Category: Field Gear

I must say that, in all my years of testing products, the Solar Flare Parabolic Solar Cooker has been one of my most challenging products to test. Made in the U.S., in Bountiful, Utah, this cooker proved a handful. No, not the product itself, rather the weather in my part of Oregon. For the better part of almost a month, we had very heavy, low-hanging fog. It’s been totally frustrating, to say the least! Anyone who is a prepper, survivalist, camper, or hunter, should understand the “Rule Of Three”, and that is you should always have three ways of accomplishing …

Buck Knives, www.buckknives.com , has been around for about 100 years, depending on who you talk to. Their most popular folding knife is still their Model 110 lock-back folding knife that is made in their plant in Post Falls, Idaho. Many people say that imitation is the sincerest form or flattery. If that’s the case, then the Buck Model 110 lock-back folding knife is probably one of the most copied folding knives in the world, if not “the” most copied folding lock-back knife. The Model 110 is now celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014, and every model will have “50” …

Some months ago, I tested and reviewed the portable WorkStar 2000 floodlight from Maxxeon for SurvivalBlog readers, and it was a huge hit. I heard from a number of readers about how pleased they were with the product. Today, we’re looking at the new and improved Hunter’s http://www.maxxeon.com/led_hunters_worklight_workstar_2030.html floodlight from Maxxeon. Some SurvivalBlog readers have requested that I list the country of origin– where the products are manufactured– in all of my articles. Maxxeon products are made in China. Like it or not, we now live in a global economy, and in order for many companies to compete or even …

Today, we’re looking at the Rift, automatic folder from Benchmade knives. The Rift is proudly made in the United States of America and is from the black box line– a working line of knives for professionals. I remember when I first started writing about knives. I was a freelance field editor for Knives Illustrated magazine. I contacted Les d’Asis at Benchmade and requested a sample to do an article on. This was more than 22 years ago, and Benchmade has continued to keep me supplied with samples for articles. Benchmade knives are always in demand. A good number of our …

I get contacted by SurvivalBlog readers daily, and I take the time to answer each e-mail, and I have to keep my replies short, because my time is limited. I’m often asked, “what should I carry in my BOB?” and I can’t really give a definitive answer to that. It depends on where you live, you age, your own personal requirements, when do you plan to bug out to, and other factors. Many readers send me a list of all the things they have packed in their BOB, and most are pretty well equipped for many different emergencies. One item …

I love working on guns, and I’ve tinkered with them since I was a teenager. Later on, I was trained by a military armorer to work on M1s, M14s, and M1911s, and I took several gunsmithing courses over the years. I’ve repaired many guns; however, the two firearms I enjoy working on the most are the grand old 1911 and the AR-15 family of rifles. More than anything, I usually can’t leave a 1911 alone, especially as it comes from the factory. So, I keep a decent supply of spare parts on-hand. The AR-15 doesn’t usually require a lot of …

Don’t you just hate it when someone comes up with one of those “oh-so-simple” ideas, and it is an immediate hit or success. I don’t begrudge anyone success in their lives, but how come it’s always someone else who invents a better application of the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle? I’ve been around long enough to know that keeping things simple is usually the right and smart way to go. I recently heard from one of my former martial arts students, who I hadn’t heard from in 25 years. He now holds Black Belt rank himself in several different …

When we were all children and Christmas rolled around or our birthday, we would normally reach for the biggest present with our name on it. Of course, everyone just knew that the bigger the package, the better the present. Right? Well, not so fast Did you ever hear that good things come in small packages? Well, quite often, the smaller the package, the better the item inside. I’m a big knife fan, and I don’t mean that I’m a big “knife” fan (although I am rather big). Instead, I like knives that are big. More often than not, a bigger …