Blog Update

[Don Rearic]

Updated the blog. "Blog" sure does seem like a most unpleasant word. Anyway, stuff up there on headlamps and other things.

More coming today and probably throughout the week.

http://www.survivallab.blogspot.com/

 

[R.A.T.]

I love the battery caddies. One of the best inventions of our time to be so simple.

 

[R.A.T.]

And after reading little further down, I like the Urban Shiv. To me, that's a real self defense tool. Simple and effective. ESEE may have to do something like that some day.

 

[Don Rearic]

You know, I always wanted to approach you about that but I figured you had so much on your plate you wouldn't be interested. Anything you make is suitable for SD purposes but I think two little knives like that Urban Shiv would be great from ESEE. One double-edged and one single-edged for the places where the double-edged would be considered a "dagger" or "dirk" and verboten for mere mortals to carry.

I also think that would be the perfect opportunity to make a ESEE spear head, double-duty, little SD/Utility knife and spearhead. In the same vein as the ESEE Arrowhead...

 

[R.A.T.]

Well, ESEE is not known (and will never be known) for fighting or self-defense blades even though our stuff can be used for about anything. Point is it doesn't fit into our line for the most part, but that little urban shiv (if done right) would fit nicely into what we do.

 

[Don Rearic]

I love the battery caddies. One of the best inventions of our time to be so simple.

Yeah, they have that whole P-38 can opener simplicity thing going on.

You and I have the same thoughts about lights in the woods. On nights when you don't have a lot of overhead cover and you have a lot of moonlight, there is nothing like allowing your eyes to adjust to the dark. If people would just be patient for 20-35 minutes, they would be amazed at how well they could see.

But a lot of people don't realize it or they are scared of the dark and don't want to admit it, that it freaks them out.

That having been said, you can't always have the natural light you want and, good LED flashlights are excellent signals, too.

If you have two of the battery caddies for AAAs and a stupid-simple Energizer Penlight (takes 2 AAAs) and a Petzl headlamp (takes 3 AAAs), you would have enough light for an extended stay in the wilds.

 

[R.A.T.]

Don, I'd me more in for a well designed non-metallic shiv / point. There are a bunch of them on the market but I always felt they could be done a little better and be more concealable than they are. I mean after all, we have titainium razor baldes and ceramic razor blades, why not a real stabbing tool in non-metallic?

 

[Don Rearic]

Well, ESEE is not known (and will never be known) for fighting or self-defense blades even though our stuff can be used for about anything.

ESEEs are a lot like a reverse Kabar. A Kabar, in my opinion, is a pretty good survival knife riding on the coattails of being a pretty good fighting knife.

ESEEs are pretty good fighting knives riding on the coattails of being a pretty good survival knife. Make sense? I need more coffee!

Point is it doesn't fit into our line for the most part, but that little urban shiv (if done right) would fit nicely into what we do.

What makes that particular CS Urban Shiv so rare is the fact that the blade is skeletonized as well. Lynn Thompson told me about five or six years ago that there were only about 15, 16 or 17 of that prototype made. All of them had the skeletonized handles but not all of them had a blade like that.

I think Terry Trahan of Boker has the other rare oddball CS Urban Shiv I had, it had a different bevel on the thumb-orienting hole. I gave him one years ago that was the other rare bird.

 

[R.A.T.]

No matter what anyone thinks of Lynn Thomspon, the guy has been pretty damn innovative with some of his stuff.

 

[Don Rearic]

Don, I'd me more in for a well designed non-metallic shiv / point. There are a bunch of them on the market but I always felt they could be done a little better and be more concealable than they are. I mean after all, we have titainium razor baldes and ceramic razor blades, why not a real stabbing tool in non-metallic?

There are a lot of them. Cold Steel has a metric shitload of them. But I think they could be done better, too.

Something in Titanium would sell like mad.

Call it "The Stick." Chick from Baltimore City that used to work with my Wife asked her for her "stick" once. My Wife said, "My what?" Chick said, "Your 'stick,' you know, your knife, something you stick people with."

Violent inner city chicks are so hot.

 

[Don Rearic]

No matter what anyone thinks of Lynn Thomspon, the guy has been pretty damn innovative with some of his stuff.

He brought back push daggers from the grave and he promoted them. If someone wants to give their Wife an edged weapon for self-defense, that's about the epitome of "get off of me." A push dagger makes Tae-Bo a really effective martial art.

I don't like the newer models but the classic Cold Steel Urban Skinner and Terminator Push Daggers were awesome pieces of gear for people so inclined. Anyone that had any boxing experience could really give an attacker a really rough time with one of them. Dirt-simple survival, just for another environment.

 

[_woo_]

Don, Thanks the "blog"! I haven't read it all by any means but I have taken a lot of good info from your site. i was just thinking the other day, I wished you would update it some. Thanks


BTW it is number 3 on my bookmark bar


EDIT: apparently I am not up to date. I have Don Rearic.com bookmarked. I haven't checked out the blogspot! cuz that means I have some reading to catch up on.

 

[DH1]

Good posts Don. I check in there every few days to see what you're up to.

Those battery caddies are excellent. I own two of the 4 AA holders that CountyComm has for sale. One is full of lithium batteries and rides in my pack with my tiny shortwave radio.

That old Tekna LED is very familiar...my uncle owns one and loves it. We were camping and I had my Fenix 2AA and he was impressed with it. He took out his old Tekna and told me he paid like $100 or some outrageous price for the time for it, but it was lightweight, compact and didn't need constant replacement of batteries, so it became his hiking/camping light. He still carries it in his pack and uses it.

 

[Gevonovich]

What a great read Don Keep up the excellent work

 

[Don Rearic]

Don, Thanks the "blog"! I haven't read it all by any means but I have taken a lot of good info from your site. i was just thinking the other day, I wished you would update it some. Thanks

Thank you.

I keep putting it off, the last time I updated it was August, 2009. Time to do it.

BTW it is number 3 on my bookmark bar

Thank you again.

EDIT: apparently I am not up to date. I have Don Rearic.com bookmarked. I haven't checked out the blogspot! cuz that means I have some reading to catch up on.

I had another one where I just bitched about things but if you bitch about things, pretty soon you fall into a cycle where you're just bitching about everything because there is so much to bitch about. It's best just to do what you enjoy doing, work and take care of your family and if you are going to write, write about things worth writing about.

Good posts Don. I check in there every few days to see what you're up to.

I'm trying to update the blog at least weekly. I need beaten with a stick.

Those battery caddies are excellent. I own two of the 4 AA holders that CountyComm has for sale. One is full of lithium batteries and rides in my pack with my tiny shortwave radio.

Is your diminutive short wave radio also a CountyComm purchase?

That old Tekna LED is very familiar...my uncle owns one and loves it. We were camping and I had my Fenix 2AA and he was impressed with it. He took out his old Tekna and told me he paid like $100 or some outrageous price for the time for it, but it was lightweight, compact and didn't need constant replacement of batteries, so it became his hiking/camping light. He still carries it in his pack and uses it.

Tekna stuff was pretty cool! I can't remember the original owners name but he was a lot like Jeff and Mike, in that, he actually went out and did stuff and then designed stuff around his experiences. He was a big-time SCUBA Diver and most of Tekna's gear was SCUBA-related.

There was another light with the forearm/calf strap slots on it like this one but it was a rescue strobe. I've been looking for one of them for years. The Tekna Wilderness Edge Survival Knife was a cool knife but sort of gimmicky, to say the least. In the grip of that knife was a flashlight and that flashlight took a single CR123A battery. That is the only flashlight I know of, Pre - Laser Products / Sure-Fire that utilized one. The Tekna Dive Knife was an indestructible piece of stainless steel that was ground so it was virtually impossible to get it truly sharp. Tekna Wrist Compass was rock solid gear back in the 80s, too.

 

[Don Rearic]

What a great read Don Keep up the excellent work

Thanks!

If you are so inclined, when you reach the bottom of the page, there is a link to older posts. This blog, in the grand scheme of things, is not really that old. My website it about 11 years old now, if I remember correctly. The blog is still a puppy. If I ever get off of my ass and update the website, I might take what I want off of the blog and put it into article form and morph it into the website. I have not decided yet.

 

[DH1]

Is your diminutive short wave radio also a CountyComm purchase? .

Yup, for the price and size they can't be beat. I've got the plastic case, the external roll up antenna and an earpeice. I was looking at the CCrane pocket shortwave, but this little Countycomm radio is fine for my purposes.

Tekna stuff was pretty cool!

A few years ago in my bosses office he had a corkboard with business cards, pics, misc scribbled junk...and a retractable 1" blade or so dagger stuck in the board that said Tekna on it I don't remember if it was retractable or if it was just a dagger, but I remember yanking it out one day and saying "this is cool!".

 

[mckrob]

re the battery caddy's, was there much difference in the quality? any idea how these compare to the County Comm battery caddy?

 

[JUST1MOR]

Don, thanks for the blog. Just started reading it a few days ago, some good articles. Have to agree with the battery caddies as well, I ordered a bunch from John & Denise @ Be Prepared To Survive a few months back for our Jeep, truck, both bags, camping, etc. I used to use electrical tape to tape 4 to 6 of them together to keep them from rolling around & noise, thinking one step further out of the box & I could be the one on that beach down south sipping some colored drink 24/7 . . .
Wife and I are getting some "head lamps" for this summer, the Tikka Plus2 has been suggested by more than one or two people. Thanks again for sharing your information with us.
Be safe.

 

[iacchus]

Interesting stuff, Don.
Thanks for the link to your blog. I hadn't seen it, only having the link to your older site.
I like it.
The blog is nice because I can stick it in my newsreader and receive posts with the rest of my news.