Category: G. O. O. D.

Letter Re: Bug-Out Boats Revisited

HJL, Regarding bug-out boat power generation, I just wanted to add that there is a tow-behind unit that generates power while under sail from the water flow. I’ve always thought a sailboat in warm waters would be a pretty nice escape, especially Cats with their low draw and excellent access, much more living space, and top speeds. However, there are a couple concerns: If it’s a true EOTW scenario, establishing any “community” or tribe from such a mobile homebase would seem to be very difficult and going within sight of land could put you in danger of being easily run …


Bug Out Boats Revisited, by P.J.C.

As more and more prepper books and articles are written to address the issue of what one should do in order to have a viable bug out plan, most primarily focus on having a physical location, such as a cabin or small house in a remote area within reasonable driving distance of your present home. Somewhat surprisingly, far less attention has been given to the alternative idea of having a bug out boat to use for the same purpose. Once carefully examined, a “proper” boat will have certain advantages over a remote physical location, not the least of which is …


My Truck Gun and How I Chose It, by M.M.

I don’t care how many times you get into a discussion about guns, there are at least as many points of view as there are people talking. Exponential growth in opinions happens when you talk about ammo, especially calibers. Yet, for all the vast sea of opinions, there are good ideas and empirically verifiable facts that can help us narrow down our list to which firearms we ultimately go with. For this article, I will share with you my primary criteria and then go through my thinking process for how I landed on the truck gun of my choice. Your …


Two Letters Re: Keep Your Bicycle Running in Tough Times, by S.H.

HJL, The most remarkable product I ever used to save a bike tire is MXBON 105 instant industrial glue <http://www.mxbon105.com/category_s/1818.htm>. A few years ago, riding home from work at night, I missed a sharp-edged object on the road, but my front tire did not. There was an immediate 3/4″ cut across the tread, including through reinforcing fabric! After a few bad words, a couple of miles walking, two bus rides, I was home, where I removed and patched the tube, removed the tire, applied MXBON 105 to the cut, pushed the open “wound” shut for a few seconds, sanded the …


Letter Re: Keep Your Bicycle Running in Tough Times, by S.H.

Dear Editor S.H provided an excellent reminder of a vital survival and prepper resource: the bicycle. I would like to add a few points. Commuters, tourists, and utility riders carry loads over various distances and terrain at non-athletic pace, so look to their example. When selecting a bicycle, look for standard components such as tire size. MTB 26″ and Hybrid/touring style 700c are both common sizes. 29″ is the same as 700c. 27″ is not the same as 700c but may be your local standard for a similar fast/utility wheel. Bike shops now sell MTBs in 27.5″, which is a …


Keep Your Bicycle Running in Tough Times, by S.H.

A lot of times you’ll hear folks say that doing some activity is like riding a bicycle; once you know how to do it, you’ll always remember. Well, it’s true that no matter how long it’s been since you’ve ridden, you can get back on your bicycle, but only if you remember you have one! One thing I’ve noticed in a lot of posts regarding times post-after the Big Schumer hits the fan is the gap that bicycles could fill for transport needs. Notably, bicycles were employed by a few characters in the book Patriots, so kudos to Mr. Rawles. …


Letter: Of Batteries and Jumpers

HJL, My truck’s battery was discharged (forgot to unplug something), it was COLD, and I couldn’t find anyone to give me a jump, at least not quickly, and it was about a half mile away. I have 2-gauge jumper cables in the truck. Over a half dozen times these would start other cars being jumped that would barely turn over when the thinner “economy” cables didn’t. I literally just swapped cables and it would start right up. And these, which aren’t that much more expensive, can carry 600 cold-cranking amps over the distance. The typical thin ones make 13.5 volts …


The Survival Mule Secure Locker/Trailer Combo

I’ve been posting SurvivalBlog for more than 10 years. I’ve seen a lot of great products come to market, but very few of them have been truly novel concepts. Most of them are just variations on a theme. But I recently had some conversations with a consulting client that amazed me. This former Marine has truly “built a better mousetrap”. He calls it The Survival Mule. This is a fantastic solution to a common prepper dilemma: “How do I get a trailer load of Get Out of Dodge gear on the road, quickly?” What he came up was a wall …


Letter Re: On the Golden Horde

Good day, Mr Rawles. It’s been a while since I’ve written to you or submitted anything, almost half a decade, in fact. How time flies. At any rate, having approached prepping from many angles for near a decade now, I wanted to share an opinion about the much-discussed Golden Horde. People seem infatuated with the idea of predicting what the uninitiated will do when a civilization-ending calamity occurs. “People will stay put,” says one. “People will flood out of the city,” says another. Bitter arguments ensue, neither recognizing that the very fact that they’re arguing indicates that they’re both right …


Two Letters Re: The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities

Hi HJL and JWR, The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities was an awesome article. Patrice Lewis definitely addresses the knowns, the unknowns, known unknowns, and unknown-unknowns in her article! I totally agree, based on the same data that she and her husband are looking at that most people won’t make it out of the cities alive. As a collapse theorist myself, if we do indeed have a fast crash (as compared to the slow one we’re currently in), I believe that the current societal trends– the suicides, the mass-shootings, overdoses of legal and illegal drugs, et cetera– would …


Structured Thinking for Practical Prepping for Suburban Life, by S.I.R.

I am writing this article based on my experience as Army Infantry officer, a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and intelligence professional, but most of all as someone who uses structured thinking to plan against and mitigate threats. It is important to plan for events that are less of a threat yet highly probable that in turn provide the foundation to plan for extremely dangerous threats that are less likely to happen. Structured thinking and scenario development will assist the average reader with how to move beyond theory and talk to practical planning. The Americans I interact with live in …


Letter Re: The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities

Mr. Editor: Regarding the recent discussion of the “Golden Horde” concept (in Patrice Lewis’s guest article The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities) — it seems that a review of the history of Germany’s 30 Years’ War (from 1618 to 1648) would be in order. You may recall how Wallenstein rejected the idea of a 40,000-man army, demanding 100,000. Austria protested that such a large army would be too expensive. The reply was, that the larger army would finance itself [through what was euphemistically called “foraging”, on a tactical scale, and “plunder” on a strategic scale], while the smaller …


The Harsh Truth About Bugging Out of Cities, by Patrice Lewis

A common concern among rural people in a grid-down situation is the concept of marauding urbanites swarming through the countryside looting and pillaging — the so-called Golden Horde. I addressed this issue on my blog a few months ago when a reader noted, “You can hide yourself, but not your garden. Are you going to take your beef herd into your house with you? In any long-term crisis situation, your cattle and garden will be indefensible and therefore gone in a matter of months. You cannot protect them from a determined large, armed group.” This reader respectfully listed what he …


Survive the Drive – Vehicle Survival Preparedness, by Prepper Ray

Where will you be when the SHTF? You need to consider that you may not be at home when the world around you begins to fall apart. You are very likely going to have to travel to get home or a bug out location. You may be at work out shopping or even on vacation. No matter where you are the problem is going to be just being able to get from point A to point B. The type of vehicle you have and the equipment you have in that vehicle may in fact determine your ability to get to …


Wilderness Fire: An Unexpected Retreat From Our Retreat, by L.F.P.

We have a boat-in only glamorous camping (“glamping”) retreat on a large lake in the West on the very edge of Wilderness-designated public forest land. The nearest road is more than three miles away. We were there in early August on summer vacation from the city. Several small lightning-caused wilderness fires had been burning for more than a month during the ongoing drought conditions. These fires flared up in very rugged terrain due to a rare severe August windstorm with gusts above 60 mph. The smoke had started to get noticeable on the lake and light ash was raining down …