If there is one word I could use to describe this year’s Yorkville Exotic Car Show it would be “Lamborghini.” Indeed, the Italian automaker seemed to dominate the show. Perhaps the fact that the show was much smaller this year made the Lambos stand out even more.
Either way, both of my show favourites were Lambos, first of which was this STO. I have seen STOs before but never in this yellow and it looked spectacular!
My second favourite of the show, Murcielago.
LOTS of other Lambos from matte green to the brightest car I have ever seen
No Ruf this year though someone was wearing a tshirt with my favourite car of all time, the Yellowbird
Nicest Porsche at the show (love that interior)
And outside the show, in the Yorkville area
Back to the show
Audi R8
Old M6
Though once again the cars cruising around outside the show were just as nice
G-wagen modified by Abdi
They also did a Cybertruck
If you prefer a conventional Cybertruck…(looks so subtle in comparison)
The square answer to the Cybertruck’s angles, Land Rover Defenders
Ford GT
Lotus also had a strong showing thanks to local dealer Gentry Lane
Aston Martin
I wore my Magnum PI shirt in the hopes of seeing a 308. No luck but a few other Ferraris
Including a Testa Rossa parked in the area
Rolls appropriately showcased in front of Tiffany
As usual I took the opportunity to visit the watch stores in the area. I took another look at the Omega Ultra Deep at Royal de Versailles.
And the new 1000M Tudor, which I absolutely loved!
Rolex (I didn’t take any pics inside the store)’
I didn’t take pics inside L’Oro either. Standouts were the white ceramic IWCs and the Panerai Navy Seals.
Melanoma Canada had a mobile unit set up and I waited an hour to get myself checked for skin cancer…all good!
Finally, as per tradition, dessert at Carole’s Cheesecake! No apple taffee so I went with my second go to, pistachio.
So there you have it. A smaller show this year but still a great way to spend Father’s Day.
This was my first time at Taste of Little Italy although I have been to Taste of the Danforth many times so I kind of knew what to expect, namely local restos setting up roadside food stations, live music, big crowds etc. They are expecting 250,000 people over the weekend!
Lots of crazy food options
Including some of my favourite restos like Café Diplomatico and Duff’s Famous Wings
My initial plan was to have something Italian like this
But I got drawn in by G Dog and WE Burger
I had the Germany dog
Making the dogs
And here it is!
There were lots of cool shopping options too. This was my favourite of the street vendors
I picked up a pin of the Twins from The Shining lol
There were a few vintage stores as well
I also took the opportunity to do some more serious shopping! I have seen Wonder Pens at the Scriptus Pen show but have never been to their actual store, located right in the middle of today’s event.
As usual, I did some pre-show research and went in with intention of checking out the new Sailor Area 51.
It was nice although i didnt end up buying it. I did pick up some Wearingeul Tick Tock Croc ink though. They have the best marketing lol. BTW, very nice people at the store.
I was also SUPER happy to discover a new airsoft/tactical gear, and knife store!!!!
I find John Wick everywhere! Lol so funny. I was talking about John Wick in connection to this event yesterday and here are his guns.
I picked up a training/airsoft karambit and some John Wick patches
In addition to walking the entire length of College from Bathurst to Shaw for Taste of Little Italy, I also walked on Ossington from College down to Queen for some more exploration. Here is what I saw…
A little car spotting with a McLaren
Bar Isabel (I went here on my last birthday..amazing bone marrow and Pappy Van Winkle!!)
And for Morgy’s past birthday we went to Baby Heuy and Sweaty Betty’s
More great shopping options, Tilley Hats
Carhartt Work in Progress
I Miss You Man pre-loved designer clothing
And my last stop for the day, Camouflage!
My scores
In retrospect I wish that I had tried more food but that’s ok, the great shopping made up for it. Glad I finally made it.
The Well is an all-in-one complex where you can “eat, shop, work, live, and play” located at Front and Spadina. I have been meaning to check it out for a while so when I heard that my good friends at Sovereign Souls would be displaying at an artisan market at the venue, I hopped right over.
My first stop was to check in with Sovereign Souls, great to see you guys again
Beautiful assortment of custom 108 and 54 bead Malas from various crystals
and other materials like wood and shells
Sovereign Souls also makes beautiful intention candles
I chose an adjustable Mala bracelet in Tiger’s Eye
I didn’t take too many pics of the rest of the market as I did not realize it would be open-air and I was FREEZING in my short-sleeve shirt!
Nice touch with the live DJ
I sought refuge from the cold by visiting the retail stores in the complex. My two favourites were Era Vintage and Adidas.
As the name suggests, Era Vintage is full of “pre-loved” clothing, collectibles, home décor, and accessories, specifically from the ’80s-’90s.
I actually have a hat with this exact picture! Too bad the hoodie wasn’t in my size
My favourites at Adidas were all their collaborations, such as these shoes and “smock detail sweatpants” by AVAVAV
Tracksuit collab with BAPE
And for car racing fans, collab with Petronas
While their retail space looks to be a “work in progress” their selection of food is substantial! I opted for Japadog’s “Avacado” an all-beef Japanese hotdog with avocado, Japanese mayo, cream cheese, and soy sauce along with Shichimi & Garlic “shaked” fries.
Lot’s of dessert options, notably Sweetie Pies, Postman Waffles, Big Fat Cookies, Uncle Tetsu and more.
But I didn’t want something too opulent so just went with a croissant with hazelnut filling from Nord Lyon.
All in all a fun day and I would visit again but next time I would pack a sweater!
Had a great time at my favourite gun show, St. Catherines, held in the Merritton Community Centre.
This time I was accompanied by Alissia and Yousef who are relatively new to the Canadian gun scene although they do have some previous experience with firearms.
I thought a visit to the Freedom Firearms Canada display would be a great way to introduce my guests to the show. Yousef picked the Glock 17 with probably the longest barrel I have ever seen while Alissia is holding a semiauto shotgun with shockwave grip from Tamgha Arms.
Yousef liked the folding Wolverine pump-action shotgun in crazy snakeskin
Both liked the Ruger 10/22 Tactical Talo. This was my first time seeing this chassis in person as well.
Benelli M4 clones are super popular, such as this Revolution Armory Impact R4 Cerakote
Not quite as common but equally impressive, the Standard Manufacturing DP-12 with Door Buster and Stilletto chokes
At the end of the day, all three of us picked the same firearm as our show favourite, the AKDAS UBS AK-12 Under Barrel Shotgun, more affectionately known as the “Masterkey”
Moving on to gear, it was great to see my friends from MAB Impex and their vast selection of Damascus knives
Ok now this is more my speed! I love the Surefire E2D Defender with 1000 Lumens! (I have an older version with about half that)
I was also super excited to finally see some Gatorz eyewear in person! As you may know, I am obsessed with protective eyewear and have wanted to try on a pair of Gatorz for the longest time. I liked them but ultimately I would order ones to my specs as they are available in a huge array of lens/frame options.
Yousef and Alissia liked all the ammo displays
Some cool pewter pins
I liked all the beadwork here
CCFR briefing my guests about our crazy rules and regulations
Yousef field stripping the model AK-47 (he did the same with a Type 81 at TACCOM lol)
Sam the Cannon man!
St. Catherines never disappoints and based on this experience, my new shooters are sure to be back. And that’s what it is all about, getting more people into the sport.
The first knife show in Toronto in ten years was a huge success with over 600 people through the door! To put things in perspective, the one day Toronto Knife Show 2025 drew as much traffic as the past shows got over the whole weekend! And people weren’t just visiting, they were buying knives. In fact, by 2pm we emptied out the bank machine in the hotel lobby!!!
While there wasn’t a formal Friends of the Guild pre-show this year, as is customary, many knifemakers met in the hotel lobby Friday night.
It didn’t take long for the show and tell to start. I really liked Paul Savage’s folder with armadillo scales!
Hmmm 2015 at the last show vs. 2025, can you tell the difference?
Russ liked Paul’s Damascus bowie
Thanks to fellow collector Danny Tadxx for bringing your awesome Fellhoelter pens
And Rod Olson knives
Steve Vanderkolff’s daughter (so sorry, I didn’t catch your name) liked it as well. She isn’t planning to get into knifemaking yet but maybe we can convince her!
This one has a floating backspacer
Danny got to meet Rod Olson for the first time, who was nice enough to autograph his knife cases! That’s the beauty of knife shows.
We also got a preview of Rod’s latest creations.
Ok on to the show! In early morning for the setup
As I mentioned, huge crowds during the day! This was in the first hour or so and I think there were already 250 people by noon.
Prizes for the hourly giveaways. There was also a buyer’s draw (you get one ticket for every knife you buy).
This gentleman won a beautiful chef’s knife by Divide Knives
On to the knives! My first stops were to check in with the show organizers Murray St-Amour and Mike Mossington. In addition to his usual assortment of outdoor knives…
Murray surprised us by bringing back his awesome camp knife! I don’t remember seeing one of these before although I understand they were hugely popular back in the day. I can see why!
Love the sealskin tie Murray!
Not only is Mike Mossington an accomplished knifemaker
he is also an authorized dealer for knife supplies, such as Admiral Steel
Who generously donated steel to all knifemaker vendors at the show
Mike also represents Klingspor grinder belts
John Wilson was born in Ontario but trained directly under Bob Loveless while living in California. John continues with Bob’s designs adding a modern twist of unique handle scales. These are true works of art!
I met the Grimsmo brothers just as they were starting to get into knifemaking. It is amazing how far they have come! Indeed, I was lucky to be part of a small group to do a shop tour in 2023. We were given a detailed breakdown of each step in how a Grimsmo knife is made. All I can say is that the sophistication of the machinery and technical know-how to make knives with such tight tolerances is astonishing!
Grimsmo’s are in very high demand and usually sell out instantly so it was pretty amazing to see so many at the same time.
The one that put them on the map, the Norseman
Rask
Their latest, the Fjell integral folder
and Saga pen with its unique mechanism
Compared to my Fellhoelter Mud Flap Girl with Dunce Cap
Another high end folder machinist I was looking forward to seeing, SAK Modder. He doesn’t just simply replace the scales on SAKs, he actually reworks them, adding custom tools and his famous “drawer” for holding things like the tweezers and tootpicks you normally see in the handle scales.
This upscale one in TiMascus, the only one with a magnifier, sold immediately
I preferred the one with poutine insert and titanium fork!
Closeup of the drawer I mentioned
Rod Olson is most well known for his button lock folders and their legendary smoothness.
The Mega Burst with Fat Carbon inlays and Zirc Bolster was my favourite
Keeping with high end folders, here is another look at Journeyman Smith Paul Savage’s beautiful folder with armadillo scales
This one with pearl inlays was a beauty too
Though ultimately this fixed blade was my favourite knife on Paul’s table, and actually one of my favourites of the show!
Fellow Journeyman Smith James Emmons also had a table full of beautiful forged knives
Originally from France and now in Quebec, Cyril Doche applies his background in cabinetmaking, artistic woodturning, and gunsmithing to knifemaking. The tolerances on his folders are so tight that the line between the blade and lockback is almost invisible. You could swear the knife was a fixed blade looking at the spine.
This one was my favourite. I love the simple black scales mixed with Damascus blade. Also, this one didn’t have any liners making it even thinner and lighter.
Also hailing from Quebec, Amélien Lorquin Couteaux with a fine selection of kitchen and outdoor knives. Thanks for the “business card!”
Steve Vanderkolff
His latest design (sold immediately)
Butterflies seemed to be a theme
This half-stop slipjoint with Kevlar scales was my favourite
And now for some unique knives! Ward Wright is a former world champion knife thrower and he does indeed make throwers although more recently he has been focusing on more primitive designs using a lot of bone and natural materials and forged salvage steel from 100 year old horse drawn farm equipment & machinery.
I liked the neck knives
the Mountain Man with its unique sheath
For some reason I kept coming back to this one (actually visited the table a few times to look at it)
Although ultimately I went with a deer foot dagger!!!
Thanks Ward, I love it and will definitely be getting a thrower from you.
More unique knives from Steve Stuart
I especially liked his Gentlemen’s Folder with leather “handle”. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
Speaking of unique knives and handles, as I have written in past reviews, I really like Farmboy Customs use of unconventional scales and kydex patterns, often as tributes to movies or video games.
Case in point, Sugar Bombs from Fallout
And The Joker
Nice acid etch
The Joker’s sheath was made by none other than Buffalo Bones! Indeed, several knifemakers at the show had sheaths made by Seamus.
The machete with his skull sheath was one of my show favourites.
The custom leather wrapped mace was also pretty awesome
I picked up a sharkskin dogtag with custom printed dogtag to match. Thanks Seamus!
Another great provider to knifemakers, Muskoka Turner! They provide blocks for handle scales using natural materials and resins. I especially like the ones with captured objects like the wasp nest that I got at GLCKS or the pea that I had custom ordered (pics in past reviews).
You can see an example of what I am talking about in action with this bread knife from K.C. Forge. Muskoka Turner provided the resin full of coffee beans for its scales!
The full lineup of forged knives from K.C. Forge
Including this beautiful cleaver
I really liked the scales on this one. I believe they were camel bone
Cool forged flowers!
Sharing a table with K.C. Forge, his protégé Fire Drawn Forge. In addition to forging knives, he also does “pyrography” wood burning artwork
As you may know from my past reviews, I really like Todd Bolce’s work and have a couple of his knives.
My favourites at this show were this one in all black
And at the opposite end of the spectrum, bright green Cerakote
Cam Lymburner is best known for making big blades with a very light feel. His knives really remind me of the legendary Jerry Hossom.
This Kukri was so light and fast
As was this fighter. If I was looking for a martial arts blade, I would say this one was the best at the show.
You cant have a proper knife show without handmade knives from the legendary art knife maker Wolfgang Loerchner!
Jacco Van de Bruinhorst (JVB) couldn’t be at the show but he did have some knives on display
Some great forged kitchen knives from Steve at Bad Llama forge
Huge selection of stock removal knives from Wynn Stitt
Speaking of huge…
The green stag handle was my favourite. Looked great and felt equally great in the hand
Shah Bladeworks
I liked this one with glow in the dark scales
But the most interesting knife on his table was the kitchen knife with “S” shaped grind. Nice of him to bring a cutting board and some carrots so you could try it out.
Cole Thompson
The take down “mini katana” was my favourite. You don’t need any tools to take it down in a few seconds.
I have been into Khukuris lately and liked his interpretation too
Dressed up outdoor/hunting knives from Justin Dale Matethi Knives
At just 16 years of age, this is already Malcom Stewart’s second knife show! Many of us were impressed by his work and felt he was matching the work of more established makers. I was looking forward to seeing what he brought this time.
Nice selection of daggers
I really liked the Almarada daggers! The frog on the side acts as a guard and keeps the boot knife in place.
More fine work from Malcolm
I didn’t get to chat with Matt Bedlington this time so just a quick pic of his table
Aaron Byard
These were my favourites
It was tough to get a full pic of Adam Smith’s table as it was always busy when I passed by
Bancroft Cutlery
Very interesting scales on this one
I am not too familiar with Bluefish Knife & Tool but I can see he makes some fine outdoor knives. I liked the nesting knife/fork as well
Crane Cutlery with some nice Damascus pieces
The slipoint folder with brass scales was my favourite
Adam Gilbey was inspired by Forged in Fire to teach himself how to make knives back in 2017 and formed Divide Knives.
Craig Henshaw draws on both Japanese and Western Bladesmithing styles with san mai blades made by wrapping Damascus around a core of high carbon steel. He currently has an ABS Apprentice rating.
I liked the one with the Hudson’s Bay handle
In all the way from Nova Scotia, Jeff Maluske Mad Trapper making custom crafted knives for woods, water and kitchen. Jeff, a former competitive shooter, makes both hand forged and stock removal.
Bunny Blades by Peter Tal who transitioned from chef to a knife maker
And now for the big finish
What a fantastic show! Hard to pick an absolute favourite as I saw at least 30 knives I would buy lol. It was great to see many makers I have known over the years as well as discover new ones like Ward Wright. Similarly, it was great to reconnect with collectors I have known over the years as well as meet new ones. Thank you for your generosity to those who said hi, shared their collections, and even gave me some swag!
As I mentioned in my opening, turnout was fantastic, even better than I expected! This is great for our community and ensures we will have more shows in the future, possibly even going back to 2 day shows! Either way, I will be there!
This was my first time attending the Quebec Outdoor, Hunting, Fishing, and Camping show and I was suitably impressed! The show is easily as big as our Toronto shows and it was packed with people!
My first stop was to check in with my good friends Gilles at Mossberg and Donald from Evans Group.
Gilles walked me through Mossberg’s latest lineup
Including novelties like the 940 Pro Tactical SPX, which has a newly designed forend that features an integrated heat shield, multiple M-Lok accessory slots, and QD ports. It also comes with a Vang Comp 6-Shotshell carrier system!
Next the 590RM mag fed. The “RM” stands for ambidextrous Rotary Safety Selector with the first production double-stack Magazines made for pump-actions.
Love the camo pattern Silver Reserve Eventide – Turkey
The short stock on the 500 Bantam is so cute lol
More from the lineup
Now from Evans Group. The Pedersoli shotgun muzzle loader is so cool! Not something you see everyday.
Sabatti out of Italy has been making firearms for 300 years and are known for their unique Multiradial rifling that doesn’t work like traditional lands and grooves (see my TACCOM 2023 review for a lot more details).
I like the ST-18
Next my friends at MD Charlton to see the latest from SIG
and even a Christensen Arms MPR.
I like the SIG Cross
And P365, as used by Halle Berry in John Wick 3
SIG optics
I liked the binos with Optical Image Stabilization
I covered Antler firearms at TSS a couple of weeks ago. As a reminder, they are entirely made in Quebec from design to manufacturing. They focus on being lightweight and very precise while being highly configurable with multiple options of stock type and colour, barrel (carbon fiber or steel), and action
For more tactical long-range shooting, Elite Precision can customize your rig, such as this Cadex in .338 Lapua. They also offer precision shooting courses on a range that goes out to 1,600 yards!
Rec-T-Fire laser system designed to align the scope or sights of your firearm without ever firing.
Speaking of lasers, the CCFR was running their Laser Rifle Target Shooting
You can see the red dot in the centre of the target on the right
So easy a kid can do it! In fact, it was quite popular with kids with lineups all day. Great way to get them started early.
I managed to sneak in for a pic
CCFR advocating for gun rights
Now on to knives! Good to see MAB Impex again
Huge selection of Damascus blades
Got this little knife…thanks so much!
More knives
Retailer selling bows from Bowtech, Hoyt, and Matthews
There were long lineups at the archery test ranges all day
I have always been a fan of Sitka gear so it was great to see they had a booth and reps on site! I knew that Sitka matches their “camo” patterns to the visual spectrum of the game you are hunting but I learned a lot more talking to the rep. Not only do they consider visual spectrum, they also consider the animals’ perspective, for example, waterfowl looking down as they fly overhead or ungulates looking up at a hunter in a tree stand! BTW, Sitka refers to their proprietary patterns as “concealment” not “camo” and the company is owned by Gore (as in Goretex). Their patterns are licenced out so you can get bows and firearms matched to your concealment clothing!
Their newest pattern
I love balaclavas
Handwarmer is super cool too
Variations of their Optifade
New all Gore-Tex boots that are 12 oz. lighter than competing boots
For even more concealment, Nature Tracks Scented Shoe Covers. They come in three options: Vanilla and Anise to attract big game such as bear, moose, and deer, or Unscented for a neutral approach.
If you prefer to be seen, Traktiq offers a ton of hi-viz gear.
Great shades from Costa Del Mar
And Rapala
You already know I love fur but wow such unique pieces from Creations Nous Deux!
check out these wolf gloves!
And keychains made of animal paws!
Seal!
Fur can cozies!
Ok now these are fur goals!
We both bought the seal paw keychains at the same time lol.
Lots of taxidermy at the show. This bear looks angry!
Bears look so much friendlier with a baseball cap
This guy looks angry too! I wonder who wins in a fight against a bear
Some great racks
Never seen this before! Life-size elephant to promote African hunting safari
Custom game calls from Recall Designs
There was even a hall full of boats! You know I love the police and SAR boats! Not a Zodiac but a similar RIB used by the RCMP
Mustang Survival flotation gear
I just had to try it on
More flotation gear at the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The CCGA is a not-for-profit that provides support to the Canadian Coast Guard and National Defense. They perform three key tasks: 1) assist with search and rescue and environmental response, 2) support Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Program through public outreach and education 3) assisting in checking aids to navigation. They also offer humanitarian assistance, mechanical engineering and maintenance of vessels and equipment, coordination of fundraising and special events, and support media relations.
Thanks for the upclose view
I’ve seen Argos but never in camo
Check out the tracks on this Yamaha Kodiak
Or if you want to cover your tracks….
Huge crowds all day
My swag from the show
Once again, a fantastic show! It had all the elements I am used to seeing at outdoor shows like guns, knives, archery, hunting and fishing equipment, fur, all terrain vehicles, and boats. Definitely worth the drive. Great job on social media by the organizers as well. A very friendly crew!
Btw, I haven’t covered my post-show meals in this series until now as food is so much better in Quebec lol. I wanted something French and authentic but wasn’t hungry enough for poutine so I went with escargot pizza at Mille et Une Pizza!
Klipsch fans will rejoice with the introduction of revamped versions of the Klipschorn AK7 and La Scala AL6. I was fortunate to attend the well-organized media event and love the new product.
The event started with introductions from our host
Steve from WiiM giving us a background on the company and introducing us to three new products including the Ultra digital hub and Vibelink amp (all music for today’s demos was streamed through WiiM)
Renown Klipsch acoustician Roy Delgado provided a detailed technical briefing of new features. Some examples include a 3” midrange compression driver, fully one inch bigger than drivers used in previous models, a shorter 2” throat on the midrange horn, custom Heritage Active Crossover, and even a new finish American Auburn. The changes increase efficiency while providing a more natural, immersive sound experience.
Without the grill
So great to meet and chat with Roy! Pro tip, he likes fishing!
And now the moment we have all been waiting for, auditioning the Klipschorns!
And look who was sitting behind me, Audiophile Junkie! Great to see you again!
One last pic for size reference
Some have felt the La Scala could use more bass and Klipsch responded by providing exactly that! The upgrade to a patented horn loaded, vented system provides the benefits of both a horn-loaded system and a bass reflex system
We were only able to listen to it in mono as the pair got damaged in shipping
It still sounded amazing! In fact, I dare say that I preferred it to the Klipschorn! And this is coming from someone who (as you probably know by now) is obsessed wth bass!
Again for size comparison
Klipsch also brought a system from their RP line to help showcase the new WiiM products. The whole system costs under US$5,000.
The demo included 10” subs but they are of course available in larger sizes
More WiiM and Klipsch products
TEAC provided all electronics for today’s demo. Once again, we were treated to a history of the company (I didn’t know it was an acronym for Tokyo Electro-Acoustic Company) and technical briefings on new introductions.
Finally, an introduction to Pro-Jects first-ever Turntable Configurator with 17,280 custom combinations of colour, tonearm, and cartridge!
I really enjoyed the media briefing! It was well organized and the atmosphere was very welcoming! Definitely one of the best parts of my Audiofest experience.
Hard to top such a great start to the show but if anyone can, it would have to be Acora!
Acora was showcasing their MRC-2 speakers for the sound demo.
Audio Research electronics
VPI Model One turntable
It was so great to chat with Val and get his perspective.
How does it sound? Amazing…like everything Acora produces
The newest additions to the Audio Research lineup
More beautiful static displays of Acora MRC-3 speakers and Audio Research electronics
MRB bookshelf speakers
Even their “business cards” are amazing lol
Another top contender for best room, Bliss Acoustics! They really brought the heat this year with TWO rooms full of Nagra, J. Sikora, and CSport.
Let’s start with their main room featuring my beloved Nagra Reference turntable, Nagra electronics from the Reference and HD lines, a J. Sikora Reference turntable, and Audio-Nec EVO-3 speakers! Wow!
Seeing the two Reference turntables side-by-side really emphasizes their different approaches to isolation.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a sound vid but I can say that it sounded amazing.
I got Renee’s latest Audiophile reference album. Thanks so much!
Wish I had a Nagra Reference to play it on. In the meantime, guess I have to fire up the Bang & Olufsen lol
Bliss’s second room also had a side-by-side comparison of turntables, this time a J. Sikora Standard Max and CSPort TAT1 M2 with air floating string drive and CSPort battery powered Phono Preamp C3EQM2 along with Nagra Classic electronics. Oh, and the world premiere of the new Audio-Nec Open Baffle speakers! Did I mention that Bliss brought the heat? Lol
Another top room that I was really looking forward to visiting, Von Schweikert Audio, showcasing their VR30. It sounded great and I like the brand, really nice people!
And now for some show surprises! Magico A3 speakers! I was not expecting that as they were not on the exhibitor list so it was a really pleasant surprise. The Magico was paired with beautiful Baetis Audio. In fact, Magico often uses Baetis servers/streamers to demo their speakers. I really like the look and feel of those.
Details of the full system: the streamer and Roon Cores were Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo+ (high end) and a Prodigy LE2 (entry level), all made in Montreal along with German made T+A DAC and pre-amp (DAC 200) and amp (A200). The power filter was from Saturn Audio while Tough Nut (btw, both of these brands are from Ontario) made the racks and vibration cancelling platforms (PIRS and GP3). The sound absorbing curtains behind the gear were provided by Coherent Audio.
It all sounded great, definitely one of the best rooms in the show!
Another surprise, but for different reasons, Marten Mingus Quintet 2 speakers at the Watershed Group. I must confess that I entered this room to see the Clearaudio turntable and I was not familiar with Marten speakers. But wow, I was blown away! The bass was so good that many people in the room (including me) were asking “where is the subwoofer?”
The speaker actually has five drivers, including a pure diamond tweeter, pure ceramic mid-range and aluminium sandwich bass domes and down-firing bass ports. Great Audia Flight electronics too.
My final “show surprise” came from Focal and I will get to that in a minute but first, the Diva Utopia. I covered these at Toronto Audiofest so as a reminder, the Diva is a powered active bassreflex speaker with built in Naim electronics with Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology wrapped in felt OEKO-TEX skin.
I didn’t wait for the hourly sound demo as I had already heard the Diva. On my way out of the room I was struck by thumping bass and a small crowd around the Focal Theva N°3 + Naim Uniti CI-102. Woah, what’s this? Definitely my “best bang for the buck” winner of this year’s show!
As you may know from my past reviews, there is another Focal that I love, the Utopia headphones! I wanted to see how the new wireless Bathys MG measure up to those so I headed over to the EARVANA section of the show.
spooled up my usual reference track lol
and here we go with a listen
They are good but don’t match the Utopia.
Same track for head-to-head comparison
Then again, to my ear (and my taste in music) no other headphone matches the Focal Utopia, not Stax, Audeze, Grado, or even the $75,000 Sennheiser HE1!
Another great room, Bryston, showcasing their speakers
And one of the coolest components at the show, a Magnum Dynalab MD90T FM Tuner with SR-100 Silver Ribbon FM Antenna
BCD-3 CD Player
BDA-3 DAC
Bi-200 Integrated Amp
14B3 Stereo Amp
28B3 Mono Amp
Thanks to the rep for the detailed walkthrough
Now for two classic brands that I own, JBL and Marantz.
JBL L100…I just love that JBL sound
Marantz paired with B&W
Although they do make their own speakers
Model 10 Reference Integrated Amp
More Marantz goodness
Including a turntable
Marantz and B&W displays of their internals
More B&W on display at DR Acoustics
with some pretty serious cables
Always a strong performer, DALI Epikore 9 and NAD
Legendary SVS subs
In room demo
Stable 33.33 is based in Quebec and they were showing their latest model, the Innuable for the very first time. I had a great discussion with Sylvain, the turntable’s designer and learned the name is a synonym for stable and it is exactly that!
It is mounted on three ISO ACOUSTICS GAIA IV and can be leveled easily via two rotary knobs. The main structure is made from 1” thick FORMICA while the platter is made of Delrin. Another cool feature is that the tonearm is 3D printed from a carbon fiber reinforced polymer!
The turntable was paired with Davis Acoustics The Stage speakers
Porting on the side of the speakers
And here is how it sounds
Marchand Audio Video also had Davis Acoustics speakers, this time The Wall, which has two woofers in a push-pull load and a pretty beautiful finish! Powered by Jadis tube amps.
Sound check
Speaking of beautiful finishes, check out this Lemay Audio electrostatic speaker, the Dayton Wright Hommage 9.4
McIntosh with Sonus Faber and REL subs courtesy of Son Ultime
Another room with Sonus Faber, this time powered by Bryston (sounded really good)
And yet another with a Lumina III
Golden Ear T66 with powered bass
Vimberg Mino sound demo and Borresen static displays in Wynn Audio’s room
Motet Distribution showing beautiful Triangle Magellan – Cello 40thspeakers
More J. Sikora! This time an Initial MAX with Wolf Von Langa London speakers. I covered these speakers at last year’s show so as reminder, it has a 10.5” cone driver with a passive radiator and a ribbon tweeter that sits inside of a magnetically attached acrylic panel that can be moved to adjust the treble.
And more REL! Actually lots of cool gear in the Codell Audio room. Dynaudio Contour Legacy speakers, Brinmann Audio Bardo turntable wth Supatrac arm etc.
Monitor Audio with Rotel and Michi electronics
Totem, made in Canada
Spendor speakers
Martin Logan and their famous electrostatic speakers
Although this time they had a sound demo of their boxed speaker Motion series
Note the overhead speakers
Final Audio electrostatic
Diptyque
Lots of brands represented by Altitudo Audio. I listened to the Elacs, again great performance for a bookshelf.
Fyne Audio Vintage Classics Gold X SP speakers
Revival Audio ATALANTE 5 award-winning loudspeakers crafted in France
Audionation showing Ruark Audio
SB Acoustics and Primare
eQuation speakers with gear from Actinote, AGD, SilentAngel, Hifistay, and HzProject on display
Fosi Audio, very affordable options
They always have an exotic car on display at Montreal Audiofest, this time a McLaren
Usually I close my reviews with a recap of my favourites but there are too many to list here. Instead, I will make an observation based on my experience in attending trade shows. I noticed that when you attend a show in a particular hobby for the first time you tend to focus on the gear. Then as you go to more shows your focus shifts to the people. This was my fourth audio show and I am already feeling that.
It was great to see familiar faces like Audiophile Junkie and Rene from Nagra/2xHD, Dragan from Bliss, Adrian from Audio Excellence etc. It was super cool to talk to the designers from Klipsch (Roy), Acora (Val) and Stable 33.33 (Sylvain) and meet other industry folk. And again, all teams involved in media briefings did a great job as did the organizers of the show. Thanks for a great Audiofest!
This must be some sort of record as I attended three different trade shows in three cities in three days!. We are talking over 1000 miles of driving and hundreds of pics taken!
First up, I stopped in for a quick visit to the Boat Show at the International Centre on my way to Montreal for Audiofest and Quebec City for their Outdoor, Hunting, Fishing, Camping show.
This year’s Boat Show at the International Centre occupied Hall 2 only so given the smaller size and my short stay, I didn’t take many pics.
Of course, I had to get the Halton Police Zodiac Hurricane! Note that this is different than the two police Zodiacs at the January show
Beautiful Raymarine racing cat
Alukin landing boat
I discovered Frauscher at last year’s show and remember that they have been in a Bond movie lol
Scout, I believe this is from their LXF luxury centre console line
Nimbus, I think this is one of their Tender day cruisers
Chris Craft Launch 27
Ski Nautique Ski 200
Interesting design and colour scheme on this Blackwater MXCAT 330
Dog flotation vests
And lots of pontoons! (I didn’t get any pics)
So not a huge show but still some standouts. Hopefully next year they bring back the Donzi Classic as that made the show for me last year.
Ok on to Montreal Audiofest and Quebec City Outdoor shows…
Back in the day we had the ESP/Psychic Expo with the cheeky slogan “we know you will be there.” Now we have Meta Expo and Gem Expo, held in neighbouring conference rooms in the same hotel, making them essentially the same show. The show(s) features psychics, mediums, astrology, Tarot readers, metaphysical products, gems/crystals and more.
This was my first time attending the new format. It was also very timely as I just looked at guns / knives / archery / hunting / fishing equipment at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show a day prior so Tarot and healing crystals the very next day makes sense lol.
This won’t be a full show review as I only took pics at four tables. Why is that? Well first of all, it didn’t feel right to take pics of the psychics, Tarot readers, Reiki healers etc. (especially when they were with clients). Secondly, well how do I say this politely, I didn’t find bins of crystals conducive to a photo review. I mean this show is great if you are looking to buy individual crystals or a batch to make jewelry or other artwork. Sure, there were ready made jewellery and such but still not my type of review.
With that said, there were some really interesting tables, starting with The Happy Healing Heart. I loved her creative use of crystals!
Her Crystal Buddies were my favourite
I picked one up made of clear quartz infused with Titanium! Leave it to me to find a “tactical” Crystal Buddy. Thanks also for the rose quartz, my favourite crystal and a perfect match to my custom Three of Swords custom Mala from Sovereign Souls.
Next, Spellbound who had, imho, the most interesting table of the show! So many cool things here.
Love these candle cauldrons
Lots of other candles
Lotions
Her spellcasting must be very good as I was compelled to pick up a couple of things lol
Amazing pyramids from Scalar Orgone
Another exhibitor making creative use of crystals, Touched Through Spirit. I especially liked the knife shaped one for Reiki chord cutting.
I liked the arrowheads made from agate by traditional knapping even better!
So much so that I had to pick one up!
I love the way it was cleansed in a singing bowl…everyone should do this!
Worth a visit if you are into the metaphysical. We know you will be there (lol, you knew I had to say it)
The 2025 Toronto Sportsmen’s Show seemed bigger than ever! There were many first-time exhibitors who you might normally expect at a more tactical show like TACCOM but with that show cancelled for this year, it is not surprising that they opted to be at TSS.
The crowd seemed bigger as well! The show was packed on Friday and I heard there were even more people on Thursday! I can only imagine the Saturday crowd. You wont really see these crowds in my review, as my regular followers know, I get in before the show opens to take a lot of my pics and I tend to crop people out as I don’t like having them in my pics lol. In any case, take my word for it, the show was PACKED!
As an example of what I mentioned in my intro, I discovered Armorum at TACCOM and it was great to see them at TSS for the first time, especially since they now carry even more brands.
Notch hats with built in slots for your eyepro and Axil earpro
Kore Essentials ratchet belts. My favourite is the Executive Protection inner/outer belt system now available as a “hybrid” where the front portion of the outer belt is in leather while the rear portion is in nylon. Pretty neat!
Oooooo night vision camo, my favourite pattern
NUTSOF helmet and bag scrims in their Northerner maple leaf camo
Maxtacs a top-tier outdoor and tactical apparel & equipment for military, outdoor, & law enforcement.
During my show prep, I watched a lot of videos about their Combat Pants and all of its great features like the 16 pockets, knee pads with adjustable inserts, and of course their famous zippered vents, etc. I ended up getting a pair so watch for a more detailed review in the future!
It was great to get an in-person walk-through by their rep as this gives you a sense of the people behind the brand. I would much rather support a brand backed by great people and Maxtacs fits that description!
Yannick from Armorum with Cynthia and Andrew from Maxtacs. Thanks again!
Funny my Maxtacs pants came in a SHOT Show 2024 edition bag that matched Tom’s British Army Issue camo jacket lol
Great to see my good friend Simon from “The Redacted Group” of companies, which includes S&J Hardware (shotgun/firearm mods), Aratech Research (body armor), and Rugged Textiles. So happy to hear you have expanded with manufacturing in Texas!
Great armour from Aratech
Love this doormat lol
Simon with S&J’s MCS
Closeup of the folding grip on the forened
Simon demonstrating the holster
Compared to the original MCS holster from Bladetech.
More great modified shotguns by S&J
Staffer and CCFR Gunnie Girl Amanda
With her personal shotgun
Simon with scubagreg
And now for one of my favourite regulars at TSS, Puma knives! They had their biggest selection yet of knives and gear with brands such as Puma, Svörd, Otter, Mercator, Uberleben, Joker and much more
First some booth pics
And now for some closeups. The General sold before I arrived so I couldn’t do a full comparison but here is the stag-handled Prince vs. the green handled Master.
I wanted to say that rebranding the General to El General would have made it perfect for Tony Montana lol I guess El Master will do lol.
If the Master is not green enough for you, how about the Puma IP Geartester with glow in the dark scales!
I wanted to have another look at my favourite Puma knife, the Automesser
The Nimrod was originally produced from 1981 to 1989. This re-release is limited to 255 pieces.
The new Puma Para skeleton neck knife designed by Tony Lennartz
Shown with my Strider DB for comparison.
Joker knives from Spain, the Chamois and Bowie
My favourite from Otter was this limited edition box set including their Anchor knife with bone scales, leather sheath, Belgian whetstone, and a small flask of Ballistol oil.
I recently discovered German-made Bison axes at the Outdoor Adventure Show and it was great to see them again at TSS. A fellow forumite asked about their pickaroon/hookraroon so I wanted to get a pic. The full size one sold by the time I arrived but I did manage to snag a pic of the mini.
Continuing with some OAS alumni, Axcadmy was one of my favourite booths of that show. They allow budding Blacksmiths to take courses for railroad spike knives, hatchets, and two-hander axes among others, examples of which are shown here.
I also covered Mastiff Gears booth in detail at OAS, particularly the WJQ-308 Chinese Military Shovel they had on display.
While I didn’t end up buying that shovel, I stopped off at S&R Knives, which is sadly closing down after 30 years in business, and picked up a Cold Steel Spetsnaz Shovel.
And now for one of my favourite parts of TSS, fur! Great to see Fur the North back at TSS
I especially liked their sealskin mitts, a perfect match to my sealskin boots! Sealskin is my favourite fur as it is warm, water/snowproof and everything just shakes off of it. I have worn my boots in the biggest snowstorms.
I also really liked the beaver handwarmers
Some of you may remember the Mountain Man hat and skunk mitts I tried on at Silver Cedar Studio’s booth last year…glad to see those again along with many other colourful pieces!
love the racoon hat
beautiful red fox
my favourite hat of the day…very Jamiroquai or Dagestani UFC Fighter lol
Morgy liked the pink one
The Ontario Fur Managers Federation is all about educating the public about fur.
We spent quite a bit of time discussing traps and how they are used in humane ways
I even got to try one!
Demo of a snare
Taxidermy is usually one of the most popular parts of my TSS reviews. I didn’t take a lot of pics this time though, just some of the ones you don’t see often.
We saw what red fox looks like as a hat, here it is in a more natural form lol
Don’t think I have ever seen a taxidermy swan
O’Dell Engineering offers a ton of options for hunting and sport shooting through their Canuck line of shotguns and Bergara bolt-action rifles.
Their Wrangler lever-action is my favourite.
My pic does not do justice to the beautiful colour of the wood furniture.
Great to see Sterling Arms International at the show even though they have been hit hard by all the OICs. The R9 MK1 9mm PCC they had at TACCOM was a pre-production model, this one is closer to the finished product.
Antler Firearms are entirely made in Quebec from design to manufacturing. They focus on being lightweight and very precise while being highly configurable with multiple options of stock type and colour, barrel (carbon fiber or steel), and action.
The base and recoil lug are integrated into the Action to help increase precision of the mechanism by reducing vibration. They are available in titanium (foreground) or stainless steel.
Williams Arms, well reputed firearms retailer expanding their fishing offerings
There were lots of options for bowhunters too. Excalibur
I love the look and feel of the MAG AIR, the lightest in class recurve crossbow that still packs a punch at 305 FPS.
Nice Badlands camo on the RevX
Bowtech
I was hoping to see the 25th Anniversary Honor. A portion of the proceeds from this bow get donated to Folds of Honor. As expected, it is long sold out but Bowtech did have the Virtue upon which it is based.
While Excalibur makes exclusively recurve crossbows, Tenpoint is renown for its reverse-draw compound design that results in the fastest crossbow on the market.
The TRX 515 Aero with, as the name suggests, an astonishing 515 FPS
Hoyt RX-9 with a cam system that allows 1/4″ draw length adjustments and “in-line system” for mounting accessories
I was hoping to see a crossbow with Garmin XERO rangefinding scope mounted. No such luck but Bear Elite Outfitters had one with a Burris Oracle.
Perhaps they used it to take down this bear.
There are actually a lot of outfitters at TSS and I usually don’t cover them but this time I ran into an exceptional one! In all the way from South Africa, Koranna Mountain Safaris specializes in plains game hunting safaris and has packages for lions, zebra, giraffe, and many types of horned game.
The pictures shown here feature mostly Canadian hunters
Morgy was helping out at NeXgen Young Anglers, another notable outfitter. NeXgen is a fishing derby that encourage kids 4-14, to get outdoors and enjoy a fun day of fishing with the members of Bass masters in the community. The program caters to less fortunate kids from registered organizations.
Great to see Tracey Wilson, scubagreg and team CCFR, fighting for our firearms rights.
Beautiful game calls from Recall Designs
Gotta admit that Decoy Daddy is a great name
Nature Tracks Scented Shoe Covers are designed for effective scent control. They are made from silicone rubber in a patent pending process. They are waterproof and are available in three options: Vanilla and Anise to attract big game such as bear, moose, and deer, or Unscented for a neutral approach. They are engineered to mask human odors and keep you dry in any terrain.
Always great to see Army Issue Surplus! I haven’t been to their store in a while so I think it is time for another visit!
Ok now this is more my speed! Omek International with an awesome display of body armour.
I especially liked the car door display, one of my favourites of the show. Wish I took more pictures of it.
Fundy Tactical for your 5.11 needs.
Patch Panel, your best source for patches (yes, I got one)
Nice to see Dirty Leather again. As I mentioned in my OAS review, they are strong supporters of the CCFR so we should show them some support too!
The Bear Essentials Outdoors Company with their famous hand-made line saws.
Canada Fire Blanket, a rapid deployment fire extinguishing blanket
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Quick Wick, claimed to be the world’s best firestarter
Fenix lights
Afraid Knot the only Canadian manufacturer specializing in vehicle recovery gear
Speaking of vehicles, they had one in every size at the show
Must say I did quite well at the show
In addition to all the booths that I covered in photos, there were many others that I enjoyed like Radioworld, Knotty Beaver Calls, MAB Impex, Blades4You, Wrought Iron Art Unlimited, Safe and Sound Hearing, Vortex, and many others I am forgetting.
Thank you again to TSS for the Media Pass and early access, it really helps with the review.
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