We’ve touched on different pieces of this recently, but with this podcast, we’re going to pull all of those pieces together into a unified plan. Now, I know that this is not the most glamorous topic imaginable, but maybe that is one of the reasons that it so often gets overlooked when people are getting prepared for emergency situations. No one wants to think about the toilets not working, piles of dirty laundry on the...
In this podcast we’ll go over some tips and tricks on how to get the most out of the sleeping bag that you already have, as well as what to look for when shopping for a new bag… Specific topics include: Temperature Rating Systems Down vs. Synthetic Fill Features to Look For Styles of Sleeping Bag How to Evaluate a Bag Before Purchase Tricks to Staying Warm Getting the Most Out of Your Sleeping Bag...
Ultimate Survival is well known for for emergency fire starting products like the BlastMatch Fire Starter and Wet Fire Tinder. I recently picked up their Sparkie Mini Fire Starter to test out as a possible addition to a survival kit.
A waterproof hard case is one of the easiest ways to make sure items like maps, important papers and small electronics survive accidents and are available when you need really need them. Store bought maps like USGS Topographical Quads can be pretty durable, but last a lot longer with proper care. Home printed maps are less expensive, but are also fragile if printed on plain paper with an inkjet printer. Also, as modern electronics get...
The SilverFire Survivor Rocket Stove is the latest in rocket stove design. This style of stove has been around in various forms since the early 1980s. The original idea came about as part of research into creating a super efficient stove that people in third world countries could use to cook their meals with less fuel and air pollution. There have been a multitude of improvements to the rocket stove concept from both continued research...
Book Reivew: Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living by: Rachel Kaplan with K. Ruby Blume Summary: Urban Homesteading: Heirloom Skills for Sustainable Living is a cross between a political manifesto and a gardening book. The authors’ goal seems to be to bring about political and social change through introducing people to growing food in urban areas.
Book Review: Little House in the Suburbs by: Deanna Caswell & Daisy Siskin Summary: Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard farming and home skills for self-sufficient living is not a book about getting away from it all to live an independent life in the backwoods. Instead, it presents different ways that little pieces of the backwoods lifestyle can be pulled into modern life, no matter where a persons’ house happens to be located.
Flashlights have evolved markedly in recent years. As better LED technology has been introduced, flashlights have improved to give us levels or brightness and battery life that were unimaginable ten years ago. Quality modern flashlights are more resistant to weather, have bulbs that won’t burn out, batteries that last much longer than before, and can even offer multiple brightness settings. Gerber’s Bear Grylls Intense Torch is a good example of a modern flashlight that should...
A pretty common fashion statement these days is a bracelet made out of paracord. There are enough of these hanging off of the wrists of guys that we’ve pretty much moved past the “hey, what’s that on your arm” phase to the “eh, 550 cord…cool” level of recognition.
Here is a list of specific things to put in your first aid and emergency medical kits and a few ideas that will make packing and using your kits easier.