It beats me how I ended up on their mailing list, but I got a Brigade Quartermaster catalog in the mail and it contained a few items I've never seen before and really don't know how to evaluate:

-a 45/32 degree sleeping bag that allegedly packs down to 6.5x6.5. I've seen Snugpak at the UK military, and while serviceable, it never struck me as particularly lightweight or packable.

- Stabilized oxygen water purification. What on earth is this in the first place? The obvious downside seems to be that 2oz only purify about 16 gallons or really dirty water.

- A cheaper UV purifier that inexplicably seems to need 15 minutes per bottle.

- The Survival Straw. Looks like a heaven-sent for just in case trips, but "The improved and patented 100% KDF alloy media (not silver or carbon) destroys more than 99.9% of harmful microorganisms." inspires as much confidence as "bacteria and viruses like E. Coli, Giardia lambli cysts, Cryptosporidia, Algae mold and fungi." Maybe I'm splitting hairs, by none of the listed is a virus, and Giardia, Crypto, algae, and fungi are not bacteria.

I don't think I intend to buy anything, except maybe the straw, but I wonder if anyone her has any of these and can shed some light on them.

Lars:

Thanks for the entertainment! The Survival Straw section reads:

"The improved and patented 100% KDF alloy media (not silver or carbon) destroys more than 99.9% of harmful microorganisms. That includes bacteria and viruses like E. Coli, Giardia lambli cysts, Cryptosporidia, Algae mold and fungi. Unlike filters that merely attempt to trap impurities, the Survival Straw eliminates them!".

Hmmm... I wonder how? Zap them into absolute nothingness??? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Best Home Page of any gear website-
Triple Aught

Very CIA, James Bond-ish.

KDF is known to be a portal to a local worm hole. The pathogens get transported to another universe. For us, yes, nothingness. For them, pathogens spewing into their space/time. Simple and effective. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (lots of caffeine this morning... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />)

And TomD, that is a cool website but what do they sell? It is a physical store somewhere?

They're 5-10 minutes from me.

Wow, I thought I was watching the next "Bourne" movie.

Lars, very interesting web site. Thanks for posting the links.

The mosquito netted sleeping bag appears to be a jungle bivy sack, probably made popular during the Vietnam war era. I know a little about stabilized oxygen in liquid form, but I'm not familiar with the stabilized oxygen being sold on the site. The ultraviolet light is common in water purification systems in third world countries (we use them here in Mexico) and is sold in a backpacker's size unit as the SteriPEN. The straw is possibly incorporating a small inline ceramic filter, which if rated at 0.2 micron is a very safe filtration method. Although pulling water through a ceramic filter by mouth will make your ears hurt. PUR, MSR, and Katadyne make backpacker's ceramic filter systems. Most likely the straw filter is made of the high-purity copper-zinc redox media that sells under the brand name KDF. Brum

Actually, the Aquastar has been fairly well received and only takes 80 seconds to treat. The 15 min. that you read was for a "lantern mode".

OKAY TomD!!! I'm hooked! Very cool intro! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> My wife will hate you for introducing me to this gear site, she says she just can't compete with my Mistress GEAR ... where's my bank debit card? Brum <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Some of my thoughts:

Sleeping bag at 25oz and 45F: Kelty’s 650 down bag (Light Year 45) is 30oz. It barely keeps me warm at 45. I doubt synthetic will do better. It looks like it will keep me warm down to 60F.

UV light takes 80 seconds for 1L. This is typical, but I thought they could be bought cheaper elsewhere.

Survival straw: From their specs on package “Removes other pathogens and contaminants down to 2 microns” I would pick something 10x better.

Paul, if you look on the banner on the second page, click on brands-it has drop-down menu. Most of the stull they sell is military-style gear-knives and so on, camo clothes, packs, gadgets. They do carry Jetboil and a few other names we would recognize.

They have a store in San Francisco. The address is on the website.

I know Snugpak also sells sleeping bags to the general public, or at least they used to. If I remember right they were the same as the military models but in normal colors. I didn't bother checking their specific weights/temperature ratings back then, so I dunno how they perform.

It seems like "survival straws" are just about everywhere, and all of them are the sort of thing that I might keep in a survival kit for a car or boat, but I wouldn't bother packing one for hiking. They're just too cheap to trust on a day-to-day basis. (I think I once saw one for $15 on nitro-pak.com. Too cheap, I tell ya.)

I've bought a few odds and ends through BQ, things I couldn't find elsewhere. I think I saw Aloksaks in their catalog before anywhere else. But for the most part their merchandise is too camo for me.

I've gotten a few useful items from BQ. The best was their Enhanced Infantry Poncho Liner. It weighs about 3-4 ounces less than the standard issue poncho liner and is NOTICEABLY wamer. It is my go-to quilt in warm southeastern weather, particularly when I'm in my hammock. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it there for at least a year now. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I get stuff from BQ once in a while.

I bought my 5.11 reinforced nylon canvas pants there. Best, toughest hiking pants I'v ever owned.

Some things, like their "wristover" synthetic wrist/hand-back warmers can only be found there.

Their SoftieSnugpack tops & bottoms insulating layers are VERY warm, light and packable. I much prefer them to my 300 wt. Polarfleece garments. But ya gotta like black or O.D. green. And the prices are reasonable compared with "The Usual Brands" prices for shelled synthetic insulating layers.

Want good canoeing boots? The higher priced Jungle boots from BQ can't be beat for use in rough, wet, boggy and slippery Canadian portages. The one thing you learn on wilderness canoe trips is you can never keep your feet dry so why not get good wet weather boots that drain well?

Eric

When they first started TAD Gear back a few years ago I bought from them. Musta' been the cool intro screen that hooked me...I played it a few times since just to watch it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

BM, has stuff, not the cheapest, 'Stabilized Oxygen' save yer coin <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> Suck on a bowling ball through a regular straw, then if you like that sensation, buy the 'Survival Straw'...you'll get the same amount of water delivery with either method <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

1 items
SOLATEC™ AEROVEST™ EMERGENCY AIR VEST
Insurance against the cold! Inflatable two-layer metallized polyethylene vest can be a lifesaver when you’re caught out in the cold, wind, or rain. Inflate with just 2–3 puffs of breath per side—eighteen air pockets hold 98.6° air and reflect heat back to the body to prevent hypothermia. Material is extremely lightweight and flexible. Intended for single emergency use.

Item No. Our
Price Stock
AV012104 AEROVEST EMERGENCY AIR VEST $13.99 In Stock & Usually Ships in 2 to 3 Days after Processing. Allow 7 - 10 Business Days for Delivery.

A store in San Francisco? I could not find the address on the BQM web site, can you post it?