Approved Gear
In 2010 we will be launching our NDO Approved label. This means the gear has been tested by the best, evaluated for performance and offered at a discount to contestants and military personnel. We want our troops to use the best gear and this is a great way for some of the vendors to have their products reviewed and tested. Several of these companies have government contracts already and some don’t. Some are products donated and some are ones we have heard about, purchased and tested. Our stamp of approval means the guys love the gear, we would buy one ourselves and recommend the products. Any product purchased baring the NDO Approved label comes with a no questions asked lifetime warranty. Simply return the product to our customer service team.
The first products we are testing are:
SOG Knives
Honestly, we asked SOG Knives out of Lynwood, WA to be one of this year’s sponsors. Their reputation among special operations and special warfare commands is 2nd to none. These knives and highly functional multi tools are used by the best for a reason. The knives are light weight and come in every shape and size on their website www.sogknives.com
We must also say the interaction with Chris and the marketing team at SOG is 2nd to none. The product we tested and are giving away to this year’s contestants are
1. The Power Assist Multi Tool: This tool is nothing short of fantastic. This tool pushed the old Leatherman I was issued back in the day into retirement. I still like the old Leatherman but this is a different league of tool. These highly functional tools have amazing precision. All of the tools lock in place secure and snug when not in use with the intelligent piano locks. The saw and the straight edge blade are razor sharp and easily are manipulated with one hand for those needing the tools on the fly. It also comes with a crimping tool for the EOD folks out there who always hated that you had to carry an extra set of crimpers with your Leatherman down range. We tested the black oxide but they also come in stainless steel. These easily win the NDO Approved stamp
2. The Tini Aegis: The folding knife is 8.25” in length and has a 3.5” length blade. The SOG Assisted Technology comes standard on all SOG knives and the moment you open the Aegis you appreciate this technology. The knife comes with a safety feature that easily secures the super sharp blade from ever open from a snag. The blade comes with two securing points for single handed operation. This is ideal for left handed users. The knives were laser printed with our insignia for us by SOG for the contestants. The Tini Aegis also easily gets the NDO Approved stamp
3. The Seal Pup: This straight edge blade is what the Teams and Community in general have been using for years. The overall length of the knife is 9.5” and has a sleek blade with the length of 4.85”. This is a streamlined knife capable of cutting through almost anything one would encounter in theatre or in the water. The Zytel handle fits snugly in the hand and the back spine rasps can easily saw what couldn’t be cut with a straight edge blade. This knife also has no problem receiving the NDO Approval stamp.
ESS Sunglasses
ESS is also a repeat sponsor for us this year, thanks again Vince and Eric! I think one point would should make is that ESS is owned by Oakley. Many civilians are very familiar with the Oakley brand name but have not heard of ESS. Lets just say there is a reason Oakley picked ESS. ESS is easily the leading supplier of sunglasses and protective eyewear to the US military and other law enforcement agencies across America. There are countless testimonials of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan whose eyes were saved only because they were wearing a pair of ESS eyewear. We were given a big box of glasses to give out to the guys and test again this year.
1. The Flyby’s: these are about as cool as you get for military approved sunglasses. They are sleek fit well to the face. The lens are secured solidly in the frame and easily exceed all UVA/UV standards. This is about as civilian as it gets for ESS. They are stylish, durable and have scratch resistant lenses. We beat em’ down pretty good and they easily received the NDO Approval stamp
2. The CDI/ CDI Max: This is where the civilian counter-part gets left at the mall. These sunglasses come with detachable lenses that come in 4 different shades. The lenses fit snuggly in the frames and will not pop out unless they easily are slid out from the side with the Lateral Exchange System. This allows the individual to change lenses simply sliding your thumb across the lens, genius. The lenses are 2.4mm. and some of the thickest issued sunglasses in the world. These are night vision capable glasses that meet all military specs. They meet ours too. NDO Approved.
Casio Pathfinder
It is quite a compliment to Casio for continuing to make watches the guys are still using today. If you are in the military, or wish you were, this is the watch you want. Every diver got a Gshock watch issued from their command back in the day and the same story applies today. The guys might not get a solar powered Pathfinder for $190.The watch has a large face and is made of stainless steel and durable rubber. It is water resistant to 100m. It also features the familiar bluish green lighted back ground when the illumination light is pushed.
The three unique features beyond the date, time, stopwatch and alarms that all digital watches have area digital the compass, thermometer, altimeter and barometer. The watches also have a chronographic history for the barometer and altimeter to show trends for up 36 hours.
The watch is pretty tough, as are most Casio Gshock watches. The user friendliness of the watch with this many features was surprising. There are three buttons on the right side of the watch large enough to be manipulated with gloves on. Each buttoned is assigned to the extra features of altimeter, barometer and compass. The buttons are depressed and in a matter of a second or two there is an immediate illuminated reading.
The barometer and altimeter readings are more trivial than practical for our purposes. If you were jumping out of a jet, climbing a mountain or were remote enough you needed to predict the weather yourself these might come in handy. For us, it was the temperature gauge that was most useful. Although you have to take the watch off to get an accurate reading when we tested it was within a couple degrees of other readings.
We threw the watch on pavement with force a few times and then placed it a glass of water for 24 hours and it was fine. This wasn’t a 90 mph fastball to the pavement and then sunk in 300 feet of sea water but it was more stress than any watch, not being abused, would normally encounter.
Companies yet to be reviewed:
US Divers
MTM Watches
Altima Boots
Under Armour
Suuntu Watches
5.11 Watches
BlackHawk Gear
Wiley Eyewear
Gatorz Eyewear
Inova Flashlights