Bountiful day!

It was impossible to get a decent photo (which, I guess, says the camouflage was effective), but that Big Ole Heap O’ Camo and olive drab just below is a USMC wool sweater (always did think those were sharp looking) and a military poncho and poncho liner. Those were just a few of the items in one package I received today from someone I know won’t want to be named.

That type of poncho liner is better known as a woobie for the comfort it offers cold, weary soldiers. It’s also one of the few pieces of military gear in steady use since the Vietnam War. Together the poncho and liner serve as a mild-weather sleeping bag (pdf.)

I’m going to love these warm blessings come wintertime. The poncho and woobie will go into the stuffsack provided and live in my vehicle in case of strandings in the woods or by the roadside.

Then there was the second package:

These were gifts from two people who are the secret soul within The Zelman Partisans.

The knife is one of TZP’s just-arrived custom Kershaws and the embroidered-logo tee shirt is from TZP’s Queensboro store.

Beauties. Both of ’em.

The blade has a spring-assist and two alternate opening mechanisms, a thumbstud and a flipper, both ambidextrous. When my knife arrived, the pivot screw for the blade was a smidge tight and the blade opened sluggishly. A quarter turn with a T8 torx-head screwdriver bit (per the enclosed manual) took care of that in five seconds. Snap! the blade leaped into position with nearly the speed of an automatic knife. Snap! I love that sound.

Now I just need to practice my one-handed opening technique.

But oh! The dilemma! I now have two sleek Kershaw spring-assist folders — different models, both gifts, both perfect EDC knives. So which one goes in the pocket and which in the car? Or which in the pocket and which in the Maxpedition jumbo pack?

Decisions, decisions. But the bottom line is that nobody can have too many uber-cool knives. Simply not possible to have an excess of interesting blades.

Big thanks!