It sure ain’t what it used to be, but I still enjoy coming and reading the occasional good and thoughtful thread. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I enjoy seeing the gear, and seeing how I can improve what I carry. Have had the zebra f701 for a couple years and finally got it to be comfortable and easily identifiable. 2 brass bushings and a 3d printed tube. Doing this with some of my stuff and enjoying the time I spend doing it. Waiting on a pair of scissors I ordered, and they will fill out my small kit. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
No one else will get to experience what yo do, with your gear. Use it, enjoy it, post about it here. Some of my very favorite posts here are of the gear which shows wear, meaning it is fulfilling its purpose and being used. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Why didn't you just say so? It doesn't show wear all that much, but it sure sees a lot of use and serves its purpose ;-)
There are a number of factors. I've browsed various forums over the years some frequently and others much less so. Forums in general seem to be dying off with things like facebook groups and reddit becoming more popular. For me life happened. I simply just used to have a lot more free time than I do now. Here's my current rotation, minus keys because I'm paranoid and the ipotatoe for taking the picture. I always carry keys, a pen, wallet, surefire titan and leatherman micra and the knife of the day. I keep coming back to the inkosi insingo, I need to buy a large one but they're never in stock. If its dark I'll take another flashight mostly the maratac tri flood these days. One more picture in bad lighting
I guess I am the opposite, I like Tapatalk. Tapatalk is not perfect, but I find it better for just browsing the activity and posting comments on a forum than the actual websites, especially if you follow more than one forum. I think you are right on target with the FB Groups and reddit. Similar to the reason I like Tapatalk, I think many prefer FB groups because it is one stop viewing of all instead of having to go to individual pages or groups for each thing they are interested in. Also, the set-up then is the same for each.
Personally, I've to a degree dropped out of the whole gear race after 20+ years of spending money. The classic Leatherman Wave still holds its place as my EDC even after roughly 15yrs, and I have yet to find a tool that long-term changed my mind on that topic. I primarily use a war/duty belt style setup for ease of access/modularity..... Not exactly low-key like a bag, but it keeps the core items organized in a way that is convenient to me. 99.99% of my time on here is just spent looking at the different mindsets and gear setups.
@Boy SureFire while my angle of view is slightly different, my conclusion is very similar. I'm not into EDC for the gear race. A good and well thought out EDC can save you time, struggle, discomfort and even money, but without practicing some self control and Keeping it real, your EDC can never make up for (IRL) the time and money spent while sitting in front of your computer screen. It's easy to get carried away and be enabled by all the shiny objects you're exposed to being part of this community, and I did too in the beginning. I was late to discover the terminology (EDC) and the community, in my late 30's, so it was a little period where I felt like Charlie in chocolate factory and wanted to taste everything. It seems there are two main categories of EDC enthusiasts; the users and the collector/functional jewelry, and of course a big gray area where they overlap to a variable degree. I'm not very surprised if forum users that primarily identifies with the collector and functional jewelry group are lost to modern SOME platforms. As one that personally skews more and more toward the user category, I'm a bit surprised that there is so little of the remaining users posting about more practical topics, e.g. DIY, modding, techniques, life hacks etc. These are the type of topics that still fits way better in the old forum format than modern SOME platforms.
It's easy to get lost in the pursuit at the beginning when you don't have a good baseline of carry options, but once you hit that gear peak there's not much rationally left to buy unless it's truly some earth changing item. Plus or minus, I bought into the gentleman's slip joint carry option clear through to the end of world Kabar survival ideal. What I buy now is generally gear gifts for uneducated friends and family that blindly tried to go the "just as good" junk option. As for this forum, the media content landscape has obviously greatly changed since a lot of us picked our user names. The discussion is interesting, but not much comes up that hasn't already been covered or hotly debated adnauseam somewhere else on the web. I now see this group more as a general information index of ideas.... A starting point to help you avoid getting lost in the vast sea of increasing corporate sponsored influencer curated content.
Agreed, I would love to see more function over form threads on these forums. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
In a way or another, all these posts show that... the forum is not dead, but still well alive. And this is what.
I think another “facet” of the issue is that most people who come here, over the course of time, figure out what works best for their needs. At some point the thrill of the next acquisition loses its appeal. They get tired of piles of edc items that they don’t use, and realize when it comes down to it that they’ve got what they need and what they will actually use. At that point the forums are still fun, but they don’t frequent them like they once did, because most active posts are more concerned with buying instead of using. For me… I began using a SAK in 2007, and although I tried other things, I always came back to the SAK because it met my real needs. I’ve been using a Fisher Bullet Space Pen since 2007-08, because it works for me. I’ve been using a single cell pocket flashlight since 2005. Switched over to rechargeable AA format in 2016 and haven’t looked back. I haven’t found anything that meets my actual, regular real world edc needs better than these three items (and have mostly stopped trying). Once you get to this point, I think a lot of people move away from the forums, or at least post a lot less because they don’t have a different knife, or light, or pen (or even an interest in) to post pics of every day. The thrill for them comes mostly from the contentment of having a few really useful tools to help get through the day (and night), and the forum threads about general edc topics are the one’s that personally keep me interested in visiting these forums. I also like seeing what people actually consistently carry in their pockets and use, and why. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Absolutely, that's why I've done a couple of posts highlighting the tasks rather than the tools. My EDC is extremely humble Gerber Dime, Photec Freedom, County Comm keyring flathead and phillips drivers and a small homemade "prybar/scraper". I know what tasks these items can do and what their limitations are. Their size is perfect for me and while I wouldn't say I'd never "upgrade" them, I've never felt the need to. In the past 7 days, I've used the Dime three times and the pry tool twice. Any combination of different brands of knife/multitool could have sufficed. But I'm currently happy with the set up I've got. That being said if you find yourself doing the same task over and over, it's sometimes nice to splash out on a nice bit of kit, as that is a good feeling when you keep using something.
Exactly the kind of posts I find most interesting and enjoyable to read. People sharing simple, self sufficient and cost effective solutions to everyday life. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
The site might have entered a dormant stage. But that doesn't mean it is "dead". With all the craziness occurring in this twisted world, I am surprised it isn't more active at this point in time though.
