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Halloween Gear Checklist

Halloween Gear
First off, Happy Halloween! So many great things happen around this time of year—trick-or-treating, going to haunted houses, watching scary movies, carving pumpkins… the list goes on. There is a lot of fun to be had, and for you knife enthusiasts, knives and gear are no less essential today than every other day of the year.
Lucky for you, the folks at Blade HQ know that the Halloween gear you have on you can make all the difference in your Halloween celebrations. Check out our checklist below of gear that will help you make the most of trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and Halloween in general.

CheckmarkFlashlight for Trick-Or-Treating

Ah, trick-or-treating. How I miss thee. Halloween almost rivaled Christmas as my favorite holiday during my childhood. I mean, how could you not love being able to dress up as your favorite character, yielding copious amounts of candy with three simple words, and being able to hoard said candy without the parental units forbidding it? Like I said—best. Day. Ever.
Even if you’re past the age that kid’s meals are allowed and trick-or-treating is socially acceptable, you might still be joining in the trick-or-treating fun with your own kids, nieces or nephews, or friends’ kids. Times such as these call for a dependable flashlight, so be sure to bring one along. If you are in need of a new flashlight or simply can’t decide which one to take with you, take a look at these great suggestions:
Fenix PD35 LED Flashlight Cree XX-L2
 Fenix PD35 FlashlightThis flashlight was the number one pick for two Blade HQ employees, and it’s a very popular flashlight in general. Its maximum output is a whopping 960 lumens, and it can run for up to 150 hours on Eco mode. It includes two CR123A batteries and turns on with the push of a button. This is a nice LED that’s fairly rugged, and it is best suited for adults to carry and light the way for their young trick-or-treaters.

Outback Tac Ace
Outback Flashlight  Ace-TacThis guy sells for around $10, which makes it the perfect light to let your kid carry. It has a maximum output of 64 lumens, which will be plenty bright for all of your kids’ trick-or-treating needs.

Fenix E15 Flashlight Compact EDC
Fenix E15 FlashlightThis is another great option for your kids to carry while trick-or-treating. It’s a little more expensive than the Outback Tac-Ace, but it’s still affordable enough that you won’t need to be hesitant about letting your kids handle it. This light is also really compact; it is just 2.30” long and weighs 0.80 ounces, so it shouldn’t be too big for most kids to handle.
 
 

CheckmarkBlack or Orange EDC

There’s no way around it; if you’re a knife enthusiast, it goes without asking that you’re carrying a knife today. Why not make it a black or orange one? These are some of the knives we think are great for sporting on this fine Halloween day. What will your Halloween EDC be?
Lightning OTF
Lightning OTFIf you’ve got a black, orange, or black and orange Lightning Out The Front Knife like this one, bust it out! It screams “Halloween” and it’s compact and fun to use.

 Spyderco Manix 2
spider-final-webThe Spyderco Manix is always a favorite EDC for many. With a strong lock, quality materials, Spydie hole, and black handle, you can’t go wrong with the Manix 2 for a Halloween EDC.

Benchmade Griptilian
Benchmade Griptilian
The Benchmade Griptilian is basically iconic of EDCs. It is one of the toughest folders on the market, and it can tackle normal everyday chores without any problems. The Griptilian is also available with a black handle or an orange handle with a satin blade, but this model was our favorite for Halloween since it has the black and orange all in one knife.

 
 
 
CRKT M16 
 CRKT M16If you need proof that this knife is perfect for Halloween, look no further than this picture:

frakenstine--final-web
Need I say more?
Spyderco Delica
Spyderco DelicaThe Spyderco Delica is another great option to carry around on Halloween day—you might even have this knife or the black version at home right now! The Delica is great because it is super lightweight and slim, so you hardly even notice the knife when it’s in your pocket.

CheckmarkKnife for Carving Pumpkins

Some of you are probably pumpkin-carving experts while others have maybe carved one pumpkin. Regardless of how refined your carving skills are, I hope we can all agree that long kitchen knives are not the most effective option here. Growing up, that’s what we ended up using anyway because it’s all we really had on hand. Using long kitchen knives was difficult and dangerous; because the blade is so far away from what you’re cutting, it’s a little more difficult to control what you’re doing. Take a lesson from me and use any of the knives suggested below and not a long kitchen knife while carving your pumpkins.
Flexcut Carving Knives Beginner Palm & Knife Set
flexcut-carving-knives-beginner-palm-and-knife-set-4pc-kn600I can confidently recommend this set to you for pumpkin carving because our amazing photographer Darci is just as amazing at taking pictures as she is carving pumpkins. She used this very knife set to carve a pumpkin for our lovely (I mean, super hardcore) store front last year. Here’s what she came up with:

2013-10-31 14.18.38
For the pumpkin she carved in the picture above, I believe Darci mostly used the 1/4” V-Tool (pictured middle right) since she was mostly doing surface work. I’ve heard good things about those knives with the blades as well, tough.
Mora of Sweden Carving Knives
Mora Knives Wood CarvingMora of Sweden makes some knives that are great for wood carving, and they’re just as good for any pumpkin you need to turn into a jack-o-lantern. There are a few different blade lengths you can find with Mora carving knives, but generally speaking, the shorter the blade, the better.

Which of these pieces of Halloween gear will you be using this Halloween?
Have an amazing Halloween, y’all!