Time For Some Quick Updates!

Hey everyone! I know it's been a little while since I've uploaded any videos and blog posts. As I'm sure you all guessed, school and life in general has been very busy. I'm almost at the end of a pretty crappy semester, yet that isn't necessarily going to mean more activity from me. I'm not exactly in a YouTube mindset right now for some reason. I will be working on blog posts for loaner gear, but videos will still probably be on hold. I do actually think I have videos in my queue I could upload, though I'd rather post an update video first since it's been a while.

Speaking of loaner gear, I've got quite a bit I still need to review. My plan is to finish with all that before the end of the year. I honestly got way too much gear in at once which has been a bit overwhelming to review. A lot of it hasn't fit my preferences either, but there are a few gems I've enjoyed. After I'm done with this batch of loaner gear, I don't see myself accepting anymore for a while. To be honest, YouTube and this knife stuff isn't my top priority or interest at the moment. I know I've said this before, but I'm kind of done with buying gear for the foreseeable future. Unless I see any decent Black Friday deals, there's not anything I desperately need. I have more than enough gear in my rotation and need to start saving up for post-graduation. Once I finish up reviewing all my current collection, expect to see a somewhat big sale. That's about it for now. Hopefully I'll be posting some stuff on here at the very least. Thanks for looking!

Arizona Bushman Mini ULU Thoughts

I never would have had the chance to try out this crazy looking knife if it wasn't for someone that watches my videos on YouTube. Big thank you to him! This Arizona Bushman Mini ULU has been interesting to try, but I'm honestly not the intended audience for it. I thought it was called the Julu, though he has the other name on his Esty store so we'll go with that. For EDC stuff, I have not enjoyed using it all. Take that with a grain of salt, since it's meant for more bushcraft/outdoorsy usage anyways. It's pretty reasonably priced, around $25, so if you like the look of it, I say give it a try. I've certainly tried worse blades at that price point. I don't have too much to say, so this will probably be a relatively short post. Since I only used this as an EDC option, I can't speak on how well it does for those food prep/bushcraft tasks. I'll mostly just focus on the design and my experiences overall.

The blade shape alone is what got me interested in this knife. You get a lot of belly and curvature that most EDC knives won't give you. It looks cool, yet it hasn't been practical in my usage. For EDC stuff, it's kind of sucked. It was very weird to try to open a box with it for instance. It didn't perform that well in my other typical EDC tasks. Again, I was expecting that this would be the case. I bet it would do well for food prep or bushcraft stuff. The quality of the knife itself has been pretty good. I've got a few issues with the sheath I'll get to at the end. I don't believe Arizona Bushman actually makes these himself. From the description on his Etsy store, I'm under the impression he just adds the edge and fixes up edges/fit of the sheaths.

The knife is made of 1095 high carbon steel with the blade coming in at 2 3/8" in diameter. That's a great size for a small neck knife like this. It's sharp enough for my needs, but I do wondering how sharpening it would go. It seems like it'd be a pain to me. I honestly did not use this knife that heavily once I figured out it was a pain to cut with. If you only need to cut stuff, you might as well get any other normal knife out there.

The ergos are weird but weren't as bad as I expected. It's pretty much a two-finger knife in the above position with the rest of your fist closing around it. You can also pinch it flat between your pointer and thumb kind of like how you'd throw a frisbee if that makes any sense. I'll be posting my video on it soon if you'd like to get a closer look at the egos. You just have to mess around and see what the most comfortable position is for your usage. You could also lash it to a stick or something if you wanted. There's a lot of versatility in how you actually use it which is nice to see.

The kydex sheath isn't the most snug in the world. I'd worry about the knife falling out over time. I haven't had any problems with it falling out so far, but it is something to be mindful of. Thanks to the lightness and slimness of the knife, it does carry relatively well. I personally hate wearing neck knives though, so it hasn't been something I've enjoyed carrying. It does come with the ballchain lanyard.

I personally don't recommend this knife, yet it is nice to see something different out there. If you can figure out a use for the weird blade shape, it's not a horrible option. I'm not aware of many other knives that have this sort of design. For me, the practicality just isn't there for me personally. I'm definitely not going to miss it when I send it back to the owner. Here's a link to the Etsy listing. Thanks for looking!

Smith & Sons Shrew Thoughts

I've never been a fan of fixed blades/neck knives in my EDC. I've tried various ones over the years, but nothing beats the compactness of a folder for day to day stuff. For outdoorsy tasks, a fixed blade is the obvious choice though. I've had this Smith & Sons Shrew on loan from someone that watches my videos. Huge thanks to him for letting me try out some of his gear! While it's a very nice knife, it honestly never stood a chance in my carry. I hate wearing anything bulky around my neck. The Shrew seems better size wise than some of the other ones I've tried. If you want a nicer fixed blade, you can't go wrong with this one. I don't believe I have any many complaints about it. I can see it working out well in an EDC.

I absolutely love the look of this knife! I'm normally against knives with weird blade-to-handle ratios, but this one looks fine in my eyes. The stonewashed finish looks awesome in combination with the green and black G10. At one point, there were a few different color options available on Blade HQ. I think now there's only one or two to pick between. Smith & Sons makes their blades here in the US too which is always nice to support. I'd never heard of them as a company before, so it was neat to try one of their knives out. The quality has been great as well. You're definitely getting what you paid for.

Getting onto the blade, the Shrew has a 2" 1095 blade. I haven't had any problems with its performance. It's cut everything I've needed to and seems as sharp as any other knife I own. A 2" blade is probably my ideal size for any EDC knife at this point in my life. I don't do many intensive cutting tasks these days, so 2" generally gets it done for me. As a neck knife, 2" is also probably the biggest I'd want to go. 

The ergos are great. This is a smaller knife (3.75" handle), but I still can fit a full four-finger grip. I like how there's the one finger groove for your pointer finger and that's it. The rest of your hand rests very naturally along the rest of the handle. The G10 handles are comfortable in the hand as well. There's no jimping anywhere on the knife, though the G10 has some nice texturing to it. I've never once felt like it'd slip out of my hand during use. It's probably not the most compact neck knife out there. Honestly, I'd rather have the extra handle length than put out something that has cramped ergos.

Here's a photo to show the thickness overall. It's about what I'd expect in a neck knife.

I do like how the handles are slightly contoured.

The kydex sheath is very well done. It has great retention, no rattle, and the carbon fiber pattern looks very classy. I've go no complaints about it at all. When I've carried it with a paracord lanyard, it's been fine, but again, I hate having things around my neck. 

Price wise, the Shrew goes for about $95 on Blade HQ. That seems like a fair price for the quality and materials you're getting. 

Though I wouldn't want to add this knife to my own EDC, I do like it a lot more than the few CRKT and Boker fixed blades I've tried, like the Folts Minimalist, SPEW, and Lil' Friend. It looks great, cuts well, has fantastic ergos, and is such an improvement over those cheaper options I just mentioned. If you want a nicer, less mainstream blade to add to your collection, I think this is a good option. I'm not going to miss it once I send it back to its owner, yet it was at least nice to try. Check it out if it interests you. Thanks for looking!

Thrunite Archer 1A V3 Thoughts

The Thrunite Archer 1A V3 is a very nice example of a well-done AA flashlight. It has great outputs off a 14500 battery, has all the features I like in my EDC lights, and has an easy to use UI. If you want a simple AA light, this seems to be a solid choice. It's not the most compact in the world, but other than that, I have no major complaints. It's been a great light!

There's nothing about the design that stands out to me. That works for me since I don't need flashy things in my carry anyways. I wish it came in more colors but Thrunite has never been a company that offers that unfortunately. It makes no sense to only produce black flashlights which are next to impossible to find in the dark. There's some good knurling in the middle and near the end of the light that provide some extra grip. I love that it's got the hexagonal ring where the side button is. This makes it harder for the light to keep rolling when you set it down. I also like seeing the crenulated bezel, as most of my lights lack one. Quality wise, it's been great. For a AA/14500 light, it's not as compact as it could be. It'd probably be manageable for you dudes with actual pockets. For me, it'd have to be a bag light or one that goes in my EDC pouch. Other AA lights I've compared it to are at least half an inch shorter. I have ended up appreciating the extra length since it gives you more to grip onto. I was surprised to see that it can tailstand too. 

The 1A V3 has five modes: firefly (0.1 lumens for 17 days), low (17 lumens for 22 hours), medium (75 lumens for 5 hours), high (200 lumens for 115 minutes), and a strobe. If you run it on a 14500 battery instead of a normal AA, you're going to get higher outputs. I'm not sure exactly how much brighter the light is on the 14500, but it at least seems to be 300 lumens on high. Even the 200 lumens is more than enough for my basic EDC tasks. I've never once felt that the light is too dim for me. The modes are all pretty good number wise and make sense for the light. I normally do prefer a low mode of around 5-10 lumens, yet the 17 lumens is still fine for when I need a little bit of light quickly. The beam is a nice tint and has a hotspot with a decent amount of flood. You can get these lights in either a cool white or neutral white version. I've had no problems with any of the runtimes either. The battery hasn't died through my typical EDC usage in the past month and a half or so.

I've never tried a side activation switch for the modes before and wasn't sure how I'd end up liking it. It's been great! It feels more natural to switch the modes on the side than at the end. I would definitely like to find some sort of colorful side switch light for my collection. To turn the light on/off, you can only use the rear clicky. I've never had any problems with this light accidentally turning on. It takes a decent bit of force to click the button. You can do momentary on as well by half pressing the rear clicky. I was so excited to see that feature on this flashlight! For the mode switching, the side switch works great. You do have to individually click for each mode, which I know some people don't like to do. However, the other awesome feature of this light is mode memory. That means you can just leave it in whatever mode you use the most so you don't have to click through all the modes every time. I hope momentary on and mode memory become standards on all new flashlights. They make your EDC light that much easier to use. The clicky does have a rubberized texture to it which helps differentiate it from the rest of the body. Also to access the strobe, you have to hold down on the side switch to start the strobe. Then when you're done, just press once to go back to the mode you were on. I personally think strobes are worthless, so I was happy to see that you couldn't access it through any of the clicking between the main modes. I love seeing a simple UI without any of the overly complicated press and holds/triple and quadruple clicks. 

This light does come with a clip I believe. I've had this one on loan and haven't missed having a clip. As I'm sure you all have heard me say countless times before, I can't ever clip lights to my miniscule pockets anyways. I mentioned earlier that it's a little longer than most other AA lights, so be forewarned if you're looking for something that's more pocketable.

These go for about $30 which is a great deal for what you're getting. It's a solid quality light with good enough outputs for most EDC tasks. If it came in a color other than black, I would've picked one up in a heartbeat. 

All in all, I would recommend this light. Thrunite makes a lot of great flashlights for EDC. If this one isn't quite the one for you, they have plenty of other options to choose from. My only minor complaints are the lack of color options and the longer length. As far as function and performance go, you really can't go wrong with the Archer 1A V3. The mode memory, momentary on, and the fact that it's a clicky are some of my highlights/what I liked the most. I've enjoyed trying it out for sure. I see why people like these so much. Thanks for looking!

Zebralight H52 Thoughts

I've always absolutely loved the look of Zebralights. They don't look like your typical flashlight to me. I've been eyeing one for quite some time now, so I'm glad I've gotten the chance to check out the H52 on loan from someone who watches my videos. It's a neat light and makes me want to check out more of these right angle flashlights in the future. They're just so versatile. The Olight H1R Nova is one I'm hoping to check out soon too. I love having a headlamp in my EDC and have been wanting to add a second one to my collection. I'd much rather go this route, since these types of lights double as flashlights and headlamps with the included headstraps. The H52 looks great design wise, but I've been annoyed with a few aspects of it. I'm not sure I'd entirely recommend it. As an EDC light, I've had better options.

Like I mentioned earlier, I love the design of this light. The grooves look cool and help give you some extra grip. I like that it's more of a gray color instead of the boring black most flashlights come in. It uses a AA/14500 battery. I normally prefer AAA lights for EDC, though the H52 is still more than compact enough to carry. You can also tailstand this light if you need to. I've had no quality problems with it either. I've heard Zebralight makes some great lights, and this one is no exception. It's been perfect when it comes to design and quality.

Getting onto output, this light has all the typical low, medium, and high modes, along with various strobes. Zebralight does the configurations levels, like Foursevens does on their newer lights, though Zebralight uses sub-levels as their terminology. The three main levels are high, medium, and low. Then you have the choice of different sub-levels for each main level that adjusts some of the lumens. While this is an interesting concept, I never find them to be executed well. You have to repeatedly click about 6 times to start the configuration. Anyways that's besides the point for now. I'll touch more on the UI in a bit.

For the output off a AA battery, the high puts out 300 lumens for 0.9 hours, the medium is 54 lumens for 7.5 hours, and the low is 2.9 lumens for 4 days. Like I said earlier, these can be further adjusted if you need to. I wouldn't want to change these numbers at all though. You've got a nice range of output with each mode being what you'd typically expect. The one I've been using must be on the second sub-level, because the low is essentially a moonlight mode. It's super dim and half the time I don't even realize it's on. It's almost too dim to be usable which is weird to say coming from someone that loves to see moonlight modes on my lights. I do like that the medium mode is around 50 lumens and that the true low is less than 5 lumens. That's what I prefer in my EDC lights personally. The 300 lumens is more than bright enough for EDC tasks. Since this is meant as a headlamp, the beam is one of the wider ones I've ever seen. It has a ton of flood and gets you a good amount of light in your field of vision. I believe it's the cool white tint which looks natural. If you use a 14500 battery, the brightest the H52 will get is 535 lumens which will ramp back down to 300 lumens after a minute. I've had no problems with runtime. Besides the too dim low mode and the weird sub-levels, the output is what you'd expect in a AA light like this. I believe these are older (at least a couple years old), so you can probably find something a little brighter nowadays with the always improving flashlight technology.

The button itself is great. I like that is has a rubberized texture to it. It's a firmer clicky with no ability to do half presses or momentary on. That's a huge bummer for me, as those are two things I love to have on my lights personally. The button does work as it should so that's all you can really ask for.

Zebralight has a lot of info about the UI on their website. There seems to be a lot of random click combinations you can do to check the battery life, change the configurations, etc. I'm just going to focus on the main elements of the UI I've truly used. On a quick side note, I hate how complicated UIs have become. I dislike the trend of all the 3+ clicks that are required to access certain modes or to change the configuration. FourSevens is guilty of the weird access to the configuration levels as well. I've never found it to be necessary personally.

Anyways, so one click gets you high, two gets you medium, and three gets you strobe. I hate how it comes on in high first, because most of the time, I don't need that much light. Again, as a headlamp flashlight, coming on in high first makes sense. The strobe mode has been a major annoyance to me, because at times, I've meant to turn off the light but must have triple clicked and the strobe comes on. There's a slight delay before the strobe starts, so you think the light is off and then you see strobe start. I've never been a fan of strobe modes on my EDC lights. I understand they can be helpful for rescue; however, for day-to-day stuff, it's unnecessary for me.

From the above, you can see that you only have access to three of the modes through clicks. If you only need a little bit of light, you need to press and hold to get access to the low. I hate that. I want access to low from the get go. When you do the press and hold, you can access all the modes (low/medium/high) by holding until you get to your desired mode. This is meant as a headlamp flashlight, so I guess the way the UI is done makes sense for that purpose. There's no mode memory either which is a huge bummer for me. I hate having to do press and hold for the low mode that I'd use the most often. I've definitely had my annoyances with my UI. It's not been my favorite clicky to use because of it.

Thanks to its compact size, it has carried well. It normally does come with a clip. It still carries fine clipless and I probably prefer it that way. I can't clip any lights in my nonexistent pockets anyways. The headstrap that it comes with is very comfortable too. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of the light in the strap before I sent it back.

These are a bit on the pricier side in my opinion, normally around $64ish on Zebralight's site. Since it's not a perfect light, I wouldn't want to pay that much for one. It is on sale for $49 at the time I'm writing this post. That seems like a much better deal.

I really wanted to love this light but the UI has been irritating to use. I don't like all the double/triple clicks and the press and hold. I'm much rather have a light where I can individually click for each mode or at least do half presses to change modes quickly. Mode memory would have been great to see as well. Compared to other flashlights I've tried, I ultimately wouldn't want this specific one in my collection. I do love the concept and hope I can find one with a better UI. I don't personally recommend it, though there are many others in this community that love their Zebralights. It's a great quality light, but there's too many weird quirks for me that I don't want to get used to. Thanks for looking!

Thrunite T10T Thoughts

The T10T is a discontinued model from Thrunite. I wish I could say it was a shame it was discontinued, but honestly this isn't a very memorable light. Don't get me wrong, it's performed perfectly well. I've just preferred other lights I own more. I've had this one on loan, and like the Eagletac D25a I talked about in a previous post, I wouldn't feel inclined to pick one up had they still been available. I've always been impressed with what Thrunite does for the price. They've probably got a better model available than this one nowadays.

Since I mentioned the D25a earlier, I might as well say this is a very similar light. Both are titanium flashlights that have more of a plain design. The T10T here lacks any knurling along the body. Honestly, that's fine with me. I've never felt like the light was too slick for me to grab onto. The quality has been great like all of the other Thrunites I've tried. It runs on a AA battery and is not much bigger than a typical AAA light. I was always worried that AA lights wouldn't be as pocketable as AAA ones, yet that's not the case at all. This one is very compact and relatively light. It does have the ability to tailstand too.

Running this light on a normal AA battery, the max output is 208 lumens for the cool white version and 169 for the neutral white. I honestly couldn't tell you what version this one is. I've never been able to tell much of a difference between all the beam tints out there besides the yellower ones. Speaking of beam tint, it's nice and normal looking flood beam. I have no idea about the runtimes. I've never had to change the battery in the month and a halfish I've used it. There are three modes total on these T10Ts: high (the 200 or 169 lumens), medium (13 lumens), and moonlight (0.15 lumens). I don't like the huge lumen difference between all the modes. There's no true medium mode, just two lows (the firefly and 13 lumen "medium"). I do like seeing the moonlight mode on this light, but it seems a little too dim. I wish the medium mode was more in the 50 lumen range. Sometimes high is too much but the 13 lumens is too dim. It's always been more than bright enough for my basic EDC tasks.

The metal tailcap feels much nicer than the typical plastic/rubber ones, yet it feels a little too firm for my liking. It is like any other clicky when it comes to UI. You can individually click for each mode or half press to cycle through the modes. It's not as easy to do half presses due to the firmer tailcap. It's still perfectly manageable though. If you don't like clickys, you can also use this light as a twisty which is neat. You don't see too many clicky/twisty combo lights out there anymore. Being that it's not designed primarily as a twisty, it's a little stiff when you turn it on/off that way. I love that it has mode memory. That's one of the best features on any flashlight in my opinion.

I personally think the T10T has a weird looking clip that's a bit bigger than it needs to be. It does still carry fine though, so the design just don't match with my personal preferences. This light is very smooth to slide in and out of the pocket since there's no knurling under the clip. 

I'm not sure how much these went for as far a price goes. I'd imagine they'd be somewhere in the $50 to $65 range. For the lower output, I wouldn't have wanted to pay that much for one. Flashlight technology has greatly improved in the years since this light was released.

All in all, there's nothing about this light that blows me away. The design is very bland and blends in with a lot of other lights out there. The output isn't all that impressive anymore either. I'd much rather have a colorful light that has a true medium mode and brighter high mode. It was fun to try, yet it's not something I'd recommend. Thanks for looking!

CRKT Pilar Thoughts

I was hesitant to try out the CRKT Pilar due to the terrible experience I had with the Squid. The metal handled version of the Pilar just seemed like a do-over of that knife with a different design. Then I saw the G10 versions released on Blade HQ and figured it was as good a time as any to check them out. I don't like it overall, but I will admit it's better than the Squid. That's not very high praise coming from me considering how awful the Squid is. There are so many better smaller knives out there. If you dig the design, check it out. Otherwise, skip it.

The design of the Pilar is way more appealing to me than the Squid's. All the curves and the blade shape look great. It's a Voxnaes design if you're a fan of his work. I dig the orange and acidwashed blade combo. They also did the blue G10 one that looks just as cool. Both are out of stock now, so I'm not sure if you'll ever be able to get them again. The standard stainless steel version is pretty much always in stock everywhere online. Quality wise, it's great. I had issues with grittiness and bad fit and finish on the Squid. This one has none of those problems. The blade centering is perfect.

With the Pilar, you're getting a 2.4" 8Cr13MoV blade. When Blade HQ announced these on IG, people were disappointed that the steel was still 8Cr13MoV. Sure it's kind of a let down for the price, $35, but I'm not that unhappy about it. I've never been into high end steels anyways. It's been fine enough for all my EDC tasks. It's nice to see the thumb hole, but it's a little too close to handle for me. There's not much clearance to get your thumb in there. I always have an awkward time trying to find the right angle to get it open the easiest. I'm bummed that you can't flick it open either. I've had the most luck just using my thumb to slowly open it. The size is perfect for EDC. It's not too big and not too small. The acidwashed finish looks great and has held up well. Besides the thumb hole, I'm mostly happy with the blade. 

G-10 is a nice handle material. It feels good in the hand and has some texture to it. I wouldn't have wanted the stainless steel version, so I'm glad CRKT decided to do this version. I've never personally understood the obsession with any sort of metal handles, whether that's stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, etc. They're often slick, heavy, and boring looking. Some of course can be fine, but I've have had way more misses with metal handles than hits. Anyways, the framelock is solid too. There's surprisingly no blade play in any direction. There's some interesting cutouts on the framelock side near the clip. There's no jimping anywhere on this knife which I'm fine with. I've never felt like it's too slick or ever been dissatisfied with the grip overall.

Getting onto the ergos which are probably the most important part of a knife for me. I can fit a full four-finger grip, though for you guys with bigger hands, it's probably more of a three-finger knife. The choil is awesome and your thumb can nicely rest in slightly curved spine of the blade. The ergos are mostly good except for where the finger groove curves into the rest of the handle. The last inch of the handle is uncomfortable for me. My pointer and middle finger fit great, but after that, the ergos go downhill for me. My fourth finger rests right where finger groove ends. There's a tad point where that happens, and my fourth finger perfectly manages to rest there. I'm not sure if that makes any sense, so stay tuned for my video where I show it a bit easier. The clip also digs into the palm of my hand uncomfortably. I think the biggest problem with the handle is the deeper finger groove. It's too big for just my middle finger yet too cramped for the middle and fourth finger. It's a bummer my fourth finger perfectly hits where the finger groove ends. For me, that's why the ergos aren't all that comfortable. It's probably only an issue for people with smaller hands. Because of the iffy ergos, I haven't enjoyed this one in the hand as much as some of my other smaller blades.

This knife would carry fine if it weren't for the weighty stainless steel backspacer. It's the same one they use on the stainless steel version. It's not the same shade as the framelock and kinda stands out to me. I would've loved to see it get changed since it doesn't really go with the knife. A G-10 backspacer would have been so much lighter and better looking. I absolutely hate the backspacer, and it ultimately ruins the knife for me. It makes this knife extremely end heavy. If you're going to produce a smaller knife, make it actually carry like a smaller knife. The clip does carry fine and is right hand tip-up or tip-down. 

This version went for about $35 which is a fair price for what you're getting. The steel could be better, but what would you expect for a budget knife? The stainless steel version goes for about $20 to $25. They're not anything too crazy material wise so that price seems like a good value to me. It's certainly in line with what other budget knives are offering for the price. If you only have about $30 to spend on an EDC knife though, just get the Ontario Rat 2 instead. 

So yeah, I'm not a fan of this knife at all. CRKT is really trying with these smaller knives but none of them have been hits for me. I love to see more companies finally making compact, budget-friendly knives. The Pilar is not all it's cracked up to be in my opinion. It's too heavy for what it is and the ergos are iffy for me. I've tried so many better small EDC options, like the Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite, Boker Subcom, Spyderco Cricket, etc. I don't personally recommend it, though they are insanely popular in the EDC community. I often seem to be in the minority on these overhyped knives. As I mentioned at the beginning, if you like the design, it's not a complete waste of time to check out. There are much better budget and small knives out there. Thanks for looking!

Eagletac D25a Ti 2017 Version Thoughts

The Eagletac D25a in titanium was one of the more popular EDC lights a few years. I don't hear much about them or about Eagletac in general anymore. This is the 2017 version of the D25a Ti. I don't believe you can find them anymore. They were a limited edition and seem to have sold out quickly. I can't find much information about them, so I'll mostly be focusing on design and how it's functioned in my carry. It's a decent light, but not one of my favorites for EDC. I've had this one on loan and wouldn't have felt inclined to buy one myself if they were still available.

There's nothing that fancy about the design. It's kind of boring to me. All the machining and knurling is well-done and gives you some extra grip. The 2017 version got rid of the knurling on the head of the light for the three grooves instead. That's fine with me, as you don't have to twist the head all that much. A lot of people weren't happy with that design change compared to the earlier ones. It's made out of titanium which isn't a necessity for me. I'm more than good enough with an aluminum light if it keeps the cost low. Being a AA/14500 light, it's relatively compact and slim. I didn't have a problem carrying it as my EDC light. The quality has been perfectly fine. I've got no complaints there. You can tailstand it if you like to do that with your lights.

I've scoured the internet, but I still can't find accurate output numbers using a 14500. The following specs are right off Eagletac's website (linked here). This page also has some info on modes/outputs for the D25a's in general. Supposedly the XP-L HI V3 version has the following modes, outputs and runtimes off a regular AA: moonlight (1 lumen for 150+ hours), low (11 lumens for 20 hours), medium (121 lumens for 2.5 hours), and high (200 lumens for 1.3 hours). I've been using a 14500 battery in here, and it seems so much brighter than those numbers as you'd expect. It at least seems like it'd be 400 to 500 lumens max. The high mode looks similar to the ReyLight Pineapple's 470 lumen high, so I'm assuming it's somewhere around there. Since the moonlight mode has been disabled, the low is about six times brighter and the medium will increase slightly as well according to Eagletac. That does seem accurate. The low is definitely too bright for me. It seems more like a medium mode. Based on pure brightness alone, I've been impressed. If you want a bright light that you can trust, this will serve you perfectly well. I personally wish there was more of a difference between each mode. There's no true low in my opinion. The light has felt hot during use on the higher modes which typically happens with most lights.

One thing that's greatly annoyed me about this light is the programmable features. Apparently there's a way to get a moonlight mode, but I've been unable to get it to work. You're supposed to be able to loosen the head of the light, turn it on, and then tighten/loosen the head three times to enable it. That's such a finicky way to enable a mode. I've had no luck doing that, though I'm sure it's user error. If you've got the head all the way tightened, you'll have access to the high and strobe only. If you slightly loosen the head, you have access to all your typical modes as well as a billion strobes/SOS/beacons. It's neat that you can pick between having a couple modes vs. a ton. You're not going to have to go through all the special modes unless you cycle through the low/medium/high twice. I love that since they're not going to clutter up the main modes unless you go looking for them. I never use those modes personally, yet I guess it's nice to know they're there if you need them. Since the programmable features for that moonlight mode aren't easy to do, then there's no point on having them on this light in the first place.

The beam looks great. It's a whiter tint and is more flood than hotspot. It easily lights up my entire room with no problems. 

Once I got the UI figured out, it's been alright. It functions like every other clicky would. You press the button to turn it on and then you can do half presses to cycle through the modes. You can also individually click for each mode if you enjoy doing that. Doing the half presses is much simpler. It does take a decent amount of pressure to turn on the light. That means there's minimal chance of accidentally turning it on if you brush it in the pocket. There's no momentary on which is kind of a let down for me. I enjoy having that feature along with mode memory on all my EDC lights. Mode memory is another thing this light is lacking. That's a pretty big disappointment when both those features are defaults on most EDC lights nowadays. My favorite part about the tailcap is that it glows in the dark! I wish more companies would start doing that on their lights. It makes way more sense to do on all the black lights out there, since companies refuse to make colorful lights that are easier to see in the dark. Below is a crappy phone photo of the tailcap glowing. It's actually very bright and allows you to find the light easily.

I'm not a fan of the look of the clip, but it does carry well. It seems sturdy and has nice retention. It helps that this is such a lightweight light. I like that it carries deeper than most flashlights typically do. You can unscrew the clip if it's not your cup of tea.

Since this light isn't sold anymore, my comments on price/value aren't that valid. I believe they were on the more expensive side, maybe at least $60 but most likely more. I wouldn't want to pay that much for one. Titanium is nice for those that want higher quality materials. I'd rather take a aluminum flashlight for much less.

Honestly this light has been more of a pain to use than it should've been. I'm probably not the intended audience for it. I've never been addicted to titanium like a lot of gear nuts out there. I hate how Eagletac won't tell you exact outputs off a 14500. They seem behind the times on that. Most companies love to have the opportunity to brag about how much brighter their lights are. I don't hear much about them as a company anymore, and that's probably for a good reason. I've been way more impressed with what newer companies are doing. Olight is putting out a lot of great lights. Plus there's been a huge variety of lights coming out from Chinese companies that have great quality and outputs for affordable prices. I would not personally recommend this light. My biggest gripes would be the lack of mode memory/momentary on and the annoying programmable features. I don't need to have the moonlight mode, but if it's advertised to have one, I better be able to access it if I want. Since this light has a billion modes anyways, what would the harm of been in having the moonlight always enabled. Anyways, that's it. You can't find them anymore, and I wouldn't recommend you attempt to track one down. There's tons of fantastic, readily available lights out there. Thanks for looking!

ReyLight Pineapple Thoughts

The ReyLight Pineapple has one of the funnest names of any flashlights I've seen. It looks nothing like a pineapple so I wonder where the inspiration for the name comes from. Being one of the first brass lights I've tried, I was surprised to see that it's so heavy. I've heard brass is a heavier metal, but I didn't expect it to be this hefty. For that reason alone, it's not something I'd ever want to carry. Besides the weight, it seems like an alright option. It's not my favorite thing in the world, yet it's not absolutely terrible either. If you'd like to check it out on Amazon, here's a link.

I love the look of it! The color stands out in a sea of otherwise black flashlights. I believe ReyLight has done these in titanium and copper as well. All the machining looks nice and provides some extra grip. I had never heard of ReyLight before trying this light. They seem to be a smaller company with a few different models. Interestingly enough, there's a mini copper Pineapple that runs off AAA/10440 batteries if you prefer that battery for EDC. The quality seems good as well. The threads are smooth, and the fit and finish seems perfect. It's a AA sized light which is a relatively compact package for EDC. It still doesn't beat the slimness of a AAA in my opinion. Also, it can tailstand if that's something you like in your lights. 

The Pineapple can put out 470 lumens max off a 14500 battery. That's a great output for a light this size. It can also run AA batteries, though you won't get anywhere near the 470 lumens. Off a AA, you're only going to get 130 lumens max. That's laughably bad. If you haven't invested in rechargeable batteries, I highly recommend you do. Get either 14500 for AA lights or 10440 for AAA lights. You'll drastically improve your outputs. They're a great investment for anyone that EDCs a flashlight. 

Anyways back to this light. For modes, it has a moonlight (0.2 lumens for 20 days), low (8.5 lumens for 31 hours), medium (90 lumens for 2.5 hours), and high (470 lumens for 58 minutes). That pretty much covers every range of light you'll need. I've never had any problems using it for my typical EDC tasks.  I love seeing a moonlight mode on this light; however, it's almost too dim. Normally moonlights are my most used modes, but I find myself using the low way more. I like that there are no strobe or SOS modes. Those always just clutter up a light for me. Luckily this light does have mode memory. That's one of my favorite features on flashlights so you don't have to go through every single mode to get to the one you use the most. If you wanted to turn that feature off for some reason, you can quickly tap the button 8 times to always make the default mode moonlight. I'd personally hate that since the moonlight is so dim. The output has been very impressive and perfectly adequate for EDC.

This light uses the Nichia CRI LED which I've never tried before. I hear so many people rave about CRI lights, but honestly I don't see what's so special about them. I like that the beam is more of a flood than a hotspot. The tint is okay but a little too yellow for my tastes. I prefer whiter/neutral tints typically. I have noticed it getting hot during use, especially on high. You'd expect to see that on most lights though.

I'm very happy that this light is a clicky. It makes the light so easy to use one-handed. I'm not the biggest fan of the button. You have to press it down pretty deeply to turn the light on. I usually prefer a firmer clicky than a softer one. The button itself does rattle a bit when on or off. It's not the end of the world, just thought it was worth a mention. The metal switch feels nicer than a plastic/rubber one. If you were curious about the groove, it's meant for a tritium vial. That shows that this light is more of a show piece, since most people always add tritium to their fancier pieces of gear. I do like to put my nail in the groove to click the button a little easier. I'm glad the mode memory is a thing so you don't have to click/tap the annoying button every time to get to whatever mode you need. Once the light is on, you can do half presses on the button to avoid individually clicking for each mode. You can do momentary on too which I always love to see. Overall, the UI is fine and functions like a typical clicky would. My biggest gripe is with the button itself.

Due to the weight (more than 3 ounces), I hate how this light carries. The clip is weird looking and a bit too wide for me. It doesn't seem the sturdiest, so I'm not sure how it'd hold up over time. I'd prefer a slimmer clip on an EDC light. I do carry this in my bag opposed to on my person since I've got no pocket space anyways. You can remove the clip if you're not a fan of it either. It just unscrews from the retaining ring on the top. It's fine but it's not my favorite. The Pineapple does seem slightly bigger than other AA lights in width and length.

I see these go for about $50 on Amazon. That seems like a fair enough deal for an almost 500 lumen brass light. They used to go on Massdrop for less than that I believe. I'm not sure where else you can find them anymore. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend tracking one down. There's a wide variety of AA/14500 lights out there that are most likely better than this one.

All in all, the aesthetic of this light is about all I ended up liking. There's a few quirks regarding the rest of the light that I'm not a fan of. If it was harder to find compact 500ish lumen lights, this one would probably be way more impressive. That's not the case in this heavily saturated flashlight market. As a classier light, it'd serve that purpose very well. It's not something I'd recommend for carry. If you want a light made out of a different material than the typical aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, etc., than it's not a bad choice. I've had it on loan and wouldn't feel inclined to go pick one up for myself. I never thought it'd be something I'd seriously consider as an EDC option because of the weight. Mostly, it seemed like something fun to check out from a different company. I would not personally recommend it. That's not to say it's awful, but I have other clickys I prefer, like the FourSevens Preon P1 and Lumintop Tool AA. If you're interested in picking one up, here's a link to it on Amazon. Thanks for looking!

Kershaw Dividend Thoughts

Kershaw has had a lot of great designs come out the in past year or two. I've heard so many good things about the Dividend and finally got around to trying one. I was hesitant because of the SpeedSafe and am surprised to say that's honestly one of my favorite parts of this knife. I'm more interested in trying some of Kershaw's future SpeedSafe knives now. After trying some disappointing flippers recently, like the Skyline, it's a relief to have a blade that flips well 100% of the time with minimal effort. It's a fantastic knife, especially for only $40, that I'd wholeheartedly recommend.

Design wise, it looks very simple. I love that Kershaw kept the front of the blade clean with no logos. I wish more companies would start to do that. Apparently this knife is modeled after the success of another one of Kershaw's spring assisted knives, the Link. The Dividend is much slimmer than the Link, which I think is better for EDC. It's a great looking and functioning design for sure. I haven't had any quality issues with it either. This knife is getting up there in popularity, so Kershaw's done a lot of new variations. There's a Damascus blade version going for $90 on Blade HQ currently. House of Blade also has a lot of various color combos with M390 steel I believe for $90ish. Personally, I don't see this as a $90 knife, but if you like the design and need a nicer steel, those two options might be more up your alley.

This knife has been a great cutter. I love the pointy tip and simple blade shape. It's a 3" 420HC blade. That's the perfect size for an EDC knife. I haven't had much luck with 420 or 420HC in the past, so I'll admit I wasn't expecting much from it. Boy was I wrong. This has been one of my sharper knives. I've broken down some packages with it, and it's still as sharp as it came. Is 420HC the best steel in the world? Probably not. But for those of us that don't care about the high end steel race, it's going to be perfectly fine for EDC stuff. I've had a positive experience with it. Kershaw knows how to put an edge on their knives. The stonewashed blade looks nice and hasn't had any problems with rust yet. 

I've been pleasantly surprised with the SpeedSafe. Normally, I've always thought spring assisted knives were insanely obnoxious and over-the-top. The Dividend's action is great though. The blade comes out quickly and quietly. Sure I still prefer my manual folders, but there's something nice about knowing your blade will always fire out quickly when you need it. The torsion bars do tend to wear down over time, so that's something extra you have to worry about. The flipper tab is a good size and has a bit of jimping to it. It's an easy knife to open and close one-handed too. I've got no complaints when it comes to the blade. It's going to perform exactly as it should.

The handle is more than big enough for me, coming in at 4.25". The scales are made of aluminum, which I've loved. I'm normally not a fan of metal handles due to slickness mostly. I've had a lot of luck with Kershaw's aluminum handled knives, like the Launch 4. Maybe I prefer aluminum over stainless steel/titanium. There's also a slightly cheaper version with plastic scales if that's more your thing. I'd rather pay the couple bucks more to get the alumninum version. That's coming from someone that typically prefers FRN and other plastic scales. The scales are that nice! I love the color and how they have more of a matte finish. This isn't a very flashy knife, and I think the matte finish helps subdue it a bit. I wish more companies would do gray scales instead of black ones. You all know I love my colorful knives, yet I've come to appreciate gray stuff. There's no jimping anywhere on the knife, though I'm fine with that. It's never felt too slick in my hands. 

The lock is is a simple liner lock that works as it should. There's a bit of side-to-side play on mine, but I could probably adjust the pivot to get rid of some of it. It's not a big deal to me. Despite a lack of a cutout to access the liner lock, I've never had any problems disengaging the lock. The backspacer has cool looking cutouts in it. I missed getting a photo of it, but you should be able to see it in my video. It's a neat detail considering this is a budget knife. I like that's a plastic backspacer so it saves a little bit of weight compared to an all metal one like on the CRKT Pilar.

The ergos are awesome! This is one of my better feeling knives in the hand. I can fit a full-four finger grip and imagine some of you dudes with bigger hands could as well. There's no hotspots anywhere along the handle. All the curves of the handle fill out your hand nicely. The edges of the handles are perfectly rounded so they'll never jab you uncomfortably. It's cool that the flipper tab acts like a finger guard. 

The Dividend carries very well. The weight, a little under 3 ounces, seems pretty light for an all metal knife with full stainless steel liners. It has always disappeared in the waistband when I've carried it. Knives that are slimmer in profile like this one always carry extremely well for EDC. It's not going to take up a ton of space in your pocket. The clip doesn't ride the absolute deepest in the pocket. I'd personally rather that be the case so you have a bit to grab on to. You can carry this knife however you like thanks to the 4-way reversible clip. It's the same clip that's on the Launch 4, which I've really come to like. 

These go for about $40 which is such a great value for what you're getting. It's made here in America if you like to support USA made knives. I like that Kershaw put the American flag on the handle. It's a budget knife, so you're obviously not going to get the absolute best materials. For an EDC user, 420HC and aluminum handles are going to be perfectly adequate. As I mentioned earlier, there's a few $90 versions of this knife with higher end steels. It's a definitely a nice knife, but I'm not sure if it's that nice.

I don't believe I have any major complaints about the Dividend. It's as great as everyone's said it is. For a mid-sized EDC knife, you could do much worse for $40. It cuts well, is the perfect size, and has some of the best ergos I've felt. I do still love my Ontario Rat 2 more as a mid-sized option, but if you're into SpeedSafe and the design, this is an awesome knife for the price. I always worry that knives with a lot of popularity won't live up to hype, yet this one definitely did. I've been impressed with it even if it isn't my favorite carry option. I'd highly recommend it! Thanks for looking!

Tactile Turn Slider Pen Thoughts

The Tactile Turn Slider is my first bolt action pen. The bolt action was kinda fun to use for like 5 minutes, but the mechanism is more of a gimmick to me. I got this one through a Kickstarter campaign at the end of June. I've never backed anything on Kickstarter before, so that was neat to do. Tactile Turn made these relatively cheap for that campaign, $40 plus shipping, which is a great deal for the quality you're getting. The design is nice, but there are a few quirks about the pen that annoy me. I don't love it and will actually be selling mine soon.

First off, it looks great design wise. It looks very sleek and classy. It does have subtle grooves on the entire body that don't show up in the photo too well. I love the grooves. It reminds me of the grooves on the updated FourSevens Preons yet not as obvious. They don't dig into your hand uncomfortably at all and feel interesting as you slide your hand along them. I wish more companies would do the grooves instead of just a sleek body. The quality is phenomenal as well. These are machined out of aluminum here in the US I believe. I've had no issues with the build quality of the pen. However, mine has a ton of rattle when the bolt is not deployed. I'm not sure if that's inherent to all bolt action pens or just this one. It's annoying enough that I don't want to carry it. Other than the rattle, the design and quality are great. Also, how I could I almost forget to mention the color. The purple looks awesome! They offer these in practically every color of the rainbow. The anodizing is well-done and seems like it'd hold up well. You can also get damascus bolts I believe. There's a lot of customization/color options which I always love to see. 

The bolt action mechanism is neat. I still prefer clicky pens or just regular ol' capped pens. I don't always get the pen "deployed" when I mean to because the bolt springs back to the starting place. It is very smooth, but if you even slightly miss it, you're not going to be able to get the pen out the first try. If you had gloves on or if your hands are numb/shaking, I could see problems trying to get the pen ready to write. It's kind of fun to play with, but it's not as effortless to do as I expected. The bolt is a good size and shape. I just feel like there's potential to miss it/not get it open when you need to, unlike a clicky which are typically always reliable.

These two photos just show the neat plastic tube that the pen comes in along with the info card. An extra spring is included which I thought was a nice touch. The packaging is a nice way to store the pen. For a more expensive pen, these details are what you'd expect.

The writing experience was mostly good except for the springiness with my refill. If you saw my Karas Kustoms Render K Mini post, I also had issue with how the refill and spring interacted. Whenever I'd write, the refill would always shift up and down with the spring. Since it happened on both machined aluminum pens I've tried, I'm not sure if it's a design flaw on machined pens in general or just bad luck on my part. The refill should not be shifting when I'm writing. It produces an annoying clicking sound where the refill hits the body. Plus it just doesn't feel like you're writing with a solid pen. It's not the end of the world, but for such an expensive pen, that shouldn't be a problem. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has ever had similar problems. None of my cheaper ballpoint pens with springs have ever had refills that shifted when you wrote.

Enough of that though, the refill these come with is the Schmidt Easyflow 9000. It's a gel refill that writes smoothly. I love gel refills and was happy to see that it came with one. As far as other refills that fit, most Parker refills will work and some sort of Fisher Space refill does as well. There's a whole list on Tactile Turn's website (linked here) if you want to see all the ones that are compatible.

The Slider model is a little shorter than the Glider. It's 5.1" while the Glider is 5.6". Both are  anodized aluminum, bolt action pens. I've never felt like I needed the extra length of the Glider. The Slider is still a full-sized pen and is more than enough to write with. I wouldn't want to carry either as an EDC option due to the length. Compact pens work out so much better in my carry than full-sized ones. You do have to be careful with which way you grab the pen to write with, as the clip can dig into your hand when you're writing. There's no machined grip section, but I'm fine with that. The grooves do add a bit of grip. I've never felt like the pen would slip out of my hand. It is comfortable in the hand, especially for longer periods of time. It's a very lightweight pen, just under an ounce at 0.9 ounces, so it doesn't weigh down your hand unnecessarily like some nicer pens I've tried. The feel in the hand overall was good for me.

The clip works as it should and carries well. I'd be worried about its longevity, as it does seem to get bent if clipped to thicker things or if it gets caught on something. I'm not sure what you'd do if the clip broke off. I like that it doesn't stick out too far.

These pens are going for $59 on Tactile Turn's website which is probably a fair price. I don't think I would've wanted to pay that much for one personally. It's neat but not as amazing as I thought. I've had cheaper pens that I've enjoyed writing with more, like the Fisher Bullet space pen and Zebra G-301s. I've seen other machined pens go for way more though. Pens are easy to lose or misplace, so that'd be a lot of money down the toilet if that were to happen.

Here's a size comparison to the Fisher Bullet Space pen for fun. It's always hard to find nicer purple pens out there. Most higher quality pens neglect purple as a color option. That's the whole reason I was willing to try it out in the first place. As you can see, it's about the same size as the Bullet in overall length. The Bullet is still my main EDC option due to the compactness.

If you want a higher quality bolt action pen, it's not terrible. It's awesome in terms of design and color options. The writing experience and bolt action mechanism fell flat for me. It was fun to try, yet I know I won't miss it after I sell it. As an EDC pen, I'd rather carry something more compact. This has been more of a desk pen for me instead of one I'd want to carry everyday. Here's a link to their page on Tactile Turn's website if you want to check them out. There do seem to be a lot of makers of high quality pens out there, so just do some research before you pick one out. I don't see myself spending this much on a pen again, especially when it's not likely anything new would beat out what I already love. Thanks for looking!