Review: Dead On - Annihilator superhammer

A very happy surprise was another birthday present I received from a good friend who knows my proclivities, something I in fact tried to find for myself but had alas been unable to find for myself. So, last week I was handed A Dead On - Annihilator Superhammer as fearsome a smasher as I could hope for in such a package.

This is a 35cm (14"), 800g (28oz) piece of forged steel. Tools adorn it top and bottom. The split head is made up of a solid and 1" square striking face, which features a Dead On® bottle opener at its chin. Good for those post-wrecking but pre-zombie smashing bottle of Nuka Cola (because you don't want to open bottles that are going to go in your mouth to have infected brain matter contaminated chunks stuck to the lip ...). The flip side of the striking face is Nail Puller/Tile Ripper which is a strong chisel edged tool-face, curved slightly to assist in slipping under and levering up what ever you are prying up.

Between the striking face and the "Nail Puller" the "Board Straightener" sits ready to grip and twist. The two sets of teeth are just over 4cm (1 5/8") and just under 3cm (1 1/8") in width, respectively, which is reported to fit standard board sizes (I don't actually know what this means). Below the chisel edged Nail Puller/Tile Ripper lies the frightfully formed Demolition Axe, which curves down almost to the edge of the rubberised grip. This is not a shaving-sharp axe, rather that the steel of the haft is formed to a triangular ridge to an angle of around 45 degrees to the full width of the haft. This leaves a very hardy working edge, and is intended for drywall, thin wooden structures, shingles and conduit. The middle of the curve is notched with what appears to be a wire-stripper, but could also be used as a nail-puller as well. Here you can see the Annihilator in it's current home, which is wedged in the middle of the Bullock Echo daypack and the Bravo hydration Pack combo which I reviewed recently. It fits in the mid-channel of double-wide PALS/MOLLE quite nicely, and nestles nicely behind the main drag-handle, without protruding out the bottom.At just over an inch in width, it is too wide to slot into PALS/MOLLE on it own.

The tail of the tool features several other interesting combination tools. The tip is a rugged ridged point, which could be used for penetration, or scoring as needed. Within the tip is the "Multi Purpose Wrench/Nail Puller", which as suggested includes a hex-bolt socket, and a wide feeding nail puller. The manufacturers suggest using the wrench for releasing concrete forms and other general uses and the tip for smashing, cracking and chipping away at tile, brick or other things deemed "to go away".

So, I felt it was a good idea to put the Annihilator up against the mighty Stanley Fatmax Fubar to give a good comparison. Let me first say I haven't yet done any real smashing with the Annihilator, just waved it around and banged a few posts and bricks. However, at 800g vs 1300g it already comes up significantly leaner. You can see in the side-by-side pictures that it is thinner and narrower. If a slighter tool is what you are after, this is it.

I noticed a slight bend to the left in my Annihilator, I cant tell if this is a design feature or a flaw, but it was certainly of little concern. The Annihilator lacks the curved pry-bar end of the Fubar, but it has the curved Nail Puller/Tile Ripper at the back of the head,  and has a number of other features built in that the Fubar lacks.

I plan to leave my Fubar in my in-car bug-out-bag, but will be sorely tempted to keep the Annihilator in my every-day bag. I am also strongly considering commissioning a kydex holster for it, so I can lash it to my other PALS/MOLLE kit. This is an awesome piece of kit. Who's up for a "lets smash things" video-blog?

Find one on Amazon here:

Home Front: Grocery Run

So, taking a pause from the usual tactical/hardcore kit, and looking more to the preparedness side of disaster preparedness, rather than response. I've discussed stocking up on supplies before, at least to the extent that we do it here, which is to say keeping the pantry stocked well enough to weather the slings and arrows of misfortune, at least for long enough to regroup and make other plans.

A little while ago I stumbled across an online shopping site called Grocery Run which offers a variety of discounted products, with different deals every day. They tend to do CostCo-like bundles of products, in two's or three's, and allow multiple orders of items too (although usually capped). A flat shipping rate will see an order straight to your door.

The items listed are always canned, or dry goods, no fresh produce is offered, but that's just fine for the kinds of things that we want to use this service for.

Staples, household items and the like, a brilliant way to stock up on items, far cheaper than to go to a major supermarket chain, delivered to your door. We've placed a couple or orders now, and have been very satisfied with the quality and condition of the goods we're received.

I was worried they would be all at "end of life" or "dented and broken" to come at the prices offered, but thus far none of what we've gotten have been in any way store-quality. I can only assume they are over-runs.We saw almost exactly the same stock on the shelves at the NQR shop we went to last week.

Sometimes being able to stock up is more a matter of being able to afford to do so, and the cheaper you can find your produce, the better prepared you can be.

Probably the best part about this particular method of shopping for us is that they take PayPal, which means we could convert our online credit for actual food!

Sneak Preview: upcoming reviews

I was a very lucky birthday Coyote and scored the full suite of KA-BAR Zombie Killer fixed blades, which I will be reviewing as soon as I've given them a good solid trial.

Early thoughts: hefty!

Review: S&W Tactical Pen

This is the first of my birthday-present posts, and I wanted to start them off with a bang: A Smith & Wesson bang. I'll even jump right in with the anticipated "pen is mightier than the sword" comment here, because you can indeed achieve more with a pen than you can with a sword, but it can be a lot more satisfying to do so with a sword.

Then again there are times in all of our lives when carrying around your favourite piece of live steel, say for tree-chopping or perhaps laying waste to anything in sight is not what the authorities, or your workmates, have in mind.


I understand their fears. I don't agree, but I understand.

For those times, however, you can always fall back on your pen. Especially if that pen is machined out of 6061 aircraft aluminium and designed by the likes of Smith & Wesson. This is the S&W Tactical Pen  and one of my lovely girlfriends imported it for me (with all the trouble you might imagine of Australian Customs) but it was so worth it!

The machining and finish are a delight. The groves along the body lend themselves to a very positive grip in a variety of holds, as well as affording a very comfortable writing grip.

As well as a series of grooves machined along its circumference, there is a broad, raised, cross-hatched region which reinforces the achievable grip. The bullet-headed tip is pointy enough to be an aggressive tool for control or compliance, as well as being sizable enough to present a realistic force multiplier in defensive situations. I would not like to be on the receiving end of one of these in even unskilled but motivated hands. That said, it is also rounded and subdued enough that I have no fear of Tactical baby hurting herself with it if I leave it laying around. It's fairly innocuous until wielded. Which is mostly the point.

The pen part is a regular ballpoint ink cartridge, housed in the reverse end, again, all well machined and anodized. The pen end is capped by pressing the cap on directly, the cap has a nylon liner which accepts both pen and pointy end equally securely and firmly. The butt-cap and the retaining clip both feature the
with the Smith & Wesson logo and name which are laser engraved. Two hex screws affix the spring retaining clip without jutting out overly.

There is even a lanyard hole in the butt-cap, so you don't loose your prized writing implement in some ravenous mutie's head, or if you share a workspace, pens seem to go walking.

This is my first piece by Smith & Wesson, and so far I am very impressed, both by the elegant functionality, the ruggedness and the simplicity of this delightful tool. So, when I'm writing up my next set of notes at work, taking a order list at a cafe or signing my next piece of licensing documentation, you'll have to ask yourself: "do you feel lucky, punk?"

Review: Zazz - Survive Army Fire Steel tool

The good people at Zazz were kind enough to send me one of these little guys this week. I have quite the collection of fire-steel's now, between my Swedish FireSteel (which was a gift a number of years ago, and has a prize position in my EDC) and the fire steels found in both my Gerber Bear- Grylls Basic and also in the Gerber Bear Grylls Ulitimate survival kits.  I really like these pieces of kit. They work in the rain, in the snow and last for thousands of strikes.


This one has some additional features which are worth mentioning. Firstly, a goodly sized ferrocerium rod (all the better for striking with) and a saw-toothed striking steel. The back side of the striking steel is marked with millimeters to act as a small ruler. The body of the striker, as well as being dished to better fit the thumb, is also equipped with a signalling whistle. Lastly, the body of the ferrocerium rod is also equipped with a button compass.

Here are some shots of me testing out the striker, a very impressive rain of hot sparks, certainly enough to light a camp-stove at the first strike, and can get tinder going in no time at all, in good conditions.

Including a compass is a terrific idea, even if it is not up to military grade navigation, it is far better to have -any- compass rather than none at all. Rod and striker are affixed with a nylon cord and a stopper. The cord appears to be sufficient to reduce the effect of the steel on the compass, for rough navigation, at least.

I'll leave you with the packaging, which is quite entertaining in and of its own right.

I'm certainly going to include this is one of my packs, because frankly, not being without a source of fire is something I strongly encourage. Now to decide which one to put it in!

Linkages!

It occurred to me that some or all of you are coming to this blog via a variety of paths. In case you fancied following my posts via alternate means here are a couple of alternate means to stalk me:

Get me in your Face: ApocalypseEquipped Page on Facebook


Join the Tweeps: ApocalypseEquip on Twitter

"follow" my Blogger page: http://apocalypseequipped.blogspot.com/


Or just bookmark my site:  http://www.apocalypseequipped.com

Also, I'm thinking of doing some video blogs, but am unsure of what you'd all like to see in moving pictures with sound and lights, so, link up and send me comments....

Review: Platatac - Harry 1.2 Softshell Jacket

Winter rolled around with alarming speed this year, I felt and I am remarkably displeased with this situation. Winters in Melbourne are typically blustery, damp and cool. It rarely drops below freezing, but we do have some frosty mornings and bitter nights for sure. The time came around when just layering jumpers simply didn't cut it, to either shrug off the rain or cut the wind. I've enjoyed wearing my Microfleece Half-Zip coupled with either my kendo club vest, or any one of my salvaged jumpers but the combined wind and wet have left me unhappy. So, when the opportunity arose to upgrade my winter-time wear, I jumped at it. What I'm sporting here is the Platatac Harry 1.2 Jacket, my new best friend in winter. This is the XXL in BRO Olive, which blends nicely with my other things, and avoids "Melbourne Black" an aesthetic choice.

What can I tell you about this jacket...? Firstly that it is solid. Not heavy, because it's not all that weighty. Not stiff or bulky, because it's neither of those. It is solid. The fabric has a really "present" feel, unlike the feathery polarfleece jumper feel that I am used to.

The outer material is densely woven and has a leather-like heft. I was immediately impressed by this. My usual winter-time option is my Matrix-style floor length leather coat, so I appreciate the solid feel without the weight of all that leather.Secondly, I can tell you this about the construction: It's rugged, and tough. I don't tend to be gentle with my clothes, they get tossed, dragged, stuffed and trodden on. Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl are always hanging off me, climbing over me and generally using me as a staging / feeding platform. Water resistance I've tested, having trudged around in the rains a few times, and been very happy with how dry I've stayed. The best part has been the wind-stopping. Putting this on, you are instantly cocooned in a double layer of that densely woven nylon and a polarfleece liner. I've had snow-jackets that haven't been as toasty. Speaking of which, it is also flash/flame resistant. Good for Flamin' Moe's, campfire mishaps and for those putting their very only body in harms way. It's also feature packed.

There are three distinct sets of pockets, each recessed under a fold of the outer layer: The first pockets are the regular "jacket-hand warmers" and are exactly what you'd expect. Zippered, deep enough to shove your hands in, wide enough to accommodate the cuff of the jacket (avoiding that "ride-up" effect) as well as having space to stow every-day items like keys, gloves or whatever. A bonus feature is that they are fully backed. No thin nylon mesh leaving a wind-penetrating hole into your cocoon of warmth!

The second set of pockets are a pair of nicely tailored bicep-pockets. Not only are these angled for ease of use by the wearer, but also angled so you don't need to keep stuffing items back in if you happen to leave them unzipped. The cavity is roughly the size of a CD, and is cut such that the lines of the pocket are obscured and blend into the lines of the jacket. A loop field at the upper edge of these pockets adds to that, whilst giving a couple of spots for adding your favorite, or needful patches. Here's one of my TAD Spartan mountaineering patches

Each arm-pit features a double sized zippered vent, which I must say, is an AWESOME addition. Being able to open up a little and vent, whilst still keeping your front zippered up is a great boon, allowing you to regulate temperature whilst keeping your core dry. It also means I get access to the contents of my holster harness whilst keeping my front zippered up. I don't know if this would be of any use to the "concealed-carry" types out there, but it means I can grab my Myki train-card without having to get a chest-full of drizzle.

You can see here that the sleeve/torso junction is well gusseted leaving plenty of mobility, without either bunching up when arms arm lowered, and not making the waistline ride up when giving a "French Salute". Having your arms free to climb ladders, scale fences, lay prone and outstretched all whilst not exposing your belly and kidneys to the elements, or exposing my under-layers to the elements is very desirable. The bottom hem of the jacket features two adjustable drawstrings to further tuck in your parts. The wrist cuffs are hook-and-loop cinch-able, to close off the elements as well.

  The detachable hood also bears some detailed discussion. The hood attaches to the body of the jacket with a solid zipper, feeding into a recessed flap on the collar. It also features two hook-and-loop tabs at each collar-corner, which sandwich into corresponding pockets on the collar, giving a more secure, and broader wind and rain-stop. The back of the hood features two separate drawstrings, one for the brow-line, the other pulls the lip of the hood back from the face. This gives a remarkable amount of customization to the fit and wear of the hood. A third more conventional drawstring at the front of the hood controls the face aperture. It also controls the built in bill, which I loved, as a glasses-wearer, I hate getting rain splatter on my specs.

Where are those third sets of pockets you ask? I didn't forget. They're hidden, concealed in the hemline of the main zipper at pectoral level. This is a great place for my iPhone, I've found, but could just as easily hold ID, passport, a billfold or a a nasty surprise item like my SAR comb,these pockets accommodate a CD case easily, to give you an idea of the dimensions and are cut such that the contents don't bulge or "hang", divulging the position of your hidden goodies. As with the bicep and hand pockets, the pocket lining is fully covered by the polarfleece internal layer of the jacket.

The main zipper line is double ended, and features a chin to hemline tongue to block wind and wet incursion, giving you plenty of ability to rug up, the double ended zipper gives you access to your beltline or regulate temperature. I have had a few issues with lining up the two zippers, but I seem to always have that when it comes to double-ended zippers, but that is really my only point of contention with this jacket as a whole. There aren't any internal pockets, but given how I layer my tops and pockets, this isn't an issue for me. I always have my Holster-Harness on, which is all the internal pockets I'll ever need. This jacket really makes winter go away. Now to do something about my legs!