Category: Field Gear

Letter Re: Military Surplus Watertight Containers for G.O.O.D. Vehicle Boxes

Dear Jim: I’m a 10 Cent Challenge subscriber with an idea that may help folks with their storage items. I was out the the shed looking for my box ‘o bullets to catch up on some reloading and came across an empty 81mm rocket box. Sprayed it off with the hose and let it dry and started thinking that it looks like the same height of a #10 can, I tried it and it was. So since I dislike storing survival items in cardboard, not sturdy enough or water proof, started loading it up and lo and behold the Mountain …


Field Gear on a Shoestring Budget: Ten Project Examples, by George S.

The following are some hopefully useful field expedients, substitutes and spares, all of which can be had for a buck to about ten bucks each: #1: Drywall Saw: if you don’t have one of those all-purpose $49.95 survival knives or field shovels from Gerber or Glock with the accessory root saw, or you’ve found that the finger-length saw blade on a Swiss Army folder leaves a lot to be desired when cutting a 2×6 [board] down to size? A bow saw or flexible survival kit saw are a couple of possible candidates that may be up to the task, but …


A Farmer’s Perspective on Combating Crime in South Africa, by Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

Although we in South Africa do not live in a TEOTWAWKI situation, we routinely have to deal with constant attempts to appropriate life, possessions, and freedom that could be good training for a TEOTWAWKI situation. The following are some real life insights as to what and how we handle these regular attempts at property liberation on our homesteads and surrounds. We are fortunate to live well outside of South Africa’s largest city, our community is isolated and not visible from any main road. To a point where people that live in nearby areas do not know where our entry road …


“Show Your Colors”–Recognition Flags for Post-Collapse Travel in Groups?

Jim, Some friends and I were out on a hike several weeks ago with our bug out bags, and we were talking about how we could easily identify non-threatening travelers or [perhaps even] fellow SurvivalBlog blog readers. Maybe a flag of some type? Being able to identify [“friendlies”] would be especially helpful in a TEOTWAWKI situation. I’m just wondering if anyone else had suggested anything along those lines. Thanks, – Steven JWR Replies: Your chances of meeting a fellow SurvivalBlog readers are slim. (There are only about 282,000 SurvivalBlog readers in the US, scattered in a population of more than …


Letter Re: Inexpensive Spare Eyeglasses

Hello JWR, Thanks for the site. Information is the best currency. I will send 10 Cent Challenge money in February. Just wanted to give you a link to LBWEyewear.com, a site I discovered which sells [made-to-order] prescription eyeglasses. Most normal pairs are less than $25. Some less than $15. I don’t have any connection to that site, just a satisfied customer. I’m sure there are others like it. I have found that paying 200+ dollars for a pair of glasses is not economical because I lose them often and break them. It’s always good to have a spare pair in …


Letter Re: Sources for Fasteners for D.I.Y. Web Gear Fabrication

Good Morning, Jim! I am a long-time regular reader here with a question. On your blog you’ve been recently posting about various web gear, etc. I have long desired to build some of my own gear using nylon straps and high strength plastic buckles, tensioners, and adjustment components typically found on outdoor gear. The problem has been finding a source/supplier for these components. Do you have any recommendations? Thank You, – John Geerman JWR Replies: In my experience, piece parts for Fastex buckles and similar parts are ridiculously expensive if bought new in small quantities in a “brick and mortar” …


Two Letters Re: Seeking Advice on Assembling Web Gear

Sir, In a recent post you mentioned unbuckling your ALICE belt when going prone. I learned a little trick in ROTC using a carabiner and two pieces of 550 [parachute] cord. First, adjust belt the way you want it. Second, tie the two pieces of 550 cord onto the end of the ALICE belt and hook them together with the carabiner. Adjust the length of the 550 cord to get the slack needed when going prone. This allows you to keep your belt buckled but when you need additional slack, just release the buckle and the 550 cord keeps the …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Assembling Web Gear

I love the questions on web gear. Best advice I can give, having gone through multiple iterations of trying this and that, is to divide up your load. What do I mean by this? In the military they have a “combat load” and an “approach load” concept. Your “combat load” is the web gear that you see troops with all the time – their “battle rattle.” On the other hand the “approach load” is similar to what we would refer to as a survival load (roughly). The major problem with web gear is that it does not work with any …



Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Selecting and Assembling Web Gear

Mr. Rawles, Thank you very much for your web site. I have been reading it every day for the last two months. It is a wealth of knowledge. Read your book as well. I have been researching food, water et cetera for quite a while and your site has helped a great deal. My family will be quite prepared for whatever in short order. The one thing that ha me confused is web gear/tac vest/ALICE gear. In your book you refer to a certain type of web gear but I am having trouble putting all of the pieces together. I …


Letter Re: A Prescribed Burn in North Carolina to Find a Fugitive’s Weapons and Ammo

Howdy James, I thought that this article was interesting in the fact that the US Forest Service is calling for a prescribed burn [in order] to locate weapons, ammo, and explosives (sounds like reloading powder) that a fugitive may have stashed around his camp site. This got me to thinking, how safe are your caches? You will want to make sure any caches you have are buried well if they come looking for your cache and burn the area. Also consider that those landmarks/trees that were there may be gone after a burn, so locating it again may be difficult …


Letter Re: Dress for Survival Success

Jim; That was a great article by George Haystack in Tuesday’s blog! I thought I was the only one [that carried so much survival gear around on a daily basis.] Mr. Haystack takes it further than I do. First, I could not carry [a concealed firearm] at my workplace being within the secure area of an airport. I generally carried a sturdy day pack, with the following: (1) Lockback knife (2) LED flashlights (9 LED’s / 3 AA batteries) (16) spare AAA batteries (1) regular AA flashlight (4) spare AA batteries The following are all OTC medications, of course (1) …


Dress for Survival Success by George Haystack

”Wherever you go, there you are.” And hopefully so are your clothes. Therefore it is vital to think of your wardrobe as part of your survival gear on a daily basis. It’s not good enough to have a closet full of BDUs and a piles of high-tech gear if they aren’t near you when you need them. Most of the crises that people face do not rise to the level of TEOTWAWKI and these emergencies don’t come at convenient times. Events like building fires, car wrecks, or muggings come at you when your just out living your life. A firearms …


Letter Re: Food Items in Non-Food Grade Buckets?

Hi Jim, I’m an avid reader of your blog but I have a question: Can I store vacuum sealed wheat in regular buckets (not food grade)? I like the idea of having 10 lb bags of vacuum sealed wheat for simplicity in retrieving when needed and for distributing as charity if needed. I realize it wastes space in each bucket (being in a vacuum sealed block) – but my question is whether it’s safe to use the less expensive buckets or will potential out-gassing eat the vacuum sealed bags? Your books (I have all of them) are very helpful to …


Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB

Mr. Editor: I have been a reader of this blog for a little while now and one of the earlier postings I read caught my eye: In regards to a vehicle “bug out” kit. That list was certainly a good place to start, but it was missing a few items, so I thought I would put my “two cents” worth in. To give you a little bit of background, I would describe myself as essentially being a realist. I watch the news, I read the papers. I know what is going on around me. I am aware of today’s political …