EOS Ti Shark Pry Tool Review

The EOS Ti Shark pry tool is a sweet looking tool. These OPMTs that resemble animals seem to be quite popular at the moment. While it looks cool, it hasn’t been my favorite OPMT. It’s still a good tool, just not something I’ve enjoyed that much.

Tools

Bottle opener

Pry bar/screwdriver

Quarter inch wrench which can also be used with mini screwdriver bits

All these tools perform as they should. The screwdriver is on the end of the pry bar, so it’s too thick for most screws. The pry bar and bottle opener work well as expected. The wrench is not that useful. I haven’t found any sort of use for it plus it doesn’t hold screwdriver bits well as there’s nothing to keep them in place. I do wish the pry bar had a nail puller like the Gerber Shard, but that’s just a personal preference.

For its size, the toolset is not that impressive. It’s bigger than most OPMTs at 4” long by 1” wide, but has fewer tools. Most OPMTs are keychain-sized which makes them more convenient to carry. This added size has made it more difficult for me to carry. You’d think they’d be able to fit more tools on it, yet it only has the bare minimum. The tool is comfortable to hold in the hand during use. The extra length does come in handy for that, but that’s about the only benefit.

Quality

This is a very solid tool. It’s not that hard to make an OPMT, so there’s not many ways they could have messed this up. It’s made out of titanium as the name suggests. I got the anodized version, and I must say the anodizing looks pretty cool. This tool will definitely last you forever.

Carry

As I’ve started to talk about, this tool is bigger than tools like the Gerber Shard or Leatherman Brewzer. This extra size hurts the tool in my opinion. If it had more functionality, it would definitely be worth it. The Shark does have a pocket clip, which both the Shard and Brewzer lack. It’s kind of a weird clip though. It doesn’t carry anything like a knife or pen. It sits weirdly when clipped, and I don’t think I would actually carry it with this clip. The use of titanium keeps the tool pretty lightweight. As I mentioned earlier, the length is what makes it a pain to carry. You guys with bigger pockets would probably have better luck.

Price

I paid around $20 for the anodized version. I wouldn’t pay that much considering the Shard is $5 and works better. Sure this looks cooler, but you lose out on a lot of functionality.

Other

The shipping took forever. I paid for shipping and it didn’t actually ship until a week or so later. I think that’s unacceptable considering I had to actually pay for shipping. If it was free shipping, then that’d be a different story. It did come in a custom Ziploc bag with the company’s logo printed on it and a vinyl sticker so that was pretty neat. You can choose between the anodized or non-anodized version.

All in all, it’s a cool tool that lacks a lot of functionality. I don’t think it’s worth the money or the extra space in your pocket. It’s more of a collector piece than something for EDC use. It works as it should but doesn’t get my personal recommendation. The Gerber Shard is a much better tool at a less expensive price. Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Dragonfly 2 Review

The Spyderco Dragonfly 2 is one of Spyderco’s smaller options. It performs well but isn’t my favorite. I think there are a number of better knives of this size out there on the market.

Specifications

Overall length: 5.61"

Blade length: 2.28" (cutting edge is only 1.88" though)

Handle length: 3.33"

Steel: VG-10

Weight: 1.3 oz.

Quality

My Dragonfly isn’t the best quality. There’s a major flaw with the pivot that has become very frustrating. I can’t loosen or tighten it, because the whole pivot screw spins as I attempt to unscrew it. I’ve tried a couple different ways to fix it with no luck. I have one more fix to try, but after that, I’ll just have to give up. I know that I’m not the only one that’s encountered this problem either. Spyderco really needs to figure this out. It’s pretty much turned me away from this knife. I can’t comment on the lock-up or centering because of the pivot issue.

Blade

It’s a simple blade shape that Spyderco always does well. It looks nice and is extremely practical for EDC. I’m a big fan of the VG-10. It may not be the fanciest steel, but it just works. It gets super sharp and retains its edge decently well. The Spyder hole is my favorite opening mechanism. Even though it adds a lot of width to the blade, I think it’s definitely worth it. There’s also some nice jimping that adds a good amount of grip to the blade. The Dragonfly is cool because it’s offered in a ton of steel variations. Some of the other steels the Dragonfly is offered in are H1, ZDP-189, etc.

Handle

The FRN is nice and grippy. Some people say it feels cheap, but I’ve grown to like it a lot. The orange is super bright. I love that Spyderco offers it in different colors. The Dragonfly even comes in stainless steel or G10 handles. The ergonomics are pretty good. They’re not the best ergonomics I’ve ever felt, but they do the job. Even though this is a small knife, I can fit a full 4 finger grip. I love the addition of the choil. It gives you a lot of extra control over the blade. The lockback is simple and just works. It may not be the most hardcore lock, but it won’t fail during basic EDC tasks.

Carry

The wire clip is awesome. It’s got great retention and carries well. The small size and light weight help this knife disappear in the pocket. It carries perfectly in the waistband, which is how I prefer to carry my knives. One thing to note is that this blade doesn’t carry the deepest. It’s not a huge issue but if you prefer blades that carry pretty deep, this may not be for you.

Price

It retails for around $50. I personally think that price is a little too high. I think $35-$40 would be a better value. This blade is a great performer and will last you forever. The VG-10 and FRN are a great combo.

I wouldn’t personally recommend this knife because of the pivot issue. I had an H1 version a while ago that didn’t have an issue with the pivot. It’s probably just bad luck, but it has still been annoying to deal with. I think a better small knife is the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite. Its ergonomics are superior plus I didn’t have to deal with an annoying pivot. The Dragonfly’s not a bad knife by any means. I just don’t give it my own personal recommendation. It would work out quite well as an EDC knife. It's quite popular in the knife community, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. Give it a look if it interests you. Thanks for looking!

Knife Company Talk: Spyderco

quick note: I'd like to start this new series where I talk about different knife companies. I'll mostly talk about how I feel about them as a whole, their products, etc. As the title suggests, this first one will be about Spyderco.

Spyderco is in fact my favorite knife company. Of all the knives I've tried, the majority of them were Spydercos. Spyderco was the first knife brand I really heard about. I was watching a video on YouTube and stumbled on a Spyderco Delica video. I looked up the brand online, found out they sold something called the Ladybug, and eventually fell in love with all their knives.  To this day, the Ladybug is by far the best knife I've ever tried.

Spyderco is very popular and that's for good reasons. They've got great quality products and customer service. I've never had to deal with their customer service personally, but I've heard nothing but positive things about it. Their Spyder hole is the best opening mechanism in my opinion. I almost feel like Spyderco is often overhyped though. They have such a large, dedicated following. I don't think there's a single other brand that's more well-known for their knives and company as a whole. Sure companies like Gerber, Kershaw, or Cold Steel are decently popular, but in my experience, those are all more of a hit-or-miss type companies. They either put out a fantastic product or one that's an absolute fail. I used to be really into all the new knives that Spyderco put out. That isn't really the case so much anymore.

I feel as if they're mostly focusing on the higher-end type blades or various sprint runs. Those are cool for some people, just not my cup of tea. It gets pretty boring to see the same old designs over and over and over again. They discontinued a lot of their unique designs, like the Balance or Junior. I'm sure they didn't sell very well for one thing. The second thing though is figuring out why. With crazy designs, people will either love them or hate them. Most of them aren't really suited for actual carry. They're mostly collector type pieces. There's also the problem of price. The weirder the designs, the more money they'll usually cost you, look at the Dodo for example. I think this is Spyderco's Achilles heel.

Their prices have gotten more and more out of reach in the past few years. The knife market in general is moving more towards the high end market. You can see this on the majority of the popular feeds on Instagram. I feel as if Spyderco is neglecting the budget blade fans. They've put out a few less expensive options, but nothing with even as close to an impact as the Delica for example. Obviously, it's not viable for every knife they make to be as successful, but none have gotten even close to its notoriety in my opinion. The increased prices are keeping me away from buying any of their newer blades. All of the Spydercos I have bought recently have all been ones released several years ago. The new ones don't really seem like a good value to me personally. I for one don't think the Manix 2 LW is worth the $70 to $80 it sells for.

The new knives they've been putting out don't really excite me anymore. Like I mentioned earlier, they all just blend together. There's no wow or unique factor. I respect that they're producing what the majority of people are looking for. I really wish they reverted back to the old Spyderco occasionally and brought out some cool designs for affordable prices. I think another company could easily step into that hole and bring themselves to a whole new level. I will continue to always love Spyderco, but I think they need to step up their game a lot. Thanks for looking!

Packaging Matters Too

I keep most of the packaging that my gear comes in. This helps when you want to sell stuff down the road, and honestly I'm just a little bit of a hoarder. Every piece of gear should at least come in decent packaging. I get that it adds to the cost and takes away from a company's profit. However, if you've got memorable packaging, you would expect people to feel more obliged to buy more of your products in the future. Packaging alone doesn't sell a product, but it certainly helps. Who doesn't love getting those sweet red and black Spyderco boxes? It just makes it feel like you're getting a great product from a company that really cares. It doesn't matter whether it's clam shell, boxes, pouches, etc. At least those companies put thought and effort into how their products are presented.

I never, ever, think that products should come in plastic ziploc bags. They look terrible and don't protect the product at all. One company that does this is Hinderer. They ship their Investigator pens in crappy ziploc bags, and that really pisses me off. For the high price you pay for that pen ($60), you should be getting some decent packaging. I bought a $10 pen that came in a nice box. How difficult would it be for Hinderer to do the same thing? I don't respect them as a brand because of that packaging choice. I know it ultimately shouldn't mean that much, since the product is what really matters. Hinderer is a highly esteemed brand though, so they should do something special for their packaging.

When you buy something, it isn't just about the product. There are different factors involved that impact you, the buyer. Some of these factors include customer service, presentation, ethics, etc. I try not to support companies if they've got shady stuff going on. A company has to be the whole package. You can't overlook some awful business practices just because a product is good. This is kind of an unrelated ramble, so maybe I'll make a more in-depth blog post about it later.

Back to the packaging issue, I wish all companies used nice packaging. While it seems like a small, insignificant part of getting new gear, it really can make the difference between a good or bad company. Thanks for looking! How important do you all think packaging is?

Things I Hate About Instagram

I really enjoy Instagram, but like all things, it's not perfect. There's a lot of things about it that annoy me. I'd like to talk about a few of the things that I hate about Instagram. Of course, all these are just my opinions. I am in no way trying to offend anybody.

First off, those annoying repost giveaways are quite popular. Sometimes my feed is just picture upon picture of those stupid giveaways. The likelihood of winning these giveaways is quite low, so it seems kind of pointless to enter them. There's nothing more to them than posting whatever picture the giveaway requires, which makes them quite easy to enter. I would prefer if giveaways required unique pictures instead. I find reposts just really annoying in general.

Obviously the whole follow-for-follow or like-for like-thing is annoying. People are so desperate for followers and likes. It honestly makes no difference what number of supporters you have. Also, never like your own pictures. It's a given. There's no point to it at all.

I've always noticed that people overuse hashtags. Some people's captions with hashtags will be longer than the photo itself. That's pathetic if you ask me. I get using a few, but there's definitely a limit.

People also like to post pictures of their bloody fingers. I'm not squeamish when it comes to blood, but again, it's just kind of pathetic. Who cares if you cut yourself? I certainly don't. Put a band-aid on it and move on. You don't need to share every aspect of your life on social media. That reminds me. I don't need to see pictures of you sitting on the toilet either. It's common sense. We're all into the same hobby, just post photos of gear or something.

Instagram is a great place to sell stuff. This leads people to attempt to sell their stuff for extremely high prices. If you bought something and used it, it's not going to be worth what you originally paid. Sell it for a reasonable price, and it will sell quickly. Trust me. If your stuff doesn't sell, you don't need to repost your sale post a hundred times without any kind of price drop.

Last one, because this post is getting kind of long and rambly. I hate people that post like 5 or more photos in a row. I don't need you spamming the crap out of my feed. At least wait a good amount of time before you post multiple photos in the same day. I don't need to see every angle of some knife you got.

Don't take too much of this post to heart. I get annoyed really easily, and I thought it was time someone talked about the obnoxious things that people do on Instagram. If you do any of these things, maybe consider stopping. It would make our knife community on IG a much better place. Thanks for looking! Again, I in no way meant to offend anybody.

November 2015 Updates

I'm not that happy with how little I've been posting lately. Sure I've been busy, but I'm a firm believer that you can always make time for something if you really enjoy it. Honestly, I just haven't felt like doing any knife stuff lately. I've been doing YouTube for a while now, and every so often I get into these funks where I don't really feel like posting anything. I miss talking to all the cool people I've met, so it's really time I kill this funk I'm in.

I think my lack of motivation also has to do with the unrealistic goals I set for myself. For example, I've been wanting to review every single piece of gear in my collection for a few months now. My initial goal was to get it all reviewed before the end of the summer. That turned out to be impossible, so I just kept pushing it back a month and here we are now. I don't think I've completed a single one of the reviews. There were so many reviews to do that it was almost overwhelming. I would still like to review all my gear, but I need to be more realistic with when I get those reviews posted. Now my goal for this month is to get one really good review up. I should have the time, plus this post is kind of a little pep talk for myself. I don't want to rush any reviews, so just focusing on one should help a lot. I'm thinking I'll either review the Spyderco Endura or the Cold Steel Mini AK-47. I can always post more than the one, but I'd rather meet a low goal then miss a high goal if that makes any sense.

Other than that, I'm also going to try to get more posts up on here. I've had a huge list of ideas to talk about, but I haven't been motivated to write any of them up. That's pretty much it for my updates this month. It's crazy to think that it's almost 2016. Thank you all for all of your support! I will be getting up some more videos and posts soon. Thanks for looking!

New Gear October 2015

I wasn't expecting to get any new gear this month, but I received an odd package a few days ago. Basically, I ordered a piece of gear from Amazon that I never ended up getting. The package was undeliverable according to USPS, so I got a refund and moved on. A completely beaten up package arrived 3 months later. So now here I am with these cool Slip-N-Snip scissors.

They're pretty neat thus far, and I really like the shade of purple. They're pretty compact as well. I'm not sure if they'll end up being better than the Victorinox scissors, but I guess only time will tell. I've only cut one thing with them so far, so I still need to get a ton more use out of them. I'll keep you all updated on how I like them. Thanks for looking!

14 Days, 1 Blade

So I was recently challenged by a guy on Instagram to pick one blade to carry as part of my EDC for the next 14 days. Since I would only be able to use this one blade, I had to choose smartly. This probably comes as no surprise to many of you, but I chose my Spyderco Ladybug.

(sorry for the kinda crappy pic, it's from IG)

I chose the Ladybug for a couple reasons. Its small size makes it easy to carry and people friendly. I don't really need a huge knife on a day to day basis, so it made sense to just have this as my one blade. I don't expect these 14 days to be to difficult. I will miss carrying my Endura, since I've been pairing it with the Ladybug as of lately. The Ladybug is still going strong 5 days in. I've also been going pretty light with my carry, just a knife, pen, and flashlight. I'll try and get a EDC picture up on Instagram soon. Thanks for looking!

My Knife Preferences

In this post I'd like to talk about what I look for in a knife. If a knife has all these points, then it's pretty much a perfect knife in my eyes. This will give you all a better insight into my preferences, which in turn impacts how I review certain blades.

Quality is the most important thing when it comes to a knife. If a blade looks cool, but sucks quality wise, you'd never be able to actually use it. My EDC is centered around gear that works on all circumstances. If I've had even the slightest quality issue with a piece of gear, I can't trust it nor will I carry it. Your EDC needs to work 100 percent of the time or why would you even bother carrying gear at all?

I prefer knives that can be opened easily one-handed. When I need my knife, I need it right then, so I don't want to have to fiddle around with a knife that isn't easy to open. There are situations where I like to have two-handed knives, like slipjoints, but for the most part I'd rather have a one-handed knife. I love Spyderco's thumb hole, or just thumb holes in general, more than any other opening mechanism. I hate thumb studs. I don't mind nail nicks or thumb discs/plates as long as they're done well.

I hate spring assisted knives. If a knife comes spring assisted, chances are pretty high that I'll automatically hate it. I think it's an extremely worthless feature. It's super loud, obnoxious, and unnecessary. They don't open any faster than a good manual folder. They tend to freak people out, and they really don't open that well to begin with.

I have no real preferences for steel. I don't know much about all the different steels, so as long as the knife is sharp and easy to sharpen, I don't really care. Since I buy a lot of budget gear, the steel is usually something like VG-10, AUS-8, 8Cr13MoV, etc. As long as it cuts, that's all that matters.

Handle wise, I prefer FRN or G10. I hate any sort of metal handles. They tend to be uncomfortable with all their hotspots and slickness. They also add a lot of unnecessary weight to a blade. I don't need my knife to be super lightweight, but I've grown used to Spyderco's FRN which keeps the knife pretty light anyways. I prefer FRN, because it allows for more color options than G10. Some say it feels cheap, but I guess it's just an acquired taste. I'm also not a fan of carbon fiber, wood, or materials of that nature.

In general, I do prefer small knives as they are easier for me to carry. I have little to no pocket space, so having small blades gives me more options. I do also have smaller hands, so they tend to have better ergonomics than the bigger stuff. I've recently gotten back into the bigger blades with my purchase of a Spyderco Endura. Surprisingly enough, I've fallen in love with the size of the Endura. I do want to try out more mid-sized/large folders just so I can have more variety.

This post is getting pretty long, so the last thing I'll talk about is clips. I love the wire clips from Spyderco, because they don't scream that you've got a knife in your pocket. I don't like the big, obnoxious clips that have a lot of branding to them. They draw a lot of unnecessary attention in my opinion. Plus, they don't carry that well either.

Anyways, that about wraps up some of my knife preferences. Honestly, I just prefer blades that are plain and simple. I need a blade that will work and last forever. Now you all know some of thing things I look for in a blade. Thanks for looking!

October 2015 Updates

Hey everybody! How's it going? I hope you all have been enjoying the posts I've been able to put out. Here are some updates for the month of October.

I haven't been able to post as many videos as I'd like. I'm going to be filming a ton of videos this weekend so I have some to post over the next few weeks. They'll range from reviews to knife talks and other random EDC related stuff. As always, if there's anything you want to see specifically just let me know.

I've also reformatted the way I do my reviews, so starting now they'll be structured in a different way. I've found that I really enjoying writing reviews on the gear I've tried. I'm going to put a big focus on getting most of my gear reviewed this month. I've gotten a lot of the notes written out. Now I just need to type them up into the actual reviews.

Besides those two things, that's pretty much everything I have to update you all on relating to the channel. School's been going as well as it would go. I haven't been able to carry my gear all that much because of it, which really sucks. Now that it's the fall, I can start carrying a little more using my jacket pockets. Anyways, that's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for more posts and videos! Thanks for looking!

New Gear September 2015

(reused this picture from a previous post)

Sorry this is sort of late, but as you can expect, I've been busy with school and life in general. So this was all the gear I got in the month of September. I got all of this in a trade with Girl on the Edge, so be sure to check her out on YouTube. Since I already did one post about this stuff, I'll be giving my thoughts now that I've had the time to use them for a couple weeks. I haven't gotten a Zippo yet, but when I do I'll finally get a chance to try out the Thunderbird insert. 

I haven't enjoyed the Dragonfly as much as I thought I would. The pivot has a major issue, which prevents me from using it. I've debated sending it into Spyderco's warranty, but I don't really have any intention on keeping it. I'll keep you all updated if I decide to send it in. I've heard that Spyderco has great customer service, so maybe its time for me to test it out.

The Cold Steel Mini AK-47 isn't as well-suited for EDC as I thought it'd be. The ergonomics are extremely weird. Its comfortable in the hand, but I've found that my hand is way too far back on the knife. The G10 is also way too aggressive for my tastes. I don't carry this knife that much because it would tear up my pockets. It's a cool looking knife for sure though. I just don't think it will become part of my EDC rotation.

This gear has been a lot of fun to try. I don't think the knives will be in my collection much longer as I 'd like to try out more stuff. As soon as I get the reviews done for these, expect to see these up for trade or sale. Stay tuned for those! Thanks for looking!

Some of the Best Budget Gear (under $20)

I’m a big fan of budget gear. I think the budget mark is defined as anything less than $60. Some people say anything less than $100, but realistically, you don’t need to spend that much to get a great blade or other piece of gear. You can still get a great quality product for at or less than $60. I feel that you can get the best value at this price point.

I’d like to start doing this mini-series where I highlight some of the best budget gear. I’m not going to be able to talk about every budget item, but I will talk about all the ones I’ve tried. I’ll be covering budget gear across all the aspects of EDC from knives to flashlights to pens. Today I’d like to specifically talk about some of the best budget gear under $20. I’ve got three things I’ll be talking about, all of which are some of my favorites.

The first is the Victorinox Classic. This retails for around $10-$15 depending on where you get it. It’s the best minimal multi-tool in my opinion. It has all your main tools without going overkill: a knife, screwdriver/nail file, scissors, tweezers, and a toothpick. It’s small enough to put on a keychain and doesn’t attract a lot of attention. Everyone knows and loves Victorinox, so usually people won’t react negatively to it. It does everything I need it to do exceptionally well.

The next piece of gear is the Gerber Shard. I was blown away by how great this tool is for $5. I hate Gerber as a company, but this is the one tool they actually do well. It’s a great OPMT that has a solid toolset despite its small size. Like the Classic, it could easily be put on a keychain. It’s a sturdy tool, and all the tools function as they should. I like having an OPMT, because there are times when you need to scrape/pry and you don’t want to mess up your knife blade. This is the best OPMT I’ve tried so far, especially considering the price.

And lastly, the best inexpensive pens are the Zebra 301s. I believe you can get a pack with 3 pens for $5. Don’t quote me on that, but I do know that they’re less than $10. You can get them in tons of different varieties, like ballpoint/gel and in various ink colors as well. They write great without breaking the bank. They’re decently classy looking with their stainless steel build. I use mine at school every day with no problems. I love these pens and highly recommend you pick some up.

Those are just a couple of the best pieces of gear that are less than $20. This is by no means all the good budget gear under $20.  I’m going to keep doing more of these in the future. I’ve got tons more gear I can talk about, so stay tuned for the next one. I think I’ll try to only talk about three things per post to keep it short. Thanks for looking!

EDC Rainbow

I finally have an EDC item in every color of the rainbow. This has been a long time coming, so I'm really happy that the rainbow is complete. Now I'm just going to try and add more of each color, like red or blue. I have the most amount of purple gear, and I need to diversify a little bit. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more colorful stuff soon. I'll post updates as the rainbow grows. Thanks for looking!

Zebra 301 Pens Thoughts

This is going to be a relatively short review as these 301 pens from Zebra are just your average pens. They work well, and there's not a lot to say bad about them, especially considering the price. I use them pretty much everyday and have never been disappointed.

Likes

• Inexpensive. If you lose one, it’s not going to break the bank since they’re only like $5.
• Write well. I’ve always liked the refills Zebra uses. The gel refill in the G-301 is one of my favorites.
• Great quality. I haven’t had any problems with mine at all.
• Comfortable to write with. The plastic grip feels good in the hand.
• Comes in different variations: gel (G-301), ballpoint (F-301) in red/blue/black ink, and even a mechanical pencil version (M-301)
• Clicky works as it should
• Clip feels surprisingly sturdy
• Looks pretty nice design wise
• Available in most stores

Dislikes

• Since these are inexpensive, they have a cheapish feeling. The materials aren’t anything too premium, but that's what you would expect for $5. It’s not the end of the world, just something to note.

This is an everyday pen that you can use and not care about what happens to it. They work exactly as they should and are very affordable too. I use these for school all the time. I highly recommend you pick a few up. They’re so easy to find in most stores, so you might as well try them out. Thanks for looking!

School EDC

Today I'd like to talk about what I keep in my backpack at school. I am currently a senior in high school. My school has a very strict policy about knives, so this is going to be a pretty boring EDC update. There will be no knives, lighters, or really any of my typical EDC items. For me, I don't see the point in trying to carry any of my gear, because it's not worth getting suspended, and I don't want my stuff getting stolen. I can last the 7 hours at school without my gear. There are going to be times when you can't carry anything, so I might as well get used to it now. In college though, I'll definitely be incorporating my typical EDC stuff into my bag. Plus my bag gets heavy enough as it is, maybe 20 to 25 pounds, so I'd rather not load it down with stuff I'll never use. Enough of that rambling, let's get into my bag and what's in it. For the sake of not being too boring, I'm only going to show the more interesting items.

So this is my bag. It's just a typical Jansport backpack. I like it, because it's got a lot of pockets and is super comfortable to wear, especially with a decent amount of weight in it. It may not be the fanciest bag, but it works and has held up extremely well. I think this is my third year I've used it for school.

These were a few of the more interesting things I pulled out of the bag. Starting from the left, I always keep some sort of book with me. I like to read, and there's always a lot of down time in class. Right now it's Robinson Crusoe, which I must say is pretty boring. I like to read older classics, but this one just isn't that interesting. I also always keep pens and pencils with me. The one in the picture is a Zebra F-301 in blue. I usually also keep a couple cheap mechanical pencils in there too. Next to the pen is an Anker external battery and a cable to charge my phone. My school finally has Wifi, so that means I'm pretty much always on my phone. The battery can charge my phone quite easily. I haven't had to use it much yet, but I'm sure it will get a lot of use throughout the school year. Below the battery are some headphones, a USB flashdrive, and some hand sanitizer. The headphones are to block out all the annoying people, plus it's just nice to listen to music as you work. The flashdrive is for saving essays and other stuff of that nature. The hand sanitizer is pretty self-explanatory. Schools are disgusting, and students are sick all the time. Lastly, on the far right side is my phone. That's also pretty self-explanatory. That either goes in the bag or in my pocket depending on what time it is. 

That's the majority of stuff in my bag. Like I said, it's not that interesting, but it's all stuff that actually gets used. If you see something I'm missing that I really should carry, let me know. Thanks for looking!

Impulse Buys

Impulse buys really suck. You see something that looks really cool, is on sale, etc. and then buy it without even thinking. Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised by these impulse buys, but I’ve found that’s usually not the case for me.  I’ve been pretty disappointed with a large majority of my impulse buys. I regret making almost every single one of them, because I could have used the money to spend on something I actually wanted. It’s an interesting opportunity to try out something new and different, but ultimately is a waste of time and money.

This day and age of technology makes purchasing these impulse items pretty easy. I’m able to find anything I could ever want on the internet for pretty good prices. Instagram is a huge black hole if you’re even a tad bit impulsive. If you didn’t know about Instagram sales before, then say goodbye to all your money now. You can just browse #knifesale and discover awesome things for deals that are too good to pass up. I’ve been pretty good about not giving into my impulses lately. I see sweet deals all the time, but hold off on them because I know I don’t need yet another knife, tool, etc. This hobby doesn’t have to leave our wallets empty all the time. It just takes a little bit of control. I may write a series about my buying process/how to buy gear on a budget. That’s pretty much it. I just wanted to write this short post about the evil impulse buys. Thanks for looking!

Purple EDC Gear

If your favorite color is purple or you just like purple gear, then you'll know it's always been a struggle to find purple gear. There used to be maybe only 3 or so products that were in this color, but lately I've been able to find a lot more purple stuff. This makes me happy as this hobby was always centered around more masculine and boring colors, like black and silver. I'm not sure if companies are doing this just to attract more females to buy their products. Whatever the reason is, I'm very excited about it. As you can see in the picture above, I've been able to get a nice purple collection going. There's still tons of purple gear out there that I still need to pick up too. I think I'm going to start doing purple collection updates as I find more purple gear. Stay tuned for those in the coming months! If you love purple as well, hopefully you'll be able to find more purple gear through these posts. Thanks for looking!

Spotlight Shifter 1.0 Thoughts

Specifications

Max lumens: 80

Max run time: 3 hours

Modes: 3, high/low/strobe

Battery: 1 AAA

Likes

• Very interesting concept. It’s a focusing flashlight, which means it can adjust from a spot beam to a flood beam by twisting the head of the light.
• Good build quality
• Pretty good form factor. It’s not the smallest AAA light, but it’s not that big either.
• Comes in different colors
• Clip doesn’t seem that strong, but I haven’t had any problems with it. It does carry pretty well.
• Knurling is nice and grippy
• Clicky button works as it should. You can either hold it down momentarily if you need a quick light or click to leave it on. It doesn’t take that much effort to click, so there could be problems with it getting turned on accidentally in your pocket. I haven’t encountered that problem since I don’t carry it in my pocket, but it is worth mentioning.
• Threads are smooth
• Beam is a good tint. It's your normal flashlight tint, not the crappy purplish tint that some cheap lights have.
• 80 lumens is a good amount of light for everyday usage
• Good selection of modes. I don’t ever use the strobe, but I guess it’d be nice to have if you needed it.
• Has an oring so it is water resistant
• Easy to use one-handed
• Decent price. It retails for around $40 on Spotlight’s website. I don’t know if I would pay that much considering there’s several things about the light I don’t like.

Dislikes

• Low mode is not that low. It’s not noticeably different from the high in my opinion. I think the low should be less than 5 lumens.
• Battery life isn’t that great. Like I mentioned above, there is no true low mode, so you’re pretty much running this light on high at all times. That drains the battery very quickly. I don’t think I’ve gotten anywhere near the 3 hours of runtime it’s supposed to have.
• Gets very hot in a short amount of time. The light just can’t keep up and gets hot/starts buzzing.
• Turns off automatically after a long duration of time. I'm guessing that's to help make sure the light doesn't overheat and burn itself out. I've tried plenty of other lights and never had them turn off automatically though.
• There’s a weird buzzing on the low mode. This is another reason I never use the low mode.

All in all, this is not the best light on the market. It’s an interesting concept, but mostly a gimmick in my mind. I don’t think the majority of people would need the option to have both a flood and a spot beam. If you do, check this out, but honestly I don’t think it’s worth it. I’ve been doing more research on focusing flashlights, and there are plenty of other ones out there. This one has quite a few issues that makes using it an unpleasant experience. Thanks for looking!

Awesome Trade with Girl on the Edge!

I recently did with a trade with a fellow YouTuber, Girl on the Edge. I originally was supposed to trade her two flashlights for a Spyderco Dragonfly. When I opened the box, I discovered that she threw in some extras. She also included a Thunderbird Butane Insert and Cold Steel Mini AK-47. It was definitely super generous of her!Huge thank you to her! I cannot wait to carry both blades. Getting the Zippo insert will finally be the motivation for me to get a Zippo. I've found the one I want to get, now I just need to order it. I hope she enjoys the lights, because I will certainly enjoy these blades. This community is too dang awesome! Stay tuned for videos of everything! Thanks for looking! Go check out Girl on the Edge's channel. She's another teen girl that's into this EDC stuff.

Click here to go to her channel!

Knife Collection Update 9-8-15

These are all the knives and multi-tools currently in my collection. It's a pretty small group, which I'm happy with. I carry and really enjoy most of these. There's only 2 or 3 more I'd like to add to it.

Starting in the top left corner is my two fixed blades. I've got a Ka-bar TDI and an Esee Izula. I'm actually still trying to sell the TDI, so that won't be in the collection much longer. I love the Izula. It's the best EDC fixed blade for less than $50.

Continuing on, in the top right corner from left to right is a 5.11 knife, Zero Tolerance 0566, and a Spyderco Endura. The 5.11 was one of the first real knives I got. The ZT 0566 isn't really carried much anymore, but I still like to have it as part of the collection. I love the Endura so far. It's the newest knife to the collection, but I can tell it'll be one of my favorites.

The very bottom row consists of the Spyderco Ladybug, Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite, Victorinox Classic, Leatherman Squirt P4, Wenger EvoGrip 11, and a Victorinox Alox Bantam. Those are all my small options, and I enjoy carrying them all. The Ladybug and the Classic get carried the most. I'm hoping I can start carrying the Wenger more, because it's a really neat tool.

That's my entire collection at the moment. I'm really happy with where it's at. I genuinely enjoy the majority of these blades, and they all actually get used. I'd say the 0566 is the only safequeen, so maybe I'll start carrying that more. Anyways, that's about it. Thanks for looking!

New Gear August 2015

I wanted to get this post up on the last day of August, but oh well, guess it's better late than never. August was a good month as far as new gear goes. I wanted to make some upgrades to my EDC and was able to pick up some cool stuff. I'm happy with the majority of the purchases I made. The photo above is missing one thing, which was the Cantu Bruner Designs Bullet pen. I didn't like it that much, so I sold it and forgot to take a group photo of everything new before I shipped it off. It just wasn't really the pen for me. It was cool and all, but it wasn't comfortable to write with whatsoever.

I got a really sweet Wenger EvoGrip 11 from a good friend of mine. Thanks a ton to her! I've never owned a Wenger before, so it's interesting to compare the tools to Victorinox's. It's a real shame that Wengers aren't being produced anymore, because it's a great company. I know Victorinox turned some of the Wenger models into Victorinoxs, so maybe I'll have to try some of those out.

Everything else in the photo was picked up from Amazon. I got the Pelican 1010 case to use for an EDC kit, but it's not going to work out well for that. It's great quality and all, just not what I was expecting. The Fenix E05 flashlight has really impressed me. I'm not a flashlight person at all, but I do see the use in having a nice one now. It's been working out quite nicely so far. The pen I picked up is a Parker Jotter. Everyone always talks about these, and I figured it was time I tried one out. I wasn't a fan of it initially, but after using it, I've come to like it a lot. It writes nicely, and I love the color of it. I picked up a pack of Moleskine Volant Extra Small notebooks to go along with the Jotter. They weren't exactly what I was expecting, but I think they'll work out well in the end. They're purple, so that's always a plus. Lastly, the most surprising purchase was the Spyderco Endura. I tried one a while ago and really enjoyed it. I wanted to get one of the FFG ones in purple FRN and finally did. It's a fantastic knife for sure. I wanted a big knife that would work well in my carry. I think this will fit my needs perfectly. It's definitely bigger than most things I carry, but it's so slim and lightweight that it's not even noticeable. That was probably my favorite purchase of the month. 

I don't think I'll go this crazy in any of the next few months. With these additions, my carry is pretty close to perfect. I may buy one more knife in September, but that should be it for now. I'll make the next update at the end of this month if I do get something new. Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for videos on some of this stuff!

September 2015 Updates

Dang, it's been a little while since my last post. It's finally that time of year where I go back to school. I've been busy with that along with some other things. Now that everything is settling down, I'm going to get back into the swing of things.

I've got a ton of videos I still need to film, so stay tuned for those over the next few weeks. One of the videos will be about my school EDC. I don't carry a lot at school, but it still should make for an interesting video. Other videos will be about my EDC rotation and some knife talk/rambling videos.

I'm hoping to post at least once a week on here and YouTube. That may not be possible every week, but that's what I'll shoot for initially. I've also found that I have a pretty big problem wasting my time on the internet. Most of the stuff I look at is the same repetitive crap. Obviously I'll still need the internet for some stuff, but my goal is to seriously limit how much time I spend on it. I'm going to try to hold my self to 1 hour a day. Considering I probably spend 5+ hours currently, that would be quite a big reduction.

Anyways, enough about my life. I've got a couple more pieces of gear I'd like to sell. I may buy one more knife, but not sure if that will end up happening. My carry has become pretty consistent. I like my setup and don't see it changing anytime soon. If you follow me on Instagram, you can see what I've been carrying the past month or two. An EDC update is sorta overdue, so I'll get around to that eventually.

That's enough rambling for now. Basically, videos and blog posts will be slowing down. Sorta like what they've been like the past few weeks. I've found my perfect EDC at the moment and don't think I'll be buying much else. I have a lot of cool stuff that I need to post about, so stay tuned! Thanks for looking!

Cantu Bruner Designs Bullet Pen Thoughts

I have mixed feelings on this pen. It's cool and everything, I just don't like how it feels in my hand compared to my other pens. If it looks interesting to you then I'd say check it out. However, it won't be getting my personal recommendation.

Likes

• Great quality and build
• Looks really nice and classy
• Lots of color options. You can choose the color of the pen and the clip. He has cerakoated pens too, so you can get tons of different colors.
• Clips carries well. It doesn’t seem that sturdy, but I’ve had no problems with it.
• Twisty is very smooth. It doesn’t take much effort to twist at all.
• Writes extremely well. It uses a Cross style refill, so it writes like a normal pen would.
• Good price. I picked it up for $25 when it was on sale. I think it was a good deal, since it was handmade here in America.

Dislikes

• Not too comfortable to write with. Not sure if it’s just the way I hold it, but the center ring digs into my hand a lot.
• Center ring rattles
• Clip doesn’t seem that sturdy, so not sure how it will stand up over time
• It almost twists too easily. If I carried this in the pocket, I’d be afraid that I’d actually twist the pen out on accident.

It’s an interesting pen, but not my favorite. I’ve enjoyed trying it out. It’s just not the pen for me. If it looks cool to you, then definitely check it out. It’s super high quality, so you know it will last a while. While it’s not something I personally recommend, it’s still a good pen that would work well as an EDC pen. Thanks for looking!

EDC Dump 8-18-15

So this has been my EDC for the past week or so. I got some new stuff that I've been trying out and loving a lot. The biggest thing that you can see is the Spyderco Endura. This is an awesome blade! It's pretty dang big, but it's so slim and lightweight that I don't even notice it that much. That's been riding in the waistband. In my Altoids tin, I've been carrying the Spyderco Ladybug, Gerber Shard, Fisher Bullet Space pen, Victorinox Classic, and a Fenix E05. The Ladybug, Shard, Bullet Space pen, and Classic are still going strong. I like to carry the Classic, because of the scissors. The Fenix E05 is new, and I like it a lot. I can definitely see the value in carrying a good flashlight. It's super compact plus it's purple, so it can't really get any better than that. As you can see, my EDC is pretty much entirely purple. I'm considering putting the Gerber Shard in my EDC bag just because it doesn't match. Not sure if that will happen though. I'm working on getting that EDC bag together, and it should be ready to try out soon. I'll be sure to put up a video of what I've got in it. I'm going to try and start doing these EDC dump posts a lot more often as well, so stay tuned. Thanks for looking!

EDC Pen Collection

This is my current pen collection at the moment. These are all the nicer options that I have to write with. I'm pretty happy with it for the most part. I don't have many more I want to add, and I pretty much like all of them. There is one I'll be selling soon, but besides that, this will be the core of my collection going forward. I think it's extremely important to have higher quality things to write with. I write a lot, mostly for school, so my pens get a lot of use. From left to right it goes, Fisher Cap-o-matic, two Zebra 301s(a F-301 and a G-301), Parker Jotter, Cantu Bruner Designs Bullet pen, Hinder Investigator, and a Fisher Bullet Space pen. I'll do another update if it changes drastically. Thanks for looking!

My Favorite Knife Companies

I’ve got two favorite knife companies at the moment. They are Spyderco and Cold Steel. Everyone seems to love Spyderco for obvious reasons, but not a lot of people like Cold Steel. Both are great companies that make awesome blades.

I like Spyderco for several different reasons. They probably have some of the best quality and fit and finish than any other company. I haven’t had many quality issues with any of the Spydercos I’ve tried. They also have a lot of affordable blades. You can get blades from the budget line or find other suitable ones for less than $60. Their blades are getting more expensive now, but you can still find some that aren’t going to break the bank. Another thing I love is all of the small options they offer. Pretty much every company seems to neglect the small knife market. There’s a huge need for small blades in my opinion, and luckily Spyderco has a lot to offer. From the Ladybug to the Dragonfly, you have lots to choose from. They also put out a fair amount of colors opposed to only making black knives. Most of their knives that come in G10 are black, but the FRN line comes in tons of different colors. Speaking of FRN, that’s something else Spyderco does really well. It’s a great handle material that provides a lot of grip and feels good in the hand. And lastly, the beloved Spyder hole is by far my favorite opening mechanism. It looks cool in my opinion and is super easy to use. Spyderco just has a lot of options that work out quite well in my EDC.

Cold Steel is an interesting company. They’ve got great quality blades as well and some cool designs. I haven’t tried too many of their blades yet, but I am definitely going to get more in the future. The Tri-Ad lock is neat, because of its added strength. One of my favorite blades is the Mini Tuff Lite. It’s a small knife that looks neat and functions well in my carry. Cold Steel lacks a lot of the color options and small knives that Spyderco has, but they’ve got other things that Spyderco doesn’t. I’m really looking forward to trying out some more Cold Steels soon.

Those are pretty much the only companies that I would consider my favorites. There are other companies I enjoy, but I wouldn’t want to go out and buy a bunch of their blades like I would for Spyderco or Cold Steel. Esee is a great company too. I’m not a fan of companies like Kershaw, Boker, Gerber, SOG, etc. Anyways, that’s pretty much it. Thanks for looking!

Fisher Bullet Space Pen Thoughts

The Fisher Bullet Space Pen is one of the few compact pens that I've tried that is actually good. This is an awesome pen for everyday carry. I use mine almost everyday, and it has never let me down.

Likes

• Very compact. It’s a full-sized pen in a very small package.
• Great quality. I haven’t had any problems with mine.
• Comfortable to write with. The machining on the grip area is nice and grippy.
• Love Fisher refills. They write well and can write in all sorts of crazy conditions.
• Comes in tons of different colors. The purple looks sweet!
• Clip carries well in the pocket
• Packaging is extremely nice. It comes in a high quality plastic case.

Dislikes

• At first the price seemed a little high to me at $15-$20. It’s definitely worth it though. I’ve gotten so much use out of mine.
• Used to have problems with the clip falling off. I seemed to have fixed that by pushing the clip further onto to the wider part of the pen.

This is my favorite pen I’ve tried. It’s super compact, purple, and writes well. I always thought it was overpriced for what it was, but it’s worth it once you get one in your hands. Go get one if it interests you! Sorry this was kind of short, but I don't have a whole lot to say. It's a pen that does exactly what you need it to do. Thanks for looking!

Gear Sale Preview

I'll be uploading a video soon about some gear I'd like to sell. Before I posted that, I figured I'd post a preview on here. It's a decent amount of stuff, and some of it is pretty cool.

I've been slowly making upgrades to my EDC and have a couple more things I need to get. Hopefully I can sell all this stuff to pay for those upgrades. I'll get that sale video up today. Keep yours eyes out for it if anything you see interests you. Everything will be $40 or less with a majority of it being $15 to $20. Thanks for looking!

Leatherman Squirt P4 Thoughts

Tools

Pliers

Knife

Phillips screwdriver

Small flathead

File

Awl

Bottle opener/screwdriver

Likes

• Great quality. Fit and finish is also good.
• Super compact. It could easily fit on a keychain.
• Good toolset for its small size. It has all the tools you would need.
• All tools work as they should and are very capable. The file, awl, screwdrivers, and bottle opener are great.
• Comfortable in the hand during use
• Tools are easy to get out with the nail nicks
• Spring assisted pliers are great
• All tools are accessible from the outside minus the pliers obviously
• Love the blue finish on the handles
• Tools have a nice half-stop
• Reasonably affordable. These can be found for under $20 if you look around. You can always find them on eBay.

Dislikes

• Knife is chisel ground. I don’t get why Leatherman does this. It makes for a crappy blade when combined with 420HC as the steel.
• Discontinued. That’s a real shame, because this is a fantastic tool. I think it’s superior to the PS4. Luckily you can still find these on eBay.

I prefer this tool over the newer PS4. It’s a great tool that packs a lot of functionality in a small package. It works exactly as it should and has become my favorite small multi-tool. Definitely pick one up if you can find one. I highly recommend it! It’s a much better tool than the PS4 in my opinion. Thanks for looking!

Leatherman Micra Thoughts

Tools

Scissors

Knife

File/nail cleaner

Tweezers

Philips screwdriver

Flathead screwdriver

Bottle opener/small flathead

Likes

• Great quality. Fit and finish is good as well.
• Inexpensive. These can be picked up for like $20.
• Small tool. It could fit nicely on a keychain.
• Good toolset for how small it is
• All the tools function as they should, but some of them aren’t the best. I’ll talk more about this in the dislikes section.
• Nail nicks are easy to use
• Comfortable in the hand during use
• Scissors perform decently

Dislikes

• Tools only accessible from the inside. It’s much more useful if you don’t have to open the whole tool to get to the majority of the tools.
• Scissors get stuck pretty often
• Knife is chisel ground. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, this just makes for an awful blade. Leatherman could easily change this.
• Tweezers suck. They’re not that precise at all.
• Tools are pretty stiff to get in and out

This is an alright option if you use scissors more than pliers. I prefer scissor-based multi-tools, since I use scissors more often. I never really use any of the tools besides the scissors. The scissors don’t perform the best, but they are better than Leatherman’s smaller scissors. They still don’t beat the Victorinox scissors though. It’s an interesting option and if it interests you, then check it out. I say skip it and just get a Victorinox. Thanks for looking!

Spotlight Spark Thoughts

Specifications

Lumens: 18

Run time: 2 hours

Battery: button cells

Likes

• Great quality
• Inexpensive, only $15 for a good, little light
• Comes in different colors
• Very bright for how small it is. 18 lumens is pretty impressive.
• Threads are smooth
• Good size to put on a keychain or zipper pull. It’s not the smallest light out there, but it is still pretty tiny
• Machining on the body provides a lot of grip
• Very lightweight
• Has an o-ring so it is somewhat water resistant
• 2 hour run time is pretty decent considering it runs on button cell batteries

Dislikes

• Beam has a purplish tint to it. Most lights similar to the Spark do though.
• Carabiner that came with it broke so it’s not durable at all
• Batteries are not available like AA or AAA. Most lights like this one use the button cell batteries, which are never easy to find in stores. Replacements are available from Spotlight’s website.
• Can only be operated two-handed. Again, most lights like the Spark cannot be use one-handed. I figured since this one was slightly bigger it’d be easier to do one-handed, but it wasn’t.

It’s a good light, but not a perfect one. It would work well on a keychain as long as you get a different carabiner. I do enjoy using it, and 18 lumens is a good amount of light for something this small. I will say that compared to Spotlight’s Speck, I would much rather have the Speck on my keychain. The Spark is considerably bigger than the Speck and you only get 3 more lumens out of it compared to the Speck’s 15. I still do carry the Spark and think it’s a nice addition if you like small lights like me. Is it the best? No, not at all. It works as it should though, so I do recommend it. If you want more than 15 lumens on your keychain and don’t mind the added bulk, then this is the light for you. Thanks for looking! 

Uncle Bill's Sliver Gripper Tweezers Thoughts

If you’re looking for a good pair of compact tweezers, then these are your best bet. They’re small enough to put on a keychain and are very precise. These are great quality tweezers that are made here in America. They fit quite securely in the little sheath, so no worries about them falling out. They’re comfortable in the hand, and even though they’re small, there’s still plenty to grip. They retail for around $5-$10, which is a great price for what you’re getting.

I can’t think of a single thing I dislike about them. I highly recommend you go pick up a pair. They’d be great to keep in a first aid kit to remove splinters or other small things. You wouldn't think you'd need nice tweezers, but once you try these, there's no going back. Sorry this was kind of short, but I don't have a whole lot more to say. Thanks for looking!

Victorinox Alox Bantam Thoughts

Tools

Knife 

Bottle opener/screwdriver/wire stripper

Likes

• Great quality. Victorinox’s fit and finish is excellent.
• Super slim and lightweight
• Very comfortable ergonomics
• Blade is super sharp as all Victorinoxs are
• Nice combination of tools. The knife paired with the bottle opener tool gives you the basics in a small package.
• Love the Alox scales. They look awesome and feel great in the hand.
• Nail nicks are easy to use
• Good half-stop on the bottle opener
• Perfect size for EDC. It’s not too big and not too small.
• No one is ever threatened by a Victorinox

Dislikes

• Discontinued. It's a real shame, because this was a great offering from Victorinox. They can still be found on sites like eBay.

This is a great tool if you want something very minimal. It’s so easy to carry and is an awesome option for an EDC tool. I love mine and highly recommend you pick one up. No one is ever afraid of a Victorinox, so this could be a great people-friendly knife. Go check it out. Thanks for looking!