2 month bk9 adventure. Ahhh. Beautiful New zealand and Indonesia VERY PIC HEAVY!!!!

[Guyon]

You have Becker review material and more than one pic of the 9. You're fine.

 

[jdk1]

I'll see what pics he has and info he wants to share on the tracker. He hated that he spent 4x as much as me on a blade and never found the niche, I can say that much! Hahaha

He's in Costa Rica right now, but ill shoot him an email.

I've been trying to get him on this forum for a while now but eh, you know....surfers...

I've got as Tracker and it's really handy, but I'm not surprised the 9 was favored. I don't have one, but had an ESEE Junglas and figure they're are similar. That Junglas was as versatile as they come. I'm a big fan of a long, handy (and not too thick) blade capable of slashing and chopping. the 9 seems to fit that bill well. The tracker may be more at home in a hardwood forest. It's certainly no trail blazer. As a khukuri fan, I'd love to know how the 4 would've performed, so please let us know what you're brother thinks after his jungle fun. The BRK khuk, if it was available (ahem) would be great for you guys. Thanks again for the thread. I'm envious

 

[Aikiguy]

What an epic journey. Great trip report, and sounds like your knife held up very well in the humidity. Thanks for taking us along with you.

 

[beckerbrain]

Here's our awesome bus ride to coramandel from Auckland, we were the only 2 going there (tourism isn't that popular in the winter I guess) and since we were alone the driver let us drink beer.

Right after we got on the trail, looking for a spot to (semi-legally) camp off of the trail.

Further off trail we got, the more weird stuff we saw. Like these liquid sheep ha
No idea what happened since NZ doesn't really have predators...

Putting the bk9s pants back on for a short rest:

Hey, gotta mark your territory:

Speaking of which, the bathrooms in Indonesia were....unusual? I guess the bucket of water is your "toilet paper?"

Another great view from our treehouse... That poor water buffalo met his end pretty shortly after that. Notice the indo cleaver style blade

A better pic of my bro having coffee during the stampede

More locals. Man these kids were great

It was a culture shock to walk out of the airport and have stray puppies follow you around. Poor little guys.

Another thing I forgot to mention on the 9, I was really surprised to get home and find that the hex bolts were still very tight (no loctite or anything) and even after all the relentless use, with only having a field sharpener handy, it still only took about 3-5 mins to put a razor edge back on her when I got home. I kind of invented a way to carry my 710 sheath on my packs waistband, by using one of those bungee ball tarp ties, fed through the rivets. Worked amazingly, out of the way, quick to put on/take off, and well, we all know how much it sucks to have a normal belt sheath with a pack on, so it was just awesome. Without the pack, I went scout about 1/2 the time and dangled the other 1/2, the 9 was still new to me so I was trying to figure out the best way to wear it. Both were very comfortable, but I'd recommend strapping the 9 to your leg if you go dangler. I'll post the super tiny chip in the blade after I get home and on my PC.

Oh yeah, the women in both countries were absolutely gorgeous.
Everybody, but your tickets.

 

[DerekH]

Looks like an awesome adventure! Fantastic thread!

:thumbup:

 

[beckerbrain]

I've got as Tracker and it's really handy, but I'm not surprised the 9 was favored. I don't have one, but had an ESEE Junglas and figure they're are similar. That Junglas was as versatile as they come. I'm a big fan of a long, handy (and not too thick) blade capable of slashing and chopping. the 9 seems to fit that bill well. The tracker may be more at home in a hardwood forest. It's certainly no trail blazer. As a khukuri fan, I'd love to know how the 4 would've performed, so please let us know what you're brother thinks after his jungle fun. The BRK khuk, if it was available (ahem) would be great for you guys. Thanks again for the thread. I'm envious

I completely agree, I think the tracker would be right at home up north in the U.S. Or Canada. Seems very well thought out. There was a noticeable difference in weight after 1/2 an hour of slashing brush/bamboo/vines etc. if I go again id pick the 9 every time, or a machete and a tweener. GOD I'd love an rbk (+1 on the ahem). I get an email about once every 2 weeks from my bro in Costa Rica, I'll tell him to take a lot of bk4 pics and evaluate it. He spent the weekend here in FL at my place right before he left and we got to play with it. Awesome tool, I'll def be getting one.

 

[jdk1]

Thanks again for the feedback. So, all that time in Middle Earth and no Hobbits? I bet Orcs did those sheep in

 

[beckerbrain]

Thanks again for the feedback. So, all that time in Middle Earth and no Hobbits? I bet Orcs did those sheep in

Hahahaha my bro actually said something like "dammit gandolf"

OH YEAH!!! One of the most HILARIOUS things is the guy from man vs wild did our safety presentation on the flight. It was just a video and I can't really stand that guy but it was still soooooo funny:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xJheoLUtX_Q

 

[tradewater]

Wow. Really enjoyed the post. Amazing and thanks for posting. :thumbup:

 

[Silverthorn]

Thanks a ton for this post. For guys like me who chop stuff on the patio, or go on half day hikes, seeing a proper excursion is freakin awesome. !

 

[Captain Airyca]

Awesome!! Thank you for sharing your adventures!

 

[tobiism]

Excellent post! Thanks!

 

[Zuluninja]

thanks for the virtual trip, dude, that looks awesome. Something that anyone here should try sometime!

 

[beckerbrain]

Thanks a ton for this post. For guys like me who chop stuff on the patio, or go on half day hikes, seeing a proper excursion is freakin awesome. !

Thanks man, I hear ya. I'm no explorer or bad ass bush dude or anything. This was by far my longest excursion and I learned A LOT. One little trip tho and you get hooked. There was a 5 day period when my bro went to Prya Indonesia, so I was all alone for 4-1/2 days and it was really tough. I'd always recommend a buddy. Sleeping in a hammock 5 miles from any road in a foreign place is pretty hairy. Especially when it's nothing but villages around and no cities or ambulance/hospitals etc. the day time was still amazing and I had a decent lookout, so I could see the beach off in the distance and still see the tourists during the light hours, but honestly, I dreaded every night. I'm a young, but very seasoned US camper, but it's hard to not think about what crazy critters or para-military locals that might be in a place like Indonesia. We saw guys in full camo with assault rifles all over the place, and we were technically breaking the law by illegally camping to boot. Plus the guys are ruthless, our customs ticket literally said "death penalty for drugs" and even tho neither of us use drugs, it's a reminder that you're in a different place with no constitution. I've never believed in or ever seen "paranormal" type crap either, but a lot of locals advised us to stay away from the spot we ended up picking for 9-10 days because of all the genocide victims in the area.

Regardless tho, not a single incident happened, I saw a weird looking centipede looking thing, and massive rats or some kind of rodent but I made it out ok. Hahahahaha I'm sure there was nothing to worry about but that stuff went through my head while all alone at night (I kept my bk9 at my side in my hammock pouch just for peace of mind, I dunno what the hell I thought I was gonna do with it, but it made me a little more comfortable)

But all that being said, having a buddy or a fellow camper was just awesome. You really hear all the creepy crawlies at night when you've got nobody to talk to. And I live in and camp in Florida so I'm no stranger to that stuff, but there's def. something kinda scary about being totally alone in an isolated place.

SO worth it tho. I'd do it year round if I could.

Just trying to say, I know I got off topic from what you said, and you and most dudes would likely be better suited than me at roughing it solo, but I'm a back yard porch chopper too. I strongly encourage all of you to just go and do it tho. Nothing quite like it. This was my first time overseas and it really couldn't have been better. Indescribable.

PLUS there must be a weird law or something in indo where only the hottest babes can be cops. Oh my God, I swear every female in uniform was just insanely gorgeous. Here's a pic I dug up off google, but search for "pretty Indonesian female police" if you don't believe me.

Anyways, I'm back to being a backyard camper now and prob about 8 months away from my next trip, but I tell ya, I'll be doing this for a looooooong time now. Trust me, once you start, you won't ever stop.

Here's another pic of an Indonesian paramilitary/army/cop I found on Google. A lot of them in Denpasar had masks and covered faces like this guy.

Imagine a dude dressed like that kicking you out of your hammock at 3AM

 

[granitestateofmind]

Thanks a ton for this post. For guys like me who chop stuff on the patio, or go on half day hikes, seeing a proper excursion is freakin awesome. !

This^^^. Awesome, and wistful for my youth....and probably a bit of envy, too.
Great post, bb. Seriously wish I'd done something like this before I had kids....now it'll have to wait until retirement.

 

[beckerbrain]

This^^^. Awesome, and wistful for my youth....and probably a bit of envy, too.
Great post, bb. Seriously wish I'd done something like this before I had kids....now it'll have to wait until retirement.

It's never ever too late. Indonesia is like the last greatest place on earth. Don't eat the "bakso" no matter what though buddy. Seriously, no bakso.

It's been almost a year now, and I'm itching so bad to go again!!!

Great times await!!!! You'll never meet more friendly people than the Indonesians. I promise you that...

 

[TheMadIndian]

fantastic thread thanks for sharing the adventure

 

[Gassy]

That is Brilliant BB! Honestly how dont know how i missed this thread? That is a very impressive adventure and feedback on the 9 - Just Awesome. Got to admit i think id rather deal with the liquid sheep rather than than god awful toilet. Think id rather pop a squat out in the bush.

Thanks so much for sharing really happy to see how the blades perform in real life long term situations such as yours. Awesome!

 

[beckerbrain]

That is Brilliant BB! Honestly how dont know how i missed this thread? That is a very impressive adventure and feedback on the 9 - Just Awesome. Got to admit i think id rather deal with the liquid sheep rather than than god awful toilet. Think id rather pop a squat out in the bush.

Thanks so much for sharing really happy to see how the blades perform in real life long term situations such as yours. Awesome!

Thanks dude. Yeah the toilet situation was...well, hard to deal with...

Some of them out rural were literally holes in the ground and nothing else, like the drain in locker room showers but uhhhh no grate on the drain and no TP.

I think I owe indo an apology for treating their bush like a cat litter box.

If I can give one piece of advice to anyone planning a loooong trip anywhere, don't forget lots of tp and soap. So easy to forget/overlook, but I swear you'll see why.

You don't want to end up drawing straws for the last roll, trust me....

 

[Silverthorn]

Wet wipes take up less space and get you cleaner, and can be used for general hygene as well. Wet wipes are your adventuring friend.