High Ground Media, LLC

Released in 2022, the multi-point adjustable OG x Keller Modular Sling by Otte Gear takes the traditional two-point sling design and incorporates insight from Bob Keller (Gamut Resolutions) to provide a multi-use sling for a variety of shooting styles. The Modular Sling allows for rapid adjustment to customize its overall length and weapon retention, or configurations when needed.

Made from a 1” wide A-A-55301 milspec webbing at the front, and a seamless laminate nylon shoulder pad in the middle, the Modular Sling is open-ended on both sides and has “triglides” that allow the sling to be attached to M4/A2-style swivel sling loops, or on QD loop hardware.

At the front is a QD slide buckle with a 2” laminate nylon pull tab for sliding adjustment as needed.

At the front of the shoulder padding is a G-Hook buckle that is used during stowage of the sling when the rifle is not in use or during vehicle operations.  

Specifications:

• Minimum Length: 40” (with the adjuster slides tightened)
• Maximum Length: 75” fully extended

The OG x Keller Modular Sling is available in Tactical Grey (featured), Black, Coyote, Ranger Green, and Multicam.

Product Evaluation Scores:

• Cost – Average (3/5): Listed at $55.00, the OG x Keller Modular Sling reflected a balance between the overall minimalist volume of nylon material and padding with enough excess to accommodate a variety of shooting styles and positions. The Modular Sling’s design is comparable to other mainstream minimalist slings currently offered by market alternatives include; the Simple Sling ($42) by Snake Eater Tactical, the Operators 2-Point Sling ($39.30) from First Spear, the MS2 Sling ($39.95) from Magpul, the Padded Rifle Sling ($64.00) from Flatline Fiber Co, or the Padded Vickers Rifle Sling ($64.00) by Blue Force Gear. Thus, at its current price the OG x Keller Modular Sling was perhaps at the upper end and appropriate (or of average) cost for its design and volume of materials when compared to similar competitors.
• Comfort – Fair (2/5): With a single-layer nylon band, and a minimally padded nylon midsection, the OG x Keller Modular Sling kept a low/minimalist profile as intended. Meanwhile, the front slide adjuster consistently moved easily and smoothly over the nylon and manipulated between the carry/slung position to a combat ready position quickly. The sling itself was fairly comfortable and the width of the padded material yielded a similar level of comfort and prevention against chafe to exposed skin. However, the padding material was also the same minimal thickness and flexibility as the nylon bands itself, and thus held a limited capacity to defray fatigue over extended time (2hr+).
• Durability – Average (3/5): Given the OG x Keller Modular Sling was made from dominantly 55301 milspec nylon webbing, laminate nylon, and quality polymer hardware, the sling itself held up to continual adjustment and did not fray nor experience any material separation. The hardware did not involve overly complicated or spring-loaded points, which often pose the potential for mechanical failure, and thus the OG x Keller Modular Sling effectively embraced tactical minimalism. The problem arose that the hardware moved too smoothly with at one point during a formal training class, the sling’s front tri-glide buckle (that secured the QD mount to the rifle) unraveled from performing repetitive rifle-to-pistol transitions causing the rifle to be “flung” away. The solution was to double-over the nylon band through the buckle and reinforce the material through the space and no other problems were experienced. Otte Gear may want to consider a tighter tri-glide hardware on the sling, or different hardware that will provide a more secure hold without adding to overall bulk.
• Functionality – Average (3/5): From a functional aspect, it’s hard to get overly complicated on a sling. The OG x Keller Modular Sling embraced that simplicity and minimalism, all while offering a quasi-functional and quickly adjustable design that easily went from a slung position to deployment in a mere second. Attaching the sling to either an A2-style sling point, or on QD style hardware was simple, and multiple M4 or other carbine-style stocks have considered cuts or attachment points for mounting similar slings in various configurations for maximum comfort. The ability to use the included QD point and easily convert between a single-point and two-point sling configuration allowed the user to fluctuate between the two based on mission needs and setting. And while the intent of the sling’s design was to remain minimalist and easily packable, a recommendation to Otte Gear would be to consider some measure of actual padding to the sling’s laminate nylon pad as the material typically does not yield as much as traditional nylons or other foam padding. However, one persistent issue noted was if the end-user was using a rifle with sling point attachments not flush with the overall side of the rifle (such as offset, bottom A2 style, or top-mounted picatinny rail QD mounts) invariably that spacing did not allow for the sling’s G-Hook’s stowable cinch design to keep positive pressure on the sling, and keep it in place. Thus, if a rifle was using that type of configuration, the sling’s loop in the stowed configuration consistently came loose.
• Weight – Average (3/5): At 5.3 ounces (without QD attachment hardware), the OG x Keller Modular Sling had an appropriate (or average) weight for the minimal amount of nylon material and hardware involved. Even while wet or soaked in sweat  or water the sling’s material did not become excessively logged down. In comparison, the Simple Sling (1.86 ounces) by Snake Eater Tactical, the Operators 2-Point Sling (3.9 ounces) from First Spear, and the MS2 Sling (6.0 ounces) from Magpul demonstrate that the OG x Keller Modular Sling is appropriate amid the market and its listed competitors.

Overall Rating – Below Average (14/25)

Product Link: https://ottegear.com/products/og-modular-sling

I am reviewing this product as a courtesy to the manufacturer and via High Ground Media, LLC, so that I can evaluate it and provide my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give positive reviews. All views are my own, and based off my personal experience with the product.

The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the author. The views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

Secure monitoring of your home, and specifically your firearms, is often paramount to accepting the responsibility of being a gun owner. For those with multi-gun safes or vaults, the Puck by Lockdown offers a variety of monitoring features that connect to your smartphone device and help deliver 24/7 peace of mind.

The Puck is a small square device with logic-enabled software and a variety of sensors that monitors the current conditions to your safe or vault interior. The sensors monitor; temperature, humidity, vibration, and the current state of the safe/vault door. That data is then sent via Wi-Fi to the Lockdown app to be securely accessed by the owner anywhere in the world, at any time.

The sleek exterior hides an outward facing screen that is used during the sync process to the app, as well as can be used as a dumb switch to press and deactivate the door alarm. The housing appears to be made from aluminum to give the device some level of rigidity as well as strength. Working in tandem with the main Puck sensor, a small magnetic cube (with posts of varying height) helps provide sensor readings to detect when the door is open or closed.

The Puck is powered by two alternative power sources; either four AA batteries or a nine-foot Micro USB power cord that can be plugged into an outlet located inside the safe or vault for continual monitoring. The AA batteries will yield approximately 45-days of monitoring on the associated Power Save mode in the Lockdown app. It also includes optional mounting hardware although the Puck can also be mounted using simple hook-and-loop (not included) strips.

At any point where the Puck detects variances in temperature or humidity beyond the user preferences, movement, or the door opening while the device is armed, it will immediately push alerts to the user’s smartphone and detail the type of activity. In the case of tampering while armed, the Puck can also emit an audible alarm to announce the activity.

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Specifications:

• Wi-Fi enabled
• Free Lockdown app in Apple Store or Google Play
• Puck dimensions: 3.25” (L) X 3.25” (W) X 1” (H)

Product Evaluation Scores:

• Cost – Excellent (5/5): At an MSRP of $109.99, the Puck is one of the market’s current security devices intended to monitor saves, vaults, or doors using Internet-of-Things (IOT) technology (in this case labeled as LOGIC technology that can be accessed via smartphone app). While the sensors residing in the Puck are relatively traditional (motion, humidity, temperature, etc.) their application into a singular device that can be further accessed Wi-Fi securely by the user is very new. In comparison, Liberty Safe offers its SafElert device ($199) and Simtek ($250) has a similar sensor but with less capability. The Puck still comes in below the price of all of these and thus while there are few market competitors, it is still excellently priced for its capability.
• Durability – Average (3/5): From a durability standpoint, the housing of the Puck was a combination of a lightweight aluminum frame and ABS plastic. This gave it some good level of accidental crush protection, but the ABS plastic-formed top (which doubles as a screen during the sync process and for manual operation) was most at risk. The idea being that placed out of the way the Puck should be unobtrusive and would survive an accidental drop or bump. But for those with vault doors or very heavy safe doors, if the Puck were to accidentally get caught during closure then it will sustain some exterior damage. The Puck came with the necessitating hardware and embedded magnets in the frame to mount the device in a semi-secure fashion—but the bracket does require the user to screw the bracket into the safe’s interior wall or door. There is also the option to use hook-and-loop (not included) as means of expanding the mounting options.
• Functionality – Fair (2/5): Functionally, over a 30-day evaluation the Puck held a fair performance that was best broken down into several categories:
  • Setup: The Puck has a sync process that necessitated Wi-Fi connectivity. As discovered, if the 5G/2G wireless router is not in close proximity to where the safe or vault is (such as a router upstairs in the family room and the safe in the basement), then there were problems syncing the Puck to the Lockdown app on the smartphone. The Lockdown app itself also could only identify the 2G signal, and did not identify the faster 5G. It is speculative, but this may be due to the Puck not having 5G compatible hardware as it is the newer technology. Several attempts were needed, by completely resetting the Puck, to get it to complete the sync process on the slower 2G network at a reduced signal strength.
  • Mounting: This again was problematic because based on the interior design aspects of the safe, it may be difficult to find a space that allows the Puck to be in very close proximity to the magnet that operates the OPEN/CLOSED door sensor. The manual made no recommendations or specifications, so the user is more or less left to be creative. The underlying issue was that the physical magnet itself, must be either touching the Puck when the safe door is closed or within ¼” of the noted triangle on the exterior housing. The further the magnet is, the less reliable the function of the sensor until ultimately the Puck could no longer detect the magnet and function reliably.
  • Performance: The Lockdown app was extremely simple and intuitive, with an easy to use interface that allowed the user to specify desired values for sensitivity, temperature, humidity, as well as check the status of the Puck’s Wi-Fi connectivity, power, and volume. All of which was readily monitored over the course of its 45-day evaluation and whenever something was amiss, an alert was sent via text message to the synced smartphone for the user’s awareness. During this time, approximately 15 false alerts were sent centric to the current status of the safe door or secure status. These increased notably after the batteries dipped below 20% power. All other sensors functioned normally and without incident. Attempting to open the safe door while the Puck was armed did result in the audible intrusion alarm.
• Weight – Fair (2/5): The Puck itself weighed in at a mere 6.6 ounces, which meant that its relative light weight was easily supported by hook-and-loop (not included) or the mounting bracket. Once mounted it became just another accessory mounted to the interior of the safe and supported by the safe’s frame itself. In comparison, the SafElert device (2.5 ounces) and Simtek (3.4 ounces) are also similarly light weight, but illustrate that the Puck still remains the heaviest of such security devices available. Given that all these devices are still supported by the safe itself, and generally still weigh mere ounces, the Puck and the SafElert were the only two that offer such extensive monitoring. If Lockdown could slim its design further, and bring its weight closer in-line with the weight of other similar devices, then its fair scoring in relation to the weight of other such devices would improve.

Overall Rating – Average (12/20)

Product Link: https://www.lockdown.com/products/logicenabled/smart-puck/the-puck/1099416.html

I am reviewing this product as a courtesy to the manufacturer and via STL Shooting Enthusiasts, so that I can evaluate it and provide my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give positive reviews. All views are my own, and based off my personal experience with the product.

The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the author. The views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.

Developed by T3 Gear in close conjunction with Special Operations, the Trident Operator Belt is intended to give the wearer a low profile, adaptable belt by which to hang various holsters or equipment.

The Trident Operator Belt (TOB) integrates the aspects of a flexible inner belt (that can be worn as a regular daily belt), with a rigid, weight-bearing outer belt that can be easily donned or removed. The TOB includes:

The inner 1.5” belt is made from scuba webbing that gives it a tensile strength of approximately 4800 pounds that gives it a tensile strength of approximately 4800 pounds. It has an outward-facing (female) hook-and-loop material that goes through the belt loops of the trouser and secures to a mating panel of (male) hook-and loop on the inside of the belt’s tail. The result is a complete 360-degree exposure of the (female) hook-and-loop around the waist that faces outward.

The outer belt is a resin-impregnated, 2” duty belt made of Type 13 nylon webbing with a tensile strength of approximately 7000 pounds. The outer belt uses a mating (male) hook-and-loop panel along the inside, that when combined with the inner belt, makes for very secure platform. The outer-facing side of the duty belt is stitched with two rows of ½” nylon webbing, folded over and segmented to form 1.75” MOLLE-compatible sections.

To secure the nylon strips, extensive perimeter and bartack stitching is used throughout to ensure whatever accessory is attached will remain secure and in place. The duty belt itself is secured using an AustriAlpin Cobra Hybrid Buckle and an elastic cuff helps control any excess in belt length.

The Trident Operator Belt is only available in Multicam (featured).

Product Evaluation Scores:

• Cost – Average (3/5): At $159.56 the webbing throughout the TOB was indicative (in terms of weave and rigidity) to Type 13 webbing. The use of additional bands to create MOLLE webbing is somewhat comparable in other belts such as Persec’s Delta Belt ($115.86 USD), or Ronin Tactics’ Task Force Belt ($187). Use of reinforcement stitching, materials, buckle, and design often delineate based on the vendor and intended purpose. In the case of the TOB, while it trends to the upper end of the market (which is fair given the quantity of material utilized), it would rank appropriate (or average) among the listed competitors whom use a similar design.
• Comfort – Good (4/5): The TOB was comfortable, although the nylon took a little time to loosen up (about two weeks) and become a more flexible. The inner belt was comfortable enough to be used as a light or EDC belt, and made donning the outer duty belt easy. The Cobra Buckle provided a clean and crisp lock that ensures the belt remained secure. No lose threads or fraying at the edges were noted, and cuts to the nylon at the ends were appropriately heat-treated. While worn, the belt evenly distributed the overall weight of the load around the circumference of the waist. It proved comfortable for short durations, but extended wear (4+ hours) did fatigue the hip. Possibly the inclusion of optional connections for suspenders, or use of a separate hip pad would serve as a viable accessory in the future, thus allowing some of the load to be transferred to the shoulders as well as pad the hip.
• Durability – Good (4/5): As stated, the material was Type 13 webbing or parachute webbing, that gave it a likely very high level of abrasion resistance and strength, as well as made the overall outer belt somewhat rigid. The bartack and X-pattern stitching reinforced the overall ability of the belt to withstand the load of pouches and magazines. Perhaps the only negative aspect of the TOB was the choice to fold ribbons of nylon to form the overall ½” MOLLE segments, rather than use a solid band of nylon webbing, such as found in Persec’s belt. This may not necessarily make the material less durable in such small segmented lengths, but the likelihood of that folded material wearing/fraying over the long-term is greater. Throughout stressor drills and evaluation, no aspects of the TOB’s durability were identified and all stitching held without becoming frayed or popped.
• Functionality – Fair (2/5): Functionally, as a stand-alone duty belt the TOB did as expected. The TOB supported the weight of added magazine pouches and a drop leg holster adequately without sagging or flex. Unfortunately, because the outer duty belt is a wide 2”, few weapon holsters could be found with the necessitating hardware (loop, clip, or wing) to mount to the belt (having to have the necessary length to accommodate the width of the belt, and the thickness as well). Even CKK Combat Belt Loops, which are a hinge design that the manufacturer advertises as accommodating belts up to 2” wide, couldn’t fit around the outer duty belt and lock. Ultimately only holsters using a pass-through loop design could accommodate the width and thickness of the TOB. While military applications traditionally don’t account for sidearm holsters amongst the rank-and-file, T3 may want to reexamine the size/width (say to a 1.75” width) of the TOB to make it more compatible to the civilian market of holsters.
• Weight – Good (4/5): As evaluated, the size of the Trident Operator Belt was a Large, and it weighed in at 1.27 pounds. Naturally the weight of the overall belt would change with length/size due to the overall amount of material involved. In the aspect of the overall market with stand-alone battle belts, the TOB was of a good and comparable weight to similar products from Persec’s Delta Belt (1.3 pounds), Ronin’s TF Belt (1.2 pounds), or other quality manufacturers.

Overall Rating – Above Average (17/25)

Product Link: https://www.t3gear.com/t3-triton-operator-belt/

I am reviewing this product as a courtesy to the manufacturer and via STL Shooting Enthusiasts, so that I can evaluate it and provide my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal, or implied contract to give positive reviews. All views are my own, and based off my personal experience with the product.

The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the author. The views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.