Category: Field Gear

Letter Re: Pat’s Product Review: Bardin & Marsee Waterproof Bible

James, After reading about the waterproof Bible, I went to the publishers web site, BardinMarsee.com and discovered that they also manufacture waterproof notebooks.  Many times during my military career I have needed to write something while in the rain.  These would have been great, but alas they were not available in the 1970s. These notebooks are available in both top and side spiral, and in the most common sizes, all at an attractive price. Thanks, – Greg L.


Letter Re: Kevlar Chainsaw Safety Chaps

James, That was an excellent article by George H. on Felling Trees. He mentioned Kevlar Chaps as only being recommended. Were I writing the article I would have advised people to use them as mandatory equipment. I have never been a "safety nazi", but my dealer would not sell me my new Husky unless I bought these, which cost very little. I now agree with his demand. He has an old time logger who almost died after cutting his femoral artery without these chaps. New saws of any manufacturer have higher RPM on the bar, and the chain will keep spinning around …


Sewing, Mending and Altering Your Clothing After the Ball Drops, Part 2, by Belle

Last summer I wrote an article on dealing with trash at your retreat and recently I wrote Part 1 of this article about sewing.  So I’m going to forego the usual introduction and description of my living style and just jump right into the topic. I began to think about writing this article while watching the television show Jericho.  First of all, let’s just get this out of the way. I know that “Jericho” is a television show. I know that it is fiction.  I know that the conditions depicted are in no way realistic, etc.  It is a television …


Winter Outdoor Survival Lessons Learned, by Jim N.

Darkness was rapidly settling in, I was soaking wet, and the temperature was falling as fast as the snow.  There were still about 8 miles of very rough country between me and my truck and I was flat out smoked from hiking all day in deep snow at high elevation.  I realized I could not hope to navigate by headlamp the many blow down trees and steep canyon walls that separated me from my truck in my current condition.  While I realized the seriousness of my situation, I was not particularly worried and silently thanked the Lord I had practiced …


Letter Re: UVPaqlite Forever Lite

Jim, Just an FYI, regarding Pat’s Product Review of the The UV Paqlite Forever Lite: I got two of the UVPaqLites from Wiggy’s several months ago and they are great. I got the largest rectangular sheet ones and I can attest that they do indeed work well. When not in normal use, They hang on the bathroom window. All night long, no need to turn the lights on in the bathroom. All in all, pretty nice and it supports Jerry Wigutow–a SurvivalBlog advertiser. – The Army Aviator


Pat’s Product Review: UVPaqlite Forever Lite

I’m like many folks, and when I can get a good deal on a product, that can help me fill a particular need, I like that. However, when I can get a great deal on a product, I’m even happier. But when I can get a free deal on something I need, I couldn’t be happier. When the power goes out, we all reach for a flashlight, to help us find our way in the dark. When out camping, we need a light source of some type as well. Many folks carry flashlights in their BOB, or have lanterns for …


Off Grid Cooking Solutions, Part 1, by V.W.

About three years ago, my husband and I jumped in with both feet and decided to invest in emergency preparedness and survival skills. It’s been quite a journey, and we certainly have learned a lot. My husband’s main interests are in security and heating the home, while mine have been food storage and off grid cooking. We make a good team as we rely on each other’s strengths and abilities. Although we are not yet at the level we hope to be, we are a lot further down the road than where we once were. I recently taught a small …


Letter Re: Sew You Think You’re a Prepper? Look to Your Treadle in Troubled Times

Some great points have been brought up by R.S. in a response to my original article. I appreciate the input and agree completely with the value of a true industrial machine while electricity is available. Nothing compares to a walking foot industrial for those heavy jobs that use materials such as thick leather, webbing and multiples layers of canvas. I should have mentioned that a household low-tech treadle would pale in comparison to a modern electric industrial machine. I too, appreciate their capability for sewing heavy work.  As luck would have it, I own and operate both a Consew 226R …


Letter Re: Sew You Think You’re a Prepper? Look to Your Treadle in Troubled Times

JWR, The sewing submission by TJG about Singer 66 Treadle machines is informative and “generally” relays the usefulness of such a machine, especially in a grid-down environment, however, as I have learned personally, her claims that the Singer 66 can handle THICK and BULKY items like leather and nylon is not accurate in my opinion. I learned this by buying a beautiful electric-motor-driven Singer 66 “Red Eye” model to do all the nylon web gear modifications I have always wanted to do to my gear, as the Singer 66 is indeed a tough all-steel sewing machine, yet I quickly discovered …


Emergency Bags for Your Vehicle, by Z.T.

Most preppers probably have a pretty good handle on how to assemble a bug-out-bag (BOB). And, it’s probably so large and ungainly, that it gets stuck in the closet, just like mine. Let’s be honest, are you going to have it when you need it? I think we have covered the likelihood of being at home when “it” happens in plenty of detail in the past. We have seen that the chances of you being at home on your couch with your BOB beside you are slim. What about all the other situations? In other words, where to you spend …


Field Evasion Skills, by JOAT

So there I was, in the back of the UH-60 Blackhawk lifting my feet at various intervals for fear that they would scrape the pine trees as the pilot hugged the terrain below with the chopper.  One thing led to another and the next thing I knew the chopper was on the ground and I was running full speed to get to the trees to find concealment from nearby hostiles that intended to do me harm. As I got up and over the nearest ridge and ducked into some temporary concealment; I stopped and listened. After waiting for what seemed …


Pat’s Product Review: Maxxeon WorkStar 2000

Way back before computers completely took over our lives, life seemed a lot simpler. If it were up to me, I’d live without computers, microprocessors, cell phones, texting, e-mails and tweets (whatever that is). I long for the time when cars were more simple to work on, I used to love tinkering with my own cars, improving on them, repairing them, and just playing around with them. Heck, I even worked as a dune buggy mechanic in Hawaii for a time. Today, with all the computers running cars and trucks, I can’t hardly figure out anything on new vehicles, you …


Local Food and Energy from Top Lit Up Draft Micro-Gasification Stoves, by Doug B.

"Food and energy are the two keystones of any community economy anywhere on earth.   If we produce and distribute food and energy locally, we have the food, the energy and the money.   We establish the capacity to create and retain wealth in our community.   We put in place the two foundations of any human economy."  -David Yarrow. More and easier food and energy production immediately raise standards of living. Less time worrying about essentials, leaves more time to do everything else.  Do not overlook this simple truth in preparedness and future planning.  Top Lit Up Draft (TLUD) stove technology has …


Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Brought Home, by K.G.

A few months ago, work requirements took me to a country where I’d never been before, and where, frankly, I never dreamed I’d go: Bangladesh. I’d venture to guess that few Westerners (and even fewer Western women) have had the opportunity that I recently did, and so I’d like to contribute to readers some of the experiences I had and some of the lessons I was able to bring home. Before writing further, let me say that less than two weeks in any country does not make an expert of any visitor – myself included. I can’t and won’t pretend …


The Po’ Mans TEOTWAWKI Guide, by R.B.

Useful tips and advice for the rest of us. Don’t have lots of money? Just started prepping when it hits the fan? This guide is for you. Free of charge! Tip #1: Bug-in Chances are that you won’t be in such immediate danger (dirty bomb, lava about to engulf your house, spiders like in that Arachnaphobia movie) that you actually have to leave your home. Most likely the government will stop functioning or the power grid will be down for a long time. Of course, there is always risk of civil unrest, but that is not likely to effect your …