The Gear Journal – Page 278 – Every Day Carry Gear & Gadgets

March 16, 2010

Hidetoshi Bolt-Action Pen

Ryan

Other Gear

boltaction

There are people in this world that spend thousands of dollars on pen collections. It’s an interesting and thoughtful underworld as textured as the time-piece market and even the traditional hot rod movement. I’m not at all one of these folks, but I admire them and their collections from afar.

Lately, a new pen design has been hitting the market with fearless abandon. Everyone seems to want one, but not many are available. And if you happen to find one, expect to pay well over $500… For a pen… Even so, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a cooler writing utensil.

It’s the Japanese made Hidetoshi Bolt-Action Pen. Brilliant.

March 12, 2010

Nightvision Flashlight Camcorder

Ryan

Other Gear

Wanna take some video… on the sly… at night? Here’s the hot ticket. The Nightvision Flashlight Camcorder ($150) sports an eight LED array and hides a two-megapixel still/VGA video camera in its face. A five hour Lithium Ion battery runs the joint while your video is recorded on a microSD card tucked inside the chassis.

Check it out.

March 8, 2010

Leatherman

Ryan

Knives & Tools

About 2 months ago, images of the new 2010 Leatherman tools were leaked on the internet. Leatherman quickly got to work and had the images removed from just about every source they could find. Since then, I’ve been waiting on the Leatherman website to feature the new tools. The update has yet to come although the 2010 dealer catalogs do, in fact, feature the new tools.

March 2, 2010

The Affordable Speedmaster

Ryan

Watches

On the 1st of March 1965, Omega’s Speedmaster chronograph was “flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions.” From that point forward, the Speedmaster became a coveted watch by collectors and watch abusers alike. To put it frank, the Speedmaster is a tool watch with the looks of a highly refined and swiss fashion watch. To me, it’s perfection.

February 22, 2010

The Affordable Benrus

Ryan

Watches

During the closing days of the Vietnam war, a new watch was born. Members of the SEALs, Green Berets, and other Special Forces teams were issued what many consider to be the finest military timepiece ever produced. Today, we call it the Benrus Type I watch. The Type I was a very simple dive watch built to be easily readable and absolutely bulletproof. The 42mm steel watch was powered by a very high quality 17 jewel ETA automatic movement – an extremely robust and very accurate machine. Packaged with the simple exterior, this watch quickly became a favorite amongst military folks and collectors alike.

February 11, 2010

The 1000 Mile Boot

Ryan

Clothing

wolverine

The best boot I’ve ever owned is a Red Wing 1178. I bought a pair when I was 17 years old. I am now 34 years old and while they’ve been resoled four or five times, I still wear the Red Wings almost every day. However, in the past few months the leather has finally started to give way – my socks are peaking.

February 5, 2010

The Roman Army Knife

Ryan

Knives & Tools, Uncategorized

Check this craziness out… It’s the world’s first multi-tool created by Romans in 200AD. It’s made from silver, but has an iron blade and features a spoon, fork, spike, spatula, and a small tooth-pick. The clever litte device was extracted from the Mediterranean about 20 years ago and now resides in a museum.

January 19, 2010

Mk II Watches

Ryan

Watches

blackwater

As you all know, I’m a watch freak. Mostly, I’m into both modern and vintage military watches. The great thing about vintage military watches is the feeling they give on the wrist – you are wearing history. Of course, some of those watches just don’t keep on tickin…