Kershaw Blur: Initial Impressions

Awhile back Grasshoppa was kind enough to send me a Kershaw Blur. I've been carrying it around for about a month now. Certainly enough time to get a sense of what it is and isn't.

I really don't have enough good things to say about the Kershaw Blur. The spring assist basically makes it a blade activated switch blade without any of the legal constrains (as far as I know anyway) which is pretty cool. The metal handle with grip inserts is pretty awesome especially at this knife's competitive price point.

The blade is very sharp and well designed. I find the curved swooping back of the blade a bit awkward aesthetically but it puts the point in the right place (centered) which is what really matters. It cuts the heck out of everything I've given a go at which is all you can ask for a knife. The edge seems to be holding nicely.

The clip is very secure and well designed. I appreciate that it securely holds the knife in it's place using a simplistic design with two screws. Too many folks skip the design portion of a clip and try to make it secure with more screws which makes for a bulkier clip. The only issue I have is that (at least on my particular model) there are only holes for the clip on the right side which would be awkward for lefties. It can be tip up or down which is better than some models.

Right now the role my Blur has found is as a "get off me blade". Given that small daggers and push knives can be legally problematic and even a small fixed blade is fairly long for EDC in my lifestyle a folder is the available option. I appreciate the easy opening feature even more with my weak hand. It's riding OWB clipped to my belt at about 9 o'clock. Seems pretty secure plus at their excellent price point if it gets lost I'll order another then put it into a sheath in the same place.

Depending on where you shop a Kershaw Blur can be had between $40 and 50. I find it equal to or superior to any comparably priced offerings by other major brands like Cold Steel or Spyderco. You can certainly spend more money on a knife. That money will get you a bit more fit/ finish then at some point maybe a bit of quality and warranty support. However at their price point you can have a blur in both family vehicles and several kits/ caches. I seriously doubt an Emerson or high end Benchmade will outlast 6-8 Kershaw Blur's.

Kershaw Blur and Thanks

Grasshoppa was kind enough to send me a Kershaw Blur to check out. It has a tanto blade with partial serration which is pretty much my ideal fighting/ destroying things configuration in a folding type blade. It is working into my EDC for testing and evaluation. It seems like a very well made knife at a super competitive price. You will see an initial impressions post shortly and a review in due time. I need to go find some stuff to cut.

Thanks again Grasshoppa!

Knife in the Making by JP's Custom Knives

JP of JP's Custom Knives is making me a knife. It is going to be a large camp type knife. Going through the whole process with him was pretty cool. What I did was look at a bunch of pictures of knives JP has made. Sort of picked and chose the parts I wanted.

I like the blade style of this knife. It's about a 10" blade. Big but not bulky for bulks sake.

The first knive is nice but I prefer a more traditional looking handle like on this knife. So that's what is coming out of the forge and into my hands.

We didn't really talk steel, grind angles or any of that. Honestly I don't get into that. Just use knives to cut stuff, sharpen them and repeat. Anyway I would rather give a craftsmen my intent (in this case a large camp knife that can do a fair job of chopping things and processing wood) and leave him to do his thing. Of course I'm sure if you have opinions about all of that JP would be more than happy to oblige.

This knife should be pretty awesome. I can't wait for it to arrive.

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. 

Please Welcome Our Newest Advertiser- JP's Custom Knives

JP makes custom knives for every cutlery occasion in the kitchen, street or field. You can check out his face book page to look at a bunch of pictures of his work and talk to him about getting a knife made.

Tell him I sent you.

Current Results of EDC Contest Voting

The current results of the voting are:
 #1- CF entry #22 with 25 votes
#2- Tricia entry #26 with 23 votes
#3-Zombie Guy entry #10 with 20 votes
#4- Meister entry #20 with 17 votes
#5- Michael W entry #32 with 15 votes
#6- Brian Entry #6 with 14 votes

Voting will continue through tomorrow so plenty of time to vote for yourself or your favorite entry. After you vote feel free to mention the EDC contest as well as your favorite entry to the spouse, friends, family or web buddies.

 To recap here is what our contestants are playing for:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)
4th Place: A copy of The Blighted by Archer Garrett.
Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. ($30+  value).
Check out the details and my example post here. 

1 Long gun, 1 Pistol and 1 Knife

Saw this over at SHTF Blog and have been thinking about it ever since. We talked about our top 3 guns previously but the jump from 3 to 2 is a lot.

Pistol- Glock 19. A great compromise between conceal ability and capacity/ shootability. Also you just don't get any more common than a Glock 9mm. Though a Glock 17 would be fine also as the two aren't that different in size.

Long Gun- AR-15 with a CMMG .22 conversion kit. This is arguably gaming the question but since it is just a spare bolt and a magazine I don't think it is too ridiculous. I think arguing the technicality that the lower is the part and saying I would also have a 6.8 or 300 blackout upper would be gaming things. 

A narrow second place would be a Remington 870 with both long and short barrels. The Remington 870 is very versatile but the AR's ability to shoot .22lr gives a pretty good option to put meat into the pot. While you cannot LEGALLY hunt medium-large game with .223 I believe with decent shot placement and the right ammo it is a viable option.

Knife- I am sticking with knives as a discrete tool category and thus not slipping into machete's or hatchets or whatever. The knife would definitely be a fixed blade with a 4-5inch blade. The good old Ka Bar came into my mind but it is a bit too big for most tasks. Of knives I currently own the Pathfinder Trade Knife would be the best candidate. Of knives that are out there the new Benchmade Bushcrafter seems like a darn good candidate. I definitely want one and will eventually make the purchase.

Anyway those are my pistol, rifle and knife choices. What are yours?

EDC Contest Entry #7 Dan

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring another entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #7

1. Colt's Government Model 1911 (stainless) in .45 ACP. Used these guns since I began carrying a pistol in 1998, and I'm comfortable with them. Loaded with 8 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 185gr FTX. Carried at about 4:00 on my right side.

2. Milt Sparks "Summer Special 2." I love this leather holster, it rides and conceals well and of course fits the Colt like a glove. Though it's not in the photo (it's on my pants!) the belt makes *all* the difference with this gun/holster -- I use a 1.5-inch wide brown bullhide belt, made by Jim Speidel (The Beltman) -- and it holds the weight of that big pistol very well. The price of the belt was worth every penny. Carrying a heavy gun with a floppy belt is misery. 

3. Blackberry for work.

4. Cheap "Sacred Fire" LED Flashlight. I think I got this thing for $10, since I got tired of carrying my SureFire 6Z around and wanted to see how something smaller would work out. It has a glow-in-the-dark tailcap, which I like, and will take either a AA battery or a CR123A (which makes it brighter, and what's in there). I figured if I liked having this smaller pocket light, I'd get something better after it died (and for ten bucks, it was a good test, right?), yet it's been going for more than two years now. I'm probably pushing my luck with this one and since I do use it quite a bit, should look at getting a Fenix or another smaller SureFire.

5. Victorinox Swiss Army knife -- Officer's model. Gets used every day. Smaller and lighter than a full-size multi-tool, and I use the scissors on this knife way more than I'd ever use the pliers on a multi-tool.

6. Carmex lip balm for chapped lips. This is good stuff.

7. Keys for truck and house.

8. IMCO Super Triplex. A really slick little lighter, made in Austria, and a handy thing to have even for a non-smoker. The fuel cell with the wick is removable, and lets you light things like camp fires, pipes, and whatnot that needs distance from the lighter. I think the company is out of business now, which is a bummer.

9. Don Hume leather single-stack mag pouch with an 8-round Colt's magazine. Also loaded with the Hornady Critical Defense ammo. Sits at about 8:00 on my belt.

10. Gerber Paraframe knife. Very light and sharp and only 20 bucks, so I wouldn't cry if I lost it. My father-in-law just gave me a really nice CRKT M4 knife for Christmas, though, so I think the Gerber is going to be shuffled to the "backup" role.

11. Wallet. Made out of baseball glove leather, this has only gotten better with age. Holds the usual ID, CCW permit, cash, cards, etc.

I'm a Levi's/T-shirt/flannel shirt and hiking boots kinda guy, so that's what I typically wear over/with all this.

Occasionally the Colt gets replaced by an old J-frame Smith & Wesson 342PD AirLite Ti in .38 Special, which rides in a little leather Mitch Rosen "Workman" holster -- a very light (11 oz) and easy-to-conceal revolver, especially in the summer. Not much fun to shoot, though.

 -End-

EDC Contest Entry #6 Brian

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the another entry from our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #6

Thanks Ryan, this is a great idea! This is my EDC,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We live at our retreat/farm where I work full time. Working here has its own requirements, as you will see. How and where I wear my EDCs is planned for sitting (desk, tractor and truck), working on my feet as well as working bent over for various chores. Hopefully some of this will be useful for others.

A few weeks ago I upgraded from a Kel-Tec P11 to a Glock 19. I was able to sell the P11 along with it's two holsters, 14 mags and packet of spare parts for enough to get the Glock and a start on gear for the G19. 

 

I got an Israeli tactical retention holster which I wear at 4 o'clock, adjusted to a 20 degree forward cant. I can get it out quickly, except in the truck. I've ordered a left handed Kydex holster to attach to the upper console of my pickup to solve that problem. I keep it loaded with Hornady XTP 124 grain, 14+ 1 chambered. 

My multi-tool is a Leatherman Super Tool 200. I use this many times everyday. It is on my belt at 8 o'clock. Its thinner than a Glock mag carrier so it is more comfortable at 8 o'clock than the mag when sitting. 

I bought a Glock mag carrier but I don't care for it. I'm going to try a Kydex mag carrier with cant adjustment. I wear my mag carrier with a G19 mag (fully loaded) at 9 o'clock, just in front of my Leatherman.

I use a Carhart 1.5" leather belt. It is good quality, I've used it daily for two years so far, and it still looks and works good.

On my keyring I have stainless steel tweezers. They have sharp points and can dig out just about any splinter or sliver, but I use them for other tiny tasks as well. My keys are carried in my left front pants pocket. 

Shooting around here is common, and no big deal. I carry a cheap pair of ear plugs for the occasion. 

My knife is an older 4" Tanto blade CRKT M16-14Z. This is closest to it. I've had trouble with the belt clips coming off every knife I've owned, then I discovered the new Costco (Kirkland) jeans have a very deep "change" pocket, which holds this knife perfectly, and is easy to pull out quickly.

I carry a plastic tooth pick stored in its own handle. This stays in my right front pants pocket.

I use small tools every day. I carry an assortment of screw driver bits to save a lot of time. These work in both my 18VDC drill or a 1/4" nut driver. These bits are loose in my right front pants pocket.

I've had a bunch of different flashlights, none of which were all that handy to carry, till I discovered the PakLite LED flashlight. It is barely longer than a 9 volt battery and is no hassle to carry in a pocket. I selected the Pak-Lite Super Glow with White LED Bulbs ($25), but there are lots of models. The recessed switch on the "Super" has three positions, low, off and high. It is bright enough for most of my needs, and it is always with me. So far it has not been inadvertently turned on in my pocket. The glow cap is perfect for my wife finding her PakLite in her purse. Battery life is amazing, with the lithium battery you get 1,200 hours continuous on low and 80 hours continuous on high. With an Alkaline battery you get 600 hours continuous use on low, 30 hours on high. This thing also has gold contacts in the switch which speaks to its longevity, as does its 5 year warranty. I am looking into rechargeable 9VDC batteries. This also lives in my right front pants pocket.

A clean folded cloth handkerchief is incredibly handy. Not only for the obvious, but I also use other folds for wiping off (some) things like camera or flashlight lenses, glasses, etc. plus putting pressure on a nasty cut, and so forth. I fold it in half, then in half again, and again and then one last time so it is about a 4" square. This gives me many sides available for different uses during a day. I know this sounds gross, but it is very useful every day. I keep this in my right rear pants pocket where it easily stays folded.

My wallet holds IDs (particularly my CHL), plus cash, cards and has a separate place to put receipts during the day. It is kept in my left rear pants pocket unless I go into a ‎crowd, then I move it to my left front pants pocket to irritate pick pockets.

My left shirt pocket (with a flap) holds a spiral notebook (2.5"x4") and black medium point pen for making notes and reminders during the day. 

My Android cell phone rides in my right shirt pocket (with a flap). This very handy, including several calculators (math with memory, construction and financial), multiple alarm clocks, timers, a voice recorder, text messages, an appointment calender, weather forecasts, camera, and once in a while I use the map/GPS functions when I make a wrong turn. I do not use it for email or the internet. Oh, and I use it as a phone too.

My blue-tooth Jawbone is either in my right ear or in my right front pants pocket. Some times it rides in my left shirt pocket, depending on what I'm doing.

I have bic lighters stashed all over the place, including all our vehicles. So far this has worked for me, but I can see how carrying one is a good idea. 

I wear above the ankle boots with deep tread, blue jeans, a long sleeve flannel shirt and a ball cap most every day. 

Retread

 -End-

Ryan here: First of all I would like to thank Brian for his entry. It takes some guts to put yourself out there in front of others and some motivation to put an entry together. [Remember that before flaming anybody, lets keep the dialog constructive.] I will share my thoughts on this entry down the road.

As always everybody is welcome to leave their thoughts in the comments section.

EDC Contest Entry #5 J in Dallas

 Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the first entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #5

Hey Ryan,

Here is my EDC load out entry.

·         GEN 4 GLOCK 26 9mm

·         SPARE G26 10-ROUND MAG

·         BLACKHAWK BE WHARNED FOLDER

·         STREAMLIGHT MICROSTREAM FLASHLIGHT

·         SAMSUNG GALAXY III

·         DPD BADGE AND CREDENTIALS

·         BURTS BEESWAX

·         BIANCHI 100 & DESANTIS CARGO NEMESIS HOLSTERS  

-J FROM DALLAS

Ryan here: First of all I would like to thank J for his entry. It takes some guts to put yourself out there in front of others and some motivation to put an entry together. [Remember that before flaming anybody, lets keep the dialog constructive.] I will share my thoughts on this entry down the road.

As always everybody is welcome to leave their thoughts in the comments section.

Also check out previous entries: EDC Contest entry #1 by Jacob and EDC Contest entry #2 by Max and EDC Contest entry #3 Mike in Wisconsin and EDC Contest entry #4 Thomas.

EDC Contest Entry #4 Thomas

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the first entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 







 Onto Entry #4

Since I am a 16 year old high school student I can't take the knives or fire starting gear into the school during regular school days but i leave them in my moms car and i carry them every where else.

On the upper left I have my Columbia hiking boots that i always wear just in case my parents cant pick me up or I can't use one of there cars (when I borrow them to drive to school). they are comfortable and light, waterproof, oil protected, and a discreet color.

Next is my Swiss Army (Wenger) belt that I have had for years. I use it to carry my flashlight and my fire steel. I have also read and seen many other uses for a strong belt.

Underneath the belt is my Patagonia waterproof wind breaking jacket that is great in all the conditions I have been in. It is small and light but does the job right.

Below the jacket is a Klarus xt11 cree led flashlight that will pump out 600 lumens for 2.2 hours 150 lumens for 7.3 hours, 10 lumens for 12.3 days (295 hours)m and a tactical strobe mode. All of this on One Rechargeable 18650 which I carry an extra one (shown left to the flash drive).

Next to the klarus is a 32 g flash drive with important documents and it gives me the ability to put any important software on it. (plus a few games).

my wallet carries a small about of assorted cash just in case, my ID, and a few cotton balls/matches.

One the right of the wallet is my Swiss army knife that has a big and small knife, wood and metal saw/file, bottle and can opener, wine opener, scissors,  chisel, parcel carrier, a reamer, and 3 different screw driver sizes.

To the right is my fire starting gear for well fire starting

 Last but not least is my iPhone 4 in a nice case that is great for emergency calling and listening to Led Zeppelin.

Thank you for your great blog that people of all ages can read.
 -End-

Ryan here. Please thank Thomas for his entry. I think it is pleasantly surprising every time I see teenagers with their stuff together. I had some outdoor skills then but didn't have any sort of thought out EDC or survival type kits.

Also check out previous contest entries:  EDC Contest entry #1 by Jacob and EDC Contest entry #2 by Max and EDC Contest entry #3 Mike in Wisconsin.

RE: Bags in EDC Contest

Received a comment about the rules for our EDC Contest today that is worth addressing.

 First lets review the full rules:

The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

The Details:

The contest will run from today until 31 January. Typically I would have it run for a month but I want to give a bit more time since lots of folks are doing other things from Christmas through New Years. Still I wanted folks who might be off work and have some spare time to have the opportunity to knock out their entry thus the extra week.

As discussed above a submission will be a picture of the stuff you personally carry around on a normal daily basis with high regularity as well as a blurb/ essay discussing the stuff and it's role. I'm talking on your belt and in your pockets not in the car or some bag that generally travels near you but actual on body cary.

[Edited at 9:22 on 12/24 to include. Received a good question. Purses can count for women. They are a terrible way to carry defensive weapons but that is another topic. Honestly just didn't think that through when writing the rules. Guys I am still not including the Murse/ man bag/ Jack Bauer satchel or whatever. Life is not fair and you can call it sexist if you want. The reason is that women have their purses a pretty much all the time out of the home, probably at a higher percentage than active CCW holders have guns, while guys have some awkward bag that might go into the car occasionally.]

Note that I said a normal day and with high regularity. Don't try to impress folks by exaggerating. I do not want to know what your ideal hypothetical EDC is but what actually goes with you to the grocery store, movies or mom's for dinner. It would be a real upward battle to convince me you carry a Glock 34 with 3 17rd mags plus 4 33rd mags, a snubby .357 with 4 speed loaders, a 12" bowie knife, boot knife, a swiss army knife, an IFAK, a GPS, a lensastic compass, a pocket survival kit, a USGI poncho, an IFAK, an extendable baton, a mace, a taser, 3 of those lifeboat rations, binoculars, a multi tool and some other stuff on your person every day. Ethical issues aside I will call it like I see it if somebody seems to be exaggerating.

I'm not going to be specific about format for the picture or blurb/ essay. If the stuff doesn't open on my windows PC I will reply saying it needs to be changed to something that works on my computer for it to be entered into the contest.

I usual edit guest posts for OPSEC, spelling and grammar. To help contestants out I can (if they want) help with editing by looking a submission over and sending it back with some thoughts to help in the editing process.

Submissions will be made via email to theotherryan@yahoo.com. 

Winners will be picked by voting in early February. Details will follow as I firm this part up in the coming weeks.

I reserve the right to change prizes, contest dates or whatever else for any reason. Also I reserve the right to disqualify a contestant or even a winner for any reason, can't see why I would do this but things happen.

If there are any questions or I need to clarify something please let me know so that can happen.

Onto the comment:

 "I read the rules and understand that purses are allowed for women but I would recommend rethinking about men possibly carrying a backpack or even a shoulder bag. I have a 6-year-old and a 2-year-old and for the past 6 years I have always had on me a daddy shoulder bag that carries all of our gear, to include EDC. And when I travel to work, all my EDC gets transferred to my day pack which is sitting right at my feet at work. Just some thoughts."

After thinking about this all day I  have got to stick with no man bags. The first reason which was my original reason is that most men who have these bags do not really carry them around with high regularity.  Women carry their purses at a higher percentage than the most serious CCW holders pack heat. Guys just don't do this with their murses or whatever sort of maxpedia tactical whatever. Check discretely on a guy who supposedly carries a man bag all the time randomly and he likely will not bat enough to be in the big leagues. You may be the exception but that still doesn't disprove the rule. Also women's clothing and fashion is such that they have a harder time fitting this stuff into their pants and shirt pockets so it ends up in the purse by default.

The second reason I thought of today is that would be a different contest. My observation is that prepared women usually have the things a prepared man would have in his pockets in their purse full of normal woman stuff. A prepared mans bag is a whole nother topic.

I have a EDC/ get home bag and it is chock full of great stuff. There is a pathfinder trade knife, a leatherman, a knife sharpener, a steel bottle and cup, an IFAK, a boo boo kit, water purification tablets, 550 cord, a compass, a headlamp, a small led light, lighters and a fero rod, about 2k in calories, a survival blanket, a boonie hat and probably some other good stuff. The point is that comparing that as well as things I could keep in my assault pack vs what another guy keeps in his jeans or cargo pants really isn't apples to apples.

So no man bags are not allowed. The EDC/ get home bag could, or even probably will, be a different contest down the road. Honestly I do not have a way to know if this stuff lives in your pockets or takes up a small part of a diaper bag/ whatever. If the stuff fits in your pockets and for whatever reason occasionally goes in a bag take a picture and send it in to my email theotherryan@yahoo.com. Hope that seems reasonable to everybody.

EDC Contest Entry #1 Jacob

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the first entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #1

This is my full EDC. It should be noted that I work undercover and can’t wear my “ideal” clothing, so some of the items get left out or replaced with other (smaller) items depending on my uniform of the day. However, this represents what I carry on days when I get to wear whatever I want.

 

From top to bottom, left to right:

 

Riggers belt. Holds my pants up. Also holds me up, should the need arise. I’ve done it. Not comfortable, but I rappelled out of a tree with some dyneema cordage once and didn’t die. Beats trying to wear a rappelling harness everywhere I go. (Note: when I am undercover, I trade this one out for a stout leather belt. Less conspicuous but will still hold my weight in a pinch, just without all the convenient places to hook stuff.)

 

Wallet. Full of typical wallety type stuff. Also have some quick-fix medicine tucked inside (Sudafed, Tylenol, Dramamine, etc.). (Note: Yes, I am a brony. Yes, I will love and tolerate the shit out of you. In fact, if you break into my house, I’ll show you my shotgun, and help you lovingly and tolerantly repaint my walls.)

 

Lip Balm. I prefer good ‘ole Burt’s Bees. Gets the job done without all the chemicals. Also has peppermint oil, which calms upset stomachs (just rub some under your nose). Used it to waterproof a repaired seam on a tent, once, during a camping trip.

 

Listerine breath strips. I have a girlfriend. ‘Nuf said.

 

Recruit Lawnmower. Aka nail clippers. Works as a pair of not pokey-in-my-pocket scissors. Cuts about anything you can stuff inside (if you have a good set), and keeps my nails looking neat.

 

Two personal talismans. The top one is a medallion which represents “The Original 6 and Company”; the name my high school friends (slash group of trouble makers) and I gave ourselves (with the “and company” part being added when we started getting married). It was cast in a homemade forge from scrapped computer parts. The bottom one is a piece of seashell which my ex-girlfriend’s little sister gave me, the day she stopped hating me (her words). Makes her happy when I can pull it out and show that I still have it.

 

Handkerchief. Girls cry about stuff. Guys slice themselves open doing stupid things. Someone always forgets to bring a coffee pot. Trust me, it’s useful.

 

5.11 Tarani hook-blade knife. Not the most useful tool in my pockets, but it cuts cordage like a champ, looks scary when I use it to clean my nails in front of hooligans, and makes one hell of a letter opener.

 

HTC Evo 4G. Gotta maintain those lines of communication. It’s also in a hard plastic Otter Box, so I can hide a couple bucks inside.

 

Pens. This one varies the most. I lose more pens than should be humanly possible. I gave up on buying nice Space Pens because I was losing fifty bucks a month replacing them. I try to carry a permanent marker just because it’s fun to tag my friends when they are being complacent.

 

Keys. I try to keep the number of keys I carry to a minimum. House, car, bike, work.

 

Lighter. Just a plain old Bic lighter with the child safety taken off (so I can work it with cold/gloved hands).

 

Change. Sales tax makes certain there’s always a handful of loose change in my pocket.

 

Carabiner. Mostly just use it to clip stuff to when my hands are full. Great for carrying grocery bags and rappelling out of helicopters.

 

Ferro rod. Like the pens, this one is probably more in and out than anything else. For the longest time, I carried this instead of a lighter (because I spent more time building campfires than lighting cigars). Now, I usually carry it if I think I’ll be out in the woods, instead of just tooling around the city.

 

Notepad. A carryover from my Navy days. Mostly full of song lyrics, girls’ phone numbers, and shopping lists. Probably redundant, but notepads burn better than smart phones.

 

Multitool. Do I even need to explain why I carry this?

 

Tracker T1 Knife. I don’t have a CCW, so this is my substitute. Some people recognize it and want to have a day long conversation about Tom Brown Jr. Others see it and decide standing behind me at the ATM is a bad idea. Works as a hatchet, filet blade, chain link breaker, saw, ferro rod striker, conversation starter, and conversation ender. 

 

  -End-

 

Ryan here: First of all I would like to thank Jacob for his entry. It takes some guts to put yourself out there in front of others and some motivation to put an entry together. [Remember that before flaming anybody, lets keep the dialog constructive.] I will share my thoughts on this entry down the road.

As always everybody is welcome to leave their thoughts in the comments section.

Happy New Years!

EDC Contest: What's In Your Pockets?

I've been hinting at a super sweet contest for awhile now. Some things ended up delaying it but no matter, here we are.

The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

The Details:

The contest will run from today until 31 January. Typically I would have it run for a month but I want to give a bit more time since lots of folks are doing other things from Christmas through New Years. Still I wanted folks who might be off work and have some spare time to have the opportunity to knock out their entry thus the extra week.

As discussed above a submission will be a picture of the stuff you personally carry around on a normal daily basis with high regularity as well as a blurb/ essay discussing the stuff and it's role. I'm talking on your belt and in your pockets not in the car or some bag that generally travels near you but actual on body cary.

[Edited at 9:22 on 12/24 to include. Received a good question. Purses can count for women. They are a terrible way to carry defensive weapons but that is another topic. Honestly just didn't think that through when writing the rules. Guys I am still not including the Murse/ man bag/ Jack Bauer satchel or whatever. Life is not fair and you can call it sexist if you want. The reason is that women have their purses a pretty much all the time out of the home, probably at a higher percentage than active CCW holders have guns, while guys have some awkward bag that might go into the car occasionally.]

Note that I said a normal day and with high regularity. Don't try to impress folks by exaggerating. I do not want to know what your ideal hypothetical EDC is but what actually goes with you to the grocery store, movies or mom's for dinner. It would be a real upward battle to convince me you carry a Glock 34 with 3 17rd mags plus 4 33rd mags, a snubby .357 with 4 speed loaders, a 12" bowie knife, boot knife, a swiss army knife, an IFAK, a GPS, a lensastic compass, a pocket survival kit, a USGI poncho, an IFAK, an extendable baton, a mace, a taser, 3 of those lifeboat rations, binoculars, a multi tool and some other stuff on your person every day. Ethical issues aside I will call it like I see it if somebody seems to be exaggerating.

I'm not going to be specific about format for the picture or blurb/ essay. If the stuff doesn't open on my windows PC I will reply saying it needs to be changed to something that works on my computer for it to be entered into the contest.

I usual edit guest posts for OPSEC, spelling and grammar. To help contestants out I can (if they want) help with editing by looking a submission over and sending it back with some thoughts to help in the editing process.

Submissions will be made via email to theotherryan@yahoo.com. 

Winners will be picked by voting in early February. Details will follow as I firm this part up in the coming weeks.

I reserve the right to change prizes, contest dates or whatever else for any reason. Also I reserve the right to disqualify a contestant or even a winner for any reason, can't see why I would do this but things happen.

If there are any questions or I need to clarify something please let me know so that can happen.

Now I am going to do an example of what a submission could look like based on my EDC. Not saying you have to stick to it exactly the goal is just to give a better description of what a submission might look like.

Submission XX: Ryan from Arizona

From the top.

Pistol- Glock 19 with Trijicon night sights. I think it is a great carry option because it is concealable but shoots almost like a full sized handgun. Other than the night sights it is bone stock. It holds a Glock 19 mag with 14 rounds of JHP in the mag and 1 in the chamber.

Holster(s)- I showed two because they both get regular use. The Galco paddle holster typically gets used when I will be wearing a vest or some sort of sweatshirt/ jacket that covers it up. This holster sits at about 2 o'clock just in front of my right hip. I really like that it is easy to put on and take off but attaches securely to a belt with these little plastic ridges on the paddle.

The one on the left is a Bianchi 100 Professional and it sits right about 12:30 Appendix Inside Waistband (AIWB). This holster is typically used when I will be wearing lighter clothing. Both are fine options for their place.

Mag Pouch- Blackhawk single mag pouch. They are available from Lucky Gunner and Airsoft Atlanta for a bit under $20. It is a bit bulky but retention is good, the clip is solid and it seems quite durable. Inside the pouch is a second Glock 19 mag. Some folks carry a G 17 mag as a reload because it holds 2 more rounds. I've tried that and the extra length hurt in terms of concealment which I dislike.

Knife- Benchmade Griptillian. I like this knife a lot. It cuts like crazy and holds an edge very well. The customer service is head and shoulders above any other knife maker I have dealt with. May get a new knife (probably for my next birthday) but it will probably be a Benchmade.

I have tried carrying a second knife on my weak hand side as a 'get off me blade' but don't really feel it is needed for my everyday life. Am already about as close to a batman belt as I want to be.  Also I do not carry a multi tool. Probably use them 2-3 times a month which does not justify it being on my person. Do however have one in my EDC/ GHB backpack and another in our primary vehicle.

Light- The light is an LED Lenser AAA. I like that it is small but dislike that it seems to run through batteries like Charley Sheen through hookers and cocaine. Have regularly found it dead despite very rare use (probably less than 20 minutes ave) and weekly battery rotation. Probably going to replace it with a Streamlight.

Lighter- A bic lighter with a few ranger bands wrapped around it. It gets used very rarely as I am not a smoker but I think a lighter is essential to carry. The knife and lighter are really the core of my 'survival' type stuff in terms of EDC. With them I can do a lot.

Chapstick- Self explanatory but important in very dry Arizona.

Phone- A China Mart Tracphone. It does everything I need (calls/ texts) and has no contract. If I talked on it a lot the slightly higher cost of minutes would matter but since it's rarely used that isn't an issue.

Wallet- The usual ID and cards as well as cash. I try to have at least a hundred dollars cash on me all the time.

Not shown:
Keys- Dunno why they missed the pic but nothing special there.

Belt- A good belt makes carrying a pistol much more comfortable than it can otherwise be. I use a heavy nylon 'rigger belt'. Many folks make these and they are mostly the same. The one I'm using was made by Spec Ops; no particular attachment there it was simply conveniently available when I needed a belt.

Clothes- I am sure to have a hat and decent shoes when leaving the house. Generally I wear pretty functional clothes but obviously that varies based on what is going on.

The End.

Hope that helps clear up what sort of thing I've got in mind.  Yours doesn't need to be exactly like this.  Just wanted to give an idea and talk about my EDC.

Of course you are welcome to ask anything about my EDC and I'll do my best to answer. Now get to work on your submissions.

Merry Christmas,

Layered Systems and Redundancy

I believe in layered systems. Sort of did this before really learning the concept in a more formal sense but it is easier to do well with the basic concept in your head. It sort of goes like this. Instead of having a whole bunch of stuff all over the place you have a few systems. These systems are layered from smaller to larger moving from the most basic things in your pockets to larger systems that may fit in a backpack or even a vehicle. The saying that you survive out of your pockets, fight out of your kit and live out of a rucksack is a solid starting point.

The two systems we will talk about today are my everyday carry and my EDC/ Get Home Bag. I should post pictures of this stuff and talk about why this is there and that is not but that's another post.

On Friday I reached into my pocket for a knife and it wasn't there. For whatever reason the knife just didn't make it to my pocket that morning. A further inspection showed there wasn't a lighter in my cargo pocket either. This wasn't a huge deal as I was going to use it for something minor that I can't recall. I had another knife (as well as a lighter) in my bag but didn't bother to dig it out.

So this got me to thinking. Things happen in life. Maybe you leave home in a different pair of pants or an item is lost or stolen or whatever. Within a layered system you still need some redundancy of key items. The old saying two is one one is none comes to mind. Furthermore I think these redundant items should be spread out. Having two knives instead of one sitting in my other pair of pants at home would not help. On the other hand a knife in my bag is a lot more likely to help. This also has the benefit of letting you have slightly different tools for different jobs. Maybe a Leatherman and a more dedicated cutting tool for your knives or a Lazer Bright stick and headlamp for lights.

Kind of along these lines my EDC/ GHB bags contents has been evolving.  The new Pathfinder water bottle pouch helps because it is pretty large so a lot of those little survival things can go there. A box of granola bars was tossed in giving me about 1,500 calories worth of food to make up for a couple missed meals. I'll probably do a write up on the contents when it is a bit more settled.

Anyway that is what I have been fiddling around with lately.

Do you have some redundancy in key items? What items do you consider key?

Suprise: Pathfinder Gear

I am pleased to say that Friday's order from the Pathfinder Store showed up today. Ordering on a Friday and the stuff showing up on Tuesday is really hard to beat. Everything looks good also.

Shown is a Pathfinder Trade Knife with a 1 quart stainless steel bottle on top of a wool blanket. The blanket is big, heavy and soft so basically everything that a wool blanket should be.

The Pathfinder Trade Knife. While it is a bit early to tell it seems like a well designed and handy blade. Certainly made short work of the box this stuff arrived in and my steak at dinner. The sheath is well made with thick leather and retention sufficient for anything except parachuting or scuba diving neither of which fit into this knife's concept of use anyway.

The Water Bottle Bag that is part of the Bag, Bottle and Cup Combo. It is significantly better than the other major name brand water bottle holder I was using previously.

The bag pictured from the side so you can see the generously sized pouch on the side. It is big enough to hold a solid personal survival kit.

I was going to write about something else but spent the evening doing homework and fiddling with my new stuff so you get this post instead. Definitely impressed with the Pathfinder Stores operation and their gear.

Gear Updates and Random Thoughts

The LED Lenser has been living in my pocket for awhile now. I did an initial review awhile ago and need to add to it. I have to change one thing. The feature where the beam is adjusted by the front piece is in addition to a normal lefty loosy righty tights (AKA wide to narrow beam) style. It allows you to easily go from a big beam to a small one which is pretty nice. On the downside this thing sucks through batteries like crazy. I have changed them twice and rarely use this light and only then for short periods. Not a huge deal as we have some AAA rechargeable batteries but if it was going to be used for a long term emergency that would be a consideration.

I am really liking the Benchmade Griptillian. It is a great design and still really sharp after cutting up dozens of boxes during the move as well as just about everything else that has crossed my path. The only problem with this knife is it has got me having some knife lust. I was jonesing for an Emerson pretty hard back in July and told myself if I still wanted it in a year then maybe.

Almost pulled the trigger on a war belt awhile back. For reasons I cannot recall it didn't happen. Since then I put together some stuff that was already here and have done a lot of thinking. I am probably going to run a generic rigger belt with a kydex holster, the RAT 3 and some mags. It also occurred to me that I used a battle belt (albeit an older model) years ago and ditched it for various reasons. This stuff could either be held in place with zip ties (I suspect) or as I am doing right now just keep it on a pair of pants. An IFAK could go in a cargo pocket and that's about it. A light would be nice so I need to pick up a spare one to live there. The mag pouch I am using right now is a Condor Double Kangaroo. It isn't entirely ideal but the price was such it could be tagged onto another order.

Fiddling around watching Hoss USMC's youtube channel I saw a pretty cool leg rig that is an HSGI/ Chris Costa collaboration.

This setup looks pretty awesome. The way I see using it is very high more like a belt pouch attached by some clips than low like a leg panel. The advantage I see of that setup is it could go off or on as needed. I see this sort of setup functioning like a war belt but without a whole lot of MOLLE I will not need. Also being able to use a holster I already have and upgrade a piece at a time appeals to me. It is something I could see myself actually using on my normal belt with a kydex holster in a Katrina like scenario or in conjunction with a plate carrier and chest rig as a full on crazy time load out. I went to pick up one of those Costa leg rigs but they are sold out so that will have to wait awhile. That is just as well because it's been an expensive week anyway.

 For a home defense or anything short of a full on mad max type scenario carrying 2 spare pistol and rifle mags seems like plenty to me. That is 3x15 round pistol mags and 3x30 round rifle mags AKA a lot of ammo. One way or another a home defense type fight will be over way before then.

Still waiting on the rifle plates. Apparently they have a 4ish week delay which could have been made more clear at the time of sale but otherwise is not a huge deal. Well it isn't an issue unless I need them now at which point I'm hosed but that is unlikely.

Anyway that is where my gear situation is right now. I am pretty happy with how things are coming together.

What have you tried lately that is working well? What have you tried lately that is not working for you?

Air Travel and Preparedness

I hate flying. It is just a huge hassle. I really hate flying in America with airlines seemingly getting their customer service skills from communist Russia and the terribly irritating, disrespectful and utterly useless TSA. Having a little kid makes it worse. Given an option between flying with kiddo and getting kicked in the junk every hour on the hour for the same amount of time I would take the kicking.

Anyway the topic of preparedness and traveling by air comes up now and again. In various survivalist fiction it is a fairly common theme, typically showing a prepared person who gets caught unprepared. One answer which I sort of consider a cop out is to say that you live at your 'retreat' and do not travel. It is fine and dandy if that is how you want to live but many people it is not really an option. They need to travel occasionally for work or choose to see family who live far away (make no mistake if you move 2,000 miles to ideal survivalist land your friends and family are not going to all follow.) or just to have a fulfilling and interesting life.

It is not a big deal to be fairly well prepared when traveling. There is this magical thing called a checked bag. Take a well thought out selection of gear and put it into this bag. Below is a picture of various preparedness stuff that came along with us for this trip.

Contents:
Rocky boots, what I am wearing for work these days.
Sawyer water filter
Personal survival kit
IFAK
compass
lighter
cheapo flashlight
battery powered lantern
emergency radio
about 2-3k calories in food
the remaining stuff from my GHB
My TT bag
various knives-I didn't plan to go all John Locke here with the knives. A knife here or there plus a couple in kits sort of unintentionally grew to more than I might have brought when intentionally looking at all of them.

Not shown are some good serviceable clothing and a couple water bottles.

My experiences though brief, flying and carrying firearms have been positive. Unless you live in or travel to anti gun areas it is too easy to take a gun or two and some ammo along. This might be a good place for a fairly affordable gun sort of akin to a truck gun if you will. More a place for a $400 used revolver than your new custom $2,500 1911.

Yes checking a bag or two in the case of a gun, is a hassle. However it will let you land pretty well prepared instead of just relying on luck and your keen wits.  To me an extra few minutes and a small fee are probably worth it. At least worth thinking about anyway.

Something else to consider is keeping some equipment supplies and maybe even weapons in a place you regularly travel to. This of course would require that you can afford to take a small portion of your supplies (maybe a gun or two, a pair of boots, some clothes and maybe basic camping stuff like a pack, a tent and a sleeping bag, etc.) or have the money to purchase this stuff at the location. Also it would require a safe place to store this stuff or the establishment of a full on cache. This is an excellent place for fairly inexpensive (but still good) stuff like military surplus gear.

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Ordered a PVS 14 which I am pretty psyched about. Also finished my August Challenge to run 50 miles. I did some reading and hit the weights both of which where cool.

Also did some initial testing of the Sawyer Water filter and I am pretty happy with it. Also I have been using my EDC Benchmade Griptillian, Ontario RAT 3 and Buck 119 Special to do all manner of household tasks. The Benchmade and RAT 3 have done great, proving they deserve their places.

The Buck 119 Special not quite so much. I kind of envisioned it's role as a large food processing knife with a secondary role as a defensive knife. Kind of filling a traditional long hunter type large knife role if you will. The clip point is a bit too far off center for food processing at least to me. The ergonomics are great for cutting but what exactly I am not sure. As a largeish camp type knife I would prefer a Ka-Bar hands down.

I will relegate this knife to some sort of backup piece in a kit or alternate location. A replacement for it's role is something I will look at down the road. Then again the whole thing might be pointless. I have done a lot of outdoors stuff carrying a medium (3.5-4.5 in) knife and a hatchet without finding reasonable tasks I couldn't complete. I am not sure a larger knife is needed except maybe for a dedicated base camp type kit (which I am planning to put together). The Jeff White French Trade Knife reviewed by Alexander Wolfe looks kind of neat. Then again and I am not sure why I didn't think of this before, one of the Cold Steel Longhunter knifes I picked up for a next to nothing might be the ticket. Also free/ already in inventory is a good solution as I am trying not to buy new stuff these days without a good reason.

Anyway that is what has been going on here. What have you done to prepare this week?

Solo Stove, Rat 3 Knife and Why the M16/M4/AR Platform is Awesome

When it rains it pours and today it definitely poured.

I am pleased to announce our newest advertiser Solo Stove. I haven't gotten a chance to handle one yet but if their videos are any indicator it is a really cool piece of kit. Might just take most of the benefits of a camp stove AND most of the benefits of cooking over a fire and combine them in a compact package. Can't wait to get my hands on one.

An Ontario Rat-3 showed up in our mailbox today. The Rat 3 cuts and handles well in addition to being pretty darn light.  The sheath is very nice and well thought out. Between it's light weight and quality sheath you can easily forget it is on your belt. A brief initial impressions review will follow shortly but suffice to say I am quite impressed. The Rat-3 may well be the best small belt knife/ camp and field knife I have handled to date.

John Mosby has been cranking out awesome posts:
Tricks of the Trade and Tricks of the Trade II are worth reading and absorbing. While not a super duper cool SOF guy I have been around the block a couple times and still definitely got some stuff out of it. I suspect you will also.

His post: The M16/AR15/M4: Why it's the choice of professionals everywhere is worth reading and I will briefly discuss it. In no particular order:

-So much of the argument about .223 lethality (though JM makes a very compelling case that argument is junk) is really about full metal jacketed ammunition. Soldiers are required to use FMJ ammunition but civilians are not. If you like the platform but aren't thrilled with the bullets then get better ones. Modern soft point and hollow point .223 ammunition are a whole different ball game.

-As to reliability I think that any case of the AR platform being "maintenance intensive" or unreliable if not in pristine condition is seriously overstated. It is my belief that an AR could be kept going almost indefinitely by simply wiping out the inside of the upper receiver/ chamber and (assembled) bolt carrier group with a rag,  running a bore snake through the barrel and re oiling the gun. I have not empirically tested this theory but if anybody wants to donate a whole bunch of .223 ammo for me to test this theory I will provide the rifle, rag, bore snake and oil.

-To me the modularity of the platform is another significant bonus. You can have a unregulated legal short barreled rifle pistol, a defensive carbine and a solid varmit/ precision rifle that have total commonality in parts, ammunition and magazines. That kind of modularity and potential for a simple logistical footprint  is aweful handy.

The good folks at TEOTWAWKI Blog did a nice post on Blanket Rolls. This is a good technique to have in your brain housing group in case you find yourself (or a friend) needing to travel with less than the ideal gear setup.

I also ran 2 miles today leaving me with 44 more to go. Darn that is a long way. 

Thank goodness it is Friday. I got off work early which meant I could hit the gym and still get home at a very reasonable time. We went for a long walk and took kiddo to play with a ball in a big field. He really liked that and generally gets great joy out of being outside. We have been going out for a walk or to play every day after dinner which has been quite enjoyable. Hopefully we can have a yard at our next place.

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday.