Maxxeon’s 2nd Gen WorkStar 620 Headlamp, by Pat Cascio

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Today we’re taking a close look at the Maxxeon 2nd Gen WorkStar 620 Technician’s Rechargeable Headlamp. We have tested several other lighting products from Maxxeon for SurvivialBlog readers over the years. One still sits on my desk, and I use it all the time when I need extra illumination for a project or looking for a lost gun part.

Maxxeon Varied Intensity Levels

Not all headlamps are the same. With that said, the Maxxeon 620 is quite the light. It has several intensity levels, with the highest being 700 lumens, medium 400 lumens, and low is still a bright 150 lumens. It is powered by a Cree light bulb, which is top of the line, too.

On the high setting of 700 lumens, the light will operate for two hours. On medium, it operates two hours and on low for eight hours. I’m impressed. Recharge time is six hours, and you do get two included batteries with this unit. To help extend the operating time of the 620, you can purchase additional batteries/battery packs. Maxxeon sent me an additional battery back with two additional batteries. You can also zoom the lens from a spot to a flood light, lighting up quite a large area if needed. One outstanding feature is the light’s beam has no rings, shadows, or hot spots when zoomed to a narrow beam.

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Recipe of the Week: Mom’s Meatless Friday Recipe, by JAA

This is easy to make and excellent.

Ingredients:

  • 2 quarts of cooked navy beans (undrained)
  • 3 lbs potatoes (fresh is best, but you can substitute canned, though canned potatoes do not store well.)
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 3/4 cup of milk
  • Flour

Directions:

  1. You can adjust the portion of beans and potatoes by the number of people that will be at the meal.
  2. To the navy beans add the butter; then separately mix milk and flour together. If there is not enough fluid in beans, add saved water until beans are barely covered. Bring pot to a boil. Then simmer, thickening the beans with flour mixture until it reaches the consistency of runny applesauce. Be careful not to scorch the bottom of the pot.
  3. Slice and fry the potatoes.
  4. Put a goodly portion of the fried potatoes on your plate and smother with the beans.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.

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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!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on investing in antique radios. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

First off, both silver and gold jumped last week, as the headlines were filled with fears about possible nuclear war with North Korea.  I hope that you bought low.

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Next, from Hub Moolman: Silver Price Forecast: Silver Boom Time?

 

Stocks:

Jim Rogers says the ‘biggest crisis in his life’ is less than a year away.

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World’s Top Stock Market Really Just a Handful of Top Stocks.

 

Commodities:

Metals: Prices Remain Upbeat, Even as Geopolitical Tensions Pick Up.

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Oil Price Forecast 2017 – 2040

 

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Getting Ready For the Long Walk- Part 3, by Lone Wolf and Cub

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Today, we are wrapping up this series. We’ve already discussed the importance of prayer and are looking at what we need to take with us, most recently discussing first aid and medical supplies. We’ll continue with a few health care notes and move on with other items that need to be prepared and ready to go when it’s time to head to your retreat.

Preventive Measures Against The Triad of Death

The “triad of death” is the condition were your patient has hypothermia, excessive blood loss, and acidosis, which is a condition where the body is unable to clot. This triad of death is a vicious cycle where one condition causes the other, with death as the final result. Yet two of these are easily preventable for those skilled in standard first aid.  A properly applied tourniquet applied two inches above the wound will suffice for extremity wounds. Turn until it hurts for tourniquet application, then turn two more times. A tourniquet can also be left on for two days without risk of permanent injury to the limb.

Remember to record the time the tourniquet was placed. Your emergency blankets and sleeping bags can also be used to prevent hypothermia in your patient. Direct pressure must be used to prevent excessive bleeding in the torso, neck, and head. If that doesn’t work, then direct pressure above the wound applied to the area where there are major arterial pathways should suffice. The SAS Survival Manual has detailed pictures of these pathways. As mentioned, acidosis is a nasty condition where the blood becomes acidic, which will prevent blood clotting. This will result in excessive blood loss, hypothermia, and further acidosis.

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Letter Re: Walking to the Retreat

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Gentlemen:

In recent days SurvivalBlog has published two articles that heavily feature the “Shank’s Mare” option– walking to Get Out of Dodge. I consider walking to a bugout location a last resort but one that must be included in the planning process.

To that end, I’ve been looking for a device that could provide assistance in such a trek. In the movie “The Road,” made from the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name, the father eventually comes into possession of what looks like a Strongway Yard Cart (available through Amazon and others) or similar cart, which is a 4 foot long and 31 inch wide super size plywood wheelbarrow with a large diameter spoked wheel on each side mounted amid ship and having an extended tubular handle to the rear, all with a 400 lb capacity.

Yard Carts

Some years back I had an identical cart, and it was extremely useful. But the user must carry some of the weight. He supports it with the extended handle, similar to the operation of a standard wheelbarrow. Over long distances, this can be extremely tiring.

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. North Korea is making headlines again as the beat of the war drum gets louder.

Second Amendment

Australia has no such protection of their right to keep and bear arms. As a result, after the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, they basically removed all firearms rights. However, the authorities still estimate that there are approximately 300,000 firearms still on the streets. While suicides and murders by firearm have indeed gone down, violent crimes have actually increased. Now the population has no way to protect themselves. The UK’s response to self-defense is a public service announcement called “Run, Hide, and Tell”. Many armed Americans prefer the mantra “Stand, Fight, and Quell” though. Thanks to H.L. for the link.

War on Cash

Reader Organic Mama sent in this link showing where bake sales have now been banned in government facilities. Instead, people are expected to donate through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) which has an annual solicitation for charitable donations. This has several implications beyond just removing the handling of cash over donations though. Only approved charities can get on that list, which usually means lots of paperwork. There will be no more donations to “little Johnny’s camp fund” even if you wanted to. Second, all donations are now tracked. They know which charities you gave to and which ones you didn’t.

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Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday – August 12, 2017

This the birthday of country singer/songwriter Buck Owens (1929–2006). His songs typified what has been called “The Bakersfield Sound.”

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It was sad to hear that Ty Hardin has passed away, at age 87. He is remembered for his television western roles. His film credits included Battle of the Bulge and PT-109. He was also the founder of an anti-tax movement that later morphed into The Arizona Patriots.

Getting Ready For the Long Walk-Part 2, by Lone Wolf and Cub

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Yesterday, I introduced my public service announcement directed especially for city dwellers and provided details for Stage 1, which is “facing your fears”. You must recognize God and your Christian duty to provide first for your family. You should also focus every resource toward purchasing farmable land in your name so that you and your family don’t become part of the Golden Horde, trying to get out of a city that resembles one filled with zombies in the Walking Dead.

Stage 2 The Preparation.

Begin With Prayer

Begin with a routine of morning and nightly prayers. Only by the Providence of God will you “be at the right place, with the right people, and at the right time”. Next, remember this is your private time with God Almighty. Also, be specific to address your needs and concerns. Finally, ask and you shall receive. God is listening.

Act upon your prayers. God watches over us as well. If you still need to find a retreat property then visualize your property in your mind. Include this in your daily prayers.

Assemble A Bug Out Bag

Once you have done that, you will need to assemble your bug out bag. Remember the majority of your supplies should be stored at your retreat. Therefore, this retreat should be one you live in all year round. Until that occurs, you will have to act “as if”.

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The Editors’ Preps for the Week

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. Steadily, we work on meeting our prepping goals. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities.  They also share their planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, property improvements, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!  This week’s focus is on a drowning tragedy in north Idaho.

JWR

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers,

This week at the Rawles Ranch we’ve been under a heavy smokey haze from regional forest fires. Our prayers are for you who are near the fires, that your homes will be safe and that the rains will come soon to put them out.  Prayers also for everyone out working on the fire lines.

We’ve been making some preparations for our planned eclipse viewing trip.  OBTW, today is probably the last day that you can safely order some  solar eclipse glasses with a fair certainty of having them before the eclipse.  Important Safety Note: If you use the welding goggles/hood option then be advised that you need to use #14 (or darker) arc welding glass.  The lighter shades (made for gas welding) are insufficient and you’ll be at risk of getting permanent retinal burns!

A Drowning Tragedy

A name in an Idaho news story jumped out at us this week: Teen dies days after brother drowned trying to save him. The Grasser family of north Idaho lost their two sons in a river swimming accident, last week. I checked, and sure enough, they are close relatives of the Grasser family that were Jim’s neighbors near Orofino, Idaho, back in the early 1990s. We send our sincere condolences to the entire Grasser family for their tragic loss. Isaac and Michael were truly God-fearing homeschooled young men whose lives are a clear testimony of their Godly upbringing from their parents.

We pray that through their passing, many people who hear of it, will get serious and get right with Jesus the Son of God, the Savior of the World.  People need to repent of their sins, because our lives can be much shorter than we assume. We also believe that their sudden passing is a wake up call for All Believers to get serious with carefully listening to the Lord’s promptings to pray for all things. We must be instant in prayer for one another when He brings thoughts and warnings to our minds. Prayer is God’s weapon of choice to thwart the wiles of The Enemy of our souls. Pray Always with all prayers and supplications. Pray for your friends, their children, your spouse, your children, your President, and even for leaders of other countries! Listen to God. He will give you special assignments if you’re willing to take the burden. The days coming that will require the ability to hear God’s voice. Get serious, now! Getting Right with God is the most important prep of all!

Please pray for the Grasser Family. By the way, a GoFundMe account has been set up for the family.

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The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

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SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “HJL”. The Redoubt is beginning to prepare for the expected onslaught of visitors for the Solar Eclipse. If you are planning on attending, you should plan accordingly.

Glyphosate

Monsanto was its own ghostwriter for some safety reviews. Questions arose about the carcinogenic properties of Monsanto’s baby “glyphosate”. In response, they hired an independent consulting group to develop the supplement that countered those claims. Monsanto claimed that their only involvement was to hire the group. However, recent internal emails that have come to light. These suggest that Monsanto played a much more central role, even to the extent of editing the final document. So much for independent verification.

Obamacare

It’s pretty clear at that point that the Republican’s rhetoric about repealing Obamacare was just verbiage to get reelected and they most had no intention of every actually doing it. An interesting statistic came up a couple of days ago from Scott Rasmussen. While the stated purpose of Obamacare was to extend insurance to more people, we now know that over 6,500,000 Americans actually paid a fine rather than sign up for the coverage. Another 15 million would drop it if it were legal to do so. How’s that for a failing government program.

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