August 2016 Carry
I just got this in before the calendar flipped. August is one of my favorite months of year, in no small part because, for a week, my family and my parents all go on vacation to Maine. Specifically we venture up to Mount Desert Island, get a beautiful beach house, and go hiking, morning, noon, and night. We are either on a trail, on a mountain, or on a rocky beach exploring. With my peeps around me there is very little more I would want out of life.
Olamic Wayfarer 247 and Muyshondt Aeon Mk. 3
Every vista on Mount Desert Island is spectacular, even the pine choked shorelines. Here is a close up. During the trip we played an animal spotting game and to keep track I used an LL Bean Field Notes special edition to, you know, make notes while in the field. Here is a shot of that set up, again with the Wayfarer (yep, I really liked it):
LL Bean Field Notes, Olamic Wayfarer 247, MaxMadCo Bolt Action Pen, the Mk. III Aeon, and a found worry stone
Other knives were either taken with me or purchased on the way. One I was delighted to find was the unheralded but very capable Kershaw Speedform II:
MaxMadCo Bolt Action Pen, Klarus Mi-7, and the Speedform II
As intriguing as the Speedform II is, the Klarus is equal parts awful. Its switch is a nightmare and the UI is bad, bad, bad. And while I like something different than black everything, that blue is not exactly my favorite.
Speaking of blue gear I like, here is a great pairing:
Olight S1 Baton and the Spyderco Roadie
These two are just so good, both separately and together, that if you weren't a gear geek, but wanted a very competent pair, I'd be hard pressed to recommend something much better than these. I love the Roadie--the Spyderco answer to many a Case slipjoints.
It wasn't all play and no work. I went to work the majority of the month and when I did this was a common carry:
MBI HF-R, Chris Reeve Mnandi, and Pilot Metropolitan
You know that old reviewer trope--"If I didn't know the price...," well I didn't know the price of the Pilot fountain pen that came in the Blue Box review sample I got from Massdrop (review coming soon). It turns out that it was the Metropolitan and it is a really cheap fountain pen. Color me surprised, preferrably with Kon Peki, because it is amazing.
Well, the weather is starting to get cooler and fall is my favorite season, so look for more and interesting carry.
Obligatory Busse Update
At some point this coming month of October we are getting our very large maple and oak trees trimmed back. I did some negotiating and in exchange for a good sized discount the tree folks have agreed to leave everything behind. Secretly, I would have paid them to do so, as it means an opportunity to use my favorite tools--saws, axes, and knives. That said, this will be the largest ever trim our trees have received, so it is possible I will be sawing, chopping, and cutting for a few weekends. If someone out there answers my prayers the Busse will arrive before the Chopacylpse. If it doesn't I will be one mopey amateur lumberjack.
This year we got some new gear to go with us and that stuff hung around for most of the month in pictures. Eugene was kind enough to express ship me the 247 so that I got it for the vacation and the result was some sweet photos, like this one:
Olamic Wayfarer 247 and Muyshondt Aeon Mk. 3
Every vista on Mount Desert Island is spectacular, even the pine choked shorelines. Here is a close up. During the trip we played an animal spotting game and to keep track I used an LL Bean Field Notes special edition to, you know, make notes while in the field. Here is a shot of that set up, again with the Wayfarer (yep, I really liked it):
LL Bean Field Notes, Olamic Wayfarer 247, MaxMadCo Bolt Action Pen, the Mk. III Aeon, and a found worry stone
Other knives were either taken with me or purchased on the way. One I was delighted to find was the unheralded but very capable Kershaw Speedform II:
MaxMadCo Bolt Action Pen, Klarus Mi-7, and the Speedform II
As intriguing as the Speedform II is, the Klarus is equal parts awful. Its switch is a nightmare and the UI is bad, bad, bad. And while I like something different than black everything, that blue is not exactly my favorite.
Speaking of blue gear I like, here is a great pairing:
Olight S1 Baton and the Spyderco Roadie
These two are just so good, both separately and together, that if you weren't a gear geek, but wanted a very competent pair, I'd be hard pressed to recommend something much better than these. I love the Roadie--the Spyderco answer to many a Case slipjoints.
It wasn't all play and no work. I went to work the majority of the month and when I did this was a common carry:
MBI HF-R, Chris Reeve Mnandi, and Pilot Metropolitan
You know that old reviewer trope--"If I didn't know the price...," well I didn't know the price of the Pilot fountain pen that came in the Blue Box review sample I got from Massdrop (review coming soon). It turns out that it was the Metropolitan and it is a really cheap fountain pen. Color me surprised, preferrably with Kon Peki, because it is amazing.
Well, the weather is starting to get cooler and fall is my favorite season, so look for more and interesting carry.
Obligatory Busse Update
At some point this coming month of October we are getting our very large maple and oak trees trimmed back. I did some negotiating and in exchange for a good sized discount the tree folks have agreed to leave everything behind. Secretly, I would have paid them to do so, as it means an opportunity to use my favorite tools--saws, axes, and knives. That said, this will be the largest ever trim our trees have received, so it is possible I will be sawing, chopping, and cutting for a few weekends. If someone out there answers my prayers the Busse will arrive before the Chopacylpse. If it doesn't I will be one mopey amateur lumberjack.