We got to try out the SPOT Gen3 recently. This small device provides you with a life line when you are off grid and out of cell service range.

We recommend this device, which you can purchase for only $170 (with some available for only $150) for affordable peace of mind if you’re going to be out in the wilderness.

We tried it out while backpacking in Central Oregon’s rugged and desolate Three Sisters Wilderness. What does it do? It’s a push-button way to reach out to emergency responders, if need be, or your family, if you just want to send a message.

One problem with a traditional GPS distress beacons is if you deploy them, it will summon search and rescue, and in most cases, the person who uses the beacon is on the hook for the rescue bill. This can get quite expensive. This device allows you to summon responders if you need to, but it takes the peace of mind a step further. This device allows you to send messages to individuals without alerting search and rescue.

Before you head out to your destination, you can program predefined messages and who to deliver them to. So when you get to base camp you can send an “I’m okay and here’s where I am” message to whoever your contact is. If they don’t hear from you, they can take action. You can alert your contacts to let them know that you are in distress, without directly notifying first responders.

The predefined messages can be customized, so you can sent that “The eagle has landed” message you’ve always wanted to send! When we tried this out, we had no problem understanding the instructions. We were able to easily load Google Maps and track our position. The functionality makes it very similar to another SPOT device, the SPOT Trace, which we reviewed in this post. This device acts very similar to the Trace with intervals of pings that you can set for various times.

These types of devices have been on the market for years, and this SPOT Gen 3 is the third generation, so it’s been improved and refined pretty well at this point. We found the instructions easy to follow and the buttons intuitive. This device is the best for what it does on the market, and is the best cost. Last I checked, you’re getting the most for your money in terms of price and subscription rates. Purchase the SPOT Gen 3 from SPOT.

Image courtesy of Spot

 

We can think of numerous reasons why you might want to invest in not just one, but several of these SPOT Trace handheld satellite tracers (only $120, or $100 at certain retailers). [Visit this site for a 50% off code from SPOT! ]

The SPOT Trace is a cool, powerful and small tracking device that lets you track and recover whatever it is attached to. The product does what it says and the GPS technology has evolved to the point that this tracker fits in the palm of your hand. The device will send you a text message alert whenever movement is detected on whatever this device is attached to. You can track its location in real time on Google Maps with tracking intervals that you can select, from 2 1/2 to 5, to 10, 30 or 60 minutes.

It’s great for stashing in a backpack. It is a tad heavy to just carry (it weighs 3.1 ounces without batteries, 88 grams) but it could be sewn in to a jacket liner or attached to a vehicle. It is pretty small already, at 2.69 inches (8.72 cm) by 2.02 inches (5.13 cm) but must be smaller to be more practical for more than putting into a gear case. For instance, it wouldn’t be practical for attaching to a bicycle or a small piece of equipment, because it would be too noticeable.

This would be pretty useful if you had something like a drone that you wanted to keep track of. If you have a boat moored up somewhere that you don’t get to visit all that often, set this thing up in it and get a text message if the boat moves anywhere.

Each device tracks a single item, so if you have a need to track multiple items, that’s going to eat into the cost effectiveness. Still, depending on the value or the risk of your items being taken, it could make sense to invest in several of these. You must pay for the service for each device, which ranges from $10 a month to $100 a year. so not out of the question of affordability is your prime concern.

One key to use for this device to work is that it must be hidden so no one knows it’s there. That’s why its size in relation to what you place it on is the biggest issue. The usability of it is no problem. We found it easy to use, easy to register and to set it up it’s just the push of a couple of buttons. This device succeeds where others fail in that others call for Bluetooth or cell phone service, and you must be close to the device, for it to work. This SPOT Trace is truly a global satellite positioning and tracking device.

The back clip removes so that it can be screwed on to something. Overall, the construction of is seems rugged, although you wouldn’t want to just throw it around. There is a USB port that is accessible by unscrewing a cover for firmware upgrades. Two lights indicate power levels and satellite connections. While it is supposed to be water resistant, we recommend a water proof case for it, which you can find on Amazon. This particular Monster Magnetics waterproof case would be perfect for the SPOT Trace and is only $30. Use this waterproof case and put this under your vehicle, your spouse’s vehicle, or your kid’s vehicle to always know where they are.

We think this is a great device for anyone who has anything worth protecting. Purchase the SPOT Trace from SPOT. Visit this site for a 50% off code from SPOT!

Image courtesy of SPOT.

We’d love to give an Acme Crate of Doom as a Gift. Better yet, we’d love to GET one as a gift! Check out the amazing stuff in this thing. The crate contains 12 weapons spanning human cultural and social history. Seriously. you can get this crate delivered with a baseball bat, grappling hook, war club, mace, tire thumper, bullwhip, kukri, ninja sword, tomahawk, nunchucks, two-handed machete and a double bit axe. There is no one who wouldn’t think this box arriving on their doorstep wasn’t the coolest thing ever.

To sweeten the deal, the weapons arrive in a crate measuring 12 inches by 40 inches by 20 inches. When ordering, you can specify what you want your personalized locking combination to be, so that only you can open it. Purchase the Acme Crate of Doom for $500.

We became impressed with JHO’s Nug Knife and wrote about it a short while ago. That knife ended up selling our fairly quickly, but JHO now has a different model, the Lynx Knife, that would be a great gift.
The Lynx Knife is $90 and is available in either satin or stone-washed finish. The photos show satin finish. The Lynx is a fine quality card blade knife that fits right in your wallet at a size of 3.46 inches (88 mm) x 1.96 inches (50 mm) and a thickness of  .079 inches (2 mm). Even though it is narrow, it grips well. The Lynx blade is made with vacuum heat-treated CPM S35VN steel (HRC:58-60) used only in high-end production and custom knives. It ships worldwide for only an additional $10.

We love these kinds of knifes because they fit right in our wallets, which we always have with us. We don’t need to worry about putting it on or putting it in a backpack each day, it’s just always in the wallet in case we need it. Most people don’t think about card-sized knifes, so we don’t have to explain or show people that we are actually carrying a knife. The blade is useful for shaving, slicing or chopping, or self-defense in a pinch. Purchase the Lynx knife by JHO for $90.

A lot of preppers have seed kits, which is a smart investment because if there really is a natural disaster or a societal breakdown, being able to grow your own food is going to be a key to survival. Gathering wild plants can work but if you don’t find enough before winter hits, people who live in areas of snow and ice are going to be SOL.

Seeds stored for your garden should be heirloom varieties, because these will grow the same type of plant as the parent plant and produce seeds that will be the same type of plant as the parent plant, unlike hybrids, which product seeds that can be of varieties very different. But there’s another reason why a cache of seeds is a great idea for survival.

Many seeds can be sprouted easily. These sprouts, sometimes called microgreens, are highly nutritious, easy to grow and can give you fresh green food in a matter of days, even when you can’t fully garden with seeds in the ground. Sprouts are harvested before the first set of leaves develop from the seed. Microgreens are harvested after first leaves have developed. Sometimes, you need an inch of soil to grow microgreens unless you invest in a hydroponic tray. For this reason, sprouts are easier than microgreens.

Seeds are stores of nutrition that is meant to provide sustenance to the growing plant. When you eat the sprout, you are eating all of that stored nutrition. In winter, in areas of snow, or if you are having to move around from location to location and you either can’t risk putting seeds in the ground or you don’t want to, sprouting seeds is a great way to get nutrition and fresh food that you can pack along with you. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a survey lead by Agricultural Research magazine reports that “microgreens contain considerably higher levels of vitamins and carotenoids—about five times greater—than their mature plant counterparts.”

Most seeds can be sprouted in a jar. There are also canvas sprout bags made specifically for sprouting. You can even wrap seeds in a damp towel. I have successfully used a plastic “clam shell” container that lettuce comes in from the store. The seeds need to be kept moist for the first few days until they sprout. After that, experts will tell you that the seeds/sprouts need to be washed daily in fresh water. This is true, however in a pinch you can also just mist with water or rinse once a day or every other day if you don’t have access to enough water.

Choose seeds that are fast growing and have a flavor you like. Experiment a little to find ones that you really like to eat. Having a bag full of several types of sprouting seeds and beans can give3 you the versatility of making fresh sprouts or growing an actual crop when you can.

Here’s what we recommend having on hand for microgreens and sprouts:

Mung beans – these make the traditional “bean sprout” that is often used in Asian stir fry, nice and crunchy

Alfalfa – what people commonly think of as “sprouts”

Beets – sprouts in 4 to 6 days

Mustard – sprouts in 3 to 4 days

Radish – sprouts in 3 to 4 days

Broccoli – sprouts in 3 to 4 days

All lettuces are good choices for microgreens

Even some grains and seeds can be sprouted, such as quinoa and sunflower seeds. We recommend experimenting first with these before you stock up on them as they can be more tricky.

Have you seen the many rainwater collection systems that stores and catalogs are selling? Firstly, not only are they expensive and more designed for looks, they’re not very efficient. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we live were it happens to rain a lot from October through to May. It rarely rains in the summer though, and when it does it’s usually not enough to even get a fraction of an inch of water on the ground. We needed a system that would make the most of our months of rain and let us use it even when it wasn’t raining.

First things first, it’s easy to make your own rainwater harvest system, so unless you really want to buy a system because you like its looks, you can make one for much less of the expense. One of the things that always makes me laugh is that the commercial rainwater harvesting systems always show round rain barrels. If you’re buying your container, try to get a square one.  Trash cans or food grade barrels can be used very well for rain water collection, and square containers fit more securely against a house or shed.

If you’re trying for water self-sufficiency, chances are you’ll need more than one barrel or container. Hook one up underneath each corner of your house, shed or barn. Link them up via tubes drilled in to the bottom so that when one fills up you can move the water down to the next one in line. That will help you to take advantage of the rainy periods and get as much water as you can even when one container becomes full.

Typically, rain barrel systems will tell you to install a hose on the bottom. This is great, but why not go one step further and install soaker hoses coming off the barrels? That way, you can turn on the spout from the barrel and the water will go where you want it. If you don’t have enough water in your barrel and you need to supplement with your water from your well or city water supply, then just aim your hose into the barrel and fill it up. Look for a hose manifold system that lets you attached multiple hoses to it. If each barrel has a turn-off switch, then you can hook the hoses up to whatever barrel you need the water from, or if you have your barrels in a row that are all hooked up together, you can move the water to whatever barrel has the hook up you want to use.

At home, I use timers on all my hoses so I don’t have to physically go out and water all the time and remember to turn it on and off. Soaker hoses are even better because they slowly direct the water right where you want it. You can even make your own soaker hoses by gathering up broken or cracked hoses and punching small holes into them.

Festivals are no new thing nowadays. Burning Man and Coachella, two art and music festivals that take place in the desert, have become household names. There’s one though, that’s new but makes these other festivals look like picnics in the park by comparison. We’re talking about Wasteland, a Mad Max-themed event where the Mojave Desert is turned into the “world’s largest post-apocalyptic festival,” making it “a glorious vision of hell on earth,” says the writer for an article in Wired.

For four days in September, this festival takes hold, where the attendees pretend civilization as we know it has ended and the people who are left have no choice but to ravage the remnants of a scorched, dead planet to gather the means for survival. This past year, about 2,500 people attended, the largest crowd in the past 7 years the festival has been taking place.

The attendees divide up into tribes with names like Skulduggers and Vermin Vagabonds and immerse themselves. Costumes are mandatory, so you won’t be let in if you’re not participating. It also doesn’t work to dress up in a theme that doesn’t fit the Wasteland theme . . . like Star Wars. That won’t fly. Having it in the desert is brilliant, because the heat and dust covers everything with an authentic layer of grime and an impossible-to-escape reflection of the sun’s constant shining. According to Jared Butler, the event’s cofounder and director, the festival has appeal to people who want to be prepared for the world’s end, or at least, who want to look like they’re prepared for it. “Some will be well prepared,” says Jared Butler, Wasteland’s event director and cofounder. “The others, well, they’ll be poorly prepared, but they’ll look fabulous.” Check out the Wired article for a slideshow of photos from this past event.

Image courtesy of Wired.com. 

Twin brothers Mike and Geoff Howe are the masterminds behind Howe and Howe Technologies, makers of limited-edition, high-performance luxury vehicles. The Ripsaw EV2 (Extreme Vehicle 2) is a closed-cabin, high-mobility/high-speed lightweight “personal luxury tank” that we definitely want when the apocalypse hits.

The vehicle was originally built for the military, and it proved to be the fastest dual tracked vehicle ever developed. From 13.4 inches of suspension travel, to its luxurious interior and over 600 diesel horsepower, The Ripsaw stands alone. It can easily traverse snow, sand or mud. We imagine it as a B-2 Bomber that you drive over the ground. If you order one, be aware that it is a custom-designed vehicle made upon order. It can take up to 6 months to fabricate this baby, but we know the wait will be worth it. Yeah, it’s expensive, with a base price of $295,000, but there are people in the world who can afford this, and we hope to meet them someday.

Visit Howe and Howe’s YouTube channel and order your Ripsaw EV2 (Extreme Vehicle).

Best ATV Ever: The Ripsaw Supertank Extreme Vehicle

We’re getting to know the Bushcraft series of books, because we already had “Bushcraft 101” by Dave Canterbury, then checked out “Advanced Bush Craft: An Expert Field Guide to the Art of Wilderness Survival” by Dave Canterbury, published by Adams Media. Now we’ve gotten our hands on the new one, “The Bushcraft Field Guide to Trapping, Gathering & Cooking in the Wild,” also by Dave Canterbury.

This one published October 1, 2016, so it’s brand new. And it’s also our favorite of the bunch. We had some criticisms of the past two books because the information Canterbury presents is focused on East Coasters and some of the information he chose to highlight didn’t seem that important. I’m happy to report that this one is full of more useful information. However, for advanced preppers or hunters, again, some of the information will seem silly. For instance, a list of veggies that can be carried that don’t require refrigeration, including potatoes.

I did love the diagrams of makeshift water filters using a two-liter soda bottle as a water filter or the tripod method using cloth. Using the bottle method, you cut the top off a bottle and invert it, layering fine to course sand and rocks to slow let water filter through.

If you have the opportunity to pack for your outing, there are many tips here that you can use. For instance, packing a few bags of spices or a box of Old Bay seasoning. He provides a long list of his favorite recipes that you can duplicate, such as jambalaya using ground sausage and fresh crawfish. There are extensive pages about ways to build cooking fires and stoves out of found materials, and “beyond the basics” of hunting which includes how to reload spent shells. My favorite parts of this book, which I thought were lacking in the previous book, was the short section including full color photos of edible plants and the foraging chapter. There’s also a section that goes more in-depth into trapping and butchering, which are key considerations for living off the land. Useful in this regard also is the chapter on preparing unconventional foods, such as insects. I ate crickets once at a Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas, and I can tell you that in this case that box of Old Bay would come in handy.

The foraging chapter is great info, provided you know how to identify the plants he’s talking about. If you don’t know how to identify yarrow, it won’t help you to know that it can be used as a natural insect repellent. I think that’s what’s the biggest source of frustration about these books, is that they are a mix of beginner and advanced knowledge, and sometimes where the line is drawn is a little arbitrary. For instance, if you’re already including full color photos of edible plants, why not include one of yarrow as well. On the other hand, this puts a lot of the responsibility on you, the reader, to make sure you know what plants grow in your area and how you might use them.

To wrap things up in a fun manner, I liked that there is a chapter on unconventional cooking, which includes things like cooking cheese bread on your car engine. This is something I’ve always wanted to try to do and this recipe has given me the push to try it. This is a book that you can just flip through and get something out of, if you want to learn how to make a stove out a tin can, for instance. But I recommend taking the time to sit down and read it, because there are lots of tips and tricks that even if you know, you might forget. For instance, I’m going to go around and gather sap, knowing that sap will burn for a long time. I know that I could heat up a can of beans on a fire of sap if I needed to. And I never would have thought that I could use a windshield reflector, the fold-up kind, to fashion a stove.

One thing that I think is a bit confusing about these books is that people who may not realize what they are buying will think they are getting a survival book. While many of the techniques such as making stoves and building utensils out of saplings can definitely be survival skills, there’s too many other things in the book that are not specific to survival, like what spices to keep on hand. However, there’s enough that is new and useful in this book that I recommend it for people who hunt and like to fashion what they use out of things they find along the way, or for people ho have a genuine interest in doing things in an off-the-grid manner, even if it’s just a weekend at a time.

Whether you’re wearing this knife for discreet self-defense or for opening boxes, either way you’re going to get a quality knife in a tiny package.

The JHO Nug Knife weighs 2.5 ounces (70 grams) and is only 2.2 inches by 1.22 by .47 inches (56 mm x 31 mm x 12 mm), with a blade that is only .7 by .12 inches (18 mm in length, 3 mm thick).

It’s made to fit on a finger, so even with the blade not in use it’s great knuckle protection. We love the Nug’s sleek design, made of a vacuum heat treated S35VN steel  blade and G5 Titanium for the handle. The blade pivots on a free ball bearing system, which means they are easily replaceable if you should need to. This ball bearing system also means that it opens and closes easily, but will not open or close when you don’t expect it too.

We appreciate the Nug’s discreet appearance, which makes it useful as both a utility knife and for easy-to-carry self defense. Check out the JHO blog for photographic evidence of what they have cut with the knife (tennis shoes, canned food). Every purchase comes with a felt pouch and a certificate of authenticity. Also available are leather straps with clips for the Nug, allowing you to hang it from a keychain [$10]. Purchase the JHO Nug Knife for $150 to $180 depending on the desired finish.

Two-tone Nug knife courtesy of jho-knives.com.