Ontario RTAK-II Review
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RTAK above a RAT-7[/caption]This really is the BIG pappa smurf of the RAT series of blades. I had both the RTAK and Rat-7 arrive in the same box and I just couldn't believe it. Let me put it this way, I expected the RTAK to be the size of the RAT-7, give or take an inch, so pulling this out immediately after was just surreal. My first thoughts were this is pointless, impractical, ridiculous and stupid. I loved it. It's size and shape reminded me of a Gladius although somehow a Gladius was actually bigger, but at the time this felt like the biggest chunk of steel I had ever held. The problem I though was this is far too large to be practical (at least in Britain) and for the price pointless as it seemed like it was nothing more than a smaller machete. The more I used this knife though the shorter it seemed to be. It felt more and more comfortable and at home at my side and it really is quite light so that you don't actually realise you are carrying such a large blade, until you kneel down and the handle gets jabbed into your ribs. The lanyard on the sheath was actually around my kneecap so you really need to be over 6 feet to keep it at your side without issue.
The sheath is like the others in the RAT series, they look cheap but are robust enough to last a long time. It has two button fasteners and is reversible for left handed wielders and it
comes with a good sized accessory pouch on the front which I use to carry a smaller folding knife for the finer tasks I might want to do. It has a non removable plastic insert to secure the blade and protect the sheath and overall is what I would call functional. It's not pretty to look at but it will serve you well. It has molle compatible straps on the back which is the only way I will ever use it, despite the belt loop that's also available, as I can attach it to my pack and generally scare any other outdoor enthusiasts that cross my path. I've been out with this on display on my pack, and you see people casually walking with friends who suddenly go wide-eyed, stiffen up while also dropping their gaze and shuffling off at what they think is a normal, but quick pace, but actually ends up being slower and much more obvious that they spotted a huge knife on your backpack. It amuses greatly, especially if like me you turn to force them to hold their gaze with a blank expression on your face.The handle like the rest of the knife is enormous, but it really feels good in the hand. Its shaped much better than the RAT-7 I have, even if the scales
don't perfectly smooth out on the tang. The balance makes it slightly blade heavy but given the size of the blade this is no surprise but its much better than you might think, it feels good enough that I want to actually throw it, but I wont because that's just stupid (I so will). Thankfully they have shaped a sort of guard into the handle to prevent accidental slippage as this is one blade you know will cause some damage and there's also the lanyard hole so, if you know what you are doing, this knife will never get ahead of you. I don't know why they colour the scales so that they look old and dirty, but on this it really works and makes it look like the jungle knife it is made to be.The weight and balance of the 1095 carbon steel blade really makes it bite into wood. You don't need to hammer the spine to chop through some thicker branches although you might still want to for batoning as
it helps to keep it under control. There is a finger choil, although it may be more for design rather than practical use as there's no way you will be choking up on this beast to whittle a spoon, unless that spoon was for feeding a python or one of them weird zombie-vampire things from I Am Legend. The coating on it is reasonably rough although it's less heavy-duty than I would like. I've seen a few people with this same knife and they have all told me how the coating wears out pretty quickly although I haven't used mine enough to see this. Really though with the work this was designed for, and the tasks for which you will use it, it's hardly a shock to know it's not going to last a lifetime. It would be like asking your skin to stay on after supergluing it to a frozen steel bar, totally unrealistic. It's also grey rather than black, like the rest of the RAT series but I think it looks better given the size of it.
I really, really like this knife. It wasn't one of those blades that I 'had to have', but every time I pull it out of the sheath I smile. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anybody wanting a general purpose blade as its far too large, but if you want a big, heavy-duty chopper, then this really fits the bill. It's one of those tools hat you cant use everyday, but you will try to find a reason to take it out with you every time. I love the size, weight and feel of this as a whole package and there's probably nothing I would change to the knife itself. Like the other RAT series knives it would be nice if there was a kydex sheath option, but that's really the only issue I have, and that's not to say that the nylon sheath isn't good. This is an epic, epic blade and one that will stay with me for a long, long time.If you are in the UK and want an RTAK-II click here.
If you are in the US and want an RTAK-II click here.
[taq_review]
Ontario RTAK-II Review
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though as I've seen Puma knives that cost many thousands so it's still cheap by their standards. I certainly can't afford one of their higher end blades, though we can all dream. Most people are unaware of the Puma brand of knives despite them being one of the oldest knife manufacturers on the planet, but I think that's because people just look for combat style blades these days and Puma stick to more traditional styles. Most of their blades are hunting knives with wood and staghorn handles, and I dare say that if you said micarta or G10 to these guys you would be hung drawn and quartered and your bones would be used to carbonise their steel. It's nice to see a company stick to it's roots and craft a good ol' work knife.
Puma IP logo on the front. It holds the blade very well and, despite my erratic shaking, didn't budge at all. It also feels like a good quality piece of leather that's hard-wearing, so it should last many, many years. It's really easy to get at the blade too, providing your not my father, who upon removing the blade, proceeded to bleed extensively over my floor. It was quite funny given how he always mocks me when I injure myself.
almost feels like a laminate wood it's that well finished and it blends perfectly with the tang. It has two steel pins and in the centre of the one scale has a faux pin inlay with the Puma IP logo. The stainless steel bolster is a very nice addition to this blade. It looks great and holds your hand nicely when you use the jimping to choke up for finer work. The knife is handle heavy, but its not a heavy blade, so it just makes it feel more secure rather than cumbersome.
The blade is 3.5mm thick and 9.5cm in length so its not a small blade, but its not large either. Its a good knife for doing some fine wood work like whittling or feathering and the bolster just helps to keep it in your complete control . It is made of 440C stainless and has a full flat grind, which isn't my favourite for bushcraft, but it does allow for some paper thin wood shavings for getting your fire going. I've processed a reasonable amount of kindling with it and I think the overall shape with the flat grind actually performs very well. I think its probably not going to last doing much heavy work as the blade gets very thin, very fast. It's really close to having a Stanley knife profile, so it's great for processing game. I used it in the kitchen for a few weeks as well. Cutting steaks and vegetables with this was much easier than some of the high end chef knives I have. It would be great for gutting and cooking up some fish while you're out on the river, and can easily cut fishing line thanks to its razor like blade. It's probably the sharpest knife I've handled right out of the box.
emergency blanket, emergency sleeping bag, ferro rod and striker, tinder, wire saw, carabiner, water zip-lock bag, and whistle. Outside of the UK there is also a small knife in the kit, but Amazon rules prohibit the knife to be included in the UK kit.
unprepared for even one night in a cold environment. They think that just staying in the car or even wandering off is the best way to go, but that can often bring about some disastrous circumstances. An emergency kit like this could be all you need to survive until rescue comes to find you. With this in mind you have two options. Sleep in the car or sleep outside. Now depending on the weather, one of these will be better than the other, but this kit should help you in either situation.
car but outside with enough dry wood you can easily use the contents to make a very effective shelter. You can use the blanket and rip apart the sleeping bag to make a shelter. I would only use one of these for that though and use the other for personal insulation. You could build a fire with the ferro rod and striker and use the reflective properties of either of these items to increase the temperature in your shelter. If you can't get any materials then you would be better off using the sleeping bag as a shelter as you can make a roof and back wall then sleep on or under the blanket. If you can gather materials Ii would use the blanket as a back wall to reflect heat back on to you and sleep inside the sleeping bag. You can then strip the paracord bag (which comes already split into separate strands to build and secure your shelter. Either way this would keep you warmer than being in the car as you wont be relying on your own metabolic heat generation.
Over the front of this zipped pocket is an elastic cord with a quick release buckle which is perfect for a rolled up towel. The inside is pretty much your generic dry sack pocket. It's a 20 litre compartment with a small zip pouch on the back for a few valuables to be kept separately, but other than that its just a large cavity to stuff whatever you want in there. It easily would fit your general gear you would take to the beach or for a swim/ kayaking session while having plenty of space for your extra's. So for example I could easily get a camp stove, some food and cooking utensils inside and still have a towel, clothing and my boots with some room to spare. I do like having just a single pouch as it doesn't restrict the size of the items you can contain, even if it doesn't let you organise them, but if you saw my desk you would see that I only know the word organise, but have no real world association with it.
mistaken for thinking such things. It's actually very good quality, and once the pack is full looks rather normal and is much more comfortable than you might think. It has on this side all the usual refinements you would expect from a normal backpack. It has a padded back that's designed to be breathable along with padded straps (not hugely padded, but enough considering it's not a general daysack). On these straps are a couple of rings that I assume are for securing the pack to something like a raft and there is also waist and chest straps (the buckle for the chest strap is also a whistle)(nice touch). Now I have to be honest here, I hate the waist strap. It's not padded and it's not in a good place for my body size and given you are unlikely to ever carry a heavy load its pretty much pointless too. Happily it is completely removable though, and if you kept it on would be a useful bit of cordage.
There's not really a lot more that I can say about this as it's not rammed with all of the features you might get in a backpack, like hydration compatibility or additional pouches, so let me tell you about some of the testing I performed on it. I sent it down some rapids a few times just to see if it was watertight (it was) and then I threw it from the top of a 30 foot cliff into another pile of rapids. I done this several times with varying piles of gear inside (nothing valuable, just in case) and it held up perfectly fine. For a start there was no water inside, and none of the seams appeared in any way damaged. I also carried about 10-15kg of gear for a few hours while we were out and it was perfectly comfortable.
So this is the ESEE 4 HM aka 'THE MICARTA SAUSAGE'. Ok, so it's not known as the micarta sausage to anyone but myself, although I hope the name sticks because it's a really accurate description given the handle. The knife is a very strange amalgamation of two knives which ESEE themselves describe as 'the famous ESEE-4 blade design married to a traditional handle'. Now I don't know what compelled them to do this and I'm really not a fan, but I can see what they were going for and I like their reasoning behind it. It's a small combat/survival style blade that they have perfected and then combined with a simple, but good, handle to be used as a bushcraft or EDC knife. So with that in mind I treated it as a bushcraft blade and compared it to some of the others I've handled in the past.
The sheath is a very simple leather bushcraft sheath. It has ESEE embossed in large letters on the front to let admirers know you carry a tool of good quality, but besides this is very much like any other leather drop sheath you find on this style of knife. It holds the blade very well and gives you good access to the handle. It doesn't have contrasting stitching, which is a bit of a shame, but it's not like you buy this knife to look good. It's just function over fashion with this in every aspect.
I was slightly concerned by the round micarta handle on this knife, but really I shouldn't have been. If you would prefer a normal handle you can always choose a standard ESEE 4, but I must have spent a couple of hours making wood shavings while watching TV and didn't notice any discomfort or rolling in the hand. I don't think it suits the blade, in terms of style, but at the same time it doesn't present any problems while wielding it. I think designed as it is, it's probably better than I give it credit for. It tapers in behind the blade giving you a nice place to choke up, but you can really hold the handle in any position and find it comfortable.
just over 4 inches in length, made out of 1095 carbon steel and it has a flat grind blade with a black powder coating. I've used this one and the ESEE 6 for a while now and this coating is very durable. Combined with the sausage handle it makes for a very useful bushcraft knife. I think I would prefer the ESEE 3 over this as the smaller blade with this handle would be a nicer combination, but that's for me and other's may prefer the longer blade.
I've used this knife for anything from processing kindling to opening my watch to replace the battery. It's comfortable to hold, sharp out of the box and easy to maintain thanks to the powder coat. It really is a fantastic EDC blade, and I wish I could carry it permanently (the UK doesn't allow knives in public places). There are times when I carry up to 10 knives for testing, but when I reach for a general blade I almost always go for this one. It's another really good knife by ESEE and one that should last a very long time.
this category is always something that interests me. Now, it is hard to decide what you want out of a survival knife but this RAT-7, among some of the other RAT series, is a perfect fit for what I would consider a good survival blade, although a little modification might be in order for your individual preferences. So with that in mind let me give you some basic info.The blade length is 7.2"/18.3cm (more like 16.5 not including the finger choil), it's just under 5mm thick and overall it's 12.2"/31cm. So it's not a small blade but it's not too big for me to consider a belt knife and it comes with a full flat grind in plain and serrated versions. The handle is made out of micarta and it comes with a molle compatible nylon sheath that's also reversible.
option that would be lovely. It comes with 2 button fasteners which really hold the blade securely so your never going to drop it even in the most extreme conditions. There's a plastic insert in the sheath to hold the blade, but unfortunately this isn't removable for cleaning. There is also quite a large accessory pocket which would be plenty big enough for a sharpening stone and a flint steel or a mini survival kit which is just great given you could get a full array of emergency supplies in there for almost any survival situation. The front pouch also has an elasticated band near the top so you could probably add one or two extra items to the outside of the pouch as well (that's a nice feature). Besides this, it has the usual belt loop and lanyard at the base along with its molle compatible strap. So even though I say it feels cheap (but doesn't feel poor quality), it comes with plenty of options that more than make up for it. It's actually a very good sheath and you could do much worse.As a whole its a very well-balanced blade and very nimble in the hand with its low weight. I haven't done knife based combat training in many years (if I'm completely honest I would be more likely to throw it like a brick than rely on my blade skills to save me), but it would feel confident wielding this over a lot of other blades I've handled. It's very nimble in the hand and really feels like an old friend as you know exactly where the blade is at all times and that's very reassuring. I tend to do some 'shadow boxing' with any new blades I get hold of but this is, for my reviews at least, the first time I thought it worth mentioning due to its natural feel.
on it in the factory as it must have been made separate to the blade itself and attached later on with no further shaping and sizing. The result is a handle that isn't bad, but could be much better, as I mentioned though it isn't uncomfortable and this is something you could easily adjust with some sandpaper and half an hour of your time. The size is very nice and it fits securely in your hand. The finger choil and jimping on the spine made for some really easy feathering and I carved up a few primitive spears with less issues than some higher end blades I've had. Extended use, as is, is a little uncomfortable due to the less than curved edges in the palm of your hand. The handle feels robust and it's not bad enough that it should put you off even if you don't want to do any work on the scales yourself.
superior to the handle and sheath. The flat grind and very good size makes it ideal for batoning and hammering the spine for chopping some thicker branches for shelter. I have used it a fair bit over the last few weeks and, even after processing wood that would last a couple of weeks, it still remained sharp enough for some feathering afterwards. The edge really does hold up well, but I would definitely keep a small sharpener in the sheath pocket. This for me is what makes the RAT-7 a perfect fit for my type of survival knife. It's capable of doing every task you would require thanks to its large (but not excessive) blade size and grind. The finger choil and jimping really give you a solid hold on the knife so, if you needed to, you could confidently skin and gut some game. It has a gentle drop point, but it tapers into a very robust and effective point that will stand up to some heavy-duty tasks. The blade is very sharp out of the box and the black powder coating on this just extends its durability in the field (even if like me you feel it's a shame to destroy such a nice looking coating), the sort of weathered look of the scales just makes it look more appealing as you wear it down.
I will address the elephant in the room. Yes, I know it's green. Well not green. It's GREEN! The same sort of neon green that you get in a mint sauce from your local Indian take-away, which makes me hungry when I look at it, but I am a curry fiend. That however is avoidable as there are other colours available to suit your tastes (pun intended).
don't have to develop and make new moulds and spend months testing their designs. It just allows you to get some of the benefits of their higher priced blades in a much more affordable package. That's something I think Mora do very well and it's something I find most other knife makers avoid. Most companies seem like their cheaper blades were intentionally made worse, so as to encourage you to buy the better and subsequently more expensive models. Mora do not do this. They do make cheaper knives, and they obviously aren't as good as their better, more expensive knives, but they always feel good and perform well.
Survival First Aid Kit[/caption]
My BOB FAK contents: 
More knife reviews coming soon ![/caption]
Before we get on to the pack I would like to talk very briefly about the hydration system. I say briefly because this the entire system itself is so good that I would take up too much of this article talking about it and if you want more information on it you can find it in its own 
than being stitched on to the back so they will be a lot more durable than most other packs. There a 3 strips on each strap so you can attach a radio or phone pouch securely (I use them for clip on lights) and as mentioned previously the left strap houses a pocket for the hand pump for the hydration bladder. Now with the mention of the hand pump I will be honest, I don't like where it's positioned. Maybe its just my frame, but it's too high up and I feel it pressed against my chest, which isn't uncomfortable, but I could 'feel' it. This was the only issue I had when first using the pack, however I compressed the bulb down and taped it for a couple of days and it went really soft which made it almost unnoticeable, so if you get the same problem, do as I did and you should be fine. If you still don't like it you can always put the air pump somewhere-else and use the pocket for a utility item instead like a pocket tool, or you can always remove the air pump all together and use it as a regular hydration system. So the pump position is nothing to worry about, but I thought I should mention it as the tape trick really changed the whole thing for me, so I figured it might help some of you out if you ever have the same issue.
spare clothing, a small cooking system and food and medical supplies. There's not a whole lot you should be carrying for most day trips and I think this has enough space while also giving you the molle options on the front. I will be using it when hiking some of the larger mountains in Britain later this year when I wont be carrying a million knives, and I foresee it carrying everything I will require without needing to attach any molle pouches.
First off it's a pressurised system, or you put pressure into it with the little hand pump that attaches via a separate tube. It also uses an internal air pocket which has several advantages over just pressurising the container. As the pocket extends the full length of the reservoir, it means that it supports the water and prevents the pack from sagging. The pump is separate so you don't get fluid back-washing into the hand-pump which keeps it clean and easier to maintain and it also means that you can completely remove the hand pump, and use it more like a traditional hydration system, without compromising the seal of the reservoir in any way. The air and water tubes also come with thread-less, quick-disconnect valves which really help to put this system together in small packs.
The Frontier Max filter I have comes with a 'Red Line' filter but you can also get the 'Green Line' filter which is cheaper. The difference between the two is that the red filter has the capability to remove 99.99% of viruses where as the green does not. Both filters however have a 99.9% cyst removal and 99.9999% bacteria removal rate and will filter 11 gallons for the green and 120 gallons for the red, so they will probably last you quite a while as it will last over 150 refills of the 3ltr reservoir. Basically if you go out once a week they will last you approximately 3 years, and you can always stock up on a few extra.
We recently got our hands on a custom, hand-made knife from a 28 year old gentleman, called Mihai Bostan. He currently resides in Birmingham, but he's originally from Romania where he graduated university with a mechanical and production engineering degree.
myself. I would thin out the handle a little and make the end a bit deeper, but that more for my own hands and really there's nothing wrong with it. The Walnut scales look wonderful with the mosaic pins and the red liners, this really is a good-looking knife. He's finished the blade in satin and its overall length is about right for a nice medium-sized bushcraft knife. It wasn't as sharp as I would like, but it wasn't hard getting it to where it needed to be.
The handle has red liners and as previously mentioned is made with walnut wood and held together with two mosaic pins. The fit and finish of it is superb and you really cant feel where the scales meet the tang even slightly, he's really spent time perfecting his knives and this is just another area where it shows. It is a bit rounder than I prefer in a handle but it looks and feels a lot more traditional like this, which is really nice. The over-all shape fits well in the hand and I haven't once thought it felt off with all of the use I've given it.
right stone, flint is ideal it is often a rounded almost black stone covered in chalk but can be various shades of grey or even brown.
shaped tip, embedded in a wooden handle the same width as your hand , very easy to make. If you like, the handle could have a point at both ends, one sharp and one blunt. Sharp for precise work blunt for larger bits. For more serious work you can buy copper headed tools that do the same thing, I've never bought one, as copper is very soft metal and I'm sure any point or hammer would wear out very fast, and steel tent pegs are very cheap!
loads of bits, you shouldn't need to be there all day.
- Place the shard on the pad in front of you. Hold the flint firmly in place with the area to be altered towards your working hand. When you start knapping the flint may move or tilt, (you may want to wear a glove on your off-hand for this). To use the retoucher you need to make a sort of pinching action, with your whole wrist almost like the same action concentrated pressure you'd use to remove a tyre from a bike wheel, or to use a mini can opener, but on the first few millilitres of the flints edge.
upwards. As you twist, push down on the metal point. If it works you should hear a crack or crunching sound depending on how much you have knapped (snapped off).
means carefully tapping off tiny specks of stone with the hammer to shape the part you attach to the handle.