I’d like to introduce you to something new. You may have seen it in our newsletter or heard VTAC’s Kyle Lamb talking about it. I’m going to get you up close and personal with it. Meet RAND CLP, a real gift to your favorite firearm. That’s RAND – Cleaner, Lubricator, Protectant. You’ve probably seen many CLP type products, but there is only one RAND CLP. You’re about to find out why. And you’re about to find out why I believe it’s the very best product like it on the market today, and thus why we sell it at SHWAT.com.
You already know I believe this stuff works. I’m in good company. Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics fame says, “There are hundreds of options when it comes to cleaning, lubricating, and protecting your weapon, but RAND CLP is the best option.”
We’ve talked with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics (VTAC) on a couple of occasions. Given his background in the Army Special Forces, as a world-renowned tactical trainer, and since he endorses RAND CLP, we wanted to draw upon his expertise for this review. We asked Kyle to share with us his own real world experience with RAND CLP. Here’s what he had to say:
“I have been shooting RAND CLP since January 2013. I actually have one AR that I use for classes that has not been cleaned, other than the barrel, since January. It started as a science project and now I just want to see what happens.”
Not many people have the test tube experience opportunity that Kyle does. His classes provide guns, shooters and lubes a hard workout. “When we run classes we normally shoot 2000 to 2500 rounds per student; the only cleaning required during this course is to wipe the bolt and carrier down and add more RAND. You really wouldn’t need to but most shooters can’t stand not cleaning after this many rounds.”
Before he put the Viking Tactics stamp on the bottle, he not only put the CLP through hard use in classes, he studied the science behind it. “I have learned a lot in the last 6 months about lubrication for weapons. Why would you use wax made for roller coasters, or engine lube that doesn’t stay where you put it? RAND doesn’t have chlorinated paraffin like many weapons lubes. Chlorinated paraffin is made for cutting and is very corrosive, yet many CLP manufacturers put it in their potion. Not smart if you want to truly maintain your weapons.”
When asked about how guns treated with RAND CLP feel, Kyle shared that “as the weapons are shot with RAND they get a slick feeling; as you pull the bolt or slide to the rear it feels like a different gun.”
On a side note, we just had to ask Kyle what he likes to hunt most. “The wily ‘Terrorist,” says he. “Second to those chaps would be elk.” Remember the movie Black Hawk Down? Yeah, he’s been there and done that. Personally, I’ll stick with the elk and other critters.
Sounds awesome, right? We wanted to know what makes it so good, so we went to Jon Miodonka, Vice President, Sales & Operations for RAND Innovations to learn more.
With recent firearm technology advances, the demands on cleaners, lubes and protectants have increased significantly. Grandpa’s products just aren’t up to the task on modern weapons. So, the push for an improved gun lube followed close behind, yielding a number of products.
A single product that would simultaneously clean, lube and protect wasn’t an easy code to crack. The heat, high round counts, and high rates of fire overwhelm and breakdown older products. With the increased sensitivity to the environment, an expectancy that yesterday’s harsh chemicals be replaced with more natural, biodegradable versions was part of the R&D package. And then consider one of the most powerful market forces of all times – How many of you have been told by a spouse something like “Get that smelly stuff out of the house!” when cleaning a gun? I sure have!
RAND CLP is odorless! No more waiting till my wife leaves the house or having to go outside in the cold to clean guns! On top of that, my hands are virtually clean of carbon and grease when I’m done. Brilliant.
The inspiration for the development of this remarkable product is rooted in an All American story. The inventor, Mark Simonetti, is a former Army Ranger and former Weapons Sergeant at the largest police department in the State of CT. Following an incident where two fellow officers had to draw their firearms, only to have the weapons jam due to improper lubrication,
Mark was asked to find a better lube for the department.
After testing all the lubes and CLP’s he could get his hands on, and finding none enough better to make the switch, Mark turned to his father, an inventor who holds more than 100 patents.
The advice his dad gave him, combined with what he discovered in his own research, became the seeds of RAND Innovations. Working his way around the world, speaking to the top scientists and tribologists, Mark was introduced to Nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers. We are talking about particles so small that they can get into the pores and crevices in metal. This was something that he could not duplicate with any lubricant/CLP on the market at the time.
RAND CLP was born when Mark was able to suspend these nanoparticles in an ecofriendly blend of patent pending vegetable esters. This, plus some of the best non-toxic corrosion inhibitors, is what allows the single bottle RAND CLP to clean, lubricate and protect as well as multiple bottles of some other chemicals.
RAND CLP is a colloid, meaning the particles do not settle. So what? Is having to shake a bottle really a deal breaker? While that little step seems insignificant, it means that the nanoparticles are evenly distributed, so each drop contains the appropriate amount of particles.
Vegetable esters are the base oils of RAND CLP. An ester is a “biodegradable synthetic”. Esters are the best particles of vegetable oils that are chosen because of their high surface activity. The popular full synthetics are not very polar in nature, meaning they are good for enclosed spaces such as a car engine. Esters, on the other hand, are very polar in nature, having longer staying power and great cleaning properties, and letting you go green at the same time.
If you’ve ever read anything about RAND CLP, you’ve probably heard that it creates a smooth durable surface. Under normal heat and pressure from a cloth patch or even just your finger, the particles start their bonding. The smoothing effect takes place right from the start. The esters work out the old carbon and fouling. Once the bond is created the rest of the proprietary compound sits up on top, almost like tiny ball bearings, rolling on top of this newly created surface. RAND has a Sig 228 that’s been through 3,500 rounds with zero malfunctions. Previous tested highs were 1,800 with other CLP’s and lubes. Granted, every gun is different, just as every shooter is different so your mileage may vary. Still, that’s a giant improvement pointing to some very positive outcomes for the rest of us.
You probably have heard of nickel boron type coatings being applied to gun parts to get smooth, low friction operation from moving parts. It’s no surprise then to find that boron is one of the nano particles used in RAND CLP. Boron has the unique property of reducing heat in metals. Keeping metal slightly cooler allows the lubricant to perform better because heat and pressure are the enemies of lubricants. Over time, enough heat and pressure will wear away any lube. If heat can be reduced even slightly, this means lengthening the staying power of the lubricant portion of RAND CLP. If you’re the type who heats up your gun a lot, you’ll be happy to know that the flashpoint on this stuff is about 500 degrees! That’s significantly higher that most other products. It just doesn’t burn off easily.
The method for applying RAND to a gun will be a familiar task for you. It requires nothing more than a very basic cleaning kit, some cleaning patches and a rag or paper towels. No scraping needed, though some decent pressure may be used where there is a lot of carbon build up.
Now you know why RAND CLP is so awesome! Now you know what Kyle Lamb thinks of it and why YOU need some! We were so impressed with this stuff, we bought the company. Well, no we didn’t, but we decided to make it the first ever non-SHWAT™ product we sell. So here’s our shameless pitch: You need this stuff, so buy it wherever you want. Buy it from us, and we’ll throw in a FREE pvc SHWAT™ Gear patch. How’s that for transparency?
