Category: Field Gear

Do Not Underestimate Airsoft as a Training Aid for Youths, by Scott D.

My son who is 15 years old recently got into Airsoft and started to amass a collection of replica looking, fully functioning and firing Airsoft rifles and pistols. I had planned on enrolling him in a Hunter’s Safety course soon as he is of age but the more I watched him and his buddies play Airsoft in the bush like a rag-tag wild bunch I decided to take action.  This was a good way to train them to be soldiers.  Mostly because it was out of fear of some of the younger children getting seriously injured, since those plastic pellets …


Letter Re: Do-It-Yourself Campfire Starters

Dear Mr. Rawles,   I also have a suggestion for DIY fire starters.  I have been making these for several years and they work great for fire pits etc. I would caution about using them to start a cooking fire though, due to fragrances and color dyes. We use a lot of 4” and 6” pillar candles in our house. We don’t have small children, so an accidental fire is not a very big concern.  I used to throw out the candle butts and decided I’d like to somehow recycle them. So now every couple of months I make fire …


Letter Re: Do-It-Yourself Campfire Starters

Dear Mr. Rawles, First thank you and thank you again for your wonderful web site. I feel I have learned so much by reading it. I developed lots of important ideas good not only for emergencies but for more “mundane” preparedness. I want to share with you and your readers how I make simple and inexpensive fire starters for the fireplace, grill or campfire. I get a pound of Gulf Wax [canning paraffin] ($3 dollars per box) and melt it in a mason jar in a pot of boiling water. I then take finely shredded office paper (free) and stuff …


Packing Your Bug Out First Aid Kit, by J.V. in Tacoma

The contents of a bug out first aid kit should not only contain band-aids and other such dressings for minor wounds.  The bug out first aid kit should also contain a vast amount of items in various classifications to be discussed below.  The use of these items has been historically documented, however care should be used in their administration and these items should be used only as a last result when no other means of medical care are available.  Persons should use these items if death is imminent and the risk of using these items would not sufficiently out weigh …


Protecting Your Firearms Investment, by Grey Knight

Survival is a mindset.  The most valuable item one can have is knowledge.  One area of preparedness that gets reams of attention is the firearm.  The debate over which type, caliber, and capacity is endless.  Some of this is based on opinion, while other on experience. Yet with all the hoopla about the importance of firearms and ammunition, you never see much about care and cleaning.  I’m not going to throw my hat in with the hundreds of “experts” on firearms out there in the preparedness community, but I do want to talk a little about the importance of protecting …


Prepare and Practice Often, or Pay The Price, by J. in the Great White North

I want to relate a story that happened to me this past week that I think will be instructive for many SurvivalBlog readers. My journey into prepping started about a year ago, when my eyes were opened after reading a contrarian economist’s books about the fragile state of our economy, and the impending implications that will inevitably result if our world continues to operate on tomorrow’s dollar and with a Nanny-state mentality. The very same day I finished his latest book, I went to my local bookstore to find similar titles that could augment what I’d already read.  This is …


Two Letters Re: Prepping Pays Off in Midwest Winter Storms

Hello, I just wanted to write you about an experience I had recently. First of all I own a very dog eared copy of your novel “Patriots“ that was given to me by someone who I look up to a lot. This individual was the first person to expose me to the “bug out” bag concept. As a result I’ve always been a preparedness type of girl. In high school and college I always kept provisions for myself wherever went and as a result I’ve been able to rise to the occasion many times when things got tough. As a …


Letter Re: Multi-Lens Eyeglasses Sets

Dear Sir,        Just to let you know during the last few days we have received an overwhelming number of responses to an online customer survey we performed from SurvivalBlog online readers since your brief mention in the Odds n-Sods section of your blog about our “Multi-Lens TEOTWAWKI Vision System“.   We asked your readers what we could to earn their business and what they felt we could do to improve our packages in hopes of making them more accessible to everyone.   Your readers provided us some profound feedback to which we have quickly responded to. Here is what we have done …


Letter Re: Increasing Preparedness Planning Through the Rules of Three

JWR,   SAA Joe makes some good points in his article. He states however that “Hopefully 3 minutes without oxygen is self explanatory.  You have to breathe to survive!” then offers no solutions to a scenario where that may become a problem.   Scenario: You are stuck in traffic on the interstate due to an overturned tanker truck a few hundred feet in front Of you when a cloud of unidentified gas starts rolling towards your car from the overturned tanker. What do you do?   Scenario: You are at home which is located ¼ mile from a heavily used …


Alternative Energy Sources For Emergencies, by Smiledr

Being in preparedness mode opens your eyes to a number of factors, not just Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids. As a battalion coordinator for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s CERT program, I was asked to give a presentation on Alternative Energy sources for an emergency situation. My research into this was very enlightening, and I found a number of great ideas. This does not encompass everything available, but it is fairly thorough. So, why Alternative Energy? In an emergency, such as a major earthquake, there can be a loss of power, gas and water. If it is a short-term problem e.g. …


Web Gear Basics, by Jeff J.

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I had been thinking for some time about what topic I should write about that may help others here on SurvivalBlog. I myself am fairly new to prepping and have tried to soak up all the information this site provides and that Mr. Rawles has graciously provided. Last year I purchased and read the book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It.” I enjoyed the book incredibly and learned so much more. For one, I realized that I am far from reaching my goals of being self sustaining and providing for the needs of my …


Incorporating Preparedness into Your Everyday Lifestyle, by Mike M.

My foray into prepping began over a decade ago after I became hopelessly lost in the Adirondack Mountains.  My birthday falls on October 24th and on this particular year, the day was uncharacteristically warm.  I felt the urge to take advantage of my good fortune by scouting out some new area for the upcoming deer season.  Telling no one of my intentions that day, I jumped into my four-door beater sedan that I fondly called “The Kevorkian” and resolved to boldly go where no man had gone before.  I went off the beaten path and drove the Kevorkian down some …


Formulating a Get Home Plan, by Doug in Virginia

There’s plenty of talk on this and other internet sites and blogs about get-home-bags.  What’s in yours? What’s in mine?  What should be in there, what should not.    All of it good information and some quite thought provoking.   I really don’t understand the folks that need fishing hooks and line in their get home bag (GHB), but then again everyone’s circumstances are different.   Just like “bugging out” implies a sense of urgency, to me getting home is just as urgent and I’m probably not going to stop and do any fishing.  I have no plans to “bug out” without a …


My Path To Preparedness, by C.R.H.

Many people feel the need to be prepared for TEOTWAWKI or SHTF situations, and I am one of those people. I do not know what leads other people down the path to preparedness and preparation but the answer for me would just be a simple case of awareness because of the close to home disasters that have happened in my lifetime. My father (a Vietnam veteran) taught me to always be reasonably prepared for any situation because you never know what can go wrong, and he led by example by keeping food stores, first aid and medical supplies, and emergency …


Letter Re: Buying Prep Gear at Auctions

There is a website that I just found out about that lists all of the auctions in your area.  I am not affiliated with them at all, but I will be looking into it more.  It is called www.auctionzip.com.  Plug in your zip code and mile radius and it will come up with a monthly calendar of upcoming auctions in your area.  I have attended an auction house in my area a couple of times that receives truck-loads of surplus, camping, hunting, tools and outdoor gear; and that auction house was listed.  The website showed their auction schedule and examples …