Kit Up! Battle Systems vinyl tape.
Battle Systems LLC is owned and operated by a former gyrene (who ran with 2/8 CAAT Platoon if I'm reading it right). They've got a vinyl tape product I though might be of interest to some of you.
Back when we did nothing but ABD I was a tape fiend. Electrical tape mostly, since at the time it was hard to get hold of hundred mile an hour tape commercially. Plus the S4 Nazis of the era pretty much figured if you didn't already have it, it must be a treasure worth keeping locked away. As most of you who no doubt spend far more time in the field than I will agree, tape is a Good Thing, but it's a pain in the ass. I taped the straggling ends of my LBE so they wouldn't flop around, the remote switches from my light because the Velcro adhesive back sucked, and once a recalcitrant Airmen when it became clear he wouldn't bathe without assistance. (So we're clear, it wasn't like a nurse sponge bath porn scene; we carried him on his cot outside and hosed him down.) Hell, we used it for all our radio lines, rifle magazines on the DTF too, though the Sheriff didn't think some of the other uses we had for it were too funny.
Noise discipline, shine reduction, subordinate hygiene improvement, you name it, tape is ubiquitous and handy and should be in everyone's kit.
I'm still a tape fiend. The radiator hose on my dad's truck is still taped in OD a year after I put it on there as a field expedient leak repair (I figure if it's still working, why change it?).
If you are a tape fiend, you're probably going to like this stuff from Battle Systems LLC. It's rated for extreme temperatures of cold and heat and is supposed to be as tough if not tougher than the standard issue OD stuff. As their website says, "Our tape is formulated to withstand temperature extremes without compromising pliability, elasticity, and adhesive properties."
The Battle Systems LLC tape is just coyote brown (matches MARPAT, Desert MARPAT and Multicam) for now. It comes in 3/4" x 60' rolls and sells for $5.
I reached out to them for more information and some background, I'll let you know when and if (and what) I hear back...though to be honest, if it has some stretch and will hold up to abuse and cold without getting brittle. Here's a video of their tape in comparison to standard electrical tape vs. flame. Meantime, check out the Battle Systems LLC Facebook page or go look through the various pages on their website.
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That's all I've got for you today, but hey it's Monday and besides...tape may not be sexy, but sometimes the most important pieces of kit are the least tacticool.
I'm out. Go forth and conquer.
Battle Systems Vinyl Tape, Coyote Brown through a pair of PVS-14s, wrapped around the Grip Pods. The Benellis M4 and SCAR are daylight FDE.
