tacadmin - Tactical Blueprint

Best Dump Pouch

August 10, 2019 tacadmin 0

Let’s talk about the best dump pouch, also commonly called a mag dump pouch. First of all, what is a dump pouch? It is a pouch – with an open top – so you can “dump” items in there quickly, but securely. Primarily these are used in combination with a plate carrier, tactical vest, chest rig, duty belt, or battle belt such that you can secure any empty or nearly empty magazines. Best practice is to NEVER put an empty mag back into your tactical vest or rig – only put them in the dump pouch! So, the dump pouch can be used to stow empty magazines, shotgun shells, or other purposes on the firing range. They are also sometimes used for site exploitation – when you have to grab a bunch of stuff and go, quickly. But, dump pouches have a lot of other uses as well. Really, the best dump pouch can be used for collecting and transporting all sorts of items securely. Like what? It can be used on camping trips to gather wild edibles or kindling [Read more…]

Best Plate Carrier 2019

July 27, 2019 tacadmin 0

Best Plate Carrier in 2019? For comfort and mobility it seems to be the . It’s been described as the “most balanced minimalist plate carrier family on the market.” A minimalist plate carrier would be a good option for a home defense plate carrier. But, this is a versatile PC that could be used for: training classes and courses, a SHTF setup, home defense, LARPing, MilSim, active shooter kit, and more. Plate carriers with plates are popular for training – because the weight of those plates have a big impact on how you move and how you shoot. So, whether you are LEO, Mil, or just a concerned citizen – plan to train like you’ll fight – and that means in your full kit. Here’s the items we will review in this article. The is a ballistic plate carrier (sometimes abbreviated PC) from Crye Precision. Shown here in Multicam camouflage pattern. NOTE: The Crye Precision JPC does not come with ballistic plates. Add the 10″ x 12″ plates of your choice. Sizes are based on the size of the ballistic [Read more…]

Best Chest Rig 2019

August 10, 2019 tacadmin 0

Let’s talk about the best chest rigs available in 2019. First – what’s a chest rig? It’s a piece of tactical gear used to carry necessary items within easy reach for your mission. They are an efficient way to carry necessary and important gear and to make it accessible quickly at all times. Just as important – what is NOT a chest rig? A plate carrier. While those modular body armor items can also be used to carry extra gear – a chest rig can’t hold ballistic plates. Therefore a chest rig is a lighter weight, more streamlined, and more maneuverable option for those that don’t need armor, but still have a lot of critical gear to carry. Here’s the models we are going to review in this article. These rigs typically come in two flavors – an H rig and an X (or cross-back) rig. What’s the difference? A picture is worth a thousand words. Some rigs even let you reconfigure as X or H, based on your preference. These use keepers to help reconfigure the harness straps. As [Read more…]

The GORUCK GR2 is a great backpack, but it's a premium backpack. Find out all the great features that make this an expensive, but outstanding rucksack for rucking.

The Most Expensive Backpacks for Rucking

July 27, 2019 tacadmin 0

How’s this for a change of pace? Let’s skip the budget-friendly, low-cost backpacks for rucking. Instead, we’re going to look at the most expensive backpacks for rucking. Why? Well, because these very expensive tactical backpacks also happen to be outrageously good. What We Need in a Rucksack For Rucking Honestly the requirements for a rucking backpack are not too intense. We want a bag with somewhere between 20L (liters) and 30L in capacity. We need some volume to carry gear – but not too much and not too little. Secondly, the bag must be reasonably tough and durable. The chances of a failure due to overloading on a ruck march is pretty small – we’re not really going to be using that much weight ( between 20 lbs and 45 lbs of extra weight is typical). But, we may need to use the ruck for PT – especially if we’re on a GORUCK challenge event. Bag swings, bear crawls, overhead press, and possibly more. There’s nothing worse than gear that fails when you need it the most. Lastly, we want [Read more…]

What is MultiCam?

September 8, 2019 tacadmin 0

What is MultiCam? MultiCam is a camouflage pattern created by Crye Precision. The name MultiCam is a registered trademark of Crye Precision. It is meant to be versatile and applicable to a wide variety of conditions. It is currently a popular option for the military combat uniforms of the armed forces of several nations. From the creator: “MultiCam® is a highly effective, commercially available camouflage pattern used by the military, federal agencies, and law enforcement.” MultiCam was originally developed for the US Army. It is meant to be effective in a variety of environments (arid, tropic, etc.), elevations, and light conditions. Military forces are always eager to reduce logistical workload – and having versatile uniforms goes a long way to easing the burden of too many combat uniform types. Colors of MultiCam There are now several different variations based on the environment. Besides the original MultiCam color scheme, the current officially licensed versions offered by Crye Precision include: MultiCam Arid, MultiCam Tropic, MultiCam Alpine (for snow), and MultiCam Black (for Law enforcement and SWAT team use). The original MultiCam pattern [Read more…]

Best Boots For Rucking in 2019

July 17, 2019 tacadmin 0

If you use rucking for personal physical fitness or for military training, you need good boots. Footwear is hands down the most important piece of equipment for rucking (after that your rucksack is second most important). Let’s talk about what makes the best boots for rucking in 2019. First of all, if you are in the US military your footwear might have to be AR 670-1 compliant boots. That’s the US Army regulation that dictates what footwear (and other items) are allowed as part of the uniform. What does AR 670-1 compliant mean in practical terms? If your commander has authorized commercial design combat boots: Boot must be 8″ to 10″ high. Must be made from tan or coyote color cattle hide leather (flesh side out). Plain toe, not steel toe. Color matching sole – The sole of the boot must also be tan or coyote. Sole can’t be more than 2″ in height. The outsole must be rubber or pure polyether polyurethane. Boot upper has to be leather or non-mesh fabric. If it doesn’t look a lot like the [Read more…]

IFAK – Individual First Aid Kit

August 24, 2019 tacadmin 0

An IFAK is an Individual First Aid Kit. An Individual First Aid Kit is intended to be used by an individual for self-aid or to render aid to a buddy (such as for TCCC – Tactical Combat Casualty Care), as opposed to a more full featured medical kit that might be carried by a combat medic. A typical IFAK might contain: Bandages Tourniquet Burn ointment Antibiotic ointment Water purification tablets Gauze of some type – including special “quick clotting” combat gauze. A writing instrument like a sharpie or mini-sharpie marker is also commonly carried – in case any notes have to be made (anywhere or on anything.) Here’s the items we will review in this article. IFAKs are really military first aid kits. In the US Army, IFAK stands for Improved First Aid Kit. This refers to a very specific issued item, but the purpose is the same. The US Air Force and Marine Corp refer to IFAK as Individual First Aid Kit. You will also hear of something called a Trauma Kit. A trauma kit is a medical kit [Read more…]

Best Battle Belt

September 14, 2019 tacadmin 0

A Battle Belt, also known as War Belt or Combat Belt is load bearing equipment intended to keep important equipment within easy reach. Shown here is the . This is the Viking Tactics Battle Belt as sold by 5.11. A battle belt consists of a padded sleeve with rows of MOLLE PALS webbing for attaching pouches and accessories. A battle belt typically requires an inner belt (riggers belt, web belt or tactical belt) to secure it around your waist. Here’s the battle belts we will review today. Why a Battle Belt? A battle belt let’s you have all your essential gear within easy reach – and the weight is supported by your hips. It’s also very quick and easy to put on a belt. If you need to carry a lot of heavy gear (spare magazines, radios, holsters, IFAK, knife, gerber multi-tool, etc.) a regular belt won’t cut it – there is not enough space for one, and it won’t be comfortable. Battle belts are tough, and usually have lots of MOLLE webbing – so you can customize and attach [Read more…]

Suunto Baseplate Compass - our pick for premium magnetic compass for outdoorsman, orienteering, and survival

Best Baseplate Compass for Land Navigation

January 10, 2019 tacadmin 0

An essential part of any serious Bug Out Bag (BOB), Get Home Bag (GHB), survival pack, or outdoorsman’s rucksack is a magnetic compass. Not a smartphone compass app, but a real, no battery needed compass. A magnetic compass will always work because of Earth’s magnetic field. There are two main types of magnetic compass: a lensatic compass and the baseplate compass (also commonly known as an orienteering compass.) Baseplate compasses work well with maps, but certainly can be used without a map as well. We’re going to review the best options for baseplate compasses, because that’s the type we’d recommend. Compass, Map, and Land Navigation Terms Primer We’re going to present a variety of compass options. To understand the benefit of some of these compass features, it would be good to quickly review some of the key terms involved with magnetic compasses and land navigation. Much of this information is derived from the US Army’s field manual for Map Reading and Land Navigation[1]. For those without military experience, it should be known that the military has driven the need for [Read more…]

Best Budget Rucksacks for Rucking

August 8, 2019 tacadmin 0

Rucking (hiking or marching with a loaded backpack) is simple, cheap exercise. Throw some weight (20 lbs for beginners, 30 lbs for advanced) into a backpack and walk. There are many options for rucksacks, but the and the other bags in the Rush line are particularly budget friendly. These make perfectly acceptable alternatives to those expensive GORUCK bags – and even if they don’t last as long – you could buy 4 for the same price! We’ll take a look at the models they have available, and what makes them the best budget alternatives for the ruck march or ruck event. Let’s look at backpacks that are cheap, but good. These aren’t the premium brand (GORUCK bags) that will break the bank – but they will work fine. These are the best budget rucksacks for 2019. Want to jump right to the recommendations? Here they are: Read on for all the juicy details of the best budget backpacks. 5.11 Tactical Rush12 Backpack The is our budget pick for most affordable rucksack. This rucksack is typically offered for sale under $100. [Read more…]

Budget Ruck Plates for the Ruck March

July 21, 2019 tacadmin 0

We’re going to look at the best budget ruck plates available via Amazon: the and the . What is a Ruck Plate? Ruck Plates (also called Ruck Weights) let you add compact, heavy weight to your rucksack. They provide a significant weight in a compact form factor. Ruck plates fit conveniently in the laptop compartment, hydration pocket, or ruck plate sleeve ( for rucksacks equipped as such) and ensure your other gear doesn’t get dinged up too much. GORUCK makes some expensive ruck plates – but these are much cheaper. Titan Fitness started selling them first, then Yes4All created a line as well. What is a Ruck Plate For? The compact form factor ensures you aren’t wasting space for other items you really need on the ruck march. Why add weight to ruck march? For the training effect. Build up your stamina and endurance of your upper body in preparation for the real deal. Rucking is walking (or marching) with a loaded rucksack. Rucksack is military slang for a backpack. Carrying a heavy load for a long distance is a [Read more…]

Best MOLLE Clips and Connectors

August 25, 2019 tacadmin 0

Let’s talk about the best MOLLE clips. If you’ve got tactical gear with the MOLLE system, you know it helps make your gear super-customizable and versatile. MOLLE is an acronym for MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. PALS, for Pouch Attachment Ladder System, is the official name of MOLLE webbing used for attaching pouches and other items. How do we connect attachments, pouches, and packs to this MOLLE? We use MOLLE clips and other connectors, such as carabiners. There’s many types of options, and we’ll discuss them here. Whether you want fast connect and disconnect, a robust interlock that won’t fail, or something in between – we’ll present the best MOLLE clips and connectors here. MOLLE webbing (also called PALS for Pouch Attachment Ladder System) is heavy-duty nylon stitched onto vests, chest rigs, battle belts, or backpacks (usually in rows) to allow for all kinds of attachments. The Mystery Ranch 3 Day Assault Pack sports lots of MOLLE – on the back and sides of the pack. Some bags, like the GORUCK GR1 also have 3 rows of MOLLE in the interior [Read more…]