Maxpedition Fatboy Versipack

The Fatboy is a pack to use for your everyday needs. It is bigger than a waistpack and smaller than most backpacks. It can be used either as a waistpack (not recommended) removing the shoulder strap or in badolier style with the padded shoulder pad.

The main compartment is accessed opening an adjustable buckle that also has a d-ring. Once the flap is opened you have access to the main compartment and to two smaller compartments in front of the big one, one of them closed with a zipper. The unzippered compartment is good for things that you want to access quickly while being protected or hidden under the main flap, the zippered compartment with a pocket inside is great for small loose items.

The main compartment is protected by a protective hoodie that can be depolyed in case of severe rain or just left opened otherwise, there are mesh pockets on both sides of the main compartment. Inside the main compartment you can fit things as big as some reflex cameras with their accesories this should give you a good idea of the size.

Behind the main compartment there is a strap that can be used to attach the Fatboy to your belt for extra security or as an additional support point if the pack is heavy. There is padding to make the pack confortable against your waist.

With the main flap closed you have access to a zippered pocket in the flap useful for small flat items and a big zippered compartment that is behind the main one, here you can put big flat objects maybe envelopes, a wallet, paper, etc.

On the sides of the main compartment there are two pouches. One of the pouches is a zippered pouch with straps for external attachment, inside this pouch you can fit multi-tools, flashlights and many other items. The other pouch is a velcro closure pouch that seems to be specially created for flashlights, most of them will fit here. On the sides of this pouch there are pen slots for pens with pocket clips.

The ends where the shoulder straps are attached have some surprises too, one of them has another pouch the smaller of the three with a buckle closure that is good for cell-phones or items you need to keep very accesible. An MP3 player, is a good idea since it is easy to reach your head with the headphones from the shoulder band pouch.

On the other side there is a carabiner in the same style of the maxpedition keyper that can be used to hang a keychain or other objects, below the clip you have more straps for attachment of extra pouches.

Constructed in excellent nylon with double stitching and lot of reinforcement points the Fatboy is an excellent day pack with many pockets, pouches and the verstaility to be expanded if needed. It is certainly a very recommendable pack for your daily stuff.

The Fatboy is available in black, tan, olive and camo versions. You can read more at Maxpedition's website and You can order from Lighthound for $59.

Adventure Medical Kits Pocket Survival Pack

This is a pocket survival pack designed by Doug Ritter from Equipped to Survive and distributed by Adventure Medical Kits.

The kit includes a spark-lite fire starter and 4 spark-lite tinder-quick as a quick all-weather fire starting device.
As an alternate fire-starting device you have a fresnel lens magnifier.

For signaling you have a Fox40 micro whistle in yellow and a good quality signal mirror.

For repairs you have duct tape in 22'' x 2'', 6 feet of stainless steel utility wire, 10 feet of braided nylon cord, 50 feet of black nylon thread, a heavy duty sewing needle and 4 safety pins.

There is a 3sq feet piece of aluminium foil useful to get water or for cooking, a small compass, pencil and waterproof paper, a small scalpel blade, and a fishing kit. Everything inside a water resistant vynil pouch.

The elements included in the kit are high quality and there will be many coincidences in a kit that a survival expert would build for himself in case of need. Nothing in the kit has an expiration date and everything is water proof. While the elements are excellent the kit is a general purpose kit and might be a little incomplete for either a urban or outdoors mini kit. It is certainly a great way to start a personal kit adding the elements you need for your specific scenarios.

As any personal kit it is designed to be carried with you probably in a cargo pocket, so if you lose your backpack, your bags or averything you still have the kit with you. That explains the small size.

You can read more about this kit in ETS webpage. You can choose from a list of retailers to order it one of them being EDC depot for $25.

Nite-Ize Figure 9

This new product from nite-ize is a rope-tightener and tension tool. It can be used whenever you need to keep rope tigh as for example to close a car trunk, carry something above the car roof, tie boxes together for transportation, camping, boating and other scenarios. It is also suitable for improvised lanyards.

The tool is made of aluminium offering different ways to thread the rope with a dented opening to keep the rope tight. The instructions to thread the rope around the figure 9 are engraved in the tool itself so you don't have to remember anything to use it just loop the cord around the figure 9 and keep it tight.

The tool works up to 50lbs of tension so it is not suitable for rescuing or climbing applications just a tool for general use involving ropes. It works great with paracord and can also be used with utility rope.

You can get it in two sizes, small or big in different presentations with some included rope or not. A single figure 9 retails for $2.50 the small one and $4.50 for the big one. A pack of four small ones with rope costs $9.50 and a pack of 2 large ones with rope $7.50. You can read more in the product webpage or order from Flashlightlens.com.

Witz ID locker See it Safe

This is a thin plastic case intended as an ID holder but can certainly be used to store other slim items, as a wallet or as a case for a small survival or first aid kit.

The case is 4.25'' wide, 3.25'' high and 0.75'' thin. It is made of crush resistant see-through clear plastic that opens with an angled latch for better access to the inside. It is closed with a small pressure clip and has a rubber seal to make it waterproof.

Inside you can keep your ID badge, some money, credit cards and your choice of items as long as they are thin. It is good to store alcohol pads, band aids and other very thin items for a small first aid kit or maybe an ID-badge first aid kit.

It comes with a nylon lanyard featuring a breakaway clip for neck carry it can also be carried in a pocket or hanging from a backpack there is no pocket clip for pocket carry.

The size is good even for large ID bags and will hold some folded bills and credit cards if needed if you have some stuff that you want to carry with your ID badge this is a nice case. If you don't carry an ID badge this case is good if you want to build a small kit as long as the items fit. The rubber seal makes the case water resistant and dunkable so it can be good to protect items that should not get wet.

You can read more in the official website or order for $5 from TAD Gear.

Kershaw National Geographic Carabiner Tool

This is a mix between a carabiner and a knife with some multi-tool elements dropped into the mixture. The Kershaw five in one is a 4.125'' (10.4cm) carabiner featuring a knife, a phillips screwdriver, a flat screwdriver and a bottle opener.

The carabiner is made of anodized aluminium and has a screwdown safetylatch. It is unsuitable for climbing but can be used attached to a belt, backpack, vest or many other items. The total weight of the tool is 2.7oz.

The knife is made of AUS6A Stainless Steel and is 3.25'' (8.1cm) long when opened. It has partial serrations and a small thumbhole to assist the opening.Once opened the knife locks using a liner-lock mechanism.

Both the carabiner and the knife are good tools but are certainly not in the top quality section of either knives or carabiners, the screwdrivers and bottle opener are also ok. It is not each tool but the combination of all the elements what makes this multitool interesting. If you use carabiners frequently to attach different gear to your backpack or vest you can certainly consider this. One interesting advantage is that being in a carabiner shape that can be clipped to many things makes the tools very handy for quick use in case of need.

You can get this tool for $39 from KnifeCenter or read more information visiting Kershaw's website.

Metal Pen

A long time ago artists used to use silver pointed pencils to create some beautiful drawings. This pen while not using silver is based on the same principle.

The Pen is made of stainless steel with a solid metal compound tip, there is no ball, no ink, nothing just plain metal at the tip. When writing the pressure of the pen over the paper will leave microscopic traces of the metal on the paper producing the writing. Since there is no ink the pen will never dry and the tip will write for a very long time before the metal is consumed. You can leave the pen for years get it back and it will work in the same way it works today.

The metal alloy employed for the tip writes on almost any paper surface and produces a good writing as long as you remember this pen is not for writing the story of your life but more a backup or a novelty pen. The absence of ink makes the pen an all-weather and conditions instrument and the solid stainless steel body works well as a kubotan.

You can read more and order for $30 from grand illusions. Another source for about $25 here.

CR2 Ion

The Ion is a very small 2 stage flashlight using a single CR2 lithium battery and featuring a Cree XLamp led.

The light is activated twisting the head, a slight twist will bring the "low" mode of the flashlight keep turning and you will get the "high mode", a simple and yet very attractive interface that I found superior to the twist on-off models.

The Cree Led coupled with an aluminium reflector and the AR coated ultra clear lens produce a very smooth beam that is almost 100% flood. This means the light illuminates a wide area without reaching far for illumination. This makes the Ion an excellent light for indoors use and as a task light, reading, repairs, inspection and other tasks are ideal with this little flashlight.

The light can run for about 1 hour and a half on "high" mode reaching an amazing 140 hours on low mode. The body is constructed of HA-III aluminium knurled for a good grip and operation of the twist head. It will resist all sorts of impacts and scratches without damage. The interior of the light is coated in chemkote for better contact and resistance to corrosion, orings make the light waterproof and dunkable.

The tail features a small hole for a splitring and a stowaway splitring for keychain or neck carry. Even with the splitring installed the light can stand on its tail and be used in candle mode.

The Ion is a extremely small task light using top quality materials and design, it won't be the brightest light in the block but can certainly be the most useful one.

You can get it in black, aluminium, gold, green, red,blue, natural or maroon at Fenix-Store for $150.

Camelback Water Bottle

This is a 25fl.oz water bottle from CamelBack. It is constructed in Lexan polycarbonate a material that is bullet-proof so it will resist many hits, bumps and impacts without breaking.

Lexan can also be heated without much damage so when camping and after removing the lid you might use this bottle to heat water but of course a metal utensil should be preferred.

The cap features a no-drip bite valve, you flip up the valve and then bite to drink, flipping down the valve closes the valve making it quite safe against spills. With the valve up liquid should not spill unless you bite or press the valve but I wouldn't say this is a 100% spill safe as fliping down the valve. The cap is unscrewed to fill the bottle which is wide-mouthed for easy refilling.

There is a small plastic handle in the valve that helps attaching the bottle to a backpack using a carabiner or something similar. On the side there is a scale listing the aproximate volume of liquid left in ounces and mililiters.

The cap is standard sized so it will fit if you want other water bottles such as Nalgene and similar. We found the bite valve very easy to use and very practical for outdoor activities or urban hydratation, the bottle is practical and easy to carry and can be refilled with any normal water bottle or just from the tap if drinkable.

You can order it from REI at $12.