persistence on the west highland way (small review)

[zyhano]

Hey spyderco friends,

Just some pictures (actually the only ones) that have the spyderco persistence on them, which I took while walking the scottish west highland way april/may 2010. It's about 95 miles from the low of glasgow to the highlands near fort william all the while passing through beautiful and for european standards remote scenery (it actually ends next to GB's highest mountain: the ben nevis). I took the persistence and a rc-4 by rat cutlery on the road and both served me fine during the way.

The persistence functioned great, I really liked the way the clip behaved, even when climbing, walking all day, backpacking and during camping in the wild it never once got looser/loose and it stuck great in my pocket.

It's pretty obvious you're carrying a knife, that's the downside of it. The clip is very obvious when sticking out of your pocket. Great Britain's laws say you can't carry a persistence there. For those of you that would like to carry a knife while hiking there, you can check out the UK penknife review I did right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cMhe05vO3c

I used it mainly for the quick and small tasks: food preparation, cutting food packages, cut up some tin cans, cleaning nails, whittling on the trail and d*ck1ng around :thumbup: It did pretty good in there, though I'd prefer a slightly larger blade. That's for next time then. The tenacious would be a great substitute for the price/size and capabilities. I used that a couple of other times in the field and have to say about the same of the tenacious: functions great.

I did a field touch up twice with a dmt diafold C/F and it came back pretty easily to shaving sharp. No problems there. It dulled quicker than better steels, definitely noticeable, but it got pretty sharp pretty easy.

Cleaning it along the way was pretty easy too: there's always a little mountain stream nearby in Scotland in which you can just clean the knife. Just hold it under water and clean it, shake it out and put it back in your pants where it will dry very quickly because of body heat.

The weight is a little on the high side for a small knife, because of the steel liners on it, but still, it's not if you're packing kilo's...

The liner lock functions nicely. I bashed it with some spine wacks and opened and closed it loads of times. Never failed, good lockup. I trust it.

Ergonomics are good too, no problems there.

Fit and finish: blade slightly off centre, g-10 is of a cheaper variety, but still, it's strong. You can definitely see that it's a cheaper knife.For example on the blade finish near the pivot where it goes from sharp to dull (flat piece of steel). Mind you, it functions well!

I'll be posting a video review on my youtube channel pretty soon featuring the rc-4 and a custom sheath made by martin swinkels (martinsheaths.blogspot.com) where I'm cosy by the fire camping in the wild, so check that out at the end of the week.

Here are some pics of it while hiking on the GREAT west highland way.
For earlier pictures taken during training for the hike see my previous post with pictures here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=733525

cooking on a campsite in tyndrum ('by the way' campsite, verrrry nice)
I was looking forward to a bacon,chees and eggs breakfast for 4 days before getting one

something's sharp, and it's not the picture
I think the mountain is the Ben Durain, but I'd have to look it up. somewhere 3 miles out of tyndrum

This was in my comfy hotel room in Fort William. after I had my double knee surgery from all the climbing and walking with 22 kilograms on my back

enjoy!

 

[zyhano]

also included, the pictures from the post previously mentioned, during a training hike in wassenaar, the netherlands:

the persistence on the atlantic wall

the persistance contemplating the meaning of peace on this tree overlooking the pond scenery

the persistence humping the nalgene bottle

pocking a piece of wood

look at the blue in the skies, amazing day today

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

Am I having Deja Vu? I swear I remember that last picture and the comment about the blue sky?

 

[zyhano]

Nah, you're not.
the line above the picsin the 2nd thread say it was from an earlier session. I may not have made that clear enough.

 

[hoyer]

Nice pics! Thanks for sharing!
Good beer too!

 

[zyhano]

Yes, I did drink scottish beer too, but hey, belgian beer can't be beaten so it was a celebration treat after camping out for a week.

 

[Haze]

The West Higland Way is a great walk, I've done it once and would love to do it again. :thumbup:

Also, you can carry a locking folder or a fixed blade when on a trip like that perfectly legaly in the UK.

 

[zyhano]

The West Higland Way is a great walk, I've done it once and would love to do it again. :thumbup:

Also, you can carry a locking folder or a fixed blade when on a trip like that perfectly legaly in the UK.

I'd do it again too, beautiful, but that was not what a lot of people I met were saying Maybe their insane amount of blisters (I met a girl with 7 on one foot) and muscle aches were a part of that

You're right about the knives. If you have a good explanation like camping or outdoor related stuff, you are allowed to. But there's a thin line these days about what will and can be accepted. The WHW is so quit on the other hand and there are hardly any towns you pass through, let alone police, so you're quit safe carrying you knife arsenal on you :thumbup: