Plenty of you reading this have served in the US Armed Forces and are all too familiar with the old MRE’s (meal, ready to eat). Plenty more have run into them during disaster operations or when someone pulls one out of a bag when out camping. The content of these sealed pouches has changed quite a bit […]
Disaster Preparedness
Direct Action Dragon Egg MK II backpack | A light assault and EDC pack
Typically I shy away from backpacks covered in MOLLE and paracord. They scream tactical, military and give an overall perception to others that the bag contains something along those lines. I’m not sure that I would carry this pack around town in an urban environment because of that. I would recommend this pack for use […]
Dragon Fire Tinder Bag | When Your Life Depends on Starting a Fire
Ever been on a camping or backpacking trip where it rained all night long? Maybe you planned on making a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning, but all the available firewood and tinder was soaked. Many times, in similar conditions, you may need to start a fire for survival purposes, whether that’s to get warm, […]
Teaching and Equipping the Next Generation
I grew up before there were social media and the internet, which meant I spent a lot of time outside. Between the time spent outdoors and being a member of the local boy scout troop, I learned basic survival skills and outdoor living skills. Once I entered the military the outdoor skills grew exponentially. Now as a […]
Stanley 18″ FuBar Forcible Entry Tool
Anyone that has served in the military knows the acronym FUBAR. Generally, when the word is uttered it’s not a good thing, it’s pretty much the exact opposite of a good thing. So when a new demolition tool from Stanley Tools arrived at my door (bearing that name), you can understand why I smiled. Stanley Tools had certainly piqued my curiosity. […]
Hurricane Preparedness | Heating and Electricity
We all know “That Guy” the prepper that has enough guns and ammo to wage a second Battle of the Alamo, and win. The type of people who equate firepower with survivability. I’m not in any way downplaying the role, or need for an appropriate amount of firepower in a disaster event. However, it does seems prudent to be […]
An Army Rangers Go-Bag: Get home safe, no matter the circumstance
Given the numerous natural disasters and large-scale riots protests across the country, it’s as good a time as any to cover (or discover) what considerations should go into building a “Go-Bag”. First, let’s differentiate between a Go-Bag and a Bug-Out-Bag (B.O.B). A Go-Bag is synonymous with a Get-Home-Bag. This is a small to medium pack containing just […]
Survival Food and Prepping: Living off the Land is Harder Than it Looks
You often hear people say that if the SHTF that they will simply “live off the land”. I am here to tell you that it is harder than it looks, especially if you have more than just yourself to feed. I had the opportunity to test my skills on the TV show “Alone” on the […]
Wilderness Survival | Finding Shelter
In a survival situation whatever you have on you is all you have. Improvisation is key to ensure your survival in many cases. You need to first determine a need. During a phase of training I had little cover from the sun and would likely expire from heat exhaustion unless I got a shelter erected […]
5 methods to purify water from a survival instructor
During some training in the military I was sent on a second solo evasion living exercise because I did terrible at my first one. The weather wasn’t terrible and I mostly had sun. The temperature dropped well below freezing at night but I was allowed to have a fire. Life was quite peaceful and I […]