Hey everybody! It's about to become gear review overload on here, so I'm trying to get a few non-review posts together to break it up a bit. I got this package of stuff a few weeks ago but am a little behind in getting my first impressions up. Huge thank you to my friend Laura for hooking me up with some sweet loaner stuff and a few gifts. I greatly appreciate it girl! We've been friends ever since I first started doing this knife stuff and have pretty similar tastes when it comes to gear. I'm very excited to get my hands on some smaller stuff again! That's always what I tend to gravitate towards as you all know. Anyways, let's get into some of my initial impressions of everything.
Getting onto the loaner stuff first, I'm trying out the Spyderco Pingo, Boker Nano, Sanremu WA631, and Valiant Concepts keychain pen. The pen has blown me away the most so far. It's much tinier and cuter than I expected. Even though it's only a couple inches long, it is still more than enough to write with. I actually went and ordered one for myself already. That goes to show how much I like it. I haven't decided whether I'll throw it on my keys or just carry it in my EDC pouch.
I had no idea that Sanrenmu did multitools as well as their knives. The WA631 is nice and compact yet still has a decent toolset. It's got the knife, scissors, and a screwdriver/bottle opener/and what Sanrenmu calls a belt/cord cutter. I like seeing scissors on a mutltitool in this size range. They're not as good as Victorinox scissors, mostly due to them being a little thicker. They do cut better than the Leatherman/Gerber scissors I've tried. It's hard to find the Sanrenmu version of this multitool, though Ruike (who Sanrenmu owns I believe) makes the S31 which is the same exact tool just under Ruike's name. They're less than $30, have G10 scales, and use 12C27 for the blade steel. I'm digging it so far!
The Boker Nano is a knife I recently mentioned in my latest gear wishlist update. I've always been intrigued by them due to the color options and the size. The ergos are a little weird so far. They feel a bit cramped and aren't as comfortable as other small knives I've tried. I don't like the clip aesthetically but it does carry fine. It'll be interesting to see how I like it after carrying it some more.
Last but not least, I've always liked the design of the Pingo. I expected the ergos would be a little weird, and that's been the case thus far. It reminds me a bit of the CRKT Pilar's handle which I'll show a comparison of in my eventual review. This one is insanely tight and takes way more effort to close than it should. I'm hoping it just needs to be worked in some more. Laura and I have both tried the basic fixes you'd think of with no luck. It does seem a bit easier to close than it once was. I could just be getting used to it though. I like the orange scales and love that it has the wire clip! It's a great size for EDC too. Not sure if I'd like to own one for myself, though it should at least be fun to try.
Laura and I have always sent each other gifts back and forth over the years. She really nailed it with these. I'm happy to add all of these to my collection! There's a couple food/kitchen related things and some tiny knives. There's the CRKT Eat'N Tool, a pair of Victorionox paring knives, the Blade-Tech Ratel, and the CRKT Eros.
The CRKT tool will be interesting to try for my lunches at school this year. I've been on the lookout for a compact utensil like this and know these have been popular for years. It seems like it'll work out well. I'll have an update on how it works in a couple weeks when the semester starts. My apartment has been in need of some new kitchen knives, so these Victorinox ones will be great. It's nice to have good knives in the kitchen from a brand I trust. I love that they've got green handles. They should work very well for all the cooking that I do.
The Ratel is a neat little knife. I'd heard of Blade-Tech and their Mouse Lite a few years ago, just never got around to picking one up. The Ratel is very similar to that knife with a slightly different blade shape. I like the thumbhole and gray handles. It does have a clip too which is nice to see on a knife this small.
And finally, the knife I'm the most impressed with, the CRKT Eros. I've always eyed one of these ever since I saw the fancier titanium version on YouTube. They were always a little too pricey for me, so it never ended up happening. A little while ago, CRKT finally released stainless steel versions that are much cheaper. I regret not getting one sooner. It's very hard to find decent, affordable production flippers in this size range. CRKT is the only company that I know of that's done a few different ones. They also did the Jettison which I'm still a huge fan of. The Eros is even better. Thanks to CRKT's IKBS system, this knife flips like a dream. It fires very quickly and easily all of the time. Despite how small the knife is, it's still easy for me to flip. I was shocked by how small this knife is. This is the 2" version, and there's also a 3" version for those of you that like bigger blades. I've tried to find the smaller version online but can't seem to find it anywhere. The large version is still in stock. I'm guessing CRKT discontinued the smaller one which is such a shame. This is easily one of the better knives I've tried in a while. The ergos are very good for a stainless steel knife. My only complaint is about the weird tip-down only clip. It's not the end of the world though. I'm very excited to start carrying it some more!
That about wraps it up! Again, thanks to Laura for everything! It'll be fun to see what things become new favorites. The keychain pen and CRKT Eros have already made that list in the short time that I've had them. Stay tuned for more videos and posts about these in the next couple months. Thanks for looking!
Hey if you like you can borrow my Skyline in s30vn
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