In this week’s edition of the Ballistic “Gear Grab,” we examine the Benchmade Bugout knife, which may be the manufacturer’s best folder.
From a “style” perspective, we’ve got 5.11 Tactical’s brand new Peninsula Insulator Packable Vest for the fall; an EDC-ready package that would go well with Boxer Tactical’s Apogee Belt
The GunBox quick access safe is another technologically sophisticated item for our list, combining safety and unassuming looks.
LabRadar rounds out the list with and potentially kills the chrono. How? By tracking almost any projectile out to 100 yards, including paintballs.
Take a closer look at this week’s impressive list, including MSRPs, below.
5.11 Tactical Peninsula Insulator Packable Vest
From warm afternoons to cool nights, fall is one of my favorite seasons. But it does make it challenging to figure out what jacket to wear. If you pull out the down jacket in the morning, you end up sweating like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day by lunchtime.
5.11 Tactical to the rescue. The Peninsula Insulator Packable Vest keeps your core warm and toasty with Primaloft Black Series Insulation packaged in a tough layer of mini ripstop and plain weave overlays.
5.11 keeps the concealed carry guy in mind with the RapiDraw pass through access system and plenty of pockets. When the temperature rises you can store the vest in the removable stuff sack that tucks away in the hand pocket.
The vest comes in two colors — moss and black — and in sizes up to 3XL.
MSRP: $99.99
For more information, please visit 511Tactical.com.
GunBox 2.0 Quick Access Safe
The personal gun safe has been around for decades. However, for the most part, the uninspiring design of the metal boxes has been confined to a closet or tucked away in a drawer. Unimpressed, Ryan Hyde, owner and designer of GunBox, set out to build a safe that was secure and would fit the décor of any home.
The GunBox 2.0 looks organic, more like a stone from the bottom of a river bed than a storage container. The design is not just about looks, though. The safe is equipped with all of the latest technology, which includes: Fingerprint, keypad and RFid access; USB for charging phones and tablets; an audible motion alarm; interior lighting; and a hydraulic quick opening lid.
The 8.75 x 7.5 x 1.75-inch die-cast, high-strength aluminum alloy safe is available in two colors: carbon black and gun smoke.
When you visit the site, make sure you check out Ryan’s son running his own torture test on his dad’s product.
MSRP: $289
For more information, please visit TheGunBox.com.
Boxer Tactical Apogee EDC Ratchet Belt
If you are a gun guy you might recognize the name Billy Johnson from his thoughtful and well-produced YouTube channel Amidst the Noise and NRA TV. What you may not know is while other young boys were learning to throw a baseball with their dads, Johnson was learning how to run a clothing business.
In 2011 Johnson started Boxer Tactical, in his words, to “bring integrity and quality back to American apparel manufacturing.” Amen!
The Apogee belt is one of those products. The ratchet style belt has a buckle machined from five pieces of solid, aircraft-grade aluminum in the great state of Michigan (full disclosure, I live in Michigan).
The belt itself is a clean durable coated polyester Biothane webbing. Apogee ratchets into place, made to hold all of your EDC gear and still look clean and classy. The 50-inch trimable belts come in two buckle colors and four belt colors. They fit waist sizes up to 46 inches. You can purchase the buckle and belt individually and swap them out as needed.
MSRP: $99
For more information on Billy and his gear, please visit BoxerTactical.com.
Benchmade Bugout Folding Knife
Introduced early in 2017, Benchmade touts the Bugout as a knife designed for the modern outdoor adventurer; that might be true. But what Benchmade also made is one of the lightest (1.85 ounces), slimmest (0.42 inches) urban EDC knives to ever deep clip into a pocket.
The Bugout is handsome, but it’s also utilitarian. Featuring an overall length of 7.46 inches, the Bugout has a 3.42-inch blade made from CPMS30V steel. For those of us who didn’t pay attention in steel 101, it’s a wear and corrosion resistant stainless steel.
The Bugout makes short work of any EDC chores and does it with style. Honestly, the name doesn’t to the knife justice. This knife is more than a light backpacking blade. It might be one of the best knives in the Benchmade axis lock stable. Sorry, Griptilian.
The drop point blade comes in satin stainless and smoke gray, with or without serrations and a reversible pocket clip.
The Bugout is available with blue or ranger green handles. Benchmade, can we get black, gray and maybe orange?
MSRP: $135
For more information, please visit Benchmade.com.
LabRadar
The LabRadar was developed by a Infinition, an industry leader in Doppler radar technology. They have been building ballistic radar and tracking software for defense agencies for the capture and processing of ballistic events.
The LabRadar system uses some of that technology to track projectile velocities of rifles, shotguns (slugs only), handguns, pellet guns, BB guns, bow and arrows, crossbows and paintballs. Try that on a chrono.
What does it track? You get maximum velocity, minimum velocity, average velocity, standard deviation and extreme spread. It’s accurate with subsonic, transonic, supersonic projectiles out to 100 yards. The system works in any lighting conditions and tracks at multiple distances.
If that’s not already the coolest thing ever, you can control the system from an app that works on Apple and Android smart phones or tablets. Arm, disarm and change your settings, display statistics of last shot and consult your last shooting stats all from the palm of your hand.
MSRP: $559.95
For more information, please visit MyLabRadar.com.
Note: Some of the products in this column have not been reviewed, we reserve the right to say they blow.
