Spyderco Paramilitary 2 vs. Endura

I was going through my collection and had the Paramilitary 2 and Endura sitting next to each other. I never realized how similar in size they were until now. I'd like to do this comparison post to show how similar they actually are.

As you can see in the last two photos, the handle lengths are about the same size. This really surprised me considering how much bigger the Endura's blade is. The Endura has FRN, while the PM2 has the G10. Both are acceptable handle materials, but in knives this big, the FRN keeps the Endura very light. The Endura is a large knife that carries like a mid-sized knife. What really hurts the PM2's weight is the liners and G10. The PM2 is so much heavier despite it being a smaller knife. The ergos of the PM2 suck, because the edges of the scales are squared off. The Endura's ergos are definitely a lot more comfortable for me. I do like that both knives come in lot of different color options and variations. If I had to pick the Endura or PM2 based on the handle, I'd go with the Endura for the light weight and better ergos.

Here are the blades side by side. The Endura's overall blade length is 3.75" with a cutting edge of 3.44". The PM2's overall blade length is 3.44" with a cutting edge of 3". I much prefer the blade shape of the Endura over the PM2. The PM2 has the choil, which obviously takes away from the cutting edge. The PM2 has the better steel, CPM S110V, over the Endura's VG-10. However, VG-10 is a totally fine steel for most EDC tasks. Spyderco always has knives with weird blade-to-handle ratios. That's one of the reasons I didn't like the PM2. The blade-to-handle ratio on the Endura is closer to normal. I think it's weird that the PM2 has the same size handle, but a considerably shorter blade than the Endura. If I had to pick the PM2 or Endura blade, I'd pick the Endura's blade.

Lock wise, the PM2 wins without a doubt. The compression lock will always beat the Endura's lockback in terms of strength. 

Both knives use the same hourglass clip. The knives carry well, but the Endura carries better because of its lighter weight. 

All in all, if I had to pick between the PM2 and the Endura, I'd hands down choose the Endura. It's a lighter and better knife in my opinion. Plus, the Endura is about half the price of the Paramilitary 2. If you're looking for a good EDC knife, I'd go with the Endura. The Paramilitary 2 is overhyped in every way. Hope you enjoyed the comparison. Thanks for looking!

Book Review: A Burglar's Guide To The City

I recently finished A Burglar's Guide To The City by Geoff Manaugh. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I did learn a lot of interesting things. 

I'll never be a burglar myself. I do admire them, because they think in a very creative way. I was drawn to this book, because I wanted to gain insight into how burglars think. This book gave me exactly that while also focusing on topics I didn't necessarily care about. I think it was a pretty well written book. Geoff Manaugh has a lot of research and evidence for his claims. He talked to a lot of police officers, burglars themselves, and a number of other different types of people. He talks about how burglars have to manipulate architecture in order to succeed with their heists. Manaugh also talks about a number of successful heists, which I found pretty interesting.

The book consists of a lot of side stories. The chapters are pretty long, around 30 to 40 pages each. Each chapter is broken into small sections with various subheadings. I didn't like how long the chapters were. At times, the book was so dense that it was pretty hard to read. It dragged on at points as well. It covers a lot more than just burglars, which I didn't like at first but then some of them grew on me. For instance, Manuagh talks a lot about designing the perfect city. That indirectly relates to burglars, since burglars have to use the city to pull of their crimes. Manaugh also goes on and on about the laws surrounding burglary, theft, etc. Some of my favorite sections were about safe rooms and the tools of the trade.

Overall, this was a pretty good book. I enjoyed reading it and think I learned some useful things. It wasn't quite what I expected, but still good overall. I'd recommend it if you're interested in heists, burglary, architecture, or want to gain new perspectives. Thanks for looking!

Olight S10R Baton II Thoughts

I was expecting this Olight S10R Baton II to be the perfect EDC light. It's perfect in almost every aspect. The one aspect it's not perfect in, the UI, makes everything I love about this light disappear. It doesn't matter how small, bright, or great a light is if it is not easy to use. The UI is so annoying and not user friendly in the slightest. I really wanted to love this flashlight, but I just can't get used to the user interface. I don't personally recommend it. If you're willing to learn or are already used to Olight's UI, then this would be a wonderful EDC flashlight.

I guess I'll talk about the UI first, since that is what I have my biggest issue with. I like lights where you can access the modes by clicking or twisting once to turn on and then keep clicking or twisting after that to get brighter and brighter. To me, that is very straight forward and easy to use. With this light, you press once to turn it on. Then in order to go to the next mood, you have to hold down the button until it gets to your next desired brightness. I suppose as I'm writing that out, it doesn't sound all that complicated. For me though, I just can't get used to this mode selection. I like lights where you click once for low, twice for medium, and three times for high. I don't want to have to mess around with pressing and holding. I'm not sure if Olight does this on all their lights or if it's on select models. Unfortunately, I think a lot of the new lights on the market are using modes like this. Maybe that's the way the industry is going, but I have to say, I'm not a fan at all.

Other than the UI, this light is pretty perfect. The clip kinda sucks. The light is a nice, compact size. The max output is 500 lumens, which is the perfect max brightness for an EDC light in my opinion. The blue accents on the button and head look sweet. I love that there's splashes of color on this otherwise boring, black light. The rechargeable feature is why I wanted this light in the first place. I don't want to buy batteries for my lights anymore. For $60, I felt like this was a good deal. It charges via a little USB base that comes with the light. This light will also take any CR123 batteries if you can't recharge it somewhere. I love that there's a magnetic tailcap. I honestly didn't think that'd be a useful feature, but boy was I wrong. It's so convenient to be able to stick it onto random magnetic surfaces. This flashlight has some nice knurling on the body that provides some extra grip. The beam has a nice tint to it as well. 

All in all, everything about this light is great except for the UI. On paper, it looks like the perfect light yet no one ever mentions the horrible UI. I really was hoping this light would end my search for the perfect EDC flashlight. Unfortunately, it didn't, but it did give me a better idea of what I personally need in a flashlight. I wish I wasn't so bothered by the UI. I like things that are easy to use, and I don't think the UI fits that criteria. It's a shame a perfect light is ruined by a crappy user interface. There's a lot of people that really seem to love this light, so again, I could just have an unpopular opinion. Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Paramilitary 2 Thoughts

In my opinion, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 is one of the most overhyped knives on the market. I've not been a very big fan of this knife, so this will not be a glowing, positive review of this blade. Everyone else seems to love them for some reason. I don't personally recommend it, but tons of other people do.

As a whole, this knife is great quality. When you're paying more than $100, that's what you should expect. Spyderco knows what they're doing in the quality department. I've got no issues with the quality or fit and finish of this blade.

I also don't have any issues with the steel. This is the CPM S110V version. It's a very nice, higher-end steel for sure. I like that Spyderco does lots of different versions of this knife with different blade steels. You can always count on Spyderco knives coming extremely sharp.

My biggest issues would have to be the blade-to-handle ratio and the handles. The blade-to-handle ratio on Spydercos is always pretty off. On this knife though, it's really bad. There's not really a big issue with an uneven ratio, but aesthetically, it doesn't look good at all. This knife is very handle heavy, which is not something I like either. My issue with the handles is how squared off the edges are. I'm not sure if I just got a bad one or if a lot of Spydercos have squared off edges. Whatever the case may be, this knife is extremely uncomfortable for me to hold. The handles dig into my hand a lot. I could easily round off the edges myself, but for a $150 knife, I shouldn't have to do that. My last big complaint about this knife would have to be closing it with the compression lock. The compression lock itself is awesome. I have no issues with that whatsoever. It's a durable and great lock. However, I've found that I have to be very careful with how far in my finger goes on the lock or the knife will not close properly. If my finger is too far in, the choil bounces off my finger, and the knife remains slightly open. Not sure if that makes sense or not, because I'm not really sure the best way to describe it. It is an issue in my opinion. I've had knives with compression locks before, and I never once had to think about where I placed my finger on the lock. This issue could be easily solved if Spyderco ground down the choil ever so slightly. I should never have to consciously think about where my hand is on the lock.

Those are pretty much all the reasons I hate this knife. I think it's very overhyped and just an average knife at best. There's really nothing that fancy about it. There's tons of other EDC blades out there that are cheaper and function even better. I will not personally recommend this blade. However, there are so many raving reviews from pretty much everyone else, so maybe I just have an unpopular opinion. I think I had too high expectations for this blade. It was fun to try, but it's definitely not a perfect knife. Look elsewhere if you want a great EDC knife. Thanks for looking!

Recommended Gear of 2016

I've tried a lot of gear over the course of 2016, especially in the last few months. I'd like this post to highlight all the best gear I've tried this year.

Some of my favorite knives have been the Spyderco Ladybug, Victorinox Classic, CRKT Jettison, Kershaw Launch 4, Kershaw Cinder, and the Mora Eldris. All of them are pretty small and relatively inexpensive. The Ladybug would have to be my favorite all around knife this year, while the CRKT Jettison would have to be my favorite new knife.

I've also tried a lot of flashlights over the course of this year. I'm still trying to find the perfect light for my EDC. Some of my favorite lights this year are the Nitecore Tube, Thrunite T01, Olight i3e, and FourSevens Preon 1. They all have pretty similar outputs for the most part. I like the Preon for it's color and sleekness. The Thrunite and Olight are cool for simple, cheap lights. The Tube is awesome for a keychain rechargeable light. 

Lastly, some of my random gear favorites would have to be the Case Logic camera pouch and the Pilot Metropolitan. Since my pockets are non-existent, I've always struggled to find a way to carry my gear in one place. I had tried various pouches with no luck. I finally saw someone use a camera pouch for EDC and decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. This little pouch is awesome. It was like $5 and holds everything I need it to. I highly recommend getting a pouch like this to keep all your smaller gear in one place. This year I decided to give fountain pens a try. The first one I picked up was Pilot Metropolitan, and I'd have to say it's my favorite. It writes like a charm, comes in tons of different colors, and is less than $15. It's the best fountain pen I've tried for sure.

Those are all the pieces of gear that I'd recommend this year. I'm also posting a video about them that goes a little more in-depth on each piece of gear. What are some of the best pieces of gear you've tried this year? Thank you all for watching! Have a happy New Year! 

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy spending time with your friends and family and maybe get some cool new gear too! I appreciate all the support you all give me!

Books I've Finished Lately #1

Now that I'm finally on break from college, I've had a lot more free time to do stuff I've been meaning to do, like read. I have a ton of books I haven't gotten around to reading yet, so hopefully I can catch up over this break. I finished two books lately that I'd like to talk a little more about. The first is Yes Please by Amy Poehler, and the other is I'm A Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson.

Yes Please was pretty good. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still enjoyable and parts of it were funny. I absolutely love Amy Poehler in Parks and Recreation. That show is probably one of my ultimate favorite TV shows. This book talks a little about Parks and Recreation, but mostly it's about Poehler's life in improv, SNL, and Hollywood. She offers some solid advice in this book too. If you're an Amy Poehler fan or just like to read books about celebrities, this book is worth the read.

I'm A Stranger Here Myself is a collection of short articles from a guy that lived in America, moved to England, and then moved back to America years later. It's interesting to hear about the differences between America and England. The chapters are all around 3 pages, so you can read them pretty quickly. None of the chapters relate to each other, so you can kind of pick and choose which ones you read. I read them all, and there were definitely ones I didn't enjoy. For the most part though, they all were pretty interesting. He talks about different aspects of America, like the weather, our holidays, the people, etc. It was fun to read, so I'd say it's worth the read.

That's it for these books. I'll probably keep doing these sort of posts as I finish more books. It's nice to diversify the types of posts I do on here. Hopefully I'll be able to recommend you all some good books to read too. Thanks for looking!

Beginnings Of My Car Emergency Bag

I recently decided that I wanted to put together an emergency bag for my car. I'd like to be more prepared, and I figured building an emergency bag would be a step in the right direction. I'm trying to build this bag using pieces of gear that are relatively inexpensive. Here's some of the things I've picked up so far.

The pouch on the left is the Vanquest FTIM Husky. I'm going to use this to hold all the smaller pieces of gear. I also picked up a pretty basic first aid kit on Amazon. It's not anything to crazy, but it does have lots of band aids and other basic stuff. I got a cheap blanket to wrap stuff up in, to keep warm, etc. 

These are some of the smaller things I've picked up so far. I got a headlamp for hands-free lighting. I really like the concept and can't believe I didn't pick one up sooner. I also got 100 feet of paracord for tying stuff together. The knife I decided to pick up for this kit is the Mora Companion. It was around $10, can take a lot of beating, and will be pretty strong since it's a fixed blade. I also got a whistle.

That's everything I've picked up so far. I'm hoping to slowly add more and more stuff to the kit as time goes on. I'll post updates as the bag gets closer to being finished. Thanks for looking!

Vanquest Pouches First Impressions: FTIM Husky and EDCM Huge

I picked up these two Vanquest pouches on Black Friday. They were both less than $15 which was too good of a deal to pass up. The one on the left is the FTIM Husky, and the one on the right is EDCM Huge. I got both pouches in the larger sizes, so I'd be able to fit a lot of gear in them. They do certainly live up to the Husky and Huge size. I think they're hold lots of gear for sure.

The FTIM Husky lays out flat when unzipped which is an interesting design. I'm not sure how I'll like it compared to the EDCM. The EDCM is reminiscent of Maxpedition's various pocket organizers. I do really like the EDCM more than the Maxpedition pouches, because they have an extra row to hold your gear. It'll be interesting to see what design I like better.

Both pouches seem to have great build quality. The zippers are extremely stiff, but I'm hoping they'll loosen up over time. Other than that, these pouches seem like they'll be pretty good. I'll be sure to let you all know how I like both. I'll eventually post something about how I load these things out. Thanks for looking!

Huge EDC Gear Sale Preview

These are all the pieces of gear you all can expect to see in my sale video. I'm not sure when I'll exactly get that video up, but it should be on or around the new year. I'm going to try and keep the prices fairly low if I can. Stay tuned for the video! It'll be coming on my channel within the next couple weeks! Hopefully you all will be able to score some cool gear for cheaper prices.

How College Changed my EDC

Over the summer, I wrote this post about how I thought my EDC would change while I was in college. I just finished up my first semester, so I thought it'd be fun to look back on those predictions and see what I was right and wrong about.

Prediction #1: My carry will revolve around small gear.
This prediction is right. My carry has been and will most likely always revolve around small gear. I own more small gear than any other sized gear. It's the easiest for me to carry and is non-threatening.

Prediction #2: My carry will be more focused on defense type options.
This prediction was pretty wrong. I do keep pepper spray in my backpack, but that's the extent of my self-defense options. I don't actively think about having the pepper spray, so it's almost like I don't carry it. Luckily, I haven't been in any situations where I've felt unsafe.

Prediction #3: All my gear will be carried in my backpack, not on my person.
This prediction is half right and half wrong. My EDC pouch is always in my backpack no matter what. However, during these cooler fall and winter months, I pretty much always have a jacket on. That means I have extra pocket space to carry a few extra things. The winter and fall months are pretty much the only times where I carry my EDC on my person.

Prediction #4: My EDC will be a little more extensive.
This prediction is mostly right. My EDC didn't become more extensive in the ways that I listed in the prediction post, but it is more extensive in other areas. I carry a lot of practical stuff in my bag that make my EDC more extensive, like a backup battery, stuff for my classes, etc. I didn't add a full-sized multitool or first aid kit to my bag like I predicted. I've also gotten more interested in expanding my EDC to other aspects of my life, like by building a car emergency bag and more in-depth EDC kit.

So there were all my predictions. I enjoy and appreciate my EDC a lot more in college. It was cool to see how right and wrong my predictions were. Thanks for looking!

CRKT Folts Minimalist Thoughts

The CRKT Folts Minimalist is a small neck knife. It's pretty average on every level but is nice to try out to see if a neck knife/small backup fixed blade would be a good addition to your EDC. It's not something I'll personally recommend. It is a decent knife for the price though.

My favorite part about this knife would have to be the blade. The wharncliffe blade shape is just awesome. The steel, 5Cr15Mov, isn't anything too fancy, but it does cut when you need it to. I'm not sure how long the bead blasted finish will hold up. I've heard that people always have issues with this finish rusting. If the wharncliffe blade isn't your thing, CRKT has a number of other blade shapes, like tanto, bowie, karambit, etc.

My least favorite part about this knife would have to be the handle. I absolutely hate the ergos. I love my small knives. For some reason though, this blade doesn't feel good in my hands at all. The three finger grooves fit my fingers perfectly fine. I'd rather this be a knife that fits your whole hand. Since the finger grooves are so pronounced, there's really no other way to hold this blade. I think the grooves should be more subtle so that you could potentially fit your whole hand on the handle if your hands are small enough. I don't like being forced to hold a knife a specific way if that makes sense. I've had knives with handles this size before, and it's possible to get a full four finger grip on them. Maybe this handle would fill out your hand better if you had bigger hands. For me, this handle just doesn't work out.

Besides the ergos, everything else regarding the handle is fine. The Micarta scales are nice and feel good in the hand. I really like the green and black color combo. I think it's cool that the scales can be easily removed with the torx screws. CRKT makes it extremely easy to pimp this knife. There's also some jimping on the spine of the knife that adds some extra grip.

The sheath is great. It's just a plastic type material, but it fits the blade quite nicely. There's rivets all around it if you want to add a belt loop attachment or some paracord. Mine came with the belt loop attachment thingy in case you do want to belt carry it.

For the price, $20, you really can't go wrong. It's not made with the best materials. I see this knife as something you buy to figure out whether you'd realistically carry a neck knife in your EDC. It's extremely lightweight and easy to carry because of the size. It's not the knife for me personally, but it is a decent knife overall. I've seen plenty of other people that highly recommend this blade. Check it out if it interests you. Otherwise, I'd say skip it. Thanks for looking!

Big Skinny New Yorker Wallet Thoughts

I needed a slim wallet with 2 ID card slots to take to college with me. I did a lot of searching around on the internet and eventually came across this Big Skinny New Yorker wallet. This wallet is everything I need in a wallet. I highly recommend it. 

I like the overall design of this wallet. It is very simple and to the point. I've got around 11 cards in it at the moment, and it still remains very slim. The 2 ID card slots are essential for me, since I have my college ID and my driver's license. I keep my college ID in the outside ID pocket for quick access. The 6 card slots and 2 ID card slots are more than enough for me. I have 3 cards at most in each slot, and there's no issues at all. Big Skinny recommends 3 cards per slot, so you're looking at a wallet that can hold about 18 cards in the card slots and a couple extra in the clear pockets.

I also like this wallet for the price. It's very inexpensive coming in at around $15. For the high quality product you are getting, the price is right on the money.

Speaking of quality, the quality of this wallet is pretty good. For the most part, it's perfect. However, there are a few places where the stitching is coming undone. It's not an issue for now, but considering I've only had the wallet for about 5 months, it's something to keep an eye on.

Another thing worth mentioning is all the color options. You can get this wallet in this awesome purple like me, or other colors like blue, green, black, or red. There's also a leather option if you don't like the nylon. The card pockets have this anti-slip material so your cards don't fall out. I haven't had any of my cards fall out yet, so I guess that material works pretty well. I keep my cash folded in half in one of the inner pockets with no problems.

Overall, I don't really have any major issues with this wallet. It's a nice minimalist wallet that does everything I need it to do. If you're looking for slim wallets, give Big Skinny's wallets a look. They have a lot of models in case this particular one isn't to your liking. I like this wallet a lot and don't see myself getting a new one anytime soon. Thanks for looking!

My First Auto: Kershaw Launch 4!

I just posted a video about a new knife I picked up, the Kershaw Launch 4.

I saw this on sale on Blade HQ for Black Friday. It seemed like a cool knife to try out for the discounted price. I've never really owned an auto before, so I thought it'd be an interesting experience. This one appealed to me because of the size and color. You all know I love my small, colorful blades. The color combo on this knife is killer. The black blade and purple scales look awesome. The blade is just under 2", which I've found to be the perfect size for EDC. The ergos are great, and the action is really smooth/fast. I think this is a knife that I'll keep in my collection for a long time. Stay tuned for more posts/videos on this thing in the future. Thanks for looking!