Category: Field Gear

A Guide to Assembling an Off-Grid Carpentry Tool Box, by B.F.

I pre-ordered JWRs book Tools for Survival last year and have read through it twice now. It is a great guide for anyone preparing for a time when self reliance becomes more of a day to day necessity than it is today. With that in mind, I wanted to add to the body of work by reviewing and commenting on the contents of two different tool kits that I have had a fair amount of experience with. Either one or both will serve well in an off-the-grid world. The first one is the US Army Combat Engineer Carpenter’s Squad Tool …


Orange Coffee Nut Firestarters, by Missouri Maven

One of the favorite things I create over the course of spring, summer, and fall are my Orange Coffee Nut Firestarters for my wood stove. I think my recipe came about because my grandparents instilled their Great Depression mindset of “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” into me at an early age. The stories they told me, of using things up until they were used as fuel to survive winter on the prairies of South Dakota, are ones I still tell my grandchildren today. With all their gadgets and technology, it is a little …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Benchmade’s Impel Automatic Folder

If ever there was a true gentleman, that person would be my friend– the late Grandmaster of American Kenpo Karate, John McSweeney. McSweeney was responsible for introducing American Kenpo Karate to Ireland many years ago. To be sure, McSweeney, was one of Ed Parker’s Black Belts, and if you don’t know who Ed Parker was, Google him. He was the Grandmaster of Kenpo Karate. Even Elvis Presley was one of Parker’s Black Belts. However, what I’m discussing here is a true gentleman, and John McSweeney was certainly at the top of the list, in my book. John knew how to …


Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 6b of 9, by Pat Cascio

Hip Shooting Whoa, partner! Before everyone starts firing letters off to me protesting that hip shooting isn’t point shooting, give me (and others) the benefit of the doubt! You have to admit that leveling a gun at someone from just above your holster isn’t exactly aimed shooting, is it? Neither is it exactly what we call point shooting. None the less, the technique is worth mentioning, as it does work in the tightest of combat situations. When your opponent is directly in front of you just about face-to-face or, worse yet, is face-to-face with you, you can’t draw and fully …


God’s Natural Provision- Part 2, by Dr. Z

White Willow Bark The second widely available and brilliant plant God made that will be useful in a SHTF situation is one I recommend my patients use instead of aspirin, which according to research can damage and weaken the body. It is white willow bark, which has been used in medicine for 6000 years, since the time of the Egyptians, and has been used effectively for reducing pain and as an: anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antiseptic, anti-oxidant, and analgesic. It also has immune boosting capability to keep your body from getting sick. It has been used on a wide range of problems, …


God’s Natural Provision- Part 1, by Dr. Z

I am a chiropractor and former Recon Marine 3rd Recon Battalion, writing this article as a little ray of hope to help those who at some point find they have been thrust into TEOTWAWKI and have either lost access to the stores or didn’t prep well or maybe did everything right but when the SHTF they lost all of their prep work or access to it because of some unforeseen circumstance. “Never give up” should be one of your mottos. This comes with a little bit of knowledge and experience. I have been in survival situations as a Recon Marine, …


Scot’s Product Review: The Orb and UV Paqlite

We have many needs; food, water, air, shelter, and heat come to mind. To acquire and use all those things, we have to be able to find them, and the tool used the most is our vision. Our eyes work great during the day but not so well at night, so having a way to make light is vital. We started off making light the same way we made heat and cooked, with fire, but that has drawbacks. We finally came up with electricity, and now the most common way we make light is to flip a switch on the …


Scot’s Product Review: Quantum Harvest Model 120

This review is part of my continued exploration of backup power during disruptive times. Life without electricity, even for a few hours, is unpleasant and could even be life threatening. I was reflecting about this during our last Scouting campout as I saw how many battery-operated devices were in evidence. It was mostly flashlights, but there were also two-way radios for communications, cell phones for emergencies, and the like. We are supposed to leave entertainment gadgets behind, but I admit to having a book reader on most trips, and I keep copies of first aid guides and similar materials on …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Battle Shades

Whenever I teach a firearms class, I require my students to bring three things. One is a baseball cap to prevent hot brass from falling on their face, while the other two things are hearing protection and some type of eye protection. These last two things require no explanation, right? Wrong! Most students show-up for a training session with no eye protection, for some reason. I simply don’t understand this at all. Nevertheless, it happens, so I keep extra pairs of eye protection in my shooting box along with extra ear plugs for those who don’t think their hearing is …


Survival Blades – Part 2, by R.H.

Glass-breaking is a function about which I keep hearing but don’t fully understand outside a military situation. I assume it refers to evacuating a car after an accident or other emergency. My problem with this is that almost nobody wears their survival knife on the way to and from work. If the knife is in the trunk with your BOB, how is it going to help? In a military scenario, I can see rescuing aircrew from a downed chopper; however, that situation is very different from what we’re likely to face. In the military, you have your gear on your …


Letter Re: Survival Blades

HJL, As far as using (and abusing) knives go, there is at least one company that provides an unconditional guarantee (beyond warranty) on their knives. Busse knives advertises this, and I’ve not heard anywhere that they’ve refused to replace or repair one of their knives regardless of how or under what conditions it failed. I was introduced to their product by a couple of infantry sergeants out on patrol while in Iraq, and they made me a believer. Busse does not have a statement to the effect that they will void the guarantee on their products for any reason. – …


Survival Blades – Part 1, by R.H.

I have noticed quite a bit of confusion and hype surrounding the subject of survival blades lately. I have also noted people new to survival and prepping often cannot get simple questions answered due to lack of accurate information from sales clerks and others. I have written this so that newcomers can get some balanced information. Let’s define our terms before we begin. While many readers are preparing for an end of the world scenario, survival situations as I will consider them here happen every day. As I am writing this, most of the nation has been brutalized by a …


Scot’s Product Review: MagnetoSpeed V3 Ballistic Chronograph

One of the most basic needs for all living creatures is the ability to defend themselves. When there are bad times and problems in our society, it is essential to own and be able to use weapons for self-defense. The situation could be a regional disaster, like Hurricane Katrina, or it could be the worst of times, such as a Carrington or EMP event. In either case, there are wicked people who will take advantage of those who are weak. Even if you can avoid evil people, there are predators to be dispatched and game to be gathered for the …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: CRKT Hunt ‘n Fisch Knife

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I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about people dying from cancer. We’ve all been touched by this deadly disease; we all know someone who has passed away after a fight with cancer. We keep hearing encouraging reports that “they” are close to finding a cure for cancer, but there are so many different types of cancer that I wonder if we’ll ever get a leg up on it. Still, we all continue to hope and pray. Just last week, my oldest daughter lost one of her German Shepherds to cancer. It was a fast-moving …


Scot’s Product Review: DeLorme inReach Explorer

The first warning is that this is an electronic device. It probably won’t work after an EMP or Carrington event. It communicates via the Iridium satellite system, which is also used by the government, so it isn’t secure, not that any electronic communications are. It depends on the GPS satellite constellation, which is another government service. The government can, when it feels like it, degrade the accuracy of civilian GPS units or even shut down the service to all but government clients. There are, therefore, drawbacks that you have to be aware of. Regardless, the DeLorme inReach offers some pretty …