That's all she wrote for now (was: Are you a gear expert? I need gear consultants!)

[DonP]

Everyone:
Thanks for the interest and some good people stepped up. But unfortunately I will be out of town unexpectedly and without much opportunity to work on things for the next while. I'll update when there is something else to report.

Calling all gear experts!

Take a look at the following sample pictures - taken from a mix of real-life, video games, and movies.

Screenshot from Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

Screencapture from Black Hawk Down (2005 movie)

Blackwater contractor Dan Boelens (retired police officer, Vietnam veteran) in Iraq


If you had high-res images, could you:

• Identify/classify the people in each of these photos? (example: US Marines in Iraq/Afganistan, SAS boarding party, etc.) Obviously I have provided answers in some of the samples -- but if I didn't know, could you tell me?
• Can you correctly and specifically identify each piece of gear and equipment in the loadouts pictured in at least one of the source images? (Sometimes it's not always possible; gear is not in the photo or not clear enough to say for sure... but if it is, could you?)
• For each piece of gear and equipment, could you provide at least one link to an online source to buy the “real deal” version as well as an economical “close enough” reproduction?
• Would you be willing to stand up and prove it? And make a little cash for it if you make the cut?

If yes, I'd like to hear from you!

Why? I am starting a free website which does really just one thing: Gear loadout lists (and shopping lists) for non-gearheads. (The site is free but you'd be paid for your gear expertise and reseach)

User's experience at this website:
1. Look up picture of a loadout they want (i.e. "The army guys from Black Hawk Down")
2. See a list of the pieces of gear that make up that look (e.g. what camo type, what vest type, etc.)
3. See a list of where to buy each of those items: both real-deal versions as well as cheap repros (letting the user decide what's just for show, if anything.)

But I am not a gear head. That's where gear experts who really know their stuff come in.

I need people who actually know their stuff and are willing to consult. The job is to to take a source image and write up the list of gear and sources to match. (Or sometimes, take a list someone else wrote and tell me if it's actually accurate.) You don't need to be a professional in the field. You can be an amateur enthusiast - you just need to actually know your stuff. Make a few bucks for an hour's work and put all that gear knowledge to use!

If this sounds like you, post here or PM me. Thanks!

[Ace of Spades©]

I would be able to help out with US stuff and I have a good knowledge in most of the stuff that they use as well as a lot of modern stuff. Not so good with the oldschool stuff, but I can still ID a lot of things. I'm also quite good at telling the difference between different units.

[DonP]

Sounds good! I appreciate your stating where your strengths are, too. Anyone else?

[Lerch]

Interesting proposal, while I'm not a all-seeing and all-knowing guru, I guess you could say my field of study would be Canadian and British kit, 1950's to current, and that includes most of the trial kit.

[Hades]

last guy kinda looks like Don Cherry. The BHD outfit has been done to death here, I'm pretty sure there's a good listing of gear on a thread here somewhere and those be delta force boys.

[DonP]

Originally Posted by Hades

The BHD outfit has been done to death here, I'm pretty sure there's a good listing of gear on a thread here somewhere and those be delta force boys.

Yes, but I'd like to make a point because I think this is important to clarify, and it will help people put my request into the right context.

As in all things - when you need to know something you either learn it yourself, or you go to the experts.

I am not ready to learn and research it myself yet, but I still want the results. So I choose to go to the experts. i.e. Pay someone who has already learned and researched it to give that info to me.

So if a specific loadout I might need has been done to death here and elsewhere, then that's less work for you - because you know where to look for the info you're being asked to provide. And that's part of what being an expert is: it's knowing where to look.

[Lerch]

Pay? Fuck I'd do it for free I already get paid to play with kit...

[MrEvolution]

I can assist with WW2/Vietnam things if your going back that far.

[DonP]

Thanks for all the interest! I have some good people who stepped up.

I'll keep everyone informed when there are any developments. But for now, that's all she wrote. The site will be http://www.loadoutlist.com when it goes live.