The Brooks Review

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Leica Sofort 2June 13, 2024
Grand Seiko SBGX261February 23, 2023
Casio Duro MDV-106 Re-ReviewDecember 15, 2022

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  • Tuff Possum Gear Pocket Tool Pouch

    A great pouch if you need something to handle gear that might put too much wear and tear on weaker pouches.

    Update 12/13/21: It has been brought to my attention that Tuff Possum Gear has COVID misinformation on their website/blog, this is very unfortunate to hear. Please keep that in mind when/if considering ordering from them.

    I love the Pocket Possibilities Pouch from Tuff Possum Gear, but when I ordered those I wasn’t sure how much I might like them so I also ordered the Pocket Tool Pouch to check out as well. At $15 it’s a pretty easy item to buy and check out, but it’s not as good as the Pocket Possibilities Pouch — not even close.

    That said, this little pouch has it’s uses — more based on size and ruggedness than anything else.

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  • GORUCK Simple Shorts

    Really quick: I’ve had a pair of Simple Shorts in Coyote for a while now, but rarely wore them. This summer I’ve been wearing them a lot more, especially since they are one of the few shorts that fit me well (lost some way, yay?). Anyways, they are deceptively good. I won’t say they look…

    Really quick: I’ve had a pair of Simple Shorts in Coyote for a while now, but rarely wore them. This summer I’ve been wearing them a lot more, especially since they are one of the few shorts that fit me well (lost some way, yay?). Anyways, they are deceptively good.

    I won’t say they look the best, because they don’t. But they are very comfortable to wear. They breathe well (both for casual wear, and rucking) and are nice and stretchy. They dry fast and all that too. But more than that, like with the Simple Pants (Lightweight, love those more), they are fantastic to pack as backup clothing since they weigh nothing and pack down very small. I brought them as backups on a recent vacation, wore them the entire time.

    Also I should note that if you want secure pockets for going to the beach, these shorts are what you want. Stuff stays in these pockets, but the thin material means they print very well too. So a trade off, but a worthwhile one.

    Anyways, these aren’t always in stock but appear to have a decent stock right now, which has been very hit and miss with GORUCK lately. If you are interested grab a pair.

  • Yeoman Duffel from TOM BIHN Back In Stock For Limited Time

    Tom Bihn just released a batch of Yeoman Duffels in many sizes and colors (including Beaver Camo). They aren’t committing fully to when/if the next run will be. Be sure to snag one if you want one. I love them. Note, from Tom Bihn’s product page at the very bottom: The Yeoman is built entirely…

    Tom Bihn just released a batch of Yeoman Duffels in many sizes and colors (including Beaver Camo). They aren’t committing fully to when/if the next run will be. Be sure to snag one if you want one. I love them.

    Note, from Tom Bihn’s product page at the very bottom:

    The Yeoman is built entirely from our U.S.-made 1050 denier high-tenacity Ballistic nylon—but unlike other TOM BIHN bags, which are made from flawless 1050d ballistic, the Yeoman is made of fabric that is what we call “seconds”; fabric that may have cosmetic blemishes which do not impact its utility or durability.

    They detail what to expect more in the last paragraph of the page.

  • Custom Beavertail / Stick-It

    A great addition to add utility and awesome to your Mystery Ranch backpacks.

    When I received my Mystery Ranch ASAP I knew I needed to do something to help tone down the absurd amount of PALs webbing across the face of the bag. I also knew I wanted to get something a little fun and also maybe useful to do accomplish the hiding. So I started looking at Mystery Ranch’s line of ‘stick-its’ which is also known as a Beavertail, or helmet cache. Basically a bit of fabric which is attached to the bottom of your bag, and then clips somehow to the top of the bag — creating an area to carry bulky things.

    The issue with the Mystery Ranch variants is that they come in coyote brown, black, camo, or blaze orange — in other words not the color choices which would really help me tone down much. But, there’s a seller on eBay and Instagram who custom makes these out of Ukraine, using whatever pattern you want.

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  • Member Journal — 6/21/21

    You notice how every interaction now is this awkward dance of talking about the thing you waited over a year to get the hell out of your life, anyways I also bought a tactical cat harness — so you know you want to read this one.

    This week: every post-pandemic in person conversation is the same; going back to the office and a little stressed, it’s cool; Day One is a confused app, but WordPress could help it; I bought something stupid.

    You must be a member to read the rest of this article. (Already a member? Log In.)

  • Device Charger Recommendations

    I really think you need to know how good RAVPower and Studio Neat are.

    I really loathe buying device chargers. This isn’t even to complain about the fact that Apple stopped selling them with iPhones, because I never counted those as useable — much too slow. Generally I am constantly needing to buy and change out chargers to find the right balance of size/speed/ports/cost. Faster is better, but faster also means bigger, usually. And then you have costs and what ports you want.

    Here’s the bottom line: I don’t like slow chargers; I don’t like bulky chargers; and I don’t like spending tons of money on chargers. And also half of the time my chargers get taken from me by the family, so I get to test all sorts of new stuff. To that end, here’s some chargers I want to direct your intention to…

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  • Prometheus Alpha Executive Pen

    Is this the best pen you can buy, yeah, probably.

    For years now, I have kept a ‘wish list’ of items I feel I would be unlikely to buy for myself, but which I very much want. And this particular pen had always been near the top of the list — I never bought it because I wasn’t sure why I would use it over some of the other “nice” pens I have. I did end up snagging this recently after some encouragement from others who have it, and my only regret is that I didn’t buy it sooner because it is stupidly good.

    I shall now tell you why it is the best pen I own…

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  • Member Journal — 6/14/21

    I wish more people were grasping how huge the seemingly small changes are for not just iPadOS, but iOS too — not so much for macOS though.

    This week: iPadOS 15 and the good stuff; Ancillary devices and iPads; the eBay App; a good sun hat; and what’s your Prepper type.

    You must be a member to read the rest of this article. (Already a member? Log In.)

  • A Couple Items for Sale

    I am trying to slim down over here, so I have two items to sell today: Drop ALT Halo Clear Switches: comes with the keycaps you see on it, and one USB-C cable, just tell me if you want USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A. $85 shipped US Only Sold. EDC Starter Kit: OneTigris…

    I am trying to slim down over here, so I have two items to sell today:

    • Drop ALT Halo Clear Switches: comes with the keycaps you see on it, and one USB-C cable, just tell me if you want USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to USB-A. $85 shipped US Only Sold.
    • EDC Starter Kit: OneTigris Admin Pouch, 2020 Dumpster Fire Patch, Triple Seven Gear EDC Wallet, Retro51 Tornado Pen (with fresh refill), FourSevens Mini MKIII, Leatherman Carabiner Tool, Spyderco Ladybug ZDP-189. $95 shipped US Only Sold

    Email me, first to pay gets the item.

  • Lion Steel CK01

    This is the slip joint you should spend your money on, it is fantastic.

    I’ve been very happy with the Benchmade Proper — a knife I have found to be an excellent for the office. However, this Lion Steel came about after finding a new subreddit r/slipjoints which is dedicated to this type of pocket knife. It’s one of those subs you should not visit if you like having your money in cash form, instead of knife form which is slightly less liquid.

    Anyways, in trying to decide which model of the CK lineup to pickup I ended up with the CK01 which has a lot of great materials for a reasonable price at about $127 (changes a little by variant).

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  • Member Journal — 6/7/21

    Apple News is really fantastic, but people hate it because we are used to the firehose approach of scrolling through content — that’s not Apple News.

    This week: Keychron K6; some new member content sections; and Apple News is my featured iPad app this week.

    You must be a member to read the rest of this article. (Already a member? Log In.)

  • What Are You Really ‘Prepping’ For? Weather, Mostly.

    What I prepare for is too boring for people to even self-publish books on, but it matters.

    One thing I constantly think about when I am putting together supplies/preps are the two scenarios which are likely worst cases for me: what if the worst natural event hits when I am working, the kids are at school, and my wife is doing her things (meaning she is out, I don’t know where)? Or, what if it hits when we are all at home and sleeping and it is 4am, because 4am is scientifically the worst time — to early to be awake, too late to be awake…

    What that event is varies drastically depending on where in the world you live. Those on the West Coast of North America would be foolish to not be taking the risk of earthquakes very seriously, and the mid-southern third of North America can add wildfire risk to the matrix too. In Houston it’s hurricanes, floods, and thunderstorms. Others will have tornados, tsunamis, monsoons, derechos, volcanoes and a variety of other lovely things. These events and wreak havoc, and while you could debate which type of risk you prefer, they all present a high level of risk. A high level of extreme disruption to comfort. And debate all we want, they will happen.

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  • Mystery Ranch 3-Way Expandable Briefcase Review

    One of the best office bags I have tested, with a killer admin area, and really good backpack straps making the convertible nature useful.

    When I first wrote about this bag back in November I wasn’t back in the office, and as such this briefcase was hard to test. Since that time I have been back in the office, and I have had plenty of time to test it out and put the 3-Way through its paces. And my initial impressions were correct, this is a very good bag for the office, but I don’t think it is the bag for me.

    I never planned on this bag being something I used a ton myself, rather I bought it because I had mentioned it in my Get Home Bag post and thought I should put my hands on it, found a decent price on one and snagged it. After that first impression post, I found that I liked the bag, and was excited to give it a go back in the office.

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  • Member Journal — 5/31/21

    The most powerful accessory you can get for your iPad is the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, but I can also explain why that is.

    This week: why reviewers still don’t understand the iPad Pro; one weird trick to make the iPad Pro magic; the Siri Remote *is* Magic; and why these ‘new office work’ posts are driving me nuts.

    You must be a member to read the rest of this article. (Already a member? Log In.)

  • Memorial Day Sales, a Heads Up

    Some good deals I wanted to pass over to you.

    Some good items I’ve seen on sale for this Memorial Day — typically I ignore posting this stuff but the deals are pretty solid:

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  • Tuff Possum Gear Pocket Possibilities Pouch

    This pouch is amazing and an instant buy.

    Update 12/13/21: It has been brought to my attention that Tuff Possum Gear has COVID misinformation on their website/blog, this is very unfortunate to hear. Please keep that in mind when/if considering ordering from them.

    For years now, I have used heavy duty plastic ziploc style bags as boo-boo kits and storage for other small items in my bags. I have never bought one of these bags — I accumulate them from stuff I buy. But this also means my bags are a hodgepodge and I was often limited in what I could store as they are also either really small or too large to be useful. So I went out and bought several small pouches to try and remedy this problem, and the Tuff Possum Gear Pocket Possibilities Pouch is the clear winner.

    This pouch is fantastic.

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  • Mystery Ranch 3 Day Assault CL

    Allow me to tell you why this bag is one of the best bags on the market, and why it could be your only backpack.

    Welcome to the Mystery Ranch 3 Day Assault CL, stop here if you are not ready to buy this bag.

    This bag is my ultimate go anywhere, do anything, choice — out of all the bags I own, or have tested. It’s that good. I actually thought going into trying this bag, that it would be a bag I would try, and decide was too large to keep — that’s not even close to the case.

    There are caveats, so read on…

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  • Member Journal — 5/24/21

    The new iPad Pro is nice and heavy, but let’s talk about why I need to carry so much crap to the office.

    This week: I got a new iPad Pro; thoughts on going back into offices from a gear perspective; new GR1 collab coming from Carryology; new membership perk; and I have two things for sale if you want.

    You must be a member to read the rest of this article. (Already a member? Log In.)

  • Vortex Solo 10×36

    I am not an optics expert, but I do love this monocular for the gadget aspects.

    I’m not a huge optics guy, I don’t do ‘birding’, I don’t hunt, I don’t shoot long distances… or short distances, and I also don’t go on expeditions. The last time I talked about optics on here was to mention the most excellent Vortex Diamondback binoculars. But in a Member Journal I mentioned trying out a Brunton Monocular, which I did buy, did try, and do hate.

    That monocular left me wanting. And here’s the thing, I know that binoculars are better in almost every sense — except in size. So I said screw it and grabbed what I have long wanted in the Vortex Solo monocular. And I really am a fan of this thing.

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  • Benchmade Mini Crooked River

    This is the ultimate camp knife, and is a true modern take on the classic Buck 110 — worth every penny.

    I’m a medium sized blade kind of guy. I don’t love small blades, and I don’t love big blades. I like knives that sit right in the 2.7-3.1” cutting edge length. That’s enough blade that the balance and handle length are nice, but still small enough to slip into your pocket.

    I’m also not a heavy knife guy. I’m not a someone who loves to clip a knife to the top of their pocket (though I used to be). I tend to like the knife to sit in pocket, hopefully out of the way. Because of all of that, a knife that is thin and light really catches my attention (Benchmade Mini Bugout being a prime example).

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