I only own one Maxpedition pack, it is he Gearslinger Kodiak pictured. For short capers I strongly prefer a sling pack to a ruck/backpack.
I have used this bag pretty hard, and it has held-up very well. When Holly and I get set up in Idaho we are going to ramp IIIGear back up to feed some of our Patriot activities. Question 1) Maxpedition charges $168 retail for the Kodiak. Is this line of gear worth offering? It is not the cheapest gear on the market, but it is quality. They have a design team that is smart and fits pockets and molle loops in nooks and crannies, while keeping a respectable and competitive footprint. But all IIIGear, from flags to shirts to patches and even branded knives is all morale and cohesion. IIIGear is not a revenue source for serious Guerrilla Operations.
Question 2) This is important and something I have been struggling with for a while, and I need bigger brains than mine on it. As you know, none of us involved in IIIGear, III Arms, III Citadel take a salary. Not a dime. I disclosed back in the spring that as Holly and I travelled the country teaching CQB, that would be my personal income, because we have shut down our primary business. The Studio is also going to be my paycheck, but as a III business, a percentage will go into the Citadel account. But ask anyone in the community who offers training - we usually dip into our own pockets during a class,
Here is the important conversation that I have raised a few times and need a solution,
Running a counter-revolution is not cheap. It never was. Our Founders and Framers came out of pocket and ended up poor, many of them. They dedicated entire businesses to funding the Patriots. Securing gear, from NV gear to packs to fuel to vehicles that have been sanitized and can't be traced back to the Operator, to comms, to weapons and ammo and safehouses, and on and on and on - it takes money. It takes WAY more money than will EVER be raised selling IIIGear or III Arms keyrings. III Arms holds the most promise for being a money-maker, but it was created not to run covert or clandestine ops or to fund Guerrilla Operations. It was created to build a community, and that is what it is doing. And believe me, Guerrillas who try to split time between family and Guerrilla work and cubicles to pay the bills are NOT going to win this struggle for Liberty.
I'm not asking you to donate any money to the 527. I'm not asking you to skip a mortgage payment and to get your neighbor to do the same. I'm simply telling you the simple and hard truth - unless the III Patriots begin to grease the operational wheels with real cashflow, there will be no serious resistance.
This post evolved into two separate posts - the next one is the meat - coming soon.
Kerodin
III
Two main points come to my mind in response to this post: first being that NOTHING in this world gets accomplished without material support - to include money. I head a "faith-based" ministry/operation and though God Himself provided generous support for us, it has come in the form of money through PEOPLE. What makes some of the support seem "miraculous" is that it has come from sources we never considered and therefore, it is what I call unsolicited".
ReplyDeleteMy 2nd thought is that many like to wear a brand to display their affiliation(s) to others. Since enduring USMC boot camp years ago, I learned that that "branding" comes with a price. Being a III Patriot is a great label - 1 every American should be proud to display. But it too comes with a price - only part of which is an Oath, a belief in Rightful Liberty, a weapon and a box of bullets. It requires more; it requires having "some skin in the game". In short, one's money needs to be where one's mouth is - be that little or much money.
NOTHING in this world moves without it - including "faith-based" ministries.
"It takes WAY more money than will EVER be raised selling IIIGear or III Arms keyrings."
ReplyDeleteFalse premise. There's not much money to be made on items under a penny either, but how'd you like to have the straw concession for McDonald's?
Check out the Drago line of backpacks. I have maxpedition and they are IMO second to none. Drago is about 90% as good and at 1/3 the price. My max sits in the clost these days and the drago goes everywhere I go.
ReplyDeleteI'm not seeing any slingbags at Drago...
DeleteK,
ReplyDeleteHere are some sling packs I came across from a site I have ordered from many times.
http://www.skdtac.com/Tactical-Go-Bags-s/220.htm
In Liberty,
Israel
III