CRKT Ripple 2 Thoughts

When I was first getting into knives, the CRKT Ripple was one of my dream knives. It combined a great looking design with CRKT's iconic IKBS ball-bearing system. I tried a bronze Ripple a few years ago though found it too large for my EDC. Then I was gifted the Ripple 2 and found the slightly smaller size to be perfect. I believe these specifically have since been discontinued, but there is a Ripple with a lesser steel still available.

Starting with the design by Ken Onion, it has such a classy and cool look. As the name suggests, the handle has a series of ripples/holes that also function to add more grip. I absolutely love the blue as well. Back when they were still being made, I think you could at least get them in black as well.

The Ripple 2 has a 2.625" blade with Acuto+ steel. I find this size to be the perfect middle ground for still being able to handle basic EDC tasks without taking up a large footprint. I don't have a ton of experience with Acuto+, but it's been sharp enough for my needs. The blade has a good shape and cuts everything I've thrown at it. I've got no complaints when it comes to the blade. 

The handles are made of stainless steel with the cool machining that adds a nice texture. They come in just under 4" long. This version has blue titanium nitride coating which has held up very well. They've been hand buffed to show off some of the plain stainless steel along the high points of the handle too. This is a neat detail that adds a distressed look to slightly contrast the blue.

With the IKBS ball-bearing system, the action is so smooth and quick. I do find the flipper tab to be a tad too pointy, so at times it'll irritate my finger. Last point on the handle, the framelock is solid with little to no blade play.

The ergonomics are surprisingly comfortable for a knife with metal handles. For me, metal handles are always hit or miss due to their likelihood for hotspots. The one-finger choil helps lock in my hand, and I'm able to fit a full four-finger grip. There's some jimping along the spine that adds some extra grip on top of the textured handles. 

As far as how it carries, it carries well thanks to its slimness all around. The clip is right-hand tip-down only. I don't love the look of it, but it does carry relatively deeply. I do prefer tip-up carry personally though tip-down is not a deal breaker for me. It's got a little heft to it compared to the lightweight knives I'm used to.

You can see how slim the profile of the knife is. It's perfect for carrying in the waistband. Looking at Blade HQ, it looks like it was priced around $80. That seems like a fair price given the quality and design. 

All in all, the CRKT Ripple 2 is a great, classy knife that performs well for EDC tasks. It's not one of my favorite EDC knives compared to the Spyderco Ladybug or Ontario Rat 2. However, it's a cool piece for the collection and is fun to play with when sitting at home. There's no major flaws, besides the flipper tab being too sharp for me. Thanks for looking!

State of knifegirlAlly

Hi everyone! I know it's been quite a while since I posted on here. That seems to be the common cycle these past couple of years. I get really into posting and then go silent for months or a year at a time. I've been spending more time recently looking into what I've missed in the community. I figured I'd put out an update and let you all know what to expect going forward.

Starting with YouTube, I ended up setting all my videos to private back at the beginning of this year. I hadn't posted in a while anyways, and it's honestly something I don't want up at this moment. I originally started uploading videos when I was a freshman in high school in 2012. A lot has changed since then, and I don't have the same interest in being on YouTube anymore. I don't watch any EDC videos these days and don't have much to add in terms of content. I'm not buying any new gear either, so my EDC stays pretty consistent. I decided not to permanently delete everything, since I did that once and regretted it. Who knows, maybe I'll make them public again in the future. I apologize to anyone that enjoyed the videos. 

For the blog, I'm still planning to post occasionally as I have free time. With everything going on with the pandemic, I want some sort of creative outlet and this is the perfect place for that. I've always wanted to finish writing about all of the gear I own, so I'm still interested in working on. I'm getting into backpacking which I may start posting about too. There may be other random posts, as I've always felt I've had more flexibility with what I can post on here.

I'm still undecided on whether I'll get back into posting on Instagram. I find the platform really annoying, since they littered it with ads and took away chronological posting. It's way too hard to keep up with the accounts I care about. Again, it's one of those things where I don't feel like I have much to add since my carry stays the same.

I'll keep it brief for now, but stick around for more posts in the future, though no promises on any sort of frequency. Thanks for keeping up with me all these years! It's crazy to think I've been doing this for so long and am now out in the real world. Unfortunately, it's not the the post-college life I expected though. I appreciate the support and have enjoyed getting to know all of you. Please let me know if there's anything you'd like to see me post about. It's not as easy to have the community aspect on here, but the comments do work and my email is always open.

Recommended EDC Gear of 2019

2019 was one of those years where I wasn't as active in the community and hence didn't try much new gear. Still, I always love doing these annual recommended gear posts to highlight some of the things I got a lot of use out of. I apologize in advance for the photos. I just shot them on my phone since I don't have my good camera with me currently. Without further ado, here's the gear I loved carrying in 2019.

The biggest item in this photo is my current backpack, the Jansport Recruit. I picked this up probably two years ago now to replace an Osprey bag I wasn't a fan of. It held up great during college and now serves as my work bag. I've always been impressed with Jansport's quality, plus it fits everything I need and has two water bottle pockets. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a simple backpack that doesn't stand out too much.

Now to get into the smaller things, there's two tech items and then two actual EDC tools. The newest addition is the Fitbit Versa 2, which is a smartwatch that has all of the health/fitness tracking features that Fitbit is known for. Despite only having it since Christmas, it's already become a new favorite. I'm big into tech and always thought it'd be neat to have a smartwatch so I can see notifications, control my music, track health, etc. It's been awesome so far! The other tech item is a pair of bluetooth headphones, the Jaybird X3's. I've had these for at least a year and much prefer them to wired headphones. It's so nice to not have the cord get stuck on things or tangle up. Battery life is good enough for me, and they're comfortable to wear for long amounts of time.

Like I said at the beginning, I didn't buy much new gear this year and was content with carrying what I've got in my collection. Back when I was in school, I didn't have a ton of knife usage, yet I would always be reaching for a flashlight and small multitool. The Victorinox Classic and Lumintop Tool AA are my go-to options that haven't left my EDC pouch in quite some time. They definitely got the most use out of all my gear in 2019. If you don't own a Classic, you absolutely need to get one! It has far surpassed my favorite knife, the Spyderco Ladybug, in terms of usage, because of the extra tools like scissors, a screwdriver, and tweezers. The Lumintop Tool AA is a great flashlight with over 500 lumens on high. I love the purple body and green tailcap combo!

I did have the opportunity to try a bunch of new gear at the beginning of the year thanks to some generous viewers and the passaround group I'm in. Of all that loaner gear, one knife stood out to me the most, which was the Bestech Reticulan. It was easily the best knife I tried in 2019 and is still one I need to add to my own collection.

I didn't have a single complaint about the Reticulan. It has such a unique design, is the perfect size for me, flips incredibly well, and comes in a few different colors. I love what Bestech is doing in the smaller size range, since not many companies consistently put out smaller options. It'll probably be one of the first gear purchases I make this year once I downsize my collection.

That wraps it up for my recommended EDC gear of 2019. I'm looking forward to seeing what stands out in 2020. Thanks for looking!

Reading Goals For 2020

Hey everyone! I hope you all have had a great start to 2020 so far. With the new year comes new goals and expectations. I don't usually set any specific resolutions for myself; however, I do like to set some reading goals since I track my reading stats. I try to keep them relatively simple so I don't stress myself out too much trying to hit them. I ended up with three main goals for the year.

My first goal is to read 150 books. I've read over 200 books the past few years when reading was practically all I did in my free time. That obviously didn't leave me with much time for other hobbies, so this year I'm cutting my goal down to 150. That seems a lot more manageable with me working full-time now. Hopefully that leaves me with some extra flexibility to get back into playing video games, hiking, photography, etc.

My second goal is to try to be more balanced with what I'm reading. I want to make sure I'm not just reading from the same type of authors. I enjoy hearing about other people's perspectives and always end up learning things I hadn't considered before. The author's gender is one aspect of this goal, though I'd also like to try to read a more even amount of fiction/nonfiction and books based outside the US.

My last goal has been a goal of mine for a few years which is to read all of the physical books I own. I desperately wanted to accomplish this before I moved out of my college apartment, just so I wouldn't have as much to move out. Unfortunately, that never happened. I've still got about 40 or 50 books of mine that I need to read. I also want to try to read all of the books on my Kindle. I've hoarded a bunch over the years that I've never gotten around to actually reading. I'm the type of person that keeps checking out more books at the library, even though I've already got a healthy stack to go through. This is probably the goal I'd like to achieve the most out of the bunch.

That's about it for this post. I wanted to keep it short and sweet, since it primarily serves as a way for me to speak these into action. Hopefully I can knock these out of the park before December 31 hits. Thanks for looking!

Spyderco Para3 LW Thoughts

If you've been keeping up with me for a while, you'll know that I absolutely hate Spyderco's Paramilitary 2. I think it's an extremely overhyped knife that I would never want to personally carry. When they announced the Para3 in G10 a couple years back, I wasn't all that interested due to my hatred of the PM2. However, when you throw FRN scales on there, you've got my attention. I can see the appeal of the Para3 LW, but it's still not my favorite mid-sized EDC option. It's a good knife, don't get me wrong, yet still not one that I'd personally want to carry. The Ontario Rat 2 remains as my favorite mid-sized option I've tried.

The Para3 LW is essentially just a shrunken down version of the PM2. I always hated the weird blade-to-handle ratio of the PM2 and was happy to find that the Para3's didn't look as bad to me. I think the handle is still slightly too long though, but that's a minor subjective gripe. It's a simple and straightforward design that would function well for EDC. I'm not in love with the black scales but am sure more color options/sprint runs will be out in the future. I didn't have any quality problems with it, plus it's made here in the USA if that's important to you. The centering was perfect, it was very smooth, and it seemed to drop shut pretty fluidly. 

One slight annoyance I have with the design is the way the lanyard and screw tubes are done. I wasn't able to get a decent photo, but unlike most of Spyderco's FRN knives, there's no backspacer that helps conceals the screws and lanyard hole. They instead opted to only have tubes which look a little cheap and odd to me. That does help save on weight, yet it didn't look the best in my opinion.

The blade is about 3" long with CTS-BD1N steel. I'm not a steel expert, but it was more than sharp enough for my needs. The choil take away a bit of cutting edge, though I do like the flexibility of having it there. The thumb hole is oddly large on this knife, which adds some more width than I'd like personally. I carry everything in the waistband since I have no pockets, so the slimmer the better. It's performed as well as every other Spyderco I've tried. No major complaints here.

FRN is easily my favorite handle material. I love how lightweight it is, how it can be virtually any color, and has a good amount of grip. It's so nice to see Spyderco producing FRN versions of their already popular knives. They do the best plastic handles of any knife company I've tried. I'm a big fan of the compression lock since it's so fun to play with and easy to close one-handed. Mine was very smooth and dropped shut with no problems. I didn't have any lockup issues at all either.

The ergos are comfortable without or without using the choil. I didn't feel any hotspots whatsoever. As you can see in the photos above and below, I can fit a full-four finger grip whether I'm using the choil or not. The edges of the handles are perfectly rounded which makes it melt into your hand. There's some good jimping on the thumb ramp and choil to add some extra grip as well.

I could still fit a comfortable four-finger grip on the handle even if I chose not to use the choil.

It carries well thanks to the FRN, no liners, and very light weight (only 2.4 oz.). The wire clip is Spyderco's best clip in my opinion, so I was very excited to see them use it on this knife. It's perfectly placed right at the end of the handle, making it carry deeply with practically nothing sticking out of the pocket. The larger Spyder hole adds a bit more width than I'd personally like, which led to the knife digging into me when I carried it in the waistband. For you guys with actual pocket space, that shouldn't be a problem at all.

The Para3 is relatively affordable for a Spyderco, coming in at $91. For that price, you're getting a solid knife with decent materials. You could argue that you could find a Kizer or some other knife in the sub $100 range with the same or better materials. Still, I don't balk at the price tag.

I'm happy Spyderco is expanding their FRN and mid-sized knife lineups when it seems like everyone is just focusing on 3.5"+ titanium framelocks. Like I mentioned at the beginning, the Ontario Rat 2 is still a better knife in my opinion, even if the materials aren't as great. It's a third of the price and is just as comfortable in the hand, sharp, great quality, and even smoother. If you think the PM2 is too big for you, the Para3 LW is a decent option for EDC. It's just not one of my favorite choices personally. For a budget knife, I do believe there's more exciting options out there. Thanks for looking!

What I Watched: 2019

If you saw one of my recent posts, I did a wrap-up of what I read in 2019. I've watched a lot of good TV shows and movies and thought it'd be fun to do a similar wrap-up post for those. There's a decent bit of bad/mediocre things I saw, so I'll probably just stick to my favorites of 2019. Without further ado, let's start with TV shows.

My absolute favorite show that I saw this year was Atypical season 3. It follows the lives of a family where the son is on the autism spectrum and is going about his life as normally as possible. The parents have a lot of their own drama, and the sister is hilarious. I binged this over the course of a day and hope a fourth season happens. I never rewatch shows, but honestly I may end up rewatching the whole series this year. It's that good. There's a few other Netflix originals I enjoyed, like One Day At a Time season 3, The Punisher season 2, You season 1, Dead to Me season 1, Mindhunter season 2, and When They See Us. I'm also a sucker for true crime/cop shows and liked Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 3 and The People v. OJ Simpson season 1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of my favorite comedies and is still a series I need to get caught up with. I own the first three seasons on DVD and want to get the rest soon to complete my collection. One Day At a Time is another hilarious family drama that unfortunately got canceled. Dead to Me was probably my second favorite of the year, which is a dark comedy that focuses on a widow trying to figure out who killed her husband in a hit and run. If you like comedies and crime-related shows, you can't go wrong with any of these.

As far as movies go, the one that pleasantly surprised me the most was Game Night. A group of adults attempt to have a murder mystery party that ends up taking a turn for the worse. There were lots of twists and turns and funny moments throughout. Knock Down The House is a documentary on Netflix that focuses on a group of women that ran for the House in the last election. It was a really neat look into politics and leaves me hopeful for the future. A few things I saw on Netflix were Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and Let It Snow. The first one has Zac Efron perfectly playing Ted Bundy, and the second one is just a cheesy, feel-good Christmas movie that I ended up watching with my family. Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, and I was very impressed with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It was cool to see an animation style that was different than what animated movies are typically like. I also saw a few movies that were adapted from books, like Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor, and The Hate U Give. All were well-done and entertaining to watch. Finally, I watched Halloween from 2018 and thought it was a great reboot of an already classic film.

That about wraps it up for some of the things I watched in 2019. Now that I'm finally done with school, I hope to catch up on some TV shows that I haven't gotten around to watching yet. Thanks for looking!

What I Read: 2019

Hey everyone! Happy New Year's! I majorly flopped on doing my monthly reading updates since the summer. Instead, I wanted to do a 2019 wrap-up with some of my favorite books and statistics for the year.

Since reading is my main hobby, I set a goal of 200 books and ended up reading 249, with 77 of those being graphic novels and the rest being novels. Graphic novels don't take that long for me to read, which does inflate my overall count some. I read most of my books on my phone through the Libby app and had a breakdown of 50 physical books, 197 eBooks, and 2 audiobooks. 173 of the books I read were fiction, while 76 were nonfiction. The last stat I track is the author's gender, with 147 books written by males and 101 written by females (1 extra one was written by a team from a news website). This isn't as evenly balanced as I'd like and is one thing I want to focus on improving in 2020. Across all of the books, I ended up reading 65,848 pages.

For this post, I wanted to talk about 10 of my favorite books I read in 2019. These all ended up getting 4 or 5 star reviews from me. My average rating this year was about 2.5 stars, so these 10 are all standouts that impressed me in some shape or form.

There were three books that I rated 5 stars this past year: Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon, American Predator by Maureen Callahan, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Whiskey in a Teacup is a lifestyle book that has an aesthetically pleasing mixture of recipes and home decor ideas, along with tidbits about Reese's life. I didn't expect to like it as much I did, but it was such a well-done book. American Predator is a true-crime novel that had me completely entranced. Maureen Callahan has a great writing style that's easy to read with a good flow. It uncovers the crimes of one of the "most meticulous" serial killers of this century. I had never heard about him before and think Callahan provided enough details without going overboard. I love true crime as you may know, and it's one of the best ones I've read in a while. Lastly, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was another one I didn't expect to like as much as did. It's mostly focuses on the drama/romance of a fictional actress that wants a reporter to write a tell-all book about her life. Like Maureen Callahan, Taylor Jenkins Reid writes in such a way that makes you want to keep on reading. I liked the main character, Evelyn Hugo, more and more as I learned about her life.

Moving onto some of the 4 star books, the only graphic novel to make the cut was Nimona by Noelle Stevenson. It's a fantasy story that had fantastic art and an interesting plot. One other good true-crime novel I read was I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. This book focuses on the Golden State Killer, who was actually caught in the past couple of years. McNamara unfortunately passed away before the book was published, so it didn't read as fluidly in parts since other people had to get it finalized. Still, I enjoyed it and liked learning about her investigation process. I've wanted to read more of Stephen King's works and was very impressed by Misery and 11/22/63. Misery is a weird book but had me rooting for the main character by the end of it. 11/22/63 is a neat time travel story about a teacher going back to stop the assassination of JFK. It was long, like most of Stephen King's books are, yet it felt warranted due to how crazy the plot became. Another book I read with a presidential theme was Fear by Bob Woodward. No matter what side of the political spectrum you're on, it's such a fascinating look into the past few years of Trump's presidency. It was well-written and had me engaged throughout, which I can't say about some of the other political non-fiction books I read. The final two books for this post are The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson and Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The Vanishing Stair is a sequel in a YA mystery series about a death and some odd happenings at a boarding school. A lot of YA can be badly written with cheesy dialogue, yet that wasn't the case for this one. I'm interested to see where the series goes and think the newest one comes out in a few weeks. Lastly, ending it off on another Taylor Jenkins Reid book, Daisy Jones & The Six. This follows a fictional band and their rise/eventual breakup. It tells their story through each of the band members and other people's perspectives. I didn't think I'd like that at first, but it was interesting to see how some of them had conflicting views on certain events. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a phenomenal writer and one that I'd like to read more of this year.

Those were just a few of the memorable books I read this past year. I should have another post up in the next few weeks about my 2020 reading goals if that interests you. I read a lot of great and not so great books this year. It's always fun to look back at these and see what sparked my interest at the time. I definitely recommend checking out any of these if you're looking for some new reads! Thanks for looking!

I'm A College Graduate!

Happy almost New Year's! I hope you've had a relaxing holiday season. It's crazy that it'll be 2020 tomorrow. As you may know, I've been in college for the past three years and finally graduated this fall semester! I'm so happy to be done and can't wait to move onto my post-grad life. College was good overall but not entirely what I expected. It still felt too similar to high school and didn't entirely line up with my career plans. I did learn a lot, especially about how I want to live my life and be as a person. It's an awesome feeling to know that I'm completely done with school now.

My whole life is in a state of disarray at the moment, so bear with me as I get settled. I'll be moving, starting my full-time job, and hopefully buying my first home all at the start of the new year. I'm planning on keeping the blog going at least, though I'm not sure about YouTube. One other place I'd like to be more active on is Instagram, which I know I've been saying forever. If I don't end up coming back to YouTube, IG will probably be the main place where I end up selling my gear. I'm definitely going to be getting rid of a large chunk of gear at some point, since I don't use the majority of it.

Now that I'm in a new stage of life, I've got some much needed changes I'd like to make to my EDC. I feel like I was in a rut with my carry since I was a student for so long. Stay tuned for posts on my EDC changes, along with the usual collection/reading updates, gear thoughts, and other random posts. Graduating college was a great way to end 2019, and I'm looking forward to 2020! Thanks for sticking around and for all of the support over the years!

My Top 5 EDC Flashlights

These days, I find myself reaching for my flashlights more than my knives. If it's pitch black out, there's no way to create light yourself if you lack a light source. I've accumulated a lot of flashlights over the years but find myself only reaching for a small handful of them. In this post, I thought it'd be fun to share what my top five favorite EDC flashlights are. If you're looking for a good light to carry, these are all great options!

Starting from left to right: Nitecore Tube, Olight i3E, FourSevens Classic Preon P1, FourSevens Updated Preon P1, and Lumintop Tool AA. As you can tell, I love my colorful gear! You can't beat these awesome green, blues, and purples. These don't boast some of the highest lumens in the world, but I love their designs and have never had any problems with them not being bright enough. They're very affordable too, with none of them being over $30. 

With the Nitecore Tube, you get a USB rechargeable keychain light that's very easy to use. It's super lightweight and a killer deal at $10. It only puts out 45 lumens on high, though that's fine for having on a keychain. I love the fact I can easily recharge when it's dead and that it's infinitely variable. If you'd like to read more of my thoughts on it, here's a link to the blog post I did.

Next up, the Olight i3E is another great keychain option. It has one mode of 90 lumens that again is more than bright enough for a keychain or even as your main option. At first I didn't think I'd like the simplicity of only having one mode, but it definitely makes the light easier to use. It's a twisty, so it may not be as easy to use one-handed compared to a clicky. Still, with it being a AAA light, there's plenty to grab onto. I also did a blog post on this one, linked here.

The FourSevens Preon P1s were probably the first perfect EDC flashlights I found. I absolutely love their simple designs and all the colors they came in. They both put out around 100 lumens on high and have a few other modes as well. They're AAA lights which helps keep them on the slimmer side for everyday carry. One huge downside is that they were discontinued, making them hard to find. However, Prometheus bought FourSevens a few years ago and has a newer Mark III version available. Here's a link to my thoughts on the Classic and the Updated version.

Lastly, the Lumintop Tool AA is an awesome AA/14500 light. With the 14500 battery, you greatly improve the output to a max of 550 lumens. It's the brightest flashlight in my collection and has a nice floody beam. I love all the knurling and the green tailcap. They're very affordable too, at just $20 on Amazon. I still need to write an in-depth thoughts post on it, so hopefully I get around to that in 2020. It hasn't left my EDC pouch in the past year or so.

That's about it for this post! If you're looking for a good EDC light, you can't go wrong with any of these! They're all perfect lights in my eyes and ones that I highly recommend! Thanks for looking!

My Top 5 EDC Knives

Over the almost eight years that I've been into EDC gear, I've tried a whole lot of knives. It's taken me quite awhile to find ones I deem perfect. I thought it'd be fun to do a post about my top five EDC knives from my current collection. If I could only own five knives for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly content with these.

Going from left to right: Spyderco Ladybug, CRKT Eros, Cold Steel Mini Tuff Lite, Kershaw Launch 4, and Ontario Rat 2. I did not order these from most to least favorite, but I will say I could easily pick my favorite two are the Ladybug and Rat 2. The other three could vary places based on what I'd be doing or my mood.

The Ladybug was my first real knife and is what I consider to be one of my most people friendly knives. I love the size, FRN handles, and of course that it comes in purple. The Eros is probably the best flipper I own right now, flipping smoothly, quietly, and quickly. I was surprised to like it as much as I have. Again, it's the perfect size to not scare anybody. The Mini Tuff Lite has great ergos and has the infamous, tough Tri-Ad lock. It has the shortest blade out of the bunch despite having a full four-finger handle (for me) with a clip. I love the neon green handles too. I haven't felt the need to buy anymore autos, because the Launch 4 is so perfect. Can you see the common theme here is small sizes and fun colors? Lastly, the Rat 2 is my favorite mid-sized knife. It beats every other mid-sized knife I've ever tried. It's the perfect price (only $30), is very compact, and has awesome action If you want more information on any of these, check out the Gear Thoughts tab. Thanks for looking!

First Hike of the Fall!

I'm so happy it's officially fall now since I hate the summer heat. It's still a little too hot and humid here in Virginia, but hopefully fall temperatures are on the way soon. Last weekend I did an eight mile hike in the New River Valley, checking out the Cascades and Barney's Wall. I definitely recommend hiking both if you're in the area. Here's a link to information about them from HikingUpward.

The main draw of the Cascades is a 69' waterfall. It's probably the biggest waterfall I've seen so far and a great sight! Throughout the hike, you can hear the water roaring in the distance which is pretty soothing.

I hung out taking some photos of the falls and then continued onto Barney's Wall. I had heard this was a pretty easy hike overall, but it definitely kicked my butt. 

I was happy to see this view after a harder than expected uphill climb.

Barney's Wall has some massive cliffs. The leaves were starting to change color some too. I imagine it'd be an ever better view during the peak fall colors.

There were some awesome views of the surrounding mountains! It was relaxing to sit up here since I was the only one on the trail at the time.

I used my trusty Camelbak bag as my day pack, and it worked out quite well. I didn't bring much with me, just enough water/snacks, first aid kit, and my nicer camera. All in all, it was a fun way to spend my Saturday morning. Thanks for looking!

Long Awaited Updates!

Hi everyone! As I'm sure you all could tell, I've been on a break from posting on here and YouTube for the past couple of months. I really wanted to make this the year where I posted consistently every month, but I ended up putting this knife stuff on the back burner. The summer is usually when I slightly lose interest in EDC since I don't have any pocket space to carry anything. That's exactly what happened again this year. I feel out of touch with what's been going on in the EDC world, so if I missed anything cool, definitely let me know! Now that fall is here though, I'll be back to wearing a jacket which will give me the chance to starting carrying all of my gear again.

I've got about eight posts in progress from the summer, like my top 5 EDC knives and flashlights, old reviews, and comparisons between different knives. On top of those, I'd like to get back to posting my what I've been reading and watching updates every month. I've also still got a huge backlog of gear that I need to finish reviewing. Once I've gotten all of my own gear reviewed, I'm probably going to have a substantial sale to thin out the herd. I'm graduating at the end of this year and would like to put aside more money for post-grad life.

Fall weather also means I'll be getting back into hiking. I've recently finished acquiring gear to start going backpacking and am hoping to go on my first overnight trip within the next month. I'll be posting about both of those throughout the rest of the year.

I'm not sure at what capacity I'll make my return to YouTube. Honestly, there's nothing drawing me back to it right now. Who knows if/when that will change. I've said it in the past, but blogging is definitely what I prefer doing. It's much easier for me to do and is something I look back on for my own reference.

So yeah, that's about it for now. I had an awesome summer and can't wait to graduate! Expect to see some more posts on here and potentially some YouTube videos in the future. I'm thinking I'll be posting once a week at the minimum to make sure I have a constant flow of posts. I might also try to get back into Instagram, maybe posting shortened gear reviews and more of my outdoor adventures. Thanks for sticking with me! I'm excited to be back!

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!

Microtech UTX-70 Spartan Thoughts

After loving the Kershaw Launch 4 so much, I've been on the hunt for other small autos. I've never tried an OTF before and have always heard that Microtech does some of the best ones. The UTX-70 has been been on my list to try for a while, but they're usually out of stock. After snagging one in April, I'll end up sticking with my Launch 4. The UTX-70 just doesn't have the same charm or appeal to me.

Design wise, this is your standard Microtech. It's a clean looking knife, though I do find the black scales to be boring. They've done all sorts of different varieties of colors and blade shapes over the years. It's much easier to find the UTX-85s in various colors for whatever reason. I'm not sure why Microtech makes these so hard to buy. This particular version is the Spartan which has a double edged tanto blade. The quality is impressive and is on par with how much you're paying. It's nice to support a USA made company as well. 

Getting onto the blade, like I mentioned this one is double edged. I've never tried a double edged knife and don't care for it all that much. I don't find it necessary and am always afraid I'll somehow cut myself on the extra edge. The steel is CTS-204P which I've never tried before. I don't care about having the highest end steel and have been more than happy with the performance. It's a nice size for EDC too, coming in at 2.41" long. That doesn't make it CA legal like the Launch 4, though they do have a CA legal version if that's a necessity for you. Most states have stricter laws regarding autos anyways so definitely be wary of that.

I've only ever tried push button autos before, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the OTF action. Getting the blade out is quick and easy, but the same cannot be said about trying to retract the blade. Either I'm just weak or mine still needs to be broken in, because I have to use two hands to slide the blade back in. The slide was designed well, with good texturing and a ramp-like shape that helps you get a good grip on it. It's a solid knife, and I've never worried that it's unsafe.

There's not much going on with the handle. It's a simple, rectangular shape (coming in at 3.22" long) with some contouring throughout. The edges of the handles could benefit from a bit more rounding in my opinion. I love the look of the Microtech logo too. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I wish these were easy to find in other colors. The black doesn't do it for me. These do have specialty hardware, so you can't take the knife apart unless you have the tool. That's probably for the best, because it'd be easy to screw up if you took it apart. I've heard Microtech has good customer service in case you do end up having problems.

The ergos are alright but not my favorite in the world. I can fit a full four-finger grip, though I can't find a natural place to rest my thumb. I'd want to rest it on the blade but I can't do that since this one is double edged. The rectangular handle does feel boxier than I'd like due to no rounded edges. Again, it just doesn't feel as good in the hand as my Launch 4.

I've got no complaints about the clip. It works exactly as it should. There's even a glassbreaker on the end of the knife. I'd probably never use it, but I guess it's nice that it's there. This is one of the few knives where I'd tolerate tip-down carry, since your thumb will be closer to slide when getting it out of the pocket.

These went for $221 which seems fair enough for what you're getting. I'm sure there's a lot of detail that goes into getting the action right. Plus, you are supporting an American made company. If you're interesting in picking one up, you have to be patient and jump on them as soon as they're up for sale. They usually go out of stock the same day which is kind of annoying.

This is a nice enough knife, but unfortunately doesn't compare to the Launch 4 that I love so much. Ultimately, I think I prefer push button autos over OTFs. It's still a well-done knife, though isn't perfect ergos wise and is much stiffer than I expected. If you're looking for an OTF, Microtech has the market locked down and puts out high quality knives. For EDC, it might not be the best option if your state has stricter knife laws. It's not as great as I was expecting considering they sell out like hot cakes. I say skip it and spend your money elsewhere. Thanks for looking!

Multitool Collection Update 2019!

My 2019 collection updates continue with my multitools. For the most part, this aspect of my gear collection has stayed pretty constant. I don't use multitools all that often, and there aren't too many innovative ones coming out. I rarely need plier-based multitools so Victorinoxs are the ones I typically reach for the most and what my collection primarily consists of.

Along with the typical Leatherman/Victorinox/Wenger multitools I have, I also threw in my one piece multitools (OPMTs) and a CRKT Eat'n Tool. Starting at the top row after the Eat'n Tool is my larger multitools, like the Victorinox Alox Pioneer, Wenger EvoGrip S11, Victorix Alox Bantam, mini pry bar, and Gerber Shard. The Shard is by far the best OPMT I've tried and is a great deal at only $5. The Pioneer and Wenger are my two favorite larger tools, and I love both of their colors. They're still compact enough to carry in my EDC pouch without weighing it down too much.

The second row is the smaller keychain sized tools I have: the Leatherman Squirt P4, Victorinox Classic, Victorinox Alox Classic, Victorinox Midnite Manager, Victorinox Alox Minichamp, and CRKT Snailor Compact. If you couldn't tell, I love the 58mm Victorinoxs. They're the perfect size for a keychain or to slip loose in the pocket. The only Leatherman I currently own is the Squirt P4 which has remained my favorite plier-based multitool over the years. I prefer it over the newer PS4, since the finish feels nicer to me and it doesn't have Leatherman's crappy scissors. One of the reasons I always stick with Victorinox is due to how great their scissors are. They cut better than any other multitool scissors I've tried, getting very precise cuts thanks to how thin they are. The Classic is my favorite 58mm tool and multitool in general, and I always have one on me either on my keys or in my EDC pouch. I still haven't carried the Midnite Manager or Minichamp much but like how they offer different toolsets than the bare bones Classic. The Snailor is a cute little keychain bottle opener that I've mostly kept around for its design. I don't drink so I never find myself needing a bottle opener.

And of course I left out one of my cooler Victorinoxs which I believe is called the Adventurer. It stays in my hiking bag the majortiy of the time. It's the largest multitool I own and has a locking blade unlike any of the other multitools I've got. The camouflage pattern looks awesome as well! 

That about wraps it up. I'm not as interested in multitools as I used to be when I first got into EDC. Victorinox makes the superior multitools in my opinion with a tool for everybody. I've never had any luck with Gerber's quality, and Leatherman focuses mainly on plier-based tools. There's a couple Victorinoxs I want to check out, but other than that, I don't see my collection changing much in the next year or so. Thanks for looking!