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Stout Gear

By on June 20, 2015 in EDC, Knives, Survival

If you like hard working, custom knives that offer big performance at a reasonable price (who doesn’t?), Stout Gear should be on your radar. I have purchased one of their Ibex models and I’m seriously impressed. I like it so much that I am already making room in my budget to pick up their Scout model! You can stay tuned for a full review of the Ibex.

Stout Gear Ibex

Ibex

Stout Gear offers several models in several sizes so it is difficult generalize their knives but there are a few things that characterize them. One of those characteristics is good cutting geometry. These knives are made for hard work so they are very thick at the spine and in order to make them cut, Stout Gear uses very tall, slightly convex primary grinds and then applies a 20 degree, polished bevel. The result is a tough edge that cuts very well.

They also have large, hand filling handles with comfortable contours. You’ll find deep bellied, drop point blade shapes on most of their knives. Their work is extremely clean (look at those plunge lines!). They also use tough, high quality steels that are well suited to the tasks envisioned for the knife. Most of their knives use CPM S35VN which is one of the only modern stainless steels I have been able to warm to because it is fairly easy to sharpen. I can sharpen anything, I just don’t care to spend a lot time doing it!

The Scout

Thankfully, Stout Gear is not one of those companies that sells you a great knife and sticks you with an afterthought of a sheath. I could probably write whole post just about the sheath. It is completely unique and very functional. It is a kydex sheath that is constructed much like a leather sheath in that is has an HDPE (tough plastic) welt between the outer layers of kydex. This allows the kydex layers to retain the knife without contacting the blade. This prevents scratching the blade and dulling of the edge by contact with the kydex and all the grit that ends up in the sheath of a knife that is actually being used. The sheath also features metal belt loops that Stout Gear makes themselves. It has to be the most bomb-proof sheath system I have ever seen.

All of their knives have starting prices below $300 – most well below $300. They cost less than many production knives with similar features (thick premium steel, sculpted G-10 handles, quality sheath, etc.). You need to get to know Stout Gear.

Wolverine

Wolverine

The Beacon Box is Back!

By on June 18, 2015 in EDC, Survival

You may remember the Beacon Box from when I first mentioned it in April. At the time, it was called the Beacon Outdoor Survival Box and it was being crowd funded on Kickstarter. It was already funded to 50 percent but people where asking about additional charging capabilities and making it even more rugged, so the decision was made to cease crowd funding and improve the product.

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From the original post on the Beacon Box:

The Beacon is a floating, water-tight storage box with an integrated solar charger (with battery) and flashlight functionality built in. The interesting thing is that in spite of the fact that it combines 3 useful outdoor tools, it isn’t really any larger than a typical solar charger or water-tight storage box is on its own.

The USB charging receptacles (3) are located inside the storage compartment so you can actually store a mobile device inside The Beacon to protect it from the elements and charge it at the same time. If you have to charge multiple devices, you can open The Beacon and use all 3 ports simultaneously. The Beacon’s 10,000 mAh lithium ion battery can also be wall charged and the entire “power puck” portion can be removed from the box for separate use or cleaning.

The integrated LEDs gives you the choice of white flood light or SOS flashing modes. There is also an amber colored LED flood light option for situations where you may not want to overload your dark adjusted eyes.

Often, these widgets that try to combine a ton of features end up being monstrosities that are larger and heavier than just carry the items separately. The Beacon actually appears to combine the functionality of several items into a package that actually makes it an attractive alternative to the items it replaces.

Now, with the reintroduction of the Beacon Box crows funding effort on Indigogo, there are some notable additions to its capabilities. Beacon Box can now charge QI capable phones inside the case without wires! The battery capacity has been increased to 15000 mAh which is a 50% increase. It also has a larger, more durable latch and hinge.

Check out the Beacon Box on Indiegogo.

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Micro Visor Panel from Zulu Nylon Gear

By on June 12, 2015 in EDC, Tactical Handyman

I reviewed the Zulu Nylon Gear MOLLE Visor Panel a long, long time ago. It was a full size panel that really works best on vehicles with larger visors. Now Zulu Nylon Gear has released the Micro Visor Panel that is compact enough to fit just about any vehicle with a visor, large or small.

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The Micro Visor Panel has everything that made the MOLLE Visor Panel great. That includes the very versatile Velcro/PALS/elastic grid on the front of the panel. This MOLLE compatible grid consists of normal PALS webbing in the center row, 1″ elastic loop webbing for the outer two rows, and loop Velcro in between the rows.

The back of the panel features large elastic loops and a single slip pocket which is perfect for maps or other documentation.

The Micro Visor Panel is fairly compact at 9″ x 6″ but don’t think of it is as being made just for small cars. Depending on how much stuff you want to organize, it may be all you need – even for larger vehicles. These visor panels have a lot of adjustment and it should fit in just about any size vehicle.

Check out the new Micro Visor Panel from Zulu Nylon Gear.

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Triple 7 Gear Launches CORE Nano Wallet on Kickstarter

By on June 11, 2015 in EDC, Tactical Gear

The CORE Nano Wallet from Triple 7 Gear has been officially launched on Kickstarter!

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The CORE Nano Wallet does everything you want a wallet to do but with the addition of the EDC gear organization you expect from Triple 7 Gear. It has a clear window for storing ID and cash. There are credit card slots on the center panel that can hold 6-8 credit cards. The gear organization panel has a 3 elastic loops of varying size to hold pens, flashlights, multitools, knives, etc. There is also a slightly hidden, Velcro secured pocket that can be used to secure more sensitive items.

With careful selection of the items that you store in CORE Nano Wallet, you will be surprised at just how compact it can be. I have already found that several AAA battery lights fit well. Pens like the Inka, Fisher Bullet Pen, or Fisher Trekker all work well. The Exotac nanoSTRIKER fits perfectly in the smallest loop. Compact multitools or even some of the thinner Swiss Army Knives fit well too. You’ll find all kinds of gear that fits.

There are several interesting benefits for backers including one that includes a Micro SERE Kit from Vigilant Gear which happens to be a perfect fit for the CORE Nano Wallet’s secure pocket. Head over to the Kickstarter page to view a video that really dives into the details of the wallet and its intended use. You can also see the various backing rewards.

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