Up until now, if you were/are in any of the world’s militaries with lax enough regulations, or are perhaps just a conniving junior enlisted warrior, then you would know that you really only had two options to record those training live fire ranges that you can pass on as combat at local bars, either a GoPro series of helmet cameras, or a Contour, with the Contour actually out of business. However, a company called MOHAC (Military Optimized Helmet Camera), is about to change all that.

Commercial GoPros and Contours are alright for taking to the field, but the real problem is that these civilian cameras were never meant to be in the kinds of environments that servicemen and women around the world find themselves in. I personally opted for a Contour to record some of the patrols that I went on in Helmand Province, simply because the thing was the slickest out there to fit on my kevlar. The GoPros out there stuck out like sore thumbs, one of my guys even got the NVG mount for his, so he could click it into the PVS 14 rhino mount that we all had on our helmets.

Enter the MOHOC, pronounced “Mohawk”. The camera is specifically designed for a special operations/SWAT/LE role. It does this by a number of features. Most importantly, it is much more lower profile than either the discontinued Contour, or the Turkey peeking GoPro. How it does this is through the design being very close to the helmet, but more importantly it uses very tough velcro. Realizing that a number of these SF/SWAT units out there are using Kevlars with velcro on them, the unit has velcro all on the bottom, in addition to the base being sloped, so to “contour” with the actual slope of the helmet. Then the unit is completely waterproof, not just water resistant, or requiring an external water proof case like the GoPro, but comes from the factory water proof, as long as the battery compartment is clicked shut. Thirdly, to activate the unit, is a simple twist to the right, wait for a few vibrations, and the unit is recording. This is important because there are no lights, no lasers, and no audible sounds to alert anyone else to your position. In addition, you can even program it to not vibrate at all if you are really concerned about the vibration of the unit. Similar to the Contour, the lens can be turned 190 degrees in either direction to account for being mounted on the side of a helmet. It can also be programmed so that if the entire unit is upside down, say on the 6 o’clock position of a rifle, it will record right-side up. But here is the best part, the battery system comes in two options already built in, one is the supplied lithium ion battery, and the other is two 123 volt lithium batteries, which you actually get twice the usage out of. That’s right, you can use the supplied rechargeable battery, OR you can use two 123 volt batteries that you are probably already have a supply of through your lights, or PEQ devices.