Emerson Mini CQC7 Review

I get it.  Now, I totally get it.

The cult following Emerson knives has is one of the most powerful in all of the gear world.  For quite a few people the only kind of knives that matter come in two versions: hard use and fancy Emersons (that is, production and custom Emersons).  From the outside looking in, it was hard to see why, especially with pretty strong rumors of below par fit and finish.  But then a new knife store, Merrimack Knife and Tool, opened up near my work and I recently spent a lunch hour oogling over their insane selection.  It was the first time I had seen the entire Emerson line in person and it was really helpful.  The Mini CQC7 was an easy choice.  First, it had the right size, with a blade at or just under 3 inches.  Second, I wanted to try the most "Emerson" of Emersons and there are few knives in Ernie's line that are more representative of the brand.  It has a wave, of course; it is chisel ground (meaning one side is a complete zero grind and the other had the bevels on it); and it was a tanto.  I don't normally like tantos and I have never had a chisel ground knife, so it was time to venture out of my comfort zone.

In the few days that I have had the knife before I wrote this intro (I usually write intros before the main review), I can see quite easily why people get obsessed with Emersons.  This is a dead simple, super solid, sharp knife.  Its not the prettiest thing in the world, but like big construction equipment, there is a beauty to its ruggedness.  What it lacks in traditional aesthetic appeal it makes up for in its feeling in the hand.  Emersons are the tools of BAMFs and it is, itself a BAMF tool.  This is as solid a knife as I have ever carried.  

One thing before the review starts in earnest (oh yes, I did that on purpose), the brand Emerson is as much about knives as it is about Ernie Emerson himself.  He is quite vocal in his opinions.  Here is an excellent interview with him by Nutnfancy.  Lots and lots of folks love Emerson knives in no small part because of Ernie himself.  I can see why that is the case (preaching to the choir is a valuable marketing approach, not that that is what he is doing, but bear that in mind), but that sort of "soft factors" stuff adds up to zero for me.  Just like I don't care about Mick Strider's past when reviewing the PT CC, I don't care about Ernie's "patriotism" or "family-values" approach.  I just don't give a shit.  I listen and pay attention the knife maker's opinions about knives, but that is it.  I could care less if they have opinions about war or politics.  It drives me batty when George Clooney or Angelina Jolie talk about politics.  Why should their opinions matter at all?  Or at least more than random dude down the street?  Because they are celebrity?  Because they are wealthy?  I just don't care.  The same is true with Ernie. I understand that stuff matters to him and he has every right to say what he wants (and I'd defend his right to do so in court, even if I disagreed with him), but the opinions themselves don't make the knives better.  If it matters to you, if it is a plus factor in favor of the Emerson brand, great.  It just doesn't matter to me and I wanted to state that up front so you know about and can factor it in when evaluating the validity of my opinion and this review.

Here is the product page. The Mini CQC7 costs $134.95, but this is street pricing.  Here is a written review.  Here is a quite decent video review.  This review sample was purchased at my NEW local knife store, Merrimack Knife and Tool, in Nashua, NH.  Here is my review sample (purchased with site money for giveaway):

Here is my video overview:


Twitter Review Summary: Simplicity that works, but chisel ground on the wrong side.

Design: 2

There is very little here that is wasted, excessive, or unnecessary.  The handle is thick, but not too thick.  Curve and palm swell are quick nice.  The wave is really, truly an amazing innovation, and the thumb disk is better than I thought it would be.  This knife is a first for me in so many ways--the first Emerson, the first thumb disk, the first chisel grind, and by in large I like it.  Andrew has long been a proponent of trying new things and I was worried a while back that all I was doing was reviewing knives that were competitors for my beloved Dragonfly.  I am not so worried about that anymore, and I am truly glad I ventured out of my comfort zone.  This is a knife and company that is easy to recommend.  These are excellent hard use knives and quite solidly built.  Think of the design as Cold Steel, with better materials, better design chops, and liner locks.  Its not all bulky overbuilt stuff though--there is some real subtlety here, like the stabilizing detent on the side of the blade opposite the liner lock. Oh and made in the USA.  That matters to me and I am sure it matters to some of you too. Overall, very, very solid design.  

The size and ratios are better than you'd think given the hard use heritage.  Here is the knife up against the Zippo:



The blade:handle is .67 (2.9 inches:4.3 inches).  This is roughly equal to the Delica.  Additionally I am willing to budge a little on the blade:handle in hard use knives.  The extra handle provides extra grip, always a good thing.  The blade:weight is .69.  This is not great and there is no way around it.  The Cold Steel Mini Recon, with the same or slightly larger blade size and G10 handles was a .82.  Here I think the thick stock is one issue, which I am willing to accept, but the non-milled out liners are really a waste of weight savings.  The milling out would drop weight and have nearly zero impact on lateral strength and stability. 

Fit and Finish: 2

When people complain about Emerson's it is almost always about a subpar fit and finish.  I found this criticism wholly misplaced.  This is not a mechanically complex knife.  It is not, for example, the poised, tuned machine that my XM-18 is.  But there is a difference between simple and crude.  A cantilever chair is simple.  A chopped log as a chair is crude.  For example, not the radius around the entire handle scale.



That is a very nice touch.  And the knife is full of these things.  The spine is clean and the jimping is purposeful but not shreddy (as is the finish on the G10).  The blade centering is excellent and there is no blade play in any direction even after batonning through dry oak and stabbing the knife through metal (yup, I did it and the tip is perfectly fine).  I am sure there are people out there that got lemons.  Lemons are a result of the manufacturing process.  All manufactured products have lemon examples.  But one lemon does not mean the entire line or brand is junk.  I loved the fit and finish on my Emerson and it was representative of all the Emersons I handled at Merrimack Knife and Tool, which was about four or five.  I will note that the pivot was stiff when I got the knife, but three or four days of very good and hard use has made it quite smooth.  Smooth, but not loose.  Also, there is a secondary detent on the liner opposite the lock.  It both helps suck the blade into place and it keeps the blade centered through the arc of the pivot.  Bottom line: don't listen to the whiners.  The fit and finish here is fine, especially when compared to the hard-use knife darling of the moment, the Paramilitary 2.  That is a fine knife, one of my favorites, but the review sample I had, which seemed to be on par with those others had, was pretty crudely finished.  Not bad, but certainly not better than the Mini CQC7 I had a review sample.  

Grip: 2

Oh sweet mutha'  I love this knife in the hand.  Love it.  Here it is, doing its sweet siren's song thing...



It breaks down like this--great G10 texturing, good shape, and ample thickness (insert: that's what she said joke here).  I am really impressed at how simple the shape the handle is, a small palm swell in the middle and a very mild hook at the end to hold your fingers in place.  The simplicity, again, works.  

Carry: 2

The G10 is grippy enough to worry about carry in dress pants, but this really isn't a dress knife.  In jeans or other pants (like in this picture, TAD RS Covert pants):



the G10 is fine.  Though it feels chunky in the hand, in the pocket it is actually pretty slim and compact.  This is one reason I prefer the Emerson over a knife like the ZT0350.  That knife was too wide.  It felt like I was carrying a paperback book around in my pocket.  Here, it feels like, well, a knife.  Note that the wave feature forces tip up, right handed carry.  You can get the knife tapped by Emerson for left handed carry, but that will cost you an extra $20.  Tip down carry on a waved Emerson is not possible, or at least it shouldn't be.  That would be like getting a Ferrari with an automatic transmission--a grevious sin against the gods of badassery.  

Steel: 2

I have gotten over my phobia regarding 154CM.  This is an excellent steel, especially for the money.  It also makes an especially good choice for a hard use folder--hard and tough with sufficient stain resistance.  Ernie's no dumby and his choice of steels proves why.

I batonned with the knife, cut up a few metal cans, and the edge was still sharp enough.  It was never a laser, but the steel held a utility edge for a very long time, which I think is the point.  If you want a slicer, this probably not your best choice--paper cutting tests are not the ideal use of your new Emerson.  But if you are buying an Emerson, you already know that.

Blade Shape: 2

The tanto shape is good for hard use tasks.  I jabbed this thing through a few cans and it was not just fine, but identical to what it was before.  The tanto shape is so reinforced, with lots and lots of steel brought right up to the tip.  Moving outside of hard use tasks, the tanto was better than I thought it would be in utility tasks.



That's not to say it is my favorite EDC shape, but it is not that bad.  It can be a bitch to sharpen and I think that no matter what I did, over time, the secondary point would get worn down (if someone knows the Japanese name for the secondary tip, let me know).  I'd still probably prefer a drop point, but after actually using the tanto tip in hard use tasks I can't say it was bad.  In fact, it was actually quite darn good.

Grind: 0

I know this is controversial.  Lots of people love the chisel grind.  I don't and here is why:

If you look at the Emerson website they will tell you the benefits of a chisel grind (over and over again)--its sharp, its durable, and it is easy to sharpen.  True, true, and true.  What they fail to acknowledge is that it is difficult to use, especially as ground on their knives.  In essence, they have ground the WRONG side.

Here is the angle I like to use in push cuts:



The low approach gives me good long slices.  Here I am using a piece of scrap poplar to make kindling and the Emerson, because of the chisel on the wrong side, forces me out of this angle to something like this:



The knife will cut, and cut for a long time, but these are more chops than slices or push cuts.

This is a way of illustrating the problem with pictures.  Here is what's happening.  Emerson claims: ...for any of you who have ever used a correctly sharpened wood chisel for woodworking, you know what a chisel can do..." See here for full quote.  I am guessing by the complete lack of discussion on this point anywhere on the Internet that very few Emerson users HAVE used a wood chisel.  Using one for five seconds will tell you why this is a false or at least poor analogy.  I have used a wood chisel, pretty extensively in fact, and I can tell you the problem both with the analogy and the chisel grind Emerson uses.

When using a chisel, the flat edge "references" the cut.  That is, you are cutting to the flat edge and this allows you to precisely cut things.  When a right handed user is using an Emerson the flat edge is not the "referencing edge".  Instead, the beveled edge is.  This means that unless you are taking very shallow, chopping cuts, the edge is hidden from your view or worse, glancing off the material because of the bevels.

I think it might be possible to learn how to use this grind over time, but coming from purely conventional knife grinds and the world of wood chisels I can tell you, this grind is a hassle.  In short, it may be sharp, durable, and easy to sharpen, but it is difficult to use.  And using it is the whole point (I did that on purpose too).  My humble suggestion to Emerson would be to allow the user to choose which side is ground.  Long time users probably have this down pat, but people coming to the product new or people coming from a woodworking background (like myself), would almost certainly prefer the grind set up differently. On a right handed knife, if the wood chisel is the model for the blade shape (and that is a good model to use, no doubt), the flat should be on the left hand side of the blade and the grind on the right, not the reverse.  That's what I'd prefer and allowing that as an option would be easy, as they already make left handed knives where the grind is on the side I'd prefer.  It would just be a matter of fitting those blades into a right handed knife handle.    

Deployment Method: 2 

The thumb disk worked fine.  It allowed you to slow roll the knife open and it did so quite easily.  I strongly prefer the thumb disk over a thumb stud, but probably not quite as much as a thumb hole or a flipper.  If the Mini CQC7 had just a thumb stud it would be on the border between a 1 and a 2.  Fortunately, I don't need to resolve this dilemma because of this:

The wave feature is all it is cracked up to be.  It is one of the best deployment methods on the planet, faster than anything else, even a switchblade, as retrival and deployment are the same motion.  I have used a waved knife before, in the HEST 2, but the wave on the Emerson just works better.  I have no real use for a wave deployment, but gosh it is fun to play with, even if the tail of my jacket is now terrified of the Mini CQC7.

Retention Method: 2 

The Emerson clip is dead simple and it is all the better for it.

The tension was amazing and the clip shape, perfected over time, was not a snag magnet.  Even with grippy than average G10, the clip still worked well.  Love it.

Lock: 2 

Okay, can we dispense with the notion that liner locks stink?  The Mini CQC7 proved to me that a well done liner lock is as good as any other lock.  Lock design, I have come to learn, is not as important as the fit and finish on the lock and here, you get a great version of the liner lock.  There is enough stick to keep the lock in place when open, but not so sticky that I can't get it closed.  Even when batonning, I didn't get a whole lot of lock movement.  Great, simple lock.  Just like this knife.

Overall Score: 18 out of 20

This was my first Emerson, but it will not be my last.  This is a simple, durable, and capable knife.  The grind is not my favorite, but everything else is simple, accessible genius. 

The Competition:

Though the score is only one point better than the benchmark Mini Aegis, it is not really a good comparison.  The knives to fundamentally different things.  One is a large-ish but light EDC knife and the other is a compact hard use folder.  For me, there is no question here, I'd rather have the Mini CQC7.  It can do everything the Mini Aegis can and much more.  Conversely, there is nothing the Mini Aegis can do that the Mini CQC7 can't.  

The better competition would be other hard use knives like the Cold Steel Mini Recon 1, the Spyderco Paramilitary 2, and the ZT0350 (Hard Use Shootout between these three knives found here). The Mini Recon 1 is a good competitor, something of a budget Emerson and so if money is an issue, you get probably 60% of the functionality of the Mini CQC7 in the Mini Recon 1 at half or less the price.  The two big upgrades, and they are pretty big for me, are the wave feature and the clearly superior steel.  No question that the Emerson is a better knife.  As for a better value, that is up to you.  I actually like it better than the stock PM2.  S30V, especially that thinly ground, gets more chips than Tollhouse cookies.  I like the ergos and the lock on the PM2 better, but it is not a huge difference.  The wave, again, is a substantial upgrade.  Plus, right now with the PM2 shortage, the prices are the same.  The ZT0350 is a good knife, but I dislike the recurve, the assist, and how wide the knife is, especially in the pocket. I'd prefer the Emerson for all of those reasons.  This is a truly superior compact, hard use knife.

Giveaway Bonus:

I know that this will bum out folks out of the area, but I really do appreciate having a local knife shop and want to support them.  So, here is how this going to work.  The first person to go to Merrimack Knife and Tool in Nashua with a print out of this review will win the Emerson Mini CQC7.  Simply, go to the store, show them the review, and you get the knife.  Free.  That's its.  Its there right now.  I dropped it off in the middle of a snow storm this morning.  Tell Josh and Jeremiah I said hello.  Now, while your there, it might be nice to do your part and buy something, but purchase is not required to win. Oh and in case you need ANOTHER reason to go here is one:  in New Hampshire there is no sales tax.  Go crazy you libertarian loving knife knuts.

I know this in-person only is a bit unfair to readers not in New England, so here is the second part of the contest.  Simply comment below and in one week I will pick a person at random that individual will win a Kershaw Leek that I bought in person at Kittery Trading Post earlier this year.

Remember to go local if you can.    

Readily Available Benchmarks

Over the almost three years I have been writing reviews, I have come to an understanding about the quality of the gear in the market right now.  It is very, very high.  Custom makers are putting out insane stuff.  High end production gear is equally great.  And even budget stuff is quite good.  The question that I try to answer in a review, in addition to the score, is how good a product is compared to is competition.  Until now, that competition has been vaguely defined.  From now on I am going to compare a given product to a "readily available benchmark".

The readily available benchmark idea came from another passion of mine--advanced baseball statistics. Over the years, folks with more math skills than me have figured out ways to quantify contributions players make to a winning cause.  Various metrics have been used, but right now, most analysis focuses on the statistic WAR, which stands for Wins Above Replacement.  It is a measurement of a players total contribution (offense, defense, and pitching) to a team's winning.  It essentially answers the question: how many wins did this player contribute to his team's total when compared to a readily available replacement?  Its that last part that is helpful in explaining what I mean by "readily available benchmark."

In baseball parlance "replacement level" is pretty atrocious.  It basically means a freely available player, someone that could, in theory, play in the majors but isn't or is in the majors but sitting on a bench.  Its basically the old "AAAA" player.  In terms of gear, "readily available benchmark" is actually quite high quality.  We are, as I have said many times and in many places, in a Golden Age of Gear.  As a result, the stuff that is readily available is not bad at all.  

"Readily available" means that you could buy this item for a reasonable amount of money without having to resort to an internet-only store or forums boards.  I want this item to be something that you could get in your car and go buy right now, regardless of where you live and what stores are around you.  I want this item to be essentially the smart choice among the options you have at places like Wal-Mart, Home Depot/Lowes, or a local sporting goods chain.  For people that live around a specialty knife store, your lucky.  Most folks don't.  For the rest of us, a readily available knife means going to one of those four places and getting the best they have.  Readily available can vary from place to place, but the items I have chosen are things I can find around me pretty easily.   

I want to emphasize readily available for two reasons.  One, it is probably as close as I can get to universally available, meaning that everyone has access to it.  Second, it seems to be a fair way of eliminating pie-in-the-sky, super rare, internet only products.  Its frustrating to hear about all of this great gear and not have it be something you can buy.  I get that.  This is an attempt avoid that problem.

On other aspect of "readily available" is that the item has to conform to as many legal standards as possible.  Autos are awesome, but they won't be handy to use as a benchmark because they can't be purchased or carried in a lot of places.  For this reason the Kershaw Skyline, probably my favorite readily available knife here where I live is off the list.  At more than 3 inches in blade length the Skyline is technically illegal in many jurisdictions.    

"Benchmark" means that I am not simply picking the most readily available product, which would probably be some kind of rebranded, unknown origin piece of junk.  There are some really horrible lights out there.  Really horrible.  Things like the big bin of lights you see at Home Depot/Lowes on Black Friday.  I don't mean to use those as points of comparison.  They are horrible and a comparison to them would be useless.  I also don't want to use famous, mainstream products.  They are, by in large, just slightly less horrible than the bin-o-lights lights.  Mag lights are garbage.  They are quite expensive for what you get and what you get isn't impressive at all.  When your core design and technology is: 1) 30 years old; and 2) designed to ensure you make a profit not to be a good tool there are going to be problems.  And I assume I don't need to go in to detail about the raging trash fire of product design and safety that is Gerber, right?

With that laid out here are the "readily available benchmarks" for the various product categories (note: they will change over time, as appropriate, and they are US only):

Knife: SOG Aegis Mini (score: 17 out of 20, 1 off in Steel for AUS8, 1 off in Grind for a paper thin grind on the tip, and 1 off for a wobbly pocket clip in Retention Method).



I admit it.  I missed this one.  After reviewing it for AllOutdoor and using it after the review, I am convinced this is a very good to great production folder.  Its not flashy.  Its not blinged out.  But it is a damn good knife.  3 inches of blade, good clip, excellent shape in the pocket and the hand, and all of this in a 2 ounce package.  I know this might sound like heresay from me, but this thing blows the Delica out of the water (got to go back and fix the score).  I know I have said I don't like assists and I still don't, but in this package it really works well.   This knife is available at my local Wal-Mart.  

Flashlight: Fenix PD22 (score: 15 out of 20; 1 off in UI for the unnecessary 2-button clicky; 1 off in Beam Quality for a terrible tint, 2 off in Carry for a friction fit clip and overall fat body tube, and 1 off in Hands Free for no tailstanding).



The best readily available light is significantly less competitive than the best readily available knife.  This is understandable because the group of people willing to pay a premium for a good light is still much smaller than those willing to pay a premium for a good flashlight.  The PD22 is decent.  It is a good nightstand light.  The UI is okay.  The performance is decent (aside from the horrendous tint).  I like it.  Its just not as compelling as the Mini Aegis is, comparatively speaking.  This light is available at my local REI.  

Multitool: Leatherman Wingman (score: 17 out of 20; 1 off in Fit and Finish for slop in the handles; 2 off in Materials for the steel choice of 420HC and the thin, stamped (as opposed to cast) handles; very similar to the Sidekick with better tool selection).

Leatherman dominates the multitool market.  It dominates the high end (nothing compares to the Charge TTi, nothing).  It dominates the middle (the Skeletool slays all comers). And as of two years ago it curb stomped its low end competitors with the Wingman.  The Wingman has a better tool selection than the similarly priced Sidekick, opting for a set of scissors over a saw.  All of this for around $25 is insane.  Again, we are living in the Golden Age of Gear.  The only real drawback is the blade steel and the weight.  Other than that, the Wingman is a budget Wave, probably the most beloved of all Leatherman tools.  This multitool is available at my local Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and Wal Mart.  

OPMT: Nite Ize DoohicKey (score: 17 out of 20; 1 off in Retention Method for an inability to lay flat against other keys, 2 off in Tool Selection for the lack of a Phillips driver and no snag edge).



I thought about the Shard, but it is not as widely available.  I cannot find one near me in the sporting goods or outdoor stores and so it is the DoohicKey.  This is a new release and unlike a lot of gilded lily products from Nite Ize, this thing works and works well.  It is understated and minimal and I like it a great deal.  Plus it is $5.  This one piece multitool is available at my local Home Depot, Lowes, and EMS sporting goods store.

Pen: Zebra F-701 with Fisher Refill Mod (score: 16 out of 20; 2 off in Appearance for a stultifyingly boring shape, 1 off for balance/in hand feel for a barrel that seems too thin for its weight, and 1 off for deployment method because you have to make a mod to get the pen to accept a very basic and widely used cartridge and even then the clicky doesn't work flawlessly).

There is a little bit of work that needs to be done before you have a very decent pen, but the work is simple.  You can do with a knife and a paper clip, if necessary.  The total price is around $10 for the pen and the refill and it is easily worth it.  This set up crushes the Fisher Bullet Pen, getting rid of the terrible cap and using more durable and scratch-resistant materials.  I like it a lot.   This pen is available at my local Target, Wal Mart, and Staples.  The Fisher refill is available at my local Staples.      

Water Bottle: Wide Mouth Insulated Klean Kanteen (score: 11 out of 20; 1 off in Carry for the slick bottle and no lash point, 1 off in Grip for the same reasons, 1 off in Drink Quality/Mouth for the awful array of options for caps or the metal tasting lip, 1 off in Materials for chintzy plastic caps, 1 off in Insulation for middle of the road temperature holding times, 2 off in Durability for the dentastic 18/8 stainless steel used, 2 off in Leak Proof, as every cap, standard or aftermarket leaks like a screen door underwater)

Probably the worst of the readily available benchmarks compared to the other products.  The Kleen Kanteen is so ho-hum and so bad that people think all water bottles, necessarily, stink.  The Square proved to me that there is a TON of work to be done in terms of product design in the water bottle market.  It is so superior to the Klean Kanteen in every way but one (insulation) that I know we will see better soon.  Folks this is not the iPhone of water bottles, its the Discman of water bottles--the most common low ebb product before the product class was completely revolutionized.  This bottle is available at my local Dick's Sporting Goods, REI, and EMS.  It is sometimes available at my local LL Bean store.     

There are too many different kinds of packs to select one and have it been the readily available benchmark for all packs.  After all, my briefcase and backpack do VERY different things.

That's a pretty darn good EDC.  I'd never carry both the folder and the multitool, but I would carry everything else at once, with the DoohicKey landing on the keychain.  It is a testament to how good gear is right now that the readily available benchmarks are so incredibly high performing.

Going forward I am going to make sure to tell you how the product stacks up against the readily available benchmark in its product category.    

Go Local Week

So last week was a day when we all go to the Big Boxes and buy three pounds of batteries for 50 cents.  Monday, today, is when we all go on line and support our favorite niche sites (see banners to the right).  But I want to focus on something else.  This week I want to talk about those local gear stores.  If you are lucky enough to live in Utah then it is Blade HQ.  For the rest of us, we have to go looking.  Over the past year I did that looking and if you are in New England there are, finally, some good places to recommend.  Bass Pro Shop is okay, good prices and knowledgeable folks, but the stock is decided low tier, same goes for the LL Bean headquarters in Maine.  Both are more shopping spectacles than gear havens, but there are worse places to be conscripted to go to as the bag holder for your significant other.  I'd go once for the spectacle, but that is about it.

Here are my four favorites (please, comment below if have others...I am always up for a trip).

Evans on the Common:  No knives and only a few flashlights, but man do they have a stock of outdoor clothing.  They have virtually the entire line of Filson stuff and a ton of other brands you never see anywhere else.  Dave Evans is the nicest most knowledgeable person on the planet, capable of treating you to a history of Filson or suggesting the latest fabrics for high end jackets.  Its really a shoe store, but the stock of jackets is the best I have seen in person anywhere.  His staff is equally smart and the whole thing has an old store, New England feel.  Perhaps it is the town commons on the other side of the road and the Robert Frost-esque simple church on the hill around the corner.  Worth a trip, I promise you, especially if you are looking for a jacket that will last three decades. 

Address:  18 Highland St., Townsend, MA 01469

Other things in the area: Bailey's is down the road and is a restaurant with a Friday's-like menu.  Blah.  If you can drive a little more after you reach Evans Gibbet Hill is just a quick jaunt away and has some of the best food in Central Mass.  The Townsend Library is also quite charming (with outstanding, custom woodwork throughout thanks to a generous donation from the founder of Sterilite, the major employer in Townsend).  Its open approximately 35 minutes a day, but if you time it right it is a cozy place.  

Kittery Trading Post:  This is really a site to behold, a crazy sprawling complex with things as varied as canoes to cannons.  They have a decent stock of knives with knowledgeable staff.  The prices are a bit high, MSRP, but they make up for that by having a really good stock of used knives.  I go once in a while just to see if they have any OOP Spydercos that I have hunting.  One day I know I will find a ZDP-189 Caly Jr or a Jess Horn ZDP-189 Lightweight.  

Address: 301 US 1, Kittery, ME 03904

Other things in the area: Portsmouth is fifteen minutes away and there are lots of fun places to eat and you can have your significant other drop you off and she can go shopping at the outlets and you can peruse.  Save your lunch budget to help you get a slightly nicer knife or light or other piece of gear and buy some fudge as your meal.  Not healthy, but it is actually delicious (you can't really screw up fudge).  

Sawyer's Cutlery: I went on a journey last May, taking a day off as a personal day, and driving all the way to the eastern side of Massachusetts.  The stock was good (though there were lots of kitchen knives), the prices were excellent, and the store owner was great--knowledgeable and patient. 

Address: 1408 Washington St, Hanover, MA 02339

Other things in the area:  There is a Panera across the street, but Hanover itself is a dump.  Scituate, Massachusetts is about ten minutes away and it is as picturesque a place as you find in all of New England, with plenty of good unique restaurants, a great music store (like instruments music store, though they also sell CDs and the like), and ocean views and an iron gray coast line that will be burned into your brain:

Merrimack Knife and Tool:  Josh and his brother just opened the store last week and it is tucked into an office park off of 101A in Nashua, NH.  It also happens to have the best stock of any store I have ever seen ever.  Josh started out online only with www.PVK.com.  Now with Merrimack Knife and Tool, you can see in person knives you'd never see anywhere else.  He has Kershaws and ZTs, Microteches (yeah for New Hampshire's sensible knife laws) and Hogues.  In an hour I handled more knives in person than I had in five years.  Living in a former gear desert will do that for you.  There prices are very competitive, their stock is insanely awesome, from budget to custom, to modified (ask to see the tricked out Vallottons, they will blow you away).  Oh and a good thing about buying in NH?  No sales tax.  That Microtech UXT-70 just got about 7% cheaper.   They had almost the entire line of Emerson knives and I ended up purchasing a Mini CQC7 for the site for review (giveaway coming).
 
Address: 2 Townsend West #8, Nashua, NH 03063

Other things in the area:  There is quite a bit of tax free shopping around MKT.  There is a Whole Food there (opening soon, as of December 2013, check to see) in case you want some kobe beef, but careful you might use up all your knife budget.  About 20 minutes away is a great, hidden gem of a restaurant called Black Forest Cafe.  Heat and eat and dine in are highly recommended.  

For the next post I am going to outline what I think is the best EDC kit you can assemble with readily available stuff, provided you are not lucky enough to live in a place with good stores.  Basically, this is the best you can get from the Big Box stores. 

You Decide

This article is a little different than the normal article.  I am doing a bit of investigation here, hopefully it is helpful.  All of the information in this piece is public information or information sent to me and used with permission.  I honestly don't know how this will go over or who is right.  I am looking for input from you folks and I want to make sure that the trust you place in me is earned.  I am not playing favorites for anyone, except you the reader.  With that said, here goes.  

After review of the TT PockeTTool 69, a few comments pointed out the similarity between the TT PockeTTool 69 and the Bottle Grenade, a OPMT sold via Kickstarter.  I promised readers I would do some digging and then present what I found.  This article is a summary of that.  In preparation, I contacted both TT PockeTTool and the maker of the Bottle Grenade, Brad, for responses.

Up front I will tell you that TT PockeTTools has been very good the site.  He sends stuff for review and is a genuinely nice guy.  I like him and I like his designs (especially the Chopper), a lot.  But my loyalty is and always will be with you folks, the readers.  If required, I'll burn every bridge I have worked hard to build with folks in the gear industry to preserve the reliance and trust you place on my reviews and opinions.  I don't do this for a profit at all.  It is about getting good information out there.  If that means that a gear maker or company that is friendly to me is no longer friendly, then so be it.  I have been threatened by companies (like: "we won't support you"; not anything bad) after bad reviews before.  I am still here.  I don't do this for a profit, so threatening to take the site away from me or trying to shut it down is like trying to steal from a Buddhist monk--they have nothing to take and anything they do have, they give away.  I am giving away for free all of this information and all of the gear samples I get for review on this site and I have very little other than time invested here.  My goal is not to make money, but to have fun and get some information out there.

Know that I did not consider this post lightly.  I talked to a lot of people before I wrote and posted this.  But ultimately, if there is a question of concern the readers of this site have, it is also a question I have.  I am going to lay out all of the cards, everything, and then you decide.  

One thing though before I lay everything out.  I am kind of worried this was not a geniune controversy, but a ploy for free advertising.  The comments were anonymous and I have no way of tracking them.  Keep that in mind while reading, especially when you get to the section "other stuff."  If I find out that is the case (how, I have no idea), I will let you know.

TT gave me permission to post his email response (which is below, in full).  Brad contacted me over my Twitter feed and since that is public, I will assume he has no objection to me posting what is already out there.  

The Two Devices

TT PockeTTool 69:

Bottle Grenade:

The Makers' Responses

TT PockeTTools:

Hi Tony,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to show that the TT-69 and the Grenade are not similar at all.

Late today I received an email from someone who maybe the owner of the Grenade.  The email was unprofessional which is why I didn't respond.  Until receiving this email, I was not aware of this product being on the market.  I had not even heard of kickstarter or visited their site until after I designed the TT-69.

The TT-69 is a bottle opener and key chain dangler.  It encompasses none of the other specifics that the Grenade has. 
Comparing the TT-69 and the Grenade, it is not that similar at all.

The TT-69 was designed as a number "6" with 9 holes.  The Grenade design resembles, I suppose, a grenade.   The TT-69 was designed to hold keys, hang on your belt loop and open bottles. The TT-69 has a single short hook to latch to the belt loop (not a long one).  There are many other multitools in the industry with a similar hook like the Grenade.  The TT-69 also has a lanyard hole on top which the Grenade does not.  There is a totally different "pry" off bottle opener style (there are no pop off elements on the TT-69 like on the Grenade).  The TT-69 has nine of the same size holes the Grenade has different size holes plus hexes.  The picture below shows a similar pop off style like the Grenade.

I don't see how its even being compared or complained about. They are two completely different tools.

For example, is the maker to the Grenade ripping off this product? It has the same exact design of bottle opening. 

Or perhaps the parachute multitool which has similar features and looks the same as the Grenade except its not a circle. Does that mean the Grenade copied the Parachute design?

 Lastly, its very unprofessional to make false statements about a company when the products are not the same.

Thanks Tony for your time. I appreciate all that you do.

Brad:

I'd like to know his name.  I think he may have backed me and see my early prototype, looked just like his.

Here is my argument--Bottle Grenade--the last opener you will ever need. by Brad.

I then asked TT PockeTTools about this and he wrote back saying that he had not heard of Kickstarter and that he wasn't a backer.  Note that Brad again linked to his KS project page in the tweets and there was a link to his KS page in the comments.

Here is a piece about the similarity of designs of multitools.  Here is another.

What all of this means, again, I leave up to you.

Other Stuff

When TT PockeTTools started he got in trouble on EDCF for shill posting, that is claiming he was  buyer interested in a goods instead of a seller of those goods.  That's not cool.  I did not know about this prior to accepting review samples.  Now that I know this, however, I would have still accepted those samples for review.  First, nothing he did was illegal.  Folks shill stuff all of the time--its called advertising.  Do you really think the models on soda commercials love the soda?  They are shilling.  But doing this in a forum is worse because this community is small and based on honesty.  Shill posting isn't honest.  I am willing to give TT PockeTTools a second chance because: 1) he came clean and made amends right away; 2) he has done nothing since then, to my knowledge; and 3) he is hardly the first person in the gear world to make a mistake.  

Brad is not free of controversy either.  Perhaps you noticed a while ago that I had to amend my review policy to address requests I got for shill tweets and posts.  He is the reason why.  He asked for a tweet, then when I asked for a review sample, I got radio silence.  I didn't bother to make that public when it happened because, well, who cares?  Its not exactly news to tell people I DIDN'T get a review sample.  So I ignored it.  A lot of stuff happens like this, you'd be surprised.  The bottom line is I tweet out stuff on KS that I find interesting.  I do it without being asked, but I refuse to just turn the Twitter account or this site into a complex ad.  Additionally, the comments section of the TT PockeTTool 69 and the tweets Bottle Grenade sent aren't the first time Brad has claimed something is a ripoff, then posted a link to his stuff, as a way of getting free advertising.  Again, note the anonymous comments section posts in the 69 review.  Here is the link to the Multitool.org thread where he is admonished for doing the same thing (http://forum.multitool.org/keychain-one-piece-tools/new-flat-tool-from-stagejunk/). 

But bear in mind that there is a lot of "misdeeds" out there in the gear industry.  By in large, I think this the natural extension of a business where there is a lot of money floating around, vague notions of intellectual property (and until recently, zero patent protections), and, frankly, inexperienced business people.  

There is pretty substantial evidence that Mick Strider faked being in the military (or at least what he did while in the service) and got in real legal trouble for other things.  I am not someone's judge and as long as they offenses aren't SO bad (rape, murder) I can overlook them and focus on the gear.  Similarly, digging around and doing research on Bark River Knife and Tool led me to some information about the founder of that company, Mike Stewart.  The information is much less solid than the stuff on Strider, but again there appears to be legal problems.  This is a business and people get pissed off when money is at stake.  Additionally, this is a business where lots and lots of people got started making WEAPONS.  It would be unusual for the opposite to exist--everyone making gear is a bunch of angels.  Then there is the case of Microtech and ZT.  It seems clear to me that what happened there was not exactly honest either, but again, I am not a judge.  Gear is good=move on (absent, again, something very serious).  I am writing about gear, not the people that make it.

I am not condoning or approving any of these things.  I am simply taking the position that I am not the person to publicly decide what should happen.  So many of the problems in our country today stem from people trying to tell others what to do and think.  I am not going to contribute to that.  I'll give you the facts, you make up your own mind, and do what you want.  I would mention the Microtech thing in any review of their products, as I did with Strider's history in the review of the PT, but so far as I am concerned, I am going to just take that information into consideration and move on.  I want you to know about it so you can decide what you think is appropriate.  I am not in the business of trying to hunt people down.  No use crucifying someone.  I have more important things to do.  If you feel like doing so, great.  I'm just not going to get into it.

There is one exception to this rule and that is the case of counterfeits.  I would probably review the San Ren Mu 705 and note that it was a clone of a Sebenza, same blade shape, same handle shape, etc.  But I would not review a "Kevin Johns" Sebenza.  That maker is producing a clone and selling it as the original.  I am interested in supporting the people that put their time and energy into making good stuff.  Counterfeiting does the opposite of that.  And counterfeiting IS a crime.  Even if Brad is right, again something you have to decide, this is not a case of counterfeiting.  

Conclusion

I have no dog in this fight.  I have reviewed TT's stuff in the past.  He is a good guy to me.  His stuff is well made.  Other this little blow up, I have had no dealings with Brad.  Not because I haven't tried, though.  But this is about what you think.  I promised to look into the issue and I did.  You decide what you think should happen.  Comment in the posts below, but keep it civil.  My rule has been to never delete a comment for any reason, even if they personally attacked me (see the Cryo review), but in this one instance, I am going to make an exception.  If the comments get out of hand, I will take them down.  

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals

The two sponsors, Blade HQ and E2Field Gear are both running sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

E2Field Gear

Mike will be running short sales all weekend long starting on Friday.  Each sale will have a new item with low pricing.  Among the items will be the Fisher Space Pen, Field Notes, and the much beloved Zebralight SC52.  That last one will be at the lowest price Mike has ever sold it for, which means it will beat just about anyone else's prices as Mike had them low to begin with. 

Remember, click the banner to the right to support the blog.  The discount code will not work.  These are bare bones prices as it is.  Telling Mike Everyday Commentary sent ya'.

Blade HQ

They are blowing it out, really amazing stuff.  There will be all sorts of deals, but here are the main

Black Friday Deals:

Kimura VIII for $84.99 (Save 53%) - The Kimura 8 was discontinued after just a few were made. We have a bunch with stainless steel handles, no G-10. There are not many Kimuras left and once they are gone, there won't be any more. This one won't be on our site until the day the sale launches.

Kershaw Vapor III for $13.99 (Save 53%) - Model 1655ST on sale.

TOPS BOB Fieldcraft for $99.99 (Save 44%) - This is the Blade HQ exclusive version.

CRKT Crawford Kasper for $16.99 (Save 43%) - Model 6783N.

Lightning OTF for $19.99 (Lowest Price Ever) - 2 Models only on sale. Tan handle with satin serrated blade, and gray handle with satin serrated blade.

Protech Rockeye Automatic for $168.95 (Save 44%) - Les George design.

Boker Kwaiken Orange for $79.99 (Save 47%) - Blade HQ exclusive.

CRKT Carson Flipper for $39.95 (Save 56%) - Model M16-13ZLEK.

Boker Albatros for $73.95 (Save 57%) - Anso design.

Spyderco Sharpmaker for $49.95 (Save 47%)

Kershaw Echelon for $45.95 (Save 60%)

Kershaw Scallion for $41.99 (Save 65%) - This model only.

Of particular note are three knives--the Orange Kwaiken, an awesome collab that seems to avoid the flaws of many Boker knives, the Albatros, a Ti framelock at a bargain price, and the Echelon, a super cool looking knife with good steel and a great size for a low price.  The non-knife, the Sharpmaker, is always a good buy and rarely goes on sale. 

Like seen on TV though, wait...there is more:

Cyber Monday:

Get ready.  Wake up early.  Have your credit card ready.  Blade HQ has a run of exclusive HINDERER XM-18 3.5 knives for $499.95, an excellent, if not unprecedented price for a non-direct sale.  Here are some sweet pics:

 and

and

The Ti framelock side is blue anodized.  These look super hot.

Here are the other Cyber Monday deals:

Smith and Wesson Extreme Ops for $15.99 (Save 77%) - Automatic Knife. This model only.

CRKT Hammond Cruiser for $16.99 (Save 76%) - Model 7914CM.

Brous Blades Silent Soldier Ranger for $69.99 (Save 46%) - This model only.

SOG Tac automatic for $79.95 (Save 57%) - This model only.

CRKT Shinbu for $149.95 (Save 57%)

Boker Rhino for $42.95 (Save 50%) - This model only.

CRKT Shenanigan for $48.95 (Save 61%) - This model only.

Kershaw Leek for $32.95 (Save 59%) - 4 models for $32.95 each. 1660, 1660OL, 1660PUR, 1660SWBLK.

Boker Manaro Bullseye for $116.50 (Save 45%)

Spyderco Yojimbo 2 for $99.95 (Save 46%)

There are quite a few good buys here: the Brous looks nice and at a great price, the Shenanigan has gotten good feedback, I like the Leek quite a bit (especially at that price), and the Yojimbo 2 is a sweet, if specialized, blade. 

As always, buy through this link and support the blog:

Blade HQ

Oh, and good luck nailing one of the very limited edition Hinderers (the Blade HQ logo is tastefully done on the lock side as well):

HDS Rotary Executive 200 Review

The history of the the HDS Rotary is a long one.  It was introduced and there were bugs.  Then it was tweaked and all but disappeared from the marketplace.  Ones and twos leaked out and Henry's waitlist grew very long.  I had written them off a long, long time ago.  My logic was pretty simple: a waitlist that long is the equivalent of saying "You'll get one eventually."  This indefinite wait in the world of flashlights and emitter technology is simply unacceptable.  By the time you'd get your light it would be outdated.  You would have paid for state of the art and you would received the best in class five years ago.

Oh how wrong I was.

I found a retailer selling the HDS Rotary unbranded, but a look at the light and the links told me this was an HDS Rotary.  I plunked down $200 and started to wait.  Unlike folks on Henry's list however my wait was about 4 days.  The Rotary arrived and I was instantly, instantly taken in.  From about the second day of the testing period the question changed from "Is this a good light still?" to "Is this the best light ever?"  I don't say that lightly.  I have had a chance to handle and own some of the finest illunmination tools ever devised by the human brain and the HDS Rotary rivals or bests most of them.  This is rarified air.

The 200 lumen output is not an issue.  Its more than enough, and it is a real 200 lumens, no baloney.  But the key to the Rotary's success is just how polished, worked over, and refined it is.  You can be best in class through sheer innovation or by taking a good idea and distilling it to perfection.  Its the Telsa v. Mercedes debate.  The MBI HF-R is the Telsa.  The HDS Rotary is the Mercedes.  The question I will answer by the end of the review is simple--is this the best light of all time?  Right now, writing this intro before I finish testing, I am not sure, but it is definitely in the running.  

Here is the HDS Rotary page.  Availability is still very limited.  The HDS Rotary Executive 200 costs $200.  There are three HDS models--the Twisty, the Clicky, and the Rotary.  They all come in a variety of outputs--100 lumens, 140 lumens, 170 lumens, 200 lumens, Hi CRI, and IR.  There are two tailcap configurations--Tactical and Executive.  The tactical tailcap protrudes making tailstanding impossible.  The executive is flush and tailstands well.  You can get a AlTiN coated bezel that is grayish-purple or a silver bezel.  You can get mineral glass or sapphire for the lens.  Additionally, you can mix and match features to make a full custom HDS light.  The HDS Rotary Executive 200 is my ideal configuration.  Here is Snareman's video treatise on the HDS Rotary (his is a Tactical model).  Here is the latest HDS thread on CPF (the HDS cult is powerful on CPF, now I know why).  Finally, here is my review sample (purchased with personal funds for my personal collection):

Twitter Review Summary:  A gloriously refined light that is among the best in the world. 

Here is my video overview of the HDS Rotary Executive 200:


Design: 2

The Arc 4 chassis gave rise to the Ra lights that became the HDS lights.  It also begat the Novatac series of lights.  Over a decade old this simple shape still works very, very well.  Henry didn't just make the shape better, he essentially rebuilt the chassis from the ground up, all with an eye towards much, much better durability and functionality.  The position of the selector ring towards the rear of the light is a stroke of genius, making this one of the three best UIs I have ever used.  It is precise, easy, and functions without the ability to see.  I'd like a bit smaller body and the inclusion of a pocket clip, but the lack of those things is vastly overshadowed by just out stout and elegant this light is.

Fit and Finish: 2

If there is something askew about this light I couldn't find it.  The Rotary is so smooth, so tightly put together, it feels like it is made of a single piece of aluminum.  It has a heft to it, a solidity to it that is very rare.  The walls of the Rotary are significantly thicker than any light I have ever seen or handled.  The Rotary seems like it could be dropped off the top floor of my house on to the ground and still work. In fact, some of the endurance tests on the HDS site seem to confirm this.  The head is fully potted meaning the electronics are sealed in a resin or glue making them less susceptible to shock and moisture.  The threads are acme threads that are trapezoidal instead of triangular in shape.  This makes it much more difficult to cross thread.  It also makes them much heartier.  The bezel is stainless steel and it has a nice stonewashed finish to it.  It also seems to be as thick as the steel on a bulldozer shovel.  For all of this durability the Rotary still feels downright refined, like a well used tool a decade or two old with no sharp edges.  The fit and finish is worth more than a two, but it would break the scale.  This is one of the reasons why the Rotary is so extraordinary.    

Grip: 2

I love the simple but usefil shape to the Rotary and the mild knurling is downright perfect--grippy but not offensive.  The grip is great because it also does this:



The shape puts your hand in the right place to both control the selector ring and use the clicky.  All of this can be done with one hand and it makes the Rotary simply amazing.  In addition to these two things, the Rotary has that perfect length to diameter ratio that is the mark of quite a few great flashlights.

Carry: 2

The Rotary is JUST on the right side of big.  Any bigger and it would be too big.  A clip would be nice, but the selector ring makes it impossible for the normal HDS clip to work.  Don't even think about the old HDS clip, that thing was a design disaster.  The Rotary can still slip into a coin pocket and hide there.  It is also not terrible dropped in a pocket, even without a clip.

Output: 2

Look, the lumens arms race is a suckers bet.  You DON'T need that a 1,000 lumens.  Its fun to have, but in an EDC light it is almost always too much.  I like the max high here at 200 lumens.  Its fine.  Not the best out there, but plenty good.  The real star here is the low.  The low on the Rotary is the best I have ever seen in a light.  It is enough to illuminate stuff in the dark, but not enough to rob your night vision.  Furthermore the other 15 gradients of output all seem helpful and are easy to access.  The output here is great, even if the high end isn't record breaking.

Runtime: 2

Its hard to measure the runtime both because of the highly variable (though not infinitely variable) output and the fact that the Rotary takes both primary and rechargeable batteries.  Suffice to say the runtime on low is days and the runtime on high is listed at an hour plus.  Given the format of a 1xCR123a battery that is very good.  

Beam Type:  2

You might want to have more throw in a light this big and I think that is a fair criticism.  I wish it was more of a thrower too, the length is certainly there.  But in the end, this still a very good flood light.  EDC tasks are almost always flood tasks and the fact that you can precisely dial down the output to prevent bright flood lightning from blowing your vision is a big plus.  

Beam Quality: 2

There is a Hi CRI HDS light, but is not available in the Rotary.  Still the tint is actually quite good, no disco ball purples here.  Additionally like the Novatac, the Rotary also has a very clean and evenly shaped beam profile.



The reflector is a very mild orange peel reflector and it produces a nice diffuse transition from hot spot to spill.  Nothing less than excellent here.

UI: 2

I had long thought that the clicky was unnecessary with a good selector ring, but the Rotary has convinced me that when done right a clicky is a helpful addition to the selector ring.  By keeping the clicky inside the selector ring, you get a ton of control, all with one hand.  It is easy to use and works without any light.  Additionally with the clicky you can still jump to high directly with a double click.



Turning the dial also gives you direct access to high or low or anything in between.  Set it in the desired position and press the clicky.  Frankly, this set up, with the clicky and the tailcap accessible with one hand (as opposed to opposite ends like on the JetBeam and Sunwayman lights), is as good as any other UI out there.  As good as the MBI clockface UI and the mutli-stage twisty.  This is the second reason why this light is truly incredible.  

Hands Free: 0

Okay, here is the problem.  The light can tailstand but it does so poorly.  Additionally, it will roll like a stone.  Here is why:



The light is perfectly, totally, and completely round.  This does stink, especially because there is an easy fix.  If the screw that stopped the selector ring from rotating was a smidgeon bigger it could also operate as anti-roll device.  Super easy fix.  Henry, you reading?

Overall Score: 18 out of 20

There is a good argument that the HDS Rotary Executive 200 is the best light in the world.  The build quality is insanely great.  The UI is perhaps the best on any light, equal to my two favorites.  This is a very good light.  I am sure that there are ways to add a clip and lot of folks have ported over the Fenix friction clip from the PD22.  I also think the raised screw would be great, but unnecessary with a good clip design.  Still, even without these features, the Rotary is easily worth the money and the wait associated with acquiring one.  A few retailers have had them pop up in stock recently and they are totally worth looking around.  They are GREAT.

CORRECTIONS AND UPDATES

On Monday November 25th, a great reader forwarded the review to Henry himself.  Henry kindly replied and made some corrections and updates.  Here they are.

1.  The EDC Twisty has not been in production for a while.  It was phased out a year after the EDC Clicky was released.

2.  The Arc4 was, itself, an evolution on Henry's Action lights.  More about the Action lights can be found here.  The Action light begat the Arc4 and the Arc4 begat the EDC Ultimate, more info here.  This is where Novatac (which went out of business 2 years ago) came into the picture.  That light was based on the EDC Ultimate.  The body of the Rotary is much closer in appearance to the EDC Ultimate and the Arc4, but the Action light was where it all started.

3.  Pocket clips for all HDS lights are coming, including clips that will work with the Rotary.  I think reading that I fainted a little.  All of a sudden I woke up and it was like 7:35 PM.  I can't wait.

4.  A Hi CRI Rotary is available through the Custom Rotary page on the HDS site.

5.  High is reached not by a double click, but by a press and hold.

6.  Tailstanding is possible and it will be perfect, not as wobbly as I had mentioned in the review if you depressurize the light.  I noticed that mine depressurized naturally over the course of a day or two and now it is completely flush.  There is a fix mentioned on the HDS site, found here.  I am not adding a point back in because this sort of work around shouldn't be necessary, but if it bothers you there is a fix.    

My BKR Review

There is no limit to what I will endure to get good information for a review.  For example, toting around the girly-est pink water bottle on the planet.  It was actually not the bottle, but the silicone sleeve that was rosy pink.  Still, it was an attention getting at work.  The My BKR was the first glass bottle I have used extensively and it proves the value of glass in a water bottle.  There are two flaws with the bottle, one major and one minor, but it is a useful bottle, and in the right role--as an indoor workout companion--it excels.

Let me be crass--this is a bottle made for and marketed to women.  If you look at the Press page on their website there is nary a single source, other than a sprinkling of newspapers ('member them?, how quaint), that isn't either for women or a celebrity endorsement from a woman.   What do Natalie Portman, Blake Lively, and Mylie Cyrus have in common?  Apparently, they like this bottle.  If that doesn't motivate you to buy it, well, never mind.  I am sort of over the idea of a celebrity endorsement.  I think most of you folks are too.  But just because something is marketed towards women doesn't mean it is useless to dudes.  It strikes me as a silly marketing strategy to alienate half the market.  After all, dudes drink water too.       

Here is the My BKR product page.  Here is a review of the My BKR.  The bottle will run you $28.  You can get the My BKR through their website or Amazon.  

 

If purchased through the Amazon link, proceeds benefit the site.   Here is my review sample (purchased with site money):

Here is the water bottle scoring system again.

Twitter Review Summary: Glass is GREAT, the mouth is not.

Design: 2

Clean, simple, and elegant, the My BKR looks very good.

The idea of pairing up a silicone sleeve with a glass vessel is a good one.  The silicone adds grip and cushions any shock. Here they went a step further and added a splash of color.  The review sample happened to be pink, but you can get it in Smoke or Black or Dark Burgundy, if you aren't that confident in your manliness.  The cap is an wonderful thing.  By canting the connector loop at an angle it makes the bottle easier to carry and easier to open.  Plus it gives it a bit of design flair.  I know the Apple aesthetic of clean modernism is popular right now, but its hard to say this bottle is ugly even if it is very much Apple-esque in its appearance. 

Fit and Finish: 2

There are three parts here and they all fit together well, so fit is not much of an issue.  Finish on the other handle is something that can be meaningfully evaluated.  The bottle's sleeve was a point I was worried about and through my use and my wife's it has stood up quite well.  It did not lose its elasticity and it has stayed tight to the glass body the entire time.  Additionally, a small rubber seal on the inside of the cap makes the bottle shut tightly.  There are no seams or edges and the mouth is nice and round. 

Carry: 1

Pretty simple here: the bottle is too wide to fit into a few cup holders, such as those in my 2013 Subaru Impreza or my wife's Forester.  Its not a fatty, but there are a few other places it doesn't fit.  It also carries poorly in a bag, such as my Bihn Cadet briefcase.  The silicone sleeve makes putting it in or pulling it out a bit of a chore.  If you have a tethering device, like a Nite-Ize S-biner the connector loop on the cap is quite sturdy and works well.  Carrying it in your hand is also nice, either with the loop or holding the sleeve.

Its just a bit portly.  Maybe that's why Natalie PORTman liked it.  Oh Jesus, I have a million of these make-fun-of-celebrity puns.  Oh wait, what, Natalie Portman's last name is a made up last name.  Damn it. 

Grip: 2

If it is hard to pull out of a bag because of the silicone is also hard to have it slip out of your hands.  Even when wet, which will happen a lot, the My BRK stays put.  I also like the fact that bottle is not too tall.  If it were, it would be much heavier, as glass is pretty darn heavy.  Overall, I liked the bottle's feel in the hand, a very important factor, especially in a bottle like this, which seems designed for the gym.  The gym?  Its where people who hate the outdoors and manual labor go to exercise and look like hampster doing it.  Yeah, I know, I have no idea why you'd go to the gym when you could just run around in a state forest for three hours.  Plus you have to pay to use the same equipment as other sweaty people.  It seems crazy to me. 

Drink Quality/Mouth: 2

Glass.  Glass rules.

A smooth mouth with no seams or edges made of glass is as close to perfect as you can get.  The mouth here is VERY small, very, very small (again, probably a plus at the gym or on a tread mill where you are jostling around a lot), but when you are drinking that tiny opening is actually nice.  Its not sloppy or spill prone.  It allows for a nice flow and easy sipping.  GREAT.

The small mouth has one drawback though--it makes filling the bottle difficult.

Also, it makes ice impossible.  The mouth is so small, so tiny that only a faucet or fountain works well.  Pouring water from a pitcher is nearly impossible to do spill-free.  The water then gets between the sleeve and the glass.  The mouth is just TOO small.  A little bigger would be fine and you could still have the nice glass opening for superior drink quality. 

Materials: 2

The glass is very thick.  Neither my wife (who helped out with product testing for the first time ever; she refused to take part in the Spyderco Rock review for some reason) nor I had any problem with the glass, not once.  I didn't drop it off the third story of our house, it it handled bumps and bruises with ease.  Don't worry about glass in terms of durability.  Weight is a bigger issue for me.  The silicone sleeve is also nice as it is a good cushion, adds a hint of color, and makes the bottle grippy.  A rubber seal on the inside of the cap is also nice.

Insulation: 0

Glass is a great electrical insulator, but not so good here.  There was no temperature retention at all.  Zilch.  As a gym/workout bottle that is probably not a big deal.  After all, it gives you a chance to walk around the gym, panting and sweating while looking for a water fountain, all in a show of how much of a workout you were getting.  For the rest of us, this is a downer. 

Durability: 2

The glass is tough, as I mentioned above, and the silicone seems springy enough.  The cap is also fine.  One point I worry about is the sleeve getting grimy over time.  Water and dirt can get in between the sleeve and the glass and it looks kinda icky, but you can wash both of them.

Still I worry that a lack of maintenance could be a long term issue.  In the medium term, everything was fine.

Leak Proof: 2

A two week period with me and a two month period with the wife and this thing never leaked, even when jostled.  Much better than a Klean Kanteen in that regard.  This is a pretty darn water tight bottle.  I like that a lot. 

Ease of Cleaning: 0

You couldn't get a baby toothbrush through that tiny mouth.  This is a strict rinse out bottle, which I do not like.  Compared to the Square I reviewed previously this is night and day.  I am not sure if some clean freaks could take this.  Fortunately it is dishwasher safe, but still, the small mouth while good for drinking causes yet another problem.

Overall Score: 16 out of 20

The My BRK bottle is better than the Klean Kanteen non insulated bottle and the plastic Nalgene.  The glass ensures the very best and cleanest drinking experience possible.  But the small mouth on this bottle causes quite a few problems.  Filling the bottle is a problem.  No ice is allowed.  And cleaning is very difficult.  As a gym bottle, this is probably all okay.  In fact, in that role I think the My BRK excels, especially because the small mouth prevents spills.  For a general purpose bottle or a bottle you take on long hikes, ones where ice helps, this is probably not your best choice.  But don't take my word for it, Hilary Duff, Jennifer Garner, and Leighton Meeson like it.  Wait, who the hell is Leighton Meeson?  I have official entered that part of my life where I am confused and befuddled by gossip magazine covers and all of these new fangled semi-celebrities.  Let me go get my Barlow...