Category: Field Gear

Let me begin by saying that I am still relatively new to “prepping”. So you will have to forgive me if some of this is second nature to a lot of you folks. I have come across a few random articles that speak, in general, about ensuring that you know how to use your gear and periodically trying things on to make sure they still fit and so on. What I could not seem to find was something a little more specific on gear testing and, particularly, some ideas for those with time constraints. In the spirit of potentially helping …

Hugh, FYI. Sam’s Club has a 3-pack of TASCO XR5 “Tactical” Cree LED flashlights for $19.98. They are 250 lumen on high power with a low power setting and a strobe setting. Three AAA batteries are included per flashlight (nine total). It is brighter than my Fenix TK 10 (~$70.00 for one) and about the same size. They’re also shock proof and water resistant. The Fenix uses a CR 123 battery, which is much more expensive but will also last much longer than the one hour @ 250 lumens from the three AAA batteries. Still, it is 1/10th the cost …

Hugh, I enjoyed D. Hacker’s article on flashlight use, and I look forward to trying the technique. Here are a couple of additions for the readers from a night shift cop: Hacker hit on it a little bit talking about not cheating from reflective light. One of my favorite light techniques is simply pointing the beam at the ceiling when entering a dark room. The reflective light from most modern flashlights is enough to fully light up the room. If your light technique does not illuminate your sights, this may not be a totally bad thing. You can get a …

There are many aspects of survival and many different scenarios you may need to survive. It does little good having three years of food saved up, if you don’t survive a gun battle during the first week of TEOTWAWKI. With this article, I hope to give you an additional skill you may use to help you survive one type of survival situation. This is a situation where you have to use a handgun to defend yourself in a no light or low light environment. Before we get too involved here, let’s review the four important firearm safety rules: All guns …

Hugh, I’ve been doing this for years but not all nail polish works, it all keeps the matches waterproof but some polish puts the flame out. If you can try to get the polish that says HIGHLY FLAMMABLE on the back – this is getting a lot harder to find. Cover half way down 3 matches and when dry test them (away from the polish and the matches) you soon know if your OK. If you are do the rest top half and then the base up. I did not find this out the hard way and you don’t want …

HJL. I am a long time reader of survival blog and find the info very helpful. I noticed the comment on Thunderwear holsters and thought I would pass on my take on it. I am a large guy. Concealment of even a large frame handgun is relatively easy for me, but that limits me to only certain modes of dress. So, I tried thunderwear over 10 years ago and never looked back. I every day carry a ruger sp101 in .357 mag and did carry a 41mag for a few years, both stainless. I also carried a .45 1911 briefly. …

Hugh, Although B.D. doesn’t like Thunderwear, from my personal experience, it is a must have for those of us that live in warm climates where clothing can be a big issue. When you’re wearing a bathing suit and tee-shirt (like many of us do here in Florida), it is a super way to carry a weapon concealed. Otherwise, the weight of a typical carry weapon will have your trunks around your ankles, and there are typically no belts with a pair of swim trunks. Thunderwear is great for the tropics. – S.V. HJL Replies: I would be interested in hearing …

INTRODUCTION So, you’re standing in front of the handgun holster display at your local gun shop and trying to decide which holster to purchase for adding to your survival gear. The sheer volume of manufacturers, styles, and materials can be overwhelming. Even the specialized terminology can make your head spin. In an attempt to help reduce some of the pain and confusion, I’m sharing my personal experiences and some basic information I’ve picked up along the way that may be worth your consideration before making your next handgun holster purchase. While this information is by no means exhaustive, I hope …

INTRODUCTION I confess; I’m a holster junky. I like buying them and trying them out. That said, I hate buying a holster and ending up not being able to use it. I’m left-handed, and that makes it harder to sell or even give them away. Unfortunately, in the process of learning what I am writing here, I’ve wasted a fair amount of money. With luck, perhaps some of what I’ve learned can help you a bit. Much of it is probably obvious, but I’m not the only one with a box of unused holsters, so I’m not alone in learning …

Sir, I just read Pat’s report on the Buck knife. I have carried and used one of these knives for over 40 years. They can be opened and closed using just one hand. Using thumb pressure on the blade you can open the knife. Holding the knife by the blade you can use the weight of the handle to swing the knife open. – C.B. o o o Hugh, In addition to the off the shelf mass production Buck 110 knife, Buck has a custom shop that will make a custom 110 knife for you. Custom in that blade metal …

Flight Jacket I like black flight jackets. They are dressy enough to wear to an art reception and common enough to be worn to a junk yard. They’re made of water-proof nylon and have two large button outside pockets, two large inside button pockets, and a pocket on the shoulder. The best one that I have found is sold at Alpha Industries. If you look in the left front pocket, there is a white label that states Alpha Industries Jacket, Flyers, Man Intermediate. On the shoulder pen pocket is a small black label sticking out with a gold sort of …