In New England we have Pre-Winter, from Halloween until Christmas, Christmas Cold from the 25th until January 1, then True Winter from New Years until the end of March, and after that Post-Winter for most of April. Spring starts in May. And this year, we had snow on the ground, and quite a bit of it, from basically Christmas until the end of March. This was the second snow-iest winter in the past 20 years. As a result, my carry was basically unlimited, as I didn’t have to worry about thin slacks or no pockets. It was jeans or flannel lined jeans the entire time. BTW, flannel-lined jeans are a lovely thing—a half step between jeans and full on snow pants. If you aren’t getting snowy and just need to go outside, they are perfect. I have had a pair from LL Bean for about 15 years. I’d recommend them.

In addition to (or perhaps because of) the very long winter, I took up drinking coffee. My wife drinks coffee with the same intensity that mountain climbers and skydivers study cordage, so I felt a little like I was wearing swimmies at the Olympic water polo practice facility, but she has been an excellent guide. It highlighted for me my very rigid thinking that strives to find the best and analyze everything. The reason is that my wife, perhaps because of those all-encompassing tendency on my part, completely resists this kind of thinking. She doesn’t have a favorite coffee, only a favorite coffee right now. She doesn’t have a staple that she constantly stocks or something that is her baseline or go to coffee. She just floats around. She does like Tatte’s coffee and that is probably the closest I got to her “essential” coffee. But she also taught me that coffee’s taste largely depends on how long it has been sitting and its temperature. I did some research, because of course I did, and I found that most people like coffee hot but not about 140 degrees (F). Beyond that point human taste buds generally don’t work. This is all a long way of saying, there will be coffee here, and I will give some feedback on it. So far we have only tried roasters around us.

L to R: Zebralight SC65 Hi and Spyderco Sage 6 in S90V

The gear here is a standard weekend carry for me. The SC65Hi is a bit large in dress pants, but in jeans it is more than fine. I can carry the Sage 6 whenever, but together, they are bit much for non-denim. We typically sneak out around 6:30 AM to grab coffee and so I am never in dress pants. The coffee here, Identity Coffee’s Phoenix, has turned out to be my favorite coffee we have tried so far. It was so heavy on the caramel taste that it almost felt like flavored coffee (for the record: no flavors added ever to bourbon, vodka, or coffee…don’t be a moron). On a 20 point scale, I’d give this a strong 16. It didn’t exhibit high flavor variability based on temp or time and the aroma was excellent. It did have a bit of a silty feel in the mouth, which is why it is not a 20, but it is really, really tasty. If you have an Identity Coffee near you, this is worth a try. My wife gives it an 13 out of 20 score.

L to R: 47s Mini Turbo Mark 3, Tactile Turn Mini Side Click, and Spyderco SpyNano

I love the SpyNano so, so, so much. It’s the knife that I have always wanted Lionsteel to make. It is both unquestionably well made and well designed, but not generic. Finally, after years and decades of making cutlery that is always “good but…” we get an unquestionable gem. And it’s my favorite kind of knife—the little big knife that Spyderco does so well. Now, this is only a Spyderco design in the most liberal of senses (here is the product page for the NA01), but still, it’s a wonderful, detailed, polished rendition of a folder.

L to R: Chris Reeven Small Sebenza 31 in S45VN, Tactile Turn Mini Side Click, and Dawson Machine Craft Hoku Clicky

This is a hidden picture from Highlights. There is only one thing to find—a bad piece of kit. Look careful as this is really a hard puzzle to solve. It’s actually the plywood piece that serves as the background. This is the jury trial palette that I made a decade ago and while it still works, if you notice, it’s banged up in the corner. The knife, pen, and light are without flaw.

L to R: 47s Mini Turbo Mk 3 and Spyderco SpyNano

See, I told you I loved the SpyNano. But since this is a repeat of gear, let’s focus on the coffee. The ambiance at Union Coffee in Milford, NH is really authentically “coffee shop.” Lots of stickers, mostly of the “fuck authority” type (which I agree with), and lots of great smells. This coffee is incredibly appropriate for the blog, but I don’t like it as much as the Identity Coffee Phoenix. The flavor profile here is less complex with only a few different flavors. Those favors are also a bit on the bitter side, whereas I found the Phoenix to be quite mellow and well-rounded. It also has significant variability in flavor based on both time and temp. When it is still hot, but not scalding, the EDC is at its peak and it is quite nice. As soon as it loses its heat though it starts to taste a bit watery. I would give it a 14—above average (which I think is something like Dunkins), but not as refined as the Phoenix above.

L to R: Kunwu Compadre and Reylight Mini Pineapple v3

I love this fucking knife. It is so outlandish in its appearance that I had a hard time swallowing this particular pill, but it is very, very good. The blade is absolutely wafer thin at the edge and cuts like a laser. The action is excellent—snappy and perfectly consistent. And the details, something often missing on these more whimsical and less utilitarian designs are spot on from the not too abrasive mill pattern to the ramped back end of the clip. Metal Complex’s fixation with Kunwu seems very well earned.

L to R: Dawson Machine Craft Hoku Clicky, Grand Seiko SBGA211 “Snowflake,” and Kevin Wilkins Leafstorm 9

Oh man, the original weird, quirky, and wonderfully fun Lil’ Big custom—the Kevin Wilkins Leafstorm 9. This was purchased well before the tariffs, which have really crippled overseas custom makers that saw their stuff get more expensive for no reason. But after all these years I truly love this knife and can’t imagine not having it in my collection. It is heavier than I normally like and has an exposed rear tang, but it is quite good.

L to R: Prometheus Lights Beta Titanium QR and Anso Arso

The coffee here is from Rise and Grind. It is the only non-house roast in this article and it was noticeably bland. The coffee here is Jim’s, which is available in grocery stores around us. I found this coffee to be just about middle of the road in every way, “forgettable” is a nice description. It wasn’t offensive at all, it just didn’t do anything special. It was slightly better than Dunkin, according to my wife, and she gives it an 11. I would be harsher. I drink one coffee a day and this felt like a waste. 9 for me.

L to R: Case Crossroads Barlow and Prometheus Lights Beta Titanium QR

Oh boy, let me tell you, this Case Crossroads Barlow is a delightful pocket trinket—light, timeless, handsome, and light as a feather. The light is quite good too. This coffee, from Flight Coffee, is called Space Dog. It is unquestionably excellent. Both my wife and I like it quite a bit. It has almost no variability based on temp or time, it has a real complexity to it, and it was neither watery nor silty in the mouth. She would give it an 18 and I have to agree. It is universally delicious with a real caffeine punch to wake you up in the morning. GREAT coffee.

L to R: McGizmo Haiku with 4s drop in and Millit Knives Torrent v3

This is a very posh set up with a premium light AND knife. The strange thing is that the Haiku, more than 15 years later, is still one of the best lights I own. It has been upgraded, but not in a crazy way (a 4s drop in that pushed the lumens to 800 from their original level of 138). The lesson of the Haiku is simple—start with a solid foundation and everything else will fall into place. The beam shape and hotspot v. spill is perfectly balanced. The UI, 4S with mode memory, is flexible and lets you have a ton of control, the body tube is nice and the clip is wonderful. The actual emitter part, while obviously good, is almost secondary. And so few lights these days hit all of these foundational elements perfectly. Designing a great light is not difficult. But for some reason we get design abortions like the Wuben G5 (Gemini, you done fucked up here: “Based on a September 2025 review on Everyday Commentary, the site generally likes the Wuben G5 as a functional "Gizmo" light”).

L to R: Demko AD20.5 and Nitecore TINI 3

If you want to see how to do a light with a built in battery, this is it. I don’t love the Nitecore TINI v3, but it is leagues better than any other light with an expiration date (how about instead of saying it is a light with a built in battery we call them what they really are: disposable lights or expirable lights?). The AD20.5 is a very strong folder but it has obvious flaws. My hope is that I can align the space bucks and availability and grab a nice, thin titanium version of the Shark Cub. I don’t love the materials choices on the budget Demko but I can see why people like the design.

L to R: Roxon Flex Mini Companion and Nitecore TINI 3

We have all wanted a fully customizable SAK and outside of a few Victorinox stores sprinkled around the world or expensive customs made online, this obvious gap in the market has remained unfilled by Victorinox for more than a century. Enter Roxon, a Chinese brand, and their lineup of tools. When I saw the Flex Companion I was stoked. So stoked I named in the GOTY article even though I had never handled it. MaxLevelEDC’s video was a very convincing look at a tool I had dreamed about for years. Then, just as I was about to buy one for review, they announced the Mini. I strongly prefer smaller tools so I waited. Then I forgot to buy one until recently. The Mini Flex Companion is definitely a well designed tool. I am still trying to figure out if it is a well made tool. It is clearly not the same quality as a Victorinox, but very few pieces of kit are. This is what I like to think of as the Willie Mays problem. If everyone had to be as good as Willie Mays to get into the Hall of Fame, the Hall of Fame would basically be Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and like two other dudes. This is shorthand for a phenomenon that occurs when the most familiar option is truly great. So the Mini Companion has an uphill fight to be sure, but simply because the commonly available item is great, doesn’t mean that this thing is terrible. It might make justifying is purchase harder, but that is a different issue than being a bad product.

L to R: Acebeam Mini S70 and Spyderco PM2 fitted with Blades We Love PM2 Ultra Upgrades

This last set up is the one I take with me when we walk at night. As we move closer to the Summer Solstice, the light is less necessary, but my wife has a strong preference for the Mini S70’s huge wall of light beam pattern. It kills me a little on the inside, but she likes what she likes.