For a nice fixed blade, I’m a big fan of Blind Horse Knives’ Bushcrafter. I’ve had mine since March and I absolutely love it.

But, really, for cheap flashlights, ZenLogic is the guy to talk to. He has a lot more experience with them than I do. Send him an email and he’ll write you an essay.

Based on your knife description, the first thing that came to mind was the CRKT M16 SRT line. I’ve had one of these for a number of years and I consider it to be a cheap, low quality folder compared to my Emerson, but a decent enough blade that will probably suit you just fine. Then I searched to see what they were selling for these days, and they seem to be upwards of $75, which is crazy. I don’t recall paying over $40 for mine. Unless they’ve somehow changed the knife since I bought mine about 5 years ago, I would have guessed it to be about $35. So that knife is probably out, unless you can find a good one on eBay.

The next knife that came to mind was one of the Gerber Gator folders. I don’t have any experience with Gerber, but I’ve heard good things about this knife from a lot of people. It comes in plain and serrated blades, and drop and tanto points. They seem to sell in the $30-$40 range, which seems right based on what I’ve heard.

My neck knife — the Nemesis Hellion — is definitely a nice knife, but it’s a bit on the small side for many tasks. I think of it mostly as a toy and a novelty more than a tool. And it seems to sell these days for about $40. The Gerber Gator would be a lot more knife for the same price.

If I was going to buy a new neck knife today, the two that I would be choosing between are the RAT Izula and the Becker Necker. Both look to be great knives: small enough for concealed carry (around the neck or inside the belt) but large enough to have a real practical use (unlike my Hellion). In fact, I’d feel pretty good about EDCing either one as my only blade. The Becker Necker seems to be available for about $35, which I think is a great price. If you (and the Canadian government) are ok about EDCing a fixed blade instead of a folder, I’d seriously consider that one (though I don’t know if you can get it with serrations…but serrations are yucky anyway).

I was looking for a folding knife with a serrated as well as a flat edge. And all black. No reflective shiny parts. That could preferably be clipped onto a belt. Or otherwise concealed. (I used to dress in all black, so black items didn’t stand out.)

The neck-based knife you had up there, looks interesting. I might be able to get away with carrying that inside a night club. No one pats down your chest.

I lost two flashlights. One in Thailand, and other on the Cook Islands. The one I lost in Thailand, was a larger size, that was battery free. Powered with magnets that moved inside the flight light casing. It was taken from my backpack when I wasn’t looking. Thai people are sneaky. The other lost torch was a mini mag light. I was too relaxed at my resort and left it lying around. I deserved that. Both were LED. I wasn’t aware that non-LED lights were sold anymore. :)

I can usually get everything I need from Canadian Tire. (If Canada had guns it would be WOG country.) But they don’t have the selection they used to. And a lot of their cool stuff is behind lock and key. I hate asking people to do stuff. I prefer doing it myself.

What kind of knife are you looking for? If you want a smaller fixed blade, Mora is the cheapest you’ll find and still good quality.

What size of flashlight? LED or bulb?

I don’t know of any one place to buy all your gear. I spread my purchase around quite a bit.

I had replaced the knife replaced when I was in Thailand for dirt cheap. But a housekeeper threw it out. A $12 knife in bangkok will run me back at least $100 here. :/

Is there a one stop shop for kit? What about inexpensive alternatives?

Metal bottles definitely are heavy, especially if you’re used to a little Platypus bottle or the like. That’s the only reason I don’t always take my Klean Kanteen backpacking or with me during other wilderness travel. But outside of those situations, I’m not terribly picky about weight, and I think metal bottles are the way to go. Sustainability, functionality, the taste of water, everything is better.

Is your 8 oz flask sized for a cargo pocket or do you carry it in a bag?

I always have to carry some sort of water reservoir with me, regardless of where I am or what I’m doing, mostly because I drink a shit ton of water.

But I’m going to check and make sure I can boil water in it otherwise why carry it, y’know? Heh.

Great setup as usual. I should really re-do an illustration of my EDC because it’s so hot here I carry a lot less. One thing I do carry now that’s kinda novel is a 8 oz. plastic flask that I carry a little bit of water in. It’s not large enough for some serious hydration but it gives you enough water to avoid being uncomfortably thirsty most times.

Although carrying some kind of water bottle was optional in Cascadia, now I carry one everywhere. It’s too frickin’ hot in the Bear Flag republic.

I redid the first aid kit supplement on my bike, as well as my wilderness first aid kit, since coming back from the W-EMT course, but I’m still happy with the first aid items in my level 2 EDC, so I haven’t changed that kit at all.

I don’t recognize some of that EDC kit, but it looks like a damn solid load! Are you going to update with new med kit since your schooling? Or have you already?