The crash through the ice was surprising. The chest constricting cold hit you immediately as the water flowed over your Gore-Tex soaking your insulating layers. With extreme perseverance and strength, you manage to pull yourself onto the bank of the stream, you lay on the bank for a moment as the water begins to freeze […]
Disaster Preparedness
My PACE Lid Loadout: Water Bottle Survival Kit
PACE stands for (Primary, Alternate, Contingent and Emergency). For those of you military guys that will sound very familiar. In the Marine Corps, they constantly drilled into us being prepared and having multiple contingency plans. The theory behind the PACE lid is to have a place to keep those needed items in the event something unexpected happens and […]
Procuring water in a cold environment: Tips from a Military Survival Instructor
People worry about dying of dehydration in the desert and rarely think about dying of thirst when surrounded by frozen water. However getting water efficiently is paramount in an arctic/winter setting. As you dehydrate in the cold your blood becomes thicker and the circulation rate slows leaving you incredibly vulnerable to cold injuries such as […]
RSDL: Wipes for Neutralizing Chemical Warfare Agents
In an increasingly asymmetric battlefield where the fight is often brought close to home, or deep inside “green zones” one should be prepared. Chemical warfare agents have been used as recently as in the Syrian Civil war. The terrible thing that many people don’t realize about chemical warfare agents is that depending on the agent, they don’t […]
Vehicle Preparedness: Winter is upon us, it’s time to evaluate what we have in our vehicles
If you’re on the road a lot you need a survival kit. I was on leave a couple months back and driving a mountain pass when a snowstorm hit suddenly. The snow plows hadn’t yet arrived and the roads rapidly became very treacherous. Cars were getting stuck on the side of the road every 10-20 […]
Overland Expo | Hard Korr Flexible Folding Solar Mat
I recently reviewed a couple of products from Hard Korr lighting. A flexible LED strip that we use to light our Tepui roof top tent and awning. As well as the multi-purpose UNI Light. Both items are high-quality kit and have become a permanent fixture in our Overland set-up. We recently traveled 850 miles south […]
Vehicle Preparedness: Kobalt 12-Volt/120-Volt Portable Air Compressor
We’re approaching the colder Winter months, which means stepping up your game with vehicle maintenance and preparedness. I remember as a younger kid traveling across the United States from Ohio to Arizona and back. On our way back one year we were pulling a trailer full of household items from my grandmother’s house. Not long […]
How to prepare for the coming global recession and make money when it hits
Editors note: Disaster preparedness encompasses much more than just sexy gear and the proper mindset. Financial preparedness falls under this umbrella as well. I have categorized this article under disaster preparedness, so as to give our readers some insight into financial preparedness and security. When a crisis hits the United States or you just lost […]
Disaster Preparedness: Beans Bullets and Band-Aids
Poorly handled logistics can doom any operation or project incredibly fast. So how do we avoid letting that happen to us in a “post-incident” scenario? The three B’s: beans, bullets, and Band-Aids. These are the key components that make up the backbone of recovery. It’s also essential we learn to properly select, store, and safeguard them. […]
Disaster Preparedness: Top 10 Overlooked Must-haves
In this installment of “Real-World Prepping,” we will be covering a first here at The Loadout Room: a top-ten list, but with a twist. Our list will focus on things that most preppers tend to overlook or forget to add to their cache of supplies. Note: This list isn’t in order of importance; it’s just a list. In […]