Larry- I'm glad you like what we do on SOSAKOnline. It's getting to be a lot of work these days, and with actual
paying work at my day job it sometimes gets pretty difficult to put something decent out each month. Still, it's something I love doing and I can't see myself giving it up, so it's nice to know that someone out there is at least enjoying it!
Since I'm in Canada I also appreciate blades that can be used in winter. While it may not be as cold here as it is where you are, the humidity is almost always very high, making cold weather seem that much colder, and allowing the cold to penetrate you faster, so I appreciate a knife that can be used with numb fingers and gloves! For that reason alone I like the Ueli Steck model.
It's unfortunate that this knife will probably not be a great success though. This is one knife that really has to be seen, held and used to be be apreciated, but at the price point it's at, I doubt many folks will be willing to give it a shot. I really like it though- I liked it when I saw it at SHOT, and I'm really liking it now that I have one in my possession. It is a great knife, and yes it may look a little different, but it's a
tool not a showpiece. It's designed to be used, not for style, and when you think about it, the wrench cutouts and 1/4" bit slot actually allow this one to not only replace a knife, but also a multitool for maintaining equipment. And, if you are weight conscious like climbers would be, then combining two tools into one lightweight package is very tantalizing.
I can't say I know much about Ueli Steck himself- just what I saw on Wikipedia and his own site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueli_Steckhttp://www.uelisteck.ch/en.htmlNorth Man has it right though- he has pretty much run right up the mountains to get the times he has. I don't think you could get up some of these mountains as fast as he did if you did it in a helicopter!
What he's accomplished is simply amazing, and is a little depressing at times since he's younger than me and holds several world records!
Def