Deuter Guide 35 Plus Pack Review Simply a Great Rucksack Detailed Look

I've been looking for a new day pack for a long time and dissatisfied with the flimsy models on the market. Useless side pockets that will rip as soon as you look at them or catch on bushes and rip and too many straps to get all caught up. Not to mention weak looking materials used in the construction in general.



THEN I found the Deuter Guide 35+! This pack rocks as a very well constructed day pack capable of up to 43L with of volume when carefully packed. Check it out!



BCT

Jaktkit Knv2 Gen II 

Hunting knife

Designed in Sweden

Knv2 (GenII) Hunting knife. Note the factory mirror polish!

Well the Knv2 from Jaktkit in Sweden really caught my eye and for good reasons! A proprietary convex type ground edge, what Jaktkit call the EXTREMA V edge. Designed for better cutting than your regular 20-22 degree straight bevelled edges. Plus being a type of convex grind means you can simply sharpen this knife on high grade "wet and dry" abrasive paper.

The man behind Jaktkit, and the design of the Knv2 GenII  is Magnus Collin, ex Army Ranger, says that the difference between a regular convex and their EXTREMA V edge is that the V edge is achieved by a steeper angle.

Please Note: for the purpose of this article I'll simply refer to the Knv2 Gen II as the Knv2 and NOT to confuse with previous ist generation models.

The mirror polish you see on the above image is straight out of the factory! I didn't do this. Technically, I mean metallurgically speaking, a smooth surface finish will enable a stainless alloy to achieve the best possible resistance to corrosion, all things being equal. That is if the surface is milled and left that way with small milling marks still visible then for the equivalent stainless, this will rank lower on the corrosion resistance tests. A mirror surface is even better than a "smooth surface".

Out of the box the Knv2 hand ground knife was razor sharp and I was able to dry shave hairs off my legs and arms. That's what I expect from a new knife and the Jaktkit Knv2 didn't let me down.

Para cord length included with knife.

BTW Jaktkit means essentially "Hunting kit"

Now what is the Knv2 made from?

The alloy could be described as a modification of 440C but with the addition of the following elements plus or minus tolerances for this alloy:

C at 1.08%
Cr at 16.9%
Vanadium at 0.11%
Nickel at 0.23% (which is not mandatory for 440C) .
Mo at 0.45%
Mn at 0.5%
Si at 0.6%
S at 0.01%
P at 0.03%
Cu at 0.08%
Al at 0.03%
Ti at 0.008%

Now let's not forget that 440C was and still is a good knife steel, despite what many manufacturers would have you believe there is still NO super steel, only steel alloys we are constantly bombarded with hype from knife manufacturers. 

So when I come across 99Cr18MoV I see there are significant improvements as far as knife steels go.

The alloy was co-developed for Jaktkit from a "prominent steelworks" and is designated as:
99Cr18MoV. Some of you may now recognise this as a Chinese manufactured martensitic stainless alloy and you'd be correct. 

The addition of Vanadium will help to increase the capacity for hardening of this alloy; promote small grain growth and form vanadium carbides for increased  wear resistance. The hardness is listed as 59 HRC. In practical terms (so I don't mean the laboratory!) 59 is damn hard!

The function of Nickel will improve the toughness of a martensitic stainless steel such as this and it will help to increase the amount of soluble Chromium. That increase in Chromium, in solid solution, therefore increases the corrosion resistance of this alloy. The 99Cr18MoV is a good choice here for a knife blade that is going to come in contact with blood and guts, saltwater and freshwaters whilst hunting/fishing and camping. It also suggests low maintenance and easy to keep hygienic whilst out in the wilderness. Let's face it you don't want to give yourself the gut aches because you didn't clean all those bugs out of a milled blade surface before you prepped your evening meal!

I measured the following Knife statistics:

Blade thickness is: 0.2 inches or approx. 5mm.
Blade length is:      110mm approx 4 inches long, (as measured from the hilt to the tip).
Cutting surface is:  approx the same, (if you roll the edge along a piece of paper and measure the distance).

Weight is approx. 305gm (including small piece of para cord included with knife) + scabbard.

Knife weight only approx. 218gm. 
Handle thickness as measured in the middle: 18.4mm or approx. 0.7 of an inch, at the palm swell.

The Knv2 GenII comes with a 10 year guarantee. Which seems not only a practical length of time but a sensible one too and offers peace of mind for the end user.


Now to the handle
The handle is a two part injection moulded elastomeric polymer. Generically they are known as TPEE, which stands for Thermoplastic Polyether Ester Elastomer.
This stuff is tough; excellent tensile strength; high heat resistance; high impact strength; resists agents such as:
Oil and chemicals. Plus resistant to the effects of age. 



On testing the grip

It's very grippy; tactile;very comfortable (there is a palm swell); easily fits a size 8-9 hand without gloves. The checkered side walls give excellent feel. The grip remains the same even with wet hands.

Thermoplastic elastomeric compound injection molded.

How about the tang of the Knv2?

Well I gave the Knv2 the Neodymium magnet test which showed me the steel is sitting just below the surface of the grip material, all the way to the pommel. Yes so this is a FULL TANG blade design. Meaning that the fulcrum of this blade is NOT at the hilt since the knife is handle heavy. This means nothing really for such a knife, as it's not meant for throwing etc.

Protruding tang forming the pommel

The carry system

The sheath/scabbard is Kydex (yes it has a drain hole). The knife fit is very secure, and placement and removal is silent, which of course is mandatory for a hunting knife. Since the fit is so secure,  I don't use the retaining strap. I simply secured it around the back of the belt loop. Now having a flexible belt loop is smart for a hunting knife. Why? well when you are stalking game and crawling in the dirt and bushes the last thing you need is for a scabbard that is not moveable on your belt; because you are going to end up sticking the scabbard in your guts at a critical moment. Hence if you can move the knife out of the way as you crawl or crouch or whatever then this is definitely a simply bonus. trust me i found this out the hard way when I was a novice hunter.

Traditionally hunting knife scabbards are made from leather and that makes them silent when on the move or removing and replacing the blade. With Kydex type materials being so popular today and avoiding any maintenance to the scabbard, unlike having to treat the leather, Kydex can come with problems such a loose fits generating unwanted noise. NOT SO with the Knv2 scabbard. The knife fit is perfect and lock up very very secure. On top of that there is a small pressed in section on both sides of the bottom of the scabbard which press against the knife blade to prevent any "rattle" so common with Kydex sheaths. 

The belt loop is formed from a strong Velcro loop on thick Nylon webbing.

Backside of belt loop, note screws anchoring loop to Kydex sheath. Note in this picture 

I have secured the press stud to the back of the belt loop. By doing this the knife is only held in the Kydex sheath by it's locking mechanism, i.e. friction combined with precision molding of the Kydex to the hilt/guard of the Knv2.

However all that being said if you don't like a "belt loop then Jaktkit says that you can remove the belt system and replace it with a "Tek Lok" style belt clip. I haven't tried this as all of my Tek Lok's (USA made) and Tek Lok lookalikes I own don't fit the bolt pattern on the Knv2 scabbard i.e. it requires a different size Tek lok to the ones I have. 

What are others saying about the Knv2?

Well the Knv2 has just won hands down at the DUTCH/NETHERLANDS, BUSHCRAFT.nl site, against "flagship knives" from Fallkniven! (The A1, S1 and F1 models) and against the Pathfinder and Tactical SRT form Morakniven.

What is BushCampingTools saying?

Well I will be taking my Knv2 GenII Knife out into the wilds as usual for field testing but certainly my initial thoughts are the Jaktkit Knv2 is going be a good performer!