5.11 Tactical:
<www.511tactical.com>
5.11 is breaking out from mostly clothing to many tactical based items. I can't talk about everything they are up to, but check out the videos for their latest goodies.
<5.11 VIDEO 1> Upcoming Spring line of products Part 1
<5.11 VIDEO 2> Upcoming Spring line of products Part 2
Blackhawk!:
<www.blackhawk.com>
Blackhawk was showing off their ever expanding line. There were some classics there, but some new items included the ITS (Integrated Tourniquet System) Pants and Shirt, recoil reducing stocks, their latest releasable tactical vest, new footwear, advanced uniform prototypes, and much more. They had so much stuff I didn't get to see it all.
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 1> Recoil reducing shotgun and rifle stocks
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 2> New and old SERPA holsters
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 3> New releasable tactical vest
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 4> Latest footwear
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 5> Advanced uniform prototypes
<BLACKHAWK VIDEO 6> ITS (Integrated Tourniquet System)
Camelbak:
<www.camelbak.com>
I met up with camelbak for the first time, everyone at the booth was really awesome and helpful. We checked out their latest water bottles to give Nalgene a run for their money and their tactical side including some tough looking gloves and packs.
<CAMELBAK VIDEO 1> latest in tactical gloves
<CAMELBAK VIDEO 2> Camelbak's "Better Bottle"
<CAMELBAK VIDEO 3> I go over some additional designer questions.
<CAMELBAK VIDEO 4> latest in tactical packs
FN - USA:
<www.fnhusa.com>
FN wasn't too keen on media back in 2007, but I was able to hit them up this year. I got some pics of the latest models of the SCAR series, their lightweight SAW variants, and some fun biggun guns they had laying about the booth.
Videos coming soon!
Glock:
<www.glock.com>
I didn't get to make any cool videos, but was great to see my buddy Dave Sevigny again. He said the G30 was the new business so I took a bunch of pics of it.
Kifaru:
<www.kifaru.net>
I ran into Mel of Kifaru and he invited me to their lil hotel shindig. It was awesome to see all their kit laid out to play with. I had fun trying out the cargo hauler on my overdressed lil lady. I think they sold me on a Marauder rig, but arg, soo many good Kifaru things to choose from. Thanks again team Kifaru for being laid back cool dudes!
Kimber:
<www.kimberamerica.com>
Kimber, known for their mean 1911 based pitols, showed off their latest, the SIS line.
<KIMBER VIDEO 1> latest SIS pistol line
KRISS - TDI:
<www.kriss-tdi.com>
Although not super new for 2008, the KRISS line still is an interesting new concept in redirecting recoil to reduce the overall felt recoil. Andrew was nice enough to make some video demos for us to go over some of the more specific weapon details.
<KRISS VIDEO 1> Main KRISS overview demo
<KRISS VIDEO 2> KRISS breakdown and further details
Lancer Systems:
<www.lancer-systems.com>
While hanging out at the SKD booth I ran into these guys. They are working on a pretty snazzy translucent polymer AR-15/M-16 platform magazine. I took a sample home to beat up on and will keep you guys updated.
<LANCER VIDEO 1> L5 translucent magazine
Lowy USA:
<www.lowyusa.com>
I made sure to drop by my friends at the Lowy booth. They have always been helpful on my projects big and small. Although they already carry a huge webbing and hardware selection, they were sporting their 1.25" line of plastic hardware. As a note if you aren't hip to building your own kit, 1.25" is pretty hard to find.
Magpul Industries:
<www.magpul.com>
As usual Magpul had some rad new things to show. The Masada has some slight improvements and became the ACR which will be produced in collaboration with Bushmaster. They FMG-9 was unveiled as a show favorite. A compact unfolding glock upper based party in a box. The latest version of the PDR-C was also on display. A nice compact bullpup design that uses standard NATO 5.56 magazines. Words don't do any of them justice, check out the videos.
<MAGPUL VIDEO 1> The Bushmaster / Magpul ACR
<MAGPUL VIDEO 2> FMG-9 concept weapon
<MAGPUL VIDEO 3> PDR-C Personal Defense Rifle - Compact
Maxpedition:
<www.maxpedition.com>
I didn't take any photos since they will soon be plastered up on my site anyway, but I made sure to get with my buddy Tim Tang and make a demo of all their latest. Some great innovative stuff as always.
<MAXPEDITION VIDEO 1> All of their latest goodies
SKD Tac - PIG - EGL:
<www.skdtac.com>
SKD had a lot of cool stuff going on. Their own version of the Eagle plate carrier, sniper bean bag, single point sling, enhanced bdu, latest chest rigs (load bearing boar), EGL OEM goods and more.
<SKD VIDEO 1> SKD shows us their latest PIG line products
<SKD VIDEO 2> Mk1 Bean Bag system, Load Bearing Boar, and the SKD Enhanced combat shirt.
<SKD VIDEO 3> Eggroll of EGL shows us their latest OEM products
Surefire:
<www.surefire.com>
Surefire had some cool new items to show. A small but powerful backup light (E1B), the x300, a fancy flashlight holder, and flashlight ends to enhance grab and grip. Of course they had a bunch of other cool stuff littered around their booth as well.
<SUREFIRE VIDEO 1> Surefire show's their latest
<SUREFIRE VIDEO 2> I go over additional design details of Surefire's latest.
Viking Tactical:
<www.vikingtactics.com>
Kyle Lamb shows off what V-TAC has been working on and items they have done in collaboration with 5.11 tactical. I scored one of his books as well, looks like great reference and I'll be sure and post a further review.
<VTAC VIDEO 1> Latest Viking Tactical line in collaboration with 511 tactical
<VTAC VIDEO 2> Kyle Lamb and I go over some of the finer details of his VTAC sling.
VIO:
<www.vio-pov.com>
I'm always interested in helmet camera stuff so I really enjoyed checking out VIO's POV.1 setup. It is built MIL-spec and is really easy to use right out of the box. Instead of having to pay extra for things you almost certainly need, the POV comes "deluxe" with a wireless remote, many extra mounting options, wires, and more.
<VIO VIDEO 1> Overview of the VIO POV.1
<VIO VIDEO 2> Additional design questions and a look into the software.
Zero Tolerance Knives:
<www.kershawknives.com>
Sean of LA Policegear sent me over to the ZT booth and it turned out to be a real treat. I don't know much about knives, but I do know these are some sweet rides. I took home a 0301 model to beat up on and will make sure and follow up with a full review.
<ZT VIDEO 1> Overview of the ZT knife line.
<ZT VIDEO 2> Additional design details.
