Monday, November 12, 2012

Long weekend edc

In addition to reviews of gear, as this blog grows, I would also like to focus on various carrying approaches and combinations of tools that I find particularly useful.  Combinations for me tend to be oriented towards whatever activities I may be up to in a given day, or just a preference for the overall weight/bulkiness, the clothes I am wearing or just plainly what I feel like carrying - sometimes I will pick up a piece of gear that I hadn't carried in awhile.  To that end, this was my daily EDC during this past 3-day weekend...


iPhone 5, Bill's Urban Wallet, Zebra F301 pen, Spyderco Caly3, Leatherman Juice S2 (with a Tec Accessories P7 suspension clip and McGizmo clip), Lumapower Incendio V3+ XML LE.  I mainly like to carry a dedicated knife of some sort, a multitool and a flashlight pretty much at all times.

Multitool
If I am not doing any specific work around the house, I will usually have the Juice with me as my multitool.  It is typically up to the task for light work, the screwdrivers, pliers, bottle opener, and scissors typically being used the most often.  Sometimes if I push it with the pliers on too hard of a job, I can feel them flex - but for light tasks, this tool is an excellent compromise of size, weight and capability.

Knife
This weekend I picked the Caly 3.  I haven't carried it in quite some time, as the Sage 1, and Dragonfly 2 have been my most frequently used knives lately.  To be honest, I find this knife a little heavy at 3oz - strangely it "seems" heavier than the Sage 1 (3.2oz), maybe because it is more solid-feeling in the hand, but it is sure pretty - and I do like the steel of this knife, ZDP-189.  Holds an edge really well and while the non-ZDP part of this composite blade shows scratches really easily, it is a very strong and not-too-difficult-to-sharpen blade steel.

Light
My favorite carry light these days has been my trusty old Novatac 120p, which I love.  I am pretty committed to the CR123a lithium battery format (I have ~80 Titanium Innovations primaries from Battery Junction), and I have recently moved into the rechargeable RCR123 versions of this type of battery as well, to great effect with this particular light.  This light, while plenty bright (LP claims ~500 lumens on high with the RCR123's), and a gorgeous tint (I went with the warm tint, which is pretty darn close to incan quality!) has the most frustrating UI.  There are 4 "settings" which you cycle through by "soft clicking" the clickie while the light is turned off.  It has a setting to remember the last setting you had used, which I utilize.  I find it frustrating to not be able to change the brightness level of the light while it is on.  I may be just very used to the Novatac UI, so that could very well be coloring my opinion of the Lumapower light - but I have yet to get used to it after many weeks of use.  However, even with those frustrations, the weight of this light (1.27oz without battery) and its size - combined with the brightness make it an amazing little light.

Wallet
In addition to my "regular" back pocket leather wallet, the Bill's Urban Wallet serves an add on purpose with its two zipper compartments, and two "sleeve" pocket compartments.  This time, I had a very small First Aid Kit in one of the zipper compartments, as I was hiking with the kids and you never know when you need to tend to a minor scrape or cut.  Also, I carried along the bit kit and extender for the Juice, which adds to its overall utility for a relatively small weight investment:


The bit kit is a nice little piece of gear - and very elegantly designed.  The extender slides over the philips head tool in the Juice, and then you can utilize the different bits that come in the kit from Leatherman.  Serving both the ability to extend the length of the bit - handy in a lot of cases - and add capability with the different options the bits allow.


Warning - I have never blogged before, and I am giving it a shot now - happy to take any feedback, good or bad - as this is my first post!










2 comments:

  1. How did I miss this bit kit compatible with my Xe6 and CS4?! Fixed. One enroute now. Thanks for heads-up. BTW, as commented elsewhere, like your blog. Good style and tone.

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    1. I was pretty psyched when I found it too. I would like a small sheath with a small sleeve to fit the bit kit into, as I sometimes use the Leatherman leather Juice snap cover sheath on the weekends, and usually put the bit kit in the urban wallet in my pocket - which works ok.

      Thanks for the kind words.

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