Matthew Cox

Kit Up! Is Looking For A Few Good Gear Reviewers

by Matthew Cox on May 16, 2013 · 42 comments

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Kit Up! is going to start running more gear reviews. Packs, holsters, snivel gear, boots, socks, concealed carry, gloves — anything you’re thinking about taking a chance on with your hard-earned money. But instead of doing it ourselves, we’re going to try something new.

We want our readers to use the newest kit and then tell everyone what you think and whether its worth every penny or not worth a damn. Kit Up! will provide the gear; you provide the experience and insight for a fair review.

You can keep the kit when the job is done.

We will run reviews on new products that show innovation and promise. But we will also do reviews that look at multiple designs of a single type of gear such as packs, jackets or holsters.

Anyone who is interested can apply, but not everyone  makes a good reviewer. Aside from testing the gear, you have to be able to convey your findings in a clear, organized manner in 600-1,000 words. You have to be  able to discuss what you plan for the review with an editor, work to a deadline and put up with a little editing on the final product.

We also need clear photos. Pics of the gear in the review process are preferred.

If you are interested in becoming a gear reviewer for Kit Up!, contact us by going to the “We Need Intel!” tab on the top left of the homepage beneath the Kit Up! logo. Scroll down to “Share Your Ideas with Kit Up!” and provide your name and contact info. in the right blanks.

Then in the “Describe Your Topic or Interest” field, tell us about your background and why you would make a good gear reviewer. We are not looking for fancy; we just want people who have experience using gear to add credibility to the reviews. Ultimately, we want to build a pool of reviewers that can work on a rotation so we can run reviews on a regular basis.

We want to start running reviews soon, so please contact us ASAP. We appreciate reader insights and hope some of you are willing to take this next step with us. We’ll keep you posted as we move forward.

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NSSF Dumps SHOT Show Manager over AR-15 Ban

by Matthew Cox on May 13, 2013 · 18 comments

imagesCANKQZ20The National Shooting Sports Foundation recently announced it has dumped Reed Exhibitions as the official manager of SHOT Show.

The move is in response to Reed Exhibitions’ decision to restrict AR15-style “modern sporting rifles” from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show early this year following the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 young children and seven others.

The restriction sparked a good bit of outrage from the shooting-community and ultimately resulted in the show being canceled.

The Sandy Hook tragedy divided the country and touched off a fierce battle between pro- and anti-gun communities. Attempts to pass new legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines failed as did a call for more stringent background checks on all firearms purchases.

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Army Awards New M4/M4A1 Contract to FN

by Matthew Cox on February 23, 2013 · 208 comments

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FN Manufacturing has outbid Remington Arms Company and Colt Defense LLC., to win a contract worth just under $77 million to make M4A1s for the U.S. Army, according to an industry source. The award notice  was posted on Federal Business Opportunities on Feb. 22 with an initial value of $9,370,615.

This is the latest round in what has become a hard-fought battle to equip soldiers with a better carbine.

The drama all began when the Army chose Remington over Colt, the original maker of the M4, last  April to make 120,000 M4s and M4A1 carbines. That award meant that more soldiers would go into combat with the M4A1, a SOF version of the carbine that features a more durable barrel and a full-auto trigger. The Army’s decision to dump the  three-round burst setting will give soldiers a more consistent trigger and better accuracy.

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Army to Make Camo Pitch to Uniform Board

by Matthew Cox on February 13, 2013 · 76 comments

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Army uniform officials will present the results of the service’s Phase VI Camouflage Improvement Effort to the Army Uniform Board on February 28.

I spotted this on the Predator Intelligence blog and confirmed it with Program Executive Office Soldier. It’s hard to say if this will mean anything or not. PEO Soldier officials are tight-lipped as ever. They would only say it may be a recommendation or a path forward to where to take the effort that started out as an attempt to find a replacement for the Army Combat Uniform’s Universal Camouflage Pattern.

The Army launched its massive camouflage improvement plan in 2009 when its pixellated UCP came under scrutiny from soldiers, lawmakers and the Army test community. Two studies conducted by the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center — one completed in 2009 and the other in 2006, showed that the UCP performed poorly when compared to multiple camouflage patterns such as the Marine Corps desert pattern and MultiCam.

Late last year, the Government Accountability Office put out a report, urging Defense Department leaders to work together and avoid the “fragmented approach” the different services have taken on camouflage development in the past. Each service has developed its own camouflage uniform over the past ten years. Military service leaders have introduced seven new patterns — two desert, two woodland and three universal — since 2002.

The Army’s camouflage effort achieved some success in the summer of 2010 when the service selected MultiCam to replace the UCP in Afghanistan. Since then, the pattern has performed extremely well — not a big surprise to the special operations forces that have been wearing it into battle for years now.

 Whatever happens, the Army’s decision will likely hinge on whether the mandatory defense spending cuts for all the services under Sequestration take place on March 1. I can’t imagine the Army replacing anything if it has to cut training money for up to 80 percent of its combat units.

We will update you as soon as we know something.

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Shot 2013: 7.62 Protection for Your Knees

by Matthew Cox on January 16, 2013 · 20 comments

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Armor Works will soon offer a new line of ballistic knee pads designed to shield soldier’s and Marine’s knee caps from enemy AK-47 fire.

The Arizona-based armor firm showed off a Level 3A version of the new ballistic knee pads on the Shot Show floor. Level 3A protects against 9mm rounds and shrapnel. A more protective version capable of stopping 7.62 x 39mm will be available soon, said William Perciballi, president and founder of Armor Works.

The new knee protection is the result of an 18-month effort with PEO Soldier to continue developing “extremity protection” options for soldiers in combat.

“For law enforcement, we are offering a level 3a, and for the military we are offering an assault-rifle version that is being tested right now,” Perciballi said. “It’s a good application for composite armor because composites have very good shaping capabilities. … We are adapting our military composite armor technology to this product where we mold the product to shape and come up with a ballistic component that hopefully people think is comfortable.”

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Shot 2013: Grey Ghost’s New Pack Has ALICE Flair

by Matthew Cox on January 15, 2013 · 7 comments

MMRpackframeviewThe guys at Grey Ghost Gear  gave Dave Reeder and I a preview of their new Medium Mountain Ruck they are unveiling at Shot Show 2013.

The simple but rugged pack is Grey Ghost’s answer to a request from Army equipment officials for a medium-size pack that blends the best features of the Vietnam-era ALICE and the newer MOLLE packs into one design.

The MMR is a 3400 cubic-inch pack is made from 500 denier Cordura and features a flexible, ITW Nexus polymer frame. The combination weighs 4.4 pounds.

It’s designed to carry about 65 pounds, but testers loaded it up with 300 pounds and still saw no blowouts or tears in the fabric, Grey Ghost officials maintain.

The new pack features an ALICE-style frame sleeve at the top of the ruck and a modern kidney pad and waist belt. The frame is curved to cradle body armor such as the Army’s Improved Outer Tactical Vest and prevent the pack from moving around, designers say.

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Gen. McChrystal Wants Tighter Restrictions on Civilian M4s

by Matthew Cox on January 8, 2013 · 41 comments

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal joined the growing ranks of talking heads speaking out on the current gun-control debate on MSNBC. McChrystal appeared on the show to talk about his new memoir ”My Share of the Task” but was quite clear about his position on the private ownership of weapons such as M4-style carbines. McChrystal was the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan before he resigned in the wake of a scandalous Rolling Stones article in 2010. I’m surprised he didn’t side-step the issue.

Here it is on YouTube:

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