Category: Field Gear

Pat’s Product Review: Eberlestock Gunslinger II Pack

I have literally lost count of the number and different types of backpacks I have owned and tried over the years. And, to be sure, there is no one backpack that suits everyone the same. I believe backpacks are a very personal thing, and you can’t select one for someone else. Everyone in my family has a different type of Bug Out Bag – always have! At one point, when I was quite a bit younger, I used a US military CFP 90 pack – and that thing could hold something like 6,500 cubic inches of stuff. Fully loaded, it …


A Guide to Load Carrying Equipment, by Tony X.

It can be a daunting task this day and time selecting what to carry and how best to carry it. With the vast selection of government issue and commercial load carrying equipment available today. In this article I will be addressing the items of common U.S. military issue. I’m constantly fielding questions from friends and coworkers about what system, manufacturer, and color/pattern is best. Well there is no easy answer so I will try to clear away some of the fog for everyone. I will be drawing on over 20 years of experience as a man whose wore many hats …


Practical Handgun Carry, by Sarah in Texas

Five years ago, I got my Concealed Handgun License. Here in the Great State of Texas, concealed carry is the only legal kind for the average citizen; without the permit, you can’t carry in public. (Your vehicle and home do not count as “public,” incidentally.) Last week, my new CHL arrived in the mailbox, meaning that I’m good to carry for another five years. In a post-SHTF environment, being armed everywhere you go is a good idea. We can’t predict exactly what our society will be like, but we know that violent people are not going to decide that they …


Letter Re: The Lowly, Forgotten Knee Pad

Hello Mr. Rawles, After perusing the contents listed in survival kits, Bug Out Bags (BOB), and Get Out Of Dodge bags (GOOD), it seems to me that they all have one common glaring omission. That omission is knee pads. It occurred to me recently while fixing a roadside flat that so many survival/TEOTWAWKI tasks require one to get “down and dirty”, i. e., working on one’s knees. Knee pads can remove a lot of the “pain and suffering” from tasks such as firestarting, fence building/mending, emergency roadside vehicle repair, chainsaw sharpening, and a whole host of other tasks. Not to …


Letter Re: Comments on Matt Bracken’s Night Fighting Primer

Hi James, I followed a link that you recently posted: Matt Bracken: Night Fighting 101. Matt Bracken wrote a fine article. He is correct that the deer hunter that proceeds to his hunting area in the dark has already approached quite a lot of what he suggests.   I would like to suggest this concerning chain link fences. Having assembled perhaps 800 feet of chain link fence, I learned how to break it in two and to reweave it together. If you have to separate a portion of chain link fence laying on the ground it is a snap. It …


Odds ‘n Sods:

In keeping with our well-entrenched philosophy of redundancy, we now have five ways to cut firewood at the Rawles Ranch: 1.) A reliable (but noisy) Stihl 024 gas engine chainsaw with a 20″ bar, 2.) An assortment of felling axes and mauls, 3.) an early-1900s vintage 1-1/2 man saw, 4.) A Makita electric chainsaw that can be powered by quiet a Yamaha 2.8 KW inverter genset carried in the back of our utility ATV, and 5.) An even smaller Black & Decker 18-Volt cordless electric chainsaw. (The latter lacks the muscle for anything more than cutting saplings or for limb …


Two Letters Re: Camouflage Painting Firearms

Dear Mr. Rawles: As an addendum to the Friday piece on “Camouflage Painting Firearms” by Kyrottimus, I recommend this piece: Weapons Painting 101, a bulletin from the US Army TACOM detailing the officially-approved techniques for painting small arms. Cordially, – John N. Dear Editor: Regarding “Camouflage Painting Firearms”, you may want to point folks to this rather well-illustrated tutorial on painting your AR in the Multicam pattern, found over at AR15.com: How to Multicam your rifle…on the cheap! Regards, – T.


Camouflage Painting Firearms, by Kyrottimus

Most combat-style firearms come in one color: black. For “style” this is a safe bet, as black goes well with everything. However, in life-or-death survival situations, one must make their weapon just as concealable as themselves. Black is bad. Of all colors, black stands out the most and draws the human-eye to it before anything else. This is true for normal-spectrum vision, starlight/night-vision, IR/Near-IR/Thermal vision, etc. Anything appearing as black or reflective will stick out like a proverbial sore thumb. If you plan on wearing some type of camouflage clothing during any situation, you should consider camouflaging your weapon as …


Do-It-Yourself Rocket Stoves, by E.B.

I live and prep on a tight budget – at least for the time being. I am lucky to have a fireplace in my home, not a woodstove, nor the room for one, but at least a fireplace. It’s better than no fireplace, but rather inefficient for heating or cooking. It would do in a pinch, but a rocket stove would greatly reduce the amount of wood needed to cook a meal. On my budget even $100 is a lot right now and I began looking into building my own rocket stove. The knowledge is out there, and “improved stoves” …


How to Make an Old-Fashioned Utility Quilt, by Jean P.

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Quilters tend to be perfectionists.  However, quilts have been used to keep our poorly-furred bodies warm for centuries.  When you just need warmth, and not a perfectly crafted heirloom, a quilt is just the ticket.  Utility quilts can be made from discarded items around the home, as long as you have a needle and some thread.  A quilt is merely 3 layers, fabric/insulation/fabric, stitched together to keep you warmer.  In a perfect world we all have our Wiggy’s, but in a real-life situation, especially with the economy these days, that perfect scenario may just not be possible.  Also, remember that …


Pat’s Product Review: Montie Gear Slingshot

Although my body is growing older, my mind is still stuck at age 27 – and at times, my mind is even younger than that. I hope this never changes, once the mind grows old, then the body will grow even older – faster! While I can’t do the things I used to do (physically) when I was much younger, there’s still a lot of “fun” left in me.   I grew up in Chicago, and like most kids at that time, and in my neighborhood, we were pretty poor, except back then, we didn’t know we were poor. We …


Letter Re: Avoid Becoming a Refugee

Dear Editor: The “off-road” gear carriers described in Avoid Becoming a Refugee are neat, but check out this fascinating article about the Chinese wheelbarrow. Its wheel is dead center (instead of at the end like European barrows) enabling it to carry three to six times more weight. Frequently passengers with luggage would be transported by just one person. These were the primary freight movers of their day (much like tractor trailers are used today) but had the advantage of being able to negotiate extremely narrow “roads.” I really enjoyed reading this history and have tucked this knowledge in the back …


Learn a Little by Taking a Walk, by Bill H.

I am a pretty avid reader of the survivalblog.com site. I also follow many of the other sites on prepping and survival that are out there. After a few months, it becomes pretty obvious which sites lean towards sensationalism, conspiracy theories, couch prepping, and even sales and marketing. The problem lies in the fact that with the mainstream media is piling onto the prepping bandwagon and this increases the amount of information available. Some of the information available today is of little use and some of it is outright dangerous. With that in mind, I will make the suggestion that …


Selecting Equipment for Years of Use, by M.C. in Arizona

I am at home sitting safely on my couch, however, between 2001 and 2009 I was a soldier serving in the GWOT campaign. I have served three tours in Iraq, one tour in Afghanistan, and a year assisting the African theater (proxy war.) And I’m currently working for the Marine Corps as a civilian contractor. I figured I’d write down some thoughts because I have had the misfortune of twice being cut off from any re-supply or ‘rescue’. In addition the equipment issued to servicemen is not always ‘the best’ money can buy. So here are some thoughts on that …


25 Things to Always Have With You, by R. in New York

Yes, we all know that an end of world event could happen at any time.  However I look at things statistically and realistically.  I think I have a greater chance of getting into a car accident than getting hit with an asteroid or meteor.  So I first focus on my little corner of the world.  Even if there is a catastrophic event you still need to get to your “go” bag and/or vehicle with your G.O.O.D. bag and perhaps onward to your home or retreat depending on each situation.  So what do you need for day to day survival?  Because …