Updated and improved for 2008 is TAD Gear’s V3.0 Ranger Hoodie. It’s the follow-on to the V2.0 Ranger Hoodie shown above, which after about 10 months of use, remains my favourite fleece hoodie (until this V3.0 came out). As before, it’s patterned similarly to the Stealth Softshell Hoodie, and some of the updates for the V3.0 follow those seen on the new SS V3.0 Stealth Hoodie and Jacket.
Here is Original SOE Gear’s “4 to 3 Row Tapered Belt Sleeve” (not yet added to their website), which is a padded MOLLE belt sleeve. Last year, John Willis sent me one of his Modular War Belt sleeves. It’s a sleeve for use over a rigger’s or duty belt that provides MOLLE webbing for pouches and padding for comfort. It has four rows of MOLLE/PALS webbing and is internally lined with velcro to interface with an inner belt. However, at 5.5″ tall for its entire length, it was better suited to taller guys than me. I’m only 5′ 7″ with a short torso, and the width of the belt got in the way of my mobility when kneeling, squatting, bending at the waist etc. A taller, bigger guy would probably have no issues. I told John “y’know, I’m just too short to use it” and he asked me what I’d like to see in a lower profile war belt sleeve. The Tapered War Belt Sleeve is what resulted.
TangoDown has introduced a nifty mount for the SureFire Helmet light reviewed above that fits on any ballcap brim, so you can clip your SF Helmet light on to your cap for hands-free use. It’s called the SFHL-001 Ball Cap Mount, and is made in FDE, Black and Foliage green.
Triple Aught Design’s (TAD Gear) Stealth Hoodie SS v3.0 and Stealth Jacket v3.0 are the next generation of their successful Gen 1 and 2 Stealth Hoodie Soft Shells covered here. The only difference between the Hoodie and the Jacket is that the Jacket lacks a hood, having a stand-up collar instead. With water resistance approaching that of a hard shell, but having the stretchiness and breathability of a soft shell, the new v3.0 Stealth Hoodie and Jacket end up somewhere in-between – a hybrid of sorts, further blurring the line between hard and soft shell.
To match the ballistic elbow guards , and if the user does not have knee pad pockets on his pants, TACARM offers a converted Alta knee pad with ballistic insert.
The foam insert has been replaced with a Kevlar insert (5″ x 9″, 24 layers, Level II, 5 1/8 ounces) with a Gortex outer shell. A Velcro closure has been sewn into the top of the knee pad so that the insert can be removed and also used in the knee pockets of the ACU and TRU. The Alta knee pads before modification weigh 6.5 ounces each, and 10.5 oz each after conversion.
