NVGs To-Go: OTTE Gear’s V2 OG Helmet Bag

What do you personal that prices upward of $10,000 however is fragile sufficient to interrupt if it’s dropped a number of toes onto a tough floor? Until you’re a collector of Ming vases, vintage Waterford crystal, or high-end digital camera gear, it’s most likely a really quick checklist. However there’s one factor that many army members, legislation enforcement officers, and capturing fanatics put on that matches this class: night time imaginative and prescient.

A set of dual-tube night time imaginative and prescient goggles (NVGs) can simply set you again $8K to $15K, and this gear is extraordinarily delicate to arduous impacts, long-term gentle publicity, and different environmental injury. That doesn’t even embrace the price of the associated equipment that accompany NVGs — helmet, mount, ear safety, clear eye safety, infrared lights, battery pack, and so forth. It’s a considerable funding, so you need to defend it accordingly.

I’ve gone by way of a number of completely different strategies of carrying my NVGs through the years, together with small gentle circumstances and arduous Pelican circumstances lined with foam. Though these labored wonderful for the night time imaginative and prescient system itself, they nonetheless left me with a helmet and pile of equipment I wanted to hold individually. However not too long ago, I discovered a carrying case from OTTE Gear that stows all my NV-related gear in a protected, easy-to-transport package deal.

• Make and Mannequin: OTTE Gear V2 OG Helmet Bag w/Nods Field
• Capability: As much as an XXL Ops Core ballistic helmet with AMP ear professional hooked up
• MSRP: $199
• URL: ottegear.com

The OG Helmet Bag

Constructed from 500D Cordura nylon sandwiched round a thick layer of closed-cell foam, OTTE Gear’s Helmet Bag is designed to guard a ballistic or bump helmet of any measurement by way of XXL. It incorporates a Y-shaped adjustable retention strap that holds your helmet firmly in place contained in the bag, and a full-clamshell flap that opens vast to supply quick access to its contents. It’s accessible in quite a lot of exterior colours, starting from the everyday black, ranger inexperienced, and coyote tan to MultiCam, “chocolate chip” desert camo, and OTTE Gear’s signature Poppies of Warfare sample. The inside lining is a brilliant orange 500D Cordura that gives a lot of distinction in dimly lit environments.

One internal wall of the OG Helmet Bag is lined with three pockets for small gadgets, similar to clear capturing glasses, in-ear listening to safety, chemlights, and spare batteries. The opposite facet is lined with loop materials that accepts Velcro-backed equipment like IFF strobes and morale patches. The underside floor has a small subject of PALS webbing for MOLLE-compatible equipment or pouches.

In the back of the bag behind the helmet, there’s a padded divider that matches round a detachable OTTE Gear Nods Field — an oblong zippered case that matches single- or dual-tube night time imaginative and prescient, a mount, and different gadgets like batteries or eye professional. The Nods Field has two extra adjustable dividers to forestall contents from bouncing round. Each the Helmet Bag and Nods Field are made within the USA.

My Loadout

So, let’s take a fast have a look at the contents of my OG Helmet Bag. In the beginning is a Workforce Wendy EXFIL LTP bump helmet (measurement XL). It’s outfitted with a TNVC Mohawk counterweight/battery provider, in addition to a Nitecore NU05-MI USB-rechargeable inexperienced/IR strobe on high. The appropriate facet rail has an Inforce WMLx Gen 2 white/IR gentle hooked up to a Thyrm VariArc swivel mount, offering forward-facing illumination outside or upward-facing “umbrella” lighting indoors. The left facet has a Streamlight Sidewinder Stalk white/R/G/B/IR admin gentle.

Stuffed on both facet of the helmet in the principle compartment, I’ve a pair of Apex Protecting capturing gloves and a set of Gatorz Marauder ballistic-rated clear capturing glasses. Facet pockets include a number of normal chemlights, in addition to a Blue Pressure Gear Marco mini-chemlight dispenser — the latter was designed for LE and MIL customers to mark cleared rooms, however it’s additionally helpful for marking capturing positions and obstacles on the vary. The final pocket accommodates a set of SureFire Sonic Defender earplugs.

The double-padded Nods Field accommodates a set of AGM International Imaginative and prescient NVG-40 green-phospor night time imaginative and prescient goggles, a Wilcox G24 mount, and some small equipment. There’s a weatherproof Thyrm CellVault loaded with three spare CR123 batteries, plus a SureFire X300V white/IR pistol gentle that may be swapped onto whichever handgun I deliver to the vary. Lastly, I’ve a CR123-powered Fenix CL09 magnetic mini-lantern that may be clipped or caught close to a loading bench or staging space to offer a little bit crimson or inexperienced gentle. It’s simply sufficient to make it simpler to load mags or clear malfunctions, however not a lot gentle that it interferes with night time imaginative and prescient methods.

Above: Eye and ear safety are a should for any kind of firearm coaching, however nighttime coaching additionally requires quite a lot of white, multicolored, and infrared gentle sources. I additionally advocate bringing a set of gloves — chilly, numb palms make every little thing harder.

Closing Ideas

Irrespective of who you might be, $10K is a considerable quantity to spend. For those who’re going to place that form of cash into night time imaginative and prescient, you need to do every little thing in your energy to maintain it protected whereas it’s in storage or in transit. The OTTE Gear Helmet Bag does simply that, whereas additionally defending your helmet and retaining necessary equipment organized. Along with the helmet bag, OTTE makes some very nice attire (just like the LV Insulated Hoodie seen within the first picture), utility pouches, chest rigs, and different gear that may make coaching and vary classes extra handy — day or night time.

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Written by Patrick McCarthy