Product Facts

At Iron Spear Outfitters here in Idaho, we design and assemble flexible Nitinol (NiTi) and BNC handheld and mobile antennas Built for hard work. Civilian ham and GMRS operators are always welcome. The durability that holds up for our public-safety and defense-contractor users just means your gear will survive a rough weekend on the trail or the ranch.

What We Make in Idaho

We build field communications gear: our spring-back Nitinol whips and our antenna relocation kits. The kits let you move the antenna off the body of your radio and mount it to your pack, plate, or shoulder to keep it out of the way. We also carry SMA-to-BNC adapters so our BNC whips fit your radio. We don't make the adapters ourselves; we buy them and stock the ones that fit our antennas. Everything we sell is backed by a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, including antennas, adapters, clips, relocation kits, and Group 14. The one exception is Gorilla Coms, which is sold with no warranty. File a warranty claim.

Our Core Products

• Maximus — A flexible dual-band 2m and 70cm antenna for your handheld radio using a BNC connection.
• Guardian — A Nitinol antenna tuned to ~155 and 465 MHz. It is built for search and rescue and public-safety frequency allocations, using a BNC connection.
• Minimus — A short whip antenna tuned for 70cm and ~440 MHz handheld radios with a BNC connection.
• Maximus Mobile — A dual-band 2m and 70cm vehicle whip made from Nitinol, designed to mount on an NMO base.
• Adapters — We don't make these; we buy them and carry the ones that fit our BNC whips: SMA-female to BNC-female, SMA-male to BNC-female, and a narrow/thin-wall version so you can get a proper fit on radios with tight plastic jackets.
• Antenna Relocation Kits — Available with 48-inch or 24-inch BNC cables. These include a MOLLE bulkhead mount and the clips for managing your cable routing.

The Connector Rule

When figuring out what adapter you need, look directly at the jack on your radio, not the factory rubber antenna. If you see a pin sticking out or a hole, that determines the SMA gender of your radio. Checking that pin or hole is how you pick the correct SMA to BNC adapter for an Iron Spear BNC whip.

Quartermain Fixed Blade

The Quartermain is our pocket fixed blade: a compact drop-point knife made to ride in a pocket or on a belt, stay out of the way, and come out fast when you need it. The current version is V2, our second run.

• Overall length: 7.355" (18.68 cm)
• Blade length: 3.48" (8.84 cm)
• Blade thickness: 5/32" (.156", 3.97 mm)
• Blade: single-edge drop point, CPM 20CV stainless steel, 59–61 HRC, Fallout Black finish
• Blade weight: 4.6 oz
• Handle: black G10 with 3D CNC texturing, 3.80" long and .469" (11.9 mm) thick, with a curved punyo (pommel) for leverage and a fast draw
• Sheath: our own polymer sheath, MOLLE compatible, with drain vents, 2.1 oz
• Clip: Discreet Carry Concepts Mod 4 height-adjustable clip (1.75" belt)
• Carry: handle up, in a pocket or on a belt, left or right side depending on the sheath you choose

The Quartermain is covered by our lifetime warranty. It isn't listed in the shop right now; ask us about availability.

Gorilla Comms

Gorilla Comms is our rugged mesh radio for off-grid text messages. It pairs with the phone or tablet you already carry over Bluetooth or a serial cable, then sends short text messages and GPS position to other units. No cell service or Wi-Fi needed. Each unit passes messages along to the others, so the more units you have out, the better the odds your message gets through.

The current Gorilla Comms runs Meshtastic, the free, open-source LoRa messaging app. It works with Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux.

• IP68 rated, with the electronics fully potted against shock and vibration
• Our own case design, made by selective laser sintering (SLS) instead of hobby-grade FDM printing
• Built-in 1000 mAh rechargeable battery, about 48 hours of standby depending on radio and GPS settings
• USB-C charging
• Encryption: AES-128 by default, can be set to AES-256 (handled by Meshtastic)
• Messages up to 240 bytes (about 240 characters) each
• Range: our longest tested message so far went 120 km. Real range depends on terrain, settings, and antenna. Like any radio it needs line of sight, or another unit in between to relay.

We've run Gorilla Comms from the bottom of Priest Lake to the top of Scotchman Peak (7,500 ft) in blizzards, and left them baking in 115° vehicles for days.

Gorilla Comms isn't listed in the online shop right now. We're working on Gorilla Comms V2, a mesh radio built on Wi-Fi HaLow (802.11ah). Details and availability aren't set yet.

More reading: Gorilla Comms part II and Why choose Gorilla Comms vs DIY.

Iron Spear Outfitters is not affiliated with Meshtastic. Meshtastic® is a registered trademark of Meshtastic LLC.

Free Resources

• Handheld radio adapter guide — Use this to match your radio's SMA gender and wall depth so your new whip seats correctly against the radio body.
• SMA gender & thin-wall adapter checker — A tool to help you identify if you have a pin or a hole, and whether the radio needs a flush adapter or a recessed thin-wall version.
• PNW Freq / CHIRP planner — A free frequency and CHIRP helper page we put together for our customers.

Have a question about something not listed here? Get in touch.