Hoplite Industries reached out to me and asked me if I would be willing to be a 3rd party to test their new line of NIJ Level IIIA rated helmets.  I accepted, and for full disclosure, I was sent two helmets, one to test and one to keep as payment.  I told him that I would test them, give him a couple of days to handle any feedback I had, then I'd release the results, either way.

Hoplite Industries had a rough start with their digital night vision, but is geniuinely attempting to fix the sourcing issues they had and build solid products for the tactical/preparedness community.  I know there was drama with others, but I'm able to set that aside, as I want to truly help other guys get out there and I want to recommend quality products to my people.

Hoplite asked me if I had a 44 Magnum available for testing.  He sent me the results of their test on the high cut helmets using 147 grain 9mm Gold Dot hollow points and he wanted to make sure that the mid-cut helmet met the same standard.  I don't have a 44 Magnum, because I am not Inspector Harry Callahan of the SF PD, but my dear friend Allen has one and agreed to help me with the test.  We fired a single round of 44 Magnum, 240 grains, from a Ruger Blackhawk revolver at a distance of 10 yards (30 feet).

As you can see, the UHMWPE fibers became severely deformed and all that energy would have been transferred to the skull and brain of whoever was wearing the helmet.

I immediately sent the photos to Hoplite, who was indeed surprised.  He looked into the issue and found that the mid and full cut helemts came from a different source than the high cuts he had tested.  He asked me if I would be willing to shoot the other helmet with a 9mm to see if the full cut had the same issue.  To his credit, he seemed genuinely concerned to want to do this right.

So, the full cut was tested with a single round of Sellier & Bellot 115 grain FMJ.  The helmet also failed, with a deformity that would have caused injury.  Sure, any round to the helmet will cause some injury and deformation of the helmet, but the fibers still seperated on this helmet.

Hoplite immediately pulled the helmets from his site and offered a full refund or replacement to anyone who bought one before the testing was done, which says a lot of good for him.  

He has switched materials and is ordering helmets made of Aramid now, and intends to send a new pair to me for testing, which I will do, and then issue a follow up review.

While the product didn't stand up to testing, Hoplite's character did.  He didn't dodge or evade the test results, he took immediate action to correct the situation.  We will see what the future holds.

In the meantime, he has re-listed the helmets as non-ballistic bump helmets for airfsoft or fragmentation, but not NIJ rated.

I cannot recommend these helmets for any protective use.

Brushbeater Store Link: Baofeng UV-32DM

I know, I know, "Not another Boo-Fwang", right?  Well, this one fills a need for the prepared citizen, and it's not what you think.  I've had one for about 2 weeks and have been testing it out.  In this, I'm going to recap my thoughts.  

Let me just say that if you are a sad ham, or a fan for amateur "Digital Mobile Radio"/DMR, you should probably stop reading.  NC Scout and I teach an entirely different skill set with the DMR than you use, and you won't like it.  I did not test this out on a single DMR repeater and did not try to program every ham DMR contact in the world into my radio.  Sorry.  Just like we say at every class, "This is not ham radio".

So, if I don't use Amateur Radio DMR, why would I want a digital radio?   Well, for starters, in a complete collapse and Without Rule of Law (WROL) situation, a digital voice signal (like your cell phone) travels farther than analog voice, so there is that.  Our use case is for sending text messages via a handheld radio.  I know, some sad ham is going to screech about how we can't do that without a permission slip from our overlords, but that's entirely FALSE.  Digital text messages are allowed on MURS and you are allowed to send text messages via FRS/GMRS under the rules.  It's perfectly legal, sad hams. Wait until you hear about digital over CB - wild times, man, wild times.  Oh, and Midland is campaigning to add digital voice to GMRS, just like the Europeans did with PMR (Personal Mobile Radio - 446 Mhz).

I tested the message function and it works across all brands.  In other words, I was able to send and recieve text messages with my Baofeng digital radios, my Abbree ones, and Motorola XPR digital radios.  They all also recevied the digital voice using both the All Call ID and private calls.  A cool side effect of using digital traffic is that anyone with an analog-only radio will just hear static rather than your comms.

Another important feature on these radios is AES 256 encryption.  I tested it with my other Baofeng DMR (DM-1701) and the Abbree DM-F8 DMRs I own and the encryption worked flawlessly.  I was not able to get it to handshake with my Motorola XPR and XTS radios.  That's both a blessing and a curse I guess.  However, if everyone on my team has one of these and the same encryption key, we are good.  Now, neither NC Scout nor I recommend running encrypted radios all the time because they draw unwanted attention to your traffic, but there are times and places when I might want it.

The software is easy to use, but a little quirky.  For example, when programming repeaters, if you don't "Forbid Talkaround", the radio defaults to talkaround only and doesn't let you activate a repeater.  Checking the "forbid" box solved it, but it's annoying.  It also required me to enter the All Call talkgroup (16777215) manually, while every other DMR I've ever had had it already in the radio.

I recommend setting the squelch to 3 on all of your channels.  I started with 5 and wasn't receiving anything at all, while my other radios were. Adjusting it down to 3 was a quick fix.

The stock antenna is actually quite good, once you set the squelch properly.  

The radio is very well-built and is designed to look like a Motorola APX.  It fits very well into AR-152 pouches.  My radio came with a pouch, but I am not a fan of the stock pouch.

The main problem I have with it is the screen brightness.  When turned all the way up, it is still not readable in daylight.  You can turn the screen off as well.

The radio accepts all the standard K1 accessory cables.  You don't need to buy a whole bunch of additional stuff that way.  The radio battery screws into the unit and accepts USB-C charging, so you can charge it on the run.  You can also find spare batteries on Amazon.  For the first time, the people at Baofeng got the charger right - the charging base is also USB-C powered.  FINALLY, I can run the quick charge base from my vehicle power using a USB cord.  Well done.

The radio has GPS and will do automatic APRS (Automatic Position Reporting System).  I did test the GPS function (because of two hams who asked me like a million times - you know who you are).  It matched what my Garmin GPSMap said exactly, including speed and elevation.  I did not test APRS because I am never comfortable broadcasting my location for anyone with a radio to find.  Before you tell me that I carry a phone that does that, several students will attest that one rural Tennessee Sheriff Department complained that my phone pings in Europe (they weren't looking for me, they were looking for a student in the woods with me whose mother was worried - Sorry Samuel).  I do turn the GPS on once a day to keep the clock updated, which is VITAL in digital communications.  Once it gets a fix and accurate time (from somewhere I'm not going to be at for long), I turn the GPS off.  It gets a fix in about 30 seconds after the first time.

The range is simlar to every other VHF/UHF dual band radio.  I am able to hit the Bigfork repeater from 30-35 miles away if I am outside with no problem.

While I think this radio is a must have for advanced users, I don't reocmmend it if you are just starting out.  If you haven't taken the RTO and Advanced RTO course, you won't have much of a need for one of these.  It will not replace my AR-152 for tactical operations, and it won't replace my AR-5RM that I use as my daily business radio, but it has a use for clandestine communications like NC Scout and I teach.

At $99.99, it's more expensive than other Baofeng's, but cheaper than most DMR units.

Again, it's not a radio that everyone needs.  However, if you need a DMR, getting this one or the Abbree DM-F8 is a good idea.

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Affiliate Link: The Debilitating Tools of War

H John Poole, legendary trainer at the USMC School of Infantry East, has released a new book, dealing with the threats posed by modern technology and how to defeat them.  The book touches on the two areas most people are concerned with most, drones and thermal imaging.  His opinions match those of NC Scout and I and hopefully the book can open some eyes.

As always, Poole begins by pointing out that the US military, and all western miitaries, are overly reliant on technology.  We have the most advanced and accurate weapon systems the world has ever known and drones are an incredible force multiplier.  However, as Poole points out, these tools haven't exactly enabled us to defeat Eastern soldiers.  We fought the Koreans and Chinese to a stalemate, we were defeated by a farmer militia in Vietnam, and we were outlasted by tribal militias in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also points to the example of Ukraine, where both sides are using drones heavily, but depsite the Instagram videos, neither side is winning.  In truth, both sides are now reverting to small unit skills and smaller bodies of troops to make progress....more on that later.

The book covers more than just drones and thermals.  Poole dives into weapon mounted lights and lasers, night vision, GPS, acoustic and motion sensors, and many other gadgets we use.  He cites the historical examples of how Eastern soldiers have consistently been able to defeat all of this with solid squad and team level small unit tactics, movement skills, and movement planning.

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