Flashlights!

[Beirut]

Illumination is the measure of a man.

I've got a thing for flashlights. It's genetic. Give me candle powers and lumens. The brighter the better.

I've got the standard 4-cell Maglite, three or four 2xAA Mini-Mags, a 1xAAA mini-Mini Maglite, which is suprisingly bright and fits perfectly into a small, sleek black pouch that also holds a 2" Gerber folding knife. Good for formal occasions.

Also have a 1,000,000 candlepower Coleman rechargeable. The bloody thing practically has recoil when you hit the trigger. Super powerful. It last 20-30 minutes on a charge. It only costs $20!

Just got this last night. Not a flashlight but just as good. The Coleman Northstar propane lantern. It's as bright as the sun on full, but still very nice at its lowest setting and will last for about 12 hours on a 1lb tank of propane. Very handy storage case too.



Been looking at this one too. Surefire A2 Aviator. It's an LED flashlight made for pilots to light up their 747s at night for visual inspection. Also has a low power mode for reading in the cockpit. $185. These guys make serious flashlights. (Check out their special forces flashlights. Holy smacking! Surefire.com)

[English assassin]

Holy lightsabres, Batman.

You are going to have to stop recommending these things Beruit. Last time you linked to the Cold Steel website I ended up buying one of their locking knives for camping and sailing. And very pleased indeed I am with it. Now I just KNOW I'm going to end up buying a surefire of some sort...

No mention of a headtorch I notice. I use mine more than any other torch.

[Beirut]

You are going to have to stop recommending these things Beruit. Last time you linked to the Cold Steel website I ended up buying one of their locking knives for camping and sailing.

Which one?

[English assassin]

Something called "ultimate hunter". The name is a bit macho for my taste but it promised to be a folding knife that locked out as strongly as a fixed knife, and it is. (I didn't put that very well but you know what I mean). very robust. Takes an excellent edge too. Very pleased with it. Only been using it six months or so but so far its looking very good.

Previously used an Opinel, which are also nice knives, though obviously a lot lighter. That's been demoted to a gardening knife now.

[Papewaio]

I carry a led torch in my backpack... sturdy little thing and bright without the bright spot in the middle fading off and then a bright outer ring... the led makes it far more level across the lit zone.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Argh, my mini-maglite seems so puny in comparison to those surefire torchs...I think I may have to order the 6P, it just looks so damn sexy. Very reasonable price too.

EA, did you have any problem getting your knife past customs? I really wanted one of those locking folders from the coldsteel site, but I thought they were illegal in this country and that it would be seized.

[Reverend Joe]

A flashlight thread. Someone posted a flashlight thread.


Edit: IT WAS A MOD!

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I just have a three LED headlight with the strap broken off, t works for looking in computers......

[Beirut]

A flashlight thread. Someone posted a flashlight thread.


Edit: IT WAS A MOD!

Youuuuuuuuuu.......... haveaproblemwithmythread?

[Beirut]

Hey BKS,

I'm looking at this one. It would be perfect for work, but I'd have to mail order it from the US.

http://www.coldsteel.com/29rls.html

But this one is pretty damn nice and a store in Montreal stocks them. This is the Sherman tank of folding knives. Very nice. Not bad price either, about $80 Cdn. It would make a perfect match with the Surefire flashlight I showed up above.

http://www.coldsteel.com/recon1.html

[Copperhaired Berserker!]

Man, you guys are running out of ideas of threads, this is just one of the signs!

[English assassin]

EA, did you have any problem getting your knife past customs? I really wanted one of those locking folders from the coldsteel site, but I thought they were illegal in this country and that it would be seized.

No problem at all, they are perfectly legal to own, but you mustn't carry it in a public place without "good reason." In my case so long as I am camping/sailing or clearly on my way to or from I am confident it is lawful.

Push knives of any sort and those weird plastic knives they advertise are illegal but there is no legit reason to have those that I can see.

The only annoying thing that happened was, after feeling rather pleased that I didn't have to pay sales tax in the states, Customs clobbered me for VAT on importation. So you'll have to add 17.5% to the price you pay the firm. Still, when I got mine the dollar was in the toilet so it still came to what I thought was pretty good value for a very good piece of kit.

Man, you guys are running out of ideas of threads, this is just one of the signs!

If you aren't careful I'll start a portable stove thread (personally I think you can't beat a trangia, though I have got some alluringly dangerous ex army ones that run on pressurised petrol, or, rather more safely, parafin)

[Beirut]

Man, you guys are running out of ideas of threads, this is just one of the signs!

Oh yes, and some of your gems of intellectual insight are far more stimulating.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=54980
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=54998

English Assasin,

"If you aren't careful I'll start a portable stove thread (personally I think you can't beat a trangia, though I have got some alluringly dangerous ex army ones that run on pressurised petrol, or, rather more safely, parafin)"

I use a simple stove top attachment that screw directly onto a 1lb tank of propane, the same as my new lantern uses. That simplifies fuel logistics. Very handy, very easy.

[LeftEyeNine]

Yes, I agree with topic ideas being stuck up.. I'd better leave..

[English assassin]

I use a simple stove top attachment that screw directly onto a 1lb tank of propane, the same as my new lantern uses. That simplifies fuel logistics. Very handy, very easy.

Good reasoning, but I've never really got on with propane. The thing with meths is you can see how much you've got left, also the burner can never go wrong. AFAIK you get more or less the same calories per pound which is the main thing I care about if I'm carrying it.

Anyway my Trangia has seen me through many adventures and I reckon will probably outlive me so for better or worse I'm stuck with it now.

[Copperhaired Berserker!]

Oh yes, and some of your gems of intellectual insight are far more stimulating.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=54980
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=54998

Damn it! Been showed by the mods!

[Productivity]

On the subject of knives...





...you know you want one. I know I want one, but oh the price

[Beirut]

That's some kind'a funky Damascus blade!


What does that run, $100-$200 per blade inch?

[The Stranger]

i love flashligfhts...they always enlighten me

[Beirut]

It took 19 posts for you to come up with that?

[The Stranger]

i never posted 19 posts...and i didnt noticed this thread before...if you werent Beirut my idol i'd .....let say nothing

[The Stranger]

and you dare calling me a spammer

[Beirut]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to show off my new purchase. (Since we ended up talking about knives.)

Cold Steel Recon 1



I got the one at the bottom. What a knife. 4" blade. Built like a SwordsMaster, sharp as BKS's wit, and as cool as Tosa during a flame war. A real handful, but still thin. No sheath comes with it though, that's a bummer. Not a bad price, $80, worth it. I've owned plenty of good knives and a few cheap ones, this is clearly the best folder I've ever had.

Can't wait to show it off at work Monday. The boys are going to be green with envy.

[Reverend Joe]

MOD ABUSE!!!

...You know I'm kidding... right?

[Togakure]

I have two of these ($90 US, each), which I use for miscellaneous activities, and



have a 13MBIX (2nd from right, $360 US) just cuz I love it. It might come in handy if I ever decide to commit seppuku too.

The recon tanto is a wonderful field knife. These pictures don't do the blades justice.

Finally, I have these:



The katana was a special order from Bugei (placed by someone else, who defaulted so they made them available for a very good price that I couldn't pass up). It is forged and folded and made for cutting. A friend later gave me a matching wakizashi, but it is not really a cutting blade (forged, not folded). The katana is megasharp; the wakizashi is not. I've done tameshigiri (rolled and soaked tatami mat cutting) with the katana and it cuts very nicely.

I love blades too!

Oh, um ... I use maglights too. I have a couple of mini-mags for utility and one big 4 cell Mag for the residence. They're all I need.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
I shall not reply to this thread!
.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

My biggest saber, gotta get pics of my dagger and knife up.

[Beirut]

TogakureOjonin,

Nice collection! I'm a wee bit jealous. I had a Recon Tanto years ago that I bought at a gun show. Apparently, I lost it.

I had a Gerber BMF which I used for years but I snapped the stupid thing clean in half splitting firewood with it.

Speaking of Gerbers... Got one of these as well yesterday.



It's my second one. I lost my first one on a job about two months ago. It's about 18" long and very handy. When I'm firing branches and small tree sections (less than 6") into the chipper and there's one with branches sticking out that's blocking the piece from going through, I just lob it off with the axe on my belt. Saves walking around and finding my saw just to cut off a 1" thick branch. I tape the bottom of the axe handle with multicoloured tape, makes it easier to find on the ground. {Didn't seem to work last time though.) The steel isn't the best, but it's only a $50 axe. The hollow plastic handle is tough as nails though. I wouldn't buy the larger models though, better to stay with a standard wood handled axe with better steel.

Flashlights? Bought several AAA Mini-Mags at the same store. They were practically giving them away. $6 each! Got a few for the kids as well.

[The Stranger]

off topic

[Togakure]

TogakureOjonin,

Nice collection! ...

Speaking of Gerbers... Got one of these as well yesterday.



...

Thanks . I love the look of the hatchet. Sleek and modern, without looking to "artsy." Sounds like it's quite functional too, and would make a great tool for backpacking. Is it very heavy?

The friend that I used to backpack with the most is an avid practioner of knife and axe throwing. When we'd go up into the mountains, he'd always bring throwing knives, and he had an old, wooden-handled hatchet (that was unusually well-balanced). We would entertain ourselves by having contests seeing who could stick the most, or stick consecutively, etc. (he almost always won). I really enjoyed tossing the hatchet; the big thunk it made when you stuck it and the subsequent strength needed to extract it (from dead trees, not living ones), tended to give me that proud, manly feeling (lol). As this hatchet is not too expensive, it might be fun to get one for utility and one for tossing practice. Thanks for sharing info about it.