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Emberlit EL-Mini

By on March 15, 2012 in EDC, Survival, Tactical Gear

I really enjoyed testing the Emberlit Camp Stove. It is one of the least bulky and most functional ways that I have found to cook food on the trail. Now the Emberlit Camp Stove is about to get even less bulky with the future introduction of the Emberlit Mini.

The Emberlit Mini will be a scaled down version of the titanium Emberlit UL Camp Stove. With the smaller size, comes some advantages and some trade-offs. One advantage is that the smaller stove will work better with steel water bottles and the steel cups that nest on Nalgene bottles. It will also weigh less than the larger stoves. However, it will take more work to keep the fire up and you might see some longer cook times due to the lower capacity.

The EL-Mini will also feature a new design feature that is somewhat like a lanyard loop. It allows all of the pieces of the stove to be joined together with cord or a small carabiner. This new lanyard hole requires that a small extension be added to the top of each section of the stove which means that even though the opening in the top of the EL-Mini is smaller, the overall size at the top is about the same as the larger models. It will handle smaller cookware while still be very stable with larger cookware (the video below does a good job of showing this).

The new EL-Mini, or the full size stoves, would make a tremendous addition to a vehicle emergency kit or BOB. The Emberlit Mini Camp Stove will be available soon from Emberlit.com.

Mountain Ridge Gear Alpha Pack

By on March 14, 2012 in EDC, Tactical Gear

I have been testing a prototype of a new backpack, the Alpha Pack, from Mountain Ridge Gear for the last several months. The pack has been nothing but impressive and now the production version is finally available for purchase.

The Alpha Pack is more of an admin pack than a “3 day assault pack” though its construction certainly makes it tough enough to handle just about anything. It is constructed from 1000D nylon, all cloth edges are bound, the interior is completely lined with 420 denier pack cloth, the webbing and hardware are all military grade, and the sewing cleanly executed.

Eric at Mountain Ridge Gear has a gift for designing really useful organization features. The organizer in this bag has a ton of various sized slip pockets and pouches to hold everything from multi-tools, to flashlights, to business cards, to whatever other small item you would want to carry. The organization is built into the front pouch which also happens to function as a beaver-tail style load carrying area. I use the beaver tail to carry my lunch bag to work but it can also be used to carry a rain coat or any other item you can comfortably secure.

The interior of the main pouch is large and useful. It is lined with loop material so you can add whatever pouches you want. It zips open about 2/3rds of the way down the side of the pack to allow access to the contents. The exterior bottom sides of the main pouch have 3 rows and 3 columns of MOLLE webbing that are perfect for adding bottle holders.

The Alpha pack makes a great EDC bag or office bag. I have also used the prototype extensively for traveling. This bag is versatile enough to fill a few roles. There are more features than I have listed here and more pictures than I have shown, so you should definitely head over to MountainRidgeGear.com for more details.

Blade Rigs Knife Sheaths

By on March 8, 2012 in EDC, Knives, Survival

The vast majority of kydex knife sheaths on the market are fold over designs or simply two pieces of kydex sandwhiched over the knife. Both styles are typically secured with large rivets that, while handy for attaching things, add a lot of width to the sheath which can make them less comfortable for certain types of carry.

Blade Rigs can make you a sheath like the ones mentioned above but they also build some really slick purpose built sheaths that are very unique. Their IWB and Pocket sheaths both use smaller rivets that really cut down on the bulk of the sheath. This makes them much better suited to their intended carry methods than typical sheaths.

The Blade Rigs IWB Kydex Sheath features a steel clip that can be used to secure the sheath in a number of ways. They can be attached to belts of various sizes, MOLLE webbing and even belt loops. The sheath is molded so that the knife can be inserted with the edge oriented in either direction. These sheaths seem to be very well suited to center line carry for some classic back up knives like the Gerber Guardian, Cold Steel Braveheart, and the Gryphon M-10.

The Pocket Sheath features a hooked cutout that is used during the presentation to snag the sheath to remove it on the way out of the pocket. The sheath is stippled to serve as a push off point for removing the sheath and as an index point so you can tell by touch how your knife is oriented.

You can find more information at BladeRigs.com.

McNett Aquamira Sport Filter

By on March 2, 2012 in EDC, Survival

There are a number of water bottles on the market that can filter your water. They work, but they generally aren’t my favorite bottles in terms of form factor and they typically utilize an expensive replaceable filter. My ideal would be a inexpensive filter that worked with bottles that I already have and like, like the excellent Camelbak Better Bottles. That just happens to be exactly what the new McNett Aquamira Frontier Sport Filter does.

This thing is slick. It can be used with any sport bottle that has an internal straw. It simply attaches to the straw and filters water as you drink. This means that you can step off the trail, fill up your bottle directly from a water source, and then drink. It is extremely convenient and costs much less than the propriety filters found in most other filter bottles.

You can check out the McNett Aquamira Sport Filter on BeyondIssue.com.

Echo Niner Camera Strap

By on February 29, 2012 in EDC, Tactical Gear

Last time I checked cameras still cost a whole mess of money. For some, their camera is also their livelihood. So why would anyone trust just any old camera strap to keep your camera around your neck? You shouldn’t.

Echo Niner (E9) makes what they call the E9 Camera Strap. If you spend much time around rifles and tactical gear you will recognize many of the materials used in these Camera Straps. They use 1.25″ heavy nylon sling webbing and then line it with rubberized grip enhancing material. There are 2 side release buckles that can be used to release the Camera Strap quickly or to create a shorter hand strap configuration. The E9 Camera Strap can be easily adjusted on the fly by just pulling the strap tail and the attachment points are constructed from MilSpec 5-50 Parachute Cord.

The E9 Camera Strap is built to withstand the rigors of combat photography. It can certainly stand up to a weekend warrior’s family trip to the zoo. Check out the E9 Camera Strap on ENiner.com.

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