My first day in the fleet my machine gun section looked at me and asked where my note taking material was. I was confused, no one told me to bring note taking gear and I explained as such. His reply was simple, always have it in your hip pocket, in case a class starts kicking off you’ll be ready. From then on I had a notebook or some kind on me at all times. Carrying one gave me a new perspec[...]

One of the newest additions to the Crate Club is the presence of the Asp Triad DF. Tactical flashlight is a rather generic term and often is tossed around a bit too much. Just because a flashlight has a rugged bevel and a metal body doesn't mean its tactical. Tactical is a term that should be applied to flashlights that meet a specific set of requirements. Today I’m going to talk about those [...]

The Benchmade SOCP changed the knife realm a bit. It wasn’t a huge influence on the tactical world overall but created a completely new genre of tactical knives. The close quarter's tool was developed as the last line of defense for extremely close quarters combat. It’s made to be used when grappling on the ground when fighting over your weapon, or in any situation where things are too close [...]

I’ve owned and abused a Gerber StrongArm for over a year now. The finish is worn, but the knife itself continues to impress me. Crate Club tossing the StrongArm into the December Crate was an excellent idea. It’s a rock solid knife that several writers over at the Loadout Room have used, abused and reviewed. I still love my old FDE Gerber and there is nothing wrong with it...but why wouldn’t [...]

The Gerber Sharkbelly is a knife that combines a number of features that differentiate the knife from other traditional pocket knives. The  Sharkbelly is included in our December crate alongside a few other Gerber goodies. The Gerber Sharkbelly is a medium sized knife with a 3.25 inch blade and a 7.75 inch overall length. It only weighs 2.3 ounces. The blade is made from 420HC steel and the h[...]

“Tomorrow make sure you have note taking gear, a couple pens, a water source, and a Gerber,” Those were the words of my first machine gun section leader on my first day in the fleet Marine force. By Gerber, he didn’t mean I needed a Gerber knife, but a multi-tool. By this time I understood that Gerber was slang for multi-tool. Not just Gerber multi-tools, but its the name given to every multi[...]