Being an Enthusiast, Part II: Making it Your EDC
Over the years I have reviewed a lot of gear. I have handled even more. I have seen great stuff. I have seen horrdenous stuff. But a few things have managed to avoid the churn of gear buying and selling. Some of those items are things I just can’t see parting with and a few are things so good I regularly carry them regardless of what else is on the review shelf.
These items are my very favorite pieces of gear and two of them have been significantly modified from their original form. This is MY EDC, the default I go to when I am not reviewing stuff. Here is the story of how I put it together.
The Knife: Spyderco Dragonfly II in ZDP-189 with aftermarket natural micarta scales
The Dragonfly II in ZDP-189 has been my go to carry for years. The steel holds a marvelous edge and is not as rust prone as some of the new high carbon steels (REX45 and K390). Its no longer the end all be all of edge retention, but I have improved my sharpening skills a lot and that mitigates the edge retention issue completely. It also happens to be a steel I know well. I know how to sharpen it, when it is sharp (as opposed to having a wire edge), and how it will handle certain tasks. That is absolutely key to making gear your gear and not just another item on the acquistion checklist.
The scales were aftermarket, sent to me by a gracious reader who got hooked on the DFII in ZDP-189 because of me. His IG account is: wanolte03. They came super clean and fit perfectly. I tend to use my stuff a lot and even the most polished micarta tends to look worn over time, so these scales, which came dusty new, got a dab of oil to make the wear more uniform and the results are stunning. This is a knife that just feels lovely in the hand. The scales are truly superb and again, they feel right to me. They also match perfectly with my favorite fixed blade, a Bark River Bravo 1 LT in 3V with no ramp. I am a little matchy matchy. Also, the micarta added zero weight and that is important on a knife that is, centrally, an ultralight carry.
This is my knife is so many ways and I absolutely love it. Its a shame ZDP-189 is gone, but you can still find it out there if you look and I am sure someone will make scales for you. For now though, this is only DF II like this. What would your ideal EDC knife look like?
The Light: Surefire Titan Plus with lanyard attachment point delete and Prometheus Lights Clip
The Titan Plus is an old light in flashlight years. This particular light came to me just before my second son was born and accompanied me to the hospital when he arrived. He will be six very soon. Flashlights, driven by computer and emitter tech, have incredibly short lifespans when they are designed to live on the cutting edge of technology. A “brightest in the world” light usually holds the title for a few weeks or maybe even a few months, but not longer.
The Titan Plus is no longer the brightest 1xAAA light, but with 300 lumens and the excellent beam pattern that Surefires use, it is still quite punchy. But like with the DF II, this one is mine. I always want lights to be able to tailstand. A massive ice storm nearly a decade ago taught me that EVERY torch should be able to tailstand. If they can’t, they have a design flaw. The Titan Plus couldn’t because it has a lanyard attachment point. It is doubly silly because there is a plastic cap that ALSO has a lanyard attachment point for quick detachment. I hated the cap as it looked like a bad toupee and I hated the integrated one because it prevents the light from tailstanding. After years of having it bother me, I stopped by a job shop machine shop. I asked the foreman if they could grind off the integrated piece and he said “Sure.” I told him I would be back whenever it was done. He told me “Hold on.” Less than five minutes later the lanyard attachment point was gone, replaced by a perfectly flat surface and exposed brass (the Titan Plus is coated brass). The light now tailstands with the best of them. The guy charged me nothing. I came back a few minutes later with a $30 gift card to Chik Fil A, because, well, who doesn’t like waffle fries.
Next, I wanted to get rid of the stock clip as it was incredibly pokey and hard to ride up over the lip of your jeans. I reached out to the maker of the best clips in the Flashlight World Jason Hui and was willing to pay. He told me that his stock small clip would fit well and I bought one. A few days later it arrived and the Titan Plus was finished—a perfect EDC torch for my needs and purposes. It was so good that I think of it more as the Titan PRO than the Titan Plus. If Surefire released this version of the light, it would sell like gang busters. Even with almost 6 years having passed, it is still competitive in the 1xAAA light market and with a better form factor, its still great. There is a light that is basically a fancy version of this modded Titan and it is the Lau Lima Hoku, but that light is over $250. For budget conscious folks, this is a great set up and it works PERFECTLY for me.
The Pen: Stock Spoke Designs Roady with Pilot Quink Gel Refill
The Spoke Designs Roady is the only item I haven’t modded. It is basically the Fisher Space Pen updated with smart colors and a brilliant use of magnets. I liked the Uniball refill, but it wasn’t my favorite (Dear Brad Dowdy: the proper color for stock refills is blue…not black. For most people it doesn’t matter, for lawyers, blue distinguishes copies from originals, so blue is the correct color). The Pilot refill, with its vibrant blue, now makes the Roady an ideal EDC pen. I love the Boba Fetting that is happening naturally, again a sign that this is MY pen.
Making gear your own is part of the process of learning and appreciating what you have. I have found it very rewarding to stick with a set of items and slowly tweak them until they are EXACTLY what you want. This trio is the result of that process, stretched out over a decade of carry and use. Starting with production items helps keep the price down. In the end, I like this stuff as much as any custom gear I have handled and I have slowly worked out all of the design flaws of these items, though the DF II and the Roady had none really. Now this set is just amazing and will probably be found in my pocket a decade from now. Making it your own is the ultimate expression of the enthusiast impulse—its not the hunt that matters, but the thrill of smart design allowing for easy use.
Short Cut Set Up:
If you are absolutely in need of stuff immediately and can’t wait for the slow drip of mods that I did here or even the faster (but still not immediate satisfaction) of batch-produced gear (like the TRM Nerd or Giant Mouse Riv, which are excellent approximations of the DF II with the micarta handles, and the ReyLight Mini Pineapple, which is a clicky version of the Titan Plus) to come back into stock here is another set up:
Knife: Spyderco Chaparral in Carbon Fiber (Giant Mouse Riv in Micarta, if available)
Not quite as compact as the DF II, but I prefer the XHP to the currently available steels on the DF.
Light: Prometheus Beta with Clip
An underrated torch that tail stands and comes in nice finishes with a great emitter. It is not as bright as the Surefire. Its not as solidly built, but it is pretty darn good.
Pen: Same
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