Rike Hummingbird Thoughts

The Rike Hummingbird is one of the tiniest knives I've tried. What intrigued me the most about it was the fact that it's a flipper, since it's very hard to find flippers in this size range. While I think the action is a bit lacking, it's a neat knife overall. It's not one that I'd recommend for EDC usage, but it fills the role of a show piece or pocket jewelry quite nicely. It's nowhere near as useful as other smaller knives I've tried.

The size alone make this more of a novelty knife than anything. It's a beautiful design by Rike with a variety of color options as well. They've done different golds, pinks, purples, greens, blues, etc. Mine's green and purple with some blue accents on the framelock and clip. The damascus blade and cool colors make it look very classy. The gold pivot is a great touch too, and it even has Rike's logo on it. The quality on mine is fine, though I have heard people have had issues with theirs. 

I didn't realize how tiny this knife was until I actually got it in person. The 1.5" blade is definitely on the lower extreme of what I'd consider usable. I thought it'd be comparable to the Spyderco Ladybug (with a 1.69" blade), but boy does that missing 0.19" make a difference. The Damasteel looks beautiful and was sharp enough for the light tasks I put it through. With a knife this tiny, I only can see it being used for cutting open letters/packages. I would not even try to cut cardboard with this thing. 

The hole in the blade is purely for cosmetic reasons, because the main way to open the knife is the flipper tab. Like the knife, the flipper tab is very tiny, almost too tiny to get a solid grip on. It certainly could have benefited from being a bit bigger. With the knife being so small and having titanium handles, it's already hard enough to get a good enough grasp on the knife. It's a struggle for me to consistently hit the flipper tab just right to get it to flip well. The Hummingbird does run on ceramic ball bearings but that doesn't translate to good, smooth action. It takes a decent number of crummy half flips before I can get a solid one. This is the type of action I'd expect on a sub $30 knife, not one that you're paying $75+ for. The tab is maybe just a little too sharp for me as well which means it's not one of those knives you could sit and play with all day. 

The titanium handles are what you'd expect for a knife this pricey. Besides the colors, the only thing that stood out to me was the cutouts. They're mainly for aesthetics in my opinion but do give your fingers something to grip into. There's no jimping anywhere on the knife besides the flipper tab. I kind of expected this since it's a classier, sleeker knife, but it definitely could've benefited from some added texture. Again, with the tinier size and slicker handles, there's not much to grip onto, causing a lot of issues with getting it to flip well. The framelock was relatively solid and was easy to disengage too.

The handle comes in a 2.25" long so the ergos are another area that suffers. I can only manage to fit a two and a half finger grip on here comfortably which kind of surprised me. Even then, I didn't feel like I ever had solid grasp on the knife. There were no hotspots luckily. It just didn't feel as comfortable as I'd like. For those of you with larger hands, it's probably a one or two finger knife.

A huge benefit of tiny knives is how well they carry. This knife weighs a crazy light 0.6 ounces and absolutely disappeared when I carried it in the waistband. I like the inclusion of the clip, since that's not something you frequently see on these tinier knives. I'd love it if Spyderco did a clipped knife in the Ladybug size range. Something like that would never leave my side.

These go for about $135 on Blade HQ which is absolutely ridiculous for what you're getting. However, Massdrop has had some exclusive deals for $75 to $80 in the past few months. That's of course better than the $100+ price tag, though I still think it's high for a knife you'll rarely be able to seriously use. If the action was better, I wouldn't feel as bad paying the $75. That's not the case though. Unless you like tiny knives, save your money and get something else instead. 

It did come in a nice tin with a neck sheath and chain in the event you wanted to wear it as a necklace. The inclusion of those makes it even more apparent to me that this is a jewelry piece opposed to an EDC knife. Since it's so slim and light, it probably would carry well as a neck knife.

Here's a comparison shot of the Hummingbird next to some of my other favorite tiny options: the Spyderco Ladybug and Victorinox Classic. It's about the same length closed as the Classic and slightly smaller than the Ladybug. Both the Classic and Ladybug offer much better ergos and more functionality for a similarly compact package.

All in all, this is not a knife that I'd recommend as a serious EDC option. I've seen much better tiny knives that are less expensive, more functional, and have better ergos/action. Unless the design really speaks to you, I say skip it. It has been neat to see more companies doing smaller knives for a change. I like the idea behind this one yet don't think the execution is 100% there. If you want a tiny flipper, maybe check out the Bestech Reticulan or CRKT Eros small instead. I don't recommend the Hummingbird at all. Thanks for looking!

EDC Pen Collection Update 2019!

Over the past few weeks I've been doing updates on my EDC gear collection, like my knives, flashlights, and mulitools. Here's the final update on the current state of my EDC pen collection. Pens and flashlights are probably the things I use the most consistently in my EDC. I've added a few new pens since my last update and probably won't have any additions for a while. I feel like I've got all the pens I need in every size from keychain to compact to full size. 

The middle of this photo is the core of my collection with the newer additions at the two ends. As always, going from left to right, I've got the Valiant Concepts keychain pen, two Pokka pens, Fisher Bullet space pen, Zebra G-301 (gel pen), Parker Jotter, Zebra F-301 (regular ballpoint pen), Pilot Metropolitan, Fisher Cap-o-matic, and a tactical pen. All of these are regular ballpoint pens except the Pilot Metropolitan, which is my one and only fountain pen. If you want to get into fountain pens, the Metropolitan is definitely the one I recommend. It's such a different writing experience, feeling a lot more smooth overall than regular ballpoints. I've never felt inclined to add any more fountain pens to my collection since I love the Metropolitan so much. It's the perfect fountain pen in my eyes. 

I'm happy that I have a few more compact pens to rotate with the Fisher Bullet space pen. I've always found that to be the perfect size for EDC and have hoped that other companies would eventually make other compact options. The Pokka pens are essentially plastic versions of the Bullet that come in 3 packs for about $9. It's one of those pens you could loan out to someone and not worry as much if it walks off, unlike losing a $20 Bullet. The Valiant Concepts keychain pen is probably one of my favorites, because there are even fewer tiny pens out there. Despite how small it is, it's still incredibly comfortable to write with and has found a permanent place on my keys.

The Zebra 301s and Parker Jotter are two less expensive options that have a nicer writing experience than cheap plastic pens. I prefer the Zebras for everyday writing more, but the Jotter is a popular option as well. The Zebras go for less than $5 a pen, while the Jotter is about $10. The Cap-o-matic just stays in my hiking bag in case I ever need to write in the rain. The tactical pen is neat but too bulky as an EDC option. I could see myself throwing it in a bag for a potential self-defense option. I hope you all have enjoyed seeing the updates on my gear collection! I'm very happy with what I've got and think I've got a good variety of stuff for every occasion. It'll be fun to look back at these posts in a few years and see if my collection has drastically changed or not. Thanks for looking!

Kizer Feist Thoughts

I recently had the chance to check out my first Kizer, the Feist, on loan. I liked certain aspects of it but am not a fan of front flippers. I like to be able to open my knives quickly and easily, and front flippers don't allow for either of those in my opinion. Though this is not the knife for me, I am looking forward to trying out more of Kizer's knives. The quality and design of the Feist were very impressive.

I can definitely see why people like Kizer so much. They put out a very high quality and well-designed product. This is a Justin Lundquist design, who also designed the Baby Barlow I talked about a few weeks ago. It's such a classy looking knife with a simple design that'd work well for EDC. If you don't like the reverse tanto blade or the holes in the handle, they've got a regular drop point version for the same price ($168) as well. I like that there's no lanyard hole too. It's a small detail but makes the handle look a lot cleaner. I'd love to see more companies get rid of lanyard holes, at least on these mid-sized or larger knives. I've got no complaints about the quality or design.

Moving onto the blade, this is the perfect length for a mid-sized knife, coming in at 2.8" long. When I first got the knife out of the package, it seemed so much more compact than you'd expect that blade length to suggest. The steel, CPM-S35VN, is great and performed well for my typical EDC tasks. The reverse tanto blade looks awesome too!

The front flipper is the biggest issue about the knife for me. Maybe I just need to get used to them, but as of now, I think they require too much effort to open well. It was awkward for me to open the knife and took more concentration than I'd like to make sure I was hitting the flipper tab right. I wasn't able to open it cleanly 100% of the time which would deter me from carrying it as an EDC knife. To me, it's not natural to reach around the end of the knife to flip it open. It's not one of those flippers you could sit and play with all day, because it's not quick and snappy to open. It would've been a better knife overall if it was a regular ol' flipper.

I've never fully bought into the titanium framelock hype, but knives like this make me start to see the appeal. I love the slimness of the handle and how perfectly rounded the edges are. The holes are more for aesthetic reasons and add some pizzazz to an otherwise bland handle. The framelock itself is solid, and there wasn't a bit of play. The knife feels much more compact than the almost 3" blade would suggest.

The ergos were some of the best I've felt in a while. I could fit a full four-finger grip comfortably. Like I mentioned earlier, the edges of the handles are perfectly rounded which make the knife melt into your hand. If only it wasn't a front flipper, then I'd probably be tempted to pick one up. There's some jimping on the spine of the blade which mostly helps deploying the blade with the front flipper.

The Feist carries extremely well thanks to how slim and thin it is. I've always stayed away from titanium handles since they tend to make knives heavier compared to the FRN I'm used to. Still, this knife is pretty light at 2.62 ounces. The clip is simple and carries pretty deeply. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed carrying it.

These go for $168 on Blade HQ which seems like a great deal for what you're getting. Most titanium framelocks seem to start at that price and some go for well over $200. For the quality and materials you're getting, it seems well worth it. They also come in nice packaging with this pouch and a cleaning cloth. That's not standard in most $150 plus knives and helps Kizer's quality and attention to detail stand out even more.

I loved the design and compactness, yet the knife was ultimately ruined by the front flipper. To me, front flippers are more of a hassle than any other opening mechanism I've tried. Kizer has definitely caught my attention though, so I'm looking forward to trying more of their knives in the future. This particular one was provided by Valtac Tactical to the passaround group I'm in, so check them out if you need a new place to buy more knives. It was a fun experience overall and is worth the look if you're into front flippers. Otherwise, maybe check out some of Kizer's other knives instead. Thanks for looking!