Triangle Tactical Podcast and Blog on Guns, Gear, and Competition Shooting
Thanks for checking out the Gear that Doesn’t Suck page! All of the Amazon links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click the link and buy something from Amazon, I’ll get a little commission from Amazon for sending you to their site, which is a big part of what keeps Triangle Tactical up and running.
The Anker Powercore is my solution to having a dead phone for the drive home after a match, or worse, having a dead phone that can’t take video of my last stage of the day. It’s also something I keep charged up at home to use during a power outage or other emergency. I’ve also got the smaller one that stays in my laptop bag most of the time.
A squib stick is really just a brass rod. And Amazon sells brass rods much cheaper than most places sell squib sticks. Get one of these and keep it handy in your range bag. It’s cheap.
Ghost 360 magazine pouches are pretty great. I’ve been running 5 of them in USPSA for over 2 years now, and I don’t have any complaints. If you’re looking to shoot Production, I think these are the ones to have (and they’re cheap).
AVEX Free Flow Water Bottle is pretty great. I bought one recently, and really like how it automatically seals shut when you let go of it. I tipped it over on my laptop keyboard and… nothing happened, which was amazing.
SOFT-T Wide tourniquet: I’ve never had to use a tourniquet, but I’ve been told that this one is the one to have. I just picked one up to keep in my range bag, you probably should too. I’ve also got a couple CAT tourniquets and I like them a lot, but DO NOT buy one on Amazon. Go straight to the manufacturer, they are too many fake CAT’s out there.
Stormy Kromer Hat: Almost every time I wear this hat out of the house, someone comments on it. I like it, so there you go.
Mechanix Gloves work pretty great for re-setting steel on the range and setting up and tearing down stages. Not to mention they add just enough grip for turning off greasy oil filters…
These spring clips saved my trip to the range. I couldn’t find my stapler, and the one at the range was empty. I just stuck up a target with spring clips I had in my trunk and I was good to go.
This Caldwell Chronograph is pretty great. I thought the smartphone app thing would be kind of gimmicky, but I was pleasantly surprised, and it really makes chronographing your loads a lot simpler and faster than writing everything down and doing the math yourself.
The Spyderco Delica with the Wave opener has been in my pocket for over 5 years now. It’s a fantastic one handed opening knife that doesn’t have any of the questionable legality of assisted openers with springs and stuff.
The JetBoil Flash stove is just fantastic. Even if you don’t hike or camp, having this around for emergencies just makes sense. It boils water ridiculously fast, and it’s compact, and I found it to be surprisingly fuel efficient. It saved my butt during an extended power outage.
The Streamlight ProTac 2L is my go-to every day carry flashlight. It’s just the right size, and definitely bright enough for whatever you need. I used it at the 2015 Day-Night-Day match at The Range, and it was perfect. I did modify the tailcap by filing off the bumps so I could use it with the syringe grip, but that’s totally personal preference.
Field Notes are awesome. I’ve been carrying one of these little guys all over to make notes at the range, podcast prep, etc. I’ve found putting pen to paper is quicker, and faster than trying to take notes on my phone.
Frankford Arsenal Digital Scale I’ve had really good luck with mine, and it’s not uber expensive. No complaints for loading my pistol ammo. I also use one for weighing my coffee every morning. Seriously.
Hornady makes this LED light strip that’s great for lighting up your reloading press to see the powder in the cases, etc. I resisted buying one, and made my own, and ended up spending more than I needed to. Just buy this one.
The Lee Auto Drum powder measure is a HUGE upgrade over the Lee Auto Disk. With finer powders, my auto-disk would spill powder all over, and wasn’t real accurate. The auto-drum has a lot less variation between charges, and it doesn’t spill powder all over. If you’re still using a Lee press, you should do yourself a favor and get one of these.
The Pocket Pro 2 is the shot timer that you should be using. If you’re not, you’re wrong. It’s got a real easy to use par time function for dryfire, and the form factor is great for practice, or a backup timer at matches.
The Lee Classic Turret press is a great press to get started reloading with. It’s simple enough, and you can still crank out a fair amount of ammo.
MTM ammo boxes are fantastic, and cheap. Just make sure you get the ones with the actual hinge for the lid, and not the ones with the little thin piece of plastic that connects to top and bottom.
Prince Grip is made for tennis, but I think it works just as good as the grip stuff they market to shooters.
Here’s a bunch of books that don’t suck. I will note that if you’re somewhat new to practice and competitive shooting you might find the Brian Enos book to be a little… deep.