Pro Hiking Buddy -vs- the Florida Keys

Bmurray

Bmurray

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Took a little last minute getaway to the keys with the wife and my oldest boy. The Pro-Hiking Buddy was my knife of choice for the week. It went snorkeling, kayaking, fishing, and used for cutting squid and ballyhoo and other edc chores over the last 7 days. I only rinsed it in hot soapy water when we got back to the hotel at night. I really wanted to test the steel against rust and do a comparison test with a GSO 3.5 in cpm20v; which I expect to be a bit better rust resistant but didn't have the opportunity.

As you can see there was only minor surface rust under the scales and the saltwater did exposed a few material voids/inclusions left from the mill. Overall I'm pleased with the results as saltwater is about as bad of environment that you can put knife steel in. The one time I was concerned was after about a 3-hour snorkel and decided to take a look. The blade did have a lot of orange beginning to build from being in the sheath underwater, however it just wiped off. You could never do this with an A2 or wooden handle knife so the pro series fit the bill this trip.

Thanks to Allen Morrison for making the kydex sheaths with the nylon spacers as it did help keep some of the water from holding in the sheath. I'm going to drill more thru holes that may help a bit more.

before going out:


user knife pics:









Few misc pics:






 
Looks like a great trip in a beautiful place! That sheath with the spacers is a clever idea.
 
Hey Bob,

Glad you had great weather for your trip. Was that the Sombrero Reef Light Tower off of Marathon you were fishing or was it the Alligator Reef Tower off Islamorada ?

Peter
 
prom52 said:
Hey Bob,

Glad you had great weather for your trip. Was that the Sombrero Reef Light Tower off of Marathon you were fishing or was it the Alligator Reef Tower off Islamorada ?

Peter
Click to expand...
Sombrero. we fished just outside the protected area.
 
Always nice to see folks actually out doing stuff and having fun together as a family.

Looks like your Pro Hiking Buddy got a good workout. In my mind, that is where the value of a knife really comes in. When folks put them to use.

At the moment, I only have one Pro Series Knife. But I feel it represents a excellent value for any price.

As always, Great stuff sir!
 
Great post and photos Bob. The Pro Hiking Buddy served you well and held up nicely to the salt water exposure. Glad you had a fun getaway. :cool:

Phil
 
Great pics Bob!! Damn makes me miss key Largo and Key Marathon. Allen makes the sheaths for Todd right? I think he likely got the spacer idea from a mutual friend of our's Derek, and thankfully so since Derek can't be talked into making sheaths often anymore. He started making the spacer sheaths mainly because of the 1095 of the BK&T knives he carried. In salt water more holes in the sheath should help a little. When we make knives and tools for the Naval Special Warfare teams the sheaths are all virtually skeletonized with lots of holes, but the edges and tips secured and enough meat left to not flex too easily, but we use thicker kydex for those for the enhanced structural strength due to the skeletonization.
 
Bmurray said:
Took a little last minute getaway to the keys with the wife and my oldest boy. The Pro-Hiking Buddy was my knife of choice for the week. It went snorkeling, kayaking, fishing, and used for cutting squid and ballyhoo and other edc chores over the last 7 days. I only rinsed it in hot soapy water when we got back to the hotel at night. I really wanted to test the steel against rust and do a comparison test with a GSO 3.5 in cpm20v; which I expect to be a bit better rust resistant but didn't have the opportunity.

As you can see there was only minor surface rust under the scales and the saltwater did exposed a few material voids/inclusions left from the mill. Overall I'm pleased with the results as saltwater is about as bad of environment that you can put knife steel in. The one time I was concerned was after about a 3-hour snorkel and decided to take a look. The blade did have a lot of orange beginning to build from being in the sheath underwater, however it just wiped off. You could never do this with an A2 or wooden handle knife so the pro series fit the bill this trip.

Thanks to Allen Morrison for making the kydex sheaths with the nylon spacers as it did help keep some of the water from holding in the sheath. I'm going to drill more thru holes that may help a bit more.

before going out:


user knife pics:









Few misc pics:






Click to expand...
Awesome pics Bob! Hope y'all had a blast!
 
It was fun. But I'll never go back to the keys in the summer. It's much better in December.

However there's no place in Florida that compares to the Pensacola/Perdido key area. Cant wait till we finally move.
 
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Nice looking time Bob. Love the pic of you just relaxing in that kayak. Thanks for posting the pics of the HB after saltwater immersion.
 
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