Signed up for his HET 1 class locally in October and was curious what people thought.  Any suggestions or tips?

I had his fighting from vehicles class some years back then perhaps a couple years ago his fighting in structures class.  Both were good, even worth doing over again.  I've been able to attend over forty classes over the last twelve years so I've seen a lot of other instructors for comparison, some poor but Costas classes were fine.

Thanks

Costa's courses are excellent. I've take three. Show up on time with your equipment squared away, your ammo loose in a can and no having to create trash with emptying boxes. 5 mags minimum. 7+ is better. Maglula mag loader. Check your pistol and your spare that the sights are on tight and won't shoot loose. You're going to shoot probably 1800 rounds over the course of three days and anything that's not on tight is going to come off. If you're using a Glock or some other pistol that has a screw-on front sight, make sure it locktighted on good. Kneepads are a plus. Don't bring a brand new gun to the class thinking you'll break it in. Do that at home to confirm reliability, THEN bring it to class. You don't want to be "that guy" that has equipment problems and slows down everyone else.

Taken numerous classes with Chris, always a good time. Take 2500 rounds. You won't need them all but it's better than running out. Usually 1800-2000 max.

Once you've taken HET1 I'd highly recommend HET2... a lot of cool shit in that class.

Thanks!  The class starts this Thursday so I'm excited

Bring a second/backup gun.  Always bring a backup to any class.  If your main gun goes down, you want to have a backup that you can quickly grab.  This is particularly important if you bring a 1911.

Bring as many mags as you can.  It doesn’t matter what the minimum requirements are, the more the better.  Pre-load as many mags as possible before the class.  The less time you spend loading mags on breaks, the more time you have to relax, piss, snack, or BS with other students or Costa.  Keep at least two or three mags empty for various drills to start with.  

Whatever the round count is, add 10–25%.  If the course is 1800rds, bring at least 2000, if not 2500.  If the ammo is in boxes or cartons, dump the ammo out into an ammo can as loose ammo.  It’ll make loading easier.

Bring a mag speed loader.  I highly recommend a Maglula Uplula, as it will save your thumbs and reduce mag reloading time by half.

Electronic ear pro should be mandatory.  You can hear everything the instructor says.  

Bring quality gear.  This includes a high quality holster.  Bring a spare holster in case something breaks.  

Regardless of weather forecasts, bring clothing for every weather condition.  Hot, cold, rain or snow.  This includes waterproof footwear and good quality socks.  Wearing a good pair of shoes or boots makes a big difference since you’ll be on your feet for several days on end.  

Show up early every day.  Be ready to shoot before class is scheduled to start. If you can, bring your own lunch.  If you don’t bring your own lunch and have to go out for lunch, be sure to get back with enough time to stuff your mags and be ready to shoot before lunch break ends (this is where pre-loaded mags come in handy).  If you don’t have lunch places nearby, don’t chance it- stop at the gas station or at grocery store in the morning on your way in and grab some food for lunch so you don’t have to leave the range.  If lunch is from 12-1 and you have to leave the range to get food, don’t roll back into the range at 12:57 with your lunch still in-hand and uneaten, mags empty, and gear not on.  I’ve been to classes before where this has happened, and on day 2 we didn’t wait for them and started at 1pm.

I’ve taken 3 Costa classes And plan on taking more, awesome instructor & he makes it fun.

I took a class when he was training with Travis Haley in Magpul Dynamics.  
Good instructor. Had a lot of good mindset points, worked great in conjunction with Travis. He taught good fundamentals, stances, etc. I would not hesitate to take another class with him if he had classes closer to where I lived.

2 years ago I went to a mindset lecture he was speaking at, and that was pretty good too.

I’ve taken HET1 (3) times it’s a awesome tune up & he a great guy to hang out with.

Edit I didn’t see it already posted years ago

Took his HET 1 class summer 2022. I’d highly recommend and would love to take HET 2.

I’ve also taken classes with Vickers (several), Pat Rogers (RIP), Mike Pannone, John McPhee and Costa’s is on par with all of them.

After taking this class I wouldn't go back.  I wasn't one of the "cool guys" or range owners so I didn't get any actual instruction.  I just ran drills for 3 days, which I could have done on my own since its not like I got any feedback.  I could've used the class fee for even more ammo

In my experience student-to-instructor ratio is one of the most important things in a class.  I've trained with a few big named instructors... one had a 1 instructor-to-24 student ratio... and was honestly a disappointment.  I normally bring in extra instructors if I have more than 5 students and that's a much better ratio.  NRA requires an even lower ratio on the firing line.

I had Costa when he was part of Magpul Dynamics with Travis Haley. That was a great class but I really looked more at Travis than at Chris.

Had a Vickers class and it was okay.. He seemed pretty full of himself.

I think there was less than 20 in the class.  It didn't matter because he hung around the same 4 dudes