Tag Archives: Equipment

various gear and tools that will help you in survival situations

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Posted by on January 12, 2012 Comments Off

There’s a new portable electric charger out on the market that you can use to charge your phone, iPod, or GPS device.  It simply requires the addition of a little water, even urine or muddy water will suffice.  Yes, it sounds gross., but it works and could be very useful in a wilderness setting.  The device is called the PowerTrekk Fuel Cell Charger, developed by the company SiGNa Chemistry.  It even fits in your pocket.  The device won’t go on sale until May of 2012.

The device does require refills of powdered sodium silicide, but if you are out somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a dead GPS device and no electric outlet in site, this could be a very handy device. The device won’t be terribly cheap, somewhere around $200 to $220 for a unit, though I expect the price will go down if the technology proves to be practical.  The US military is interested in it, after all.

Check out the SiGNna Chemistry homepage for more information. Read more »

Choosing a Bug-Out Location

Posted by on January 1, 2012 Comments Off

Having a retreat in place as a plan b for civilization-crippling or ending disasters is one way to be effectively prepared for such disasters.  They of often go hand in hand with having a bug out bag ready for similar situations.  Think of your retreat as your bug-out location and your bug-bag as the gear that helps you get there.

Ideally, your survival retreat will prepared to allow you to be self-sufficient, usually located in a less populated area, which means less competition for potential resources in an EOTWAWKI situation.  An area with reliable natural sources of water, such as a river, stream, or regular rainwater, is good insurance for surviving future hardships.  Likewise, quality land and good amounts of sunlight during the day provide you with the resources to farm for an extended stay at your retreat.

If you really want to get the hell out of dodge, then a location far enough from civilization by at least 2 tanks of gas can help ensure this, though make sure you are likewise supplied with a good amount of gasoline should you ever need to drive a far distance.

You may have a designated bug-out vehicle for escaping to your chosen retreat location.  Having it packed with some extra clothing, blankets, and food rations is a wise choice.  Many keep their bug-out bag in their bug-out car.

In the USA, many survivalist writers and members of the so-called “prepper” community advocate locating your retreat in an are of the USA known as the Inter-mountain West, or the “Mormon Corridor” as it is known by some folks due to the high Mormon population, relatively speaking.  In total, it is a sparsely populated area, which means fewer other post-apocalyptic survivors to fight over resources with.  If you aren’t a fan of Mormons, this may not be an ideal relocation spot for you.

Featured Photo by Jeramey Jannene

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Brass Knuckles

Posted by on December 23, 2011 Comments Off

Brass knuckles are a weapon used in hand-to-hand combat. Despite their name, they’re usually made of steel.  Other examples have been made from wood, plastic, aluminum or iron.  They’re worn on the knuckles, with your fingers placed through the finger holes to secure the weapon on your hand.  Brass knuckles are designed to concentrate the force of your punch through the harder and smaller contact area of the brass knuckles, causing a more damaging blow.

Probably due to how easy it is to conceal bras knuckles and how much damage can be done with just one blow, brass knuckles are illegal to own and/or carry in many countries, such as in Russia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands.  In the USA, it is not federally illegal to own brass knuckles, but most states do not allow them to be carried on someones person.  City and county laws also need to be taken into consideration.

It’s possible to misuse brass knuckles when defending yourself and injure your fist in the process of delivering a strike.  In order to avoid this injury, you should strike with a hammer fist.

Now some people say they will hurt your hand more than the person you are hitting – that is sort of true, it all has to do with properly using them. If you punch someone the normal way (hitting with the knuckle) wile wearing a pair it will be painful for the palm of your hand.

Featured Photo by DeeganMarie

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Knife Fighting: Hand Grip Techniques

Posted by on December 10, 2011 Comments Off

Knife fights aren’t quite as common as they used to be, though it is useful to know how to use a knife as an offensive and defensive weapon.  To do this, you employ a variety of knife grips.  These various grips each have advantages and disadvantages.  Here are the two main types of grips:

  • Holding the knife in a forward grip (with the blade facing up out of your hand, as if holding a hammer) allows for more precision, skill, and a longer reach.
  • Holding the knife in a reverse grip (with the blade facing down out of your hand, as if holding an icepick) gives you for more power. The reverse grip is considered as much more challenging to effectively employ in knife-on-knife combat by everyone but the very practiced, in part because  reverse grips can require skills in footwork and quick defensive body movements to compensate for the increased danger of getting closer to your opponent.

Or, you could take a different route and bring a gun to a knife fight.  That seems to work for a lot of people.

Featured Photo by hondasniperlife

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Equipment: Net Gun

Posted by on November 24, 2011 Comments Off

The net gun is a popular tool for the nonlethal subduing animals, riot control situations, catching shoplifters, and other law enforcement purposes.  As the name suggests, a net gun fires a net to entangle the target.  Unlike some nonlethal weapons, such as tasers or pepper spray, a net gun simply entangles the target in a net, making it a great method for capture with no real risk of serious injury to the target.

The Spork and its Variants

Posted by on November 20, 2011 Comments Off

a basic spork

“Sporks”, the most common term for a combination of a spoon and fork into a single eating utensil, has resulted in a utensil useful and used by fast food restaurants, schools, prisons, the military, and backpackers.  In more conventional settings, these are flimsy and plastic.  However there is a wide range of serious, durable sporks available on the market.

At this point, spork become a catch-all term for any eating utensil that combines the qualities of two or more traditionally single-use utensils.  In addition to not taking much space by virtue of being 2 or more instruments in one, some models even fold in half to fit in even small storage spaces.

What are now sold as sporks are frequently a triple threat of being a spoon, knife, and fork all at once.  Some call these configurations are alternately called “sporfs”.  Some of these “sporks” even sport a bottle opener, making them full-fledged multi-tools.  A simple combination spoon and knife is called a “spife” and a simple knife and fork is called a “knork”.

Sporks can be made from materials like stainless steel, silver, aluminum, titanium, and polycarbonate plastic.  Plastic sporks are common in prisons in the United States because they are difficult to form into weapons.

Sporks are frequently used by backpackers and other outdoors enthusiast because they’re both light weight and are a space saving alternative to carrying around both a fork and spoon.

Scandinavian brand Light My Fire sells a three-function titanium spork that gets pretty solid reviews so check those out.

As a bonus, any spork not made from flimsy plastic, such as a titanium or stainless steel model, could always be used as an improvised weapon.

Featured Photo by Michael Beck

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Improvisation: Making a Bone Knife

Posted by on November 17, 2011 Comments Off
bone knife

You can use a bone to craft an effective edged weapon. First, you will need to select a suitable bone, though note you should only use a bone knife only to puncture because such a knife can’t hold an edge and can break or flake if used for other tasks. Larger animal bones, like a leg bone from a deer, are the best to work with.

To make a bone knife, lay said bone on another hard object. Shatter the bone by smacking it with a heavy object like a rock. From the ensuing pieces, select the pointed splinter which would make the best tool. You can continue to shape and sharpen this splinter by rubbing it on a rock with a harder surface. If the piece that results from the shattering of the bone is too small to handle by itself, you can add a handle to it by lashing the bone splinter securely to a piece of bone which will serve as the handle.

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Improvised Weapons: Making a Stone Knife

Posted by on November 13, 2011 Comments Off

 

A stone knife created by the Aztecs

In order to craft a stone knife tool, you need three things:

  • A sharp-edged piece of stone.
  • A chipping tool – a light and blunt-edged tool used to break off smaller pieces of stone.  You can make a chipping tool from wood, bone, or metal.
  • A flaking tool – a pointed tool used to break off thin, flattened pieces of stone.You can make a flaking tool from bone, antler tines, or soft iron.

Begin by shaping the desired form on your sharp piece of stone by using your chipping tool. Try to make the knife somewhat thin. Next, using the flaking tool, press it against the edges. This causes flakes to come off the opposite side of the edge, leaving behind a razor sharp edge. Use the flaking tool along the whole length of the edge that needs to be sharp. With patience, this will provide you with a sharp cutting edge that can be used as a knife.  Lash the blade to some type of hilt.

Take note that while a stone knife will be useful for puncturing and chopping functions, but it will fail to hold a fine edge, save for some stones like chert or flint.

Featured Image by Daniel R. Blume

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Survival Gear: Weatherproof Paper and Notebooks

Posted by on October 26, 2011 Comments Off
sun clouds and rain drops

Should you find yourself in need of paper or a notebook but also in wet conditions, such as being stuck in the rain or under water, there is a product called weatherproof paper which might help you.  You can buy individual sheets (such as for printing off maps at home) or notebooks (for taking notes on the go), and as long as you use a pen, this paper should have no problems being written on in very damp or soggy conditions.

It’s a niche item that many survival enthusiasts won’t need, but for those who live or work in wet conditions and need to write on the job or don’t have time to laminate a map, weatherproof paper may be a useful solution.  Be warned that you cannot write on this type of paper with pencils, just pens.

You can find just about every waterproof version of all sorts of products in existence at http://www.waterproofpaper.com Read more »

Survival Gear: Safety Pins

Posted by on October 26, 2011 Comments Off

 

safety pins

Consider throwing three or four safety pins into your bug-out bag or emergency kit, they will take up a very small amount of room and have several uses.  You can make quick repairs to your clothing so that it doesn’t fall apart while being worn, keep your shelter together, replace a zipper puller, improvise a fish hook, or close a wound in a hurry, though make sure the safety pin is sterilized first.

Featured Photo by Mauro Cateb

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