The arc of development, for skillsets and equipment, eventually reaches a point where, instead of adding more features, the process starts trimming down to the minimum necessary elements to complete the task. The phrase, “everything you need, nothing you don't” has travelled through more than one special operations unit, and it differs from the...
The concept of body armor, has for years generated ideas of two different types of people. On the one hand, you have the knight-in-shining-armor-to-tactical-operator historical timeline, where the person and the equipment are almost synonymous. Take, for example, the idea of the Samurai, where both the gear, and the persona come to mind. On...
Whether it’s a power outage, a natural or man-made disaster, or something as common as a roadside breakdown, emergency lights and power will often play a critical role in any recovery effort. Even the most basic tasks become vastly more difficult when you can’t see what you’re doing. For emergency lighting, a battery-operated flashlight or...
Why do things go bump in the night? Why do werewolves change at the full moon? Why are vampires allergic to sunlight? The short answer is it’s easier to do evil deeds after nightfall. By the time the sun is completely down, most people are tired, relaxed, full-bellied from dinner, and getting ready for...
It's strange to describe a plate carrier as athletic. For the most part, designs trend towards the tactical, like the Crye Precision JPC, or the load-bearing, like their APC system. In another direction, minimalist plate carriers sought to go light and sleek in order to fit under clothing unnoticed. Modularity demanded so much of...
When we asked survivalist Les Stroud (see Issue 21) what his most important everyday-carry (EDC) item was, we were shocked to learn it wasn’t something sexy like a folding knife, but rather it was cash and credit cards. His reasoning is that you’re more likely to use what’s in your wallet or money clip...
If you don't look at the Fenris and see the 2021 version of the rig used in the film Heat, you lack imagination. Chest rigs come in all shapes and sizes, well, almost. Until now, most chest rigs oriented your magazines vertically across your chest. The Fenris from Nightfighter does things differently. Instead of running...
Every day, most of us have approximately 12 to 16 hours of sunlight to work with. That means we also have approximately 8 to 12 hours of darkness. If your rifle, handgun, or shotgun aren’t setup for working in the dark, you potentially have a limited-use item — a 12- to 16-hour gun for...
One part criticism, one part methodology, Violence of Mind pokes at the soft tissue of how we think of self-defense in order to build a foundation that combines the irreverence of a street fight, with the analytical benefit of systematizing one’s mindset. In this, the book offers two benefits: first and foremost as a...
Summer 2020 in Arizona wasn’t conducive to live-fire training, given the perfect storm of 115-degree temperatures, wildfire-related shooting restrictions on public land, COVID-induced range closures, and extremely high ammo prices. Rather than rely solely on dry-fire practice at home, I decided this was the ideal time to try out the state-of-the-art VirTra firearms simulator...
