Tag Archives: gear

Vehicle stuff

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As I mentioned earlier, one of my regrets is that I didn’t take my FAK with me on my trip to Venus Jr. I was wondering if, in fact, I had in that FAK the items I would have needed for that particular episode…specifically, a non-adhesive dressing of some type, some rolled gauze, and some tape. Turns out, yes, I had all that in there. Cool. But then I figured I better double-check what might be lacking. As it turns out, I seem to have never gotten around to distributing burn jel into that particular kit. So, off to Amazon for Burn Jel…both the ‘ketchup packets’ of the stuff, individual dressings, and a bottle of the stuff.  I’ve used this product in the past for some kitchen accidents and it works wonderfully. In fact, I’ve had some burns bad enough to keep me awake at night and this stuff has made it so I can sleep.

This little episode of gear-inspection was also driven by the need for me to review, update, replenish, and re-gear my in-vehicle supplies. In the winter I try to keep a big ol’  Pelican case of winter survival gear in the vehicle ‘just in case’. But, during the summer-ish times there’s not as much need for that much bulk and mass taking up space. Since the summer stuff doesn’t require as much bulky clothing and sleepgear as winter, I use a medium size pack. Its the well-made and highly-recommended SpecOps Brand Recon Ruck.  Don’t let that MSRP fool you, they can be had for a lot less. I think I got mine on sale somewhere for around $80..but, that was a while ago. Anyway, the nice thing about it is that it can be used as a non-frame pack (like a Med. ALICE pack) but can also be used in conjunction with an ALICE frame, which are pretty ubiquitous and affordable. Yeah, the ALICE was supplanted by the MOLLE packs but this isn’t for humping the boonies, its for just keeping my gear in one place. Anyway, highly recommend.

The only real difference between the winter and summer gear is, as I said, bulky sleeping gear and extra clothing. I don’t carry extra water because SOP is to have a 5-gallon jerry can of the stuff on hand.

I live in one of the more densely populated parts of Montana, so sitting on a road somewhere and not seeing a soul for days at a time is fairly unheard of. However, I don’t plan to never stray from this part of Montana. Sometimes I like to go to gun shows in far and distant lands..like Kalispell, Butte, Helena, Billings, etc. And then there’s a much greater possibility that a vehicle issue might put you in a position to twiddle your thumbs for quite a while. But, between the standard vehicle gear and my Bag O’ Tricks, I like my odds.

And, of course, no matter the season the prevailing wisdom is Stay With The Vehicle. Or Else.
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Battery check day

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Battery check day. I’ve got my list of items around the bunker that I keep batteries in at all times (things like flashlights, etc.) and today is one of the scheduled days to go inspect them all to make sure nothing is in the process of crapping the bed. Since I’ve instituted this program I have not found any batteries that have self-destructed or were in the process of self-destructing. But….it’s a half hour every few months, so why not check? It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to throw out a couple suspect D-batts than it is to buy a new LED MagLite.

Thus far, the biggest culprit in crapped-the-bed batteries has been Duracell batteries. I have yet to have any issued with lithium batteries, by the way. For absolutely critical gear, and gear that gets exposed to great temperature swings (like being left in a vehicle) the lithiums are the way to go.

Do it today, guys. Spend just a few minutes checking your flashlights and radios to make sure your batteries aren’t destroying your electronic geegaws.
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In admin matters, someone very generously sent me an Amazon gift card the other day and I’d like to take this moment to thank them. If you feel I provide high entertainment value (or even middlin’ entertainment value) please consider tossing a little something my way.

 

Water and canteens

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In storage I have a couple of milk crates that hold nothing but various water containers. Some of these things go a ways back. Over thirty years of being a survivlist has given me the opportunity to try all sortsa things…some worked, some didn’t; some lasted; some didn’t.

I distinctly recall, as a young and wildly stupid lad of 14 or so, when the first hydration bladder (“CamelBak”) hit the market. I can’t recall the brand name but it was the most novel and bizarre contraption. It looked like something you’d find in an emergency room rather than in a back pack. (Trivia: hydration bladders got their start from repurposed IV bags and tubing.)

Of course, starting in the 80’s, everyone’s go-to was the ubiquitous military canteen which had just been transitioned to plastic.They were somewhat inexpensive, seemed to work, worked with the ALICE gear which was all the rage at the time, and were widely available. Drawbacks? The die-hards never quit wailing about how because it was plastic you would melt it when you mated it with your canteen cup if your canteen cup was still hot from boiling up some water. Also, they tended to smell rather strongly of plastic. Nalgene makes a version that I have tried and can endorse, although they don’t fit quite right in a military canteen cup and cover.

Moving forward, Nalgene bottles started migrating from something that was almost exclusively a backpackers piece of gear to something a bit more mainstream. They were capacious, modular, and very durable. Drawbacks? The BPA scare that caused people to turn towards stainless bottles and forced bottle makers to reformulate their plastic with, according to some people, a decrease in durability. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the Nalgene bottles. There are all sorts of aftermarket accessories and pouches available for them and I will often use them when I need a ‘hard’ water container.

Continuing along the evolutionary highway, the hydration bladders showed up and these pretty much still dominate the hydration-on-the-go market. Eventually the military caught on and started issuing them. Their biggest advantage has been the ‘hands-free’ usage of them, the ability to carry a large quantity of water, and the reduced bulk since as they empty they can be compressed. Drawbacks are that theyre sometimes tough to keep clean and, depending on circumstances and manufacture, they can suffer damage.

A nice byproduct of the evolution of the hydration bladder was the collapsible water bottle. I remember exactly when I first became aware of these. I was in Alaska visiting some glacier and the park ranger was drinking from one of these. I was immediately fascinated and asked her if I could examine the product. It was, as I recall, a Platypus of some kind. I had no idea such things existed but I knew I was seeing the future of on-the-go water carriage. These things are my go to for carrying water when out in the sticks. The biggest attraction is that as you drink, you can squeeze the air out of the ‘bottle’ so that there is no noise from water ‘sloshing’ around. This was always a headache with rigid canteens and water bottles. And, when empty, you can roll the thing up and tuck it way where it takes up no room. I keep two of them in my Bag O’ Tricks so that in a crisis I can load up on water and take it with me. In an emergency, when you’re on your feet and moving, you may not know when and where you’re next opportunity to get water may arise. It’s nice to have extra containers along, that take up no room when empty, so that when you do find that hose bib or lawn sprinkler that works you can load up. (Tangent: I have always hated those scenes in movies where someone is stranded somewhere, they drink the last drop of water, and then they look at their empty canteen in disgust and throw it away. Idiot! If you find another water supply how are you going to carry the water????)

And, interestingly, there’s a rather neat hybrid system that I’ve found extremely useful. Made by Source, this kit turns your Nalgene water bottle (or other water bottle) into a tube-feed hydration system. Highly recommend. (The Source ‘tactical’ line is probably one of the more survivalist-oriented lines of these types of products.) Nalgene makes water bottles in larger sizes that still use the same diameter cap, so you can have a nice big jug of water in your pack or in the seat pocket behind you and plenty of water. The Source products also feature modular attachment points for bite valves and bladder connectors, which allow you to fill you reservoir without taking it out of the pack. Good stuff.

And finally, for ease of use, disposability, and all around convenience, a couple cases of cheap bottled water are handy. Shove a couple in your pack or in the trunk of your vehicle and leave ’em there. I’ve had them go through dozens of thaw/freeze cycles and never had one fail.

When Im out on my bike or running around tow, I usually just have a Nalgene bottle with me…I can abuse it and know it’ll be just fine. When I’m out in the woods, I have some sort of hydration system like the Platypus to keep things quiet and compact. And for just general hand-out-to-the-unprepared I have plenty of surplus military canteens floating around.

By the by, the Nalgene and Platypus product freeze quite well. In hot summers like we are having now, I usually fill them 1/4 with my preferred beverage and let them freeze solid. Then fill the remaing 3/4 with whatever I plan on drinking. Keeps things cold all day…especially if you’re dropping that hydration reservoir into an insulated pouch.

Anyway…if you’re still rocking the OD plastic canteen from 1985, more power to you. But, you may wanna examine some of the newer options out there.

Vulture II

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A while back I opined that the Current Situation may lead to opportunities as folks die off and opportunities arise as those estates are liquidated. Yeah, it’s a rather tacky thing to think about but it is nonetheless true. What I hadn’t given much thought to is that people don’t necessarily have to die for these opportunities to arise. Unemployment is at record highs, people with jobs are having hours cut back, and folks would really rather have cash in their hands than some ‘toys’ that they deem as non-essential. In short, in addition to opportunity from those poor souls passing there is also opportunity for those poor souls who are in desperate need of cash. That’s where I step in.

I’ve been cruising Armslist religiously for a couple months now. Nothing really jumps out at me since most people sell their guns at prices that are higher than my dealer cost on a new one. But, sometimes stuff comes through that I do jump on. Todays acquisitions:

A brand-new-in-box Magpul Backpacker stock (in my favorite OD). This is the foundation for what many people call the ‘Grail gun’ of 10/22’s: a stainless takedown 10/22 w/ threaded barrel and Magpul Backpacker stock. It’d be mighty hard to come up with a better bugout .22 rifle.

Also picked up an Outdoorsmans Butte 25 Hip Pack. I was unfamiliar with this product. I have an almost identical product made by Kifaru, their Scout pack, but it is long discontinued and I thought it would be nice to have something similar as a backup and to take some of the wear and tear off my Kifaru.

Price? Well, let’s just say retail is for suckers and I don’t buy unless I’m getting a deal. And the reason I was able to pounce on this deal? Because I’ve spent the last couple years clearing out the debt and tucking away money when I can. And, honestly, I anticipate a lot more deals like this before this pandemic is over.

The important takeaway here is that opportunities will arise from this pandemic. Whether you think taking advantage of them is wrong or not, they will arise. By having cleared the decks of debt, secured money in the bank for emergencies, and being careful with spending, I’ve created a position where I can, from time to time, pounce on these sorts of opportunities. If you’ve gotten your ducks in a row financially, I suggest you start cruising Craigslist and Armslist….there’s interesting stuff starting to turn up as people less prudent than you and I find themselves suddenly needing cash.

A PDW for Cub Scouts

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Right place, right time = Silver Maples at spot + $3. That kinda made my day, along with gas being $1.99.

The Ruger Charger is, basically, a 10/22 pistol. Ruger makes a couple different flavors of them and I have a takedown one of them. But…it’s kind of an unusual piece…specifically: what is it good for? It’s a ‘handgun’ only the broadest sense, it’s not as handy as a rifle, it’s bulky, and I can’t foresee too many shooting scenarios where it’s just what the doctor ordered.

Except one. (And if you’ve read my blog for a number of years, I think you can see where this is going to wind up.)

A month or so back, I came across this at a somewhat reasonable price:

Now, as is, this thing wasn’t terribly useful to me. But the free market abhors a vacuum and I know there are several aftermarket  vendors who can help me capitalize on the modularity of the 10/22 system. This chasis from Enoch was pretty much exactly what I was looking for…slots for Mlok, takes any AR pistol grip, has QD sling attachment points on either side, and just looks cool AF. Ordered it online and:

Note that at the back of the chasis, in addition to QD sling holes, there is a section of pic rail. Hmm…now, what could possibly mount onto that?

Yup. A little ‘wrist brace’ to make things…uhm…bracier? Available with either an aluminum or polymer strut, I opted for the spendier aluminum because apocalypse.Let’s get that puppy on there and see what we get.

By the power of greyskull!………….

And, yes, that is in fact a four-cell chest rig for 10/22 mags. No, I don’t wanna talk about it.

Thats a 10″ barrel on there, and I might throw on a shorter one. The final goal? Well, I kinda wanted a little .22 PDW-style gun that could fit in a backpack. The regular 10/22 takedown would do the job but I wanted the short-barrel option. I’ll be losing that crappo dot scope and replacing it with something a little higher quality.

Oh, and before anyone comments, the folded brace does clear the ejection port. The angle of the photo makes it look like it doesn’t, but thats just bad camera angles doing the talking. The brace originally folded to the left but since I want to be able to hang this thing on my right side from a QD sling I swapped some parts around and made it a right-side folder. Handy, that.

This was a little project I’d been playing with in my mind for a while and when the opportunity came up, I decided to run with it. It is massively economically a bad idea. If you want a compact 10/22 to tuck in a bag, go buy a TD 10/22 and get the Magpul backpacker stock. I was kinda in love with the idea of a PDW-style 10/22 ‘pistol’ and this is what I came up with…impractical, sure, but it’ll be fun to play with. And, who knows, in certain circumstances it might be just what the doctor ordered. Especially if I get the shorter barrel and put my Sparrow suppressor on the end.

Stock options

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Well, other than deadly pathogens floating in the air, it was pretty nice the other day so why not take a trip to the range? Gun du jour? The PTR-91 GI model. Merciful Crom, it is a thunderous hammer of righteousness. There is no two ways about it – it’s heavy. But it shoots everything I feed it, and I was able to ring the 100-yd 8″ gong with pretty good regularity. The .308 AR-10 is probably a better choice in every regard (weight, ergonomics, availability, etc.) but dang if that heavy hunk of sheet metal doesn’t inspire confidence.

Realistically though…a little .223 carbine is hard to beat. And speaking of .223 carbine….

Cue the music………

Ta-da! Yes, it is the repro of the classic Ruger GB folding stock…made famous by a crack commando unit that was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. The folks who make this stock called me the other day to tell me it was on the way. Being a fabulously nosey person I asked what the backstory was. As it turned out, the company (Samson) had a pre-existing relationship with Ruger, making parts for them or somesuch. One of the Samson employees kept hassling Ruger to bring back the folding stock for the Mini-14. Ruger kept blowing the guy off, telling him that no one was interested, the Mini was a dated design that wasn’t really selling very well anyway, etc, etc. Finally, to shut the guy up, Ruger gave them the moulds and told them to go make it. Samson put out a pre-order and the response was far greater than what Ruger had imagined it would be. So…with Rugers blessing (and, it was hinted, some licensing fees) Samson picked up the torch and is now making the original Ruger folder stock. But, enough history…let’s drop it on a Mini-14 and get on the jazz.

No lie, I giggled like an idiot after this stock was on. Started whistling the A-Team theme and didn’t stop the whole time I wrote this post.

I’ll be the first to say it, when push comes to shoot, I’d rather have a little AR carbine than the Mini-14. The AR is more accurate, better ergonomics, better sights, better triggers, more modular, cheaper mags, etc, etc. But, there is just something about the Mini-14 that says ‘truck gun’ without going too Burt Gummer. This thing will most likely become a range toy or safe queen. Although…it might become a ‘truck gun’ for under the seat with a half dozen magazines. Telll you what though…I can’t wait to take this to the range and see the looks from people who either a) never knew Mini-14’s had stocks like this or b) people who haven’t seen one in thirty years.

And if you think that’s cute, wait’ll you see the itty-bitty baby PDW I’m putting together later this week.

Article – The man who refused to freeze to death

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I know that even in the supposedly warm climes like Afghanistan the temperatures can drop to killer levels of cold. Now, imagine how cold it can get in places that are actually traditionally considered to be cold places. Then add in some wet clothes. And you have a recipe for disaster. Unless you’re this guy:

Heimaey is the largest of the Westman Islands, an archipelago south of Iceland mostly inhabited by puffins. On Stórhöfði peninsula, at the southernmost point of Heimaey is an outcrop that juts into the Atlantic Ocean. The local weather station here claims to be one of the windiest places in Europe.

It was here, in the early hours of March 12 1984, that 23-year-old Guðlaugur Friðþórsson stumbled towards salvation. His bare feet were bleeding from deep cuts caused by the volcanic rock hidden beneath the snow, his clothes soaked in seawater and frozen to his body. He should have already died several times over, but something deep inside Friðþórsson propelled him forwards.

An interesting article that explores the mechanics of freezing to death and, interestingly, the mechanics of not freezing to death. I did find this part very illuminating:

“When you come out of the water you get evaporative cooling,” says Tipton. “This is a really potent way of losing heat from the body.” Ordinarily you would want to strip off and put dry clothing on, but in the absence of that, climbing into a large plastic bag will reduce evaporative cooling and convective cooling.

“If you get someone wet at 4C and they have got a litre of water in their clothing; if all of that water evaporates they are going to have a fall in body temperature of 10C,” says Tipton. “If you put them through the same scenario and then put them in a plastic bag they can use their body to heat up that water. It is contained in the bag so it cannot evaporate away. Those people lost half a degree, so they were 20 times better off.”

Seems like everyone in hunting camp carries those deck-of-card-sized thin mylar ‘space blankets’. Turns out, according to this article, that you might be better served with a big ol’ contractor-grade garbage bag. Personally, I rather like these. But what I’m a bigger fan of is a gigantic conflagration that lights up the countryside like some sort of flaming hellscape. Problem is, of course, that if you wait until you’re freezing to death to build a fire you’re going to freeze to death because your manual dexterity and clear-headedness went out the window a few seconds after you fell through the ice. That’s where things like these come in handy. In practice, I go way overboard on flammables when it comes to packing stuff for wandering through hills….flares, fuel cubes, lifeboat matches, waxed dryer lint, and, if I have room for it, a tiny fuel bottle of kerosene. Except for the small fuel bottle, everything fits in an M4 pouch which means there’s no reason to leave it behind anytime you step off the pavement. Whatever you wind up packing, make your choices with an eye towards having hands that are so frozen you can barely manipulate your fingers… big, clumsy, fumbling movements will be the order of the day when need a fire now..plan accordingly.

But, back to the article at hand, freezing to death (or hypothermia, if you want to get technical, I suppose) apparently doesn’t have to be your fate if you can keep a clear head, a little extra poundage around the abdomen, and make good decisions. Of course, dressing for the occasion also comes in handy…wool, synthetics, etc.

And don’t let the calendar fool you….lotsa people die of hypothermia in August. All it takes is a fast summer thunderstorm, a steady blowing wind, and maybe some cool temps at a high altitude and you are in big trouble.

Lithium AA batts at CostCo

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If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that my experience, and the experience of pretty much everyone else reading, has been that at some point your Duracell batteries are going to crap the bed and ruin your device. To prevent this sort of thing, I’ve instituted a pattern of checking the batteries in all my devices on a regular basis in order to catch these things before they do irreparable damage.

An alternative to this sort of thing is to use lithium batteries. It seems that the leaking issue doesn’t occur with the lithium batts nearly as often as with the others. The problem, of course, is that lithium batts, while being awesome, are not cheap. As it turns out, Costco, which is often the source of the troublesome Duracells, is also selling bulk packed lithium AA batts.

At eighty-five cents each, that’s a rather large discount from the 4- and 8-packs that you see at the cash register of your local supermarket.

I was checking the batteries in my gear the other day and discovered that the rechargeable Eneloops that were in my ICOM R6 (highly recommended) were deader than Biden’s nomination possibilities. They apparently just self-discharged over time. Disappointing, but thats why I make sure to carry extra batteries with my gear. Since CostCo is make the lithium batts affordable, I’ll swap those into the R6 instead of the rechargeables. (And also into the spare battery carrier that I keep in my Bag O’ Tricks).

So far, I have not experienced any problems with the lithium batteries but I’m not foolish enough to just assume I never will. So…regular gear inspections will continue, even if the item in question has lithium batts in it.

Stay sharp

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One of the knives that I stockpile for Der Tag is the BK&T… it is basically a sharpened crowbar. It has the end-of-the-world durability Im after at a reasonable price. But the sheaths that come with them suck. So I usually replace them with these highly recommended SpecOps sheaths. Note that the sheath has a pocket for a sharpening stone or similar device. I was having a heck of a time finding a stone that fit that pocket correctly. Then, as I was perusing the knife section at Cabela’s, I found this:

Very much me likey. It puts a fast edge on pretty much anything, has built in angle guides, two grades of diamond plates, a leather strop, and a ceramic for fior sharpening fish hooks and serrated edges. But…while its an awesome tool, it doesn’t fit in the pouch on the sheath.

Intrigued, I looked at what other products these guys made and picked up a couple other things:

This one does fit in the sheath, so I picked up a couple of these. I also picked up a couple of their small pocket sharpeners. They have a carbide feature on them sor they are no t something you want to use every time you sharpen a particular knife, but the ceramics and diamond on it are great for keeping the knife sharp once you put the new edge on it:

Now, I do have a nice set of stones on one of those Smith-brand three-stone setups. And I use it when I need to. But it isn’t exactly portable or pack/pocket sized. These sharpeners seem to fit the bill for throwing into a small pack and keeping a knife properly sharp out in the field. And, considering some of the really awful things we are going to subject a knife to in a crisis, being able o resharpen them in the field seems a solidly prudent move.