I came across the Mini Adira Benchmade knife that I really liked the look of. It’s the one at the top of the photo. It had all the specs I wanted: drop point, fish scale lines, lock back, ocean blue scales and a high-contrast International orange lanyard. However, I am pretty good at losing knives (in the water, in the woods, in the yard) so I decided not to “drop” over $200. What I ended up with for around $20 was the SOG Adventurer LB. I figured for that price, I could lose a dozen and still be ahead of the game. The SOG is an ounce lighter plus I had to make my own lanyard. It’s no Benchmade, but I’m happy and I like that if fits in my pocket nicely. Find it at Amazon…

After way too much research, I picked up a Tecsun PL-880 Radio, and it’s been a blast. As someone who’s new to shortwave, I’ve found it fun to dive into world of the electromagnetic spectrum. Learning how signals travel, bounce off the atmosphere, and land in your radio from thousands of miles away feels like tuning into the invisible rhythms of the planet. What’s impressed me about the PL-880 is how good it sounds and how easy it is to use with smooth tuning and a display that is not overwhelming. Even without an external antenna, the reception was good, but once I rigged up a 25-foot wire to my flag halyard, the signal strength really came alive. Find it at Amazon…