Tactical Entry Set Up

[Ragnar]

Thanks for further clarifying. I'm glad there are people like you out there putting your life on the line in pursuit of Justice so people like me can live fairly boring lives.

Fully appreciate your desire to come in fast & use speed to your advantage as well. I also know that If someone busted down my door at 0300 I'd be very lucky to get my bearings enough to defend myself & I consider myself relatively prepared. (I do keep two loaded firearms unlocked as I sleep in my open nightstand & two GOOD flashlights.) THAT SAID, I would think that 5 or 6 guys (I'm just assuming because of movies I've seen) running in my house after my door busts down is very different than hearing someone creeping/rattling/buzzing on the other side of my door for a few seconds before the calvary comes into play.

Glad you are passionate about picking & grateful that you're keeping me safe. (Bonus points for doing that while knowing what the Constitution is/was!) Just trying to further explain why I said what I did above.

Keep up the great work & stay safe!

[MBI]

MBI if you have links to the tool bags that you described I would love to see them. The problem is that the department doesn't pay for any of my equipment so it can be expensive.

Here's one I really like and at $32 it's priced much lower than "tactical" bags from places like Blackhawk, Eagle, etc. It has several mesh inner pockets, and the entire outside is covered in webbing allowing Molle gear to be attached to it so you can customize what pouches you want to add for quick access to certain tools. It holds a surprisingly large amount of gear, and is available in black and OD green.
http://www.countycomm.com/xleod.html

Just last week they posted a limited overrun of that same bag, available in grey. If you want one of these grab it now because they probably won't last long. These bags are very well made and tough.
http://www.countycomm.com/xleodsp.html

They also make these bags in a smaller size for $24. They're roughly the size of a military Claymore bag, maybe a bit bigger. Large enough to hold a pair of glocks, a couple dozen spare mags and a bunch of flex cuffs and still have a little room left inside, plus whatever pouches you want to clip to the webbing outside. Just be aware that the brown color they make really is BROWN, not tan like it appears in some of the pics.
http://www.countycomm.com/minebag.html

To go on the outside, this little case is handy and is priced way lower than similar competing bags from other sources. The colors match the bigger bags, and they have straps on the back to securely attach them to the webbing on the EOD bags. Just about a perfect size to hold picks.
http://www.countycomm.com/pocketorganizer.html

Browse around on the site, they make several other smaller pouches that can also attach to the outside of the EOD bags. Look carefully though, not all of the small pouches are compatible with those attachment points.
http://www.countycomm.com/cases.html

They used to make a "Tactical Tool Roll" that was pretty handy but unfortunately they discontinued it.

They make a "Bail Out Bag" that already has exterior pouches integrated into the design, but it doesn't have the webbing so it's less customizable and costs about double the price of the XL EOD bag. Plus it's out of stock right now. I hear it's popular but I've never tried it.
http://www.countycomm.com/bobxl.html

If your budget is really tight, this is one you might want to look at. It's not tacticool what with the yellow on it. It's not as well made or durable as the CountyComm ones, but it's not bad for the price. It also has a rigid liner around the zipper so it stays wide open very well when you unzip it, giving good access to the internal pouches.
http://www.harborfreight.com/15-inch-18 ... 94993.html

I've tried out some hard cases over the years, but none stick out in my mind as superior to these nylon bags for this type of thing. Plus, this post is already getting a bit long.

[gnarus8429]

Thanks that link to the $16.00 great one is gold. I'm going to pick one of those up.

[MBI]

Thanks that link to the $16.00 great one is gold. I'm going to pick one of those up.

I love those bags. For two years I've been waiting for them to come out in grey, and when they finally do, they're an overrun at half price??? I just had to jump all over that. I even ordered a couple of spares just in case.

Unless it's gear that I'm specifically going to be using in undeveloped areas and might need to actually be camouflaged, I avoid things like the brown or OD. If it's something I'll be using in daily life, I don't want my gear to look quite so... paramilitary. It attracts unwanted attention in urban areas. And black just screams: "High priced tactical or camera gear located inside, please steal me!"

I think they grey is perfect. I mean, the design of the bag still looks kinda tactical, there's no way of avoiding that if you own one, but with that color I think it just doesn't stand out quite so much.

For example, a black rifle case, well, it looks like a rifle case. I've had rifle cases in grey, carried them in public, and about the only comment I got was "oooh, is that a guitar?"
Yes maam, it sure is. I'm on my way to a gig.

[gnarus8429]

After help from some folks here and some research this is what the final product is. A molle panel with a condor T and T pouch and a maxpedition organizer.

DSC_0004.JPG

When you open the condor T and T pouch there is quick and easy access to all of the basic tools. Jigglers, bump keys, and various thickness of plastic sheet are secured in pockets behind what you you see here. After having used this setup for awhile now I'm very satisfied with the condor T and T pouch. You would be hard pressed to find another off the shelf product that works this well for picks and tools.

DSC_0005.JPG

The maxpedition pouch holds three tubular picks and three preform bottle tubes. The preform bottle tubes hold various bypass devices, extra wrenches, and extra picks. There is also a very basic set of tools (pliers and screw drivers type stuff) in a pocket you can't see here. These are items that would most likely not be used but, are there just in case.

DSC_0006.JPG

The molle panel is just a thin portfolio type bag with molle attachments on the outside. I don't have anything in there yet but, there are some items that I would like to have in there in the future. I currently have a cardboard frame in it so it keeps its shape. There were also some interesting comments that my first setup was less than covert in nature. That was a very accurate observation. This whole setup will comfortably sit in any duffel bag now and still give you access to all of the tools if you remove the cardboard from the molle panel. I plan on replacing the cardboard with with a plexiglass cut pinning type mat. There will still be plenty of room for some additional larger bypass tools that I would like to include.

[Oldfast]

DAMN!!! I love it. Lots of time, research & thought has gone into it.

Might change slightly over time as you experience more & more scenarios...
but I'd say you've arrived at EXACTLY what it was you wanted. Thanks for sharing!

[rai]

NDE seems to mean don't destroy the door frame and if possible don't destroy the door, but drill the lock for speed entry.

personally I would approach such a door with a bogota pair, (easy to keep track of tools and not lose them) they work well under the jittery influence of adrenaline and if its some easy lock that would be the end of it, but if destructive entry is the next step, I would take one tool for that, the smallest lightest tool to get the job done. that would probably be a shotgun slug round in a piece of three quarter inch plumbing pipe to use as a petard against the part of the wood that has the strike plate in it, the slug can be set off with a hammer or you can rig a mousetrap to set it off. expect parts to fly

my point here is to bring what you intend to use, not a bunch of boxes with different approaches ready when you decide to use one of them.
Its called a dynamic entry, so keep it light and don't bring anything that isn't useful and has to be dragged around. counted and accounted for.

[gnarus8429]

I agree when its going to be a dynamic entry NDE isn't even a consideration. Its all rams, flashbangs, and breaching shotguns. We have a risk matrix that dictates when we have the SWAT team do dynamic entries. Most of the time when I get to use this stuff its a secured location or unoccupied location. Rarely, it is an occupied location with factors that make it safe enough to go slow.

[LockManipulator]

What exactly is your job gnarus? it sounds really interesting

[easy-e]

After help from some folks here and some research this is what the final product is. A molle panel with a condor T and T pouch and a maxpedition organizer.

I was looking at the Condor T and T pouch a while ago but wrote it off as "crap" because it was sold on so many airsoft sites. I kept looking but never found anything that peaked my interest enough to buy. The reason I originally wanted the Condor pouch was all of the elastic webbing on the inside to hold individual tools and it looked like the perfect size for lockpicking tools. I'll have to order one now. Great pictures by the way!

I also have set of two craftsman bags (one smaller, one larger) that are similar to the harbor freight bag MBI linked to. I keep the smaller one in my car with a small socket set, screw drivers, pliers, etc. The larger one I use for all of my miscellaneous sound equipment. I have plastic totes with all of my cables, wireless mics, and other stuff but the bag is great because of all of the pockets around the interior. I always bring all sorts of tools I have 2 rolls of gaff tape, black and gray duct tape, and 5 colors of spike tape that I keep on the shoulder strap. It's a pretty neat setup. I'd definitely recommend a bag like that for carrying tools or other items that you need to access quickly. I load it up pretty heavy from time to time. Although in your situation I wouldn't want to bring a bright red/yellow bag with me. I totally understand MBI's remarks about tacticool bags getting stolen. I got a Black Velvet backpack from a customer and I'm always worried someone will steal it because it's so awesome (unless I'm the only one who drinks BV). I'd hate to have my laptop and other stuff taken so sometimes I switch to a boring backpack. Everyone in my area has REI or North Face bags and those just scream I HAVE EXPENSIVE ELECTRONICS or at least an Ipod.

I've also had this case from harbor freight for about 7 years with all of the soldering and electronics stuff in it. It's been good to me and I would definitely buy another one if I had a use for it. It comes with dividers and a foam insert that can be trimmed to fit different gear.
http://www.harborfreight.com/18-x-12-34 ... 69318.html

[gnarus8429]

That harbor freight case is a good deal for the money. I have one for my fingerprint kit. It has lasted me about six years now and is going strong. I got the T and T pouch from another law enforcement guy that lurks around on this site. He said that he had been using it for some time with good results. Turns out he was a pretty smart guy.

[gnarus8429]

What exactly is your job gnarus? it sounds really interesting

I'm Detective that specializes in crime scene work. I used to be in narcotics unit where I was the tech guy (running covert audio and video installations). That is where I was introduced to lock picking: breaking into vehicles for GPS installs and other areas for video/audio installs is all part of the deal. I got lucky and was able to meet some top notch guys in the the field to inspire me on early in all that. I still do some tech work and get to break into the occasional building in my current position. I work part time for the National Forensic Academy out of the University of Tennessee teaching courses for crime scene investigators around the country.

[LockManipulator]

that sounds pretty cool!

[easy-e]

Thanks gnarus. I ended up buying one of the Condor T&T pouches. In the 3rd picture the webbing on the back is bulged. Was yours this way too? Seems a bit odd. The webbing connectors that came with this were pretty thick and had some sort of plastic stiffener sewed in.

It feels solid and I can fit all of my small stuff in there and it's only about 2/3rds full. On the left side there is a zippered pouch that holds all of the stuff off to the far left. I usually also have some small vise grips, adjustable wrench, and a medium sized pocket knife. On the right side I saved space for some stuff I still want/need/desire. Plug spinner, raimundo style snapper, double sided bogota, and some more tension wrenches. I also have room for jigglers and bump keys if/when I decide to get some.

The coolest feature of this pouch is the paracord. If you had it attached to molle webbing on a tactical vest you can set it up so it only opens 90 degrees so you can use your tools directly from it. I'm going to remove the paracord because I keep getting it caught in the zipper. It works okay as a stand but I prefer it to be laid out flat.


Larger Picture of Tools - 997KB