snm blog » Review

Beer Is Good – Coedo Kyara

taro — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 09:29:05 +0000

The third Coedo beer available here is this Kyara. Pours a medium light amber with a small head and moderate carbonation that lasts. My nose is still messed up, but some smell is returning. There’s an aroma I have a hard time placing, I think if I had to say, I’d say grainy. Initially there’s a bit of that malt liquory taste and tongue feel, but it fades quickly away. There’s some of that sweetness too, but its nicely moderated and balanced by the bitter. A nice beer, I just wish it didn’t command such a premium price.I’d give it a solid 3 out 4 monkeys.

Milspec Purell FST

risu — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:36:58 +0000

Chris finds interesting stuff while browsing in unexpected places. He alerted me that he found some Purell in foliage green bottles at the Downtown Fisher Hawaii. I stopped by the Kaka’ako location and found some on a mid-aisle end cap after wandering the aisles of office supplies for a couple of minutes. The 89ml (3 fl. oz.) extra durable foliage green MDPE bottle has finger-grooved sides and is marked NSN 6508-01-535-5409. They were priced at $2.69, so after local sales tax, it was $2.82 – much less than the MSRP! The bottle is about the same size as a 20-round 5.56 NATO magazine (12cm tall x 6cm wide x 3cm thick), so it will fit in a strobe/compass pouch (empirically tested in the Blackhawk STRIKE version of this size pouch) or other similarly sized pouches. Good to have on the trail to clean the grubby hands before digging into the snacks or performing first aid.

Highly recommended

Four out of four alcohol-vapor-buzzed gear monkeys

Beer Is Good – Coedo Ruri

taro — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 06:54:48 +0000

A third variety recently available at Marukai, Japan brewery Coedos Ruri. Pours a clear gold, weak head that quickly dissappeared. Carbonation persists as opposed to their previous brew I had. I’m wondering if they suffer from ill handling in the supply chain. Notable hoppy note, fairly bitter and dry, persists for a bit, but quite drinkable. Looking into it, the Ruri is a pils, and I do see the style. As it warms up, there’s a little astringent and touch of sour on the sides of the tongue. Perhaps I’m developing a taste for pils? I find this Ruri pleasant and drinkable, and I had a Wernesgruner earlier with dinner too! But I’m not sure if I’d say its worth the premium price commanded at the store for it. One and a half bottles of these Ruri would pay for the sixer of Wernesgruner, and honestly I think the Wernesgruner has a more complex flavor. So I guess I’d give it three out of four hoppy monkeys, except value wise it looses out. It’s good, but not good enough to make me want to seek it out at the cost in money and time to find it.

risu — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:20:55 +0000

Former O’ahu MTB-er and surfer Vince “Akron” Labbe was in town last week for the Hawaii premiere of the film, Out of Place, in which he is a featured athlete for the Honolulu Academy of Arts Third Annual Surf Film Festival. He gave a Q&A session after the film and handed out some tee shirts. Chris and the Missus, Ckucke, and I made it down for the premiere showing. The film was well-done, from both the documentary and sports film standpoints. I came away with that awestruck, inspired feeling that I had as a teen after seeing Endless Summer. It will be showing again on Wednesday, 21 July 2010 at the Doris Duke Theater at 13:00, 16:00, and 19:30. I definitely recommend you go and check it out! For more info, go by the Honolulu Academy of Arts website.

Snow Peak Titanium 3-piece Utensil Set

risu — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 08:10:51 +0000

I picked these up last year when I was picking up a Snow Peak Spork for Chris at the Snow Peak store in Japan. I personally strongly dislike sporks, so I got the SCT-001 three-piece utensil set instead. I see the utility of having utensils stashed in the EDC bag, since sometimes the krappy low-bidder PRC fork that comes with your Grace’s Inn chicken katsu plate lunch shatters into plastic shrapnel, the disposable spoon that comes with your convenience store ice cream is just not up to the task, or whoever picked up lunch at Yama’s Fish Market only got forks and your #3 plate has poi. I have in the year that I’ve owned this set used for exactly these things and then some. I have so far not used the knife.

The utensils are a little smaller than most tableware, but only by around 10 or 20 percent. The overall length of the utensils is about 17cm. The handles are narrow, but this generally doesn’t cause an issue unless you are really leaning into them (like trying to crack into a JDM 7-11 yuzu ice cake, but it’s still way better than a 5cm wooden spoon!). The titanium is mostly taste-free (I can taste it, but most people can’t). The knife edge isn’t terribly sharp, but then the metal isn’t treated to hold an edge either. It is possible to put a better edge on it, but since these utensils are destined for use on prepared food, it just doesn’t matter. As long as it is as sharp or sharper than a plastic knife, then it’s all good. The most wonderful thing about these is because they’re titanium, they’re only 52 grams for the set – very little weight penalty adding them to your EDC kit.

A nylon webbing sheath is included to keep all the utensils together. All three utensils stack and fit inside and are held in by a flap with a Velcro closure. It is perfectly possible to store any one or two utensils in the sheath (except maybe the knife alone, which gets a tad loose) and still have the flap work. The nylon webbing the sheath is constructed from is 30mm wide, so it will slip behind MOLLE webbing. You can do this if you have a bag with internal webbing, but it’s probably not a good idea to have them outside where they’re exposed to pathogens and other weird contaminants. My set is in a small plastic resealable bag inside my pack. There are various webbing colors for the sheath. When I stopped by the store, there was gray (lighter than foliage green) and OD green. If you order online (even from Snow Peak themselves), you generally get a mystery random color.

Highly Recommended

2919-yen (around $33 USD, Los Chaparros bread pudding not included)

Four out of four grinning gear monkeys

Benchmade 9CB Strap Cutter, Carabiner

risu — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:15:11 +0000

I’ve had a Bencmade Model 7 Rescue Cutter for many years. I went out and purchased it and attached it to my snowboard pack shoulder strap immediately after seeing some video footage of a kid slipping out of a chairlift and ending up suspended by his helmet strap. Being able to cut out of a situation like that one handed definitely seemed like a good idea, and not getting impaled by a sharp instrument when subsequently hitting the ground seemed like an even better idea (if you’ve seen Will Smith in I Am Legend, you know what I mean). Conceivably, one could toss a conventional knife after cutting loose, but the reality of the situation is that when you’re falling after being suspended by your pack straps or helmet straps, all intentions aside, you’re more likely to unconsciously clench your fist and hold onto the knife rather than ditch it when that falling sensation kicks in. Thusly, I chose a safety cutter. The Model 7 is a great tool, but it is not cheap, so when Dave at Power Edge told me a less expensive polymer version was coming out, I was intrigued.

I picked one up when they arrived. They are available in black or yellow with a matte finish. Construction is of a stiff synthetic material with a stainless steel cutting blade insert and cap lifter insert. It’s not like cheapy LDPE or anything like that – it’s like the stuff they make polymer pistol frames out of. The cutter is curved like a banana, but roughly rectangular. The overall length is about 132mm and the width is around 35mm. The total width from the ends to the outermost point of the banana bend is around 40mm. The body is around 6mm thick, but the sliding blade guard is 9mm thick. The cutting notch is 10mm across, so things like webbing, cloth, or shroud lines will fit easily. This isn’t designed to cut thick ropes. As mentioned above, there is a sliding plastic guard that covers the cutting notch. It slides in rails molded into the back of the cutter body and has an internal catch that holds the guard open or closed. The detent pressure is not great, so it is pretty easy for the cover to unintentionally open or close. The handle end of the skeletonized plastic body is discontinuous on the underside and is closed by a bent piece of black-chromed steel wire, forming a wire-gate carabiner. This carabiner hook was the intended method of attachment for this tool, since it was not supplied with a sheath.

On the plus side, this is a good, solid, lightweight emergency cutter. For the $22 USD price, you really can’t go wrong. The handle fits nicely in the hand and is easy to use while wearing gloves. The length and pebbled surface of the handle allows you to get a good grip on it and apply a substantial amount of cutting force against the blade. The addition of the cap lifter is just gravy, but that was something I wish my Model 7 had.

On the negative side, the guard opens too easily, and the clip is lame. I put some shock cord around the guard to keep the guard closed. The carabiner clip is definitely not the best way to attach this tool to your gear. One, it puts the tool in an upside-down position, making it difficult to unhook the tool with one hand and get it into the proper orientation during a dire emergency. Two, it probably isn’t a good idea to have something with a questionable guard swinging around and randomly cutting stuff. The gap in the plastic also makes that part of the handle somewhat uncomfortable. This tool should have come with a simple sheath and had a complete handle. The skeletonized handle would have still allowed for the attachment of a dummy cord without the carabiner gate. Since it didn’t come with a sheath, I picked up a TAD Gear 0S sheath ($13 USD), which allows for inverted vertical carry on pack or chest rig straps.

Recommended

Made in The USA

About $22 USD

Three out of four gear monkeys

Beer Is Good – Coedo Beniaka Lager

taro — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:18:16 +0000

Another new arrival at Marukai from a brewery I haven’t seen before, Coedo. I was debating whether to pick one of these up for sampling since I’ve been battling upper respiratory congestion that has wrecked havoc on my taste, but I couldn’t resist. Its name indcates its a red, they call it a lager, I see a little stick on label puts it at 7% ABV, pretty high. Its a medium dark redish brown, and pours with almost no head. It disturbs me a little how weak the carbonation is. As I feared, I can detect no aroma. This is probably not going to be a fair evaluation. Mouth feel is a bit syrupy and I can detect the sweetness. There actually isn’t an incredibly strong bitter. I’m going to have to reserve judgement, my taste really is screwed up, and I have to wonder if this bottle has suffered in transit. The packaging though is “Beer Beautiful”, nice labeling. Marukai has also brought in another variety, the Kyara. Woah, ok, the 7% is not a lie, I’m hitting a good buzz now, guess I should have taken it slower!

Beer is Good – Echigo Red Ale

taro — Sun, 30 May 2010 08:34:28 +0000

Stumbled across a new entry at Marukai, this Red Ale from Echigo. Pours a dark amber, with a moderate head. I can’t quite place the aroma, as I sit here sipping it, I can’t help thinking it reminds me of Japan. There’s just something in the smell, and its not a bad thing here. There’s a pretty strong bitter, but not too much floweryness. The bitter does linger for a bit, lending to the mouthfeel of crisp, dry and almost astringent, but not sour. There’s a little bit of roastyness, but not a pronounced smokyness. I keep coming back to the aroma, it intrigues me and ultimately makes this beer for me. I think this is the winner of the Echigo varieties I’ve had. 6% ABV.

I give this a solid 3 out of 4 bouquet sniffing monkeys.

CMC Rescue Survivor 8

risu — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:37:10 +0000

Here’s another goodie I picked up when Fabio ordered from Rescue Direct – CMC Rescue’s Survivor 8 descender. Far smaller and lighter than my CMI Rescue Figure-8, this micro version is designed for personal emergency escape. Forged from aluminum, it is machined to shape and given a mil-spec hard-anodized finish. In conjunction with a lightweight carabiner and a rigger’s belt, a very unobtrusive escape rig can be put together without a massive weight penalty. The figure-8 and a lightweight carabiner can be easily pocketed or stashed in something like a double handcuff case or exam glove pouch on your rigger’s belt. I haven’t had the opportunity to test it out yet on a descent, but put it on some rope to see how it would function. It is designed for smaller 9mm ropes. I tried running some ½” Army green line through it, and it sort-of fits, but the rope will probably rub in the middle, even under tension when this twisted rope thins down. It’s not a good idea to run line this big – better keeping it below 11mm. The 7.5mm rope I ran thorough it looked a lot better. It appears that here would be enough room to run that size doubled, or to even pass it knotted.

About $18 USD

Beer Is… Better than Malk? Yanjing Beer

taro — Tue, 11 May 2010 08:43:12 +0000

Ok, yes, this is beer from the land that gave you Malk and melamine in the puppy food, instead of puppy food in the melamine. It’s been on the cooler shelves at Don Quixote for more than a month, so I figure if there was a problem with it might have been found by now. All kidding aside, I figure I have to see what it’s like. China isn’t really known for a deep history of beer brewing, but who knows, maybe a pocket of German worked its way into this. OK, I crack open the seal and immediately smell the skunky/muskyness. It’s that strong, I haven’t even poured it. It pours with a moderately weak head that quickly dissappears. If you pour aggresively you’ll get it agitated and it bubbles, but it doesn’t form much of a head. Leave it for a while and all signs of a head is gone. Color is moderate yellow/gold.

Thankfully the skunkyness doesnt transfer too heavily to the flavor. It’s a fairly clean crisp beer, no detectable sweetness, a bit of bitter but does not linger strongly. Fans of Heinekin and Steinlager will probably like the musky. Honestly it wasn’t offensive. And hey, according to the label it’s China’s #1 selling beer…. Take that however you want. But wait, it says it’s Green Food too! Yay! The labeling could be worse, it could be like the Chin Chin juice over in the import teas and juices section. I guess they couldn’t change the brand, but there must be some other Japanese who get a chuckle out of that.

Anyway, I’ll give this a 2 out of 4 melamine loving monkeys. I’d drink it if there isn’t other beer around.