A capable carry-on, featherlight knife, feature-rich flashlight and more in this week’s exciting gear roundup.
Aer Completes Their Travel Lineup With a New Pair of Carry-on Companions
With dozens of bags covering every aspect of everyday carry and travel, it’s been a long time coming for Aer to kick off their luggage collection. The first models to hit the ground rolling are the Carry-On and the Carry-On Small, with the former being slightly larger to fit more of your flight essentials while still able to accommodate most airline carry-on size restrictions.
Both suitcases come with the sleek, minimal design language Aer is known for, with a tonal color scheme across the five colorways (Black, Dark Olive, Fog White, Pale Mauve, and Safety Orange) and a simple wordmark logo front and center, which first made its appearance on the 2023 Pro Collection. The exterior is built in premium Makrolon polycarbonate hard shell to give it best in class durability, and four-rolls on Hinomoto miraclent ball bearing wheels for smooth and silent traversal. Unique to these suitcases is a four-height triangular trolly system for customizable comfort while on the move, and a Hinomoto wheel brake system that prevents the bag from wandering away, especially in a busy concourse.
Opening up the extra-durable and gapless YKK RCW zippers gives access to the 48L interior (41L in the Small), lined with CORDURA re/cor recycled nylon ripstop and divided into two compartments: a standard left zippered section, and a right one with a paneled compression system that comes with a magnetic FIDLOCK fastener.
The regular Aer Carry-On released last May 13th, and while Aer have tested it against most major airlines’ bag sizers, there were concerns that its 22.7″ x 15″ x 9″ dimensions were at the upper limit of carry-on restrictions. This prompted the immediate follow-up of the Carry-On Small, originally a Japan domestic launch model whose 21.7″ x 14″ x 9″ (41L) size and lower price offered a suitcase that was both within spec and within more means. The Carry-On Small only comes in black with limited stocks for the moment, but Aer have assured more are on the way.
Whether it’s your first foray into Aer’s carry collective or finally completing the last piece of your own travel collection, Aer’s new carry-on options are ready to roll out.
The Montana Knife Company Mini-Speedgoat Is a Knockout Knife Punching Way Above Its Weight
Hands-on review by Mikey Bautista, EDC Managing Editor
When Montana Knife Company, founded by ABS Master Bladesmith Josh Smith, first reached out to me, the company and its products were admittedly outside of my regular EDC wheelhouse. They were a passionate organization, specializing in exceptional, American-made tools for hunting and the outdoors, and as an urban-dwelling, desk-diving EDCer, I felt a little out of my depth in those waters. But they graciously sent me their latest and most compact blade to try, and this little knife was an instant eureka moment, one with just the right set of features and boundless quality that helps bridge the gap between my neck of the EDC woods and MKC’s usual customers.
Belying its diminutive specs, the Mini-Speedgoat is loaded with features and fine details. It’s an ultra-light, double-tempered, and cryogenically treated (not to mention handsomely polished) fixed blade measuring 6.5″ with a 3″ edge made with CPM MagnaCut that weighs just an ounce even with its 7+ feet of paracord handle wrapping. MagnaCut being the supersteel that it is gives the Mini-Speedgoat the holy trinity of edge retention, toughness, and corrosion resistance even while whittled down to an almost ridiculously thin 0.095″ blade thickness. Needless to say, it lets the Mini-Speedgoat be an exceptionally slicey blade, with its edge thinness even contributing to ease of resharpening when needed. A super pointy and slicey 3″ MagnaCut blade on a lightweight platform is already a winning combination, but beyond that, the usability and ownership satisfaction of the Mini-Speedgoat is hard to beat.
The unboxing experience by itself is already quite notable. Opening the Montana Knife Co. box reveals a hand-wrapped and bow-tied (with paracord, no less) package containing the Mini-Speedgoat in its custom Kydex sheath, with a feature card, signed QA certificate, sticker, and spare hardware, which includes two types of clip attachments for the sheath. I quickly swapped out the belt clip for the lower profile pocket clip when I took it out for a test drive during a weekend at the beach. While my uses were limited to a bit of foraging by the water, processing some sticks for a small fire, and opening snacks back in my room, the drastic size and weight made the Mini-Speedgoat even more convenient than some of my lightweight folders, which is pretty remarkable for any fixed blade to accomplish.
I was firmly in my honeymoon period with the Mini-Speedgoat early on in the weekend, but the feeling quickly went way when using the knife for the first few times and realizing that MagnaCut really is all that. Add in MKC’s Generations Promise which gives you free sharpening (even reshaping), cleaning, maintenance, and repair for the lifetime of your knife and beyond, and it’s hard to ignore how much value you get from any of the brand’s tools.
Speaking of the rest of MKC’s tools, I’m already looking ahead to trying out more from them. The larger knives, many of them in MagnaCut, and even a hatchet is now on my wish list. And while a number of knives maintain steady stock, the Mini-Speedgoat’s popularity means that it’s one of MKC’s best sellers, and often run out until the regularly scheduled drops. Keep an eye out on Montana Knife Company’s site and socials so you can prepare to snag one (or more) for yourself.
Even in my early days of exploring the world of EDC-friendly fixies, the Mini-Speedgoat has already shown me the untapped potential and creativity in the space. I’m looking forward to what’s next from Montana Knife Company, and can’t wait to get my hands on more of their tools.
The Nitecore EDC25 Delivers Flatout Brilliance for Seamless Pocket Carry
We have a soft spot in our hearts for the Nitecore EDC27—so much so that we awarded it the best EDC flashlight at SHOT Show 2023. Its successor, the newly released EDC25, is an upgrade in many ways. The Nitecore EDC25 boasts 3,000 lumens of maximum output with a beam throw that reaches up to 328 yards thanks to its new NiteLab UHi 20 LEDs. Designed with practicality in mind, the EDC25 flaunts the familiar flat shape from the EDC27 that allows for seamless pocket carry, ensuring you have powerful lighting at your fingertips without the bulk. Weighing in at just 3.67 oz and only 0.54” thick, it’s a highly pocketable light you can easily carry around. It also has customizable brightness levels and rapid access to Turbo and Strobe modes between its two-button tail switches.
Several features set the Nitecore EDC25 apart from its predecessor. It forgoes the digital display for more straightforward light indicators. It also offers extended hours of continuous use—up to 55 hours on a single charge through USB-C. This, combined with its superior throw distance, lighter frame, and more affordable price point of $74.95, makes the EDC25 a worthy follow-up to an already great light.
Vosteed has made a name for themselves making some of our favorite knives that won’t break the bank, but to our delight and excitement, every so often they decide to flex their manufacturing process and produce some truly next-level knives. We’ve seen it before with the RSKAOS and the Thunderbird, and this time, a partnership with Geoff Blauvelt a.k.a. TuffKnives has unleashed the Psyop on the market (and straight into our pockets).
Every inch the sleek slicer, the Psyop comes in four configurations, each with a standard kit of a 3.32″, highly corrosion-resistant Elmax blade in a flat-ground drop point that secures into a black or gray titanium handle with a top liner lock. You have a choice of a more rounded, stonewashed finish for the handle, or a slimmer, flat handle CNC-milled with a diamond pattern for better purchase. Like most Vosteed knives, the Psyop comes with a fantastic fidget factor out of the box, and you can flick away with its front flipper or thumb hole deployment.
The Psyop isn’t just a sleek pile of specs, though. Vosteed and TuffKnives have crafted subtle details into the knife that elevate its every aspect. Its front flipper locks into place as one clean line from the handle, and flies out on ceramic ball bearings. The handle features a flush pivot screw with an accent pivot collar, and while the 3D-milled titanium pocket clip isn’t reversible, it’s affixed with hidden screws to not break up any part of the design unnecessarily. And while this limits pocket carry options for lefties, the top liner lock is still plenty usable from either hand.
The Psyop is another winner in our books for Vosteed, and joins the ranks of the brand’s higher-end offerings for those looking to add a premium option to their pockets. With two successful collaborations so far with R.S. Knifeworks and TuffKnives, the future is bright for their future partnerships—with a particularly exciting one on the horizon with someone whose name rhymes with raccoon ego.
Huckberry X Danner Slides Get a Rugged Makeover With Exclusive Camo
In an exclusive collaboration with Danner, our friends at outdoor lifestyle brand Huckberry have released a redesigned, post-adventure comfort essential, the Huckberry x Danner Shelter Cove Slide, marking their first-ever non-boot collaboration. This unique creation combines Danner’s legendary craftsmanship with Huckberry’s clever and innovative design, delivering a recovery slide that offers superior comfort, traction, durability, and most importantly, a cooler option for these warmer days.
The Huckberry x Danner Shelter Cove Slide features a unique duck camo colorway (previously exclusive to Japan), bringing a new outlook and setting it apart from conventional designs. The Shelter Cove Slide is also equipped with a Vibram Megagrip outsole typically seen on hiking boots and well-known for its superior, all-conditions traction.
This feature makes the Shelter Cove slide appear extremely overbuilt for a recovery slide, but it’s perfectly balanced out by a dual-strap design that allows for natural forefoot flex, a plush EVA midsole, and contoured footbed for cloud-like comfort and anatomically correct support, offering relief after a long day on your feet.
