SAR Training/Campout Lessons Learned
I recently attended a 60-hour, Search and Rescue (SAR) qualifying course. The class is required by both the SAR team I volunteer on, and as a member of the special operations team at my EMS day job. The class spent a couple days (and one night) in the woods. I though I would share a few training observations and campout lessons learned.
Know a Knot: The Swiss Seat
Welcome back to Know a Knot! It’s been a while, but you asked for it! This time we’re talking about the Swiss seat. The Swiss seat is a knot that is tied around your body to form an expedient rappelling harness. It’s not exactly a knot, but knowing how to tie one is pretty important if you’re a serious outdoorsman. Let’s get into it.
Extreme Winter Weather Preparedness
Winter is no longer coming – it has arrived! Last weekend we woke up to over a foot of snow outside. I thought I would share a few of our preparations and lessons-learned from this event. There’s nothing new or ground-breaking, but hopefully some of our lessons can be helpful to your own winter weather preparedness plan.
A Personal Financial Preparedness Methodology
This post is a guest post. The author is a friend who cares deeply about financial preparedness. I was more than happy to publish his thoughts here, and I believe you will enjoy this article. Above all, I hope it helps someone out there! The author would like to remain anonymous, but if you have feedback you can reach him through me. Let’s get into it!
Beyond Tactical: Black Medical Gloves
I’ve observed a recent trend of cops and even some firefighters wearing black medical gloves. Black medical gloves come with a lot of popular prepacked “IFAK”-style medical kits. This is a good example of “too tactical,” or the cart leading the horse. If you buy a first aid kit that comes with black medical gloves, find some new gloves. I’ll explain why.
Micropreparedness: Keep Your Gas Tank Half Full
This isn’t exactly news to the preppers out there, but an excellent way to improve your preparedness is to keep your car’s gas tank half full..at least. Keeping some gas in your tank serves more purposes than you might think. Let’s talk about them.
Survival Cooking: DIY Denatured Alcohol Stove
The soda can stove has always intrigued me. It’s about as cheap as a camping stove can possibly get: it takes about 30 minutes of your time and can be made from two soda cans. Fuel is also cheap; a gallon of denatured alcohol will cost you under $20 at Lowes. Today I’m going to talk about the infinitely accessible “soda can stove” or DIY denatured alcohol stove.
Helikon-Tek Mini Med Kit Pouch
A while back I reviewed the Helikon-Tek Foxtrot Mk2 lumbar pack. During that review I promised to add a review of the Helikon-Tek “Mini Med Kit” first aid pouch as an addendum to the original article. As it turns out, this is a perfect pouch for my basic first aid kit. It’s also a great add-on to the Foxtrot Mk2 lumbar pack. Let’s take a look.
Basic Preparedness: A Down and Dirty Primer
This basic preparedness primer was originally published in September, 2020. It was intended to help people become more prepared for the uncertainty of an upcoming election. With the recent flooding in North Carolina and Tennessee I thought it would be a good time to re-post it, along with a substantial update. I added a couple thousand words to this very long article, including a brand new section on bug-out bags. I sincerely hope this article helps you become better prepared to deal with emergencies.
Survival Cooking: Ultralight Isobutane Stoves
Next up in the Survival Cooking series is… well, I don’t really have a brand or model for you. Today we’re taking a look at an example of many no-name, variously branded, Chinese-manufactured, isobutane stoves. These ultralight isobutane stoves might not have a durable brand but they work insanely well.