Category Archives: Tactical Gear

Comparison, DIY, Informational, Tactical Gear

First Spear TUBES and other things like TUBES

Are you familiar with TUBES from First Spear? They are a great buckle. But expensive. So expensive that in my day job as a gear designer I pretty much consider them cost prohibitive except in the case of a custom built piece of gear. That really is to bad as I would love to use them more often.

First Spear TUBES 4″ (split-bar) (left), DuraFlex Tactik Buckle 4″ (center), Aspetto -KWIQ Clip (right). All with male and female sides mated.

Just in case you don’t know

In case you are not familiar with TUBES they were developed by First Spear and produced (for First Spear) by ITW. They come in two lengths (widths might be a better way to look at it). 2″ and 4″. Normally you will find the 2″ versions securing a quick detach shoulder strap on a plate carrier while you will find the longer 4″ holding the cummerbund to the plate bag. Each of the two sizes are also available in a solid-bar and a split-bar (field repair) configuration. The split-bar allows you to slip the TUBE onto a loop of webbing (if configured correctly) after it is sewn down.

First Spear TUBES 4″ (split-bar) with male and female sides separate.

Why are they good?

TUBES do a couple of things REALLY well. They can stabilize a piece of fabric (think of a cummerbund for a plate carrier) along an entire edge of that piece with only a single interface. They also offer an easy method of extracting ones self from a plate carrier. Simply pull out and up/down at the same time.

Tubes (split-bar) with male and female sides half engage.
Tubes Measurements
Tubes. Slight curve built in to ensure a tight fit

Other options

Most gear designers, gear DIY’ers, and gear-heads know of the First Spear TUBES. But, you may be interested to know there are other similarly functioning buckles. You might call them TUBES-Adjacent. All are acetal polymer construction and all are solid options with slight variations in the way they operate.

First Spear TUBES 4″ (split-bar) (left), DuraFlex Tactik Buckle 4″ (center), Aspetto -KWIQ Clip (right). All with male and female sides unmated.

The Tactik Buckle from DuraFlex

The DuraFlex Tactik buckle first came on the scene (for me) in 2018. It was being showcased at different industry tradeshows. Originally advertised as having 1″, 1.5″, 4″ versions available. It then kind of went dark for a while. Then, all of a sudden it came available not to long ago. Well, the 4″ version anyway. We still have yet to see the 1″ or 1.5″. Like the TUBES the Tactik buckle came in two configurations (other than size) solid-bar and split-bar (for field repair or installation after production of the host piece of gear). Both pieces are 4″ tall. There are two main differences. 1) The Tactik buckles comes with the pull lanyard that is used to release the buckles. On the TUBES you normally have to make some kind of paracord pull for this function. 2) the gesture used to release is different. On the TUBES you must pull out and either up or down. This releases the locking mechanism (No springs. Everything is molded) and the up/down slides the male side out of the female. On the Tactik buckle you only pull outward on the lanyard which releases the entire buckle. One isn’t necessarily faster than the other as both releases are accomplished with a single motion. They just work a little different. I have never seen either system fail.

Tactik M/F engaged
Tactik Measurements
Tactik Buckle

The Aspetto KWIQ-Clip

The KWIQ-Clip from Aspetto is the most different and I haven’t ever actually integrated them into a piece of gear. But I do have a few… because you never know. It also has no individual moving parts just like the others. Again, the release is managed by pulling on and deforming the acetal polymer material to release a latch. I believe you call this a “living latch”. The KWIQ-Clip is a full inch taller than the other buckles referenced in this write-up. The reason being is that it allows you to interface the buckle to the gear via 3 pieces of 1″ webbing. Each separated by 1″. Sounds perfect for a 3-row skeletonized cummerbund. With the other two you have to be a little creative in your gear design as they both interface with the gear using 1.5″ webbing. This usually isn’t what you find on a cummerbund. So, the Aspetto KWIQ-Clip has an advantage here in helping your gear stay simple but I can’t help but think a 5″ tall buckle has a great chance of jabbing you in the ribs or pelvis when you bend or lean. Is the 1″ difference really enough to matter? I don’t know. But that is something to keep in mind when planning your next build. The manufacturer claims a 300 lbs Tensile Strength.

Aspetto M/F engaged
Aspetto Measurements
Aspetto Female Side

Where can I get them?

First Spear TUBES
You can now get TUBES direct from First Spear. This is fairly new. You use to have to be an approved gear producer. Beware that most of the time TUBES are sold as their individual separate components (Male and Female). You need to purchase both sides. Not always though.
Direct link to 4″ Female Split-Bar on First-Spear.com
4″ TUBES Male/Female Split Bar on Agelitegear.com

DuraFlex Tactik Buckle

4″ Tactik Buckle Split-Bar at WTFIdea.com
4″ Tactik Buckle Split-Bar at 8492Nylonworks.com
4″ Tactik Buckle Solid-Bar at StratusArmament.com

Aspetto KWIQ-Clip
This buckle is sometimes sold as Male/Female or Male/Male. Make sure you get what you need.
Aspetto KWIQ-Clip on QorePerformance.com

DIY, Tactical Gear

Building your own tactical gear

Not a tutorial but a look at what you can output when you put your creativity to it. This is a one-piece custom MultiCam Tropic chest rig that I put together a few weeks back. As I state in the video description. There isn’t really anything hard about sewing your own gear. The machine can be intimidating and yes it can hurt you. But it is really all technique. You just need to put in some hours to start getting awesome results. There are resources here on 30MC that can help you. Look in the nav bar under “Tactical DIY”.

Rumble backup link: https://rumble.com/v39heaf-building-your-own-tactical-gear-30-magazine-clip.html

DIY, Giveaway, Tactical Gear, Website News

Tiger Stripe Chest Rig Giveaway – You can’t buy this!

It’s that time. Time for another giveaway. I have a few pieces of one-off gear that I have build over the years as a professional gear maker. Why not give a few of them away? Here we have a unique tiger stripe chest rig. Is there anything groundbreaking here? No, not really. But it is a fairly effective configuration and features a pretty nifty set of side pockets.

How to Enter

In a nutshell you need to like this video on any (or all) of the 30MC social media channels (listed below). IMPORTANT: YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE TO OR FOLLOW THOSE CHANNELS AS WELL. You can’t just hit “like”.

When a winner is selected I will verify that they follow 30MC on that platform. If not, I will have to pick another winner.

  • 1 like = 1 entry.
  • 1 comment = 1 entry.
  • Comment by tagging a friends name = you AND your friend each gain 1 entry.
  • UNLIMITED ENTRIES ALLOWED

The Channels

https://www.youtube.com/@30magazineclip https://www.instagram.com/30magclip/ https://www.facebook.com/30magazineclip/ https://twitter.com/30magclip/ https://rumble.com/user/30MagazineClip/ https://www.reddit.com/r/30magazineclip/ https://www.30MagazineClip.com

The Fine Print

Drawing will take place on or about Saturday June 3rd, 2023. Winner will be notified via PM/DM on the platform that they used to enter (ie: facebook, instagram, etc). If the winner does not respond within 1 week of being contacted a new winner will be selected. No substitutions or cash value. Void where prohibited. No Warranty. This item was built using known and good procedures and techniques. However, no extensive testing was conducted. This piece should be considered a novelty piece of gear and you should treat it accordingly. NONE of the related or unrelated equipment in this video comes with the rig. The item will be shipped to the winner free of charge to a US address. If the winner is outside of the United States they may decide to pay for the shipping charges themselves or forfeit the prize.

Industry News, Informational, Tactical Gear

Where is Tactical Gear Production Headed?

I have worked the last 13 years mainly in the design side of the nylon tactical gear industry. I have seen the trends go from LBVs to plate carriers, to micro rigs, to belt setups with suspenders, to belt setups without suspenders, to recce rigs with hundreds of in-between products along the way. Entire companies have sprung up just to invent and manufacture interface devices to smash multiple pieces of industry gear together. I have even been responsible for some of them. These days you can find a piece of gear that will fit just about any mission that you might have. In the event you can’t, there are tons of smaller custom builders (like me) that can produce your one-off project to exact specifications. 

But what is the next leap? (And I don’t specifically mean in materials). You could call going from regular old Cordura to laminates and hypalon type materials a leap as it is a much better material to laser cut, but the build process is pretty much the same (i.e. you sew it together to make pockets). I’m talking about the next evolution in textile production – not just for the tactical gear industry, but that is where my experience comes from. I believe it is going to be in the world of 3D printing. That is, 3D printing the fibrous materials in a full (or nearly full) constructed state. Like, hit go on the printer and come back to a finished plate carrier a while later (perhaps a long while). Why would it be with a fibrous material? Today’s fabrics do a really good job of arresting a rip or tear before it gets too bad. This is sometimes referred to as “Ripstop”. This is accomplished by the weave of the yarns that make up the fabric. There’s no reason to throw that away. If you were to print solid flexible sheets instead there is a good chance that a “rip” would continue on over time (perhaps a short amount of time) and eventually render your equipment useless. And I’m not talking about just another plate carrier like we have today. What comes out of this theoretical fabric printer could be a design that contains build geometry that could not be produced on a sewing machine. 

Part of my business is building custom solutions for individual soldiers, police, contractors, and larpers. Sometimes those customers will send drawings of what they have in mind. However, they lack the experience of being a stitch-operator like myself. They may not realize that their drawing can’t be made the way they have envisioned it. 

For instance the attachment of a piece of fabric to form a pouch on one side might sew another pouch shut on the opposite side of the work. A good gear designer can usually find a way around this, but the situations do get complicated – especially when you consider a lot of these pieces go together in reverse and inside out. It’s a lot to get your head around until you have some time in it. However, most of these concerns would vanish if instead you are building (or printing) your gear a cross-section at a time. Layer stacked on layer of slightly varying geometry resulting in a perfectly reproducible piece every time.

Think about it: no hems, no seems, no need to have extra material folded over to help prevent the threads from pulling through a high-stressed area. Do you need an area reinforced? Simply tell the operating software that “this specific section of the design needs to be stronger” and let it do the work.

What about the camo patterns?

Just print them, too, like everything else. Now, I know this isn’t a viable option yet, but I am fairly confident that once the industry figures out how to reliably print the fibrous nylon material to a high degree of accuracy, varying the color of each layer and area in that layer will be an afterthought. We do it with 2D printers all the time.

Continue reading Where is Tactical Gear Production Headed? →
DIY, Informational, Tactical Gear

3DSR Buckle. Ever heard of it?

You may or may not be aware that my day job is in the tactical gear design and production industry. Because of that I get lots of samples of new buckles either via mail or trade shows such as SHOT Show. Back in 2019 I received a few samples of the Three Dimensional Side Release (3DSR) buckle. I looked at it and tried to thank of a good use but at the time nothing came to mind. I forgot about it until it was rediscovered in a drawer at my shop. A very well thought out design and while reexamining it I wondered to myself why I hadn’t seen other gear-makers using the 3DSR. It has some great properties and the only conclusion I came up with was simply that nobody knew about it. So, here is me doing my part. If you are not aware of the 3DSR then consider yourself informed.

Image of 3DSR Buckle from Mil-Spec Monkey.

Features and Stats

  • 300 lbs load capacity.
  • Squeeze really well in your hand due to shape (easy to release).
  • Will release when overloaded instead of breaking.
  • Releases fairly easily under load.
  • Fragmentation Resistant (info below)
  • NIR (Near-Infrared Reduced).
  • 1″ webbing interface.

Properties

This is probably the most impressive part. This buckle isn’t made from the traditional acetal polymer that you usually associate with other like components. The manufacturer calls it “shatter proof” and was originally developed for USMC/ARMY pack frames and is supposed to keep its physical properties down to -40 degrees. The image below shows one of the buckles that has been shot by a 5.56 round at 20 meters (test not conducted by 30MC). You can see that the round passed through the buckle while it was mated together. The buckle pictured was still operational after taking the damage. An accidental disengagement of the 3DSR is unlikely as you must squeeze both sides to release.

Image of shot 3DSR buckle from documents from Down East Innovation, LLC.

As I stated before I am not exactly sure where this buckle would be used to the greatest effect in the “tactical space”. Perhaps in the should straps of plate carriers or even a on-riggers type of gun belt. It seems a bit wide to be used as a quick detach element on a rifle sling.

There you have it. The 3DSR. I promise to not take four years to report on an innovative components I come across, next time.

Most resellers of the buckle have it listed as an ITW Nexus product but I don’t believe that is the case. The confusion probably came from the fact that Fastening Systems distributes the buckle and they are largely associated with ITW due to the volume of ITW components that they ship.

Purchasing

I receive nothing from your purchase of this item. A simple google search revealed a few places where the 3DSR is available.

Comparison, Informational, Night Vision, Tactical Gear

Digital Night Vision. Has it arrived?

Digital night vision technology has come a long way in recent years and has become increasingly popular for a variety of purposes, including surveillance, hunting, and other outdoor activities. It works by sensing in low light conditions and then amplifying that available light via software to create an image. The resulting image is displayed on a screen, typically a LCD screen. Digital night vision devices are generally more affordable and easier to use compared to traditional analog night vision. However, the quality of the image may not be as good as that of traditional night vision devices, and they may not work as well in complete darkness.

In this video Isaac Botkin lays down another dissertation level analysis of the current state of digital night vision. Specifically the SiOnyx Opsin. Personally, I will continue to stay analog but the future of digital night vision looks.. bright.

DIY, Industry News, Informational, Tactical Gear

ITW Nexus releases the EVO SR buckle

For all you DIY gear makers our there. ITW Nexus has released a video showing off their new EVO SR buckle. According to ITW Nexus the EVO SR will launch in 10, 15, 20, 25, 38mm versions. Only color option so far is black. The buckle features a 2-way funneling type latch and body so it can be properly engaged without having the angle exactly correct when pushing them together. I am not sure if there is a great militarized application (over what is already available) for this buckle but it certainly is interesting and I am sure it will find its way onto future gear. Download the specs pdf from the ITW Nexus website here. If you are looking for an ITW Nexus supplier make sure to stop by the Materials and Sources page here on 30MC under the “Tactical DIY” section.

From the ITW Nexus website:
The Evo SR is the next evolution in fully featured side release buckle design. The Evo SR was designed using extensive user research, leading to real and impactful improvements to the user experience. These improvements include contoured, integral triggers, which makes the releasing the buckle easy and comfortable. The Evo SR also features new, innovative side-to-side and top-to-bottom angular funneling action for seamless buckle assembly. The minimalist aesthetic and accessible function make it a great fit for a variety of applications.

Informational, Night Vision, Reviews, Tactical Gear

I review the Phantom Hill CTF2 Laser Aiming Module

The Phantom Hill CTF2 is a modular laser aiming device for night vision shooting. Here are my thoughts on it.

Disclosures: No money exchanged hands for this review however I was provided the CTF2 by Phantom Hill for the purpose of review.

You can find this product on the Phantom Hill website: https://phantomhill.design/collections/ctf2

The Kiji IR Illuminator head was loaned by GP Armory for this review. https://gp-armory.com/
https://www.instagram.com/g_p_armory/ https://www.facebook.com/gparmoryllc
Check them out for great IN-STOCK night vision, thermal, and light products.

The SureFire head was loaned to me by a good friend. Check out his links below:
https://www.instagram.com/kcgewehr/ https://www.youtube.com/@GCMKC

Continue reading I review the Phantom Hill CTF2 Laser Aiming Module →