Year: 2025

Preps Starter Kits for Reluctant Families – Part 2, by A.F.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Two is one right? In addition to the filter in each kit, a water purifier was included. The difference between the pair is that a filter is uses mechanical or physical means to restrict the passage of solids (dirt or microorganisms) to achieve safety. A purifier in contrast uses chemical or ultra-violet methods to sterilize water. The Aqua Research H2gO purifier uses brine (here it is table salt dissolved in water) electrolysis to generate a concentrated chlorine solution that is mixed into your source water to disinfect it. This is very similar …


SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

Our weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — Something is rotten in The District Of Criminals. On Tuesday, Johnny B. posted some news and memes on the now-it-is-claimed, ahem, “It never existed” Epstein client list: URGENT! We need to talk about PAM BONDI AND THE EPSTEIN LIST. Also see the video commentary by Dr. Steve Turley: Here’s The TRUTH about …



Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — July 8, 2025

On July 8, 1741, Theologian Jonathan Edwards preached perhaps the most famous of all American sermons, titled: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. It was preached at Enfield, Connecticut, during The Great Awakening — July 8, 1816: Frost reported in Waltham, Massachusetts during a “year without a summer”. This was attributed to a massive volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in the previous year. Something similar had happened in 1709, with even longer-lasting economic effects. But the cause of the Great Frost of 1709 has not yet been firmly established. — Today marks the birth of actor Kevin Bacon …


Preps Starter Kits for Reluctant Families – Part 1, by A.F.

For years, my father and father-in-law would tell us that they had everything under control to handle the natural disasters common to their areas. Healthy pantries, stored gasoline and propane, plenty of firewood, tractors to clear debris or snow, four-wheel drive vehicles for movement and most importantly generators for their wells and freezers. Yet, after each big weather event both of them would tell of what they didn’t quite have ready or of supplies that they should have had. I got into the practice of calling them before inclement weather to ask if they had water and fuel ready or …


SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies located in the American Redoubt region that are of interest to preppers and survivalists. Today, news about some Rainbow Trout stocking. (See the Idaho section.) Idaho IDFG to stock nearly 150,000 rainbow trout throughout Idaho in July. o  o  o Mudslide closes US Highway 95 north of Riggins. o  o  o One dead, multiple people hospitalized after crash south of …



Preparedness Notes for Monday — July 7, 2025

On July 7, 1908, the U.S Navy’s Great White Fleet departed San Francisco Bay.  The U.S. Atlantic Fleet then visited Honolulu, Hawaii; Auckland, New Zealand; Sydney, Melbourne, and Albany, Australia; Manila, Philippine Islands; Yokohama, Japan; Colombo, Ceylon. The ships arrived at Suez, Egypt, on January 3, 1909. — July 7, 1905: A high temperature of 127°F (53°C) was recorded in Parker, Arizona. This was a state record that held until 1994. — July 7th, 1907 was the birthday of science fiction novelist Robert A. Heinlein. He passed away on May 8, 1988, at age 80. — Please keep praying for …


Gerber US1 Folding Knife, by Thomas Christianson

Designed for watch pocket carry, the Gerber US1 Folding Knife offers a 2.5 inch locking blade made of 420HC steel and a handle made of glass-filled nylon (gfn) with rubber over-mold. Since it lacks a pocket clip or provision for one-handed opening, it does not qualify as a modern everyday carry (EDC) knife. But with the addition of an aftermarket deep carry pocket clip, I found the knife to be quite useful as a daily companion. The US1 is made in the USA as its name suggests, and it cost just $23.95 at www.bladehq.com at the time of this writing. …


Recipe of the Week: Whole Wheat Flour Sugar Cookies 

The following recipe for Whole Wheat Flour Sugar Cookies is from SurvivalBlog reader E.J.. Ingredients ¾ cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar ½ cup powdered sugar 1 tbsp. water 2 large eggs ½ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. cream of tartar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 oz. white chocolate, melted (optional) Buttercream frosting (optional) Directions Cream together the butter, oil, and sugars until combined. Add the water and eggs, soda, cream of tartar, extract, salt and flour and mix until just combined. Note: Don’t overmix the dough. Using …


SurvivalBlog Graphic of the Week

Today’s graphic:  The silent spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), caused by prions, among Deer and Elk populations in North America. (Graphic courtesy of Reddit, using USGS data.) The thumbnail below is click-expandable.         — Please send your graphics or graphics links to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) Any graphics that you send must either be your own creation or uncopyrighted.


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“America’s contemporary police officers now almost reflexively say: ‘Show me your I.D.’  I see hardly any difference from the familiar old German Gestapo demand: ‘Deine Papiere, bitte.’  (‘Your papers, please.’) Or, less politely: ‘Zeig mir deine Papiere.’  (‘Show me your papers.’) If you are stopped by police but not placed under formal arrest, then you are not obliged to give your name or produce identity documents unless an officer can state a reasonable articulable suspicion of an actual crime that has been committed or that is about to be committed.  Without that reasonable articulable suspicion (under the Terry v. Ohio doctrine), …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — July 6, 2025

On July 6, 1415, following his trial (pictured), Bohemian proto-reformer Jan Hus was burned at the stake in Constance, Germany.  The later Hussite revolution, led by Jan Ziska, used Hus’s name as a rallying cry. — On July 6, 1699, pirate Captain William Kidd was captured in Boston. — On July 6, 1917, Arab forces led T. E. Lawrence captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks. This was later dramatized in the movie Lawrence of Arabia. — And July 6th is also the anniversary of the 1994 Storm King Mountain wildfire that took the lives of 14 firefighters. — …


Heritage 92 in .44 Magnum, by Thomas Christianson

Inspired by John Moses Browning’s iconic Winchester Model 1892, the Heritage 92 comes in a number of different models with various barrel lengths, finishes, and chamberings. The version that I tested has a 20 inch barrel, is chambered in .44 Magnum, holds 10 rounds in the tubular magazine, has semi-buckhorn sights, and walnut-colored tropical hardwood furniture. The Heritage 92 is light, attractive, and well-machined, operates reliably, and puts the shooter in touch with his inner movie cowboy. The .44 Magnum chambering has enough energy and a flat enough trajectory from a rifle length barrel to make the Heritage 92 useful …


JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

The latest meme created by JWR: Meme Text: A Zero-Dollar Tax on SBRs, SBSes, and Suppressors? So, Can I Please Also Have a Zero-Dollar Income Tax? News Link: Big Beautiful Bill Passes Senate, Back to House with Zeroed Out NFA Tax Intact. Notes From JWR: Do you have a meme idea? Just e-mail me the concept, and I’ll try to assemble it. And if it is posted then I’ll give you credit. Thanks! Permission to repost memes that I’ve created is granted, provided that credit to SurvivalBlog.com is included.