Bullet Boy on Shooting Sports

Life is often about the simple things.   Over the past few months I have been doing some personal testing on different products that I believed would make life easier and more comfortable – mostly for no good reason.   The economy is down and most Americans are feeling the effects.

I changed from having a desk job to working in the field doing construction (something I never dreamed I would be doing again).   One of the biggest changes and something I didn’t remember was that construction was hard work, I mean real hard.   I went from being a relative couch potato to being a professional athlete overnight.   I don’t mean I became athletic – my job did.   I went from wearing Suits to Boots.   I’m no stranger to hard labor – but if you haven’t done it in awhile…

Trading in my argyle socks for a pair of boot socks wasn’t easy.   My first day of work I threw on a pair of white cotton socks and came home with blisters!   Who knew that such discomfort would make me miserable.   I did some testing and found the perfect pair of socks, 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.

I tried a couple different brands and styles and found the 5.11 Tactical 9″ Socks to be the best for my needs.   I wanted a moisture wicking and an over the calf sock to keep my pants from sticking to me when wet.   They also must be comfortable and durable.

I work in extreme industrial settings and anyone that has ever worked in heavy industry knows that the term “industrial strength” is a joke.   Sure it maybe a little tougher but nothing will last with hard use.   In a recent 10 week Power Plant outage I broke two 1/2″ ratchets and wore out a pair of work boots.   But something that made it was the 5.11 socks.   I was surprised considering all the abuse my boots took.   I bought the 3 Pair Special and they are going on the next job with me.

Here are my Findings and notes on socks -

• Thorlo – Made in USA but not adequate cushion for the amount of heat (too thick) -THOR-LO ® X-Static ® Military Anti-Fatigue Sock
• Fox River – Made in USA but never felt comfortable – Wick Dry ® Maximum Boot Socks
• Hanes – Made in USA and allowed for blisters and non-wicking – Hanes Cushion Over-the-Calf Tube Socks

If you noticed I did keep track of the country of manufacture.   I have been trying to only buy American when it is possible. 5.11 Tactical ® Socks is that the socks are imported.

A down sides to these socks-   The fire retardant or ANSI specs are no where to be found.   Yeah Yeah!   Who cares right?   If you have ever seen poly clothing stick to someone after getting burned you would think differently.   Kind of surprising considering they market to first responders and fire-fighters.   I work around potential flash fires and extreme heat.   You get to wondering about what would happen if that 2000 ° Steam Vessel cracked.   I happen to like my skin and feet and do what I can to protect them.

If I find a comparable pair of socks Made in the USA that are rated I may switch.   But for the moment the best Pair of Socks I have found are the 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.

A few weeks back I made the decision to upgrade the XDM standard holster to a Blade Tech polymer holster. The included XD(m) gear holster worked fine but didn’t offer the security I was looking for.   After doing some looking and waiting at the local shops for holsters to come in stock for XDM’s I grew impatient.   After doing some talking and word of mouth I decided on Bladetech’s Sting Ray Belt Holster.

I also order Bladtech Magizine pouch to match. Apparently when shipping the order the Quality Assurance people mixed up pouch.   When I get the pouch in I will post more pictures.   Getting products from BladeTech can be tough.   Tough in the sense that everything is handmade when you place an order.   To get perfection   like Bladetech it takes time!!!   In truth everything I order was handmade specfic for me by workers here in the US.   I am happy with the product and supper glad I went for the extra cost and made the upgrade.   The perfect fit over an ejection molded pouch is far better than I expected.

If you are looking for a BladeTech SRB (Sting Ray Belt) holster you may have a hard time.   You can always look through the horrendous Bladetech website with hundreds of clicks and to no avail.   Just skip the website and call them (253)581-4347.   Tell them you read about in from “bullet boy” and they may give you a discount.   Also tell them it is time to tune up their website.

About the SRB from the holster website:

Now our most popular holster comes with our new (Sting Ray) belt Attachment. This attachment is wider than our standard belt attachment, thus providing a more stable platform, also being wider it tends to pull the gun in closer to the body, aiding in concealment. With the SR loop this holster can be adjusted from Straight Drop, to FBI cant to muzzle forward with just your standard screwdriver.This Belt holster is interchangeable with our paddle, Tek-Lok, Drop and Offset loops. This holster comes with our new adjustable belt loop that has a shim that can be adjusted from 1 1/4 to 2 1/4 inch belts. IDPA Approved.

A while back I was contacted to do a product review.   When I read about Plugs HatTail Headwear’s Plugs hat I was a bit skeptical.   In fact when I read about it I chuckled a little.   As always open minded and willing to try anything once I obliged. It took a couple read of Tom Duffy’s e-mail to decide weather it was spam or not.
You can see if you read it too:

Hello,

I came across your blog today by way of google. I am really impressed. There aren’t many good shooting blogs for sport shooters out there! Anyways, my name is Tom Duffy and I am involved with a company called HatTail Headwear. www.hattail.com

HatTail Headwear has a product called Plugs. Plugs offer a unique feature built into the hat specifically for shooting. The feature is a built in ear plug for each ear. The ear plugs are rated specifically for shooting (-27db) and when retracted they hide nicely inside the hat to maintain some sense of
fashion.

The reason that I’m contacting you is to see if you would like a sample hat to review on your blog. If you would like one, just email me at tom@techremedy.net and I will send you one. The main thing that differentiates this from a normal request for a product review is that I’m not asking for a GREAT REVIEW! I’m asking for an honest review. This product is new and not very well known yet. We have so much confidence in the product that we know when it becomes more well known, people will like it.

Please let me know if you are interested in a sample. Either way, I was so impressed with shootingsportsblog.com that I will be a continued reader and will definitely share the site with my other shooting buddies.

Thanks for the great blog!

Tom Duffy

As a disclaimer I was in no way paid for this review and to keep my integrity this is 100% honest.

My first few thoughts about the hat before ever seeing it 1) Where is made 2) What about replacement ear plugs 3) What about hygiene

I found out the hat is made in China and custom work is done in Stockton, California.   Replacements are readily available and most any brand can be used.   The verdict is still out on hygiene.   Being directly attached to the sweat band of the hat bacteria and germs could build up and cause ear infections – problem with any ear plug.

In truth I am a bit of a connoisseur of hats. I give the hat a tolerable comfort level, on my head. The bill of the hat needs a little work as it seems to be a bit flimsy. The material of the crown or bucket part was of good quality in a 5 panel style. It is a one size fits all adjustable hook-n-loop closure. I like the concept in fact I love it. But some changes need to be made for me.

I would like to see the same concept held into a an unstructured under armor type of hat. s-m-l-xl stretch fit. Also gives more options to embroider on too. A newer more stylish hat.

All in all I think the has great potential and would like to do a more detailed review and propose the next line of plugs hat. But for the time being the product I reviewed is a good. For a day at the range in style the plugs hat meets the need. What would be really cool is get these hats and give them out in the goody bag at the matches along with the t-shirts.They will also let you design your own hat for a personalized cap.

In attempt to put together a video with my new video equipment I made an attempt at making a video demonstrating the plugs.   What do you think?