Gear Reviews | Manual of Man

Review of the Sitka Gear Bandit Mask in Open Country Optifade

Dec 062011

Review of the Sitka Gear Bandit Mask in Open Country Optifade

Introduction

I wanted to purchase the Bandit Mask last year, but didn’t specifically need it at the time as I wasn’t ready to hunt yet. When spring rolled around, they were all sold out everywhere (probably from last year but they hadn’t replaced the stock yet). The same problem almost just struck again, as Sitka is out of stock on their end, and most retailers are selling out in the Open Country pattern all over the interwebs. Luckily extreme-outdoors.com still have them (these guys are based out of Utah, do guided hunts/fishing trips, and have great customer service for their online store).

As far as the reason for me purchasing it was for turkey season. As many people know, turkey hunting is a very difficult challenge concealment-wise. Some people say, if turkey could smell, there would be no way anyone could kill one. Why is this? Eye sight and hearing. Hearing, there’s not much you can do about. Be quiet and make sure your gear is quiet. But vision, there are many things.

Full up 3-D textured ground blinds, ghillie suits, face paint, camo shotguns. Pretty much anything in the hunting business that isn’t already for turkey hunting can be transformed into a turkey hunting necessity with just a camo dip. Continue reading »

Review of Winter Backpacking by Ben Shillington

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Dec 032011

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Ben Shillington’s Winter Backpacking: Your Guide To Safe and Warm Winter Camping and Day Trips from Outdoor Blogger Network’s 1-year anniversary celebration. This book and my review comes just in time for the winter hiking season and it couldn’t come soon enough.

Although I don’t consider myself an expert hiker or outdoorsman, I would say I’m experienced in the woods, generally during summer and fall. I’d call myself a novice winter hiker. I own a pair of strap-on crampons and a mountaineering axe and have done a handful of winter hikes. I guess even this meager amount of winter gear and experience seems leagues beyond the average hiker, but I’m still worlds below hardcore winter enthusiasts, like my friends the Brothers Kryskow, who go ice climbing on a weekly basis. No matter what your skill level, winter backpacking and hiking can seem like a daunting sport to break into. But, it shouldn’t be.

Enter: Shillington’s Winter Backpacking: Your Guide To Safe and Warm Winter Camping and Day Trips.

Ben Shillington, a veteran mountaineering guide, instructor, mountain biker, and climber, was a cast member on Discovery Channel’s Mount Everest Expedition. He even led a mountain bike tour of the ancient Silk Route from Istanbul to Beijing and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. Needless to say, he knows what he’s talking about and has spent a lot of time in the snow.

Although you might expect a how-to guide written by a guy with so many notches on his belt would sound haughty and too technical for the beginner, you’d be wrong. This book, laid out in an easy to read and easy to use manner, is a great guide for the beginner and experienced winter backpacker alike. It reads almost like one long blog article or conversation with an old friend. Ben writes and presents the topic of winter backpacking in baby steps, but as if he’s talking to you as an equal.

But, what makes this book so valuable is that it is definitely written and tailored for winter traveling, it’s not just a generic outdoor guide with a few amendments to turn it into a winter guide. Continue reading »

Review of the Fenix PD30 R5 Cree XP-G LED Flashlight

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Nov 202011

Unfortunately, for me mainly, this review of the Fenix PD30 comes to you from a tragedy. I lost my beloved Fenix Tk10 flashlight at some point this summer. Although a bit heavier and wider than the PD30, I loved my Fenix Tk11 for its simplicity and the fact that it was my first “real” flashlight. That thing came with me everywhere I went, oh the memories…

But since I lost it, I needed a new one and one that addressed some of the gripes I had about the Tk11. I looked at the E1L Outdoorsman Flashlight by SureFire, which my friend owns. Although being very compact and well-built, it just didn’t have all the features that I was looking for, especially in the way of brightness. Which is very surprising given the Surefire name and price tag and the PD30 being half the price. I’ll probably still get a E1L someday because they do look pretty damn cool.

Fenix PD30 R5 Cree XP-G LED Flashlight With Free Fenix Accessory Bundle

R5 Cree XP-G Bulb and polished reflector

What is the brightness of the PD30 R5? A whopping 257 lumens at max. This is much brighter than my previous Tk10 which topped out at 225 lumens. Similar to the TK10, the PD30 has two brightness modes which can be selected by turning the front bezel. Fully tight is turbo, slightly loosened is general. The “turbo” mode puts out a beam at 257 lumens, and “general” at 10 lumens (TK10 has a general mode at 60 lumens). However, unlike the TK10, the general mode can be stepped up by just softly pressing (not a click) the tail cap switch. First on, 10 lumens. Soft press and you bump up to 67 lumens, another soft press and you bump up to 124 lumens. One more and you activate an integrated S.O.S. signal. And yes, it’s actually S.O.S, not just a strobe. The turbo mode does have a high speed strobe which can be activated by a soft press after clicking on at turbo mode. All due to the XPG-Cree R5 bulb with an over 50,000 hour lifespan, this is an improvement from the previous iteration using the XR-E bulb.

I personally don’t care for a strobe mode that much, as its touted as much more “tactical” option. But I suppose it has its merits of disorienting a potential assailant, in case a 257 lumen flood lamp in their face doesn’t? I just worry the strobe would disorient me just as much as it would an attacker. Continue reading »

Review of the Black Diamond Orbit Lantern

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Nov 092011

I’ll be honest up front and say that I’ve wanted to buy one of these little guys for a long time. When camping, you sometimes just can’t have enough light. That is, light you can turn off when it’s time to go to bed.

I held off on buying the Black Diamond Orbit, because I usually carry a flash light and headlamp with me when I camp anyways. Although you can’t really set it down to provide light to a given radius, like the inside of a tent or a camp table, you can hold it in your mouth or sit it upright to provide some light. So since it didn’t really solve a problem for me, it was back burnered.

Enter the Snowtober storm and 4 day power outage. After about day 2, we were getting sick of reading by candlelight (it’s fun for the first hour) and also sick of using the bathroom in the dark. I suggested to my girlfriend we go out and get an LED lantern that we can just set on a table or counter top. I was debating just getting another cheap LED lantern by Coleman or Rayovac (cheap in price, not necessarily quality – maybe in features), or spending the $30 on the Orbit. Seeing as how most places like Lowe’s, Target, and Wal-Mart were already sold out on the cheaper ones, we figured it was as good a time as any to spring for the Orbit.

We weren’t disappointed.

Yes, $30 is a bit much for, what was at the time, an emergency power outage lantern. But it’s super lightweight and compact, making it a perfectly suitable backup for camping and hiking. Wait, this thing was designed FOR camping and hiking. Unfortunately for us, given the past year’s schedule and weather, we’ve had more power outages than camping trips! But next year is a new year.

The lantern comes in a no frills, folded paper box made of recycled paper. Their a folded instruction sheet which is pretty unnecessary due to the sheer simplicity of the lantern’s design. In the closed position, the lantern measures a stubby 4 inches in height. When you pull apart the base and the top half that holds the LED, it slides out to a measly 5.5 inches. Talk about form factor! Continue reading »

Review of the Sitka Gear Ball Cap in Open Country Optifade

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Oct 312011

Dropping extra money on camo accessories is sometimes difficult to justify. Other times its easy. Trust me, I know. It’s a paradox I’ve been trying to contend with while as a novice hunter. Spending hundreds of dollars on a rifle or bow, accessories and ammo/arrows, a tree stand or blind, and large articles of camo clothing, like jackets, leaves you feeling either empty inside or totally gung-ho for more. I fall somewhere in between.

I make very deliberate purchases when buying anything. The same goes for hunting accessories. If I don’t need it immediately, as in, it doesn’t solve a specific problem right now, I don’t buy it. That’s not to say I don’t buy it at all, but I’ll defer it until it serves as an immediate solution. Of the two things I have to review here, I only purchased one, which was The Bandit mask. The ball cap I actually received as a 2nd place prize for a contest that Sitka ran on their Facebook page (the first place prize was a Bivy 45 pack, but let’s not talk about that).

Sitka Gear’s Cap in Open Country Optifade

This baseball cap is the bee’s knees. Since receiving it at the beginning of the summer, I’ve worn it everywhere. Not just for hunting. And not just because it’s Optifade (which actually looks pretty cool as a baseball hat). It’s made of a four-way stretch material that fits perfectly to almost any head. I’ve got a massive head and this thing fits like a glove. It’s one of the only baseball caps I wear that never feels too tight or too loose.

Whatever stretch material they use (I’m sure its the same as some other piece of Sitka gear, Ascent line maybe?) is highly, highly breathable. I’ve worn this while out fishing in early June, mowing the lawn in July, and at cookouts in August. (Yes, it probably stinks of human by now. But that’s nothing a few washes in scent-free detergent won’t handle). Even in direct sun, it doesn’t give off at that “cooking” feeling other hats can give on your head. You know, when the sun, rather than just burning the top of your head, is burning up the outside of a hat, making it feel like an oven between the inside of your hat and your head? None of that with this guy. It may be due to the interior fabric having a different texture than the exterior. I don’t know if its two layers of fabric, or a single layered that has different sides. The ridges on the interior are very similar to the Arc’teryx Phase SL shirt my girlfriend got me for my birthday. It’s fashioned that way to help channel moisture and heat.

Review of the 2011 SOG Flash II Folder

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Oct 262011

The SOG Flash II folder (FSA-98) is a handy, yet sleek assisted opening pocket knife that works great for a daily use EDC knife. As far as tactical folders go, this baby is hard to beat. Both for price, quality, and utility. I wore mine everyday for 2 years. After I broke it, I felt naked without it.

If you’ve read my review on the SOG Seal Pup Elite, you may be able to tell that I have a sort of love affair with SOG Knives. The flame of that love affair has been reignited from their excellent customer service. I recently broke my 2009 Flash II at work while cutting open a giant cardboard shipping box. The knife got wedged in the walls of the box and when I tried to yank it out, it somehow torqued the blade and snapped it. I was baffled. I wrote a letter and shipped the knife back to SOG explaining what happened. No questions asked, a new knife showed up on my door step a week later. Talk about standing behind your product with an awesome warranty.

This review will be based on the new Flash II folder I received in the mail, which has slightly updated design features than my previous one. However, it is, for argument’s sake, the same knife in my eyes as it’s main use mode isn’t effected by the minor design changes.

Initial Impressions

The Flash II feels light and nimble in your hands. You will notice this right when you pick it up. It weighs a scant 3.1oz which puts it right into backpacking consideration. The assisted opener mechanism flips open with surprisingly fast speed but is not overpowering. Some knives, such as my new Kershaw Blur, open quickly, but a little too forcefully. You’d never guess a knife could have recoil, but many assisted openers these days almost jerk themselves out of your hand when you open them. (This is more prevalent the smaller the knife). The Flash II opens quickly but deliberately, it doesn’t bounce. It’s not faster than it needs to be. And it opens with a satisfying *snick*.

Continue reading »

Review of the Wetterlings Swedish Forest Axe

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Oct 052011

A good axe in your hands is a magical feeling.

It is one of the oldest tools known to man. Early humans created rudimentary axes from stone to harvest timber, process animals, and construct shelters. To hold a good axe harkens back to these primitive skills and instinctual needs. To hold a good axe makes a man feel capable of doing great things. With a good axe you can cut down a tree to create a home, clear a path, or save a life. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a fan of axes.

It took me a long time to purchase my first “real” axe. I’ve had plenty of competent and incompetent axes. These have been on the cheap, utilitarian side. Mass produced steel heads shoved onto fiberglass handles. Many have broken and a few have been tossed. About two years ago, during the fall, I started to get really sick of purchasing the same poor quality, non character axes from the local hardware store. What’s worse, I was sick of paying over $30 for them. I figured for the price I was paying, I’d at least get something decent… Or at least something that had some heart.
It didn’t take me more than a few search strings to reveal the entire world of Wetterlings, Ochsenkopf/Oxhead, and Gransfors-Bruks I had been blind to. I had finally found people who made high quality yet traditional axes. Axes built for the woodsman. Axes built for life. And the best part was, they’ve been doing it for years!

It took me a long time to settle on the Wetterlings Swedish Forest axe. A few of the things that sealed the deal for me with this axe was the quality, size, and price.

Quality

Wetterlings, like I mentioned before, is one of the few axe makers who still makes a traditional axe using traditional methods. Wetterlings still forges and shapes each axe by hand, using the old ways at their factory in Storvik, Sweden. Each axe head is unique, with the steel possessing its own imperfections, colorations, and profile. No axe head is truly the same. I also dig the black, tar-like coating on the back end of the 6 inch head, while keeping the Swedish steel exposed along its 3.5 inch head. It gives the axe are more rustic look, as opposed to the polish and finish of a nice Oxhead.

Each head is also stamped with the Wetterlings logo and head size. The handle is about 26 inches long and is hand selected American hickory. It comes unfinished from the factory, allowing the user to choose if they want to stain it, oil it, or leave it unfinished. I wanted to keep this axe in its natural color so I just applied some Butcher Block conditioner I had on hand to it. Most people use mineral oil, but the Butcher Block conditioner by Howard has some protective antimicrobial waxes in it that give it some added protection. I plan to get another one, in the smaller Wildlife line that I will probably finish with a walnut stain. Continue reading »

Mini Book Review of The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine by Steven Rinella

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Sep 222011

Mini Book Review of The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine by Steven Rinella

Steven Rinella, host of Travel Channel’s “The Wild Within”, published The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine back in 2006. About 5 years before his show and way before he was actually famous. I must admit, I only picked this book up because I enjoy his tv show and have similar feelings toward hunting and the food we eat. This book not only reaffirmed these beliefs, but showed the many ways Rinella respects animals, food, and human instincts.
Haute cuisine, you should know, is French for “high” cuisine. A fact I was not privy to until I started reading Rinella’s book where he recounts being introduced to haute cuisine after he’s given a copy of Le Guide Culinaire by Aguste Escoffier. Le Guide Culinaire is touted as the Bible of French cooking, a telephone book sized collection of over 2,500 French recipes, employing ingredients from Boar’s brains to baby pigeons. Published in 1903, Escoffier found uses for almost every part and a recipe that used almost every wild game animal, leaving nothing to waste. (Sadly, quite a few of the animals in Le Guide are now endangered or extinct) Largely autobiographical and seemingly a pool of memoirs of adventures and roadtrips, the book follows Rinella as he tries to compile and collect the ingredients for a 3-day, 45 course French meal from Le Guide Culinaire for his close friends and family.
However, being a lifelong hunter, fisher, and scavenger, Rinella plans to collect as many ingredients as he can from wild game or self procurement. If he can’t shoot it, net it, or grab it with his own hands, he tries as much as possible to not buy anything from a grocery store. He also shys away from using any meat or items that he doesn’t agree with ethically, which proves to be tricky when French cooking uses foix grais as a garnish like the Olive Garden uses chopped parsley.
In this sense of finding a reasonable substitute for foix grais, it’s the setbacks that make this book so entertaining. From failed attempts at turtle soup, to losing pigeons to domestication, Rinella has no shame in admitting his failures. Using a voice of reason, charm, and a down-to-earthiness only someone from the Midwest can muster, Rinella narrates his year long adventures whimsically. He also has a fine ability to retell thrilling hunts and excursions, like hunting elk Montana, dall sheep in Alaska, or spearing frogs off the side of an interstate.
Throughout the book, I wondered what Rinella actually did for work during that whole year. All his friends, family, and girlfriend have jobs, yet Rinella travels from Alaska to California to Michigan to Iowa and back to Montana. If anyone knows where he worked, please let me know so I can submit an application.

Moreover, throughout The Scavenger’s Guide, Rinella fleshes out his beliefs on the ethics and responsibility of hunting, and the connection we’ve lost with where our food comes from. Through the description and narration of his journeys to harvest food and take down game, it makes the reader question why we even consider cellophane wrapped steaks as actually meat. It also reconnects us with the fact that although hunting is viscous, an animal still died to bring you that $4.99/lb Thursday special sirloin. Hunting just puts you in direct connection with the animal and passes on to you the ultimate responsibility of killing it. Moreover, it begs the question, if you’re going to eat it, can you kill it?
If you’re a hunter or an aspiring hunter like myself, or someone who just believes that we’ve lost touch with where our food comes from and how much of an animal we waste just because we don’t know how to cook it, this book is for you. Much like Jim Harrison’s The Raw and The Cooked, this book is about reconnecting with yourself, your food, writing, and the outdoors. Highly recommended!

Followup Review of the Sitka Gear Jetstream Jacket

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Sep 172011

About a year ago I picked up a Jetstream Jacket by Sitka Gear. This was my first real piece of camo designed specifically for the active outdoorsman and hunter. Although I had only just taken an interest in hunting, the attributes really sold me as an good multipurpose jacket. Also, since I bought the jacket in the dead of winter, well away from any New Hampshire hunting season, I was able to put to test the jacket in a variety non-hunting sports and travels. Therefore, I’m writing this review as a followup to my initial review to tell you how it has fared thus far.

Let me first let you know that the only hunting this jacket has done is some spring season turkey stalking and scouting. Therefore, I can’t yet vouch for the camo pattern yet. I didn’t get a turkey this spring, partly because my archery skills were not yet up to par. (A summer of practice has changed that hopefully). However, this jacket has been worn almost all year nonetheless. Through winter lake house trips, snow storms, ice storms, and even a summer hurricane. It has also been to Peru and hiked to Machu Picchu and fished New York’s Salmon River.

One of the things I’ve noticed with this jacket is that it gets more comfortable with use. When I first started wearing it, the material was somewhat stiff and would bunch up in several places. For instance, if you sat down while fully zipped, the front of the jacket would bulge out in front, like I was 9 months pregnant. After a few weeks of wearing and cramming it inside a backpack, it has broken in quite nicely. The interior brushed lining has become a bit softer, as well as the interior pit zip stitching – something I had complained about previously. They still are noticeable when wearing the jacket with a short sleeve shirt, but are not quite as uncomfortable as before.

Moreover, as some parts have broken in for the better, I have yet to see any parts wear undesirably. I had some apprehension about the sleeve cuffs, which are elastic. These have yet to show any signs of stretching. I was worried these would wind up like the ankles of an old sock with hardly any tension. It’s quite the opposite in fact. They have not become any loose and stay in place.

Initial Review of the Kershaw S30V Blur Knife

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Sep 142011

I picked up the Kershaw Blur in S30V steel (1670S30V) as a replacement to my recently broken SOG Flash II folder. This is my new EDC (every day carry). I went a few weeks without a pocket knife, which left me feeling naked, useless, and well, altogether unmanly. I find that the times when I could truly use a pocket knife are the times when I don’t have one. For example, I would’ve really liked to carry a pocket knife on my recent trip to Peru. But of course, my SOG was broken and my newly acquired Kershaw was sitting in an Amazon box on the front porch at home.
Initial Impressions

The knife came in a spartan paper box. At least it wasn’t in plastic packaging. I hate knives that come in a plastic clam shell package. You shouldn’t need a knife to open a knife. It also comes with a small foldout product manual that explains the warranty, care instructions, etc.

At first glance, the Kershaw reminded me of the SOG. Black polycarbonate handle with a folding, assisted-opener blade. But in the hand, it has quite a different feel. There is a good amount of weight in the blade, but it balances the knife perfectly. Also, this is a Ken Onion design so it has quite a bit of subtle style and architecture.

Blade

I opted to get the Blur in S30v steel. There is a lot of contention on the benefits of S30V. Some say its just the latest “wonder steel”, propped up by hype and marketing until another better knife steel comes out. Others say it really makes a difference over the standard steel used in the regular Blur, both in ease of sharpening and edge retention. Either way, I don’t really care if its the flavor of the month, there will definitely be a better steel to come out eventually. But as an EDC, I need something that will hold an edge, get very sharp, and be moderately corrosion resistant. So I opted to pay the extra $20 for the S30V version to give it a try and see if it lives up to its name.

The stone-washed finish on the blade steel (only available on S30V) is excellent and an added treat over the standard polished stainless. Personally, I think the satin look adds a nice depth to the knife overall. The 3 3/8” blade profile has a subtle complexity as well, not noticeable until you take a closer look in person. The cutting edge profile of the blade is re-curved, as you can see it bends out but then back in. I think this will come in handy for delicate tasks such as whittling. The overall profile of the spine is almost a slight drop point to comes up like a slight trailing point. The spine varies in thickness, thicker at each end than in the middle. This thickness follows contours of the grind line on the side of the blade. However, the grind line that rises up from the cutting edge does not flatten out to the same thickness as the spine. I think it almost acts as a fuller, to lighten to the weight of the blade, but it may also have some effect on the rigidity or flexibility. If anyone has any thoughts on this, please let me know. It’s hard to describe but can be seen in the photo on the right.

Handle

As mentioned before, there is a bit more weight in the blade than the handle, but balances well. The 4 1/2” handle, made of 6061-T6 aluminum, is CNC machined and of excellent quality. They feature Trac-Tec inserts, which appear to be a rubber particulate material applied to panels on the grip. They almost remind me of the surfaces of high school tracks, made of tiny bits of chopped of tire. They are much firmer than tire rubber, but offer a nice grip. They are not rough on the hand, but not slick either. The overall handle length fits my hand well, even though slight on the large size. However, I have smaller hands. The handle also has a belt clip on the back side, which is tighter than a drum. Although a loose, bendable belt clip is bad, this one is so tight I can’t even pull it back hand. It does accept a jean’s pocket fairly well, but requires a significant amount of downward force to seat fully. Enough that I have to hold my pants with the other hand to do it. Also, when pocketed with the clip, the knife rides pretty high. High enough that it definitely makes it known you are carrying a knife. Both good and bad, I suppose.