Gear plays many important roles in our life. In our daily lives we look for equipment to simplify our life, at work we look for gear to help us get the job done efficiently, when we are adventuring in the wilderness we seek gear that will both increase our enjoyment and keep us safe. No matter what the situation, the folks here at Black Flag are looking for high quality gear made by people who are passionate about their craft. Over the years we have tested a lot of equipment from many different brands and a few makers have consistently stood out in both quality and dedication to supporting the outdoor community.
Some of these makers have partnered with Black Flag on various projects, while others just make quality gear that we use and rely on every day. Each of these makers is a small business that is dedicated to American manufacturing, creating well thought out designs, and are committed to not just making great gear, but also making the outdoor community a better place!
Knives by Nuge
About Knives By Nuge
Tom Nugent, owner of Knives By Nuge, is a retired police officer and lifelong outdoorsman. Knives by Nuge is known for making high-quality purpose driven knives focused on outdoor pursuits, including camping, hunting, fishing, and bushcraft. Each of his designs is derived from his personal experiences in the great outdoors and meticulously tested by himself and other professionals in the outdoor industry. Each handmade knife that comes out of his shop in New Jersey is built and finished to Tom’s high standards and can be guaranteed to serve outdoorsman, EDC enthusiasts, and professionals well!
Why We Love Knives By Nuge
Tom Nugent is the owner and knife maker, as well as the head of marketing, finance, and customer service over at Knives by Nuge. His drive and dedication to building his business, making American made knives, and collaborating with other exceptional businesses in the outdoor community is nothing short of amazing. He is very comfortable thinking outside the box, getting feedback from his community, and taking calculated risks that continuously yield exceptional knives.
In addition to the very time-consuming process of operating and growing his business, Tom is one of the co-hosts of Raise The Flag Podcast and has been an invaluable resource in helping grow Black Flag Survival.
PNWBUSHCRAFT
About PNWBUSHCRAFT
PNWBUSHCRAFT makes some of the finest Waxed Canvas Goods for all your outdoor adventures. Each piece is designed in-house by true outdoor enthusiasts and is handmade from high-quality materials with great attention to detail. Each one of their highly functional items has a vintage aesthetic and embodies the legacy of Great American Outdoors people.
PNWBUSHCRAFT waxed canvas goods have become a staple in our kits, with a wide range of applications including pouches, tool rolls, pocket organizers, and ground cloths
Why We Love PNWBUSHCRAFT
Heather and Todd, put simply, are among the kindest and most dedicated members of the Outdoor Community. Both Heather and Todd have diverse backgrounds, and they have taken that experience and built one of the most well-regarded small businesses in the outdoor community! All of their products are built in their workshop in Washington State, they work to source all their material from American companies, and are constantly creating new designs and improving upon existing ones.
Even with all the hard work and time that goes into building a thriving business Todd maintains a full time day job and Heather works tirelessly to represent the outdoor community as a board member of the Camp Fire Co-Op, event organizer, small business advocate, and as a co-host of the Raise The Flag Podcast.
Woods Monkey
About The Woods Monkey
The Woods Monkey is an LT Wright brand headed by Brian “Silverback” Marrinan. As you would expect from anything associated with LT Wright, The Woods Monkey produces high-quality knives built for use in the great outdoors, but these knives have a unique flare that truly make them stand out! The original Woods Monkey design is a modular friction folder called the Banana Peel. As the name suggests when closed the knife is shaped like a banana. Don’t let the humous shape fool you, this is a highly functional cutting companion for outdoor and EDC use! These friction folders are modular, allowing you to easily swap out your blade or handle scales to suit your needs. As the brand expanded they developed a fixed blade carving knife called the Kerf and started incorporating collaboration knife designs with other makers as well as carrying assorted outdoor gear from several makers within the community. The Woods Monkey line up also features a product designed by Brian called the Monkey Board. These Kydex boards are equipped with shock cord to create a functional minimalist gear organizer that can be put in your bag or attached to your pack’s webbing.
Why We Love Woods Monkey
Woods Monkey makes high quality gear that doesn’t take itself too seriously and embraces the spirit of creativity. In the survival industry we often see a lot of very serious people talking about very serious scenarios; it is truly refreshing to add a touch of fun while maintaining function. Brian, L.T. and the rest of the crew over at LT Wright are top notch people who actively involve themselves with the outdoor community and have no qualms lending a helping hand to up and coming knife makers. We love seeing the efforts to collaborate with small businesses in the outdoor community, as well as the dedication to making all their products in the USA.
While the Woods Monkey is still a relatively new name to the industry, they have certainly found a place in our daily lineup, and we are excited to see new projects coming down the line! Brian has been a huge supporter of what we do at Black Flag Survival and our goal of educating outdoors people. The Woods Monkey newsletter regularly features articles and wilderness skills tips from Black Flag Survival and other professionals in the outdoor industry.
WAZOO Gear
About WAZOO
WAZOO was founded in 2013 by Dustin Hogard and Nick Blackman. Together they started creating high quality survival kits in the form of paracord bracelets. The goal was to create gear that was both wearable and functional. While it started with paracord bracelets it grew into so much more! Today Wazoo has an extensive line up of wearable survival gear that is not only functional, but also looks great! They have a series of Practical Pendants that can help you start a fire and sharpen your knives, they have Cache Wear belts and hats that serve double duty by providing a discreet way to carry small survival essentials, they have a line of Functional Fabrics such as bandanas that have valuable foraging and animal tracking information on them.
Each and everyone of their products is designed to serve multiple purposes to help you survive and thrive, and make sure you look cool while doing it! Many pieces of Wazoo equipment accompany me daily including the Spark Necklace and Fire Card to ensure I can start a fire no matter where I am or what the weather conditions are and the Foraging Bandana and Bandannet to help me out when foraging on my own or teaching others!
Why We Love WAZOO
One of the things that I admire most about Dustin and Nick is their perseverance. Over the years they faced numerous challenges in the manufacturing process, but they never settled for mediocre and kept dumping both time and money into development of their products until it was exactly what they were looking for. Early on they had a fire wipe destroy their facility and much of their components and finished products, but they dusted themselves off and kept moving forward. This level of dedication is the stuff that inspires other businesses to keep moving forward no matter what!
Beyond the incredible drive the folks at WAZOO are innovators, never settling for good enough and always working to make each and every product they produce to be the best it can be. The product lines are constantly tested and updated to ensure they are functional and reliable for the people who use them.
Dustin and Nick are leaders within the Outdoor Community, actively seeking to better not just themselves but other small businesses in the outdoor space. They regularly collaborate with other small businesses and are the driving force behind the Campfire Co-Op, an organization of small business owners and content creators with the goal of growing member businesses together through mutual support, the sharing of ideas, and collaboration.
Tuff Possum Gear
About Tuff Possum
Jayberry Miller has been a passionate outdoor enthusiast from a young age, and like many lovers of the great outdoors, he was interested in having the right gear to suit his needs. What better way to get the perfect piece of gear for your needs is to make it yourself! That is exactly what Jayberry started doing! He began posting some of his designs on outdoor forums and people were interested in purchasing them. This ultimately led to the founding of Tuff Possum Gear in 2017.
With the help of his family, Jayberry continues to make high quality nylon gear built to handle the rigors of outdoor life. Each piece of gear is designed in house based on Jayberry’s experience and feedback he gets from his customers. Each piece is made in the USA and is thoroughly inspected to ensure it meets the highest of quality standards before it goes out the door. Many of the bags and pouches have a modular nature, they work well with other Tuff Possum products, but are also designed to integrate well with many of the most popular outdoor packs on the market.
We rely on Tuff Possum products to keep both our everyday carry gear and outdoor equipment organized. The Shackleton EDC Satchel is one of our daily drivers, keeping our daily essentials and minimalist outdoor gear close at hand. A number of Tuff Possum pouches are found in our larger outdoor kits, camping bags, and car kits. Each one has held up well with exposure to the elements and harsh environments!
Why We Love Tuff Possum
Tuff Possum is a family owned business and truly demonstrates the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and strong family values! It is inspiring to see Jayberry following his dreams and even more inspiring to see his family standing with him every step of the way!
Jayberry is truly a “doer”, regularly participating in community outdoor events and attending classes to increase his knowledge and skill set. With this knowledge he doesn’t just improve himself, he improves his product line, making his bags, pouches, and tools even more efficient and effective for his customers.
Like all the other businesses mentioned on this page Jayberry and family have demonstrated that they not only make top quality gear, they are also committed to building and supporting a thriving outdoor community. Jayberry is an active member of the Campfire Co-Op, seeks ways to collaborate with other small businesses, and works to bring awareness to other makers’ equipment by incorporating their products into his website.
Black Flag Survival 