Like many other shows we attend — SHOT Show, Blade Show, and Outdoor Retailer — the NRA Annual Meeting can be overwhelming due to the sheer amount of products on display. Everywhere you turn, there's a sea of booths, signs, displays, brightly-colored lights, and eager sales representatives. And despite what those reps may tell you, not every product on the show floor is the best invention since sliced bread.
So, during our time on the show floor yesterday, we selected three new products which seemed particularly interesting from a survival perspective. We could see each of these products coming in handy during a survival scenario for one reason or another.
Ruger 10/22 Takedown owners have a lot to be happy about lately. First, there's the very cool MAGPUL X-22 Backpacker stock, which we featured after its unveiling at SHOT Show. Now Ruger has stepped up with a drop-in integrally-suppressed barrel (ISB) unit called the Ruger Silent-SR ISB.
This integrally-suppressed barrel means you won't need to carry a separate suppressor, or extend the length of your gun just to keep it quiet. The Silent-SR ISB snaps right into place where the normal takedown barrel would sit, and uses removable internal baffles to drop the average sound level of a standard .22 LR round to 113.2 decibels. The overall legal barrel length is 16.12 inches with the ISB unit installed.
The ISB design would be beneficial in survival situations due to its versatility. If you don't need a suppressor, you can install the standard barrel that came with your gun. If you want to quiet your shots and stay undetected, you can snap on the ISB in seconds without making your gun longer or more unwieldy. The baffles are also able to be disassembled with a single screw for easy cleaning.
MSRP for the Silent-SR ISB is $629. For more info, check Ruger's web site.
TOPSÂ has been hinting at the release of this big fixed-blade chopper since SHOT Show, but we're told that the time has finally come. The “El Chete” is huge and hefty, longer than a user's forearm with a smooth upswept blade shape. However, it's also nicely balanced, and the large forefinger groove provides a secure grip.
We could see this blade making short work of thick brush, or splitting firewood like a heavy kukri or parang. It's large and heavy, but paired with a smaller blade for delicate tasks, it could be very useful for backcountry survival.
Each El Chete comes with a fitted kydex sheath with a retention strap, and will retail for about $300. That's all the info we have right now, but TOPS tells us that a press release with more demails will be out early next week. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.
We're definitely fans of the INFORCEÂ APL pistol flashlight. It won our “Top Pick” award in our pistol light buyer's guide in Issue 18, due to its excellent controls and ruggedly simple design. However, the original APL is a bit bulky, and extends well past the muzzle on most compact and subcompact guns. This can make it obtrusive for concealed carry use in some cases.
INFORCE has noticed these weaknesses, and released a new pistol light for smaller guns. It's called the APL-C (as in compact), and it produces 200 lumens from a single CR2 battery. Fortunately, it also retains the ambidextrous paddle controls and simple design we liked so much. This light is designed specifically for use on Glock models, but we imagine a universal model will be released later on.
On a Glock 19, the APL-C sits flush with the muzzle. That should make it a good choice for carry guns, and provide lots of clear white light for any nighttime self-defense situations which may arise. The company tells us the first of these lights shipped to dealers on Monday of this week, so we hope to get our hands on one for testing in the near future.
More info on this light should be available soon on the INFORCE web site. We're told MSRP will be $140.
Which of these new products interests you the most? Let us know in the poll below.
STAY SAFE: Download a Free copy of the OFFGRID Outbreak Issue 
Written by Patrick McCarthy
No Comments