Review: Fiskars Log Splitter

When disaster strikes, sometimes it's the basic things that are the most important. Freedom to move is one of those. I frequently travel up into the Dandenong Ranges so visit, collect and return my 3yo daughter, Triceratops Girl. The way is heavily forested, mountainous and prone to storms and heavy rainfall, as well as bushfires. I've had to clear fallen trees from my path on more than one occasion, which is one of the reasons I keep my favorite camping axe in the back of the car. I picked this piece up at a hardware store a number of years ago, after seeing the advertisements where a tractor is pictured sitting on the handle, lent over a log.

Between seeing that, and hefting it in the shop, I was all but sold. If it's something I can trust the Finns with, it's chopping wood. And Vodka. Which may have led to the parking of the tractor on the axe in the first place. The proof, they say, is in the pudding and here is what I can tell you. The hollow haft is made of a lightweight and extremely hard wearing fiberglass material called "FiberComp". This puts almost all the weight in the head, where you want it. It's flexible enough to take the shock of some serious and extensive chopping and splitting, and still sturdy enough to DO all that work. The hook in the handle ensures a positive grip and the haft is well textured for both a good swinging action and also keeping a solid positive grip. as well as having a lanyard hole for added safety.

The head is where the action is. Firstly, the head is molded into the haft, and in all the years I have had it it's never given the slightest hint of budging. The entire head is coated with a non-stick substance called PTFE (Teflon is DuPont's name for it...)which according to Fiskars reduces the friction of blade strike and withdrawal by 25%. Most important to my way of thought however is the blade geometry, which is really special. The convex cross-section acts not only to enure a deep bite, but also provides a wide bevel to force logs open, Star Destroyer style! The convex shape helps keep it from being wedged into its cut. The steel has been drop forged, doubled hardened. What this means for you and I is that it holds a very keen edge and is easy to maintain. There are a couple of dings, from loaning it to lesser humans, who chopped wood onto gravel. I've worked most of the damage out with my diamond files.  So dumb I couldn't even get angry. Just took it away from them, and let them forage for firewood from then on.


I've taken this with me on every camping trip since having it, and over Easter last year, chopped enough red-gum to cook for 10 people for 6 days with it. I bent the ring I was wearing, gave myself a little blister and needed -one- resharpening. A very fine effort. The locking case not only holds the very sharp edge safely, but I have also used it to affix the axe to my hip, either lashing it to my belt, or by feeding my gorgeous little camping-knife in its sheath through the handle like a big button. As you can see, from the wear on the handle and head, I've gotten a lot of use from this axe, and plan to get a lot more.

It's one of the first items that comes to mind when someone mentions disaster preparedness, because its reliable, light, effective and extremely hardy. Fallen trees, barricades, firewood, encroaching Triffid hoards, this axe and I will go a long way to making ready!

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: AUSCAM Raven Pack accessory bags.

Following on from my previous review of the outstanding 1993 design AUSCAM Raven Pack I wanted to give the accessory packs their own bandwidth.

Both types of pack are fitted with 50mm webbing clips, and are designed to be mounted to other packs, which i feel limits their over all usefulness. That said, having modular packs you can strip off and dump, or share around or even demount to stock or rummage through is a great idea.I'll break this little review into discussing each mini-pack separately, but should at least cover their shared features together. As well as having 50mm clips, on canvas webbing, both packs are made of waterproofed nylon, like the Raven main pack itself, and are fully decked out in the traditional "hearts and bunnies" AUSCAM. Narrower straps are of the same nylon tape that is ubiquitous to buckle fasteners everywhere.

The larger of the two types (of which there are two included with a full Raven kit-out) features 50mm clips at the top of the pack, as well as a carry handle about midway. The top-end clipping gives it a no-sag attachment and ensures that contents are less likely to spill when opened. The main closure is achieved with a substantial zipper, which is nicely situated under a lip to reduce water entry from rain and the like. Documentation included with the pack indicates that this side-bag has a capacity of 12L which makes it a substantial boost to your carrying capacity. There is no internal structure within the bag, but it has two sets of webbing loops dangling from the bottom which could be used for lashing. Interesting features include a 1 inch square flap of hook-and-loop which could be a cord or hydration tube retainer. Happy to have its true nature indicated, if anyone knows!

The second pack is the loaf-shaped bum-bag, which features a long and deep, but narrow 5L of storage, with three sets of 50mm webbing clips at the midline, and three Fastex buckles securing it closed. It seems a fairly exposed may to store things, so I can only presume it was meant for large hardy items, the included manual indicates that it was suitable for storing some kind of comms gear. I think it would be rain or cold-weather gear, if I were hiking with it. One Other thought I had was that this bag at least, could be affixed to a belt and worn like a huge MilSpec bum-bag, but again, its rather open closure system would limit the gear I stowed in it. Hammock, novel and hydration system for a palm tree lounge anyone?

So, with these two types of accessory pack described, how do they sit and fit on the main Raven pack? When I received it, the 3-clip 5L loaf-pack was affixed low down on the back on the Raven, where the webbing matches exactly the clip configuration on the little pack. The twin day-packs had more options for where to clip them, being 2-clips, but I think keeping the center of mass low is always a good idea in a pack,

All told, this looks be a a great system for lugging loads of gear. No frills, sturdy construction and all Australian MilSpec fittings. Rugged gear for rugged country.

Review: Paracord

Whats that you say? A review of paracord? That's like a review of "water", or "shoes". Or is it? There's a lot to be said for something so ubiquitous. As I've said before, I like having cord on hand and there is nothing better than having cord that you can depend on. So, here are some of the reasons paracord is so useful. Originally used for the suspension line in WW2 parachutes, the cord has come to find a place of pride in any well equipped kit. Also known as "550 cord" because it is nominally rated to have a breaking load of 550lbs (or about 250kg) That's a phenomenal load for a 4mm cord! There are 6 classes of paracord according to US MilSpec and its generally the Class III that is referred to when "paracord" is mentioned.

The cord is made of an outer densely woven sheath of nylon which covers 7 to 9 inner yarns, each themselves made of 2 or 3 threads, also nylon. This makes the whole cord both smooth and somewhat elastic. Being woven nylon, when cut the ends fray if not melted or crimped.  I have a little blowtorch and knife dedicated for cutting and sealing mine. The inner yarns can be removed to leave the sheath for use or vise versa, using the inner yarns, or "guts" as commonly known. Being nylon, the cord is resistant to mold or mildew, doesn't take up water readily and is long wearing. I have some as a bracelet closure on a crocodile hide band, which I've worn 24/7, wet, dry, hot or cold for several years now. It comes in a rainbow of colours; from black, coyote, OD through to "safety orange", my preferred choice for taking to the clubs. Great under UV!

Paracord is a really useful piece of gear to have on you, and there are a number of ways to keep a bunch of it on hand. One simple way is to feed a hank of it through some spare loops of MOLLE, if you happen to have that kind of attachment on hand. I always keep a hank or two in mine, along with  that other mainstay of "keeping things tied up", zip-ties.

It can also be woven into a variety of patterns, such as the chain sinnet on my grappling hook cord or the Portuguese Sinnet or Cobra Weave on my belt-lanyard,  and I really have to put in a word for Stormdrane here, who's amazingly clear blog and Instructables not only inspired me to look more into making my own gear, but making it elegant as well such as the "survival bracelet" I also wear. Lashing poles, tying down tarps, securing luggage, padding contact points. There are so many options. I've previously shown two different ways to add a paracord wrap to the handle of a knife or other tool but here is another. It's on one of my machete-type fantasy swords, which I re-handled this twisted wrap. Its a twin set, and by alternating the sides, it lays flat together, and puts the twisted ridge of the handle against my curled fingers.

Whether you are putting up an emergency shelter or throwing a lead line over a high branch to drop a log on an invisible alien hunter who can see your claymore mines, paracord is a must have in your supplies!

Review: DGP Pathopak

I'm going to divert from my usual line of reviews to cover something a bit different. I'm a firm believer in salvage and I hate to see useful resources going to waste. These containers are case in point. The facility I work at receives items shipped internationally and interstate regularly, and due to the sensitive nature of the items, regulations require a certain level of regulation packaging. The items are typically sealed in a small plastic box, wrapped in bubble-wrap and placed in one of these containers, which is shipped in its own stiff cardboard box. The containers are called Pathopaks and they are produced by DGP Group, a division of Intelsius. The thing is, after they arrive at my facility, and the items taken out and processed, the containers, box cardboard and the jar, get tossed into the recycling as waste. This would just not do, because these containers are ACE. We receive them in two sizes, 1L and 2L. Let's start with the 1L container's features.

The blue lidded 1L containers are the rarer of the two kinds, at my facility, I have no idea why, as in my opinion the items shipped are no where near big enough to warrant even that big a container individually, even with copious bubble-wrap. But, that's how it goes. The containers are a high density SPI Resin 5 PP Polypropylene 95kPa pressure vessel, which can be frozen, and stored at 37oC (important to know, in my facility). They are solvent, acid and base resistant and are rated for biological substance containment. The lid has a robust thread, and a silicone o-ring seal and the overall internal size of the 1L container is 88x170mm and they weigh 240g. 

The orange topped containers are the 2L version, which we receive many more of. They are 125x170mm internally and weigh 450g. All the other features are the same, simply scaled up.  Why would I want them? Well, after being emptied, I collect them, and give them all a liberal disinfection with 70% ethanol, which is an effective anti-microbial. I allow them to air dry, and take them home giving them a further dish-washer cleanse and -bam- I have a robust and standardized, sealable storage container.


What I can do with them then is limited only by my imagination. Mostly I use them for foodstuff storage. We do a lot of bulk shopping, living in a large, poly, share house we often have a lot of mouths to feed. Buying in bulk means storing adequately. These containers are ideal for that, being both non-reactive, airtight and "clouded" to reduce light-related spoilage. I keep a couple filled with road-snacks in my car, hobby supplies in some, and even preserved lemons in salt for several years in some.

As I've said, I hate waste. I'm very glad to have been able to save these kinds of containers from simply being recycled as they really match my views on tough, rugged, multipurpose gear. When I started bringing them home I was asked the suspicious but reasonable question "have these had dead people in them?" and the name stuck. I'm very happy with my "dead people jars" for both everyday use and disaster preparedness.

I've even used them to pack rations-kits in.

Review: 215Gear Ultimate Riggers Belt

I've been wanting a decent, MilSpec belt for some time now. Something I could wear day to day, and not look like too much of a dork with metal grommet-ed webbing everywhere. I frequently carry a number of things on my person, often on my belt. Drink bottles, hammers, axes, phone, small satchels, my coyote tail (no, really). All kinds of things, time to time. I'm very fond of going "hands free", and having a belt dig into my boney hips one too many times led me to do some research. I managed to find something that fit not only my aesthetic visually, but also met my desire for a rugged, dependable and multipurpose item. A Riggers Belt.

Following a link I saw online, I was lead to 215Gear, who's Retention Lanyard I reviewed recently and settled on their "Ultimate Riggers Belt" over the slightly less awesome but still impressive looking "Enhanced" version. Both belts are made from parachute quality webbing, and "7 Class sewn" throughout. The webbing is doubled for most of the belt, and is adjustable via a full width and very long hook-and-loop band which feeds through the male end of the very spiffy anodized aluminium "Cobra Buckle" which has a quick release safety lock, which if I read correctly, has a 9kN rating by itself, with the whole belt rated at 18kN. (NB if you are baffled by what all these load ratings really -mean- have a read of this document, essentially, anything more than 12kN is going to mess your body up, but the belt will hold). That's good enough for me! It should be good enough for anyone who doesn't have a T-800 endoskeleton. 

Apart from the awesome buckle (which I feel the need to add, has confused some testers when trying to undo it), being a Riggers Belt, it features a bunched loop hole for use an an attachment and anchor point for a carabiner for a Retention Lanyard, accessories, or in a pinch, an emergency rappelling/belay point as demonstrated by the awesome team at ITS in this clip. 

The only drawback I have found with this belt is that the buckles are quite wide, and I've had trouble wearing it with some pants with sewn on loops. I -could- detach the male end buckle and feed the belt, reattach it and off I go, but its just been too much effort. Similarly, the belt is too wide for my multitool pouch's belt-loop, so I have to pocket that when I wear this belt. Again, I -could- adjust, just laziness on my part. 

Awesome, awesome piece of gear. I'd stake my life on it. I probably will, soon enough.

Review: Crumpler Thirsty Al (xs) pouch

Making my way back to one of the pouches I lug around everywhere, every day, I wanted to show you the Crumpler Thirsty Al (xs) accessory pouch. I was fortunate enough to have won this in a competition Crumpler put on to "send in photos of yourself with your bags" and one day it arrived in my mailbox to my delight. I affix it to my main Messenger Bag and if you look at the photos there, you may see it peeking around the sides. I have it looped to the main belt-strap of that bag where it is both out of the way, accessible and  blends in quite nicely. That's a big plus for me and something that Crumpler does quite well.  It's snug enough to slip the to corner of the strap and wedge against the main bag without disappearing entirely, and whilst the colours are slightly different, the schema fits in very nicely. Perfect for my kind of EDC. I do enjoy the "WTH did that come from?" effect, when I pull something from seemingly thin air.
It follows the same general lines as another pouch of theirs I have, the John Thursday 100 so there was no conceptual difficulty in integrating it into my collection. The construction is the same1000d Cordura outer,  ripstop 300 Codura inner as other Crumpler products, and it shares the John Thursday neoprene "body". Again the happy Kokopelli looking icon graces its front flap.

 

 The attachment system is the same double-hook-and-loop sandwich as well, which makes a surprisingly good connection, and I can't recall any time that it has failed me. It fits around the 50mm webbing used as the main strap of my messenger bag and also through MOLLE loops. As well as the sandwich-flap method, there is also a lanyard loop at the top, which I haven't yet felt the need to use for anything. 

Yet.

 Again, in keeping with the John Thursday / Thirsty Al comparison, behind the hook-and-loop loopy spot of the inside of the front flap there is a "secret" hidey-hole, which in this case, I have filled with a USB thumb-drive, (which you can see just poking out) but could also fit some small change, folded bills, spare keys or camera-cards, amongst the options.As with the John Thursday, the front flap does not quite cover the top of the neoprene sides, leaving the top a little exposed. Something to be aware of, but not a big deal in this case.

I found that the pouch was a little too small to accommodate my iPhone, or current camera, but would be perfect for a lot of the more moderns, slimline cameras or non-iPhone members of the iPod family. It could also fit some more useful preparedness kit, like a small stash of mask, gloves & dressings, compass and firestarters or any number of stow and wait items. I chose to fill mine with a 8m long hank of paracord I happened to have laying around. This fits in neatly (after tying it fast-rope style, with thanks to Craig Guest) and gives me a high density source of good cord pretty much at the flick of a wrist. I'm a firm believer in having rope on hand in the event of a disaster or emergency, and this was a great means to keep some close by, squared-away and discreetly.

Sadly this pouch seems to be discontinued, but I'm very pleased to say that this one looks like it will be in my collection, and in my EDC, for years to come. Rugged, useful, unobtrusive.