Production Nationals - Surface?

[saibot]

Does anyone know what the surface of the shooting bays are made of there in Utah? Grass? Big gravel? Small gravel?

Just wondering which shoes would work best there.

Thanks!

[rowdyb]

hard packed dirt. watch match videos from this years Area 1 match to see for yourself.

[ChuckS]

45 minutes ago, saibot said:

Does anyone know what the surface of the shooting bays are made of there in Utah? Grass? Big gravel? Small gravel?

Just wondering which shoes would work best there.

Thanks!

Desert dirt/sand and some rocks. Hard, unless it rains. Trail running shoes work great but rain might make waffle stomppers / desert boots with good laces preferable. The mud can suck the Solomans right off your feet.

[saibot]

Thanks for the advice!

Let's hope for dry weather...

[motosapiens]

it starts as hard packed dirt with gravel, but turns into chewed up deep loose gravely dirt pretty quick. i use non-metal baseball cleats. I also try to keep the stage I work in good repair by filling in the deep spots and throwing some water on them to pack them down overnight, and sometimes even at lunch.

[saibot]

23 hours ago, motosapiens said:

it starts as hard packed dirt with gravel, but turns into chewed up deep loose gravely dirt pretty quick. i use non-metal baseball cleats. I also try to keep the stage I work in good repair by filling in the deep spots and throwing some water on them to pack them down overnight, and sometimes even at lunch.

Great info guys!

Going to get a pair of cleats, and hoping for dry ground.

[Shrek1]

Alot of the "Tactical Performance Center" youtube videos are filmed there.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[MemphisMechanic]

On 8/29/2017 at 9:46 AM, saibot said:

Great info guys!

Going to get a pair of cleats, and hoping for dry ground.

 

Pick a cleat with a sole made of a soft rubber with the teeth molded in, and not one with hard plastic or metal teeth jutting out of it.

 

The former grips a wet wooden fault line or pavement about as well as a traditional shoe.

 

Wet wood + hard cleat teeth = faceplant.

 

Avoid hard shiny plastics in the sole, too. My experience has been that they're garbage when it comes to being comfortable to wear all day because they don't flex with you.

 

My current Under Armour lowtops look and feel like a trail running shoe with fewer teeth that are much taller. They were were all of $45, don't hurt to stand on for 8 hours, and kick serious butt when it comes to traction in loose gravel.

 

Edited September 19, 2017 by MemphisMechanic

[MemphisMechanic]

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_3661998_-1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6pLnotqx1gIVhrbACh1MhAXeEAQYASABEgKMzvD_BwE#repChildCatSku=108502838

 

Since someone asked in a PM, that's what I'm wearing. Anything with a tread like that will probably work fine with dirt/mud, gravel, and wood fault lines.

 

The sole/lugs were the softest one I found at the local Academy.

 

Edited September 19, 2017 by MemphisMechanic

[BritinUSA]

I would recommend a gun cover as well if you have one. There's a lot of fine dust that gets kicked up from the bullets hitting the backstop and occasional gusts of wind, its like talcum powder and it gets everywhere.

[MemphisMechanic]

2 hours ago, BritinUSA said:

I would recommend a gun cover as well if you have one. There's a lot of fine dust that gets kicked up from the bullets hitting the backstop and occasional gusts of wind, its like talcum powder and it gets everywhere.

 

So... Shoot a Glock in Production and feed it sand like the advertisements say?  

 

 

[BritinUSA]

51 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

So... Shoot a Glock in Production and feed it sand like the advertisements say?  

 

I guess so… I have a better dust cover on order for my camera, last time I went there I had to spend hours cleaning it after the match.

[chenault]

I would think that track or cc shoes would work really well with the small metal spikes.  They dig into wood instead of slide and are light for good movement 

[MemphisMechanic]

25 minutes ago, chenault said:

I would think that track or cc shoes would work really well with the small metal spikes.  They dig into wood instead of slide and are light for good movement 

 

They don't exactly sound fun in gravel, however.

[CHA-LEE]

The dirt at the SUPS range is hard packed for the most part. But it does turn into very fine silt once a bunch of shooters scramble around within the shooting areas. I like to call it "Moon Dust" as the loose silty dust has the consistency of flower. If the wind picks up at the range that super fine dust will get into EVERYTHING. That is one of the few ranges where I will store my magazines in my range bag and use a gun cover between stage runs to ensure they get as little dust contamination as possible. I have seriously considered taking motocross goggles out there to wear when the wind is really bad to keep the dust out of my eyes. I remember in years past where I would have to close my eyes during the really windy times to minimize the dust contamination to my eyes. For whatever reason that dust makes my eyes burn as well. Lets just hope that we don't get any wind during the nationals. If there is no wind, then its not that big of a problem. If it gets windy, its down right miserable due to the super fine dust.   

[motosapiens]

2 minutes ago, CHA-LEE said:

The dirt at the SUPS range is hard packed for the most part. But it does turn into very fine silt once a bunch of shooters scramble around within the shooting areas. I like to call it "Moon Dust" as the loose silty dust has the consistency of flower. 

 

Hah, you guys are a buncha noobs at dust. There *can* be a little dust after a few days at st george, but it is nothing like the fine poofy silt that you see at some desert motorcycle races or (worst of all) at Burning Man. That stuff poofs up even without wind, and then hangs in the air forever as it settles into your pores, eyes, gun, and lunch.

 

This reminds me tho, I need to remember to bring the military goggles I use for windy days at burning man in case we get a windy stretch.

[R1_Demon]

On 9/19/2017 at 10:54 AM, MemphisMechanic said:

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_3661998_-1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6pLnotqx1gIVhrbACh1MhAXeEAQYASABEgKMzvD_BwE#repChildCatSku=108502838

 

Since someone asked in a PM, that's what I'm wearing. Anything with a tread like that will probably work fine with dirt/mud, gravel, and wood fault lines.

 

The sole/lugs were the softest one I found at the local Academy.

 

 

Sweeeeet!  Very nice...and I'm sure you picked up your pair in Kentucky Wildcat blue, right?  LOL!!!!  ;-) 

 

(kidding!!!!  They actually are not my favorite team even though I live here.  But I root them on as long as they don't play my personal favorite teams.  LOL)