I practically always use surplus kit. Here in the UK it seems to be way cheaper that the commercial gear, even new. For example a full 1990 pattern set of webbing costs just £30, a bergen (rucsack) £70, and a Gore-tex bivvy bag costs....wait for it...... £50 compared to up to £300 for comercial ones.

Having been down this one before.

Doug sends a request for a free sample of the product to be reviewed. If the vendor will supply a free sample for review, Doug will review.

His selling point to the vendor is the wide public access to a non-biased review. Something akin to Consumer Reports.

It all really hinges on the vendor

Can't argue with your pictures John, most of what my shop has been running lately is aircraft parts and i would assume that the inspection process is less rigorous for things that don't fly.

On an unrelated topic, are you still in training for radiology? I went on a tour of a company that makes radiation shields for cancer patients. They make three dimensional aluminum or brass shields for limiting radiation exposure to surrounding tissues. Each one is custom made for a patient, with less than twelve hour turn around time. Really neat and hi tech machine shop.

Yes, I am still studying radiology. It will be a little while before I get my degree, but I'm in no hurry. I love my job as an officer, I just want something for "backup," I guess you could say.

The radiation shields sound very interesting. Twelve hour turn around, that's just awesome. It amazes me how many strides have been made in the medical field in the past decade or so. And with the recent mapping of the complete human genome...we can only expect more strides in the near future.

John McIntire

That omega vest looks coo,l what kind of hydration system can go in the back? I want to know because I might get one.

Frank <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

It has a built-in pouch for hydration systems in the back. It's designed to hold Blackhawk's "Hydrastorm" line...but I have seen fellow SAR members with a Camelback in theirs. In my opinion, it will fit any bladder on the market. The Omega EOD (the one I have pictured) is a great vest, if you want some more pictures of it, just drop me a line. Here's a link to the full specifications on the Blackhawk website: Blackhawk Omega EOD Assault Vest Hope that helps!

John McIntire

I need a good vest and that one looks perfect for me. I was also planing on buying a camel bak now I can just buy the vest. But I also might buy a small camel bak anyway so I don't have to be stuck wearing a vest if I don't want to.

Frank <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />