EDC

EDC Survival Essentials You Need

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PlanandPrepared.com welcomes Terry Daine. Terry is a former Royal Marines Commando, enthusiastic about all things survival-related. Terry created Survival Front, to bring you the best survival product reviews, and to help you improve your survival preparation, with quality guides and expert insights. You can also follow Survival Front on Facebook, to stay updated with all … Read more

EDC Knife Review: The Ontario 8846 RAT Folder

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The Ontario Knife Company is located in the Southern Tier area of New York state and produces one of the largest lines of cutlery with a wide variety of types, sizes, and price-ranges. They are not only a worldwide supplier, but they are also a major contributor to the U.S. military and other government agencies.

Ontario has a reputation for crafting quality knives from high-grade materials and the RAT 8846 is no exception. Besides being a good sturdy all-around folder, it has an exceptional blade style with a choice of finishes. It is simply the best EDC knife under $30 in its price range that we have seen in a while.

The Ontario 8846 RAT folder knife has an open structure which makes cleaning easy. Its length closed is 4.5” and the nylon made ergonomic handle has gimping on the spine which helps in its great control. The knife features an AUS-8 blade with a full flat grind and is 0.120″ thick. The blade is 3.5” and comes in a nice black finishes. There is a thumb nut at the base for easy single-handed deploying.

The blade also has a toughness of 55-56 HCR. There is an easy to use liner-lock type locking mechanism that can also be used one-handed. The RAT folder also has a 4-position pocket clip and lanyard hole for dual carry options. Liner Lock locking mechanism. The overall weight is about 5 ounces making it light, but not so light that it feels like there is no substance.

The Ontario 8846 RAT folder fits the hand well. It feels substantial and the black satin finish blade especially looks sleek and stylish. The price and performance make it an ideal everyday carry knife. It is set up well to open easily with one hand after just a little practice and the locking mechanism is also quick and easy to use. We especially appreciated the four-way clip which provided several options for convenient carry.

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EDC Gun Review – Smith/Wesson M&P Shield

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shieldA few months ago, my brother and I were visiting a local gun show. I do not usually buy firearms at gun shows, as they tend to be a bit overpriced in my opinion. But I have found some good deals on parts and accessories, and I love to “window shop”.

Anyway, while making our way from table to table, my brother came upon a slightly used Smith and Wesson M&P Shield in .40 cal. The owner allowed him to field strip it, and we realized it was in excellent condition, LNIB. (Like New In Box.) After some slight haggling, my brother bought it. And after a trip to the range, I thought I would give it a review as an EDC firearm.

The M&P Shield is a black polymer framed, striker fired pistol. It is slim and light weight. The pistol is a bit over 4.5 inches tall, and weights about 19 oz. The barrel is 3.1 inches long. So for a 40 cal pistol, the Shield is small enough to conceal, but offers significant stopping power.

As I mentioned, this particular pistol is a .40 cal. Smith and Wesson also makes the M&P Shield in 9mm, but because our ammo stores are .40 cal, we went with the .40 cal. The .40 comes with a single stack 6 or 7 round magazine.

For those of you who are interested in the 9mm version, I can happily say that the only difference between the two is that the 9mm magazine holds one more round than the .40 cal version. Otherwise, everything is the same. Same weight, same dimensions, etc.

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