Night Ops

So something I'd like to know is cool/handy-dandy gadgets you guys use or have seen that aren't exactly cookie cutters(must haves).

Something I'll start off with is a handcuff-shim http://www.trueswords.com/handcuff-shim ... -6440.html
The way this shim works is you can keep it in your back pocket or clip it to the back of your belt, and if worst meets worst you can unlock handcuffs with it for a surprise getaway. It's tiny, hard to see, and weighs very very little. (like a paper clip) I understand nobody who ops well will need this, but it's better safe than sorry.

My favorite distraction gadget is a kid's firework known as pop snaps http://www.amazon.com/Purim-Snaps%C2%A9 ... B004ZSZNXM
These are little paper bags with sand or gravel and gunpowder in them. You can take a couple and throw them at a hard surface and they'll make a little snap, for lack of a better word. The thing that's amazing about them though, is it isn't really alerting. If you threw a whole firecracker or glass bottle, whoever hears it will be looking for you. These are loud enough to make people check it out without scaring them.

So, what do you guys have? I'll update more if you guys are interested.

That shim only works on single-lock handcuffs. LE handcuffs are usually double-lock. And those poppers only work when you throw them really hard at your feet; if you try throwing them any great distance they lose momentum and won't pop. Great for drawing attention to yourself, but not much else.

You ain't throwing hard enough.

You could probably use a slingshot if you need to throw it farther than 50 feet.

Another useful gear is a flashlight taser http://www.budk.com/product/Cheetah-10- ... 176938.uts
Hopefully you won't need a flashlight on an op, but there are a lot of times where nobody's gonna see you and you need to inspect something closer. Now, the taser. It's 10,000,000 volt, so if you need to use it it should keep your opponent down for quite a few minutes. Best of all, if you get caught and have your gear searched, they probably won't look twice at your flashlight.

Damn, that looks useful. And that's cheap as hell too. I wonder if I can still attach a red filter to it, if I get one...

Oh yeah. I just found one less sharp, 3x as powerful, and like 60% cheaper. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATVI2K0/ref ... 3QMEM4H3ZE
A red lens could be added fairly easily with some sanding and some tape.

Today I found this http://www.amazon.com/Brite-Strike-RID- ... =flashbang

"Tactical balls". I'm already happy with my balls, but these are cool too. XD

Basically it's a waterproof deploying flashlight that's really bright and wobbles around. It's perfect for a visual distraction, and that's what it's made for.

Those could be useful, although not for their intended purpose.

What would you use them for?

Illuminating a space evenly, such as in an abandoned house or drainage tunnel. It'd make it easier to explore tunnels and the like since you can throw them ahead of you; they're basically like really bright glowsticks. Obviously for ops more in line with urban exploration rather than night ops, since the amount of light would be easily noticeable.

Oh, and make sure to throw some bolts ahead of you as well for spotting anomalies.

Yeah, that's what people tend to use em for. XD Still, just a generally handy dandy gadget. Do you know of/use unusual gadgets?

Nothing springs to mind.

Well, flash grenade. Unusual and probably never used.
Jesus christ that will destroy anyone's night vision, and probably seriously confuse any pursuers. I've tried something like it on myself. Spent 20 minutes in the woods at night, then took a powerful LED flashlight and flashed myself in the eyes.
For a good 15 seconds I couldn't see jack shit. At all. Imagine what a flash grenade would do...

Yeah, stealththief's guide gave me the idea of stuff like that to screw with a guard's vision.

Shade wrote:Yeah, stealththief's guide gave me the idea of stuff like that to screw with a guard's vision.

Whut? He has a guide? I skimmed through his posts before, probably inattentively. Got a link?

He is normally known as urban nokizaru, no idea why he's stealththief here. http://nightops.net/doc/mov_stealth/Ste ... kizaru.pdf

Do you have any idea where he went? It doesn't say he's done a thing since like 2011.

Last I heard from him, which was several years ago, he was living in Montreal, Canada and was attempting to start up his own ryu of ninjutsu. He fell completely off the grid shortly thereafter. It's a shame, because he was a good friend on here and really would have enjoyed NOPCON.

Welcome back!

Now onto unusual gear. I'm working on upgrading my LBV, and I'm thinking of adding a shotgun scabbard to the back to act as something to carry bolt cutters.
Thing is, most bolt cutters have wide handles, and aren't super long. The scabbard is about 74cm long. Which is a lot for a bolt cutter.

Here's what it looks like:


I always carry wire cutters/pliers with me in a smaller pouch, but I need something with more bite. Is having a scabbard like that a good idea? Any alternative uses, other than having a shotgun there?
Will it make me look more operator?

That's not a bad way of carrying them, provided you can strap it down to reduce noise as much as possible. It may make you look a little too operator though - someone might mistake it for a firearm and open fire.

Yep, that's a risk... But the area of operations with my vest is quite different. In my vest, I am usual innawoods or close by, where I know I'm mostly alone, except for target building. Anyone wanting to find me off the bat would have a hell of a time getting through.
The scabbard has full MOLLE attachment, too, so it wouldn't flail around.

On the idea of firecrackers, I've never actually employed them but instead of the throwing poppers, the ones with the strings you pull instead would make great door alarms for you to place quickly after entry to make sure nobody follows you in. It's just a quick thought I'm not thinking TOO hard into, but I'm envisioning a method of quick deployment and subsequent retrieval. Use would be very situational as there's a risk of leaving behind evidence if you have to evade in another direction and can't recover alarms. Shouldn't be too hard to place on a trip wire system either if the situation warranted.

How about a non-contact voltage detector? They can be invaluable when you're scouting for alarms, or checking to see if an old building still has power running to it. Yoi can even get them with "silent" modes that make no noise when they detect electricity.

You can usually improvise door alarms out of whatever's available - some cans and a piece of string will do. Position the cans in an elevated place and have the tripwire stretched across the doorjamb above eye level. Someone opens the door, trips the wire, knocks the cans down which produce a lot of noise in the dead of night, gives you opportunity to escape.

If you want a reliable door alarm and have time/money, you could easily rewire a smoke alarm to set off when a thin cord is removed. It'll scare the daylights out of whoever opened the door (including police) and you'll hear it from across the house.

Shade wrote:If you want a reliable door alarm and have time/money, you could easily rewire a smoke alarm to set off when a thin cord is removed. It'll scare the daylights out of whoever opened the door (including police) and you'll hear it from across the house.

Rape alarms often have pull-string mechanisms for setting them off - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Minder-PAL003-P ... B008VT0L4W - and have keyrings attached. Using a lanyard and two karabiners you can alarm a lot of things using these.

Not to mention as Psy mentions above, party poppers with the pull string are cheap and disposable and can be used in a similar fashion.

Shade wrote:You could probably use a slingshot if you need to throw it farther than 50 feet.

Another useful gear is a flashlight taser http://www.budk.com/product/Cheetah-10- ... 176938.uts
Hopefully you won't need a flashlight on an op, but there are a lot of times where nobody's gonna see you and you need to inspect something closer. Now, the taser. It's 10,000,000 volt, so if you need to use it it should keep your opponent down for quite a few minutes. Best of all, if you get caught and have your gear searched, they probably won't look twice at your flashlight.

Funnily enough, I caught a discussion today that suggests that these will also let you fry your way through some electrical entry systems too: https://www.reddit.com/r/lockpicking/co ... lly_works/

Illusion wrote: Rape alarms often have pull-string mechanisms for setting them off - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Minder-PAL003-P ... B008VT0L4W - and have keyrings attached. Using a lanyard and two karabiners you can alarm a lot of things using these.

Haha,, I have one of those. Another potential use of that is as a sound grenade of sorts. Pull the pin and chuck it, and you have a fucking deafening noise. It would make a good distraction, and would cover any sound you made.

http://gearward.com/collections/frontpa ... s/a-k-band Anti-kidnapping watch kit! WATCH NOT INCLUDED!!!!
-"The Anti-Kidnapping Band is designed to allow you to carry escape tools in your watch band. It's a wearable insurance policy for military personnel, foreign aid workers, and journalists in conflict zones, as well as for travelers in countries with a high risk of kidnapping for ransom."
-"The A-K Band allows the wearer to escape from rope, duct tape, zip ties, and handcuffs."
This is actually very cool although maybe not nightops

http://gearward.com/collections/frontpa ... cape-knife you can also just get a ceramic knife you can slip into little spots on your clothing.

http://gearward.com/collections/frontpa ... flashlight Watch with a small led attached to it. LMAO product image has a guy picking a lock with it!

Or maybe get one with a giant light on it http://www.surefire.com/illumination/wr ... light.html These wrist light things look pretty neat, I'd like some feedback on what you guys think! :-------------)))) would be fun for blinding people--- also i hate carrying things in my pocket

ALSO FIRST POST IN AWHILE,,,,, I LOVE THIS THREAD!!!! I LOVE NIGHTOPS

That is some stuff you're talking... I hope I'll never need to defend myself, especially not against cops, but you guys are actually prepared to assault cops/guards in order to get away? That brings a question to mind though, did you ever have to?
Myself, I'm not ready. For my first 'baby steps' op my plan for civilians is the ol' sneaking, but if there's cops I'm gonna stuff the gear in my pockets and deny everything. I'm not doing anything illegal yet, so I can't be charged. I suppose if I do ever get into more... Ehm... Unscrupulous activities, I'd best make sure I'm ready to resist arrest as well.

For now though, let's keep the ops low-risk and be sure I can get away with plausible deniability

Some of those gadgets look pretty neat, actually. Wouldn't mind some for myself. That luminous watch with the LED on it would be pretty good for NO actually.

Too bad they're sold out though.

Woops, forgot about this thread. XD I actually got some sick new gears, some weird.

A little less weird, my little brother got me a camo knife. It won't glare much in light, so as long as I don't drop it it's handy.

I got a portable lamp, which is amazing for picking locks without a flashlight in your mouth

Next, I got this weird pen-screwdriver. Good if you want to be subtle, or plan to get caught, but it works great in general.

I actually got a taserlight, but it isn't a subtle one.. It works great as a light or taser, but that's it's down fall. It isn't both at the same time.

EDIT: Sorry, my phone flipped the photos upside down. XD Just tilt your head and pretend it worked.

I've been considering getting one of those collapsible lanterns. What's the range on them though? Like, in a pitch-black area, how far can you see in front of you?

It's LED, so not too powerful, but I don't want to illuminate a whole house with it.

If you put it in any normal room, it will let you see clearly enough to do whatever op stuff you do, but it will leave dark corners. I'd whole heartedly recommend it if you're going somewhere abandoned.

That's the idea. I'd like one for exploring vast, cavernous spaces so I get 360 degree clarity without having to flick my flashlight all over the place. Also lets me set it down on the floor somewhere while I focus on something else with my hands.

I've brought it camping, and it was handy enough people kept trying to steal it. XD I'd say go for it, they're pretty cheap. Do keep it tight, though. It unfolded in my pocket a couple times.

How 'bout I go opping and get a couple no-flash photos of it in action?

Yeah, that'll work.

Alright, I'll stop on my way home from work and go to this awesome dark hill nearby.

Alright, the photo is a bit unclear, I'll work on getting it up though.

...well? Where's the photo?

Sorry, our internet was screwing with us. Here:

So thr photo doesn't really show how far the light goes, but you can tell around how bright it is and estimate from there.

I think I get the gist. Ordered two lanterns myself (this one and this one) so I'll soon see for myself.

Lanterns finally came in, and damn they're powerful for what they're worth. The little collapsible round one can light up virtually any average-sized room with ease and the longer tubular one can light up my whole backyard as bright as day. Far more light than I'd reasonably need on an op, but it has two dimmer settings to cycle through. And I think that's my biggest gripe with these lanterns; both have strobe modes on a cyclic switch meaning you can't just turn them on & off so easily without having to cycle through all the different modes. The collapsible one only has one standard and one strobe mode so that's easy enough, but the long tubular one has 3 brightness settings (100%, 50% and 25% luminosity) a rapid strobe setting and a slower strobe setting that you have to cycle through entirely to switch it off.

On the plus side they were quite cheap (although took an eternity and a half to arrive) and are very small & lightweight (the collapsible one folds down into a 2.5x1.5 inch disc and the tubular one is a measly 7.9 inches in length). I also noticed that the tubular one only shines light from one half of its surface lengthways - the other half is a completely opaque metal cover, meaning the light isn't shining directly into your eyes. While the collapsible one is notably dimmer I still got night blinded a lot more by it because of its 360° luminosity - I had to carry it such a way that my hand/arm would be between my eyes and it. The smaller one is also a lot noisier to deploy, as extending its plastic, accordion-like cover generates a loud ripping/rapping sound. However if I'm exploring a small, enclosed space I can just set it down in the middle of the area and work hands-free. The tubular one offers a similar liberty, although would be more effective propped up in the corner of a room instead of the middle.

The little one runs on 3 AAAs while the tubular one recharges via a USB cable. Can't put songs on it though.

Yeah, it should have different buttons. XD

What's the rope for? Seems like an awful lot of bulk to be pressed under the wrist, might be better to wear a separate paracord bracelet.

Ah, that makes sense. Didn't know kevlar was that tough.