The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Water: a basic necessity for survival, but often enough treated as an afterthought. When heading out camping, most usually grab a gallon of it in a jug and go. What happens when you need more? You can drink from a stream, never-minding the pine needles and floaties, and pray that you don’t get crippling diarrhea. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Exotac is the result of combining a Purdue educated engineer and a true love for everything outdoors. Their vision is, “based upon designing extraordinary, high-quality and unique outdoor and urban gear“. It’s a no compromise operation when it comes to product design and manufacturing. And because Exotac keeps manufacturing to smaller production runs, they’re able to adapt and […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Here is another great product from EXOTAC. The tinderTIN gives you an all natural resource to start a fire with. Available in two flavors (shavings or sticks), we’re going to look at the tin of shavings. Fatwood again is an all natural resource used for making a fire. The resin contained in fatwood is very flammable. I’ve been […]
I’m not a fan of having equipment on my belt line. It impedes movement, gets in the way during awkward shooting positions or when getting into observation spots. As a SERE instructor for the military I have quite a bit of minimal gear that I need to carry in order to fulfill my job effectively. […]
Flint and steel have been used in starting fires for centuries. In the days before matches were invented, flint and steel offered the ability to start a fire without having to carry a hot coal wherever one traveled (and worrying about losing it or having it go cold). Starting a fire using flint and steel […]
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