Things have been moving along wonderfully here at ITS, and we’d like to announce our second giveaway! This contest is a bit more involved than our first one, but we think the prize will be worth your effort.
We’re giving away a Mini Survival Kit just like the one featured in our previous posts, it’s pocket sized and perfect to add to your EDC (everyday carry). Continue reading
We’ve been following the writings by Dr. Gary K. Roberts on body armor testing with great admiration. His independent analysis has been a wonderful perspective into the industry and what body armor is truly capable of stopping.
For those of you not familiar with Dr. Roberts, please read the following bio from our previous article. Dr. Roberts was an independent researcher on the most recent FBI Body Armor Test Protocol.
The following is an article Dr. Roberts posted on Lightfighter.net and has given us permission to repost here for our readers. Continue reading
Neil Strauss, who wrote the book Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life
We’ve published the list here in it’s entirety, because we think it’s excellent information that everyone should know if they don’t already.
If you haven’t had a chance to read Strauss’ book, we highly suggest you add it to your reading list. There is a wealth of information contained inside and should be read by anyone who has even considered preparing for the worst.
Next up on our Knot of the Week climbing mini-series is learning how to coil a rope for storage or carry. This method is very quick, convenient and will prolong the life of your rope over other storage methods.
While we use the term coiling, the real definition of this method is called flaking. Flaking allows the rope to be gathered in the natural way it lies and doesn’t add any unnecessary twists to the rope. Twists can kink over time reducing the life of the rope fibers, as well as lead to knotting when undoing the rope.
Carrying a rope in this configuration will allow a climber to move with the least amount of weight possible to reach their destination. A place where a few of us go top-roping requires a steep free-climb to get the rope set up. Continue reading
Everyone here at ITS Tactical would like to thank each and every one of the members and Veterans of our Armed Forces, especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation.
It’s our hope today that everyone across the United States understands why we enjoy the freedoms that we do, and what this three-day weekend really means.
Our usual Knot of the Week will be moved to Tuesday…
While Wi-Fi is a blessing if you can find it and Laptop Broadband Cards are usually a joke, what do you do if you need internet in remote locations to transmit sensitive data? Enter BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network).
INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite Organization) is the international telecommunications company that owns and operates the three I-4 (INMARSAT-4) satellites BGAN operates on. The company started out offering satellite communications to the maritime community, but has since branched out to cater to aircraft and portable users. Continue reading
Witness marks are used to mark the alignment of optics to give you a quick visual reference of where they go back on your weapon if removed. This is particularly handy if you’re using a quick-disconnect mount, such as a LaRue mount, on a rail system.
Without getting into zeroing your weapon too much, these marks will make it easier to re-zero if you have to take your optics off for any reason. LaRue mounts are great, but you should always recheck your zero if you have the time and opportunity to after removing and remounting an optic.
Witness marks are also handy for marking your screws/bolts on your weapon to give a visual reference of any screw-loosening shenanigans your weapon might be playing with you.
We favor DecoColor paint markers here at ITS because they seem to last better than other brands, and you can get them in various tip sizes.
Continuing on our Knot of the Week climbing mini-series, we introduce the Threaded Figure-Eight. Rather than just simply teach the standard Figure-Eight, we’d like to demonstrate the more advanced way of tying the knot to teach its versatility.
The Threaded Figure-Eight is an essential climbing knot which has many applications in all types of climbing, and can be easily tied. It has a unique shape that is easy to recognize when checking a buddy before a climb.
The reason to use a Threaded Figure-Eight, instead of a normal Figure-Eight, is to allow the knot to be tied directly onto anchors. With a traditional Figure-Eight tied on a bight, the climber would have to use a carabiner to attach the rope to an anchor.
When the Threaded Figure-Eight is used to attach the rope directly to a Lead Climber’s harness, it becomes very advantageous in the event of a fall. The knot will self-tighten under load, and actually absorb some of the shock placed on an anchor system, which is a good thing.
Warning!
A note to mention here is that in a Lead Climbing situation the threaded figure eight should ALWAYS be used when being attached to a harness. Using a standard Figure-Eight and then connecting it to a harness (using a carabiner) can introduce a weak link.
The carabiner can become cross-loaded in a fall, where the it becomes twisted and the shock is caught by the gate of the carabiner (which carries a reduced strength). The kN (Kilo Newton) rating of a carabiner only holds true if the carabiner is loaded appropriately.
*** The photos below show the exact thing we’ve just told you NOT to do! We did this simply for the sake of the demonstration! ***
(Strength: 5/Security: 5/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)
Please refer to our Knot of the Week introduction post for a description of what these ratings mean.
Make sure to leave at least 12 inches of length in the tail of the knot in order to back it up. We’ve shown the backup below with two overhand knots to stick with what we’ve already taught here on the site, but most stopper knots will work just fine.
View the gallery below and follow along with the steps above!
[flickrset id=”72157618417005522″ thumbnail=”square” overlay=”true” size=”medium”]
Check back next week as we continue our Knot of the Week mini-series with the Climbing Rope Coil
One of the things that’s sometimes hard to understand in Lock Picking is which pick to use. Many picks look similar and can be hard to distinguish from one another. It’s important to be able to recognize what type of lock you’re trying to pick, and know the appropriate pick to use.
We hope this article will give a better understanding of the common types of picks available and the locks their best suited for. We provide this information purely from an educational standpoint, not an illegal one. We strongly believe this is an important skillset to have, and should be used appropriately. Continue reading
Not long ago we purchased a set of Bump Keys from bumpkey.us, which are an excellent alternative to filing down your own key blanks. The set we purchased was the 33 key set that gives you a healthy starter set to get into bumping. The set doesn’t include two keys that they apparently released after the set was put together. Those are the Sargent S22 and Master M27 Bump Keys.
For a refresher on how to bump a lock, refer to our previous post, Lock Bumping. Continue reading
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