Pat Cascio’s Product Review: Beyond Locks – Door Security

For much of my life I’ve been involved in law enforcement, security, K-9 security, private investigations, and security consulting in one form or another. It’s been a fairly diverse and exciting career, to be sure. I’m hardly ever bored on most days. I still do some security consulting these days and training, mainly in the firearms field, as time permits. For a guy who is supposed to be at the very least semi-retired, I find myself busier than I care to be most days. I don’t know what happened to my retirement dreams of hunting, fishing, and sitting on the front deck of my home watching the world pass by, but thus far that part of my retirement dream hasn’t materialized.

For whatever reason, when I lived in Portland, Oregon, back in 1979-1981 doing private investigations with one of the few PI companies around, there were a lot of people coming to us with security concerns. Many people came to us wanting us to “sweep” their homes for listening devices, which we did. One time we actually found one. Go figure? When I lived back in the Chicago, Illinois area, I did a lot of security consulting. Much of this consisted of helping make businesses more secure or safe by installing burglar and silent alarms in their businesses, and on the night shift I actually answered alarms and honestly caught a lot of bad guys who had broken into businesses.

Security covers a lot of different topics. Some involve packing a handgun so you’ll feel more secure when you are out and about, and these days you can’t feel too safe on the mean streets if you ask me. So, that is but one layer of security. Your home is your castle, and you should always feel safe there. However, depending on where you live, you may not feel secure and safe at all. I’ve seen many homes in some big cities in the “bad” part of town with steel bars on the doors and windows. You shouldn’t have to live like that, and I wouldn’t. I’d find a way to move to a safer area, somehow. That isn’t living; that is urban survival, hardcore!

When I was tasked with doing a security analysis on a home or business, one of the first things I would point out to the customer was the weakness of their doors and windows. Let’s be honest here; there is only so much you can do to make your windows stronger. Face facts; glass breaks, easily! Then we have doors, and most builders install some really cheap wooden doors, as directed by the designer of the house. Then we have the door locks, and once again they are a weak source. Most locks can easily be broken with a few kicks or a large hammer. There are no 100% solutions to all your security needs, no matter what you may do to make your home safer.

At my digs, in rural Oregon, I have a fairly good secondary line of security in my German Shepherds. They can hear when someone comes into our driveway long before I hear it, and they go on alert. These days, I’m down to only three German Shepherds. I’ve had a lot more than that at one time. I had to put down my main, prize winning male last summer, and it was hard to do, but his hips gave out, and he had a good life. He was almost 14-years old. That’s a long time for big breed dogs to live. However, I still have one of his sons and two more German Shepherds to help protect our digs. A big dog barking usually sends people away, if they have evil deeds on their minds. So, I often recommend a large breed dog to folks, as one layer of home security.

Our windows are all high enough off the ground that it would require a ladder to reach them, and even during the summer months we only open a few windows just far enough to get some fresh air circulating or have an a/c unit installed in a window. During the winter months, all windows are closed and locked. Then we have the doors in our home. We actually have three doors leading to the outside. Our small backyard is completely fenced in, making it difficult but not impossible for someone to come in through the two backdoors. We do not have gates leading to the backyard. Then there is the front door, and it is an older wooden door with a door knob lock and a dead bolt.

As much as I’d like to believe our home is pretty secure, there is always more than can be done, always. I do count on my dogs protecting my home, even when we are away. One dog travels with me whenever I leave the house, and two stay home to protect the place, and there is no doubt that they will do their job. As an example, our youngest daughter hadn’t been around for a visit for quite a few months. She is now in Rwanda, Africa in the Peace Corps, but that’s another story! Well, the youngest daughter came home for a visit, and she was next door at our small guest house, where our oldest daughter lives, and they both came over for lunch. We didn’t know the youngest was there and coming over. Well, when the oldest daughter walked in, the dogs barked at her, like they always do. It wasn’t vicious; they just barked at her as I trained them to do when anyone comes in. The youngest daughter was right behind our oldest, and our little female German Shepherd couldn’t see who was behind our oldest daughter. Fearing it was someone who wasn’t supposed to come in the house, she went after the youngest and nipped her in the leg, before she realized who she bit. So, I know our dogs will protect our home!

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Still, we are always tasked with trying to find a way to make our homes more secure, and as I mentioned, there is always something more you can do. Enter www.beyondlocks.com – a company that specializes in making the doors, all the doors in your home, more secure against break-in. They have a number of different devices that can be added to your doors and door frames, even your overhead garage door to make you more secure, when you are home and even when you are away from your home.

Beyond Locks sent me three of their devices for making the doors of your home more secure. Quite honestly, I’m one of these people who said, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” These devices are so simple in design, but they’re designed to keep your doors more secure. I’ll tell you right up front that I did not install any of the samples they sent me because I will be replacing my outside doors this coming summer. There isn’t anything wrong with them, but they are getting old. So, I didn’t want to install any of the hardware sent to me only to have to remove it when the doors get replaced.

Now, with the above disclaimer stated, you can watch several videos on the Beyond Locks website to see how effective these various, and simple devices can be to help keep the bad guys out of your house. What I viewed on the videos was very impressive, very! First up is the Door Reinforcer– a simple two-piece product that installs over the dead bolt of your door. Believe it or not, it isn’t that difficult to take a large hammer or even start kicking on the dead bolt area of your door, before it gives way. It’s not a good thing! The Door Reinforcer simply “cuddles” your dead bolt on the inside and outside of the door, reinforcing all that much more, and this device can be installed in five minutes with a drill and screw driver. The price is $36.97!

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Next up we have the Security Strike, and this massive striker installs in the door frame. This is a huge, 8-inch long striker that your door dead bolt or door knob lock locks into, and it is secured with eight, 4-inch long screws. When someone is trying to kick-in your door or pry it open, the strike plate will probably be one of the first things to go. Again, we have a simple installation– a screw driver and a drill – which will take you all of about five minutes to install. The price is $17.97-$19.97, depending on which model you pick.

Last up is the Security Hook, and this is a massive Aluminum hook that when installed goes over the door knob inside the house. It is secured into the stud in the door frame with a massive lag bolt. Once again, a drill is used to drill a pilot hole, and the lag bolt also comes with the “Spax” Torx adaptor to use with a ratchet set to install it. It’s another five minute job, if it takes that long to install. You simple lift up on the Security Hook to place it over the door knob when you want to secure the door. Then, it takes about two seconds to “arm” it. The price is $24.97, which is nice!

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When I install the new doors in my home, I will be installing all three of these products and will probably order a few more to double the security on each door. Even though I live out in the boonies, one never knows when a bad guy might come along and, seeing no cars in the driveway, want to attempt to break into my home. You can’t be too safe. Can I say it any clearer than that? For a small amount of money, you can easily install any or all of these products from Beyond Locks on your exterior doors to give you a little more peace of mind.

Be sure to check out the very impressive videos on the Beyond Locks website. You’ll see some serious attempts by actors trying to break into a house. Some targets are regular doors with no added security, and the others are doors that have the various Beyond Locks devices installed. While nothing is fool proof, any one of these simple-to-install devices on your doors will give you a little more peace of mind when you are home or away. It just makes it that much harder for a bad guy to get into you place, and in short order they will move on to the next house– one that will be easier to kick the door in. Peace of mind, that’s what it’s all about– peace of mind in your own home!

– Senior Product Review Editor, Pat Cascio

How to Use Old Cooking Oil: The Floating Wick

A few months ago, one of my consulting clients mentioned that she had over-stocked her supply of vegetable oil. She had also neglected to store it in her freezer, to extend its storage life. The result after four years was 10 quarts of corn oil and two quarts of olive oil that had gone rancid. She asked if there was anything she could do with the oil. (She bemoaned the fact that that olive oil was particularly expensive.) My reply: Buy some floating wicks, and burn up that oil as a source of light and heat, during power failures.

Floating wicks (also known as “water candles”) are particularly popular in Israel, as a replacement for more expensive traditional candles, for Chanukah celebrations and at weddings. These are simply short pieces of waxed wick that are passed through a thin disc of cork with an aluminum heat shield on one side. In my experience, each one of these lasts for an average of 20 hours of burning time, if you push up and trim the wick with scissors after the first 8 or 10 hours of burning. The cooking oil is consumed very slowly, and when burning fresh oil they are nearly odorless. (Although, leaving any rancid oil out in a room will of course produce a bit of odor. However, that sure beats just dumping $20 per gallon olive oil on your compost pile.)

Floating wicks provide very thrifty emergency lighting! You can buy a box containing 50 wicks and 50 floats for as little as $1.35. (I prefer the larger diameter variety, which is a bit more expensive.) At that price, I would recommend buying at least one or two dozen boxes. (Since these are very compact, lightweight, durable, versatile, divisible and eminently useful, they will undoubtedly be great to store for bartering.)

Note: Although the markings on the boxes are in Hebrew, these are actually now made in Mainland China. This is yet another sad example of modern-day “Made only in China” consumer products.

For safety, it is best to burn floating wicks in a very stable, shallow container with a heavy flat bottom such as: the cut-off and sanded bottom half of a punted wine bottle (see video), a drinking tumbler with a heavy base, or a square-bottomed glass or stainless steel pet food bowl. (Not plastic!) Put a half inch of water in the bottom of the bowl, so that the wick will be self-dousing once all of the thicker layer of oil on top has been consumed. With a large bowl, you can burn several wicks in the same bowl simultaneously to throw additional light.

You can adjust doused wicks without getting your fingers oily if you use a pair of blunt hair-pulling tweezers. (The boxes of floating wicks usually each come with a tiny pair of plastic tweezers, but they are pretty pathetic. Get a proper pair of tweezers.)

These same floating wicks can be used to burn a wide variety of plant and vegetable-derived oils that are triglycerides, including: Corn oil, saffola oil, soybean oil, rapeseed/canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil. Warning: Just don’t attempt to use these wicks with anything more volatile, such as diesel or kerosene!

By the way, you can also easily modify a kerosene lamp to burn vegetable oils, with mixed results. See this video for details.

Also, the kerosene lamp burners that screw on to the top of standard small-mouth Mason jars are available via mail order. These are also quite versatile, so stock up, but note that because the thin glass lamp chimneys are so incredibly fragile and prone to damage in shipment I recommend buying them locally rather than by mail order. Buy at least two chimneys per lamp base.

I recommend that every well-prepared family should keep plenty of floating wicks on hand for barter, for your own use for any cooking oil that has gone rancid, or for any oil that you predict will go rancid before you have the chance to use it. – JWR

Recipe of the Week: Quick Texas Chili, by Sawyer

No self-respecting Texican would ever put mushrooms or beans in chili. You can serve chili with beans, but never Beans in chili.

Ingredients:

The easy way is to use Wick Fowler’s Two Alarm Chili Mix, I have never been able to make it better myself.

However, you can duplicate it yourself if you are averse to buying a pre-packaged mix:

  • 2 lbs ground beef, ground for chili (I prefer a mixture of Venison and Wild Hog/fat back myself)
  • 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 4 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
  • 1?4 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1?2 cup chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons masa harina flour
  • 1?4 cup hot water

Directions

  1. Brown beef in a Dutch oven; drain.
  2. Add tomato sauce, 2 cups water, paprika, cumin, onion flakes, garlic salt, chili powder, and ground red pepper.
  3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Dissolve 2 tablespoons masa into 1/4 cup hot water to make a thick, but flowable mixture.
  5. Add masa mixture to chili.
  6. Cover and simmer another 15-20 minutes.
  7. This makes TRUE Texas Chili.

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Useful Recipe and Cooking Links Submitted by T.A.:

Southwestern Style Eggrolls (Life with the Crust Off) These are absolutely delicious!

Barn Dance Bean Dip (Kudos Kitchen by Renee) Tasty side dish with crunchy tortilla chips or as an alternative filling for the eggrolls linked above!

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: Making a Final Run

Dear Hugh,

In regards to the final run concept, I have to add my contrarian view and say, don’t do it! I have witnessed first hand the competitive spirit of people at a Walmart prior to a weakened hurricane making landfall. It made Black Friday look calm. Any perceived event that would be seen as significant enough for the general population to panic and flock to stores will be extremely dangerous. Why risk physical danger to the “runner”, damage to that person’s vehicle, exposure to any illness being carried by members of the general population, (which could be the reason for the panic in the first place), the risk of gangs drawn to such areas full of easy prey, the risk of being detained by police as order breaks down, the risk of not being able to get home or to one’s bugout location due to road closures by county, state, or federal officials, or how about something as simple as maintenance issues. The last runner will likely be a well-trained leader of a group or family. Can you afford to lose that person? Do you have task lists prepared, understood, and trained on by the next man or woman who will replace this individual when they cannot get back? No, I think those first few hours are more important getting people focused on the initial tasks that will need to be accomplished by a group or family. Get your preps squared away now. Plan what your group needs to accomplish in the first hours of an event. You might use Army Field Manuals that contain checklists concerning occupation of the defense to build custom checklists that can be used for training, refinement, and execution. The first hours of the event that triggers your group or family to execute your occupation plan will be stressful. It will be made more stressful by the absence or delayed arrival of a key leader going shopping. Skip it, make due, prep ahead, get your plan in motion. – An old paratrooper

Economics and Investing:

Fingerprints for Food: Venezuela Rolls Out New Plan to Keep Shelves Stocked. “…critics warn that the scheme — which is not mandatory for the moment — will be one more way for the state to keep tabs on the population, or might be a precursor to rationing.” Submitted by T.A.

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‘Look out, we are heading for a crash again’, warns William White, the central banker who predicted 2008 crisis – G.G.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Food Stamp Beneficiaries Exceed 45M for 55 Straight Months (Washington Free Beacon) Excerpt: “The USDA has been tracking data on participation in the program since 1969, when average participation stood at about 2,800,000. Since then, participation in the program has increased by over 1,500 percent, while the country’s population has increased by roughly 60 percent.”

Lawmakers Warn Up to 30 Corporations Might Flee US Taxes (Washington Examiner) Excerpt: “Republicans’ top tax-writer in the House of Representatives warned Friday morning that the rush of companies moving their headquarters out of the U.S. for tax purposes might surge in 2016, suggesting that up to 30 could leave.”

Importing Lower Wages as 75% of Silicon Valley’s Tech Workers are Foreign Born: How Tech Manipulates the H1-B Visa Program for Cheap Labor (My Budget 360) Excerpt: “There is a massive demand for H-1B visas around the United States but in particular in Silicon Valley. Among the total working population, 45 percent of workers are foreign born, but in tech, the numbers are skewed with 75 percent being foreign born and many are here on H-1B visas earning a much lower wage than their American counterparts.”

People Over 50 Carrying More Debt Than In The Past (Wall Street Journal) Excerpt: “Older Americans are burdened with unprecedented debt loads as more and more baby boomers enter what are meant to be their retirement years owing far more on their houses, cars and even college loans than previous generations.” Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-on and/or subscription for access to some content.

International News

Shops’ Electricity Rationed in Crisis-Hit Venezuela (Yahoo News) Excerpt: “Venezuelans are accustomed to severe shortages of cooking oil, diapers and other staple products. But those hoping to buy what they could find got a new unpleasant surprise this week. They found malls dark and shuttered under a government electricity rationing regime.”

Millions Face “Retirement Crisis” Over Pensions Tax Raid (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “… a decision to scrap higher rate tax relief on pension contributions would ‘penalise’ middle class savers even further and discourage them from putting aside sufficient money for their retirement.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

50 Nifty Tricks for DIY Savings (This Old House) Excerpt: “Remember when the tightfistedness of relatives raised during the Depression was amusing? Our grandparents’ certificates of deposit and plastic couch protectors seemed downright quaint when our own home-equity and retirement portfolios were ballooning. Suddenly, though, the pot-roast-and-potatoes ethic doesn’t seem quite so kooky.”

Top 10 Money Saving DIYs of the Year (Keeper of the Home) Excerpt: “So how do you know what DIYs are worth it, and which ones aren’t? You listen to those who have been there, done that!”

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Anyone looking for a large, defensible property on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee should take look at this new listing on our SurvivalRealty spin-off site: Copeland Mountain. This 540 acre tract with numerous springs would be ideal to subdivide for a large group retreat community. The $1.75 million price tag might seem spendy, but if it were broken into 10 subdivided parcels of around 54 acres apiece, that works out to $175,000 per parcel. – JWR

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Submitted by SurvivalBlog reader T.A.: 2 people walking across Golden Gate Bridge hit by blow darts The blowgun, while being a quiet weapon, is also a close range weapon. One has to wonder if better situational awareness would have helped this situation.

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Pioneer Preppy has a very interesting perspective of what we might expect from our government, now that Antonin Scalia has passed away. – Avalanche Lily

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SurvivalBlog reader T.P. sent in the link to a very disturbing video. The amateur journalist has noticed that certain armed personnel in Oregon are wearing blue jeans and do not have insignia, though they claim to be “supporting” the Sheriff’s Department. Is the Sheriff bringing in FBI personnel? If these are private security contractors, this is very disturbing.

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It’s weird, it’s sort of ugly, it makes thrumming noises, and you’ll want one. What do you get when you cross extreme tundra tires, an over-sized canopy bubble, and a Super-Cub? Thanks to SurvivalBlog reader T.P. for the link.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Movement is not necessarily progress. More important than your obligation to follow your conscience, or at least prior to it, is your obligation to form your conscience correctly. Nobody — remember this — neither Hitler, nor Lenin, nor any despot you could name, ever came forward with a proposal that read, ‘Now, let’s create a really oppressive and evil society.’ Hitler said, ‘Let’s take the means necessary to restore our national pride and civic order.’ And Lenin said, ‘Let’s take the means necessary to assure a fair distribution of the goods of the world.’

“In short, it is your responsibility, men and women of the class of 2010, not just to be zealous in the pursuit of your ideals, but to be sure that your ideals are the right ones. That is perhaps the hardest part of being a good human being: Good intentions are not enough. Being a good person begins with being a wise person. Then, when you follow your conscience, will you be headed in the right direction.”

—Excerpted from Justice Antonin Scalia’s commencement address at Langley High School, in Virginia, where his granddaughter was graduating in June of 2010.

Notes for Sunday – February 14, 2016

Today, we present another entry for Round 63 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 63 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Keeping Battery Devices Running In An Austere Environment, by Snaketzu

We all have at least a handful of battery-powered devices that can be very handy in an emergency or even a TEOTWAWKI situation. Weapon sights, flashlights, GPS, handheld radio, a tablet loaded with books and PDFs, night vision gear, and possibly even a cell phone are all things that could be very useful. Although everyone must be prepared to do without these devices, depending on the scenario there is no good reason to believe that these items must be discarded after the initial battery charge fails. Counting on scrounging more batteries or a power source to charge with is a recipe for failure. Luckily, the solution is neither difficult nor expensive.

First off, you must be discerning about equipment if you want to keep it working. Items that use exotic batteries that aren’t rechargeable are out. Basically, you should stick to AA or AAA batteries and also devices that use internal batteries that can be charged via USB. There are rechargeable CR123 batteries out there, but just how important is that high lumen flashlight? You can get close to the same performance with a AAA battery-powered light without adding an additional battery to your supply chain and another charger to keep them going. Likewise, there are many quality options available for weapon sights and NVG that use AAA and AA batteries. The gear that uses coin type batteries is simply not sustainable.

Second, how will you keep your batteries charged in an austere environment? A plug in or 12V wall charger is great for Plan A at the retreat, but what about Plans B and C? Your handheld devices will be even more critical if you have to leave the retreat either temporarily or permanently. Solar energy is free and abundant, but a truly portable solar charging system takes some careful thought and selective purchases.

Luckily, packable solar panels and lightweight charging equipment have coalesced around the USB standard. USB has transformed charging the batteries in small personal electronics. As long as you have a cable that fits your device and has a USB A connector on the other end for connection to a variety of power sources, you can charge your device. Something that most people don’t know, however, is that not all USB chargers are created equally. Some will only charge 2.5 watts, some will charge 5 watts, and some will charge 10 watts, and the higher the output, the faster (most) things charge. In the interest of making the best use of available sunlight and time, for a portable charging system it is obviously best to avoid any bottlenecks and stick with equipment that can and will work at the faster 10 watt level. USB works at 5 volts and the faster charging systems are rated at 2100 mA (milliamps) or 2.1 amps. The best way to tell if you are looking at equipment capable of fast USB charging is to look into the specs and see what the max output rating is. It should show a max output of 2.1 amps for one port or 3+ amps for two ports . (Dual port 4.2 amp chargers are wonderful but hard to find.)

Third, there is a variety of other equipment that can be very handy for opportunistic use of available power to do some charging. These various adapters could aid in scrounging power from generator-powered systems, vehicles during driving, or even automotive batteries from abandoned vehicles. While not absolutely necessary, such items add a lot of utility for a small trade-off in space and weight.

Specific, Basic Equipment Needs

Batteries: Panasonic Eneloops are widely regarded as the best rechargeables out there. This is not the time to stick with your favorite alkaline brand; apparently Energizer and Duracell don’t want to create too much competition for their throwaways. The standard gen4 Eneloops are the ones for most applications. They are rated for 2100 discharge cycles (that’s once a day for nearly six years), 2100 maH, and will hold 90% of charge at six months and 70% at five years, assuming a relatively stable storage temperature. Don’t be tempted by the more expensive Eneloop Pros; they have a higher 2550 maH capacity and higher charge retention but are only rated for 500 discharge cycles.

Solar Power: There is a pretty good selection of packable folding solar panels for personal charging on the market, and the prices have come down into the range of downright reasonable. GoalZero is of course a well known but expensive brand, and RAVPower, Anker, and Suaoki all have highly rated products. Most reviews of USB charging with solar panels use 15w panels, but a 20W panel is better. The reason is simple:  you can’t count on ideal conditions. My real world testing indicates it’s still not a sure thing to get 10W output (2 amps @5V) from even a 20W panel. For fast charging, you need your panel to maintain that full 5 volt 2.1 amp output as much as possible. Theoretically, a 20w panel can run two such charging circuits, so you’ll have a lot of headroom to account for cloudy conditions and/or less than ideal placement. The difference is a couple of inches in width, about 4 ounces, and around $10. It’s worth it.

Portable Battery Bank: Most solar systems are set up to charge a battery bank, which is used as both storage and a buffer. I think it’s very smart to stay with that plan for a miniature system. There are literally tons of small lithium ion power banks out there on the market that are designed to be charged via USB and then allow you to charge your cell phone on the go. As long as they have the right specs, they are ideal for our purposes. The one you choose needs to be rated at a full 5 volts and 2.1 amps output for fast charging. If it doesn’t have this, then your storage battery will become a bottleneck in your charging system. I also recommend at least 10000 maH capacity. I found a Limefuel brand battery with the proper specs, 15000 maH capacity, and a rough service casing with IP66 dust and water resistance rating. I advise avoiding gimmicks like built-in solar panels or hand cranks. It’s best to buy each component separately, buying a quality piece of gear at each stage. Combining functions inevitably leads to making compromises somewhere.

Battery Charger: I only found two good candidates for recharging AA or AAA via USB, although I expect more “smart” chargers will be hitting the market. One of them apparently has a reputation for being very picky about the input voltage, so that made the choice easier. I chose the PortaPow Intelligent USB charger. Intelligent means that it can recharge one to four batteries of any combination of AA or AAA simultaneously because it truly monitors each battery separately. This is an important distinction and a nice feature, because there are a lot of chargers out there that require you to charge batteries in pairs, which is downright inconvenient when you have a flashlight that takes three AAAs.

Additional, Very Handy Gear

  • A plug-in USB diagnostic meter– You can plug these into a USB socket and then plug your device into the back end of the meter and see real time voltage and amperage. This is handy for diagnosing problems, aiming the solar panel, and aso checking overall system performance. At around $10 and the size of a thumb drive there’s no reason not to have one.
  • Extra 3′ micro USB cables – 6′ cables should be avoided, except for bedside chargers. The extra length requires a cable of exceptional quality to maintain the full voltage at the load end. It’s best to stick with shorter cables for high performance charging.
  • An extra dual port USB high performance wall charger – You never know when you might have access to a standard receptacle and you want to be able to make the most of the opportunity, if it happens. The way to tell if you have a charger that can go full speed on both ports is to look at the amperage rating. If it has two ports, it needs a 4.2 amp rating so it can hit 2.1 amps on both ports at the same time. Most dual port USB chargers are only rated around 2 or 3 amps, so beware!
  • An extra dual port 12v receptacle USB charger – The same things I said about the wall charger apply. You never know when you might be in a moving vehicle. If you are, charge something!
  • There are a lot of DC stepdown modules floating around on the Internet that allow you to hook up to a 12V battery and give you a USB output. The better ones have a pretty wide voltage input range (8-22V) and a female USB receptacle; there are even some with a male mini USB output that are autoranging 12/24/36/48V and work down to 8 volts. These are very inexpensive and can be used with  battery clips to scavenge charge off of batteries in abandoned cars.
  • There are even hand crank power sources. They aren’t terribly expensive and don’t take up much space, so if you are trapped in shelter by the weather you can at least put some charge back in your battery bank, even if solar isn’t available.
  • There is a USB charging cable out there for the popular Baofeng UV-5R radio (and variants). This allows charging of the factory LiOn battery instead of using an insert with AAs or AAAs.

Finally, discussion of maintaining use of electronic equipment in a TEOTWAWKI scenario will inevitably run into discussion of EMP or solar storms. While I agree that a handheld GPS is likely to be useless after an EMP or SS event, there’s no reason why your charging kit and other devices can’t be stored such that they are protected. Everything I’ve discussed here fits easily into a .50 caliber ammo can, along with a backup tablet, LED flashlights, and other goodies. Placing everything in quality antistatic shielding bags and then wrapping in aluminum foil before storage in the ammo can should give >50db shielding across the entire frequency range.

Depending on your needs, a portable solar charging kit is probably not appropriate for a tactical loadout or even a bugout bag. When speed and weight are at a premium it is likely better to just pack some extra batteries. However, a portable charging system can easily be included in a secondary cache for potential long term or “plan B” use. It’s an easy preparation to make that could return big dividends.

Letter Re: Making a Last Run

Thank you so much for what you’re doing here. I don’t understand people who say they want to prep but won’t put this website on their daily reading list.

In reference to Making a Last Run, at first I was appalled that any prepper would go to the store to stock up on even more food at the last minute. At the time I thought, “Why take away from those who didn’t prepare in advance? Let them get what they can. We already have enough.”

Then I read the letter stating that with a 10-year larder it wasn’t necessary for them to make a last run, and I wondered how do you rotate 10 years worth of canned fruit or beans? I have trouble with just my one year (or so) since we quit eating canned or packaged foods. This letter also lead me to thinking about our kids.

Today as I was preparing to go to the store, I realized two valid reasons to make a last run. First, I noticed I was down on items (of course, it’s been four months since I went), but I also saw cans of food that we don’t often eat getting near their expiration date (or past…sigh). So if a disaster occurred today, I wouldn’t be as prepared as I would like. Perhaps that’s a good enough reason to make a last run. (Although there is a big part of me that still says, “You already have lots, don’t take food away from those who have so much less.”)

Secondly, I believe there is another very justifiable reason to make that last run and that is if our out-of-state kids come because they won’t be able to bring massive amounts of food. We will pray they just get here safely. That leaves us to prepare for them, but how do I prepare for eight extra people and rotate food that we rarely eat ourselves because it’s outside our normal diet? I can’t rotate food enough for 10 people when there’s only two of us eating.

That’s where a last run would come in very, very handy.

A huge thank you to all the contributors. One never stops learning.

Blessings, SM

Economics and Investing:

Alternate Unemployment Charts 25percent sound good – B.B.

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The world can’t afford another financial crash – it could destroy capitalism as we know it – S.B.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Four Horsemen of the Economic Apocalypse (Business Insider) Excerpt: “It’s getting impossible to ignore all the risks… We know how leveraged banks are… If they get in trouble, then that money is gone. People have been avoiding thinking about it.”

Yellen’s Dilemma: A Downturn with No Easy Response (Reuters) No right answer, and there’s no way out. In my opinion, there were going to be consequences whether Fed Chair Yellen raised rates or held them at or very near zero. Excerpt: “The U.S. Federal Reserve’s carefully scripted decision to raise interest rates last December, and begin a return to ‘normal’ policy, may now become a nightmare for the central bank if an economic downturn forces a return to unconventional methods.”

Something Very Disturbing Spotted in a Morgan Stanley Presentation (Zero Hedge) Excerpt: “With central bankers losing credibility left and right, and failing outright to boost the ‘wealth effect’ no matter what they throw at it, the next big question is when will central planners around the world unveil the cashless society which is a necessary and sufficient condition to a regime of global NIRP.” Warning: Commentary following the ZH article may contain bad language and/or inappropriate avatar images.

International News

The World Can’t Afford Another Financial Crash – It Could Destroy Capitalism as We Know It (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “It is always a sure sign that panic has broken out when financial markets respond badly to all possible scenarios. The prospect of higher interest rates? Sell, sell, sell. A chance of lower rates? Sell, sell and sell again. A rise in the price of oil is met with as much angst as a decline. The financial markets remain addicted to help from central banks: they are desperate for yet more interventions, regardless of the consequences on the pricing of risk, the allocation of resources or the creation of unsustainable bubbles that only enrich the owners of assets.”

Is the Sovereign Debt Crisis Coming Back to Haunt Europe? (The Telegraph) Excerpt: “It is only the ECB that is holding Europe together. If the ECB was to step back you would have a massive sovereign debt crisis.”

Will Italy Prompt a Global Financial Crisis (HuffPost Business) Excerpt: “The 2.5T Dollar Question: See from the US it looks as the same as Greece. There is however, a major difference: Italy’s public debt amounts to 2,470 billion dollars. The European Central Bank or the European institutions do not have the means to rescue Italy as they did for Greece that amounted to 350 billion. that means that it would be, at least a major banking and economic crisis in Europe. I do not believe it will limited to Europe. This Italian and European banking crisis will represent a multiple of the 2008 crisis. Is there a pilot in the plane?”

Greek Economy Returns to Recession After Shrinking in Fourth Quarter (Bloomberg) Excerpt: “The Country will face renewed euro-exit fears unless its government and European creditors come up with a credible plan to make the country’s debt sustainable….” Again, an opinion: there will be no resolution without substantial write-downs.

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Top 3 Tips for 50-Somethings to Avoid Identity Theft (BankRate) Watch those medical requests for your SSNs very, very carefully. Excerpt: “If you’re in your 50s, you probably have a well-established financial identity and you probably use more medical services than you did when you were younger. Those traits can make you a prime target of identity thieves.”

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SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Columbus Gyro Restaurant Rampage “Random Attack”: A Somali man named Mohammed comes into a restaurant called “Nazareth” and asks about the religion and national origin of the owner. He is told that the owner is a Christian Arab emigre from Israel. So Mohammed comes back a half hour later with a machete and a murderous rage.

These two lines in the CBS news article come as no surprise:

“It remained unclear what sparked the attacks. ‘Right now there’s nothing that leads us to believe that this is anything but a random attack’ “

No motive? Random? A real puzzler. Anyone with a room temperature IQ could solve this one.

These typical dismissive statements are clearly intended to deflect television viewers from the real issues: A.) Radical Islam and B.) Loose U.S. immigration policy on military age male Islamists, without sufficient screening on radical ties, other than the DHS/TSA’s horribly flawed No Fly Watchlist. Don’t be duped by the “lamestream” media. I’ve said it before: We are living in the Age of Deception and Betrayal.- JWR

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US Army Develops Integral Dry Lubricant To Replace CLP – I find the term “permanent” a bit hard to swallow but a long-lasting dry lubricant would sure be welcome. – G.P.

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Canada – HMCS Fredericton Heads to Aegean Sea…Do You Know Where The Aegean Sea Is?The drumbeats of war are getting louder… – P.A.

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From the fine folks who brought you Round Up, Terminator Seeds, and other problems for your life: Zika HOAX exposed by South American doctors: Brain deformations caused by larvicide chemical linked to Monsanto; GM mosquitoes a ‘total failure’ – RBS

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From the desk of Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog Editor At Large: Bolt on winch – I’d be leery of ongoing use damaging bearings, and even a hard single use breaking an axle. I believe this concept has been marketed before. It would probably be okay for occasional use on a passenger vehicle.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.” Matthew 13:10-11 (KJV)

Special Note

Saturday’s news flash on the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia came as a shock. Given that the leftist U.S. Senate has a long history of “rubber stamp” confirmations of Supreme Court Justice nominees, this is an evil omen. The news of Scalia’s demise is troubling, even if Hitlery Clinton is not elected. The BHO Administration will undoubtedly nominate another ultra-liberal Statist, resulting in a tectonic shift in the composition of the court. (With a 5-to-4 Statist majority, the District of Columbia v. Heller decision would have gone the other way.) In essence, once Obama’s next Supreme Court nominee is seated, we can kiss the Bill of Rights goodbye.

Perhaps I should invest in large diameter PVC pipe and threaded end caps. (Given the likely shortage thereof in the near future, that would probably be a very lucrative investment.)

It is time to revisit your Plan B and Plan C preps, folks! At the very least, keep your passports valid. – JWR