A search for something that cuts...

I've been putting a lot of thought in just how to pimp out my new PFD... The thing is, there is a ton of stuff that comes to mind but sadly the operative word is ton. The last thing you want to do is put so much stuff on a PFD that going up on the foredeck is akin to expeditionary backpacking.

So, the key would appear to be something of a less-is-more conundrum...

For those not following the thread already, I've already decided on an inflatable tube as a must have and to be honest the whole what sort of light/strobe to get is way past my current mental state, so I thought something simple like a small knife would be an easy choice. Yeah right...

The first knife that came to mind was the SOL Core Lite which has the advantage of being really small, is light, has an LED light, and has the added advantage of being a whistle... Plus it's kinda cute! It's also a little pricey at $20...

Gerber, on the other hand, has a very neat little knife called the Curve which is a bit more useful as it has a bit more functionality built into it and it comes out at a much better street price of $10.

This is a seriously cool knife and the built-in carbiner clip/bottle opener makes it very easy to add to a PFD (or a daypack, etc). Even if I don't decide to get these for the PFDs, I'm pretty sure that this just became my around town pocket knife...

While I was perusing the various Gerber goodness on display I noticed a very cool multi-tool that seriously caught my attention (and you all know how I feel about multi-tools). While I still think that a multi-tool is mostly the wrong tool for every job there are exceptions and this is one of them...

Called the Crucial Tool it is a pared down multi-tool with only the "crucial" bits and has way better, than most, ergonomics. It's even affordable (as multi-tools go) and I'll admit that for a moment it was a contender for the PFD knife of choice but lost out because it is just that little bit too big and heavy... That said, when my current crappy multi-tool gets lost or dies, this is at the top of the list as a replacement.

So, I'll be adding the Curve to the new PFD's... Not a lot of knife as things go, but as a back up to my always carried on board Myerchin (the best boat knife I've ever come across) it is simply adding that little bit of extra backup when/if needful.

Listening to Rod Stewart

So it goes...