TacArm is a small company that is lesser known, but has some great ideas. They noticed the problem that the issued vests were generally doing the military right, but many limbs were still being severely wounded due to lack of protection. Due to this, Tacarm's current specialty is extra soft armor protection for your main combat uniform. Although they offer fully modded uniforms for maximum armor holdings, they also offer armor that will fit in your standard uniform as is. I got a hold of the knee pad inserts and have been beating up on them for a little bit.

I showed this a while back in my shotshow footage, but now I finally got around to showing some up-close pics. This is the business right here, the differences are immediately noticable. Due to the custom plastic hardware and connection design this strap is very easy to adjust while still on your head. Up and away is to losen, Down and toward is to tighten, very intuitive. The standard MICH strap, on the other hand, pretty much only allows tightening while on and it isn't that easy to do the back straps. The bulk of the Ops-Core strap is made of Nomex so you can count on fire resistance when disaster occurs. The creator wanted me to note the desert color shown is more golden than he would like and this is not the final color. As you may have guessed, Nomex color selections aren't as vast as typical milspec webbing. Besides the ease of use, the Ops-Core strap is much more stable as well. For those with NVGs or those who just like to headbang, you will appreciate the improvement. I've been trying out the X-strap version, but apparently the H-strap version has even more stability. Both are offered since some will like the fit and feel of the X-strap version more. Installation is easy just like the standard MICH strap. The Ops-Core strap is currently available in sizes of S/M and L/XL and colors of Foliage Green, Urban Tan, and Black. Both versions can be purchased with main buckle on left or right side and a 3" extension strap is now available for use with gas masks. Here is a link to the shotshow vid if you missed it: <OPS CORE DEMO>
<www.ops-core.com>

For those who want a mid point between glasses and goggles, Revision made these. The kit comes with a nice pack of instructions, lenses, dust sock, and of course the carry case itself. Durability specs are up to par with Revision's usual beyond compliance of military ballistic goggles with no lens distortion. Although vision is good for this style of goggle, a lot of peripheral vision is lost compared to 1 lens style goggles like the Desert Locust. Prescription inserts are available using Revision's clip in system. The Bullet Ants generally feel good on my face, but were very prone to fogging on my tests so far. One such instance was while playing ultimate frizbee. To add insult to injury I took a nice shot to the eye right after I had to raise my goggles since I could not see due to fog. Perhaps tearing off the foam that covers the hex vents would help the fog issue. More on the plus side, I think they look pretty cool and I like the quick strap adjust hardware on the right side. I was able to quickly adjust comfot while the goggles were still on. Those who want the full protection of a goggle, but not the size of 1 lens goggle may want to check these out. Other notes include the Bulletants were made for optimal compatibility with the British Army’s Mark VI helmet and the design lends itself to work well for Special Air Force Operations. Check out the revision site for all the detailed technical specs:
http://www.revisionmilitary.com/bulletant.html

The Sawfly Glasses aren't exactly new, but that doesn't make them any less great. They meet and exceed all the Military ballistic requirements and thus have become US military approved eye-pro. I display here which appears to be the "Deluxe" Kit with a Soft carry case. The frame part is semi-flexible with adjustable arms. The arms have 5 positions which allow adjustability to most heads.

Revision hooked me up with a pair of these goggles at shotshow. I haven't made it to a base trip yet, but I have been wearing them off and on and I did send a coworker with them to a SFAUC trip. He was quite happy with them and did not fog despite near freezing weather. My impressions so far: These are a great size delivering protection with as much field of view possible. Kit comes with carry bag that has a pocket for a spare lens, in this case the tinted one and a cover sock was also included. The Desert Locust is one of the easiest goggles to change lenses out of.