PHLster is betting the Flatpack concept is good for carrying more than just tourniquets. The image below shows the Flatpack XL prototype and as you can see, it can organize all kinds of gear. The Flatpack XL could certainly be used as a medical insert but it has obvious cross-over appeal for range bags, EDC bags, tool boxes and more.
Stay tuned for pricing and availability information.
Zulu Bravo Kydex has a brand new website to show off and some changes to their popular (and affordable) Sharpfinger Pikal knives. The new site replaces the simple splash page that they used to have at their web address. It displays several of their kydex sheath offerings and allows users to pre-order custom made items including the Sharpfinger Pikal.
There are very few pikal knives available on the production knife market and customs tend to cost quite a bit. Zulu Bravo has found away around this by starting with a very affordable Schrade Sharpfinger and fine tuning it into a custom pikal knife.
They complete the following work:
– Remove handles
– Reshape tip
– Grind spine
– Acid etch
– Stonewash
– Sharpen both edges
– Wrap handle in your choice of color combo
– Seal cord wrap with resin
– Build and fit new custom sheath with your choice of soft loop or overhook
They just announced that the design will be further improved with a darker acid wash and a tighter, more hand filling handle wrap. Zulu Bravo also offers a training drone version of the knife.
The Sharpfinger Pikal sells for $140 and is available to pre-order now. When you consider the level of custom work involved and the fact that these knives ship with an excellent sheath, this appears to be a great price on a pikal that you might actually carry.
Headlamps have come a long way. Gone are the days when you were limited to lights with a chunky plastic housing with a hinge that will eventually break, multiple batteries, and anemic outputs. Today’s headlamps boast impressive output, useful beam shapes, great runtimes, durable aluminum housings, and extremely compact sizes thanks to the ability to be powered on a single battery.
I’ve owned multiple Zebralight headlamps for a while now and they are easily the best I have used. However, they can also be a little on the spendy side. So, I went looking for something similar but a bit more affordable for my family to use. After sifting through online reviews, I settled on the ThruNite TH20.
Here are some quick stats on the TH20:
There were a number of things that drew me to this headlamp as a backup to my other headlamps. First, the price was right at $30. Second, it runs on a single AA battery and had documented runtimes/ouputs with Eneloop batteries (I don’t use 14500 batteries). Third, the output was more than sufficient for my needs. Finally, it was available with a neutral white LED for better color rendition and depth perception.
I am not the kind of flashlight nerd that dives deep into lumens, candela, and the latest emitters. I am more the flashlight nerd that is always trying to find lights that are the easier to live with than my last light so the ability to power the TH20 with a single AA battery is very important to me for a number of reasons. It makes the light more compact so it fits unobtrusively in a coat pocket and my kids can use it. It also makes it easy to carry spare batteries. Finally, the light is very economical to keep fed with the primary AA batteries and Eneloops that I already have on hand.
My little corner of the world gets dark very early in the winter so this light sees heavy use. A hard anodized aluminum housing means I don’t have to baby the light. A balanced beam shape means it can handle everything from hiking to swapping a bearing on a 74″ snow blower. I even use it when I am on the tractor, blowing snow after dark. Our open cab tractor has no interior lights so the TH20 helps keep the controls and dashboard visible even while it is absolutely soaked and pummeled with blown snow. The abuse it has weathered in this role is impressive.
The band is comfortable and it surprised me with its great quality (cheap headlamps usually have terrible bands). I haven’t noticed any parasitic drain on the battery – it always seems ready to go. The silicone light holder seems durable and is very comfortable against the wearer’s head. There is a lot to like here but it isn’t perfect.
The switch is easy to operate, even with gloves but it can be a little too easy to operate. I have twice found the light turned on in my pocket from the switch being accidentally touched. Now, I wrap the head band around the light to cover the switch when I put it in a pocket and that seems to help.
Speaking of the switch, there is just one and the user interface controlled by that single switch has a learning curve. If you click once from off, the light comes on at the last level you used. Then you can also press and hold the switch to ramp up and down through the brightness levels. The light blinks at the upper and lower limits of the brightness scale. You just let go of the switch when you are happy with the light level. Finally, you can double click from on to access turbo mode, double click again for SOS mode, or press and hold from off to access a sufficiently dim firefly mode.
I like having the ability to fine tune the light level but it usually takes me a little fiddling with button to get the light right. I would prefer to just have the ramping feature without all the other click options.
I have found the TH20 to be a great light for the price. It feels more like a tool in its usefulness and construction than most headlamps. It is also very easy to live with thanks to its compact size and common battery.
I have never seen ThruNite lights in a brick and mortar store so I purchased mine on Amazon. I have actually purchased several and given them as gifts.
ThruNite TH20 on Amazon (affiliate link)
MIL-SPEC MONKEY CYOA (Choose Your Own Adventure) Loop Pack is now available and, as you might guess from the name, it can be configured just about however the user chooses. It boasts plenty of capacity and acres of loop material for use with hook backed organization pouches. Check out the video below to all the bells and whistles.
You can check out the CYOA Loop Pack at the MIL-SPEC MONKEY Store.
The Benchmade Bugout has become a massively popular option in the EDC folding knife market and it is easy to see why. The Bugout is extremely lightweight, slim, boasts an S30V blade, locks up via an Axis Lock, has a versatile blade shape, deep carry clip, and is at the low end of the Benchmade cost spectrum. I have recommended it to a number of people and the only real hangup has been the color. The Bugout has only been available in BRIGHT BLUE… until now.
Blade HQ is now offering an exclusive version of the Bugout with a more subdued palette. The handle is Ranger Green. The blade is coated smoked gray chromium nitride finish and most of the hardware is coated black. Some hardware, like the thumb stud and back spacers are anodized tan.
If you love the size, weight, and features of the Bugout but have been holding out for something more subdued in appearance, check out the Ranger Green Benchmade Bugout at Blade HQ (available to pre-order now).
