The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Last year, I set out on a run-of-the-mill 14-mile hike with a good friend from my Marine Corps days. The plan was simple: carry everything you need for two days on your back, we’d cover seven leisurely miles on the first day, make camp somewhere with a view, and then hike back out the following […]
I first came across the Chiappa Little Badger survival rifle in a magazine a few months ago, and distinctly recall thinking to myself, “I’m not sure how useful that would be… but it sure looks cool,” as I kept flipping through the pages. In that brief moment, I told myself that if I came across […]
Being able to start a fire is one of the most important aspects of survival as it allows one to keep warm, purify water, and signal for help. Therefore, a fire-starter is arguably the most important tool in your survival kit. I personally carry a butane lighter, stormproof matches, and ferro-rod in mine (always have […]
I was shivering uncontrollably. My thin warm weather rip-stop Crye multicams did little to ward off the December chill in Northeastern Washington. It was 2030 hours, well past civil twilight this far north and it had been dark for four hours by this point. We’d been evading by moon and starlight and had settled into […]
One of the tips I picked up in the Marine Corps was how to carry 2 water purification tablets for an emergency. Typically we would just keep the small bottle or individual wrapped ones inside our first aid kits. During a training evolution at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, the instructors would occasionally share survival […]
The advantage of a small kit like this is that I can throw it into any bag really and turn that said bag into a go-bag if you want to call it that. Due to the compact size of the Panthera Eyewear Hardcase, this makes an ideal sized kit to keep in the glovebox of […]
A compass matters. A good compass is not hard to come by, but often times they can be something of a pain to deal with. This is especially true during squad movements. As a backup navigator, I’m constantly checking my buddies heading to make sure he’s good to go and that we’re on course. Pulling […]
One of the most important pieces of a survival kit is your fire-starting gear. As with any essential piece of gear, it’s also important to have contingency options. For example, my fire-starting gear consists of a Bic lighter, ferro-rod, and UCO stormproof matches. If and when one of these options fail, I can rely on […]
Give your campfire skills an edge. With the new Black Pearl CampKit, there should be no reason at all for not being able to get a fire started. Light My Fire has created one of the best all-in-one kit available for getting a sustainable fire started, no matter the weather condition. We’re going into the cold weather season soon […]
I served in the Marine Corps back in the 1990s and was issued this exact gear for all training deployments and field exercises. We used the 782 gear loadout for desert warfare, jungle warfare and mountain warfare. We didn’t have different loadouts for different environments like they do now. We used the same gear and […]