Tag Archives: gear

The Century-Long Evolution of the U.S. Army Helmet

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Although soldiers have been wearing head protection since at least the 26th century BCE, the modern military helmet is a fully 20th century invention.

And it’s been a rapid evolution. Growing from its WWI origins, the standard issue Army helmet has transformed from a simple ‘tin hat’ into an impenetrable shell that can shrug off high-velocity bullets. What was once a simple piece of steel is now fabricated from space-age composites that can stop a AK47 round dead in its tracks.

Now, more than a century after the first U.S. Army helmet was introduced, the Army’s Program Executive Office for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment is reimagining the helmet into a piece of gear more fitting today’s battlefield.

An interesting question that, I think, will have two very distinct camps of supporters and not a lot of middle ground: does a survivalist need a military-style helmet?

We’ve seen the ‘high speed, low drag operators’ running around in their bump helmets. These helmets are more for protecting your noggin from banging against doorways, window frames, the inside of an MRAP, etc, etc, rather than offering ballistic protection. In fact, as I read it, skateboard helmets were sometimes pressed into duty before the military was fully on board with the bump helmet.

But we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about the modern(ish) PASGT that we see frequently at gun shows and the like. Does a survivalist need one of those? Or is wearing one just a form of LARPing?

Well, to be fair, they’re a great place to mount your flip-down night vision. But, how many of us can afford to have a sweet set of NODs? So if you don’thave a need for a helmet-mounted piece of gear, do you need a helmet?

I think that in most crises your probably going to need a protective helmet to spare you the head injuries from debris, tree limbs, falling glass, etc, etc, more than you will need the ballistic protection from incoming rifle fire. (And I’d put the need for protection from shell fragments at near-zero.)

On the other hand, some folks figure that if youre going to be wearing body armour why wouldn’t you extend that level of protection to your brainpan? If you’re doing the Roof Korean thing, don’t you want as much protection as possible? Good argument there.

I’ll admit that, tucked away in the bunker, there’s a PASGT sitting there that I picked up years ago. I know it fits, but other than that I have never worn it. But, for some reason, I like knowing I have it. If I had to run out the door to stem the horde of zombies would I grab it? I’m really not sure. But I like having that option.

What about you? Does a helmet have a place in your preps? Military helmet or construction/debris helmet?

More cleanup

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Continuing the cleanup-slash-organizing-slash-evaluation episode I referred to earlier, it’s interesting to see what has and has not aged well over the course of..hmm..twenty years in some cases.

As I mentioned, the older MagLites, while still having some utility, are far inferior to the more modern LED and CR123 flashlights that have twice (or more) the brightness, five times the run time, one third the size, and twice the price. Ignoring the handiness of a 3-cell D-battery MagLite for rearranging someones dental work, they don’t do anything that isn’t done more efficiently and compactly by a modern LED pocket light.

Things like rice and wheat have stored just fine in 15-gallon ‘blue barrels’. The #10 cans from the LDS cannery, which are between 10-15 years old, have held up just fine. Same for the oatmeal that I rotated through a couple years back. Some stuff keeps well, some stuff does not.

Notoriously, Duracell batteries tend to poop the bed after a surprisingly short amount of time. I have learned the hard way to NOT leave them in any device that is going into storage.

So, the cleanup continues….curious to see what sort of “Hey, I forgot about those” turn up.

Cleanup Pt. I of probably too many

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When I moved into my current house, back in the 90’s, I finally had some space to step up my preparedness game. Originally, one room in my basement was dedicated to my preparedness stuff. It has, sadly, over time morphed into my entire basement. And, in fact, it has started migrating into some other rooms as well.

So, whats a survivalist supposed to do? Well, time to cleanup and, possibly, throw out a few things. There are some bins that I havent looked inside in over ten years. And there’s some long term food that is dang near close to the end of that term. So…it’s time to clean up the stuff that ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ and replace it with ‘best that I can afford’ now that my life has finally hit a more grownup phase.

For example, the 20-year-old MRE entrees sitting in boxes on the shelf. Meatloaf With Gravy and some Chili Mac. These were purchased from Major Surplus back in, probably, the late 90’s or the early 2000’s. What this means is that they are at least 20 years old. Sure, MRE’s have a lngthy shelf life, and I know there’s plenty of guys on YouTube eating MRE’s from the Civil War, but why would I continue to store 20-year-old MRE’s when I can easily afford newer and better product. Especially when each additional year I keep those MRE’s I am getting less and less viability than I would with newer production?

Now, having said that, did I try them? Sorta. I tossed both pouches into a pan of hot water and let them heat all the way through. The Chili Mac smelled okay, looked okay, and the texture was…okay. The meatloaf smelled a tad odd but, hey, it’s an MRE…its not gonna smell like it’s supposed to. The texture was rather spongy and the taste was rather bland. A single bite from each one was enough to tell me that there was no really legitimate reason to not replace these with current production items.

But, as this cleanout continues, I’m coming across things that are fifteen, twenty, twenty five years old. A good opportunity to see how time and storage affects things. It’s also an opportunity to observe the evolution of products…for example, I have a couple of old MagLites that still use the Krypton bulbs and eat D-cell batteries like Pac Man. Compare with the newer LED lights that give ten times the battery life and twice the light.

There’s also a good bit of milsurp in there from when I couldnt afford Kifaru but I could afford Kosovo. There’s some Eastern Bloc stuff down there, for sure.

There was a time I was a poor, struggling, underemployed, wildly irresponsible kid who had no money-smarts. As a result, I’d buy whatever was cheapest that met whatever need I felt was being presented. It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate items of better quality, rather, it was that I was unable to afford items of better quality. Fortunately, that has changed. Before anyone jumps into the comments and starts telling me how some surplus stuff is just as good or better than some modern commercial stuff…yes, you are correct. Some stuff is just awesome. But a lot is simply adequate, heavy, bulky, and difficult to find accessories for.

Ideally, I’m doing this cleanup to free up some space and get rid of some things that, really, have been supplanted by better gear. Save it for backup or for remote locations? Probably not…whatever supplanted is probably in storage here in enough quantity that even the backups would be a better quality.

It would be nice to get this done over the course of a week, but unfortunately ny life has hit the point where it seems like I never have spare time to do the things I want to do. But, on the other hand, it’s that evolution into a time-constrained life that has allowed me the resources to replace twenty year old gear.

Bass stacatto

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Remember these guys? It was a larger budget unofficial sequel to Robert Rodriguez’ “El Mariachi”. Note the Hollywood-style guitar cases that have a somewhat starring role in this scene.

I mention it because in addition to snapping up every $200 Ruger P95DC (or P89DC, actually), I also snag every $300 3rd Gen 9mm Glock I can find on Gunbroker. Very rarely do I make that score. But sometimes someone will miscategorize, mislabel, or misidentify their listing and it doesnt get the traffic it normally would. As a result, I can sometimes score. And, in a lightning-strikes-twice fashion, I actually did score a pair of Glocks for a tad over $300 each with shipping.

G17 and a New York reload.

So, it’s not like I need a reason to pick up extra Glocks at discount prices. But in this case, I did have a reason. Specifically, because for Christmas I received this:

And, of course, nothing is as it seems. I don’t play any musical instruments. (Well, not true…I’ve been known to play the Fallopian tuba.) But, crack this baby open and:

Not gonna like. Once in a while, the ‘James Bond’ parts of being a survivalist can be pretty cool.

A Ruger PC9 carbine, a G26, a G17, and enough magazines to make for a busy day in Katrinaville.

I needed the two ‘new’ Glocks to fill up the two empty spots in the case. (By the way, the tea-ball looking doohickey behind the buttstock is, in fact, basically a tea-ball. You fill it with dessicant.)

What’s a case like this useful for? Good question. When I transport or store guns, I use a Pelican or Hardigg case. But, a Pelican or Hardigg case looks exactly like a gun case. You can walk down the street with a Pelican 1760 and not have people be unaware of whats probably in it. This package, in theory, gives you a little ‘grey man’ for when you need to move some hardware around discreetly….and I can see situations where that has some value.

By the by, that MagPul Backpacker stock for the Ruger is a huge recommend.

Spec-Ops Gear mag pouch closeout

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Okay, the deal with bargains is usually that once I get what I need, I tell you guys about it. Thats not being mean, that’s just looking our for Number One…or, I suppose, Number Zero.

Anyway, the folks at Spec-Ops Brand are having a closeout on .308 double mag pouches. Looks like that the only ones left are multicam but that works perfect for me. $8.75 ea and Made in ‘Murica. I’ve got something like a thousand G3 mags so…I picked up a bunch.

They apparently have a buncha stuff on sale, ending today. Warm up the credit card and gear up.

Weaponlight upgrade

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I try not to be a dinosaur, but sometimes it just happens. Case in point: weaponlights.

This is the G19 I keep on the nightstand:

It’s been sitting by the bed for…mmmm…the last15 years, at least. It wears some night sights that, really, I should be replacing and it also has a Streamlight M3. This is a weaponlight that, in todays world of high-tech, would not even rise to the level of airsoft. At the time I got it, which was probably 20 years ago, it was decent. But, time and tech march on. I was at a gun show today and thought perhaps it was time to up my game.

This is an Olight Valkyrie PL-Pro that I picked up at the gun show. It surpasses my ancient M3 in so many ways that the only real way to express it is through a picture:

And that is not with weak or dying CR-123’s in that M3. The simple truth is that battery and LED technology have advanced so far since I purchased the M3 that, compared to what is available now, the M3 doesn’t even clock in as ‘toy quality’.

And speaking of technology, the M3 has one function: on/off. This Olight has a high, low, strobe, temporary on, constant on, and a lockout function. Even more interestingly, it is chargeable through USB.

And…the unit has a low charge warning indicator, and a charging/full indicator on the charger. And that charger, by the way, attached magentically…which is kinda neat.

And since its LED you get brighter light, longer battery life, and less fragility than with the older incandescent bulbs. Man, how technology has changed.

So…upgrade time for the trusty bedroom Glock. So far it seems like a fine product and I might get another one or two fr some of my other pistols. After all, its dark 50% of the time. Oh…and I need to swap out those faded tritiums as well.

‘Tis the season for holiday upgrades!

The return of canning supplies

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A trip to WinCo this evening shows that, at least at this location, the supply of canning jar lids and related materials has returned to normal. (Or, I suppose, normal-ish.)

Much like how the Great Primer Scare of the ’90s turned many of us into primer hoarders, this recent experience in being unable to locate canning lids has made me quite certain that my future plans include keeping several hundred lids on hand at all times. You know….just in case.

I don’t enjoy canning. I have better things to do with my time than stand around and babysit what is basically a potential boiler explosion for 70 minutes. I dont dislike canning, but, dang it, I’ve got better things to do.

However..I do enjoy eating. And I’m a huge fan of saving money and not starving to death. So….canning.

And that canning requires one critical component: jar lids.

So, I havent inventoried them but I should be sitting somewhere near a thousand or so lids at the moment. At one pint of canned meat or other food per day, that would be about three years of canned food. Of course, keeping a thousand pint jars on hand is unlikely but I do have a hundred or so, which should, I think, see me though most tough times.

But the lids…..like primers they are the one critical and expendable component that bottlenecks the whole process if you can’t find them.

Glad to see theyre back in stock. For now.

Why all those gas cans?

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So I ordered up a goodly amount of new NATO-style gas cans the other day. A reasonable person might ask, “Why do you need so many?”

Like it or not, the world runs on gas and oil. Most of us get our gas the same way – we trundle down to the gas station and fill our cars and gas cans. What can prevent that? Tons of things, man. What shuts down a gas station? Lack of product, outrageous demand,  lack of electricity for pumps, curfews, riots, government mandate, etc, etc.

It’s not unreasonable to think that, in even a moderate crisis such as a blizzard or hurricane, your local gas station is going to either have sold out of all their gas, or their pumps aren’t working, or they haven’t been able to get restocked. And that’s assuming that .gov doesnt shut them down to begin with or restrict their sales to .gov organizations only.

But, since I’m sitting in a well-fortified and well-stocked house, why would I need so much gasoline? I’m not going anywhere, right? Well, not if I can help it. But….sometimes things don’t go as planned, for whatever reason, and I might need to be somewhere else. In that case, the last thing I want is to be standing in a crowded line of frightened, panicked, angry people.

But…there’s other reasons to keep a goodly amount of fuel handy. Even if I don’t go anywhere, I’m still going to need gas for the generator. And, depending on the situation and the nature of the relationship with my neighbors, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to be in a position to help them out..if I choose to.

I mean, even if you think that your particular situation is so well squared away that gasoline isn’t a priority for you, for whatever reason…it’s still probably a good idea to have some on hand. Generators, chainsaws, snow blowers, lanterns, four wheelers, water pumps, etc, etc, all need gas. It’d be a little short sighted to think that just because you don’t foresee needing it for a vehicle or a generator you can ignore keeping some around.

Heck, you get a hurricane and your vehicle is outta commission, you gotta have something to offer someone to take you and your gear outta harms way. Being able to gas up someone elses vehicle can go a long way towards getting them to make room in the back for you. Same for generators. Maybe yours craps out or is in the shop. Offer to fuel up the neighbor’s genny and I’ve no doubt he’d let you run an extension cord to your place for your freezer.

So, thats why, for me, buying that many gas cans isn’t a bad idea. The more fuel I have the further I increase my ‘range of safety’ to get away from trouble, the longer I run my generator to keep my freezer going, the more help I can offer to people I deem worthy of helping, etc.

For my needs, those NATO cans are perfect. They seal up tight, don’t ‘breathe’ like plastic cans do, are easier to handle, and take abuse exceptionally well. And, this is important ,guys – these things are only going to be more expensive later, assuming you can find them at all. Two AM by the side of the road in a downpour during a crisis because you thought “I’ll just swing by the Conoco and gas up…I’m sure they still have gas” is a situation easily avoided.

And, of course, if youre going to store gas, do it safely. Store it outside your home in a shed, barn, garage, or under a tarp along the side of your shed. Use a gas stabilizer to keep it from ‘going bad’ (I use PRI-G), and make a note on the can of when you filled it up and make sure to rotate it every year or so.

If you like your gas can spout, you can keep your gas can spout. Unfortunately, .gov had to dick around with things and now the only spouts easily found for gas cans are these insanely stupid non-spill spouts. Screw ’em. I lanyard a funnel to every other can, but it’s easy enough to find the matching spouts for these cans that don’t use those ridiculous shut-off mechanisms that California wound up mandating.

So there you go. Why so many gas cans? Thats why.