Gear Check

I just watched a nutnfancy gear check video on Youtube and thought I'd do an edc gear check on myself.  Personally I think I would get an "A" from old Nutn.  This load out is what I carry pretty much every day (i.e. I did not set this up so I could make this post).  The only thing I am missing is my lip balm, which I let my daughter use the other day and did not get back.

Flashlight - This is by far my most used item.  I doubt a day goes by that I don't use a light (particularly this one) multiple times.  The one pictured is my current favorite.  It's the Olight S15R Baton.  I prefer lights that have batteries that are easily purchased and so shy away from CR123's and the like.  The battery has a great run time and is rechargeable, but can easily be replaced with a standard AA.  The things I dig on this light are it's pocket clip (which is very strong and can be clipped to a hat bill), it's modes (several options from 1/2 a lumen up to 280 lumens), it's size (small enough for daily comfort yet big enough to be useful), and that you can lock out the on/off button so it will not be accidentally switched on in my pocket.

I honestly don't understand why anyone would not carry a flashlight when they are so light and useful.

Knife - The two things I have with me all day, every day, even when I'm sleeping, are my flashlight and knife.  The Spyderco Delica 4 is one of my favorites.  It weighs next to nothing and has an incredibly useful blade shape and size.  This gets used for everything from cutting strings off my clothing to cutting up cheese for my salad.

Multi-tool - For it's size, weight, and capabilities the Leatherman Squirt PS4 cannot be beat.  I've tried carrying bigger, more capable multi-tools but find I get tired of them weighing down my pants.  This little tool has pliers, a knife blade, scissors, screw drivers, and a file.  I mainly use it for the pliers and scissors.

Watch - I have worn a watch daily for probably thirty plus years.  I've tried other options but keep coming back to the Timex Ironman series.  Many folks use their phones to keep time but I find the simplicity of looking at my wrist easier.  I mainly use it to tell time, especially the indiglo feature at night.  I am very near sighted and this watch is what allows me to know what time it is in the middle of the night.

Handkerchief - There are two main reasons I carry a hanky daily.  One is because I have allergies and if no kleenex is available then my hanky is right there.  The other is for the possibility of wound care.  I have used my handkerchief (clean one) to help myself and others when there is blood flowing.  This is extremely helpful.

Firearm - I don't always carry a second magazine (although I should) but happened to have one today.  The gun pictured is my Glock 42 with a Crimson Trace laser, and a Pearce +1 grip extension.  This is Glock's .380 ACP.  I generally either have this or my 43 (Glock's single stack 9mm).  Many will scoff at the small firearms for their lower capacity of ammunition (6 plus one standard) but I honestly can't bring myself to carry one of my larger guns.  It is very hard to beat the 42 and 43 for concealability and comfort.  Since picking up these firearms, I went from carrying 25-50% of the time to virtually never not carrying.  I hope that I will never have to use a firearm to defend myself or anyone else.

Phone - Although not pictured (but taking the picture), I also almost always have my iPhone.  This is another important daily safety item.

There you have it.  What do you carry every day?  Are you prepared for the things that will or may happen?

~Rhyno

My EDC Kit

It's probably best to start out with my philosophy behind this edc (every day carry) bag. I wanted a system that could be easily transferred from varying larger bags - one that could be put in my daily office backpack, quickly added to a travel bag, carried out on the trail in a backpack or lumbar pack, or just simply grabbed on its own, with the idea that I would have the basic necessities always close at hand. My philosophy of use is a daily usage and basic survival kit - whether I need to bandage a minor cut, unchap my lips, clip my nails or even start a fire, purify water, and build a shelter. 

For these purposes I chose the Maxpedition Beefy Pocket Organizer. Of course there is no way this will fit in any pocket but it works fairly well as an addition to my backpack. I appreciate the sturdy construction and the many options for internal organization. I would love for this kit to be smaller but then I'd have to sacrifice some of my gear choices. This is my current content:

BASIC TOOLS

Knife - Probably the most basic tool. I'm running the Cold Steel Voyager Tanto large. Tanto isn't necessarily my preferred style but Cold Steel's Triad lock is a beast. This knife may be the next best thing to a fixed blade. 

Flashlight - I've got the Foursevens Mini M2A in 2xAA. I prefer easy to find battery options like the AAA or AA. I also carry some extra batteries, 2xAA & 2xAAA. 

Multitool - Leatherman Juice S2 - a wide array of uses, from cutting to opening cans to tightening a screw to opening a bottle. Knife, scissors, pliers, screw drivers, can opener. 

Mini-Pry Bar - can't say that I use this all that much but it's just a cool little tool. If I need to pry something open or remove a small nail then this fellow can save then wear and tear on your multitool. 

Tweezers - they don't take up much space but they excel at removing splinters or grasping small items. 

Nail Clippers - clipping nails and anything else that needs clipped. 

FIRST AID

I don't have a very extensive edc fak but I try to carry bandages in varying sizes, neosporin, Tylenol, ibuprofen, benedryl, tampon, maxi pad, and iodine. The iodine doubles as water purification. I wrote the instructions on the bottle - 5 to 10 drops per liter and then wait 30 minutes. The feminine products are handy for my daughters in an emergency as well as they can be used in place of bandages if necessary. 

FIRE

Lighter - easiest method. 

Matches - UCO Stormproof Matches. Waterproof and windproof. These are great in adverse conditions. 

Firesteel - Light My Fire Sweedish Firesteel. 

Vaseline Cotton Balls - these take a spark easily then burn for about one minute. Great for getting kindling going. 

Fat Wood - resin impregnated pine sticks - another great fire starter. Can be shaved down, split into smaller sticks or even just lit as is. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Spork - Light My Fire Titanium Spork. Helpful in the wilderness as well as when eating in restaurants that only have plastic ware. 

Lip Balm

Paper - small Moleskine pad. Many uses - writing notes, starting fire, leaving messages, keeping track of details. 

Sharpie Permanent Marker 

Pen - Fisher space Pen. Great writing instrument. 

Trash Bag - 55 gallon heavy duty drum liner. Can be used to help make an emergency shelter (i.e. tarp), climb inside for a bivy sack, make a poncho, or merely hold things. 

Bandanna - blowing your nose, cleaning lenses, covering a wound, wiping sweat, straining water before purification, making char cloth, etc. 

Duct Tape - several feet wrapped around a plastic card. Beyond the obvious usage can be used as a fire starter. 

Signal Mirror - SOL. Includes the sighting instructions on the back. Great for emergency signaling. 

Emergency Whistle - pealess; another signaling option. 

Compass - Suunto A-30. 

Poncho - cheap Walmart poncho in the front pocket. Very thin and light weight. 

Paracord - around 50'. Almost limitless potential. Lanyards, bow drills, ridge lines, lashings, splints, etc. 

Paper Clips - can be bent into many shapes for many uses. 

Safety Pins - couple pinned in the liner of the bag. 

Breast Milk Bags - these seal up tight and can be used for storing lots of items as well as using for emergency water bags. They are super light and thin so don't take up much space. 

Floss/Tooth picks - helpful in cleaning your teeth. 

Aluminum foil - two foot square sheet. Cooking, food prep, surface protection, signal mirror, etc. 

Zip Ties - great for lashing anything together. 

Well that about does it. I'm sure things will change some with time, but with this small kit with me I feel like I have a lot of the major bases covered for every day use as well as basic preparedness. 

Get out there,

~Rhyno

Broken Blade!

 

Had a bit of a problem with my Ontario RAT3 today.  I contacted Ontario and they said for me to mail it in, so we'll see how that goes.  I was surprised when it broke on this piece of cedar.  Hopefully I can get it replaced under warranty.  I really like this knife. 

 

~Rhyno

New Knife - Ka-Bar Becker BK7

I just got this little beauty last week. I was able to take it out the other day and put it through a little bit of wood splitting using the baton method. It performed wonderfully. 

The seven inches of steel with the full tang through the handle plowed well through several logs making some nice kindling for the fire. I was wanting a knife that fit between my smaller blades (I.e. The Ontario RAT 3 and Remoras) and the beefy nine inch Ontario Spec Plus Marine Raider Bowie. I have a Kabar Fighting Utility Knife that is also a seven inch blade that I loved for backpacking but the rat-tail through the handle simply won't allow it to handle batoning through wood.  It's a great all around knife but now has a slight bend in it :(

 

I was trying to decide between the BK7 and the Ontario RAT7.  It finally came down to price.  The BK7 was around $68 on Amazon and the RAT7 was around $95.  Looking today the RAT7 has jumped to $106 and the BK7 is about $70.  In the reviews I scoured I couldn't find one that seemed decisively better than the other.  On the BladeForum in the Kabar section they, of course, raved of the BK over the RAT.

The BK7 seems to be a nice compromise for size and weight constraints.  My plans for this blade are backpacking and general outdoor use. Here's what their website says about it...

 

"The ultimate BK&T all-purpose utility knife was designed specifically for soldiers and adventurers requiring a sturdy but lightweight combat knife that can stand up to hard use.
Made in the USA."

I'll probably put some type of lanyard on it so that I can choke down on the handle for a bit of extra length for chopping.  It doesn't have the heft of the bowie but it definitely holds its own in the chopping department.  The blade stood up well but of course the coating began wearing off pretty quickly - which it to be expected.  I want this for a hard use knife not a show piece for display (although I think it only looks cooler with the wear and tear).  Hopefully I can get out in the woods soon for some more fun.  I'll let you know how it handles.

 

~Rhyno

Ontario Rat-3 update

Just wanted to give a quick update on the Rat-3 difficulties I had posted about previously. I contacted Ontario and received a quick response and equally quick package in the mail containing replacement inserts and screws for the handle. Way to go Ontario! I haven't had to use them yet since I was able to replace the original insert after I tweaked it. I put the screws back with blue lock tight and have had no issues. I've been keeping the Rat-3 by my wood burning stove and using it to baton kindling. I am enjoying this blade. 

Get out there!

~Rhyno

Ontario RAT-3 - Knife Review (A Couple of Problems Right Away)

I recently bought an Ontario RAT 3.  I have some larger knives like the Ontario Marine Raider Bowie and the Kabar Fighting/Utility Knife but I was wanting something in a smaller package yet more substantial than the ever praised Mora.  My intended use was general camp use and an EDC knife for my bag.  For general camp use I wanted a full tang knife that could withstand batoning firewood and other lesser chores.  I was disappointed by my Kabar recently when I noticed that it now has a slight curve to it from batoning through firewood.  This really only makes sense since it is not a full tang, but rather a rat-tail tang knife (i.e. the metal runs the full length of the knife but only a slimmer portion than the main blade).  As can be seen in the pic below, the RAT3 has a full tang - it is one solid piece of metal with micarta scale handles attached to it.  Overall the handle portion of the knife should be even stronger than the blade. 

 

The blade length is a little over 3.5 inches (or a little over 9cm) from the handles, with the actual cutting edge being just over 3  inches (or 8cm).  The overall length is about 7.5 inches (or 19cm).  I won't go into all the specs as they can easily be found elsewhere.  Although I find it amusing that Ontario adds an extra centimeter to their described length.  As I stated I just got this knife and wanted to share a couple of things I found so far in my limited experience. 

 

The first thing I noticed was that this particular blade came extremely dull from the factory.  I had no danger at all of cutting myself as I ran my finger down it's "edge."  There seem to be mixed reviews from others - some getting theirs extremely sharp, others finding theirs dull.  This is an unfortunate quality control aspect from Ontario.  We get knives and expect them to be sharp - period.  A dull knife is pointless.  In working to sharpen it I found that I needed to work on reprofiling the edge a bit.  I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker and the angle of the RAT 3 simply would not work well for this system.  I used a hand stone and made a bit of a finer edge then worked it over on the Spyderco.  I can now cut hair with it, but find that I still have a bit of a struggle with the curved portion going up to the tip.

 

The second, and more troubling, problem came when I was using this knife to baton some pre-cut kindling for my wood burning stove.  The knife cut beautifully, as I was certain it would.  The full flat ground edge made short work of my kindling turning it into the pencil-sized and smaller pieces I was looking for to start my fire.  My problem arose when I set the RAT 3 on my lap and found that two of the three screws that hold the handle scales in place had fallen out.  In order to shorten my story let me say that I had a bit of difficulty putting the screws back into the brass inserts and getting them tight enough without stripping them.  I did strip out one a bit and bent another, but was able to get them back together and was even able to add some blue locktite yesterday.  Hopefully this will solve my problem.

 

On the plus side, I immediately emailed Ontario and got this reply yesterday,

 

I am sorry for the problems you encountered with your RAT 3 Knife.

 

We will send you out some replacement inserts and screws.

 

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 

Thank you,

Diane

 

I am very impressed so far with their customer care.  I will write more later if/when they send me the inserts and/or screws.  Good job Ontario! 

 

My plan now is to keep these extra screws with me in my pack so that I can fix the scales on the go if I need to.  Also to that end I added the allen wrench to my sheath with a bit of gorilla tape so that I can fix the knife in the field.

 

 

As can be seen in the pics the black powder coat finish is wearing off, but I expected that (although not so quickly after so little batoning) and I actually like the way it looks.  I got this blade for use, not as a show item.

 

 

The powder coating is ground off on the blade and a chip or two on the spine from whacking it with a small log :) - but the blade is in perfect condition.

 

I added a small piece of paracord to the butt so that I could loop this around my pinkie allowing me to choke down on the handle so as to get better leverage for a swinging/chopping application.  This is a very small blade so it's obviously not the best chopper in the world.

 

 

I don't have very large hands so this smallish knife fits well, and yes, I cut my knuckle with the RAT 3 and that's why I have a bandage on it (obviously that was after I sharpened it).

 

Despite these setbacks I am overall quite pleased with this knife.  I'd rate it an 8 out of 10.  Hopefully after continuing to use it I'll be able to raise my rating to a solid ten.  Only time will tell.

 

Get out there!

 

~Rhyno