Never tried the plastic frames, but I once built one of those "hellcat" alice packs using the "molle II" ruck kidney pad and shoulder straps. It still sucked, but it was much, much nicer than the original ALICE equipment, and worked as okayish as can be expected with a plate carrier. Still they're nothing but a money pit with little to no payoff.

Got the old 3 color desert stuff off of ebay for super cheap and dyed it. Came out kind of a blueish green, but it worked fine.

Seriously though, if you can save pennies and swing for a used/sale price Mystery Ranch, Kuiu, Kifaru, Hill People Gear etc. They will last for a long, long time and your body will thank you.

>>16820
I'll probably save up for something like that for now, I'll try this frame as an improvement. Planning to keep the kidney belt and straps either way, but the ALICE looks like it takes too much work. I could get a MALICE pack, but at that point, I might just buy a high-quality rucksack.

>>16820
you gotta really wrestle with alice packs to make em' fit right

you usually are gonna have to tighten the waist belt a little higher than normal than most packs

packing your gear correctly in an alice pack is absolutely essential

they can't handle much past 45 lbs unless you are packing them really really well

when you first put the alice pack on, tighten the shoulders and loosen the waist belt. Make sure the waist belt is sitting on top of your kidneys and hips. Then tighten the waist belt. Then loosen the shoulders so the frame goes near vertical. Keep playing with it that way until you feel the best distribution. Alice packs aren't gonna be like regular hiking packs, and their weight distribution (most people like 90% on hips 10% on shoulds or 80/20%) is gonna be 75/25% or maybe less

great for hunting in cold weather though cause no zippers but they aren't very waterproof

>>16817
> not adapting molle II straps to your ALICE

>>16820

I'm in the process of building a Devil Cat mod. The only difference is that I'm using a FILBE main pack instead of an ALICE. The only thing I'm waiting on is the frame, which should arrive over the weekend.

I have actually started cruising kinder/k/ quite a bit to keep up with the patches being produces. Some of them are really god damn neat-o.
Forgive the animu.
Also here's a pastebin of the stores if you would like to browse the numerous stores. Woodptach, Crimson, and Skinwalker are of particular interest IMO.
http://pastebin.com/cXZTGafD

I own the Eagle industries MP5 .40 3 mag drop leg pouch, it does hold the 9mm 33rd
Glock magazines securely.

It wears equally nice on a NATO as well. I plan on eventually getting the Sinn bracelet or a deployment clasp rubber.

My Stocker and Yale "mickey mouse" watch died.

Had it since tech. Who can get it working? Tritium is long dead, if that matters.

>>17418

Any competent watch maker should be able to help you out.

>>17388

Fuck me, I could look at automatics' asses all damn day.

I just got a Seiko 5 about six months ago, and for ~$70, I couldn't be happier. I'll post photos when I get a halfway decent camera.

>>16251
What band is that?

More tacticool for god of tacticool

Simple grunts ain't look that fancy

Food grunting.

Note ODKB desert digicamo.

More combat engineers.

>>17840
>>17842
>collimating NV optic with non-adjustable width eyepieces

Not exactly the best design

A leaky can of sliced pork cooked with juices 36+ years old? Don't risk it!

  1993 Frozen For 15 years Preserved MRE Pork Rice & BBQ Sauce Ration Pack US Military Food Review https://youtu.be/PiErAgbwH3Q
Howdy, folks! This time we got a Pork & Rice W/ BBQ Sauce MRE from 1993 that has been frozen for the last 15 years (Actually just talked to Jerry, the dude I got 'em from and he told me up to 20 years) and this experiment was a 100% success! This thing looks and tastes like it was made last year! Even the applesauce was in perfect shape! Absolutely amazing MRE review for that reason alone and totally worth watching, you won't be disappointed.

>>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.