Last week, we highlighted some of the best new products for EDC unveiled at SHOT Show 2018. While those releases stood out enough to us to win our “best of show” titles, the gear didn’t stop there. Your favorite knife, tool, and light brands had more to show and more on the way. In part two of our recap, we’ll be giving you a quick rundown on some of the more exciting new designs to look forward to this year.
Gerber Flatiron & Kettlebell
Last year, Gerber unveiled some sleek, slimline designs for Urban EDC in the Sharkbelly and Pocket Square. This year, they’ve taken a slightly different design direction with beefier, more substantial knives. The Flatiron is a prime example. It’s a large, folding cleaver-style framelock. You’ll get plenty of knife to work with thanks to its 3.8” length, thick blade, and multiple finger choils for different grip options. a wide pocket clip and choice of G-10 or anodized aluminum round out the knife. The best part? The price. The Flatiron should release later this year at under $40.
The Kettlebell is another new design from Gerber, this time filling the “little big knife” role. Its short and stout blade deploys via thumb stud and locks into a frame lock while a dimpled aluminum scale and finger choils provide excellent grip on this smaller knife.
Check out the rest of Gerber’s current collection here.
CRKT Voxnaes HVAS
Jasper Voxnaes puts his experience with the Scandinavian fjords of his backyard into the HVAS, a minimalist, robust knife featuring CRKT’s popular Field Strip technology. It’s a natural fit for a knife built for the outdoors, with the HVAS sporting a 3.3” stainless steel drop point blade with a large belly for all your slicing needs. An ambidextrous thumb opening and clip make the HVAS usable in any orientation, while its nylon-injected, molded handle keeps the knife light so it’s an easy addition to your outdoors EDC.
Kershaw Anso Method
Jens Anso’s been responsible for plenty of notable designs in Kershaw’s stable, and he brings his talents to the table once again for the Method, a sleek, blacked-out EDC flipper. Slim and lightweight is the name of the game, with a narrow, 3” blade that features a stylish top swedge, and “skeletonized” G10 handles that keep the Method’s weight down to a featherweight 2.1 oz. Manual flipping gets assisted with Kershaw’s signature KVT ball-bearing system, letting the Method fly fast as a flipper knife.
Kershaw Bareknuckle
The Kershaw Bareknuckle takes their popular Natrix silhouette (which itself is a re-imagining of the Zero Tolerance 0777) and stretches it out, giving the knife a sweeping new shape that should please fans of substantial slicers. The Bareknuckle is made in the USA and brings some beefy features to the table, including a Sandvik 14C28N high-performance steel blade molded into a high-utility 3.5” wharncliffe shape. Kershaw’s KVT ball-bearing system lets you manually flip out its edge from anodized aluminum handles, giving it speed while maintaining strength and light weight. A reversible deep-pocket carry clip rounds out the knife’s features, letting it play nice with either bareknuckled hand.
Leatherman PST
2018 marks a big year for Leatherman — it’s their 35th anniversary. To celebrate, they’re bringing back the tool that started it all: the Pocket Survival Tool (PST). Based on Tim Leatherman’s original design, this classic offers an excellent balance of functionality and portability, with a slim form factor and 14 handy functions. The revamp is available now as a limited release including special engraving, premium packaging, and other collectible accessories.
Leatherman Charge+
Continuing the trend of taking field-tested gear and improving them for 2018, Leatherman consolidated some of the best features of previous members of the Charge family into the new Charge+. It now offers a handy cutting hook built into one of its blades and sees the same 154CM steel replaceable wirecutters on other new upgraded Leatherman models.
SureFire Stiletto
No, SureFire isn’t making a switchblade. But they are making a flashlight designed to carry like one, aptly named the Stiletto. It’s a more progressive design than their usual offerings, featuring a side switch for general operation, a tactical rear switch, a slim flat form factor, and a substantial pocket clip. The side switch cycles through a 650 lumen high, 200 lumen medium, and 5 lumen low mode.
Keep an eye out for the Stiletto at SureFire’s website here.
Streamlight MicroStream USB
One of Streamlight’s newer releases comes as a modern update to a tried-and-true classic: the Streamlight Microstream. This year, it’ll offer USB recharging of its lithium ion battery via an integrated micro-USB port built right into the body. With the lithium ion battery, the Microstream will see a significant performance boost reaching a 250 lumen high at 1.5 hours (compared to its predecessor’s 45 lumen max) and a 50 lumen low at 3.5 hours. The Microstream USB will be slightly longer than its predecessor, but still easy to carry thanks to its two-way pocket clip.
Nitecore Concept 2
Nitecore may have secured our pick for Most Innovative with their Tini keychain light, but their cutting edge designs don’t stop there. The Concept 2 takes the power of their Tiny Monster handheld searchlight line and somehow crams it into a sleeker, more minimalist, and more pocket-friendly form factor. It pushes 6500 lumens out of its quad-LED business end, operates via side switch, features a clip for pocket carry, and can actually fit in the palm of your hand.
For updates on the Concept 2, check Nitecore’s latest releases on their site, here.
Olight i3T
Olight flashlights have found their way into plenty of EDCers by offering competitive features in compact designs at accessible price points. The upcoming i3T is no exception — it’s based on the excellent i3E twisty AAA budget light, but it comes equipped with a momentary clicky tail switch for easier operation. It’ll hit 160 lumens on high and about 10 lumens on low. With its compact body, widely available 1xAAA battery compatibility, and included pocket clip, it’ll be a great option for EDC.
In the meantime, check out the twisty i3E on Amazon here.
For more new products from the show, be sure to check out our round-up of award-winning gear here. Stay tuned for more new EDC products as they release throughout the year. Which of these products are you looking forward to the most?
