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  • Benchmade Mini Adamas

    Benchmade Mini Adamas

    When a folder performs like a fixed blade.

    I have to confess, I’ve always been interested in the Adamas lineup of knives. They have a very simple premise: “tank-like construction you can trust your life with.” These fall under Benchmade’s tactical section of knives, but are well loved by a lot of people. They come in a few variants: autos, fixed blade, and two sizes of folders. Of all of these I got the ‘smallest’, which is the ‘Mini Adamas’.

    That might paint a bad picture though. Becuase mini here is still a beast of a knife which dwarfs all my other folding knives in size. That said, ‘tank-like’ is perhaps the most apt description of this knife.

    It’s wildly overbuilt and I love it for that.

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  • Tom Bihn Road Buddy Pre-Order!

    I love the Road Buddy series. My review is here. Know that I still use these bags to this day, and refuse to let people borrow them. They are excellent bags. Pre-order for 36 is here. Pre-order for 60 is here. Get some!

    I love the Road Buddy series. My review is here.

    Know that I still use these bags to this day, and refuse to let people borrow them. They are excellent bags.

    Pre-order for 36 is here.
    Pre-order for 60 is here.

    Get some!

  • Mystery Ranch Bop

    Mystery Ranch Bop

    A slow burn for me on this one, but I ended up loving it and appreciate this quirky bag/pouch.

    Mystery Ranch sells two small bags call the Bop and Big Bop. These are a hybrid bag which come with a shoulder strap to use the bag as a small shoulder bag, but also MOLLE attachment on the back of the pouch so that you can use them as a dedicated pouch.

    I snagged the standard Bop in Coyote to give it a go as a pouch which can be pulled out and carried if needed. It’s pretty great.

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  • Member Journal — 5/16/22

    Member Journal — 5/16/22

    The only time to track your fitness is when you are doing said fitness — all other times is just not a good idea.

    This week: fitness trackers and anxiety; Zoid bags; HPG backpack for your chest; and shipping advice.

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  • GSHOCK GA2100

    GSHOCK GA2100

    Could this be the best watch on the market? Possibly.

    This watch is affectionately called the Casioak, or derisively called the Royal Broke — pick your pleasure — the real name is GA2100. There’s some watch enthusiast snark there, in that it feels like it was styled after the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak line of watches. But, the truth here is that this might be the best watch value out there, who gives a shit about why it looks like it does — it looks stellar.

    For roughly $100, you get a watch which might be impossible to break under normal wear and use, and which still looks really sharp. There’s a wide selection of colors/models out there, I went with the non-USA market option which is all black with white indices (the USA variant has near black hands and the contrast is too low).

    This is my second favorite watch right now, and neck and neck for my most worn — you can go get one and see for yourself or read on if you need more praise of it.

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  • GORUCK GR1 Field Pockets in Multicam Tropic

    GORUCK just dropped some GR1 Field Pocket in Multicam Tropic — a favorite of mine — and they are not USA made which means the price is nicely set at $50. (They also released Multicam Black and Black at the same price.) I think this is the best size of these GORUCK makes, and I have…

    GORUCK just dropped some GR1 Field Pocket in Multicam Tropic — a favorite of mine — and they are not USA made which means the price is nicely set at $50. (They also released Multicam Black and Black at the same price.)

    I think this is the best size of these GORUCK makes, and I have a ton. Also, pockets in camo are super fun, so indulge.

    Find them here.

  • Member Journal — 5/9/22

    Member Journal — 5/9/22

    Metrics for determining if a pocket knife is good, and a couple random things I bought recently.

    This week: what makes a great pocket knife; some new workout shorts; and a cargo liners for cars I love.

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  • Triple Aught Design Axiom 24 (Bonus: Comparison to Discontinued Axiom 18)

    Triple Aught Design Axiom 24 (Bonus: Comparison to Discontinued Axiom 18)

    It likely this is the best bag you can EDC to your office.

    This pack shouldn’t be this good. It should be yet another expensive backpack, which is a little too overcomplicated for its own good. That’s what it should be, that’s what a lot of people assume and think it is. When I look at the specs, the images, and other reviews of this bag — that’s what I see in this bag. It’s the entire reason I’ve never bothered to try it.

    The reality is far from all that.

    The reality is that this is possibly the best pure EDC backpack money can buy. The reality is that this perfectly meets the needs of backpack nerds, office goers, and urban explorers. It strikes the balance of understated looks, with very high performance materials, and a mix of organization and empty space.

    The Axiom 24 is a damned good backpack.

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  • Member Journal — 5/2/22

    Member Journal — 5/2/22

    I take two iconic and fantastic bags, which I have been telling you to buy for years, and then tell you about two bags better than those.

    This week: a better backpack; Tom Bihn Travel trays; thoughts on Houston; and some gear pickups.

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  • Beyond Clothing Outdoors Gear Testing

    Beyond Clothing Outdoors Gear Testing

    Some of the best performance clothing out there, if you can find a style you like.

    I’ve been a fan of Beyond Clothing’s stuff for a while now, and some time back they expanded their offerings to a lineup of less tactically focused clothing. I picked up a couple items recently, and on top of those — Beyond sent over a few more for me to check out and review (I’ll indicate which is which below).

    Long story short: I’ve yet to get something from Beyond that I didn’t think was really good, bordering on amazing at times and these items are no exception to that. If you need some new outdoor clothing, or work from home gear, or whatever — be sure to check out what they have. I am a big fan of the brand.

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  • Smart Alec Return

    Smart Alec Return

    The Smart Alec was the first bag I reviewed on this site, at least as far as I can remember. Way back in December of 2011, I wrote about it in what became a three part series for reasons lost to time. And I had a small update later about some design changes. Over time…

    The Smart Alec was the first bag I reviewed on this site, at least as far as I can remember. Way back in December of 2011, I wrote about it in what became a three part series for reasons lost to time. And I had a small update later about some design changes.

    Over time the Smart Alec was discontinued, and I moved on from mine. I still think of that bag fondly, and with very few changes, Tom Bihn has opened pre-orders for another run of the bag. Go get your nostalgia on.

    Order here.

  • Kuiu Zip Dry Bag

    Kuiu Zip Dry Bag

    A great little dry bag with a zipper.

    For years now I have been carrying my first aid kit gear in a random assortment of nylon pouches. Whatever fit the need/use. My day hiking kit has been like this too. And as anyone in the PNW will tell you, you mostly don’t worry about rain soaking out gear to that level day-to-day because it’s more constantly damp than it is driving rain.

    But as anyone in Houston can tell you, when it rains, it rains and I have had even “rain proof” bags soak through and cause minor issues. I never thought about this, and then one day I realized: huh, gauze is probably not very useful if it gets wet.

    So I wanted to find a nice waterproof-enough bag to store my first aid gear (and then some in) and that lead me to these Kuiu Zip Dry Bags. They are really neat bits of kit.

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  • Member Journal — 4/25/22

    I take a dive into some of the random crap I keep in my bag, and talk about whether or not I’ve used it.

    This week: travel bag systems; the lesser used gear in my bag; and somethings to buy.

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  • Ben’s Great Road Trip Across Texas — Gear Report

    Ben’s Great Road Trip Across Texas — Gear Report

    A gear recap of my recent road trip.

    I mentioned this article would be coming in a member post a while back. Over my kids’ spring break in March, we took a road trip from Houston to Las Cruces, New Mexico… and back. It was a lot of fun, but rather than focusing on the trip, let’s just talk about the gear and some of the other odds and ends of it all. The good stuff.

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  • Mystery Ranch ASAP SB — Out Now

    Limited edition SB (Special Blend) model of the ASAP is out now. Two differences: Laptop Sleeve! Special Colorways They seem to have a couple hundred left at writing, go get it. The biggest downside of the ASAP was the missing laptop sleeve, and this has it. Oh my. Buy here.

    Limited edition SB (Special Blend) model of the ASAP is out now. Two differences:

    • Laptop Sleeve!
    • Special Colorways

    They seem to have a couple hundred left at writing, go get it. The biggest downside of the ASAP was the missing laptop sleeve, and this has it. Oh my.

    Buy here.

  • Member Journal — 4/18/22

    Member Journal — 4/18/22

    Functionality, comfort, and style — these are the three criteria I use to evaluate a bag.

    This week: how I evaluate bags by type; Alpaka Gear Hub Pouch; the downside of an iPhone 13 mini.

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  • LBT Daypack 14L v2

    LBT Daypack 14L v2

    A better Bullet Ruck, and a better exploration/city bag. I love it.

    This backpack is amazing and odd, and not at all expensive (well compared to most I talk about). LBT primarily makes military gear, and because of that they have a vast array of backpacks. But the 14L Daypack has long been something people had a love-hate relationship with. Recently, LBT updated it to a ‘v2’ design, which is what I am talking about today. The main changes seem to be the back panel (semi-rigid foam) and the interior back wall being full loop (instead of a pouch).

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  • Member Journal — 4/11/22

    Member Journal — 4/11/22

    Planning which items you grab in a limited amount of time — and in which order — is a very stressful endeavor for me.

    This week: time planning what you grab in an emergency; quick backpack related things; why the office-office is the place people want you to be; the war; membership referrals program; and I posted more stuff for sale.

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  • Shemagh Round Up

    Shemagh Round Up

    Let’s talk about Shemaghs, and what you should buy.

    I really like a good shemagh — it’s something everyone should keep nearby wherever possible. If my bag will fit one, it will have one. And I often travel with 1-2 as well so that I always have an extra. They are stashed in my emergency bags and generally all over in my life.

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  • Member Journal — 4/4/22

    Member Journal — 4/4/22

    The order of buying when you want to go iPad only, some work from home thoughts and a few other smatterings.

    This week: work from offices; iPadding in 2022; LBT Daypacks; Halo; UKR.

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