Squirt at 5 years. An update.

TrapperMike said:
So despite what all the expert survival hypers say I think I will be just fine. Besides that I am tired of lugging around a bunch of heavy stuff all the time when all I need is a few small tools that will make life a little easier and do most of what I want.
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Mike, I am totally mystified by the stuff the so called experts say we need to get through the day in the 21st century suburbia. Maybe they just live a more adventurous life than I do, but so far I've lived okay with just the stuff in my pockets similar to what my dad and uncles carried for a way more active life than I have had. After all, I had the great fortune to not have to survive a Great Depression, go off to fight in a world war, and then raise a family in 1950's America. I just don't know how I've made it through!:eek:

Seriously, this modern craze of EDC has got out of hand as much as the whole knife thing, tool thing, gun thing and SUV thing. I can only guess the world of 2020 is way more dangerous and challenging than the world of our fathers and grandfathers. o_O
 
I feel I have survived just fine with what was in my pockets too. My job requires me to be out side in the middle of nowhere western Oklahoma. The main threats are rattlesnake and heat exhaustion this time a year. All I have ever needed is a few things in my pockets and some water. I always keep a water jug with me. I am still alive. My grandpa was born and raised in nw Oklahoma, survived the great depression and WW2, and all i saw him carry on a daily basis was s a small pocket knife and pair of ct pliers. He was a farmer and had a cattle operation. He never stressed out about being under prepared. If I follow his example I think I will be just fine.
 
I carry a full sized multitool and a belt pouch with a 4-1 screwdriver and a mini pry bar at work, but about a year and a half ago I realized that off work the full sized tool isn't necessary.
The little pliers are handy once in a while and now that I have more tools than I can count that's all I need in a multitool when not at work.
My dad likes the super tool 300 I bought him, but dang that thing is a huge beast.
Even the fairly compact PST seems big sometimes, but it ain't no heat like the st300.
 
TrapperMike said:
My grandpa was born and raised in nw Oklahoma, survived the great depression and WW2, and all i saw him carry on a daily basis was s a small pocket knife and pair of ct pliers. He was a farmer and had a cattle operation. He never stressed out about being under prepared. If I follow his example I think I will be just fine.
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Well Mike, he was never stressed because he never had knife magazines or the internet to find out how under equipped he was. He never knew how close he came to dire straits from not having the latest and greatest EDC gear that one could rebuild the Titanic with in a pinch.

Thanks to the internet and unscrupulous sellers of all things ridiculously tactical, a lot of useless gear and do-dads are being sold to young men with money to spend on fantasy. The modern equivalent of the Bat belt. Sometimes I look on the EDC forum and it would be funny if it was not so sadly ludicrous. Pry bars? ratchet bits? Grapplng hooks????:eek:

Never under estimate the power of marketing. "They" have created an artificial market for stuff that has the main purpose of transferring money from our wallets to their wallets wit the sales of stuff we'll never need in a normal day to day life. Now if you're a closet super hero that has the duty to save Gotham, that may be a different matter. :rolleyes:
 
JK,
Your last comments...are words of wisdom! Being 76 It's taken me awhile to get "smart"! Not an excuse but....when you are raised with little $$$ you do without...I didn't realize how bad things were...everyone we lived with or near was in the same boat! Work hard acquire $$$ & buy things...too many things!! Retire get smart..& manage to do quite well without..a load of "things"!!Now I can afford...but don't need...STUFF!
 
Hickory n steel said:
I carry a full sized multitool and a belt pouch with a 4-1 screwdriver and a mini pry bar at work, but about a year and a half ago I realized that off work the full sized tool isn't necessary.
The little pliers are handy once in a while and now that I have more tools than I can count that's all I need in a multitool when not at work.
My dad likes the super tool 300 I bought him, but dang that thing is a huge beast.
Even the fairly compact PST seems big sometimes, but it ain't no heat like the st300.
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The 300 is a nice tool but is heavy. I admit it is handy. With that said I have broken 2 of them probably because I expected to much from them. I quit carrying my current one and found I didn't really miss it. For a screw driver I like my recruit better than most multi tools. I have to say multi tools do have there place with most people. Just comes down to ones preference. I am really enjoying my squirt. Around the house to day, I used it to change out a toilet seat. Also used the knife to cut open some packages. As a mechanic at work I use proper tools and dont really have a use for a big multi tool like the st 300. When i use plyers at work it usually requires more than what any multi tool is designed for. I just got tired of lugging around a tool I wasn't using that much. I found the mini vise grips to be very useful mainly to pinch off small lines and such. The last three days I haven't carried the mini vise grips because of the squirt. It has been a handy little tool and it feels good to carry less. I can see where a multi tool can be very beneficial in other lines of work.
 
jackknife said:
Well Mike, he was never stressed because he never had knife magazines or the internet to find out how under equipped he was. He never knew how close he came to dire straits from not having the latest and greatest EDC gear that one could rebuild the Titanic with in a pinch.

Thanks to the internet and unscrupulous sellers of all things ridiculously tactical, a lot of useless gear and do-dads are being sold to young men with money to spend on fantasy. The modern equivalent of the Bat belt. Sometimes I look on the EDC forum and it would be funny if it was not so sadly ludicrous. Pry bars? ratchet bits? Grapplng hooks????:eek:

Never under estimate the power of marketing. "They" have created an artificial market for stuff that has the main purpose of transferring money from our wallets to their wallets wit the sales of stuff we'll never need in a normal day to day life. Now if you're a closet super hero that has the duty to save Gotham, that may be a different matter. :rolleyes:
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My grandpa was very much the kind of man that you talk about growing up around. He had enough tools in his truck to tackle the serious work he might encounter on the farm. For pocket tools he had a knife, a mini crescent, and his ct pliers. I believe he had a pocket screw driver in his shirt pocket. He did just fine. He was a forward scout in the army and saw a lot of action fighting in Europe. As a farmer he kept it simple and used common sense to fix most problems. He got by just fine with just a few simple tools in his pockets and I find I get by just fine too.
 
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I did just fine all day with these tools. The mini wrench is one tool I will always carry. It's just so handy.
 
Well Jackknife - I've been wondering after all these years since you switched what has happened - I guess I am in the same boat- Executive SAK and Leatherman Squirt S4 seem to have become the go to tools ! so you are not alone! Peace my Brother!
Revvie
 
Revvie said:
Well Jackknife - I've been wondering after all these years since you switched what has happened - I guess I am in the same boat- Executive SAK and Leatherman Squirt S4 seem to have become the go to tools ! so you are not alone! Peace my Brother!
Revvie
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Hey Revvie, its been a steady evolution of tools in a downsizing trend. Everytime I switched, it was for something smaller that had the same practical capability. I've always been a little hincky and obsessive about that, how small can something go and still be functional at its intended task? Like I'll always go for a single AAA flashlight over a 2 AAA flashlight, or a small pocket size CCW piece instead of something that needs a good concealment rig and study belt. Or, a small pocket knife/multitool instead of something I could butcher a buffalo with.

How much knife/tool do I need to open a package, cut a piece of twine, tighten a loose screw?
 
TrapperMike said:
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I did just fine all day with these tools. The mini wrench is one tool I will always carry. It's just so handy.
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Mike, that's one heck of a great hand you have there!!!

One thing is a total standout about it, that 3/4ths of it was gifts from your family. Totally outstanding in a couple of respects. One, they understand you and gave you objects as gifts that were actually very useful in a day-to-day basis. The other is, every single time you take out one of them to do something, you are building a memory that is piled on other memories that will build a great legacy for your kids to have. Dad and his tools that fixed, finagled, and tinkered when needed to get by. A legacy of self reliance like our grandfathers had.

Someday your kids will show your grandkids a battered old SAK, or a worn out old Leatherman squirt, and tell them about the time they gave that to granddad and he fixed all kinds of stuff with it.

Priceless, Mike, priceless!
 
Hickory n steel said:
Gotta love a good 4in adjustable, I've been carrying one for years.
Doesn't really fit in the new smaller pocket organizer, but I still carry it.
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I was wondering if the handle of the 4 inch adjustable could be drilled/milled out or skeletonized for lighter weight?
 
jackknife said:
I was wondering if the handle of the 4 inch adjustable could be drilled/milled out or skeletonized for lighter weight?
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Possibly with a carbide bit, but the chrome vanadium steel of a good American made adjustable Is pretty tough.
Countycomm had or has these titanium ones with holes and such in the handle, but honestly in my experience 4" adjustables don't weigh much.
My Mac aw4 is a bit thicker than my diamond 4" adjustable, bit it doesn't weight too much.
 
TrapperMike said:
.... Besides that I am tired of lugging around a bunch of heavy stuff all the time when all I need is a few small tools that will make life a little easier and do most of what I want.
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I came to that realization about 5 years ago. Like you I have real tools available with a bit of effort. I do have a Squirt with me all the time on my car keys. My downsized knife has been the Small Tinker (from a 111mm SAK and often something else with about a 3" blade) and I often have a small fixed blade on my belt. I changed pants and left the fixed blade off the belt and I have not suffered any serious knife withdrawal symptoms. I do like a small fixed blade and that has been my biggest knife change in the last 6 months or so.

I'm not against carrying a larger knife. Goodness. I did it. But I carried it because I felt I needed it. Now, for the most part, I don't. So, that big pile of knives I own mostly get unused. I'm okay with that.

If I feel I need a larger knife, I carry one and that is especially when I am in the woods as bigger knives cut a bit better when you need to apply a fair amount of force when cutting. Now a days, it is the One handed Vic Trekker.
 
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Most older American 4" adjustables are pretty diminutive little tools.
The Mac I've been carrying for years is a bit overgrown, but this old Diamalloy is more representative of your typical 4" adjustable.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Most older American 4" adjustables are pretty diminutive little tools.
The Mac I've been carrying for years is a bit overgrown, but this old Diamalloy is more representative of your typical 4" adjustable.
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My Bluepoint 4 in wrench is like your mac one. I like it though because it opens a little wider and allows me to turn bigger bolts then most. They are so handy in so many ways. My dad and granddad both carried one too.
 
So far the squirt has been a delight to carry and use. I used it several times yesterday for several small things. If I need a little bit larger screw driver than the recruit is in my pocket on standby. As a mechanic whether I am at home or on the job I always have the proper tools I need at hand to do the work. The squirt and the recruit can tackle all the smaller jobs just fine. So far so good with the squirt.
 
TrapperMike said:
My Bluepoint 4 in wrench is like your mac one. I like it though because it opens a little wider and allows me to turn bigger bolts then most. They are so handy in so many ways. My dad and granddad both carried one too
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Yeah, my MAC has a max capacity of about 5/8" where about 1/2" seems to be about standard for most adjustables.
 
Btw did you know the Squirt PS4 is current issue in USAF survival kits.
I don't know which kit but in the " survival module " of the multi part kit ( one sealed package of first aid, the other survival, and maybe one for food I'm not sure) contains a leatherman Squirt PS4.

The Sebertool m4 I'm so fond of was once issued in part of a kit for one of our special forces branches, when those went away they went to the Chinese made Copy known as the IDL Tools T10 , but the quality wasn't the same so I believe they have also since gone to the leatherman squirt for the particular kits.
 
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