We had to break out the asterisk!

On our recent product e-mail newsletter, we rolled out our traditional St. Patrick’s Day discount. As we do from time to time, we included a 15% off discount.

Unfortunately, we had to a put an asterisk on that offer.

5.11 Tactical® has been experiencing a number of violations of it’s minimum advertised price (MAP) policy and so recently has decided to enforce a ban on percentage and dollar off discounts for their product line.

So, while will still continue to offer a great selection of 5.11 Tactical products as a full line dealer, we have to comply with this restriction. You may not be able to save as much money on a 5.11 purchase as in the past, but you can rest assured that industry wide, you will be paying a fair price.

Now, just because there is a MAP policy in place doesn’t mean we can’t offer any incentives. Starting right now you can get free shipping with your purchase of $75 or more of 5.11 Tactical products (thru March 24th). There are also a great many gift with purchase options as well. Click here to check those out.

Check all of the great 5.11 Tactical products here.

Eberlestock Suffers Warehouse Fire

Eberlestock started their business making custom rifle stocks and then hunting packs specifically designed to carry long guns comfortably. Over the years, Eberlestock picked up a loyal following within the military and law enforcement sniper community and that market has evolved Eberlestock's products with more tactical options. The Eberlestock Gunslinger series and the newer Terminator Pack are popular items. Things seemed to be picking up steam until disaster struck.

Just before the 2010 SHOT Show, their main warehouse in Idaho was destroyed by fire.

We spoke to the owner, Glen Eberle, at SHOT as part of a scheduled new product meeting. Although the fire certainly weighed heavy with Glen, he assured us that this event would make his company stronger. We were impressed with his determination and had no doubt he meant every word. However, in the short term, we understood that supplies would be constrained.

Eberlestock will be back to full inventory by the middle of April. So bear with us as stock may be slim for the time being, but don't hesitate to make a purchase of an Eberlestock item as every sale will help them raise the capital they need to recover.

We also understand that while you may not be able to find what you need at U.S. Cavalry, we realize that keeping a valued partner in business is best for you and the industry. So please keep buying Eberlestock wherever and whenever you can.

The New Gerber DMF - Wicked Automatic

Gerber has recently introduced the successor to their popular 06 Auto, the DMF or dual multi-function knife. As it's name implies, this isn't your average pocket folder. It was built specifically to meet todays military requirements with features that are well thought out.

The DMF sports a matte black, 1/8 inch thick, S30V blade with nearly 3 inches of cutting surface - a third of which utilizes some very effective serrations. One of the biggest differences from the 0

6 Auto is the tanto point. Note the false back edge to the blade that will definitely aid in penetrating tasks.

The choil area (section between the serrated section of the blade and the handle) is about 1/2 inch long and notched so that you can really grip up on the blade for detailed cutting tasks.

When you're looking at an automatic knife, the deployment of the blade is what it's all about. The DMF's deployment system is truly ambidextrous featuring a sliding release that also functions as the locking mechanism. Gerber really put some thought into this. Take a look at the stair-stepping on this release. It will surely give you positive traction whether wet, muddy or even gloved.

For those of you familiar with Benchmade's Auto Axis lock, it seems that Gerber's design is just as rugged and reliable.

Some may find the deployment speed lacking, but the military found that a slower deployment system was less likely to jump out of someone's grip that some overzealous autos can tend to do. In another example of the thought put into this design, activating the safety seems like a natural movement once the blade is open. The safety's locking bar is located on the spine of the handle which also lends to it's ambidextrous operation. Just slide the heavily jimped safety bar toward the blade to prevent the sliders from accidentally releasing the blade in use.

This safety can also be deployed in the closed position to prevent unintentional opening, but seems unnecessary considering this isn't a traditional push-button auto. That means that you can cary this and not have to worry about disengaging a safety before you deploy the blade.

The handle on the DMF is made of two 1/8 inch G10 slabs that give positive traction in the hand. Underneath these slabs are two 1/16 inch steel liners that ad to the heft of this knife, but also the strength.

The DMF weighs in at just under 7 oz. Keep in mind that this isn't intended as an everyday pocket folder, so some extra weight is to be expected for such a hard use knife.

Some other things we noticed:

• Overall ergonomics of the handle are excellent for those with medium to large sized hands.
• Steel strike pommel. This can be effectively used as a pressure point device when you don't need the deadly force of the blade. An oversized lanyard hole allows you to tie a tether or wrist loop to when in an operational area where there is a high risk of loosing your blade.
• There is a large forefinger groove and slightly smaller middle finger groove, while the remaining section is left coarsely jimped. This design works equally well in a forward grip as well as a reverse grip.
• The pocket clip on this DMF is reversible but only provides for tip-up carry.
• Another nice touch is that the area under the pocket clip has been smoothed to prevent excess wear on your pocket that can normally occur with course G10 checkering.
• While in the pocket, the clip leaves about 3/4 of an inch of the handle exposed, giving plenty to grab onto to withdraw the knife. An ultra-deep pocket clip, like those found on some edc knives would be impractical for the DMF's tactical role.

Lastly, Gerber provides two carry methods for the DMF. For a traditional belt style you can use the included nylon sheath or opt for the blackened steel clip for pocket carry.

The new Gerber DMF is a value packed tactical auto that will serve you well on your next mission.

Get yours today at uscav.com.

Ringers Carbon Tactical Glove

For durable and affordable gloves, you can't go wrong with Ringers. From the basic mechanic style, to a hybrid impact to the carbon fiber hard knuckle glove, there is a style for every misison. Find all of our Ringers gloves here.

"MultiCam was the clear winner"

Photo courtesy of Staff Sgt. Gary A. Witte, U.S. Army.

So it is official now. Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced that Soldiers deploying to Afghanistan will get MultiCam uniforms.

According to Col. Bill Cole, project manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, MultiCam was “21 percent less detectable than UCP,” the pattern used in ACUs.

Army to Adopt MULTICAM for Afghanistan Mission

If you were left scratching your head over the decision to field the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP). You weren't alone.

Heck, everybody knows there is no such thing as a universal camo. Right? Is there really a pattern that can work in all environments?

Umm...not really, but with our current level of technology, MultiCam is perhaps the best. And by all indications that the Army is actually going to field it... sort of.

After a recent round of tests, the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. George Casey has recommended that the Army adopt MultiCam. For the time being, only for those serving in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and only after the Secretary of the Army gives final approval, which is expected soon.

So how did this happen? What is MultiCam? How is it so good?

Well dear reader, follow along and we'll give you the overview, pointing you to some great folks that have already done a lot reporting on this subject.

What is MultiCam? Back when the Army was developing the next generation uniform, the successor to the BDU, the army was also trying to come up with a solution to a huge logistical problem: fielding different sets of uniforms every time our forces deployed to a combat zone. Now in the field of new camo, our neighbors to the north were actually leading the pack. Through research the Canadian military had discovered several key things: Black in a camo was bad (it attracts the eye) and digital was good (it helps break up the human figure). So combine a digital camo pattern with some colors that individually work in the desert, woodland and urban areas, throw in some angled pockets and you've got the new ACU.

So wait, what about MultiCam? Oh yeah. The Army actually conducted tests pitting their UCP pattern against a new design by Crye Associates. These guys did their homework, they did all these photographic measurements of environments in different lighting, the whole nine yards. Basically Crye used Photoshop to build a color palette that worked with the majority of their environments and MultiCam was born.

After the tests, the Crye pattern along with along with two others (Desert All Over Brush and Woodland Track Mod) came out ahead of UCP in the Army tests.

So how come the Army went with UCP? No freaking idea. Guess it was the home team advantage. Money. Family ties. Who knows.

So fast forward to 2009. The recently departed Rep. John Murtha actually had a hand in all of this because he pressured the Army to conduct another camo trial based on the feedback coming from Afghanistan. The ACU sucked in Iraq and it really sucks here!

Late last year, the Army took samples of the available camo patterns and actually sent a team to Afghanistan to the do the light test thing again. After that, MultiCam and UCP, now with a fourth color (Coyote) would battle one more round. This time the two camo patterns would actually be fielded by two battalions, each with a different pattern.

Not much was known about this part of the test. Those following along would come across photos on the web, but no details have come out. One can only guess that MultiCam is finally getting the credit it's due and it's creators, hopefully, some measure of accomplishment.

So what makes MultiCam so good? Check this out.

U.S. Cavalry proudly announces our company blog!

Hello there.

It's been two years since we jumped on the social media bandwagon. We first experimented with product videos on YouTube. Then in quick succession we dipped our toes into the waters of twitter and facebook. Even though we are still trying to figure out the Mafia War thing, we felt it necessary to complete the next component of our social brand: the company blog.

We have tons of ideas on blog content and hope to use this medium to share with you a lot of great things.

But this isn't a one way street either.

We hope to solicit feedback from you (both the good and the bad) to help fine tune the gear we carry, improve on the places we fall short and provide the best possible experience for those on the front lines.

We hope you'll join us.

U.S. Cavalry

P.S. A big THANK YOU to all of the men and women who have supported our business for over 35 years. 2009 was a bit rough, but because of your loyalty, we are still here. Ready to serve.