I watch Nutnfancy's gear videos pretty religiously. I know some people think he is a blow hard and not very knowledgeable, but when it comes to gear, knives and lights, I think he is quite good and a useful baseline. He is the closest thing the gear community has to a leading voice and manufacturers do listen to him and cater to his requests (jimping anyone?). I make a habit of skipping his videos that don't interest me, like the political videos, but generally, his opinions on GEAR (and only gear) are very solid. He had a huge influence both on my purchases and my opinions about what makes a piece of gear good. Over the almost three years I have been writing this blog I have come to realize just how much influence he has had on me. Its time to lay bear those influences and figure out which are myths and which are true, so that you can filter my opinions through these influences when deciding how much to rely on it.

1. Light and small knives are best for EDC: TRUE

Nutnfancy pushed the SOG Flash I for years and it still makes regular appearances on his channel when he does knife reviews. After seeing that review and thinking about it, I slowly came to believe he was right. After carrying the Dragonfly in various iterations I think it would take something radical to change my mind. Small knives are best for EDC. Pretty much anything more than 3 inches is for fun or carried out of a delusional belief that knives could be defensive tools. I guess they can be last ditch tools, but if things get to the point where I am using my knife as a defensive weapon, life's pretty grim. I have come to believe that between 2.5 and 3 inches is the sweet spot for EDC and there are a lot of options here. I dislike the Flash I because of sloppy fit and finish and a comparatively high price, but Nutnfancy was right--small works best.

2. Expensive knives are waste of time: PARTIALLY FALSE

There is a reason why his screen name is Nutnfancy. He started his channel as a protest to the expensive carry that he saw people showing off on the internet. He was and still is focused on high value knives and I like high value knives too. His motto was his screen name--nothing fancy. But as things have progressed I have come to believe what Andrew has said many times on the podcast--if it was just about utility we'd buy one knife and use it until it breaks. The Zulu is a great knife, in part because it is a little more than just a knife. I love my Small Pathfinder. The cocobolo handles on the AG Russell Medium Barlow are a delightful reprieve from a steady stream of G10 and black G10. But there is a limit. I am not sure I can ever bring myself to buy a William Henry. There is just too much focus on looks and not enough focus on performance. A flourish here or there is fine and in fact, welcomed, but too much is not a good thing.

3. SOS/Beacon is helpful on a flashlight: FALSE

The idea is that you clip the light on to your tent or shelter and the SOS/Beacon mode gets you home. That might work. Might. A lot of lights nowadays have lows that last so long that they make SOS/Beacon unnecessary. If you are truly lost in the wilderness at dark, the low settings on many lights might be bright enough to find your way. Plus, what are the chances that you will need the SOS/Beacon for more than a few days? Good lights run for a day and half on medium and about five on low. SOS and Beacon might get you a few hours more. Outside the wilderness though these modes are 100% useless. This means that something that might be useful in 1% of 1% of situations screws up the UI on lights 100% of the time. Leave them off the light. Or if you ABSOLUTELY have to have them, make them hidden.

4. Jimping is necessary on a good knife: FALSE

Jimping is a word Nutnfancy taught me, like I am sure he taught many of you. He also taught as linguistic contortions like "philosophies of use" as opposed to, say, "purpose." While his stilted language is funny to listen to, this word is actually a good word. But, as the Zulu and a few other knives taught me, jimping, while a good word, is not a necessary part of every knife. A well designed handle can do everything it should do without jimping. Plus, you don't run the risk of chewing up hands and clothing during hard use. Jimping is a crutch for bad handle design. I'd rather have a nice handle, but if that doesn't work, I guess I will take some jimping. Still, it is not needed.

5. You better have a good reason to go over 4 ounces: TRUE

4 ounces seems pretty arbitrary, but in the almost three years I have done this I found it is a pretty good number, a number that starts to emerge when the sample of knives is large enough. Personally I like the Golden Ratio of Pocket Knives: 3 inch blade, 4 inch handle, and 3 ounces. A lot of knives hit this and work well--the Zing SS, for example, and the Spyderco Caly 3 (almost) for another. But having the limit at three ounces excludes a ton of good stuff. Upping the limit to four ounces cuts out only the ridiculous and the flabby. Sure it means that the ZT0560 is out for EDC use, but that doesn't seem all that crazy to me. It also shows that I am not the only person that has a problem with just how chubby the Cryo is at 4.2 ounces. But with the ZT0560 you do get something else, a lot of knife for the money, and so the extra weight, while not something I like, is, in the final analysis worth it for that knife. The 4 ounce rule is completely heuristic in nature, as opposed to predictable or fixed. It emerges with experience. And, as all rules should be, it is useful.

6. Deployment speed matters: FALSE

The assist on the Flashback is a much ballyhooed feature by Nutnfancy, as is the assist on the Flash I. For me, however, assists are almost never worth the hassle. A well made knife simply doesn't need one. The fastest opening knife in the world is an Emerson deployed correctly. It beats an auto, an assisted knife, anything. But here is the truth--none of that matters 99% of the time. And autos and assists have more parts to break and are more likely to attract unwanted attention. I'd rather have a slower knife that I can use and put away than a loud clacking thing that startles everyone around me. If you have a job that requires a knife, then he is probably right that deployment speed matters, but for me this is like the much vaunted "sharpness out of the box". I don't care how sharp a knife is, other than using that as a test for attention to detail, because I can sharpen my own knives. And I don't care how fast a knife opens. It rarely matters.

7. AUS-8 is good enough: TRUE

The SOG Flash I has AUS-8. Its his favorite knife. And the steel, after 150 or so reviews, is something I have come to respect. I like better than VG-10 by a substantial margin. I like it better than 420 HC. I like it better than 8CR13MoV. For the money you are hard pressed to find something better. It is an excellent value with decent to above average performance in almost every way. Only 14C28N is better in terms of value steels. AUS-8 is not just good enough, it is actually quite good, especially when done well, like in the Al Mar Hawk.

8. You should own at least one good fixed blade: TRUE

After reviewing a few, I have come to realize that part of the reason why people buy and use obscenely large, unnecessarily overbuilt fixed blades is because they don't realize how good a compact or medium sized fixed blade is. I don't think Nutnfancy's affinity for choppers is supported by their utility, but I do like fixed blades. The Freeman Outdoor Gear 451 that I recently reviewed was awesome and did everything I could have wanted to do. If you don't have a fixed blade, try one out. I guarantee you will like it. It may not be your EDC, but when you have one you will find ways to use it.

9. Its OK to use a fanny pack: NEVER TRUE

I don't care how useful it is, I will never carry a fanny pack. I don't care how much awesome gear is inside, I will never carry a fanny pack. Like suspenders for people getting fatter than they should be, the fanny pack is the line in the sand--the sign that your gear affliction has gone too far. If you are researching the best fanny pack, move your chair away from the computer right now, sell some gear, and find an additional hobby.

10. Acronyms for everything (its not a knife review, but a K.R.V.) is effective: F.A.L.S.E.

Frequent Acronym-filled Language Stuns Everyone.

Nutnfancy's language, as I mentioned above, is peppered with jargon and, like almost all jargon, it is an impediment to communication as it hides the meaning of phrases from people, especially new folks. I get that he is in the military and they LOVE jargon and acronyms (my Dad was also in the military and still buys "H&BAs" instead of deodorant, shampoo, and toothpaste; Health and Beauty Aids, if you must know). Please, cut out the acronyms and jargon and just tell people what you want to say.

The dude gets a lot of stuff about gear right. Move out of his realm of expertise and things get very wonky, but when it comes to knives and lights, for all the hate he gets, he is right much more often than just about anyone. He has the biggest soap box, in part, because he earned it. To a certain extent my disagreements over gear aren't big deals. And if you are waiting for a gear reviewer to share all of your points of view, congratulations! You are reviewing gear.