MWC Vietnam Watch

MWC OLIVE GREEN US MILITARY PATTERN VIETNAM WATCH (QUARTZ)

•               Cost: £££ (£38) GET IT HERE
• Value for Money: 3
• Ease of use: 5
• Construction: 4
•  Alliness:           4

As I'm a nerdy fan boy of G10 watches, I still wear one day to day, Alex at Gen Kit sent me over this watch he had bought to review.  This is a modernised replica of the US issue watch from the Vietnam War period.  The original watches were made from plastic as they were considered to be disposable.  MWC, who make the watch, decided to upgrade this by making it out of metal and giving it decent glass.

I received only the watch itself to review but, when purchased new it comes in a presentation tin which is apparently quite cool.  The watch itself is a little smaller than the issue G10 and doesn’t feel as weighty when you hold it.  That said it is about half the thickness of the G10 too.  The other difference is the colour of the watch itself.  The case is a slightly lighter than olive green with a matt finish.  Apparently, it also comes in black.

To my eye the dial on the MWC watch is clearer to read than the G10, despite being a little smaller.  This is probably more to do with the contrasting colour of the hands.  The glow is nice and bright, and is easy to read at night.  I found it to be brighter than the G10, although I would caveat that I have had mine for a good few years, and it wasn’t new when I got it, so the glow has probably faded.

The strap is quite different from the G10 one too.  The MWC strap is a single length, rounded off at both ends, and punched with 15 holes at the other.  This provides well for wearing it over the top of an NBC suit as is intended by the long strap on the G10.  

The other key difference is in the watch buckle.  On the MWC watch it is removable.  This means that you can actually adjust the length of the strap as worn on your wrist.  Unlike the G10 you won’t have to double it back on itself and tuck it in after you do the watch up.  Or, if you have girly wrists like me, punch an extra hole in the strap.  The MWC strap is softer than the G10 is new and is a slightly darker than coyote brown colour.

The buckle itself has a dark grey, matt finish.  It feels quite a bit slimmer than the G10 buckle.  I am unable to comment on its long-term robustness, but I am sure it will be fine.

This Kit Pest Review was written by Ben OToole. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.

How/Why GKE Exists Part 3

How/Why GKE Exists Part 3

I'd paid for some t-shirts to be printed with a simple 'G Bomb' logo on the front to spur the blokes to back the project. This was probably my best move as they loved them and pledged no end to make sure they got one. Thanks guys, you're the best. Back to the video. Bribed with a t-shirt each, I managed to get a cameraman and two on camera volunteers for comedic effect. The video was awkward and cringe-worthy, but it served it's purpose. To add some, honesty and personality to the project to let people know I wasn't a Ugandan Prince trying to give away my fortune. I think one of my mum's mates commented to her that although it wasn't a cinematic masterpiece it was honest and most importantly, existed, and I was happy with that. 

 Enter, Tom. Tom was a bloke in a different Battery at work who I knew had a business mind. He had owned a business before and was good with numbers, I'm shit at accounting and would never trust myself to do it and you'll be glad to hear a trusted accounting firm takes care of that for me now. So I thought he could help with that side of things and be a general asset to GKE. He was great and had some brilliant ideas for the direction of GKE and i'm glad he did otherwise it'd be in a very different place than it is today. Unfortunately Tom had to leave recently due to mounting work commitments which is a shame but that's one of the problems that come whilst still serving and founding a start-up.

Halfway through the Kickstarter campaign our Battery took part in a cycle charity Coast 2 Coast cycle. This was the second time i'd done the C2C even after expressing, 'never fucking again', after the first one with my good mate, Dan. That was fun and although it was a lick we all got a photo at the end wearing the 'G Bomb' tops which was sick. The Kickstarter was coming to a close and thanks to everyone that shared and talked about it managed to raise £1005. It was a mixture of family, friends and complete strangers who pledged varying amounts and i'll forever be grateful to those who did. Thanks again! (I hate using exclamation marks but I think if you don't use them it can look like you're trying to be sarcastic or a bit of a dick and I actually mean 'thank you' here so i'll use one.) Here's a link to all of the 52 backers. So that was the rollercoaster of emotions that went into funding the project and I had the start-up capital needed, coupled with personal contributions for the solicitors fees. The next part was to actually create Gen Kit Exchange.

- From left to right, Myself (half a face), Karl, Steph, Mark, Martin and Ash at Tynmouth, the end of one of the C2C routes.

By this time i'd amassed quite a bit of crowdfunding knowledge and it was time to replace that with Sharetribe, marketplace knowledge. I bought a tutorial on the ins and outs of it which was extremely useful and set to work creating what is now GKE. It wasn't exactly easy to create but Sharetribe has done a great job of making it as easy as possible for the average Joe and with a little perseverance I managed to get it all sorted in a couple of weeks. Whilst this was happening, Tom had sent a set of criteria over to a graphic designing firm to have a go at a GKE logo and that's the one you see today, that came back shortly after and was inserted neatly into the social media aspects and the actual site. Fuck. I haven't spoken about social media. 

 Social media is fucking 'UUGE' (Trump was elected whilst I was writing this), really huge and can be the make or break of any new brand. I know for a fact that I haven't even scratched the surface of social media knowledge but i'll keep going until I do. Get it wrong and you'll have to wipe the slate clean and even then, it might be too late. I set up a Facebook Page for the site a couple of days after the Kickstarter went live and invited everyone to give it a precious like. Instagram came soon after and coupled with Twitter it's formed quite nicely. There are loads of different social media tools that can be used, some great and some not so. My favourite is 'HootSuite', it allows you to post to multiple platforms from one dashboard and is another Godsend, I use it all the time and highly recommend it for anyone with multiple social media platforms they have to manage. I'm nowhere near a social media guru but it's an art from that can be researched until the cows come home and that's what I have done and continue to do so. I've found that a lot of this journey has been started with me having no clue about certain subjects and having to go and teach myself to become as near a subject matter expert as I can possibly get and to just not stop learning. If I can learn this sort of shit, then so can anyone.

  This Kit Pest Review was written by Ben OToole. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.

Agilite Tactical Advance Ammo Pouch

The Agilite tactical advanced ammo pouch.

Buy It here! 

•        Cost​             £35.99 

•        Value for money​4

•        Ease of use       5

•        Construction​      5

•Allyness             ​4

  This review will be of a Agilite tactical advanced ammunition pouch. The Agilite company is an Israeli equipment manufacturers based in Tel Aviv and has been providing kit to the Israeli Defense Force personnel including special forces. 

  The pouch itself comes in a few camouflage patterns such as ATACS FG and AU, OD green, coyote tan and of course multicam. For an ammunition pouch this is light years ahead.

  A commander with this on his beltkit can still carry three mags which are held securely as well as a small amount of command kit in a totally unique fold down panel built into the pouch. As well as this amazing feature, the pouch comes with a multi tool holder on a small side pouch attatched to the main body of the ammunition pouch. Furthermore there are elastic loops on the opposite side for glow sticks or even a maglite. 

  The pouch fits three Magpul emags and HK mags with ease. It also holds the 7.62mm emags well but slightly more snuggly. My only draw back with this pouch is the top part of the magazine pouch sits rather high and makes withdrawing the mags a little bit harder than other pouches. 

 

  My final observations is this pouch would be ideal for a junior NCO to mount on his battle belt. Whilst still carrying your ammunition you can carry a minimum of command kit in the laminated panel, so there's no need to search through a ton of crib cards for the most import ones such as a nine liner or frequency changes and grids. 

  The pouch itself is solid in construction with extremely compliant multicam cordura. It has also been designed by a company who knows what they are on about. As most of the Agilite staff have years of combat experience in The Israeli defense forces special operations world. 

 

  For more Israeli tactical gear visit www.agilitegear.com

This Kit Pest Review was written by Callum J Bickerton. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.

Fight Light

DISMOUNTED CLOSE COMBAT LOAD CARRIAGE

PROJECT PAYNE

FIGHT LIGHT 

AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE AVERAGE SOLDIER

Written by Tom Cooper

  Fight light and Project Payne, are just the names for the plans that the Army have, to try and get you to carry less kit into battle. 

  During the Falklands war the Paras and the Marines tabbed/yomped across East Island carrying full kit.  This in my opinion started the British Army on its obsession of everything on your back just in case.  Also, we haven’t been in a conventional war since. 

Then comes the Iraq War (OP TELIC) and Afghanistan (OP HERRICK).  

  OP TELIC was the start of the I.E.D being used on a large scale.  From this body armour became thicker and heavier.  But, on OP TELIC we had fairly free movement, with vehicles that were able to carry some of our heavier bits of kit and extra ammo.  Then along comes OP HERRICK and we end up carrying what that carried in our wagons, on our back.  Plus, the I.E.D threat goes up, so does the amount of protection. 

  The Taliban used to call us the tortoises because of the amount of armour we wore and the speed we moved.  On top of that, the amount of carried ammo went up because we didn't have the speed and fluidity.  We would sit back a hit the enemy with everything we had. 

  In short, the average weight of a British soldier is around 72kgs and on average he was carrying 53kgs.  Which, you can guess, was shit for fighting! 

“The Soldier cannot be a fighter and pack animal at one and the same time, any more than a field piece can be a gun and a supply vehicle combined.  The idea is wrong at the start .  Yet is always being repeated “ 

                                                              Maj Gen JFC Fuller, to Brig Gen SLA Marshall (1948).

  Now we are back from Afghanistan we need to reasses of how we fight battles.  So the powers that be have done some thinking…

“When was the last time we had a fight with someone on par to us?”

  Well, it was WW2 of course.  So, they have looked at what we fought with in Normandy, and particularly what this Welsh bloke, Fusilier Tom Payne carried.

  As you can see it wasn't a lot, and he dropped most of that when he was bagging Nazis around Caen.  

  Look, here is one of his muckers doing a bit of “house to house“.

70 years later we are doing house to house like this 

  As you can see we now carry everything we need for a 24 OP on us, regardless of the type and length of the OP.

  So what can you do about it as an NCO or below ?

“ No soldier worth his salt is afraid of sleeping in the cold for two nights “

Brig Gen SLA Marshal

  The two heaviest things you carry are out of your control if you're lower than a Sgt, ammo and armour.  Back in the day when granddad was bagging Jerrys he carried 100 rounds, 2 Bren mags ( per day ), and his tin hat.  Now we carry 6 mags of 5.56 (180 rounds), a bandoleer of 150 rounds and another 150 rounds of link for the LMG. Not to mention body armour and helmet. 

  So, what can you do to reduce your weight in battle? 

  Well look at what you carry.  First, look at what you carry in your pockets.  Do you really need all that crap?  If it went all 'Bravo Two Zero' and you have to bin your belt kit will that stuff help? No? Mag to grid it! 

  Next webbing/belt kit.  This is what you fight in.  Think about what you need to fight add to that some water and emergency rations.  It grips me when I see any more than this in people's belt kit. Jet boils, T.A.Ms, Gore-tex jackets… get them out! 

  Next look at what you have in your daysack and think about what you need for 12-24 hours.  Small daysacks/jacksacks are becoming quite a thing now.  The good things about these is that they're about 20L so you can't over fill them.  There’s is a brilliant review of one here Linky. 

  All you need in your daysack is a Gore-Tex jacket, a piece of warm kit like the issue buffalo and a pair of socks.  Ultimately you need to say to yourself 'do I need to take a daysack at all?'  Remember the bigger it is the more crap you’re gonna put in it! 

  I’m not going to say what you should pack in your bergan just remember you’ll have to carry it at some point and maybe over some distance. 

  Okay, to summarise on my waffled ramblings… As a junior NCO or below you won't have much say over how much ammo or what scales of body armour you’ll be carrying, but you have got control of what personal kit you carry.  So try to minimise it. 

  If in doubt take it out!

  You're not gonna die if you haven’t eaten a full 24 hrs ration pack in one day or you haven't got hot brews on tap.

  For more reading look up 'Fight Light' or 'Project Payne' on the Army Knowledge eXchange accessible through the defence gateway.  Failing that ask about it over a few beers down the NAFI.

 Buying and selling kit look Here

 Talking about kit look Here 

 This article was brought to you by Coops and I hope you enjoyed it

Sea to Summit eVENT Compression Dry Sack

Sea to Summit eVENT Compression Dry Sack 

• Cost: ££££ (£35) GET IT HERE
• Value for Money: 4
• Ease of use: 5
• Construction: 4
• Alliness:         2

  As you may know from previous reviews I use a US Modular Sleeping System.  This is a bulky bit of a beast when you have it at its maximum level of insulation.  This in turn means that it can take up a good bit of room in a bergan.  So, I went looking for a means to reduce it down.

  Ever since the benefits of waterproofing my kit having been demonstrated to me by throwing my bergan in a lake during training I have, naturally, been a big fan of dry bags.  Back then all that was available was the ultra-thick, but utterly bombproof, ortleib bag.  Dry bags have come on a long way since then with lighter and lighter materials.  One issue that has stayed has always been how to get the air out and compress in down as small as possible.  Some dry bags have purge valves in them to let air out as you compress it.  However, I have found that they will always eventually let the air back in, and therefore eventually water.

  Having seen the above I was really interested in the Sea to Summit dry bag when I saw it.  It’s made from a 30D Ultra-Sil ® fabric.  What’s interesting about this fabric is its selectively permeable nature.  Basically, it lets the air out but won’t let anything in.  With a traditional dry bag you have to stuff your kit in as tight as you can, then try to squeeze as muck air out as possible and quickly roll it up closed before the air can get back in.  With the Sea to Summit dry bag you just shove the kit in, do it up and the air gets forced out as you compress it down using the compression straps that are part of the dry bag.  What you end up with is a much more evenly shaped and air-free bit of kit to stow away in your bergan.  For my US Sleeping System, it goes down to about 1/3 of its uncompressed size, which is a considerable reduction.

  In terms of its construction, the Dry bag itself has waterproof seams, that are double stitched and fully tape sealed.  A waterproof and air-permeable eVent® fabric base, a roll top Hypalon® closure that does not wick moisture.  Finally, it has Reinforced stitching on all stress points.  At first look it appears that it could be quite flimsy due to the lightness of the fabric, but this could not be further from the truth.  I have found it to be a totally reliable bit of kit.

  The dry bag comes in five sizes from extra-small through to extra-large.  The sizes roughly equate as follows:

• XL : 27 cm x 58 cm; 210g; 30 litre max; 10 litre min.
• L : 23 cm x 50 cm; 168g; 20 litre max; 6.7 litre min.
• M : 20 cm x 46 cm; 148g; 14 litre max; 4.5 litre min.
• S :18 cm x 40 cm; 129g; 10 litre max; 3.3 litre min.
• XS : 15 cm x 35 cm; 107g; 6 litre max; 2 litre min.

  They are dearer than a traditional dry bag, but to my mind the extra cost is worth it due to how much more you can compress your kit.  They only come in the one colour, grey, but as they are always going to be inside another bag that shouldn’t be an issue.  I am gradually swapping out all of my dry bags for these as I love the compression and how easy it is to do using the attached compression web.  You can get them here.

  Just to round off this review I’d like to chuck out one of my top tips for bergan/daysack packing.  Given that I have numerous bits of kit in various dry bags in my bergan/daysack I have cut a number of different shapes out of the plastic from an ice cream tub lid and zip tied them onto the buckles of the dry bags.  This way I can easily tell which is which visually or by touch in the dark.

This Kit Pest Review was written by Ben OToole. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.

The lost art of digging in

The lost art of digging in

 Learning from the past and the present for a better protected future

  When we picture digging in, it's either one of three things. A quick, couple of feet, deep shell scrapes, dug on one of the few areas that allow it. A six foot deep, mud and rat filled position in Flanders fields or the mosquito filled hell hole of Gallipoli. 

  Fixed defensive positions fell out of favour after WW1. As the post war generals, who cut their teeth as junior officers, in the trenches of both sides developed a maneuverist tactical mindset. The culmination of these tactics was the German, combined arms Blitzkrieg. Speed and maneuver had returned to the battlefield. The French were slow to develop a counter to combined arms tactical approach to warfare. Like many believed the fact that any future war would be just like the last one. The French began building a massive system of fortifications called the Maginot Line. The French believed this colossal work of military engineering and believed it would hold up any German invasion. To some degree it did. It kept the Germans in their borders until the Germans tactical geniuses, such as, Von Rundstedt realized maneuver forces can exploit the failures of fixed positions. The Germans did what the French thought was impossible and drove armoured Panzer Divisions through the Ardennes forest. 

  But trenches and fixed positions in war didn't end with the failure of the Maginot Line. From Kohima to Korea, to the Iran - Iraq war, they have made a regular appearance on the front line. The HERRICK and TELIC Ops have luckily been safely ensconced behind Hesco Bastion or compounds with high walls and rudimentary defences. Some haven't touched any form of building defences, since digging a quick shell scrape in training. But not long ago digging in and building fixed positions was commonplace to every soldier from the Infantry to the Catering Corps.

  Cold War Warriors, you know old and bold who bang on about how every soldier since their generation is soft. Regularly practiced digging established positions with overhead protection, line laid comms via field telephones to reduce radio emissions with little support from the Sappers. Using basic defense stores such as pickets, sand bags and wriggly tin.  

  These 'speed bumps' in the event of a Russian push out of east Germany were to provide the troops the defense against indirect fire and with the use of a individual protection kit, for nuclear fallout. 

  "But this is ancient history, and fuck it, it's honking work to do when your chinstrapped" you may say! But in response, all I can say is can you put a price on good cover. The fixed trench positions of the past are having a forced renaissance since the hostilities in the Ukraine have seen down to a slow protracted fight hidden behind fake ceasefires. 

  Both the Ukrainian and Novorussian forces have reverted to a state of trench warfare that hasn't been seen in Europe since the First World War. After 6,000 casualties on both sides in the first year the war came to a protracted stalemate. In an effort to consolidate what gains both sides had made. These defensive systems were near identical to each other as the training on both sides came from the Soviet style trench systems. These defenses are purely in a rural setting and heavy urban combat has slowed both Ukrainian and separatist forces to a complete standstill, as both sides are using IED's and well defended structures with a minimum of troops to hold up greater forces. A prime example can be seen as the battle of Donetsk airport, a brand new airport built to bring European tourists to a potential Euro football championship in Ukraine. 

  Both sides when they held the airport turned the place into a fortress. Much like the battle of Monte Cassino, the damage gave an advantage to the defenders, as the rubble made up for their lack of defensive stores and also helped deny the interior of the airport to infiltration and armored attack. When the Ukrainian forces held the airport they fought so tenaciously that the separatist forces began calling them 'cyborgs' as they turned the place into Stalingrad on a smaller scale. 

  With a return to conventional war fighting and a high possibility of operations in the future being against a well armed enemy. Have NATO troops after 15 years of Hesco enclosed 'safety' lost the art of digging in? I think so. While you may have a chance to dig down to stage 4 in Kenya or first encounter if you're a Rupert, this skill seems to have been cast to the wayside as British and American forces are focusing much of their efforts on rapid armored long range reinforcement. A few examples of this is with the US dragoon rides across Eastern Europe and the creation of strike brigades in the future for the British Army. 

  Little time, training and money has gone into a revision of defensive tactics since the end of the Cold War. But if a few underfunded Ukrainian soldiers with little combat engineer and combined arms support can bring Russian backed forces to a standstill imagine what could be done with a NATO combined arms battle group? I'm not envisioning NATO creating a Maginot Line in the Baltics and Eastern Europe. But by giving these troops the tools and the training from a dedicated and well supported assault pioneer platoon, the digging and building of well constructed defenses and in the rural and urban could save lives in the event of any future conflict again a conventional or hybrid threat enemy. A soldier has always taken cover, wether it was in the saps of a medieval siege or behind primitive wicker bales in the Crimea or Hesco on Herrick. NATO is losing the art of force protection and area denial. 

 This Kit Pest Review was written by Callum J Bickerton. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.

Hussar Tactical HT Sentinel Belt

Hussar Tactical HT Sentinel + Soft Loop Belt

• Cost: £££ (£39) GET IT HERE Belt shown is Olive green and the same specifications as the one reviewed!
• Value for Money: 4
• Ease of use: 5
• Construction: 4
• Allyness:         4

  As a matter of habit I wear a riggers belt on a daily basis.  Mine is double thickness, as it was originally bought as a gun belt, has a Cobra buckle and a metal loop for attaching myself to all the many helicpoters I ride in……

  Given that I wear a similar belt every day, I was interested to see Hussar Tactical’s offering.  Alex from Gen Kit Exchange has lent me one from his stock from the pop-up kit stalls they will soon have at some of the UK Garrisons.  So watch out for that!  

  Firstly the buckle.  AustriAlpin Cobra buckle, utterly bomb proof!  I am a big fan of these buckles.  All the benefit of a solid metal buckle that has a 4000 lbs breaking strain with the convenience of quick release.  They are serious bits of kit and the buckle probably makes up most of the production costs on the belt.  So although the belt is £36, Hussar Tactical won’t be making an enormous profit on it.

  Secondly the belt itself.  It is 45mm wide (think PLCE belt width) so is comfortably sized for uniform beltloops and will fit jeans fine too.  There may be some issues with “non-tactical” brands of trousers if you are planning to use this as a contractor.  However, Hussar Tactical do make these belts in 38mm width too.  

  The stitching is excellent throughout.  Neat, straight, well finished and well reinforced at all the relevant stress points.  I also really like the way the tail of the belt has been finished off in a very neat rounded shape, it shows great attention to detail.  

  A significant point to be aware of with this belt is that it is single thickness.  So, if you are looking for a belt to mount a holster straight to, it’s not the belt for you.  This belt is best suited to go inside a MOLLE sleeve if you are looking at it to mount kit.  Hussar do also make a really good looking Riggers belt called the Defender that would be well worth a look for mounting kit directly.

  Another feature I liked was that instead of a really bulky metal loop, like you find on a rigger belt, it has a soft loop instead.  This makes the belt much easier to take on and off.  It also means there isn’t that really annoying little tab that holds the metal loop flat when it isn’t in use.  All the benefits of a tie-in point without the faff and bulk.

  The belt I received is coyote brown with a black buckle.  The colour will be a great match for MTP, so should be Raz Man friendly.  You can also buy this belt with a coyote coloured buckle if you want it to be uniform (did you see what I did there?) in colour.

I have already mentioned the Cobra buckle, but the rest of the belt is made from equally high quality materials.  The belt comes in coyote brown (black or coyote buckle), black (black buckle), olive green (olive and black buckle) and grey (black buckle).  

  The belts are generously sized.  I received a medium which is described as fitting a 33”-40” waist.  I am a 34” waist and the tail of the belt comes to the 4 o’clock position on my waist.  Unlike many similar belts there is plenty of loop velcro for the belt to attach to, so you won’t be forced to cut it down and have a long tail dangling about.

  Overall this is a really well made bit of kit, constructed using high quality materials.  It is also manufactured in the UK.  Their range of belts is well worth looking at as they have something that caters for pretty much any need.  If the don’t, they also have a custom belt service.  I will certainly be talking to them about a double thickness belt with a plastic Cobra buckle to make life easier when I’m travelling through airports.  

  To sum up this is a great belt, ideal for going inside a MOLLE sleeve if you want to mount kit.  It is bomb-proof construction using high quality materials.  I would say that if you are in the market for a top-notch belt Hussar Tactical are the people to go and talk to!  You can get them here.

  This Kit Pest Review was written by Ben OToole. Hopefully you enjoyed it and if you have any thoughts or comments related to this article then leave a comment! 

 If you'd like to visit Cooper's Kit Corner, you can find it here.

 If you'd like to visit Gen Kit Exchange, you can find it here.