Our friends over at Omega Gear Knives have sent us an amazing little knife. I’m calling this a trout and birder knife but their site says “Handmade EDC, survival, bushcraft and Hunting Knife. The knife is designed for fishing, hunting and birding.

Made from 1095 Steel With a cutting edge length of 3.5″ and a 4.0″ handle making the knife 7.5″ in total length. A full tang fixed blade 4.0mm thick, and a razor sharp edge, this knife can make quick work of filleting and skinning trout and other fish as well as field dressing game birds.

With 60 HRC hardness, this small versatile and tank-like knife is built to last. The mirror finish on this knife is intense. It was hard to take the photos because of the glare coming off of that finish. The full tang handle has plenty of jimping on the flat side but none on the spine which I would of liked to see. The knife comes standard with a high quality hand stitched leather sheathe and leather lanyard, although I will be putting a paracord lanyard on mine, just my preference.

I will be further field testing this knife in the next couple weeks and will have a follow up review with photos from the field.

Follow the link below to check out this knife and a lot of others all hand made by Matt Longley.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/OmegaGear

Introducing Strong Like Bull Magnets.

Now you may think, what is this doing on a fly fishing blog ? Well I like to experiment and see how I can use different things in the fly fishing world. I tie my own flies when I can and when I do they usually are falling and flying all over my work desk. This is where the SLB magnets come in.

These little magnets can hold my hooks in reserve and my finished flies while I am tying. I have them all over my work station and on some of my filing cabinets. Here is a little snippet from their page explaining all the technical info.

While the plain neodymium cube magnets are strong, they have 3 big problems:

1. They are slick making them hard to grasp… so they are hard to remove.
2. Being purely magnets, they attract from all directions, and are a bit tricky when they get close to each other as they want to ‘snap together’. 
3. They are somewhat brittle and often chip and crack when they snap to the surface or to each other.

Strong Like Bull Magnets are purpose-built, over the top magnet assemblies…. 

The design starts with a substantial Neodymium Iron Boron disc magnet… These ‘rare earth’ magnets are the strongest type of magnets around… and we use the N52 grade, the highest strength grade available. Next the magnet is coupled to an engineered steel ‘cup’ which acts to direct the magnetic flux in a way which further increases the magnetic pull strength. The cup also ‘shields’ the magnetic force of all of the surfaces except the mounting surface, making them much safer to handle than an unshielded magnet. The magnet/cup assembly screws to a custom CNC machined aluminum housing part which is anodized for durability and color

Lastly, a rubber ring is added to further enhance the grip. 

A Strong Like Bull magnet has a rated direct contact pull strength of over 20 lbs!

They also make tons of other cool magnetic items. Including this amazing machined bottle opener which comes in handy after a long day of fishing and I am just winding down with a cold one. There is a magnet built-in to the top of the opener so you can magnetically hang it when not in use and also doubles as a bottle cap catch.

Go check them out at https://www.slbmagnets.com you wont be sorry!

Based out of sunny California, Quinn gear is designed for the modern outdoor adventurer. These hand made fly fishing wallets and bags are made to last and stand the test of time. I’ve been running one for the last 2 years or so and it holds up like a tank. Super light weight, and made from Dyneema X Gridstop/X-Pac and double snap closures that really do hold this wallet closed tight. Each one of these wallets is hand made to order, so you know you are getting something unique. Both fabrics have a grid of white Dyneema threads for exceptional tear strength, as well as a diagonal woven ripstop. The fabric has a waterproof polyurethane coating on the inside, which will help keep things dry. The Dyneema Gridstop fabric is available in three color options: Green, Black and Blue. X-Pac fabric is available in Slate gray and brown. You can mix and match the outer and inner fabric colors as well.

The wallet is 7.5″ in length fully opened  and 4.25″ wide. It can hold between 30-40 flies and with the double snap closure, your flies will stay inside.

Here is a little blurb pulled from Quinn Gears Etsy page.

“I use only the strongest and lightest materials to produce accessories that will endure tough outdoor adventures.

Being a designer by profession, I was tired of settling for bland and traditional looking fly fishing bags and pouches. I preferred clean, minimal and modern design, so naturally I wanted to have my work reflect that same aesthetic.

The first step was to get a sewing machine and create some prototypes of bags specifically for fly fishing. After gaining valuable experience in producing these items, I decided that I wanted to try making some backpacking gear, which is another passion of mine. My first large project was a zippered hammock. It turned out wonderfully. I decided to make a few for my friends, and eventually made an ultralight backpack which I still continue to use.

When I began to receive positive feedback from other enthusiasts, I knew that I was onto something.

When it came time for an Etsy name for my company, I instantly knew what I wanted it to be. We aptly named it Quinn, after our new baby’s arrival.”

Do yourself a favor and pick up one of these little gems. He also has some different bag options as well. Click the link below to check out Quinn Gear’s etsy page and support a small buisness. Cheers!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/QuinnGear?ref=l2-shop-header-avatar#about

Zen Tenkara Suzume Rod review coming soon. Stay tuned….