NcDeuce
07-19-2004, 03:56 PM
Some reviews I found interesting over at BlackHawk Industries...
SEAL's Hunt Al Qaeda
As a member of a SEAL team I deployed 6 days after the attacks on Sept. 11. My platoon scrambled to load out and get the needed equipment on the pallets for Afghanistan. My platoon made a brief stop and started to do non compliant ship boardings. We did this work for 2 months and the Blackhawk gear that we had issued and purchased never failed us once. Every night we went out on patrol and our gear was constantly drenched in salt water and diesel fuel. This combination is hell on gear and ours held up without failure. We were quickly sent to Afghanistan and began to conduct raids on Al Qaeda targets. The best equipment that we found worked was the commando chest harness. This held all of our sop gear and let us use heavy rucks for cold wheather/high altitude missions. When we would use vehicles to insert the platoon, everyone used this set up. Sitting in a HMMWV for a 120K trip with regular belted equipment is not comfortable at all. Arriving on target fresh ready to fight wearing equipment that you know will not fail makes all the difference in the world. I would personally like to thank everyone at BHI for your efforts. It is because of your efforts to make the best equipment in the world that our platoon operated non stop for 6 months and all came home to our families.
Ambushed Along the Pak/Afghan Border
Mike,
Just wanted to let you know our patrol got ambushed along the pak/afghan border yesterday. I took two rounds, one in the back (plate stopped it) and one in the arm. Have RT Kabul for medical treatment and will be moving forward to UAE then UK before coming back CONUS. As a pal I wanted to let you know that your plate carrier held that plate in the spot needed.
HellStorm Knee Pads and RAPTOR Pack Tested in Afghanistan
I used my Hellstorm Knee pads, elbow pads, gloves, and Raptor pack throughout my tour in Afghanistan. You guys hooked me up with my LBV overnight before I left and all my gear out performed my expectations!!!
Thanks a lot!!!
A Very Different HellStorm Story
I'm a Paramedic who makes use of a lot of your gear for work and play:
belts, packs, pouches, hydration systems and of course hellstorm gloves.
It all functions impeccably and lasts well in the field too.
Those thick XL Hellstorm high risk 8-mil inspection gloves are what I
carry when I when I am on the ambulance. There is nothing quite so
comforting, when you are approaching a major trauma patient, than to
have confidence that your gloves aren't going to split on you during
extrication and packaging of the patient.
I always thought of them as strong, but until the other day, didn't know
just how strong.
I was driving my wife and new baby daughter home from a routine shopping
trip. I knew that I had a nail in a rear tire and had made arrangements
to get it repaired, however, on the way home, just after joining the
interstate, the nail shot out of the tire and it began hissing loudly.
Within about 30 seconds it was totally flat. It was a particularly
challenging situation because when I went to change the wheel, I noticed
that the wheel lock key had not been replaced at the last tire rotation.
I looked in the trunk of the car and there was nothing of any use to
help me.
Then, I spotted my medic bag. I opened it for inspiration. I needed a
solution quickly as a violent thunderstorm was just coming over, rain
was heavy and visibility was poor. I didn't want to be stuck at the
side of the road as a sitting duck for too long. The medic bag offered
little in the way of inspiration, and then, as I was restuffing the
contents, I came across a pair of my hellstorm nitrile gloves. The plan
came to me in an instant. Cut the palm piece of the glove away from the
fingers and then poke it into the hole left by the nail - I wasn't sure
if it would hold, but thought it was worth a shot and that it might get
me home. I cut up the glove and poked a 2-3" circle of it into the
fairly large hole, using a screwdriver bit from a multi-tool - any
lesser glove would surely have just ripped apart. It took some getting
in, but finally I had the bulk of the glove section inside and just a
small piece sticking out. By now the rain was torrential and trucks
were howling past us way to fast and way too close. I had to give it a
go. I inflated the tire and listened for hissing - nothing. I finally
got it all the way up to 32 psi and headed off down the road, my wife
looking disbelievingly in the door mirror to see how quickly it would go
down.
We made it the 3 miles to home, whereupon Dad was the celebrated hero,
and then I photographed the glove just to prove that it had been
possible. When I headed off to get the tire fixed the following day,
the tire was still at the inflation pressure and the glove held all the
way to the shop. By pushing the glove inside, the tire pressure had
opened it out and was forcing it against the tire tread from inside and
blocking the hole.
If anyone asks me now why I wear those distinctive light blue full
length gloves, I'll tell them - they about saved me and my family's
life!!
Thanks guys - your're the best. Absolutely the best.
Kind regards,
SC
I'm thinking about getting that SOF ruck, the ruck I was issued was the same type my dad used back in the day and THAT'S OLD. Wonder if I can get the ROTC department to pay for it or at least get me a discount :roll:
SEAL's Hunt Al Qaeda
As a member of a SEAL team I deployed 6 days after the attacks on Sept. 11. My platoon scrambled to load out and get the needed equipment on the pallets for Afghanistan. My platoon made a brief stop and started to do non compliant ship boardings. We did this work for 2 months and the Blackhawk gear that we had issued and purchased never failed us once. Every night we went out on patrol and our gear was constantly drenched in salt water and diesel fuel. This combination is hell on gear and ours held up without failure. We were quickly sent to Afghanistan and began to conduct raids on Al Qaeda targets. The best equipment that we found worked was the commando chest harness. This held all of our sop gear and let us use heavy rucks for cold wheather/high altitude missions. When we would use vehicles to insert the platoon, everyone used this set up. Sitting in a HMMWV for a 120K trip with regular belted equipment is not comfortable at all. Arriving on target fresh ready to fight wearing equipment that you know will not fail makes all the difference in the world. I would personally like to thank everyone at BHI for your efforts. It is because of your efforts to make the best equipment in the world that our platoon operated non stop for 6 months and all came home to our families.
Ambushed Along the Pak/Afghan Border
Mike,
Just wanted to let you know our patrol got ambushed along the pak/afghan border yesterday. I took two rounds, one in the back (plate stopped it) and one in the arm. Have RT Kabul for medical treatment and will be moving forward to UAE then UK before coming back CONUS. As a pal I wanted to let you know that your plate carrier held that plate in the spot needed.
HellStorm Knee Pads and RAPTOR Pack Tested in Afghanistan
I used my Hellstorm Knee pads, elbow pads, gloves, and Raptor pack throughout my tour in Afghanistan. You guys hooked me up with my LBV overnight before I left and all my gear out performed my expectations!!!
Thanks a lot!!!
A Very Different HellStorm Story
I'm a Paramedic who makes use of a lot of your gear for work and play:
belts, packs, pouches, hydration systems and of course hellstorm gloves.
It all functions impeccably and lasts well in the field too.
Those thick XL Hellstorm high risk 8-mil inspection gloves are what I
carry when I when I am on the ambulance. There is nothing quite so
comforting, when you are approaching a major trauma patient, than to
have confidence that your gloves aren't going to split on you during
extrication and packaging of the patient.
I always thought of them as strong, but until the other day, didn't know
just how strong.
I was driving my wife and new baby daughter home from a routine shopping
trip. I knew that I had a nail in a rear tire and had made arrangements
to get it repaired, however, on the way home, just after joining the
interstate, the nail shot out of the tire and it began hissing loudly.
Within about 30 seconds it was totally flat. It was a particularly
challenging situation because when I went to change the wheel, I noticed
that the wheel lock key had not been replaced at the last tire rotation.
I looked in the trunk of the car and there was nothing of any use to
help me.
Then, I spotted my medic bag. I opened it for inspiration. I needed a
solution quickly as a violent thunderstorm was just coming over, rain
was heavy and visibility was poor. I didn't want to be stuck at the
side of the road as a sitting duck for too long. The medic bag offered
little in the way of inspiration, and then, as I was restuffing the
contents, I came across a pair of my hellstorm nitrile gloves. The plan
came to me in an instant. Cut the palm piece of the glove away from the
fingers and then poke it into the hole left by the nail - I wasn't sure
if it would hold, but thought it was worth a shot and that it might get
me home. I cut up the glove and poked a 2-3" circle of it into the
fairly large hole, using a screwdriver bit from a multi-tool - any
lesser glove would surely have just ripped apart. It took some getting
in, but finally I had the bulk of the glove section inside and just a
small piece sticking out. By now the rain was torrential and trucks
were howling past us way to fast and way too close. I had to give it a
go. I inflated the tire and listened for hissing - nothing. I finally
got it all the way up to 32 psi and headed off down the road, my wife
looking disbelievingly in the door mirror to see how quickly it would go
down.
We made it the 3 miles to home, whereupon Dad was the celebrated hero,
and then I photographed the glove just to prove that it had been
possible. When I headed off to get the tire fixed the following day,
the tire was still at the inflation pressure and the glove held all the
way to the shop. By pushing the glove inside, the tire pressure had
opened it out and was forcing it against the tire tread from inside and
blocking the hole.
If anyone asks me now why I wear those distinctive light blue full
length gloves, I'll tell them - they about saved me and my family's
life!!
Thanks guys - your're the best. Absolutely the best.
Kind regards,
SC
I'm thinking about getting that SOF ruck, the ruck I was issued was the same type my dad used back in the day and THAT'S OLD. Wonder if I can get the ROTC department to pay for it or at least get me a discount :roll: