Peterson System Pipe

I told you this blog was going to take a drastic turn. But, a pipe! Seriously? No, I am not your grandpa, and the pipe has seriously fallen out of fashion, especially when compared to cigars. So, I will take a few minutes to explain the pipe in general, before I take about this specific one.

I have never been a tobacco addict. Other than trying a handful of cigarrettes when I was a teenager, I have never smoked. I am athletic, in shape, and do a lot of physical activities that don’t go along well with cigarette smoking. But cigars and pipes you don’t inhale and are theoretically better on your lungs. Now, I am not here to convince you that smoking is safe, or there are no ill side effects. Even if it doesn’t go into your lungs, there are risks at some level. There are also risks in your house, and every time you leave the door :) Sometimes you have to just live, and for me, I have determined that the amount of pleasure that has been brought to me through pipe smoking is worth the risk. I also ride a motorcycle, and that has to be far more dangerous than decades of pipe smoking :) Everyone has to make their own choice on their own comfort level.

I tried the pipe more than a decade ago. I never got very far with it, but I knew I had an attraction to it for it even then. I have tried cigars now and then. Honestly, most cigar smoking on my part was to get the rankest, nastiest cigar I could, for as little money as possible, to keep a smoke cloud around my head while spending time in the bug infested time of the season outdoors. I tried to up my standards in the cigar world, and quickly found it too expensive. The cost of a good cigar was huge. Buying them in bulk was just too complicated for me. Humidor, humidity level, storage conditions, etc. At the rate I smoked (barely), by the time I got around to my bulk purchased stuff, I am sure with would have been miserable. Besides, I didn’t really enjoy it that much anyway.

After many years of nothing at all, I came back around to the pipe. The first reason really had nothing to do with tobacco at all. The truth is, that I am a go, go, go type of person. I don’t feel like I am doing anything unless I am getting something accomplished, or producing something tangible. As long as my body is going, my mind isn’t stopping either. For many reasons in my life, I need to take the time out to think about what is going on, especially with me. If I am constantly on the go, my mind is not in the mood for slowing either. If I just sit still, doing “nothing” drives me nuts. But, sitting down, and having a smoke, is an excellent way to take a break, in my opinion.

The thing about pipe smoking is that it can not be rushed. I think that reason alone is probably why it has always appealed to the older rather than younger crowd. If you try to rush it, you will be harshly punished. Tobacco that is smoked too hot generates steam and creates lots of unpleasant things in your mouth. If you are going to do it, you are almost forced to relax, slow down, or be punished :)

Once you get that far, it is really easy to get hooked. Cigarrettes are generally about a quick nicotine fix. Pipe smoking is more about taste (although the nicotine is there!). Pipe tobacco is really different and the amount of blends, types and even flavors that it comes in can be overwhelming even to an experienced smoker. Since you are after the experience of taste, it almost becomes a hobby finding what the different tobacco types are (Virginia, Burley, Cavendish, Perique, Latakia, just to name a few) and what they each taste like. How different blending leads to an entirely different smoke. Then, there are the pipes. Everything from cheap corn cobs at the drug store, to hand made custom pieces costing more than I make in a month. Collecting, not smoking, can be a hobby for many. But, if you are going to smoke one, you may tell yourself when starting that one will be enough, but you will end up with at least a few :)

In quick summary (a little late for that), the pipe brings me many joys. From finding an extremely tasty blend, the fondness of my pipes, the relaxed state I must enter to be able to smoke one correctly, the change of pace it provides in the day, and let’s be honest….the nicotine can be nice. If you ever hear a pipe smoker say the phrase “one of those smokes” what they are talking about is that every so often everything seems perfect. The setting, the tobacco, the pipe, the way it is smoked (slow and relaxed) all comes together for “one of those smokes.” It doesn’t happen every single time and much of the quest in pipe smoking is hoping that the next time you light up, it will be “one of those smokes.”

That is enough about smoking itself. There are many other websites, blogs and forums that are dedicated to the nuts and bolts of it. If you are even remotely interested, one good place to start in www.smokingpipetobacco.com.

On to what this post is supposed to be about. The Peterson 314 System Pipe. 

Let me explain a bit about this pipe, and then I will tell you why I picked this particular one out of my stable.

Peterson is the manufacturer, and is an Irish company with a very long history in pipe making. The “system” part of the name refers to a patented design by Peterson. Only a certain line of pipes by Peterson are “system” pipes and they are not hard to find. Basically, the have a chamber drilled into them that is supposed to trap moisture and reduce draw at the bowl to result in less moisture being generated in the first place. If you look at this cut-away picture, you can see what I mean.

The result is supposed to be a cooler, dryer, smoother smoke. 

314 refers to the shape of the pipe (http://www.peterson.ie/pipes/system-shape-chart.html). Many manufacturers refer to their shapes by numbers and Peterson is no different. If you look at the shape chart I am sure you will find some that are way more attractive to you than the others. At the same time, you can easily see why you end up with multiple pipes :) Keep in mind this is Peterson’s “System” shape chart and they have other shape charts for their other pipe ranges too. This is not all they offer.

I certainly love this pipe. But, it is probably not my absolute favorite in my rack. So, why did I pick it to be the star among the others? Because I figure if you are an experienced pipe smoker you are already going to know what you like and don’t like and will not be a stranger to Peterson system pipes. I also figure that most of you have never used a pipe and on the off chance you might want to give it a try, this is one of the most forgiving and versatile pipes available.

By forgiving, I mean that the “system” does help to reduce draw, which is necessary for a good smoke. So, this one will get you going better than most right of the bat, in my opinion. Next, is the mount. It is what is typically referred to as an army mount. Of all the “wrong” things that a beginner can do during a smoke, one of them is to take your pipe apart. Generally the stem fits into the pipe different than this one, and there is swelling due to heat and moisture. It is best to let the thing cool before you take it apart.  While it still may not be the most advised thing to do, I have taken apart the army mount many times mid-smoke without an issue. I dare say that it was intended to do that. Even so, the taper on stem and with the friction mount, it seems that this is one of the most durable, least able to damage, most likely to last forever type of mount that I know of. 

Finally, the reason I pick this pipe is because it is so darn reliable. I can always count on it to be smooth, I don’t worry about it’s durability, and I would take it just about everywhere with me (I can’t say that about all my pipes). To be honest, I borderline abuse this pipe, just because I am not afraid of anything that I can do to it. Even if I had a high dollar custom piece sitting in my rack, it is my nature to appreciate what I use most as compared to what is sitting around looking pretty. For most used, I definitely have to give this pipe the highest marks.

Moleskine Extra Large Journal

I already gave this one away in my last post, so I figured I should go ahead and post about it. Also, it makes more sense to do the notebook before I get to a couple other items. You will have to stick around and read to see what I mean. After the notebook though, I am going to drastically switch gears on the next item.

Growing up, I hated to write. It was like torture. I managed to work my way into all the advanced placement classes concerning, and to this day I have no idea how I did that. I currently write, when inspired, for two publications, one a web-based magazine, and the other a printed magazine. I still don’t consider myself a “writer”, I just tend to write how things come out, and I am sure folks that know more about grammar than me would just be appalled by what I write :)

I gave that bit of background because I find it extremely ironic that I love to write now, and spend so much time doing it. Some is made available publicly, but much is kept in a private journal.

A few of years ago, I tried keeping a journal and it only lasted for a month or two. I have three kids, and at the time only had one. Mostly it was about funny stuff he said and did. A few months ago, I found it, re-read it, and it was a blast! Some of the things I remembered as if they happened yesterday. Other stuff was a strain to remember. It was the stuff that strained my memory that scared the crap out of me, and prompted me to begin keeping a journal again.

I make it habit to write in it everyday, even if it is only a couple of minutes. Once it becomes a habit it does not seem like a forced activity that takes a tremendous amount of time. At the very end of this post, I will give you a couple ideas of things that can get you kicked off into other topics.

As I got back into journaling again, most of my initial writing relvoled around what the kids and the family were doing. As that seemed to be the general “theme” for my journal, I was afraid to throw in other entries about the random stuff running through my head. Perhaps it is the……I hate to say it…….the engineer in me……but that just seemed to disorganized for my brain. My solution was to come up with different physical books that had a loose theme. If you do some google searching, you will also find that this is a big topic and there are tons of other resources on this as well. For me, my journal themes are as follows:

Kids/Family: Pretty self explanatory. I write about the small things that happen with the kids and family. The big stuff I am sure I will remember, but the funny little things that are said and done have become priceless.

Me: I keep one about me and my thoughts. If you get into the habit of just writing something, you will probably find that other ideas creep into your head, and then you think “I should write about that.” I find that my own brain runs a mile a minute. I will have a fleeting thought, which is definitely worth dwelling upon. If I do nothing, the thought and feeling is usually lost. If I actually write about it, I examine further and usually come to a better understand of why the thought was in my head in the first place.

Outdoors: I like to keep a journal that captures the outdoor adventures of me, me and the kids, or the whole family. It can be about actual events, or used to record sketches and descriptions of trees, plants and wildlife. Unfortunately, this book has not been getting much use as my woods time as been minimum by some recent events. I am not complaining, because it was purposely chosen stuff, but is still a fact.

The possibility for journal themes is practically endless. You can have them about holidays, book reviews, your favorite hobby, vacations, wine or food, etc. I think the real important thing is to write about what you like.

Alas, I am getting a bit off track. The intent was to review a notebook, wasn’t it? My thinking is that if I am going to put all this time and effort into coming up with themes, writing a few minutes every day, with the intention of keeping it around for a good long time, I want to put those things in the appropriate container, right? Not a typical sprial notebook, with cheap quality paper in which can get pulled out of the notebook. What I use exclusively is Moleskine’s Extra Large Notebook.

Yes, I do agree that they are overpriced. Their marketing has done a good job of making them desireable, at least to me. If you overstretch the elastic band, it may get longer. If you have a pouch in the back, it may become ripped. But, my experience is that they hold up extremely well, especially to being carried every day. They show their signs of wear, but I have yet to lose a page, or tear anything. My son also has one of the smaller versions that he draws in, and it kicked around in the bed of our pickup truck for about 6 months. It has a topper on it, but stuff is always getting thrown in and out, and sometimes the bed was treated like extra storage : ) When he found it again, he started using it and you would never know the difference.

The other big reason for these for me is the paper quality is consistent and writes well with many different inks (which is yet again a topic for another time). In the end, for as long as it takes to fill one up, and the for the length of time I intend to keep them around, the cost per book, considering the value of what it holds it relatively negligble.

There are tons of different sizes available and hardcover or softcover. I find that the Extra Large is the only one I like to write extensively in. The smaller ones seem like they are better for taking down abbreviated thoughts, small notes, or even making lists. But sometimes when I write, it can be pages and I want the size page of the Extra Large book. At 7.5” by 10” it is not quite the size of your typical piece of paper, but the size works out great for me.

Now, if you find that the cheapie notebook is better for you, and you are afraid to carrying something expensive everywhere, then awesome! Do what works for you for sure. Especially when starting out. But, this post is supposed to be about my stuff :)

Finally, I am going to finish off this post with giving you some ideas for something to write about, should you want to give this journaling thing a try. First, if you do some google searching on “journal prompts” you will find loads of information. Some good, some not so good. But, it will probably keep you reading for quite a long time  :) That is one option. Another good one is to simply write about what you love. You have to be into something, or enjoy something immensly. My only comment here is to pick something that happens regularly. If you love skiing in the French Alps, but only do it once every two years it is probably not a topic that is going to get you in the habit of keeping a journal :) It doesn’t have to be something big and grand, just start doing it. Finally, if all else fails, try this:

Write only 2 or 3 sentences per day. The topic 5 awesome things that happened today. If you like to write in the evening, it should be about the current day. If you like to write in the morning, like I do, it should be about the previous day. This doesn’t have to be about grand stuff either. It can be stuff like “I got out of work 10 minutes early,” or “Read my son a book before bed.” This will do 3 things for you. First, it will get you in the habit of writing something every day. Second, by forcing you to think about your day, if only for a few minutes, you are likely to come up with topics that you can expand upon and therefore generate your own writing prompts. Finally, it really helps you feel better about your day. If you concentrate on these small but wonderful things that happen every day, how could you possibly be in a bad mood about all the little meaningless things that tend to bug us through the day :)

All right…..that is it for now. The next topic is going to be more manly……promise!

Saddleback Leather Medium Satchel

I can think of no better way to kick this blog off, than to review my beloved Saddleback Leather Medium Satchel, in Dark Coffee brown.

Sticking with the theme of reviewing stuff that gets used daily, or near daily, I use this satchel a minimum of five days a week, and sometimes more, depending on what my weekend activities are. I chose the medium size very specifically to carry some of my other “real life gear” that I am not even going to mention at this time. Instead, I will save them for later reviews. Besides that stuff, it carries stuff like my reading glasses and work ID, which requires me to take this back and forth to work every day. Being that I commute almost exclusively by motorcycle much of the year, this thing even gets strapped down with a bungee net to do that commute.

I am not going to re-hash all of Saddleback’s documented features on the satchel. You can check out their website for all they have to say at http://www.saddlebackleather.com/. I will just take some pictures and note some of the features that I think are significant.

As a side note, these initial pictures were taken when my bag was new. I will show some used ones later :)

One of the coolest features of the satchel is the strap. It is super heavy duty. It also has two separate pads built into the single strap, which are very well made.

While slung as a satchel, only one shoulder pad is used. Although, I tend to put the second one across my chest to spread out any pressure applied there. All I can say, is that works well for me.

The addition of a large, heavy duty ring on the back of the bag allows you to convert the satchell into “backpack mode.” I personally have never done this, but I can definitely see how it could be a nice change of pace if you were carrying it for a long time, or long distance. In this situation, the reason for the dual pads is obvious.

Another cool feature of the satchell is the handle. It is used very frequently, and comfort and design is probably more important than you think. Just grabbing it out of your vehicle, packing it up, slinging it on and off your shoulder are all instances where the handle is used and I appreciate the comfort of this one.

Not so obvious is the fact that the handle is very well reinfornced. Between the outer leather, and the pigskin lining, there is a single metal bar that spans both handle attachment points. As a lover of overbuilt things, this handle is definitely not going anywhere. You probably also notice the small outside sleeve. This is very convient for small items, such as letters needing to be mailed, and I use it for that often.

The last couple of things that I want to comment on are just cosmetically nice touches, in my opinion. One is the attachment of the strap. Not only is the stitching and rivets combination the most durable method of attachment, I really like the look.

Lastly is the handsome saddleback logo. It is actually hidden under the front flap.

In this picture, you can also see in the background the metal reinforcing bar and the pigskin lining. The pigskin lining is extremely attractive, tough and easy to clean. I love it!

All right, that is enough of the features of this thing. The rest of the review will cover the good and the bad. There is no ugly :)

The Good

Looks

Either the looks appeal to you, or they don’t. The first time I saw this bag (in a photo), I just went gaga. Everything about the looks just do it for me. Obviously, that is a huge positive. If you carry this bag in public, it is very, very common to get a comment on it. If you don’t get a comment, you definitely notice other people checking it out :) It is for an eye catcher for sure.

Leather

I love everything about the leather. The particular leather I chose was the Dark Coffee Brown. It is what I understand to be a “pull up” leather. Meaning that if you stress it, or “pull up” the leather, the color will lighten, and then return to its original color. That look gives the piece its rugged look. Another characteristic of the leather is that it retain scratches. Rubbing some oil back into the scratch, either from your finger, or through the use of a conditioner, will often remove just about any trace of the scratch. Personally, I have never cleaned the bag. I like the scratches, and to me increase the character and the “look” I originally purchased the bag for.

The pictures I showed earlier were when my bag was new. Here are a couple pictures of the present state of my bag.

The back seems to get more abuse than the front. A lot has to do with the rubbing while carrying and the way I strap it to my motorcycle.

The inside of the bag is great. It is a color matched pigskin. It is tough and durable, but it cleans up very well. I can’t imagine a better way to make this style of bag.

Size

I spent a great deal of time determining what size bag that I wanted. I made of list of the things I wanted to carry everyday (to be covered at a later time), and chose the appropriate bag. The intent was to get a satchell that was large enough to carry everything that I wanted, but not so big that I am going to be inclined to leave it behind.

For me, it is perfect. It is in no way going to fit a laptop, charger, tons of notebooks, or anything like that. While those bags are made by Saddleabck, if I had a bag that large, it also wouldn’t go on a downtown stroll with me, and I would be leaving the stuff I want with me behind. In other words, take your time here figuring out what you really want.

Convenience

I have found that a bag this size is incredibly convienent. Once you get in the habit of putting (and keeping!) all the stuff you want in there, it is just a matter of grabbing the bag. For example, I mentioned commuting often to work on my motorcycle. However, there are always times when I have to jump in the cage and ride four wheels to work. Even worse, I might have to jump into my wife’s vehicle. The big bane of switching vehicles for communiting is forgetting about my stinking ID. It is just one more thing to remember in a morning full of too much stuff to remember :) Having a bag that contains everything I want and need (including my work ID) is incredibly cool. From motorcycle to Jeep to hitching a ride with someone else, I have my stuff.

The Bad

I am hesitant to call this section “The Bad” because there isn’t really anything all that bad. If there were, I would not still be using it daily, and would move on to find something that did work for me. However, I have found some small quirks, or non-optimal things that I think folks should at least be aware of, in case you are considering dropping this much cash on a bag.

Strap Length

Even though I am going to comment on this, I am not sure that there is anything I would do about it either :)

The front strap seems pretty long. I consistently use it on the very last, or second to the last hole at most. What this means is that there is a whole lot of extra strap. When you continually set the bag down on a chair, or on the floor, the excess strap has to go somewhere. That “somewhere” ends up meaning that it gets curled up.

To me, this totally ruins the look of the bag. All neat, hard, rugged and manly lines, and then I have this curl that looks like a piggies tail. My solution is to manually curl it the other way, and sometimes tuck the strap underneath while setting it down to help minimize the curl.

On the flip side, I can see the benefit of a long strap. For example, if I had a light jacket I wanted to roll up and stuff under the flap and strap the whole ordeal down, I could. It is just not something that I do very often, and when I design my own products I design for 99% of the things I do, not the 1% that I don’t.

Raw Edges

As a knife maker, I have cut a lot (I am saying a lot) of leather in making my own sheaths. I used to do a very painful process by hand, of finishing the edges which gives a hard and durable surface on the edge. Leaving the edges “raw” basically means cutting them and leaving them as-is. For the looks of this particular, that look works great. However, raw edges usually just get better and better with age. They tend to finish themselves through wear. Not the case with mine. They seem to be getting rather fuzzy.

With all the leather I have cut, usually the cut results in a nice, smooth piece of leather. Every so often, one hide has some of this fuzz on back, or more likely, one small section of the hide has some fuzz when cut. Personally, I just don’t use it, as I don’t like it. So the fuzz bums me out a bit, and makes me think that I just didn’t get the best piece of leather for my bag.

You can say that I am “wrong” or that this is “normal” and I am crazy all you want. But the reality is, “Is this what you want your bag looking like after some wear?” The answer for me is no and yes….I am bummed.

Strap Connection

This is another thing that I would not change at all, but at least have to warn you about. The strap connect to the bag via this cool buckle.

The buckle has two overlapping “fingers.” When you pull the tab, both sides open up and grasp the ring. It works awesome, and it is a neat buckle. However, there has been more than one occasion where I grab the strap (too lazy to grab the bag handle) in order to get the bag to me. In the process of pulling it by the strap something grabs that little buckle tab and boom….the strap pops off. Just something to think about

Inside Size Deceiving

I mentioned previously that I spend a lot of time thinking about, and planning for the size of my satchel. Luckily, everything worked out. I say luckily, because the dimensions are a bit deceiving. The Saddleback website states the following:

“Dimensions are for outside of bag. Subtract 1/8” on each side for interior dimensions to allow for stitching at the seams.”

That is what I went by, plus allowing a little extra room just for good measure. Okay….I am going to have to give away one of the contents of my satchel to tell you the rest. I write, on paper, a lot. So, one of the important things for me to have in my satchel is my journal, preferably two. You can see two of them pictured here.

You can also see that they fit inside the stachel without any problem. However, the way the side is stitched in (to curl towards the inside), and then you have an inside pocket (on both sides) that also bow in towards the center, all adds up to you losing A LOT of space. It has not been a problem for me at all, and I am not complaining because I like those inside pockets. I am just saying that if you went with the sizing description from the Saddleback website, you would be under the impression that I could fit 10 of my journals inside this thing, when in fact, they do not fit in that center section. If you want to fit something specific and it needs to take up the entire interior, then beware.

Instead of losing 1/8” for stitching, I find by my measurement that you lose 3.5” of usuable space (in the center of the bag) due to construction and the interior pockets. If you look again at the picture, from the outside edge to where the full inside pocket ends, it is not hard to imagine that that distance is 1.75”.

Conclusion

You have to admit, Dave at Saddleback is a marketing genious. With pictures and videos of his bags all over the world, he knows that he is compelling people to buy something more than pieces of leather. They are buying adventure. It takes a lot of work to plan an African Safari, a lot of time of work to do it, and a lot of money to pay for all that. Who wouldn’t love to go? Since most folks never will, some part of them thinks that they can share in the part of the adventure by having the bag that went there. It is a quick and easy way for a purchase to substitute for experience, which I see happen all the time.

All I am saying is these bags will not turn you into a world traveler, and they will not suddenly change your life. If you are not traveling the world now, or having the adventures you want now, you are not likely to have them after you purchase a bag :) Whatever your current lifestyle, if you realistically imagine how this bag will fit in with that will probably determine if you will be happy with the bag or not.

I have pointed out some things that might seem not all that positive at first. That is mostly because I feel a review should be based on real use, and all aspects of that use should be told. Only then can you truly make an informed decision as to whether one of these bags are for you or not. I also believe in being “real” about what a purchase will get you. Don’t let your mind play tricks on you :)

With that in mind, even despite the things I pointed out, I absolutely LOVE my bag. I use it every day (or nearly every day), love the looks of it, the durability is great, and I have not found another product at any cost that could replace it.

Along the theme of this blog, this is truly one of the “daily use” items that I have that do bring me a bit of happiness everyday, and I believe enhance my life in some way.

Introduction

I am not stranger to gear. When feeling inspired, I actually write for a couple different publications. One is an on-line format, and the other a printed magazine. Not to mention of the gobs of gear I have horded for my own personal use :)

Most gear is hobby related. Outdoors, hiking, camping, cooking, motorcycles, guitars, photo, video, you name it. Much of that stuff though, is a big old money pit of trying to find happiness. Without getting too indepth on that topic, I mean a couple things by that statement.

One is that getting something new like that is great, at first. You do your research, are proud you have found the perfect product or perfect solution. You buy it, and it brings you great joy. You change your short term behavior to go out of your way to use it, only to find that after a period of time, you are back to your daily life and you have another piece of accumulated gear somewhere. It made your life no more happy that it was before you bought it, you are just short some more money now :)

My second take on gear hording is the substituion for real life experiences. It seems that our culture has changed into one that works more, and plays less. We seem to have less free time than we used to.  It only makes sense then that we daydream about stuff we “think” we would like to be doing and spend money on those things. When I bought my third road motorcycle (as opposed to a dirt bike) I wasn’t saying to myself “I want to do my daily commute of five miles one way back and forth to work, through crappy city strees on a two wheeled adventure bike.” No way!! I was saying, “I want to get the heck away from work, have an open road experience and adventure somewhere else, and spend some time with my beautiful wife (who also rides).” The reality is that communting on my bike is 90% of what it gets used for. Funny how we perceive the future, isn’t it? But, it isn’t entirely our fault. Sometimes our brain plays tricks on us. Something I discovered in Daniel Gilbert’s book, Stumbling on Happiness.

I said not too deep, right? Sorry about the detour. Let’s get back on course, and try to figure out where I am going with all this. I love to write, but I have to be excited about the topic. I would never make it as a writter with “assigned” topics :) I also don’t want to write about the random thoughts bouncing around in my head because honestly, who the heck would want to read about that? Not only do I have to find something interesting to write about, but I also have to pick something that people would want to read.

Easy, right? Stuff. Everyone loves stuff. As I contemplated which hobby I was going to pick on to be my subject, I quickly felt my drive for the project diminshing because I know that none of them are my true source of happiness. Sure, I would keep it for a couple weeks, and then I would lose interest. I could see that coming before I started :) Instead, I tried to look around at the stuff I use every day, or nearly everyday that has been so ingrained with my lifestyle that I know it is not going to be a passing fad, and go away. Some of the things may be usual, but I am guessing many are not. I guess you will just have to stick around and see.

I do have to admit to having a big longer range goal here in mind to. I have been doing product evaluations for quite some time. Again, that is with hobby related items in general. Once I get a good deal of writing in on the products that I currently own, I am hoping that this venture is successful enough to be able to do evaluations on stuff that I do not own, but with the same principle in mind. It must be daily, or near daily use stuff. Not the latest cool Condor machete that drums up vision of adventure in the Amazon :) Even though I love those too!

I have one final warning regarding my reviews. They are brutally honest. Most reviews seem to follow a very canned script. First, they start by quoting all the manufacturers specs. Then, they go on rehash all the selling features that marketing has already come up with. Finally, it is all puppies and ice cream regarding the product. I assume this is either because they have to kiss ass to the manufacturer that gave them the product for review, or they have to feel good about spending their money on their new toy and are trying to convince themselves that they were justified in buying it.

 My reviews just tell the good bad and the ugly. If something is great, I will tell you why I think it is great. If it is not, likewise. I just won’t say that something sucks, I will tell you why I personally think it is not cool :) I am sure I have made a lot of manufacturers mad, but oh well.  I figure the point of a good review is to inform perspective customers of what they are really going to get, not to make anyone particularly happy.