First Gear | Rise Armament’s Range Med Kit, Skinner Sights Biothane Super Sling, Hellcat Pro/Viridian CTL Combo Holster

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posted on April 2, 2024
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First Gear: Rise Armament’s Range Med Kit, Skinner Sights Biothane Super Sling, Hellcat Pro/Viridian CTL Combo Holster
Photo: Peter Fountain

1. A Range-Specific Medical Kit
What do you really need in your medical kit? Well, that depends on its purpose. Many kits try to be everything to everybody, and that means they might not serve a specific need as well as possible. Rise Armament’s Range Med Kit, though, is focused on the injuries more likely to be sustained on a range than on general first aid; yet, it is comprehensive within that realm, as it includes everything you need from the simple, like fingertip bandages, to the serious, like stop-the-bleed compressed gauze and tourniquets. (risearmament.com; $239.99)


2. One Stout Sling
If you’re using a long gun outdoors for any reason, your sling is subject to weather and UV damage. And, while it might be something you don’t give much thought to unless it needs replacing, using the Skinner Sights Biothane Super Sling might move it from the category of something you seldom need to think about to something you never have to think about. This unique material feels leather-like, but it won’t wear down and start cracking, peeling and fading like leather does. It is extra simple to use, with two solid brass screws and holes for sizing—no sliding sling-keepers necessary. Steel GrovTec QD swivels are also included. It is available in black or olive drab. (skinnersights.com; $45.00)


3. Hellcat Pro/Viridian CTL Combo Holster
One frustration you might encounter if you have a Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro is its proprietary rail. So, Viridian partnered to provide a Hellcat Pro-specific “CTL” light; yet, that solution could still leave you with holster problems. Well, Viridian offers you a solution for this as well: an inside-the-waistband Kydex holster specific to a Hellcat Pro/Viridian CTL combination. It solves this need nicely—it is handcrafted in the U.S., is Kydex-theraformed and is cut with precision by CNC machinery. It’s also easy to adjust and works with the light’s easy-on feature, once it is dialed in for that (which, admittedly, took me longer than I thought it would). (viridianweapontech.com; $49.00)

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