Deployment Personal Gear

[The Reaper]

What non-issue gear are you guys taking on deployment to make your life better?

What are you laying out your money for to take with you?

Looking for both tac gear and creature comfort lists.

I am sure that IPODs, laptops, radios, etc. are popular, as are flashlights, knives, tools, and so forth.

What are the items that you consider to be indispensable or "must have"?

Looking forward to seeing your lists. You may help somebody take something important that they missed, or they may help you.

Thoughts?

TR

[LongWire]

Lately for me its been a lot of North Face warmies!!!!!! I've been loving the cold weather so that I can put on my Hot Gear, kinda stupid I guess, but its one of those inevitabilities that comes around every year.

[RichL025]

Hammock.

As long as I'm going somewhere warm-ish, that is....

[18C4V]

Must have:

X-box with lots of games
Small pillow with bed sheets (every place I've been to had mattresses) except Kuwait
Laptop
Webcam
Digital Camera
IPOD
External hard drive with movies (250gig)
Multiple outlets (UK, Italian, European)
Step down converter at least 300 watts.
Civilian clothes
Cell phone (buy one in country)
Pelican or Otter cases for Laptop, IPOD, Webcam, External hard drive, etc.
Cash or Eagle card to use at the PX, etc.
Multiple sunglasses (in case they break)
Battery Razor

[jwt5]

If you're going to be spending time rolling around in trucks, I'd recommend a power converter that can be hooked up to your truck battery.

We used them to charge our radios, razors, and other electronic goods.

[Pete S]

Self inflating miniature air mattress that is the size of an Isomat.
Water resistant digital camera. I've had problems with sand getting in to the regular type and breaking it.
LED headlamp that has both red and white light settings.

[CosaNostraUSMC]

1.) Baby wipes... a lot of 'em.
2.) North Face Denali.

Other than that, every mom under the sun, sent all sorts of HSLD trash to the FOB. 50% was redundancy, the other 50% was unusable for one reason or another.

[RTK]

Originally Posted by 18C4V

Must have:

X-box with lots of games
Small pillow with bed sheets (every place I've been to had mattresses) except Kuwait
Laptop
Webcam
Digital Camera
IPOD
External hard drive with movies (250gig)
Multiple outlets (UK, Italian, European)
Step down converter at least 300 watts.
Civilian clothes
Cell phone (buy one in country)
Pelican or Otter cases for Laptop, IPOD, Webcam, External hard drive, etc.
Cash or Eagle card to use at the PX, etc.
Multiple sunglasses (in case they break)
Battery Razor

Great list. Coupled with Pete's air matress, that's about all I can think I took (or wish I had). I'd add a few footballs or soccer balls with a pump and needle.

Also, can't be an American Soldier and go abroad without a baseball mitt. Who knows, maybe Iraq is the next bastion of middle infielders.

Edit: I had an Ipaq HP 1940 Pocket PC palm pilot that I could throw maps on and use as the C or E of my PACE plan. Plus it has a record capability, note taking capability, and Microsoft Office capable.

[Pete S]

Something I forgot was the rechargeable AA batteries and charger. I had 2 sets of batteries. So one set would be in use while I was out, and one set constantly charging. When I got back I would switch the sets. I also still made sure I had plenty of the non-rechageable type in my pack in case of emergencies.

[x-factor]

I'm surprised no one has listed thumb drives yet. Those things are absolutely vital for moving files around (especially big ones with graphics and the like). I recommend three if possible: one for unclassified/personal use, one for SIPR, and one for TS/SCI. Also, its probably stating the obvious, but I find it best to keep them on a lanyard around the neck so that you don't lose them.

[NoRoadtrippin]

Originally Posted by RTK

Edit: I had an Ipaq HP 1940 Pocket PC palm pilot that I could throw maps on and use as the C or E of my PACE plan. Plus it has a record capability, note taking capability, and Microsoft Office capable.

This I really like. I can see how it would be useful for a whole handful of things in a really small take along package.

[Aoresteen]

I'm halfway through a 12 month tour. Here's what I brought that hasn't been mentioned.

Gerber multicolored lens flashlight. When you are in a tent with 10 other guys using blue light keeps everyone happy at 3:00 AM.

The Gortex bivvy sack (issue) shell. I use it with my poncho liner & lightwight down Northface bag. In the summer I just used the poncho liner & bivvy sack.

MOLLE waist pack (issue). Straps to the top of my Kifaru XTL. Keeps my rain gear/cold weather parka handy.

Ipod shuffel 1 gig. I keep it in a pouch on my IBA.

iPAQ 2215 Pocket PC. This is my main support device. I have a 16 GB CF card and a 4 GN SD card in it. Docs go on the SD card, MP3 & movies go on the CF card. I have 3 batteries for the iPAQ, ac charger, and an USB charger.

US style 3 plug adapter. It seems that all the outlets are used everywhere you go; this lets you share an outlet with a buddy and get recharged without having to wait.

Small AM/FM radio that uses ear buds.

Sink plug 1.5", Every sink in Iraq is missing the plug. Having your own lets you fill up the sink with water to shave or sponge bath. Linnens & Things sells a nice one for $2.99.

Coming back from R&R I brought back a Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance SP with a bunch of classic games. Should have brought it with from the get go. Note: Nintendo AC adapters are 110v only, get a universal 110-240v generic charger off of eBay.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 digital camera. Uses SDHC cards and I got an 8 gig card for it. Never run out of space!

Thumb drives are fine for unclass NIPR stuff but you can only use gov't drives that are issued to you for SIPR stuff. That's the rule within MNSTC-I. MNF-I, MNC-I and CJSOTF might have different rules but from what I have seen, no personal thumb drives for SIPR.

[MST]

Duct tape for the gear, medical tape for the fingers

[Surgicalcric]

Originally Posted by MST

Duct tape for the gear, medical tape for the fingers

Or just carry 100mph tape as it will serve both purposes.

Crip

[Alacrity]

It is expensive, but I shelled out the money for some Crye Precision gear and it is worth it. I have the Cage Plate Carrier and it is the most comfortable body armor I've ever worn. When you're doing 72-hr ops dropped in some Afghan valley and you've got to walk everywhere, your shoulders get destroyed from carrying all that kit. Last year I used the army issued plate carrier and I wouldn't be surprised if I have nerve damage from wearing that bloody thing.

Now, after about 12 hours it'll suck anyway, but it's still much more comfortable than the issued stuff.

Last year I didn't spend much money at all. That changed this year... I decided to hell with it, I'm gonna rock some good gear. Some brands I like:

Crye Precision
Mountain Hardwear
Magpul
Ops-Core
Fenix
Under Armour
Triple Aught Design
Oakley

I use a lot of Crye's stuff; they have many products that are designed intelligently. (I only wish their customer service was as good as their gear) Mountain Hardwear makes great baselayer clothing and it's easy to get a military discount and save ~50% on their stuff. They make a lightweight beanie that you can wear under your helmet. Very nice. I use Ops-Core's H-harness chinstrap, best chinstrap I've ever used. Solid and doesn't come undone, unlike the issued chinstrap. For mags I prefer magpul's; they're tough, lightweight, reliable. They're a little larger than the issued mags but I'm fine with that. I also use their "badlever" which allows you to lock and release the bolt on your M4 with your firing hand. Takes a few tries to get used to, but once you do you won't ever have to switch hands to lock/release your bolt.

Under Armour's stuff I wear for working out; it's very comfortable. Oakleys go without saying, but I'll say it anyway - best eyepro in the business. Fenix makes pretty damned good flashlights, but since they're LED no IR solution yet. I talked to one of their reps over email and they're working on something IR for the military. As it is I use their HL21 headlamp, it has 3 different brightness settings, up to 90lumens. For a handheld light I use something similar to their PD20 model; mine is a few years older but does the same. 3 brightness settings and it can run a long time on one 123 battery.

Triple Aught Design makes some nice stuff. They are, however, very expensive. I bought their litespeed backpack and used it on a couple missions running slick on the back of my armor and it rode very well.

Few pointers for new gear guys....don't ever pay retail. You're military. E-mail the company you're interested in buying from, tell them you're military and ask if they have a military discount. Most do. Sometimes it's only 10%, but in some cases like Mountain Hardwear they have a prodeal program.

www.promotive.com , www.backcountryoutlet.com , www.steepandcheap.com , are all great places to look for gear deals.

Recreation-wise I use an Amazon Kindle for reading, and even though I missed paper books at first I don't now. It's so much easier to carry your library with you. You can't get every book on it, but you can get most of them. For a little over 100 books for the device, a battery that lasts a couple weeks with steady reading... no better solution out there to save weight and space if you travel.

Also I have to say that since I switched from pc to mac, my life has been much easier. Few things are as frustrating as having your pc shit itself on deployment and you spend hours trying to fix it before giving up. Never had a problem with my macbook pro.

As far as exercise gear... A friend and I buy from elitefts.com . We use the sled and the prowler http://www.flexcart.com/members/elit...?m=PD&pid=1006 and some of the stretch bands for a few workouts and also for warming up. For explosive athletic strength, which is what we need for our job, the sled and prowler are great tools. Easy to throw on a pallet, too.