Category: Field Gear

Getting Home – Part 2, by BF

First, I had to decide where to spend my time bargain hunting and then plan my trip to maximize opportunities. The places where I decided to shop for the remaining necessary “get home” items were: Thrift shops Estate auctions Pawn shops Tag sales Craigslist.com online listings Walmart Dollar stores Grocery stores Thrift Stores These are stores that serve as outlets for the donation of goods to support the charity’s mission. Goodwill, DAV, and Salvation Army are the mainstays in this area. These are generally good to browse at, but they can be hard places in which to find bargains, as …


Getting Home – Part 1, by BF

I recently had to travel for work to a large, Midwestern city with a population of about two million. I needed to spend two weeks there working with a team to help recover an IT development project that had gone “south”. I could have traveled back home for the middle weekend; however, I didn’t want to spend all the extra time traveling, waiting for connections in airports, and so forth, so I stayed in the city. The Challenge For fun, I decided to spend that weekend seeing what I could put together for a get home bag, with a target …


Letter: Zippo Lighters

HJL, It has been mentioned that Zippo lighters tend to dry out. While this is true, the effect can be minimized by cutting a piece of bicycle inner tube to slip over the case, sealing the joint where the lid and the body come together. The lighter fluid is simply naphtha, and you can purchase that in quarts at WalMart much less expensively. – S.F.


Scot’s Product Review: Work Sharp Guided Sharpening System

It’s probably just me, but when I get a nice, sharp, new knife, my first response is glee at how well it cuts, but then fear creeps into my mind, the fear of dulling it. Making it dull means having to make it sharp again. Will it ever be as sharp as it was new? Sometimes I find myself trying to avoid using it and looking for a box cutter with a disposable blade instead. That kind of defeats the purpose of having a good knife, which led me to confront my fear of sharpening years ago. I’ve learned to …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Cold Steel’s Special Forces Shovel

Ever since I was a little tyke, which is going back many decades, I’ve had an interest in anything having to do with the military, especially military gear. When I was a kid, back in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, IL, my friends and I would play “soldier” or “cowboys and Indians” all of the time. These days, if kids are seen pointing toy guns at one another, the police are called. What a shame! I was the envy of most of the kids on my block when I was a kid. I had a genuine U.S. military canteen, complete …


Letter: Every Prepper Needs A Bar!!

Hugh, In all the material I have read over the years, I don’t think I have ever seen info about every prepper needing a bar. It is one of the most important items that you can have. You will need it often, and there are times it will be critical to have one. My bar has many names. My dad called it a cheater bar. My neighbor calls it a digging bar. I call mine a pry bar. Oh, we are talking about a TOOL bar, not the kind where you get juiced. With all the various projects that will …


Bugging Out “Alone”, by Professor Prepper

There have been many articles written about the folly of bugging out into the wilderness in a TEOTWAWKI event. However, if you want to see what it will be like to bug out alone in the wilderness to try to survive, then you need to watch the History Channel’s new show Alone. The concept of the show is to drop 10 survival experts off on Vancouver Island alone, with minimal supplies. The last man on the island wins $500,000. You can read the ten men’s bios and the list of the 10 survival items that each chose on the History …


The Importance and Art of Fire-Making, by N.P.

Obviously, being able to make a fire in a SHTF scenario is of utmost importance. In addition to providing warmth and cooking capabilities, fire also provides a psychological boost. As an avid outdoorsman, who is originally from Canada, I’ve got a lot of experience and training, but I’m by no means claiming to be an expert. I just want to share some of my findings that may prove useful to others. I have several stories about the importance of fire-making. Here’s an example: I was in the Boreal Forest in Canada and noticed a large billboard containing the writing “Nature …


Letter: A Problem Today That is Only Going to Get Worse When SHTF

HJL, About ten years ago my wife and I made the decision it was time to get out of the city and move to a more sustainable rural environment. We discovered a place with great climate, reasonable land prices, good neighbors, good job opportunities. You know, it had all the right stuff. We moved and began and continue to put our “prep” plans into effect at our new location. Over the years we have had numerous family members come to visit, and they also have fallen in love with the area. Although they are not involved in any type of …


Scot’s Product Review: Emdom Gear

One of life’s little problems is how to carry the things we need. A lot of junk can go into pockets, but what about all the stuff that can’t, particularly in a self-defense scenario? We may have to hide our defensive equipment, but in some scenarios we don’t. That’s where gear like belts, chest rigs, and plate carriers can come in handy, especially if they have the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) found on most western military Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) these days. PALS is a system of webbing that allow you to mesh one piece of gear to …


Scot’s Product Review: Alien Gear Holsters

I am kind of crazy about holsters for some reason and love to study and experiment with different ones. Someone recently mentioned Alien Gear Holsters to me, and when I checked out their web site I was very surprised at their prices, which start at $29.88. They even have a special where your get two holsters starting at $49.88. I am used to spending quite a bit more for holsters, expecting a Kydex one to cost $75 or more. Leather costs even more. My all-time favorite leather concealment holster, the Sparks Versa Max 2 I reviewed a while back, goes …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review – Wellco USGI Boots

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I’m very particular when it comes to footwear. I’m not one to go to one of the big box stores and buy a cheap pair of shoes or boots. I wear hikers on a daily basis, and I demand waterproof hikers because we get a lot of rain in Oregon, and I’m out in the rain, sunshine or snow, when I do some shooting or hunting. By “waterproof” footwear, I mean with a waterproof lining, like Gore-Tex, not a spray-on sort of thing that some companies are attempting to pass off as “waterproofing”. That stuff doesn’t last, and it simply …


Amazing Affordable Force Multipliers – Part 2, by Tupreco

EMP-Proof Your Radio Comms With a USGI Ammo Can Inexpensively How can you EMP-proof select comm gear for under $100? You can do this more easily than you might think. Radio comms are radio-based systems that can communicate across distances from a few miles up to thousands of miles, under the right atmospheric conditions. In order of range (and cost) these radio comms include walkie talkies using the Family Radio Service (FRS) and the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). Next, at higher cost and more range, is citizens band radio or CB. At the top end in price and range …


Letter Re: Amazing Affordable Force Multipliers

HJL, I enjoyed reading this article about inexpensive thermal/IR force multipliers, but there are a few things I’d like to mention about these. Turning on any smart phone in a combat situation would look like someone holding up a 60” flat screen to anyone with real night vision and would probably draw the attention of the naked eye too. PVS 4s can spot a man puffing on a cigarette from over a mile away, so imagine what the light emitted from a smart phone looks like whether it’s facing you or not. To use a thermal smart phone effectively, you’d …


Scot’s Product Review: Blue Force Gear Vickers Combat Application Sling and More

I’m not sure who first coined the phrase, but whoever it was suggested that we think of a sling as a holster for a long gun, and I’ve always rather liked that analogy. Some slings also help the shooter be more accurate by providing support in shooting positions. By and large, however, the main use of the sling is to carry a long arm while keeping one or both hands free for other purposes. There are a number of types of slings and ways to attach them to a rifle or shotgun. The most common is a simple carry strap …