Gun Culture

Gear

Friday, October 26, 2007

Nite Watches

Just a wee post to say how chuffed I am with Nite Watches.
I bought one of their MX-10s maybe a year and a half ago, after initially thinking it was a bit of a lump compared to the G 10 I had been wearing I grew to love it.  Easily the best watch I’ve ever owned, hard wearing and subtle plus the GTLS ilummination is fantastic.
So I was disappointed when the strap retainer loop snapped unexpectedly.  I figured it was a bit unreasonable for a watch advertised as being used by special forces to fail on a fat bloke wearing it to work.  Their warranty doesn’t cover the strap so I figured I’d probably have to buy a new one (strap that is).
However an email to Nite explaining the situation resulted in a new loop in the post within a couple of days - excellent!
Thank you to the Customer Services folks at Nite Watches from a very happy customer.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Peltor SportTac

Just a few words about my ear protectors.  Like a lot of people I used the inner ear foam plugs for cheapness, but got frustrated by the fiddle factor and the fact that it dulls your hearing.  If you are trying to be stealthy in pursuit of quarry, you can think you are being mousey quiet but really you are crashing through the undergrowth like some kind of charging beast.  Of course normal conversation at the clay ground is impossible.
So I upgraded to an active pair of ear defenders from Attleborough Accessories, ‘own brand’.  They were a definite improvement but not ideal, the separate controls for each ear on the cups were tiresome and there was always a slight feeling of otherworldness from the electronics.  Hard to describe what I mean by that but essentially it just sounded wrong! 
I’ve been on the lookout for something better for a while but always choked at the cost.  When I saw a pair of Beretta branded SportTacs in the Local Gunshop I had a go and was very impressed, but they seemed expensive and were blue - not an ideal colour at all!  Ian at the LGS assured me that you can get spare cups in different colours but I couldn’t find any, plus of course it would be crazy to spend extra on Beretta branding only to junk the blue cups....
So I had a wee search and found Best4Headsets knocking them out for just a little over £100, which seemed to me to be a good deal.  Even better if you are VAT registered of course!  Delivery was very quick.
So in the field these are a great headset, the electronic controls are on one side and easy to get the hang of with no control knobs jutting out.  Noise cancellation is fantastic, you hear everything but the top level of noise is limited to safe levels.  If you feel so inclined you can even turn them up so that your hearing is enhanced, hearing every little rustle of leaves in the trees and still being safe from harmfull blast noise.  The low profile head band is wide and comfy, no problems getting a hat over or under. 
The cups supplied are green and orange and easily swapped around should you feel inclined to, me I’ll be sticking with the green.
Overall these are a great product, I’d recommend them to anyone.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Spyderco Delica 4 FRN

A couple of pics, well three anyway, of my Spyderco Delica 4 in black FRN.
First up, closed.

Closed showing the pocket clip, this can be swapped around for tip up or tip down carry.  On a lot of knives the clip is quickly removed but on this model it doesn’t really interfere with the feel of the beast in the hand so it stays.  Additionally I sometimes find that knives can open themselves when carried on the clip (my Spydie Salsa for example) but this is nicely secure so it’s OK to clip without fear of being bitten when you put your hand in to retrieve change or whatever.

Finally open showing the blade. I find this blade style to be the best for general everyday duty.  The blade spine has serrations at the joint giving a good place for the thumb when you need to put a bit of pressure on.

The knife is a spine locker, very secure.  This of course makes it illegal to carry ‘without good reason’ (no, ‘cutting stuff’ apparently isn’t a good enough reason) however some flaunt the law because by and large folders just aren’t secure enough without a lock.  The very small chance of being ‘done’ is outweighed by the higher chance of cutting myself on an unexpectedly closing folder.  Another case where the law is an ass.
The FRN (plastic!) handle isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but for me it gives a lightweight unit with a nice grip - I much prefer this to something like the G10 of my Spydie UK Penknife.  For those who prefer something else the Delica is available in stainless steel handle (got one of those too, much heavier and not such a secure grip) occasionally in other exotic handle materials or if you search t’interweb you can find custom builds in any kind of style you care to mention.

A classic everyday knife.  Recommended!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Monster Truck

Happy Christmas to me!
My Seat Leon let me down once too often.  The final straw was when it decided that setting the alarm whilst I was driving was a jolly wheeze.  You’d be bimbling along, there’d be a faint clunk followed by a flashing red light somewhere by your right shoulder.  Then the sound and light show would start, followed by me attempting to look as small as possible.  It was in warranty and was fixed by the garage but the banana boat had pissed on it’s chips.
Enter stage left my new vehicle!

Swiftly christened the Monster Truck by ‘er indoors, this is a big bitch of a vehicle.  Fantastic.  Much bettter inside than any of the other double cabs I’ve tried, more car like and comfortable.  Definitely more comfy than the L200 by a country mile.
This is a cracking machine to drive, masses of road presence and a great feeling of solidity.  Major drawback of course is the parking.  I’ve specced parking radar which is handy but the main problem is the length plus turning circle.  This means that negotiating car parks takes a wee bit of patience.  The biggest problem is the width of the gap between lines of cars rather than the width of the actual space, there’s an awful lot of machine to turn.
This will be just the job for all my shooting clobber and the pot holed lanes that lead to the places I shoot.
Global warming?  What global warming?

Friday, May 26, 2006

Spyderco Delica Stainless

By way of celebration of the knife ‘amnesty’!
Introducing the Spyderco Delica 4 Stainless:


Just received this morning so no real review, but as it’s a Spyderco you can be sure of a great knife.  Some Spyderco’s are, let’s be honest, butt ugly.  Not this one though, a handsome knife with a great solid feel to it.  Silky smooth action and reassuring snap to the lock.  The knife fits my hand quite nicely, those serrations behind the trademark Spydy hump and hole aren’t just show they really do give a nice grip to the thumb.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Cheers Lighthound

I like torches.  I especially like Surefire torches.  Or flashlights as our American chums prefer to call them.  Actually my pater likes to call them flashlights.  He also refers to binoculars as ‘glasses’ as in ‘fieldglasses’ and elastic bands as lacka bands so least said the better on that perhaps.
Where were we?  Oh yes, Surefire.  The dogs knackers as far as torches go, maybe you thought that was Maglite?  Oh how wrong you were, Maglite suck in comparison, but Surefire ain’t cheap by any stretch.
A great place to buy them is from John at Lighthound.  Not only do you get a good price (even better when you factor in favourable exchange rates) but you get a great quick service.  Plus he a Texan.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Leatherman Squirt P4

What a dinky little multitool this is!

Normally I wouldn’t give Leatherman the time of day after the CEO publicly backed John “I won three purple hearts” Kerry, but this is such a cute little tool I couldn’t not have one.
This is just the thing for slipping into a smart pair of pants or for the ladies in to your handbag.  Normally I carry a Gerber Urban Legend but these are a little bulky for some occassions and I like to have a multitool about my person at all times, so many times has a multitool helped me out that I hate to be without one.  I’ve been looking at these in outdoors shops but the £40 price tag put me right off.
So I did a wee search on evilbay and found a seller knocking them out for £18.95 plus £6.95 postage from the U.S.  Bonza.  The delivery would put a lot of UK sellers to shame - super quick.  I opted for the extra £3 to get a tin and sheath.  I don’t need a tin but the sheath is a good idea if you’re putting the tool in your pocket with other stuff - stops damage to stuff or tool!  If you are ordering from Linda and want a sheath but not a tin then send her a message and she may be able to do a deal.
Anyway I was so chuffed with the tool that I’ve ordered the S4 version (the one with scissors instead of the pliers) for me, one for the missus and a spare P4.

F1 Fallkniven Micarta

Just landed on my desk this morning is a lovely new knife!
The micarta handled Fallkniven F1, apparently issued to Swedish National Defense forces since 1995 in the more sedate handled incarnation.  The blade is VG10 laminated stainless steel and sharp as you like.  The knife is a ‘survival knife’ style which is also highly rated by bushcraft folks.
How does it cut?  Dunno yet! Hope to give it a trial this weekend whilst hiding from the inlaws.  Failing that I suppose I could gut them with it.

A close up shot of the green and black micarta handle

A shot of the spine where you can clearly see the lamination

Lovely!
Want one?  Of course you do!  Go see Andrew at Outdoor Code I don’t think he has them listed on the site (thought the standard handled F1 is there) but if you ask him nicely he will get one in.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Fat lad in the woods

A nice sunny Sunday afternoon spent trying out my Hennessy Hammock in some woods on my brothers place.  (brother’s family think I’m quite bonkers - not like they’re entirely wrong!).  First attempt at putting up a hammock and in reflection perhaps somewhere with less rocks and bits of metal sticking out would have been better.....
First impressions though is that this is a comfy piece of kit perfectly capable of taking my 6’5” XXL frame, for camping out you definitely want some kind of insulation under your maggot - such as a thermarest mat.  I’m not so sure that the supplied tarp is quite big enough but I’ve got a couple of others en route to try.  It wasn’t possible to pitch the tarp proper style without setting to the trees with an axe and I didn’t see the point for this trial.

Putting a brew on with my kelly kettle, again mon frer didn’t see the point when there was an electric kettle in t’house - no sense of adventure!

Outdoor brew, hammock, sunny afternoon, woods, birds singing, woodpeckers pecking and I also saw some of the red squirrels.
Heaven.
 

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Kelly Kettles

An amusing hour or so spent outside last night testing my new Kelly Kettles these beasties also known as Volcano Kettles are a cunning means of making a brew in the great outdoors.  They consist of a pan in which you set a small fire and a double skinned pot which allows the fire to pass up the centre.  This means that you get a good surface area to volume ratio for conducting the heat.  I bought the 1 pint and 2.5 pint versions as part of a group buy over at Bushcraft UK along with an accessory pack which allow you to use the 2.5 pt pan as a mini-stove.  The accessory pack includes a wee frying pan thingy with handle and a two piece grill.
Anyway I found some bits of trellis hiding in the garage and chopped them up for firewood, I also made feather sticks to make the firelighting easier.


First shot is the 2.5pt just getting started, we can see the fire in the base of the pan.  Second shot show the 1pt version in full swing! (sorry about the ropey pic, I had the camera phone in night mode and I can’t hold still for long enough to get a clear shot).  Next we have a view down the chuff of the kettle into the fire pan.  Finally the fire pan after boiling up the 2.5pt, at this point you still have some nice hot embers for cooking up your food.
These are great fun items, the 1pt is compact enough to take out on a day trek and will brew up enough for a couple of mugs of tea.  I think the 2.5 is maybe a bit bulky for use on the trail but is excellent for camping usage.
Want one?  Go see Andrew at Outdoor Code

Monday, January 09, 2006

Nanok Air Jacket

A few words on my newly aquired Nanok Air Jacket.
The Nanok is a bivvy style jacket, readers may be familiar with the Snugpak Sleeka range (Snugpak also do an Air version I believe).  I’ve been on the lookout for a thinner version of my Sleeka 2000 for a while, this jacket is just too damned warm for all but the coldest of snaps.  So I was interested when Andrew of OutdoorCode offered these jackets at a knockdown price just before Crimble.  Available in both black and olive, I of course went for the olive version!  Just like the Snugpak, the Nanok doesn’t have a stormflap - these jackets are made primarily as a midlayer item to provide good insulation.  When using these in anger it is anticipated that you will have an outer waterproof layer of some variety.  Despite them being a midlayer the outer shell is of ripstop style construction, I often worried about my Sleeka catching this would be less of a worry with the Nanok but I still wouldn’t barge through any hedges with it on!
The jacket itself has shown to be perfectly windproof and whilst it isn’t described as being waterproof you’ll find it will shed a shower fairly well and dries out quickly.  Fairly quiet to wear, quiet enough for sneaking up on quarry for example.  One nice feature is the zip ‘garage’ (new term on me) which is basically a piece of neoprene which the zipper lives under when the jacket is zipped up.  This helps keep it quiet and stops it smacking you in the neck when the wind gets up.  Pockets are generous too.
This is definitely a great range jacket for hanging about in on those cold days, I don’t know about you but I find our indoor range to be damned cold at this time of year - never mind outdoor.
Good value I think, the only minor gripe I would have is the lack of a stuff sack for the back of your car/landy.  This would make the product spot on but of course add to the price.  This missus is also a little peeved that they don’t do size small in black!

Recommended.

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Xbox 360

Yup, I’ve got one.  Only 28 machines delivered to the Game store where I pre-ordered mine and I was number 15 on the list.  Get in.
First impressions are that it is a handsome devil, much better than the black breeze block of the original.  The new controller felt all tiny in my big farmer’s hands, but now I’m used to it and it feels natural - going back to the original controller makes it seem like holding a great big wheel of cheese.  Why would I go back to the original?  Top fave Live play game Battlefield 2 is not backwards compatible, a strange move you might think given it’s popularity.  However a glance over the horizon shows that a 360 version of the game is coming next year, don’t want to harm sales of that now do we?  Stupid because I’d buy the souped up version anyway.  What a noisy beast the new box is, all those cooling fans make themselves heard alright.  OK if your ‘box is to sit next to the TV across the room but I have mine set up on my PC desk, slightly tiresome but the sound system soon drowns it out.
How does it perform?  Like you’d expect a next gen console is the short answer.  Call Of Duty 2 is a visual treat and great gameplay, but the Live play stinks - very disappointing.  Probably down to a rush to get the game out for launch, past experience suggests Activision will not issue a fix for this sadly.  Initial impressions of Perfect Dark Zero suggest that this is shit.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Little axe

Many moons ago I bought a rather splendid axe.  I was extremely chuffed with it, as axes go the Gransfors Bruks are the dogs danglies - a real artisans axe made by hand in Sweden.  For a blade and axe fan such as I these are as much a piece of art as a working tool.  I pressed my axe into use for hide building on occassion and for this it is just the job, compact and sharp enough to shave with.  I was so pleased I bought a larger beastie the Small Forest Axe.  This is the size that bushcraft guru Ray Mears likes to use.  Again a superb piece of kit, but to be honest I’ve not really got a use for it, but I still get pleasure from owning such a splendid item.  Any how I remember seeing a little axe at a bushcraft event a couple of years back, this is called the Mini Hatchet.  The Mini is made by only one of the Gransfors team a Lennart Pettersson and is a little exclusive because of this.
When Andrew at Outdoor Code (worth a look for outdoors/hunting kit) announced he had one left in stock at a good price then I just had to have it.
When the day arrived I opened up the package with no small degree of excitement (I don’t get out much!), opening the package the axe was (of course) exquisitely put together and there on the head the mark of Mr Pettersson.  I couldn’t help but think though that it wasn’t much smaller than my Wildlife axe.  So got home and put the two together and chuff me if they weren’t the same!  Turns out that my ‘Wildlife’ was a Mini.  Slaps forehead.  So I’m off to trade in one of the Minis for a proper Wildlife.
Here’s a pic of the Mini:

Monday, April 25, 2005

Brum brum

Just to annoy Mr FM, some piccys of my new BarryBoy style zorst!


zorstbutt.jpg

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Doug Ritter Mini RSK

So who is Doug Ritter?
Rather usefully there is a bio at Equipped To Survive so if you’re interested you can go look.
Meantime though - what’s a Mini RSK?
No prizes for guessing that it is a smaller version of the RSK, which stands for Ritter Survival Knife.  The RSK is a variant of the Benchmade Griptillian folding knife.  The story of the development of the RSK is also at Equipped To Survive.  You also get a rather sweet animation of the inner workings of the axis locking mechanism, a locking mech that I’ve never owned before.
There’s nothing I can add to the words on construction, so I won’t try.
Some pics and description in the extended Read More thingy so those poor souls without broadband don’t lose the will to live.

Continue reading Doug Ritter Mini RSK...