Category: Field Gear

Product Review: Infidel Body Armor – Level IV

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Much has been written and discussed on SurvivalBlog lately about body armor, which is something many people mistakenly refer to as a “bulletproof vest”. There is no such thing as bulletproof vests. There are just vests that are designed to “resist” certain types of ammo of varying degrees of power. I make no claim to being any sort of expert when it comes to body armor. However, over the past 35-yrs or so, I have tested quite a bit of soft and hard body armor. My tests were not “scientific”; I just took body armor panels out and shot them …


Letter Re: Emergency Lighting

Good afternoon, Hugh, Two recent experiences drive me to write– a recent overnight house guest and a link today on Instapundit about surviving disaster (http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150128-how-to-survive-a-disaster). My house guest commented on the number of my night lights and the fact that I have a floor lamp powered by a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), which is a “battery backup” typically used for computers. First, the night lights are what I prefer to call “target identification lights”. They’re not used just in the bathrooms; they are positioned to ensure anyone moving through the house must either cast a shadow or be silhouetted. This …


When It Is Time To Leave Your Home, What To Bring, and Where To Meet, by R.W.

In a recent meeting of our Christian-based preparedness group, the following bylaws were distributed for consideration to the adult members of the group. I hope there are some take home items here that will help other individuals or groups when they are in the midst of considering this most difficult decision: If things get bad, there may be a day when you have to leave your home and evacuate to a safer location. These circumstances might include: Regional, large-scale, natural disasters, such as an earthquake, tornado, flood, or fire, Civil unrest caused by grid down or large-scale economic collapse, Nuclear …


Motorizing a Country Living Grain Mill for 12-volt Battery and Solar, by I.S. – Part 1

Introduction The Country Living Grain Mill is a robust mill that will last for generations and is a fine choice for any home or retreat. It has been designed to be motorized easily, however the manufacturer’s motorization kit is expensive and operates on 115 volt AC power, thus requiring grid power, an inverter, or a generator. The following article will describe how to power your Country Living Grain Mill from 12 volt batteries or solar panels for less than $200 (excluding the power source and associated wiring). Currently, all necessary materials are readily available. Tests have shown this setup can …


Letter: Flying

Hugh, I have to fly to the east coast soon for work. I am already feeling naked with the thought of not having a good pocket knife and pistol on my person. Is there a good tactical pen or something along that lines that I can legally carry on a plane? Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks! – M.B. Hugh Responds: The airlines will let you fly with both pistol and knife in your checked baggage. Check with each airline for their requirements. Usually, it consists of a checked, hard-sided, and lockable case. You are not required to have …


Letter Re: What to do for a “scratched eye” (corneal abrasion)

Good morning: I wonder if any survival blog readers would know what to have on hand as far as medication for a “scratched eye.” (corneal abrasion) We have had several of these over the years, and none of those have happened in a situation where you would have had “protective eyewear” on. I would hate to be without medication should this happen when SHTF. Any suggestions? Thanks, – MB Cynthia J. Koelker, MD Responds: What if gritty dirt blows in your eyes? Or you scratch your cornea with a fingernail? Or you’re working under your car and debris falls in …


Guest Article: Is Your First Aid Kit Complete? by Dr. T., DMD

Traditionally, survival medical advice has sounded something like this: “Have a medical first aid kit and make sure your dental work is up to date.” This is very good advice. However, I believe the advice should instead be, “Make sure your medical and dental needs are up to date and you have a comprehensive first aid kit.” No comprehensive first aid kit is complete without critical, dental medicaments and instruments. What happens when there is a dental need without a dentist or a functioning dental office anywhere around? Is your first aid kit complete with the necessary materials for such …


Scot’s Product Review: Federal Ammunition

I have always had good results with Federal ammunition, in handguns, rifles, and shotguns. It is what I carry in my primary self-defense pistol, and it’s what resides in my home defense shotgun. I’m torn between one of their loads and a competitor’s for the AR platform. Federal offers a pretty complete line; while it doesn’t satisfy every niche of my needs, it gets most of them and does so with reliable, high quality, and consistent products. They have some lines that I think should be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, for self-defense, hunting, and training. Federal American Eagle Fresh …


Tactical Aging, by G.D.

The above title to this article was drafted tongue in cheek, but it seems correct for the points that I hope to make. The article will contain a lot of “I”s and “me”s, but I promise that I am not a raging narcissist. I am only relating events as they have happened to me and how they helped me to navigate the uncertainties of the future. I would like to take credit for planning each positive event, but a lot of it was due to dumb luck and good fortune. Hopefully, however, there may be something in this narrative that …


Letter Re: Emergency Car Kit

The article by Z.M. was a good start for a car kit. I would recommend a few additional items. A set of road flares. These are multipurpose. Clearly they can be used for signaling. (I personally prefer them as a driver because they are more visible in my opinion than reflective triangles.) Additionally, they can be used to help start a fire in an emergency as well. Regarding food, two types of food may be helpful as very few foods are shelf stable in the high temperatures that the inside of a car can reach. I highly recommend Datrex Emergency …


Letter Re: Car Emergency Kit, by Z.M.

Hugh, First, I’d like to compliment Z.M. on a well written post regarding a Car Emergency Kit. For most car related situations, this kit would be very useful if not down right critical for self preservation! These things need to be in each vehicle in every season of the year. However, I need to point out that this is not a winter survival kit for a car. A winter survival kit needs everything mentioned plus a lot more! I live in a region of the country where blizzards and heavy snow can strand hundreds of vehicles on Interstate highways overnight …


Car Emergency Kit, by Z.M.

The holidays are just over, and that means that many of you probably spent at least a few hours out on the road. Going to visit family is always a blast, but the journey doesn’t always tend to be this way. Life happens. Cars break down, traffic jams block roads, and blizzards can leave you stranded. Are you prepared for a similar situation? Just being stuck by the roadside by yourself can be bad enough, but can you imagine going through this with your spouse and/or kids? If this situation happened, would you have prepared enough to make sure that …


Scot’s Product Review: MobileSec Cellphone Blocker and Laptop EMP Shielding

I always liked the line that states, “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that someone isn’t out to get you.” These days, in addition to physically trying to “get” you, there are also those who are trying to virtually get you by stealing your information for misuse. There are those who might want to wipe out everything with an EMP event so that not only do you not get to use your own stuff, you can’t even get a backup from someone else. It could be a foreign government, a criminal consortium, or even your own government doing the deed. …


Lessons on Prepping From an Afghanistan Deployment, by A.K. – Part 2

We are continuing this article, from a Marine Sergeant, about lessons learned while living in a remote region of Afghanistan, Marjeh district, which seem similar to a possible TEOTWAWKI environment. Food After two months of eating nothing but MREs, I began to get sick of them and started losing weight. Many of my fellow Marines experienced the same thing. We started to barter batteries for food that the ANA ate. They had a cook and bought bread every morning from the Bazaar. They had chickens for eggs and meat, and occasionally they had a goat. Eventually we bought 12 chickens …


Lessons on Prepping From an Afghanistan Deployment, by A.K. – Part 1

My experiences as a Sergeant in a Marine Infantry battalion have ultimately changed my philosophy towards prepping. Living in a remote region of Afghanistan, Marjeh district, was very much like living in a TEOTWAWKI scenario. There were no roads, other than small cart paths, used by civilian and Taliban alike. There was no running water and no electricity. Locals pumped water from wells, if lucky, or drank from the canals. Electricity was a luxury and power came from a generator. Many of the locals were so poor they had never owned a single piece of any currency; barter was a …