When it comes to pieces of essential kit for the discriminating Bushcrafter the axe makes the list in the number two spot, just after a good knife. Over the last several years there are some brands that have become very popular. There are two problems with the “popular” brands though, high price and often limited availability. I’ve used and owned several of them over the years. While they are nice I tend to keep going back to an axe that I don’t seem to worry about because of it’s cost.

Normally I carry a boy scout hatchet when out in the woods. I love these hatchets. They are cheap, tough and good quality but are getting hard to find. They are also heavy. So three years ago I found myself looking for a mini axe that I could carry and would reduce my base weight. After looking at all the “popular” brands and choking at their cost I came across the axe you see in the pictures above.

Its the Vaughan Supersportsman’s Sub-Zero Axe and is often sold as a sounding axe for forest service or tree surgery work. This tiny little guy weighs in at a mere 1 pound. That’s 8oz for the head and 8oz for everything else. It comes with a flame treated 10″ hickory handle and a has a 2-1/4″  cutting edge that is covered by a leather sheath. The factory edge is decent but can be made much better with less than 5 minutes on the belt sander. The handles that have come on the 3 Vaughan’s I own have been good with a nice tight, properly oriented straight grain. I’ve yet to break one but I have refinished them all. When they were received they had a clear varnish finish that got a bit slick when my hands got wet from sweat. A bit of sanding, some boiled linseed oil and a bit of beeswax took care of that problem though. I now keep one in my bushcraft kit, paddling gear and garage toolbox. I’ll probably add one to a BoB in the future.

All in all, the Vaughan is a great little axe and well worth the ~$20 investment. It cuts extremely well for it’s weight and can even be used for carving or game processing activities. I’ve found that it holds a good edge than can be honed sharp enough to shave with easily and will stay that way a through extensive use. The overall quality of the metal and temper is also good considering it is a mass production item. You would not go wrong with this purchase if for no other reason than learning just how useful a small axe can be in your kit.

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About Ratings

Last year Mora of Sweden decided to discontinue the Mora #510 and #545 model knives from their line. Since then they have still been fairly easy to find but have finally started disappearing from all the stores. This is bad news for the Bushcraft community since these were the two knives of choice for most outdoor schools and a favorite of individuals. It was compact, comfortable, durable and perfectly suited for all types of bushcraft activities.

What’s Next?

Mora of Sweden has seen fit to put a replacement product out there but I’m not sure they hit the mark. The new knives are the #511 in Carbon and #546 (#546-G) in Stainless. This new series of 5xx knives have a prominent guard molded into the grip. This guard poses several disadvantacges when compaired to the old #510 from my perspective. While the addition of this guard makes the new #5xx series safer to handle it also makes it feel odd in my hand. When carving or slicing with it the guard can get in the way. The other disadvantage I see with the guard on the #5xx series is not actually with the knife but with the sheath. Because of the added guard the sheath is now directional. This means that it is no longer ambidextrous and left handed users will find it draws backwards when worn on their left side. There is not the option to order a left handed sheath for these knives so you will have to make your own or find one somewhere else.

This does not mean that we, as bushcrafters, must now start using our high end Fallniven F1 to split wood or other mundane but potentually knife destroying tasks. It simply means that we need to address the problems with the new #5xx series and make it better suited for our use. So, I will be putting together a video series that will take you through the process of customizing the Mora #511 and making it a bit more friendly.  Stay Tuned.

Last year I experienced something in North Carolina that, while not new, truly irked me. While on a trip to Watauga County to get a little fishing in, I saw something that I’ve never seen before to this extent. Well, I actually didn’t see anything and that was the problem. Normally when walking along the shores of our hatchery supports streams you will see the trout in pools and eddies, but over the course of 2 days we didn’t see anything, we didn’t catch anything and neither did any of the other fishermen with whom we spoke. Even in some of the pools that normally teem with trout, we saw nothing.

Off we went on the hunt for a stream that was less  traveled. We found a couple very nice small streams, but they showed signs of heavy traffic upon a better look, so the hunt continued. We eventually found a stream that had promise. It was a hatchery supported stream, but since it ran perpendicular to the road instead of parallel to it, we had hope. We parked, grabbed our three weights, and minimum gear for a bit of wet wade fishing. Not four minutes into the creek I landed a beautiful 6″ Brookie and my partner hooked a nice little Rainbow. Long story short, we worked our way upstream and both caught several nice trout in the process. At one point I stopped to change flies when may partner caught up to me. I told him to go on ahead and I would fish is wake. As he when around me he managed to catch the end of the St Croix I was using under his boot. It didn’t survive the step so I was out of the game until I could get back to the car and retrieve my five weight.

The next day I fished with the 5wt but the 7-1/2″ length was just too much for these tiny streams and the NC overhang. I eventually gave up after umpteen zillion snags and decided that on my next trip, I would have redundant small stream rods. When I returned home, I sent the 3wt off for repair and started searching for an even tinier rod. I was looking for a backup rod, so I spent a good bit of time looking at the features of lower cost line of the manufacturers I have already owned or used in the past.

I settled on the Lefty Kreh Signature Series from Temple Fork Outfitters. I’d always wanted to own a 1wt just because it was a 1wt. I figured it would offset the 15′ Spey I own and have not used since 1999. Well, TFO didn’t offer one so I got the next best thing, a beautiful little 6foot 2wt two piece for a mere $109. I figured it would be the perfect backup for my St Croix 3wt and in a pinch it was small enough to use as a backpack rod.

The following trip to the aforementioned stream found me giving it a try just to see how it behaved. Three days later and the St Croix 3wt never left the car. In fact, now I almost always go to this TFO first on streams smaller than 10 or 12 feet wide and the 3wt is now my backup rod. This diminutive 6′ long rod seems like it was just made of North Carolina’s small, heavily overhung streams that rarely product a fish longer that 9 or 10 inches.

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About Ratings

Before you go check out the Old Town Canoe website and come back to me saying there is no such boat, let me clarify a little bit. The Guide 119 is a custom version of the Discovery 119 that is made in the camouflage color pattern and available for in the Guide series of canoes exclusively for Dick’s Sporting Goods.

My Story: A number of years back, I purchased a blemished Old Town Canoe 119k from a local canoe and kayak shop for $600. It was the first canoe that I had ever purchased myself and I fell in love with it. Being the avid fly fisherman that I am, I found it to be the perfect boat for getting to the warm water fishes we have in central North Carolina. I had several kayaks at the time and they quickly started to accumulate dust from disuse. I ended up selling all my kayak along the way.  I eventually met my future wife and after we got married, it got used a bit less, but still a fair amount. However, with the arrival of my first child, the boat became neglected to the point that I felt I would rather someone else use it than it not get used at all. That is where I made my mistake. I sold it to a good friend and semi-regular fishing buddy knowing that I would be able to use it when I wanted. He was in possession of it for a year or two when it was stolen from his backyard. It’s out there somewhere, and if I ever find it, rest assured the twit that swiped it will get his due.

All that said, I sorely missed that little red 119k. I even tried replacing it with a recreational kayak of similar length but it’s just wasn’t the same. One day I was in Dick’s Sporting Good’s when I looked up and saw a little Old Town Canoe sitting on the top of the camping accessories shelf. I thought to myself that it was a Discovery 119 despite the fact that it was in camouflage colors, had a molded plastic seat, and said Guide 119 on the side. What amazed me most about it was the $399 price tag hanging on it.

When I got home, I hopped in the web and straight to the Dick’s sit to get more info but it wasn’t there. I next went to the Old Town site only to find it missing there, too. I did find the Discovery and it was exactly the same boat as the one in the store, but the camo color was not listed as an option. So I called Johnson Outdoors (OTC’s parent company) and started asking questions. The canoe on the shelf at Dick’s was indeed a Discovery that was molded in the Guide Camo exclusively for Dick’s and was only available there. Part of the agreement between OTC and Dick’s prevents it from being listed on either website so it is only available in the actual stores.

At this point, I had decided that I had to replace my old Discovery and I might actually be able to afford to do so if I sold my kayak. So I talked the wife into holding a yard sale that Saturday and I listed the kayak as an item that would be available during the sale in the ad on Craigslist. Sure enough it sold, along with a crap load of other items that made it the the best yard sale we have ever had. That afternoon I drove over to Dick’s with the money from the kayak sale and a ScoreCard rewards voucher for $50. I walked in and there was a sign on the boat I wanted that said it was on sale for $350. Woo Hoo… sold.

Now I have my new OTC Discovery/Guide that I will never let go even if it does not get used. I’ve rigged it the way I feel works for the way I currently fish and I take it out regularly.

Review: I’m not sure that I need to tell you that I love this boat after the story above, so here is some info on it’s capabilities and such. I have found that this is a very stable boat, especially with the currently installed seat. It paddles with little effort and tracks well for an experienced paddler. A less experienced paddler would find the use of a long (240-250cm) double bladed paddle easier. It is very agile and sits high in the water which allows for getting into those places a lot of other boats just can’t reach. I’ve done several long paddles (in my old Discovery 119) that required overnight gear to be brought along and it handled great with the extra weight.

Specs:
Length: 11′ 9″ / 3.6 m
Width: 32.5″ / 82.6 cm Width at 4″ Waterline
Bow Height: 19″ / 48.3 cm
Depth: 13.5″ / 34.3 cm
Weight: 43 lbs / 19.5 kg
Max Load Range: 450 – 500 lbs /204.1 – 226.8 kg
Material: Three Layer Superliner

Modifications: I mentioned above that I had made several modifications to my Guide. Here’s the rundown:

• Seat Pad – My seat pad is a simple piece of 1/2″ minicell foam from the local paddle shop that I cut into the shape and fastened with panel retainers from the auto parts shop.
• Tackle and cup holders – I installed a Seachoice Cockpit Organizer and Cruisin’ Caddy to provide a bit of close to hand storage and a place to hold the beer. I was able to find these items in gray directly from the manufacturer but can’t seem to find the link right now.
• GPS holder – I fabricated a flip out arm that holds the handlebar mount for my Garmin Venture HC GPS. I use it when doing long paddles or when marking fishing spots.
• Anchor Trolley – I mounted small two deck mount pulleys to to one the bow and stern on one side. With a length of line looped through them with a carabiner attached in the middle to run the anchor line through I can adjust where on the boat the anchor line is and how it sits in the current.
• Bungees – As with any boat, bungees get added to fasten things down. I’ve added several including one to hold the paddle on the front thwart and another the keeps the seat closed when on the roof rack.

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Weighing in at a mere 0.2 oz and a diminutive 3.5″ x 1.4″ this little jewel of a utensil is simply not even noticed in your pack. I must admit that I am not a huge fan of the spork but I’m not sure that this item is actually a spork. It has a full spoon and a full fork but it’s missing the handle portion, sort of. The Bambu Bamboo Reusable Spork is responsibly made in China, through the Bambu Co-Op, from a sustainable resource.

Review: This little spork (?) is a great item to add to your kit or even replace your Titanium spork with. It has a more natural feel to it and does not get hot like metals do when it is used as a cooking implement. My only complaint about it is it’s length. If it was an inch or so longer it would be much better for cooking operations. Other than that, I like it and certainly can’t complain about the price of $1.99 each. Just make sure you don’t order the disposable version of them.

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There is a nearly indestructible plastic tube that has recently started to become popular for all kinds of things ranging from being used as test tubes for kids to carrying a minimalist first aid or survival kit. These plastic tubes come from companies that manufacture soda and water bottles out of PET plastic. You may have heard them called baby soda bottles or preforms, they are technically called Parison Tubes. These tubes are the middle stage of the three stage process used to manufacture 2 liter soda bottles, well technically all soda bottles. These just happen to be for 2 liter bottles. A standard soda bottle cap fits them and they are water proof and air tight. That alone a makes them perfect for all kinds of things that I can think of… tinder storage, loose tea or pipe tobacco container, mini first aid kits, water sample collection or even a test tube.

Review: I’m not sure that there is a bad thing I can say about these little guys. I love them. They are a great item for just storing crap in or carrying that one thing you don’t want destroyed in. They are light at only 1.8oz empty, unless you are an ultralight speed freak. They are nearly indestructible and last but not least they are really cheap. At 40¢ to 70¢ each, depending on where you get them and how many you purchase, they are well worth owning a few or perhaps a few dozen. I know you will find a use or ten for them.

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I was inspecting a bird house in my backyard today that I thought was abandoned and discovered this little guy. It’s a Flying squirrel that has apparently been living there all season but I just hadn”t noticed since I did not see any signs of activity. I tapped on it and the squirrel popped it’s head up and looked out to see what was happening. The second time I tapped the box it jumped out and glided to the ground. I was totally surprized. This is truly an awesome discovery, especially in my own backyard which is heavily populated buy the ever present Tree Rats that seem to be destroying the pine trees from the top down.

With all the discussion about water bottles and what is good and what is not, not to mention the stink with SIGG and BPA, its tough to decide what to use for a water bottle. A lot of people are leaning toward other metal bottles, usually stainless steel, while the Ultralight guys tend to just use soda bottles. I’ve tried my share of them too but usually end up back at the good old original white Nalgene bottle. They are nearly indestructible, fairly light weight, and very cheap. I lean toward the 1 quart bottle with the wide mouth but this is a compromise. I’d prefer the narrow mouth bottles because they are easier to drink from but they are more difficult to clean, especially in the dishwasher. Humangear has recently come out with a product that eliminates this issue as far as I am concerned. It’s called the capCAP.

The capCAP is essentially just a replacement cap that has a smaller hole with a cap in it. Simply take off the original Nalgene; or Camelbak, Cyclone, Stansport; cap and replace it with the capCAP. It’s that simple.

Review: This is short and sweet. It’s awesome! I’ll probably have 2 or 3 before all is said and done which is OK since they are only $5.95 each at REI and possibly cheaper online.

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The Grasshopper Products MonoMASTER is a very nice little device designed to contain all those tiny snippets of tippet and line generated while fishing your favorite stream. Essentially it’s a tube with a Velcro covered cylinder inside it that can be spun around to grab line. It’s got a fairly large capacity too. It easily handled three days of fishing debris including a good bit of line that I picked up out of streams left by the dry legged spin fishing locals. I also got a couple of nice Mepp’s Spinners out of the streams that will come in handy for the kids someday.

Review: This is a great item to have and is by far the best idea for on stream trash collection that I have seen yet. It’s also super cheap at only $11.95 as well. I only have 2 small complaints about it: 1) While it was in my hot car at lunch the adhesives used to stick the Velcro to the plastic cylinder came loose and had to be stuck back down. I’d suggest pulling off the bead of hot glue that Grasshopper runs down the Velcro seam, lifting the edges of the Velcro up and super gluing them back down. It’s working for me. 2) It could be a bit smaller or they should come out with a small/mini version. This one is just a bit large form a minimalist fly fisherman like me.  So stop toting around that little leader bag full of line scraps or stop stuffing them in your vest pocket and get one of these. Despite the minor adhesive issues this is a great idea and a great product that I highly recommend. Help keep our streams clean.

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When my last pair of wading boots gave up the ghost after 8 years I started looking for a new pair. I knew that the next pair of boots I bought had to provide one thing that a felt bottom without studs can’t. That is security and footing on land. Specifically I was sick of busting my ass and knees getting in and out of the creeks.

I spent several months looking around and trying to decide what to get. The latest thing is in wading boots is stealth rubber soles. The intent of them seems to be to reduce the amount of contamination that get moved from one stream to another in the felt of traditional boots. Makes sense to me…

I ended up with a pair of Patagonia Riverwalkers with stealth rubber soles. I had high hope for these boots after I read the reviews in some of the flyfishing magazines. I picked them up for the rediculous sum of $160 at the local outdoor shop. It seems that Patagonia controls the price of these boots fairly closely since I could find them for no less online or in other shops. At twice the price of my last pair they have better walk on water.

Review: They don’t walk on water. They only kept me from slipping on the moss covered rocks in the creeks and streams of Watauga County, NC marginally well. The have one weakness that became apparent in the first 5 minute I was in the stream. They just can’t grip algae and most in the water like felt. Don’t get me wrong. They do OK and after a bit of time wearing them you get to where you really check your new footing before moving the other stable foot. I’d rate the grip in the water at about 75% of that of felt and 50% of that of felt with studs. They do out shine the old school lug soles though. I’ve got to decide now if I keep them and add studs or trade them in on a pair of felt soles. Just one more thing; scrambling on creek banks and in walking in wet grass is something that you don’t have to worry about with these boots. That stick like glue.

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