I have never carried any real lock defeat gear in my EDC. I just didn’t see the need. In the few short months I’ve worked part-time at EMS I’ve had the need to bypass some locks to get to patients. This has caused me to reconsider my position. Now I carry a minimalist EDC lockpick kit for such emergencies. Today I’ll talk about what’s in that kit, and how it might apply to you.
How to Shim a Door…and Protect Yours
Today I am going to present two techniques, one offensive and one defensive. The first is how to shim a door using the ol’ “credit card trick.” The second is how to protect your doors from being shimmed.
Defensive 1911: Managing 1911 Safeties
The 1911 has a two manual safeties that must be disengaged simultaneously to operate the firearm. These safeties are often misunderstood or simply misused. Managing 1911 safeties effectively and reliably is paramount to deploying the defensive 1911. There are hardware and software issues that go into managing these safeties, and today we take a look at those factors.
Announcement: Mountains-to-Sea Trail Attempt
Let’s get right to the point: my girlfriend and I are planning a Mountains-to-Sea Trail attempt in 2023. We will attempt to thru-hike the whole trail in about three months.
EDC Flashlight Review: Fenix E12 V2.0
The original Fenix E12 has possibly the weakest feature-set of any flashlight I’ve reviewed here to date. Today we look at the updated Fenix E12 V2.0. The form-factor has undergone a major overhaul, but has the rest of the light been brought up to speed?
Eliminate Online Credit Card Theft with Privacy.com
My credit card was recently stolen. I used it at a very friendly but technically non-savvy local business. Within a few days fraudulent charges came pouring in, ranging from $1.00 to $401.67. The merchants were Paypal and Amazon. I know I didn’t make these charges but honestly, I don’t care. None of these fake charges was able to touch my money. I have the ultimate credit card security: Privacy.com.
Survival Cooking: JetBoil Flash Stove
The second stove in the Survival Cooking series is the Jetboil Flash. The Jetboil has been around for twenty years (since 2001) and is the gold standard in personal camp stoves. It is used by backpackers, climbers, preppers, special operations personnel, and just about everyone else who spends significant time away from the comforts of home.
Lumbar Pack: Helikon-Tek Foxtrot Mk2 Belt Rig
Today we take a look at another lumbar pack, something we haven’t done in awhile. This offering is the Helikon-Tek Foxtrot Mk2 Belt Rig.
2021 Goal Progress: June
In January of 2021 I committed to some New Year’s resolutions: spend 15 minutes per day learning Spanish, workout 3 times per week, shoot my bow 3 times per week, read 73 books, and stay off tobacco. This is my progress so far in the year.
Survival Cooking: Charcoal Grills
Today I’m going to talk about using your charcoal grill for survival cooking. It’s not a conventional “prepper” item, and most of the prepper literature prefers to talk about dedicated wilderness/survival stoves. Those definitely have their advantages, but the lowly grill is often overlooked. In my opinion it is one of the best “entry level” survival cooking items you can own.