TCA Tactical COMTAC III Headset (FDE)
Dec 12, 2020 23:52:39 GMT -5
Post by triggs (SABR) on Dec 12, 2020 23:52:39 GMT -5
Full Album Review – TCA COMTAC III
TCA Tactical COMTAC III Headset (FDE)
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Internals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The COMTAC III ACH headset is the third generation of COMTAC Tactical Communication Headsets designed to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter. (taken from https://www.3m.com)
Overview
In addition to the helmet lights I’m in the process of reviewing I decided to move some things around and I realized I would need a new headset. Since I like my COMTAC II’s over my Sordin style headsets I decided to ditch the Sordins altogether and go strictly COMTAC.
So here we are with the TCA Tactical COMTAC III single line headset in FDE. It came in a very plain brown cardboard box with just a sticker on the top denoting what it was. Since I had ordered it months before receiving the item I’d honestly forgotten about it and a plain cardboard box had me puzzled for a moment!
Accessories
Nothing else is included with the headset except a nice silver and clear bag. The headset comes snuggly fitted into the box with very little room for movement during shipping.
Externals Review
Externally the headset is very similar to my older COMTAC II’s made by Z-tac. However, the ear cups are visually identical to the newer COMTAC III’s and come in a very nice FDE color. The right ear cup also comes with a TCA “Peltor” sticker complete with model and serial number.
The ear cushions are also much nicer than the Z-tac’s, though I do not know if they are replaceable with legitimate 3M cushions should they ever wear out.
The headband is a basic metal band covered in a faux leather and Velcro cover.
The boom mic seems nice enough, though nothing was special about it either.
Internals Review
Having dealt with Z-tac in the past I performed some reliability mods to the new TCA model as well, though I can’t say they were necessary, I did open up the ear cups for work. Both sides were completely different from the Z-tac models and it took me some time to get used to the wiring. Everything looked nice and well built so hopefully they will last a long time.
My only complaint is that they kept the AA battery compartments, the real COMTAC III’s switched to AAA’s unlike the older COMTAC II’s which did use AA’s.
Performance
Everything worked as a COMTAC should, the receiving and transmitting was clean and clear with no issues working with a Baofeng UV5R.
The active high db noise canceling worked perfectly and helped to protect my ears when tested against loud noises. And the external noise pickups kept me perfectly aware of everything around me.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
In terms of accuracy the TCA COMTAC III’s are almost perfect, I wish they had gotten the external mic batteries right. While both AA and AAA’s are readily available, for realism sake it would have been nice to have. But they look the part, and mount perfectly to the ARC rail adapters, so I’m very happy with my purchase.
Externals Score: 8/10
As mentioned I do have to take points off for the battery oversight.
Internals Score: 10/10
They seem to be well built, only time will tell if they are durable, or like my Z-tacs, small things fail.
Overall score: 10/10
Considering the battery compartment doesn’t detract from the overall look and feel of the headset I’m going to give this TCA COMTAC III a high recommendation. I’m happy with the product and the price wasn’t completely wallet draining.
© Copyright triggs 2020
TCA Tactical COMTAC III Headset (FDE)
- Real Steel History
- Overview
- Accessories
- Externals review
- Internals review
- Performance
- Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
Real Steel History
The COMTAC III ACH headset is the third generation of COMTAC Tactical Communication Headsets designed to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter. (taken from https://www.3m.com)
Overview
In addition to the helmet lights I’m in the process of reviewing I decided to move some things around and I realized I would need a new headset. Since I like my COMTAC II’s over my Sordin style headsets I decided to ditch the Sordins altogether and go strictly COMTAC.
So here we are with the TCA Tactical COMTAC III single line headset in FDE. It came in a very plain brown cardboard box with just a sticker on the top denoting what it was. Since I had ordered it months before receiving the item I’d honestly forgotten about it and a plain cardboard box had me puzzled for a moment!
Accessories
Nothing else is included with the headset except a nice silver and clear bag. The headset comes snuggly fitted into the box with very little room for movement during shipping.
Externals Review
Externally the headset is very similar to my older COMTAC II’s made by Z-tac. However, the ear cups are visually identical to the newer COMTAC III’s and come in a very nice FDE color. The right ear cup also comes with a TCA “Peltor” sticker complete with model and serial number.
The ear cushions are also much nicer than the Z-tac’s, though I do not know if they are replaceable with legitimate 3M cushions should they ever wear out.
The headband is a basic metal band covered in a faux leather and Velcro cover.
The boom mic seems nice enough, though nothing was special about it either.
Internals Review
Having dealt with Z-tac in the past I performed some reliability mods to the new TCA model as well, though I can’t say they were necessary, I did open up the ear cups for work. Both sides were completely different from the Z-tac models and it took me some time to get used to the wiring. Everything looked nice and well built so hopefully they will last a long time.
My only complaint is that they kept the AA battery compartments, the real COMTAC III’s switched to AAA’s unlike the older COMTAC II’s which did use AA’s.
Performance
Everything worked as a COMTAC should, the receiving and transmitting was clean and clear with no issues working with a Baofeng UV5R.
The active high db noise canceling worked perfectly and helped to protect my ears when tested against loud noises. And the external noise pickups kept me perfectly aware of everything around me.
Final Thoughts and Upgradeability
In terms of accuracy the TCA COMTAC III’s are almost perfect, I wish they had gotten the external mic batteries right. While both AA and AAA’s are readily available, for realism sake it would have been nice to have. But they look the part, and mount perfectly to the ARC rail adapters, so I’m very happy with my purchase.
Externals Score: 8/10
As mentioned I do have to take points off for the battery oversight.
Internals Score: 10/10
They seem to be well built, only time will tell if they are durable, or like my Z-tacs, small things fail.
Overall score: 10/10
Considering the battery compartment doesn’t detract from the overall look and feel of the headset I’m going to give this TCA COMTAC III a high recommendation. I’m happy with the product and the price wasn’t completely wallet draining.
© Copyright triggs 2020