Your feedback is a critical element to our development here at ITS Tactical, so I have a question that I’m really hoping to get your response to. Should there be more content for women on ITS? We’d like to hear from you no matter if you’re a female follower of ITS, or if you’re a male follower who thinks your wife, girlfriend, daughter or friend would be interested in posts and reviews geared toward them.

At the 2011 SHOT Show in Las Vegas I noticed a larger segment of the booths there that had things specifically for women. There were even entire booths dedicated to the female consumer. Having attended the show in 2010 with ITS as well, the difference was so significant to me that it confirmed what I had been thinking before we made it to SHOT. We should have content dedicated to helping women become better prepared for self-protection and anything they might encounter.

Content for Women

Part of what led me to begin thinking about contributing more to the site is out of my own frustration. There is a consistent lack of products that will work for me. I’m a petite person, so everything needs to be scaled down in size for me to be able to use it. Take my concealed carry weapon for example, a Sig Sauer P232. It’s a smaller gun that looks like it would be a good fit for me, and it even felt good in my hands when I was holding it at a gun show.

It wasn’t until I had already purchased the gun and got it to a range to shoot it for the first time, that I noticed why it wasn’t the most efficient gun for me. For starters, my index finger can’t quite extend long enough for me to have good form when I’m pulling the trigger. Secondly, the slide is very hard for me to rack without contorting my arms into a position that isn’t conducive to a quick, emergent response. My P232 is still a great gun that’s fun to shoot, but if I needed to draw and fire that first shot in a hurry I worry that a malfunction could cost me too much time to fix with a weapon that’s difficult for me to get back into the fight.

Another frustrating element of the tactical industry is that, in my humble opinion, the clothing and shoes are just too big and unshapely. I was so excited to see a brand at SHOT this year called SHE Outdoor Apparel. Their clothing line is tailored, classy and I actually saw XS in their sizing options! For someone who is vertically challenged and a borderline midget this is great news! I haven’t had an opportunity to try on their garments on yet, but I’m looking forward to checking out the true fit and functionality of it. I also found out that Magnum Boots is gearing up to offer more clothing for women very soon, so I can’t wait to see what’s coming.

I would love to see more resources for education geared toward women, too. I consistently hear about classes and training opportunities that are full of men, but honestly I don’t want to go shoot with men until shooting in any situation is second nature for me. The thought of a male-dominated shooting class intimidates me at this point. I’ve only been properly shooting a serious weapon in the last five years, and I just don’t feel I’m able to understand the lingo or how to repair my weapon without assistance. I know not all women are like me in this regard and maybe I can get Doc’s wife Andrea at RSKTKR to sign me up for private lessons, but I would venture to guess that there are plenty of women out there who are lacking enough confidence to sign up for classes as easily as men do.

Based on the points I’m making and your own experiences with what’s available for women, would you welcome more information published on ITS that will support self-protection and preparedness for the ladies? I appreciate you taking the time to consider this new idea and providing your feedback; I look forward to reading your responses!

One of the newest tactical accessories to hit the market is the highly anticipated Field Case from Magpul. Originally showcased at the 2010 SHOT Show, the Field Case was designed for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

Upon it’s release a little over two weeks ago, an iPhone 4 version was also introduced called the Executive Field Case and is what we’ll be taking a look at today. The field case is in high demand and despite placing my own personal order for one the first day they were released, mine is still on backorder.

I was lucky enough to have been given one at this year’s SHOT Show by Magpul and you’ll find my written and video review below.

Executive Field Case

Magpul has truly hit this one out of the park! As a long time iPhone user (yes, I was an early adopter of the 1st generation iPhone and have had to deal with horrible AT&T service ever since) I’ve had my fair share of cases for all their models. For some reason I continue to by the latest and greatest iPhones because I love the functionality but, as you can tell, hate AT&T service with a passion!

I used to spend hours putting a ShieldZone wrap on my previous iPhones as well as trying multiple cases; this is the first case that I’ve found which I actually enjoy using. This has a lot to do with the texture that the Executive Field Case features, as well as the easy snap-on design.

Details

As noted, the texture and the PMAG-style ribs contribute to an increased grip on the iPhone, as well as enabling it to stick better to surfaces. My iPhone seems to not slide as much with the EFC on, yet doesn’t get hung up taking it out of my pocket.

It’s semi-rigid snap-on design is easy to put on and take off if needed, however, I haven’t found a reason to take it off my phone yet. The iPhone charger fits in great without having to remove the case and all buttons are easily accessible. It also adds minimal bulk to the overall iPhone design, which is another plus.

Made with the same thermoplastic as the original Magpul loop, the EFC will eventually be available in Black, Flat Dark Earth, Foliage Green, OD Green, Pink and Orange. As of the writing of this review they’re only available in Black from the Magpul Website, but should be getting out to dealers an distributors in other colors soon too.

The Executive Field Case is made in the USA and compatible with all current iPhone 4 models with AT&T, Magpul states on their site that they can’t speculate on whether this case will fit the new Verizon iPhone until it’s released.

We’re back from the 2011 SHOT Show and have tons of great info to share with you still! In the meantime, we wanted to do something cool with the leftover ITS SHOT Show Poker Chips and get them out to those that couldn’t make it out to receive one in person.

What were doing, is that for the next 25 orders (memberships included), you’ll receive a Poker Chip absolutely FREE! There’s plenty of reason to visit the store, as we not only have our black/white/grey Mini PVC Patches back in stock, but have added our other colorways too!

New Mini PVC Colorways

We’ve featured the Tan/Grey and MultiCam colorways on our regular sized embroidered patches and now you can get them on our Mini PVC Patches!

There’s also something we’re doing as a thank you for all you guys that ordered something from the store while we were away at the SHOT Show. You’re also getting a Poker Chip included in your order for FREE! Suffice to say that if you haven’t received a shipping confirmation email yet and you ordered last week, you’ll see one in your order!

In other exciting news, we’re also going to start sending out a FREE Crew Leader Rocker Patch with every Crew Leader Membership purchased!

These are just a few small things we’re doing to say thank you for all the support you guys have show us! We wouldn’t be here without you!

One. Last. Day. Even with the best plans you have to be flexible. This is more true than ever at the SHOT Show. You plan on visiting a specific booth, but stop at five on the way only to realize you have a meeting in 5 minutes that’s on the other side of the show floor!

It was great having enough boots on the ground to do some serious coverage and hopefully you’ve enjoyed our updates on Twitter & Facebook. We had a blast! Without further ado here’s our Best of Day Four.

Best of Day 4

• LWRC M6A2 6.8 PSD – Fail Zero EXO coating, LWRC shortie stock and proprietary polymer 6.8 mags
• 300 AAC Blackout – New 7.62 x 35mm round and custom upper
• Rocky C4T – Comfortable, flexible, lightweight (.95 oz) boot
• Diamondhead Premium “Auto-Ranger” Front Sight – Easy compensation for (5.56) bullet drop out to 600 yards
• TNVC Universal Refocus Lens – Allows for rapid short-distance focus for up close work like
• TNVC WASP – Facial Recognition out to 250+ meters in a night vision package under 5k.
• Camelbak Urban Assault Concealed – Backpack with two concealed locations for handguns
• MMI Outdoor Enhanced Bednet System – Insanely fast to open, full featured and inexpensive
• S.O. Tech Mission Pack, Mico – Rides high and close, full of internal velcro
• OTTE Gear Sniper Anorak – eVent fabric construction with the ability to easily add natural foliage
• Surefire Minimus Headlamp – Variable output easy to use headlamp
• Telluric Group Small Arms Collimator – Weapon zero in seconds without live fire
• Kifaru Ultralight Series Backpacks – 5200 cu. in. model weighs 2 lbs. 13 oz.

We’d like to thank the numerous amount of fans that stopped us to say hi, it was awesome to see just how many people knew ITS Tactical!. Thank you as well to those of you that couldn’t make it to the SHOT Show and followed coverage online. You’re are the reason we do this!

We’re already looking forward to next year and planning out our coverage. Rest assured that you can only expect the best out of ITS Tactical and we want to remain your top choice. We’ll have a wrap up post coming soon that details some of these great products we saw at SHOT Show 2011.

Stay tuned for a couple of upcoming contests too! We’ve got a ton of swag from this years SHOT Show and that we want to give to YOU!

With only one day remaining of the 2011 SHOT Show, there certainly wasn’t a lack of new and interesting products to see. We feel like we haven’t even seen half of what we wanted to and we’ve been walking the floor for three days!

There’s no way to express just how massive the SHOT Show is and how great it is to be here providing coverage for our readers! Here’s what we felt were the best products that we saw today.

Best of Day 3

• Arc’teryx H150 Rigger’s Belt – Weighs the same as a PMAG
• Blue Force Gear Quick-Release Sling Attachment (two-point to single conversion)
• US Palm Binary Rail Panel – Rubberized Grip Surface
• ZEagle Fins – Low Profile over-boot design
• OR Iron Sight Gloves – Non-stick grip surface
• OR Swoop System – Cold weather FR Liner / Insulated fold-back Shell
• Vertx Gunfighter Jacket – More info to come
• Blue Force Gear SOC-C Lightweight Armor Carrier
• US Palm AK-47 Cowitness Rail/Handguard
• Governor Perry at the LaRue Tactical Booth!

Our Exclusive ITS Tactical 2011 SHOT Show Poker Chips are going fast, so don’t wait until the last day of the show to try and find us to snag one! Also, don’t forget to swing by Tactical Distributors and say hi to their awesome crew and pick up your free ITS / Tactical Distributors T-Shirt! (Booth #26307) There’s also a killer discount you won’t want to miss!

A huge thank you to all those who support ITS Tactical and everyone we’ve had the good fortune of meeting in this industry. It’s truly been exciting to see all these new opportunities developing for ITS at this year’s SHOT Show!

Don’t forget to follow our tweets on Twitter for the most timely updates from the SHOT Show this week (there are photos we’ll attach there too) as well as Facebook and right here at ITS Tactical!

Today was the second day of the 2011 SHOT Show and it turned out to be an even more productive day than yesterday! We have a new list for you today of what we thought the most inventive and game changing products were that we came across.

There’s such a great pulse here at the show and it’s fantastic to see the industry thriving and continuing to innovate!

Best of Day 2

• Crye MagClip and FastMits for Fast Roping
• Ops-Core Skull Crusher
• Princeton Tec MPLS Headlamp NVG Adapter for Ops-Core Helmets
• Princeton Tec Remix Pro with Multilight (Red, Blue, IR, White in single switch)
• Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pak Plus
• Adventure Medical Kits SOL Sport Utility Blanket
• Stag Arms / Diamond Head Combat Sights and V-RS (Versa Rail System)
• Magnum USA MultiCam Spider 8.1 and Sidewinder Boots
• Magnum USA Rapid Deployment Clothing
• Silencerco .22 Sparrow Stainless

Our Exclusive ITS Tactical 2011 SHOT Show Poker Chips are going fast, so don’t wait until the last day of the show to try and find us to snag one! Also, don’t forget to swing by Tactical Distributors and say hi to their awesome crew and pick up your free ITS / Tactical Distributors T-Shirt! (Booth #26307) There’s also a killer discount you won’t want to miss!

A huge thank you to all those who support ITS Tactical and everyone we’ve had the good fortune of meeting in this industry. It’s truly been exciting to see how we’ve grown!

Don’t forget to follow our tweets on Twitter for the most timely updates from the SHOT Show this week (there are photos we’ll attach there too) as well as Facebook and right here at ITS Tactical!