Hosts Aaron and Jonathan discuss survival gear vs survival skill and the place for both.

People often come into prep and get sticker shock. With the endless sea of survival gear, gadgets, and equipment, survival can seem as though a tremendous amount of money will need to be spent.

Preppers also have a tendency–much like anything else in life–to feel as though they NEED widget X to survive. While some things are essential, not every thing is. And not everything has to be the absolute best when good enough will be the best for your needs…

Topics:

• When is the time for gear.
• When is the time for skill.
• Gear as a crutch for lack of skill.
• Developing skills then buy gear as a knowledgeable buyer.
• How to acquire survival skills
• Books
• Videos
• Courses

Resources:

• Forum Thread on ITRH Patches
• Mora Knives
• Phil Rose Custom Survival Knives
• Hoods Woods Survival Videos

I know, I know–I’ve been bad. The Friday Gear Reports fell off for a while. And many of you have not been shy about telling me this MUST come back. But I think today’s will make up for that. Not only is it a cool idea, but it’s also being brought to market in an awesome way!

So without further adieu…

Meet the Backcountry Boiler by Devin Montgomery. It’s a simple way to boil water while out in the woods. Best of all, it uses a fuel that is abundant and free–wood or any found fuel.

A blur from the inventor:

Over the past few years, I’ve spent a lot of time developing the Backcountry Boiler and here’s why: it represents an utterly sensible way to make hot meals and drinks in the outdoors. As opposed to complicated contraptions that run on fossil fuels, it’s simple, light, and operates on the fuels we find around us every day: paper, cardboard, pine cones, sticks. It also brings back the joy of a natural fire in a way that is much more responsible than having an open campfire.

Another cool thing about the Backcountry Boiler is that it is a Kicker Starter project. For those unfamiliar with Kick Starter, it’s a really cool way to get those brilliant ideas for a gadget, gizmo, or widget off the ground. In their own words, “We’re the world’s largets funding platform for creative projects.” You put up your idea and people on the site pledge money for the project. When you get to the needed goal your golden. For more info checkout their FAQ page.

Best of luck, Devin. Although from the pledges, doesn’t look like you’ll need it!

Visit the Backcountry Boiler Kick Starter Page.

Host Aaron and Jonathan discuss the question of, “what is a bug out bag” and “what goes in a bug out bag”.

BOBs (Bug Out Bags) are a favorite topic of preppers both new and old. But what is a Bug Out Bag really, pitfalls should be avoided, and what really goes in a BOB?

Seasoned veterans of preparedness will find the this episode a good refresher. If you’re new to prep, it’s a great place to start…

Topics:

• What a BOB is?
• What goes in a BOB?
• What should be avoided when building a BOB.
• Tailoring a bag to your needs.
• BOB Checklist
• Food
• Water
• Shelter
• Security
• Energy
• Preflight Checklist
• The differences between gear and skill

Resources:

• Bug Out List
• Episode 16: Survival Bags
• Articles on BOBs
• Preparing An Emergency Personal Information Packet
• 3 Day Ruck Sack Rule
• Knives and Their Care

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan discuss planning a survival strategy and give a critique of Doomsday Preppers.

Doomsday Preppers hits television screens leaving your hosts insulted and entertained. However, there are lessons that can still be learned. After giving their thoughts on the show Aaron and Jonathan segue into developing your survival strategy, questions to ask yourself, and a method for finding the wholes in your plans.

Topics:

Resources:

• Survival Bags
• Personal Information Packet
• The Survival Mom

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan discuss the basic gun battery for survival and the benefits of professional training.

A practical conversation about the four guns every survival minded person should own and how to choose them. The first of several planned episodes for 2012 on the topic of guns for survival, episode 54 starts things off with the basics of a complete firearms toolbox.

Topics

• Firearms Training
• The Accuracy Fallacy
• How a gun should fit.
• Practice, Practice, Practice
• Selecting a Battery of Guns
• Handguns
• Shotguns
• Rifles
• .22s

Resources

• Project Appleseed
• Episode 3: Basic Firearms Discussion
• Episode 7: Interview With Dan Blackford
• Episode 13: Rimfire Guns
• Episode 31: Tony Kidd on Gunsmithing
• An Economical Battery of Guns – By Massad Ayoob

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan are joined by Ron Davis for a discussion on the basic items needed for a three week bug in period.

In most scenarios daily life will return to normal after 72 hours to one week. But larger disasters, whether person or local, can extend into several weeks. This episode covers the basics for the supplies you would need to survive for three weeks without leaving you home…

Topics:

• Survival checklists
• Storing food for survival.
• Water for survival.
• Tools and other items.
• Storing hygien items.
• Storing medical supplies.
• Pet needs in survival situations.

NOTE: 2 Manual can openers should be added to the list of items described in the episode.

Resources:

• Ron Davis – EMS Newbie Podcast
• Blackout Kit
• Personal Information Packet
• Water BOB
• Food Storage Basics
• Stove Tech BioMass Stove
• 4 in 1 Emergency Tool
• Generators
• Joos Orange

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan set your city on fire in a white hot rage with total disregard to point out vulnerabilities. But then roast marshmallows and plan an escape.

Riots in America have long been on the top ten list of concerns for urban survivalists. They’re big and scary, they’re a threat, but what really causes them? More importantly, how do we prepare to survive riots? The answers might surprise you…

Topics:

• What causes riots.
• How societal context influences the potential of riots.
• Why are riots more prone to happen in urban environments.
• The effects of riots on city infrastructure.
• Where they are most likely to occur and how to avoid them.
• Buggin In vs Bugging Out

Resources:

• Garden Pool
• Book – The Survivors Club

Host Aaron and Jonathan are joined by Jason and Jeep to discuss lessons learned from the past year and what to expect going forward…

Hard to believe it’s been a year already. And yet, it feels like longer at the same time.

We’ve learned so much in the last year and hope that you have to. Episode 51 is a look back at what we have been up to and what we plan to be up to in the year to come.

WARNING: This episode is marked as EXPLICIT/ADULT

Topics:

• A listener’s journey over the last year.
• Prepping as a family.
• Prepping with teenagers.
• The urban farm update. What Jason and Aaron have accomplished.
• Lessons learned the hard way about raising livestock.
• Lessons learned about the difficulties of self-reliance.
• Thank you to the listeners.

Resources:

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan ring in the new year with a discussion of preparing for 2012.

The time to act is now. The begging of the year is a perfect time to go over the basics of preparing, reviewing our preps, and touching on more advanced considerations of survival. For long time listeners Episode 50 is a recap of episodes from the last year as food for thought. For folks new to survival it’s a great primer.

Tropics:

Resources:

• Alaska DHSEM 7 Day Survival Kit
• Ron Hood - Copy Canning
• Food Storage Basics
• Reliance 7 Gallon Water Container
• The Water BOB
• Super Tanker water storage
• How To Build A Blackout Kit
• Episode 16: Survival Bags
• Interview with Dan Blackford
• CERT
• Project Appleseed

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan look back at 2011, look forward to 2012, and expectations for the new year.

2012 brings predictions of Doomsday. As we go forward the media hype is likely to surge as people become consumed with what may come. But, like so many “predictions” of the post, 2012 is likely to pass without incident. People already interested in preparedness run the risk of getting whisked up in the hype. People new to preparedness risk of falling back to “sleep” after December 21, 2012 comes and goes. So how do we avoid all this?

Topics:

• What 2011 has meant to us.
• What 2012 brings.
• Concerns for existing preppers.
• Concerns for new preppers.

Resources:

• TEOTWAWKI Reality Check
• Knee Jerk Reactions
• Survival CHI

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan interview John Heatherly–author of The Survival Template.

Heatherly is a 17-year student of survival through formal survival training. His survival education started with Tom Brown Jr’s Trackerschool after which he went on to graduate from several military Survival Courses. Using his personal experiences gained from his survival training, Heatherly has gone on to share his knowledge through The Survival Template and his new book The Medicine Symbol.

Author John Heatherly holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Carson-Newman College and a Masters of IT Management from Webster University.

We are very fortunate to have him with us for this episode of In The Rabbit Hole’s Urban Survival Podcast.

Episode Topics:

• Where The Survival Template came from.
• Object-oriented mentality
• Mental Models
• The role of optimism in survival.
• The importance of Crucible experiences.
• The importance of practicing survival skills and not just reading about them.
• John’s new book The Medicine Symbol.
• John’s current and future projects.

Connect with John Heatherly:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog
• The Medicine Symbol Discussion and Giveaway 

Episode Resources:

• The Survival Template – Review
• Tom Brown, Jr. Books
• Tom Brown Jr’s Trackerschool
• Good to Great
• Stockdale Paradox
• Mental Models

Takedown rifles by themselves are cool. But what if we took a takedown rifle and combined it with a fishing rod? Finally, someone has combined two of my favorite things.

“Your chocolate is in my peanut butter. Your peanut butter is in my chocolate.”

Developed and manufactured by Utah-based Mountain View Machine & Welding, Inc., the Pack-rifle ($425) represents the best of both worlds in a light-weight and packable solution.

Specifications of the Pack-Rifle:

• Single shot .22 Caliber bolt-action
• Weight of 15.5ox
• Over all length of 33″
• Take-down length of 17″

From Pack-Rifle:

The receiver, and most other parts, of the Pack-Rifle are machined from high strength aluminum, while most wear parts and fasteners are constructed of stainless steel. The barrel is a precision button rifled, Cro-Moly liner with a carbon fiber composite outer. Carbon fiber is also used for the butt stock tube of the rifle. This construction makes the Pack-Rifle not only the lightest rifle out there, but very weather resistant also. In addition to being light, the Pack-Rifle also takes down to a very small size. The same mechanism that allows the loading and extraction of spent shells also enables the rifle to take down into two pieces, in less that 2 seconds and without tools. It reassembles just as fast.

Back in September we introduced the Emberlit Stove. Since then I have been playing with it, testing it, and even carrying it around in my EDC. The conclusion, simply put, this is a great little stove.

As you may remember, there is a great story attached to this product. It’s a story of ingenuity and triumph. In these trying times it’s easy for some to throw up their hands and say, “Woe is me!” But, from a select few we see them rise to the occasion. The inventor, Mikhail, mixed two things he loves to find financial freedom for his family: the outdoors and tinkering.

From Friday Gear Report 9/30/11:

There is even a heart warming story attached to the stove. The Emberlit Stove may look like it was designed by one of the big camping companies, but it’s actually a small business owner who hopes, “To just make enough money so my wife does not have to work at Walmart anymore.” After speaking with the inventor/owner/operator Mikhail, I get the sense that this is someone who really has his heart in his company and his product.

When the Titanium version arrived it was in a heavy resealable plastic bag with simple instructions. While the packaging leaves something to be desired ascetically, the savings to the consumer are appreciated.

For a roughly 36% premium in price, you get a nearly 50% decrease in weight. The Titanium version of the stove weighs in at 5.45oz. versus the 11.25 oz. of the stainless steel. The Titanium Emberlit was light enough that I barely noticed its addition to my EDC bag over the last few months. For context, the iPhone 4s is 4.9oz. and the Blackberry Bold is 4.8oz. So, it’s about like throwing another smart phone in your bag.

Yes, weight does matter. Every ounce you add to carrying weight burns more precious calories whether in a backpacking or a survival scenario. By itself the weight difference may not seem like much, but as you start adding things up it becomes an issue. However, if the $20 difference is going to make an impact in your life go with the steel as 11.45oz is still not that much weight.

The construction is very well done and leads to a very sturdy product. But, the tolerances on the stove are tight. The fit doesn’t make it exceptionally hard to put together, but takes a little effort to get the stove together and broken down.

Aside from the fit, the only other issue I found was that hot embers do tend to fall out the dime size holes along the bottom of the sides. As long as you’re paying attention and the area has been thoroughly cleared of combustible material, this does not create a major issue. However, it is something to stay aware of.

The real question is, how long does it take to boil water? Two cups of water (16oz) took just over 5 minutes to get a rolling boil, with constant feeding, in 57 degree weather at sea level. Not amazing, but pretty darn good.

My final verdict is that the Emberlit Stove gets 4 out of 5 stars with the fit being the main detractor.

Also, seems the innovation bug is still biting Mikhail. Since the gear report he has made a few additions to the products he offers. There is now a pouch for the stoves and an adapter for placing smaller pots on the Emberlit Stove.

Promotional video from Emberlit Stoves:

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan recap lessons gained from their knife sharpening class with Master Knife Smith Bob Kramer and have a general discussion about knives, their importance, than uses.

After your mind, a knife is the single most important tool you will ever carry. Edged tools have done more to advance society than anything else in history. Thus, why we are such big proponents of learning to use and care for knives properly in addition to regularly caring.

Topics:

• Why knives are so important.
• The specificity of types of knives and their uses.
• The myth of the perfect all-purpose knife.
• What makes up a survival knife.
• What makes for a hunting knife.
• What makes for a fighting knife.

Resources:

• Bob Kramer
• Phil Rose Interview
• (RAT 3) ESEE 3 Knife
• Mora Knives
• Puukko Knives

I’ve bought some foolish things; I fully admit to it. Usually their beauty was matched by exceptional function. But sometimes, you just want something because it is pretty even thought a much less costly version exists that will perform just the same (we are still talking about gear here right?)

Not to long ago I stumbled upon Barker River’s Firesteels. It didn’t matter that I had more $15 firesteels stashed in more kits and jacket pockets than I could remember, I really wanted one–just because it was pretty.

They come in a plethora of handle options from exotic woods, Micarta, or G10. Some, for the truly fancy, even come with liners…

So, if you really want to impress/confound your friends with the fact that you paid $50 for a firesteel, or if you are looking for a very unique gift for that survivalist who has everything, here are the supper hot babes of firesteels…

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan discuss setting objectives and why it’s so important to make plans. Objectives are the gas that makes the goals go. Without metrics, we don’t know when have gotten to where we meant to go.

Part III of the Survival CHI Reloaded series. Simply saying my plan is to “survive” is to simple. Within Survival CHI the main objects are: Live well and build a more resilient life. With plans, we can make that happen.

Topics:

• What are objectives and how do they differ from goals.
• Why are objectives important.
• Why planning so important.
• Metrics and their role in measuring success of plans.
• “Squishy” metrics, being flexible with plans when you don’t meet your metrics.
• Finding pleasure in planning and in success.
• Learning from failed plans.
• Update on Jonathan and Aaron’s Survival CHI plans.

Resources:

• Episode 44: Making Decisions
• Episode 43: Survival CHI – Reloaded
• Survival CHI Plans on the Forum
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
• The Hunger Games

Most gas cans on the market today a cheap, leaking, plastic doldrums. Often, the gas station variety end up spilling just as much gas on your shoes as they get into your tank as the crappy nozzle slips back just enough to break the seal. Worse yet, you have to fool with taking the gas soaked nozzle off, turning it around, and sticking it back inside the can after your done.

Surplus NATO Jerry cans offer a well designed mil spec alternative, but their condition can be plagued with years of use and abuse that isn’t always easy to discern at first. As an alternative, for the last few years I have been using the Justrite gas cans.

Recently, Deutshe Optik partnered with a NATO contractor to reintroduce a 5, 10, and 20-liter Jerry can. I was pretty excited to see a manufacturer bring newly made Jerry Cans to market as even getting used one can be a little tricky these days.

So far they have been received very well and people are saying the seal great and are as rugged as they look. Best of all, Deutche is currently running a sale if you buy four of the 20 L models – free shipping!

When it comes to storing ammo, used ammo cans really are the best. They stack well, take loose or boxed ammo, and provide protection against sun, rain, and humidity.

There are a couple inherent problems with used ammo cans though. First, the paint is usually chipped or worn off. Second, they may not seal that well anymore because dry rot. Third, some are warped from either abuse while in service or abuse while in transit.

Avoiding most of these issues can first be solved at the store. Make sure the can opens and closes easily and that the rubber seal is still in place and has not suffered dry rot. Next, look for the cans with the least damage to their pant as possible. It’s virtually impossible to find one that has its paint perfectly intact, but fixing blemishes is easy.

The paint on an ammo can isn’t just about camouflage – or for that matter being pretty. The paint is primarily a protective coating that keeps the ammo can in useful working order for many years to come. Without the paint, the can would be susceptible to corrosion that would ultimately lead to holes. If an ammo can gets holes, there wasn’t much of a point in inspecting the seal in the first place.

Once you have picked the best candidates out of the pile and thoroughly inspected them, bringing them back up to full condition is relatively easy. Rust-Oleum makes a great line of camouflage spray paints that will restore the protective coating of paint with just a few minutes worth of work. The line comes in: Dark Earth, Khaki, Deep Forest Green, and Foliage Green.

There is no special trick, but do follow the directions on the paint cans and use in a well-ventilated area.

1. Layout news paper or cardboard.
2. Using medium grit sandpaper, clean any rust spots.
3. Wipe the ammo can down with a damp cloth to remove any dirt or derby. Then let dry.
4. Hold the spray paint can the recommended distance from the ammo can as listed on the paint can.
5. Apply a light coating. Do not try to cover up the spot – or whole ammo can – in one pass.
6. Repeat until the damaged area – or whole ammo can – as been covered.

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini may seem out of place on a site about survival, but that’s only if you do not take into account that people are often your best tool for survival or hindrance in survival. The topic of social dynamics is one far over looked by many survival writers that simultaneously spend volumes of text concerning themselves with people. Using the principles of persuasion ethically and effectively could mean the difference between help from someone or not. It could also mean the difference between being harmed by someone or not.

Much like deescalation techniques, the skill set of persuasion can be a powerful one in your survival tool box.

From the back of the book:

You’ll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader-and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

Influence first seemed like it was going to be a dry read. However, I was quickly surprised at just how untrue that assumption was. It’s filled with interesting stories told well in a narrative style that illustrate the six principles of persuasion.

Cialdini organizes compliance techniques into six categories based on psychological principles that direct human behavior: reciprocation, consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity.

Aside form being a pleasure to read, I found Influence to be fascinating. The historical examples brought the aspects of persuasion into clear focus and simultaneously made the book entertaining.

This is a book I highly recommend to anyone interested in being more effective at work, in your personal life, or bettering your survival odds.

I read Influence several years ago, and although I have not had a chance to read it yet-Cialdini’s new book Influence: Science and Practice is probably an exceptional follow-up work.

Hosts Aaron and Jonathan discuss the most extreme of survival situations – surviving the holidays. This episode takes a light hearted approach to what is a very trying time for many people.

Surviving the holidays can be tough. Whether it’s dealing with gift giving or family, the holidays try our patients and good will towards our fellow man. This episode shares with you tips, techniques, and thoughts on getting through the season without incident or mace; unless your shopping at Walmart.

 Topics:

• Surviving the mall and shopping.
• Budgetting
• What gift giving is really all about.
• Surviving Family.
• Surviving break ups during the holiday season.

Resources:

• Surviving a Break Up
• Amazon Prime
• Building A Survival Network
• Survival CHI
• Making Good Decisions
• News story on Walmart mace incident.