We're Back...

After no posts for a few weeks we are back. Since the beginning of July I (Mike) have been on the road taking classes to freshen up on skills as well as get the opportunity to work through some new concepts and network with some industry partners. To start I ran up to Alliance, OH to attend the LMS Defense No Light course and function as med support as well as cover some of the logistical support. This class was great on many levels considering I had the opportunity to get back together with my buds from LMS, meet Pat Rogers of EAG Tactical, train and network with both Stephen Hilliard from Blue Force Gear, and Clint L. from FNH, not to mention the guys from APD who were stellar hosts and tacticians. Formal AARs are available here and here (requires registration, make sure to follow instructions about posting an intro). Note: The hack for carrying chemlights on a grenade ring shown in a previous post proved to not be a solid concept. As I mentioned in the post this was untested, we tested this during class and consistently lost chemlights. I have moved to carrying mine in the elastic loops of an EAG Tactical Dump Pouch, works great.

Once class was over in Ohio I headed home to do a bit of laundry, grade some tests and head off to my part time teaching job at a local Paramedic program. Once laundry was done and I had enjoyed a few days with my family I hopped on a plane to Reno, NV to attend Firearms Instructor Development at the LMS Defense Combat Development Center located just up the road in Fernley, NV. An excellent course with a great group of warriors and the opportunity to play with some hardware while updating our software. AARs available here and here. After finishing up Instructor Dev I stuck around to help teach the Low Light course running Saturday and Sunday. The class was filled with a great group of students. The first evening was made rather "sporting" by a pretty solid dust storm rolling in but everyone endured with an even greater appreciation for full light/full visibility shooting environments. The rest of the evening and the following night presented perfect weather for a solid class. The AAR for Low Light can be found here. So after a couple hours of cleaning and packing gear and a few minutes of shuteye it was time to get back on a plane (or three) and head home in time to grade a few more tests and teach some classes.

On to this weeks Product Of The Week...

For some time now I have been working on finding a way to better streamline my gear as well as set it up in a graduated or scalable manner. Rationale being that I dont always need "everything", meaning not all training or operational missions require a complete belt rig, plate carrier/vest/chest rig, and assault pack/assaulters med ruck/etc and setting up each component so that I have a little bit of the essentials on each line allows me to tailor my gear to the mission. For a good bit of time there was no good solution for carrying med gear on your first line. When in Iraq I usually just tossed a dressing of some sort, a tourniquet, a nasal, and a decompression needle in a cargo pocket and pressed on. It wasnt comfortable, it was bulky, and routinely caught on things when getting in and out of vehicles or crawling into the access hatches of OP/LPs. After not using a battle belt for quite some time I recently went back to using one as the designs have come a long way in the last few years. I opted for the Blue Force Gear SOC-C Modular Padded Belt Kit. I chose this kit for a number of reasons, the company is solid, it is completely American Made, it is well thought out, and gives the user the option of adding armor for added protection.

Once I got my belt setup to carry bullets I started looking at options for carrying "bandaids" (med gear). Initially I dug out an old GPS pouch and stuffed a SWAT-T and Primed gauze in it and used that. After looking at designing a 1st line med pouch I decided to order a couple of Blue Force Gear Boo Boo Pouches to see what they would hold for trauma gear. Turns out they are sized just right for a wrap TQ and some form of packing material, whether it be Primed gauze or QuikClot Combat Gauze.

Here is a few pics:

From Blog album

Pouch only

From Blog album

Pouch with Primed Gauze and SWAT-T

From Blog album

Pouch with Primed Gauze and TK-4 (TK-4L also fits)

From Blog album

Pouch mounted on Blue Force Gear SOC-C belt, this one is mine and is packed with a SWAT-T and QC Combat Gauze.

So why did I do this and what are the benefits: I can ditch my armor and keep my belt rig on either while in a secure area or while running drills where armor is not necessary and may hamper the learning process but I can maintain a minimum of med gear. Just enough to stop a major bleeder until I can either get to my med pack or my vest or until a buddy can get reinforcements to me. As well, distributing gear across your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd lines allows for better distribution and prevents one line of gear from becoming overly cumbersome.

Where to get these pouches:

Blue Force Gear Boo Boo Kit Pouch at Austere Provisions Company


That is all for this week, got a couple of new items in plan to do detailed reviews on some established items in the next few weeks. Looking forward to it. Until next time, stay sharp, stay safe,


Mike

Happy 4th of July

Before we get into product of the week I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a happy 4th of July. I hope everyone took a moment to remember just what the 4th is all about and that we all have a lot to be thankful for because we (the Americans in the audience at least) could be living in a very different country and world had certain individuals not stood up against the strongest country of the time and said NO MORE! As well, a big thanks to all the vets out there who have worked so hard to maintain the security of what our forefathers put in place.

So, onto the product of the week:

When you need a tourniquet...

You need it NOW! That is where the name came from for the Tourniquet NOW! Strap from Blue Force Gear. For years I have resisted the urge to use a dedicated holder for my TQs and always opted to stash them on retention straps for tear off med pouches or to simply rubber band them into the MOLLE on my vests, plate carriers, or packs. At SHOT this year I got a chance to play with a number of Blue Force Gear products and really liked the new additions to the line. I have been using BFG slings for years and they have always held up no matter what the application from training to deployments. Couple that with the fact that all products with the Blue Force Gear name on them are made right here in The USA and it is hard to go wrong.

I recently added Blue Force Gear to the line up here at Austere Provisions Company and as usual I made a starter order of products that I wanted to try out based on industry feedback as well as personal interest. The Tourniquet Now! Strap was one of those starter items and I have been playing around with it and have been very pleased with both the durability and how much more low profile of a solution it is over my long standing rubber band technique.

Let's see what BFG has to say about it and then we can get into some more details...

Our Tourniquet NOW! Strap is an easily attached adapter that securely mounts a tourniquet or similar sized object to any MOLLE surface for instant access. Bands can be used in two different configurations to fit currently available combat tourniquets.

Short, sweet, and to the point. Some more details. The strap is made with a polymer stiffener to create a firm foundation that simply slides into MOLLE loops allowing elastic bands to stick out between the rows of MOLLE.

Here is a pic of the strap not in MOLLE:

From Blog album

Here is a comparison shot with my more traditional method of securing.

From Blog album

An important factor in preventing these from coming loose in either securing method is placement on your gear. Ideally you would place these up on your chest where they are both easily reached in the event you need the tourniquet as well as are slightly more protected than down on the lower trunk section of gear. I kept TQs strapped to my chest my entire time in Iraq and never had one come loose unless I was pulling it off to put it to use. Now I have heard of a single report of a SOFT-T coming loose from a Tourniquet Now! Strap, I think this can be avoided with good placement and giving a glance over your gear before go time to make sure everything is tight and right.

To reduce the profile of the SOFT-T on my vest I fold it so that the clasp mechanism is offset to one end and tuck the windlass retainers under the windlass. This reduces the possibility of things get caught on the TQ iteself. As well I turn the clasp towards the vest so it is not sticking out further reducing the likelihood that it would catch on anything during movement. Here is a more detailed shot of what I feel is a solid placement and packaging:

From Blog album

So, where to get this thing:

Blue Force Gear Tourniquet NOW! Strap available at Austere Provisions Company

Until next week, stay sharp and stay safe,

Mike

Safe Light...

And a new hack.

After a few weeks of absence taking care of a few new projects and getting settled back in after the LMS Defense Customer Appreciation Weekend (check AAR Here) it is good to finally be putting up another product of the week.

This weeks product is AmeriGlo Light Sticks. An obvious addition to our Low Light segment of products, providing users with a safe, cool to the touch, disposable light source for direct illumination of an area or for signaling in various ways.

A little information from the manufacturer:

Our most popular item! AmeriGlo's 6" light stick is always individually foil wrapped to insure bright and dependable light when needed.

Used by military, law enforcement, paramedics, campers, hikers, scouts, utility companies, hotels, schools, boaters, and well-prepared individuals. Emergency personnel and troops alike prefer AmeriGlo light sticks for its versatility in the field, using this special locking hook.

Color Specific information from the manufacturer:

Green is the brightest color in the 12-hour product category. The 6" green light stick provides adequate light for a standard-sized hotel room (or household bedroom) for 12 hours.

Yellow is the 2nd brightest color in the 12-hour product category. The 6" yellow light stick is ideal for illumination, marking, and signaling.

Red is often used in training exercises when many colors are needed. Red is also a 'stop/warning' indicator.

The infrared light stick can only be seen (in its glowing state) via certain grades of night vision devices. The AmeriGlo IR stick has special raised bumps (patent pending) on the stick's housing, allowing the end-user to quickly and safely distinguish the IR stick from a visible spectrum colored light stick prior to activation. This unique feature can be a life-saver in covert operations


While AmeriGlo makes a wide variety of colors and sizes of light sticks we have opted to start with the most popular colors field use which also happen to be the colors (visible light sticks) used for triage during mass casualty incidents, so these can pull double duty for our customers that are First Responders and looking for a light source or signaling capability for an aid bag. The IR light sticks are something that have been requested by a number of our customers for training and operational use under night vision, for those not familiar you must have a night vision device to observe light produced by the IR light sticks.


In a market where numerous companies produce a similar product it is the fine details that stand out and make a single product lead the pack. AmeriGlo and their light sticks are that product. Details such as the following are why we choose AmeriGlo:

-Small latching hook at tip of light stick for clipping onto gear
-Innovative product development such as stippling on IR light sticks for tactile identification under light discipline
-Durable packaging to increase shelf life
-Consistent product
-Ease of interaction and customer service

A few photos of the light sticks:

Visible colors

From Blog album

IR (should have an adapter for my DSLR soon to shoot with my PVS-14 and get some good low light shots)

From Blog album

Latching Hook:

From Blog album

Solid Loop:

From Blog album

And of course I mentioned in the intro that I had a new hack this week. For a long time guys have been carrying light sticks on their tac gear, now I dont want to go into too much detail about the why but while playing around with shooting photos today I found what may be a solid new way to carry these for rapid deployment. A little background on the motivation: I am always trying to streamline my kit by reducing weight, bulk, and anything that can catch the environment around me when training or working. Anytime in the past that I have carried light sticks on my vest for quick deployment I have hung them off a carabiner through a loop of 550 cord or if I was using another model of light stick I had to tie 550 cord through the enclosed loop of the light stick and I just clipped the cord loop into the carabiner. Not liking the carabiner because of the bulk and the likelihood of it snagging on something I have looked for a better solution. Today while setting up a photo I decided to clip some of the light sticks into a grenade pull ring and then clip into the biner. Looking at the system the biner suddenly seemed unnecessary and I pondered other ways of attaching it to a section of MOLLE on my vest.

I ended up coming up with the idea to simply use a small section of 550 cord to larks foot around the pull ring and then larks foot around the MOLLE. This created a low profile, stowable clip in point for my light sticks that was less likely to catch on stuff, quieter, smaller, lighter, and all around cool. Below is a setup guide on how to put this together since my ability to paint a picture with words may not have been sufficient:

Take a pull ring and larks foot a section of 550 cord through it. I found that a 13-14" piece of non gutted 550 is just long enough to complete both larks foots and minimize excess. You could probably make it shorter if you gutted it.

From Blog album

Slide the 550 cord through a section of MOLLE (shown on clear section of MOLLE)

From Blog album

And larks foot around the MOLLE (I stowed the knot behind the webbing, photo may be slightly deceiving):

From Blog album

Hang your light sticks:

From Blog album

I like to hang mine between pouches that have a small gap so that they dont bang around as much (reduce profile, noise, and possible loss) so you perform the same technique on an occupied section of MOLLE between the pouches:

From Blog album

End Result:

From Blog album

Another Angle:

From Blog album

As I said before, I literally just came up with this today so it will take some time on the range and in the shoot house to vet but it may be a solid solution to streamlining and cutting ounces from your gear. Not to mention pull rings are cheap as long as you have a source for them ;-).


Where to buy this stuff, huh? Right here:

AmeriGlo 6" Light Sticks in visible spectrum colors (Red, Yellow, Green) at Austere Provisions Company

AmeriGlo 6" Light Sticks in InfraRed spectrum at Austere Provisions Company


That's all for this week, stay sharp, stay safe,

Mike

No product of the week this week

We are busily packing gear up to head out to Fernley Nevada to the LMS Defense Combat Development Center (CDC) to attend the Customer Appreciation Weekend. We will be closing up shop on Wednesday June 9th at 1600 and reopening on Tuesday June 15th at 0800. If you have an urgent gear need, drop us a line at 540-632-2272 or by email (preferred) at mike@austereprovisions.com and we will do whatever we can to help get you squared away in our absence.

While we are away we plan to get some good shots of gear in use so check back here next week for some new photos of your favorite gear being run through the sand and scrub brush.

Until next week, stay sharp and stay safe,

Mike

Take a moment

And say thank you for all that you have and remember today, Memorial Day, is a day for those that paid the ultimate price for freedom so that the rest of us could enjoy the liberties we have. No matter your opinions on the direction this country is headed or where you would like to see it go remember that life would be very much different if it wasnt for those individuals that laid there life down for all of us.

In addition to being a day of remembrance, Memorial Day indicates the beginning of summer and while hydration is important any time of the year when you are working at max output it becomes particularly important when the heat gets cranked up. At Austere Provisions Company we have a few tools to help you stay hydrated and mission effective. One of those is the product of the week: Vitalyte ERS (Electrolyte Replacement Solution).

Vitalyte is one of those longstanding favorites of mine (Mike) that I have been using for years, since it was called Gookinaid. The first time I used this stuff was on my first trip to Central America where I participated in a 15 day expedition medicine course. I landed on training day zero and started that night. I knew ahead of time that hydration would be an issue as I would be well into the class by the time I was starting to acclimate, it didn't help things that I was coming from the mountains of Virginia in January and the difference in temperature was 60-70 degrees. Knowing that I packed plenty of Gookinaid and water bottles. I kept myself to a strict hydration plan of basically keeping a water bottle within arms reach at all times and to constantly sip while at rest, prehydrate before heading to the field, and get a few gulps in on a regular basis when on the move. I stayed on a cycle of two liters of plain water to one liter of Gookinaid and I stayed well hydrated that entire trip.

It was only after that trip where I got lax during other training episodes where I ever really had issues with dehydration and when I really found Vitalyte/Gookinaid to be a lifesaver. Vitalyte has all the good for you stuff in it but doesnt taste like punishment while not having so much sugar in it that you slow hydration or worse. Vitalyte contains a balanced amount of sodium and potassium with a touch of glucose to help move things from the gut into the bloodstream, all of this in an isotonic mixture so your body doesnt have to flood your gut with water to dilute it down like some "sports" drinks. On top of all that goodness you have the option of four great flavors: Fruit Punch, Zesty Orange, Natural Lemonade, or Cool Citrus. My personal favorites are the Zesty Orange and Natural Lemonade.

Anyway, enough of my science lesson let's look at what the manufacturer has to say:

Electrolytes are essential in the hydration equation. Whether you're an athlete, weekend warrior or outdoor enthusiast; sick, pregnant, traveling or just hung-over, you'll need something to combat dehydration. Enter Vitalyte™: a straightforward, simple electrolyte drink that replaces fluids, electrolytes and Vitamin C lost with dehydration.

Vitalytes electrolyte formula hydrates, replenishes, energizes and revitalizes, all while maintaining that perfect electrolyte balance of the four core electrolytes: sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. We pay special attention to the dynamic duo: sodium and potassium since these are the first two minerals lost and play the leading role in hydration. Our sodium/potassium balance is the ideal marriage for hydrating thirsty bodies with exactly what they need and nothing they don't. Not too much sodium, not too little potassium and the optimal amounts of calcium and magnesium. And because Vitalyte is made almost entirely of glucose - the only sugar that doesn't have to be digested - it's isotonic which means that it matches to the body's fluids that are being absorbed directly from the stomach into the blood, similar to an IV.

Rapid and effective, Vitalyte has no "extra" unnecessary ingredients to slow you down. Your blood volume increases, your energy is replenished and your thirst is conquered. It's that simple... electrolytes replacing electrolytes. Period. We've done the research. We've done the math. And we feel that we've created the perfect formula for hydration. It's up to you what to do next.

So, if you are a man (or woman) of action and need a hydration solution that can keep up with you, we believe that Vitalyte is the answer. As you may have read earlier, I said I had been using Vitalyte since it was Gookinaid. One of the nice things about the rebranding was that it brought about new sizes to suit your needs, everything from the stick packs to the original quart size up to the kilo size for hydrating a team or class.

Since I know you all love pics, here's a few:

From Product Releases

Sticks

From Product Releases

Quarts

From Blog album

Kilos

Where to get it? You know the deal...

Vitalyte Stick Packs in Flavorful Fruit Punch, Zesty Orange, Natural Lemonade, or Cool Citrus at Austere Provisions Company

Vitalyte Quart Packs in Flavorful Fruit Punch, Zesty Orange, Natural Lemonade, or Cool Citrus at Austere Provisions Company

Vitalyte Kilo Cans in Flavorful Fruit Punch, Zesty Orange, Natural Lemonade, or Cool Citrus at Austere Provisions Company

That's all for this week, stay hydrated, stay sharp, and stay safe,

Mike

It's in the bag...

Or in this case the container, The SUMA Container that is. This weeks product of the week is The SUMA Container from Fastfire, a division of SOLKOA.

Some of you may be thinking to yourself, as you often do when reading the APC Blog, "self, SUMA seems like an odd name, I wonder if it means anything?" You would be correct, it stands for SOLKOA's Ultralight Multi-purpose Aluminum container.

From Blog album

So let's see what the manufacturer has to say about this thing:

Solkoa's Ultralight Multi-purpose Aluminum container is engineered to withstand the worst of conditions and to be used for multiple purposes. Designed for the minimalist, the ultra-lightweight enclosures are machined out of billet 6061 aluminum, which makes them four times lighter than stainless steel and half the weight of titanium. Protect the contents of your expensive survival tools with the best enclosure on the market, used by adventure professionals worldwide.

• Hard anodized, suitable for cooking
• Can also be used for digging
• Outside dimensions: 2-1/2"w x 4"l x 1-1/2"d
• Weight: 3.1oz

My thoughts:

When I first saw the SUMA Container I thought it was pretty slick. I have been carrying and building survival kits for various travels for well over a decade and I have never been satisfied with the containers for smaller kits. I have used everything from the mint tins, to super duty zip baggies, small Pelican style cases, mini water bottles, plastic soap dishes, etc. You name and I probably tried it. While I do like the Witz Sport Cases that I use to build the Austere Provisions Company Survival Kits out of they are limited in functionality beyond use as a case and while holding true to the ideal of finding gear that has multiple purposes I kept looking for the ultimate survival kit container.

So far, the SUMA is the winner. It is a tough little work of art and would not be out of place as the change holder for a luxury sedan with a sticker price of six figures but it is so much more. The weight is deceptive when you pick it up because it looks as though it is built like a tank but feels like a feather and the real deception kicks in when you start to abuse it. I am pretty sure at one point during my torture session that I heard a little snicker and something about "is that all you've got?" come out of this thing.

The packaging and description from the Fastfire website says that it is "hard anodized, suitable for cooking" followed by "can be used for digging". So I said, "what the hey, lets hit the woods" and set out to see if this thing could hold up. As you will find in the video I started with a small amount of water brought to a boil over an Esbit stove using the standard Esbit fuel tabs. Result: a small amount of discoloration and residue from the fuel tab which washed off with a rinse in the stream and no obvious distortion or structural weaking. Next I upped the heat a little with a Jetboil stove to see just how tough the finish was and if the aluminum could handle the stress. As you can see, no problems at all.

The third portion of the video is the digging test. I save the digging for last because I wanted to use the heat of the boiling tests to strain the metal and see if it could handle some hard labor after the rapid heating and cooling or if that would weaken the material. I started with a good sized patch of brown matter roughly 1-2" deep, not even a challenge to dig through, followed up with a few inches of top soil which didn't even phase the SUMA. Not only that but I rinsed the container off in the stream and it looked good as new.

The vid:



Once I was done and packing up I stuffed the survival contents I had thrown together as I headed out the door and replaced the lid on the SUMA container and commented to myself how even after numerous takes using both the Esbit and Jetboil stoves and digging in the dirt the lid still fit like a glove giving no indication of distortion, warping, or other structural change.

The lid is retained by two velcro straps with loop on one side and hook on the other. A rectangle of hook on the lid is sized perfectly for an IR US flag or other unit patch aiding in identification during a recovery situation.

So, if you have been searching for the ultimate survival container, your search is over and while some may balk at the price I would ponder over this: Most survival gear is functionally disposable, this container is not and you should expect years of use out of it. Not only that but it is made from the highest quality materials right here in the USA.

I know you all love seeing pictures, I like taking them so here is a few more:

From Blog album

From Blog album

A basic kit I put together while heading out the door.

From Blog album

Fastfire SUMA Container available at Austere Provisions Company

I will see you there

at the LMS Defense Customer Appreciation Weekend in Reno June 11th (evening of) through June 13th. Austere Provisions Company is proud to be attending and will be bringing some gear and the opportunity to hear some schpiel about some of the gear we carry. What does this have to do with Product Of The Week you may ask? Well this week we will be reviewing the Austere Provisions Company Comprehensive Trauma Kit produced under contract for LMS Defense.

A little background:

This kit came at the request of John Chapman, Director of Training for LMS Defense, when APC was just a brainstorm of mine. Chappy was looking for a more comprehensive kit of multipurpose items than was currently available that also matched the Defensive Medicine curriculum LMS was offering. I worked up a couple ideas for a well rounded package with built in redundancy that would fit both the trained civilian shooter and the professional warrior on the front lines and the LMS kit was born.

From Blog album

Included in the kit:

1-Olaes Modular Bandage 6"
1-H&H Primed Gauze
1-H&H Combat Medic Reinforcement Tape
1-Ultra Robertazi Nasal Airway, 30fr w/ Lubricating Jelly
1-SOFT-TQ Gen 2 Tourniquet
1-SWAT TQ
1-Alcohol Prep Pad
1-Iodine Prep Pad
2-Safety Pin
2-Large Exam Glove, Non-Sterile, Non-Latex, Violet in color
2-Medium Exam Glove, Non-Sterile, Non-Latex, Blue in color
1-14gax3.25" Hypodermic Needle

So what makes this kit different from other kits? For starters we went with the Olaes Modular bandage which includes a bandage, packing material, and an occlusive dressing which we then backed up with Primed gauze for extra packing material or to be used in conjunction with the SWAT-TQ as a secondary pressure dressing. Following the redundancy pattern we went with a true windlass style TQ, the SOFT-TQ, and backed it up with the SWAT-TQ. Couple those items with our core recommended components of two pair of gloves, decompression needle, safety pins, alcohol and iodine prep pads, Combat Medic Reinforcement Tape and you are set to treat some major trauma.

Some of you may be thinking: "wow, thats a pretty cool kit but where do I get trained to use such stuff?" At LMS Defense! As I mentioned earlier this kit was designed to go with the Defensive Medicine Curriculum which you can check out here: LMS Defensive Medicine Link or maybe you want to step it up a little and take the LMS Defensive Medicine/Two Man Tactics Combo Course.

If you have taken one of these or any of the other LMS Defense courses then I hope you have signed up for the Customer Appreciation Weekend I mentioned at the beginning of this article. It looks to be a great opportunity to network with other students and instructors as well as see some of the students you trained so hard alongside over the last few years, all the while brushing up on skills and getting the latest and greatest updates that we all need to stay one step ahead the wolves of the world.

Austere Provisions Company Comprehensive Trauma Kit produced under contract for LMS Defense available now

Are you looking for a custom kit for your team, shooting club, or business? Contact me at mike@austereprovisions.com and we can discuss a build for you.

Stay sharp and have a good week,

Mike