Category: Field Gear

Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Assembling Web Gear

I love the questions on web gear. Best advice I can give, having gone through multiple iterations of trying this and that, is to divide up your load. What do I mean by this? In the military they have a “combat load” and an “approach load” concept. Your “combat load” is the web gear that you see troops with all the time – their “battle rattle.” On the other hand the “approach load” is similar to what we would refer to as a survival load (roughly). The major problem with web gear is that it does not work with any …



Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Selecting and Assembling Web Gear

Mr. Rawles, Thank you very much for your web site. I have been reading it every day for the last two months. It is a wealth of knowledge. Read your book as well. I have been researching food, water et cetera for quite a while and your site has helped a great deal. My family will be quite prepared for whatever in short order. The one thing that ha me confused is web gear/tac vest/ALICE gear. In your book you refer to a certain type of web gear but I am having trouble putting all of the pieces together. I …


Letter Re: A Prescribed Burn in North Carolina to Find a Fugitive’s Weapons and Ammo

Howdy James, I thought that this article was interesting in the fact that the US Forest Service is calling for a prescribed burn [in order] to locate weapons, ammo, and explosives (sounds like reloading powder) that a fugitive may have stashed around his camp site. This got me to thinking, how safe are your caches? You will want to make sure any caches you have are buried well if they come looking for your cache and burn the area. Also consider that those landmarks/trees that were there may be gone after a burn, so locating it again may be difficult …


Letter Re: Dress for Survival Success

Jim; That was a great article by George Haystack in Tuesday’s blog! I thought I was the only one [that carried so much survival gear around on a daily basis.] Mr. Haystack takes it further than I do. First, I could not carry [a concealed firearm] at my workplace being within the secure area of an airport. I generally carried a sturdy day pack, with the following: (1) Lockback knife (2) LED flashlights (9 LED’s / 3 AA batteries) (16) spare AAA batteries (1) regular AA flashlight (4) spare AA batteries The following are all OTC medications, of course (1) …


Dress for Survival Success by George Haystack

”Wherever you go, there you are.” And hopefully so are your clothes. Therefore it is vital to think of your wardrobe as part of your survival gear on a daily basis. It’s not good enough to have a closet full of BDUs and a piles of high-tech gear if they aren’t near you when you need them. Most of the crises that people face do not rise to the level of TEOTWAWKI and these emergencies don’t come at convenient times. Events like building fires, car wrecks, or muggings come at you when your just out living your life. A firearms …


Letter Re: Food Items in Non-Food Grade Buckets?

Hi Jim, I’m an avid reader of your blog but I have a question: Can I store vacuum sealed wheat in regular buckets (not food grade)? I like the idea of having 10 lb bags of vacuum sealed wheat for simplicity in retrieving when needed and for distributing as charity if needed. I realize it wastes space in each bucket (being in a vacuum sealed block) – but my question is whether it’s safe to use the less expensive buckets or will potential out-gassing eat the vacuum sealed bags? Your books (I have all of them) are very helpful to …


Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB

Mr. Editor: I have been a reader of this blog for a little while now and one of the earlier postings I read caught my eye: In regards to a vehicle “bug out” kit. That list was certainly a good place to start, but it was missing a few items, so I thought I would put my “two cents” worth in. To give you a little bit of background, I would describe myself as essentially being a realist. I watch the news, I read the papers. I know what is going on around me. I am aware of today’s political …


Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB

Jim: There was some interesting commentary posted to your blog about a vehicle bug out kit and how to keep your vehicle running during a time of troubles. Most of us concentrate on using the vehicle for a short period of time to get out of Dodge and then [if need be] plan on walking from there. I would suggest that we also look at using the vehicle as our bug out kit. At least at first when we have to get out quickly, and if we don’t have a longer term farm/ranch that we are planning on going to. …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on a Self Defense Handgun Purchase

Hi Jim, I do not have a handgun presently but want to get one. If you were only going to buy one handgun for self defense what would it be? God Bless, – Greg O. JWR Replies: Presently, I’d recommend getting either a Glock M21-SF .45 ACP or a Springfield Armory XD .45 ACP. Go for a full size model unless you plan to carry your pistol concealed extensively. If that is the case then get a Glock Model 30 (commonly called a “Mini Glock”) or an XD Compact .45. Given the currently frantic market for full capacity magazines in …


Letter Re: Comments on “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”

Dear Sir: Recently I acquired a copy of your novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. I have read a few works of survivalist fiction in my time, your book is one of the few that I could honestly say I would be happy to read again and again. There aren’t many books I could say that about A little background here, I’m a former Royal Marine originally from England and now I live in Northern Ireland. There isn’t much of a survivalist movement here in the UK so I consider myself to be in a minority! I also write survival …


Letter Re: Survival is About Skills–Practice Makes Perfect

Mr Rawles, You’re regularly posting first hand stories about the need to test gear. Imagine my surprise when my arrogance that that didn’t apply to me proved false! You really do need to test equipment and skills! Unused tools (both physical and mental) are useless tools! I store gas for my lawnmowers in two five gallon plastic containers. I figured that I’d pour what was left in them into my car when I put the mowers away for the winter. I know you always recommend being able to relocate more than one tank of gas away, so I figured I’d …


Letter Re: A Suggested Checklist for Preparedness Newbies

Here’s a beginner’s list I made for my [elderly] father today: Food {Brown pearl] rice does not store well. Neither does cooking oil so that needs to be fresh. No, Crisco doesn’t count. Coconut oil would be your best bet. Wheat berries – 400 pounds – bulk order at your local health food store Beans – 400 pounds – bulk order at your local health food store Mylar bags Spices Salt Country Living grain mill propane tanks, small stove and hoses to connect freeze dried fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat if you can find them. Water 500 gallons of water …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Discreet Carry Money Belts

Hi James, When I traveled in Europe, I found the inside-the-waist, in-front-of-your-crotch travel pouches sold by REI and the like to be very useful for passport, ID, etc., although they do get a bit hot and whenever they get out of position, it’s hard to avoid the urge to mark yourself by adjusting them. Trying to do so in public can also get you some very strange looks. Because of all this I’ve refrained from wearing them when at home in the States, but I’m missing the comforting feeling of having extra cash and essential documents discreetly hidden. I’m imagining …


Letter Re: Suddenly Homeless on the Potomac–Some Preparedness Lessons Learned

Jim & Company, I thought that I would communicate an interesting story for your web blog. As I write this, I’m holed up in campground/RV park near the District of Columbia (DC) Metropolitan area. How I got here was totally unexpected. My roommate is female, a former army buddy and suffers from chronic depression—maybe bi polar disorder. We maintained a platonic cohabitation for two months until she swore a Temporary Peace Order against me because she felt “threatened”. In the liberal pest hole of Maryland, that’s all it takes. No battery, assault or actual threats—I just yelled at her to …