Extremes...

T

thefotog

Joined
Mar 15, 2013
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I recently received my Millie cruwear and it's been preforming camp chores very well. It's taken the place of my SRK and PM2. Quite an impressive task. However temps are dropping and I'm afraid that such a hard steel and an extreme drop in temperature might make it more brittle.
Most of my trips are ultralight, so carying several blades a saw an axe are not an option. That's why I jumped on the cruwear Millie. Most of the time I would cary an SRK for camp chores and a PM2 for everything else. That's a lot of ounces but the both perform well below freezing.
This raises my question... I've read many a thread about metallurgy, edge retention, even RC rating, but nothing about temperature and steel configs. Should I continue to beat it or go back to my glutenous setup?

P.S. Ya I've been lurking a long time here without posting but I've been learning quite a bit. I really appreciate all the knowledge and contributions here. yall have a great community and I hope to be a part.
 
That's a difficult one. Not too much hard information about actual use in deep cold environments around here. Not comparing steel to steel anyway. CPM Cruwear is pretty new in any event. The ingot version has been around for a while but the powder steel variant not so much. Maybe some of the metallurgists can chime in. Some of the Canadian arctic oil workers and some guides and mountain climbers have some experience with real cold but that's not many. Not extended time periods anyways.

I've heard steels with nickel such as L6 do better than others in cold but I'm not sure how much is true. I grew up up north in Michigan but even my cold use there and in the army ( mountain) was limited to axes and mauls, and light cutting to open plastic, cut flesh, skin, etc. Not really hard enough to tell me anything. The axes and mauls liked the cold better when it came to splitting wood. Whatever strength they lost was made up for by geometry and mass.

Even though I don't see much deep cold down here it's still of interest.

Joe
 
That is exactly then problem with ultralight camping - it's in direct opposition to having the right tool when you need it, and winter camping isn't light. It simply can't be.

Extra insulation is the first issue - you have to wear more insulation, and the sleeping bag has to have it, too. Then any shelter taken will also need features that add weight to it, too. I recently was looking at a four season tent - just something with less venting than a high summer version, and that means high wind capability and double wall, or at least a rain canopy that reaches down to the stakes or more. They are at least 3X the price and double the weight.

Then we get into how to keep warm, and in cold climates outdoors, it takes fuel, and lots of it. The most plentiful is wood. If the trip is extended, wood needs to be cut. The most ultralight tool in that regard is a tomahawk, and unless someone is well trained with extensive experience, it's not good enough. The requirements for bush pilot gear in the North is a full size axe, nothing less.

So, what's being asked means the question is being proposed in a situation where there are two opposing parameters attempting to be reconciled.

Take the SRK and the axe. Better to have the tools and not need them than have the need and not the tools. Winter conditions are truly life threatening - people get stuck in the road during storms die every year in their cars. The recent storm in the Dakotas is another example, two inches of rain followed by feet of snow. Hundreds of thousands of cattle have died from exposure.

Having suffered out of doors for brief periods a just a few weeks in the Army, in tents meant to hazard the conditions, or in training where there was no shelter at all, plus my own experience camping with others, I would take an axe and forego other items of lesser importance. Humans can only bear so much weight, and in the winter, they need more in gear to survive. It does hamper their ability to move overland, that is the price and needs to be accepted. It's normal - winter is no place to brave conditions based on the acceptance of risk. It's a matter of improving the odds, not making them worse.
 
TIROD I so agree and disagree... I'm planning a 5 day attempt on the JMT. That's 215 miles in 5 days with 40k of loss and gain. My pack including food and shelter will be sub 30lbs. The only reason I'll bring any shelter is if I'm forced to stop at night with bad weather. Otherwise I'll go 15+ hour days only stopping to refuel.
Here at home I go out tool heavy for sure. Comfort is worth the time it takes to pack the extra ounces. On the JMT grams count. Here in the hills a good bottle of wine and ENO leds are of utmost importance. Along with my Jet Boil, Big Agnes insulated pad, and other goodies. I also take my ACD with me. She eats as many calories as I do a day and drink as much water.
Back to my ultra light kit, I can't afford to haul fuel or any tools to produce it. So I need to reliably use my fine task blade to perform some more substantial chores. Right now I'm leaning toward my CQC-15 but that new millie did a great job too, for that matter so do my PM2s...
I have tools to perform "the job" I just would like to know that the tool I'm bringing isn't surpassed another in my arsenal....
 
I like all of your knives, but I'd be just as happy with my Kershaw 2.2 JunkYardDog. Great knife; heavy-duty without being heavy (5.8 oz), D2 edge.
And cheap...cheaper if you get a blem from the KershawMan. I got three; gave two away.
 
Sonnydaze said:
I like all of your knives, but I'd be just as happy with my Kershaw 2.2 JunkYardDog. Great knife; heavy-duty without being heavy (5.8 oz), D2 edge.
And cheap...cheaper if you get a blem from the KershawMan. I got three; gave two away.
Click to expand...

I like where you are going with that and I like the D2. I've just invested time and money into my current harem and would like to pull from it. I know these blades, how to work 'em how they perform with gloves, stuff like that. I'm just unsure what way to go with steel. I think I'll continue beating until a serious failure. Then I'll know...
On a side note I carried a Kershaw (can't remember what model) through Middle and High School. It never did me wrong, as a mater of fact it saved my life on more then one occasion.

P.S. thanks yall for the input. I really appreciate a community like this.

Edit. Para CPM-D2 will be cold case tester
 
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