Review: collapsible fishing rod

Change of pace! Here's an item that has been rattling about in the secret tool chamber of my SUV for some time, alongside my Kathmandu Hip bag full of bug-out gear, first aid kits, a hatchet, jumper-leads and the like, for some time now. My step-dad Barry gave me a set of three of these collapsible fishing rods, one for myself and one each for Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl.

They love fishing, and we finally had an opportunity to put them to the test, when we were taken out onto Western Port bay by my partner Lorin's dad, Ken, on his fishing boat, for a day's angling.


The rods collapse down from 5 telescoping segments, to a length of only 41cm (16") from its overall 175cm (5'9") length. It weighs only 75g or so when fully spooled with line. It's really a very lightweight rod. I'm no fishing expert, and could probably count on two hands the number of times I've fished wit ha rod (growing up with dangle hand-reels from my Grandad's boat instead), so I don't have a lot to say about the relative quality of either the rod or the reels attached, but they weren't fancy, or heavy duty. They feature 5 eyes, and along with the generic reels, we didn't expect high performance.

They did work just fine though, and once weighted, hooked and baited, we put lines to water and in a surprisingly short amount of time we had some bites. 
Even though I also swapped out to a regular rod, the girls and I each landed a bream or two with the collapsing rods.

The ones we kept were all above the 28cm limit, with nothing bigger than about 35cm but they were all good eating size. We also landed a couple of the spikey, fang-mouthed flatheads. Nasty to look at, delicious in the pan.

Not only did the girls have fun, and learn a few things about setting bait, hooking and landing fish, but also proved that the collapsible rods aren't just a gimmick, but really do work.

I didn't have any concerns with the structural integrity of the rods, or their fittings, other than their age, as hand-me-downs, but they performed admirably. I suspect if I hooked a BIG fish, but not big enough to break my line, that I might have troubles, but oven the line, and my knots, are the weakest physical link, I can't imagine the rod being at risk.

In summary, these light, flexible and easily stored rods were entirely effective, and have truly earned their place in my bug-out car tool cache, and they're something that I would be very happy strapping to a pack should I be heading out on an adventure where there might be fish to catch.

I'm extremely grateful to both my stepdad Barry for giving us the rods, and to Ken for taking us out on his boat. Thank's guys!

Re-Blog: how to remove a fishhook

This was a very interesting piece I saw, from the Walden Labs who offer "Solutions for Self Reliance" which I wanted to share with you all. I've reblogged from Walden Labs before, they have great content. For those of you who have ever been out fishing and are a bit of a klutz, there is the very real chance that you might have stuck yourself with a hook.

The folks at Walden labs found this clip from Total Fisherman which demonstrates five different ways of removing fish hooks that are buried deeply in a persons body. Total Fisherman goes as far as really hooking himself to demonstrate these techniques.


Warning: If you don’t like seeing fish hooks going in and out of skin don’t watch this video.





Published on Apr 24, 2013, he buries and removes five fish hooks from my hand, arm, and leg, to show us whether or not the "best" fish hook removal technique actually works.

It appears to be working by securing the base of the hook as firmly as possible, against the body, and after fitting a larks-head knot to the hook end  and with a quick jerk, aiming to yank the barbed hook out with the tension in the metal itself.

Normally this is pretty bad-first aid advice, to pull a penetrating object out, and there is always a risk that pulling a barbed hook out will do more damage, however, in a field expedient situation, this is probably a better solution than trying to push the hook all the way through and cutting it.

Wish Lust: off-road vehicles

I was heading home from work, and I went past this vehicle, parked in the parking lot entrance of an apartment block, and I was so impressed that I wanted to snap a few pictures and tell you what I thought about it. There has been so much done to the set-up that I couldn't even tell what the original rig under it was, but it has a fully enclosed tool and storage locker suite, with four lockable cupboards, two of which were vented, possibly to house pig-dogs or some such. Big off-road tires, with two spares on the back, as well as dual front and back dynema cable-winches, and a heavy-duty jack .

An awning canopy which looks like it might be a full tent version  was fitted to the roof, as well as a roof-rack full of camping and bedding gear like bed-rolls. Packs set to the back of the spare tires give even more storage, though probably not for anything too valuable. Might even be solar shower reservoirs. Extra LED lights, running-boards, a snorkel, a big cow-pusher and a heavy duty suspension upgrade finish off what looks to be a very impressive off-road and off-grid setup. It made me envious!

My own little Toyota Rav4 AWD is rather soccer-mom in comparison. Given that I don't do much off-roading, other than getting to and from some pretty family-friendly camping sites and the occasional trip to the snow, I don't really have much regular excuse for a more workhorse set up, other than in the interests of preparedness. Family utility won out when I got this vehicle. That said, I do keep a variety of useful and important kit stowed away in its Millennium Falcon like storage bays: 

First Aid kits, my in-the-car Bug-Out-Bag, a pretty comprehensive tool-bag, rain-gear, Hi-Vis gear, oil, fishing rods, jumper-leads, a hatchet, some really neat collapsible fishing poles and a tackle box, as well as my trusty Stetson all live stowed away ready for any emergency that comes up. I also have a Hercules Off-road Recovery kit,  which isn't pictured. I also have two removable roof-racks, which strap on to the top, through the door-frames, and give me instant top-side storage when I have even more to load. 

These originally came to let me haul my AquaYak tandem kayak, but have been invaluable camping and both salvage and shopping. Given the size of our family, I often ponder that I would have been better served with a people mover, but the Rav4 has served me well. The boot by itself is spacious and lets us haul a whole lot more than you might expect. It would be awesome to one day have a decent rough-riding, off-road, Mad Max worthy vehicle, and I know one of my friends recently got an ex-Army Land Rover Defender  which will make an excellent bush-basher, so I know its possible.

Review: VSSL Outdoor Utility cache

First seen on Breach Bang & Clear

I had missed the release of this particular product when it ran through its Kickstarter campaign, mostly for financial reasons, but my dear friend and Kickstarter aficionado Gareth Hodges had one and wanted to pass it on, so I snapped it up at a generous discount (thanks man!), so I have had one in my hot little hands, and pack for a while now.


This is the "utility" model of the VSSL which is to say, one of five models they offer, and this one is filled with s variety of useful and needful survival items.
The main body of the canister is a machined aluminium tube, with end caps that screw in to give a gasketed airtight seal. Each VSSL unit is 23cm (9") long by 5cm (2") diameter made from seamless extruded mil-spec anodized aluminium, and this model weighs 510g (18 oz). 

The unit is very sturdy, the two end caps are knurled, and the body has engraved details on it, as well as some knurling as well, giving a solid grip to open either end.


The real utility of the unit however is in its contents. As well as the two end caps, one of which has a dual mode (static high/low and SOS) LED ‘flood’ beam lantern light, illuminates a large area ( which runs on 3x N type or Energizer E90 batteries), and the tail cap holds a 4 hour burning pure Canadian beeswax candle and has an oil filled compass on its surface.

The seven little aluminium pill-boxes each with a small collection of survival needfulls, some in pairs, others singly. 


The contents are thus:

Razor blade

6 Aquatabs® water purification tablets

Wire saw (high tensile, 60lb working strength with handle straps)

Aluminium beadless emergency whistle

Waterproof matches

Tinder Quik® fire starters

Fishing Gear

Signalling Mirror

Marine grade rope (250lb breaking strength)

Reflective trail markers

P38 military GI Type can opener

First aid supplies 

VSSL priorities of survival and instructions

There's a good spread of items, and here they are itemized:The pill-boxes aren't hermetically sealed, but they don't really need to be, as they all live in the VSSL tube. The contents aren't meant to be for long term sustainment, rather to help out in the event of a short term emergency, or even to fill a gap in your EDC when out adventuring. It's solid construction and precision machining makes it a very well put together survival cache. 

The weight is a bit of a concern considering the overall size and scope of the contents, however, they are well packaged, so would be safe and ready to use when you need it, whether it's been sitting in your pack, in the back of your car or buried in your safe-drop spot. 

VSSL also produce several other versions of the flask: a Fist-Aid canister (full of boo-boo repair items), a Shelter canister (with a tarp, line and the like), an empty canister (build your own), a Flask (300mL of capacity and two collapsing shot cups) and their Zombie Spike version (for brain stabby goodness). 

Wish Lust: KickStarters - RECON 6 Watch & KLAX

From time to time I either get forwarded, or read about some great ideas going on via Kickstarter, or other crowd-sourcing sites, and I want to boost their signal to help them out, as well as getting some gear ideas out to you folks ....

check these two out...


From the creator of the Crovel Extreme comes this jam-packed survival watch.

In his words:
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RUGGED AS IT IS USEFUL:Recon 6 Watch is the Baddest watch around: Compass, Signal, Can Opener, Fire Starter, Whistle, Cutting Tool!

The most multifaceted utility watch you'll ever own.  Life in the great outdoors is no fashion show, but there is a tough and rugged accessory I am getting ready to launch that not only lets outdoorsmen make like Grylls, but could also save your life.  I created the Recon 6 Watch to tackle the unexpected and perform multiple tasks. Inspired by the desire to always be prepared, a cross between the Swiss Army Knife and MacGyver will take this multi-featured watch to a whole new level.  After months of hard work, my idea is almost ready to become a reality.

As well as a bezel equipped, phosphorescent handed and anti-chip and glare faced watch, it also features the following survival components
- Multi-Tool
- Blade with sheep hook design for dressing out small game
- Bottle opener
- Can opener
- Fire striker
- Signaling mirror
- Fire starter good up to 5000 fire starts
- Aluminum rescue wistle
- 25 ft. of braided fishing line with 2 small fish hooks
- Magnifying glass
- EMP proof, liquid fill compass
- LED flashlight
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Hefty, and with a price tag to match, but packed with content....

Then there is the father-son team behind the quite innovative multi-tool, survival axe, which I have my eyes on.

In their words:
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The KLAX is a multi-tool built into the head of an ax.  It allows you to attach the ax head to a handle quickly in the field.  It uses the nested clamping system shown here.   The clamps rotate out from the handle for use.


The KLAX is designed to be a short term solution to many of the problems that you could face either planned or unexpected. It will help you to get through situations where carrying a full set of dedicated tools is just not possible or realistic. Here are a few examples...
- stuck on the roadside in the backwoods and need to build a lean-to for shelter
- injured hiker needs an impromptu travois (stretcher) to be carried to safety
- hiking and need enough wood for a small cooking fire
- hunting and want to make small game traps
- forgot the hammer and need to pound in the tent pegs
- starting the split on a small log without many knots
- need to dig a hole (let's see your multi-tool do that)
Bottom Line: If you think it is trying to replace your full-sized dedicated tools for everyday use, you won't be happy with the KLAX.

KLAX-Lumberjack  Our high-end stainless steel model with the most features.  The first three models are all made from heat treated SUS420J2  stainless steel which is perfectly balanced for keeping an edge and maintaining strength.

KLAX - Woodsman   Our mid-level stainless steel model with just the more useful features.

KLAX - Feller  This is our more rustic model with just the basic features you need in the outdoors.

Ti-KLAX is a Titanium version of the KLAX – Lumberjack and comes with all the same features, but because it is made from more expensive Titanium, it weighs only half as much as the Feller and is stronger than steel.  The Ti-4452813 titanium is also anodized to provide some eye catching highlights.

 *******************


So, some pretty cool concepts there ....


I wish I could back them all, but we'll see, and perhaps I'll get to show them off in good time.