Thursday, October 13, 2016

Just Arrived: New EDC goodies from CountyComm

All photos ©2016 Rocky Mountain Bushcraft

Hey friends, I thought I'd share some cool new EDC gadgets that CountyComm sent me to try out. CountyComm is a government contractor that designs, manufactures and sells survival/EDC gadgets to our military as well as federal, state and local government agencies. They sell some of their excess inventory to the public through their website.

Here are some of the goodies I received....




Maratac Titanium Peanut XL Lighter & Maratac "Split Pea" Titanium Lighter:



CountyComm gadgets with a Victorinox Farmer knife:

For more information, visit https://countycomm.com

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Gear Review: Kenai Chest Holster

©2016, Rocky Mountain Bushcraft

As a gear reviewer and outdoors writer, I often spend time alone in remote areas of the Rockies. There is usually no phone reception, and even with a satellite phone, help is several hours away if I'm lucky. Survival really comes down to what I have on my person should an emergency happen.

Since there is little room for error, I always carry a variety of survival gear just in case. One thing I'm never without is a 10mm pistol. It functions both as a self defense tool and as an emergency signaling device.

I carried bear spray exclusively for a number of years, but after several high profile failures of bear spray, such as this one, and finding out that the famed "Bear Spray vs Bullets" study was based on flawed and biased data, I've reverted back to carrying a powerful pistol loaded with special bear protection ammunition.

When looking around for a holster for my pistol, I wanted one that I could use with a backpack that was both comfortable and lightweight.

The vast majority of quality chest holsters on the market, such as those made by Diamond D and Galco, are extremely well made but are crafted from leather. Leather is very comfortable, but it is heavier than synthetics and takes longer to dry out if it gets wet. Since I have to constantly hike up steep trails carrying lots of test gear, I look for every possible way to reduce pack weight.

After a bit of searching, I found an up-and-coming veteran-owned holster company out of Washington called Gunfighters Inc. Gunfighters makes a high quality synthetic chest holster designed for hikers, hunters and fisherman called the "Kenai Chest Holster," pictured in the main photo. The Kenai Chester Holster is available for a wide range of popular handguns.

Photo courtesy of Gunfighters Inc.

I have been using a Kenai Chest Holster since last summer, and it is absolutely fantastic. It is comfortable, durable, and very light weight. It holds my pistol securely during mountain adventures, and makes it very easy to draw out quickly. There are 3 adjustment points so you can adjust it for a wide range of body sizes as well as for different types of clothing  (i.e. summer shirt vs winter coat, etc). The nylon webbing straps are hand sewn and coated with a waterproof agent.

The Kenai Holster has become one of my favorite pieces of gear and I never head into the mountains without it. At $150.00, the Kenai is not exactly cheap, but it is a hand-crafted, well designed product that's 100% made in the USA. Highly Recommended.

For more information or to purchase the Kenai Chest Holsterhttps://gunfightersinc.com/kenai-chest-holster/


About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft and the author of Edible & Medicinal Survival Plants of the Rocky Mountains Pocket Guides. Jason has written for the The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

SOG Force Survival Knife with Custom Convexed Edge/Mini Review


Back in 2013, SOG Specialty Knives & Tools sent me their "Force" Survival Knife and asked me to review it. Owing to the barrage of wildfires in my area of Colorado at that time and the ensuing chaos that followed, many of my reviews from that period got shelved, including the review of the SOG Force. The Force knife ended up gathering dust in storage for over a year before I was finally able to dig it out and spend some time in the bush testing it. So how did it do? Read on below to find out more.....

The Force Knife

I love the Force's simple but useful blade shape, excellent splitting ability, roomy handle and nearly indestructible construction. However, its edge profile is a different story. It is profiled more for strength in a survival situation than for pure wood carving ability, which left it a bit wanting while performing bushcraft tasks.


Don't get me wrong, the Force's factory edge, in actuality, cuts things just fine, but I wanted to see if I could improve on it for bushcraft purposes while still having a strong edge. Enter the Work Sharp......


I decided to break out my Work Sharp Ken Onion Knife Sharpener to see if I could improve on the edge by reprofiling it into a convex.


The result? A total transformation. The Work Sharp did a fantastic job reprofiling the edge, and all of a sudden, the knife was carving wood like a champ.

 

After re-profiling the edge, I took the SOG Force with me on several more field trips. The combination of its sturdy, 1/4" wide blade and new convex cutting edge made the knife great for a variety of woods tasks such as prying the bark off of dead trees for making tinder, baton splitting logs, creating feathersticks, and chopping small poles to make shelters.

Cheers,

Jason
For more information visit: 
www.sogknives.com/catalog/product/view/_ignore_category/1/id/18/s/force/


About the author
Jason Schwartz is the founder of Rocky Mountain Bushcraft and the author of Edible & Medicinal Survival Plants of the Rocky Mountains Pocket Guides. Jason has also written for the The New Pioneer and Backpacker, including writing the "Tinder Finder" portion of Backpacker's "Complete Guide to Fire," which won a 2015 National Magazine Award (NMA). Email him at rockymountainbushcraft @ hotmail.com (without spaces)

Sunday, October 2, 2016