Like many things I make, the core idea of the translation sticker isn't new: in the early days of the GWOT, someone came up with the idea of providing SF guys with a little adhesive-backed table of useful Arabic translations that they could stick on their buttstock. I'm still not sure who made these, and this is the only photo I have of them in use:
Of course, several Chinese companies made knock-offs of them for airsofters and impressionists, which can still be found today. I remember seeing these over a decade ago and they always struck me as a clever and useful little item.
Arabic phrases aren't very useful to the average prepared citizen living in America. But Spanish phrases are. Officially, 13.7% of the US population speaks Spanish. That's one in seven people around you. Anywhere in the southwest such as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, that number is more like one in four. Officially. Unofficially, we all know those numbers are cooked, and the real number is probably way higher. So if you can't speak Spanish, and you're trying to manage unknown contacts in an area where 1/3 or 1/2 of the people speak Spanish instead of English, then you have no ability to communicate verbally with those people and you're setting yourself up for failure. This goes doubly if you're law enforcement. You're dealing with Spanish speaking people all the time. You don't necessarily need to be fluent in Spanish, but having a few key phrases on hand might make the difference between an encounter going well and an encounter going poorly. If you haven't noticed, our stickers, like their Arabic predecessors, technically include transliterations, so you don't have to know or think about the Spanish pronunciation you learned during high school in the heat of the moment.
Some people may see this as a gag product but it's deadly serious. Phrasebooks have been issued out to militaries and paramilitaries for a long time, and to great effect. Whether you're a Border Patrol Agent or just a prepared civilian, this product has obvious utility. People spend silly amounts of money on slightly better optic mounts, mag extensions, and cable management, so why not invest a little in your ability to perform, as Craig Douglas calls it, "verbal agility."
But a tool is only useful if you have it when you need it. Phrasebooks, being paper, are often fragile, and don't hold up well being carried around every day in case of an unexpected encounter. In my experience they're also full of niche phrases that you need to sort through before you can find the phrase you actually need. Lastly, they are a bit heavy and bulky. If I had to walk on foot all day to get to town, I'd probably leave my phrasebook at home to save weight.
So instead, let's take our tool, turn it into a little sticker that basically weighs nothing, and attach it to another piece of gear that we're already carrying. This could be your rifle, but it doesn't have to be. The back of a notebook, inside a wrist coach, on the back of your phone, anywhere that it will always be handy. I'm sure you guys will come up with some great spots to place it.
Wherever it's attached, it needs to be durable. Now we get to the reason these things cost so much for a measly sticker. We sampled several materials, and settled on an abrasion-resistant laminated cast vinyl. They are matte to minimize glare when referencing in sunlight, and are much more resistant to UV damage than the average sticker. This makes them cost a lot more per unit than basic swag stickers, but so far they've also held up a lot better. I've had one stuck to my most commonly used rifle for the past year, and it still basically looks brand new. Obviously they won't last forever, but we wanted them to last as long as possible, and be legible and ready to use when you need them.
One of my gripes about the original Arabic stickers that it was in black and white. Great for legibility, but the big black and white rectangle on your otherwise-camouflaged rifle stands out, and makes a great target indicator. So for our translation sticker, we went with a tan 499 background, with English phrases in black and Spanish phrases in olive drab, so you can differentiate them easily. This color scheme should blend in decently in almost any terrain, while still being legible if held at arms reach or closer.
It was tricky to balance between having all the phrases we wanted, and keeping the sticker a manageable size. In the end, we went with a long skinny 5" x 1.5" sticker with two columns of phrases on it. The margins are pretty slim, but since it's just a sticker, you can trim them down a bit with scissors if your application requires it. If the sticker is too long, you can also cut it in half, and place the columns on top of one another for a more square 2.5" x 3" shape. We tested several buttstocks, and off the top of my head I've got them slapped onto a KE arms polymer lower fixed stock, a CAR-15 stock, a Magpul MOE SL-K stock, and an SBA3 brace.
Overall I'm pretty happy with how this project turned out, and I think this little piece of kit will prove useful to a lot of people. Only time will tell. As always, if you have any questions feel free to comment or email me at support@nixieworks.com. Thanks!
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