Original S.O.E. Gear Two Point Sling and 2 to 1 Point Convertible Sling Demo & Review

Let me start this review by stating that I am a “Gear” guy. I love gear and guns and love to work on both. With that having been said, my good friend Eric S. asked me to use two of the SOE bungee slings on my agency long guns and I jumped at the chance.

The first is the 2 to 1 point and the second the standard 2 point. Both are adjustable for body armor and other gear.

I was familiar with S.O.E.‘s solid reputation and was hoping to hold on the the slings long enough for Eric to just forget I had them!

2 to 1

I started out placing the 2 to 1 sling on my 870 shotgun. The 870 I use is an agency weapon, but has some add-ons and is a little on the heavy side. I found that I liked the two point on the 870 for a few reasons.

First off, I like the way that it was adjustable and also had a quick-disconnect. This works well for me due to having to wear two different types of body armor, heavy tactical armor with plates and normal concealable armor in an external carrier. The heavier armor is slightly bulkier and being able to make the sling as loose as possible in the beginning to get it on over the armor speeds up the process of getting geared up.

I really only used the two point in the single point configuration a few times, just because it really did not offer anything new that I already had in the two point. This is likely only due to it being on a shotgun and the two attachments being very close together.

2 Point

I ran the standard two point on my AR15 and it performed as well as the 2 to 1. The sling I used didn’t have any of the optional adapters but it was easy to set up. Speaking of adapters you can buy a MASH hook, H&K, and standard adapter when you order your sling.

I like the H&K style myself and the H&K on the 2 to 1 sling is the best I’ve ever seen. The adaptors also come in the same colors as the slings.

Two Things to Consider

I only had two issues that were negative with the slings. The first of which is that during a dynamic entry on a search warrant, the shotgun became hung up on a standing lamp and sprung back towards me, at a very high speed. This shows that the bungee is very strong and can cause the weapon system to “snap back” on the operator in some situations, but in my case it could have been avoided by me controlling the shotgun better.

The second issue is that with the bungee the operator can not “lock in” the sling and use it as a shooting aid. I don’t use slings in this manner, so it was never an issue. However, another detective that’s a smaller guy used the shotgun/sling and the bungee inside the sling, coupled with the heavy recoil of the 12 gauge caused some issues.

Materials

As far as the materials the sling is constructed from, they’re very high quality and the nylon is very thick and dense. It seems like you could rappel from Everest with it. They’re also made from genuine 1000 Denier Cordura Nylon and come in black, coyote, OD, and foliage.

Overall, I can say that I hope I can keep the slings, which is the best praise I can give a piece of gear.

Editor-in-Chief’s Note: Please join ITS Tactical in welcoming Chris Cartier as a contributor. He currently works as a Narcotics Detective with a large agency in Florida. He is a FTO, firearms instructor, and is a member of several tactical associations.