Accessories

Grime Boss Hand Wipes – A Shooting Bag Necessity

January 28, 2013 By Tom Leave a Comment

The best part of our annual SHOT Show pilgrimage is learning about new products from fascinating people.

Grime Boss Hand Wipes SHOT Show 2013

One guy in particular took top honors for cleanest and freshest handshake. He was representing Grime Boss Hand Wipes at the Realtree Outdoors booth. That’s where he accosted us and asked if he could clean our hands. It wasn’t as creepy as it sounds and the price was right, so we readily agreed.

At first use, we were sold. Even wandering the indoor halls of SHOT Show one manages to pick up a fair amount of grime, people smudge, germs, coffee spill residue and who knows what else. The effectiveness of these wipes was amazing. We felt instantly clean and refreshed. Well, as clean as one can feel in Vegas.

You see, Grime Boss Hand Wipes are not sissy wipes and they are entirely inappropriate for babies’ bottoms. They don’t smell like flowers or freshly sanitized diaper pails. They are bona-fide field wipes. You might even call them tactical.

What’s cool about them, other than not smelling like Martha Stewart’s interpretation of the Kardashian Baby Nursery, is that they are made by mashing two materials together. One side is rough, really rough. As in clean mud off your truck tires rough. The other is smooth. And the whole mess is soaked in a chemical free bath containing Vitamin E and Aloe.

We’ve found all sorts of uses for Grime Boss Hand Wipes:

You can keep a pack in your range bag to wipe the lead and grime off before you leave. Safety first right?
Keep some in the workshop for cleaning tools, smooth work surfaces and of course your hands. The rough side of Grime Boss hand Wipes are incredibly versatile for light industrial cleanup.
Keep some in the car – not just for hands but other joys like melted Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Dairy Queen Blizzard drips. No further comment.
You can use them to clean dog poop out of puppy paws. Again, no further comment.
Live in a bachelor pad? Don’t feel like running the dishwasher? Use you imagination…
Still living in a bachelor pad? Company on the way and the bathroom is a little skanky? There you go.

Grime Boss Hand Wipes are packaged in a variety of ways for different applications. The single use foil packs are great for range bag and car application. For more frequent use scenarios get the multi-pack. This one is NOT packed in a plastic container on purpose. It won’t roll around, or under the workbench, it’s easier to store, and the package design keeps the last one as moist as the first.

Highly recommended!


Available Here	GRIME BOSS Field Hand Wipes

SOG Twitch II Partially Serrated Folding Knife

November 5, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

We stopped by the SOG booth at the 2012 NRA Annual Meeting and had a great discussion with the nice folks at SOG about everyday folding knives.

The best feature of the SOG Twitch II folding knife is it’s easy one-handed opening

We quickly ended up checking out the SOG Twitch line of pocket folders. Available in at least three different sizes, with several finishes, and with straight or non-serrated blades, there’s a Twitch model to suit most personal preferences. We ended up choosing the SOG Twitch II folding knife with a 2.68 inch blade and 6.2 inch overall length. Ours features the half-serrated blade. A little more difficult to sharpen, yes, but we were looking for a handy rope cutter.

Here’s what’s sooper dooper handy about the SOG Twitch II Partially Serrated Folding Knife:

While many folders can be opened with one hand with relative easily, the SOG Twitch II takes convenience to a whole new level. For one-handed opening, most folders rely on your thumb pushing the blade out using either a blade-mounted knob or some other form of protrusion on the top side of the blade. The Kershaw Ken Onion Vapor II works like this and it’s been a favorite of ours for years.

There are two differences with the SOG Twitch II approach. First, there is some spring assist action at play which helps snap the blade open. More importantly, activation is done with your index finger on the back side of the knife. Simply press on the exposed tab and the blade virtually flies open. It’s one of the easiest knives we’ve seen to open single-handed. This makes the SOG Twitch II perfect for those vitally important everyday knife chores. Like opening stuff.

The even niftier thing about this design is that the tab used to flip open the blade positions itself as a finger guard when the blade is open. Smart.

If you’re uncomfortable with how easy the blade opens, no worries. The SOG Twitch II features a positive locking tab on the back of the knife. It will securely lock the blade closed if you like. A removable belt clip rounds out the package.

All in all, this is the handiest folder in our knife drawer. It comes from the factory razor-sharp and so far has not lost it’s edge.


Available Here	SOG Twitch II Partially Serrated Folding Knife

Filed Under: Accessories, Buyers Guide, Gun Accessories Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: buyers guide, folding knife review, folding knives, knife, knife review, Serrated Blades, Serrated Folding Knives, SOG, Sog Knife, Sog Specialty Knives, Sog Twitch, Sog Twitch Ii, Twitch Ii

Cold Steel “The Spike” Series Neck Knives

October 8, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Here’s a little something different for today.

We bought a Cold Steel Spike Neck Knife years ago, well, just because. It has turned out to be one handy piece of gear.

The Spike Series Neck Knives are fashioned from a solid piece of steel, and depending on the specific model, feature about a 4 1/2 inch blade. The blade if thick and tough enough for hard use, but has an edge capable of fine cutting. All edges are rounded so it’s comfortable to hold and use and the handle is wrapped with cord for grip, size, and comfort.

The neatest part? The Kydex sheath features a neck chain allowing you to carry The Spike around your neck with handle oriented downwards. It’s plenty secure and completely invisible. The sheath features other loops in case you want to mount it to MOLLE gear or just about anywhere else.


Available Here	Cold Steel “The Spike” Series Neck Knives

Filed Under: Accessories, Buyers Guide, Gun Accessories Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: buyers guide, Cold Steel, Cold Steel Spike, knife, Neck Knives, Series Neck Kniveswe, Spike

Slipstream and Slipstream STYX Weapons Lubricants

June 20, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

We try lots of stuff here and a small fraction makes it to our Buyers Guide – which highlights the gear we use on a regular basis and recommend to our readers.

One of the newest things to cross our desk was a set of lubricants from Crusader Weaponry.

Slipstream, Slipstream, and Slipstream STYX are all made from a space age nano-lubricant material that is carried and suspended in a synthetic oil. The result is a highly slippy substance that does a truly amazing job of reducing friction between moving parts on your gun. While the three products all share the same nano-lubricant technology, they differ as follows:

Slipstream: The standard lubricant and protectant for general purpose use and metal parts protection.

Slipstream Grease: The nano-lubricant is blended with the carrier oil in a much higher concentration. This yields a material of significantly higher viscosity. In the Peasant’s English, this means it’s really gooey and stays where you put it – for a long, long time.

Slipstream STYX: The standard Slipstream product with additional protectant ingredients that make it suitable for maritime or high-humidity applications. If you live in a swamp, like we do, use this.

Our Testing

Recently we received a brand-spanking new Springfield Armory TRP 1911 Armory Kote for review. It had never been fired, except for the factory test. On receipt, we completely cleaned and degreased the pistol. Don’t tell the folks from Springfield by the way – let’s just keep this between us. Using a grease application tool (Johnson & Johnson Q-Tip) we lightly coated the rails of the slide with Slipstream Grease. Using a lubricant application apparatus (torn piece of Hanes t-shirt, circa 1962) we then applied a small dose of Slipstream STYX lubricant to the barrel and other gun-part-like surfaces. At this point, we shot the be-jeepers out of this gun. Dirty handloads, factory cheap stuff, former soviet block imports, and premium self-defense ammo.

The slip-icity of the slide was immediately noticeable. The Springfield TRP comes out of the box tightly fitted with a hefty recoil and hammer spring. Racking the slide on a new one is not for the faint of heart. Or Justin Bieber. After a handful of highly accurate shots, thanks to the TRP, the slide action was smooth. And continued to get smoother over time.

We repeated this process for several outings with the exception of not removing the Slipstream Grease from the slide rails. We wanted to see how long it would stay in place. Many rounds and a dozen outings later, it’s still there. We found the slide rails to be a great application for the Slipstream Grease. We’re going to use it on our 1945 M1 Garand as that’s another gun that just screams for proper gun greasing.

Tips for success

Use these products sparingly. A little goes a long way, especially with the grease.
Make sure the exterior of your gun is wiped clean. Perfectly clean. The lubricants and grease are both dark grey / black in color and will get on your clothes if you carry concealed with a non-wiped gun. Not a big deal as long as you’re aware. We’ll make that tradeoff for a great gun lube. Clothes can be washed after all.
Get creative with the grease product. Think about places where you want the lube to stay put – and use the grease there.
We used the Slipstream standard product on a different gun – a Beretta PX4 – to see if there was any detectable difference in protection here in the swamps of South Cackalackee. Over the past couple of months, we’ve had no problem with the standard product here. If you play in wet environments, get the Slipstream STYX. If not, the standard Slipstream product is fine.


Available Here	SlipStream Lubricant and Grease Combo

Filed Under: Accessories, Buyers Guide Tagged With: gun grease, gun lube, gun oils, lubricants

Gunzilla Gun Cleaner, Lubricant, and Protectant – Look Ma! No Stink!

April 23, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

We’ve been using Gunzilla Gun Cleaner for over a year now on all of our firearms. And our noses are better for it.

Gunzilla is a plant-based cleaner, lubricant, and protectant. Being plant-based, it doesn’t stink up the house. Or explode. Or corrode things.

The real beauty of Gunzilla is that you can slop it all over your guns and gun parts to get rid of dirt, powder, copper, lead, and plastic fouling, but it does not leave a greasy and slippery residue. After cleaning, a quick wipe leaves surfaces feeling dry. We especially like using Gunzilla to clean polymer guns as it does not leave the polymer surfaces oily and slippery like petroleum based cleaner / lubricants.

We’ve also has great success with using it on AR platforms. As it feels “drier” than other lubricants, it does not tend to attract additional gunk. And over time, Gunzilla gets rid of residue from oily lubricants and builds its own protective barrier. We’ve found that our AR becomes easier to clean over time as carbon does not stick to parts like it did before regular use of Gunzilla.

One last thing. Being plant-based and not petroleum-based, Gunzilla is a great way to clean and protect black powder firearms. No more multi-step cleaning processes of soap and water followed by drying and a black powder friendly protectant. Just clean with Gunzilla, wipe it down, and your’re done. Nice and easy.

After a year of continuous use, we highly recommend it. We just ordered another years supply. And a bottle of the new Copperzilla cleaner for extra-tough fouling situations.


Available Here	Gunzilla 8 oz Pump Spray BC-10

Filed Under: Accessories, Buyers Guide Tagged With: CLP, gun cleaners, gun oil, GunZilla

Buyers Guide: Gargoyles Striker Shield Sunglasses

April 23, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

We reviewed these recently and found the Striker series to be a great pair of crossover glasses.

Stylish enough to wear as everyday sunglasses, yet built for ballistic protection. Clarity is excellent and the fit is very close to the face. This helps a lot with peripheral vision. We had unobstructed vision up, down, and to the sides.

Lighter than Perez Hilton’s loafers, these are exceptionally comfortable. So, if like use, you’re too lazy to carry a separate pair of shooting glasses to the range, just wear these.


Available Here	Gargoyles Men’s Striker Shield Sunglasses, Smoke Lens

Filed Under: Accessories, Buyers Guide Tagged With: eye protection, eyewear, gargoyles, safety, shooting glasses

Buyers Guide: ESS Crossbow Eyeshields

March 28, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

We did a full review on these a while back and were suitably impressed. In fact, we gave them our 4 Nun rating.

Apparently, you can even get shot in the face with while wearing them. Although we wouldn’t recommend that.

We like the interchangeable lenses, the lens locking mechanism and the comfort, but most of all, we liked the combination of anti-scratch and anti-fog treatments. Antis-scratch on the outside, and anti-fog inside. It really works.