Faithfull Traveling Companions

Faithfull Traveling Companions

Guns, Knives & Phones, Oh My!

So, there I was in Bikers Bay in Euless Texas where I had gone to get a state inspection for my ’03 V-Star 1100 which was overdue for a month... or so. I was quickly informed that the rear tire was below the state minimum requirements. I knew it was getting time to replace it so I let them install a new Metzeler ME880 Marathon to match the front I had purchased there a year and a half or so ago. Bikers Bay has always provided excellent service. My son Jake recently had them install a set of Dunlops on his Kawasaki as well. While I waited I was thinking about what to blog about next and got this idea to share about my traveling companions.

Sometimes rides are long and lonely, so always take friends along with you. I have several faithful friends I take with me everywhere. Let me introduce them to you.

First there is Tiny. Tiny is called tiny because of his small stature. He is the quite type and dark in complexion. When he speaks it is short and sweet packing a 9mm size hole. Tiny is my P-3AT .380 semi-automatic, locked breech pistol manufactured by Kel-Tec.

When Tiny travels he never leaves company without my Uncle Mike, Sidekick. Uncle Mike’s Sidekick size one keeps Tiny safe, secure, and upright in my right front pocket. I almost never leave home without them. Keep in mind I’m licensed to do so.

On longer rides Tiny’s big brother, XD, comes along. XD is another of the quiet, dark complected types. He is short and compact as well. However, when XD speaks it is with more power and he has a lot more authority being a .40 caliber. XD’s full name is XD-40 Sub-Compact and is made by Springfield Armory.

When XD travels he always brings one of two friends, Don Hume, or CTAC. Both are in the in the waist band holsters designed for concealment. The Don Hume is a H715-M NO. 25USPC-1 and is the easiest to put on and has some mobility after put on.

CTAC is made by Comp-Tak and takes a little longer to put on. Once it is in place it keeps XD comfortably in his place.

Another of my favorite friends that I never go anywhere without is Leek. Designed by Ken Onion for Kershaw, Leek is hands down the best pocket knife I have ever owned. The specific model number is 1660ST. The reasons I like it are; it’s utilitarian looks, one hand assisted opening mechanism, medium size, very thin, serrated section, and of course, pocket clip.

If I wear a jacket or vest my buddy Flash comes along for the ride. Flash is a small pocket knife made by SOG. It is an assisted opener that is amazingly light. The model is Flash I – Black TiNi. I seem to always needing to cut something and these two knives to the job superbly.

When I wear my boots another buddy that goes with me is H.R.T. H.R.T. is a boot knife made by Smith and Wesson. H.R.T. was a gift given to me from my son Jake. It slides onto the back of my left boot and after you get used to it you can hardly notice that it is there.

Lastly my other loyal companion is my Palm Treo phone. It is not a very dependable phone but it will allow me to, phone, take pictures, Twitter post, Facebook post, or use GPS map services when it is working.

Well, now that I have introduced everyone to you I’ve got to go and do some work around the house, riding will have to wait for another day.

Ride on,

Torch



Fog Off! Review

Fog Off! Review

This winter on my daily commute ride I got to experience something new to me. Being blessed most of my life with good vision; I’d never had to battle fogging glasses before. Now at the start of my middle ages I found myself having to hold what I was reading farther and farther away to read it and having a hard time with small text. Alas, I’m getting old. Now I wear reading glasses, even as I’m writing this. I currently ride my V-Star 1100 wearing a half helmet and I wear either sunglasses or goggles with various colored lenses, depending on conditions, for eye protection.

As winter pulled us farther and farther away from the sun, the temperatures started to drop. It wasn’t long before I started observing a strange phenomenon, usually in the morning. I was riding with clear riding glasses because it’s dark in the morning when I leave for work. Every time I slowed down and came to a stop my glasses were fogging up on the inside. It would clear up when I started moving but eventually you just got to stop.

My ability to see got poorer as the temperature dropped. I finally purchased a neoprene riding mask to keep the icy wind of my face and that made it even worse. The mask seemed to direct my breath strait onto the inside of my glasses. Now even moving it would fog. I remembered back to the days I had a diving mask and you could apply spit to the inside lens of the mask to keep it from fogging. So, I tried it. It did not work of course. I switched to goggles and it did not help. It got to the point that it was scary to have to slow down and stop. It was time for me to do something if I was going to continue to ride.

I remembered reading an anti-fog test comparison once on web Bike World. So I decided to stop in at Cycle Gear and see what they had. The helpful salesperson handed me a bottle of FOG OFF! It came with its own small microfiber applicator cloth. It comes in a small 29.5 ML pump spray bottle and states MADE IN U.S.A. The bottle claims it is made with Exofogonium 3, whatever that is. The directions simply read:

SHAKE BEFORE USE:
APPLY FOG OFF TO
SURFACE, COVERING
COMPLETELY BUFF WITH
SOFT CLOTH UNTIL CLEAR.

I applied some to my clear night riding glasses according to the directions before my morning commute. Well, I don’t know what is in FOG OFF, but it worked. After riding about a week I started noticing some dampness distortion on the inside of my riding glasses, so I reapplied FOG OFF and it went away. One application seemed to last about a week for me. I cannot say this is the best anti-fog solution out there because I have not tried any others. I will say that it performed and lasted as well as I expected. I now keep the bottle of FOG OFF and cloth in my saddlebag. Torch gives FOG OFF! a M.M.M Rating of 8 out of 10.

Ride on,
Torch