Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield is an iconic pistol. The subcompact Shield is one of the most popular handguns on the market today. I carried a Shield 2.0 as my primary EDC handgun for a little under a year, and statistically many of you reading this have owned or carried one at some point, too. I am a big fan of the Shield but I think the best of the bunch has been completely ignored.
WML Review: LAPG SlideRail XWL
I have reviewed a number of WMLs on this site. I recently decided to check out a weapon-mounted light from LA Police Gear, the LAPG SideRail XWL. To be honest I didn’t have terribly high expectations, but it’s nice to be pleasantly surprised every now and then. Bottom line up front: this is a solid, durable light at a very budget-friendly price. Let’s get into it!
Gun Owner 101: Holsters and Carry
This post begins a news series called “Gun Owner 101.” I am opening this series with a detailed discussion of holsters and carry. In it I cover the purpose of a holster, holster materials, common features of a good holster, various carry positions. Throughout I offer some tips and tricks and some pitfalls to avoid. Though this isn’t everything there is to know about holsters, it should help you make a good decision about a holster.
Lumbar Pack: Oregon Pack Works
My recent rediscovery of the Mountainsmith Tour sparked some curiosity about the lumbar pack market. The lumbar pack is exceedingly appealing to me, but I’ve only ever worn one brand. Curious about other offerings I set about looking for other companies that made similar products. The first one I landed on was Oregon Pack Works’ Lumbar Pack.
Dry Practice Tools: The Mantis Blackbeard
With ammunition at record-high cost and record-low availability, hitting the range might not be an option for many of you. Articles abound about how to continue firearms practice during the shortage, most involving some sort of dry practice. It seems like everyone is on the bandwagon and dry practice is no longer just for weirdos like these guys. Some exciting new tools are available to make dry practice more productive and engaging; one of the most interesting is the Mantis Blackbeard.
EDC Flashlight Review: Olight I5T
The new(ish) Olight I5T is a lightweight, compact, AA-powered flashlight, and big brother to the Olight I3T I recently reviewed. In fact, the appearance of the newer, AA-model prompted me to review the AAA-powered I3T. Let’s take a look at the new light.
EDC Flashlight Review: Olight I3T
I’m generally not the biggest fan of AAA-powered lights. After reviewing the Streamlight Microstream I figured maybe it was time to give the AAA Olight I3T another look. I have a little bit of history with this light. I actually own two of them because this was one of the first lights with a pocket clip that I carried on a daily basis (the second was purchased as a backup).
Lumbar Pack: Mountainsmith Tour
Writing about the Helikon Essentials Kitbag recently got me thinking about alternate means of load-carriage. Backpacks are cool, all of us probably own one, but they aren’t the only fish in the sea. Today I’m going to revisit one of my old favorites: the Mountainsmith Tour lumbar pack, an alternative to the ubiquitous backpack.
Malkoff Conversion LED for Legacy Surefires
Like many guys of my age and background I have some old, legacy Surefire flashlights lying around. These lights where the cat’s pajamas back in the day. I recently pulled out my old Surefire 6P “Defender” and was blown away…by how weak the light was. Good news, though: you can breathe new life into those old flashlights with the Malkoff Conversion LED.
Streamlight TLR-9 Handgun Light
In early 2020 Streamlight released a new line of weapon-mounted lights. One of those was the TLR RM2 long gun light, which I’ve reviewed here. Another was the Streamlight TLR-9 is a new-for-2020 weapon-mounted light for handguns. Let’s take a closer look at the TLR-9 handgun light.