Tumblr (3.0; @jameseilers)http://jameseilers.com/<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3o5npWG521qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/22602623718http://jameseilers.com/post/22602623718Mon, 07 May 2012 16:16:36 -0400<p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2yjvuysQj1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>Here&#8217;s another piece of kit that <a href="http://www.veltye.com/" title="Vel-Tye">Vel-Tye</a> made for me recently:  a low profile soft armor carrier. <!-- more -->The ubiquitous Eagle Maritime CIRAS vest was part of my standard gear issue, which includes the soft armor inserts as well as plates. I find the <a href="http://lbtinc.com/modular-medium-plate-carrier-2.html" title="London Bridge Trading">LBT 6094 plate carrier</a> to be a far superior vest. It is less bulky and provides a more streamlined setup. The 6094 does provide spaces for soft armor, plates, and even side plates. Since my soft armor is cut to fit the CIRAS vest though, I needed a separate soft armor carrier to wear under the plate carrier. Vel-Tye said they could make me what I needed, and at an extremely competitive price, compared to off the shelf low profile soft armor vest. And I was getting it custom fit and made to my specifications.</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2yjwr4FuL1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>The carrier turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. The fit is very snug, but adjustable to accommodate what I&#8217;m wearing underneath. The outer fabric is tan 1000D Cordura with a lightweight nylon mesh on the inside to help with cooling. In the center of the chest and back is a square section of hook to interface with the loop sections that the inside of the LBT carriers have. This feature locks the plate carrier into place and keeps it from shifting around while moving.</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m32d7jfKEm1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>The shoulder straps have a type of super Velcro hook at the ends (I am not sure of the actual name) so that once you have the length set they will not move. The super Velcro hook takes some serious force to pull off.</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m32dcaFR6F1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>As I do with all of my gear, I carefully trimmed the corners of all the velcro for smoother operation and to avoid snagging. fingernail clippers work best for this. </p> <p>Vel-Tye makes a solid product. I highly recommend them for anyone who is looking for a custom piece of kit.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/21824717627http://jameseilers.com/post/21824717627Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:05:00 -0400tacticalgearmilitarybody armor<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3254iE9Zk1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/21809721913http://jameseilers.com/post/21809721913Wed, 25 Apr 2012 18:57:53 -0400<p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2v5e17jOZ1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>The awesome people over at <a href="http://www.veltye.com/" title="Vel-Tye">Vel-Tye</a> here in Virginia Beach made me a custom lid organizer for my 1660 Pelican case to take advantage of extra MOLLE pouches and to give me a modular system for organizing smaller items in my load-out box.</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2v5kc7yHN1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>If you are interested in one of these, contact Vel-Tye. They kept the drawings and measurements in my file in case anyone else ended up ordering one.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/21550629664http://jameseilers.com/post/21550629664Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:28:45 -0400geartacticalMOLLEmilitary<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1tdeev3xS1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/20299455538http://jameseilers.com/post/20299455538Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:44:37 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m1e8vj1H0d1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/19834426845http://jameseilers.com/post/19834426845Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:42:52 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0zupdZpd21qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/19409627177http://jameseilers.com/post/19409627177Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:10:23 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0y2b2sxJK1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/19359049613http://jameseilers.com/post/19359049613Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:59:25 -0400<p>It started with GORUCK bags, then I recently noticed that Arc&#8217;teryx has been using them on their LEAF line. Getting rid of the noisy and annoying metallic zipper pulls is the way to go. GORUCK uses core-less 550 cord with dual wall heat shrink tubing with an adhesive liner. The core-less 550 cord provides a meaty zipper pull and allows for a slimmer knot. On small items and clothing single wall heat shrink tubing and a small diameter accessory cord works well. On my Arc&#8217;teryx Beta AR and very well worn Gamma AR I used the existing cord and just cut the metal zipper pulls and retied them with the heat shrink tubing.</p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m01djeS6bs1qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m01ea9gqw81qaicih.jpg"/></p> <p>I have had a very hard time finding small diameter nylon cord with a tight weave that you normally find on the zipper pulls of many jackets, but <a href="http://countycomm.com/tether.html" title="County Comm 3/32 tether cord">3/32 tether cord</a> will also work. For heat shrink tubing you can find single wall tubing at any store that sells electronic components, for dual wall tubing try auto parts stores.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/18368561725http://jameseilers.com/post/18368561725Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:55:06 -0500zippergeargoruckarc'teryxarcteryx<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzzgyqTwfi1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/18296304435http://jameseilers.com/post/18296304435Sat, 25 Feb 2012 23:40:00 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzmmdyCN7V1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/17869979614http://jameseilers.com/post/17869979614Sun, 19 Feb 2012 01:08:19 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lysxa5ORte1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16962892514http://jameseilers.com/post/16962892514Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:15:40 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lys41sJt7o1qb4ngmo1_r1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The Roosevelt Lake Dam.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/16928401689http://jameseilers.com/post/16928401689Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:44:00 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lys40qGWC51qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>View along the Apache Trail outside of Phoenix, AZ.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/16928377862http://jameseilers.com/post/16928377862Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:43:37 -0500arizonacanyons<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lys1a2QyXz1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>My GORUCK GR1 out with me on the dunes at White Sands National Monument.</p>http://jameseilers.com/post/16926153006http://jameseilers.com/post/16926153006Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:44:25 -0500GORUCKgr1white sandsnew mexico<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyqiaj28t81qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16881782283http://jameseilers.com/post/16881782283Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:56:41 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyp0f9UR9E1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16850521906http://jameseilers.com/post/16850521906Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:33:06 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyonw4iyT31qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16836697038http://jameseilers.com/post/16836697038Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:02:27 -0500<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyomdwmVWi1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16834793158http://jameseilers.com/post/16834793158Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:29:55 -0500<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyo5z6ceQl1qb4ngmo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/>http://jameseilers.com/post/16820331778http://jameseilers.com/post/16820331778Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:35:26 -0500