Category: Field Gear

Letter Re: Fire Starters

Mr. Latimer, I have read many fire starter “recipes” lately on SurvivalBlog. I have tried a few of them and have had a short-lived flame with which to start a fire. Some lit easier than others, and some burned a little better. Last year in the spring I bought some Fire Starter logs that were on sale for half price. I took one log out and began cutting small cubes from the end, about the size of sugar cubes. I then wrap each cube in enough dryer lint to cover it completely. Lint adheres pretty well to the cube which …


Giving Ourselves As A Gift During The Holidays, by Sarah Latimer

The Judeo-Christian community is celebrating Christmas and/or Hanukkah this week and getting ready to bring in the new year 2017. Many people are off work and spending the week with family and friends. Some of you may be traveling, and some of you are at home. Many are not alone, but some of you are. No matter where you find yourselves and whether you are alone or not, you have something of value to give during these holidays– yourself, time, and knowledge, and in sharing these you can practice a little prepping for the future, too. I have a few …


Letter Re: Getting First Aid Supplies Tax Free

Hi Hugh and/or JWR- I’ve been a long-time reader, but this is my first time responding to a post. I just wanted to clarify one point that was made in reply to the “Letter: Getting First Aid Supplies Tax Free” thread. I am a practicing physician and a fellow patriot/prepper. I have also been self-employed for the past two years after leaving hospital employment, which is when I had to start investigating the best insurance options for me and my family. Keep in mind, I am not an accountant or IRS agent, but most of these facts can be found …


Letter Re: Bugging Out With Children

Good Day SurvivalBlog Editor, I have been reading SurvivalBlog for years. I enjoy the articles and often learn various new ideas or approaches to survival. I am not the target audience for this article, since my children are 13 and 18; however, when they were younger we dragged them along on family hunting and camping trips and involved them on extended hikes, packs, canoe trips, et cetera when they were infants, toddlers, and small children. The one caveat I would say is that we always had two parents doing this and both were motivated to make it happen and to …


Bugging Out With Young Children- Part 2, by MPB

In Part 1, I described why I believe it is impossible to bugout into the woods with just a rifle and a backpack when you have young children in tow. In Part 2 I’ll be offering suggestions on what can be done to get your children to safety when you have no choice but to leave home. Before I get into that though, let me stress that by far the best advice when you have kids (or even if you don’t) is to live at your bugout location if at all possible. Besides the many reasons outlined by JWR in …


Letter: Getting First Aid Supplies Tax Free

Hello, I just found a neat, and new to me, way of purchasing first aid supplies with pre-tax dollars that I thought I would share. For some years now I have taken advantage of my company’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program. For the unfamiliar, an FSA is money withheld from your paycheck that allows you to purchase eligible items with pre-tax dollars and is offered by many employers. If you have regular vision, dental, or copay expenses, it’s a great way to pay for these things. As I had more money withheld than I had spent this year, I wanted …


Bugging Out With Young Children- Part 1, by MPB

The concept of bugging out is an integral part of preparing for an uncertain future. I won’t list them here, but there are dozens of reasons why it may be necessary to leave your home/homestead on very short notice. Page after digital page has been published online addressing this subject… some of it quite good and some of it good for nothing more than a laugh. But there is one aspect of bugging out that I think has been largely overlooked in the survival community. It is the special considerations needed when bugging out with young children. My focus in …


Product Review: Enola Gaye Smoke Grenades, by Pat Cascio

Many years ago, I used to teach SWAT to police and security agencies, and I even co-authored a book SWAT Battle Tactics with my late friend, American Kenpo Karate Grand Master John McSweeney. The book, published by Paladin Press, is in need of a serious re-write, as there was some material added in the manuscript after I approved the galley copy. Still, the basic material is strong and one can build a SWAT team using the basics. When conducting SWAT training, I would often booby trap a house/building or an area where the team would be entering using various types …


Two Letters Re: WaterBOBs and Reservoirs

Mr. Latimer, Just an FYI that I saw the WaterBob on Amazon. Not sure if it is indeed “discontinued”, but it’s still for sale–it looks like. I have one. Thanks for your blog. I have received good info on it to help my family prepare for all sorts of scenarios. – MHC o o o Thanks to JWR’s post, I just ordered two WaterBOB’s from Amazon for $40. I checked and the Reservoir cost was about $75 for one. The WaterBOB is a one time use. Not sure that’s the case for the Reservoir. I assume the supply of WaterBOBs …


Trekking for Survival, by G.U.

I have to admit that I have watched one or more movies or movie shorts with an apocalyptic theme. Often the survivors (or survivor) are either walking or driving along a barren road, through a barren town, or through the country side. Sometimes, they will have some gear, maybe a backpack, a bottle of water or canteen, and maybe a gun or some kind of club. In some cases, they are well organized and have a compound of sorts, but eventually they have to take to the road for supplies or to find others. In most of the movies, there …


Letter Re: Hurricane Experience

Friends, After reading the contribution about hurricane preparedness, I would like to recommend the bathtub liners for water. We were without water for three or four days. We barely tapped one. I feel that we could have gone six weeks with what the two afforded us. I also keep one full outside contained in a 95-gallon horse trough. There were no problems noted. I so appreciate what all of you do. Thanks. – A. Reader JWR’s Comment: (The WaterBOB bathtub liner is no longer in production, but The Reservoir is comparable.)


Letter Re: Firestarters

HJL, I’ve read with interest and amusement the recent firestarting articles (https://survivalblog.com/letter-re-easy-fire-starting-article/ ) and wanted to add my 2¢. For everyday firestarting in the wood stove at home, I use egg cartons dipped in melted bacon fat. We have bacon once a week and save the drippings in a big plastic coffee container. (I also cook with bacon fat, but that’s another story!) Once a month or so I carefully melt that fat in Mr. Microwave until it’s clear-ish. Then I dip the egg carton egg “cups” into the container and put them in an open gallon Ziploc to cool. …


Letter Re: Easy Fire Starting Article

Hugh, I found the recommended easy fire starter posted a couple of weeks ago to be very interesting. That recommendation involved rolling 2-inch wide newspaper and soaking it in bees wax obtained from a toilet seal ring. My first attempt produced a marginal flame. I realized that I needed more wax absorption. On my second attempt, I used rolled up paper towel. This gave better but still just not adequate results. From the sight of the rolled up paper towel I came up with a better idea– tampons! As a 66 year old widower, I sucked it up and hid …


Neophyte Survival Observations and Lessons from Hurricane Matthew- Part 2, by S.G. in Florida

The extended power outages in Florida after Matthew were due to downed power lines, mostly by wind-fallen trees. Hospitals and other essential services were given priority for power restoration. People who lived near these essential services were more likely to get power restored first. Your proximity to key services might be a good factor to consider when purchasing a home in a suburb or city. After Hurricane Matthew, the city water was cut for an extended period due to the roots of fallen trees damaging city water lines. The two cases of bottled water we had bought for drinking would …


Neophyte Survival Observations and Lessons from Hurricane Matthew- Part1, by S.G. in Florida

Our family of three lives in a suburban area of Florida that was greatly impacted by Hurricane Matthew. While our home survived without damage, we were left without power for approximately a week and without city water for around three days. This article summarizes some observations and lessons, after reflecting on this experience. Hurricane Matthew took a very unusual track in the Caribbean, threading the needle between the mountains of Cuba and Haiti to maintain its strength. After this move, Matthew took a very unusual jog to the West, threatening Florida with a severe Category 4 storm. Once Matthew made …