There is a lot of “tacticool” gear out on the market that is advertising “made for military” or “military proven” and while it definitely looks the part, its not actually what is used. There are several reasons for this, like it might not fit the budget or it might just not be practical. Unfortunately, tactical gear has become a great market and more or less is just marketing at this point.
With that said, there is a lot of gear that members of the US Military use , that has been field tested and you could benefit from these items as well. Why does it matter if the US Military members used? Well, you know its been tested in harsh conditions and with deployments overseas where members might not be able to get replacements quickly, it’s nice to know they relied on those items day in and day out.
Tactical Knife
Call me old-fashioned but I love my Ka-Bar full sized US Marine Corps Fighting knife, also known as the Ka-Bar USMC. It’s got a great blade at 7 inches, made from Cro-van steel which makes it very durable and effective. I love the handle and the 20 degree angle edges make it handy for anything you need. This is easily the most popular knife design in the world and there is a reason for that. You can find it here.
Watch
Watches have DRASTICALLY changed even in the past 5 years, let alone in the last 50 years of military use. You can find watches on the market these days that will do just about anything you want it to do and there are several versions of “tactical” and “rugged” watches on the market. Personally, I recommend a unit from Suunto or Garmin. My Garmin Fenix 3 is no longer sold on the market but you can purchase a newer version. I also strongly recommend the Suunto Traverse Alpha line up. Both of these are smart watches that are lightweight, durable, water submersible and have various features that are handy. You can find the Suunto here or the Garmin here.
Flashlight
Like the police community, the military has largely depended on the Maglite for a flashlight for years. However, I have always been a big fan of the Surefire R1 Lawman. It’s more compact than most Maglites or other flashlights on the market, delivers 1,000 lumens of light power and has several output modes depending on what you need. Surefire makes some incredibly durable flashlights and that is also one of the main reasons while men and women on deployment rely on them in the harshest conditions. You can find it here.
Multi-tool
For a while the military issued a multi-plier type of multitool, and most service branches actually issued the Gerber Multi-Plier. This is a great option for a basic multi-plier and I don’t have any issues with it per say. With that said, I have owned a Leatherman Wave for probably 12 years and let me tell you, it has seen some shit. This thing has never let me down and I think the only issue I have ever had was to resharpen the knife and wire cutter. The Wave has been discontinued, but you can get the equally good Wave+. You can find it here.
Sunglasses
Believe it or not but the military does have standard issued sunglasses that double up as ballistic eyewear. Over the years this has greatly changed, as technology and style trends have adapted with eyewear. I can tell you that amongst the military one of the most popular models are the Oakley M-frames. These look great and are very convenient with their easy to swap lenses. You can find them here.
Tourniquet
I honestly do not care what you do but you absolutely need to go out and get a tourniquet for your home and a vehicle if you own one. I have personally seen tourniquets save lives and I cannot recommend them enough. Training is easy and we have documented the best way to apply on several posts here. I have 2 CAT (Combat Application Tourniquet) in my home (one in the kitchen, one in my garage), a CAT in my truck, and in my line of work I carry a CAT on my person at all times. You can find it here.
Gloves
There are a ton of glove options out on the market depending on what you want to do. But I will tell you from a military standpoint, there is a lot to love about Mechanix and their glove line. You honestly can’t go wrong with any of their “tactical gloves” series but in particular I am a big fan of the FastFit model. It is a great lightweight glove that is easy to shoot with (important for military life), has TrekDry which keeps your hands cool and they are super comfortable. You can find them here.
Stay ready.
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Ben