Author: Philip Clegg

Going back a few weeks, we were chatting with Phil, the owner of StatGear and he kindly offered to send us a product to have a look at and give him some honest feedback on… that arrived and in with the package was a totally unexpected item… a knife. We like knives here, so our interest level was raised that little more than it was already…

The Ledge from StatGear, with cool and vibrant red accents to it… but wait… it has our logo on the baled too..!!!

Originally the ledge was a kickstarter campaign… i know i bang on about them a lot but they are a great way to get a product you like made, your helping someone cremate reality from their dreams… anyway, the ledge is clearly and unfortunately one that I missed at the time of the campaign running.

The ledge, is designed with a slip-joint, UK friendly, non locking mechanism which of course been around for many years but aren’t seen all that often anymore, the LEDGE does seem to have an up to date modern take on what is a time-tested, classic design. The slip-joint mechanism & controlled back-spring movement allows for a tactile, classy and buttery smooth deployment and closure. The extended blade groove and extra blade width allows for much easier deployment of the blade than traditional slip-joint knives that have a small nail nick for opening

Are you one of these people that loses their keys regularly..?

I know that getting changed at work and using different bags whilst at work and then travelling to and from work can get confusing as to where i last had an item… usually the keys I don’t carry whilst at work or my wallet.

Anyway, if you use or misplace your keys occasionally, a tracker of sorts may be what you need.

The ‘Orbitkey X Chipolo’ Tracker is about the size of a USBdrive and fits perfectly into your Orbitkey or many other key organisers for that matter.

The tracker needs to be paired with the ‘Chipolo’ app that is free to download to your mobile device. In the box, along with the tracker is also a little tag… it is similar to a hair bobble with a leather tab on it that can be used to attach the tracker to a bag or something, so it can be used on other things than just your keys.

I’ve been aware of Orbitkey for some time but have never really taken much notice in them specifically, not for any reason, just.. well just because I haven’t. I then saw a kickstarter campaign pop up from orbitkey pop up, this got me thinking and looking into them a bit more. I ended up in private conversation with a very nice lady from Orbitkey who gave me lots of information with regards to the new campaign that they were undertaking. We discussed the EDCCooperative, what we did etc and she then offered to send us an Orbitkey to use and have a look at. Again, we were overwhelmed that someone would actually give us this opportunity, we of course jumped at the chance.

So, i hear you asking, what is an OrbitKey Key Organize..?

Well, it is a key organiser, if you want to be able to access your keys that are stacked similar to a multi tool, like a Swiss Army knife of Leatherman for example, whilst they are all wrapped up in some quality materials, such as leather.

Fenix are well known for their flashlights as well as batteries and their chargers.
The ARE-X1 is quite a simple charger and power bank all rolled into one.

It is however, only suitable for 26650/18650, this is not a problem for me as a few of my lights are 18650 anyway. I am led to believe that many vape or e-cig systems use 18650 batteries so this kit is a bonus if you are a vaper.

The charger unit has a micro usb socket at one end that is the input point used for charging the battery. On the other end of the charger is a USB A output port for charging your item.

On the body of the charger is an led, there is only the one interface, if you can call it that. It will light up red as it is charging the battery and once the battery is fully charged, this will turn green. If you are using the battery to charge your item, it will flash red.

The output of the charger is marked as 4.2 volts but is actually reportedly to be around 5v.

Have you ever noticed that when you buy a brand new pone that the screen doesn’t always show fingerprints on it straight away? It is almost like it has been treated with some sort of coating before having that massive sticker slapped on it… the one that has no air bubbles in it… how do they do that… I digress. Then, after a day or so of general use, you start to notice the grease from your face and hands appearing on the screen, don’t lie, no matter how much you wash your hands and face, it is inevitable. No matter how you might clean your screen, the dirt and grease film just seems to just smoosh and smudge all over it, it is hard to get off. Let’s also just keep in mind that the surface of a mobile phone is reported to be up to 10X dirtier than a public toilet seat. I end up spending a while cleaning the screen to get it ready for those ever important EDC pocket dumps shots, then when the iPad Pro features, with its mahoosive screen, it takes an age… if only there was a way to make this cleaning process so easy… if only there was a way that I could carry something as part of my EDC that will help me achieve a clean screen… If only…

The Jetsetter@work Alox is certainly a testament to Victorinox’s supremacy when it comes to true utilitarian pocket knives. If you’re a fan of Victorinox then you will appreciate the quality of the tools they make, if you are not, it wont take much to change your mind.

This, and I use the term very loosely, pocket knife marries Victorinox’s 134-year technical proficiency in folding multi-tool pocket knife-making and 21st century innovation.
You could be forgiven in thinking that Victorinox is deeply rooted in its tradition and that it can no longer innovate to meet the demands of the 21st century and the younger generations.

I first came across Lever Gear on the popular crowd funding site, kickstarter. Now I know those of you that know me are probably very aware that i love a good kickstarter project, having backed somewhere in the region of 150. I like the platform and like the fact that it is usually helping out smaller innovative companies or individuals bringing their ideas to life.

Now, Mike from Lever Gear is no stranger to designing things but he always had the mind set that he would like to develop his own ideas for functional products that were designed by himself and his own company, Lever Gear was born, launching their first product on Kickstarter in 2016, the ‘Toolcard Pro’. The Toolcard pro is a simple product that is packed full of features that actually are really handy to have in your pocket, what is remarkable about this is the fact that it is such good quality and so well built, you may look at it, see a photo and think that it looks familiar, you may be forgiven…. but I one hindered percent will say that those Chinese knock off type tool card things do not compare to the Toolcard pro in any way shape or form.

But, we’re not here to discuss that…

We came across hawkrigger some time ago and liked what we saw. It was relatively early on in our foray into ‘the social media’…

I reached out to Hawkrigger what seems like a long long time ago to see if they would be interested in providing us with a discount code that we could pass onto our members. It ended up that I was sat in my hammock in some woods, making a brew whilst on the phone to Stuart for a good forty five minutes to an hour, discussing his business, our ethos with the coop, general shooting the breeze and what not. All in all, it was great to speak to someone who clearly had a passion for what they do and that they wished to share that with me. 

The Hawkrigger name is drawn from US Marine Corps parachute Riggers who are credited with the evolution of the Riggers Belt. Riggers in the military are famous for scavenging parts from standard issue kit to innovate new gear designs. They say that necessity is the mother of all invention, and Hawkrigger  is a firm believer that inspiration plus creativity and persistence leads to innovation.