Lansky Knife Sharpening Kit

When I was about to get me a sharpening system for my knives, I had a look around at different forums and pretty much everyone told me to get a Spyderco Triangle Sharpmaker. As you can understand from the headline of this post, I didn't listen :)

Instead I got a Lansky Knife Sharpening Kit. It contained three stones, honing oil and the angle tool. The included stones are 120, 280 and 600 grits, and in addition to this, I got a finer stone, 1200 grit, as well to be able to really get that extra sharpness. The angle tool help you keep the same angle all the time throughout the sharpening of your knife, and to me, this has been very helpful.

The system is very easy to use, you just fasten your knife in the clamp, chose an angle for your knife and fasten the stone on the rod. Put the rod in the hole for the chosen angle, and off you go. In the beginning it's a bit tricky to get a hang of the use of the tool, but after some five minutes, you got it. It's that easy.

So why did I get this one instead of Spyderco? Well, the major reasons were...

• The price. This system was 450 SEK including the extra stone. The Spyderco was about 750 SEK.
• The Lansky system helped me sharpen the knives in four different angles, the Sharpmaker only two. And besides that, to use the Sharpmaker you have to hold your knife vertical to get the correct angle.

So, what have I used it for? Pretty much every knife in the house :) I gave our kitchen knives a good overhaul, the bush craft knife came out really sharp and the folder on the picture above is now a pleasure to use.

Given the difference in price, I would say this is a really good buy! I cannot say anything about Spyderco, so no shame on them, but for me, Lansky is a very good system and I would recommend it to anyone's on the market for a (new) knife sharpening system.
__
Fredrik

Osprey Kestrel 68 - a first glance

I have two backpacks at home. One I've been using for some time, a GoLite Quest 70 litres. The other one is new, an Osprey Kestrel 68. Both are fairly light weight, but here's why I just got the new one...

The biggest reason for me to start looking at a new backpack was actually that I wanted to be able to store the sleeping back and under quilt in a separate compartment. This way I can set up my camp without having to remove all the kitchen stuff and clothes. Or vice versa, I don't have to remove the hammock sleeping gear from the sack just to reach the extra shirt. There are a lot of backpacks with the separate sleeping bag storage, so this is nothing extra ordinary. But I also want my backpack to be around 70 litres. Yeah, it's a bit on the big side, especially as I don't tend to go on any week long trips. But I like to be able to bring along what I want, and weight is rarely a problem. At least, it haven't been so far. And, secondly, I use my backpack when going on holiday with my family, and then it's not just my things that goes down in my sack...

Even though the weight don't tend to be an issue for me, I still want my pack to be as light as possible, but still have the above mentioned feature. And the Kestrel matched it for me weighing in at 1.82 kg (according to Osprey), including the integrated rain cover.

So far I have just filled it with the sleeping bag, under quilt, spirit stove and some more to get a feel about it when stuffed. And it feels really good. I still have some adjustments to do to make it perfect, but that'll come. I'll give it a more extensive test in a couple of weeks when I'm off to the woods for the first time with it.

Until then, you can have a look at the YouTube video from Osprey

__
Fredrik

DD Hammocks Frontline

About two years ago, I bought my first hammock. A DD Frontline Hammock. I've been rather satisfied with it, but not 100%, so I've been looking at others all the time. Sometimes I've been looking at making my own, and other times looking at buying a new one. Why? I'll try to sort things out below...

Size
The size of a hammock is very important, both the length and the width. Your length and build determines what is needed for your comfort. Me, I'm about 1.86 meters tall and weighs in just below 80 kg. I'm fairly athletic and guess that I my shoulders are a bit wider than average. DD Frontline comes is 2.7 m x 1.4 m and that gives you a rather small space. There are much bigger hammocks out there if you're a big guy, but you might manage with this one as well.
As I said, this is a bit on the small side for me. I have read several other persons saying that this is big enough for them, and they have been taller than I am. So... It's very much a personal preference.
The width might give you some shoulder squeeze though. It does for me if I don't find the right lay. This can be handled in different manners, they say, but I haven't been able to fully adjust to it.
The weight of a hammock obviously depends on the fabric, and the amount of fabric. And DD Frontline is 860 grams (hammock only). To that you need to add the weight of your preferred suspension system.

Design
The design of the hammock is really straight forward. It's a rectangle of the above mentioned size (2.7 x 1.4 m). The extra you get, is a attached mosquito net and spreader bars for the same. The new model also has tie-outs, for spreading the hammock and pegging it to the ground (that might help with some of the shoulder squeeze I get in it). The suspension system is of the simpler kind. One long piece of rope that you tie around a tree. I don't really like this set-up as it's very hard to adjust once you're done.
One good thing though, it has zips on either side of the mosquito net which allow for entry/exit on either side of the hammock. And this also gives that you don't have to decide which side is head and foot.
When I got mine, it came in one colour (green), but now it's available in four different colours.
In the package, there are two spreader bars for the mosquito net. that helps getting the net up and out of your face when you're in the hammock.

Lay
Most often I lay on the diagonal in my hammock. The reason for this is (as you might know) to get a more straight lay. Many people say you should string your DD Hammock rather tight, but I think I prefer it a bit more slack, almost 30 degrees.
One thing that I have noticed on some occasions is that a crease/ridge can form in the middle of the hammock. I have gotten rid of it by forcing the sides of the hammock outwards.

Insulation
The hammock has two layers, so you are able to use a sleeping pad in between for bottom insulation. I have tested with both a foam pad and an inflatable pad. Both work really smooth, but I prefer the inflatable one for comfort. The only down side of this solution is that it can be a little tricky to get the pad to be exactly where you want it. When you move around during the night, it's a little to easy to end up outside of the pad and it can get a little cold.
Instead I would recommend using an under quilt.

Modifications

I have made some modifications on my Frontline. The biggest is the change of suspension. I actually just hung it once using the stock suspension before moving over to whoopie slings and tree huggers. Now that has been changed as well, and I'm now using a strap with a carabiner around the tree, the same strap then goes down to the hammock where I have two rings. Fasten the straps in the two rings and tie it of using a quick release knot and you're done! This is very easy to adjust and is a lot quicker to set up than the stock solution.

Conclusion
I think DD is a fairly good hammock. I don't have many to compare it to, but it does what you expect, keep you of the ground :) Though the size is a bit small and therefore it's not for me.
__
Fredrik

EKA Swede 7

(This review was first published on Utsidan.se 2013-05-09)

EKA Swede 7

First impressions
The excitement was high when I saw the package in the kitchen table. A nice little box with the three letters, EKA. Three letters that had come to mean quite a lot to me. I don't know why, but for some reason they have.

I open the box and see the beautiful and robust leather sheath. In itself, or wasn't any news, so I quickly opened it to see what was hiding within. And it was no disappointment. The knife is solid and gives a good first impression with its rather wide metal lining and wooden scales. The blade is centered and easy to open. Actually a lot easier than,my EKA Swede 92. The lock is smooth and easily used, also here quite much easier than the 92. And talking about the scales,  they look really nice. There was some comments about this on different forums and while back, that EKA doesn't quite match the quality of the curly birch. I haven't had any problems with this, on the contrary, my knives has always looked good. Both the Swede 92 and 7 and also the W11.

Carving

Top: EKA Swede 7
Middle: EKA Swede 92
Bottom: EKA Nordic W11

A first carving test was done using an ordinary stick. As comparison the above mentioned Swede 92 and Nordic W11 was used. The W11's a competent carving knife, so the competition was hard, and of course the 7 had a hard time matching it. That said, the Swede 7 still handles the simpler tasks well enough. Compared to the Swede 92 it's not a big difference at lighter jobs, but when I put some force into it the Swede 7, it yields. I don't know if this is meant to be or not, but I don't like it. It made me hesitant to use some more power in my work. But it handles the making of a bbq stick, or similar, without any problems. Another thing I was a bit skeptical about was the big lump in the back, but it didn't actually bother me at all. It took some getting used to, but then it was just a part of it and nothing that I noticed during my work. After a while, I think the knife lay nicely in my hand, but the balance is a little bit to far back, about where my middle finger is. I would like it one finger towards the blade, around the index finger. This is most likely due to the lump in the back, so all in all, I'm not that found of it.

Food preps

With a scandi grind blade, the Sweden 7 should be rather well fit for food preps, and I would say it is. The blade is a bit thinner, 2.8 mm, than the other to EKA knifes I compared it with. The W11 is 4 mm and the Swede is supposed to have 2.8 mm, but I got mine to be almost 3.1. The Swede 7 doesn't split the apple, but instead cutting it. But given the rather short blade, it's not something that will be used for and bigger meal preps.

The looks
My very personal opinion is that this knife is very beautiful. I really like the stainless steel against the curly birch, and the shape as well. And the checkered pattern that EKA has on some of their knifes appeals to me. I know this is not for everyone. My wife, for example, didn't like it.

Others

Top: EKA Swede 92
Bottom: EKA Swede 7

The foremost screws are well down in the scales and leave nothing to wish for. But the rear ones are pointing up a bit in the back. It's a bit hard to explain, but what I mean in that the back of the handle is having quite the slope, and as the screws are fitted in a right angle to the liner this gives two different heights for the screw to match. And this is of course impossible. Not a very big thing, but still something that got me looking twice.

Another thing that bothers me a little bit is that there's no lanyard hole. Maybe not needed on a folding knife in this size, but I still want it. Not very hard to make yourself, but I would prefer if it was done from the start...

Conclusion
I really like this knife. It'll most definitely come with me on some adventures to come. Most of the things I'm pointing out here are minor thing, and nothing that bothers me very much.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Absolutely!

__

Fredrik

Presentation

Hi there :)

Earlier this week I started thinking about a new blog, and this is the result. My idea is to write my thoughts and comments about outdoor gear and toys. My guess is that it won't be a very frequently updated blog, but it will give me a place to make myself heard.
So, what can you expect to find reviews about? It'll be about knives, hammocks, clothes and pretty much whatever I can get my hands on. I love the outdoors, and I love thing and toys.
If you have something you want tested and reviewed, let me know :)

Happy hanging!
Fredrik