Benchmade 560 Freek
Brian founded Ultimate Upland in 2010 to be the most comprehensive resource for upland hunting enthusiasts. Since then it has grown into a community where bird hunters congregate and share their love for the sport. Brian shares detailed accounts of Ultimate Upland adventures in pursuit of wild birds in the wildest places.
Koch is joined afield by hunting partners Labs and Llews.
As I squatted next to a stream struggling to fill my filtration bladder I noticed my buddy was already boiling water for his meal. I continued working stubbornly for ten minutes to create enough clean water before I asked if I could borrow his Grayl Geopress water purifier bottle. About thirty seconds later I had…
We figured a company featuring a Bobwhite in their logo must know a little something about upland hunting. And it turns out we were right. Lugging our gun cleaning gear around in a plastic bag was getting old. Kevin’s Saddle Leather and Canvas Roll-Up Cleaning Kit ($89) offers a stylish solution for carrying all your gun cleaning…
There are a lot of stacked leather handle hunting knives that are big game size. But when I saw this sized-down version from L. L. Bean, it looked perfect for butchering birds. The handle and heft of this knife fit nicely with the traditional vibe. Laser-sharp right out of the box with good edge retention,…
When the bird hunting season was winding down I needed to find an activity to fill the void. When the folks at Benchmade Knife Company heard about my 16-year-old nephew Zach’s interest in blade design they offered to give us a VIP tour of their facility. Since Zach is also trying to accumulate enough hours behind…
Biting bugs can ruin a backcountry trip. Since most of our hunting occurs after the frosts of fall, insects are rarely a nuisance. But when training in the off-season or even hunting in early-season those bugs can be absolutely maddening. I was one of the original testers of the Thermacell Backpacker at high elevation. The…
There may be blades more appropriate for breaking down birds, but being able to design your own knife in real-time online makes this Benchmade a must-have. You can choose from 12 different handle colors, three blades, different pocket clips and component colors….. the possibilities seem endless. After you have the knife formatted to your liking…
At 66 years young. I’ve had a bunch of knives. This Benchmade knife is the best. I have two of them.