Military & Outdoor Kit Blog

Polycotton Ripstop in Vista ATP

I've written before about Vista ATP (All-Terrain Pattern camouflage) from specialist manufacturer Coating Applicatings Group, who also produce MTP for the MoD. Vista is almost indistinguishable from MTP, and the technical abilities of the Vista fabrics match or exceed MTP and Multicam.

When I last wrote CAG had only just started production and were offering two fabrics; one suitable for heavyweight applications such as webbing and bergens, and the other much lighter and suitable for accessories such as bergen covers.

While CAG had lots of interest in Vista, some manufacturers were wavering because of legal concerns about the similarity between the Vista ATP design and the UK's MTP, a design actually owned by notoriously protective US company Crye Precision (therein lies another story!). The worries have now cleared and Vista ATP is attracting the attention of manufacturers including those from overseas, as far afield as New Zealand.

CAG have extended the range of Vista fabrics to include:

• 1000 Denier Texturised Nylon along with recently added 500 and 300 Denier Nylons
• Polycotton ripstop as shown in the image above
• 19 - 25mm IRR webbing
• Cotton Gaberdine clothing fabric

Vanguard products have been one of the first manufacturers to use Vista and we have been stocking Vanguard's excellent lightweight yoke and MOLLE belt in Vista for over a month now.

The ripoff Medical Pouch is a great example of TAS' innovative design. We're looking forward to the new Vista and Advanced ranges

Trojan Group, makers of Templar Assault Systems MOLLE/PALS products, also have Vista ATP products on the way, but they are keeping their cards hidden and as yet we don't have details.

We do know that Trojan have been investing in the development of Vista clothing fabrics, and have exclusivity on some, and their new Vista range will include both load carrying equipment and a clothing range.

Trojan do also have a high end TAS Advanced range planned for release later in the year, and this will also include Vista ATP products. We're looking forward to seeing more of Trojan's innovative, robust and practical kit.

At This Tribe we'll be stocking Vista products where possible, if of course the equipment itself justifies it. More news when we have it.

Snugpak are extremely well known for their Softie range of sleeping bags which have been used by the UK Armed Forces for decades. Recently though they’ve expanded their range with new designs and we’re aware that this has caused a certain amount of confusion. We stock both the Snugpak Softie and the Snugpak Softie Elite series, which, to the uninitiated, can appear to be the same sleeping bag. Hopefully this will clear things up.

The Softie and Elite range share many similarities in that they’re essentially the same style and are purpose designed for military use. Although the Softie numbering system (3, 6, 9, 12, 15) is different from the Elite one (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), both are indicative of temperature comfort levels and figuring out what the equivalent is simply involves multiplying (or dividing) by three! In big hand terms, as the number increases so does thermal performance, weight and, of course, cost.

Both types of sleeping bag use Snugpak’s branded synthetic insulation fill, combined with the metalised Reflectatherm fabric, which means that they all perform well when wet. The UK manufactured Softie range does however use the higher performing ‘Premier’ insulation which gives them a slight performance edge in terms of weight and thermal performance over the Chinese manufactured Elite. The table below shows Snugpak’s own data on the different sleeping bags

There are a few other differences and one that is likely to be of particular interest is the outer fabric. The Elite uses the tough ripstop Paratex Micro fabric which is lightweight, windproof water repellent, windproof and highly breathable for wicking away moisture. Whilst this sounds pretty good, the Softie range has Paratex Steelplate which, we’re told, does all of the same things better!

One feature that comes as standard with the Elite but needs to be bought separately for the Softie is the Expander Panel System. When not in use this acts as a super thick zip baffle but can then be deployed to increase the width of the bag by 10-22 cm, very handy if you need a bit more room or want to increase air flow.

So in summary, both the Snugpak Softie and the Snugpak Softie Elite range of sleeping bags are excellent products that quite rightly are world renowned. They are both very similar but the major difference is that the Softies are a UK manufactured premium product constructed of slightly higher quality materials.

Not the drill movement but zips on sleeping bags.

Almost the full Snugpak range of sleeping bags offer the option of choosing the zip on either the left or the right. This does occasionally confuse and we’ve had a few people ask whether a left hand zip means it is on the left or whether the zip is designed for people to use with their left hand.

The answer is that a left hand zip means that it is on the left hand side when you are laid in the sleeping bag on your back. We also find that this is what most people prefer to buy as left hand zips are easier to open with your right hand …. and most of the population are right handed.

So in summary, left hand zips are normally better for right handed people and right hand zips are normally better for left handed people!

Molle fittings, or Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) as they should be more properly described, have become almost completely ubiquitous on tactical load carrying systems, such as battle belts, body armour and daysacks. When properly set up the fittings are incredibly strong with the interwoven fabric straps ensuring that even heavily laden pouches stay firmly attached under pretty demanding conditions.

Whilst this is extremely useful for the vast majority of the time, there are occasions when it would be useful to have pouches that easily detach. One such situation is when you’ve got a casualty and need to lay out medical equipment next to them as you start treatment. Another is if you need to quickly pass equipment in a pouch from one person to another, perhaps under fire or in a confined space.

A number of manufacturers have looked at this problem and come up with similar solutions. Basically they all comprise a large velcro pad with the PALS/Molle fittings on the back and some sort of quick release mechanism to which is secured the actual pouch. This isn’t rocket science but when you see one for the first time, it is difficult not to be impressed - often the simple ideas are the best!

Templar Assault Systems’ take on this is their Rip Off Medic Pouch (ROMP) which is now available in Cyre Precision Multicam. Capable of carrying all the issue personal medical equipment it’s ideal for mounting on your Osprey Body Armour or battle belt, as per your Brigade or unit SOPs. To give you an idea of how it works, we’ve taken a set of photos which we think illustrates it perfectly.

The bottom line is that this is a piece of kit that we think is a valuable addition to anyone’s load carrying set up. Fingers crossed you’ll never need to use it but like all the best insurance policies we think you’ll be really chuffed to have it if you do!

Whether it is the latest magical cream guaranteed to make your wife look younger or a new better-than-Gore-tex breathable fabric the world is full of new technologies. All this means that it can be really tricky to understand which ones are best for the role in which you operate.

Primaloft thermal insulation has been around for a while but I’m sure few people are aware that it was originally developed by the US military and the first patent described it as synthetic down. With similar thermal properties, weight and compressability to down, Primaloft has the huge advantage of retaining these properties when wet. This is why the US military uses it in the outermost layer of their latest generation Extended Cold Weather Clothing System.

As well as military clothing, you’ll also find Primaloft in many high performance mountaineering products including our range of Keela Belay jackets. Available in both green and black these offer excellent value and are, rightly, extremely popular as an alternative to the ubiquitous Snugpak Softie jacket.

One of the key failings with a jacket design is that the full length zip offers an easy route to heat loss, even with baffles behind it. Keela have just extended their Belay range to include a new over the head smock, which is a similar style to the classic Buffalo Mountain Shirt, and addresses that specific failing.

The Keela Belay Over the Head Smock has Primaloft insulation but also a range of features not found on the more basic jacket. These include a large central pocket, neck baffle, adjustable cuffs, lightweight hood and large side zips from hem to upper arm. They’re also available in both green and black.

We don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the Primaloft Belay Over the Head Smock as a top to keep in your daysack for layering up when you go firm. This is one occasion where the technology is absolutely spot on.

We've just given away a Traser P6508 Code Blue watch in our second Facebook competition - thanks to the 500 people who entered and congratulations to our lucky winner.

We've had a great response to the competition, and we wanted to give everyone else a chance to win, so we're going to pitch straight into our next competition - as soon as we've worked out what prize to offer. So we need your help.

Our next prize? Your call...

Or how about this? - the epic North Face Apex Bionic Jacket

Please take a look around www.thistribe.com and decide what you'd most like to win - for free - and then vote in the poll on our Facebook page. You can choose anything, and depending on what it is we'll set the number of entries for the competition (for the most expensive prizes we'll be looking for more entries).

It could be another Traser P6508 Code Blue, or how about a Hennessy Explorer Deluxe Hammock? Maybe a Snugpak Softie 15 Sleeping Bag, or a North Face Apex Bionic Jacket. Or for the ultimate on-wrist device - the Suunto X10.

Once you've had a look, pop over to our Facebook page and vote in our poll. Once we've got a clear picture we'll start the next competition and next time the winner could be you...

Over the last 10 years of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan the improvements to the standard of UK Military issue kit has been immense. The Urgent Operational Requirement (UOR) process has meant that in theatre commanders can specify equipment that is then brought into service quickly and efficiently. This has meant that the MoD simply goes out and buys the best commercial boots, daysacks, gloves, torches etc that they can.

Despite this there are still areas that are not covered by issue items and it would appear that load carriage with body armour is one. The MOLLE webbing on Osprey allows soldiers to attach their pouches directly to it although they then tend to sit quite high which often interferes with the wearing of a daysack. This is why MOLLE ‘battle belts’ which sit underneath and below the armour are becoming more popular. No doubt the MoD will catch up with supplying these soon but in the interim we hear anecdotes of Regiments using non-public funds to buy them.

Vanguard is a UK company which works closely with a number of specialist military retailers and uses operational feedback to improve their products. Their version of the battle belt is the catchily titled All Arms Modular Belt Rig (AAMBeR) which has been around for a few years. Available in Multicam and Coyote they’re good quality, robust items which also feature Vanguard’s clever system to allow a yoke to be worn under armour without worrying about the buckles rubbing.

The latest evolution of this product is the AAMBeR Mk2 which features a number of significant improvements. The most obvious is changing the shape of the padding to provide more comfort over the area of the thigh and hip where your ammo pouches normally sit. Those with longer memories will remember the ‘hippo’ pads that used to go under webbing which featured exactly this design.

There are also changes to the belt which reduce sagging and make it easier to add a roll pin buckle, which is an obvious enhancement that we’d strongly recommend. Vanguard have also added a smaller size which is clearly designed to cater to the increasing number of females that are being involved outside the wire.

Its available in three colours Multicam, Coyote and the new Vista ATP although we’ve decided only to stock the first two.

For the last 12 months, Google Docs have been the office automation tools of choice for our company. The actual functionality of the individual components, such as the word processor or spreadsheet, is pretty limited compared to even quite old versions of Microsoft Office or equivalent. What they do provide though is effortless availability from any location, combined with simple sharing and editing tools that makes collaborative working a doddle. Our team is geographically dislocated so this is a major advantage as is the fact that you never need to worry about losing a document! Did I mention that Google Docs is free?

It is clear that Google are pushing hard to increase use and have recognised that some of the functionality does need improving before it can become fully adopted in the corporate environment. One clear area where this needed to be done was to offer the customisable style and templating features beloved of advanced Word users. Although styles were available, you were limited to the built in ones that Google had decided you wanted!

Having just logged in this morning I was therefore extremely excited to see a little note informing me that Google Docs has just been upgraded to provide customisable titles, headings and styles. This means that you can create documents ensuring that the formatting remains consistent throughout them. Not only that but once you’ve set up your styles then they are available to set as default for future documents that you create.

Overall this is a small but impressive improvement to an already extremely advanced product - top marks Google!

More information from Google website

With temperatures forecast to drop to -10C around the UK over the next few weeks, we've been stocking up on cold weather kit. And to take the edge off the weather, we're dropping all our prices by 10% for February!

So if you're in need extra thermal layers, take a look at the Keela Belay Advance, the North Face Apex Bionic and the Snugpak Sleeka Multicam/Desert Reversible.

And if you're planning some nights out, we've got a great selection of Snugpak sleeping bags to suit all seasons - from summer outings to -20C and beyond.

With our free delivery and carefully chosen equipment for extreme conditions we're aiming to offer the best value for people who need high performance but don't want high prices. Happy - and warm - February!

The last few days have been interesting as we’ve had two enquiries from New Zealand about whether we could ship Snugpak products down under.  This came as something of a surprise to us but it would appear that the British Army’s favourite brand isn’t easily available down there.

Well after a bit of investigation and some tinkering with our site, we’re now in the position to ship Snugpak, or any of our other products, down under.  As an added bonus, we’ve added Australia, Canada and the United States to the list.

Shipping isn’t too expensive and can be seen using our shipping rates estimator.  It is also worth bearing in mind that anyone ordering from those locations will have UK Value Added Tax (VAT) subtracted from the price shown on the site saving approximately 20%.