Review: EDC holster harness

I have a lot of "things" on my person. My EDC makes most of my friends balk. Simply the amount of keys I seem to have accumulated would put many high-school janitors to shame, it seems. Included here are the previously reviewed EDC keychain tools, my mighty but petite Surefire flashlight, and my formidable and functional Folding K.I.S.S. but also seen here are a few other items worth noting. Two "little" pens (I used to have a Fisher Space Pen but its sleek little body slipped a pocket and was lost, years ago). A hank of fast-rope that was originally venetian-blind cord, a tiny box of Crumpler matches, a lonely looking ear-plug (woops) and my foxy Poken RFID based business card. Also on my -second- keychain, as well as a nautical grade Stainless steel carabiner, are my airport-safe nail-clippers, my VPN token and a USB stick I opened and embedded with paraffin to water and shock-proof. My wallet (with an accessory carabiner and dummy-cord) and a few hair-ties top off what would fill up my pockets on a daily basis, not including the iPhone I used to snap this pic.Where do I -put- all of this gear?

Here: A custom made holster-of-pockets that I had made by the very fine people of RemoteEquipment Repairs."Specialist Outdoor Adventure Gear Repairs"

I walked into their upstairs shop on day many years ago (perhaps as long ago as 10, because I had a dumb phone and a Palm V) and emptied my pockets, and the el-cheepo holster-of-pockets I had scored at a market somewhere and said "I need to fit all of this, under my arms, no hook-and-loop, big buckles and zippers, it needs to be rugged, black and adjustable." They delivered for a modest fee, a piece of kit that I now consider myself all but naked when not wearing. It features two internal pockets under the buckles, and a spacious zipperable pocket sufficient for passports, phones and the like. My sunglasses dangle in their case, which also contains my earbuds.

The nylon shows the wear of all-day-every-day use, but this has seen me right in every situation I have put it through. When I go to airports (after removing all the pointies) I unsling this, toss it through the X-ray, and wander on through. I've even decorated the front straps with badges and buttons, Jeans for Genes day, a poppy for Armistice Day, a Kodama sprite, a "boo-yah" button, and some words of wisdom from AFT's Jungle Recon and Army Ranger.

This holster has been a real boon to me, and lets me keep all my needfuls hands-free but on hand. When it finally goes to broken-gear heaven, I will give it a Viking funeral, but not before securing an even more rugged, modular and adjustable replacement.

Review: Barz Optics Sunglass Prescrption Goggles

I've known that I've needed glasses since I was about 15, and have had a variety since then. I've also lived in some very sunny and bright places, like Dubai, Calgary, Melbourne to name a few and I've had to either choose squinting because of glare, or squinting because I'm a touch short sighted. I tried contact lenses a few years back, but reacted badly and came down with conjunctivitis rather badly, and haven't been game since. I'd rather see badly than not at all... They are also inconvenient when it comes to being out and about, occasionally submerged and generally annoying. I eventually decided that what I needed was prescription sunglasses and shopped around.  I looked at several of the brands that one sees professional rugged and bad-ass people wearing, but whilst doing my market research, I came across and Australian company whos products took my fancy.
These are my Barz ARFA goggle-sunglasses.
Originally designed for surfers, they are billed as being fit for a variety of extreme sports, watersports, and industrial use. Rather than having arms like traditional sunglasses, they are goggles, with a elastic strap feeding through eyelets and adjusting at each temple. I can't tell you how many times I have come across snapped off arms of glasses, or had my head smacked and lost my regular glasses. No such issue with goggles! Barz offers a range of frame and lens colours, allowing you to customize the finish in quite a combination of ways.

 They also offer several lens filtering options such as polarization, photochromatic and bifocal prescription as well as single focal prescription lenses. I oped for a black frame, amber lenses and prescription polarized lenses and have never looked back! Not only can I now see in the bright outdoors, but with the added bonus of polarisation, I can see things in a whole new light, so to speak. These are my go-to glasses when ever having to do powertool or spray assisted yard work, whether it is whipper-snippering, chainsawing or metal cutting.

The gasket fitting keeps chips and spray out of my eyes so I can keep watching what I am doing. I've also had great use for these whilst doing burning off, as they also greatly reduce the smoke and heat-glare that would otherwise inhibit my ability to see. This was of great concern whilst the Black Saturday bushfires were raging, and I was living in the forested mountains, and on high alert. Recreationally, I've worn these whilst running around the bush, camping and driving around with the windows down to great success. The UV400 treatment of the lenses fills me with confidence.

One very cool feature that I have not yet had the chance to test out is that the eye gaskets can be swapped out from the vented ones seen here, to a solid ring, to give a water-tight swim-goggle seal. The reason I've not done so is that whilst not only are the gaskets but also the nose bridge user-modifiable (three options for the nose) but the gaskets are a very fiddly modification, and I have had a lot of trouble in hot, still conditions with the goggles steaming up, something I'd rather not make worse. The manufacture is very solid, with great life so far on all parts. I sat on them once and broke one nose-bridge but they have survived considerable abuse in my care.