Review: ChinLin spade trowel

NOTE: rebranded but looks the same here: https://www.aussiestormshop.com.au/clearance-mini-hand-shovel-trowel-with-7-functions

Whether it's putting in crops, digging up a secret-squirrel cache, taking care of some business in a back-woods latrine or just some old fashioned fox-hole digging, having  a good digging tool comes in very handy and saves the old fingernails. I have a couple of folding entrenching tools in my camping/bug out kits, but even compact as they are, they can add a bit of bulk and weight. Sometimes they're even a bit too much tool for the job. A full-sized e-tool will make a big Dakota-fire hole, where a trowel sized tool would be more economical. I love multi-function tools, especially when they don't add function at the expense of the primary function. 

This little beauty is the ChinLin HW-901 spade and I originally picked a couple up on Wish.com but it looks like they are no longer sold there. I did find them on this Indonesian clone ( buyer beware). What it is is a 26.3cm ( 10 1/3") trowel with a para-cord wrapped box handle. Made from a  single piece of 420 Stainless steel, the handle has been welded along the middle of the upper face, obscured by the cord wrap. The trowel has a sharpened edge around 3/4 of its edge, with the final quarter being a serrated saw-edge. The spoon face of the tool has a nail puller cut in as well as a set of four hex-head wrench cut-outs. 

The edges aren't super-sharp but they're sturdy enough to chop with, which will be good for clearing brush, weeds or stubborn roots whilst digging. Weighing in at only 80g (2.8oz) it's not going to cut it as an axe, but it makes for a lively and light digging tool. The sharp edges and serrations do make digging through turf easy, and the tool-cut-outs don't effect digging and scooping output significantly.

There is a 7cm ruler printed on the inside of the spoon which is  a nice addition. The pressed steel has a spine ridge pressed in for stability and the tool is very stiff, which makes it very good when sawing or prying (splitting cracked wood or perhaps stone), especially handy when pulling nails with the nail puller or applying torque with the hex wrench holes. 

The cord-wrap is made of 290cm (9'6") of paracord, secured to the handle through four sets of holes drilled into the sides of the handle, and terminating in a lanyard loop at the bottom end. The handle has a slight taper which keeps the cord from sliding off either ends. 

Those side lashing holes and the hole in the spine of the spoon near the handle of the tool can also act as attachment points to fix a pole fitted into the hollow handle, either acting as a extension to the handle, or to turn the tool into a spear. 

The tool comes in a hand if pretty flimsy nylon pouch with a belt loop. I've found it very useful to have on hand when picnicking or hiking. The pouch keeps the sharp edges secure. 

I bought one for myself as a tactical hand shovel, and another for my veggie-garden planting partner. We've both put it to  good use and they've never failed us. 

Panjang Handle: 10.4 cm

Review: PRC Compressed Ration Biscuts

I was lucky that one of my contacts Jayson Moloney of Blade and Stone AU started stocking a very unique product I had to get in on. These are a long shelf-life survival ration biscuit that looks to provide long term reliable food source as an emergency backup, much like the Mainstay Survival ration bricks I've reviewed in the past.

The rations, produced by ;Qinhuangdao Ocean Food CO.,LTD.formerly known as the Chinese people’s Liberation Army No.4003 factory a supplier for the Peoples Republic of China's military, https://qhdhysp.en.alibaba.com The rations themselves are in the form of compressed biscuits individually wrapped and stored in Mylar foil bags. The 4kg tin carries 20x 200g vacuum wrapped packets. When kept in optimal storage conditions; stored at normal temperature in a cool, dry place they have a minimum 24 month shelf life.

The ingredients are Wheat Flour, Palm oil (uh oh, that's not eco-friendly) sugar, glucose syrup, salt, and sodium bicarbonate. These are mixed into digestive style biscuits and compressed into blocks. They have been heat-treated but don't appear to have been baked. Following high temperature and high-pressure sterilization, they are suitable for long-term storage and transportation, The biscuits are tightly plastic wrapped and outer-layer foil bagged plastic bag packaging  creating a package  both hygienic and convenient, suitable for military and civilian use.

Each foil sachet holds four individually wrapped biscuit each pressed into two distinct portions easily  cracked to share or for ease of eating or sharing.  The vital statistics are listed as follows:

The  unopened sachets are 8cm (~3") square and 3cm (~1") thick.

	Per 100g	/NRV%
Energy	1988kJ	24%
Protein	7.1g	12%
Fat	19.4g	32%
Carbohydrate	67.6g	23%
Sodium	238mg	12%

Given that each sachet is 200g and has four biscuits, each 50g portion has half these values. So two whole sachets gives you 100% of the daily recommend intake and most of the daily protein and carbs. That's not bad for 400g of dry biscuit. Obviously you'd want water to go with it and I found they go very well with a nice cup of tea.

The compressed biscuits are non-moisture absorbent, soft, and easy to break up and eat. but not mushy or crumbly. They are a high energy,  rich source of nutrition, making them anti-fatigue, and promote the rapid recovery of physical strength. They are dense with a tight texture which leads to you being more likely to feel full after eating.


Although they are made of same flour used to make wholemeal cookies, but because the high quality of the  material used which is more closely refined, the use of the anti-orangutan palm oil softener to lower its moisture content, and not easy bibulous (moisture absorbing) which means even minor punctures to the protective covers will not be too much of a concern , make cookies in the active ingredients can supplement physical strength (ingredients) under the same volume content more, so to make it more resistant to hungry. A long-lasting, sustaining Digestive Biscuit.

The foil sachets are small and sturdy enough to be put in a pocket, or stuffed into the bottom of a bug-out bag. They also fit four into a Platatac FUP dual magazine pouch.  That's 800g of nutrition ready to carry your adventure on over hill and dale for a bit longer.

The biscuits are tasty and wholesome, my kids liked them and even put smiles on our faces after some arduous crafting on the couch.

They're tastier than the Mainstay rations and have a much nicer mouthfeel. Apart from the palm oil I have no qualms recommending these as survival rations and suspect  they will  become a hiking and camping loadout staple for us.




BREAKING NEWS: Jason tells me he will be getting in a new order including the pork jerky flavour through the Blade and Stone site. If your dietary restrictions allow you should check it out!