The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Survival knives have come in many shapes and forms over the years, the most common being a large knife with all kinds of goodies stashed inside a handle with a screw-off base. That’s a good idea, but if the knife is not what you need, then the benefits don’t outweigh the need to carry it. […]
Some years ago the late Chuck Karwan introduced me to a very talented Oregon knifemaker named Steve Huey. The maker’s knives are well known for being no-nonsense, hard-working tools that will perform under the most extreme conditions. Recently, I learned that Steve had been commissioned to make a distinctive combat knife for a Green Beret […]
With most military units it is relatively easy to identify issue weapons and equipment. With the U.S. Navy SEALs—not so much! Naval Special Warfare units have a wide leeway in purchasing weapons and equipment. Often, each Special Boat Team, Seal Delivery Vehicle Team, or SEAL Team purchases special equipment to fit the unit’s mission. A […]
Poland has a rich tradition of parachute troops dating back to Free Polish paratroopers who jumped at Arnhem during World War II. This tradition continued throughout the Cold War when Polish airborne forces were considered one of the better units in the Warsaw Pact. Today, the Polish 6th Air Assault Brigade (Airborne) was the first […]
A little over a decade ago Tactical Knives featured the then-new Duane Dieter-designed Masters of Defense “Close Quarters Defense” tactical folder. Billed as the “most advanced tactical folder of all time,” the heavy-duty knife certainly had a lot going for it. But its superior design and construction came at a price, $269.98 in 1999 dollars, […]
Sometimes when you take a big knife and scale it down to a more manageable size, things don’t always go as planned. Ergonomics and performance sometimes fly out the window in order to meet an imaginary goal line of an often more marketable, diminutive size. It’s much harder to accomplish than laying a knife on […]
Axes and hatchets are far more efficient and useful in the wilderness. You can achieve much more with them in comparison with survival knives, for example. They can be used to chop wood, to speed up the game preparation, to hunt, etc. It has been scientifically proven that pre-historic humanoids who used axes and hatchets […]
Zero Tolerance has always made knives I find appealing. Most of the designs are very beefy and will take a lot of abuse with no ill effects to the blade or locking mechanism. This new design is no exception as far as being able to take abuse and keep on working. This new ZT is a […]
For those that have followed my writing on the Loadout Room know that I have reviewed a-lot of knives. Of those knives I have a few that are my more expensive and more valuable ones. More valuable doesn’t necessarily translate into the price point of these blades. For me what makes a knife valuable, more […]
Often people ask “what is the knife Navy SEALs use?”. The short answer is- whatever knife they want/purchase to carry. Most of the time in the military this is a decision based on personal preference or choice. However most military personal get issued a knife/bayonet/multi-tool based on their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) or basically “job”. […]
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