $2.

>>17491
I don't really care to do the subload thing. Not that my fat dumb ass is going to be doing much running in the first place. But I guess that means that what running I can/will do should be as unimpaired as possible. Since it's only a israeli bandage and tq (and maybe some celox gauze) going on the belt, it won't need much real estate.

There's also no point in me standardizing to anyone else's standard, since there's no longer anyone in my local AO I trust to roll deep with.

No idea what class you mean. So I guess that's a no. A cursory google search brings up something in early August. There's really no way for me to know this far ahead of time if my work schedule will permit me to take a Monday-Tuesday class and by the time I know the class will probably be full. So I guess that's a double no.

Are there any good $10 trauma shears, or are the ones in the $20+ range the way to go? I only own 2 pairs and need to buy more

>>17757
what's wrong with the $3 chinese shears?

>>17767
Any specific one on Amazon or eBay that has a good reputation?

>>17757

EMT here.

If you're using em to cut clothes, the 10 dollar ones are fine. If you gotta cut through something thicker (the example that comes to mind for me is the harness firefighters put on you to pull you out of a car when they can't get the doors open) its probably gonna break em.

tl:dr unless you use em professionally, the cheap ones are fine

A custom, old-fashion stiletto with triple-hollow ground blade

A custom compact-SK3

The rifle has an M16A2 style handguard FYI, but has a very small trirail at the front.

A one piece light+mount is acceptable as long as it's AA or AAA since those are the batteries available and I use with my kit.

Grab a set of cheap Weaver or pic compatable scope rings. 1" would probably be fine. Maybe 20mm if your light is a thin AAA light. Can use a strip of cut up bicycle inner tube or some other bit of rubber to shim up the body of the light and add traction so the light doesn't slide in the ring.

Its ghetto but should do the job.

>>17733
Thanks bruh, I got one of these low profile QD mounts and it should fit the role perfectly.

The shoulder yoke is very well padded indeed. It rubs on my neck but without taking it on a march I don't know how much that would irritate me. It feels very stable and with the belt tightened down I don't feel as much weight on my shoulders as I thought I would.

First complaint is this buckle. I'm just not used to it, but I think I would prefer some sort of quick release clip. This holds very snug and doesn't back off that I've found. But it takes a few seconds to get tight, where as I feel like a buckle would be a lot quicker.

Here is my biggest concern. The material is nice, but it feels plasticy (Don't know how else to describe it). All the stitching is single stitching. No idea if this will be an issue at all, but I'll be keeping an eye on things to watch for bits coming undone.

Thanks to everyone who helped me with this purchase!

Disciple is ok, I think Dragon Supplies or Jay Jay's of Brecon would be better quality.

The roll pin is a solid choice, if you add or remove layers then the belt will always be exactly the right tightness. Whereas with a traditional buckle you'd have to adjust it.

I also secure the roll pin belt using adhesive velcro (reinforced with superglue), but that's just me.

http://www.tacticaltailor.com/mavbody2piece.aspx and
http://www.tacticaltailor.com/xharness.aspx

I don't have experience with with Armasight stuff, although it looks good. I do have a pair of Pulsar nods. They are nowhere near as good as Gen III, which is what I'm used to, but they can be used for familiarization if you have an IR light mounted to your helmet. I like the pulsar pair because they mount to the standard rhino mount without too much fuss.

If you're planning to use these for anything other than just getting used to nods or some limited indoor use, I recommend you save your money. Pic related, my helmet and cheapo nods.

I had a gen 1 monocular as a kid.

Save your jewgold to get at least gen2 tube equipped. Gen1 works but is supershit.

>>17724
How did you mount the pulsar to your rhino arm? Did you build an adapter or is there one available commercially?

>>17727
The standard j-arm fits the pulsar. No modifications required.

I am going to go with the spark...it is basically Gen II without the microchannel plate (so it is technically Gen 1+).

I have a plain Western-style leather belt and holster rig for my Ruger Vaquero.

I'm currently using my Dickies web belt. It's pretty rigid, but I think it's eventually going to warp once I start carrying daily after I move.

Any good budget belts? I'm going to be using my Dickies belt without much regret because I don't care that it will eventually warp, but I do see the benefits of a more rigid belt and longevity.

I've been wearing the Carhartt leather and webbing belt

http://www.theworkingmanstore.com/browseproducts/A159-Leather-and-Web-Belt.HTML

I found it at a surplus store and it has been holding up really well, worked great with Comp-Tac's C-Clip for holsters. But from what I can gathered it's no longer in production :(

>>17714
I second this recommendation. Though I never tuck in my shirt, so I don't think anyone ever sees it. Frankly, it's mostly the COBRA buckle that makes it look mall ninja. At a glance it looks more like a cloth belt that teenagers wear.

I wear a $15 black factory second 5.11 "OPERATOR" belt erry day because my nice 214 gear cobra belt was getting a liiiiitle tight for the moment. It's pretty dumb but it's still less gay than the big fucking wannabe cowboy buckles most of these fudds and bubbas are wearing. Works quite well, wish it was less obvious but for the price I'm very happy.

Next belt will be something leather and smaller from safariland simply because I can get them quite cheap.