Letter Re: Dragonskin Body Armor Versus IBA

Dear Jim,
Dragonskin Armor, from all non-PR reports, isn’t nearly as good as its designers would like us to believe. (Also see: this article, as well as this one.)
Dragonskin is claimed to meet Level IV standards, but has only been certified by the NIJ to Level III. And that’s only one model of several–others are not certified at all. They are being sued by the USAF over this fraudulent claim.
After several delays refusing to provide test samples to the Army, the Army purchased some and sent them to an independent lab. [The manufacturer] Pinnacle claims these tests were “incomplete.” True. Because Dragonskin failed the tests almost at once, so why continue?
It can’t survive high desert temperatures or other environments–the glue fails, the ceramic delaminates and it loses protection.
Meanwhile, despite Pinnacle’s vicious smear campaign, Interceptor [Body Armor (IBA)] does stop rifle fire and is saving lives. It is possible to do better, I’m sure. I’m hesitant to believe a company that falsifies its standards is the one to do so.
I hate to sound biased, but to me Pinnacle appears to be a scam artist. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the owner somewhere tropical with a suitcase full of cash in a few years. – Michael Z. Williamson

Letter from FerFAL in Argentina Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value

Dear James,
Regarding the letter “Letter Re: Greenspan, Gold, and the Safe Store of Value” I can assure you that gold is just as valuable before, during and after a crisis.
Gold has always been valuable, its safe to say that it always will be, it’s our alma mater currency, since the beginnings of mankind.
Unless you are stranded on an island, or in a plane wreck in the middle of the Andes, gold is always a cherished form of currency, and no one is going to trade you an ounce of gold for a piece of bread. Generally speaking people are smart enough to sell the gold [for the currency of the day] and buy as much bread as they can.
[In Argentina], we’ve seen [gold’s] value increasing even more on the jewelry gold market, something most survivalists considered practically useless. It got to a point where wearing gold jewelry is an invitation to getting robbed or the chains snatched from your neck. Most people, especially women, don’t wear gold any more, specially on public transportation. Because of this, there’s an entire silver jewelry industry flourishing. Women simply prefer silver because it’s cheaper and you can wear it somewhat safely, unlike gold. There’s an entire market for buying and selling jewelry gold, and that’s what you come by on the shanty towns and poorest neighborhoods.
As you explain, gold works as a time machine, preserving your values in spite of what’s going on.
Even in prisons, gold is still gold, and no one is going to trade you a gold chain or Crucifix for a couple of smokes, unless you are paying a fair amount of merchandize in exchange for the gold. It’s easy enough to find someone that will sell your gold on the outside (for a percentage, of course).
People that think that cigars are more valuable than gold have never been to a prison, and television is not a reliable source of information.
While I never saw anyone buying anything with ammo, I’ve seen people go to the “I buy gold” stand in markets, selling their gold (either [legitimately] owned by them or stolen recently) and go shopping into the market with their money. The only thing worth it’s weight in gold… is gold. – FerFAL in Argentina

Letter Re: Firearms Questions from a Distaff Newbie

Mr. Rawles:
I have been reading your blog and enjoy it very much. I have been stocking up and working at independence, but I am sadly lacking in the area of protection. I have been taught my whole life that guns are bad, evil, dangerous. I can barely bring myself to touch one. I shot a boyfriend’s handgun once many, many years ago but I really could barely stand holding it. I’ve never even let my children have toy guns or pretend to shoot people.

My youngest son (8 years old) has been given a real rifle and a box of bullets. (We now live in Mississippi where, “Every man’s got to have a gun.”) It says on the rifle: “Marlin, Model 60W Microgroove, Cal 22 LR Only.” I’m terrified to have the thing in the house but glad I won’t have to buy one. The world is changing. I know I must learn to protect myself and my family. So how do I start? How does one learn about something when you don’t even know what questions to ask? I have read articles about ammunition and types of rifles and guns but they could be speaking Martian for all the sense it makes to me. Thanks for your time. – KB

JWR Replies: First, let me congratulate you for your common sense in realizing that you need to defend yourself and your home, and that firearms are the best method–and in fact only adequate method–to do so. Chemical sprays and electric stun guns are notoriously ineffective and both require you to be at close quarters with your opponents which is not advised for anyone, especially females who are are generally at a disadvantage in close-quarters fighting. It takes many months or even years to be come adept with martial arts and/or edged weapons. And again, body size is a factor. By comparison, rudimentary firearms training can be taught in just a few days. I suggest that you first take a basic firearms training course from your local NRA-affiliated club. They often offer courses especially for women. They will teach you all of the basics including safe firearms handling, shooting stances, sight alignment, trigger control, types of guns, firearms terminology, and so forth. (You are right that the terminology seems arcane to newbies.) Once you have the confidence of completing that course, I’d recommend that you take a local concealed carry course. Then if you can afford it move on to more advanced training at a top-notch training organization like Front Sight. You will leave there shooting more confidently and more competently than 80% of the “trained professional” members of your local police department. I’m not kidding, you will!

Your son’s Marlin .22 rimfire rifle is a great gun for learning the basics, and to keep long term for pest shooting. But it is woefully inadequate for self defense. My advice to newbies on selecting guns for home defense is to buy both a shotgun (at least a 20 gauge, or preferably a 12 gauge if you can handle the recoil), and a semi-auto handgun of at least .40 caliber, preferably a Glock. Don’t let anyone talk you into an under-powered “ladies’ gun” such as a .25 ACP, .32 ACP, or .380 ACP. My wife (“The Memsahib”) shoots a .45 ACP, and loves it. For some details on firearms selection, see my Survival Guns static web page. But let me reiterate, contact the NRA. They have many special gun education programs available at low cost.

Oh, and FWIW, regarding your comment about toy guns: We’ve never let our children have toy guns or pretend to shoot people, either. They’ve been taught from a very early age what firearms are capable of doing, so they respect them but don’t fear them.

Letter Re: 2nd Annual Bug-Out Drill at Tiger Valley in Texas

James,
I started reading SurvivalBlog this year after a friend told me to check out the site and it has been a great resource. I had a couple of thing that might be of interest to everyone.
First is the 2nd annual Bug-out drill at Tiger Valley in Texas. Tiger Valley will host its second annual Bug Out Drill, September 29, 2007. We will run the same distance as last year, 15 miles, but the physical challenges will be tougher. For those who didn’t attend the last event, the idea for this was spawned from reading the survival forum. I, like a lot of people don’t believe that something does what it claims without a test; hence, the But Out Drill was born.
As last year the challenge was to move and recover family members who are a distance away. For the sake of argument an EMP has disabled all vehicles, I know some of you have spare parts wrapped in foil, but we have to keep this on an even keel. That means you have to travel the entire route on foot, no bikes, 4-wheelers Gurkhas or Donkeys allowed on the course. You must carry everything you need for the event on your person. We will have a hydration station that you can top off water during the event.
Last years event had 20 physical challenges, everything from having to cut through chain link fence to triage a tactical mannequin. This year I plan on making some of the challenges technically and physically more challenging. I won’t go into detail on the plans but nothing is off the table.
We had 27 hard-core contestants compete last year. Everyone made a great effort, and from the feedback, learned a lot from the experience. As the concept stated last year, you don’t have to complete each event. If the event is to challenging, you can bypass it and take the penalty. Remember, this event is designed to test you and your equipment, not kill you. We don’t want to run those off who might be intimidated by some events.
I need some feedback from you guys on one area. I thought it might be good to require those attending to camp out on Friday night. Pitch whatever survival tent you have and take off in the morning. This idea is still up for grabs so let me know what you think.
The price for the event will be the same as last year, $150. I will start getting prizes as soon as I get back from this class in Waco.
The other item of interest is medical training information from Medical Corps. This organization has a substantial amount of information that I’m currently digesting. {Meanwhile,] OperationalMedicine.org has downloadable videos on various procedures like “How to Suture a Wound” that can supplement or help prepare for classes. It could also be the only training available to people without the means to attend classes. Thanks, – Paul in Texas

Letter Re: “The Rift” by Walter J. Williams

Jim,
I’ve scanned the [poll results for] favorite Survival Book entries and haven’t seen one of mine (unless I’ve missed it). It’s “The Rift” by Walter J. Williams: an edge-of-your seat novel based on the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 occurring again in our time. I highly recommend it to your readers and have enjoyed learning from them of other works that I wasn’t familiar with. Regards, – AdkNoah

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs." – Theodore Roosevelt

Letter Re: Solar Power, Wind Power, 4WD Electric Vehicle, Wood Fired Brick Ovens

James,
I am new to SurvivalBlog but I thought that I would share my experience and thoughts with everyone. I have a totally off the grid ranch that is powered by wind and solar. We have more electricity than we can use with a 40 kilowatt (KW) battery bank, 2 KW of photovoltaics and 1.4 KW of wind power.

First I highly recommend a hybrid system, solar and wind. Usually when the sun isn’t shinning, the wind is blowing, especially when a storm is blowing in. My batteries are usually full by 1100 hours in the summer and 1200 hours in the winter. The rest of the power is wasted. The inverters can be programmed for a diversion load such as a water heater or air heater. I have decided to get a 4WD electric vehicle to dump the extra power into. The unit I have decided on is the Bad Boy Buggy . It is used for hunting in the south because it is totally quiet. It has a 27 mile range. There is no fuel to store and it would be excellent for silent patrolling as well as chores around the ranch. I plan on storing extra batteries.

There was recently an post on wood-fired brick ovens. I got my plans from www.ovencrafters.net. They have it all figured out and you can get as many as 12 baking batches from one firing. You can bake bread, cook pizza, roasts and turkey as well. They are also fun and look cool.

There is a fairly new solar water pump out which is made by Grundfos. It is called the SQ Flex. It can run on solar, wind or generator or any combination of the three. You can pump water when its dark when the wind is blowing.

There are a lot of wind machines out there. I have found that many come and go. The two [brands] that have always been there are Bergey Wind Power and Southwest Wind Power. These guys have great customer support. I have one of each. Storing spare parts is no problem. The SQ Flex pump is designed to work with one of the Southwest Wind Power machines. Thanks for all the great info you provide. – PED

Letter Re: From Russia With Love

It is quite strange heading for the letter to the site like yours, isn’t it? But it is really so.
My name is Andrei, I am Russian living in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia. I do have a lot of fun reading your great site. Of course, circumstances in Moscow, Russia and Moscow, Idaho, differ significantly, but there is a lot of the same stuff we must take care of if we are going to survive, be it in Western hemisphere or not.
Surprisingly, actually there are no local web sites like yours while your site is a great source of knowledge and reach experience. Thanks a lot for all your great efforts!
I would say that things are changing here, in Russia, quickly and dramatically. Thank God, we are not “commies” anymore (frankly to say, we have never been true and blue ones). To me, I have prepared a huge axe—it never misses fire—just in case I will ever see one of them at the doorstep of my house 😉 . While politicians may do their monkey business, ordinary people—in any country—have to take care of themselves mostly on their own.
As I have mentioned, circumstances of everyday life differ a lot in our countries, but I also find a lot of common things relating to survival. Since I have built my house—few Russians live in houses, vast majority live in apartment buildings—I am going to implement American experience for the benefit of me and my family. In addition to it, we are Latter-day Saints, and our Church teaches us a lot about family preparedness. So, I have a lot of work to do!
Let me express my thanks again. Sorry for my English, and please let me know if I can be of any help for your great site. I would gladly participate in the “10 Cent Challenge” if it will be technically possible. I’d even go beyond this figure.
FYI: My occupation is translation supervisor. By know I can also supervise a building of a cottage, including development of all corresponding engineering systems, from electric to sewage system. I hope that it will help me some day 🙂 With best wishes, – Andrei

Letter Re: Analysis of Poll Data: List Your Top Five Survival Fiction Books and Top Five Survival Movies

Jim:
I was bored, so I compiled the “raw data” that you recently provided in SurvivalBlog:

TOP 3 SURVIVAL BOOKS (# of votes)
Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse by JWR (10)
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (6)
Lucifer’s Hammer by Niven & Pournelle (5)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (3 votes)
Lights Out by David Crawford
Earth Abides by George Stewart
Malevil by Robert Merle
Wolf and Iron by Gordon Dickson
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein

TOP 3 SURVIVAL MOVIES
Red Dawn (6)
Panic In Year Zero (5)
The Postman (4)

HONORABLE MENTIONS (3 votes)
Threads
The Road Warrior
Testament

Regards, – GDS in PRK

Odds ‘n Sods:

JLM sent us the link to this Washington Post article: Switching To Biofuels Could Cost Lots of Green

  o o o

MWR flagged this article: Drought now covering more than one-third of the continental USA.

   o o o

CountryTek e-mailed us with a reference to a piece about a method discovered by MIT researchers for the wireless transmission of electrical power via materials resonance. His comment: “So far, they’ve been able to power a 60 watt bulb from about seven feet away. This non-technical article doesn’t talk about transmission efficiency, but the implications are huge.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

p>"Truth is stranger than fiction, but fiction can open an already crowded and busy mind to the wonders of possibility never before fathomed." – SurvivalBlog reader "Cowboy255"