Brands and Stuff That You Love (Emphasis on Quality)

[ex machina]

Wool Socks - icebreaker.com

Ibex makes really nice merino wool (wool from New Zealand) clothing for men and women.

I recently purchased several pairs of merino wool socks from icebreaker.com and I must say they are a wonderful garment. These are my first wool socks so I have no control to measure against for comparison to other wool brands, but I will say they beat the pants off of my old cotton socks.

I was inspired in part to buy wool socks by Tom Bihn. Seriously. I was looking at Packing Cubes, and also read about Tom's socks (shown in the cubes), which led me to look at the manufacturer and eventually led me in a search for a wool sock I could use which landed me at Icebreaker.

[Katy]

Hey Darcy,

maybe we can get our Thoughtful Harvest Products on your great products list??

thanks would be cool...I ma eager to place a HUGE Tom Bihn review and recommendation on our great stuff page on Harvest Eating...

Best
Keith Snow
http://www.thoughtfulharvest.com
http://www.harvesteating.com

Darcy was generous enough to snag me a jar of the Flame Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. I made some ravioli tonight and gave it a try. I am blown away! It definitely does not taste like it came from a jar. It was one of the most delicious sauces I've ever had.

I'm quite critical of sauces and Italian food. One of our close family friends in the town I grew up in in Ohio has a Italian Restaurant/Pizzeria. I remember it being the best Italian food I've ever had. Nothing has ever come close to the level of deliciousness until I tried The Flame Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. It really is amazing!

Thank you for the thoughtful and delicious gift!

[Darcy]

We just were shopping for bookcases and came across Mako Furniture. They do both stock and custom furniture in sustainably harvested alder and pine from North America--some wood is Canadian and some US. They craft their furntiture in Surrey BC. You can order their stuff finished or unfinished. Good quality stuff and good folks...

I actually have two small pieces of Mako furniture - it's, just as you said, good quality stuff. I appreciate the choice of stain: I prefer light wood, which can sometimes be oddly hard to find.

[flitcraft]

We just were shopping for bookcases and came across Mako Furniture. They do both stock and custom furniture in sustainably harvested alder and pine from North America--some wood is Canadian and some US. They craft their furntiture in Surrey BC. You can order their stuff finished or unfinished. Good quality stuff and good folks...

[Darcy]

Hey keith,

I was just about to do that!

For those who don't know, Keith sent a box of his amazing Thoughtful Harvest pasta sauce to our Seattle factory. Everyone wanted a jar, and when the dust settled, I made off with the Flame Roasted Red Pepper variety. It is really, really good. Like, you don't know it came from a jar good.

It came at the perfect time, too - I've been really good about using my weekly farm share since May, but things have gotten increasingly busy in the last few months with the Field Journal Notebook debut and some changes (that we'll be telling you about soon) and I just haven't had the time to deal with making stuff from scratch. This pasta sauce tastes like I made it from scratch, except it tastes better than when I make pasta sauce from scratch.

Keith.. if one were feeling ambitious, what sauteed vegetables would they add to complement the Roasted Red Pepper pasta sauce?

[keith]

Thoughtful Harvest Products

Hey Darcy,

maybe we can get our Thoughtful Harvest Products on your great products list??

thanks would be cool...I ma eager to place a HUGE Tom Bihn review and recommendation on our great stuff page on Harvest Eating...

Best
Keith Snow
http://www.thoughtfulharvest.com
http://www.harvesteating.com

[blackfungi]

http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/ullfrotte/


i work outdoors all year round so it's important for me to get the proper under garment for keeping me warm in the winter. i have garments by ice breaker, an merino wool garment company from new zealand, that are good but this company woolpower/ullfrotte is even better and warmer.

These Merino Wool Terry Cloth products keep the human body warm in cold wet conditions. The products have been tested and used in Scandinavia by industry and military for more than 10 years. They are made up by combining Merino Wool and polyamide in a unique knitting method which gives the products higher insulating values and better moisture balance than other similar products.

[Darcy]

Ibex makes really nice merino wool (wool from New Zealand) clothing for men and women.

[ex machina]

The MK1 has been part of my EDC for the past... many, many years. I actually bought it twice. My first departed from me one night in a helicopter over Afghanistan somewhere...

Well Just, that about sums it up: combat tested, and when a replacement was needed, you chose the exact same knife.

[bltkmt]

Mountain Khakis pants...tough as nails and look pretty nice too. I use the Teton Twills for work...love them!

[Just]

My next Benchmade purchase will be a co-branded item Benchmade was contracted to produce: The Doug Ritter RSK MK1.

The MK1 has been part of my EDC for the past... many, many years. I actually bought it twice. My first departed from me one night in a helicopter over Afghanistan somewhere...

[ex machina]

Benchmade

Benchmade knives are the best!!! Beautiful, durable, sharp...even customizable for lefties.

Benchmade makes a fine blade for the money. My next Benchmade purchase will be a co-branded item Benchmade was contracted to produce: The Doug Ritter RSK MK1. Like all Benchmade knives it has the Lifetime Warranty and LifeSharp service.

I currently use a Mel Pardue 722 with a tanto tip, full straight edge, coated black for EDC. It's an excellent blade. I would like the MK1 but it's a secondary tier item at present in my purchasing scheme because I have such a good blade already. That said, if I did not already have such a fine EDC blade the Ritter would be my priority. Mel Pardue also aided in the design of the Ritter MK1. Both blades use the AXIS lock technology which is to my view, the best available for folding knife locks. I won't use as my EDC a blade that doesn't have it. I also keep a Swiss Army (Victorinox) Spartan in my bag. I view that more as a tool kit than a work blade. I have a second Swiss Army knife that I used to keep on a keychain but now also sits in my EDC bag as a tool kit. It has scissors.

[bltkmt]

I believe it was Darcy that made the initial referral, but I can endorse Battle Lake Outdoors...have ordered a few of their items and they are all top-notch quality. Not quite as stylish as the TB stuff, but good nonetheless.

[aisboy1]

I used to be a fan of Pac bags in Canada, not that I am not now, it's just that I was introduced to Tom Bihn by Pat from pac and the rest is history. I went to Toms site, and fell in love with his bags, designs, colors, and most of all his philosophy...Quality!!!!...Thanks Tom, and thank you Darcy for the incredible customer service!!!........Al Meo

[Darcy]

<a href="http://www.etsy.com">Etsy</a>

I love searching for unique, hand-made items and artwork on Etsy. My current favorite shop is <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5144593">willav's</a>.