When I first saw the Vanderhall Venice, I was really smitten. I was thinking it was the coolest thing ever. And they are cool. Don’t get me wrong, they are cool and they are fun to drive. The problem I have with them is that they are 30 Grand. For that much money, you can buy some pretty nice cars that are also fun to drive but also offer some practicality. The Venice has no practicality to it. At all. The other cars out there that you could get also have a certain level of Build Quality. And that’s my main problem with the Venice. Vanderhall is almost there with it, but every car seems like it’s still a prototype.
The Venice has a vibe of a 60’s era Formula 1 car. Like something James Garner drove in “Grand Prix”. But they missed that mark in cosmetics and other styling points. They also missed the mark on the “Modern Morgan 3 Wheeler” they were shooting at.
Let’s look at the details. The grill just flat out looks cheap as hell. It looks like an old-fashioned Ice Tray insert. That’s a detail that bugged me from the very first instant when I saw it. I like that the headlights are tucked in, but overall the impression is that the entire front end was just phoned in. Also, the area below the grill being flat faced when it could have been more like a Formula 1 cowling. It was a missed opportunity for greatness. Continue reading Vanderhall Venice: Constructive Criticism.→
Springfield Armory has released the XDM in 10mm now. It’s available in two flavors, 4.5″ and 5.25″. The service sized pistol has a fixed rear sight and a fiber optic front. While the 5.25″ pistol has a fiber optic front sight and an adjustable rear sight. It also has a big long open port in the stop of the slide, that I’m not a fan of.
First off, Fiber Optic front sight posts annoy me. I hate them. It’s a cheap sight and I can’t stand them on any gun I own. I’d much rather have seen them use pretty much any other sights. But no matter… I’d put Trijicon HD’s on these things regardless. I’d also liked to have seen a threaded barrel. Or at least throw one in the box with the pistol as an extra option. I know Springfield is just testing the waters, but I’d have liked to have seen them take the test seriously.
What they did take seriously though is the 10K Run they put the gun through… a claimed 10,000 rounds without a failure. If true, that’s impressive as hell.
I hope that this is a signal that 10mm is becoming more mainstream.
Right now your 10mm options are as follows:
1. Glocks.
2. 1911’s.
3. EAA Witness
4. SIG 220’s.
The EAA guns are finicky, the 1911’s can be expensive and or finicky, and the SIG’s are expensive and can be hideous looking in that camo for the Hunter version. Is that Kryptek? That’s the Nickleback of Camo. Don’t buy that one.
So really if you want to spend less than a Thousand Dollars, really the only viable option for a reliable 10mm is the Glocks… and now the XDM’s. It’s good to have options.
Some time ago I was contacted by Luke of Craft Holsters, with an invitation to review one of their products. I checked out their site and found something I was interested in trying out. A small Sling Bag type set up that I thought might work out great when riding a Motorcycle. Hit that link to see the details and better photos than I took.
I used this bag for a couple months now. You guys know I don’t like to do a review unless I’ve actually used the thing I’m reviewing. And if I don’t like it – I’ll tell you that I don’t like it. And I’d also throw down any Constructive Criticism that I have for the Item, so it could be used for further Product Development. Continue reading Craft Holster’s Cargo Explorer Concealed Carry Bag→
I put out a survey and talked to a lot of Firearms Instructors about the most consistently unreliable pistols they’ve seen come through their classes. When the pattern emerged through the Signal/Noise filters, it confirmed my theory. Short Barreled 1911’s are the Most Unreliable. Let’s look at this for a second and see why.
The 1911 family of guns tend to be very reliable. During the Pistol Trials before the gun was adopted by the US Army, the Colt ran well over 6,000 without problems and thoroughly crushed the competition (Savage) which didn’t even make it halfway. Since then, it garnered a reputation for being unreliable? What happened?
Well, for a long time, Colt owned the patent on the design and if a 1911 wasn’t built by Colt, it was built under license and the guns all tended to follow that pattern rather closely. Continue reading The Most Unreliable Pistols→
No watch out there gets more controversial than the Invicta Pro Diver. For this reason alone, I think the Watch Community is kind of odd. Kind of conflicted. Let me tell you why…
The watch its self is solid and well made, and certainly well worth the retail price tag. It offers a very good 200 meter water resistance. The automatic movement is by Seiko, which is very nice, and is the darling brand in the community. Almost universally adored. Yet the Invicta Pro-Diver garners some serious hate. Overall it’s a very handsome watch. What people hate about it is that it looks like a Rolex. From a distance. Yet many of the same people that hate on the Invicta for that reason, will give passes on other watchmakers who do a Submariner-Look-A-Likes. Continue reading Invicta Pro Diver→
Luke Adams has been making my holsters for the better part of a decade now. Check his stuff out at AdamsHolsters.com. Or email him directly, luke@adamsholsters.com for questions that need answers.
Well, Luke is branching out into some other items, including a new division working with Kydex. Take a good close look at these: Continue reading Adams Holsters Wallets→
If this is a failure of a motorcycle, then I wish more bike companies would fail like this. Because this bike is one of the greatest motorcycles ever made. Unfortunately, the bike was a commercial flop and BMW abandoned it long before they finally killed the production. What remains is a bike that should garner a zealot worthy cult following and you should start to see these bikes gaining in value over time. Because they are just that bloody good. Continue reading BMW’s Best Failure: The K1300S→
I’ve had this knife for several years now. And the one thing I can tell you about this, is that it isn’t a tool. See, most knives regardless of their marketing-defined purpose, are cutting tools. First and foremost, they are able to cut things and be used for many tasks. The SOCP doesn’t do any of that. The SOCP does only one thing. Stab. The blade is designed to puncture. And it does that very well, thanks to its needle-sharp tip. It does have some sharpening up the sides of the edges, but only to aid in penetration and to open the wound channel a bit. There is really no other utility going on here. And that’s okay. Continue reading Benchmade SOCP Dagger→
There’s not much to say about the Benchmade Adamas Push Dagger that hasn’t already been said on many a knife forum, blade magazine, or YouTube Video… at least when they first came out. Really not much about them ever since. And I find that a little curious. Because this knife is with me quite often. Even into places where weapons are strictly verboten. It’s a frequent carry item because it’s just so bloody good at being exactly what it is there to be. Your Backup. Continue reading Benchmade Adamas CBK Push Dagger→
This knife is The Classic Military Knife, and to me, just as Iconic as the Willis Jeep, Leather Bomber Jackets, Thompson SMG’s, and Sherman Tanks. It screams History, Heritage, and Tradition.
I’m not going to go into the History aspect of it… I don’t need to. Its been spoken about for generations. This one is stamped “US ARMY”, as all the best ones are… Just sayin… Continue reading Ka-Bar: Classic Military. The Aragorn Knife.→
