Q3 2025 Carries
I am not sure how this happened but I missed the Q2 carry update. Either way, no big deal as I have a few more here than normal AND the weather has been pretty unchanged. It was dry this summer and pretty warm. There was a lot of shorts days and carry changed because of it. I also took a trip to Ohio via airplane so I had some limitations on carry. As always travel and weather are the biggest factor impacting carry. My carry also includes an expansion into my “home maintenance” tool kit. I might break down my set up there later, once I have a better and more permanent set up there. Let’s get to the mini-essays on carry.
Wilkins Knives Leafstorm 9 and McGizmo Haiku with 4S drop in
This pair are among my oldest gear but they are still so cool they make me happy when I pull either out of my pocket. When I first started the blog I was obsessed with Spyderco little big knives and the peak among them was the Spyderco Leafstorm. It wasn’t a perfect knife, but it was an interesting one. This led me to Kevin’s website. The ensuing months and years led me to pine for a custom Leafstorm. Eventually, I got enough money to buy one but it took years for a combination of materials to come up that I wanted and I pulled the trigger. The Leafstorm, the Sawby Swift, and the Busse Forsaken Steel Heart were my three longest waits and even now years later I still have all of them.
Victorinox Compact with Prometheus Designwerx Scales and Lumintop Tool AA v3
Just simple work tools that can tackle dozens of things that come up everyday. If I could give everyone on Earth two EDC tools (and not something like a LifeStraw or some kind of medicine) it would be this pair. You don’t even strictly need the Prometheus scales, but the clip and improvement in grip is nice. Plus the look cool. This pair does so much, takes up so little pocket space, and costs around $100. The fact that there are no repeated tools on the Compact is a big deal. So many SAKs have double blades or multiple drives, extra weight without extra functionality. The Compact is spare and simple. Even the atrociously unusable corkscrew has found a second life as a micro tool holder. And the Tool AA v3 is just too good. Its ability to run both kinds of batteries is huge, its output, and the RGB tailcap are great. Its $28.95 price tag is the cherry on top.
BOSS 35 in Aluminum and the Millit Torrent v3
Oveready is dead. With the sad announcement that they were tapering down production, the BOSS 35 ends its production run in a weird spot—it was a light that never got passed as the best in the world for its entire production run. Lots of lights are good. None retire being the best in the business. Now we are in the hunting mode where folks scour the web for BOSS torches from people unwise enough to sell them. This light was from the very first run and it has no mods. Its still amazing. The Torrent isn’t retired, but it just fits so well with the BOSS—both are exotic and hard to find and both are machining masterpieces.
Lumintop Tool AA v3 and Leatherman Skeletool CX
I would never buy a new piece of gear just for a new colorway. The fact that I lost my old (and original) Skeletool CX when we moved post-Covid meant that I didn’t have one so when I got the chance I replaced the Skeletool CX with one that had a new colorway. It was complex mental gymnastics that allowed me to avoid purchasing something JUST for the new colorway. But why would I bother to buy the Skeletool in the first place? Well, it fits an interesting niche in my collection. It is the most fully capable tool I own that can still be easily carried everyday. At under 5 ounces, there are lot of knives out there that are heavier than the Skeletool. These aren’t knives I buy, but lots of people are content with 5 ounce folders. So for that weight I get all of the most useful tools. It is also a substantial upgrade from a Victorinox, which doesn’t usually have pliers. Pliers are so incredibly useful that their inclusion alone warrants owning some kind of pliers based multitool. This one is the best all around took that you can readily carry. And yes, I know a lot of tradespeople rely on the Wave or Wave +, but I am not a tradesperson so this is my EDC multitool when I know I will need pliers.
Loop SK-03, Urban EDC Supply x Knafs Lander 1 in Flytanium Scales, and a basalt worry stone
Every year, when we go on vacation, we invariably end up near an ocean. This year was no different. Every year I try to find a stone to use as a worry stone. I have done this for decades. I have quite a few of various materials and places of origin, but this one, which I found this year in Ogonquit, Maine, is by far the best, smoothest, and most satisfying to hold. Worry stones have been around for centuries and they are essentially the first fidget toys. There is no empirically validated peer reviewed studies that show worry stones work, but I find it fun to see how smooth they can get over time. I have one from childhood that sits on the desk in my home office that is quite well worn. This one, like the early worry stones, was worn away by water, ocean waves in this case, and was quite smooth to start out with, but it has taken on a deep polish that only repeated contact with human hands can produce. Basalt is one of the most common materials in the Solar System with most of the ocean floor made of basalt, a significant portion of the plains on Venus made of basalt, and a large portion of Mars’s surface being basalt. The thing that makes this piece so interesting is that basalt tends to be jagged or marked with stress fractures and cracks. This piece, for all the pounding, surf is still whole but wonderfully rounded.
While not quite as great in the hand, the Flytanium scales take the already peak Lander to the highest plateau of performance possible. This is a great knife, one that I never regret taking with me out and about. The SK-03 is better than I originally thought it would be, but it hot pockets like a piece of uranium 235 in your pants. Loop, please put a tail standing shroud on this light. It would be one of the best options on the market.
Acebeam Keylite 500, Tactile Turn Mini Side Click, and AG Russell Gents Knife
There were a few times this summer where it was over 100 degrees for multiple days in a row. One of those stretches was when we were on the road and the result was I needed a carry that would not weigh me down at all, something that could slip into a pocket and go without any weight or sweaty imprinting. This carry fit the bill coming in under 2 ounces. The Keylite 500 is a dainty 600 lumen keychain flashlight. The Gents Knife barely breaks half an ounce. With this set up I could do a lot and not worry about sweating to death or having a pocket full of metal banging against my leg in shorts or a swimsuit (no, the knife did not get wet). There is a point of diminishing returns with stuff this small, but I was able to manage, thanks, in part, due to the knife being so incredibly sharp and thin. Clamshell packages don’t stand a chance.
Benchmade Mini Bugout in S90V and 47s Mini Turbo Mk. 3
I happened. I finally broke down and bought the S90V Mini Bugout. The Mini Bugout and the Bugout aren’t perfect knives, but they are really, really good. And so while it seems silly to buy a knife you owned in the past but sold just for new steel and handle materials, this combination is just too good. The size and shape are still all time greats and the flaw—an exposed rear tang—is still an obvious fumble, but the knife is so good at so many things you overlook it. It also pairs wonderfully with the still amazing FourSevens Mini Turbo Mk. III. This is a light and saber pair you could go your whole life with and have zero complaints. Right size, right materials, right abilities. It’s just thoughtlessly good. It's a wee bit pricey, but so what?
Prometheus Lights Titanium Beta QR v3, Tactile Turn Mini Side Click, Anso Aros
Knife taxonomy and nomenclature is ridiculous. Blade shapes, steels designated as “super steels,” and the distinction between custom and production are all nothing more than ways to part you from your money. But the one that is most irksome is “custom knife.” Its meaningless at this point. If you make knives one at a time and each is slightly different from the other, they are custom. Anything else is just wordsmithing as marketing. I don’t want to hear about custom knife “drops.” If there is more than one, if they are made in batches, they aren’t customs. The Roosevelt is not a custom. The Lamia is not a custom. The Rask is not a custom. They are small batch production knives. And they are great, but they are not customs. My Sawby Swift, that’s a custom. The Aros is not. And I don’t care. It is a fabulous knife and it is one of the best blades on the market right now. The idea that someone would pay $1,000 or more for a batch made knife is kind of bonkers to me. But if you want a custom you either have to wait or pay more and people don’t like either of those, so they call small batch production knives something they aren’t to feel like they have an authentic custom. But the taxonomy points cloud the real issue—is this a good knife? And of course the Aros is a superb knife. Paired here with a great small batch non-custom light, the two work so well in the pocket it is hard to grab something else in the morning when I head out the door.
Grand Seiko SBGA211 “Snowflake”, Reylight Mini Pineapple v3, and Benchmade Mini Bugout
The Snowflake is an incredible piece of engineering, combining the mechanical precision of a fine Swiss piece with almost quartz like timekeeping. That’s all great, but here is the thing for me—this watch works flawlessly. I have worn it almost everyday since I got it and it has held up fabulously well. If I am doing REALLY dirty work, I switch, but most of the time I don’t really baby it and it is FINE. This is a piece of kit so nice that it always does what it is supposed to do with no hitches or mistakes. It just runs and runs and runs. And it looks stunning doing so. The Reylight is not too shabby either. This isn’t my fanciest set up, but all of these things represent nice stuff that works well. Not a bad mantra for EDC gear.
Zebralight SC65c II High and Spyderco Sage 6 in S90V
Is this the best Spyderco ever made? After a few months of carry I think it is. My FAVORITE Spyderco is the Dragonfly II. But I can see how people think it is too small. With that objection accepted, I think the Caly 3 was the best all around Spyderco. But it had flaws—the inability to disassemble the knife, the scratch marks along the pivot path, and a smidge of blade play caused by tolerance slop and the locking mechanism. They were small and easily overcome by the Caly3’s insane in-hand feel. But the Sage 6 fixes all the flaws and adds a truly superior lock to the mix. The push button version of the compression lock might be my favorite lock design ever. The size of the Sage 6 is also just right—it’s not as big as the PM2, but it is substantially larger than the DFII. This is a knife that does everything exceedingly well and nothing poorly. Plus it has a great steel and some serious slicing chops. For an all around knife the Sage 6 in S90V is the best Spyderco of all time. If you haven’t bought on yet, go for it.
Exceed Design Co Rampant and Spyderco Sage 6 in S90V
From one crown stealer to another. If the Sage 6 is the best Spyderco, the Rampant is similar in that it pilfers the best UI crown from the HDS Rotary. If you have ever used a TV remote with a rocker switch to change channels, or a power window switch in a car, you know how to use this light. Nothing is cramped, nothing is confusing, you don’t need a sophisticated mental map to work the light, and the performance is elite. The light is a little long for what it is, but the Rampant is great. Plus with the BOSS passing into OOP status, I think the Rampant is the best turnkey flashlight system in the world but dozens of options and probably thousands of individual configurations. Not bad for a first offering.
Skilhunt EC200 Mini and Nextool Mini Sailor Lite
My “restricted” EDC. I traveled to Ohio for my grandmother’s 93rd birthday and we did so by airplane so I had limited options. I had wanted to try out the Nextool, having seen it on MaxLVL EDC’s channel, so this was a great excuse to grab one. These overseas made multitools are LEAGUES better than they used to be. I remember the generic, Black Friday loss leader specials that were everywhere they were basically finger pinching pieces of trash. This is just as good in terms of fit and finish as my Leatherman PS4. The implements are a bit different and sometimes not quite as good, but build quality is excellent. The implement design can be fixed and once that is done, Nextool and others will be a true rival for Leatherman.
Knafs Co Little Lulu and McGizmo Haiku with 4S drop in
I am not a big believer in the pocket fixed blade. Like down escalators they seem to be impossible to make sense. That said, the Little Lulu is a great pocket fixed blade. It truly fits in the pocket, has a wonderful handle, and has a great, tiny blade. The sheath sports a Ulti-Clip and the sheath is nice and poppy. If you want a pocket fixed blade, this might be the best option out there. I think the Kickstarter is over, but when they go into full scale production, it’s your best choice. And there is the McGizmo. Still one of the best lights ever, especially with the 4S drop in that brings its performance up to modern standards.
Gareth Bull Small Shamwari custom and Muyshondt Aeon Mk. 3
I have had this pair, always together, for almost a decade now and I they still delight me whenever I carry them. Perhaps I am the only one of us that does this, but some items, because of their size, when I got them, their status in the market, whatever, just go together and these two—a superbly designed knife that basically kicked off the front flipper trend and the ultimate long run micro torch—are that for me. Its weird how even now they aren’t really out of date. Sure, I’d like more lumens on the Aeon, but not at the cost of color rendering or runtime. So they stay the same. The fact that they can ride in a coin pocket together and weight less than 5 ounces including battery doesn’t hurt either. Also, I made the cutting board underneath and it turned out pretty nice. Its just maple and walnut (you should really stick to the three “ice cream species” for cutting boards: maple, walnut, and cherry—since they all produce things we eat they are generally fine for food contact), but the effect of alternating the second to the last end strips gives the board some real pop and made an excellent background for gear. It is now all cut up, so it is not so great as a background. All told it took me about an hour and half to make the cutting board, which is why so many woodworkers give them away at Christmas. And in case you are wondering, maple is my favorite wood species, but that’s like saying Ferrari is your favorite car company. Everyone that appreciates that particular thing will pick those two about 90% of the time. I am pretty boring that way.
Leatherman Skeletool CX, Wera Tool Check Plus, Knipex Cobra XS, and Reylight Mini Pineapple v3
The Wera Tool Check Plus is a design masterpiece. Each tool is a brilliant design. The handles are all perfect. And the carrying case itself is a lightning strike of brilliance. This replaces a lot of the “bit driver kits” that you see at Home Depot and Lowes during Black Friday. Those kits are pretty awful with bits that shear off, tools that break, and handles that don’t seem made for human appendages. But the Wera version does everything right. I added a few magnets to give me a place for the Knipex Cobra XS pliers and the entire thing goes with me on basically ever job around the house or in the yard. And that’s what this carry really is—the core of my home and yard maintenance tools. The pliers on the Skeletool aren’t as good as the Knipex and I hate carrying duplicate tools, but everything else on the Skeletool is so good I don’t really mind. BTW, if you are obsessed with optimizing your tools and not just your EDC, I strongly recommend you check out Todd Parker’s You Tube Channel. Its great. In particular I would start with this video on his optimized home maintenance tool kit. My recent “tool box” milk crate was inspired largely by this video. Beware though, this might set off a new obsession.
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