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Monday, March 30, 2015
Indy Hammered Knives Blanket Roll Harness/Wool Blanket Review
I have been using the Indy Hammered Knives Blanket Roll Harness/Wool Blanket Combo (BUY IT HERE- LINK) for about a month now (so that a minimum of 5 trips out for me but I believe it was 8 this last month) and thought I would provide you with my initial impressions and talk a little about some of the things this versatile kit can accomplish. You can set this kit up to be your entire kit for a 3-5+ day trip or for a simple over night trip. I personally have used it an all inclusive kit and also in conjunction with a haversack/messenger style bag (leaving the blanket roll in camp and having other supplies in the haversack for activities during the day a.k.a. trout fishing). In the video below I walk you through my base camp setup where I carry the 10 C's + a few extras.
Contents Of The Blanket Roll: In the picture below I have shown the contents of the kit in better light (minus the interior items from the Pathfinder Bush Pot) as I didn't get a few items in frame well enough for my liking and forgot about two items tucked away deep in the blanket. Contents of the Blanket Roll: 1) Gorilla Tape; 2) Two cotton bandannas; 3) SOL emergency blanket; 4) Head lamp; 5) 50' paracord; 6) two black contractor bags and two clear trash bags; 7) large ferro rod; 8) three tent stakes for diamond tarp setup (LINK on how I set it up); 8) four prussicks for the diamond tarp setup; 9) small hatchet (has been replaced with a larger one); 10) Mora Bushcraft Black (See my knife review here- LINK); 11) Micro 10 C'S kit (find out more information here- LINK); 12) Pocket Fire Kit (See More Information Here- LINK); 13) Bear Creek Freeze Dried Gumbo (Review Here- LINK); 14) Bear Creek Potato Cheddar Soup (Review Here- LINK); 15) Black Beans and Rice; 16) Asian Noodles; 17) Shrimp Ramon; 18) Lots of Oatmeal; 19) Therm-A-Rest (See more information here- LINK); 20) Grabber Tarp; 21) Inflatable pillow; and 22) Pathfinder Bushpot and Stove (See me use this kit with a DIY Hobo Stove- LINK)
Comfort of Carry: So you are thinking OK that's a decent amount of gear but how does it carry? It is surprisingly comfortable to carry in the manner below with a haversack to the left or right. The large leather shoulder pad does an excellent job at weight disbursement but does have the flaw of sharp edges that can scratch you a bit if wearing a t-shirt and the harness slides close to your neck. When wearing a Boreal Jacket with this harness that will never be an issue but for summer carry it may. I believe these edges will wear down in time so its not a huge issue for me at all especially since its still below freezing and snowing as of this weekend.
Quality Of The Leather: The Leather is very high quality and thick. I would put it on par with the thickness and quality of Boston Leather Company who made my leather radio strap I have used at the fire department for the last fifteen years. The leather is a bit more rigid that the Boston leather was but should have an equally long service life. One bit of feedback I provided to the company was that the strap should possibly come put together (I was initially missing the strap with the shoulder strap connection) and with the leather patch sewn onto the wool blanket.
Quality Of The Wool Blanket: Fast forward to 13:00 in the video below where I talk about the wool blanket. For those of you who just want to read my analysis of the blanket: 1) This blanket is quite soft for a wool blanket and is comparable to its fleece counterpart on softness and comfort; 2) It's quite thick, I would compare it to the traditional casualty style blanket in thickness; however, this blanket does much better at blocking wind. Overall this is an excellent wool blanket and you cant go wrong with it. While it is only 80% wool it is still a more than adequate for your next outdoor adventure and has become my go to wool blanket.
Winter Setup: This is my alternative setup for winter. While I only carried this setup for a few weeks it was a very warm alternative to a sleeping bag when you tie the entire kit up around you. I will probably change this up a bit next year but do like how it keeps in all of the heat in next to you on a cold winter night.
Modified winter Setup Using An Alternative Sleeping Surface: The weather outside was around 15 degrees and I found a bunch of dead standing grass so I setup this bed with the winter blanket roll and tarp as cover. Made for a warm and comfortable nights sleep.
What to do with the blanket roll when leaving it in camp: I usually wait to setup my camp until after dark unless building a quasi-permanent primitive shelter so if I want to leave my blanket roll in camp all I have to do is throw the harness over a low branch and hit the creek to get a little fishing in before dark.
Items You May Be Interested In Purchasing:
Conclusions:
The Indy Hammered Knives Blanket Roll and Harness is a great piece of gear that will become a vital part of your traditional woodsman gear. Weather you utilize the harness to just carry sleeping materials (blankets, tarps, sleeping bags, etc.) or you decide to utilize the harness to carry a full kit or even backup kit it not only will not fail you but will surprise you with how versatile it can be. I have used a variety of packs in the past and honestly don't need all of that gear unless I'm planning to go out for a few weeks without a resupply plan (i.e. hunting, fishing or trapping) so a haversack and a blanket roll is honestly the perfect setup for me year round as it gives me all I need in a convenient setup that can be coupled with a haversack. So would I recommend this product? Without a doubt! At just over $100 this is a great little package for someone who wants to go a little more traditional with their woods gear.
I can't wait to try out Indy Hammered Knives, Blanket Pin (with striker and awl) and micro survival kit as I'm sure their quality would be on par with this great product. Be sure to check out their website (http://ihknives.com/) which has all of their products and social media information.
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Ya it is fact that Wenger has become for famous for selling world class leather knife roll in the world.It really doesn't matter whether you are professional chef or amateur cook when you use the knife roll made by Wenger. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.
The leather knife roll is the best way to keep your hammered safe. Also These are mostly use by professional when they are out for the long tour. These roll contain separate spaces for various sizes of the knife.
Ya it is fact that Wenger has become for famous for selling world class leather knife roll in the world.It really doesn't matter whether you are professional chef or amateur cook when you use the knife roll made by Wenger. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.
ReplyDeleteThe leather knife roll is the best way to keep your hammered safe. Also These are mostly use by professional when they are out for the long tour. These roll contain separate spaces for various sizes of the knife.
ReplyDelete