Category: Field Gear

Scot’s Product Review: Steiner 7×50 Marine Binoculars

Before I go into the review, I would like to compliment Armasight for replacing a small part on my Spark Core night vision monocular that I reviewed recently. I have been complaining about how I had been unable to get a response from either their information email address or their relations person, but when I needed a small part their service department replied promptly and sent me the part within a week of my request. I found that impressive. Since the service people are efficient, that takes away much of my reluctance to recommend their products. Getting back to the …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Zero Tolerance 0630 Folder

Not bragging, not in the least, but when I was in high school and beyond, everyone used to say I was the coolest guy they knew. Just about everyone who signed my high school year book said I was “cool”. Go figure? I guess that puts me in the same camp with “Fonzie” from the TV show “Happy Days”. Fonzie, from the show, and I had a couple of things in common, and one of the major things was that we both hated admitting we were wr…….., er, um, wro…..ohhhh, wron…..ok, ok, we hated admitting when we were wrong!! I …


One Yukon Learning Event, by S.H.

On a mid-November day years ago, I set out to walk over a high, broad, timbered ridge through some apparently uninhabited spruce, poplar, and birch woods in the Yukon Territory, Canada. I was headed over and down to the lower part of a long creek about seven direct miles away. I carried metal tags that I’d received from the Mining Recorder’s Office for nailing to two sets of placer claim posts that I had cut, labeled, signed, and recorded a few weeks before, one set done by Power of Attorney. Daylight hours were now becoming seriously short at that subarctic …


Letter Re: Android Geiger Counter

Thanks for the reference to the $30 android counter; I bought one! Also, note that Radioactivity Counter is an Android ap that I have used that detects gamma radiation just using the app; there’s no external devices needed! You’re wondering how? You tape over the camera lens and the camera itself detects gamma radiation sensitivity depending on phone models. I’ve used it, and it works. – M.R.


Letter: Clothes Hanger for Armor

Hugh, Many in the community have invested in steel plate body armor. Due to the weight, use of ordinary hangers is out of the question, so it ends up sitting in a heap on the floor or hooked to a nail in the wall. Constructing an effective clothes hanger for your rig so that it can hang in the closet and up off the floor takes about 15 minutes, six dollars, and a trip to Home Depot. Bill of Materials: 1 each 2-ft section of 1.25 inch diameter schedule 40 PVC Pipe $3.23 2 each PVC Pipe end caps 1.25 …


KEL-TEC SU-16C: The Ultimate Prepper Rifle?, by R.S.

Calling the Kel-Tec SU-16C the ultimate prepper rifle is like calling a Leatherman the ultimate hand tool; I suppose you could drive a nail with a Leatherman, but it is certainly not the right tool for the job. In the same way there are tasks that are less well-suited to the SU-16C. If I was hunting squirrels for dinner, I would much prefer a .22 rifle and scope. If someone was breaking through my front door, they would be more likely to face a 12-gauge pump shotgun loaded with 00 buckshot. If I had to take down a zombie at …


Scot’s Product Review: Regulation Tactical Belt, Glide Panel, Magazine Pouches, and Load Bearing Brackets

Regulation Tactical is a California-based company that sells U.S.-made tactical gear. It was founded by a Marine who, “after three combat tours, got tired of the problems his issue gear created and wanted to create solutions for them.” I have not used Marine issued gear nor done combat tours, but I think Regulation has definitely created some interesting and useful solutions to some of the difficulties caused by carrying handguns and magazines and wearing hard body armor. Glide Instructor Belt The first item in the review is the $29.99 Glide Instructor Belt, which solves the problem of removing and then …


Letter Re: Regarding Army Manuals

HJL, Don’t send people to Amazon for the U.S. Army manuals. They are available for free on the Internet. – S. HJL Responds: We know that they are free, and a simple Google search will turn up a variety of places that you can download a .pdf copy of them. We also have copies of many of the .pdf versions of U.S Army manuals contained on the SurvivalBlog archive that we put together every year. However, on the more relevant manuals, we feel it is important to have a hard copy in hand. You can print out your own hard …


Pat Cascio’s Product Review: CRKT Hootenanny Folder

One of the most prolific knife designers that I’m aware of is Ken Onion, who resides in Hawaii. Ken actually got started designing and making knives as a result of working on a motorcycle. He knew there was “something” there that he could use. It’s been many years since I interviewed Onion for an article I was doing for Knives Illustrated magazine, back when I was the West Coast Field Editor. Ken and I spoke for more than an hour via phone, and he is an absolute wildman, to put it lightly. It was great fun interviewing him about a …


Protecting Both Tube and Transistor HF Communications Equipment From E1 EMP Pulse – Part 1, by PrepperDoc

Introduction and Tube Radios Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) is a serious national threat with growing public awareness. A high-altitude atomic/nuclear explosion sends electrons plowing through the earth’s magnetic field lines and thus generates powerful radio waves that impact the earth below the explosion within a radius of many hundreds to thousands of miles. The peak field strength is immense, on the order of 50 kilovolts per meter, and covers a very broad frequency spectrum, from very low frequencies, past 100 MHz; but the first wave (named E1) is evanescent, over in a mere microsecond or so. There are additional, slower incident …


Scot’s Product Review: Armasight Night Vision Accessories

I recently reviewed the $549 Russian-made Armasight Spark Core night vision device and promised to do an update on some of the accessories that can be used with it. If you recall, I liked the monocular unit (which was $90 less when I bought it) and felt it offered a lot of bang for the buck, enough so that I purchased it on my own and then reviewed it. I still like it, but I am very concerned about not being able to get a response from Armasight on several questions. I contacted them both as a purchaser looking for …


Scot’s Product Review: JRH Enterprises Armor, Helmet and Carrier

DKX Max III Body Armor I like having body armor. I first bought some to wear while covering civil disturbances, but I was always happy to have it around in case of trouble around my home. My early stuff was soft armor that could be worn concealed and was intended to stop handgun rounds. Choosing body armor is a great conundrum, however. You have to consider the threat you might face and how much weight and bulk you can carry as well as how it affects your mobility. We will be looking at armor here that can protect you from …


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

Good morning, Hugh, In reference to “A Guide to Assembling an Off-grid Carpentry Tool Box, by B.F.” posted Saturday 5/23, which is an excellent treatise on carpenter’s tools, I’d suggest adding an assortment of mechanic’s tools to the “prep list.” If one peruses estate sales one can often turn up mechanic’s tools– wrenches, screwdrivers, punches, files, pliers, et cetera– in fair to excellent condition at extremely reasonable prices. I never turn down the opportunity to pick up more. Having maintained my own vehicles and performed home repairs for decades I have a good idea what tools are necessary and what …


How to Get Your Doctor to Help You in the Age of Obamacare, by Cynthia J. Koelker, MD

Since I first wrote an article for SB on “How to Get Your Doctor to Help You Stockpile Medication” the situation has definitely deteriorated. With Uncle Sam peeping over your doctor’s shoulder, the challenge of medical prepping has greatly intensified. Whereas the general principles in that article remain true, your physician’s freedom to assist you is increasingly restricted. In the past five years we’ve seen solo practitioners closing their offices to join group practices, community hospitals being gobbled up by larger conglomerates, independent pharmacies run out of business by the big box stores, and electronic health records being mandated by …


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 …