Woods Monkey

Well, those crafty guys at Blind Horse Knives did it once again.  After getting me hooked on their Patch Knife, they were able to coax me into the Bushcrafter crowd.  And, after seeing the quality of the Patch Knife and after using it, I figured their Bushcrafter would be no different.  I was right.  Fortunately, I was able to get in under the wire on their first production run and have now had the Bushcrafter for several weeks.  Because of other work and other items and projects in queue before the Bushcrafter, I haven't been able to sit down until just now to do the review.  But, in my opinion, I think it worked out better for me that way.  Instead of doing a quick hit write-up on something that I got two days ago, I've had a good amount of time to work with the Bushcrafter and I've been able to use it for a lot of various tasks.  I think that additional time has given me the ability to provide a very objective opinion about the knife born out of true use over a longer period.  It's hard to provide a truly objective opinion of a product in a couple of days time, but when you've had a chance to use it day in and day out, well, that's when there's truly more depth to your insight.

"Our lives are made up of moments and minutes and seconds and days, and being present for those moments really is what brings value to our lives and happiness to our lives...." 

Those were some of the thoughts from Arno Ilgner as we did our audio interview with him just a few days ago.  That interview was a slice of moments and minutes for me and I think they were well worth experiencing, and I think you will too once you listen to the interview.  Arno is an author, instructor, and a rock climber with more than thirty-five years of experience.  His book, "The Rock Warrior's Way: Mental Training For Climbers" covers his basic philosophy that he's developed through his experiences and it provides a foundation for how to approach challenges and deal with fear not only on a rock face, but also in every day living.  I had a great time talking to Arno and learned quite a bit from him about a sport that I have little knowledge of, and I also learned a few good tips about life as well.

Next Page For The Netcast! 

Different strokes for different folks. We've all heard that expression, right? Well, that adage applies to just about any kind of piece of gear you can imagine, and that includes outdoors knives. Everyone has their own preferences for the the gear they carry and use, and those preferences can span the entire spectrum. When it comes to knives, there's a lot of real estate between each end of that spectrum. We recently did an audio interview with Mike Fuller who is the owner of TOPS Knives. He was gracious enough to take the time to speak with us and give us some behind the scenes information relating to the company's beginnings and some of the directions they may take in the future. Since TOPS Knives is one of the leading manufacturers of hard-use production knives, we thought we would follow up with an article that presents examples of the types of knives they manufacture to provide a little additional information for the readers. This article primarily concerns two specific models in their outdoor line of knives. The models are the Hoffman Harpoon and the Tom Brown Tracker. The first thing to keep in mind is that this article is meant to show the contrasts in the knives that people like to use, and the differences in knife types that TOPS Knives offers.  It is not meant as a head-to-head comparison between the two knives. They are different models and are intended for different tasks.

Yes, I did it just for you.  I went out and braved the elements this weekend just to provide you with some helpful information for the next time you're out in the woods.  It was a harsh 65 degree day today with a strong breeze whipping the autumn leaves about the landscape, but I didn't let it keep me from doing my job.  I pressed onward and I hope you appreciate the sacrifice that I made.  Recently, I received a couple of items from Marc Kochan of EDC Depot, and he wanted me to give them a try and report my findings back to the Woods Monkey crowd.  I was more than happy to oblige, and I started off with the Pocket Chainsaw that they have on their site along with a bunch of other great gear.  For those of you that spend a lot of time in the woods and like to have the right gear on hand for things like cutting and chopping wood, this item is right up your alley.  It's a high quality cutting tool that you can use for just clearing limbs from your favorite stand or it can just be part of your emergency kit for those times when you need to improve while out in the great outdoors!  But, before we get to the Pocket Chainsaw, I'd like to bring up a little information about Marc and about EDC Depot.

My Kifaru Zulu pack was ordered in the middle of the summer and it arrived approximately 6 weeks later as predisclosed on the Kifaru website.  This minor wait, in my opinion, was worth the satisfaction of having a well-constructed pack custom made to my provided measurements. Also, Kifaru prides itself in 100% American construction, something I’m willing to pay a slightly higher price to support in economically difficult times.  Here are some of the pack features:

In my never-ending search for the perfect PSK container, I think I’ve hit upon a winner. Since I use a hydration Daypack, I thought carrying a container that can be used to boil water in was good idea. Until now I usually carried a metal cup for this purpose, but I have left it behind on more than one occasion. I thought incorporating the cup into a sturdy, easy to stow PSK case would be a real bonus. All I had to do was find the right materials to work with.  It took a little scouting around to find something that would work for my project, but I soon came across something that I thought would do the job quite nicely.  It's something that you run across every day in the outdoors world, but it takes a spark of inspiration for its functionality to register with you.  With a little time and some thought, it's very easy to put together one of these kits to meet your own needs, and you can make other versions that meet the needs of family members or friends as well!