The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“So many of us don’t fully know what we believe and why because we rarely stop to organize our thoughts so that we might articulate and evaluate them better. Discussing contrasting ideas is actively discouraged in the modern world, which means that argument (not to be confused with quarreling) is a lost art. Our society suffers as a consequence. It’s normal now to scream in catchphrases that one has heard on television and which resonated with us for their pithiness; but that’s not thinking. It’s not even arguing. It’s regurgitation.

We have all seen people break down, especially college students, when they encounter unexpected alternative viewpoints. Their reactions are often visceral, almost primal. Videos of such people screeching in the streets are not uncommon. It’s a reaction that is born from an inability to articulate their stances outside of slogan-hurling. They weren’t taught to think but merely to repeat. When that fails, they lose control.” – Sarah Cain (a.k.a. The Crusadrer Gal)

Preparedness Notes for Thursday — February 16, 2023

February 16th is the birthday of Edgar John Bergen, (1903-1978) an American actor, comedian, and radio performer, best known for his proficiency in ventriloquism and his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. He is also the father of actress Candice Bergen.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

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More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 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.

 

Compact Power To Go – Part 2, by J.M.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.)

Battery

The next item to consider is a portable USB battery, frequently referred to as a USB power bank. These range in size from a little credit card-sized 2500mAh up to massive power bricks with over 60,000mAh. Note that USB power banks that provide QC or PD charging levels have recently started hitting the market, and they tend to be somewhat more expensive than the older ones that only provide 5V/2A outputs.

I ended up using one that I picked up a while back, which is the Miisso 5000mAh model. It provides two USB A output ports, is capable of providing up to 2A per port and weighs 3.5oz. It can provide a little over one full charge for my phone, or multiple smaller charges across different devices. I’ve found that it’s more than enough for a 3-4 day backpacking trip when I start off with all of my devices fully charged (I keep my all of phone’s wireless communications turned off when I’m backpacking and only use it for navigation).

If you want a battery that can provide a lot more power and supports faster charging, I recommend the Nitecore NB10000 Gen 2, which has 2 QC charging ports and provides 10,000mAh of power storage. It weighs 5.3oz, so for 50% more weight/size you get twice the rated power. It also supports QC for charging input, so you can recharge the battery a lot faster if you have access to a QC power source. The NB10000 Gen 2 also supports pass-through charging, which means you can have power coming into the USB-C port charging the battery and at the same time have a device plugged into the USB-A port for charging.Continue reading“Compact Power To Go – Part 2, by J.M.”

The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods. This column is a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from JWR. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. In today’s column, we look at the new The Last Of Us television series.

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Gaming Fans Like The Last Of Us Television Series

The Last Of Us TV Series First Impression: Off To a Good Start. JWR’s Comments:  Though it is only slightly more believable than typical zombie-themed movies and television series, The Last Of Us, has its merits. I watched the pilot episode. Most of the imagery seems to have come from the video game, but some of it appears to borrow from survivalist fiction. The production value of the show is fairly high for television, the special effects don’t seem cheesy, and the acting is above average. But be prepared for some obligatory Hollywood bows to the Woke crowd. I have read that there is a homosexual couple subplot in Episode 3.

Hundreds of Thousands of Kids Never Returned to School

By way of The McAlvany Daily Update (Your Daily G2), there is this, over at Clarion News: Hundreds of thousands of kids never returned to school.

Study: Not Enough Metals to Replace Oil

Reader D.S.V. sent this, from The New American: Geological Study Refutes Green Energy Agenda: Not Enough Metals to Replace Oil. An excerpt:

“Simon Michaux, PhD, Geological Survey Finland[,] has done a detailed study of what’s required to phase out fossil fuels in favor of renewables, to wit:

‘The quantity of metal required to make just one generation of renewable tech units to replace fossil fuels is much larger than first thought. Current mining production of these metals is not even close to meeting demand. Current reported mineral reserves are also not enough in size. Most concerning is copper as one of the flagged shortfalls. Exploration for more at required volumes will be difficult, with this seminar addressing these issues.’ “

Continue reading“The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“After 2020, everyone has noticed things we used to take for granted are gone. The world you grew up in, where grocery store shelves were always fully stocked, service workers actually provided service, potholes were repaired, roads were plowed in the winter, etc., now no longer exists. For nearly three years, every sign of decline was waved off as ‘supply chain problems’ or ‘worker shortages,’ all related to the Fauci bioweapon, but as time has gone on, it appears Humpty Dumpty is not being put back together again. Things are just going to be more run down, dirty, littered, and neglected from here on out.

Unless you are part of the willfully oblivious masses, the last three years have signaled that we are in the already. No, collapse is not usually something that happens overnight. We don’t go from having complex and bustling logistics networks of thousands of regional distribution centers for every conceivable consumer good and retailer to Mad Max overnight. Highly complex societies take decades or even centuries to collapse. The Soviet Union was an economic disaster from the very beginning, mass murdering millions through forced famine, imprisoning, torturing, and murdering tens of millions more to maintain its grip on power. But despite being one of the largest militaries ever assembled, despite thermonuclear weapons it could deliver anywhere on the planet, despite brutal and total control over the population, one day, the Soviet Union simply stopped existing.” – Pastor Andrew Isker

Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — February 15, 2023

Gun developer Richard “Dick” Casull was born on February 15, 1931. Casull passed away on May 6, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Dick Casull is most famous for his design of the .454 Casull revolver, along with many other handgun and rifle designs. He held 17 firearm patents.

And February 15, 1809 was the birthday of Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of a mechanical reaper.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 105 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  5. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.
  6. Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.

Second Prize:

  1. 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,
  2. A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
  3. 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).
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  5. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.

—

More than $775,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 105 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.

Compact Power To Go – Part 1, by J.M.

There have been numerous articles on SurvivalBlog.com about the use of various pieces of electronic technology such as flashlights, cell phones, night vision devices, radios, drones, etc., in disaster and survival situations – ‘Tactical Technology for TEOTWAWKI’, ‘Technology After TEOTWAWKI’, ‘Survival Electronics’, ‘Surviving With Electronics’, ‘Survival Electronics’, ‘How To Use a Baofeng UV-5R’ and many others. (Some of those were written by me.) As part of my general effort to lighten up my load and develop a lightweight modular approach to my mobile kit, I recently started focusing on how to power the various electronics I’m carrying. To that end, I’ve developed a common approach that meets my needs by being lightweight and able to provide me power from a wide range of sources under different scenarios, including regular business/vacation travel, backpacking trips and getting home after a disaster.

USB Power

The foundation of my plan is to have all of my electronics support USB-based charging, which gives me an interchangeable interface and power source for everything. The move away from removable AA/AAA batteries towards built-in USB charging for mobile electronics has been increasing for the last few years, and almost every type of electronic device comes with USB charging these days. For me, this includes a Fenix LD15R flashlight, a Nitecore NU25 headlamp, my cell phone, a Radioddity Raddy RF760, a micro-drone, and many others. For any older devices that require a round DC power plug for charging there are USB-to-barrel plug adapters, which can also provide higher voltages for devices that don’t use 5V, and for the few devices I have that use AA/AAA batteries there are USB-rechargeable batteries available, so I don’t have to carry a separate battery charger.

One potential issue with this approach is that the built-in rechargeable batteries can only be recharged a limited number of times (usually in the hundreds), so one of the things I always do when I get a new rechargeable device with a built-in battery is to either do some research or open it up to identify the type of internal battery it uses and order at least one replacement. I store the replacement batteries in a cool and dry location, and I swap the built-in batteries on my devices every 2-3 years, depending on how much I use them. This should provide me with a useful battery life of anywhere from 10 to 20 years for my devices with regular use.Continue reading“Compact Power To Go – Part 1, by J.M.”

SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters.

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The FBI Doubles Down on Christians and White Supremacy in 2023.  Now, they’re targeting “traditional Catholics.”

Update: There was so much public outcry, the FBI withdrew the report.

o  o  o

SurvivalBlog’s Editor-at-Large, Michael Z. Williamson suggested this video, demonstrating several items for protection from thermal imaging: Which Materials can hide you from Thermal Devices?

o  o  o

Toxic Gases Connected to Ohio Train Derailment Cause Concern.

Also reported:

Animals sick, dying following derailment are ‘suspect’.

o  o  o

Forget Stoves! There’s A Growing Movement To Ban New Homes From Having Any Gas At All.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets”

Reader Poll: New SurvivalBlog Feature Topics

It has been several years since we’ve conducted an opinion poll of blog readers.

Because SurvivalBlog has been published for nearly 18 years, we’ve covered a lot of topics. But, obviously, we’ve missed a few, or we need to revisit a few, to get up-to-date and to cover them in greater depth. So, here is my question to readers:

What topics would you like to see covered in SurvivalBlog feature articles, in the coming months?

Here are a few topics that came to mind, when Avalanche Lily and I were brainstorming:

  • Herbs — Medicinal and Cooking
  • Wildcrafting with plants and trees
  • Foraging and recipes with wild edibles
  • Assembling a set of ham radio shack equipment
  • Ham radio antenna trimming
  • Home Gunsmithing
  • How to restore kerosene lamps
  • Basic DIY veterinary science
  • Horse hoof trimming
  • Basic home carpentry projects
  • Dry-pack canning

What are your ideas for feature article topics, to add to that list?  Please e-mail us your suggestions, and we will post a consolidated list, sometime next week. That list can then be used as a starting point, for anyone that wants to write a piece for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

We greatly appreciate it when our readers share their knowledge and experience. That tremendous depth of knowledge is one of the things that sets SurvivalBlog apart from other preparedness blogs.

Many Thanks! – JWR

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on horse-drawn wagon builders, restoration specialists, museums, and some camping rentals.

Idaho

Idaho Sheep Camp builds traditional Basque sheep wagons.

o  o  o

Live Out Your 1883 Fantasies at This Incredible Idaho Covered Wagon Park

o  o  o

I missed seeing this obituary when it was posted late last year: Darlene Madge McManus, 88. The wife of outdoor humor writer Pat McManus, Darlene was the inspiration for the fictional character “Bun.”

o  o  o

Idaho Dr. Ryan Cole Faces Discipline for Bucking the Covid-19 Narrative.

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

Preparedness Notes for Monday — February 13, 2023

Today is the birthday of General Chuck Yeager (born, 1923), the first man to break the sound barrier. He passed away December 7, 2020.

February 13th is also the birthday of Robert Charles R.C. Sproul (born 1939, died December 14, 2017), a well-respected American Calvinist theologian.

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A special request from JWR: A relative of mine will soon be attending a school that is south of Hamilton, Montana.  That relative will need to rent garage space to store a vehicle for about a year. Ideally, it would be a spot with an outlet available for a trickle charger, and that has access year-round, in case that vehicle is needed for an emergency. So, if you, or someone you know, lives within 20 miles of Hamilton and would have a covered parking spot in a garage, carport, shop, or barn available, please let me know, via e-mail. Many thanks!

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Today’s feature article is a review written by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Thomas Christianson.

Silver Stag Lion, by Thomas Christianson

The Silver Stag Lion is an heirloom quality, primarily handmade, semi-custom knife. It has a razor-sharp three-inch blade made of D2 tool steel and a handle made from naturally-shed deer or elk antler. It is 100% made in these United States.

It is by far the finest knife I have ever carried. At the time of this writing, it was available for $169 from www.silverstag.com. The major drawback of the knife is that it is such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that I am almost afraid to use it. It seems to deserve a place of honor in a display case rather than hidden in my pocket.

The Backstory

I have been systematically seeking out American-made knives for testing and evaluation. In the course of my search, I ran across Silver Stag knives. I looked through their product line for something with a pocket clip for every day carry (EDC). When I did not find anything, I wrote a note to Silver Stag mentioning that if they ever introduced a knife with a pocket clip, I would be interested in reviewing it.

About a week later, Mr. Brad Smith, founder of Silver Stag Handcrafted Field Gear, replied with information about their lanyard system. It sounded interesting, so I said that I was interested. Mr. Smith then promised to make me a knife the next week, when he was caught up on his Father’s Day orders. Exactly a week later, the knife arrived in my mailbox.Continue reading“Silver Stag Lion, by Thomas Christianson”