Vertx took their latest popular pant variant and collaborated with Fighter Design to integrate their Active Airflow System that offers a great hot weather tactical pant for summer heat.
Although not super new, I'm a fan of these type belts so good to see 511's take on them. The style made popular by the Liger belt, these Apex belts have a nice upgrade of having 2 hooks to prevent buckle rotation.
Always on the look out for good tactical pants I picked up these Kitanica All Season Pants to have some cool guy pants in cooler weather. I'd say the name All Seasons may be debatable since they aren't exactly hot weather pants, but made of a core material of 50/50 Nylon/Cotton Ripstop it is a good medium point and with all the pockets it adds some bonus warmth.
Vertx has been doing well with their original tactical pant design so it makes sense to see them expand upon the concept with their new Phantom line. Since overall pretty similar I've chosen to do a dual review so easier to compare.
As usual I am catching up with reviews, but as a plus to that is has given me more time to beat up on this here fine Strandhögg Plate Carrier. Even though First Spear has moved more towards their modular AAC system I think the Strandhögg is still definitely worth talking about. For starters, if one is unfamiliar with First Spear, this vest is a great example of their 6/12 design tech and The Tubes hardware.
I can always use some fancy base layer shirts for working out or wearing with armor so was happy to give this Vertx version a try. Offhand the size small I tried out was a fairly loose fit compared to the Under Armour DO YOU EVEN LIFT BRO tight fit look. Preferably I would have additionally tried a smaller size just see, but alas I am a wee-man and size small is as small as they make. For better or worse there is plenty of shirt length, this is usually a plus for those who don't tuck in their shirts, yet can get a little warmer / crowded in the crotch for those who do tuck in.
It appears Vertx isn't settling on just pants and is dabbling in jackets as a part of their new limited edition lineup. Although several items are offered in this "OPS" line I got to check out the OPS Shell Jacket as an introduction to the series. Much like the pants I think they find a good balance of performance and features us tac folks enjoy without a particularly super tactical look.
Commonly toiletry bags are budget style made so it is nice to see this heavy duty one from Maxpedition. Now I'll admit the name is somewhat amusing as Aftermath somewhat implies you would be carrying something more along the lines of a set of microwave burritos and toilet paper (which it could happily hold), additionally it isn't particularly compact. The silly thoughts aside, it is nice to be able to count on a good bag to clean up with when you get done with a long day in a crap environment.
Originally shown back at shotshow 2013 earlier this year, I finally got a hold of one of these 5.11 Maverick Assaulter's Belts and it is everything I hoped it would be. There are a lot of good Cobra based belts out there, but the attention to the small design details really makes the Maverick shine.
Fighter Design is an up and coming company bringing some very cool new ideas to the tactical market. Their Airflow pants in particular have the most aggressive hot weather design I've seen to date where you'll have to get into space suit type designs to do much better. No wacky fans, gels, or anything like that, just well placed mesh on an already good set of military style pants. Additionally the pants can utilize another cool product from Fighter Design, their Magnetic Fastener kits. For folks where velcro just doesn't match your needs, the magnetic closures offer a silent and smooth alternative.
Hazard4 Kato Mini-Messenger 
MAXPEDITION - Tear Away Panel 
COUNTY COMM Compact Battery Holders 
CAMELBAK Better Bottle 
A Real Urban Grey? - Part 2 
ESEE DPx HEST Knife 
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