Last weekend I bought a Benchmade Griptilian with a tanto blade. I will write a review but I am currently busy. So why post this? Because I do not want to forget. And if I do this I will feel pressured to come back.
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Ok so 511 actually calls them Covert Khakis but I think I could come up with come better ones:
I have wondered for a long time, why is it that I go out adventuring on the weekends, demanding the highest performance from my gear. Then I show up on Monday and I am rocking cotton pants that have not changed since the stone age. These pants give me hope that some company gets it. All I have to say is: Please make me more!
What I like
First of all these really feel great. These are probably the first of my “work” pants that I would consider wearing on the weekends. They have a flat front that looks great and is magical with you check out the pocket on these. There is SO much room!
The zippered pocket in pocket design in really cool. I can stash my pocket knife in one of the “mag pouches” zip the zipper and no-one knows it there. The inner zipped pocket is about the same size as the main pocket. Got something you need to keep secure with rounded edges that like to work its way out (pens or iPhones maybe), the zippered pockets solve that problem.
These things are sturdy. I have no doubt that I will be wearing these for a while. I tend to churn and burn work pants. Unlike my other these feel solid.
I would love to know what 511 was thinking about this:
What Could Be Improved:
Its a nice day here in the Portland Vancouver area. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing hard out of the Gorge. Its a great temp but I am hot. These pants are hot. The outside layer is a great thickness and feels really durable but the large pocket system stacks up the insulation. If I were 511 I would consider making some of the middle layers a lycra type material that does not get as warm. Basically I would try and trim weight and insulative layers wherever possible, without loosing durability. Additionally, can we get fancy with the outer layer?
The “magazine pockets” on these are curious. They bairly accommodate my pocket knife in diameter but they are deep. If you had a hi-cap .380 they might work great. I would re-engineer them slightly to better fit a knife or small flashlight and some pens.
The cargo pockets are cool but I am not so sure they are useful. That might be a place to remove material for a summer version of the pants.
One final comment, where is my iPhone pocket? How about a little pocket inside the left front pocket?
Remember this section is “things that could be improved” not “things that are wrong”. There is nothing wrong, these are pretty dam cool.
Overall:
These kick ass and the price is right. I bought mine for $17 bucks and pair but in retrospect they would be worth spending the full retail $50.
It seems to me that on items that its small things that take everyday items from good to great. Last weekend I posted about buying a few pairs of 511 tactical pants. And I spent all weekend in them.
Sure I was mostly loafing around the house and the most strenuous things I did in them was build some Ikea shelves and chop down a tree but never the less I got some quality pants time.
This may sound strange bu the thing that impressed me the most was how the iPhone fits exactly in the left upper exterior pocket. Not having it dodging my knife, keys and flashlight in my main pockets gave me a little piece of mind, plus it was always handy.
To put this in perspective I would consider my iPhone to be possibly my most critical piece of daily gear.
I should also note there are other features I like: the rear pockets are off set to the outside to when you sit down you wallet is not in an uncomfortable place. The rear pockets are also huge which is nice because it always seems faster to cram stuff in your back pockets. The strap above the right rear pocket made this ex-rock climber feel at home, nothing like a gear loop for quick access. When you squat, the pants do not cut of circulation to your balls, yet another plus.
I give them two thumbs up.
No joke, between my wife and I we have probably bought 10 pairs of
Mountain Hardwear Power Stretch Gloves. They are not wind proof but they keep your hands warm and (more importantly) dry. The best part is you don’t sacrifice dexterity. I wear them any time I am in the cold.
I have a wool pair that I have not been able to find anywhere but the Columbia employee store. Love those to but I am not sure they shed water as well.
FYI, I pair of these will make cheap ass ski/snowboarding gloves into winners.
A while back I posted about Best Buy’s black Friday netbook. These little computers were going for $200. Which is a good deal for a netbook. Because I have spend buttloads of money at Best Buy, they let me get one of these things a week before Black Friday (although it required about 4 hours of phone calls and hold time).
As a minor historical tangent, when netbooks first arrived on the scene (think Asuse Eeepc) they were priced at $200, but they were so popular, the industry jacked up the price.
Small: The Compaq Mini Netbook goes anywhere. Its small size makes it perfect for any sort of travel or casual use.
Battery Life: I was prepared for crappy battery life but have been pleasantly surprised. It seems to be good for over 4 hours. Honestly I have not run out of battery yet.
Price: At $200 the Compaq Mini Netbook is impossible to beat. Unfortunately now that Best Buy’s special is over, its priced in the same range as the other netbooks. If you are shopping for a netbook keep in mind, the guts are all almost exactly the same.
Sluggish: The Compaq Mini Netbook has a 1 ghz processor and 2 gb of ram. Not exactly a screaming machine. It runs my virtual machines and other processor intensive tasks but slower than my desktops. Still the tradeoff of size makes sluggishness worthwhile.
Awkward to open: Some people might complain about the keyboard, I don’t mind it, what bugs me (and its a dumb thing) it how the netbook opens. It has more in common with a flip phone than a laptop. Really this is a size and weight thing. The hinges offer more resistance than the lower portion has mass, thus its a two hand, or wedging type job.
Web cam: Yes is has a webcam, I can skype! Ahhh… compared to my iMac the picture (and frame rate) blows.
Bloat-ware: Its probably took three hours of uninstalling to get the bloat-ware to an acceptable level. Come on HP (they own Compaq), your hurting your product.
One final note. Windows 7 its like taking XP and OSX and combining them in a bad way, which is still an improvement over XP. No angels will not descend from the heavens nor will symphonies be composed over Windows 7. OS X is still better. But I would rather use Win 7 over XP.
By this point its no secret that I am a fan of Surefire. So it should not surprise anyone that I have bought another. I found that my Surefire 6P was not really pocket sized and I needed something smaller. After doing a bunch of research I settled on the Surefire E1L.
The E1L is significantly shorter than the 6P. It is also narrower. You can carry it around in your pocket without giving up to much space. It has variable outputs. Low: 5 lumens and High at 45 lumens. On the low setting it has 45 hours of battery life! Surefire does make a similarly size flashlight that can match the 6P LED’s 80 lumen output, the Surefire E1B. And the E1B is actually the same suggested retail price.
I chose the E1L over the Over the E1B (B for Backup) strictly because I could buy the E1L at REI, thus taking of 20% (during REI’s fall sale).
The one complaint I have about the E1L is the clip. If the clip could be reversed it would be perfect for attaching to the inside of you pocket (think the clips on pocket knives). That would avoid the problem of feeling around in your pockets to find it, especially when you need it fast.
Overall I have been very happy with the E1L.
I have kinda been on a firearm and flashlight tangent for a while. Now its time to review a item that has been on my list for a long time. Mountain Hardwear’s Alchemy Jacket is probably the best jacket I have ever owned. Its perfect for all manor of active cold weather activities, let me tell you why:
» Read more: Mountain Hardwear Alchemy Jacket
I have now purchased three Surefire flashlights. First I purchased a Surefire 6P LED for myself, mostly to see what all the hype was about. Because my wife kept stealing my 6P, I bought her a Surefire G2 LED. Then last week for my buddies birthday I got him a Surefire G2 Nitrolon.
While I am to some extent spreading the Surefire love, there is also a method to my madness. Basically buying Surefire’s for my friends gives me a great excuse to play with them myself.
» Read more: Surefire Standard Lamp vs LED / Aluminum vs Nitrolon
I often tell people that endless hours of cardio is not the optimal, long term, way to loose fat. I usually suggest a very healthy amount of weight lifting (even for women). This is because weight lifting damages the muscles, prolonging the calorie burn as they are repaired. Additionally someone who is packing muscle will have a significantly higher resting metabolic rate. Here is the catch, as you pack on the muscle, you may find yourself getting heavier and not lighter. So how to you track your progress? Remember, you can’t improve what you can’t measure.
» Read more: Scales Lie, Use a Body Fat Monitor
This was totally a weekend impulse buy with shaky justification.
I have been looking at the pyrex lens on my SureFire 6P and really hoping that I don’t one day scratch it. Not that a scratch our reduce its performance in any meaningful way. Additionally, Its not the sort of thing that really comfortable in your pocket.
» Read more: SureFire V25 Holster
