Category: Review

Scot’s Product Review: REDHED Modular Tools

Tools are essential for prepping and life in general. One must have them, unless you are a wastrel who hires others to do all of your work. I doubt if that applies to any of our readers. Working with and moving dirt are two of the most important jobs for which we use tools. We might need to rearrange soil for gardening or construction. One could imagine creating protective barriers should things take a bad turn. Removing dirt from places it doesn’t belong could happen after a storm. The shovel is the basic tool for these chores, and we need …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review – Kahr Arms CM40

There was a time, many years back, when some of the first double action only (DAO) semi-auto pistols started appearing on the market. I still remember the first S&W DAO pistols, and I tested quite a few of them, and just didn’t care for the ovey long trigger pull. I could have that on a revolver! To be sure, many of the first DAO pistols that arrived were really lacking in the trigger pull department; besides being long, some overly long, many had a hitch in their “git-along”. They were gritty, with humps and lumps along the entire trigger pull. …


Scot’s Product Review: Work Sharp Guided Sharpening System

It’s probably just me, but when I get a nice, sharp, new knife, my first response is glee at how well it cuts, but then fear creeps into my mind, the fear of dulling it. Making it dull means having to make it sharp again. Will it ever be as sharp as it was new? Sometimes I find myself trying to avoid using it and looking for a box cutter with a disposable blade instead. That kind of defeats the purpose of having a good knife, which led me to confront my fear of sharpening years ago. I’ve learned to …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Special Forces Shovel

Ever since I was a little tyke, which is going back many decades, I’ve had an interest in anything having to do with the military, especially military gear. When I was a kid, back in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, IL, my friends and I would play “soldier” or “cowboys and Indians” all of the time. These days, if kids are seen pointing toy guns at one another, the police are called. What a shame! I was the envy of most of the kids on my block when I was a kid. I had a genuine U.S. military canteen, complete …


Scot’s Product Review: CMMG Mutant Mk47 AKM

If you like the 7.62x39mm Russian cartridge but aren’t a fan of the AK47 or SKS, CMMG may have just the rifle for you. At first glance it looks like an AR, but the second look tells you something is different. They call it the Mutant because, while it uses a lot of the basic AR platform, both the upper and lower receivers are unique as they were re-sized for the cartridge and to use the AK magazine. In other words, it is not a standard AR by any means though some parts will interchange, like the trigger group, safety, …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Kershaw Knives – Launch 1

We have Hollywood to thank for portraying automatic knives as being demonized by not only states laws and statutes but fed gov laws, too. I don’t know where the term “switch blade” came from, and it is puzzling when you think about it. The blade doesn’t “switch” when you open it, does it? No, the blade on an automatic folder flings open when you press a button on the handle of the knife. However, for some strange reason, the ill-informed still call automatic opening folding knives “switch blades” for some reason, and they believe, stupidly, that an automatic opening folding …


Scot’s Product Review: Winchester Ammunition

Winchester was kind enough to furnish some ammunition for me to review in both .223 Remington, 5.56x45mm NATO and 7.62x39mm Russian. The .223 load was their 69 grain Match round while the 77 grain one was the 5.56mm Match load. All of the rounds were tested for accuracy, and it was a very pleasing experience. I should point out that while .223 and 5.56 look like the same round, the military 5.56 chamber is slightly different and can handle more pressure, so 5.56 ammunition should not be used in .223 chambers. It is acceptable, however, to use the lower pressure …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Springfield Armory XDm 9mm

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I’ve had a life-long interest in firearms, since I was a little boy back in the 1950s. I grew up watching all the western tv shows, like The Lone Ranger, Hopalong Cassidy, The Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers, and many, many other similar shows. To be sure, it was a fun time to be a kid. Today, kids can’t even point their finger at someone without the police being called. It’s a sad state of affairs, to be sure. So, I take firearms and firearms selection very seriously. Additionally, as an NRA firearms instructor who is certified in several disciplines, I’m …


Scot’s Product Review: Emdom Gear

One of life’s little problems is how to carry the things we need. A lot of junk can go into pockets, but what about all the stuff that can’t, particularly in a self-defense scenario? We may have to hide our defensive equipment, but in some scenarios we don’t. That’s where gear like belts, chest rigs, and plate carriers can come in handy, especially if they have the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) found on most western military Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) these days. PALS is a system of webbing that allow you to mesh one piece of gear to …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Ruger’s Model 77/17 in .17 WSM

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I remember when the .17 WSM (Winchester Super Magnum) round first came out, and I believe it was Savage Arms who was the first gun maker to chamber this hot, new round in their rifle. Everyone was jumping on the bandwagon to get this new rifle and new caliber. I sat back and waited for a while before taking a close look at the .17 WSM. I liked what I saw and what my results were in my testing. Still, I wasn’t about to run out and buy a rifle chambered in .17 WSM. Ruger recently announced their Model 77/17 …


Scot’s Product Review: Alien Gear Holsters

I am kind of crazy about holsters for some reason and love to study and experiment with different ones. Someone recently mentioned Alien Gear Holsters to me, and when I checked out their web site I was very surprised at their prices, which start at $29.88. They even have a special where your get two holsters starting at $49.88. I am used to spending quite a bit more for holsters, expecting a Kydex one to cost $75 or more. Leather costs even more. My all-time favorite leather concealment holster, the Sparks Versa Max 2 I reviewed a while back, goes …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review – Wellco USGI Boots

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I’m very particular when it comes to footwear. I’m not one to go to one of the big box stores and buy a cheap pair of shoes or boots. I wear hikers on a daily basis, and I demand waterproof hikers because we get a lot of rain in Oregon, and I’m out in the rain, sunshine or snow, when I do some shooting or hunting. By “waterproof” footwear, I mean with a waterproof lining, like Gore-Tex, not a spray-on sort of thing that some companies are attempting to pass off as “waterproofing”. That stuff doesn’t last, and it simply …


Scot’s Product Review: Blue Force Gear Vickers Combat Application Sling and More

I’m not sure who first coined the phrase, but whoever it was suggested that we think of a sling as a holster for a long gun, and I’ve always rather liked that analogy. Some slings also help the shooter be more accurate by providing support in shooting positions. By and large, however, the main use of the sling is to carry a long arm while keeping one or both hands free for other purposes. There are a number of types of slings and ways to attach them to a rifle or shotgun. The most common is a simple carry strap …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Kershaw’s Emerson CQC-4KXL

I still remember the first time I toured the Kershaw Knives plant, some 20+ years ago. It was for an article in Knives Illustrated. I wrote for Knives Illustrated for many years, probably longer than any other writer at that time, and I was promoted to their West Coast Field Editor position, where I mostly covered knives made in the Pacific Northwest area. To be sure, Oregon alone houses numerous knife companies itself. It might just be the cutlery capitol of the USA. Back during my first Kershaw tour, if I recall, they only had, at best, a couple dozen …


Scot’s Product Review: Steiner 7×50 Marine Binoculars

Before I go into the review, I would like to compliment Armasight for replacing a small part on my Spark Core night vision monocular that I reviewed recently. I have been complaining about how I had been unable to get a response from either their information email address or their relations person, but when I needed a small part their service department replied promptly and sent me the part within a week of my request. I found that impressive. Since the service people are efficient, that takes away much of my reluctance to recommend their products. Getting back to the …