Category: Field Gear

Guest Article: Assorted Tool Sharpening, by C.J.

(Article transcribed from a CD sent in to SurvivalBlog) I have been sharpening now for about 15 years. I started out small, because I didn’t want to get too much invested; so, I started out with small machines, mostly hand sharpening. Our emphasis is on hand tools for sharpening, if you consider we may not have any electricity to work with. Steps for Getting Started: Decide what tools and blades you want to sharpen. Buy several books on sharpening and get some initial knowledge. Study the angles on the blades and tools you want to sharpen, make notes on these, …


Scot’s Product Review: SUNFLAIR Solar Oven

I think I’m on to something– solar cooking. I’ve been interested in it for a long time but never got around to doing much about it. Writing for SurvivalBlog gave me an excuse, actually a duty, to check this subject out. I plan to do at least two reviews on solar cookers and hope to do more since there are a variety of them on the market. You can also make your own, and I’ll look into that, too. Why solar? Well, being able to cook without requiring fuel is huge. Not only can you cook, you can make water …


Prepping During the Calm After the Storm, by D.L.

One of the hardest things to do in prepping, especially if you were inspired by a specific incident or disaster, is to maintain your preps long after the initial threat seems to have faded away. There’s an initial burst of energy and acquisition of skills; then there is a slow fade and then a rapid fade. Eventually, something will happen, and you will find yourself unprepared again. It’s a bit like dieting before your high school reunion. Then, once the reunion is over, trying to keep your diet going but allowing yourself a weekly cheat day, then adding a cheat …


Letter Re: To Use Body Armor or Not

My sincerest condolences to the author. It’s always tragic to lose one of our own, especially as young as his father was at 42. Concerning the author’s questions, his Dad was wise on the policy of armor usage in a given AO. My personal combat experience, and lessons learned from others have taught me the following: Armor is a great tool, and only plated armor (lvl IV) counts when you have rifles pointed your way. Getting shot with armor/plates suck. There’s a lot of kinetic energy getting transferred from the bullet, to your armor, then to the sack of meat …


Scot’s Product Review: DRD Tactical CDR-15-556

AR-15s are pretty common these days. I like them a lot, though they aren’t perfect by any means. We can quibble about the caliber and gas systems all day, but they have good ergonomics and are widespread and popular. Good ones are reliable. I hadn’t really planned on reviewing factory-made AR-15’s, as they such a generic, well-known commodity, but when DRD Tactical offered one, they put a word in the subject header that made me interested. The word was “takedown”. Takedowns are something that I have always found fascinating, and DRD builds a takedown version of the AR. The idea …


Scot’s Product Review: Malkoff

Thanks to all of the folks who are writing me about products to review. It really helps. One common thread in several letters is to test affordable stuff, and that’s going to be a priority. Please keep the ideas coming! They really help. Malkoff might be another word for light. It is all thanks to Gene Malkoff going out one night to protect his chickens and realizing he needed a better flashlight. The Enterprise, Alabama man tried an LED light but just wasn’t happy with it. He decided he could come up with something better. After some hard work, he …


Scot’s Product Review: SimGar The Simple Garden

I have wanted to review a self-watering/fertilizing container gardening system ever since I started writing for SurvivalBlog. I was thrilled when SimGar contacted me and offered to let me borrow one of their SimGar Plus kits. It goes for about $150.00. SimGar stands for The Simple Garden, and it has only been on the market for about a month. I’ve gardened off and on for thirty plus years and have had both great and rotten results. While I’m lucky enough to have some decent space for a garden where we live now, my soil isn’t very good for vegetables without …


Arming Your Neighborhood in a World Gone Feral, by E.M.

I occasionally prowl prepper forums to read the opinions being expressed on various survival-related matters. Some people offer opinions that provide excellent insight into a particular problem or concern. Other people offer opinions that reveal profoundly weird or nonsensical views about issues. Of course, that situation certainly isn’t limited to the field of preparedness. I recently saw a posting on a forum by someone who asked whether, in making his preparations for a possible societal collapse, he should acquire “pass out” guns to hand out to his neighbors who, though mildly interested in survival matters when he discussed it with …


Why You Need a Net in Your BOB, by JRV

Much of today’s survival discussion focuses on storing freeze-dried and canned foods and hunting game with guns. For the long term we can grow gardens, resume agricultural food production, and keep domesticated animals, just like our ancestors did in the 1800’s. However, what can we do for short-term food, without the stores, garden harvest, and chicken coops? One positive scenario is we can learn how to be good foragers and hunter-gatherers. An advantage of hunter-gatherer hunting techniques for today’s survivalist is that they are quiet. Trapping a rabbit in a snare or a net trap doesn’t give away your position …


A Get Home Plan, by H.H.

First, I want to thank all the contributors for all the time and effort that they have put into this blog. I won’t say I have read all of them, but I have considered a significant portion of them not only in my own lifestyle but in my preparation. My own situation is that I work in a large city in the south and the family is miles away. I have been prepping for a few years now and would just like to offer a few observations. I have done all the normal things at the retreat, including food to …


Scot’s Product Review: Magazine Loaders

I have long sneered at magazine loaders. I’m lucky to be strong enough to load magazines myself, and frankly, most of the loaders I’ve tried haven’t worked well enough to make me feel they offered any benefits. I have a nine-year-old son, though, and he simply doesn’t have the strength or dexterity I have and has problems getting magazines loaded. I was getting tired of loading them for him and felt that my doing his work for him was a bad example. I, therefore, became receptive to the concept but had no idea if there are any magazine loaders that …


Scot’s Product Review: JM Custom Kydex

I have probably mentioned more than once how much I like leather holsters. I know I have mentioned how much I sweat in the summer in my hot, muggy climate. All that sweat does bad things to leather holsters, and then it soaks through and does bad things to pistols. I finally decided it was time to reconsider my prejudices against synthetics for something immune to sweat to use during the summer. These days, that pretty much means Kydex. My preferred carry, by the way, is a strong side, inside the waistband (IWB) holster, and I usually carry a 1911 …


Making a Bow– An Effective Expedient Weapon, by E.M.

The Story Imagine yourself in a bug out situation. You have had to abandon your vehicle because a bridge is out, and you can’t go back because your vehicle is hopelessly blocked in by others. You leave your vehicle, taking your vest, your rifle, and your BOB. You head across country toward your retreat, which is about 100 miles away, where you plan to meet your family and friends. You think it will take maybe a week or so to get there. You have three or four days of food and 120 rounds for the rifle. You follow the river …


Geocaching for Preppers, by R.H.

As preppers we are under some pressure. We are naturally concerned about water purification, food storage, defensive weapons, bug out locations, and the list of challenges is seemingly endless. We worry about a total collapse of the financial world, a global pandemic, solar flares, or other crisis. There is certainly no shortage of concerns. Have we done enough? Do we have enough? Are we knowledgeable enough? Once in a while, I think we should all take a deep breath, relax, and have some fun! What follows is a brief explanation of Geocaching– a fun activity that can be easily adapted …


My Journey To The “Summits On The Air”, by Banjo Ninja

The Meta Game of Portable Communications as Practice for Prepping 1968 I had an interest in electronics from an early age. Back before most consumer electronics went digital, people actually repaired things when they stopped working. One of my earliest memories was Mr. D. coming to the house to fix our TV. In those days, the TV repairman came to your house, tested and replaced vacuum tubes, which was the dominant technology of the times, and Star Trek magically returned to your screen. This whole process fascinated me. Plus, Mr. D was a retired Air Force Colonel, so he was …