Review: SAR GlobalTool - ODDjob knife

My buddy Spencer of SAR Global Tool has been busy grinding away at his workbench, adding to his collection of edged tools. Check out his Facebook page, to see the amazing reclaimed file and rasp Bowie knives project, and the ever lustful Inglorious Basterds blades.

You may well remember the SAR Global Tool Micro Elite signal disks, the ever popular Moon-Glow signal disks (I have worn mine around my neck for so long the SOLAS tape has worn off, that's saying something!), the fabulous and devilishly popular with the ladies Dead Ringer Ti comb, and the Dog-Tag Eclipse signal system and the even sneakier bladed version.

Now I have one of his awesome pointies.

This is the ODDjob knife, a 1" x 5" little blade made of  1/4" thick CPMD2 steel. This exotic steel has been treated to HRc 59-60 and stone tumbled to give a beautiful satin finish.

Usually featuring a drop point, simple edge,  but Spencer picked out this very nice recurved one for me, because he knows me well. The thinned down blade makes for an excellent pairing knife, just my style.The edge is keen, and easily controlled, even with its unusual curves.

Along with the individually fitted Kydex scabbard, with its six eyelets for lanyard or screw fitting to gear, this little knife was fitted with a really clever para-cord "Always Open" lanyard loop, a particular invention of Spencer's which utilises heat-shrink tubing to pinch the paracord into a loop, giving a pinkie-hooking structure to grip and deply the blade with a quick tug, whilst remaining unobtrusive.

If I wear this knife behind my ID badge lanyard right, only the loop pokes out. Ready for all those odd jobs. The handle features brown canvas micarta scales, cross cut to show off that spectacular grain. and with inlaid signalling mirrors. This was a delightful extra Spencer threw in for me, as the regular ODDjob's are just naked steel.

With the finger notches textured scale and the finger loop, this little knife fits nicely in my hands, aided by the light crenelations on the spine.

I really like the blade geometry, and the uniqueness of the whole piece. If you can score one, when Spencer (and now Scott, too) are at the grinders, they' be well suited to adding to your utility collection.

Review: Strike Industries - SHOX iPhone 5 case

It's no great secret that I am a big phone freak. Since writing this blog, I've covered my iPhone 4S cases, namely the OPT silicone-armor case, a Maxpedition iPhone pouch, the feature rich Snow Llizard-SLXtreme "ruggedized" case, the hunter-friendly Griffin "mossy-oak" Survivor case as well as my most recent addition, the Strike Industries Battle-case (on top in this picture).

 When Strike industries sent me the 4S compatible Battle Case, they also kindly sent me their newest, 5/5S compatible case, the Battle Case Shox  and accessory pack!
 The most exciting part about the SHOX case, apart from having the same grippy, textured thermoplastic polyurethane material, is that the SHOX has built in shock absorbing springs built into the corners! Beveled lips hold the phone snugly in place, and keep the sides dust free.

The springs add a certain bulk to the corners of the phone, which I have found to be quite an exceptional addition, as it means that the speakers are off-set, and when held, are not blocked by the edge or heel of my palm. A built in sound reflector adds to that, without expanding the dimensions further. They also add a nub to grip on, increasing the retention capabilities of this case. Power and volume buttons are permanently protected, but accessible through the case.

The lines of those spring bumpers are combined with the finger loop, which as in the original Battle Case, provide a tremendous advantage for drawing the phone from a pocket or pouch, as well as retaining it in the hand, by carabiner or lanyard. Unlike the Original Battle Case, this loop is at the "top" rather than the "bottom" of the phone.

This case lacks the honeycomb macro-texture of the original, but instead features ridges, as well as bevels around an internal storage area, large enough to fit a couple of credit card sized objects.

These are accessible via a slot on the side, and visible through a window in the middle of the case. Both the window and the opening slot act as heat vents, I've found, especially useful when the phone is dash-mounted in my vehicle. The camera opening is wide enough to accommodate all the sensors and flash easily, reducing back-scatter considerably. 

Looking inside the case you can see that it has additional internal structure to add to the padding and protection that the semi-rigid polyurethane offers. I have also been using the clear plastic camera guard, which is included in the "plugs accessory set" and sits in an insert holder.  The other accessory plugs have been too much trouble for my day to day use, but for dust-proofing, look like would all serve their purpose ideally, except the sound-reflector cover, which I couldn't get to sit in the case correctly.

All in all, this is an excellent case, and my iPhone 5S is happily encased, protected and secure. I noted that several "third-party" Lightning plugs were too wide to fit, but a quick pass with the Dremel sorted that right out.


Also, for those that complained last time, Strike Industries now stock a Samsung S4 Active version and for the candy-coloured wolves out there, a iPhone 5C version as well.

Review: Excel Physics - APOC mini radiation detector

I'm a scientist by training and inclination, if no longer by profession. I love measuring things. My phone has all manner of measuring and mapping apps.

When I saw on Kickstarter that a pocket-sized radiation detector was coming up, I was thrilled. Following on from the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,
and subsequent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, it seemed that having my own gamma and high energy x-ray detector would be a great addition to my burgeoning toolkit.

The APOC Mini Radiation Detector Kickstarter fit that bill perfectly. The people of Excel-Physics put together a very compact, and easy to use package, which they offered in kit, or "built" forms. Being  pretty much devoid of electronics experience, I opted for the "built" kit.

When it arrived, I was delighted to find a very robust package, with a couple of connector cable, and a bridge component (which came in handy, as I needed to add it to make the device iPhone compatible.)

The clear plexi-case allows you to see right into the device, the circuit-board, wiring, batter pack, speaker and LED indicators, along with the copper-foil covered detector.

It features both a human readable LED/ speaker setup, with blinks and a "click" for each measured event, as well as a "data" setting that feeds to a device via a 3.5mm mic jack.

A simple Off/On/Data switch lets you change between settings, and on the other side, the data-port for the data cable. Access to in innards ( to change the 9V battery, or to adjust the sensitivity, if needed, is by unscrewing four little screws.

A cut-away on the bottom (in classic radiation trefoil format) gives a nice accent to the detector array.

I connect my detector up to my iPhone, using several apps, (Spectrogram and iOS7 Voice Memos) to track the "clicks", although I am waiting on a purpose built app to be put out by Excel Physics ...

Primarily a gamma and x-ray detector, it will also detect alpha particles (such as found in household smoke detectors) but can pick up interference from Bluetooth devices, according to Excel Physics. The old brick building I work on gives me more background clicks than the even older weatherboard I live in, as expected.

I have used this at home, and been pleased to see the LED flash every minute and a half, or so with its characteristic "click", but wanted to give it a real test, so took the whole lot into work, and visited the Diagnostic Imaging / Radiology department, and spoke to my pals in the "hot lab". They were bemused at the idea I had my own personal radiation detector, so were happy to point me at some "sources" to scan.





So, as you can see, I had a lot of fun with it. Between the rather rapidly decaying medical radionuclides and the strong but slow long half life Cs137 we got some great signals. I'm still trying to work out the best way to record and display the signals I get, but at least I have a portable, cheep to run detector for all my Mad Max water testing needs!

Events: Two years!

Two years ago, one of my lovely partners, Omega said I should start blogging about all the gear I had been collecting. It had been a whiles since I had done any writing,and I thought I would give it a shot.

For a while I worried about Impostor syndrome, as unlike many of my peers in the blogoshpere, I have never had military service, or LE service. I'm not a paramedic, firefighter, SES worker  nor any kind of professional hero. I'm just a guy, who likes camping, MilSim roleplay and has lived an exciting life in exciting places.  I feel the weight of your scrutiny heavily, and just stick to my guns, knowing that I have an opinion, have critical thinking, and a message to spread.

 I started this blog, in the beginning, with my manifesto such as it was, that I would cover gear, situations, preparation and the mentality of becoming "Apocalypse Equipped". Not with any clear suggestion of impending doom, but rather, "what if...?"

I'm not overly concerned about any given event, I don't really consider myself a conspiracy theorist, or any more connected to the data, but instead, I like to take my day to day life, and see if I can improve it, to suit the tumultuous world around us.

100 posts in, I did a recap, and again at 300 posts (This. Is. BRIGHTON). I was pretty excited when I clocked over at 100,000 page views,  and am constantly amazed at my daily, weekly and monthly  tally of hits.

I owe a lot of thanks to the fine folks who have supported me, either big companies who have sent me gear to review, or individual kit-makers who have cut me a sweet deal, and even just the folks in-store who have been kind enough to hear me out when I've asked "I want to put 'this' into 'that', and be able to hang upside-down ...." or let me guest-post on their blogs.

Last month was my best-tracking month yet, and I had a very gratifying connection with someone who has directly benefited from reading, so I hope that I can keep up the interest, as well as keep on top of my own prepping, and writing!

It's going to be a hot, dry summer here, so I'm sure I'll have lots of inspiration.

Stay safe, Ready For Anything!

Review: Hazard4 labs - Poncho Villa

With the fickle Melbourne weather, the prospect of being caught out in the rain in the afternoon, following a bright sunny day is all too common. Wearing a coat is all good and well, but can be a bit of overkill day to day. I have kept a poncho in my bags for years, for this very reason.

When I saw that Hazard4 Gear had produced a modern, fully featured and rugged poncho, I was all over it, and just had to wait for it to go into production, from early rumors and show-demos.

This is the Poncho Villa, a sombrero-tip to the prominent Mexican Revolutionary general, Pancho Villa.
 
I finally managed to get my act together to order one (along with the Ventrapack admin case and the LaunchPad iPad sleeve.) I was not disappointed.

This poncho is a far cry from the crinkly vinyl or shopping0bag style plastic material of others I've used, instead being constructed from a sturdy water-resistant/breathable soft-shell fabric, (86% polyester 14%spandex), with 4 way stretch, and a polyester lining layer.

It features fully-taped seams that are reported to be 100% waterproof, and rugged enough to be used over and over without splitting or tearing, let alone leaking when you need it least.

I was really impressed with the design and the additional features that really make this a technical garment, and not just a plastic bag with a head hole.

Loop fields on the shoulders give you a large unit ID display area (and the cut is such that it falls nicely, and prominently. I have my large Z.E.R.T. 702 shield here, to give you an idea of scale. There are also two much larger panels, for "agency style" patches, as well as a panel on the back of the hood. Lots of ID infrastructure there. I liked the CHEF patch from my new BBQ apron ....

 The hood itself houses some great features. Cinches are found at the base of the skull, and two at the throat, offering quite the variety of adjustment. All three cinches are concealed behind hook-and-loop panels, to ensure snag free operation, and the cord-locks are sewn into the garment, to give even more control. 

As well as having a hook-and-loop closure, the chin panel also has a hefty zipper, which really makes the whole poncho button up tight. 

On top of that, the sides each have two press-stud snaps, to prevent it flapping about and keeping you extra dry, as well as there being large grommets at each of the four corners. Each of these are heavily reinforced and independently stitched in, no more torn eyelets when using a poncho as a bivvy!

Between the modern materials, and the clever tailoring, both the introduction of the loop-fields and the cinches, as well as the jacket-like fit of the shoulders, this is a great improvement in design over the original versions.

But wait, there is more!

That big pocket on the chest, under the front loop-filed, is big enough to happily store my iPad, and a bunch of other items, kangaroo style, and features dual hook-and-loop closures (although I was a little disappointed to see these in black and not colour matched as all the others had been). The pocket also features a single, double sided zipper. Double sided? I hear you ask...

The kargaroo pouch doubles as a storage pocked to fold the entire poncho up into!

When self-stuffed, the outside features this descriptive info sheet, but is normally hidden away inside the pouch it becomes. The bag in this format has a lanyard anchor loop for hanging, and a drainage grommet for ventilation.

When stuffed into its bag, it measures 30cm, (12"), 24cm (9") by15cm (6"), but this can be compressed a fair amount. Bulky, but not a big issue. It also makes a great pillow!

I wore it camping, I've worn it in the rain, and in the wind. Its very comfortable and not at ALL like wearing a plastic bag.

With the hood up you have excellent coverage, although I found the material of the hood was a very strong sound insulator.

The fit of the poncho was excellent. I'm a very tall critter, at 193cm (6'4"), with extra long arms, and I get very good coverage in the rain.

All that coverage also gives the poncho another useful characteristic. It allows you to throw it on over a pack and not only cover the pack, but also maintaining the shelter for my legs. Even when wearing a pack OVER the poncho, there was very little loss of coverage, except for about the forarm-to-elbow area.

I really like this garment, and almost look forwards to the spring rains we are seeing the ends of. Summer trains will be an adventure. Even autumn and winter rains will be less arduous with this.

Home Front: Pervasive mentality

I know I spend a lot of time talking about gear. Packs, gadgets, clothes, pointy things, and this is a really important part of the message I like to get out there to you all, but obviously that's not all that it is about. Having the right gear is only part of being "Equipped".

For those of a gaming bent, you'll already be familiar with the idea of "stored" vs "equipped" gear and items. Having the right goodie is totally different to having it to hand.

Take this pile of loot: All on me, all day long, more or less.

Great, but what about the bag you left in your car? where IS your car, how do you get to it, and once there, how do you get away from a crisis?

I tend to take a photo of the bay my car is in, so its on my phone in the event I can't find it, or need to relay that information along.

That kind of thinking, which my friends at Oscar Delta would refer to as "Disruptive Thinking", and I am all for it. Know your exits, and as Gen Mattis, USMC (ret.) was once quoted as saying "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet"

Harsh, perhaps, but certainly through provoking.

I live in a very permissive environment. I can for the most part, go where I want, when I want. There are some places that I can go, and things I can do that I might not be supposed to, that I am able to, without dire consequences. I'm lucky. I also know that that might change. Access might be blocked, briefly, or permanently, through cataclysm, legislation or hostility.

The best I can do, is to try to be ready. to be mentally prepared, and aware. To be trained, and tested. For me, that also includes passing this mentality on to those around me, even very subtly. Be safe, be aware, out there. 

Review: AquaYak - Aqua II tandem kayak

A little while ago, I showed you all the AquaYak Snapper-Pro, that was loaned to me by the good folks at AquaYak Kayaks. A couple of months ago, I saw that there was a sale going on at AquaYak, and we took the plunge (so to speak) and went out to check out the showroom. It was the tandem's that had caught my eye, both for load-hauling, but also for family-moving purposes. We settled on a Aqua II tandem, in their Granite Spa colour, with a full load of accessories.

Tactical Baby promptly claimed is as "MY BOAT"

The kayak is a direct extension from the Snapper Pro, just bigger.

It features the same scupper hole and circular storage hatch system as the Snapper Pro, giving self-draining capacity to each of the two, deeply molded seats which as well as adding stability, and having their own mounting points for the padded fabric comfort seats, also feature the molded foot rests, drink holding wells (between the thighs) and anchor point for lashing dummy-cords (between the calves).

The central storage hatches had bags fitted, so your personal items don't get lost in the hull-void.

Fore and aft hatches, are the main structural difference between the Snapper Pro and the Aqua II. These hatches are held in place with a clever shock-cord mechanism, and can be unstrapped and opened with minimal effort, without being a loose or an accidental release risk. These open directly into the hull-space, and afford a very spacious cargo storage area, if you first consider the width of the openings. Stuffable packs and items will work well, but larger items might need to ride on top.

I found that I made use of the Grab Lines, which are mounted by brackets running all around the hull, for both maneuvering the kayak about on the land, as well as for giving Tactical Baby and Triceratops Girl places to hold onto when they were riding with us. As part of our deal, we bought a family's worth of life-vests including a red and black and  coyote/OD Stormrider YAK PFD for the adults as well as lurid red and yellow kid and toddler sized ones (which I will cover later). I also got several 10L dry-bags to go in the hull, and scupper plugs, to reduce incidental water splashes. 

You can get an idea of the depth and size of the two fore and aft hatches with this shot of my arm, along with the padded seal that makes up the inside of those hatches.

The same propriety 'alkatuff polyethylene' material, which holds a UV certification for maritime plastics, is used to make up all the AquaYak hulls, and whilst I have noted that my dragging, and beaching has scored the keel and sides of the hull, its all cosmetic, and a very tough, resilient material. 



At 3.8m (12.5") long and 0.9m (just under 3") wide at the beam, and weighing in at 30kg, it is quite a bit larger than the Snapper Pro, and harder to man-handle when out of the water.

At 30kg it is not all that to lift, but the size of it makes it awkward. The two sizable heavy-duty handles at the bow and stern make for easy lifting and hauling, even when fully laden with safety gear, seats, paddles and even the occasional squealing child. I've dragged it up a grassy hill by looping some webbing through the front handle. Wheels might well be in order (and AquaYak offer them)

In the water, It handles really well, thanks in part to having two sets of paddlers but is very operable with only one, even being quite maneuverable when solo.

We've it out on The Bay a number of times, and whilst its bulk means loading it onto and off my vehicle can be a pain, once its in the water , it is a lot of fun.

With a stated carrying capacity of 200kg, even with two adults, and two kids riding, unencumbered by gear, we've ridden very high in the water, and have had little trouble staying course, and upright, even on our first trips, are probably largely due tot he great design, including this tri-keel, which helps with tracking and stability, even in the moderate swells we've encountered.

I feel that if we needed to get off-shore, as simply as possible, this is a real option for us, both is speed, and limited cost. Get it on the vehicle, get to the beach, onto the water, and away ... Load it up with MALICE 2 pack, a Platatac Light Field Pack, and supplies in Dead People Jars, we could have quite the getaway. 


We put the kids in their Mudlarks All-In-One suits, to keep them warm and dry, with the PVD vests over the top, and went for a paddle one sunny spring afternoon, having been visiting with friends.

You can see that there is quite a bit of room the in the kayak, and we have found that the kids can site between our knees as we paddle, but that space could just as easily be full of packs and supplies. This is the saem beach as I reviewed the Snapper Pro, with a high grassy hill from the carpark to the beach. The weight of the fully laden kayak, over grass, down a hill was no issue at all. It even maneuvered well.

Once down at the waters edge, it was a simple matter to alight and shove off.

You can see here how high on the water we were, and whilst heading right into waves gave us some spray, we were a long way off ever taking water over the side and into the cockpit. I think we could have laden the hull with a lot more kit, and still have been positively buoyant and dry.

All in all, I am really pleased with this acquisition, and plan to spend a bunch of time on The Bay over the summer, as well as trips to local lakes and rivers.

I heard recently that AquaYak are going to stock a Windpaddle sail for their kayaks, and that is a great idea...