GearExpert

Hiking Mt. Rainier Part 2 – The SureFire AZ2 LED Flashlight Impresses!

Sep 13 • News • 7551

Today we have part two of Devin’s fantastic trio of posts covering his trip to Mt. Rainier. Yesterday he described the Vanguard Endeavor ED Binoculars, but today he’s letting us know about one of the most important pieces of camping and hiking gear: a flashlight. Devin took along the SureFire AZ2 LED Flashlight, and he was able to use it quite a bit as he navigated the great outdoors!

The SureFire AZ2 LED Flashlight proved to be very useful while camping on Mt Rainier this past year. We got to the campsite late Thursday evening, set up the tent and started making dinner as the sun was going down. I used the AZ2 to unpack the car and while I prepared dinner.

The SureFire AZ2 Flashlight has multiple brightness settings to give you the amount of light you need! Use either 35 Lumens or 150 Lumens.

This was my first time camping in Mt Rainier National Park and I wanted to get myself oriented before I went to bed so I took some time to review the map of the park too see where we’d be hiking the next day. The AZ2 came in handy for reading the map in the tent as well as getting myself settled in my bag.

The light itself is robust and powerful. It’s aluminum body features SureFire’s “CombatGrip” design with a rubber collar that prevent the light from slipping out of cold or wet hands. The SureFire AZ2 has two settings that can be accessed by the turn of the bezel. You can choose momentary on by depressing the button on the tail cap. Press part way for a wide beam of 35 lumens or all the way down for a long 150 lumen blast. Running on two (included) CR123A batteries this 5 LED flashlight boasts a 6 hour runtime on LOW and 2 hours on HIGH.

This flashlight has a simple enough operation for everyday use as well as the durability and lumen power for tactical applications.

The best way to stay safe and have a great time camping is with a flashlight. You might need to check a map, look for potentially dangerous wildlife or simply navigate rough terrain. It sounds like Devin found success with the SureFire AZ2 Flashlight. Stay tuned for part three of his Mt. Rainier trip!

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on Hiking Mt. Rainier Part 2 – The SureFire AZ2 LED Flashlight Impresses!
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Hiking & Camping in Seattle with Vanguard Endeavor Binoculars!

Sep 12 • News • 6177

I have an exciting new post for your today! Our Video Producer Devin recently went on a camping trip in Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State and he was kind enough to tell me a bit about his trip so I could share with all of you! You may remember Devin from his previous GearExpert post on Dog Sledding trip in Minnesota. He knows a thing or two about hiking and camping, and he’s going to share his thoughts on the Vanguard Endeavor ED 8×42 Binocular.

Today’s post is just part one of three, so be sure to stay tuned for more on his trip!

I really enjoyed field testing the Vanguard Endeavor ED 8x42mm binocular during a couple day hikes I went on at Mt. Rainier National Park. Since I’ve started working at OpticsPlanet I’ve had the opportunity to try out many makes and models of binoculars and while that doesn’t exactly give me a doctorate in sport optics I’ve seen enough from the high end and low end to tell the basic differences. The 8×42 Endeavor ED is a really fantastic mid range binocular.

The Endeavor Binoculars fit nicely in your hands for a comfortable grip.

Right out of the box you’ll see they are an ergonomically shaped roof prism design with a rubberized armor coating. Holding these in my hands I noticed my fingers fell naturally over the focus wheel making glassing a hillside feel very fluid and steady. The Endeavor ED has a really nice wide field of view and the clarity of the glass is crisp and gorgeous with no noticeable color bleeding or weird distortion of long range objects. The diopter ring of this binocular has a smart locking feature which keeps it out of any danger of being knocked out of whack after you have adjusted it.

The rubber lens caps are easy to remove and attach to the strap.

The ocular and objective lens covers are made from relatively soft rubber and are easy to attach to the binocular strap and body so that you won’t lose them. The 8×42 Vanguard Endeavor ED also comes with a really nice neck strap and carrying case. The neck strap installs easily and has a neoprene padding which is very soft on your neck. It also offers some relief so if I ever got a jolt from slipping while I was hiking the binocular strap wouldn’t slam on the back of my neck. The carrying case is compact and fairly well padded. The material feels very durable not cheap like some cases you typically find with some other brands. It had a single belt loop on the back if you wanted to thread your belt through it or even perhaps attach it to the waist strap of a hiking pack. The shoulder strap leaves a little to be desired since Vanguard really set the bar high with the neck strap but to be honest once I had this bino out of the case it never went back in because I was having a lot of fun using them. Aesthetically it is also a pretty cool looking binocular as well. The Vanguard Endeavor line itself really stands apart from the competition with their gun metal open bridge design, neon green stripes around the eye cups and matching stitching on the neck strap. I also noticed that the eye cups have an interesting design as well. When adjusting the eye relief, each eyepiece seems to extend past each setting before falling back slightly to seat itself in each position instead of simply stopping abruptly at each point. This didn’t affect the operation of the binocular but was just a slick, stylish touch like an automatic seatbelt arm in a 335i BMW Coupe. All in all I was really impressed with the Vanguard Endeavor ED 8x42mm binocular. It’s an incredibly well-designed binocular with fantastic clarity and it’s quality exceeds its modest price point.

Devin Viewing Mt Rainier with Vanguard Endeavor Binoculars

Can I just say I’m jealous? Look at the views in those photos! Devin also took along a flashlight and GPS unit, so come back here to GearExpert in the coming days to read more about his trip to Mt. Rainier!

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on Hiking & Camping in Seattle with Vanguard Endeavor Binoculars!
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Gun Safety – What to Do, What to Think

Sep 7 • News • 4870

Gun safety is a huge subject. You can approach it from a number of different angles, from the gear you need and the specific actions you need to take to the general mindset you should have. The NRA’s gun safety rules are a great place to start, and they cover a lot of the basics. Things like keeping your finger off the trigger, pointing the gun in a safe direction and keeping the gun unloaded until ready to use. One of the first rules I ever learned is to assume the gun is always loaded, even if I just unloaded it. We’re all a bit absentminded on occasion, so taking this extra little precaution can quite literally save a life.

Here’s a quick list of gun safety tips to think about before you head out with your firearm or store it:
- Don’t rely on the gun’s safety – This is similar to assuming a gun is always loaded. Just good commonsense dictates you treat such a potentially dangerous tool as such.
- Know your gun – Like many shooters, I’m a big fan of getting to know a gun before I operate it. In one of my favorite films, The Ghost in the Darkness, Val Kilmer takes an untested rifle on a lion hunt only to have it fail at a particularly inopportune moment. You should know how your gun works, from where the magazine goes in to what exactly the safety does when engaged. When you buy a new gun it’s a good idea to give it a good cleaning and get to know each part. Not only does regular cleaning prolong the life of your gun, it also makes you more confident handling it. The Hoppe’s 9 Boresnake is a fast and easy way to give your gun a quick clean. Check out the Boresnake VIPERfor a little extra cleaning power.
  Hoppes 9 Boresnake – A quick, easy and effective way to clean your bore!
- Know your target – This is an good gun safety tip and something newer shooters tend to overlook. When I was young my dad let me fire a BB gun on occasion. I would take all the pop cans I could find out to a tree stump and run through BBs as fast as possible. One day I was shooting and noticed after a couple shots that I’d nearly hit a squirrel on a tree a little ways down. It never crossed my mind at the time that the shots I missed or even the ones that hit the can but passed through might hit something behind the target. Consider if your target is thin enough for bullets to easily pass through or hard enough to cause ricochets. If you’re hunting, having a really good pair of binoculars, spotting scope or rifle scope is important for more than simply hitting your target. If it’s getting dark a powerful scope with perfect glass, good lens coatings and a large objective lens will collect a lot of light and help you see past a deer to the surrounding trees and foliage. A rifle scope that transmits little light may not show you a person on the other side of your target.
- Store your gun securely – This is important, and it’s another safety rule that you have to think very carefully about. Proper gun storage can take many forms, much like gun safety, so if you’re transporting a firearm on a plane you’ll have a different type of storage unit or case than at home. When you’re traveling you’ll likely use a strong but lightweight case like a Pelican 1720 Watertight Protector Case, whereas at home most shooters prefer a heavier safe. Cannon and Mesa have quite a few heavy-duty safes that’ll keep your firearms out of the wrong hands.
  The Gunvault SpeedVault helps you get to your handgun quickly in case of an emergency, but a heavier safe will provide greater security. With proper storage and humidity control, a good gun safe will keep your guns in perfect condition for decades!
- Store your gun UNLOADED – This goes along with having a good gun safe or cabinet. When you put your gun away, make sure it isn’t loaded. Still treat the gun like it’s loaded, but store it unloaded. Hopefully no one will ever gain access to your firearm without your approval, but in the event they do it’s best the gun is unloaded until you’re ready to use it.
- Holster retention – Much like you properly store a gun when away from it, when carrying a handgun you need the proper holster. Different holster manufacturers design their retention differently. BlackHawk Serpa holsters are tough and feature multiple levels of retention (read more about SERPA in my last post!), while an older-fashioned leather holster by Galco will have an entirely different set of retention features. Make sure you know what retention features your holster has, and how to use them.
  Whether you pick a classic leather holster or advanced injected-molded polymer holster, make sure it has the level of retention you need!
- Eye and Ear Protection – Keeping safe and healthy when shooting is very important. You don’t want spent brass hitting you in the eye or loud reports from your gun or someone else’s to affect your hearing. These days there are a ton of options for protecting your eyes and ears. You’ll see safety ratings like ANSI, OHSA and MIL (which is the strict military standard) on most shooting glasses. You may not always need eye protection that meets MIL-PRF-31013, but any decent pair of shooting glasses will be at least ANSI rated. For a full breakdown of the various things to look for in shooting glasses, check out our Choosing Shooting Goggles & Glasses How-To Guide. As for hearing protection, there are a number of options here as well, though they tend to fall into either the simple sound-muffling earmuffs or plugs and the more advanced hearing enhancers, which not only safeguard your hearing but also enable you to hear what you want without the deafening gunshots going off in your ear. While it’s hard to argue with the old-fashioned yet reliable sound mufflers, these new hearing enhancers help you stay safe on the range or hunting grounds by letting you continue conversations or hear someone walking up. It’s never a good idea to be startled when you’re armed. If you’re looking for eye and ear protection in a single package check out our new Radians OPMOD SRP Vision and Hearing Protection Performance Kit. The glasses and ear muffs are comfortable and effective. They’re perfect for a day at the range or when you’re out hunting.
  Eye and Ear Proction from the Radians OPMOD Vision & Hearing Protection Performance Kit!
This is just a brief list of the things to consider when handling a gun, but one thing that’s probably best to look for when learning about firearms is a good teacher. Many of us learn gun safety from our parents, although I’m sure many of you picked up a fair amount of safety tips in the military or when training to be a police officer. Find a qualified instructor who can spot problems before they cause harm. Above all else, treat a firearm with respect. As long as you do that you’re headed in the right direction.

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on Gun Safety – What to Do, What to Think
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BlackHawk Rebate Helps you Save Some Dough$$$!!!

Sep 5 • News • 5121

We’re big fans of BlackHawk here at GearExpert by OpticsPlanet. It was just a few weeks ago that I wrote about my camping/hiking experience with the BlackHawk Sling Backpack, and I was mighty impressed. Well, BlackHawk has started a rebate promotion that makes buying a wide variety of their products a little more tempting.

As if it wasn’t tempting enough already!

First things first, take a look at the rebate form. This particular rebate is for purchases made between July 15 and October 31, 2012. But what products? Well, you can see a full lineup on the rebate form, but I thought I’d take a closer look at a few of the BlackHawk items you can save a bit more on right now.

BlackHawk Serpa Holsters

BlackHawk Serpa Holsters are very popular. When we visited BlackHawk’s booth at SHOT Show last January they ran through a lot of the features on their newest offerings, and there was a whole lot to take in! One of the main features that makes people gravitate toward SERPA is the consistency of the draw with these holsters. Like many of you, I like leather holsters, but you have to put a lot of time and effort into working the leather to make it feel the way you want. SERPA holsters always draw the same. These carbon fiber holsters are interchangeable, so if you get a new one and attach it to your belt or choose a model with a Y-harness you’ll have a familiar draw regardless. That’s a big deal, as you won’t have to relearn your draw every time you try out a new holster!

There are a wide variety of BlackHawk SERPA Holsters to choose from. Find the perfect fit for your handgun.

BlackHawk SERPA holsters also have a lot of retention features to make sure you and only you are able to draw the gun when it’s on your hip. There are different levels, but regardless of the level with a little practice it will become easy and natural for you to draw your sidearm.

If you buy one of these SERPA Holsters right now you can use the rebate form to get $10 back!

BlackHawk Nylon Hip Holsters

If you don’t want a hard molded holster like the SERPA, you can also save some money on BlackHawk Nylon Hip Holsters. The Sportster series isn’t part of this, but there are still quite a few nylon holsters to choose from. The nice thing about these holsters is you can use them for more than one gun, and they adjust so quickly and easily that it’s hardly no work at all! I included the video at the top of the page so you can see how simple the process of adjusting these holsters really is! The thumb snap can be aimed in either direction to accommodate the way you like to draw. I prefer to have my thumb go straight into my grip, but everyone is different. You get a bit more versatility with a BlackHawk Nylon Holster than with a SERPA, as those are very specific in their fit.

These holsters are already fairly cost effecient, but you can get $3 back with the rebate on BlackHawk Nylon Holsters right now. Remember that does not include the Sportster Series.

$5 back on BlackHawk Slings

BlackHawk Tactical Releasable STRIKE Sling

Since I wrote my post a few weeks back on the BlackHawk Sling Backpack I can honestly say BlackHawk knows a thing or two about helping you haul your gear. While that bag is not included in this rebate, all BlackHawk Slings are! A number of options are available for the rebate, but the one I’ll focus on is the BlackHawk Tactical Releasable STRIKE Sling. It’s a simple to use and fairly adaptable sling. The metal snap hooks work with most weapon systems, and can attach to MOLLE webbing or the STRIKE system by BlackHawk. You can detach your rifle quickly with the STRIKE Sling, so it’s a great way to improve your performance without adding a complex piece of equipment to your arsenal.

BlackHawk Apparel – Men’s and Women’s Tactical Clothes

The last category of products I want to talk about are BlackHawk Men’s and Women’s Apparel. This was another big part of BlackHawk’s display at SHOT Show, and they impressed us back in January, especially with their new women’s clothing. Tactical clothing tends to be cut the same way for both men and women, with just smaller sizes for the ladies, but BlackHawk took a whole new look at their clothes and redesigned them with the feminine figure in mind. They still have the same materials and construction as their other tactical clothes, but the fit is better suited to women now.

BlackHawk Womens Tactical Pants were designed to fit the female form better than most other tactical clothing.

You’ll get $10 back with the rebate on a number of different BlackHawk clothing options right now! Just look for “after rebate” next to the price!

That’s a lot of chances to get money back from BlackHawk, and it really just scratches the surface. Take a look at the Rebate form for all the BlackHawk Gear you can get money back on right now. Remember it’s only on purchases made between July 15 and October 31, 2012!

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on BlackHawk Rebate Helps you Save Some Dough$$$!!!
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FLIR PS-24 Giveaway Sweepstakes – Learn More about Thermal Imaging!

Sep 4 • News • 7684

FLIR is unquestionably one of the world’s top manufacturers of thermal imaging devices. We recently had a visit from a couple FLIR representatives to give us a better look at their thermal imagers and explain the best uses of various models, and they were kind enough to give us a new FLIR PS-24 Thermal Camera for a sweepstakes! If you want to win this thermal imager, just head over to the product page and enter your email! The sweepstakes ends September 17, 2012, so don’t wait!

But why would you want a FLIR PS-24?

The Scout PS-24 is really cool. As you can see in the video at the top of the page, we recently got to take a look at this thermal imager and had a lot of fun trying it out. While there are certainly some funny uses, like writing messages on walls using the heat from your hands, this thermal camera has a ton of practical uses. From helping spot game on hunting trips to checking for home intruders (or, in my case, if there are skunks in the backyard who will spray my overly friendly dog Samson), there are nigh endless uses for thermal.

But these things are true for pretty much any good thermal imager. The PS-24 is special because it’s one of the most affordable thermal imagers in the world. At only $1999, the PS-24 remains high performing and reliable. We ran around with one for a few days testing it in various situations and it never failed. You really can’t find any other quality thermal imager for that price.

The FLIR PS24 fits in the palm of your hand

I’ve held a handful of different thermal imagers, and the PS-24 was easily the lightest I’ve ever seen. Not only does it fit in the palm of your hand, it only weighs 12 oz. with the battery! You hardly feel it! The Scout also has a nice shape that you don’t mind holding onto for a while. Considering the battery will generally last over 5 hours, you can hold it the whole time without feeling like your arm is about to fall off! That battery is rechargeable, so don’t worry about buying tons of batteries.

Thermal Imagers can see past camouflage in a way your normal eyesight and night vision can!

One of the features I like most about the PS-24 Thermal Camera is the various color palettes you can use. Thermal is all about contrast, which is what makes it so easy to find animals and people through them. Normal night vision can be great, but some objects are still hard to see if they blend into the background. With thermal, hot objects pop up clear as can be, making it extremely easy to spot game or intruders. The PS-24 makes this even easier with three different visual styles that all make it easy to find an object. You can set it for white hot, which, as the name implies, makes hotter objects appear white, black hot, which is the inverse, or (my favorite) Instalert. Instalert highlights the hottest heat signatures in yellow and red. You’re sure to find something right away. So if I’m scanning my yard for skunks I’ll see that bright red spot immediately, giving me ample time to react and keep my dogs, and myself, out of spraying-distance.

Seconds count. From hunting and tactical operations where you must see potential targets immediately to fire fighting where picking out a warm body can mean the difference between saving someone and missing them, the PS-24 gives you the chance to always find what you’re looking for. It’s small, lightweight and packs a wide variety of features for a very reasonable price. We’re proud to offer them in our store, and even prouder to be giving one away in our new sweepstakes!

FLIR PS24 Thermal Imager for GearExpert by OpticsPlanet

Enter for your chance to win, and be sure to check out all the thermal imagers by FLIR to see which one is best for your needs!

OpticsPlanet • 4 Comments on FLIR PS-24 Giveaway Sweepstakes – Learn More about Thermal Imaging!
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