Category: Field Gear

Surviving a Nuclear Bomb, by Robert B.

A serious letter to my dear beloved son, Eric, It is quite possible that the USA will soon experience a terrorist attack in the form of a nuclear detonation. The city just west of the University you are attending would be a high profile, terrorist “trophy” to attack. If a nuclear detonation by terrorist occurs in that city, you will notice a bright flash of light and, then feel the blast wave a few seconds after. Although the University is somewhat distant and shielded by terrain from that city, train yourself to not look toward the flash and immediately duck …


Easy and Inexpensive FM Voice Satcom Operations, by David in Israel

There are many free to use communications satellites for use only by licensed amateur radio operators, more are launched almost every year with more capabilities. Not licensed? Call the ARRL’s toll-free number at 1-888-277-5289 and request an informational Amateur Radio prospect package. You only need to pass a 35 question Technician exam which uses questions from a public question pool and usually pay less than $15 for an exam seat to begin using the Amateur Satellite Service along with free access to the expansive terrestrial repeater network and Morse code on several HF bands, more when you advance in level. …


Showering with Just One Gallon of Water, by The Survival Nurse

In a TEOTWAWKI situation hygiene is going to become very important. As an E.R. Nurse I see hygiene problems everyday. I can’t begin to describe the things that I have seen… and I probably have post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result. Do you know that homeless alcoholics care very little about their personal hygiene?? A few years ago I learned a nice lesson on personal hygiene that I wanted to pass on. It may not be a new idea to some but I think it would be very useful to a lot of people who haven’t considered hygiene/showering post-SHTF.  Ten …


Letter Re: Standardizing with DeWalt 18 VDC Power Tools

James: While DeWalt is a good choice for tools, in order to save at least 30% off your next purchase look into the factory reconditioned web sites of DeWalt or in my case Bosch Tools. I used the Bosch 12 volt DC drill, in a production factory setting 10 hours a day for a year as a test. The battery only needed swapping once a day. The results were that I gave all our corded drills to the employees and purchased seven of their 12 VDC drills for the production floor. Bosch also has the 6 foot drop test on …


Constructing a Permanent Underground Cache, by JIR

If you are concerned about hiding a large amount of goods from looters, neighbors or other busybodies, remember that no indoor hiding place is likely to survive a determined search. If your home is the only place you have food and provisions, you may be forced to fight against very long odds to try to keep it. If you are forced to abandon your home in the middle of the night or burned out by looters, you might appreciate having a store of food and other gear in a safe, undetectable location where you can recover it. You might want …


Letter Re: Standardizing with DeWalt 18 VDC Power Tools

James, I have ten of the DeWalt 18 VDC power tools and four of the batteries. This is an excellent product line that has proven much better than some of the older 12 volt and corded tools that they replaced. The impact driver, circular saw, and reciprocating saw have already proven to be very useful. These are excellent survival tools because you can get a lot of work done with them and a good set of 3 or 4 batteries without needing [120 VAC utility] power. DeWalt sells almost all of their 18 VDC power tools as “tool only” kits …


Letter Re: Standardizing with DeWalt 18 VDC Power Tools

Dear James: As a builder, I rely on 120 VAC current for everything, including charging the dozen or so cordless tool batteries that we use daily. I recently purchased a DeWalt 12VDC “car charger” and am in the process of streamlining my cordless tool collection. I have a bunch of different tools and batteries from a variety of manufacturers, which I’m liquidating. In going to an all-DeWalt power tool collection, I now have the ability to charge all of my batteries (regardless of voltage) from a PV panel and voltage- regulated jump pack. I’m sure other tool manufacturers offer car …


Turning the Corner, by F.J.B.

Today there seems to be any number of reasons for the average American to turn the corner towards preparedness and being self-reliant.  Back in 1993, I would have been able to give you just as many reasons based on my observations through the 1980s.  Not surprisingly there are twice as many reasons for the average man to not start around that corner.  The reasons I have heard the most include the cost factor and objections to living so primitively.  Simply put: today’s average American is too poor and soft to endure hardships like camping, physical labor, and no TV.  These …


A Practical, Full Spectrum Suburban Survival Plan, by JIR

Survival planning can be overwhelming and a lot of the advice you get is not practical or compatible with our lifestyles. A lot of us choose, or are forced to live in the crowded East Coast far too close to cities to survive TEOTWAWKI. I dare say, a lot of SurvivalBlog readers live in suburbs just outside medium to large population centers. Many of us have jobs that don’t migrate to small towns and would face a substantial loss of income if we moved away from our livelihoods. Some of us like our current lives and feel that hunkering down …


Plentiful Water, Right at Your Feet, by Matt H. in Washington State

I want to bring up a topic that should be critical to those trying to prepare. I am one of the folks that wants to survive in place in a suburban environment. The serious weak link in any survival program is that of water. We have all read the endless articles about finding and preparing potable (drinkable) water. The endless stories of filtering, boiling, bleach-treating. I believe one area has been overlooked. Proviso: The following is presented for educational purposes only, and should only be considered in life and death situations! Can I tell you all a little about my …


Optics — Seeing Is Believing, by Littlebird

When you think of all of the needed equipment during or after an emergency, I am willing to bet that optical devices aren’t at the top of the list.  We will think about and plan for just about everything except seeing what is around us.  While pondering things to prepare for, I had the thought: What would be some items that would take some doings to replace?  While it is highly doubted that FEMA would come to your rescue I am almost certain that they will not arrive carrying the items that I’ll point out. Glasses If you wear glasses …


Product Review: Triple Eight Professional S.O.L. Knife, by Michael Z. Williamson

This tiny knife is a very durable piece of hardware. Construction is of steel, with a hard phosphate or oxide finish. The pivot is adjustable with a spanner wrench, very smooth and has slick bushings. The lock is of the rotating handle design, with strong pins to hold the blade rigid when open. The handles swing easily open or closed, and remain in place in the hand without slipping. The finish survived being dropped on a tile floor unmarked. The handle did open a fraction—the detent is fairly light. As can be seen from the photos of the knife, it’s …


Thoughts on the Bug Out Bag, by Tugboat

When I think on the “Bug out Bag” I am not thinking of a basic survival kit. The survival kit is designed to be small, portable, and with you whenever you venture out into the woods. The bug out bag is a larger version of the same but designed for a totally different scenario. When you know you are going to be on your own for an undetermined amount of time. First off it will be larger than a survival kit; usually a small backpack or duffle will suffice to carry all you will need for an extended stay away …


Letter Re: 550 Cord–The Use of Arts and Crafts for Survival and Practical Tasks

Mr. Rawles and SurvivalBlog Readers, I am a newly dedicated reader and have had an interest in your contests since day one. I have a few skills I’ve learned in life (hunting, fishing, marksmanship, tracking and writing) but the newest one is macramé. This is the art of weaving knots to make beautiful and often decorative pieces and is just a craft some folks use to entertain themselves. I’ve combined both of these and applied one more purpose for the art: rope-making, belt-making and strap-making. All three of these have occupied my time overseas for almost a year now. I’ve …


Meet the Saiga Family, by Brett G.

Your needs when the SHTF will vary greatly, yet some needs rank higher than others. Of course there will be many considerations at any point on your journey, in every circumstance, regardless of the cause (earthquake, flood, volcano, terrorist attack, storm, riots, etc). In any situation the considerations will certainly include a need for food, water, shelter, body armor and helmets, vehicles, fuel, heating, medical supplies, land for security and for growing future food, and such. There is no intention to downgrade the importance of those items – yet it is my intention to get you to think about some …