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.

Survival Eyewear

So I must admit that for the last several months I have been down to one pair of glasses. This is really against what preparedness is all about. So for my birthday a friend got me a pair of Wiley X PT-3 sunglasses. These glasses feature removable lenses that can be swapped out for clear or amber lenses. In addition to that, I ordered a prescription insert that clips above the nosepiece behind the safety rated lens. 


Overall a pretty rugged design, they are comfortable as well as functional. They ride a little higher than I'm used to from a pair of sunglasses, but when I sighted down my rifle I figured out why. The spacing below the lenses provide clearance for a good cheek weld on a buttstock. So I know that they will be great at the range, and that space reduces fogging as well while hiking or during any other physical activity. I am very much looking forward to wearing a darkened lens again, as I have gone without contacts for awhile and don't have dark prescription glasses. I'm hoping they will be good on the motorcycle as well, unfortunately it's been a bit cold to try it out. I did stick my head out the window while driving last night and the results seem promising.


My only complaint would be that it's kind of a pain to swap out the lenses, and it cannot be done quickly. For the most part I will probably be using the amber lenses in a day to day sense, so it will only be a minor annoyance. In a survival situation it would be strictly clear lenses I'm sure. While I was at it I figured I should probably have another backup, so I ordered an emergency backup pair of regular eyeglasses as well. Went to Greateyeglasses.com and got a decent pair for under 20 bucks delivered. You can't beat that, especially since they didn't even call to verify my prescription.

A cautionary tale...

The End.

Spruce tea mead 2

So just a quick update on the mead. It was done a mere 20 days after the the first post, and it's all gone due to the fact that it was very good. This has by far been the fastest mead I have ever brewed. My first thought was that the smaller quantity facilitated the process. Now I'm thinking it was the many vitamins found in the spruce tea. I brewed two half gallon batches at the same time, one with spruce and one with plain water. The regular one took an added two weeks, so it must be that spruce is excellent yeast food.

In short, this mead is great. It has amazing amount of flavor even considering the lower alcohol content. It would be on the sweet side by many opinions, but that's how I prefer it. It could probably go another day or two and dry out further. It has an almost minty smell to it, with juniper like spruce notes. After racking in the fridge for two days it cleared out considerably. Many of the spruce notes fell to the back and it was left with a clean, dry finish with a distinct medicinal quality. I am currently brewing another gallon today, with a heavier dose of spruce, hopefully the flavor will come out a bit more.

Fun with Bacon Fat!

That's right everyone, save that precious bacon grease because we're making candles!

I can't really take credit for this idea, my friend at Immortal Potential sent me a link to this cool process. But I have wanted to do something like this ever since I read about tallow* candles in "My Side of the Mountain" when I was a kid.

The first step is to collect the grease. About three pounds of bacon will give enough fat to make a good sized candle when pan fried. Take fat and an equal amount of water and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and pour in 1/4 of the total mixture's worth of cold water. Do not pour in cold water while it's boiling! This will result in skin grafts. When it's cool enough, pour into a container and refrigerate. 

While the mixture is setting up, gather your preferred candle vessel, string, a toothpick, a magnet, and a beer cap. For my string I used a waxed twine I got for my birthday from the aforementioned friend for just this purpose and a mason jar to hold my tallow. Punch two small holes close together on the bottle cap and thread the string through. Twist the string to create the wick. If your string isn't waxed you may have braid them. Drop the bottle cap in the jar and twist the top of the string around the toothpick at the top of the jar. Place the jar on top of the magnet. This will keep the cap from floating in the fat. Obviously the cap needs to be made of a ferrous metal for this to work. If you don't have a strong enough magnet you can use a small nut or even a rock.

Now check on your grease; by now it should be hardened up. Remove it from the water and blot it with a paper towel to remove any water. If there's any bacon bits on the bottom remove them while the tallow is still hard. Place the tallow in a glass measuring cup and place that in a pot of hot water. The fat will now return to a liquid state. Pour it into the jar being sure to get the wick wet as well. Place in the freezer until hardened. 

When it's all set up, cut the wick to about 1/8 of an inch from the top of the tallow. Light, and enjoy the mood lighting. (And in case you're worried, there is no bacon smell at all. I say boo to that.)

*Tallow is clarified at used to burn in a lamp or candle. 

An Apocalypse Survival Christmas! Part 3

In addition to all my survival gear I got a bunch of really great camping gear as well. All these things would also make a great addition to a survival kit. For about a year now I've wanted a pair of Vibram five fingers. I've held off getting them till this point because I was subtly informed that maybe I should wait till after Christmas. I am more than happy with them to say the least. If you haven't heard of them yet, the gist is minimalist. I got the KSO Treks, the slightly more rugged version, with treaded soles and kangaroo leather construction. There are a few other versions, made for running and daily use. They do take a little getting used to, but once you wear them for a day or so they feel like an extension of your foot. It is a strange sensation to have fabric between your toes, but after awhile it feels like wearing a very comfortable sock. I haven't gone for a hike just yet in them but daily use has been great, including skateboarding and Clutch shows. They are a bit cold this time of year so I would recommend getting a pair big enough to allow the use of socks if you plan on wearing them in winter. The Treks are on sale right now at Eastern Mountain Sports for about 90 dollars.

One thing I picked out for myself with Christmas money was a crash pad from EMS. I've wanted to get one for years, but haven't gotten around to it till now. I probably still won't bring it every time I go, it will depend on weather and how much weight I'm willing to carry. In cold weather a mattress is a must. You lose a whole lot more heat to the ground through induction than through the air. As far as comfort it is definitely worth its weight, and will make the trek home the next day considerably easier. At a price of just 59 dollars I am very happy with it, as I had originally planned on a Thermarest that would've been around 100. It measures 7 feet long, and 3 feet wide, and about an inch thick inflated. It's a "self inflating design", that's fine if you don't actually want it inflated at all. The first time I let it sit for 3 hours and nothing, it seems to do better now that's its been inflated a few times though. It's a minor complaint considering blowing it up only takes a minute or so, but it is the principle really. 

From my girlfriend's sister I got an L.L. Bean gift card, with this I got a really cool water bottle. I am really surprised nobody has come up with this design before. It's sort of like a Camelback bladder without the tube. Once I saw this I knew I would get a ton of use out of it. Normally I carry a messenger bag with a ceramic water bottle. Needless to say, that gets heavy and when its empty I have to continue to carry a bulky bottle around. This new bottle weighs nearly nothing and collapses down when empty. At 8 bucks I will definitely be purchasing a couple more of these down the road. They also make one with a sport top for about 12.