Category: Clothing

Jim’s Product Review: 4,000+ Nights in a Wiggy’s Sleeping Bag

It has been nearly six years since I first posted my endorsement of Wiggy’s brand sleeping Bags, so the majority of SurvivalBlog readers have never read it. (As background: SurvivalBlog had only 9,377 unique visitors in August, 2005, but 287,665 last month.) So for the benefit of my newer readers, here is a re-post of that August, 2005 review: I don’t write many product reviews, but I am uniquely qualified to write this one: In November of 1994 I rolled my 1968 Bronco on black ice on a winding stretch of Highway 12 paralleling the Clearwater River in Idaho. In …


Survival Preparedness With Toddlers in Tow, by H.P.

As a former Boy Scout and long time minimalist, survival preparation is a natural fit for a “hobby” as I enter my thirties.  Of course this “hobby” is an important life decision, unlike how one might approach golf or poker.  The importance of this life decision really becomes clear when I think about my wife and our two little girls.  As anyone with small children will confirm, hobbies and social activities take a backseat to the needs of your toddlers.  My longtime interest in the outdoors, camping, and shooting have provided a sensible platform for a jump into the survivalist …


The Will to Act: Your Ultimate Bug-out Kit by R.B.

Section One The Bug-Out Bag is an icon of the preparedness movement. The principle is well known and agreed upon: we may indeed have to pack-up and take flight to a more orderly, less hostile environment, intelligently. This would be either in anticipation of a great upheaval of social order or in its aftermath. How we will face the situation and deal with it is our part to play. Bug-out is an emergency measure, supplying us with a three-day margin for action: decisive action, evasive action, survivalist action or other salutary maneuvering. You must make an informed plan for your …


OPSEC When Traveling Abroad, by Picaro Actual

After reading Some Safety Advice for the U.S. Military (an Atlantic article linked from Odds ‘n Sods in the July 22, 2011 SurvivalBlog posts), I was compelled to finish part of something that I’ve written on for some time. While Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece specifically addresses military personnel and contractors, personal OPSEC is an absolute must for civilian travel abroad as well. On that note, I would also draw attention to Survival Blog reader O.P.’s SurvivalBlog article “Emergency Prep for Travelers” from June 27, 2011.  In brief, I’ve lived and worked outside the US for the past six years in several …


Simple Prepping for the Suburban Home, by Keep-it-Simple Suburbanite

Our family lives in an average house on an average lot near the edge of an average midwestern city.  While we have two evacuation invitations and are looking into purchasing “camping land”, our primary plan is to shelter in place.  From the very beginning, JWR’s “blinding flash of the obvious” has been the watchword in my quest for simplicity.  Limited time, space and resources have led to some streamlining that might give others a few helpful ideas. Garden Have you ever felt overwhelmed and intimidated by all the great gardening advice you read here on the blog?  If so, why …


Observations From Fence Building, by Mudflap

Over the past two months, my father and I have been refurbishing the barbed wire fence going around and thru a quarter section of excellent hunting, fishing and recreational land.  We lease the land and run cattle (steers) on it.  My father is a long time rancher and I am looking to learn the trade as part of my plans to better prepare for a rocky economical future in this county. Refurbishing the fence is part of the lease agreement.  That is “sweat equity” if I ever saw it.  The temperatures have been well into the triple digits with humidity, …


Letter Re: A Different View of Diapers for Prepper Families

Hi Jim, I feel compelled to offer a contrary view with regard to diapering for prepping families.  In preparing for survival situations, I believe that disposable diapers offer a number of distinct advantages over reusable diapers.   To qualify myself, I will tell you that I am a father of three young kids, and have changed hundreds of disposable diapers.  I am also a mechanical engineer who works for one of the largest diaper manufacturers.  In my work, I have seen all kinds of diapers (disposable and reusable) from all over the world.  But my points are grounded in simple common …


Letter Re: Some Experience with Clothing and Field Gear in Desert Environments

Captain Rawles, I came across a good post by Erik M., a brother Marine, about the practicalities of humping the brush in full gear, in your archives from last year.  Where he writes from the perspective of an east coast Marine, I thought it would be good to complement that by writing on the same subjects from a west coast Marine’s viewpoint (was stationed at 29 Palms, California), as I’m guessing from his time reference that we were contemporaries, or close to it.  If someone else has done so already, my apologies for having missed it. For the high desert, …


Letter Re: Dressing for Self Defense

Mr Rawles, I found A.Y.’s suggestions to be very astute and workable, and wish to add a few of my own. Underclothes: fencers over the years have pressed the bounds of stab- and slash-proof clothing. There are a number of SPECTRA fencing undershirts, that are of the same quality, if not better, as LEO anti-knife gloves. They also have the added bonus of being made with the express purpose of being stab proof. That said, still hurts like the dickens when one really gets gut stabbed. Having worn one in 90 degree sun, I can attest that not only are …


Letter Re: Downsizing Your Oversize Wool Sweaters

Dear Editor, SurvivalBlog has recommended stocking up on wool sweaters from thrift shops.  I took your advice, went to a thrift shop, and found lots of cheap sweaters in perfect condition, cashmere no less, that were hopelessly too big, as well as one baggy Merino sweater.  Since cashmere is very warm, as well as comfortable, I decided to make them fit, and bought them anyway.  First, I turned them inside out (to reduce pilling) and put them in the washing machine on Delicate cycle, Hot water, without soap.  A couple of the sweaters shrank to the right size just from …


Pat’s Product Review: Blackhawk Products Clothing and Gear

For those of you, who are not familiar, with how Blackhawk Products came to be, here’s a little history: Former US Navy SEAL, Mike Noell, was operating in Iraq. He had to hump a ton of gear by foot in an enemy minefield. The pack failed, dumping his gear into the mine field.  Noell promised himself, that if he got out of that minefield alive, he was gonna make stuff the way it needed to be built, so none of his buddies would have to go through a similar equipment failure. Upon returning to the private sector, Noell started Blackhawk Products …


Letter Re: Taking Knitting Classes

Hi  James, I wanted to share that Jo-Ann’s (a chain craft store) has half-price sign up days for their classes once per month.  The next two half price days are May 7th and June 11th. I am not 100% sure but I think the knitting 101 and crochet 101 basics include supplies. They are under $20 per class, if you sign on the half price days.  They also e-mail out either 40% or 50% coupons once per week. Two months ago they had a $5/off any $5 purchase. I was able to buy several circular knitting needles for $1 – $2 each.   With the 50% off coupon I can get …


Keeping Your Newborn Safe and Content – A First Time Mom’s Primer, by Jenna S.

Like most first time mothers, I am fortunate to say that I had the luxury of prenatal care and the vast availability and surplus of supplies after my son was born.  We were able to take our time transitioning from disposable diapers to cloth diapers and when my breast milk did not come in as quickly as he would have liked, we had the availability of formula.  Imagine the compounding stress a first time mother would experience with limited prenatal care, no mentors with breastfeeding knowledge and nowhere for miles around with supplies to care for a newborn.  Most people …


Desert Survival, by Amy H.

Every year, a group of my friends go on a week-long camping trip in a Nevada desert.  Sounds silly, right?  No trees, plants or animals, no running water. Not even roads–usually the nearest hospital is well over an hour away, sometimes two, and that’s if you don’t get lost by trying to cut across an impassable part of the desert trying to get to it.  But, it’s a good test to see if we can be self-sufficient for even just a week.  Also, in a bug out situation, some people may just find themselves having to cross through barren desert …


Prepper Turnout Gear, by Vincent H.

When I use the term turnout gear what does that mean to you?  If you’re a fire fighter this brings to mind the boots, pants and coat you don before you battle a fire.  If you’re at your retreat, or even your home, this is the gear you quickly throw on to address an unexpected problem.  In this post I hope to cover some gear I have decided would be beneficial to have under these circumstances and what I have acquired to use in this situation. The best example I can use to reference this problem to everyone is well …