Author: Ben Brooks

I am not sure where to start with this light: the price, the output, the form factor, or the general popularity? Because it checks just about every box, and the brand in general has such a wide array of offerings that everyone will find something they like there.

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I’ve been carrying a sling style bag for a while now, and before that a small satchel field bag. Over that time my bag has ballooned in the amount of stuff in it, and then predictably slimmed back down as I sorted out what I actually need. I figure with more people getting vaccines and trying to venture tenuously back into the world, I would update you on some of the items I find most useful.

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There’s a chance this is end game level here. Only time will tell, but this is an extremely good keyboard which gives me a nice hybrid solution of Bluetooth and mechanical, while being very low friction to use. I love this keyboard, so no more fluff, I’ll tell you why you need one or two.

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Warning, there be affiliate links here.

Here’s some things that caught my eye which the 20% off coupon applies to:

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I found out about this company by happenstance and immediately liked a lot of the pouches they sell. If you go look today, you’ll see that many out out of stock — I have this one because it was in stock when I went to order one. It’s the Tech Organizer, though you will note that my pictures look different from the website pictures. I don’t know which one is the current model and which is the old, but functionally they are close enough.

I’ve not been using this for tech, but rather as a slim organizer for my day hiking bag. It is fantastic, so let me share why.

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I had been meaning to write about this topic for sometime now, and in anticipation of it, I went ahead and bought a few more headlamps. Partly because I found a new need for them, and partly for this post. And then this topic came up on the member Discord a while back, and I was surprised to learn my thinking on this matter was more common that I thought, but also it meant I needed to test one additional light before publishing this.

So, with that said: what makes for a good headlamp?

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I have quite a few bags at my house, and some of them are kept around because there’s no money to be had in selling them (meaning they won’t sell for a price I would be willing to part with them) and some are kept around for my wife or the kids to use, and the rest are for me. So what the hell do I use my bags for? Well, let me tell you (I have left the ones I keep for the family or because I can’t sell them off this list):

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At the end of 2020, GORUCK released the all new version 3.0 of the Rucker. This model had a lot of hype around it from GORUCK as they consistently stated that it was the most comfortable Ruck they have ever used. That’s a statement for sure. But GORUCK only initially released the smaller 21L model, which is a touch too short for my longer torso. So I impatiently waited for January to come around and GORUCK to release the 25L variant.

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For a very long time, GORUCK has sold a ‘slick’ version of the GR1 in random spurts — the GR1 of course is the world’s best backpack. The Slick version of it was/is the exact same as a standard GR1 with four main differences:

1. No MOLLE on the front and sides of the bag.
2. No morale patch velcro area.
3. No MOLLE/Daisy Chain (the vertical nylon webbing chain) on the shoulder straps.
4. No hydration hose pass through under the top handle.

Everything else about the backpack is the same. Originally this variant was called “SK” instead of Slick (you had SK26 for a GR1 26L, and SK40 for the GR2 40L), but the bag is the same as the GR1 and those which are labeled GR1 Slick (most commonly found on Huckberry) now days. I reviewed the SK26 here and a friend also reviewed it here — I always found that black SK26 lacking. I didn’t like the bland nature that these changes lead to.

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Like most (all?) watch nerds, I have a recurring nightmare where I am forced to pick between my watches — I have to pick the one to wear for the rest of my life. No others, only one. How do I even begin such a task? I have four watches right now, and even with that small collection I cannot pick between them.

It’s a true nightmare for those who love watches.

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When I posted about how I feel people think incorrectly about Bug Out Bags, I knew I was going to have to detail out my thoughts on more. I am reluctant to do this, as a bag like this should be highly customized to: where you live, what you know how to do/use, where you might go, what your plan is, and all that other good stuff. But, I also know it is hard to conceptualize a bag like this without actually seeing examples. So, at the end of this post I am going to detail how I have my emergency bags setup — for my entire household. It might be tempting to skip over the top and just get to the bag contents, but by doing so you’ll miss my tips on how to prepare a kit like this for yourself.

In other words: buckle up, get some coffee, this is going to be long — this is a guide, not a review.

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