Category: Field Gear

Three Letter Re: The Recent San Diego, California Wildfires

Jim: I have the rest of the day off due to the wildfires in the area so I am at home. The firefighting aircraft have been grounded due to wind until a couple of minutes ago. The evacuation zone is currently a 1/4 mile east of me. My northeastern and southeastern escape routes are currently out of the question. I figure that by the time I get told to Get Out of Dodge (G.O.O.D.), the Northern route will be closed off or too crowded to take. Going South into Mexico is currently not an option due to the makeup of …


Letter Re: Mylar “Wine in a Box” Inserts for Liquids Storage

Mr. Rawles I stumbled upon this thread about these guys doing a cross-Africa trip. Its pretty long, but worth the read. One piece of interest was the use of the bags that wine-in-a-box comes in to store fuel. Here is the link to the start of the thread, just keep clicking “continue” at the end. Warning: There is some National Geographic-type nudity. – Slinger JWR Replies: This topic came up once before in SurvivalBlog. OBTW, it would be quite dangerous to store anything that is more flammable than waste vegetable oil (WVO) in a Mylar bag. Use only proper containers …


Letter Re: Plan B — Your Bug-Out Route

Mr. Rawles, In the event of a natural or manmade disaster you may need to retreat despite extensive preparations at your base of operations, whether in suburbia or in the mountains. You may find yourself in a desperate situation; facing forest fire, fallout from a malfunctioning nuclear power plant, terrorism, organized bands of looters or an invading army. Where will you go? How will you get there? What is your route? Whether you have been preparing for years or weeks you need a Plan “B”. Identifying the threat will help you determine the safest route and mode of transportation to …


Cold Weather Survival Tips, by David in Israel

James, Winter is coming [in the northern hemisphere]. An important skill is treating and preventing cold exposure, especially if a person is disabled and on the ground. The ground steals heat through direct conduction and by absorption of moisture. Always go out well fed, include plenty of protein, copious warm hydrating liquids, and fats. Together these break down in a heat generating reaction as well as providing large amounts of energy for more heat generation. Have a way to make a warm drink. A Thermos is skimping, better a small stove that is easily lit and kettle that will let …


Letter Re: Advice on Survival Retreats and Bug Out Vehicles

Hello, I have been reading your blog and I find it very useful in many ways. I have a couple of questions for you: 1) For a secure compound or retreat would a multi family area (with like-minded people of course) be something useful? And if so, how would you bring it to the attention of members that would be willing to invest in something like this? [JWR’s replies are in-line, in bold.] Yes, a multi-family retreat can be viable, but only if there are clearly delineated rights and responsibilities. These should spelled out formally–either contractually or covenantally–lest there be …


Two Letters Re: Betavoltaic Batteries

Jim, Here is an article describing the challenges associated with betavoltaic batteries. The recent buzz over the 30 year battery, while intriguing, is overly optimistic. As stated in the article I linked to, betavoltaics currently have low efficiency, require heavy shielding, and the energy absorption media tends to degrade due to the high energy bombardment. I think it would be great if they could overcome these issues, but it looks like it may be 30 years before we see anything like a 30 year battery. – Mark D. in Utah Mr Rawles, Firstly I would like to say that after …


Letter Re: Digitized Data for Your Bug-Out Bag

James: JN is absolutely right about TrueCrypt, it’s an excellent tool. Be aware, however, that you can be compelled to disclose your encryption keys in the UK legally, and you can always be compelled to do so via extra-legal means. If you have any data that you truly wish to keep secret, a good start is to use a second TrueCrypt volume containing important data inside the primary volume which contains data that is less crucial. Regards, – PH


Letter Re: Digitized Data for Your Bug-Out Bag

Sir: Regarding the SD card idea, I have been doing something similar but with a few improvements: 1. Instead of a camera flash card, get a USB keychain drive [also known as “thumb” drive or “jump” drive]. These are cheap, available in at least 4GB [capacity] and are darn near impossible to break. The USB models can be read by nearly any PC or Mac. For encryption, I recommend using True Crypt. This program is free and has been well-tested in the computer security community, as its code and design are open source. One nice thing about this program, is …


Letter Re: Digitized Data for Your Bug-Out Bag

Jim, First, thank you for the work you have done. Your blog site will surely save many lives. Also, thank you for your books. I’ve just started on “Patriots” and am thoroughly enjoying it. I’m very new to ‘long-term’ survival and much of the political and economic machinations that are going on that potentially may lead to SHTF. Living in hurricane country (Florida) I’ve always been better prepared than the average family and I’ve maintained my preps year round due to fears of terrorist attacks and bird flu pandemics. However, I’m completely shocked, horrified actually, about what I’ve learned over …


Letter Re: A Security Contractor’s Convoy Experience in Iraq

Dear Jim, A friend of mine who is a contractor sent this. It’s been posted elsewhere. Foul language warning. – Michael Z. Williamson Info from Iraq From Someone Who is Doing the “Run and Gun“ Yesterday a friend of mine who runs a small security company here in Iraq emailed me. He is standing up a protection detail and wanted my opinion on tactics and equipment running the roads of Iraq; Tactics, SOPs, hard car or soft? I have been giving it some thought and here is where I am at. I am willing to speculate I’m as well traveled …


Dip Sealing Tools for Storage

Jim, I don’t know if you are familiar with this product already but I thought it couldn’t hurt to bring it to SurvivalBlog readers attention. It is called “Dip Seal” protective removable coatings, peels off like a banana [skin]. It is, from the company’s own description two or three different types of plastic seal, “Type one coatings are the most commonly used for corrosion protection. These coatings leave an oil film on the protected part. A relatively hard coating that is excellent for long-term storage and protection from rough handling. Part numbers, UPC codes, etc., can be easily seen through …


Two Letters Re: Lantern Battery Disassembly

Jim: On Saturday 22 September 2007, you posted a web link from T.A. in Indiana for a video on how to take apart a lantern battery and get 32 AA batteries out of it. I tried that with a heavy duty Ray-O-Vac and it had four cells approximately the diameter of C cell batteries but longer. Before people stock up on 6-volt lantern batteries thinking they will break down for AA batteries, they need to disassemble the brand they intend to buy to see how it is put together. The battery in the video appeared to be a bargain brand …


Letter Re: Hawaii-Specific Disaster Preparations

Jim, Greetings from another SurvivalBlog newbie. I discovered your site back in the spring of this year and all I could say then was “Wow! I think I’ve found a home!” I’ve been lurking here ever since. I’d been wandering in the wilderness of flame-filled newsgroups and not-quite-filling-enough survival/self-reliance publications since the days of “Survival Tomorrow”, nearly thirty years ago. Back then, I mostly spent time just collecting information on various survival topics while making only small, half-hearted preparations. At last, here is a site that has revived my slumbering interest in the disaster preparedness movement and inspired my wife …


Letter Re: Advice on Compact Solar-Powered Refrigerators for Insulin

Jim, I read, with great interest, your reply to Ron in Alabama about solar powered refrigeration and wanted to let some of the other diabetics out there know about a product I discovered through an Internet search and currently use when camping, fishing, hunting, traveling, etc. It is called the Frio Cooling Wallet. It works great and I keep two in my Bug-Out Bag. While it isn’t designed for the long-term, it sure is a life saver for 1-5 day trips or in case of a bug-out. They are not cheap, but then nothing about diabetes is. – Bassnbear in …


Two Letters Re: Advice on Chainsaws

James: Probably the best [chain]saws on the market are Stihl and Husqvarna. Unfortunately, as noted previously, they use a lot of plastic in the construction of them today. One design feature you need to look at very carefully is the handle bar and how it is mounted to the saw. I own an 046 Magnum Stihl, which is supposed to be one of Stihl’s upper end, “pro” model saws. The handle bar wraps around to the right side and mounts with two self tapping screws into the gas tank. Any blow to the top of the handlebar results in shearing …