Category: Field Gear

The Go-Kot, by Thomas Cristianson

Handmade in the USA, the Go-Kot was designed by scoutmasters in 1978 in order to provide better cots for their scouts. The Go-Kot is compact. When packed in its 28 x 8 x 3 inch carrying bag, the Go-Kot takes up less room in a trunk or cargo compartment than the typical camping cot. The Go-Kot is rugged. It is constructed of heavy-duty nylon fabric, an aircraft-grade aluminum frame, and spring-steel legs. The Go-Kot is easy to assemble and disassemble. It takes about a minute to take it out of the carrying bag and set up. It takes about another …


Minuteman Titan Rocket Stove, by Thomas Christianson

The Minuteman Titan Rocket Stove has a shell around the body of the stove that is filled with ceramic fiber insulation. This ensures that a large portion of the heat produced by the stove goes up the chimney to cook whatever is on the grate instead of being randomly dissipated in all directions. Once the stove is hot, this feature greatly accelerates its cooking speed in comparison with a similar uninsulated stove. With a weight of 35 pounds, the Titan is best suited for use at a fixed location or in conjunction with wheeled transport. The Titan is fairly expensive. …


Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starters, by Thomas Christianson

Each Diamond “Strike-A-Fire” Fire Starter (SAF stick) is kind of like a giant match which is 5.75 inches long, 1.13 inches wide, and 0.25 inches thick. The shaft of a SAF stick seems to be made out of some sort of pressed wood that is impregnated with a waxy substance. When the match-like head of a SAF stick is struck on the striking strip on the box, it ignites the SAF stick which then burns for approximately 12 minutes. In the process, the SAF stick creates enough heat to effectively ignite most types of kindling. [JWR Adds: The SAF sticks …


Silky KatanaBoy Professional 700, by Thomas Christianson

Chainsaws are wonderful tools for wood cutting. But chainsaws are not perfect. Chainsaws are heavy. Chainsaws are noisy. Chainsaws require supplies of fuel and bar oil. These limitations can be problematic during field use. The Silky KatanaBoy Professional 700 presents an outstanding manual alternative to chainsaws for cutting trees and branches up to 14 inches in diameter. The saw is light and compact, weighing just four pounds and folding to a length of 33 inches. It creates so little noise that hearing protection is not required. It requires no supplies except the muscles of its user. And it uses those …


A Counterfeit “Benchmade Barrage”, by Thomas Christianson

A Cautionary Tale “If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.” (Modern Proverbial Warning, circa late 20th century). “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” (Alexander Pope, circa 1711). One day, when the battery was running low in my scam detector and my gullibility meter was running high, I ordered a new “Benchmade Knives Barrage 583SBK limited edition white” on eBay. The knife eventually proved itself to be a counterfeit. In fact, after examining the postings for other “Benchmade” knives offered for sale on eBay, I have come to the conclusion that most of …


Demko Shark-Cub Knife, by Thomas Christianson

The Demko Shark-Cub AUS10A Slicer Shark is a great knife for everyday carry (EDC). Its 2.5 inch drop-point, saber-ground blade is 0.13 inches thick at the spine and has a stonewashed finish. Deep jimping along a longer-than-average segment near the base of the spine of the blade provides extra control during delicate cuts. A thumb notch makes ambidextrous one-handed deployment simple, while presenting a thinner profile than thumb studs. The glass reinforced nylon (GRN) handle has a canvas-micarta-like finish with contours that fit the index and middle fingers. The scales are reinforced by a steel liner that extends half of …


A Top-10 Prepping List, Multi-Tool Not Included – Part 5, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) 9. CLOTHES AND A WAY TO WASH THEM It’s hard to believe how many top-10 lists mention ferro rods, manual can openers, plant-identification books, and the ever-present multi-tool without ever mentioning clothes or washing equipment. Clothes last for quite a while if we’re sitting in an office all day but they won’t lost long when manual labor becomes a daily routine. Since we’ll be wearing them at some future point anyway, it’s a good idea to be stocking up on clothes for all of the inflation-fighting reasons already mentioned. At the same …


A Top-10 Prepping List, Multi-Tool Not Included – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) 3. WOODSTOVE Currently, only 1.7% of American homes heat with wood with an additional 7.7% use it for their secondary source of heat. That leaves 90% of Americans without a sustainable way to heat their homes if the SHTF. Don’t be one of those 90% if you want to survive your first post-SHTF winter. Based on those numbers, for most preppers heat will be the second most difficult thing (after water) to prepare for on a long-term sustainable basis. And because it’s so difficult, it’ll be the most neglected topic among their prepping priorities. Don’t ignore …


A Knife, A Clip, and a Counterfeit, by Thomas Christianson

The Knife The Kershaw Leek 1660 OL is an outstanding knife for everyday carry (EDC). It has a shaving-sharp, three-inch, hollow-ground, drop-point blade made out of 14C28N stainless steel with a four-inch, anodized-aluminum handle. The spine of the blade is 0.09 inches thick at its widest point. The assisted opening mechanism accelerates the blade decisively into engagement with the liner lock with a satisfying snap when the flipper is activated. A tip lock secures the blade whenever it is important to ensure against accidental opening. The knife is made in the USA, and was on sale for $99.99 at the …


Benjamin M600 Airbow, by Thomas Christianson

The Benjamin M600 Airbow is an outstanding development in the world of archery. It is powerful, accurate, and easy to use. Using pre-charged pneumatic power, it delivers arrows downrange at up to 600 feet per second with 300 foot pounds of energy. With a weight of 6.8 pounds and a length of 33 inches, the M600 delivers these features in a reasonably light and compact package. The M600 is made in the USA with globally sourced components. At the time of this writing, it cost $829.90 at benjaminairguns.com.


LifeStraw Go 22 Ounce Water Bottle, by Thomas Christianson

By combining water purification and storage, the LifeStraw 22 Ounce Water Bottle provides a simple, convenient and practical solution for providing potable water in the field. With the LifeStraw Go, safe, pleasant-tasting drinking water is close at hand. The specific model that I tested is no longer available at LifeStraw.com. A slightly different but similar model cost $32.71 at the time of this writing. Or, if you are fast enough, you might be able to still get the discontinued model at rei.com for $25.73. Replacement filters cost $24.95 at LifeStraw.com. Lifestraw products are manufactured in South Korea, the United States, …


Involving Children in Emergency Preparedness, by A.C.

The following is a summary of a Stakeholder Prepping Podcast. — Something that a lot of us overlook is the idea that preparedness is fundamentally a whole-family-unit endeavor. The effectiveness of any emergency plan hinges not on the dedication of a single individual, but on the cooperation and understanding of the entire family. When emergencies or disruptive events occur, a family unit operates at its most resilient when every member, including children, is an active participant rather than a passive bystander. The core challenge for parents is shifting the family’s mindset away from visualizing doomsday scenarios and toward fostering confidence, …


My Most Recent Lesson in Logistics, by Reltney McFee

Last weekend, I was performing my periodic battery survey, assessment and replacement ritual. I have a list of (I had thought) every battery device, and its location, along with a hidey-hole for the batteries to replace those that require them. This list, in the summer 2025 edition, runs 3 pages of 14 point type. On my yearly planner, it is slated for January. (Yes, I am aware that this is September. Let us consider the gulf between plans, and actions, shall we?) As it developed, as I was working my way through each page, I would pass one shelf in …


Text Comms in a Post-Disaster World – Part 5, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) There are a lot of different complicated characteristics in the LoRa radio configuration that can be changed that impact range and transfer speed, so Meshtastic has defined a number of preset configurations so you don’t need to mess with the technical details. The first word of the preset defines range, and the second defines bandwidth, with ‘Long Fast’ being the default. I strongly recommend that you stick with the ‘Long Fast’ preset until you gain more experience with Meshtastic, so make sure the ‘Modem Preset’ field says ‘Long Fast’. Once you’ve selected …


Text Comms in a Post-Disaster World – Part 4, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 3.) Flashing I’ve covered a lot of details regarding how Meshtastic works, so let’s walk through an example of configuring an actual device to see how it all applies. Note that one of the results of Meshtastic currently being primarily a hobbyist activity is that there are multiple ways of doing things. For example, you can connect a Meshtastic device to a PC via serial (over USB) or Bluetooth, you can manage the device from a PC using an Internet-based web interface, a locally hosted web interface or a Command Line Interface (CLI), you can update the …