What I Read: June 2017

There was no way I'd be able to match the same crazy reading pace I did last month, but I still made some solid progress. I've read 9 books, which puts my total for the year at 57. I made it to 52 books this month! That was my initial goal for the year, so I'll probably bump it up to 100 books now. I've got a lot of books I want to finish, so hopefully trying to read 100 books helps me accomplish that. I checked out a ton of books from my library recently, and I've finally managed to read all of them. Now that I'm done with them, I'll be moving onto all the books that are on my TBR shelf that I talked about in one of my last few posts. Without further ado, let's get into the books I read this month. I thoroughly enjoyed all the books I read this month, so these are all going to be pretty positive thoughts.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
This one was really cool. It's a sci-fi story that follows a solid group of characters as they go through space. It focused on the characters more so than a conflict. There were conflicts, but the big focus was on building the world and the characters. I enjoyed that much more than I thought I would, as all the characters were very lovable to me. I definitely recommend it!

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
This is the sequel to the book I just mentioned. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. That's mostly because it follows two of the lesser mentioned characters. I did end up liking those two characters by the end of this book. These two characters had a lot of struggles in their upbringing, and this book really touched on how they became the people they were. Lots of short chapters and flashbacks. Recommend this one as well!

Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
I love reading memoirs, and this one was really well done. It was super funny and gave a good look into the life of growing up as a child actor. Definitely recommend it!

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock and Dan Gardner
This is a non-fiction book all about superforecasting. It turns out that there are these people that try to predict the likelihood of events happening sometime in the future. It's a very analytical process and actually quite fascinating. I didn't even know it was a thing, but it's apparently used a lot in politics and economics. Super interesting book if you're into non-fiction.

I'm Judging You: The Do-Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi
This is another memoir-ish type of book that kind of hates on the worst parts of people. The author makes fun of how much people suck in a super hilarious way. She talks about racism, looks, equality, culture, etc. I really enjoyed her take on society. I totally recommend it!

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This is a YA book that's pretty relevant today. It's follows a character that had to see her black, unarmed teen friend get shot by the police. It had a strong message and gave me a better look into the mistreatment of black people and the fallout after these shootings happen. It's devastating that we live in a world where this is a reality. I really enjoyed the characters and the way it was written. Great book for sure!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
This is a story based in World War II that follows a few different perspectives. The main two perspectives were of a teen German soldier and a teen girl that's blind from France. It follows the characters as they grow up in the times of this war. The chapters are very short, but they also jump around in time a lot. It felt kind of disjointed to me and left me confused at times. I did enjoy the overall plot and characters though. This gets my recommendation as well!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I heard about this through the recommendation of a secretary that works at my dentist. She saw me reading in the waiting room and told me a few recommendations. I had no idea what this was going to be about, but I really loved it. It's a story that's told almost exclusively through letters. I don't normally read books like that, so it was super different and cool. This is also takes place around World War II and focuses on the impact of the German occupation in Guernsey in the English Channel Islands. An author from London is initially trying to write a few articles about reading and comes to know some of the townspeople there through letters. She eventually stays there and becomes included in the town life. She learns about the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and how they came about. I really enjoyed hearing all the perspectives of the main person and all the townspeople. It was very cool and different! I highly recommend it.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
This was an interesting book that followed a fostered teen as she gets to know this older woman who was an orphan. It switches perspectives from the fostered teen to flashbacks of the older woman. The main story is about how the orphan grew up and her journey on the Orphan Train. There actually was an Orphan Train movement back in the day, so it's cool to hear a fictional tale of something that actually happened. It talks all about the struggles of the orphan girl and how that has an impact on her life. I'd highly recommend this one!

So those were all the books I read this month. I'm surprised I enjoyed all of them as much as I did. Normally, I'll ready mostly average books with a few great ones, so I'm happy all these turned out to be great. I definitely recommend you check them all out. If I had to pick a few favorites, they would have to be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Hate U Give, I'm Judging You, and Scrappy Little Nobody. Hope you enjoyed hearing about the books I read this month! Thanks for looking!

Kershaw Half Ton Review

I first heard about the Kershaw Half Ton when I got into knives years ago. Everyone loved it for its great quality and value. Honestly, buying it now is kind of pointless since there are so many better small knives on the market. A couple years ago, there weren't nearly as many small knives on the market, so this Half Ton was one of the few decent options you could get. It's cool, and is good enough for me to recommend. I don't give it my wholehearted recommendation, but if you like the style, check it out. 

Design wise, this is a pretty stout and kind of bulky knife. I don't particularly like the concept of these "big small" knives. It's a smaller knife, but it carries like a mid-sized knife to me. The handles are super thick, which makes the knife pretty heavy. I do like the look of the design though. It's nothing crazy, but it's practical and simple for EDC. 

The blade is 2.5" long, which is a great size for EDC. It's not too small, and not too large. I would say I see it on the edge of the small knife spectrum. I consider small knives to be anything that has a blade length of around or less than 2.5." The blade steel on this thing is 8Cr13MoV, which isn't anything fancy. It's exactly what you'd expect for a knife that costs $10. The thumb studs are an okay way to open the knife. The action is very smooth, but the placement of the thumb studs make the blade harder to deploy.

Handle wise, the ergos are okay. They feel slightly cramped to me. I've definitely felt better ergos on knives in this size range. I do like the scales. They're plastic, but they've got this rubberized sort of grip to them that feels good in the hand. The red and black color combo looks sweet. It's got a liner lock and has solid lockup. I've got no issues with the lock at all. 

Like I said, this carries like a mid-sized knife to me. I think the clip is super impractical. It looks cool, but stands out way too much for EDC. It's a heavy and thick knife, so I notice it a lot when I'm carrying.

You can pick these up for around $10. You're getting a quality knife for that price. I definitely think it's a good value. Normally I'll have quality issues with some of the cheaper Kershaws, but this one is perfect. 

All in all, this is a decent knife. With so many small knife options on the market today, I don't think it stands up to them at all. It's too heavy and bulky to be a good backup blade in my opinion. If you're looking for a smaller knife, check out the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite. That one is so much better than the Half Ton. This knife was designed in mind to be overbuilt and take some abuse, so Kershaw did a good job with that. Personally, I don't need that in an EDC blade. Check it out if it peaks your interest, but look elsewhere if you want a small knife. Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Native 5 Review

I didn't expect to like the Native 5 as much as I have. Ever since I got it in my hand, I knew it'd be a great EDC blade. Good ergonomics are probably the most important aspect in a knife to me, and dang, these ergos are some of the best I've ever felt. I think this is one of, if not, the best EDC knives Spyderco makes. It's a mix of a nice design, good ergos, and great steel. I definitely recommend you pick one up! It beats the Manix 2/Delica/PM2 out of the water for sure.

I love the design! It's nothing that stands out, but it's purely practical/functional for EDC. I like that the blade isn't very wide. Sometimes with Spyderco's blades, the Spyder hole will make the blade jut out a lot, but that's not an issue with the Native at all. This is a slimmer knife in both the width of the knife and the thickness if that makes sense. This knife is made in the USA too, for anyone that loves to support USA made knives.

The blade shape is simple. This version has the CPM-S110V. It's been super sharp and has nice edge retention. I honestly don't remember how long the blade is. I wanna say it's between 2.5" to 3" long. It's a nice, mid-sized blade. It has been perfect for basic EDC tasks. The Spyder hole is still by far my favorite way to open a blade. 

Like I mentioned, the ergonomics are insanely good. It fits my hand like a glove. I like that there aren't any dedicated finger grooves along the whole handle. You're free to place your hand wherever you'd like on the handle, which I really like. The finger choil is great if you want to choke up. Using this blade is a pleasure with these amazing ergos.

The FRN scales are great! I know some people don't like them because they feel cheap. I used to feel that way too, but honestly I've grown to love them. They keep the knife light, are super grippy, and can come in tons of different colors. This navy color is very cool.

The lock-up is extremely solid. I love lockbacks, and this one is great. This knife surprisingly has no blade play at all. I've found the majority of Spyderco's FRN lockbacks have a noticeable amount of blade play. It's never an issue that prevents the knife from fully functioning, but keep it in mind if you're a blade play snob.

The pocket clip is the typical hourglass clip and works exactly as you'd expect. Thanks to how slim this knife is, it carries like a champ. This knife is so light that I don't even notice it when I'm carrying it.

These retail for around $110. I honestly think that's a ridiculous price considering some of the materials. For FRN handles, that's not exactly the best bargain. I don't exactly attribute the higher price to the steel either. I personally wouldn't pay this much just to get the S110V. I think Spyderco's prices have gotten pretty crazy, and this particular knife is no exception. The only reason I wouldn't call this a perfect knife is because of the insane price.

All in all, this is a phenomenal knife. The price point for a brand new one is too high for me to justify, but if you're willing to pay that much, it's probably one of the better blades out there on the market. The great ergonomics turned this otherwise average knife into something amazing. I do recommend it, especially if you can find one used. I paid less than full price for mine, so that helped convince me to pick one up. If you're looking for a quality, mid-sized knife, consider picking this one up. I would recommend it. Thanks for looking!

Klean Kanteen Classic Bottle Review

I had never tried a metal water bottle before, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I definitely think I prefer drinking out of a metal bottle than a plastic one. It just feels so much smoother and cool. I picked up this Klean Kanteen before I went off to college, and it has served me quite well. It's so close to being perfect, but it has one fatal flaw that makes me prefer a different bottle of mine. I do recommend it if you're looking for a quality metal bottle. 

The quality of this bottle is super solid. I've had no issues with mine whatsoever. The cap screws on nicely, and there is no leaking at all. I've got both the standard loop cap and a sport cap. I do prefer the loop cap you seen in the photo above. I like the sport cap when I'm doing athletic things, but that's about it. I've found that with sport caps that have exposed nozzles, they'll hit everything and anything and pick up dirt and other nasty stuff quite easily. I'd prefer having the surface I'm drinking from covered by a cap at all times to limit some of the nasty junk that could on there. The sport cap is nice though. It doesn't leak either, and the water flows out quite nicely.

The design of this bottle is very simple. I like that it's tall and slim, instead of short and stout like Nalgene's bottles. It holds 27 ounces, which I've found is a good number for daily usage. The capacity isn't so little that you have to refill it all the time. The paint has held up pretty well considering it rams into everything. I've got a few scratches and dings in the bottle, but nothing that impacts how much water it can hold. All the scratches and dings look kind of cool and add a bit of character. I love how many colors Klean Kanteen offers these in. Of course I had to get mine in purple! The one fatal flaw when it comes to the design is the mouth. It's a narrower mouth than something like the Nalgene wide mouth bottles, but not as narrow as Nalgene's narrow mouth. I do find myself occasionally dumping water all over myself when I try to drink from it. The mouth is just slightly too wide for my tastes. I dig that this bottle is made of stainless steel. I definitely prefer the feel of this in the hand over a plastic bottle.

I've got a couple more random tidbits before I close this review out. This particular version of this bottle is not insulated. I've never tried any metal, insulated bottles, so I'm perfectly fine with this version. I've heard wonders about insulated bottles though, so I might upgrade in the near future. This bottle is interesting, because with the material, the metal will obviously get pretty hot if your drink is hot and the opposite if it's cold. This sucks when you've got a hot drink, since it pretty much burns your hand, but feels amazing when your drink is cold. This bottle does sweat a fair bit if you put ice in the bottle. That's too be expected though, as the ice has to melt at some point. These run for around or less than $20 on Amazon depending on what color and cap option you get. You can also get Klean Kanteens in a number of sizes if you want a bigger or smaller bottle.

This bottle isn't anything fancy, but it works great for me. Like I said, I do wish the mouth was a little more narrow. Other than that, I've got no major issues with this bottle. I really like Klean Kanteen as a company, so I'll probably purchase more of their products in the future. I'd say this is my second favorite water bottle, right behind the Nalgene narrow mouth. Definitely give them a look if you're looking for a high quality, stainless steel water bottle. I've been loving mine. Thanks for looking!

Incorporating A Headlamp Into My EDC

I picked up this headlamp around the time I started college with the intent of using it for hiking and camping. It didn't get much use, so it sat around collecting dust for a while. Once I got back from college, I started getting a surprising amount of usage out of it for some random tasks around my house. I do have to say, it's been quite a handy thing to have nearby. I'm probably going to throw it in my EDC bag for those odd times I might need it. For most of my EDC tasks, a flashlight will suffice just fine. However, it's nice to have hands-free lighting if I want to read late at night or something like that. It's also nice to have this be one of my backup lights in case my main flashlight dies on me.

Most of the usage I get out of this thing is as a reading light. This specific headlamp has a red mood, which I've found is super cool to read under. It doesn't hurt my eyes when I'm in a dark room, and I can still see exactly what I'm reading. I don't have any sort of light directly next to my bed, so if I wanted to read before I go to sleep, I'd have to use the main light in my room. Then when I'm done, I'd have to get out of my comfortable position in bed to turn off the light. With this headlamp, I don't have to worry about that anymore. I suppose I could have used a flashlight before too, but then one of my hands would have to be holding the light the entire time. The headlamp is super convenient and not even uncomfortable to wear.

I'd never thought the day would come where I want to add a headlamp into my EDC, but here I am. Honestly, that's what I love about this hobby. There's always some piece of gear out there that you never would have expected to make your life a whole lot easier. If you don't own a headlamp or a flashlight that can sort of function as a headlamp, I definitely recommend you pick one up. Mine's just a cheap one I got on Amazon, but it's been serving me perfectly well. Thanks for looking!

Storacell Battery Caddy Review

If I wanted to carry some extra batteries as part of my EDC, I'd normally just throw them in a Ziploc bag. That's a pretty bad way to carry batteries, so I had always been on the hunt for a better solution. I wanted something more organized that I could throw in a pouch as part of my EDC bag. I heard about these battery caddy things, so I figured I'd give them a try. I'd definitely recommend them if you want to be able to keep a few batteries with you.

This probably won't be a long review, since there's really not much to these. I've got a 6 AAA caddy and a 4 double AA caddy. I like that I have more storage for AAA batteries, because that's a common battery for all my EDC items. These are just made of plastic, but they are super high quality. With the plastic being pretty thick, I don't think they'd easily break on you. 

It's easy to get the batteries in and out of the caddies, but not too easy that they fall out all the time. There's a little tab that holds the batteries in place. When you want to get one out, you just push the tiny tab aside and you're good to go. The batteries are not stored in them super snugly either, which helps them slide out smoother. 

Price wise, these will run you about $6 to $7 a pop on Amazon. You can find them cheaper on other sites if you shop around though. That price seems pretty high, but considering they'll last you forever, that's a good deal. I'm sure there are cheaper, knock-off ones out there on the internet somewhere. I also love that they come in tons of different color options. My AAA one is glow-in-the-dark, and it actually glows pretty brightly. They've got tons of bright colors, like orange, yellow, green, etc. You can get them in various sizes and for different batteries as well. If you don't use AAA or AA batteries, they've got CR123 caddies as well. Surprisingly, they've even got one for 9V batteries.

I definitely wouldn't buy these for my entire battery storage. The perfect use for them is to store some spare batteries as part of your EDC. I enjoy having them, as they make my bag a little more organized. I don't have to worry about my batteries rolling all over the place. I say give them a look if you want some more organization. It's nice to have the ability to carry around some extra batteries easily. Thanks for looking! 

Nalgene Narrow Mouth Bottle Review

I never thought the day would come where I review a water bottle. Honestly though, they've become a huge part of my carry since I started college, so I figured they're worth me talking about. I still don't think I've found the perfect bottle yet, but this Nalgene narrow mouth is pretty close.

I had stayed away from Nalgene as a brand, because I thought they only had wide mouth bottles. Wide mouth bottles are an absolute pain to drink out of. It wasn't until before I left for college that I figured out Nalgene sold a narrow mouth bottle. I'm not sure why I thought they wouldn't have one. They've got a wide range of products, so it only made sense they'd have different versions of their bottles. Anyways once I discovered that, I immediately ordered this narrow mouth one, and I've been loving it ever since.

Nalgene makes a super sturdy and durable product. The "plastic" (not sure what the material is exactly) that this is made out of is super thick. This makes it heavier than most bottles, but I'll take the extra heft for a more durable product. I've dropped this from at least 6 feet onto a tile floor, and it was perfectly fine. The bottle does get scratched easily, but I think that adds character. It's also got the measurement marks on the side, so you can see more exact measurements of how much water you're drinking. It's a standard 32 oz. bottle, which I've found is great for EDC. Most other bottles are around 25 oz. or so, so I like the extra capacity that this bottle has. This bottle does obviously get somewhat heavy when completely full, but I'll take that so I don't have to fill it up as often.

The cap screws on and off, which I really like. I've never had any issues with leaking. I like that the mouth is always covered by the cap, so it won't pick up any extra dirt or bacteria if you were to drop it. The narrow mouth is great! I never have spilled any water all over me like I have with their wide mouth one. You can get a splash guard for the wide mouth bottles, but I'd rather have a narrower mouth to begin with.

These are also super affordable. You can pick these up for around $10 on Amazon. Considering it will last you forever, that's a great deal. I absolutely love that Nalgene puts these out in so many different colors. They've pretty much got one in every color of the rainbow. 

All in all, this is definitely my favorite quality water bottle of the few I've got. It has served me extremely well so far, and I know it will last for a whole lot longer. My only real complaint is that it's not insulated. It keeps my water cold for a little bit, but not nearly as long as a real insulated bottle does. If I had never tried insulated bottles before, I don't think I mind, since I wouldn't know what I'm missing out on. This bottle does sweat a lot when your ice is melting, which is something insulated bottles don't do as much. Other than the whole insulated thing, this probably is as good a bottle as I'm going to get. It holds all the water I need while having a better mouth than most of the bottles I own. If you for some reason have never tried a Nalgene before, then go pick one up! They hold up to a lot of abuse and are just plain awesome. Thanks for looking!

Are High End Blade Steels Truly That Important?

Hey everybody! So I recently posted a video about why I'm bored of Spyderco's designs. As I was reading the comments, a lot of people mentioned how great Spyderco is with all their high end blade steels. It kind of got me thinking about how I value steel when I'm picking up new knives. Even though Spyderco is known for continually pumping out all those fancy super steels, that thought never once crossed my mind when I was thinking about them as a company. It also got me thinking about how necessary all these super steels are. Does the new Maxamet steel truly get considerably better performance than VG-10? You want to say yes, since you're paying so much more for it. Also, I think a lot of people just go along with what everyone else says. When I first got into knives, I knew that 440 was worse than 8Cr13MoV which was worse than VG-10 because that's what I always heard on videos. This isn't always the case though. You really need to experience these things for yourself before you blindly go around following what people say. Honestly though, I don't think higher end blade steels are that important. I've tried my fair share over the course of the years, and I never really could tell a noticeable difference.  Before I jump into my points, just keep in mind these are all just my opinions. What's awesome about this hobby is that we all value different factors when it comes to knives. Some of us do a lot of cutting where we need these high end steels, while others value looks or ergonomics. I will say, I don't do many hardcore cutting tasks with my knives. Most of my cutting is either paper, cardboard, fabric, rope, etc. I don't use my knives all that often either, so I can typically go a good while before they lose their edge. If you're using your knives for longer a longer duration in a single sitting, then I could see how the performance would be more noticeable to you than to someone that could last for a short duration over hundreds of sittings. If you don't have minimal usage like me, than maybe nicer blade steels are more important to you. I never once have felt like I didn't have a sharp enough knife or one that lost its edge too quickly.

So one of the biggest reasons I don't understand the point in dropping tons of money on knives with better blade steels is because there's this awesome invention called a sharpener. For me, the cost of buying a sharpener is much more affordable than having to drop at least $80 plus to get a higher end blade steel. That's even a low estimate when it comes to knives with better blade steels. Most Spyderco's with fancy blade steels, like S110V, S30V, Maxamet, etc., are at least $100. I'd rather spend $50 on quality sharpening equipment to continually maintain my knives. You really shouldn't be letting your knives get super dull anyways. If you're always keeping up with your blades, they'd never get to a noticeable point where you might wish you had a "better" blade steel. Now don't get me wrong, I do think there's some terrible no-name steels out there. But when you're deciding between VG-10, 8Cr13MoV, Elmax, S30V, and the list goes on and on, you can't possibly say the performance is that far off from each one. Sure I may be spending more time to maintain my blades, but I find sharpening quite enjoyable, so it's worth that monetary and time cost. I don't personally see a huge drop-off on steel quality when I'm using a $30 knife or a $150 one. I've never gotten into that aspect of this hobby. I've always gotten great performance based on my own standards. That doesn't mean there isn't a difference, but for a more casual, as-long-as-it-works type user, I cannot tell a difference at all. If you get extremely good at sharpening, most of the time you can turn a crappy edge into something completely amazing that's on par with those high end steels.

The fact you pay more for something does NOT solely mean you're going to get better results or performance. This applies to more just than knives. There's a lot of factors that go into making a knife, and a higher cost can't necessarily mean better steel all the time. A different analogy for this is high end cameras. I could go out and buy an $8000 professional DSLR camera, but that doesn't mean I'll take any better photos than someone with an iPhone. With photography, your composition, editing, and vision can make up for lesser quality equipment. I never look a photo and be like, "I sure wish this was a 36 megapixel photo." No. Instead, I look at the overall photo and don't consider top-notch quality. That's pretty much the same way I view blade steels. I look at the knife as a whole, not just one tiny, specific aspect of it. You could hand me a knife with ZDP-189, and I'd simply say okay and do my cutting. Blade steels are just a bunch of letters and numbers to me. I don't have every blade steel to compare side by side at any given time, so I can only go off of what I know and have experienced before. With that being said, even if I've used a high end steel in the past, there's no way I'm going to be able to remember that this XYZ knife cut X times better than this knife I'm currently using. New blade steels pop up all the time, and it's hard to keep track of what's better than what.

What do high end steels offer that a regular, budget steel can't offer anyways? When I think of blade steel, there's only so many aspects to it. You've got your overall sharpness, which I would say is probably the most important part of the steel. Having a dull knife is counterproductive. If I'm reaching for a knife, I obviously knew I needed something better than my hands. You've also got edge retention, which is pretty important as well. You don't want your knife to be useless after one cut. Besides that, I can't think of too many other necessary aspects of steel. I guess there's how resistant to rust it is. You don't want a steel that's very corrosive, because that could really screw up your knife cosmetically and functionally. I'm not sure how steels that are more conducive to chipping fit in. Maybe overall quality of the steel. As you can see now, I'm just grasping for straws to try to figure out what a good steel needs to offer. For me, I value sharpness and retention. Even with crappy steels, I've never had any issues with rusting or chipping, so that's a non-factor for me.

How would you even quantitatively determine how good a steel is? The makeup of the steel alone means nothing if you've got a bad heat treat or edge on there. Cutting is a pretty subjective thing too, so it's hard to compare steels across the entire market. It'd be really interesting to have blind tests where you perform a number of tasks with a variety of steels. The issue is these tests would never completely be standardized. All companies do things differently. I don't think people realize how much more goes into a blade's performance besides the makeup of the steel. There's the heat treat and sharpening plus on the user end, there's your own cutting technique, usage, etc.

Do you think knife companies will ever hit the wall with how supreme a super steel can be? I do think there will be a point when blade steels can't possibly get any better. So the question now then is would you rather companies focus resources on improving blade steels or coming up with new designs, locks, etc? Blade steels are not the most immediate or distinguishing factor about a knife, so why keep putting time, money, and effort into improving something that is already perfectly fine. Maybe in a couple of years, we'll be so shocked with how crappy the steels were back in good old 2017. I don't think that will be the case though. Blade steel has come a long way in the past few years, but I don't think it can continue on this pace forever. At some point, the marginal improvement in quality and performance won't make the extra cost worth it. Sorry for the length of this post. I at least hope I made you all think a little more. I'm no expert by any means, and admittedly I know next to nothing about how blade steel works. I probably haven't even tried a wide enough scope of them compared to some people out there. Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading all this. It was a ton of fun to write. Thanks for looking!

FourSevens Mini Mk. II Review

I really thought this light would become my go-to EDC light. On paper, it looks like the absolute perfect flashlight. It has a killer output in a super compact package. Just because a piece of gear looks good on paper doesn't mean you'll like the design. Unfortunately, that's the case with this light for me. I can't get behind the design or UI. I'm so used to some of my other lights now that I can't justify giving them up for this light. It's a cool light, but not the one for me.

Quality wise, this light is perfect. I've had no issues with it. The fit and finish is perfect. I've never had any problems with any of the FourSevens' lights I've tried, and this one is no exception.

Design wise, this light isn't anything fancy. It's simple and to the point. It's a twisty light with a CR123 battery. That makes it much stouter than most lights I'm used to carrying. I've always carried AAA lights, so coming to a CR123 from those is quite a big difference. I ultimately didn't like that stoutness in my carry. I prefer my slimmer lights for sure. There's nothing wrong with it at all. It's just a personal preference thing. The knurling all over this light is super nice, but honestly this light isn't that easy for me to use one-handed. I don't find the twisty action to be that smooth or loose, so it takes a lot of effort to turn the light on and off. I often get stuck on the same mode when I'm trying to switch modes, because I can't turn the light on and off quick enough. I could just need to break it in a little bit. Other than that, there's not that much to say about the design. The light did come with a pocket clip and key ring attachment. Both really suck though. The pocket clip juts out way too far. I'd never use this key ring attachment as this light would make my keys way too bulky.

Like I said earlier, this light's output is killer. At the time I'm writing this, I believe this is the only flashlight in this size range that can pump out over a 1,000 lumens. You do need to buy FourSevens' special battery to get the 1,020 lumens. If you're using a regular CR123 battery, you'll only get max output of 550 lumens. The max output is 1,020 lumens with a minimum output of 0.8 lumens. I really love the inclusion of this super low firefly/moonlight mode. It's very handy when I don't need that much light. This light does have mode memory and different configuration levels. The mode memory is nice, but kind of sucks when you leave it on the 1,020 lumens. I've forgotten that's the mode I've used last many times now, and it always leaves me blind for a little bit. I don't know exact runtimes, so you'll have to look those up on FourSevens' website. This light does get very hot when you leave it on high for a little bit. That's to be expected though. I do believe there is a cut-off for how long you can use the high mode before it bumps you back down to 550 lumens. Don't quote me on that though. Modes include the moonlight, low, medium, high, and various strobes and beacons. This light has six different configuration levels. To change what level you're at, you have to repeatedly twist the light on/off a ton of times. Honestly it's a pain to do, so I've just left it on the default, which is low/medium/high/moonlight. You can adjust the configuration levels so you have as few as one mode or every single one. It's a neat idea, but not one that I really need. The beam has a nice tint to it. This flashlight can light up everything I need it do. It's a super impressive output for a light this size.

The feature that really drew me to pick up this light is the fact that it's rechargeable. When you buy this light with the special battery, you get this cool USB charger to charge the battery. It's super easy to use. It just connects to the ends of the battery with magnets, and you're good to go. 

As far as price goes, the flashlight and battery combo goes for $55 from FourSevens' website. If you want the light alone, that'll run you $40. You might as well pick up the combo, so you're guaranteed the 1,020 lumens. I think that's a pretty fair price for a light that's rechargeable and gets over 1,000 lumens. The Olight S10R Baton II, a similar rechargeable CR123 light, ran for like $60 I believe. That's about what you're going to pay for a quality light at this point in time.

All in all, I really wanted to like this light, but it wasn't for me. Something I didn't mention earlier was how boring the black finish is. I prefer to have my colorful gear, so I was bummed that this only comes in black. You can get special versions of this light in copper, titanium, brass, or rainbow, but those cost about $80. That's ridiculous. I'm not going to pay that much just to get a non-black light. It's a cool light, but not that cool. The best parts about it are the output and fact that it's rechargeable. My biggest issues come down to the design and UI. I'm so used to my other lights at this point that it was too big of an adjustment to get used to this one. I was never really sold on the size (too bulky for me), so I probably didn't give it the fairest shot in my carry. It's totally a great light. It doesn't get a personal recommendation from me, but I do recognize a quality light when I see it. If you need a super bright and small light in your EDC, check it out. Otherwise, just pick up a good AAA light. If you like the idea of this light, but want a clicky, check out Olight's Baton series. Remember that lumens aren't always everything. Thanks for looking!

A Look At One Of My Bookshelves: TBR Shelf

Hey everyone! Since I read a lot, I have a couple bookshelves around my room. This past winter, I built a shelf since my current one had filled up. I always had this space under my desk that I couldn't do much with. It was the perfect size for a bookshelf, so I decided to build myself one. This is the first big thing I've ever really built before, and you can tell. It's not perfect by any means, but it turned out well enough. It's super study, and that's all I really care about. Here's a look at the shelf I use to hold most my books that I still need to read (to be read or TBR). It also holds a few other random things, like some TV shows, movies, and video games I still need to watch or play. Sorry if these photos aren't the best.

I'm not going to list every single thing on this shelf, because that seems kind of pointless. I'm hoping to read most of these this summer, so I should be able to mention them in the monthly wrap-up posts I do. I am super happy with how the shelf turned out. It looks pretty decent if I do say so myself plus it holds a lot more books than I expected. I might as well mention some highlights from the shelf. I'm trying to read a bunch of Stephen King books this summer, so I picked up Cell and 11/22/63 a while ago. Thrift stores are the best places to get cheap books, by the way. One book I'm really excited to start soon is Helter Skelter. It's a true crime novel all about Charles Manson. Also if you caught some of the DVDs on the right side of the top shelf, I'm a huge fan of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It's a hilarious show. Definitely worth a watch. I'm hoping to finish all the three seasons I've got this summer. I think I'll wrap it up here. Stay tuned for my reading posts if you want to hear about some of these books. Thanks for looking!

FourSevens Updated vs. Classic Preon P2

I was very saddened when FourSevens discontinued the classic Preons for an updated line. The updates were mostly cosmetic and then updating the technology in them. I'd say the updated technology was necessary, but the cosmetic changes were not. The classic came out a pretty long while ago, so the emitter was definitely out of date. After trying out both the classic and updated Preon P2, I'd have to say I still love the classic a whole lot more.

The most obvious change to the Preon line was the design. The updated one now has grooves all over the body opposed to the smooth and sleek look of the classic. I thought I'd hate that at first, but honestly the grooves are not as noticeable as I thought they'd be. I still do prefer the sleek look of the classic over the grooves of the updated one. I also prefer the classic line as they come in a lot more colors. The updated Preon only comes in two colors, black and blue. The classic comes in tons of vibrant colors, like this sweet green as well as blue, yellow, red. etc. When it comes to design, the classic Preon wins for sure.

Price wise, the updated Preon runs for $50, while you can find the classic for about $35. I don't think the updated one is worth the $50. It's nothing special. The classic Preon also wins when it comes to price.

One thing that the updated Preon did worse was the button. The button on the classic was totally fine, so I'm not sure why FourSevens changed it. I heard a ton of people say the classic button was too easy to turn on, but I've never had that issue with mine. Granted I don't carry mine in the pocket at all. Still, the button is quite firm and takes a decent amount of pressure to activate. I'd also have to say the classic wins when it comes to the button.

The updated Preon easily wins when it comes to the specs. That should be the case though, since it has a better emitter and updated technology. I will say one thing that the updated one sucks at is the configuration levels. It may seem cool that you can change what modes you can access, but it's not something I really need in an EDC light. It's a pain in the butt to even change the configuration levels. Anyways back to the specs, the max output for the updated one is 220 lumens, while the classic can only put out about 160 lumens. Honestly though, I can't tell a noticeable difference between the outputs. I'm not a lumen whore, and I've realized a high number of lumens doesn't always mean that much. I prefer a good design to a high number of lumens. Battery life isn't that big of a deal to me either, so I have no idea which one has better runtime. Basically, if you want the most up-to-date light, go with the updated Preon.

The clips are obviously different. I didn't necessarily mind the clip on the classic, but I definitely prefer the look of the updated one. They both function the same, so it really comes down to which looks better.

All in all, I'd pick the classic over the updated one mostly because of the design. Nothing can beat the sleek design of the classic. Spec and clip wise, the updated Preon is better, but the classic wins in every other category. I definitely recommend you pick up a classic Preon over the updated ones. Thanks for looking!

Field Notes Review

I'm always on the hunt for good, pocket-sized notebooks. With all the hype surrounding Field Notes, I figured I might as well try some out. I'm not impressed with these notebooks at all. They're perfectly average and don't seem to be made of any special materials.

I paid $10 for 3 of these dot grid notebooks. That price is kind of crazy considering these aren't made of anything special. It's just normal card stock paper for the covers, and cheaper paper on the inside. I've definitely used nicer paper in my Rite in the Rain and Rhodia notebooks. I don't like that the covers are made of card stock paper as they aren't that durable. They would not hold up to daily pocket use at all. I do wish the pages were perforated as well. It would make them much easier to tear out that way. I'll also say that I wish these were a tiny bit smaller. These are 3.5" by 5.5" with 48 pages. The number of pages is perfectly fine for my uses. The paper quality is average. Now that I've tried nicer notebooks, I know that it's not the best out there.

I had never tried dot grid notebooks before, so I didn't really know what to expect. I will say I prefer blank pages a lot more. The dots are way too obvious to me. I'd rather them be a little lighter. I hate lined/grid paper for anything other than school work, because I feel they're too restricting. I don't use my EDC notebooks solely for writing lists/notes, so I prefer to have blank pages to handle whatever I need to jot down. Field Notes come in lined, graph, blank, or dot grid depending on what version you get. 

The bottom line is that I could get much cheaper, no-name notebooks from Walmart that are exactly like these. I can't justify paying about 3 bucks a pop on these notebooks when I can get the same quality in no-name notebooks. You're pretty much paying for the name on the front of these covers. They're not even that aesthetically pleasing. There's really no reason to buy these notebooks at all. These are quite popular in the EDC community, but I can't exactly figure out why. Once something gets popular in this community, people jump on the bandwagon pretty quickly. I'm guessing that's the same case with these. I'd rather buy Rite in the Rain notebooks, since those at least have waterproof paper. I don't recommend wasting your money on these notebooks. They're extremely overhyped. Thanks for looking!

Apps/Websites I Use Daily

My phone is probably one of my closest true EDCs. Its with me the large majority of the time, and I rely on it to communicate with people and to entertain myself. I thought it'd be fun to talk about some of the various apps and websites I look at daily. No matter what, I pretty much have to check each of the things I mention at least once a day. I used to be really bad about mindlessly scrolling on my phones for hours. Luckily, I'm not as obsessed, but I probably still spend way too much of my time looking at stupid stuff. Without further ado, here's what my home screens look like.

Normally I've got a funny picture of my dog or something as my wallpaper, but I wanted to switch it for the sake of this post. So as you can tell, I don't really go overboard with apps. I used to have a ton, and then I ran out of space so they all had to go. I really like having a minimal amount of apps. It helps cut down on my procrastination slightly and looks a lot nicer than having tons and tons of apps. Now that I'm looking at it, I could probably condense the second page of apps onto the first. I feel like that'd make the main page way too crowded though. Anyways, on the main page, I have all my most used apps for the most part. I check my email constantly, so I'd say that's probably my most opened app. I'll talk about some of the more interesting ones. 

I love Google Calendar when I'm in school. It helps me get acclimated to my schedule at the beginning of a semester. About halfway through the semester I stop using it though. I only will put important events/meetings and my classes on it, so it doesn't get too crazy.

I love YouTube, Twitter, and Netflix to help me procrastinate doing all my work. I honestly hate the current YouTube app. It crashes for me constantly, doesn't have ad block, and has a lot of unnecessary features. This makes me use my computer for YouTube more. If I want to watch a quick or popular video, I'll just quickly play it on my phone since it's easier. Oh and if you wanted to know, my phone is an iPhone 5S. I probably should've mentioned that at the beginning, but I'm too lazy to cut and paste it up there now. Side note, I hate Apple now, and as soon as this phone dies, I'm switching to Android. I use Twitter to follow famous people mostly, like my favorite YouTubers, musicians, and actors. I'm not a huge fan of social media, so that's why there are a lack of apps like Facebook, Snapchat, etc. They're just a huge waste of time in my opinion. I've found I don't give a crap about what anyone else my age is doing with their life. Netflix is an obvious choice. I haven't been using it now that I'm home during the summer, but it gets tons of use when I'm at school. I did somewhat recently start The Cleveland Show and season 3 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Both are hilarious shows. I have a ton of shows on my to-watch list, so I really need to get onto watching them. 

My music app of choice would have to be Spotify. I didn't believe in streaming services for music, but then I got a cheap trial of Spotify, and I love it! I pay $4.99 a month with their college discount, and I definitely think it's worth that. I get access to pretty much every song I could ever imagine.

On the second page, I've got apps that I don't use that often but still need. I got back on Instagram, so that's there. I haven't been posting lately and honestly I find it kind of boring. It's just the same knife photos over and over again. I've also got an app I need to do two-factor authentication for my school, my bank's app, and Freeform and CW for some of the TV shows I watch.

Moving onto some of my favorite websites, I used to have a ton of sites I'd look at, but I've mostly narrowed it down to one now. Reddit is by far my favorite site on the internet. It covers all the topics I love and so many more. I can get an overview of news/what's popular and then dive into some of my favorite sub-Reddits for EDC/book/video game stuff. I don't have too many EDC related sites I look at anymore. The only dedicated one is More Than Just Surviving. I'm too lazy to link any of this stuff, so just Google it if you're interested. That site is cool, because they don't just focus on knife stuff. They talk about survival, prepping, and do some reviews. I think it deserves a look. I will say I do look at Blade HQ pretty much daily to see if they have any good deals or if any new knives come out. 

That about wraps it up for my daily apps/websites. I hope I got to everything I wanted to say. It's not the most entertaining stuff, but it works out well for me. Thanks for looking!

3 Months With The Nintendo Switch

I've now had my Nintendo Switch for 3 months. I figured I'd do this post to talk about how I'm liking it so far. If you've never heard of the Switch until now, it's Nintendo's newest console that came out back in March. In my opinion, it's like a portable version of the Wii. I've been loving mine so far! I've always been a huge Nintendo fan, so I'm a little bias, but I think this console has the potential to be very cool. It's much more versatile than most consoles out there. You can play it handheld as a portable or hook it up to your TV for that typical gaming experience. I have absolutely no issues with the console itself. All my issues are with the way Nintendo is handling certain things about it. I'll talk about that in a little bit. 

So like I said, I find that this console is kind of like a portable Wii. The controllers, called Joy-cons, have motion control just like the Wii. They're much smaller than I thought they'd be. Despite this, they're still super comfortable to play with. There's a few different ways you can use them, which I find really cool. They can either be attached to the screen like you see in the picture, be used handheld on their own or be put in a controller type of grip if you want more to hold onto. Having this many options is nice, so you can switch it up (haha accidental pun there) if you're not in love with one of them. I like the combination of joysticks and buttons. Other than the controllers, the only other part is the touchscreen tablet. The screen is on the larger end for a portable console, but it's not too large that I wouldn't be willing to carry it around. I think the size is perfect and allows you to play two-player games with this one system by having each person take a Joy-con. 

I don't want to go into every detail of the system, but it's been working out quite well. I've had a blast playing with it, and I've really fallen in love with the form factor. One thing I haven't gotten much use out of is the dock that allows you to play it on your TV. I'm not sure why I haven't try that mode out yet. I really love handheld consoles the most for gaming, so that's probably why. The two games I've got, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, are awesome! They're just countless hours of fun! They're already some of the best-selling games this year. Their graphics are some of the best I've ever seen out of any Nintendo games as well. I will say the only iffy thing about the console itself is the battery life. It's not the best. I probably get maybe 3 to 5 hours out of it before I need to charge it again. That may seem pretty short, but honestly I think it's kind of a blessing. Otherwise, I'd be playing this thing all day and get nothing done. I usually only game for a couple hours anyways, so having a shorter battery isn't too big of an issue for me.

Now, I'd like to talk about how Nintendo itself could single-handily ruin this amazing console. First off, the price is pretty ridiculous. You have to pay $300 just for the console itself. When you can get a PS4 or Xbox One for like $250 or less, it's kind of hard to justify spending so much more on an unproven console. Of course it's brand new and there could be cheaper prices/deals down the road, but it's hard to get people interested in a console that costs so much. Adding onto the expensive console, all the accessories are ridiculously overpriced too. To get an extra pair of Joy-cons you have to pay around $70 or $80 I believe. Plus if you want to get a nicer, pro controller that's similar to one of the PS4 or Xbox that's another $80 too I think. Even the games are expensive coming from Nintendo in my opinion. You could get 3DS games for like $40, but these Switch games start off at $60 most of the time. Again, that's PS4 or Xbox One prices for an unproven console. Maybe Nintendo thinks that since their competitors are charging that much, then they can to. They are a company that runs for profit after all. I still find it kind of outrageous. I don't think they'll attract as many families to this console with those prices. I'd always seen Nintendo as more of a family gaming company, but with the Switch, maybe they're trying to up their game. 

Another huge point against Nintendo is they don't even have that many good games out for this console to begin with. The only one worth getting at launch was Breath of the Wild. Most of the big name games come out later in the year. Again, how are you going to attract people to an unproven console with crappy game options? I'm not sure who exactly to blame for that. It could be that Nintendo didn't help developers understand what the Switch was or that developers wanted to see the public reaction to decide whether it was worth their time to make games for it. I don't know exactly, but it annoys me as a user. I know I'll eventually get bored of the two games I've got, and who knows when something I'm interested in will come out. I really want a new Animal Crossing. The Switch has done super well so far, so I think developers are realizing its potential.

The last big issue I have with Nintendo is how hard they're making it to find this thing. I was lucky and camped out on launch day to pick one up. I easily got one, but I know that's not the case for the large majority of people. Nintendo always seems to have a hard time filling demand for a console that everyone wants. Look how the NES Classic went. So many people wanted one, yet Nintendo just recently discontinued it. WHY in the world would you discontinue something that people were dying to get?? It was probably a scheme so more people would be desperate for the Switch. I'm not Nintendo, so I really shouldn't speculate why they do the things they do, but I find it annoying as a customer. They're enabling scalpers to pick up consoles and then jack up the price on eBay for whatever poor, desperate soul is willing to pay that much. I'd honestly do the same thing too, but Nintendo could easily solve the problem by making more units. They should have known what they were getting into. I have heard that they're ramping up production, so hopefully everyone is able to get one sometime this year.

Sorry about that rant on Nintendo. I don't want to make this post any longer, so I'll wrap it up quickly. All in all, I absolutely love my Switch so far. I can't tell whether I'll like it more than my 3DS yet (mostly because of the lack of games). I like the design of the system and think it could really be something cool. It's not as portable as the 3DS, which kind of sucks. It is interesting to have a different type of system though. Nintendo would be boring if they just stuck to DS type of consoles. Hopefully Nintendo figures all their crap out and gets more consoles/games out there for everyone. I want more people to get their hands on this system to see how awesome it truly is. It's similar to the Wii with its motion control, but combines that with better controllers and a portable aspect. I definitely recommend you pick one up if you're into gaming. I'll probably do another post where I talk a little more in-depth about Breath of the Wild and Mario Kart 8. Thanks for looking!

My Top 3 Favorite Pieces of EDC Gear

Hey everybody! If I had to pick three pieces of EDC gear that were my absolute favorites, the following three would have to be them: the Spyderco Ladybug, Victorinox Classic, and FourSevens Preon P1. Every one of these things is pretty much perfect in my eyes. I've tried a lot of gear over the years, but I always come back to these three things.

If you've kept up with my channel or Instagram lately, this wouldn't come as much of a surprise, because these are consistently in my carry. If I could only carry three pieces of gear, I'd have no problem being stuck with these. They cover all my needs without taking up much space. I love the Ladybug as my EDC knife, because it's small, purple, and very sharp. It's my most carried knife by far. It's people friendly, which also makes it nice for EDC so I don't scare anybody. I love the FourSevens Preon P1 as my flashlight, because of its design. It's not the brightest flashlight in the world, but it's perfectly fine for my uses. I absolutely love the color as well! It's so bright and vibrant. The Victorinox Classic would be my multitool. I use the scissors on it more than anything, but the file/screwdriver and tweezers come in handy a lot too. Plus it's purple, so I really couldn't ask for more. Anyways, that's all I have to same about all these things. They're not the flashiest pieces of gear around, but they all work super well. They've never failed me, and that's why they've stuck around in my EDC. Thanks for looking!