Knot Tying: Seamanship: Knots, Bends, and Hitches pt1-2 1973 Dept of Def...

Sterno Stove

A few moths ago I had a post about finding resources where others wouldn't think to look. My example was projector headlights for fire starting. The parabolic lens used to focus the headlight beam is also great at focusing the sun to start a fire. One other resource within that headlight is the trim ring that holds the lens in the housing. When totally broken down, this little piece of metal is the perfect size for a sterno stove. It's lightweight and durable. It almost seems like it was made for this purpose, the sizing and height are perfect. Simply place atop the sterno can, light, and cook away. Once you run out of fuel, make sure to save the can. Denatured alcohol, gasoline, or even something you distill yourself can be viable replacement fuels. 

 

Chia pets are edible!

Did you know that Chia seeds are edible? Very similar to Quinoa, they are rich in nutrients and high in protein. Chia seeds can be purchased in health food stores or in Chia pet form at random places all over. So when looting for food, don't forget to pop into the "As Seen on TV" store and grab a few of these. At least eating a Chia pet is a better alternative to eating your cat.

What will you do when your matches get wet?

So fire, duh. Very important, and I don't know about you but I haven't gotten friction fires down. So until that day I rely on modern tools. So of course I carry lighters and matches and the like, along with a firesteel. A very neat tool I'm sure you've seen Bear Grylles use, and his knife is where I got the idea for modifying my knife.

This flint is kept on my keys at all time, it can get wet and still produce a spark that's over 2000 degrees. Unfortunately the striker that it came with was junk, too small, and digs into your hand every time you used it. So I generally use my knife as a striker. The Bear Grylles knife has a surface on the back specifically for this purpose. So instead of buying a new knife, I just modified the one I have. Three seconds with a grinder and I have a perfect striker surface.

Solar Cooking

In a survival situation or apocalyptic scenario, it doesn't make any sense to waste energy gathering wood when its warm out. So how can you cook your food without this enormous energy waste? Make yourself a solar cooker.

Solar cookers are generally made with a reflective material that reflects sunlight onto a dark colored cooking vessel. They can range from simple to incredibly complex. In this I'll lay out three very simple types, two of which are really easy to build at home.

The first is by far the easiest and most common type. It basically consists of a cardboard box lined with tin foil or mylar. Take a square cardboard box, and cut one along a corner from top to bottom. Line the entire inside of the box with tin foil. I use spray adhesive, but any glue you have will work. Angle the flaps at the top and front slightly inward, but not so much as to block light. Trim out the spaces on the bottom so that the lower flaps can be angled slightly upward. Make another flat piece to put the opened box on top of. Put a black crockpot in the center and face it south. Depending on cloud cover and temperature you can fully cook a chicken in about five hours. By periodically turning the box towards the sun throughout the day you can increase its efficiency.

The second type is a little more involved but very doable. First you need a satellite dish. Any size will work, the bigger it is, the faster it works. Just keep in mind that even a small dish can start a fire. For the reflective material you can use tin foil but Mylar is much better on curved surfaces. Cut your reflective material (in this case Mylar) into thin triangles. Spray the dish with adhesive and smoothly apply the Mylar, rubbing out air bubbles as you go. Spray the backs of the strips just before you apply them to ensure a smoother surface. Find the distance that the reflected sunlight is focused and place the pot at the focal point. This cooker boiled a pot of water in about a half hour.

If you want to tackle a large project, a water parabola is really neat. The basic design is a clear plastic sheet suspended above the cooking area, filled with water creating a parabola. Start by finding the heaviest clear plastic available. Cut a round hole in a piece of plywood and attach the sheet to the top, giving it a bit of slack. Build a frame to suspend it about 6-10 feet in the air and fill it with water. The weight of the water pulls down on the plastic forming a parabolic lens. Now find the focal point and make a table that is the proper height. Obviously don't use anything flammable. If you build it big enough you can fry an egg in seconds.

Using these and similar methods you can cook your food, pasteurize water, and even start a fire.

Here's a cool video from Green power science

Shoelaces

Just a quick one, I can build a shelter with my shoelaces. Swap out your shoelaces with 550 cord. Not only will they last forever, but broken down you have 5 times the length of cordage to work with. 550 cord has several smaller strands inside a larger one, all together they can hold 550 pounds. (Hence the name) Its also commonly called paracord. With this resource you can fish, build a shelter or set snares. Could really be a lifesaver. I get mine through cheaperthandirt.com

It's not a purse, It's a "Survival Attache"

For years I was always saying, "If I could carry a purse I would". So why not? A messenger bag is perfectly acceptable nowadays as long as you're prepared for the occasional ribbing in the shop over it. I finally decided that I needed a bag about six months after I got my handgun license.

Now obviously my carry is on my person at all times, but reloads can be stored in my bag quite nicely. This combined with having a bottle of water on hand makes it a necessity for me now. Having all this extra room to carry things has made me feel way more at ease in almost any situation. Simply having pain killers and Benadryl on me puts my mind at ease, being that I have a bad ankle and a mushroom allergy.

The specifics of the kit are really up to you. The way I thought about it was as if I would be stuck in a room with no food or water for 24 hours. What medications might I need? How much water can I conceivably carry before it becomes a hindrance to daily activities? How bored would I get? Everybody has different needs in these areas so I won't get too specific on my kit, just a general picture.

First and foremost is water. As I mentioned in a previous post I love my Platypus flexible bottle. Holds one liter and weighs almost nothing. For food all I generally carry is a bag of peanuts and a small Ziploc of quinoa. I try to have a granola bar for some carbs but I tend to eat them fairly regularly so they're not a constant. A multi-tool, Mini Maglite and my survival bandanna can all be quite handy as well. Ammo is a big one for me in my selection of this bag. It has five pockets for handgun magazines and three for my rifle. (I don"t carry ammo for my rifle normally, and usually only have two magazines with me) My handgun light and pepper spray round out the self defense stuff.  My survival tin is also included. (Detailed in a previous post) For non-essential stuff I carry a journal, (for blog ideas mostly) my iPod, and charger. Various pens, a usb for my phone, and lip balm.