Tinder Hot Box Solar Fire Starter at Camping Survival

A pretty cool product from Camping Survival. Not a replacement for a lighter or knowing how to do it the primitive way but a really good option to have. Definitely on the "I want list". Get yours here.

Lines of Gear and Go Bags/ Assault Packs/ Get Home Bags

Alexander Wolfe wrote an excellent post today discussing Go Bags and Bug Out Bags. I am going to talk about my thoughts on 'lines' of gear. In doing so we will talk about go bags/ assault packs/ get home bags and such. 

First line gear is the most basic survival and defensive gear. You really shouldn't be leaving home without it.
Military- Survival gear (knife, fire, etc) and weapon with reload. For most deployed personnel the weapon is an M4 variant but that doesn't really matter.
Civilian- EDC/ Survival gear and potentially CCW pistol with reload. You can see mine here and also a lot of other peoples.

Second line gear is your 'fighting load'. It stores ammo, water, basic first aid stuff, a small radio, maybe a more substantial knife, etc all.
Military- Old school would be your LBE or whatever and a rifle if your first line gun was a pistol. The contemporary equivalent would be body armor, a chest rig if your pouches aren't mounted strait to the vest.
Civilian- There are a lot more options but the basics are the same. Ammo, medical, maybe a more substantial knife, water, etc. This could be a direct or linear descendant of some military system of a smaller lighter setup designed to more closely suit civilian needs. War belts and Active Shooter kits fall into this category.

Third line gear is for sustainment over a longer period. Depending on how your stuff is set up and the conditions the second line is good for a short operation or up to a day or so.The third line is for sustainment beyond that time frame.
Military- Ruck Sack with food, water, warm clothes, hygiene stuff, batteries, maybe ammo, etc all. Set up to sustain an individual within their current environment for a reasonable amount of time.
Civilian- Large bag with food, water, warm clothes, hygiene stuff, batteries, maybe ammo, etc all. Set up to sustain an individual within their current environment for a reasonable amount of time. This is where the BOB AKA 'Bug Out Bag or INCH "I'm Never Coming Home Again" type systems fall.

We could quibble about what exactly should go where and other minutia. However it's basically the way our military operates these days so I do not think many folks would disagree with the general concept.

So now we are back to the Go Bags/ Assault Packs/ Get Home Bags. I will briefly discuss my thoughts on them then move forward.

The 'Go Bag' is pretty much set up to supplement your fighting load. More mags, medical stuff, food, batteries, etc all. It typically stays in a vehicle and is grabbed to resupply or if you need to bail out on foot.

The 'Assault Pack' is used to carry equipment beyond your fighting load needed for a particular mission. Potentially that could include bino's/ spotting scopes, batteries, clothes, food, additional ammo, explosives, breaching gear, land mines, signaling equipment, etc all.

The 'Get Home Bag' is a bag designed to have sufficient stuff to get a person from where they are to back home. Generally set up smaller and lighter than the 'bug out bag' though one mans BOB might be another's GHB.

So where do the Go Bag/ Assault Pack/ Get Home Bag fall into this general system?

We could analyze the exact composition of every single kit or just make it simple and call them level 2.5. That is sort of awkward but since these kits are typically a split between supplemental fighting load and short term sustainment I think it's the best fit. This is further made awkward because many civilians do not have a 'fighting load' in their general commonly carried systems. They may have a hodge podge of stuff floating around their vehicle or a few spare mags in their level 2.5 system. Also I find the conceptual level 2.5 useful because the level of sustainment is generally for a shorter period of time than the more traditional Ruck/ BOB 3rd level of sustainment.

Yes I categorize these systems in the same range. Furthermore I would go as far as to say they are just variations of the same kit adjusted to different circumstances. A soldier or contractor operating out of a vehicle will probably have a go bag. Inevitably some chow and supplemental clothing plus life's random junk (paperback book, MP-3 player, gum, flashlight, etc) can slip in there. Really while the bag might vary that isn't any different than an Assault Pack. These kits exact composition varies in part based on your fighting load. I've seen contractors who wore 2-3 spare mags for their rifle and 1-2 for the pistol (often in a ghetto made war belt from some pouches and a spare rigger belt) then carried a bag with more of each plus smoke/ grenades/ etc. If for whatever (IMO foolhardy) reason a person in a highly kinetic situation goes with way their  2.5 line is going to have a lot of ordinance in it. On the other hand a guy carrying 8-12 mags on his body has more room for a spare sweater in the 2.5 line.

To me the 'Get Home Bag' is a civilian equivalent of the same kit. It is a fairly small purpose built kit designed to help you with a specific mission, in this case getting home. They tend to be far lighter on ordinance than a soldier or contractor's Go Bag/ Assault Pack. The reason for this is simple. Despite some folks Red Dawn or whatever militia porn fantasies the odds Joe Everyday is going to need a first aid kit, some chow, a coat and a flashlight are a whole lot higher than that he will need an AR with a dozen magazines. Now if you want to carry a dedicated fighting load plus a 'Get Home Bag' type setup good for you but as a survivalist do not carry the ammo instead of the sustainment stuff.

So anyway those are my thoughts on that. I am eager to hear yours.

 

Successes and Failures: My Week in Preparation

Some stuff went well this week. Dug into my ruck, inventorying and updating some stuff. Also reorganized my food into 1 day bags (x3) confirming there are enough calories in each one. Would like to add a little bit more as well as some of those little drink packets. Of course now I need to do the same for another bag or two.

After some consideration I am going to take a couple things out of my bag to lighten it up, well really to make room for other stuff. Another part of that is just shifting from winter stuff to summer stuff. Did a little work on the second bag making a mental inventory of what is needed to finish it. That all went well.

There was a deal on the table for a Glock 26. The dude flaked out for whatever reason. These thing do happen for a variety of reasons in private sales. However it was disappointing all the same. I'll end up with one eventually.

Had planned to make spaghetti sauce from a bunch of tomatoes then can it. The sauce didn't turn out right. I'm not sure where things went wrong but instead of spaghetti sauce it ended up as a giant pan of nasty lumpy tomatoes. Tasked like #*$)# to boot. So after wasting several hours the whole mess went into the trash. At least I didn't put a bunch of money into the food that did not turn out.

Still digesting that whole experience but I did learn some things. Was too focused on the preserving side and not enough on the cooking side. Probably need to really figure out some (canning compatible) recipes then worry about the preserving side. Or maybe just do a few easier things like jam, maybe both plans. Also we probably need another big pot.

So a few things happened this week. Some succeeded while others failed. While nobody likes failure it does almost inevitably come with branching out to doing new things. If I have something approaching a cohesive point here it is that skills take time to develop. There will be growing pains and you will find little pieces of this and that which are needed to pull it off. Bottom line in my opinion it is unlikely you will all of a sudden be able to execute new and unfamiliar skill important sets in a high stress environment. So get to learning and making mistakes NOW.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

I did pretty good. Picked up 2 pair of boots (1x Blackhawk gently used and 1x USGI Winter new) for $40 total which was nice. Also got an Oakley backpack gently used for $20. It's going to keep my daily stuff and the GHB stuff will be beefed up and live in my TT bag. Also swapped some '06 ammo I didn't need for 30-30 ammo I can use.

Anyway that's what I have been up to. What did you do to prepare this week?

10 Lower Prices Solutions to Survivalism

A few ways to make preparedness fit your budget a bit better.

1. Prioritize. I know this is is a far bigger thing and really arguably negates the rest of the article but I do need to touch on it briefly. Choosing preparedness stuff instead of other things is a very valid option. I find it easier to have the goal in mind and do the math working towards it. Example doing the math that at 4 bucks a pop you would need to choose drip from home instead of fancy coffee 15 times to get the medium fixed blade knife you want or 10 nights out at $50 a pop to buy a rifle or whatever. For me this makes it a choice to prioritize that specific goal instead of just general budget tightening which kind of sucks.

 2. Cut down on your vices. Drink less, smoke less, chew less, gamble less, go from $5 coffee out to drip from home, use that money to prepare. [This is probably #1 for overall life improvement but for saving cash to fund preparedness, which is the topic of the post, I put it at #2. The reason is that prioritization (which also touches on vices) is more all encompassing.]

3. Buy used. Many things can be had gently used for 50-80 cents on the dollar. Once you take the tags off, use it a couple times and it will have a few scratches or wear marks anyway so save the $$$.

4. Build the same systems but with lower priced (but not junk) items. Common Mans $150 BOB by TEOTWAWKI Blog (though I think it's more of a Get Home Bag) is a great example of this.

5. Get basic guns. A tight budget does not mean to buy cool guns because you like them  and then skimp elsewhere. If you can't afford food you definitely can't afford an AR and a Glock, let alone an M1A and a high end 1911 with a bunch of mags each especially with prices these days!. It means you need to get basic but quality guns that will serve your needs but not bust the budget. The odds you need an AR-15 over a bolt action 30'06 or pump shotgun or a Glock 19 over an old SW Model 10 are a lot lower than that your family will start eating drastically less. Honestly if tomorrow our gun collection was a 30-30, a bare bones Rem 870/ Moss 500 pump shotgun, a pair of .38/.357 revolvers (his and hers) and a .22 it would be a decent enough setup. If we had 2 of everything and I had a J frame as well as a bigger revolver (aside from her pistol) it would be a good setup. Bought over time most folks can afford a $400 30'06 or 30-30, a $300 shotgun, a $300-400 pistol and a .22 of some sort along with plenty of ammo to go with them.

6. Get items that serve a lot of purposes. If money is tight it might not work in the short term to have 6 dedicated preparedness knives (huge camp, medium general purpose fixed, small fixed, folding EDC, multi tool and "fighting") a folding saw a hawk or hatchet and an ax. Instead a small ax or hatchet/ hawk (AO dependent), a medium sized fixed blade and a folding EDC/ multi tool (lifestyle dependent) might just be it. Those 3 tools would handle most all of your realistic preparedness cutlery needs.

Coming back to guns because we dudes tend to gravitate there and thus overspend limited resources which should be spent elsewhere. In terms of guns that can do a lot of things compact sized pistols are a good one. A Glock 19 or 3" small/ medium framed revolver can fill a lot of roles adequately. A pump shotgun with long and short barrels can do a ton of things. Toss in whatever center fire rifle fits your lifestyle and budget best then round it out with a decent .22 and you are good to go.

7. Put in the time. Oh you are busy too, well make some choices. Watch less tv or something. Learn stuff from people you know. Helping them is a great way to do this. Ask somebody to HELP YOU fix your car or wall or whatever and just maybe they will do it. Say you will HELP THEM with their next project and you'll get a phone call in a bit. Expect to carry some stuff and do some other nugg work but you will learn stuff. Also once they see you care enough to put in the time and energy most folks will go out of their way to help you learn.


8. Avoid mistakes. Buying items that don't fit your needs/ wants must be avoided at all costs. I have a variety of stuff that has been purchased then cast off to be extras or backups or sold at a loss. Even if you research enough to find out an item is quality there is the ever unquantifiable ergonomics. If money was tight I would only buy items I could personally handle and ideally try out (like borrowing a friends for a week) before purchasing.

9. Trade. There are some balancing acts there as you have to be a bit flexible but can't lose sight of your real needs as you can't afford to get unneeded or significantly lower priority stuff.  On the other hand turning your unused guitar and amp (or whatever) into the backpack and sleeping bag you need is just irresistible. Sometimes, though rarely especially with vastly different types of stuff, you can trade strait across. However more often you end up selling the music stuff to get money which pays for the camping gear.

10. Gifts. This isn't exactly a savings but it does help. Instead of asking for stuff you don't really need for birthdays, Christmas, etc ask for preparedness stuff you can use. Many folks would be happy to get you a preparedness item of comparable price than whatever the usual gift might be.

That is about all I can think of right now. Anyway I hope these ideas help give people some ideas on how to become better prepared on lower budgets.

Edited to include: After Snoops comment I went back and put them in what I feel is rank order. 

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

With having another kid and all not a lot happened this week. Did pick up various extra hygiene stuff and OTC meds. Also replaced some batteries that had been used.

Also I did some tweeking to my GHB. I think at this point it is going to slide from a true EDC to a lives in the car GHB. Adding that $20 brand new USGI gore tex and a couple light weight tops, 2 spare mags for the Glock, 100 rounds of 9mm,100 rounds of .22 and about 2k more in calories in food. It was annoying to haul for my few strictly EDC things but now I don't really want to haul it to class and whatnot. If I was going in someone elses car or whatever I would put my few EDC things in it but otherwise it's just going to live in the vehicle/ near me. Will likely get another bag to fill the EDC in the near future.

I'm working on swapping another gun or two. Noticed two interesting phenomenons worth discussing. The first are folks who think that they can get new gun prices for their barely *cough they are all barely used come selling time cough* used gun. Sorry folks, when you take it out of the gun shop it becomes used. Period. END OF STORY. The second are the people who send you a note asking what the absolute lowest price you will take is. Most smart folks build in some bargaining room to their asking price so there is some wiggle room but come on. If you are too lazy to bargain you pay asking price or walk. Anyway these two things have been annoying me lately.

Also as a bonus I almost appreciate the guy who sends an email offering half the going price of guns. Helll no I won't sell him a Glock for $300 but can't blame the guy for trying. Guess he is sort of the used gun equivalent of the dude who asks every woman he meets if she wants to have sex. Even if the rate is 3% if he asks 100 folks week he does pretty decent.

This coming week I am getting back to eating right and serious PT which is good. Planning to review the Solo Pot 900 also. Will put some work in on my BOB and just maybe talk about my GHB.

What did you do to prepare this week?

Solo Pot, Perfect to go With Your Solo Stove

The good folks at Solo Stove have got a pot to go with it called the  Solo Pot. They look like a solid piece of kit which is to be expected considering the source. Aside from being stainless steel and generally well made another big plus is that the Solo Pot can nest with the stove inside it. The capacity is 900 ml AKA just a bit less than a liter. Right about perfect for 1-2 person cooking of simple dishes. The pour spout and volume markings in ounces and liters are also nice touches.

I really enjoy using my solo stove and am looking forward to testing the companion pot in the near future. Maybe I will use it test some more survival food. Likely the pot will go right alongside the stove in my bug out bag. Anyway I figured you all would want to know about this cool product.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

It was a pretty good week here. Ordered the majority of the stuff for Project AR Upgrade as well as some rifle plates. Hit the gym, did some running and ended up losing almost a pound. Put some energy into getting the first version of my GHB reestablished as well as the car kit. Also we picked up a bunch of food to put away.

I'm going to give something new a shot. Talking about my goals for the upcoming week here may help me think through what I want to do the next week and then stay accountable for that.

This week in terms of fitness I plan to lift 3x, run 3x and ruck twice. Going to work on solidifying the GHB and car kit. I am thinking a pretty stripped down get home bag that is sort of an EDC/GHB blend. Just grabbing it every day (or leaving it in the car) is a simple option. For longer trips a heavier dedicated kit will come along. That is however a topic for another day. Also I am going to order some stuff. Been doing some looking and am still trying to prioritize. Might just pull the trigger on a War Belt. Then again there is some long overdue stuff. Also I need to do a review on the Solo Stove which is a pretty cool piece of kit. If I get really motivated I will try to finish up our emergency food box.

Well that is what I have been up to and what should be coming up this week. What did you do to prepare this week?

Get Home Bag, Walking and Life Update

I am not sure if it has been mentioned explicitly yet but our time in Europe is almost done. We are very happy to be headed back to the US. Travel and some experiences here have been great but a lot of everyday stuff is a hassle. Also the level of regulations, rules and such here does not mesh with my nature at all. We saw a lot of places and missed some good ones. Particularly we are bummed about not getting to Ireland but that is how things worked out. There is more travel here than we could have done even if time and money were not concerns. In any case it is about time to move on to the next chapter in our lives. We will be spending about a month catching up with folks in the PNW. After that we are headed to the Southwest. More on that later.

We have been walking a lot lately. The weather is good now and it is a solid way to get out of the house and doing something. I do not recommend walking as a form of exercise unless you are A) elderly, B) recovering from a serious injury/ illness, C) crippled or D) seriously overweight and or out of shape and working towards running a la couch to 5k or a similar program. However that does not mean walking is not without benefits. Most of the benefits are not really physical. Getting outside and spending time with your family in the area you live in is a good thing. If somebody told me they walk as a form of exercise who did not fit the above categories I would try to coach them towards a better path, potentially with some mocking involved. If somebody told me they walk regularly to get outside and for active recovery from more strenuous workouts like running or rucking or for some additional low impact/ intensity cardio I would say that was a great plan.

My get home bag setup needs some work. The primary issue is that I really like my Tactical Tailor bag and use it regularly. I like that bag for the task but it can't be in two places at once. This makes having it in the car with a variety of stuff loaded into it problematic. I have a couple of ideas. First a couple side pouches to hold 1 quart water bottles will help free up space in the main compartment for normal life stuff. (Regardless of what I do the bag needs this MOD anyway.) Second sooner or later I need to swap out that bag or get a replacement for normal everyday carry use. Something I have considered is putting most of the stuff that is in my GHB into something else like a wet weather bag or trash bag and then putting it into my TT pack if needed. Mostly this stuff is a full set of clothes with boots, socks, gloves and a hat. I keep this stuff in there because regularly I go on short trips in less than fully ideal clothing and the option to change into suitable clothes for walking is a good thing. I mulled this a lot but despite being an easy and ideal solution it came up short because while I carry the TT bag around a lot while using it as a normal bag it doesn't ALWAYS MAKE IT INTO THE CAR. Inevitably the day I needed it is the day it would be in the hall closet. So the question is what to do. The short term answer is pretty much covered. I ordered a used medium ALICE pack awhile back for $10. It will be a very inexpensive solution and such will likely fit for awhile. Not as nice or comfortable but for $10 instead of $150 that is to be expected. Still a rugged bomb proof pack. Down the road a nice high end bag like the TT or something from Hill People Gear would be great in this role but I will not be able to justify the expense for awhile. Likely I  would use the TT for a GHB and something a bit smaller for typical every day type use. Since I don't see any traction on this for at least 6 months or more likely 12 there is some time to think about it.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Comprises

I have been watching some Nutnfancy videos recently. He regularly uses the phrase size and weight considerations. The point is twofold. First weight matters as ounces turn into pounds and heavy kit often gets left at home. Secondly and possibly more interesting are the compromises and trade offset involved. A multi tool is a pretty sucky substitute for a whole box of tools but nobody puts a 25lbs toolbox into their daypack or ruck. It is important to consider what additional weight will get you and if you need that capability. Out in the woods you probably will not need the benefits of a toolbox and are not willing to haul the weight anyway. A leatherman to tighten a screw or whatever is all you probably need anyway. When ot comes to other compromises it is important to look at what you expect the item to do as well as considerations like your budget. Also the primary goal or goals are important as they weigh a bit heavier. A pistol that will guard against black bears in the woods, serve as a house gun and occasionally get carried might be a .357 or .44 revolver or maybe a .40 or 10mm auto. On the other.hand a pistol you will regularly conceal that pulls woods duty occasionally will need to be smaller to be carried. Some of these decisions are less than quantifiable. For example I gladly trade the additional size and weight of a compact 9mm for its increased round count and shootability vs a snubby 38 or a .380. Another person might not choose that option. All fun poking at the snubby/ pocket gun crowd aside it is hard to beat folks up too much if the proverbial sweet spot is different for them. That being said I cannot help but note thar you often see trends among well trained folks in given areas. I guess the point is to really think about the trade offs that you are making. Sometimes you can cut size, weight and or cost with little real loss in capabilities. Other times if you really look at it the trade off kind of sucks so anyway those are my thoughts on that.

Comprises

I have been watching some Nutnfancy videos recently. He regularly uses the phrase size and weight considerations. The point is twofold. First weight matters as ounces turn into pounds and heavy kit often gets left at home. Secondly and possibly more interesting are the compromises and trade offset involved. A multi tool is a pretty sucky substitute for a whole box of tools but nobody puts a 25lbs toolbox into their daypack or ruck. It is important to consider what additional weight will get you and if you need that capability. Out in the woods you probably will not need the benefits of a toolbox and are not willing to haul the weight anyway. A leatherman to tighten a screw or whatever is all you probably need anyway. When ot comes to other compromises it is important to look at what you expect the item to do as well as considerations like your budget. Also the primary goal or goals are important as they weigh a bit heavier. A pistol that will guard against black bears in the woods, serve as a house gun and occasionally get carried might be a .357 or .44 revolver or maybe a .40 or 10mm auto. On the other.hand a pistol you will regularly conceal that pulls woods duty occasionally will need to be smaller to be carried. Some of these decisions are less than quantifiable. For example I gladly trade the additional size and weight of a compact 9mm for its increased round count and shootability vs a snubby 38 or a .380. Another person might not choose that option. All fun poking at the snubby/ pocket gun crowd aside it is hard to beat folks up too much if the proverbial sweet spot is different for them. That being said I cannot help but note thar you often see trends among well trained folks in given areas. I guess the point is to really think about the trade offs that you are making. Sometimes you can cut size, weight and or cost with little real loss in capabilities. Other times if you really look at it the trade off kind of sucks so anyway those are my thoughts on that.