Not a bad shopping day yesterday. Hit the bargain meat bin and found 1# bricks, vacuum sealed, of 85/15 (85% lean) Angus ground beef marked down to $1.99. Sealed up nice and tight and in a very convenient brick shape that makes stacking the frozen flesh quite easy. It gets the date written on the package and then its off to the deep freeze. Mmmmm…beefy goodness.
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I do believe I’m ready to give up on the prospect that government will become nicer and less intrusive. The Patriot Act reauthorization is bad enough, but theres a host of other legislation going on that just makes a bad situation worse. Technically, politics isn’t that important to my preparedness except when it conflicts with my ability to get gear… but the more federal police powers that are thrown about the more likely it is that guys like me are going to get under the microscope for ‘suspicious’ behavior. Low profile seems the only recourse.
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Im a bit annoyed with the Bactine antiseptic wipes that I purchased last year. These things are packaged like a little hand-wiping towlette you get with an order of ribs. Little foil pouch (like a condom) and inside is a wet towelette saturated with Bactine. Figured it would be perfect for my first aid kits. Apparently, after time, the packaging degrades to the point that the Bactine starts seeping through the foil paper. Grrrr… so I either have to replace it every year or find something else to use as an antiseptic wipe. Very annoying. Plus, Ive always liked that Bactine smell.
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Blackhawk has a new product out that might solve my quest for a bag for my .308 gear. Its their “Battle Bag”. Lets get this out of the way and call it what it is: it’s a man purse. It’s a shoulderbag with pockets for magazines , radios, etc, etc. Might be just what I need to keep all my .308 gear in one place. No mention of it having webbing but otherwise it seems like an interesting product. Sugg. Ret. Is $100 but who pays retail in this world? Usual colors, but I think I’ll go with the goes-with-everything OD.
Along the lines of the Blackhawk product, have you looked at the Maxpedition VersiPacks?
It may be a bit simplistic for your needs, and decidedly non-tactical, but the USGI Map Case is simple, low-profile (it’s maybe one AR magazine thick), and can hold useful stuff.
Even if it’s not useful as a gear-bag, it’s very useful for holding maps, photographs, pens, etc. Very handy.
WIPES
try your local drugstore for properly packaged wipes, have gotten for my kit provo iodine, alcohol, and first aid wipes. fast food outlets tend to include stuff made by the lowest bidder from cheapest materials. hmm just like the space shuttle. Wildflower 06
I have the map case, actually…It doesnt seem like it’ll fit the myriad off odd shaped objects that Im going to need to haul around. It does, however, work pretty well for….you guessed it…maps.
I’ve been debating that and their standard attache as a daily man purse/book bag. Both feature concealed pistol pockets, but not having had the opportunity to personally fondle these items I’m not sure which would be right. Looking forward to the write up.
One thing I -don’t- like is the rather prominant “Blackhawk” lable prominant on the 3 Day pack. (I did not know about Tactical Tailor when I bought it for my BOB).