My name is Michelle Carol and I have two kids and a bunch of animals I want to keep safe if something big happens. I'm always looking for ways to be more prepared and take care of things myself. I realize it's important to be prepared and I hope that I can help others too.

Buying a “zapper,” or stun gun, or a canister of pepper spray, is a decision that you could make on the spur of the moment. Maybe you happen to be in a gear store or browsing Amazon and decide to buy one. That’s cool. Having one in your pocket is probably better than not having one.

But if you put a little thought into your purchase, you could end up with a stun gun or pepper spray that really fits with what your lifestyle is, what you need it for, and what situations you anticipate you might be in when you need to use it. Did you see these two posts we recently published about pepper sprays and stun guns? check them out!

One company, P.S. Products, has a huge catalog of different types of zappers. Let’s take a look at 5 of them and in what situations they would be useful.

Enter the giveaway to win either a ZAP mini stun gun flashlight or PAWS dog leash with pepper spray! Pepper spray in the size we’re going to be giving away can be shipped anywhere but Washington DC or New York. Stun guns cannot be shipped to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Wisconsin or Michigan. We apologize to our readers who want to enter who live in those states.

PS Products ZAP Stun Gun and Pepper Spray Dog Leash Giveaway

1. Style: Zap Light Mini Stun Gun Flashlight – 800,000 volts
Charge this one up and it acts like a flashlight, shining up to three hours per charge. It fits in a pocket and is less than 5 inches long. This is what we’re giving away!

Who’s it for: Anyone who walks to their car at night. Someone who has to walk through a parking lot or parking garage at night could pull this out and use it as if it was a flashlight. If someone gets too close, ZAP.

2. Style: ZAP Cane with Flashlight – 1 million volts
This is also a rechargeable stun gun with a relatively bright flashlight, but that’s not why you get this cane. You get it in case you are disabled and need a cane for walking. Someone who does not have great balance shouldn’t rely on having to dig a stun gun out of their pocket or bag. The cane does the trick.

Who’s it for: The elderly or physically disabled. Whether you have trouble walking on a regular basis or you just had some sort of surgery and need a little extra support, a stun gun cane gives you the protection you need when you may be physically vulnerable. At first glance, no one will expect it to be a stun gun.

3. Style: Enforcer Stun Gun Flashlight – 2 million volts
This is one high-power device. Charge it and it can work for 12 hours as a flashlight or can shock over 500 times. Hopefully you would never have to use it that many times, but you could!
If you’re in the wilderness and don’t know who you might encounter, you might take this along. Or keep it charged and ready to grab in case you need to bug out. If there’s riots, yes, you actually might need to use it 500 times!

Who’s it for: Emergency preppers, hunters.

4. Style: Zap Stun Gun – 950,000 volts

This is a good basic stun gun. It looks like a stun gun and acts like a stun gun. This is an all-purpose stun gun that you might want to keep in your office desk, in your car, or in your briefcase just in case. If you like in a high-crime area or a place with a lot of car jackings, consider keeping one in the glove box or on each side of the car, on the passenger side and on the drivers side, so you can access it no matter where in the car you are.

Who’s it for: Anyone concerned about safety. People who drive a lot.

5. Style: Stun Gun Knuckles – 950,000 volts
This is definitely more weapon-like than the others. You wear it over your knuckles like brass knuckles. Wear these if you’re walking around, leaving a bar late at night, or simply like to have your stun gun easily accessible. If you’re worried that someone might throw you a punch, you can punch right back with these and not have to dig in a purse or pocket.

Who’s it for: Anyone who walks a lot, doesn’t have pockets, or is worried about a punch attack.

And, here are two different types of pepper spray presentation. In our experience, most people expect pepper spray to be in a basic canister and maybe on a keychain. There are options here too!

6. Style: Retractable Dog Leash with 1/2-ounce Pepper Spray
You get home late at night and you still need to take your dog out for a walk. Or you take your dog out in the early morning hours when the city may still be asleep. Going on a hike with your dog? Put this leash on him and you’ve got protection if someone gets too close. This is a 15-foot leash and handles dogs up to 110 pounds. This is the other item we’re giving away!

Who’s it for: Anyone with a dog.

7. Style: Lipstick Pepper Spray, 10 foot range
You want to go out and have items in your purse that don’t attract attention. Women don’t always have pockets in our jackets or clothing, so this fits right in your purse and looks like it belongs there. You can reach into your purse and pull out something that doesn’t look suspicious. Maybe someone gets too close to you while you’re in a public bathroom or at a concert. You just look like you’re fixing your lipstick until the person gets too close, and then SPRAY!

Who’s it for: Any ladies who like to go out and want something in their purse that doesn’t look like pepper spray.

8. Style: Canister with case and key ring

Pepper spray that just floats around in the bottom of your purse or toolbox in your truck or whatever, is no good. You need it to be accessible and to work in a moment’s notice when called upon. The case and keyring help with that.

Who’s it for: Anyone.

9. Shot Shell Pepper Spray
This is a clever presentation of pepper spray that looks like a shotgun shell. The whole idea, to me, of something like this is that you can have a personal defense item that no one knows you have. If you’re going out hunting or shooting in the woods and you don’t want it to be obvious that you’re armed, you may want to stash a few defense items here and there. For instance, I could see this being in a glovebox, in your range bag, or in your hunting blind and it’s not immediately obvious. If someone messes with you, they’re in for a shock because they don’t expect you to reach down and pick up a shotgun shell that is also pepper spray. This product is coming soon.

Who’s it for: Hunters, shooters, outdoorsmen and women.

PS Products ZAP Stun Gun and Pepper Spray Dog Leash Giveaway

Learn more about these and many more products from P.S. Products.

Last week we wrote an introductory post explaining what stun guns are and how they work. There’s a big difference in the effective stun guns and the cheap ones. If you’re in the market for a stun gun, read that post to get a sense of what you’re looking for in a stun gun weapon. Today we’re going to take a similar look at pepper spray. Sprays typically come in small canisters, which makes them easily concealable in a pocket or purse.

If you’re using pepper spray as a defensive weapon, it must be accessible. It won’t do you any good if it is in the bottom of your purse and you can’t get to it when you need it. Many of the same states that have legal restrictions on stun guns have restrictions on pepper spray as well. For instance, stun guns and pepper spray intended to be used against humans (as opposed to animals such as bears) are illegal in New York and Massachusetts. In Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan and California, pepper spray is legal with certain restrictions on the potency of the spray and the size of the canister. So before you buy these and start carrying them around on a daily basis, inform yourself of your particular state’s rules about these defensive items.

The potency and range of pepper spray varies greatly, so know what you’re buying before you make the investment.

What Is Pepper Spray?

Pepper spray is an aerosol spray made using the active ingredient capsaicin. Capsaicin or capsicum is a chemical compound isolated from fruits in the genus Capsicum, typically hot peppers. When it touches the soft tissues of the eyes it causes tears and temporary blindness. When it touches the soft tissue of the nose and mouth it causes pain and a burning sensation, along with coughing, difficulty breathing and a runny nose. It’s used as a weapon by spraying an attacker’s face with it. The temporary blindness incapacitates them, so they typically grab their eyes and may drop whatever weapon they have. They hopefully will back away or run and leave the intended victim alone, so they have a chance to get away.

Pepper spray is used against humans as a self-defense tactic. It’s also used as a defense against vicious animals such as dogs or bears. Long-term, exposure to pepper spray is not harmful. Recovery time could be up to 15 minutes.

Mace versus Pepper Spray

Mace is simply a brand of pepper spray.

Pepper Spray versus Tear Gas

Mace, pepper spray and tear gas are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably but they are not the same. Chemical “mace” has an active ingredient of phenacyl chloride. Tear gas uses an ingredient called orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile. Now, Mace is most used as a brand name. The brand Mace may have products that contain capsaicin extracts or tear gas. Mace is also the name of a spice that is used in cooking and is similar to nutmeg. These are not the same thing, nor is mace the chemical agent derived from mace the spice.

People who are on powerful drugs such as PCP were discovered to not be affected by tear gas. This is why many law enforcement officials switched to pepper spray. pepper spray seems to affect everyone, no matter how incapacitated they are by drugs or alcohol. Some pepper sprays also contain dye so that your victim is marked.

How Powerful Is Pepper Spray?

There is a lot of variations and inconsistencies in labeling pepper spray and how potent they are. It can be confusing and misleading. There is not a lot of regulation about the statements that companies can make on their labels regarding how potent their sprays are. Part of the issue is that there are different types of capsaicinoid extracts which can be used, which cause different levels of irritations.

Manufacturers do not need to state what type of extract is used. Most tactical (law enforcement) pepper sprays are in the range of 1.3 to 2% containing capsaicinoids. Pepper sprays can go up to 3% concentration. For bear sprays, the United States sets the concentration of capsaicinoids as between 1 and 2%.

Some labels will say that their product has a “high OC content,” meaning oleoresin capsicum, which is the pepper extract itself. However, a high content does not necessarily mean a higher potency, depending on what type of extract was used in the product. More of a lower-grade extract does not equate to a more powerful product. A lower grade oil extract will not penetrate the skin or soak through clothing as well as a higher grade extract.

The label can also say it has a high SHU content. SHU is a measure of Scoville Heat Units, which is how the strength (heat) of hot peppers is measured. Again, this is not a measure of the potency of what comes out in the aerosol. Some labels are measuring for CRC which stands for capsaicin and related capsaicinoids. If you see this, this means there is a blend of higher and lesser potency oils and extracts in the product. You might also find a label that has a measurement for MC, meaning major capsaicinoids. These are the most powerful extracts. This is the best measure of strength.

The best approach to buying, because of the variations in pepper spray, is to contact the manufacturer and ask certain questions. Ask them what extract they use. Ask them the range. Ask them the number of shots you get per size container. Ask them about the shelf life.

What Is The Range Of pepper Spray?

Most pepper sprays will spray up to 8 to 12 feet. The size of your canister will affect how many sprays you get. The .54 ounce keychain canister can be fired approximately 5 times in quick bursts. Longer range also generally means you will get fewer shots per canister. A spray is considered to be about a half second long. Some sprays spray out in a stream while some spray out in a mist pattern. The mist may cover a wider area, but your attackers will need to be closer. The spray is similar to a water gun and it can be more easily directed to an attacker’s face. Streams also might be less likely to blow back in wind and affect you.

The age of your canister and whether you have sprayed it before will affect how long it lasts. Aerosol cans will naturally lose some effectiveness as months or years go by. Most pepper sprays should be replaced after two years, whether they have been sprayed or not.

Be Aware When You Spray

One of the biggest drawbacks to pepper spray is that when you spray it, you yourself can be affected by the fumes. If the wind blows it back on your, you can get as much or more of the effect of the spray as the person you intended to hit with it. This is one reason why a stun gun may be a better choice for you. You can’t control the environmental factors when you might need to spray. If you become debilitated by the spray, you can be in more danger than not having used it.

Water will not wash off pepper spray. The only thing that will remove pepper spray from the system is time and blinking, which is the body’s natural method of cleansing the eyes. If you get pepper spray on your skin, avoid rubbing it in. Wipes are sold along with pepper spray that can help decontaminate the body from pepper spray. If you buy pepper spray and plan to use it, it would be a good idea to keep some wipes in a handy location in case you get any on yourself, like your fingers as you are spraying it, or if the wind blows any back on you.

We’re planning a giveaway of pepper spray and a stun gun from PS Products in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! Keep in mind that pepper spray in the size we’re going to be giving away can go anywhere but Washington DC or New York. Stun guns cannot be shipped to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Wisconsin or Michigan.

Image from psproducts.com

There are a lot of reasons why you might want to buy a stun gun or pepper spray. For people who can’t own firearms for whatever reason, these are sensible personal protection options that can be used to protect yourself out in public and your home in the event of a home invasion. We recently publish a guide to understanding pepper spray. Pepper spray and stun guns are good choices for non-lethal weapons. Read our article, “Ready to Buy Pepper Spray? Read This.”

For people who want a defensive weapon they can carry in their purse, car or briefcase that they don’t have to have a license and training for, there really is nothing better, other than perhaps a knife. But you can’t take a knife just anywhere and they are likely to attract attention. Stun guns are illegal in some places and can not be taken on planes or into federal buildings like courthouses and things like that.

Stun guns intended to be used against humans (as opposed to animals such as bears) are illegal in New York and Massachusetts. So before you buy a stun gun and start carrying it around on a daily basis, inform yourself of your particular state’s rules about these defensive items. Some cities and even some counties might have their own rules.

A stun gun can go from home to car to the beach or to the office and no one will likely know you have it as long as it is tucked away but still accessible. There are a lot of options for stun guns so let’s look at the possibilities.

What Are Stun Guns?

A stun gun is considered an electrical weapon that debilitates an attacker with an electrical charge. The electrical charge interferes with the body’s normal brain/muscle communication and causes loss of muscle control and muscle spasms. The effects are temporary. So if you use one, be prepared to get yourself away from the attacker as quickly as possible. They are designed to be used at close range unless you get a tactical stun gun, like a Taser. So the attacker must be close enough to you to reach out and touch with the stun gun device.

The price of stun guns varies greatly depending on their amperage. Read on for more about that. The user of the stun gun does not feel anything. It is also ok to use a stun gun when it is raining or while standing in water. The low amperage of the stun gun simply disables the attacker temporarily. It does not electrocute him or her.

The stun gun will be most effective when used in the large muscles like the hip, torso and neck. It’s also best if you can maintain contact with the attackers body for 3 to 5 seconds. The application of the current does cause pain, and a sensitive body part will feel even more pain. I’ve never been stun-gunned so I can’t speak first-hand to what this feels like, but when you watch videos of people being stunned, it’s obvious that it is not a pleasant feeling.

A half-second shock will cause pain and will be enough to startle someone. Two to three seconds of application will usually cause the attacker to drop to the ground. Over three seconds of application will incapacitate the person for several seconds. This time frame is what will give you a chance to get away or pull out another weapon if you have access to one. The longer you apply the shock the more time you have to get away.

Most stun guns use a battery that must be recharged as the power source. A good quality stun gun uses a nickel-metal hydride battery which is longer lasting and better at being recharged.

Tasers versus Stun Guns

A Taser is simply a brand of stun gun. Tasers are widely used by law enforcement personal because they are usable at a range of around 7 to 10 feet. With Tasers, you don’t need to be right up against an attacker.

How Powerful Are Stun Guns?

Stuns guns use high-voltage, low-current electrical discharge to disrupt the body’s muscle control. The amperage must be sufficient to stun. Higher voltage means faster immobilization. Higher voltage also means the current can go through more layers of clothing. Let’s give a quick explanation of the difference between the electrical terms here: current, amperage and voltage.

Voltage is measured in volts. Current is measured in amps. Stun guns come in a wide range of voltages, from 20,000 to millions of volts. The higher the volts, the more effective the stun guns is considered to be. Anything more than 1 million volts should have an immediate effect on a victim.

Amperage is what gives the stun gun its “knock down” power. Too much amperage is dangerous to the body, while too little won’t have an effect. Amps in a stun gun are typically measured in miliamps. Five miliamps is considered safe for the body. Many cheaper stun guns deliver only 1 to 2 miliamps, which makes them less effective.

We’re planning a series of posts about stun guns and pepper spray effectiveness with a giveaway from PS Products in the coming weeks, so stay tuned! Keep in mind that pepper spray in the size we’re going to be giving away can go anywhere but Washington DC or New York. Stun guns cannot be shipped to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Wisconsin or Michigan. Next up in the series is a post explaining the effectiveness of pepper sprays, their potency and range. After that, keep reading for a post explaining the different types of pepper sprays and stun guns that are available and what situations they would be most useful in.

Image from psproducts.com

We recently learned that a Texas woman got stranded in a remote part of Arizona after she ran out of gas during a solo trip to the Grand Canyon. We didn’t hear about this case until after the show about this woman’s rescue aired on 20/20 in March. But it is an interesting example of many survival scenarios coming together along with something we’ve written about before . . . surviving in the desert. (Read: Seven Rules of Desert Survival). How did this young woman do? Let’s check it out.

Amber VanHecke is 24 years old and was stranded for five days. When I was 24 I would have had no idea how to survive, having given emergency preparation zero thought back then, so she probably automatically did better than I would have at her age. A mishap with Google Maps caused her to go way off track in the Havasupai Reservation and consequently she ran out of gas. You can watch a short, minute-long video of her 20/20 appearance on this Dallas News.com page.

WHAT SHE DID RIGHT:

She prepared for the possibility of being stranded. She had extra food and water with her, including high energy foods like almonds, pumpkin seeds, Goldfish and dried fruit. And she ate only enough to keep from starving. She said her stash of food could have lasted her 18 days. She cooked ramen noodles by leaving them on the dashboard of the car.

She built a HELP sign out of rocks. She noticed that planes occasionally flew overhead. I’m not sure whether her sign was large enough to be visible from the planes, but it couldn’t have hurt.

She parked her car by a man-made structure. This increased the chances that someone would come by the structure, and it provided some shade. Unfortunately, though, this structure blocked the view of her car by the one truck that drove by.

She left a note in her vehicle explaining where she had gone when she left the car. She left the vehicle and hiked an estimated 11 miles to make a 911 call. The call dropped before her location could be pinpointed, but rescuers were able to zero in on an area where they started looking. They found her car, but it was empty. They went down the road the note indicated and found her.

WHAT SHE DID WRONG:

She turned onto a road that didn’t exist. People are leaving nasty comments online about this decision and we admit that this as not a smart choice. After going so far on the initial Google Maps directions and then finding out that there was not a road where it was telling her to turn, that should have been her warning that she was not in the right place. The post she put on her Facebook page about the incident says that she thought the road may have washed away, so she turned anyway thinking she would encounter the road shortly. Instead, she came to a fence with no road in sight. At this point she had also lost her GPS.She backtracked then and found the road she was supposed to be on, but by then was out of gas. If your directions are telling you to turn and there’s no road where it’s telling you to turn, take this as a sign that you are doing something wrong.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

Approximately 80 percent of people who get lost are day hikers who did not plan for emergency situations.
Before you go out on a trip, tell someone your planned route. If you get off course like this, chances are you will be in an area close enough to your planned route that someone will have some idea of where to look for you.
If you’re in the desert, or truly, anywhere where there is harsh summer weather, always take extra water. You can’t survive without water and you may use all of your physical reserves looking for it.
Carry an emergency blanket. In the desert, temperatures drop wildly at night and rise high during the day.
Bring sunscreen and protective clothing such as hats and long sleeves.
Bring something to signal with, like a mirror, whistle or something brightly colored.
Carry a first-aid kit with basic supplies.
Rest. Conserve your energy as much as you can.
Keep a positive mental attitude. Keep something in your pack or car, like a deck of cards at a minimum, that can help you pass some time.
Keep a notebook and pen in your car so you can leave notes, as Amber did.

Image from Associated Press showing the positioning of Amber Van Hecke’s car by the silo and her HELP sign made of rocks.

If you’re like me, you like to have a back-up and then a back-up back-up. Every method of starting fires has their pros and cons. Let’s look at a few things to think about when you’re worried about starting a fire.

Magnesium Scraper

These work well, but you have to use more magnesium to get your fire started than most people think you do. These can work even when they’re wet. While the bars are small and easily portable, they will wear out fairly quickly and then what will you use?

Flint and Steel

Starting a fire with a flint (an actual piece of flint rock) and a steel takes practice. The good thing about this is that the flint lasts a long time provided you get a good sized chunk of it. The steel should last a long time too.

Sticks

Yes, there are people out there who can make fire this way, but I’m not one of them. I don’t mind trying it out during the Mountain Man demonstrations just for fun, but I’m not going to rely on this method in a survival situation. If you do, great. Not for me.

Fire Pistons

I ordered one of the fire pistons from Rose Mountain Fire Pistons (looks like their website is messed up now) after reading an article in some outdoor magazine several years ago about how reliable and easy to use they were. Well, I’d say they are reliable, but again, using this method takes practice. The videos of the guy who makes them show him getting a healthy spark from just one plunge of the piston. It doesn’t work that well for me.

Here’s what these are…there are several brand and makers of these fire pistons but I chose this company because it’s a good price and it’s handmade. The woodwork is beautiful and it’s a nice piece that I admire. They work by putting a piece of tinder (char cloth is recommended) in the special holder tip and then you rapidly plunge a piston down to super heat and compress air. That causes the char cloth to catch fire. You tip the spark out of the piston and into your tinder pile. You are supposed to lightly lubricate the piston before using so it glides smoothly. I figure a small container of petroleum jelly would last a good long while and if I ran out of that, why I’d just use squirrel fat or something.

I get frustrated with it because it takes me a lot of tries, but I do eventually get a spark. I kind of consider this my back-up back-up, because I know that as long as I have some easily flammable material that I can stuff in the end of the piston and a pile of dry tinder, I should be able to use this thing for a long time.

Lighters

I keep a few lighters here and there around the house and in the car because I think that’s the easiest way to get a fire started. If you keep lighters in your bug-out bag, place a few in a waterproof bag. The nice thing about lighters is that they are cheap and lightweight. But the cheap ones break. They don’t work well when it’s windy. And if they get wet, forget about it.

What do all of these fire starter methods all rely on? Dry tinder! It doesn’t matter how many matches you have, if everything you’re trying to burn is wet, you’re not going to get a fire. Ensure your success by gathering materials that will almost guarantee that you can get a fire started. Now that the weather is warming up, make it a point to go out and stock up on moss, bark, grass, and whatever else you can stockpile. Keep it in an Altoid tin or an actual tinder safe in a dry bag. Some alcohol gel could also be a good thing to have too.

Cheetos

Yes! I took a chemistry class in college and we each burned Cheetos to measure how much heat came off of them and into water we were trying to boil. I had never thought much at that point about emergency preparedness or survival gear but the site of that single Cheetoh burning for almost two minutes straight stuck with me.

These things are made of so much oil that they actually burn easily and stay lit. Consider stashing a bag of them in your kit or in the glove box. It doesn’t matter if they’re stale or not. They burn and they burn well.

Steel Wool

Get the finest grade of steel wool you can and use that as your tinder. It goes up almost immediately. Keep a 9 volt battery around and touch both poles of it with the steel wool and you have an instant inferno.

Over recent days I think it’s fair to say that most of us have heard about the man who was dragged – literally dragged – off a plane because he didn’t voluntarily leave when the crew randomly appointed people to leave an overbooked flight.

This video that a friend showed us shows how to defend yourself in a similar situation. You know that Shadowfox has published other articles about self-defense, like “How to Use a Tactical Pen for Self-Defense” and “5 Ways to Take an Attacker Down.” Since we’re all about preparedness, we feel that emergency preparedness should extend to protecting your physical body from threats of violence as well as from threats of running out of food or water. The video gives an overview of what happened – when the man refused to cooperate, United Airlines invoked the “Involuntary Denial of Boarding Process” and forcibly removed him.

That said, we definitely don’t advocate violence. But, if you’re ever in a situation where things like this are out of your control, you might not make the same choice this guy did to be passively carried away. By the way, we’ve looked up the Passenger Bill of Rights and you might want to read it over before you get on an airplane next time. While passengers do have rights, unfortunately the agreement you agree to when you buy a plane ticket and board a plane is that once the airplane door closes most of your rights evaporate and you have little to no choice but to comply with the airline employee’s orders. If anything like this situation with this man happens to you, legal experts seem to agree that it’s in your best interest to do what they say, ie, leave the plane if you have to, and sort it out later.

Still, there may be other instances where these skills will come in handy. We can’t recommend doing these moves on a plane, but if you’re ever attacked by someone, here’s how you can get away. The video was made by a Jiu-Jitsu instructor, and has good basic self-defense moves that you can use in a variety of self-defense situations, but these are made primarily for people who are being dragged against their will, like what happened to the man on the plane.

The moves is to get your legs between you and the attacker. After that, you can follow through in six different ways, which the video shows, to get them off of you. This video makes me want to start learning jiu-jitsu. Seriously.

I recently wrote a review of the first Ron Hood video I had ever watched. It was called “Advanced Survival Guide” and you can read that review here. I got three of his videos while I was at SHOT Show this past January and this is the second of the three reviews I have planned.

This one is called “The Ultimate Survival Guide” and it covers survival in cold climates and very hot, dry climates, as well as hot to do things we all got to do like poop. And in the case of women, deal with that time of the month. That’s what’s covered in the “Taboo Topics” chapter of this, and Karen Hood covers this tidbit of information for women, as would be expected. If you have a lot of survival guides you may have heard of a lot of this information before. But a big part of the fun of watching a Ron Hood video is the presentation. He really has fun with it and presents the basic information in an easy to remember way, so it will not be something you really have to think a great deal about if you’re trying to remember it in a time of emergency.

For instance, the part about pooping in the woods…I watched this with my 9-year-old son and he was cracking up at all of the different ways that Ron found to say “poop.” For instance, “When you have to leave some trail timber…” Yes, Ron probably used euphemisms more times than he really needed to, because you knew exactly what he was talking about, but that was part of the fun. There’s a review of this video on Amazon that says it’s “a bit crass,” and I have to say I did not find it crass at all. I also really appreciated his attitude about people who poop in popular camping spots. He was right on in his advice to not poop in the first flat spot you come to, because that’s likely where someone is going to want to put a tent there. I wanted to see more of Karen, but she only had a couple of bit parts, talking about some women’s issues.

He started out the video with survival basics, talking about how many calories you need just to keep yourself alive. His advice, based on the amount of calories in say, beef, versus wild foods like a squirrel, which he gives, reveal that it is better to use your energy (burn your calories) making shelter than being out in the cold shivering.

He showed how to easily make a belt out of paracord, so you always have that on your body. That’s a quick and easy project that now my son wants to do. The inside of the paracord could come in handy if you follow Ron’s advice to make a bone fish hook. I appreciated that he showed how the process of carving and chipping away at the fragment of bone was actually done. He even showed that it doesn’t work exactly right all the time if it doesn’t break in the place where you want it to, but you can still fashion something useful.

There was a useful section about things to have in your car, which includes some items that did not make my recent post called “Assembling a Car Emergency Kit.” He recommends a shovel and tow chain and good gloves, which I agree is essential if you are driving in snow.

The desert survival section covered collecting water. He demonstrated that the technique of digging a hole and covering it with clear plastic that I wrote about in the how to collect water post doesn’t really work! By far the most water that he collected came from the technique of using the plant’s transpiration. And now I know the truth about how useful cactuses in the desert really are.

Remember, this is a survival guide covering basics. He goes through what to do if someone has heat exhaustion and heat stroke. How to wrap a blanket around yourself for the most coverage. And, perhaps most importantly, what to do when you have to cut some trail timber. Al told, another recommended video. I’d say, particularly if you are a visual learner, and you want demonstrations rather than reading about something in a book, or if you have a grandchild who wants to learn DIY things. It doesn’t matter how old you are, if you’re new to “prepping” or you’re interested in survival, you can’t go wrong.

Here in the Pacific Northwest Spring is just around the corner. We keep getting glimpses of the sun but not a whole day of sunshine yet. Around here, as soon as the weather warms up people hit the road. When Northwesterners aren’t snowboarding or skiing, they’re at the ocean, hiking, fishing, camping or on a lake.

All of those summertime outdoor activities mean we’re spending a lot of time in our cars, taking road trips. You should have some supplies in your car at all times, but summertime preparation requires a slightly different approach than winter.

Clothes/Shoes
In my car (and in my teenage daughter’s car), I have a bug-out bag with a crank flashlight, a few of these emergency food ration bars, reflective blanket, multi-tool, glassbreaker, hand warmers, rain poncho, knife, firestarter, whistle, paracord and basic stuff like that.

I also keep a hooded warm sweatshirt in the car, along with an old pair of yoga pants, a pair of cowboy boots and a good pair of socks. These are just always in there. My worry is that I will be stuck at work when there’s an emergency and I’m a half an hour’s drive away from home. I may need to walk home. While I wear sensible clothes and shoes to work on a daily basis, sometimes I wear clothes or shoes that I would not want to have to walk 30 miles in. This way, I know that I can switch out my work sandals for a good pair of work boots and hike home if I need to. Gloves wouldn’t be a bad idea, now that I think about it, but I’m less worried about that in summertime.

Basic first aid kit
My own car first aid kit could be better, honestly. I’m going to work on this over the summer and get better prepared. Have basic first aid kit items at all times, like gauze, tape, bandages, antiseptic and the like. Depending on your geographic region, you may definitely want to add anti-venom kit for rattlesnake bites or an epi-pen if you’re allergic to stinging insects.

Sustenance
Choose foods that can take the heat of being packed up in a close-up car in full sun. Many food items wilt. Some things that do stand up to summertime heat are nuts and seeds and nut butters in foil packs. Jerky, Dried fruit. Boxed crackers. Don’t choose anything like granola bars with chocolate chips, as these will melt and turn your bars into a huge mess.

Water
This really is key. You can try some of our hacks to collect water that will work even in the desert, if you need to, but there’s also plenty of room in your car for a gallon of water. If you’re worried about kids and pets and other people who might be with you, then add a gallon of water for each person you’re going out with.

Gallons of water can take up a lot of room. If you’re space is at a premium, choose the boxed water which will stack more easily and fit in a supply box.

Pets
Plan for your good ol’ animal friends. It’s probably a dog you’re concerned about, so pack some high energy foods for them. Extra water. A leash and collar, even if you don’t normally keep them on one. If you’re in trouble at night, having a light on your pet could be really nice, so they don’t get lost. I suggest this Dog Brite waterproof lighted dog collar by Stoney-Wold Productions. If your animals become separated from you in the dark, you can find them more easily with a lighted collar.

Things you should consider having in your car:

Duct tape
Tarp
Sheet of plastic (for water collecting)
Paracord – even more than you think you need
a JIT phone charger/lighter/flashlight – I recently got one of these and love it! Read my review for how long the flashlight worked when left on continuously. The JIT will give you enough power on your phone to send a text message or make a call, even from a dead battery. It’s small and the charged lighter heats up like a cigarette lighter to give you precious heat to light a fire.
A map of your area. Preferably one that is laminated.
Sunscreen and lip balm
Bug repellent – boy, there have been times I was glad I had that old can of Deep Woods Off in the car!
Pepper spray
Deck of cards
Pen and Paper

I know I could come up with 20 more things that would be good ideas to have, but this is really just a general survival kit. We’re not talking about being out in the woods and living from your car for the foreseeable future. In my mind, the things I have in my car are minimal and are designed to get me and whoever I may be with home safely. That’s all starting to sound like kind of a lot. But really, these things don’t take up much room. I have my bag packed in the car, with a jug of water and a couple of sealable plastic bins. All of that gets pushed to the back of the trunk and I really don’t ever think about them being there or not. I still have plenty of room to put other stuff in the trunk like groceries.

What do you think you need in your car emergency box?

I love the idea of sleeping in a hammock. I just love hammocks in general. But in the Pacific Northwest, if you don’t have the right gear (and even sometimes if you do) you can awake in a puddle on the floor of your tent after a night of unrelenting rain.

This Inferno Cocoon Hammock keeps you off the ground. Put up a tarp as a protective cover above you and you’re all set.

The Inferno is a two-piece sleeping bag that consists of a Top quilt and an UnderQuilt that is also the sleeping bag.The Top Quilt goes inside the hammock so you stay warm from the top. The UnderQuilt goes under your hammock, so you stay warn from the bottom.

The sleeping bag’s hood fully encloses the should, head and neck so your head stays warm. A shaped foot area lets you move your feet without feeling like you’re bound up (the one thing I don’t like about sleeping bags!). There’s also space like this around your elbows and knees, which should help with that restrictive feeling.

The Inferno comes in two temperature ratings…30 degrees and 0 degrees (Fahrenheit). Both Inferno components are filled with 800 FP water repellent Downtek.

Made from hydraShield fabric that is water repellent, it should be able to stand up to pretty much any soaker as long as you’ve got a cover over you. With the rain we get in the Pacific Northwest, I wouldn’t trust it!

Remember when we wrote about this Nube Stratos Hammock Shelter? The Inferno is made by the same people….Sierra Madre Research. This article about the Inferno repeatedly says that the Inferno is sized to match and fit “your hammock” perfectly, but it doesn’t specify what type of hammock they’re talking about. I’m guessing they are referring to one of their own hammocks. No idea on how well this system would work if you just had any ol’ generic hammock, but if you’re seriously considering buying one that is a question I would ask, for sure. Otherwise, the whole Nube Hammock Shelter system is an add-on for this hammock sleeping system with an add-on price of 14% off.

Interested? Kickstarter support packages for this project start at $179 for just the UnderQuilt.

Images from sierramaderesearch.com

I’ve known about Ron Hood and his survival videos for a while. But I have to tell the truth…I had never watched any of the videos! While I was at SHOT Show earlier this year in January I got to meet the people behind the production company, Stoney-Wolf Productions. I even got to say a quick hello to his wife, Karen Hood, his widow who is carrying on the survival training since his passing in 2011. After watching the “Advanced Survival Guide” video, I was really sad that he was no longer around to make more videos.

I felt like I was in one of his training classes along with him. I really enjoyed his approach of both funny with practical information. I have a 10-year-old son who is big on watching survival videos on YouTube. He watches about 5 different channels religiously and to be honest, I felt that I wasn’t going to learn anything new in this Ron Hood video. It was filmed in 2009, and I wasn’t sure my son would stay interested and get anything out of it.

Let me tell you, not only did he get something out of it, he stayed glued to the television the entire two hour length of the video! I was amazed. In fact, me, my husband and my son watched the videos together and we felt like we were watching a thriller and we should have had some popcorn with it. We all enjoyed it. My husband, who hadn’t watched any Hood videos before either, said, “He’s knowledgeable, approachable and the information is still very relevant.” My husband and son got ideas for projects they can make together (Apache throwing stars!) and we all will never look at a tent pole and empty shotgun shells again (use them to make an impromptu hunting bow).

Hood even eats a slug at the start of the video! I already knew that cattails were edible, but Ron told me new things about cattails that I didn’t know, such as using the fluff as insulation, and making cordage out of the leaves and arrows out of the stalks. He also tells how to make a pocket for a handmade sling.

This video is divided into two parts. The first part is the Advanced Wilderness Survival Skills (Primitive Weapons, Tracking Basics, and the second part is Urban Survival Skills. That section was slightly less interesting, but still had some useful information on how to handle things around your home in the event of a social breakdown. Most other survival sites don’t really talk about what to do with our waste…urine and feces…but Hood approaches the topic of “deletion” with practicality and humor in a way that seems like it will work…as long as you have plenty of trash bags around!

He walks through how to get water from a hot water heater. It’s more involved than simply opening up the drain at the bottom. And to tell you the truth, we’ve lived in our house now for 5 years and it never occurred to me to clean out the hot water heater the way he suggests that we do it. That is definitely on my list of household tasks from now on.

Karen played a big role in this video. She spoke about how to use the concept of “copy canning” to build up your emergency food pantry. Essentially, whenever you eat something from your food supply, buy two next time you go to the grocery store. You’ll slowly build up a stock pile without going out and spending a lot of money all at once. She also has a segment on parking lot and vehicle safety, reminding everyone, but especially women, to be aware of your surrounds and vigilant everywhere you are, such as in the grocery store parking lot.

While watching this segment, I felt that it was unfortunate that her segments were so strictly gender based…Ron got to build the cool survival stuff and Karen got to talk about the food pantry. But I reminded myself of when this was filmed. Things really were different then as far as “prepping” being a more masculine thing to do. And the fact that they were bringing a woman into things in the first place was probably a big deal at the time. I even enjoyed watching their baby crawl around in some of the segments.

What really sets these videos apart is the fact that they’re real. Real knowledge from a real person who tells you how things are really going to go when you start making something. I’d recommend these videos for the beginning “prepper” or person who is worried about how they might survive in a SHTF fan situation. By watching this video you will get a lot of knowledge on how to use things you already have access to. You could watch many hours on YouTube without getting this much clear, concise education. I also recommend this video for kids who like DIY type projects. There’s a lot to learn for just about anyone here, even people who think they already know pretty much everything. Purchase this video and others from Stoney-Wolf Productions.