4/2/13 Update: As most of you have figured out, this was an April Fools goof that we thought you’d enjoy. It also looks like many of you enjoyed it so much that you are interested in this becoming a real product. Well, Zulu Nylon Gear was listening and is considering making a few. Be sure to chime in on the Facebook post if you’re interested.  

As stricter gun control laws take effect in state after state, Americans are adapting with new methods to protect their homes and families. In light of recent changes in firearms laws and with more surely to come, Zulu Nylon Gear has begun to shift their product line to support more commonly available, legal weapon systems. Namely, the traditional bow and arrow.

The first product in Zulu Nylon Gear’s new line is the MOLLE Quiver. This is a fully modular arrow quiver system which can be quickly converted to either back or hip style carry modes to facilitate both range and field carry. The user simply clicks into either a shoulder harness, a belt hanger, or direct attach to armor by way of a quick disconnect system using ITW QASM Buckles. These buckles can be adjusted to any location on the Quiver body for the perfect fit thanks to a MOLLE grid running the full length of the tube. The MOLLE grid can also be used to attach other MOLLE/PALS compatible pouches and accessories, such as the ITS Skeletonized Bottle Holder and Tallboy ETA Trauma Kit pouches also made by Zulu Nylon Gear.

Expect to see continuing innovation in tactical load bearing equipment from Zulu Nylon Gear as they adapt to the ever changing tools of the warrior. Other upcoming products in development include discreet carry bags for takedown bows, concealable boxcutter sheaths and slingshots.

For more information, visit: http://zulunylongear.com/quiver.html

Designed and manufactured by ITS Tactical and Zulu Nylon Gear right here in America, the Skeletonized Bottle Holder represents a fresh new approach to the typical bottle carriers on the market today. We set out to break the mold of current pouch-like designs that add unnecessary weight and bulk.

We’ve accomplished this by creating a lightweight minimalist design that features true one-handed operation, full adjustment to handle any container size and mounting to either MOLLE/PALS, or a standard belt.

The Skeletonized Bottle Holder features double-layer webbing and strategically placed HDPE stiffener for structure and support. We’ve also created a textured pull-tab for a non-slip grip with adjustable shock cord retention to facilitate one-handed container deployment and accommodate any bottle neck size.

We’ve also created a fully-adjustable system in both width and height that can handle multiple container styles and diameters. Using the included MOLLE/PALS attachment system, it can be mounted virtually anywhere, including most any belt size with a simple configuration of the mounting strap.

A short list of compatible bottle designs include Liberty Bottles (both 32 oz. and 20 oz.), Nalgenes, Klean Kanteens, G.I. Canteens, Guinness Cans and even plastic water bottles.

Pick up your ITS Skeletonized Bottle Holder here!

ITS Cat Eye Morale Patch

Cat Eyes traditionally hail from certain branches of the military utilizing glowing or reflective strips to help identify friend from foe.

Our friends at Triple Aught Design have been producing their own Cat Eyes, dubbed as Ranger Eyes, for some time now. You’ll find  much of their clothing features a small loop rectangle to attach a Ranger Eye to. Cat Eyes are typically seen in the military in sets of two and TAD’s hoodies even feature two of their loop rectangles to stay true to form.

With support from Triple Aught Design, we’ve created our own ITS Cat Eyes out of PVC that feature a Glow-In-The-Dark ITS Logo Shield on a black 3/4″ x 3/4″ rounded-edge and velcro-backed patch.

Using a flashlight or exposing ITS Cat Eyes to a light source, will help keep them glowing and let your friends distinguish you from foe!

Pick up your ITS Cat Eye Morale Patches here!

The big news today is that our ITS Discreet Messenger Bag Gen II is back in stock and available in black, coyote brown and foliage! It’s been a long time coming, but for the time being they’re back in stock.

These are sure to go quickly as they have in the past, so if you’re considering a purchase, act quick. Again these are not a pre-order, they’re in stock and ready to ship today!

We also have matching Shock Cord Inserts and Holster Inserts to go along with our Discreet Messenger Bags. They’re now available in black, coyote brown and foliage.

The last announcement today is the release of our new ITS Subdued Logo T-Shirts that incorporate nothing more than a minimalist subdued ITS Logo on the front. These Unisex T’s are printed in the USA on Made in the USA American Apparel Blanks. They’re available in Charcoal and Cranberry from the ITS Store today!

UPDATE: Congratulations to the winners! 1st place winner: Adam Z. (Facebook), 2nd place winner: Ben G. (YouTube), 3rd place winner Dan B. (Twitter). Please contact us within 48 hours to claim your prizes! Thank you to all who participated and to everyone for their continued support! A huge thank you to all the companies who made this giveaway possible!

In celebration of our third anniversary here at ITS and the amazing milestones we’ve reached with our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, we’ve put together a colossal giveaway to say thank you with the help of a few of our friends in the industry.

The past three years have been amazing and we’ve got each and every one of you to thank for our continued growth and success.We receive thousands of visitors each day to ITS along with nearly 50k Facebook fans, 25k YouTube subscribers and 7,000 Twitter followers.

Starting Friday April 13th and running through Sunday April 15th 2012, we’re pulling out all the stops and running our biggest giveaway ever with the support of some awesome companies! Before we go over the details, here’s what you can win!

1st Place Winner

UPDATE: Congratulations to the winners! 1st place winner: Adam Z. (Facebook), 2nd place winner: Ben G. (YouTube), 3rd place winner Dan B. (Twitter). Please contact us within 48 hours to claim your prizes! Thank you to all who participated and to everyone for their continued support! A huge thank you to all the companies who made this giveaway possible!

• ITS Tactical Store
• $100 Gift Certificate
• Paracord Gift Pack
• 2012 SHOT Show Poker Chip
• SHOT Show 2012 Swag Pack including tons of patches and swag
• React Gear
• $100 Gift Certificate
• Lucky Gunner
• $50 Gift Certificate
• Haley Strategic
• Thorntail Light Mount
• HSP T-Shirt
• US Palm
• iPad Cover (MultiCam)
• US Palm Binary Rail Panels (set of 3)
• Shellback Tactical
• Banshee Plate Carrier (Black)
• Shellback Tactical Flex Fit Hat
• Shellback Tactical Logo Patch
• Lock-n-Load Java
• Lock-n-Load Java Coffee
• Lock-n-Load Java Hot Cocoa
• Lock-n-Load Java Coffee Mug
• Lock-n-Load Java Bag Clip
• Lock-n-Load Java Mouse Pad
• Tactical Distributors Gift Pack
• Gear Aid Soloist Field Repair Kit
• Fontier Sport Water Bottle Filter
• Outgo Smart Suds (8 oz.)
• EOTech Hat
• Zulu Nylon Gear
• Visor Panel (Foliage)
• FHF Gear
• MOLLE Muff
• Revision Military
• Hellfly Glasses
• Revision Exoshield Goggles
• HSGI
• Sure-Grip Padded Belt in ATACS (Large)
• HSGI Short Bus Door Gunner Patch
• Marz Tactical
• Tourniquet Pouch (Coyote)
• Marz Tactical Admin Pouch with Chemlight Slots (MultiCam)
• Marz Tactical SSE Pouch (Belt mounted in Coyote)
• Vertx
• Vertx Original Pant
• Vertx Short Sleeve Coldblack® Polo
• Vertx Cap
• Vertx Swag
• Battle Systems
• Battle Systems Vinyl Tape, Coyote Brown (2 Rolls)
• Battle Systems PVC Patch
• Combat Medical Systems
• Combat Medical Systems XDri T-Shirt in Tan (L or XL available)
• Tactical Girls
• Exotic Weapons 2012 Gun Calendar
• Victory Scents
• Victory Scents Air Fresheners

2nd Place Winner

• ITS Tactical Store
• $50 Gift Certificate
• Paracord Gift Pack
• React Gear
• $50 Gift Certificate
• Lucky Gunner
• $50 Gift Certificate
• Haley Strategic
• Non Permissive Environmental Specialist T-Shirt
• SP1 and SP2 Sticker Pack
• Shellback Tactical
• Shellback Tactical Go Bag (Coyote)
• Shellback Tactical Flex Fit Hat
• Shellback Tactical Logo Patch
• Lock-n-Load Java
• Lock-n-Load Java Coffee
• Lock-n-Load Java Coffee Mug
• Lock-n-Load Java Bag Clip
• Lock-n-Load Java Mouse Pad
• Zulu Nylon Gear
• Visor Panel (Foliage)
• FHF Gear
• MOLLE Muff
• Revision Military
• Revision Hellfly Glasses
• Revision Exoshield Goggles
• HSGI
• HSGI Short Bus Door Gunner Patch
• Vertx
• Vertx Original Pant
• Vertx Short Sleeve T-Shirt
• Vertx Cap
• Vertx Swag
• Battle Systems
• Battle Systems Vinyl Tape, Coyote Brown (2 Rolls)
• Battle Systems PVC Patch
• Combat Medical Systems
• Combat Medical Systems XDri T-Shirt in Black (L or XL available)
• Tactical Girls
• Exotic Weapons 2012 Gun Calendar
• Victory Scents
• Victory Scents Air Fresheners

3rd Place Winner

• ITS Tactical Store
• $25 Gift Certificate
• Paracord Gift Pack
• React Gear
• $25 Gift Certificate
• Lucky Gunner
• $50 Gift Certificate
• Haley Strategic
• Non Permissive Environmental Specialist T-Shirt
• SP1 and SP2 Sticker Packs
• Shellback Tactical
• Shellback Tactical Go Bag (Coyote)
• Shellback Tactical Flex Fit Hat
• Shellback Tactical Logo Patch
• Lock-n-Load Java
• Lock-n-Load Java Coffee
• Lock-n-Load Java Bag Clip
• Lock-n-Load Java Mouse Pad
• Zulu Nylon Gear
• Visor Panel (Foliage)
• Revision Military
• Revision Hellfly Glasses
• Revision Exoshield Goggles
• Vertx
• Vertx Original Pant
• Vertx Cap
• Vertx Swag
• Battle Systems
• Battle Systems Vinyl Tape, Coyote Brown (2 Rolls)
• Battle Systems PVC Patch
• Tactical Girls
• Exotic Weapons 2012 Gun Calendar
• Victory Scents
• Victory Scents Air Fresheners

Details and Rules

Now that your jaw is dropping from all the awesomeness you can win, here are the rules. You can have entries on each one of our social media outlets below. Posts on this article will not be counted.

• One entry per person, per day on each social media outlet. Winners will be pooled from each and drawn using random.org
• Open to US addresses only.
• All entries must be received by Sunday, April 15th at 11:59 p.m. central time. Any entries after this cutoff will not be counted. Winners announced Monday, April 16th.
• *Items will come in a few different packages, so please allow time for them to reach you.*

Facebook

Head to this note on Facebook, ensure you like the page of each company tagged in it and share the giveaway announcement note on your timeline. Don’t forget to post a comment with “I’m in it to win it!”

Twitter

Follow our tweet that mentions our giveaway and these awesome companies involved. Simply retweet it and we’ll see your retweet come in and use that to draw winners from.

YouTube

Check out the embedded video below and head to it on YouTube. Ensure you subscribe to all the companies listed in the video description and post a comment on the video with ”I’m in it to win it!”

We never thought we’d see a Cobra Belt from Zulu Nylon Gear, but they’ve just announced the Cobra Belt to end all Cobra Belts!

Guaranteed to send shock & awe deep into the hearts of your adversaries and utilizing the strongest Cobra Buckle on the market today, the Zulu Cobra Belt is sure to be a game changer.

We’ve got the exclusive scoop on the newest advancement in Cobra Buckles to hit the market, be sure to check out Zulu’s Website for further information!

There are many different flavors of rifle mag pouches out there, flapped, non-flapped, polymer, kydex and even reverse flapped. Before we answer the question of whether the lids from mag pouches get in the way on a reload, let’s talk a bit about retention. It’s impossible to talk about the reason for magazine flaps without mentioning retention.

Retention on mag pouches is either managed by elastic webbing or shock cord in traditional nylon mag pouches that either have no lid, like a shingle, or in pouches with a removable lid taken off. This can be sufficient for most activities that the average shooter finds themselves in while at the range, but when you throw running, climbing or other athletic activities into the mix, magazines can work themselves free and no one wants to loose valuable ammo. Valuable both in terms of cost and especially its value in a real world scenario where each round counts.

The possibility of having mags fall out can be increased when a single mag is absent from a double rifle mag pouch too. In this case, unless you’re running a flapped pouch or doubled up polymer/kydex pouch specifically designed to still retain that other mag, there’s almost no retention still on that mag left in the pouch. A flap on a pouch like this can be re-secured over that single mag to retain it. This may all seem like common sense, but I wanted to go over it for those that may not be familiar with all the options out there for mag pouches and retention.

Magazine Flaps

That being said, lets get back to the initial question of magazine flaps getting in the way. One thing’s for sure, it takes time to open any kind of flap, adding more time to already valuable seconds during a reload. Not only does it take more time, but as you’ll see in the video below, they can actually get in the way during a reload. If you haven’t experienced this issue, then good on you, but I’m writing this article because it happens to me as the video further down will show.

I’ve also had the retention issues mentioned above after a single mag was removed from a mag pouch that I wasn’t running a lid on and watched it fall to the ground during certain drills and activities. My predicament has always been that I don’t like flapped lids, but understand they’re necessary in certain situations. I’ve always looked for options on the market that would not only allow me to run a mag pouch open without a lid, but still provide a lid at the ready to re-secure a loose magazine if needed.

There are some great options out there in terms of kydex and especially the ITW FastMag Pouch, which can even be double stacked. I’ve found the FastMag pouches to be more bulky than traditional nylon mag pouches, but I can’t deny that they hold a mag in very securely, despite having an open top design. If you don’t mind the polymer option for mag pouches, definitely check out the FastMag pouches.

Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double

In nylon, I’ve found a product that not only provides the security of a flapped pouch, but also the quick access without worrying about a flap falling back in the way on a reload. What’s great about the Zulu Nylon Gear M4 Double I’m referring to, is that its design lends itself better to the natural fluid motion that your hand makes when pulling down the reverse flap design and coming back up to draw a mag. Rather than continue to describe my issue which was solved by the M4 Double, here’s a video I put together illustrating the comparison of the draw from a standard flapped nylon double rifle mag pouch and the Zulu M4 Double.

I didn’t create this video and write this article to simply tout the M4 Double, but to illustrate the common problem that I’ve had with flapped mag pouches and what the Zulu M4 Double has solved for me. Your mileage may certainly vary and perhaps you haven’t had any issues at all with traditional flapped mag pouches. I feel that the design of the Zulu M4 Double and its reverse flap is a big leap forward in the innovation that continues to drive this industry. If you’re interested in learning more about the M4 Double, we put out a detailed review a few weeks back that you might want to reference, as well as Zulu’s Website where you can order these.

I’m curious to hear your thoughts and what you’ve experienced with mag pouches; let me know in the comments. If anything, I hope this article has at the least helped you see the different options out there for mag pouches.