Inital Impressions of the Tom Bihn Aeronaut

My Tom Bihn Aeronaut arrived today, and I am very impressed.  The Navy blue with Wasabi interior looks really nice.

I never thought that I would be so impressed with a zipper but these are very nice and they are just about as water proof as a zipper can get.

The nylon that Tom Bihn uses is thick, tough and it feels like it will stand up to a lifetime of travel use.  The guys in the shipping department even drew a South African flag on the box.  That was a nice touch. 

I also bought a medium sized travel stuff sack.  It seems very nice and it will be nice to try as well.

 

I am really looking forward to taking this on a trip, it makes me a little sad that the next time that I will be flying is in December.  

The Best EDC Knife that exists is the...

Spyderco Delica 4

I have carried my Spyderco Delica 4 on two continents.  I had it in the United States,and Africa.  I carried it all over South Africa and Lesotho.  It has been my go-to knife since 2008. 

Ergonomics- I would say that I have medium sized hands and the way that the handle of the Delica curves fits my hand perfectly.  The scales are made of FRN or fiber reinforced nylon and they have what Spyderco call, bidirectional texturing.  Through my experiences I have found that this texturing is fantastic, even when your hands are wet from water or sweat.  They are also durable.  Five years of use does show a little bit but the functionality of the scales is exactly the same. 

If there is one thing that I can trust Spyderco it is proper jimping on their knives.  The thumb ramp and jimping is sharp and well executed.  Your thumb will not slide forward on the Delica. 



The Delica has the standard Spyderco pocket clip which I like a lot.  It is not deep carry but I have never had to worry about my knife falling out of my pocket.  The clip holds the knife very securely. 

I love the Spyderco thumb hole opening.  I do have a few knives with thumb studs but those knives always take second place to my Spydie hole knives.  One reason why I like the Spydie hole so much is because of an incident that happened while I was in Africa.  I was at a house late at night on the edge of a town.  Going to this area always made me nervous and this night was no exception.  I always carried my Spyderco Delica in my right hand pocket and at night my Surefire L1 was in my left hand.  Both were ready for use.  As a friend and I knocked on the door of the house we were supposed to visit, we heard dogs barking across a field.  These were feral dogs.  It is interesting how your mind works when the fight or flight response hits.  My mind tends to slow things way down and then I think through what I want to do.  It feels like it takes a long time, but in all actuality it probably only takes a fraction of a second.  The first words out of my mouth were, "Oh Shit!."  I don't remember taking my Delica out but grasped it firmly and without thinking the blade was opened because of the Spydie hole.  Under all that stress I didn't even have to think about getting the blade open.  Luckily I did not need the knife because the second I lit up the dogs with my flashlight they turned and ran. 

Durability-VG-10 steel is one of my favorites.  It holds a very sharp edge for a good amount of time and then it resharpens back relatively easily.  I have also found it to be very rust resistant.  My Delica is the model with the Saber Grind.  I have no problems with it but if I would buy a Delica today I would probably buy one with the Full Flat Grind.  I just prefer that more now. 

Value-   I don't remember what I paid for my Delica back in 2008.   But BladeHQ sells the Delica for $65.57 and Cutleryshoppe.com sells the Delica 4 with a full flat ground bade for $58.80 I probably will buy another Delica soon.  I want to carry the one that I carried in Africa less, I really don't want to lose it.  I am considering buying the Spyderco Salt 1 to replace it. 

Rating-I give the Delica a 10/10 as an EDC blade.  In my experience it will do anything that you can ask of a knife (within reason) It is a folding blade and cannot be torqued or cranked on like a fixed blade. 




I also carried a Tasmin Salt in Africa.  Here it is.

The Tom Bihn Aeronaut is on its way!

I recently got really interested in different kinds of bags and backpacks and ultralight traveling.  I mentioned this recently in another post. 

I am tired of taking a checked bag when I fly so I decided to pony up the dough and buy the Tom Bihn Aeronaut.  It is expensive.  But after reading reviews and watching videos of how people pack it and travel with it, I decided that I would spend the money and invest in a new bag.  I am really looking forward to using and reviewing this bag.

Stay Tuned for pictures when it gets here next week!

Update Tuesday September 24th

The Aeronaut is on the big brown truck of happiness right now.  It should be here this afternoon.  

Spyderco Endura 4 (FFG) First Post

I bought the Spyderco Endura 4 with the FFG blade.

  

I haven't done a whole lot with it yet, but a review is coming.  

Backpacks, The Real Shoebox of Daily Life

Lately I have been on a back pack kick.  I really like bags for carrying around my EDC items. 

Like I have mentioned before I lived in South Africa for two years and since then I have become very interested in packing light and then traveling.  I really like this blog, it got me really into the whole idea of traveling light.  Travel With Less

Right now the bag that I really want is the Tom Bihn Synapse 25.  I hope that I can buy one really soon.  If/when I buy this bag I will review it here. 

I really want to go back to Africa, also a few back pack ramblings

I lived in South Africa for two years.  I miss it.  I usually miss Africa at night, right now it is 2 A.M. and I miss Africa. 

Earlier today I looked up the price of plane tickets to South Africa, they were not cheap, but I do know that I can save up money and I can make this happen.  I am also looking at ways to lighten the load while I travel.  I really want to get into ultra-light traveling but then I would not be able to carry a knife when I travel.  I have carried a pocket knife since I had a paper route when I was 13 years.  The prospect of not carrying a knife isn't a very happy one.  I feel naked without a pocket knife. 

This blog really got me thinking about traveling the world light.

How to Travel with Less Stuff

It really is cool what the author can fit into a 19 liter bag for six months of traveling.  If he can do it for six months then I could do it for two weeks in South Africa.  At least I think I could. 

In addition to my longing for Africa I am really into backpacks right now.  I recently bought the Osprey Quantam.  I really like it so far, although I haven't taken it on any hikes yet.  I did take it on a cross country road trip and it did just fine.  So far I like it but I really need more time to try it and use it. 

I also seriously like this bag, Tom Bihn Synapse 25.  Although I have a few back packs, for example I kept my Kelty Redtail, which was my EDC bag for the last five years.  I really want the Synapse 25. 

Esse Laser Strike Review

Purpose of the Esee Laser Strike- I have been using the Esse Laser Strike (ELS) since the middle of May.  Just about every week I have gone out and made a fire.  I used the ELS to split pieces of wood to get to the dry inside.  I used it to split wood to make it smaller, for use at the begging of the fire.  I shaved the insides of the split wood to make varying sizes of kindling.

I bought the ELS to bring hiking, and camping. It has a five inch blade that I feel is just right for carrying in a back pack.  If you are car camping or don't mind the weight, then bring a small hatchet or a big knife like the Ontario RTAK II or the Buck Hoodlum.   

Like I said above, I used my for fire prep, I also cut down a small dead tree.  Because it does not have a lot of mass it took a bit of time, but you can do it.

Ergonomics-  I have relatively small hands.  The micarta scales fit my hand very nicely.  The finger choil is placed perfectly and it is very natural to use, in fact I always use it.  The sheath is made out of kydex and very sturdy.  I like sharp jimping on knives, sadly the ELS has jimping but it is not sharp at all and useless.  But the shape of the handles and the finger choil mitigate the poor jimping.

Durability- The ELS blade is made out of 1095 steel.  I like the 1095 steel that Esee uses on their knives.  I have found that it holds an edge very well and it sharpens relatively easy as well.  That said I did put two chips into my blade.  One at the very back of the blade where I hit a staple in the wood that I was splitting.  The other tiny chips are near where the belly of the knife starts.  I think those came from when I was splitting wood and the knife went all the way through the wood and into the ground. 

The micarta grips are darker than when I bought the knife, but I am using it so it makes sense they would get dirty and darken up.  You can wash them if that bothers you. 

The ELS has a black powder coat over the steel because 1095 steel does rust more easily.  When you use the knife hard like I have been the friction from the wood will rub the powder coat off the knife.  That is okay by me.  I think it gives the knife character.  But watch out for rust. 

Value- I bought mine from Blade HQ for $120.  On every order of more than $99 you get free shipping, and I bought some other stuff on the same order.  I know you can find it for cheaper, but then you usually have to pay shipping.  In any case I really like Blade HQ.  If you ever get the chance go to Lehi, Utah and pay them a visit.  They are really nice people, they give great service and have a large selection on knives and other outdoor gear. 

Rating- I give the Esee Laser Strike an 9/10. 

Here is the link to Blade HQ  ESEE Laser Stike from Blade HQ