No Power: No Commo, No Layered Defense, by Tunnel Rabbit

Building A Small Off Grid PhotoVoltaic Power Supply A small solar power system is a “must-have” and does not have to cost more than $1,000 USD. Here are a few tips that might help. I’ve lived off-grid for years and learned by doing. If in a sunny part of the U.S., then 200 watts would be my minimum. In the north, I would want 400 watts minimum, and two small inexpensive generators, and two 20-amp automotive battery chargers for redundancy sake, and 50 gallons of fuel for two years. One, or both sets can be used at the same time …


Medical Emergency Sheets – Part 3, by K.B., M.D.

(Continued from Part 2.) STROKE, HEAT EXHAUSTION, HEAT STROKE, AND WOUNDS Today’s presentation will cover protocols for the above topics. I hope that you have found Parts 1 and 2 interesting and helpful. Do you have at least one emergency medical notebook for quick, concise reference? If not, please consider starting one this week. There will be a few tips offered at the end of Part 4 to assist you with this project. Remember that reliance on any information provided in this series is solely at your own risk. Always consult your own medical professional for advice and treatment. Do …


Medical Emergency Sheets – Part 2, by K.B., M.D.

(Continued from Part 1.) HEART ATTACK, FRACTURE, AND HEAD INJURY Today, we will cover these topics. The author has had an unpleasant experience with the latter two, more than once! As mentioned previously, having a prepared summary to turn to for *initial* information during a medical emergency can be helpful. Further reading of other sources can then occur after the immediate emergency if necessary. If at all possible, see a medical expert ASAP! Reliance on any information provided here is solely at your own risk. Do not, consider the following information as complete or as any attempt to advise, diagnose, …


Medical Emergency Sheets – Part 1, by K.B., M.D.

Today begins a four-part article series called “Medical Emergency Sheets” in an effort to assist fellow readers who may face certain emergencies. Why? During an emergency, people panic and may forget what to do or may never have had any medical training whatsoever. Circumstances may also require immediate action which won’t allow time to peruse medical articles or books. While we still have it, call 911 first and always get help from medical professionals! I do, however, encourage you to make a notebook with dividers for certain categories (various body parts, diseases) and place these Medical Emergency Sheets as the …


A Sweater and a Knife, by The Novice

This is my gear review of a German Army Wool Commando Sweater Reproduction and Opinel No. 8 Outdoor Sea-Mountain Knife I love wool sweaters. For roughly nine months out of the year, I wear one pretty much every day. An inventory of my closet reveals a total of 21 wool sweaters: nine “cold-weather-office” sweaters, five “manual-labor” sweaters, and seven “cool-weather-office” sweaters. Norwegian Sweaters My love affair with wool sweaters began in Norway, where I lived for ten years. In Norway, wool sweaters are more than just a practical item of clothing. They are an art form. My first “Norwegian” sweater …


Spring Update, by Animal House

Hello Survivalblog friends! This is just a brief spring update of what’s going on the farm. Every year I replace 1/3 of our chickens with new chicks ordered from the hatchery. This is usually 25 chicks. I change the breed each year so I can tell how old the chickens are and cull the useless eaters. Last year I added Rhode Island Reds and this year I ordered Barred Rocks. Both breeds are very hardy and lay large brown eggs. I have some older buffs which are ready for harvesting at the end of summer. I also incubator-hatch ornamental silkie …


TEOTWAWKI Toilet Options – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Proper Two-Year Composting System There are various types of composting toilets but the remainder of this article refers to the inexpensive types, not the fancier commercial ones that compost in a chamber below the toilet. I’ll let you explore that option on your own. Proper humanure composting uses a two-pile system and only a small percentage of the material in the pile will be humanure, especially considering that your poop on average is only 25% solids. Once your compost pile has received humanure material for a year, plus kitchen, farm, yard, and …


TEOTWAWKI Toilet Options – Part 1, by St. Funogas

This my view of Personal Poop, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Loo. Did you know you can eat your own poop? Did you know there are poop banks, just like blood banks, where doctors can access pathogen-free poop like yours and feed it to their patients to cure their Clostridium difficile intestinal infection? No? Then read on! As I begin writing this, I’m reminded of two thoughts. Jonathan Swift said, “You cannot reason a man out of a position he did not reason himself into.” And as a way of saving face, “I used to …


Review: Tortoise Gear Firefly, by The Novice

For decades, I carried a Victorinox MiniChamp in my left front pants pocket. There it shared space with a Maglite Solitaire LED and an ink pen. The ink pens came and went. They could not stand up to the wear and tear of pocket carry. The Solitaire and the MiniChamp endured, battered but unbroken. Sometime during the course of those decades, I noticed a Victorinox Swiss Army Classic SD at a garage sale. It cost one dollar if I remember right. I bought it as a backup in case I should happen to lose the MiniChamp. I took it home, …


Demonetizing Precious Metals, by Serena

What got us here: In the coinage act of 1792, Congress in the United States declared the definition of our monetary units (The Dollar and the Eagle) and defined the character of each of these units with specified weights, measures, and the number of grains in silver or gold for each of these monetary units. They went on to declare the silver to gold ratio to be 15:1 which at the time was a worldwide standard. Should that balance not be declared and maintained the undervalued units would naturally migrate to other world economies. In the following 80 years, our …


Food for Diabetic Preppers, by S.F. in Oregon

Prepping for diabetics presents a unique challenge. What I’m not discussing how to store insulin, as that has already been discussed at length inSurvivalBlog. Nor am I going to go into the oft-mentioned differences between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Rather, I’m just talking about food choices. Rice, hard wheat, and noodles all have something in common. They have what is called a high ‘glycemic index’. That is the ‘octane’ of a given food. Glycemic index is the speed at which any given food will metabolize into sugar in the blood. People with blood sugar problems have compromised abilities …


My Perspective on Bug-Out Field Gear, by H.H.

You can throw a couple of items in a backpack and say “I’m prepared”, but are you really? For everything you do to prepare, think through all the things that can go wrong. My wife says I’m too pessimistic, but being an engineer, I’ve been trained to think about what can go wrong. You don’t want the plane to fall out of the sky or the bridge to collapse. The first rule is always have more than one way of doing something. I had heard (maybe attributed to Army Rangers or SEALs) “Two is one and one is none.” If …


U.S. Military Field Phones, by Ken in Michigan

If you are looking for a secure communication system for your farm, ranch, or retreat, then look into a military phone system. You can create an ideal communication system, any size, from two positions overnight to multiple positions in a large permanent retreat. Military Field Phones (“MFPs”) do not require external power. They are designed to operate in adverse conditions and most importantly, do not emit any electronic signal. MFPs cannot be overheard by radio scanners or radio direction finders. MFPs keep your location undetected by electronic surveillance, unlike today’s radio communications that can be overheard and DF-located using today’s …


Shaving Options, by Anonymous

After seeing bare grocery store shelves last year, have you thought about different ways to perform everyday tasks? Sure, we have stored food, paper towels, paper plates, paper gold (toilet paper), and countless other necessary items. However, have you considered the everyday task of shaving? A multi-bladed shaving cartridge is considered the norm, but what happens when that shelf is bare too? Whether it is every day, once a week, or once a month, eventually it is a necessary task that nearly all men perform. Having a few alternate shaving supplies stashed away when your first choice is unavailable, will …


RF Scanning for Preppers – Part 2, by R.W.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) — Scanner Models When radio systems were still purely analog, there were many manufacturers vying for your attention to buy their scanning receiver. With the costs of developing digital-capable receive technology and a dwindling user base, the market has collapsed to just two manufacturers of multimode (analog and digital_ scanning receivers: Uniden and Whistler. Uniden, having been one of the pioneers in consumer electronics developing dozens of models over the past 40 years, currently has twelve scanner models available while Whistler offers six. For those who might want to dip their toe …