MATTHEWS TACTICAL: One INNOVATOR to FOLLOW, Gearheads!

For some time now we’ve been DIGGING on a CAROLINA GUY with an EYE FOR INNOVATIVE GEAR AND GADGETS…so, after a quick Q-&-A Session back-channel over on the NCAirsoft.Org website, where he’s often dispensing PRICELESS GEAR ADVICE and selling his expert services and products, too…we’ve got an IN DEPTH interview with MATTAC head-honcho, MATTHEWS himself!

We’re going to put the HOT LINK for Matthews Tactical at the top and bottom of this one: MatTac’s FACEBOOK PAGE: Get over there and LIKE ‘em and be sure to hover and bookmark his updates in your feed, too! : LINK HERE

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Here’s our Questions and Answers session with THE MAN behind MATTAC!

THUMPY: WHO are you? Name, little background on you personally…only as much as you want to have out-in-public.

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MATTHEWS: My name is Andrew Matthews, originally from the South Charlotte, NC area currently at school in Columbia, SC for Mechanical Engineering. Currently empolyed as a military gear salesman here at US Patriot Tactical (Ft. Jackson), and take a real interest in helping warfighters find better solutions to combat gear. Unable to serve in the military myself due to medical reasons, I consider it the least I can do to contribute to soldiers and milsim enthusiasts alike with new gear ideas and my own technical experience.

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THUMPY: How long have you been making/modifying your gear? How long playing?

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MATTHEWS: I’ve been playing airsoft/milsim for about seven years now since I started college at Clemson University in 2005. Unlike a lot of hobbies, it really stuck and I just started hording as much gear as I could get my hands on. The more gear I aquired the more I felt like I could improve what was out there and let’s face it, sometimes it’s more fun to do it yourself.
I have been sewing and customizing old surplus gear for about a year or so now and just recently decided to try my hand at custom Kydex gear. I usually see something I want on the real steel market, that isn’t offered at an airsoft price or isn’t currently available, so I just try to replicate it from pictures. (FAST helmet, MOLLE gear, Vest Components, Custom Pouches, etc.)
I take a lot of inspiration from the SFLCS, AI/EI, and LBT lines of gear but always try to tweak the design to my personal needs. They say “Necessity is the mother of all invention” and I have personally found that to be the case in my military simulation experience.

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THUMPY: What’s your “philosophy” on building a good rig? How do you treat your customers?

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MATTHEWS: My personal philisophy in creating a new piece of gear is to start with something familiar or currently available and modify it to an individual need. I like it to look like a high end piece of equipment available to the SOF community, while serving a specific requirement for milsim such as hiding an HPA regulator, carrying my Polarstar Tank, or making it easier to don and doff my rig in a hurry. I am a huge fan of gear modularity, where all pieces of equipment exist and function individual of the other gear, and try to integrate that concept into most of my gear.
I am a fan of finding cheaper, more readily available solutions to most problems I run into on the field. With the radio pouch I came up with, I wanted a pouch that would fit my Wouxun Dual-Band radio, that allowed me to easily see and manipulate the screen, while still being attached to my MOLLE system.

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As for my customers, I don’t really do the work to turn a profit but a lot of my custom gear is the result of a request for a gear solution that isn’t currently available or may be too expensive. I am always happy to provide my technical experience and I consider it a challenge to try and find a custom solution for an individual whether he be heading downrange to Afghanistan or just upstate to Fulda Gap.

My customers include milsim friends and teammates, local LE/SWAT officers, and even members of the SOF community currently deployed in Afghanistan. Even though most ideas originate from an personal need, I have had the opportunity to contribute to those who serve and ultimately look forward to benefiting the military community.

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THUMPY: What rigs are your favorites? Why?

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MATTHEWS: My favorite rigs are generally the more simple time-tested designs such as the RRV and other chest rigs. I like plate carrier vests that are designed for mobility and ease of movement instead of the larger releasable designs like the CIRAS and RBAV carriers. I like to focus on lighter, smaller, faster by trying to integrate as much as possible into the design while providing modularity where I can for optional add-on requirements. I loved the RRV + Integrated MAP design but I never felt like it fit the way I wanted it to and I didn’t like how it lacked the rigidity of a plate carrier, even with a plate installed.

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Right now I use an LBT 6094 for it’s size and SAPI cut design which maximizes operator mobility. I found that the included MOLLE cummerbund was a great solution for most setups but doesn’t quite satisfy every requirement. For a higher mobility Direct Action kit where less MOLLE real estate is needed, I made a 4″ elastic cummerbund to free up my sides and added extra pouches to my belt.
In order to carry more magazines with faster access, I decided to build a MOLLE Quick Release Panel to store four extra 5.56mm mags, a Polarstar regulator, and a suppressor right off the front of my rig.
I also like the rigidity and authenticity of soft armor inserts but, like anyone, didn’t care for the added weight. My solution was a set of cordura laminated dense foam inserts replicating soft armor as well as rigid SAPI plates made from everyday packing fabric and foam board.

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THUMPY: Know you are a PolarStar guy…so, is there enough custom gear to help P* owners build a reliable and comfortable set of gear…or do you have to modify to get it right?

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MATTHEWS: The best thing about military simulation is the ability to adapt real military gear to fit a specific need or hide a non-military piece of equipment. Since no warfighter would be carrying an HPA tank on his back to run his Polarstar weapon, I had to figure out a way to hide the tank and air system in currently available gear or if need be customize a new piece of equipment for that purpose.

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The AI/EI – style MAP Backpack fits the largest tank on the market and is a current component of the real SFLCS kit. The LBT 6094 includes velcro radio cable administrators to run my air hose though. The only thing I had to fabricate specifically for my Polarstar system was the secondary regulator pouch, which houses my FPS regulator so I can see the PSI gauge and adjustment knob without removing it from the MOLLE system. In everything I design or customize, the main focus is ease of use, convenience, and expedience all while being hidden or disguised as military kit.

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THUMPY: Anything else you think folks would find interesting…torture test your gear? Worst Fail/Best WIN from using your -gear….

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MATTHEWS: As with any design process, some of my ideas haven’t worked out so well in the field and ultimately, all gear is a constant evolution integrating new ideas and materials to produce a better solution in the field. I don’t torture test my gear but the stuff I’ve made is still in great condition after three Fulda Gaps, four Lion Claws events, and countless skirmishes. I use only 1000D Eagle Cordura and I am getting better at stitching/bar-tacking everyday. I have actually had personal custom gear hold up better than its Chinese Voodoo Tactical and Condor counterparts, so that is something I am proud of.

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All in all it is a great hobby and continual learning experience. It is personally fulfilling to contribute new designs and ideas to the military and airsoft communities alike. It is always a pleasure to make it easier on those who serve while doing what I love.

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You do great work and folks need to know!

THUMPY….OVER!

Thanks Alan! I am excited to see so much interest in my craft.
Please use any pictures you’d like and let me know if you have any other questions. I hope the info and answers provided are helpful, and once again, thank you for featuring my stuff.

Take care Alan,
Matthews

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AGAIN:

MatTac’s FACEBOOK PAGE: Get over there and LIKE ‘em and be sure to hover and bookmark his updates in your feed, too! : LINK HERE

Here it comes, Fulda Gap Players!!! TAKE AIM MAGAZINE is OUT NEXT WEEK!

You followed THUMPY’s Social Media Experiment during Fulda Gap 2011, As NC hosted AMERICA’S BIGEST-EVER AIRSOFT EVENT…and now, here comes the hard work a lot of volunteer photographer/players put into it…along with a TON of other content you will want to read.

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, TOO!

Get your subscription from On Target Airsoft RIGHT HERE…and get THIS EDITION starting November 8th!
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FULDA GAP 2011: America’s BIGGEST AIRSOFT GAME??

WAS FULDA GAP 2011 THE LARGEST AIRSOFT EVENT IN THE USA?

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WE THINK SO!  According to Lee Ann and Ferg Ferguson, Gamemeisters-emeritus, ESQ. at Command Decisions Wargames Center, the total, verifiable, undeniable pre-registered/registered and walk-on player count for FULDA GAP 2011 was 797 Players.

And, from all AAR’s we’ve been checking out at the NC Airsoft.org forums, FG2011 was also one of the highest quality events anywhere for gameplay, for fair and balanced competition, for the remarkable leadership and sportsmanship from airsofters across the Southeast, and from organizers at CDWC.

OK, so what else might qualify as the biggest airsoft game in the USA?

Bad Karma Airsoft has their annual NOOB DAY event, and judging from the photos on THEIR WEBSITE, their player count for the March 2011 Noob-dition was 788 Players.   But, that’s a single day introductory event, and while massive by any standard, it might not qualify in everyone’s book as a true MilSim competitive games-style event. (FORUM INFO HERE)

Our buddies/”Okies from another pokey”, Claymore and Frosty, producers at MIlSimEvents.com of another massive series of games at the World Famous D-Day Adventure Park have only topped 660 players (and real HELICOPTER GUNSHIP RUNS!) on Memorial Day weekend of 2011. That event, Oklahoma Invasion,  is spread out over One-Thousand Acres of terrain, highly developed to be the home-field for one of the worlds biggest p-ball events every summer, which has hosts 3500 to 4-THOUSAND paintballers for a nearly week-long event later each summer.

And, as D-Day field owner Dewayne Convirs is good buddies of the Fergusons, or so Thumpy is told, and they share tips, tricks and a commitment to staging mahoosive events, the possibility exists to stage the first ONE THOUSAND PLAYER event soon…in Oklahoma, in Southern California, in the Northeast…or more likely, in OCTOBER, 2012, at FULDA GAP in North Carolina!

 You Guys and Gals Just Made History! AND A PROUD AIRSOFT TRADITION CONTINUES!

The HAPPY SLOTH at FULDA GAP

Here is one guy’s video I’ve been waiting for…you are never sure what you are gonna see with the HAPPY SLOTH…again…ping his channel and say GREAT WORK!!!

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Videos from FULDA GAP 2011 are COMING ONLINE NOW

Nice work by AIRSOFT RAIDER from his YouTube Channel…see some MORE great airsoft NC videos over there…you know, click YOUTUBE logo in the vid to say THANKS and Subscribe to him on his Vault!

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FULDA GAP Saturday Photos from Team 1NC

Jonathan Pierce from 1NC put some great photos of Saturday’s action up on Facebook…”Friend” him and tell him GREAT JOB!!!  And, visit the Team 1NC ‘s AWESOME Website RIGHT HERE!!!

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Nice Work, 1NC!

YOU SET A NEW FULDA GAP AIRSOFT RECORD!!!

Here’s the official word from Ms. Lee Ann….2011 is another SRO Attendance RECORD for an Airsoft Game at CDWC, and one of the biggest ever in the USA!!!

It can not happen without an amazing staff of Referees, and of course, HOSTS-with the-MOST….Lee Ann and Andrew “Ferg” Ferguson!!!!  Great Job again this year!!!

Sunday at FULDA GAP 2011 Starts ALL EVEN!!!

THAT IS RIGHT!!  IT IS STILL ALL TIED UP AT COMMAND DECISIONS WARGAMES CENTER, AS ONE OF THE CLOSEST-FOUGHT FULDA GAP AIRSOFT BATTLES WILL COME DOWN-TO-THE-WIRE ON SUNDAY’S FINAL GAME DAY.

WHICH SIDE WILL WIN?  WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON THE BATTLEFIELD LEADING TO VICTORY…OR UTTER DEFEAT?  BE A PART OF THE SOCIAL MEDIAL TODAY, AT FULDA GAP SCENARIO ON FB, OVER HERE AT THE 3-D HOUSE OF AIRSOFT…OR SEND THUMPY YOUR VIDEOS, PHOTOS (Thumpy3D@gmail.com), YOUR TWEETS (@Thumpy3D) or FB with us at Thumpy Covey or Thumpy’s 3-D House of Airsoft.

OH, AND SOMEONE CAN STILL MAKE HISTORY WITH THE FIRST SKYPE CALL OR VIDEO FROM A FIREFIGHT!  SKYPE US AT thumpmaster6 as your contact from your SMART PHONE!!!!

First VIDEOS coming in from the BATTLEFIELD at FULDA GAP

NCarAirsoft has some Helmet Cam vid…with a SCHWEET Bunker Tag for the Warsaw Pact forces!

See more of their vids OVER HERE, at the NCarAirsoft YouTube Joint!

A BATTLE SONG for Comrades at the FULDA GAP!!!

Andrew Checks in from the FRONT at FULDA GAP

More from our Monitoring Post at FULDA GAP

Warsaw captured Hamburger Hill.
but, short time later…

NATO has taken over Hamburger.

Score update 1100 to 800 Warsaw Pack leading
Night game will go from 1900 – 2300

Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 1:34pm

Hand Injury stopped play
For a brief time.