Category: Gear

When we invest our money into gear, the goal is to be able to use it, and store it for years to come. The problem then becomes, how do we store it safely without going broke in the process? Over the years, I have personally had the unfortunate experience of losing expensive DSLR cameras, and lenses […]

From the earliest days of mankind, one of the few things that separated our particular breed of big-brained monkey from the rest of the competition in the wild was our ability to harness light, in the form of fire. Fire, of course, was paramount to our success as a species for a number of other […]

Everyone has a way they like to set up their gear, and it should always be mission dependent. The way you set up your equipment for a three day mission will be completely different than a direct action raid or night op. As the video below explains, there is a common set of equipment that will be […]

The holster market is a busy one.  There are the name-brand giants with imported, Chinese made plastic for cheap, your friend down the road who does Kydex in his garage, and ultra-premium options that cost enough to mean you won’t be hitting the range anytime soon.  Somewhere out there is a Goldilocks brand.  If you’ve […]

In 1964, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) was formed to carry out unconventional operations. The strategic reconnaissance and clandestine missions were designed to secretly carry the fight to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in order to dissuade them from supporting the Viet Cong insurgency in South Vietnam. The nature […]

Founded in 1939, Gerber has long since established itself as one of the biggest names in cutting tools.  From kitchen cutlery to pocket knives, to skinning knives, Gerber has remained a small-shop powerhouse for most of a century.  The Portland, Oregon based company is still fighting to keep at the forefront of the industry.  Being local, I […]

The Remington 870 is one of my favorite shotguns for protection. It is simple to use, disassemble, reassemble, and troubleshoot. It has incredible stopping power and the mere sound of racking a new shell into the chamber is universally known, and feared. But what if you want a tool that can do more than one job? If you want […]

The Trijicon ACOG is a legendary optic among many servicemen who have relied upon its durability and versatility during combat.  While I am lucky to count myself among that group, my time spent overseas was spent with the venerable TA01 which has been surpassed time and time again by more advanced offerings from Trijicon.  While researching […]

A couple of months ago, Gadsden Dynamics sent out a War Belt for review.  I put up my initial impressions here, but have now spent enough time at the range and over the hills to deliver a final review. For a quick refresher, the War Belt weighs only 10 oz (with optional AustriAlpin Cobra buckle upgrade) and is 3 MOLLE rows tall. […]

Functional Are you a hunter, fisherman, love shooting guns, or are you just a general outdoors kind of person.  Have you been climbing down from somewhere and your wedding ring gets hung up on something and you say “whew that was a close one “?  Throw a QALO (Q-Quality, A-Athletics, L-Love, O-Outdoors) silicone ring on your finger […]

The team of guys here at the Loadout Room have all put the Gatorz Eyewear to the test with everything from skydiving, to downhill skiing to shooting and running. Here is what one of our Active Duty Special Operations writers has to say about Gatorz: “The frame can be custom fit by slowly bending the heat-treated metal to contour […]

I would be preaching to the choir if I told you how significant of a tool a knife is for EDC, go-bags, or survival applications. What I seldom see talked about instead are sharpening options for the field. Some argue that a field sharpener isn’t necessary because a quality knife shouldn’t dull so quickly between knife maintenance, but a field sharpener […]