A company helping equip our military, law enforcement, and private security contractors (PSC), as well as private citizens, is Eberlestock.
Eberlestock traces its founding to 1985. At the time, Glen Eberle was working his way through college and competing in biathlon at the Olympic level. He was a member of the U.S. National Biathlon Team for eight years and a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team.
Biathlon is a grueling sport that combines the opposing disciplines of cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship. Following the 1985 World Championships, Glen decided it was time to make some changes to the rifle he’d been packing around. Glen invented a rifle system that redefined the weapon for modern biathlon competitions by removing four pounds from the rifle’s weight.
Eberlestock soon developed other innovative products that set the standard in their respective fields—the Eberlestock hunting/military packs. The Eberlestock Big Trick pack serves as an excellent example of Eberlestock’s simple, practical ingenuity.
Glen Eberle’s entry into backpacks evolved from his own passion for hunting in the rugged terrain of Idaho and surrounding states, combined with his background in biathlon.
Glen states, ”After an elk is down is not the time to think about heading off of the mountain in order to get a freight pack, so you can come back up the mountain to start carrying meat. At the end of the day, you’ll be glad to have saved those extra miles, especially if they’re vertical ones. The desire to have my meat pack with me, combined with the experience of carrying rifles on my back in the sport of biathlon, along with my habit of tinkering, led me to start making true hunting packs for myself many years ago. At the time, there really weren’t any good hunting packs available, so if you wanted to make something to get the job done, and didn’t own an industrial sewing machine, you spent a little time with a Speedy Stitcher and made what you needed.”
A true hunting/tactical pack is not something picked up at a national retail chain store. It needs to be quiet, tough, and versatile in terms of serving as both a pack for active hunting and when the work starts of packing out meat.
Of course, it’s not a big stretch of the imagination to realize that once you make a backpack that carries a rifle, military, law enforcement, and security-conscious citizens will take note. The evolution of Eberlestock’s hunting packs into a tactical pack product line sped up after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Eberlestock gear is in service all over the world with Special Forces, regular military, and police units. Eberlestock’s “secrets,” as typified by the Big Trick, are to design a pack so items are easy to find, and make it easy to attach things to the outside of it.
Discreteness can be found in camouflage, the use of any combination of materials or coloration for concealment, either by making objects hard to see or by disguising them as something else, such as the Eberlestock Big Trick bag does. The Big Trick provides superior tactical utility in a broad range of personal defense situations, especially compared to a handgun-only approach.
The Big Trick’s combination of being a top loader and having an accessible front panel means the main compartment is hassle free to access. There’s no digging and wrestling with your pack to free an item.
Glen learned from his biathlon experience if you carry your weapon on your back, you’re much more agile and effective than if it’s in your hands or on a shoulder sling all the time. There’s no better way to move around in an organized fashion. By having the pack carry the rifle, your hands are free for all the things you need them for.
Eberlestock also makes it so you can get your weapons out of the pack without having to un-strap everything you’re wearing. Most importantly, the pack must be comfortable, considering all the time spent with it out in the field. The Big Trick has all these characteristics.
Much thought has gone into the Big Trick’s design and construction. Two rare-earth magnets conceal a hidden opening on each side of the bag, allowing ambidextrous quick access to a handgun concealed-carry pouch. This pouch is V-shaped, so it controls the position of the handgun. The barrel always points down, and the gun is right where you want it to be.
The Big Trick features an expandable bottom that not only increases the pack’s overall volume, but also lengthens the scabbard, allowing you to customize the pack for load size and weapon length. You can carry various carbines or long guns in the aft scabbard sleeve.
When not doing that, these are perfect places to stow your laptop and documents. The zip-away top permits full-frontal and top access to the main compartment: Pull the zippers to quickly unveil your laptop, a carbine, or folded rifle. These good-looking packs are perfect for going to the office or school, or for traveling.
Events worldwide show that terrorists are committed to attacking civilian targets. A weapon other than a handgun would be much appreciated if you are trapped in such a nightmarish scenario, though a basic plan needs to be formulated in advance.
What do you do in terms of upgrading personal defense items? Eberlestock packs are designed to help answer this important question. There is no one way to predict how or when an attack will develop, or how many assailants there will be, thus the need to have a plan and be prepared as much as possible for the unknown.
The ability to tailor your defensive carry needs to worst-case scenarios is crucial. So many variables need to be considered that flexibility is key. The more options you give yourself, the better your odds for success, especially in terms of the firepower upgrade that a long arm represents versus a handgun only.
The Eberlestock Big Trick has been in use supporting various projects for several months. The ability to carry multiple weapons and ancillary gear (ammunition, optics, suppressors) is a big advantage.
The Big Trick has become one of my favorite discrete weapon transport cases.
SOURCE
EBERLESTOCK
(877) 866-3047
www.eberlestock.com
