Equipment Reviews and Recommendations
Rain gear -- In addition to the issued Department vinyl rain suits, you can also get various garments made with Gore Tex. Both types of garments have advantages and disadvantages:
Gore Tex: Costs more, but the garments have exterior pockets. The Gore Tex fabric allows the garment to vent perspiration away from you, so you don't get too clammy.
Vinyl rain suit: It's free, but has no exterior pockets, and traps perspiration inside the suit. Also, if you're crawling, climbing or crouching, those slash pockets on the rainsuit (to enable you to reach the pockets of the pants underneath) can sometimes open up, allowing water to soak the pants underneath. However, the vinyl rainsuit is more compact than the usual GoreTex stuff.
Waterproof Socks -- Two brands to look for are Rocky brand socks and Sealskinz. Both are made with Gore Tex and perform well, but the Rocky socks have a baggy fit, compared to Sealskinz, which use a Lycra outer covering for a snug fit. Sealskinz makes a "regular" waterproof sock, and also another sock with a tight fit at the top so that if the water rises above the level of your sock, it won't get in, thus keeping your feet dry. You can get either of these at REI, Cabelas or Brigade Quartermaster.
Waterproofing your boots -- If you don't have Gore Tex boots and you don't want to get waterproof socks, then you'll probably want to waterproof your leather boots. Back in 1997 Backpacker magazine did some tests to determine which leather treatments performed the best when it came to waterproofing leather. The testing involved the use of a Maeser Machine, which dips leather samples into water and then flexes them thousands of times, simulating actual wear. The machine counts the number of flexes the leather sample withstands before water starts seeping through. Any sample that survives 15,000 flexes is considered waterproof. The two best treatments are Kiwi Camp Dry Heavy Duty Water Repellent Spray (18,000+ flexes on the first test, 14,000+ flexes on the second test) and Nikwax Aqueous Wax Leather Waterproofing (19,000 flexes on the first test, 24,000 on the second).
Gloves -- Gloves will protect your hands from rough surfaces. The thick gloves they give you for crowd control don't provide for a lot of dexterity, nor are they waterproof. "Specialist" gloves by Hatch are form-fitting and provide you with dexterity. Sealskinz also makes gloves that are both waterproof and form-fitting. The gloves come in both camo and black versions.
You can also get gloves made for windsurfers by Da Kine for about $28.00. They come in full finger and half-finger versions, and they sport a surface on the palm and fingers that will give you a good, tacky grip on your weapon or other equipment items. You'll want to experiment with these to see if you can get a quick firing grip on your handgun, because once you grab the weapon it'll be hard to change your grip if it's tacky.
Backpacks -- Some of the best backpacks you can find for your work as a Specialist can be found at your local sporting goods store, and they may be a bit cheaper than the ones you can get from Blackhawk, Assault Systems or some other big manufacturer of "tactical" items -- www.blackhawk.com, www.shomertec.com, and www.etsoutdoors.com. Your pack should have plenty of pockets and compartments for the various things that you carry. Packs with padded straps and a chest loop (to keep the straps from sliding off your shoulders) are a good thing to have. Look at several types of packs before you decide to make a purchase.
You can also look into getting a pack made for snowboarders by Da Kine for about $50. These packs are designed for the snowboarder to put his boards inside the center of the pack, while compartments on either side of the boards can hold the snowboarder's accessory equipment. This type of pack might lend itself to an additional weapon carrier, be it a sniper rifle, assault weapon or a shotgun.
Tactical Vests -- These vests are made by a number of manufacturers, like Eagle Assault System, Blackhawk and Shomer-Tec. Some of the more inexpensive ones are made outside of the U.S.A. A tactical vest will enable you to carry sufficient gear and ammo for a rapid response to a high-risk crime in progress -- no need to shove your extra .223 magazines into various pockets, or wonder where your gloves or balaclava are. If you do get a vest, don't lace it too tight. If you have to run and start breathing hard, a too-tight vest will prevent you from filling your lungs with air. Also, adjust the laces on the side so that it will still fit over bulky outer clothing, like a field jacket or your Department Gore-Tex jacket, in case you're wearing one of those garments when you have to go in harm's way.
Rifle Slings -- I used to use the Wolf Clip rifle sling, where it attached to your tactical vest's D ring, but I found that the weapon wasn't secure enough during climbing, because of its single attachment point. Recently I've gone to the Viking Tactical Sling offered by Blackhawk for $24.95. It's a single strap sling, so it's easy to put on and take off. It has a unique method of shortening or lengthening the sling almost instantaneously, so you can have the weapon slung for strong-side shooting and then quickly re-adjust the sling for weak side shooting within seconds, or you can cinch the weapon close to your body for climbing actions or when cuffing a subject with a cover officer. The sling has a long tail that you pull to shorten the sling, and a buckle with a loop of 550 cord that you'll pull to lengthen it. It's a good design, and I recommend it highly.
Optics -- If you're going to buy another set of binoculars instead of using the Team issued ones, remember that you get what you pay for. For general viewing purposes, you want something in the 7-10 power range, with a 35-50mm objective lens (the one that's farthest from your eye). Avoid buying those 12 or 14 power binoculars you sometimes see advertised -- high magnification will cause eyestrain and will reduce your dim light viewing capabilities. Compact binoculars with either a 8 or 10 power magnification and a 22 - 25 mm objective lens won't work very well in dim light either.
Lens coatings -- Special coating applied by the manufacturer can aid in light transmission through the lenses, improving your dim light viewing capability. When you're examining a pair of binoculars for purchase, tilt the lens so that you can see one of the overhead fluorescent lights reflected in the lens. If you see a bluish hue to the lens, that means it's been coated on one side only. If you see a purplish hue, it means that both sides of the objective lens have been coated. If you see a greenish hue, that means that both sides of every lens has been coated. The better binoculars have fully coated lenses.
Whatever type of binocular you get, make sure it's rubber armored -- they'll be better protected from bumps and knocks as you deploy.
Cold weather gear -- Polypropelene undergarments are a good thing to have. They're not too bulky, they'll keep you warm, and they wick moisture away from your body. If they do get wet, they dry out pretty quickly, and will still keep you warm. They come in light weight and medium weight fabric. You can find these at the REI or Cabela's links above, or at a local sporting goods store.