Category: G. O. O. D.

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 …


Letter Re: Occupying Your Community- Part 2, by B.S.C.

Hugh, As a comment to the article titled Occupying Your Community, I don’t have a bug-out bag, because I don’t have anywhere better to go than my own castle. – Mr. X HJL Replies: Like you, I do not have anywhere better to go than my own home/retreat. (I live at my rural retreat year-round.) However, not having a bug-out bag (BOB) and quick get-away kit (see Tina Lewis Rowe’s suggestions) is terribly shortsighted. There could be many reasons that you might be forced to leave your castle beyond those addressed in B.S.C’s article. (In my area, the substantial threats …


Letter Re: Vehicle Fences

HJL, Cutting vehicle cable barriers is very time consuming and destructive. The cables lift out of the vertical post and only have a pop-out plastic retainer to separate the cables. After the cables have been removed, the post will pull out of the “receiver” (much like a trailer hitch receiver) cemented in the ground. Removing several post will allow the cables to lay on the ground and be driven over. [Editors note: This must depend upon the construction company installing the fences or the state requirements. I have seen both types of fences.]- JDL


Letter Re: Vehicle Fences

Hugh, Just a comment on cutting metal (including cables). A hacksaw takes a long time and will be obvious to many people. I have found when needing to cut hardened steel or thick metal too big for bolt cutters to use a metal cutting wheel on a battery operated tool like the 18 V Dewalt Grinder. It is fast and effortless. It does throw alot of sparks, so beware of your environment and maybe throw a wet towel or blanket down. Also, the blades are fragile and can break if twisted, so keep some spares with your kit. – S.T.


Letter Re: Vehicle Fences

HJL, I wanted to make a comment about this great letter. I think it may bear mentioning that in an emergency situation the weak point in the fence is the concrete. Having watched one get hit and seen many more that were hit, I can say that the concrete set post will give way before the cable. This being said I can’t for sure say the best way to knock one over but bumper up to it at a 90 degree angle and the post should give way then the slack between the posts should allow you to drive over …


Letter Re: Vehicle Fences

HJL, A caution to readers about the fences found between roadways. Some are under tremendous tension, and cutting them can lead to catastrophic consequences. I am a professional firefighter and have had some experience with accidents involving these fences. I would HIGHLY caution against cutting, unless you know what you are dealing with. – BR


Letter: Vehicle Fences

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Hi HJL, I do a fair amount of traveling in the snowy states and have noticed a trend that I think is interesting. On both major highways and interstates I’ve seen more and more of the “crash cable” fences being erected between opposing lanes. While I’m sure the initial reason for the fences is to prevent a vehicle from slipping on ice and sliding into oncoming traffic, I can’t help but see an alternate “extra” use. The fences I’ve seen are constructed with 3 to 6 strands of 3/4 to 1 inch thick galvanized steel cable. The strands are fixed …


Getting Home – Part 1, by BF

I recently had to travel for work to a large, Midwestern city with a population of about two million. I needed to spend two weeks there working with a team to help recover an IT development project that had gone “south”. I could have traveled back home for the middle weekend; however, I didn’t want to spend all the extra time traveling, waiting for connections in airports, and so forth, so I stayed in the city. The Challenge For fun, I decided to spend that weekend seeing what I could put together for a get home bag, with a target …