New Gear July 2015

I'd like to start doing these monthly wrap-ups where I talk about all the new gear I've received that month. I won't film unboxings like I used to, so this seems like a good way to show everything I've gotten. Here is everything I've gotten in the month of July.

As you can see in the photo, I got 4 things: a knife, pen, pry tool, and storage box. 

The Pelican 1120 is the storage box I got. I never really got the hype behind these Pelican cases before, but I am most definitely happy I picked this one up. I've shown it in a few videos and on here, so check those out if you want to see how I'm using it. It holds all my gear and keeps it all safe and protected. These Pelican cases are super strong and durable, so you know they'll last forever.

The knife I got is the Zero Tolerance 0566. One of my good friends got me this as a birthday present, and I couldn't be happier. It's had some work done to it, like the edge has been touched up and a green G10 Allen Putman scale was put on it. I like it a lot, which really surprised me. I'm normally not a fan of any of these big blades, but this one kinda makes me want to get a couple more bigger ones. I deassisted it, and the action is great now. Love this blade for sure! Expect a review on it before the end of the summer.

The pen is a Hinder Investigator Pen and is also from my friend as a gift. I've wanted one of these for so long after I was given a chance to try one. It's a great pen for sure. I still need to go pick up some o-rings to put in the grooves. It writes well and is pretty compact for what it is. I'm also hoping to get a review of it up by the end of the summer.

Lastly, I picked up an EOS Ti Shark pry tool. It was on sale during Shark Week, and I'm not one to pass up a good deal. Shipping took forever, but I'm happy I've finally got it in my hands. It feels pretty solid and looks extremely cool too. I don't know if I'll end up carrying it much, but we'll see as time goes on.

That's everything I've picked up this month. I was supposed to get one more thing in, but shipping got messed so that will probably be in the August post.  These posts will be a good way to remind myself how long I've had certain pieces of gear too. Thanks for looking!

Esee Izula Thoughts

The Esee Izula is one of the more well-known EDC fixed blade options and that's for good reason. It's a simple blade that just does what you need it to do.

Specifications

Overall length: 6.25”

Blade length: 2.875”

Handle length: 3.375”

Weight: 1.9 oz.

Blade steel: 1095

Likes

• Great quality. I’ve had no issues with mine.
• Esee has an awesome warranty. If you have a problem they replace your knife, no questions asked.
• Affordable. $50 is a good price for what you’re getting. This blade will easily last you a life time.
• Design wise, it looks cool and functions well
• Comes in tons of different colors. I love the purple!
• Coating holds up well. It has a tendency to chip, but that hasn’t happened to mine yet.
• Sheath has great retention and hold the knife well. It’s an injection molded sheath and is surprisingly good. There are tons of ways to carry it too, which is very handy. You can mount it on your belt, wear it as a neck knife, etc. The possibilities are pretty endless.
• 1095 is super sharp and easy to sharpen.
• Ergonomics are awesome. It fits my hand well. I don’t have any paracord or scales on it, but it is still very comfortable. There are no hotspots at all.
• Jimping on the spine is nice and grippy
• Pretty lightweight for what it is
• Perfect size for EDC. It’s not too big or small.
• Super durable and solid. I know this blade could handle anything I need it to cut. 

Dislikes

• None

This is the perfect EDC fixed blade in my opinion. It certainly is the best one for the price. It’s a great quality blade that is meant to last forever. I highly recommend you pick one of these up! It’s just that awesome! Thanks for looking!

Knife Talk: Handle Materials

I’d like to make this knife talk post to talk about my favorite and least favorite handle materials.

My absolute favorite material is FRN. That comes as a big surprise to me, because I used to really hate FRN. It has grown on me quite a bit, mostly because I love my Ladybug so much. I think Spyderco does the best FRN. I like FRN, because it can come in tons of different colors, it’s grippy, lightweight, and holds up pretty well to everyday use. FRN or anything similar is done poorly by some companies though, which is why I always try to stick to Spyderco's FRN.

G10 is my second favorite material. Most of the time, companies will only make knives with black G10 which really sucks. G10 does come in different colors and is pretty grippy too. Sometimes I almost think it’s too tactical looking and a little boring. It does exactly what it should, and you always know what you’re getting with it for the most part.

Those are really the only materials that I can actually tolerate. I hate any kind of metal handles whether it’s stainless steel or titanium. Seriously, I don’t get the whole titanium craze but whatever. These metal handles have bad hotspots, are very slick, can get cold, are heavy, and look pretty boring in my opinion. I’m also not a fan of any kind of wood or carbon fiber. Sometimes they look cool, but other times I just think they look awful. Anyways, that pretty much wraps it up. What are your favorite handle materials? Thanks for looking!

Benchmade Blue Lube Thoughts

put a little on this blade so you all could get a better idea of what it looks like out of the bottle

This Benchmade Blue Lube is the one and only knife lubricant I've ever tried. I don't think I'll try a different one for the sole reason that this one has been absolutely awesome. If it ain't broke don't fix it, right? I don't know much about all the lubricants out there. I didn't even know that they were that necessary until I was a year or two into collecting knives. Everyone needs some kind of lubricant for their knives. It helps keep them in tip top order and improves the blade's action as well. 

I've used this Blue Lube on several of my blades, and the results have been great. It smooths them right up, way smoother than they came from the factory. I can't really describe the difference it's made to my blades, but it has definitely made them much better. I was really impressed by how it worked on my Ladybug and ZT 0566. Both are so so smooth right now.

This stuff is blue and not that thick. The tip of the bottle isn't that precise like some lubricants I've seen, but it is still easy to get the lube in the pivot area of your blade. The cap stays on pretty well, and it takes a little bit of effort to get the lube out, so you know it won't come out unless you want it to. It smells perfectly fine too, which is always a plus. I don't know all the technical ways to explain this stuff, but take my word, this stuff is awesome.

I don't know whether it's the best on the market or not. However, it has blown me away, and I will continue to use it. I've had this 1.25 fluid ounce bottle for a year or two now, and I still have pretty much the whole bottle left. You don't even have to use that much or use it that frequently, so it can last you quite a while. It is a little pricey at $8 for the bottle, but I highly recommend it. It's well worth that. Never thought I'd write a post on a knife lube, but this stuff is too great to not talk about. Thanks for looking!

Knife Talk: Opening Mechanisms

Today I’d like to talk about my favorite knife opening mechanisms. When I need to use my knife, I like to have the option to open it quickly without having it fiddle around. I like to keep it simple, so I can easily open blades one handed. Two handed opening is alright but not preferred.

My favorite would have to be thumb holes. Obviously, Spyderco does the best ones. Thumb holes are easy to use and very straight forward. They do add a considerable amount of width to a blade, but are totally worth it in my mind.

My next favorite would have to be thumb nicks. I don’t like how you can only open them two handed, but they’re just so classic and traditional. I wasn’t originally a fan of them until I got more into Victorinoxs. They work as they should and are relatively easy to use.

Thumb dics/plates are also right near the top of my favorites. They look really cool and are better than thumb studs in my opinion. I really want to try an Emerson just to test out the thumb disc. I tried the one on the Kershaw-Emerson CQC-2K and liked it a lot.

Flippers are super fun to use. Sometimes they aren’t the greatest on lower quality blades, but on the few higher end flippers I’ve tried, they’ve been great. The Kershaw Groove was one of the best flippers I’ve ever tried.

And lastly, the ones I absolutely hate and try to avoid at all costs are thumb studs, the wave, and anything spring assisted. Thumb studs take too much concentration, because I’ve found that you have to hit it just right to get the blade to open properly. I don’t carry knives in my pockets, so the wave feature just isn’t an option for me, and I don’t think it’s that necessary. Spring assisted knives are just plain obnoxious. It’s a completely worthless feature. I can open a knife with a thumb hole just as fast as a spring assisted one. They bring too much attention to yourself and freak most people out. Anyways, those are my favorite and least favorite opening mechanisms. What are some of yours? Thanks for looking!

Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite Thoughts

The Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite is one of Cold Steel's smaller knife offerings. I didn't expect it to be that great, but boy was I wrong. This is an awesome knife for everyday carry and one that I love a lot. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a small knife.

Specifications

Overall length: 5”

Blade length: 2” but cutting edge is only 1.3”

Handle length: 3”

Weight: 1.7 oz.

Blade steel: AUS-8A

Likes

• Small. It would be a great secondary or people-friendly knife.
• Great quality. I've experienced no problems with mine.
• Very affordable. $25 is a perfect price for this blade.
• Comes in different colors. The green is very bright and vibrant. If green isn't your thing, you can get it in orange, pink, or black. I do believe they recently discontinued the colored versions, which is a real shame.
• Ergonomics are fantastic. The choil is a great design choice. I can fit a full 4 finger grip.
• Jimping is pretty good. It’s a little too far apart, but it still provides added grip.
• Design looks cool and functions extremely well for EDC. I love the wharncliffe blade.
• Handles are just an FRN type material, but they feel very nice. They have some texturing to them.
• Clip carries well. I wasn’t a fan of the tip-down only at first, but I’ve gotten used to it now.
• Thumb hole is easy to use
• Tri-ad lock is great. It’s super strong and durable.

Dislikes

• Tip-down only is a minor annoyance. It’s something that you just have to get used to.
• Tri-ad lock was very difficult to disengage when I first got it. It has broken in now though.

This is a great knife for the money. I didn’t expect much from it, but it has easily become one of my favorites. I definitely recommend you go pick one up. Thanks for looking!

Updated Gear Storage

I recently picked up a Pelican 1120 case and decided to use it to store the majority of my EDC gear. I like it a lot so far. It's a very solid case, and I definitely think I'll be purchasing some more Pelican products in the future. I got the version that had the Pick and Pluck foam, but decided to take it out and just store all my gear loose. I saw TheRoxyStarr make a video with a similar setup a while ago and thought I'd give it a try. When I go to college, I'll probably fill it with all the gear I'd like to bring with me. I'll keep you all updated on how I like it. Here are some pictures of it. Thanks for looking!

Knife Talk: How Much Is Too Much?

note: These are all just my opinions. You don’t have to agree with me at all. Everyone has the right to think for themselves and spend their money how they choose. I just think this is an interesting topic to talk about.

How much is too much to spend on a knife? I constantly think about this question, and my answer always remains at $100. Once you get over that $100 price point, the blades aren’t that much better in my opinion. I’ve tried a lot of blades, several over $100, but ultimately they all do the same exact thing as a $10 Victorinox Classic. They all can cut stuff. Maybe some look cooler than others when doing this; however, I think we all can agree that a $300 knife can cut something just like a $5 utility blade. Sure the $300 blade has nicer blade steel, materials, etc., but performance wise, I could cut open up a box just fine with either. I think people get too sucked into being fanboys of certain brands. They need to own that new Sebenza or Zero Tolerance to be like everyone else.

Personally, I buy knives solely for utility purposes. I need a knife most days, so I want something that will perform well and not give me any issues. I don’t care about how they look or who designed it. I’m not a collector either. I just need something that works. I use my knives and don’t care whether they get scratched up or not. I don’t do anything too extreme, just cutting open packages, trimming strings, and light stuff like that. If I owned a $200+ knife, I know for a fact that I’d baby it and never use it to its full potential. I’m a teenager, which means I don’t have a lot of money to spend on stuff. When it comes to my money, there are a lot better things that I could spend $200 on than buying one single knife.

Realistically, everyone buys their knives for different purposes. Some people truly use them; others just buy them because they look cool/are collectable. Once you spend more and more on a knife, it gets better quality wise to some degree. The materials are nicer, but if there’s some kind of quality issue, that just negates the whole purpose of buying that blade in my opinion. There shouldn’t be any quality issues on a blade that is that expensive. When I buy a $60 knife, I expect the possibility that it won’t be perfect. That’s just what you would expect for the price. Once you step up the price though, the blades should be pretty near to perfect. If not, why would you spend that much on a blade that has similar quality issues to a $60 blade? It’s the same principle when you buy anything in life. The more you spend, the better it should be. I bet those higher end blades are great and all, but when they all do the same thing, it doesn’t really matter. There’s really no substantial difference to someone like me who’s an average user. I will never spend more than $100 on a blade and that’s okay. I’ll keep spending my money the way I want, and you all can do the same. The higher end market is getting more popular every day, so obviously I just have an unpopular opinion. I see tons of Zero Tolerances/Sebenzas/Striders on Instagram every single day. It gets so tiresome to me, but hey if you enjoy it, that’s what matters. Thanks for looking! I’m not trying to offend anyone at all. These are my own thoughts.

Leatherman vs. Victorinox

Leatherman and Victorinox make great multi-tools. I like both companies for different reasons, but if I had to pick a favorite, it’d have to be Victorinox.

Victorinox just has a lot more options that fit my tastes. Their 58mm models are the perfect size for my EDC, plus they come in a ton of variations. I also think the fit and finish on Victorinox tools is more impressive. I’ve never had a problem with one of my Victorinoxs, but I have had a few quality issues with Leathermans. Victorinox tools have hands down the best scissors on any multi-tool I’ve tried. They cut through everything with such ease. The Leatherman scissors are terrible except for the ones on the Micra since those are dedicated scissors. The blade steel that Leatherman uses is usually 420HC or 440 if I remember correctly. I hate that steel, and Leatherman does a chisel grind on all their blades, which just makes for a horrible blade in my opinion. I have no clue what steel Victorinox uses, but it performs phenomenally. While I don’t use tweezers all that often, I do prefer the ones on the Victorinox tools. Both companies make small and keychain sized tools, yet Victorinox has a lot more options in those categories. The 58mm and the Cadet sized tools come to mind. Leatherman mostly produces their full-sized multi-tools, which are great, but they just aren’t what I need personally. If I do need a plier-based multi-tool, obviously Leatherman is the way to go. The Squirt P4 is the best keychain multi-tool with pliers that I’ve tried.

Leatherman and Victorinox are widely recognized companies that make great quality tools, but if I could only carry one, it’d have to be a Victorinox. Which company do you prefer? Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Ladybug Thoughts

The Spyderco Ladybug is a great, keychain-sized blade. I've had mine for years now, and it's my most carried blade in my collection. If you're not going to read any further, definitely go pick one up.

Specifications

Overall length- 4.375”

Blade length- 1.938”

Handle length- 2.438”

Weight- 0.6 oz

Blade steel- VG-10

Likes

• Great quality. Spyderco's fit and finish always impresses me.
• Perfect size. It’s not so small that it’s unusable, but it’s not too big to make it a pain to carry. It can go on a keychain, loose in the pocket, etc. You can easily forget that you even have it on you.
• Super sharp and easy to sharpen. I like Spyderco's VG-10 a lot.
• FRN feels good in the hand and is very grippy. There’s also jimping all around the knife which is nice.
• Ergonomics are fantastic for a knife this small. I can easily and comfortably fit a three finger grip.
• Spyder hole is easy to use. It’s by far my favorite opening mechanism.
• Extremely lightweight
• Non-threatening. No one is ever scared when I pull this blade out. Most people actually find it cute.
• Comes in tons of different colors and steel variations. There’s also the Manbug, which is a beefier version of the Ladybug.

Dislikes

• I will admit the price sounds a little steep for what you’re getting, but once you get one in your hands, it’s totally worth it.
• Mine has a noticeable amount of play, up and down/side to side. That seems to be a common theme among Spyderco's FRN lockback blades. It’s not unsafe or anything, but it is something that I’ve noticed so I thought I’d mention it.

All in all, I’d highly recommend you pick up this blade. Design wise, it’s the perfect knife in my eyes. I carry mine with me every day, and it’s never once failed me. This thing can handle things from cutting opening packages to breaking down cardboard boxes. I wouldn’t use it for anything too extreme, but it’s great for your light everyday tasks. Definitely pick one up. I think everyone needs one of these in their collections. Thanks for looking!

My Flashlight Preferences

I don’t carry a flashlight that often, because I have yet to find the perfect one for me. These are some of my preferences to make the ideal flashlight for me.

• AAA battery. Keeps the flashlight small and they’re available in most stores
• Clicky button.  They are easier to use than twisty lights in my opinion.
• Purple. Obviously I’d want a light in my favorite color.
• At or less than 3” long
• Flood beam in a white or neutral tint. No yellow or purple tint.
• Some sort of metal build, either aluminum or titanium. 

That’s all that I can think of right now. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a single light on the market with all these points. If there was, that’d definitely be my perfect light. Thanks for looking!

Is A Flashlight Necessary To Carry?

I don’t think it is necessary to carry a flashlight on your person every single day. I’ve tried incorporating one into my EDC in the past, but it just doesn’t get enough usage to give me a reason to carry one. The only time I ever need a flashlight is at night or when I’m in a dark room. You never really know where you’ll end up, so I guess I could see the importance of having one nearby. I can use the flash on my phone if I need a light, which is actually surprisingly bright. I always have my phone on me, so I can use it as a light unless the battery dies. I may try to incorporate a brighter light into my EDC bag since I won’t carry one on my person. My EDC is becoming more revolved around minimalism. I won’t carry a flashlight just for the one time that I may need it in a week. I guess those are all my thoughts. Do you all use a flashlight every day? Thanks for looking!

Knife Talk: Steels

I must admit, I don’t know a whole lot about knife steels. I know of the higher end steels and the lower end ones, but I don’t have a clue about what sets them apart. I don’t know anything about steel composition, hardness, etc. I guess I just never really needed to know anything about them. I know that they can cut stuff/get pretty sharp, and that’s what matters the most to me. For me, I don’t need a whole bunch of gimmicks. I just need a blade that works and cuts what I need it to cut. There are so many steels out there, and more and more are being introduced every week. I personally don’t have the time or any desire to learn all the knowledge behind what makes a steel good or bad. I probably should learn that type of stuff, but for the everyday user, it’s not that necessary to know. Those are all my thoughts on blade steels. I will say I like steels like VG-10 or AUS-8A, because I've found they are easy to sharpen and get very sharp while retaining their edges decently well. I would never pay more just to get a higher end steel like S30V or ZDP-189. Thanks for looking!

Where I Buy My Knives

I buy all of my knives online. I’ve found that I can get the best deals on the internet. There also aren’t any physical knife stores anywhere near me. These are some of the online sites I shop on. I’ve shopped on tons of different ones, but these will be some of my favorites.

Blade HQ has a huge selection of gear. They don’t have the lowest prices or free shipping unless you spend more than a certain amount of money. I go to their website first to do research and figure out what gear is out there on the market.

GP Knives is also another good site. Like Blade HQ, they don’t have the lowest prices, but they have a great variety of stuff.

Cutlery Shoppe is my go-to site. They have some of the lowest prices I’ve seen, but a limited selection compared to Blade HQ and GP Knives. I’m pretty sure you can get free shipping if you enter the code “nutnfancy”. Their mobile site absolutely sucks though.

Other sites I’ve shopped on are Knife Center, Knife Works, and eBay. Knife Center and Knife Works are okay, but they don’t have the lowest prices or free shipping. I also do a lot of shopping on Amazon, and I think I’ll be ordering some gear from there pretty soon here. Those are all the sites I’d like to mention. Thanks for looking! Here are some links to all the sites if you want to check them out.

Blade HQ

GP Knives

Cutlery Shoppe

Favorite Gear Related Websites/Forums/Blogs

I used to look at a lot of EDC related websites, forums, and blogs. Today I’d like to talk about a few of my favorite ones.

Everyday Commentary is a great blog/review site. The guy that runs it knows his stuff and posts some very informative reviews. This is my go-to site if I want to find a review of a knife or flashlight. He covers a wide variety of things from knives, multi-tools, flashlights, watches, etc.

EDC Forums is my favorite forum to look at. It focuses on all of the aspects of everyday carry which means there are some very interesting folks on there. I used to post on there, but now I just browse. Chances are you’ll find at least one thread on there that you’ll enjoy.

The New Artemis and Everyday Carry are more cool sites. They both cover some interesting EDC stuff with nicely written posts.

That’s all the sites I have for now. I’m always on the lookout for more, so I may do an update if I find anything cool. Thanks for looking! Go check all of them out. Here are links to all the sites.

Everyday Commentary

EDC Forums

The New Artemis

Everyday Carry

Favorite EDC Related Instagrams

I just recently got back on Instagram and thought it’d be fun to talk about a few of my favorite Instagram feeds. There’s a lot I enjoy looking at, so these will just be some of the main ones. Here they are in no particular order with some of their pictures.

@captainfacebeard

@tyrolee

@srirachafiend

@mostlyknives

@pinkpearl8130

@prometheus_9

I was going to do a short write-up on why I liked each one, but they’d all sound the same. Basically, all these cool people have some awesome gear and post sick photos. Definitely go give all of them a follow. Might as well plug my own Instagram as well, go check out @knifegirlally_5 if you want to see what I’m up to. Thanks for looking!

Favorite EDC Related YouTube Channels

So today I’d like to talk about some of my favorite YouTube channels. I’ve been watching knife and EDC videos for years now, so I’ve seen tons and tons of different channels. Unfortunately, most of the people I used to really enjoy watching no longer make videos. That seems to be the current trend with most YouTubers, which is a real shame. Let’s get into my favorites.

I like to watch a lot of teen or younger knife nuts, because I have a lot in common with them. One of my favorites is Joshua Porter. He hasn’t posted any videos in a few months, but his older videos are great. He has a lot of cool gear, and a lot of it matches which is awesome!

Another younger guy is Hydra572HQ. He’s in the same boat as Joshua as he hasn’t uploaded a video since January. He did lots of great, informative reviews and some other entertaining stuff.

Someone I’ll mention briefly is twiggs347. He made videos a couple years ago, but went to college and never posted anything again. I’m guessing he’s done with YouTube, but he did a lot of cool rambling and EDC videos.

TheRoxyStarr also stopped making videos because of college, but she was the only girl YouTuber I could actually watch. She had a lot of sweet, smaller blades and an interesting EDC.

And that’s actually about it. There’s not too many since no one is really active anymore. I’m probably forgetting a few, but that will be it for now. Thanks for looking! Here are links to their channels.
Joshua Porter
Hydra572HQ
twiggs347
TheRoxyStarr

EDC Bag Project: Intro

If you saw one of my latest videos, I’d like to put together an EDC bag. I’m not sure whether I’d actually use it or not, but it’d be interesting to give it a try. I feel like it would just be something that weighed me down instead of being useful. Since it’s the summer, I’ll give it a try now to see if I like it. 

The bag I’ll be using is a basic JanSport backpack. 

It’s a good bag that blends in opposed to some sort of tactical bag. I don’t know exactly what I’ll put it in yet, but some ideas are a multi-tool, flashlight, first aid kit, etc. If you think there are some essentials to put into one of these bags, feel free to let me know. I’ll do a video and blog post when I get the bag together. Thanks for looking!

My First Knife

I got my first knife a couple years ago. I was probably like 12 years old at the time. I had always wanted a knife ever since I had seen my Dad's Swiss Army knife. I really wanted a purple Swiss Army knife and had been searching on Amazon for one. He came home from work one day and told me to hold out my hand. I figured it would be some kind of joke, but I opened my hand to something cold and heavy. It turns out he was able to get a promotional knife from his company. It wasn't anything fancy by any means, but I absolutely loved it. I used it a ton and completely scratched up the blade when I attempted to sharpen it. It's just a Chinese Swiss Army knockoff, yet it started my whole love for knives. Shortly after getting it, I decided to go on YouTube and search for purple knives. I found a video about a purple Delica and then a cutlerylover EDC video. After seeing that EDC video, I was hooked. I got my first real knife, the Spyderco Ladybug, and began to think about what I wanted in my EDC. I thought it'd be cool to make my own knife videos, so I started that up a few years ago. Now I have a really good EDC system and am very happy to have discovered this hobby. Thanks for looking!

Perspective of my Reviews

This post will explain a little more about my perspective of knives and what I look for in a blade. Hopefully this will give you all a better understanding of my point of view when I give my thoughts on blades. My thinking can also be applied to things like flashlights or multi tools, but I'll mostly talk about knives in this post. 

I'm a teenager which means I don't have a lot of money. With that being said, I am primarily into budget gear (less than $60). That also means I don't buy knives to collect or buy ones that solely look pretty. I buy knives to use in my everyday life. When I buy a knife, it needs to be great quality and work well in my EDC. My EDC tasks consist of things like opening packages/letters, trimming stray strings off clothes, breaking down cardboard boxes, etc. None of those tasks are particularly hard use or extreme, therefore I don't need huge, overbuilt folders. I also don't need any sort of tactical blade, because I've found that they don't work well for me. I like simple designs, not anything overly flashy or fancy. Girl pockets suck, so I can't really carry anything that big. That has led me to smaller gear. The smaller gear (at or less than 3" closed) is my absolute favorite stuff to carry, because I can carry it easily, it's mostly inexpensive, and just looks cute. I also prefer to have colorful gear, because it's less threatening and looks cooler than black in my opinion. 

On this blog, I'd like to mostly write reviews on smaller gear since that's my biggest interest. I will cover other mid to large sized stuff, but I'm probably not the best person to talk about those since I wouldn't really carry them every day. All my review posts or videos will be my thoughts, so take them as you will. I always give my honest, straight forward opinions no matter what. I don't know everything about knives or other EDC gear, but I will be sharing my perspective from the everyday user who just needs gear that works. 

Everyday Tech: Part 3 (Miscellaneous)

This part of my everyday tech will cover the miscellaneous things I use.

I think it’s important to always have good headphones near you. They’re good for blocking out annoying people, and you never want to be that obnoxious person that plays their terrible music out loud. I found these Audio Technica M40xs, and I am very impressed. They’re right around $100 and have held up well for the year or so I’ve had them. I tend to be pretty rough with my headphones, and these haven’t broken yet. I may make a more in-depth post or video about them later, but they’re great headphones for sure.

I also love to play video games. Handheld gaming is by far my favorite way to game. I’ve been a huge Nintendo fan since I was a little kid. I have a Nintendo 3DS, and I absolutely love it. It’s super fun to play and is pretty small too. The 3D feature is kind of cool, but I never really use it. Also, gotta love that it comes in purple!

With all of these electronics, I have to have a way to charge them while I’m out and about. External batteries are a great way to do this. I picked up an Anker Astro E4 battery and like it so far. It’s one of the bigger ones you can get, so it can charge a lot of stuff before it dies. You really do need something like this if you have tons of electronics like me.

The last thing I’m going to be talking about is a Bluetooth speaker. I have a UE Mini Boom and get a lot of use out of it. My car is 13 years old, so it doesn’t have the best speakers or a way to listen to the music on my phone easily. Instead of just listening to the radio, I turn on the speaker and listen to my own music. It works out surprisingly nicely. The Mini Boom is a great, little speaker. The sound quality is great, and it can get pretty loud. It comes in different colors too, which is always something I like to see.

Anyways, that wraps up this everyday tech series. I hope you all found it somewhat interesting. I figured this would be a good way to introduce you all to another one of my hobbies. I may make some more in-depth posts or videos about some of these things in the future. Thanks for looking everyone!

Everyday Tech: Part 2 (Cameras)

Besides EDC and technology, I’m also very interested in photography. I make videos on YouTube, so my camera gets a lot of use. 

(grabbed this picture off of Google)

The main camera I use is a Canon Rebel T3i. It takes great pictures and videos. A DSLR isn’t the best for doing YouTube videos, but it is doable. I’ve had it for several years now, and it’s never let me down. I definitely recommend you pick up a T3i if you're interested in getting a good beginner's DSLR.

I also recently picked up a GoPro Hero 4 Silver. I’ve wanted a GoPro for a while now and figured it was finally time to pick one up. I’m going to the beach soon, so I’ll have a good opportunity to get some use out of it there. It’s a lot more portable than my T3i and has the cool wide angle lens. I may start filming my videos with it too, but I haven’t decided yet. The video and picture quality is pretty impressive so far. I can’t wait to try it out some more. Sorry this part was kind of short. Part 3 will cover all the miscellaneous things that don’t necessarily fit a category. Thanks for looking!

Everyday Tech: Part 1 (Main Devices)

This is part 1 of my every day tech. This post will cover the 3 main devices I use every day.

The piece of technology that most everyone owns is some kind of cell phone. Smart phones are getting better and better every year. The phone I use is the iPhone 5S. I’m not the biggest Apple fan anymore, but I am pretty invested in their ecosystem so I kinda have to stay with their products. They don’t have enough customization options like Android does. Besides that, my phone works exactly as I need it to. I use it to communicate with people, check social media, watch videos, etc. It’s my most portable piece of tech, so it’s usually the first thing I reach for if I need to get something done quickly. If I need a little more power or size, I go onto my next electronic.

Most people also have tablets. They’re a very useful device, because they are a blown up version of your phone yet are somewhat similar to a laptop. They lack a lot of the features of a laptop, but they are very portable and are better than your phone for some tasks. My tablet of choice is an iPad Mini. It’s still extremely portable and the extra screen size helps out when you’re watching videos and movies. I mostly use it for school and entertainment. The screen is the perfect size for watching movies on Netflix and surfing the web. I do miss having a real physical keyboard, but that’s what my computer is for.

One of my newest purchases was a new laptop. I needed something portable for school that was relatively inexpensive. I didn’t want to buy another cheap $300 laptop, because I’m currently using one of those and it really sucks after 4 years of use. I found out about Chromebooks and decided that would suit my needs perfectly. A Chromebook isn’t like your typical laptop. It relies on Google Chrome and needs internet access to do everything.  I got the Toshiba Chromebook 2 and have absolutely loved it. It’s super lightweight and very fast for what I need to do. I use Google Drive for writing papers for school. I use it similarly to how I use my tablet, but sometimes I prefer to use the Chromebook because of the keyboard. I’m very impressed with it so far, so we’ll see how it performs over the next few months.

Those are the three major devices that I use every day. They’re all pretty essential for my day to day life. Stay tuned for part 2 which will cover my cameras!

Everyday Tech: Intro

Another hobby that interests me is technology. That means that I have a lot of electronics. This world has become extremely dependent on technology, which has caused a major evolution of our electronics in the past few years. That’s proven to both a bad and good thing in my mind. Technology is great for making our lives easier, but it also has made people lazier to the point where they just sit around and look at the internet all day. I will admit that I’m one of those people. With that being said, this next series of posts will cover my tech that gets the most use on an everyday basis. This series will be three parts and will cover my 3 main devices, cameras, and a few miscellaneous things. Stay tuned for part 1! Here's an overview picture of all the electronics you'll see!

My Gear Wish List

My gear wish list at the moment is pretty small. There’s not a lot on it, and that suits me fine. I don’t really need anything else gear wise. Without further ado, here’s my very short wish list.

Spyderco Endura purple

TOPS S.O.P.R Pen orange 

Maybe items

Hinderer Investigator Pen

Cantu Bruner Designs Bullet Pen

Victorinox Minichamp

Like I said, it’s not a lot, but I think these pieces of gear would be great additions to my collection. I also recently created another list that consists of things I'd only like to try to make a video or two on. I don't necessarily want to own any of the following items. I'd just like to test them out and put out a review on YouTube and on here. There's tons and tons of gear that I want to try, but these are just some of the highlights.

Spyderco Panchenko Dog Tag

Spyderco Cricket

Kershaw Leek

Fenix E05

These lists change all the time, so in the next week they could look entirely different. If there's ever any dramatic changes, I'll be sure to make an update post. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on all this stuff eventually. If you've got anything I mentioned that you'd be willing to sell/trade, just let me know. Thanks for looking! 

Why I EDC

I’ve been into EDC for a few years now. This hobby is one of the more practical hobbies that someone can get into. We get to try out tons of sweet gear that helps us prepare for whatever problems life throws at us. There’s a couple reasons why I EDC.

The first would be that I have a love for gear and gadgets. I’ve always liked tools, so this was just a natural hobby to get into. I like to build and make stuff, which means my gear comes in handy a lot.

Another reason is that this is an extremely practical hobby. Our gear can better prepare us for whatever we encounter throughout the day. When we need a piece of gear, we never have to go hunt it down, because chances are that it’s already on our person or nearby. Knowing that we can save the day for someone is a really comforting and rewarding feeling.

And lastly, this community is just too awesome! I’ve met nothing but super nice people here. Everyone is accepting and welcoming. We all understand each other, especially considering our friends and family never fully understand our obsession.

I’ve loved being a part of this community for sure. The people are great, and I’m better prepared for whatever I’ll face throughout the day. I’ve tried to leave the community several times, but I’ve always managed to come crawling back. Thanks to everyone for being so awesome!

My EDC Staples

Like everyone else, I always carry my phone, wallet, and keys when I go out. These three things never really change and have become staples in my EDC. Whenever I take EDC pictures, I never include them because they’re not that interesting. My phone is an iPhone 5S, and my wallet is a Vera Bradly Wallet. They work well for me, but aren't perfect. My keys go onto a simple California lanyard that I like a lot. Everything's purple too, so that's always nice. I may eventually try to replace the phone and wallet, but that probably won't be for a while. Thanks for looking!

My Gear Storage

Here’s how I store all my EDC gear and knife boxes. I keep my gear in my room since that’s where I spend most of my time. I have two places where I keep my gear. The first is my night stand and the second is a plastic drawer set near my desk.

My night stand is where my most used stuff goes. On the bottom, I have a wooden box full of older gear that doesn’t get used and a three plastic drawer thing which holds extra gear. I keep all my favorite stuff in the drawer of the night stand. I have various knives and pens sitting in the drawer loose. I keep my Spyderco Ladybug, Victorinox Classic, and Fisher Bullet Space Pen on two Moleskine journals. Those three pieces of gear get used pretty much every day. Another thing kept in the drawer is a box full of my tiny tools. It holds my small Leathermans, Gerber Shard, Victorinox Bantam, small flashlights, etc.

All my knife boxes are thrown loose in a plastic drawer thing that’s next to my desk. It’s not very organized and has turned into a dump place for all my extra random stuff. I’ve been storing my stuff like this for a while now, and it’s been working out quite well for me. Thanks for looking! Also, happy 4th of July everyone!