AK Ti Apocalypspork

9/10/10 - The Apocalypspork from American Kami is the "spork to end all sporks". At least, if the apocalypse comes, this is the spork you'd want to have with you. It's not your dinky everyday lightweight camping Ti spork, but is a real man-sized spork for those who want a bad-ass eating utensil guarranteed to strike awe into those around you when you whip this out.

DJ Urbanovsky is a custom knife maker, and is American Kami's sole proprietor. He designs and hand makes all of his knives, some of which you may have seen for sale on the TAD Gear web site. DJ's distinctive designs are aren't limited to knives, but also includes axes, fixed blades, folders, swords, impact weapons, key fobs, and now, eating utensils. Tired of the other Ti sporks offered on the market, he decided to make his own. 'Bad-ass' is not a term usually applied to sporks, but it's definitely applicable in this case.

Description - The Apocalypspork comes in two sizes; fullsize and stubby. Each is hand crafted on handmade dies.

Observations/Notes - My first impression when getting the sporks were 'wow, they're big, but very light weight'. The fluid capacity is 1/3 more than the Snowpeak spork. In the size comparison photo below, you can see that they're larger than a standard table spoon. The bowl of the spoon is wider, but shallower than a tablespoon. Also because of the fork tines that allow liquid between them to escape, it holds slightly less liquid than a tablespoon. It'll hold more solid food though (you can really pile it up). The full size Apocalypspork is long - but is lighter than my stainless steel table spoon.

All edges are rounded off, so the spork is comfortable in the hand. Even so, the fork and rear point could do some damage if pressed into action as a defense weapon. Besides the tool holes, there's an attractive American Kami logo cut into the handle.

The sporks fit neatly into MOLLE webbing, although I do not recommend carrying them like I've illustrated one below on a vest. You'd stab yourself in the thigh. I wanted to illustrate how an ITW web dominator can be used to secure a spork in a column of PALS webbing, for quick access.

Testing - This was the fun part. I got the Apocalysporks just in time for July 4th BBQs, and got the attention of fellow men-folk when I whipped one out. Of course, being the health nut that I am, I tested the sporks only on healthy food like Portuguese sausages, tri tip, chicken, potato salad, fajitas and such. The sporks do double duty as eating utensils and camp cooking tools. The handle end is good for poking coals and moving grills around, as well as lifting pot lids. Titanium has fairly low thermal conductivity so it keeps fingers from getting burnt from a hot utensil.

I found the stubby spork more handy for every day use, which I did use it for, every chance I could. My wife would roll her eyes whenever I ate with it. The full size spork, however, was more useful on camping trips, where the extra handle length made it easier to reach to the bottom of cans, containers or packages/bags. It also served well as a cooking spoon, where a standard one would be a bit short. The handle point could also be used to spear food if the spork end was too wide for narrower opening containers. The extra wide bowl holds a man-sized mouthful of food; something I took advantage of at every chance. I could really pile on the potato or pasta salad on one of these. This would make a great racing spoon. The fork tines are stubby, and their capacity is limited, so aim for larger pieces of food. Since all the edges are rounded off, and the spork has a tumbled finish, it's smooth on the mouth.

But besides its functionality and practicality, the AK Apocalypspork is just one cool looking spork. If you go hiking with a bunch of ultra lightweight tree-hugging hiker types and whip this out at dinner, there's a good chance you'll be the object of spork-envy.

USA-Spirit D-Day Kit

12/20/10 - The D-Day Kit from United Spirit of America is a pouch conveniently pre-packed and sealed with personal care necessities for a one-day trip. It's light weight and compact enough to fit in the side pocket of a BDU, jacket, pack or overnight bag and is designed for use in tactical and non-tactical environments. The pouch is waterproof and floatable.

United Spirit of America (USA-Spirit) is a personal care product company specializing in toiletries for military, law enforcement, outdoor and the travel markets. They specialize in convenient and portable products, which are made with biodegradable content and superior formulation. Their products meet TSA requirements, making them travel friendly. With a product line specifically designed for military personnel, USA-Spirit has considered every angle, from unique packaging to the environment, in which the products may be used.

USA-Spirit offers both individual toiletry items from a couple of product lines or kits:

Basic Edition - The Basic Edition products are designed for everyday use by Military professionals, outdoor enthusiasts and law enforcement personnel, providing protection and excellent hygiene in easy-to-transport packaging. This line includes 3-in-1 products, such as the shampoo + body wash + shaving lather, anti-bacterial formulas that kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria (including the H1N1 virus), deodorants and more.

Outpost Edition - The Outpost Edition line features military grade products specifically designed for water restricted environments. They are aimed to provide protection against the harmful effects of the sun, wind, biting insects, bacterial and fungal infections often suffered by people operating under adverse conditions and extreme environments throughout the world. Most products in this line are unscented.

OK Kit - The OK Kit is an emergency preparedness hygiene kit designed to provide essential products for up to 72 hours in the event of an emergency or disaster.

D-Day Kit - The D-Day Kit shown here is a designed as a one-day kit that contains single-use quantities of personal care items, all packaged in a floatable and waterproof resealable bag. The bag has a grommet at the upper corner for hanging it with a carabiner.

Observations/Notes - The D-Day kit is designed for a short trip, when packing normal-sized toiletry items might be too heavy or bulky. We've all got travel kits with various items in them, some more than we need, which take up space in a bag. One way to cut down on too much extra stuff is to buy the smaller travel-sized items and assemble your own kit. But when you really want to pare it down, that's where the D-Day kits come into play. One D-Day kit should take care of most hygiene needs, in different environments. I'm not sure about the anti-fungal foot cream, as that's not a usual item I need, but if you need it, it's there. The resealable bag has enough room to store some other things, like a small toothbrush and toothpaste, if the little dental care sleeve isn't enough. The bag is re-usable, but note that it is not completely air tight due to the grommet. The D-Day kit shown here comes with the carabiner clip, but you really only need one, which saves you $2. While you can probably shop around and buy single-use items in bulk and assemble your own similar kit for a bit less, USA-Spirit offers the convenience of pre-packaged kits in the right sizes that are easy to throw in a bag without taking up much room.

Echo Niner Camera Strap

1/14/12 - The E9 Camera Strap from Echo Niner is a compact, light weight and functional camera strap that also converts to a hand strap, enhancing your options to suit different situations. And it comes in MultiCam.

Description - The E9 camera strap design was based on the needs of the rugged outdoor individual in mind - one who needs a minimalist strap that isn't bulky when used with gear, yet still provides a lot of functionality. It was designed based on experience in the field; from those who photograph military or LE personnel in action, at home as well as overseas.

The E9 consists of a 1.25" heavy nylon sling webbing main strap (on the MultiCam one, it's cordura, not webbing) lined with rubberized grip material, and 1" wide adjustable strap that connects to one side of the camera, and a very short 1" wide strap with a female buckle on it that connects to the other side of the camera. The connections to the camera strap looks are made of mil-spec 550 parachute cord. The adjustable strap has a male SR buckle with which the length of the strap is adjusted by pulling on the loose end with the pull tabs sewn in. The main strap has a female SR buckle at one end and a male buckle at the other, so that the camera can be quick-released at either end. Duraflex buckles are used for the E9.

215 Gear Operator's Notebook

8/7/12 - The Operator's Notebook from 215 Gear is designed for leaders, sniper, JTAC's etc., who may have the need to write more information than a wrist coach can accommodate, without any additional light sources.

Description - The Operator's Notebook has a semi tri-fold configuration, measuring approximately 6.5" tall x 5" wide when closed. It'll fit in most cargo pockets when folded up. There's a front flap, a middle panel, and a 'writing surface' panel. The front flap overlaps the writing panel halfway, when both are folded inward onto the middle panel. Rather than use noisy velcro, the front flap is secured to the outside of the writing panel with magnets sewn into the corners. The Operator's Notebook is constructed out of 330D Crye Multicam Cordura.

The Operator's Notebook will obviously work with the front flap opening to the left or right. I just have it set up opening to the left in the photos below. Opening up the front flap reveals a fine-tipped, wet-erase marker pen (included), secured in an elastic sleeve. The middle panel has a flat compartment with clear plastic window. This will hold 4.25" x 5.75" information cards. Between the middle panel and the writing panel are sewn four more clear plastic sleeves, each visible from both sides, for eight additional information cards. Each sleeve will hold more than two cards, but shouldn't be overloaded if possible.