The Drop: Boker Magnum Tactical Mermaid Knife

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

The original Boker Magnum Mermaid was a quirky design that kicked off a number of novel collaborations in Blade HQ's stable, like the Dessert Warrior series. It toed the line exactly between a cool collectible and a gas station-tier knife, with a design and rainbow spectrum colorway ripe for starting a conversation at a price point that won't make you feel silly for picking one up.

Blade HQ hears those who want the Mermaid's design but want to keep things a bit more discreet, and thus, the Tactical Mermaid breaches into their catalog, this time sporting a completely blacked-out stonewashed finish. At its heart remains a serviceable, if not a large and loud, folder with a 3.78" 440A stainless steel blade brandishing its namesake mermaid figure, whose tail acts as a flipper tab and holes (bubbles) and scales that decorate its blade face and handle, respectively.

Finger cutouts and aggressive jimping on the back of the stainless steel handle offer a solid grip for the most tactical pursuits, with a liner lock and deep carry pocket clip taking care of pocket duty when the Mermaid needs to make a tactical retreat.

What we like: A community icon, now dressed for truly tactical deployments.

What to watch out for: Get ready for a conversation when pulling this knife out.

Final verdict: A knife for the true collectors.

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G-SHOCK Utility Metal Collection

The now-iconic G-SHOCK GA2100 was a runaway success when it was launched in 2019, diversifying into a wide variety of colors and styles and eventually becoming one of the brand’s best-selling product families. Affectionately nicknamed “Casioak” by fans and watch enthusiasts because of its resemblance to a luxury watch with a signature octagonal case, modders started fitting the GA2100 with aftermarket metal cases and even metal integrated bracelets to try to get as close to the aesthetic as possible. All that modding no longer became necessary when G-SHOCK released an official metal-covered variation: the GM2100.

The latest series of the GM2100 family is called the Utility Metal Collection. These three new models still feature the same 44.4mm octagonal case in stainless steel but now come with soft fabric straps instead of the resin straps of the original. Each model also comes with distinctly different dial accents, strap colors, and bezel options to distinguish one from the other. The first model is the stealthy GM2100CB-1A with its black ion-plated (IP) stainless steel outer case, red details on the dial, and a black strap. The second model, GM2100CB-3A, offers a more military aesthetic, with a dark gray ion-plated stainless steel outer case and bright green details to match its olive green strap. The last model is the GM2100C-5A, which features a regular stainless-steel outer case, beige details on the dial, and a beige strap. All watches come with a double-LED light for nighttime visibility.

The new straps are rugged and tough, befitting the G-SHOCK brand. They add a more luxurious and sophisticated appeal to the GM2100 and don’t bulk up the way a standard NATO strap would, making the watch look even sleeker. The usual core features of any G-SHOCK watch are present, including 200M water resistance, five alarms, a stopwatch, a 24-hour countdown timer, a full calendar, and a world-time function displaying 31 time zones, 48 cities, and UTC, each accessible through the pushers on the sides of the case.

More variations of a good product are always welcome in the EDC community, and the G-SHOCK Utility Metal Collection improves on the GM2100 family by adding some character and fun urban styling to the mix. Grab yours at the link below.

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This is a sponsored post presented by G-SHOCK.

The Drop: Cliffset Portable Cutlery

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

Those of you who habitually take your reusable cutlery around with you as you go about your day know that one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is how to clean them after each use. Are you supposed to wipe the grease down with some tissue paper like some uncivilized brute? Douse the utensils with hand sanitizer so your next meal tastes like alcohol? You need to level your portable cutlery game up and check out the Cliffset Starter Pack.

The Cliffset Starter Pack comes with a fork, knife, and spoon made of sturdy 18/8 stainless steel, a custom-contoured cleaning tool made of shatterproof Tritan, a refillable sprayer, and a vacuum molded carrying case lined with ripstop nylon and durable YKK zippers. Also included is a 1 oz. glass bottle of Anyware Cleaner, which contains 60% food-grade alcohol, water, and lemon oil.

Once you fill the sprayer with the Anyware Cleaner, you’ll have a convenient, rinse-free cleaning solution that you can simply spray on your used cutlery that does a great job of quickly lifting grease and zapping bacteria without the alcohol aftertaste. The cleaning tool's three ridges guide your cleaning napkin perfectly between Cliffset’s fork prongs to reach every last bit, while the tip perfectly matches the flat knife blade and curved spoon bowl.

What we like: The Cliffset Starter Pack is portable enough to bring in your bag, pocket, glovebox, or anywhere you might be going for the day.

What to watch out for: The Cliffset is great for travel, but remember to leave the knife at home or put it in your checked bag before going through airport security. Chopsticks as a part of the set would also have been handy for Asian cuisines.

Final verdict: Having to clean dirty utensils is one of the reasons people just opt for wasteful, flimsy plastic utensils instead. The Cliffset Starter Pack makes cleaning simple, easy, and fun, encouraging everyone to avoid plastic.

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The Drop: WESN x Real Fun, Wow! Henry Knife

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

Combining the characteristics of practicality, usefulness, and beauty as a work of art is a dream that many toolmakers aspire to achieve, with very few actually achieving it. Swedish knifemakers WESN are certainly taking a shot with their latest blade release and their first knife handmade in the USA: The Real Fun Henry Pocket Knife.

A collaborative effort with California-based artist Daren Thomas Magee (better known as Real Fun, Wow!), the knife combines WESN’s bespoke design on their slipjoint knife, the Henry, with Daren’s ethereal and minimalist art style. The result is a unique blade that easily finds a place in your kit or is proudly displayed at home for you (or others) to admire.

The pocket knife itself measures 5.35” open and 3” closed. It features a G-10 handle with titanium accents displaying Daren’s original artwork, and housing the 2.35” Sandvik 14C28N steel blade.

What we like: The packaging experience is excellent, as the Real Fun Henry comes with many fun items designed by Daren, like an RFW x WESN enamel pin, a collab-exclusive bandana, and even some neat stickers.

What to watch out for: This collab is a limited run, so once they sell out, they’re gone for good.

Final verdict: WESN’s Henry was already a solid option for a modern traditional knife, and this collaboration adds a unique stylistic charm you won’t find anywhere else.

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The Drop: Unbound Merino Active Line

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

Many athletic clothing brands often use synthetic materials as part of their apparel lineup. You'll see things like "quick-drying," "odor-resistant," and "breathable" as part of their features, leading you to believe that these high-performance garments were exquisitely engineered to have those invaluable features to assist you in your workouts.

But nature actually figured all of this out centuries ago. Merino sheep are a fantastic fluffy source of some of the most performant wool on the planet, and many clothing brands—like Unbound Merino—have put it to good use. Merino wool is natural, sustainable, and has vastly superior properties over similar materials used in clothing, even those oriented to athletic pursuits. It insulates well, is soft but not scratchy, is anti-static, hydrophilic (it can absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture while still feeling dry), and, best of all, anti-odor too. Add those up and it's a spectacular material to use for even the most demanding clothing.

Unbound Merino's new Active Line is all this and more, introducing a lineup of athletic wear for both men and women to be the last gym clothes they'd need. All of merino's best features come to play in a collection that includes shirts, tanks, and shorts for every activity, with odor resistance, moisture-wicking, fast-drying, and lightweight packability, allowing the material to shine while you work up a sweat. Clean lines and neutral colors pair with thoughtful features like raglan sleeve cuts and split hems to maximize their utility in and out of the gym. And when you're done with your sets, Unbound Merino has an entire catalog of apparel to level up the rest of your wardrobe.

What we like: Merino wool has all the benefits of performance clothing while being all-natural and sustainable, and cuts and designs specifically for active users are a welcome addition to the gym bag.

What to watch out for: Like most merino wool apparel, the material still comes with a bigger price tag compared to most regular cotton or synthetic clothing. The advantage is, due to its reusability, you don't need to buy many to last days' and weeks' worth of workouts. Also note that the Active Line is currently on pre-order and will ship in early May.

Final verdict: More merino good, purpose-designed for the gym even better.

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The Drop: LOOP GEAR SK01s LEP Flashlight

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

Most EDCers will be familiar with the LEDs on the business end of their flashlights. When switched on, a flow of electricity is passed from a light's battery to its LED, and depending on the battery's voltage and the light's electronics, different brightness levels can be achieved. What may be less familiar to those not fully in the deep end of flashlights is a type of light called a LEP, or Laser Excited Phosphor.

Without going too much into the nerdy details, the simplest explanation is that a blue laser is passed through a focusing lens onto a phosphor element backed by a metal substrate, which in turn produces a broad spectrum white light, which is further focused through other lenses and filters. The result is a focused beam that resembles a pointing laser more than a traditional flashlight—an intense hotspot with minimal spill, unlike a traditional spotlight-type LED flashlight, and often able to throw significantly further distances thanks to off-the-charts levels of candela.

This brings us to one of the coolest LEPs to hit the market today, LOOP GEAR's SK01s. Nicknamed "Skywalker," it's one of the most compact LEPs you can buy, being on the 18350 battery platform, and it's also a zoomie, able to adjust its max 910 lumens at 640,000(!) candela beam profile between 2.8° and 18°, all while throwing up to 1.6 kilometers. This overcomes a LEP's usual one-trick utility of having only a tight hotspot and being able to expand it to cover a broader area, much like the spill on a regular light.

That's a brand-new feature that we haven't seen before, and that's also on top of some insane specs like full titanium construction with a futuristic design worthy of its namesake, ceramic balls for emergencies in the bezel and tactical ring, a party of light effects in the tail switch, and even a bolt mechanism that acts as a physical lockout so you don't accidentally power up a laser in your pocket. Both the lower ring in the head and the tactical ring are even free spinners, adding a fidget factor to the light. Every inch, every edge of the SK01s seems to have one interesting or useful feature or another, and it's definitely one of the most exciting lights we've seen in a while.

What we like: A zoomie LEP already hasn't been done before (that we know of), and this has no business adding so many more interesting features and utility on top.

What to watch out for: While it has the zoom function, a LEP still may not be the tool you need for everyday illumination, but it's one heck of a light to add to the rotation. The titanium models also command a steep asking price, but more affordable aluminum options are available.

Final verdict: LOOP GEAR comes out strong with a truly unique light that brings a ton of new and exotic features to the table, and is seriously one to watch, if not picked up already.

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The Drop: Orbitkey Pebbled Leather

It's a big EDC market out there, and tons of awesome gear is released all the time. We made The Drop to help you discover the latest and greatest essentials worth a spot in your EDC.

If you don’t have an Orbitkey Key Organiser in your life yet, you’re in luck. Not only will your jingly jangly world of disorganized keys level up to one of order and convenience, but Orbitkey also just released a new material for their award-winning key stacker: Pebbled Leather.

The new leather is LWG (Leather Working Group)-certified, and its subtle pebbled finish is designed to be less prone to minor scratches and scuffs, so you won’t have to worry about it joining coins or other belongings in your bag or pocket. Available in Caviar, Ecru, Emerald, and Amber, the leather material certainly exudes a premium feel in both touch and aesthetics and can give your current kit a more refined look. Everything we love about Orbitkey’s Key Organiser is still here: you can carry 2-7 keys (up to 11 with the Extension Post), car keys, and fobs on the D-ring, and its locking mechanism is as efficient and as secure as ever.

What we like: The Orbitkey Key Organiser doesn’t just hold keys. You can attach USB drives or Orbitkey’s Multi-Tool, increasing its usefulness and versatility ten-fold.

What to watch out for: For larger keys or key fobs, you’ll need a keyring such as Orbitkey’s Ring v2, which is sold separately.

Final verdict: It’s the Key Organiser we know and love, using a new refined, luxurious material. Keeping all your keys in one place has never looked so good.

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Waterfield Essential Crossbody Tall Bag

"The latest version of Waterfield Design’s Essential Crossbody bag can hold a 14″ MacBook Pro, 13″ MacBook Air, or a 12.9″ iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. The bag is lightly padded and has two interior pockets and an exterior zipper pocket. It’s made from 1680 denier ballistic nylon with a colorful accent stripe and..." (via The Awesomer)

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