OFFGRIDWEB.

COM • ISSUE 56

Surviving Without Clean Water

WATERBORNE
CONTAMINANTS
WAYS TO SCAVENGE
FOR WATER
GROWING
TRANSITIONAL FOOD
SURVIVAL
BREATH-HOLDING
CONTENTS ISSUE 56

DEPARTMENTS FEATURES

6 On the Cover 40 Transitional Food Preps

All the Great Gear on Staying Fed Between Storage and 20
the Cover Cultivation
40
8 Editor’s Letter 48 Save Your Breath
Be Like Water Kirk Krack of Performance
Freediving International Speaks
12 Gear Up on How You Can Learn Lifesaving
The Latest and Greatest Survival Breathing Techniques
Products
58 Overland 4Runner
16 Pocket Preps Project: Part 2
Recurve Blades Our Truck Gets a Lo-Pro Westcott
Designs Roof Rack, Baja Designs
20 What If? LED Lights, and an sPOD
48
You’re Forced to Touchscreen Control System
Scavenge for Clean
Water? 70 Stroup Knives
Our Review of the Mini and TU-2,
28 Survival Spotlight a Pair of Affordable Handmade
John Hearne of Two Blades from a Veteran-Owned Knife
Pillars Training Company

72 Health
Water Purification

82 Bag Drop 58
SLNT E3 Faraday
Backpack

88 The Final Weapon

Greenside Training
Desert Camouflage

90 The Last Page

Review of Homestead
Survival
Product Disclaimer
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ON THE
ISSUE 56

1. Large Water Purifier 4. Pocket Water Filter 6. Portable Water Pump

Make: Lifesaver Make: Sawyer Make: CANA Provisions

COVER Model: Jerrycan

Price: $350
URL: iconlifesaver.com
Model: Mini
Price: $30
URL: sawyer.com
Model: AR-1 Water Pump Starter Kit
Price: $849
URL: cana-provisions.com

2. Small Water Purifier 5. Water Purification Drops 7. Water Purifier Bottle

Make: Lifesaver Make: Aquamira Make: GRAYL
Model: Wayfarer Model: Chlorine Dioxide Water Model: GeoPress 24oz. (Covert Edition)
Price: $105 Treatment Price: $100
URL: iconlifesaver.com Price: $15 URL: grayl.com
URL: aquamira.com
3. Jug & Faucet
Make: Dometic
Model: GO Hydration Water Jug / GO
Hydration Water Faucet
Price: $70 / $100
URL: dometic.com
2

5
Cover Photo by Patrick McCarthy

7
 3

6
ISSUE 56

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 007
008
ISSUE 56
EDITOR’SLETTER
By Patrick McCarthy
o survive, we must continuously grow and adapt. This
axiom applies to each of us as individuals, but it’s also
relevant to the operation of this magazine. Since our
very first issue in summer of 2013, our editorial staff has
changed a few times, and we’ve been tremendously
grateful to all of you who have continued to follow us on the journey.
With that in mind, I’d like to briefly introduce myself as the new editor
of RECOIL OFFGRID. My predecessor, mentor, and good friend Tom
Marshall is stepping up into a new role as network manager for all of
our brands, including RECOIL, CONCEALMENT, and CARNIVORE. He’ll
still be writing for us, albeit on a less frequent basis. This provided me
with the opportunity to take the helm of the magazine I’ve been work-
ing on for the last 50 issues and nine years, first as a freelance con-
tributor and later as full-time web editor alongside Patrick Vuong (also
a friend and mentor). I’m thankful and proud to accept this role, and I
look forward to continuing to grow RECOIL OFFGRID to address the
survival and preparedness challenges we face in 2023 and beyond.
I would also like to introduce Patrick Diedrich (yes, another Pat-
rick) as our new associate editor. He has already been writing for
RECOIL OFFGRID for more than a year, but he’s now formally join-
ing the team as my right-hand man. In future issues, you’ll have a
chance to get to know both of us and our backgrounds a little bet-
ter, but as far as RECOIL OFFGRID is concerned, we’re staying the
course. You can continue to expect the same quality and diversity
of content you’ve seen throughout the last 55 issues.
All this talk of adaptability reminds me of a quote from martial arts
legend Bruce Lee: “Be like water making its way through cracks ...
Adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it.
Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” Coincidentally,
that leads us to the theme of this issue: water, or more specifically,
the scarcity of clean water. As I write this, the United States is facing
the opposite problem, with an “atmospheric river” drenching the
West Coast and NOAA expressing concerns about flooding in the
Midwest, but history tells us these weather phenomena are cyclical.
The best time to prepare for a water shortage is when there isn’t one.
In this issue, you’ll find a What If? scenario that explains how two
experts — emergency management specialist Mark Linderman and
first responder Joey Nickischer — would overcome clean water scar-
city caused by a severely contaminated water supply. We also tapped
(no pun intended) Joe Alton, M.D. for an article about the physi-
ological effects of contaminated water and strategies for staying
healthy. John Schwartze interviewed diving expert Kirk Krack about
underwater breath-holding techniques, and Morgan Rogue reviewed
a book of homesteading tips that can help your family break away
from dependence on municipal infrastructure. Additionally, you’ll find
articles about fixed-blade and folding knives, camouflage, growing
transitional food, upgrading an overland vehicle, and much more.
We hope you enjoy this issue and we’re humbled by your con-
tinuing support of the RECOIL OFFGRID brand. Whether you’re
facing droughts, floods, or any other disaster, remember that some-
thing different may be around the corner. Plan ahead for the future
and maintain your adaptability.
 Editorial.
Editor-in-Chief/ Iain Harrison
Editor, RECOIL OFFGRID/ Patrick McCarthy
Managing Editor/ Laura Peltakian
Features Editor/ Dave Merrill
Contributing Editor/ Steven Kuo
Contributing Editor/ Patrick Diedrich
Network Manager/ Tom Marshall
Web Editor/ David Lane
Contributors/ Amy Alton, Joe Alton, Mark Linderman, Phillip Meeks,
Joey Nickischer, Morgan Rogue, John Schwartze, Mike Searson,
Sight Picture Media
Special Thanks/ Kayla, Joseph, and Ryder
Art Direction & Design.
Senior Art Director/ Gene Coo
Art Director/ Katia Sverdlova
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012
1A/2A: CONGRESS SHALL
GEARUP
1 MAKE & MODEL
MineLab
Pro-Find 35
POWER SOURCE
9V
MSRP
$129
URL
minelab.com
NOTES
Whether you're searching for a lost item,
locating a wire or water pipe for safety
reasons, or have personal security in
mind, having a reliable metal detector can
be a game-changing tool. MineLab offers
multiple metal detecting solutions in their
product lineup, including the Pro-Find 35
pinpoint metal detector. At 9.38 inches
long and weighing just over 6 ounces, it
can be stored easily in a pack, on your
belt, or in a vehicle, ready to be used
whenever it's needed. The Pro-Find has
five sensitivity settings so you can filter
out undesirable metal detections, and
it's waterproof up to 3 meters, making it
ideal for shallow water searching. Volume
from its detection indicator can also be
adjusted, including vibration intensity.
The vibration allows the user to feel if
something is being detected if you don’t
want noise alerting others nearby, or if
searching underwater and unable to hear
the detection indicator tone. There are
lost-proofing features built into the design
as well, which include the bright yellow
housing color and an inactivity alarm.
2 MAKE & MODEL
Spy Briefing
Versa Knife
STEEL
AUS 8
MSRP
$49
URL
versaknife.com
NOTES
This isn't your average pocket knife,
but a versatile array of tools that
comfortably fits into easily accessible
places. Versa’s blade length is a little
over 3 inches, made out of a high car-
bon stainless steel, and has a slew of
built-in features — including straight
and serrated cutting edges, a flat
head driver, and a wrench to adjust
the valve of oxy-acetylene tanks. Built
into the rubber-coated handle is a pry
bar, glass breaker, and strap cutter.
Essentially, it has a tool to mitigate
some of the most life-threatening
situations you could find yourself,
all neatly compressed into a 5-inch
handle. If that wasn’t enough, Jason
Hanson, former CIA operative, has
put together several tutorial videos
of how to apply the tools built into
the Versa Knife, which can be found
on the blade's website. Rather than
load your bug-out bag with the extra
weight of a dozen individual tools, the
Versa offers a lightweight and conve-
nient way to be ready for anything.
3 MAKE & MODEL
Gunfighter Design
POPS MK2P
STEEL
CPM 3V
MSRP
$375
URL
gunfighterdesign.com
NOTES
Born of the collaborative efforts
of several elite military operators,
the Professional Outdoorsman
Precision Skinner (POPS) MK2P
is a nearly invincible knife for
serious use. CNC ground from
CPM 3V steel, the 0.210-inch-thick
blade can withstand serious abuse
without flinching. Gunfighter Design
incorporates its Double Thumb
Relief into the blade for a higher
level of control when you have to
get work done in tight places. G10
handle slabs give the MK2P better
durability over other handle materi-
als, and hollow titanium handle pins
make it easy to add a lanyard or
lash the blade into a fixed position.
The blade itself is 3.5 inches long,
with an overall length of 8 inches,
making it a fixed blade that's not
overly cumbersome. A point is
machined into the design of the hilt
for glass-breaking purposes, and
the custom Kydex sheath makes it
easy to conceal the blade in pocket,
pack, or vehicle.
4 MAKE & MODEL
Suunto
9 Peak Pro
COLORS
Black, Blue, Gold, Green
MSRP
$549
URL
suunto.com
NOTES
Known for producing some of the best
outdoor gear on the market, Suunto has
rolled out a time-keeping device capable
of much more. Designed and tested to
withstand military-grade durability stan-
dards, the watch face of the 9 Peak Pro
is sapphire crystal, the body is stainless
steel, and some models are available
in titanium. It's waterproof up to 100
meters and can run 40 hours continu-
ously with the most power-hungry GPS
features running. If the Peak Pro is used
lightly as a timepiece, it can last as long
as 21 days on a single charge. Whatever
your outdoor activity is, there are 95
individual sport modes to track your
activity, including a dedicated snorkeling
mode. Bluetooth connectivity connects
the 9 Peak Pro to most current smart
phones and offers an enhanced method
of planning workouts, tracking perfor-
mance, and navigating the landscape.
It's thin and light, only 0.43-inch thick,
weighs 2.26 ounces, and with the incor-
poration of a few Suunto accessories, can
be strapped to a handlebar or custom-
ized with different colored wrist straps.
5 MAKE & MODEL
Pnuma
3L Element Proof
Rain Jacket
COLORS
Caza, Belluga
MSRP
$260
URL
pnumaoutdoors.com
NOTES
Nothing leads to more fatalities in
the outdoors than exposure to the
elements, so finding rain gear that's
both functional and durable is crucial
to self-preservation. The Pnuma 3L
Element Proof Rain Jacket delivers
both. By utilizing interwoven polyes-
ter, the 3L is 100-percent waterproof
up to 20,000mm, and has a breath-
ability rating of 15,000 g/m2/24h.
What this means is that it can keep
torrential rain from seeping through
without overheating the wearer while
out and about. The built-in hood
keeps the noggin dry, and anti-abra-
sion overlays in high-wear areas, like
the shoulders, prevent damage from
things like pack straps. For hunters
or other tactical situations, the Caza
pattern easily blends into many wil-
derness settings, and for the urbanite
or casual use, the Beluga color is a
classy neutral tone. Weighing in at
just over 20 ounces, the 3L is serious
protection from the elements that will
not feel like a burden in a ruck.
6 MAKE & MODEL
Meopta
Optika LR 10x42 HD
WEIGHT
32.6 oz.
MSRP
$1,900
URL
meopta.com
NOTES
It has been said that the best optic
is the one you have. Hopefully, the
one you have is a German-engineered
Meopta, because it's hard to beat
their level of visual clarity. As if
Meopta’s crystal clear objective
lenses weren’t enough, they’ve gone
and added a built-in laser range
finder to their binos. The Optika LR
10x42 HD is a serious pair of binos,
capable of accurately ranging out to
2,600 yards with a minimal margin of
error of +/- 2 yards. Its magnesium
body is coated in rubber to keep it
from getting damaged by moisture,
dust, or drop shock. Each Optika LR
also comes with a protective case,
carry strap, and lens covers. Looking
through the binos will give the user
a 6.7-degree field of view, with 85
percent daylight transmission up to
10 times magnification. And with the
press of a button, you can easily de-
termine the range of whatever you're
looking at. A fully charged battery
will yield up to 1,200 measures.
7 MAKE & MODEL
Mission First Tactical
DRC 36
COLORS
Moss Green
MSRP
$55
URL
missionfirsttactical.com
NOTES
Going to the range can quickly turn into
a hassle when more than one firearm is
being lugged around. Cases tend to be big
and clunky, and it can be stressful leaving
a gun unattended while making multiple
trips to and from a vehicle. The DRC (Dou-
ble Rifle Case) 36, is here to mitigate that
stress by offering the storage capacity of
two rifles up to 36 inches long. A padded
divider separates the main compartment,
preventing bumps and scuffs when storing
two rifles. Extra accessory compartments
easily store common range gear like ear
pro, targets, or maintenance tools. MOLLE
webbing built into the outside adds an-
other layer of versatility, allowing for end-
less customized loadouts. Carry it like a
briefcase for short distances or utilize the
pack straps to wear it like a backpack for
those range sites off the beaten path. The
DRC’s matte color blends into a multitude
of surroundings for tactical applications,
and it has a nylon Velcro backing for name
plates or morale patches.
8 MAKE & MODEL
Garmont
9.81 HELI
COLOR
Black
MSRP
$135
URL
garmont.com
NOTES
Not every dismounted excursion
overland necessitates an 8-inch hik-
ing boot. For those family trips to a
well-established park or a light stroll
through some rolling hills, footwear
that's light and breezy can make the
experience much more enjoyable.
Garmont’s 9.81 HELI is a lightweight,
low-top shoe that looks and works
great in the urban jungle just as much
as it does in an oak savannah. Striking
a comfortable balance between com-
fortability and support, strapping on a
pair of 9.81 HELIs will have you enjoy-
ing light hiking or Nordic walking in no
time. For those who want to enjoy the
outdoors in a hurry, Garmont’s speed
lacing system will expedite hitting
the trails. The aesthetics make the
9.81 HELI a great contender for casual
office wear for those who may want to
get up and move during a lunch break,
and Garmont’s attention to quality
design will have these shoes lasting
for years to come.
ISSUE 56
OFFGRIDWEB.COM 013
014
1A/2A: MAKE NO LAW OFFGRIDWEB.COM
9 MAKE & MODEL
PNW Bushcraft
Birch Waxed Canvas
Knife Roll Up
(knives not included)
CAPACITY
8 MSRP
MSRP
$79
URL
pnwbushcraft.com
NOTES
Got a few fixed blade knives lying around
and would like a traditional and timeless
way to keep them organized? PNW Bush-
craft has the solution with their Birch
Waxed Canvas Knife Roll Up. PNW Bush-
craft is leading the waxed canvas revival
by crafting durable handmade products
perfect for the outdoors. Their Birch
Roll is 15 by 25.5 inches and features
eight pockets that are 5 inches deep
by 3 inches wide. Once all your favorite
fixed blades are stowed in the pockets,
roll them up and secure them with the
leather cord, or use the built-in grom-
mets to hang them on the wall for easy
access. The waxed canvas will protect
your knives from the elements and add
another layer of corrosion resistance to
high carbon steels. Waxed canvas is easy
to clean and maintain, making the Birch
Roll perfect for outdoor expeditions. In
an era of synthetic fiber, CNC machines
and intelligent software, having a product
made of materials that have stood the
test of time for hundreds of years is a
refreshing change of pace.
10 MAKE & MODEL
Prepared 4X
Survival Torch Fire
Starter
SIZES
4, 6 inches
MSRP
Starting at $20
URL
prepared4x.com
NOTES
Few things are as important as being
able to create a fire. Cooking food,
staying warm, and feeling comforted
by the glow of a campfire are just the
tip of the flame, so to speak. Unlike
past generations, modern tech has
made fire-making knowledge nearly
obsolete. Fortunately, we don’t have to
be the master of friction fire-starting
methods to get a blaze going. Prepared
4X bridges the knowledge gap with
the Survival Torch. Available in two
sizes, the Survival Torch utilizes a
thick ferrocerium rod, curved steel
striker, and 36-inch wax-infused hemp
rope to easily transform sparks into
flame. The hemp rope is great tinder; it
catches the spark almost effortlessly.
The 36-inch length has an approximate
continuous burn time of three hours.
The aluminum housing of the Survival
Torch is bright orange, so it's easy to
keep track of and has a tube to pull the
hemp cord through to safely extinguish
the flame. Keeping the lit hemp cord
close to the end of the tube protects
the embers from high winds and makes
for a handy lighter.
11 MAKE & MODEL
Cold Steel 12 MAKE & MODEL
The Headrest Safe
Benchtop Knife Headrest Safe
Sharpener COLORS
SHARPENING GRITS Black, Charcoal, Dark Gray, Light
300, 600, 800, 1,000 Gray, Tan
MSRP
$489
$129
URL
URL
theheadrestsafe.com
coldsteel.com
NOTES
NOTES
Depending on where you live, traveling
Keeping a knife sharp is undeni-
in a vehicle can pose complex security
ably one of the most important
risks. There may be a need to keep high
maintenance skills the owner of a
value items discreetly locked away. In
blade can master. But sharpening
areas with high crime rates, balancing lo-
freehand can lead to uneven edges
and possibly ruin cutting potential. cal laws with having access to some form
Cold Steel, one of the best-known of self-defense could be a life-saving
endeavor. Glove compartments are an ob-
knife companies in the world, has
just the tool to keep your sharpen- vious place for vandals breaking in, and
typically not considered a secured loca-
ing angles even and consistent,
tion for the transportation of a firearm.
regardless of your level of skill.
The Benchtop Knife Sharpener This is where the Headrest Safe comes
holds your blade locked in place, in. As the name implies, it's a locked safe
built into the form of a vehicle headrest.
while you move the sharpening
There are models available for both the
stones at a predetermined angle.
driver and passenger side of the vehicle.
Simply adjust to the desired angle
They come in a variety of colors and
— anywhere between 15 and 30
materials to blend in seamlessly with the
degrees — choose the appropri-
ate grit, and pass the sharpening vehicle's upholstery. Programmable key
codes and a programmable touch sensor
stone over one side of the edge as
many times as needed. Once one ensure only the intended user has ac-
cess. The inside cavity is 11 inches long, 8
side of the knife edge has been
inches tall, 6 inches wide, and protected
adequately sharpened, rotate the
by 16- and 18-gauge steel.
blade clamp and run the sharpen-
ing stone over the other side.
The base of the Benchtop Knife
Sharpener is sturdy enough that it
doesn’t require clamping, and the
whole kit comes in a durable stor-
age case to keep all the compo-
nents neatly organized.
016
1A/2A: RESPECTING
PocketPREPS
1 CSSD/SC
Mini My So
2 Benchmade
North Fork
OVERALL LENGTH: OVERALL LENGTH:
6.8 inches 7 inches
BLADE LENGTH: BLADE LENGTH:
2.8 inches 3 inches
WEIGHT: WEIGHT:
4 ounces 3.2 ounces
BLADE MATERIAL: BLADE MATERIAL:
8Cr13MoV stainless steel S30V
PRICE: PRICE:
$100 $220
URL: URL:
cssd-sc.com benchmade.com

By Mike Searson

he recurve blade is a design that has been 3

around forever in some form, but in the
past 25 years or so, it has really taken off
and become a popular EDC profile. At one
time, the design was made to facilitate
chopping and hacking, but as knives and blade steels
have evolved, so has the application of the recurve blade.
Depending on which historian you believe, the design
originated in the ancient world. The kukri, kopis, falcatta,
golok, dao, scimitar, and other similar designs exhibit re-
curve styles with a larger curve and more weight toward
the front of the blade. They were all almost undoubtedly
choppers — whether meant to hack through thick vegeta-
tion or a warrior’s leather, metal, or wicker armor.
The geometry of the recurve potentially allowed for
efficient slicing, and this pattern was popular on butcher
knives and skinning knives in more recent centuries.
We still see them on various choppers like machetes or
kukris, but on the full range of EDC blades they offer an-
other advantage: They pack more usable blade length
into a smaller package. If you compare blades with even
a slight recurve, you’ll find that you’re gaining the cut-
ting power of a blade from 25- to 75-percent longer than
the straight length measurement of the recurve blade.
To simplify this, think of your 4-inch-bladed recurve
having the cutting power of a 5- to 6-inch blade.
If there’s a drawback to the recurve, it may be maintain-
ing the edge. Much like the hawksbill — but not as bad —
you’ll find that most whetstones and straight sharpening
devices won’t work well with a more dramatic recurve.
You can either send them back to the maker or manu- 1
facturer, visit or send to a professional knife sharpener, or
invest in a round-shaped sharpening stone or rod.
The recurve was born out of basic geometry and has
really improved over the centuries we’ve seen it in use.
Whether you need something for slicing, chopping, or
just a good self-defense blade, the recurve has a little bit 2
more to it than meets the eye.
 6

4
ISSUE 56

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 017
018
1A/2A: AN ESTABLISHMENT
Pocket PREPS

CSSD/SC Benchmade Zero Tolerance Mercworx Knives SOG Knives Emerson Knives V Nives
Mini My So North Fork ZT 0350 Golgotha Kiku FX Fixed Blade Commander Deplorable
Titanium
Bram Frank is a The North Fork has Zero Tolerance is a Mercworx Knives has SOG Knives has been Emerson was asked
Grandmaster of Arnis a dressy look to it division of KAI/Ker- a long and consistent partnered with custom to design a folding V Nives is one of the
and has developed a with its stabilized shaw Knives, and this history in the realm of knifemaker Kiku knife for use by the fastest-growing knife
series of self-defense- Dymandwood scales, company prides itself tactical fixed blades. Matsuda for a number SEAL Teams, and the companies in the U.S.,
oriented knives based and the blade has on their designs com- Made by profession- of years. He brings original submission producing collabora-
on his teaching. The one of the slightest ing from the demands als for professionals, quite a few fixed blade was deemed too tive designs with cus-
Mini My So is a small recurves compared of military profession- these knives have and folding designs scary by the Navy tom knifemakers. The
concealable folder to the rest on our list. als. The ZT 0350 is a seen serious use with to the table with his brass, despite the fact Deplorable Titanium is
featuring a recurve Benchmade offers this good-sized recurve elite troops all over the compound recurve the SEALs loved it. based on a design by
blade fit for an ancient as a potential pocket blade that deploys by globe. The Golgotha designs. The FX Fixed Emerson changed the custom maker Jerry
warrior with respect skinning blade for means of the speed- sports a chili-pepper- blade features a vari- blade design to a more Hossom. There’s an
to its design. Available processing game, but assist mechanism. This shaped handle that ety of different handle utilitarian shape in the economical version of
in a variety of colors it makes for a very ef- is a scaled-down ver- locks into your hand materials and colors, form of a recurve. He this model about $300
(pink, black/pink, black/ fective EDC knife. The sion of the ZT 0300, in either the forward from natural linen was asked to incorpo- cheaper, but they sent
tan) and three sizes Axis lock mechanism making it lighter and or reverse grip and is Micarta in this one rate a blade catcher on us the version with
(mini, medium, and makes it easy to open more pocket friendly. extremely comfort- to orange G10. The the top of the blade for the sculpted titanium
large), this is a knife or close the blade with The G10 feels great able. The blade is a handle material and knife fighting. As silly frame lock handle. The
designed to be carried one hand and a flick of in the hand with its bold-styled recurve texturing give this knife as this may sound, the sculpted handle offers
comfortably but ready the wrist. natural texture. that brings to mind a great ergonomics. device, now known a nice grip and imparts
to deploy instantly. Kopis or Falcatta, albeit as the Emerson Wave the look and feel of a
This is a somewhat Pros: Pros: a scaled-down one. Pros: Shaped Opening custom knife. Whether
specialized design, Very sharp out of the The blade is made The blade is gener- Device, opened the you go with this one or
and it’s advised that box with a nice thin from CPM S30V; it’s Pros: ously sized and can knife as it was drawn the economy version,
you seek training with edge for slicing tough, razor sharp, It’s made from either tackle just about any from the pocket, the Hossom-designed
Bram Frank or one of The North Fork relies rust resistant, and 154CM or S30V. This task you have in store which soon propelled blade makes for an
his instructors in order on Benchmade’s ever sports excellent edge version is 154CM and for it. Emerson into an even amazing recurve style
to fully understand the popular Axis lock for retention. has been an absolute The handle is ex- higher demand from even if it’s more of
intricacies of its design. a safe and robust This knife performed performer. tremely comfortable knife users. a strike point than a
locking mechanism. well as a cutter, and Razor sharp out of and ergonomic. curve.
Pros: CPM S30V is a the factory grind was the box, the way all The blade is made Pros:
Like all of Bram premium knife steel just about perfect. knives should ship from S35VN; it’s The blade, made of Pros:
Frank’s designs, this with superb edge Fires like a rocket The rubber belt loop tough, razor sharp, 154CM, is tough, razor This one is very
includes the BRAMP retention. every time, like all carry attachment rust resistant, and sharp, rust resistant, comfortable in the
that allows you to The clip can be assisted or flipper works well for keep- sports an easily main- and sports an easily hand, V Nives did an
open it against an positioned tip-up and knives should func- ing the blade in an tainable edge. maintainable edge. outstanding job here.
attacker’s body if either left- or right- tion upright and ready- The knife excels at The blade is made
needed. handed. to-go position while Cons: cutting and slicing. from S35VN; it’s
The blade slices like a Cons: remaining secure. Although the sheath The Emerson Wave tough, razor sharp,
razor, a testament to Cons: The pocket clip is a is well-made, the Tek Shaped Opening De- rust resistant, and
the grind more than As good a steel as bit too tight from the Cons: Lok makes it sit a bit vice allows this one to sports an easily main-
the steel used. S30V is, it can be dif- factory and seems These blades are farther out than most deploy as it’s drawn tainable edge.
Its smallish size leads ficult to sharpen. prone to damage. handmade one at other designs. from the pocket. Flipper action is
to a lot of conceal- The handles can S30V may keep its a time to order, so The blade could’ve buttery smooth
ment options for get slick under wet edge for a long time availability may be an been a hair sharper, Cons: and opens perfectly
daily carry. conditions. Be mind- but it’s not the easiest issue in some cases. but it was easily The Emerson Wave every time.
ful if you’re using it to steel to sharpen. Some users don’t touched up due to Shaped Opening
Cons: dress game. A reten- care for a mirror- the compound edge Device can shred Cons:
There’s currently no tion lanyard should polished blade; it’s and approaching it your pocket corners The polished
training variant for be used if possible. very reflective unless from two different up with regular titanium handles
this model. you bead-blast it. angles. deployment. could be susceptible
While the basics are It’s only tapped to scratching with
simple, these knives for clip use for everyday use.
really need the user right-handed users. It could’ve been a
to work with Frank or Emerson Knives can little sharper out of
one of his instructors. tap the other scale the box.
for an upcharge.

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WE ARE A CRAFT AMMUNITION MAKER,
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www.black-hills.com
020
1A/2A: OF RELIGION,

You’re Forced to Scavenge for Clean Water?

By RECOIL OFFGRID Staff

ithout water, there is no life. Since

the dawn of mankind, people have
congregated around sources of water
which provide the ability to stay
hydrated, bathe, attract the prey we
hunt, create fertile soil to grow crops, and travel by boat.
From the Nile Delta to the Mighty Mississippi, water isn’t just
the primary component of our bodies, it’s also the glue that
holds together our communities.
We often consider the collapse of our government or
financial institutions as the most severe blow that could be
dealt to our society, and eras such as the Civil War and Great
Depression attest to this severity. But the failure of our water
supply has the potential to be far worse. Take a look at the
most impoverished nations, or areas decimated by hurri-
canes and tsunamis, and you’ll see a level of human suffer-
ing that’s almost unimaginable in our infrastructure-rich part
of the world. And as with any disaster, we should never make
the critical mistake of assuming it can’t happen to us.
If your region was affected by a se-
verely contaminated water supply, how
would you stay hydrated and hygienic?
We asked emergency management
expert Mark Linderman and first re-
sponder Joey Nickischer to share their
insights on this challenging scenario.
The Scenario
SITUATION TYPE
Scavenging for clean water
YOUR CREW
Yourself and your family
LOCATION
Midwest United States
SEASON
Summer
WEATHER
Hot; high 98 degrees F, low 70
degrees F
The Setup
While many of us take for granted the abil-
ity to turn on our faucets or showers and
have unlimited access to clean, safe water,
many of us don’t anticipate or plan for our
supply to become suddenly unavailable or
contaminated. Instances such as Hinkley,
California (which was made famous by Erin
Brockovich), demonstrate that contamina-
tion of local aquifers can be ongoing for
many years and be connected to health
epidemics long before the public becomes
aware of them. In other instances, such
as Flint, Michigan, once contamination
becomes obvious, the plan by government
officials to rectify the situation is often held
up for years pending lawsuits, construction
approvals, and miles of other red tape. In
the meantime, what is the local population
supposed to do, short of moving out of the
area entirely?
drinking, washing, bathing, or anything else
until further notice.
While picking up and moving away im-
mediately isn’t an option, the question then
becomes, what are your options? Local
stores quickly run out of bottled water and
restocking the shelves is sporadic. What
can you use to have a continuing supply
of potable water? Delivery water services
such as Arrowhead, Amazon, or Sparkletts?
Coin-op systems? If there are local bodies
of fresh water around, what can do you to
pump, haul, store, and purify it? What about
rainwater storage systems? Can you scav-
enge it elsewhere or create any water trap-
ping systems, such as solar stills? If things
got desperate, how can you scavenge from
abandoned buildings or local reservoirs?
Emergency Management
Expert Mark Linderman’s
Approach
Living in a small town has its benefits that
are unavailable to those who live in urban
environments. In the case that the water sup-
ply in our small town became contaminated, I
would have a few sources to procure potable
water if the need arose. For me, water is the
basic source of survival and should be pro-
tected at all costs. I live in a household of four
family members and two dogs, so like many
others in America, water is pretty important
for us on a day-to-day basis. Long showers
and multiple trips to the water dispenser in
our refrigerator have become the norm for
some in our family, so thinking about water
procurement becomes a teachable moment
for us, especially our teenage sons. Although
our hometown is smaller (about 10,000
residents), we’re surrounded by a few facto-
ries and railways that may cause potential
incidents, which should prompt us to locate
potable water if the worst should occur.
Preparation
Our town is home to a metallurgy factory
that expels a lot of toxic odors and is an
area of concern for local residents. Fortu-
nately, our water treatment plant is across

The Complication
For decades, there has been discussion
among residents in your city and urban
legends about the local water system
becoming increasingly polluted. While
just about everyone in the community
agrees the water “tastes funny,” many have
begun to accept it as normal. After enough
chronic health problems locally have been
documented in recent years, the common
denominator appears to point back to the
municipal water system. Eventually, the
media and environmentalists descend on
ISSUE 56

the community enough to pressure local

officials to admit that the system is unfit for

021
022
1A/2A: OR PROHIBITING
the other side of town, but the potential for
contamination still exists. One issue with
our local county government is that be-
cause our county is fairly sparse, there’s not
a lot of tax revenue devoted to keeping our
infrastructure up to date. While fairly safe,
the community could suffer breakdowns
in utility services during a disaster of any
scale, thus placing local residents in harm’s
way. This could have been avoided if our lo-
cal government had the financial resources
to better secure our infrastructure.
To be honest, I’m pretty fortunate to live
in rural America. We have family close to
us who own farms and thus have separate
water sources through groundwater wells.
We’re 10 to 15 miles apart — far enough from
each other that we don’t share the same
water tables. This falls within my family
emergency plan to procure safe and drink-
able water, as both family farms must have
their water tested on a quarterly basis to
ensure that their own water source is safe.
I have filled several 7-gallon food-safe con-
tainers with water from both farms, includ-
ing 24 additional gallons that I have already
purchased from grocery stores. With that,
I understand that if I follow the emergency
1 gallon of water per person per day rule,
I only have about 15 days of clean water.
That doesn’t bring me close to the potable
water I’d need to procure on a long-term
basis, hence my own family emergency plan
to use both of our family farms to obtain a
continual source of water.
What scares me the most in this sce-
nario is that the normal ways of procuring
potable water in the house don’t apply
here. I can’t retrieve water from the tank
of my toilet or hot water heater, nor fill in
additional containers with municipal water.
I’ve often asked myself what would happen
if my family’s farms’ water sources were to
be contaminated as well. While highly un-
likely to happen, there are several streams,
ponds, and small lakes outside of where
I live that I could use as sources of water.
Again, this is one of the benefits of living
in rural America, and I could imagine how
much more difficult it would be if I had cho-
sen to live in the city where rural provisions
couldn’t be found. Regardless, I’d ensure
that my family would still be educated on
how to best conserve the outside water
sources we would bring in. Thirty-minute
showers would be a thing of the past, as I
would utilize two solar camp-showers either
in our current bathrooms, or place tempo-
rary shelters on our deck for our family to
shower privately with. If I were to calculate
the amount of water we must have in this
scenario, I’d be comfortable with 3 gallons
per person per day, but even that is void of
the luxury of what we normally use. With
the water we would have on hand, I would
be making a trip to the other side of our
county every few days rather than once per
week. If circumstances prohibited travel,
my community does have a fairly large
reservoir about four miles outside of town
in a small state park. My fear would be long
lines and unpleasant crowds, placing me
in compromising positions of security and
time allotment. I’m basing my position on
the notion that it would even be legal in the
first place to get water from a state park, a
law that could easily be bent in the name
of my family’s survival, consequences be
damned … unless I’m arrested, in which case
water procurement becomes that much
harder for my family.
Having once worked for the government
in public health for almost 20 years, I know
that the wheels of the government turn, but
they turn very slow. Waiting for the govern-
ment to provide fresh water is much lower
down on my emergency list of preparations.
In this case, I believe that our community
would come to the rescue first, but I also
fear that our lovely residential leaders would
run out of resources within a short time
span. Looking to the crisis in Flint, Michigan,
or other areas of calamity such as Haiti after
it’s earthquake in 2010, or the Turkey-Syria
earthquake this year, procuring water from
government resources seems to be more
a practice of drudgery than salvation. It is
much better to have plans in place now than
depend on the rusty wheel of government
to save you.
This brings me to my biggest worry con-
cerning water, which is a natural disaster so
large that water contamination, including the
leakage of chemicals, would decimate our
community for years to come. While we do
not live in the epicenter of the New Madrid
fault line that runs 120 miles through Missouri
to Illinois, the effects of such a crisis would as-
cend to Indiana where I live. In this case, our
entire area could be decimated, and fresh-
water procurement would go from annoying
to disastrous. We’re also prone to flooding
where I live, and while we haven’t experi-
enced a significant flood for quite some time,
it’s within the realm of possibility. Whether

contamination happened either through a
man-made chemical spill or through a natu-
ral disaster, my “hope” would be to keep the
same plan, but as we all know, hope should
never be a contingency to look to.
On Site
Once the word was out that the water was
contaminated, my first reaction would be to
resort to the two weeks’ worth of water we
currently have. As I write through this scenar-
io, I must admit that I’m already seeing new
needs to cover gaps in my efforts to protect
my family. Rather than just maintaining the
filled containers I currently possess, maybe I
should buy a few more to make rotating the
water from our family farms that much less
of a burden. As I stated before, I worked in
public health for almost 20 years, so much
of my planning is based on a widespread
pandemic that would be much worse than
COVID-19 (yes, there are potential disease
outbreak scenarios that would make the
COVID-19 pandemic look utterly insignifi-
cant). In this case, I had already planned that
commercial water would be a hot com-
modity on a local level, and I wouldn’t have
much hope in the government to supply our
community with fresh water anytime soon.
In a perfect world, I’d love to build a system
of four 55-gallon barrels to harvest rainwater.
There are several books on the subject with
plans on how to build such a system, and I’m
game to try my hand at it.
This would bring me to my next step in
my journey to procure and maintain fresh
water, and that would be to properly filter it.
While doing nothing for my plans to bathe
myself, purchasing a reliable water filter is
the next-highest-order step in my ladder to
“semi self-sufficiency.” With this in mind, I’m
currently looking to purchase a Big Berkey
water filter to ensure that my water is free
and clear of most contaminants, including
chemical. While on the expensive side (close
to $400), they ensure that my drinking
water would be safe, even filtering out many
potential chemical contaminants. I know
a good handful of people who use the Big
Berkey, including survivalist Creek Stewart
who uses it every day as his main source of
drinking water, so I find it a reliable instru-
ment to keep my family’s water safe.
Crisis
The hard thing about a disaster is that no
one is ever truly ready for it. That’s why
they’re called disasters. We can plan for
them as much as humanly possible, but at
the end of the day, it’s still a disruption that
we’re not wholly prepared for, no matter
the level of “survivor” in you. If this scenario
would prove true, I’d be mostly worried
about the chemical toxins in our water if
they leached into our local water table and
aquifers. Not only would they be hard to
filter out without the proper filtration device,
but the effects on the community would be
widespread and easily disrupt commerce
and the vitality of our citizens. Obviously,
with the metallurgy factory located within a
mile of where I live, I’d be mostly concerned
with leaked toxins from its processing plant,
or a potential railway chemical accident that
could happen only a matter of five blocks
from my home. Whether I shelter in place
or evacuate would depend on the severity
of the incident and if long-term damage
would affect our community’s health and
vitality. If the worst-case scenarios would
happen and the New Madrid fault line broke
causing a catastrophic earthquake through
Middle America, then it would be extremely
WHAT
IF?
difficult to provide a long-term solution to
freshwater procurement besides harvesting
rainwater. In the immediate time frame (and
if our water storage ran out), pre-bottled
juices and sports drinks would be on top of
our menu, or we could harvest liquid from
canned fruits and vegetables, although it
would be the shortest-term solution on the
table. I was once asked if I would resort to
breaking the law to ensure my survival and
I answered with this: I used to work across
the street from our county jail, and I realized
that there wasn’t much that separated me
from those incarcerated except one bad
decision or act of desperation. There isn’t
much I wouldn’t do to protect my family to
ensure their survival. At the end of the day,
we’re beings meant to survive, and when
the chips are down, many of us would do
whatever it takes to prolong our lives —
especially the lives of our families. Take that
as you may.
Conclusion
I’m a prepper at heart and have been for
well over a decade. Although I try to plan for
as many scenarios as I can, I’m also not na-
ïve enough to believe that all things can be
prepared for unless we decide to live totally
off the grid. Again, I’m blessed to live in a ru-
ral community with access to a few sources
of fresh water that are separated enough to
ISSUE 56
023
024
1A/2A: THE FREE EXERCISE
ensure that they’re safely independent from
each other. I know that many in this nation
don’t have the same resources I have, espe-
cially if they live in cities or smaller homes/
apartments. The best we can do is the best
we can do. All I teach others is to initiate
the process of thinking about potential
scenarios, safeguard where they can, and
be emotionally prepared for what could
come. This is often the best-case scenario
for those with limited resources, but it puts
them well above the level of preparedness
of others. Sometimes that’s all you need to
survive.
First Responder Joey
Nickischer’s Approach
Water is our lifeblood. Discovering that
your municipal water system is contaminated
to the point of being unfit not only for con-
sumption, but for daily use is an untenable
situation and must be dealt with immediately.
The first thing we need to do is gather
information. What’s the problem? Is it a toxic
chemical, a biological problem, or a high
level of a naturally occurring element? Then,
we need to know how long officials feel it will
be until a solution is in place, if ever. If there’s
a solution in the works that can be imple-
mented in the next several days, then we’re
only dealing with a temporary problem that’s
easily solved with bottled water, whether that
be by the case from the local supermarket
or by the jug from a larger supplier.
If we assume the problem is going to
be a much larger, longer-term issue, we
need to find ways to either remove the
contaminant(s) or source bulk water. Let
us start with the better long-term solution,
which is removing the contaminant from
the existing system.
There are numerous ways to treat water
in our homes on a larger scale, making the
water safe to use for all purposes. Many
people have heard of UV or ultraviolet light
treatment. Systems are available to the aver-
age homeowner that you can have perma-
nently installed into your plumbing system
that’ll zap the water with UV, which disin-
fects the water from microbes such as bac-
teria, protozoa, and viruses. These UV light
disinfectant systems are relatively small and
take up a minimum of space, making them
convenient to install. Size-wise, one type of
system looks like a simple sediment filter
you’d see on the average home with a well,
approximately 18 inches long and 5 inches
in diameter. But you can also get a version
that looks like an oversized pipe, ranging
from 3 to 6 inches in diameter, and from 12
to 30 inches in length. In general, the lon-
ger the UV purifier, the higher the flow rate.
The average small home will flow about
6 gallons per minute, at 30 to 80 pounds
per square inch of pressure. Yours could
be more or less, but this is the range for an
average home. Also, note that you’ll need
to plug in a UV system and keep it supplied
with constant power for it to be effective. A
UV system is a great and simple solution if
the only problem with the water is biological.
But if the problem is not biological, then we
need to look at the other options, which are
filtration, distillation, and reverse osmosis.
Filtration comes in three levels of effec-
tiveness: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, and
nanofiltration. Microfiltration has limited or
no effectiveness on chemicals and viruses,
and for this reason, I wouldn’t recommend
it. Ultrafiltration can remove or lessen some
chemicals in the water and, while better
than microfiltration, is still not ideal for our
worst-case scenarios. This brings us to
nanofiltration, which is the highest level of
filtration available. While nanofiltration works
exceedingly well on biological contaminants,
it’s still only moderately effective at remov-
ing chemical contaminants in our water.
These types of filtration systems vary
in size, with the most basic looking like a
sediment filter setup with multiple filters, all
the way up to floor standing high filtration
systems, 6 feet tall and 2 feet in diameter.
You can also customize the system to
specifically remove certain contaminants,
such as iron (which gives you rusty-looking
water) or hydrogen sulfide (which can give
your water that rotten egg smell). Prices
vary widely, starting around $200 for the
basic setup, going easily into the $2,000 to
3,000 range for the better systems. Also,
note that these systems will require regular
maintenance for filter or media changes,
with some being time-based at every one
to two years, while others are usage-based
depending on how much water you use.
Filter prices begin around $50 for the most
basic type, while some advanced units can
cost several hundred dollars.
Reverse osmosis is one of the most
effective options as far as removing impuri-
ties. It’s basically a series of semi-permeable
membranes that have extremely small
pores, allowing water to pass through but
not the contaminants. Of course, like all
good things, it does have its downsides.
Firstly, it requires much higher water pres-
sure to get a reasonable flow rate, a pres-
sure which is generally much higher than
what you have available in your house. For
this reason, reverse osmosis systems often
employ a separate pump to boost the water
pressure through the system. The second
downside is that it wastes a lot of water.
Because the system is removing so many
impurities, those impurities need to be
washed away steadily. It’s not at all unusual
for a reverse osmosis system to discard 1 to
3 gallons of water for each gallon treated.
Third, it’s really, really slow. While most filtra-
tion systems measure filtered water in GPM
(gallons per minute), reverse osmosis sys-
tems measure flow in GPD (gallons per day).
Sadly, it’s this low rate of flow that makes
consumer-grade reverse osmosis systems
impractical for whole-home use. You should
also expect to spend several thousand dol-
lars for a good quality system.
Distillation is the third option, but like
reverse osmosis, it’s not practical for whole-
home use. Distillation is basically the process
of capturing evaporated water, generally from
boiling it and condensing the steam to leave
behind any impurities. This is also a slow,
energy-intensive process and for the home, it
is only practical for drinking purposes.
If these solutions can’t work, for whatever
reason, then we have to move over to bulk
water collection and storage. Most people
think of bulk water as the 5-gallon jugs
you see in grocery stores, but you can go
much, much bigger. In fact, if you can’t use

your municipal water supply, you’ll need to
think about bulk water storage in terms of
hundreds, if not thousands, of gallons. In
order to adequately prepare for our bulk
water storage, it’s important to understand
what our needs are. As a rule of thumb, the
average person uses approximately 50 gal-
lons of water per day when being conserva-
tive, and closer to 100 gallons of water per
day in normal times. This use includes not
only drinking, but cooking, washing hands,
washing clothes, washing dishes, using
the bathroom, taking a shower, and so on.
Water flow rate from a sink is usually in the
3 gpm range while a garden hose is in the
5 gpm range. A washing machine uses 25
to 50 gallons of water, a low flow toilet uses
just under 2 gallons, and an older standard
toilet can use up to 5 gallons.
With these numbers in mind, what’s
a conservative amount of water that we
should store for our family? Personally, I
would feel comfortable with two weeks’
worth of water for each person in my
household. That is somewhere between
700 and 1,400 gallons per person, with-
out being excessive. If I was being super
conservative, I could get away with much,
much less, which means my water could
last a lot longer, I just wouldn’t be as
comfortable. However, please remember
to never ration drinking water. It really is
not going to help you conserve water, and
being perpetually dehydrated will lead to a
host of health issues.
My local water company has bulk water
available in various sizes. One of the most
common is intermediate bulk containers,
known as IBC totes, which generally contain
275 gallons. Understand, these containers
are extremely heavy, weighing over 2,300
pounds when full. You’re not going to be able
to move a full container unless you have a
forklift, or you leave the container on a truck
WHAT
IF?
or trailer. There are also water pillow tanks,
which can hold anywhere from 1,000 gallons
to 10,000 gallons. Online, I found water pil-
lows up to 210,000 gallons, in case you have
a large farm or small town that needs water.
Of course, there’s also hard plastic bulk water
storage containers that can be had in just
about any size or shape to suit your needs,
including drums and square blocks.
If your water needs to be a little more mo-
bile, you can get a surplus military M149A2
Water Buffalo trailer, which holds 400 gal-
lons. Or you can order a tractor trailer worth
of water which is about 6,000 gallons.
If you cannot afford to buy your water
from a trusted source, or there simply isn’t
enough available during an emergency,
then you’ll need to consider getting water
from another source, such as a stream,
lake, well, or rainwater collection. If you’re
going to use surface water from a stream
or lake, do your best to find the cleanest
ISSUE 56
025

026
1A/2A: THEREOF;
water possible, preferably collected from a
point where that water hasn’t had a chance
to become polluted. For water coming off a
mountain, the higher up the mountain you
can go, the less chance it has of being con-
taminated. Something else to keep in mind
is having a way of getting that surface water
from the ground into your portable storage
container. The easy way is having a pump
and some hose, but if you can find a point
where the water is above your storage con-
tainer, you can try to siphon it. Remember
to purify any water you collect from natural
sources before drinking it, since even a
crystal-clear mountain stream can harbor
microorganisms that’ll make you sick.
It’s not at all difficult to collect the rain-
water that falls on your roof, and rainwater
is basically distilled water. The water has
evaporated from the earth and condensed
in a cloud before falling to earth. As long as
it doesn’t get polluted on the way down, it’s
great water. Simply redirect your down-
spouts into a storage container. This is a
popular method for off-grid homesteaders,
and all the parts needed to retrofit your
downspouts are available commercially. If
you go this route, don’t forget to clean your
roof/gutters regularly, have a way to purify
the water, and have a convenient way of
getting that water into your home where
you can utilize it. Getting the water inside
could involve using a pump, or you could
use gravity to do the work. It takes 2.31 feet
of elevation to gain just one pound of pres-
sure — plan accordingly.
In a pinch, you could also set out a clean
tarp or some plastic sheeting to catch
rainwater. If you do it just right, with a slight
bit of slope, you could funnel that water into
a bucket or other storage container. Bear
in mind that water in bulk storage from sur-
face water will generally need to be filtered
to ensure it’s safe to drink. While many of
the filtering options outlined in this article
are terrific, you can also go the old-school
route by adding eight drops of plain 5
percent bleach for each gallon of water, and
letting it sit for at least 30 minutes.
Whatever method you choose to purify
your water, make sure you know what the
local contaminants are and choose the
method that will serve you best.
Conclusion
Even if it’s only a short-term regional issue,
a contaminated municipal water supply can
lead to some serious challenges, requiring
your family to have substantial emergency
funds and/or equipment to overcome it. If the
issue is large-scale or persistent, water con-
tamination can lead to public unrest as the
local residents struggle to provide for their
families. You don’t want to see your kids sick
and dehydrated, and neither do your neigh-
bors. We’re not saying things will go from
normal to a Waterworld- or Mad Max-style
dystopia, but massive shortages of essential
resources like water and food tend to eventu-
About the Authors
Joey Nickischer
is a retired de-
tective with the
New York City
Police Depart-
ment. He cur-
rently works as
a lead technical rescue instructor with
several different companies covering
topics from wilderness search, high
angle rope, mine rescue, and off-road
operations. He serves as a team leader
with the Westchester County Tech-
nical Rescue Team and is the com-
mander of the Putnam County Techni-
cal Rescue Team, as well as serving as
chief of department with the Patterson
Fire Department.
WHAT
IF?
ally bring out crime and violence if they
persist for years. In a worst-case scenario,
obtaining water won’t be your only concern
— you’ll also need to secure and protect it.
For the time being, we suggest devel-
oping a multi-faceted plan that involves
in-home water storage, various filtration
and purification options, and contingency
plans for ways to harvest and transport
water from natural sources. As with any
preparedness measure, it’s wise to discuss
these options with like-minded friends and
neighbors, since they may have access to
resources you can share or trade for. If a
clean water shortage ever impacts your
community, the ramifications will be re-
duced in the communities that have already
built a strong foundation of preparedness.
Mark Linderman is
a Certified Emer-
gency Manager
(CEM) and 19-year
veteran of Public
Health. He in-
structs Disaster
Preparedness courses for 10 universities,
including Indiana University’s Fairbanks
School of Public Health, Arkansas State
University, Western Carolina University,
and University at Albany’s School of
Public Health. He has taught Crisis and
Emergency Risk Communication courses
for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and is considered a subject
matter expert in the field of disaster-based
communication. He’s a widely received
public speaker and advocate for disaster
preparedness, and channels his pas-
sion through his own blogsite, Disaster
Initiatives, where he regularly interviews
world-renowned survivalists, authors,
academics, and government officials.
www.disasterinitiatives.com
1A/2A: OR ABRIDGING
John Hearne of Two Pillars Training Discusses Building
Better Survivors
By Tom Marshall
Photos by Sight Picture Media
he last decade has seen a veritable explo-
sion of firearms and tactical instructors.
While these skills are no doubt vital to pos-
sessing a well-rounded survival repertoire,
the underlying historical and psycho-emo-
tional factors of interpersonal violence are rarely discussed
— let alone trained — by most of our favorite instructors.
These issues are far less entertaining to talk about, and
require far more effort to reach instructional proficiency.
Enter John Hearne and his company Two Pillars Training.
Part professor and part gunslinger, Hearne has carved
out a unique and under-served niche in today’s go-fast
social-media-forward training market. He possesses both
an extensive career as a federal law enforcement officer
and advanced academic degrees requiring finely tuned
research capabilities. This unicorn combination of personal-
ity and experience has endowed him with a unique knack
for studying the more erudite components of surviving
violent encounters, focused primarily on human evolu-
tion and historical case study. After attending a pair of his
lecture classes revolving around these aspects of survival,
we took the opportunity to sit down with him, one-on-one,
and hear a little more about who he is and how he landed
in the unique position of training armed and prepared
citizens alike on the intellectual nature of up-close-and-ugly
violent crises.
RECOIL OFFGRID: Tell us a little about where you’re
from originally.
JOHN HEARNE: I was born and raised in a small town in
rural Virginia. When I write small, I mean a population of
300 or so. I was raised in an intact two-parent household
with my grandparents living next door. It was a classic
rural upbringing; we lived on the edge of town, and I could
wander the local fields and forests after school. I could hunt
small game in the woods behind our house or go quail
hunting with my dad. My grandparents were great as well;
I could go and shoot anything unfortunate enough to turn
up in front of me and my grandfather would clean it for
me. Then, my grandmother would cook it. The only thing
“unique” was my parents managed to send me to a private
college prep school from the fifth grade on, so I had a huge
head start in the education department.
The whole time I was growing up, my dad was active
in the local volunteer fire department and would end up
serving as chief. I grew up playing in the firehouse, and I
joined the fire department when I was 16 and became an
EMT when I was 17. I’d say an attitude of public service was
instilled in me fairly early.
How did you get into a career in law enforcement?
JH: My dad had been a reserve deputy in Florida prior
to my arrival in the world and he would end up as
a special police officer when I was a teenager. My
great-grandfather had been the sheriff of Wicomico
County, Maryland, and I remember hearing stories
about him from my dad. Also, several of the
volunteer firefighters I served with were deputy
sheriffs or local police officers, so law enforce-
ment seemed like a normal job to me.
When I was 17, I got a (deserved) speeding
ticket. I thought that if I knew how RADAR
and such worked, I might be able to avoid
a repeat of that experience. I started to do
ride-alongs with a local police officer and
later some deputy sheriffs. I quickly became
fascinated by the job and thought it might
make a good career. I was able to start as
a part-time dispatcher, which gave me my
first glimpse behind the curtain.
OFFGRIDWEB.COM

Right: As an ac-
tive Federal LEO,
Hearne has ex-
tensive training
in both pistol and
carbine employ-
ment.
At the time I was still in college, I found out that the
National Park Service hired part-time officers and my dad
encouraged me to apply. I had every intention of working
for a few years and then using the experience to get hired
by a more prestigious agency. I continued to work sum-
mers through graduate school to gain experience and I
really enjoyed how the agency provided all the emergency
services — fire, EMS, and SAR. I ended up working nine
years on a part-time basis and was hired for a full-time posi-
tion in 2000. At this point, I don’t think I’m transferring to
another agency and will probably make a career out of it.
We know you’re still on active duty, but what has been
your most challenging assignment thus far? What
about your favorite one?
JH: My most challenging assignment may sound bizarre.
Due to a lack of prosecutors, cases in the certain large
Western parks use an agency representative to handle all
of the misdemeanors and initial proceedings on felonies.
You don’t have to be a formally trained lawyer, and to be
fair, an effective cop knows the law as well as most attor-
neys do. You attend a one-day course to familiarize yourself
with basic criminal procedure and the local rules. I was
given a point of contact in case I had any questions, a point
of contact who really didn’t return phone calls.
I found myself in charge of a small pros-
ecutors’ office for the summer in Yosemite
National Park. I had two law students and a
part-time secretary to assist with a previously
poorly managed case load, which had result-
ed in a massive backlog. We conducted all
of the expected business from initial appear-
ances to plea negotiations to conducting tri-
als. We had to deal with all of the crimes that
were occurring that summer as well as the
backlog. Prior to this experience, I thought I
wanted to go to law school. This experience
thoroughly disabused me of that notion. This
was a great chance to get a different view
behind the curtain, an ugly view to the inner
machinations of the legal system — note I did
not write “justice system.”
I’ve had a lot of assignments I really en-
joyed. If I had to pick one, I’d have to choose
my time with our field training program.
This program takes officers who have just
graduated from the academy and helps
them apply the abstract knowledge they
should have gained in the academy to the
real world. From 2004 to 2016, I served as a
field training officer, field training supervisor,
and member of our national advisory council. I’ve always
enjoyed teaching and our team was consistently able to
take people with limited experience and get them up to the
required performance level. Arguably, more important were
the cases where we recommended someone’s removal
from the law enforcement profession as they were funda-
mentally unsuited for the job. It has been very rewarding
to see rangers that I helped train, excel in the field, make
good cases, and eventually move up to higher positions
in the agency or lateral to a “cool guy” agency like the U.S.
Marshall Service.
Is your law enforcement career what got you into
shooting competitively?
JH: I wouldn’t say it was my law enforcement career per se
that got me into competitive shooting but rather poor law
enforcement training. I was one of the last people in my
agency to give up their revolvers as we made the transition
to semi-automatic pistols. I was a pretty good shot with my
GP-100, and while I never shot a perfect 300/300, I was
always chasing it and tended to shoot in the high 290s.
The semi-automatic transition course was supposed to be
a three-day, 24-hour class. Instead of three days, I got four
or five hours, most of which was in the classroom. We went
to the range, shot a few drills, and attempted the qualifica-

tion. I passed the qualification course in the low 270s. I was
told that I was “good enough” since I still shot 90 percent,
and the class ended.
I was honestly horrified at the difference between shoot-
ing ability between the two platforms and wanted to get
back to where I was shooting with the revolver. As far as
I could tell, nobody in the agency really knew enough to
make that happen. At the same time, Front Sight was start-
ing its move to Las Vegas and hosted an open house that
I attended since I was living in the area. I was able to get a
significant discount on my first class and drove to Bakers-
field, California, for their four-day handgun class. I know that
“all the cool kids” like to make fun of Front Sight, but in the
late ’90s it was a dramatic improvement over any training
I had ever experienced. I did very well in the class, and it
opened the door of the private sector training world to me.
It has long been common practice to recommend shoot-
ing competitively, and I’m pretty sure it was recommended
in one of the Front Sight lectures. It was also at this time
that I started paying more attention to gun magazines, as
this was pre-internet and they were the only source for
information. I started to look for local matches to shoot. I
tried IDPA and wasn’t overly impressed. The club where
I was shooting also hosted matches under the Paladin
System that Rick Miller established. These were very seri-
ously defensive-minded shooters who ran hot ranges and
mixed long-gun stages with man-on-man events into every
monthly match. I started traveling in the local area and
would shoot whatever match worked with my schedule but
never missed the monthly Paladin Match.
THE HUMAN
FACTOR
equally disconnected from reality. A lot of folks who dis-
count competitive shooting simply don’t like the objective
measure of their skill that competition can provide. People
with very low levels of skill will avoid competition as an ego
defense because they don’t want to finish in the bottom
10 percent. These people are also discounting the direct
experience of famous gunfighters who all attributed their
competitive background to their later success. We have his-
torical examples such as Col. Rex Applegate or Jim Cirillo as
well as the testimonials from America’s most elite military
operators that they found competition more stressful than
real-world gunfights.
You have a long list of defensive firearms courses
under your belt, including time as an instructor for
Rangemaster and your agency. What do you see as
some of the biggest gaps in training for LE officers?
JH: The most obvious gap is that of standards. The trend
for years has been to lower the shooting standards. As
soon as some stage is deemed “too hard,” agencies opt
to remove it instead of investing in the training needed to
have their folks pass it. The level of skill needed to pass
Below: Students
a typical POST course in no way reflects a level of learn-
working through
ing that we can expect people to be able to access under concealed-carry
stress. The only two qualification courses I can think of that pistol work.

There is still some debate over the efficacy of how

competition shooting translates into duty/defensive
firearms use. What has been your experience in this
regard?
JH: This is a great example of a question where the two
offered answers tend to be at extremes, and neither is
right. There are those who say that competition has lots of
translation, and those that claim it has none. The truth lies
somewhere in the middle — it has some clear value, and
how the individual engages with it really determines the
ultimate value.
The people that proclaim the high value of competition
often overlook the heavily scripted nature of most matches.
Most matches tend to allow for the rote memorization of
the course of fire. This negates a lot of the potential value
of having to solve problems on the fly with imperfect infor-
mation. Doing well tends to be rooted in how well you build
and run your shooting plan and deal with any exigencies
ISSUE 56

that occur in the middle of that plan.

The people who say competition has no value are as

031

032
1A/2A: OF SPEECH,
hold folks to a meaningful standard are the old Air Marshall
course and the old Bakersfield PD qualification. Please note
that “old” proceeds both of these, as they are no longer
used.
We really need to shift the standards up — what most
agencies consider the “instructor” standard is what the
street level guy should be able to meet. We now have solid
data that better marksmanship correlates with better deci-
sion making under stress. In 2023, anything that leads to
better decision making needs to be implemented immedi-
ately, not discounted for convenience.
If you could make a magic wand and change police
training at an institutional level, what would that con-
sist of?
JH: This is worth an entire article by itself. In a nutshell, the
whole enterprise needs a reboot, starting with hiring. The
sad fact is that most police training is bad training. Very
few people understand the underlying factors that make
for good training, and we just rush people through with the
Above and right:
Hearne’s live-fire
courses focus
on applying
cognitive
processes to
firearms-based
self-defense
problems.
THE HUMAN
FACTOR
full knowledge that recently graduated recruits won’t retain
what they tried to learn in seven months after they leave
the academy. The people trusted to instruct are rarely deep
experts in the area they teach, and they often lack the
ability to effectively convey what they do know. Often, the
training division is where the misfits who weren’t suitable
for the field but couldn’t be fired are warehoused. We have
to accept that building people who perform takes time,
effort, and resources. Rushing someone through a 10- or 12-
week academy just doesn’t work. There isn’t enough time
to legitimately ingrain the skills we expect police officers to
possess.
Even if we had a perfect academy experience, agen-
cies are unable and/or unwilling to give their officers the
recurring training they need to stay proficient. There is no
way for the limited training infrastructure to allow officers
to practice empty hand skills, shoot their firearms, and
practice other critical skills at the regularity that allows
proficiency. These are monthly, if not weekly, training re-
quirements, and nobody is willing to pay to have proficient
officers.
On the flip side, what trends do you see in civilian fire-
arms training as harmful to those seeking training for
defensive firearms use?
JH: There are trends I see but I don’t know if I’d call them
“harmful.” The concerns I have with private sector training
are reflective of instructors answering the demands of the
market from consumers who don’t know what they need.
The industry tends to sell a lot of higher volume shooting
classes with the end goal of pursuing technical excellence.
There is nothing wrong with technical excellence and
shooting common drills faster, but the point of diminish-
ing returns is hit sooner than many people want to accept.
What I think of as “detrimental” is limiting your develop-
ment to just raw technical skill. At some point you need to
focus more on skill application instead of taking another
0.05 second off your draw to first shot. At some point, you
need a tactics class to know how and when to apply the
skill you’ve developed. You need knowledge other than
how to shoot, such as empty hands skills or medical train-
ing, and we all need to be in the best shape we can be in.
I see instructors with really good classes who incorporate
this sort of needed material, who struggle to fill classes sim-
ply because the round count isn’t high enough or subjects
are “boring.”
How did you get into teaching/training on your own,
and how did you come up with the name Two Pillars
Training?
JH: I don’t know if there is a teaching gene, but if there
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034
1A/2A: OR OF THE PRESS;
In addition to his is, my mom gave it to me. Both of my sisters are profes-
range courses, sional teachers and I’ve been teaching for decades. In
Hearne has an graduate school, I taught SPSS [statistics software]; when I
engaging series
of lecture courses was working in IT, I remotely taught users how to use this
on training newfangled thing called email. When I developed a serious
methodology interest in shooting, I naturally started teaching the mate-
and historical
rial to anyone who wanted it. I ended up running range
violent incident
case studies. sessions at work before I completed my basic academy let
alone firearms instructor school. I guess I had an ability to
convey information effectively, and as my body of shooting
knowledge expanded, I was able to convey it.
As far as my own company goes, I’ve known for a long
time that I loved teaching firearms-related material and that
I would be facing mandatory retirement with a young family
to support. I was given some sage wisdom by Craig Douglas.
He told me that for the last five years, you have to be work-
ing doubly hard — working at the current job and working
to build the next job so you’ll have something to step into.
My goal has been to start to build the business and frankly,
to make as many mistakes as possible while I still have a day
job to allow for those mistakes to be non-fatal.
Another bit of wisdom I picked up from Craig Douglas
and others in the industry is to put a lot of thought into
your company name. Once you start to build the brand,
you really can’t change the name, even when you really
want to. I wanted my company name to reflect what I’m try-
ing to do and not be another derivation of Tattooed Tacti-
cal Combative Gunfighter Inc. The name “Two Pillars” refers
to what I’m building my business on — peer reviewed scien-
tific research and real-world best practices. In a nutshell, I’m
trying to look hard at the credible scientific research as well
as what the best, most successful people are doing in the
real world. We have a ton of folks doing the latter, not many
doing the former, and almost nobody doing both.
Many of the lectures and training courses you’ve of-
THE HUMAN
FACTOR
fered under Two Pillars are heavily rooted in rigorous,
academic research. How did you develop this method-
ology?
JH: My master’s degree taught me a bunch of relevant
and useful skills — primarily the ability to review the current
body of high-quality literature and gain an overview of the
current understandings of a topic. When I started down
this path, I found a few obscure references that I wanted to
read and review out of curiosity. Any peer reviewed article
is going to have a list of references at the end. I quickly real-
ized that there was a large body of knowledge which was
mostly untapped by the training community.
I realized that over the years, we had been able to stum-
ble across best methods by trial and error, but rarely could
anyone explain why we did something in a particular way.
The research gave a very good explanation of the realities
that tended to underlie best practices. I liken it to trouble-
shooting an engine. You can know what to do and that will
get you so far. However, if you understand why or how an
engine works your ability to repair or tune it will be much
better when the standard “do this” answer doesn’t work.
I thought that it was important to set the record straight
and use objective truth to form the best understanding
possible. Those in the fitness community who look to the
literature jokingly say they’re fighting “broscience.” I guess
I’m trying to fight “broscience” in the field of human perfor-
mance under life-and-death circumstances.
You gave us the opportunity to sit in a couple of these
lectures, one of which focused on dissecting some
milestone critical incidents in law enforcement history.
What benefits do armed citizens gain from studying
the forensics of these types of incidents?
JH: I use both the Newhall incident and the Miami-FBI fire-
fight as case studies when teaching armed citizens. For the
typical middle-class to upper-middle-class person living in a
protected bubble, the realities of criminal violence are just
an abstract worry. Most of these folks have no idea what
kind of people they share the earth with — evil men who
don’t share the decent bourgeois values and see decency
as nothing but weakness. Both Newhall and Miami feature
the scary pairing of a sociopath with a psychopath. The
typical decent person has no idea that folks like this exist.
By pointing to actual historic events with known antago-
nists, you can ground the idea of evil men as something
real — you can point to concrete examples and begin to
realize what you have to do to prepare. We can use these
events to put a human face on an abstract concept that
might otherwise be dismissed.
You’ve also spent a significant amount of time digging

into the evolutionary and cognitive roots of combative
training. What are two of the biggest “eye-openers”
you’ve learned about how humans process life-threat-
ening situations?
JH: The biggest revelation was how much the human mind
hates novel circumstances. Novel means that the mind
hasn’t experienced it before and doesn’t have an existing
framework to handle it or make sense of it. The best way
to eliminate novelty is to be exposed to the situation and
ultimately build a mental construct that encapsulates it.
We can call this mental construct a “schema” or “mental
map” or “mental representation,” but whatever we call it, it’s
the most powerful predictor of success across a variety of
fields from martial arts to medicine. Without a solid mental
map, almost all of the raw technical ability is wasted since
the mind doesn’t know when and/or how to apply it. In a
nutshell, training in skill application trumps training in pure
skill every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
The second revelation was the role that recency played
in predicting performance. If you understand how the hu-
man mind learns, stores, and sheds motor programs, you
realize that skills which aren’t practiced regularly fade away
very quickly. For many life-saving skills, the last time you
practiced the skill is the most important factor in predicting
your ability to perform it in dire times. A chart that I found
from the Center for Naval Analysis says it best: “People rust
faster than equipment.” If you’re going to rely on a firearm
to defend yourself and others, you’ll need to handle that
firearm weekly and shoot it monthly. Even a small amount
of well-structured rounds, like 30, will go a long way to
maintaining not just proficiency but your ability to access
the skill when your life is at risk.
THE HUMAN
FACTOR
tidbits along the way. I find that small lessons regularly
interjected are more useful than a major point emphasized
once. For instance, when I teach tactical anatomy, I show
people who have sustained life ending wounds yet are fully
capable of continuing to fight. This exposure helps elimi-
nate the novelty of the situation and shows the student
which mental maps are likely to be most relevant to the
problem they most likely to encounter.
Modern conveniences and technology have dulled a
lot of our situational awareness and “survival in-
stincts.” What situations does the public ignorantly
tend to get into trouble the most with?
JH: I’d offer two major areas of concern: being unaware
in public and broadcasting information that you are a
lucrative target. We know with a great deal of certainty
how criminals select those they victimize. Moving about in
public while immersed in your smartphone while wear-
ing headphones that block out the audible environmental
clues is a great way to become a target. The criminal wants
three things (mostly): a victim that is unaware, a victim
whose capabilities for self-defense are less than the attack-
ers, and a sufficient reward to make the risk worthwhile. If
you simply don’t bury your head in your phone while mov-
ing about, you’ve gone a long way down the de-selection
road.
If you do have to use your phone in public, pause, look
around, and plant your back against something like a wall
that limits your awareness to your front. Most people don’t
do that and the criminal looking for an easy target will

How do you try to incorporate these lessons into your

work as a firearms instructor?
JH: The academic body of knowledge can provide us with
both subtle and direct guidance on how to better shape
our training. There are very practical examples from the
world of motor learning. Most instructors don’t appreci-
ate how many repetitions it takes for someone to begin
to learn a motor skill that is new to them. By making sure
that you include sufficient repetitions when introducing
something new, you can really enhance your student’s pro-
gression and shorten the learning curve for them. This may
limit how much material you can present in one day, but it
will guarantee that what you do cover is far more likely to
“stick” and be available at a later time.
We can also draw more “big picture” lessons from the lit-
erature. As mentioned above, the need to eliminate novelty
and build valid mental maps should be our top priorities.
If an instructor knows this, then they can interject relevant
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 THE HUMAN
038
1A/2A: OF THE PEOPLE FACTOR
JOHN’S EDC GEAR
ON-DUTY
Pistol
-SIG P320F TXG w/
SureFire X300 (stock
except for front sight)
in a Safariland ALS
holster
Rifle
-16-inch mid-length
BCM upper on an ADM
fully ambidextrous
lower, Aimpoint PRO,
X300, VTAC sling
Medical
-CAT 7 tourniquet at-
tached to the holster
-IFAK in vehicle
Misc. Tools
-SureFire EDCLT2
-26-inch Peacekeeper
Baton
-Taser X2
-Sabre OC Spray

OFF-DUTY
Pistol
-“Custom” SIG P320
with full-length slide
and compact grip
module in a J.M.
Custom Kydex holster
Medical
simply remove you from the list of possible candidates. We because they provide a road map for what to do if you do -Snakestaff EDC
are effectively displacing the crime somewhere else, which encounter someone who isn’t persuaded by your general tourniquet
-IFAK in vehicle
is sadly almost everything we can do in the current political attempts to be deselected. Most attackers will conduct an Misc. Tools
environment. “interview” before launching an attack. The MUC material -SureFire Stiletto Pro
-Pom OC
does a great job of not only teaching pre-attack indicators -Spyderco Endura
What sort of training would you recommend the public but also how to fail the potentially most important interview
do to protect themselves or recapture some of that of your life.
cognitive survival ability?
JH: While most folks would love a one-stop solution — just
take this class — I think that a deliberate effort to cultivate
solid habits has the biggest return. As noted above, make a
JOHN E.
conscious effort to not use your cell phone while walking. If HEARNE
you want to listen to music while moving about, get a set of AGE: 52
bone conduction headphones. This will allow you to have CURRENT HOMETOWN:
pretty good auditory awareness while allowing you to listen Painter, VA
to whatever you found so compelling. Another good habit is OCCUPATION:
U.S. Park Ranger
to make a deliberate pause before moving through transi-
RECOMMENDED READING:
tional spaces. Before exiting your car, stop and look around
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
for a second. Ask yourself: Who’s around me and what are Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff
they doing? Before walking into or out of a store with a glass Cooper
Concealed Carry Class by Tom Givens
door, pause and survey where you are about to go. You may
FAVORITE MOVIES:
miss something relevant but the fact that this sort of behav- L.A. Confidential
ior is fairly uncommon will likely get you passed over. The Usual Suspects
A Fish Called Wanda
If you do want a “one-stop solution” for these sort of
FAVORITE DRINK:
issues, I can’t think of much better than the Managing Un-
Most any decent bourbon
known Contacts (MUC) curriculum taught by the ShivWorks
SOURCES
collective — folks like Craig Douglas, Cecil Burch, Larry Two Pillars Training
Lindeman, Chris Fry, or Paul Sharp. Their offerings are critical www.twopillarstraining.com
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040 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
1A/2A: PEACEABLY

Staying Fed Between Storage and Cultivation

By Phillip Meeks

ou’ve spent the last few years stacking eggs, and sprouts are examples of sustainable foods that
emergency food in the pantry, in the closet can help fill the gaps between what’s in the cupboards
of the guest bedroom, and in the garage. and what will eventually spring up in the garden. Fur-
You bought a grain mill and have stuffed thermore, many families are accustomed to a good bit of
pound after pound of rice, beans, pasta, variety in their diets, and these items can make the 99th
and wheat berries into mylar. You’ve couponed until you’re serving of rice and beans a little more tolerable.
blue in the face, joined a wholesale club, taken advantage
of every sale on oatmeal and canned tuna. Even with all Transitional Food Systems Should Meet
you’ve managed to put away, you realize in the back of Three Criteria:
your mind that, for the long-term, it will become necessary 1) They should be portable enough to be transported
to shift from food storage to food production, so you’ve to a bugout location and back or moved into a sheltered
planted fruit trees in your landscape beds and stashed an space with relative ease.
impressive mix of vegetable seeds in the freezer. 2) They should provide significant nutrition for their
But what if the transition isn’t as cut and dry? Environ- bulk and weight.
mental conditions, social unrest, illness within your family, 3) The knowledge, skills, and equipment required to
or a steeper-than-anticipated learning curve could delay produce these foods should be easily attainable for the
the ability to move into full-scale agricultural production. majority of folks.
All of a sudden, then, your one-year food supply will have
to stretch to 14 months or longer. Perhaps you discover
too late that your stockpiled provisions, while loading you
up with the necessary calories, lack one easy-to-overlook
micronutrient.
Food security during a major event should not only fo-
cus on stored food and Little House on the Prairie -esque
self-sufficiency, but also on “transitional food production”
— systems that can generate some nutrition even during
a bugout or shelter-in-place scenario. Wise preppers
should consider how they can implement smaller-scale
food production that will help stretch their flour and
freeze-dried meals, while giving them a wide range of nu-
trients. In the event of a delayed growing season, a crop
failure, or a need to lay low a little longer, mushrooms,
Mushrooms To-Go
Mushrooms are the only non-animal food source of
Vitamin D. They have more protein than most vegetables,
they provide significant levels of riboflavin and niacin, and
they’re relatively easy to grow — or at least some species
are. While growing morels isn’t impossible, it’s not as reli-
able an undertaking as producing shiitakes or oysters.
Foraging for wild mushrooms is an interest of a lot of
self-sufficient families, but the production of mushrooms
is an easy skill to learn. Just remember that some spe-
cies prefer to grow on logs, while others like straw, wood
chips, or compost. Your local cooperative extension
office may offer workshops on growing mushrooms. It’s
also possible to purchase online kits that consist of grow-
ing media pre-inoculated and ready to produce.
As an example of what’s possible, for less than $50, one
can buy enough shiitake spawn to inoculate 20 small logs,
using only a drill and hammer. The oak, beech, birch, or
maple logs will go through a colonization period, which
can take anywhere from six to 18 months. After that, each
log can produce up to a pound and a half of mushrooms
annually for as long as it takes for the log to completely
rot down. In the case of oaks, that may be as long as five
years. Logs that are already colonized and bearing are
quite portable and can be tossed into the back of a pickup
truck like firewood, ready to travel to a new site.
ISSUE 56
OFFGRIDWEB.COM 041
042 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
1A/2A: TO ASSEMBLE,

Sprouting Nutrition
The radish is an underdog of the
vegetable world, usually grown as
an afterthought by home gardeners,
stuck into a spare corner of the gar-
den and certainly not as esteemed
as beans, corn, squash, or tomatoes.
But radishes have a couple of char-
acteristics that make them worthy of
consideration as a survival crop:
1) Many varieties like Cherry Belle,
French Breakfast, and Rover mature
in 21 days. In other words, from the
moment the seeds are placed in
the ground, radishes will be ready
to harvest in three weeks. That can
translate to multiple crops each year,
from spring through fall.
2) Both the roots and the greens
can be eaten.
The thing that makes radishes ver-
satile as a transitional food is that not
only can the seeds be planted, but
they can be sprouted indoors for a
spicy boost of vitamins and minerals.
The equipment needed to sprout
radishes (as well as alfalfa, mung
beans, wheat berries, broccoli, on-
ions) is minimal: a jar with a screened
lid and some clean water. Soak the
seeds for a few minutes and then
strain the water off through the
screened lid. Then, rinse them twice
a day. Three tablespoons of seeds
will yield about four cups of sprouts
in less than a week.

Mobile Livestock
Farm animals can be a good source
of protein, fertilizer, and pest control.
Technically, if one has the trailer and
the facilities and labor to load it, any
livestock could be considered por-
table, but for most folks, that’s outside
the realm of practicality. On the other
hand, even children can carry and
load poultry and rabbits.
A chicken will produce as many as
Radishes are an often-
overlooked candidate for 250 eggs a year, while some duck
home gardens. Their leafy breeds will lay between 300 and 350.
greens are also edible. A couple of eggs per day for each
 TRANSITIONAL
FOOD PREPS
member of a family is a strong justification for maintaining
a small flock.
Taking small livestock with you, of course, means you
also have to haul any feed or medicines they would require,
but in the case of poultry the burden can be somewhat
reduced if one selects breeds known for their foraging
abilities. For chickens, that list would include Buckeyes,
Egyptian Fayoumis, Plymouth Rocks, and Welsummers, and
duck breeds counted as good foragers include Campbells,
Welsh Harlequins, and Runners.
The internet is full of tips for reducing backyard poultry
feeding costs, from fermenting their feed to producing
your own supply of maggots or mealworms. (For any not
repulsed by the notion of entomophagy, mealworms could
double as a source of protein for human consumption.)
Other types of poultry can be advantageous, as well.
Guineafowl are known for their “watchdog” screeching
behavior and for their tick-scouring prowess, while geese
may fill the role of bouncer in the poultry world, helping
keep small predators away.
We could list honeybees as portable livestock, but there
are a lot of moving parts, from managing Varroa mites
and other pests to keeping swarming under control, so
unless you’re headed into a SHTF situation with beekeep-
ing know-how already under your belt, it may not be prac-
tical to learn what you need as quickly as you could with
chickens. But if that’s the case, the pollination insurance
that a colony of bees could provide to future farming ef-
forts would mean a lot, in addition to the honey and wax
they’d manufacture.

A backyard chicken coop can

produce several eggs per day
for each member of your family,
saving a substantial amount of
money at the grocery store.

Shiitake mushrooms can thrive

on oak logs, producing more than
a pound of food per log per year.
ISSUE 56

This is much safer and more con-

sistent than foraging in the wild.

043
 TRANSITIONAL
044 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
1A/2A: AND TO PETITION FOOD PREPS

Grow Bags/Buckets Grow bags are Tapping all Resources

Not a food per se, but containers for planting crops are an excellent When we hear of sugar maple sap being collected in
choice for porta-
a good investment. Grow bags, buckets, or large flower- the U.S., we assume the only goal is syrup, but in Korea,
bility due to the
pots can provide the means for some food production built-in handles. it’s a tradition to drink the sap of the maple tree, known
during bugout scenarios or when conventional soil is In this photo, as gorosoe, as a health tonic, often while relaxing be-
compromised. These can be transported either pre-filled they’re filled neath the tree that supplied it.
with soil or with the intention of filling with a growing with potatoes. Likewise, bottled birch and maple sap have shown up in
medium once a destination is reached. A grow bag or American health food stores and high-end grocery chains
container has many of the same advantages as a raised in the last few years, and research does indicate that this
bed but with the added bonus of portability. liquid can add a boost of copper, zinc, magnesium, and
Even bags of cheap topsoil from the local garden other elements to the diet, in addition to providing
center can be quickly converted to impromptu growing
space by cutting an opening, amending with organic
matter, and sowing seeds. In the interim, these bags of
soil can be useful for fortifying a shelter. Root crops like
potatoes, carrots, and beets do well in containers, as do
tomatoes and peppers.
Even when suitable soil is lacking, buckets are condu-
cive to simple, non-circulating hydroponic production,
Simple taps can
such as the system made popular by Bernard Kratky of extract gallons
the University of Hawaii. Buckets, net pots, clay pellets, of sap from
and a small amount of water-soluble fertilizer specifically trees such as
for hydroponics is all that would be required for Kratky maple and birch.
The sap can be
hydroponics. Leafy vegetables like head lettuce or kale,
consumed on its
as well as vegetables that produce a lot of fruits per plant own or cooked
like cherry tomatoes or peppers will thrive in this soilless down into deli-
method. cious syrup.
 TRANSITIONAL
046 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
1A/2A: THE GOVERNMENT FOOD PREPS

hydration. (Few water filters are as effective as a tree’s some potatoes and carrots in felt bags, even if you have Have you con-
cambial system.) Sycamore and walnut can also be a two-acre garden to work with. While you’re at it, grow sidered farming
ducks? Some
tapped and either cooked into syrup with an investment some hydroponic jalapenos on the back deck. Strive to
breeds can lay
of time and fuel or drank as is. provide your backyard chickens with all the nutrition they even more eggs
While not a huge contributor to overall health, the require while relying less and less on commercial feeds. per year than
equipment to extract gallons and gallons of sap is mini- Take inventory of which tree species are on your prop- chickens.
mal: inexpensive plastic spouts, a bit of tubing, and some erty or around your bugout location, and plan to learn
buckets. And in situations where you’re living off a finite the sap collection process when possible.
number of foods for a long period of time, anything that As good as white rice and pinto beans can be, they can
can provide a few more micronutrients is going to be always be improved with a few chunks of shiitake mush-
worthwhile. Of course, when time allows, cooking down room or a sprinkling of radish sprouts.
the sap from any of these aforementioned trees will yield
a sweet syrup that can be used or bartered. A compact windowsill garden can provide fresh
Sap can’t be extracted from a tree year-round, and the garnishes to add to dry or canned staples.
timing varies across the country. In Southwest Virginia, for
instance, the maple, walnuts, and sycamores flow in Janu-
ary and February, while birches can be tapped later in the
spring. The bigleaf maples in Washington State are usually
tapped around Christmas time, while things aren’t in full
swing in New England until March. You would need to
know when sap flows in your location, and that’s going to
be when nighttime temperatures are well below freezing,
but days warm up to the mid 40s or 50s (Fahrenheit).
It pays to become acquainted with these foods and
production methods before they’re needed. Inoculate
some shiitake logs this fall. Sprout some radish, mung
bean, and alfalfa seeds on the kitchen counter to see how
receptive your family is to their taste and texture. Grow
048 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
1A/2A: FOR A REDRESS
Kirk Krack of Performance Freediving International Speaks on How
You Can Learn Lifesaving Survival Breathing Techniques
By John Schwartze
emember playing games as kids to see
who could stay under water the longest?
Although it’s probably been a while since
you did it, how long do you think you
could hold your breath? Think you’d be
able to do it for the same amount of time when you add
panic and confusion into the mix?
Imagine all the situations where air may quickly
run out and you have no breathing apparatus to rely
on. Whether you find yourself in a car that’s quickly
submerging into deep water, a home consumed with
smoke from a fire, or you’ve been exposed to a harmful
aerosolized chemical, there are no shortage of ways you
may suffocate or risk severe respiratory damage if you
don’t know what to do. While gas masks or oxygen tanks
might be nice to have under those circumstances, you
may have nothing more to rely on than your own physi-
cal abilities.
So, can you really train your body to hold your breath
for prolonged periods of time? Yes. We spoke with
Performance Freediving International owner Kirk Krack
on how his company prepares people for these situa-
tions. Krack and his partner also started Aquatic Survival
International to train military and government personnel.
These techniques are just as applicable on land as they
are to maritime environments. Having been tapped by
James Cameron to provide training for the newest Ava-
tar movie as well as military and law-enforcement units
around the globe, Krack’s company helps others find
skills they never knew could possibly save their life.
RECOIL OFFGRID: Tell us about your company.
Kirk Krack: I’m the founder and CEO of Performance
Freediving International. I’ve been a water person all my
life. I became scuba certified when I was 14, I’ve been
a lifeguard, swim instructor, became a scuba instructor
when I was 19, and bought my first dive shop when I was
20. I went all the way through the recreational scuba
ranks, went into technical diving, and then eventually
became a tri-mix instructor/trainer, so mixed-gas diving
with multiple gasses (usually oxygen/helium/nitrogen)
and scuba dives into the 575-foot range with six hours of
decompression — all pretty extreme stuff.
Then, in the mid-to-late ’90s, I rediscovered free diving,
which I’d always done. I got the opportunity to train a
couple people to two national and two world records in
the sport and realized there was no proper educational
system around freediving. In January of 2000 I’d just left
the Cayman Islands and started my next company with
the idea of making a training system around freediving
and breath-hold diving. Performance Freediving Inter-
national is the world’s second oldest free-dive-specific
training organization, but really we were the first to de-
velop proper educational systems, standards, books, and
everything like that.
Tell us about your curriculum and the courses you offer.
KK: We have both recreational and professional-level
programs. Our recreational programs start at snorkeling
and go into an entry-level, free-diver-level course, which
is teaching people in the 20-meter/70-foot range. We
have an intermediate free-diver program, which is into
the 40-meter/130-foot range, and an advanced program
where we’re teaching people to work as deep as 60
meters/200 feet.
We also have professional-level programs, so we teach
people how to teach our system of education. Within the
recreational side, we have a number of offshoot pro-
grams. One of them is called technical freediving, which
is using enriched oxygen mixtures as a surface-breathing
gas to increase safety, recovery, or extend breath holds.
Another program we have is an adaptive free-diver
program for working with people who have physical,
mental, or learning disabilities, the premise of which is for
everyone to be able to enjoy the underwater world.
We also have an offshoot called our breath-hold sur-
vival program. This is targeted at the recreational market
that might need a breath-hold skill from a survival aspect
for them being in the water. That could be kayakers, surf-
ers, swimmers, that sort of thing. Then, we have another
set of breath-hold programs that are aimed more at pro-
fessionals, specifically special-operations members and
it’s a breath-hold special operations program, so that’s
dealing with intentionally stressed environments, where
the risk and danger of that entrapment or equipment fail-
ure could be catastrophic and going to the surface is not
the first or second option because they’re on missions.
Can you tell me about some of the organizations
you’ve trained?
KK: We’ve trained a number of organizations within the
public safety area. We’ve trained Coast Guard rescue
swimmers, Marine rescue units, and commercial diving
companies. We’ve trained seven different special opera-
tions groups from three different countries. To give you an
idea, we’ve done work with Air Force PJs, U.S. Naval Spe-
cial Warfare Group, and several others along those lines.
As far as your recreational survival training, give us
an example of how that could be useful.
KK: A really good example of how our program was born
was working with big-wave surfers. We were approached
by Red Bull to design a program — we already had some-
Technical
thing in the pipeline and had been playing with it and
freediving is a
teaching some people. Red Bull approached us to teach type of breath-
a big-wave surfer named Ian Walsh, who at that time had hold diving
surfed some of the largest waves in the world, about 80 where the diver
feet. Ian was a great surfer, but his breath-hold abilities pre-breathes
needed some work. He said that when he was under wa- an enriched
oxygen mixture
ter, his ears hurt because he didn’t know how to equalize
to extend time
and so we developed a five-day program with the idea underwater.
that when you’re on big waves you could experience a (Photo by Court-
multiple-scenario hold-down. ney Platte)
ISSUE 56
049
Kirk Krack What we try and train for is the three-wave hold-down
teaching diving where you’re under the water for a minute. It’s a very
skills to mem- violent minute because you probably didn’t get a great
bers of U.S. breath hold and also got the wind knocked out of you,
Army Special
then you’re in a high metabolic rate. You only get about 15
Forces. (Photo
seconds once you get to the surface, and you’re released
by Craig A.
Gentry) before the next wave hits you and you’re held down for
that next minute. We repeat that three different times with
only about a 15-second interval. During that time, we cre-
ate a stressed environment that the person works in.
What we’re trying to do is teach people the techniques
and realities of breath holding. How the physiology and
physics works with it, and what the psychology is behind
it. We try and train a system of inducing mammalian div-
ing reflex, and some of those reflexes, for example, are
inducing bradycardic response, which is a slowing of the
heart. The heart is a significant muscle in the body and
consumes oxygen as it’s pumping blood through the cir-
culatory system. The faster and harder it pumps, the more
it’s moving it into the extremities of the circulatory system.
Another diving reflex we work on is creating splenic
contractions. The spleen is a reservoir for hemoglobin
that’s being processed out of the body but still has
oxygen-carrying capacity. We can train the spleen to
shrink by 20 percent, pushing more red blood cells into
the circulatory system, so it’s almost like a natural form of
blood doping. And then there’s other systems we change.
We change the body’s ability to handle more carbon
dioxide, which allows the breath hold to be more relaxed
and go longer with less stress.
Are there a few basics you think all people should
know for an emergency?
KK: Absolutely. We’ve worked with fire departments,
marine rescue units, police dive recovery teams, but within
the fire departments, they work in noxious environments,
so that’s one thing. Any time you’re working in or playing
around the water where there’s potential entanglements or
entrapments, currents, rivers, and so on, you should have
an understanding of the survival aspect of breath hold. It’s
one thing to have a breath hold, but if you’re so preoccu-
pied in the breath hold that it takes away from your ability
to problem solve, then that’s not going to help you.
Once you develop a breath hold, then you try to
develop a working breath hold where, during that time,
you can problem solve: puzzles, knots, stuff like that.
You can slowly work yourself out of the situation, keep
rational thought, and remain calm. Being able to remain
 SAVE YOUR
BREATH
calm is important. When you’re calm, your metabolic rate Krack blowing
is slower, so your consumption of oxygen is going to be rings underwa-
ter. (Photo by
reduced and therefore the creation of CO2, the waste
Craig A. Gentry)
product that the body creates, is going to be minimized,
which actually gives you that urge to breathe, so you’ll
extend your overall bottom time. By slowing down and
stopping and thinking you can initiate the logical prob-
lem-solving aspect to get yourself out of that situation.

What do you think the best ways are to mitigate

stress in these kinds of situations?
KK: We use this in all diving programs, that when pre-
sented with a situation, we call it “Stop, Breathe, Think,
and Act.” That’s from a scuba point of view because the
second thing is breathe, however, from a breath-hold situ-
ation, it’s “Stop, Think, and Act.” At some point you have Krack coaching
to resist moving into the panic cycle. By taking that split- Team Canada's
Mandy-Rae at
second to stop and evaluate your environment, stop your
World Cham-
physical activity, and let yourself adjust to what’s happen- pionships in
ing, you can put your resources into working your way Egypt.
out of the situation. Working through it in a methodical
way and at a pace that’s calculated and slow to conserve
oxygen gives you more time to problem solve.
Now there’s skills with that. You could find yourself in
a situation, like if your car hits the water and it’s slowly
going under and filling with water. We know that trying to
open the door when there’s water on the outside and air
on the inside, the water pressure just forces it shut. Know- Surf Survival
ing that, you have a short but adequate period of time to photo of Krack
and Craig A.
get ready for the situation. In a very short period of time,
Gentry train-
everyone has the ability to hold their breath for a minute ing a pro surfer.
or longer if they’re relaxed about it; a trained individual (Photo by Brian
will be able to last longer. Bielmann)
In that short period of time, in a relaxed way, we want to
get rid of as much CO2 from our lungs as we can so that
will allow us to have a longer breath hold in which to work
ourselves out of the situation. We can do this by what we
call purging or hyperventilation breaths. They’re deep,
forceful breaths, but not excessively fast. Think of it as if
you have a candle about a meter away and you’re taking
a breath into the full lung and you’re trying to blow that
candle out, not sharp and quicky, but long. So it’s about 1
second into full breath, and then about a 4-second relaxed
full exhalation and we can repeat that about five times.
And the final thing we want to do is, just before that
last breath is going to come and we’re remaining calm,
is take our last breath. It’s called a peak inhalation, and
we take our breath from the bottom of the lungs to the
top: nice, easy, and relaxed. That breath takes about 2
ISSUE 56

seconds to take in, fills to the top, and then you swallow
so that you’re holding the air in the lungs, but the lungs

051

Training a group and chest are relaxed, not feeling like you’re holding it
of top big wave in at the lips with your cheeks about to explode. So we
surfers. (Photo
relax the chest and the stomach because tensed muscles
by Craig A.
Gentry) consume more oxygen. We swallow to close that air off
and hold it in at the throat.
It’s like blowing up a balloon and you’re holding that air
inside the balloon by pinching the opening closed versus
holding the wall of the balloon open to keep that volume
in. And then the throat lock keeps that air in so the rest
of the body will be relaxed. For example, I can be doing
a breath hold in the pool and everything is nice and re-
laxed, but if I start to get cold and get my first shiver, my
resting oxygen consumption has gone up 500 percent
because now every muscle fiber is going to try to shake
to create heat.
Think of it like a fuel tank in a car. I can be at idle in a
parking lot with the car on and idling at 500 to 600 rpm
or I can be stepping on the gas while still in park and
revving it at 3,000 rpm. That’s what shivering does. If I’m
just a little bit tensed, even if I’m not moving my arms and
legs, I’ve gone from 700 to 3,000 rpm. Then, if I’m actu-
ally doing work like moving and flailing around because
I’m panicked, now I’m at 5,000 rpm. What we’re trying
to do is say that you have a limited amount of gas, and
in a survival situation, you’re not going to be at 700 rpm
because you actually have to problem solve and move
yourself out of the situation, but you can be at around
1,500 rpm so your metabolism is low and slow. You’re not
consuming the gas, but you’re certainly not at 5,000 rpm.
SAVE YOUR
BREATH
How do you think breath control changes on land
versus in the water?
KK: A breath hold on land versus water are two different
things. For some people, it’s the psychology of it. Some
people will be able to hold their breath longer on land
than in water, when in fact the water should give you
physiological advantages. That simply comes down to
the psychology of it. A person feels that on land they can
hold their breath right to the very last second and they’re
not at risk. Whereas, once you’re in the water and that
water is surrounding your airway, then at that point you
know you’re compromised and there’s a risk.
If you can get the majority of your focus on the problem
at hand, then you’re going to make good, rational deci-
sions in a sequence that’s going to solve your problem. In
our programs, we can inoculate you from the fear of being
in the water so you can understand your capacity in the
water on a breath hold and also in a stressed environment.
By the time you come out of the program you’ll have
done breath holds over 4 minutes, sometimes people in
the 5- to 5 ½-minute range in what we call a static envi-
ronment where you’re not moving and holding breath for
a maximum amount of time. Then, we create a stressed
environment. To give you an example, if we can do 4
minutes in a static environment, in a moderate workload
environment, we can take about half that away. If you’re a
free-diver with a 4-minute static breath hold, if you were
to do moderate work and get down to the reef to have a
little fun, then you’ve got about half that time.

054
1A/2A: MILITIA, BEING
If we put you in a survival situa-
tion where everything is working
against you and you have not only a
high metabolic state, but you’ve got
caught on exhalation, then you’ve got
a quarter of that fuel tank left. Say if
you had an equipment failure during
a scuba exercise or were surfing and
got the wind knocked out of you,
then in that worst-case scenario, out
of that 4 minutes you don’t have half
anymore. You’ve got about a quarter
of that or a minute at that point of
what we’d call a working breath hold
— one where you can problem-solve
yourself out of the situation.
To train for a high metabolic
environment, I have you exhale, put
you under the water, and I give you
a slate of 10 questions. You’ve got
to read and answer the questions.
For the first minute, you’re probably
good, but after that minute you prob-
Advanced div- ably can’t even read the questions, let alone think about
ing equipment them and write the answers down. So, while you might
is helpful, but
be surviving, you’re not problem-solving yourself out of
Krack believes
that it should the situation. Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is cre-
always be ate the biggest static breath hold that we can and then
supported by inoculate you into the stressed environment to make that
an underlying survival breath hold the longest.
level of breath-
hold survival
Are there certain things you think most scuba certi-
training. (Photo
courtesy of U.S. fication courses neglect to train that your program
Department of does train?
Defense) KK: A typical recreational scuba course will really spend
no time on breath-holding skills at all. You’ll maybe get
15 minutes to practice in a pool. They’re inadequate in
teaching good equalizing techniques. Really what they’re
trying to teach you is to be under water where you have
ample supply of air on demand and how to deal with that
situation. But what do you do when you have complete
equipment failure, you don’t have a buddy, or you have
entanglements? That’s where breath-hold survival train-
ing can really take you to the next level for that person
who might find themself in those situations.
Krack teach-
ing U.S. Army Have you had any feedback from clients who’ve been
Special Forces
in that kind of situation and used this training to save
in their 50-foot
deep tank. their life?
(Photo by Craig KK: We trained Ian Walsh, who I mentioned earlier, sev-
A. Gentry) eral years ago. A few months later, I got a text from him. It
SAVE YOUR
BREATH
wasn’t so much a survival situation, but he was at Jaws [a
nickname for Pe‘ahi, a beach on the north shore of Maui
known for extremely large waves]; he lives just down the
road from there. One of the Jet Skis he was on crashed,
and he was just hanging out in the water watching.
Normally, with Jaws, the Jet Ski tows you in because it’s
too dangerous to paddle out there. He’d been using the
training, had this great breath hold and thought, “Screw
it, I’ll just paddle in.” Really it was one of the defining mo-
ments in surfing, because at that point, that was one of
the catalysts that brought in the new form of big-wave
surfing: paddle-in surfing.
Whenever we teach the special operations groups, like
SEAL Delivery Team 1, Naval Special Warfare Development
Group, and a number of groups like that, by the second
day they’ve done some pretty awesome stuff — things
they didn’t think were possible. They really started to open
up and one of the things they told us is that they should’ve
had this training before they were even shown a scuba
system. Yet, within the military, it’s maintained as a very
equipment-oriented training and application. They haven’t
had a program built around the breath-hold aspect of it.
What do you think the biggest risks are in training
these techniques?
KK: I’m glad you asked that. We have to understand that
in breath-hold survival training, you are routinely holding
your breath and stressing your body. To get gains and
build capacity, we have to stress the body. Just like physi-
cal training, if I want to build muscle, I’ve got to go to the
gym, break the muscle down at the gym, and then it’s
going to repair and over-repair itself for next time.
The same thing happens in the training that we’re do-
ing. We need to stress the body repeatedly, such that we
can develop capacity and force the body to change. But
because we are doing breath holds, we are putting our-
© 2023 Vortex Optics ® Registered Trademark and ™ Trademark of Vortex Optics
 SAVE YOUR
056
1A/2A: NECESSARY TO BREATH
could be in that state of slowly decreasing oxygen for 4
to 6 minutes and then, even when I black out, I still have
oxygen in my system. I could still have a couple minutes
of oxygen and then after I’ve blacked out, then I’m hit
with an anoxic situation. So, at that point I’ve got 4 to 6
minutes before I start to have irreversible brain damage.
Teaching Army
Special Forces in Key How long do your courses run for?
West, Florida. (Photo KK: Our breath-hold special operations program runs for
by Craig A. Gentry)
five days, and our recreational breath-hold surf survival
programs typically run four days.

selves into hypoxia — a varying degree of lack of oxygen. What do you think people should know before they
Hypoxia can eventually lower our oxygen in the body enroll in one of these courses?
and cause loss of motor control and lead to blackout, KK: It’s going to be great learning. They’re going to be taxed
which is not uncommon. and bump up against very primal fears. Our fear of falling,
Understand that we always train breath holds with a our fear of being eaten, and our fear of suffocation are
properly trained buddy who provides direct supervision. primal fears, and there’s a lot of soul searching that way. We
No one should be practicing breath holds unless they’ve really test who a person is and their resolve, but ultimately,
gone through the training. They shouldn’t be practicing they come out having accomplished very incredible things,
breath holds unless they’re practicing with an equally learning a lot, and providing invaluable tools in their toolkit,
trained buddy because it’s not the blackout that kills you, especially if they work in an aquatic environment where
it’s the drowning that ensues right after that. there could be risks they need to get themselves out of.
It’s not uncommon that people in training get to the
point in their breath hold that they’re unable to help them-
selves and that’s when their buddy steps in and assists
them. No harm, no foul, and if done properly it’s a learning
experience. That session is done for the day — try it again
the next day and learn from your mistake. But practicing
breath holds without someone equally trained who’s there
to protect your airway or lift your head out of the water is
very dangerous. We also don’t practice dry breath holds
while doing something like driving a car or while walking in
areas that could be unsafe. That would be the biggest risk.

What are some of the biggest rookie mistakes people

make during training?
KK: Not understanding the proper breathing cycle, being
too aggressive, and not taking enough time.

Are there any prevalent misconceptions people have

about the training prior to taking it?
KK: I think the misconception among the general public
is that we’re holding our breath and that kills brain cells. If
you’ve taken a first-aid course, everyone knows that if the
brain goes without oxygen for 4 to 6 minutes, irreversible
brain damage can occur, but that’s when they’re in a state
of anoxia — a complete lack of oxygen. In breath-hold SOURCES
Performance Freediving International
training or a breath-hold survival situation we’re hold-
www.tdisdi.com
ing our breath, but we have ample oxygen. We’re simply Aquatic Survival International
going through hypoxia, a varying degree of oxygen. I www.aquaticsurvival.com
1A/2A: THE SECURITY OF

Our Truck Gets a

Lo-Pro Westcott
Designs Roof Rack,
Baja Designs LED
Lights, and an
sPOD Touchscreen
Control System
By Patrick McCarthy
 iking, camping, shooting, and off-
roading — these are a few of our
favorite things. Even if you’re not a
custom vehicle enthusiast, it’s hard to
deny the value that a well-equipped
truck brings to each of these outdoor activities. It
offers the space to load up all the gear you want, the
ruggedness to make it through mud and snow, and
the emergency supplies you need if you get stuck
or injured. Essentially, it offers the freedom to go on
a variety of adventures. This was the realization that
led me to start our Toyota 4Runner overland vehicle
project, which began with the installation of off-grid
communication and navigation equipment inside the
cab. The next phase involves some more noticeable
upgrades: a Westcott Designs roof rack, an array of
ISSUE 56
Baja Designs LED lights, and an sPOD system to con-
trol the onboard electronics.
OFFGRIDWEB.COM 059
060
1A/2A: A FREE STATE,

session or attempting to navigate a

narrow trail back to the main road.
My 2022 4Runner’s stock Bi-LED
headlight low beams are good, but
the high beam only moves a shutter
to adjust the light pattern; it barely
makes a difference in a truly dark
environment. So, I reached out to
Baja Designs for a few auxiliary LED
lights that will massively increase the
truck’s available light output.
These include amber lights in the
bumper and grille to cut through
dust and fog, a 40-inch white light
bar on the roof rack to replace the
puny factory high beam, and a pair
of rear-facing area lights that double
as high-powered hazard/strobe
lights.
Wiring four sets of auxiliary lights
could easily lead to a rat’s nest of
The immense Function Over Fashion wires under the hood; that’s not only ugly, it’s a huge
amount of light Plenty of guys like to upgrade their trucks with headache to install and troubleshoot. I decided to allevi-
produced by the heavy-duty roof racks piled high with recovery gear and ate this problem by installing an sPOD BantamX, which
40-inch OnX6+
enough LED lights to resemble one of the UFOs from conveniently manages all the lighting connections (and
light bar makes
the truck’s fac- Close Encounters of the Third Kind. There’s nothing other electronic accessories) in a single unit that mounts
tory high beams wrong with these flashy builds, but personally, I prefer in the engine bay atop the fuse box. The BantamX unit
look worthless the “less is more” approach. So, I started the exterior is then simply connected with a single wire to an sPOD
in comparison. upgrades with a Lo-Pro roof rack from local Arizona truck touchscreen controller inside the truck, allowing me to
It should be
parts manufacturer Westcott Designs. This offers expand- activate any or all of the lights. It also adds dimming,
used cautiously
ability for a variety of gear and accessories in the future strobe, automatic shut-off timer, and many other smart
to avoid blind-
ing bystanders. — awnings, rooftop tents, rifle cases, mountain bikes, and functions (more on that later).
so on — but maintains a sleek appearance.
Lighting was next on my wish list. I live in an area Baja Designs Lights
where streetlights are few and far between, and I often I began this project by planning out the lights I needed
drive to remote locations where it gets extremely dark using Baja Designs’ lighting zones framework. The 4Run-
after sunset. Light makes any nighttime activity easier, ner’s stock high beam will be supplemented by a long-
Westcott whether it’s cleaning up gear after an evening range distance light (Zone 4); I chose a 40-inch OnX6+ light
Designs’ Lo-Pro bar that would be mounted on the roof rack. This high
roof rack is sleek mounting position ensures it clears low brush and other
and lightweight, obstructions near ground level. I went with a Driving/
while offering
Combo beam pattern since I still wanted the versatility of
aluminum
some spill, as opposed to a tightly focused spotlight. This
crossbars for
bolting on ac- bar produces an insane 38,900 lumens with an average
cessories via rated lifespan of nearly 50,000 hours — that’s more than
standard ¼-inch five years of continuous runtime.
carriage bolts. Next, I wanted some driving lights for navigating
The rear corners
tighter trails where the immense power of a 40-inch
feature the com-
pany’s signature OnX6+ would be overkill. To maintain a stealthier ap-
integrated bottle pearance and reduce the likelihood of theft, I decided
openers. to mount a 20-inch Baja Designs S8 light bar behind the
 OVERLAND 4RUNNER
PROJECT: PART 2
grille. This covers Baja Designs’ Zone 3 with a “primary Rather than
driving light” pattern. I recently upgraded the 4Runner to a traditional
switch panel,
a white TRD-Pro-style grille from Trail Standard Offroad,
we mounted
which deletes the Toyota emblem and chrome strips that this sPOD
block the upper grille on TRD Offroad models like mine. touchscreen
That modification made it possible to place the S8 inside controller on the
the upper grille using light bar brackets from SDHQ. dash. It offers
I supplemented the grille light bar with a drop-in Toyo- customizable
names and
ta 4Runner Fog Pocket Light Kit from Baja Designs. This
icons, as well
includes a pair of Squadron Sport lights with Wide Driv- as advanced
ing pattern lenses (covering Zone 2/cornering light), plus features such
brackets and wiring connectors to install them in place as dimming,
of the factory fog lights. I used the brackets but opted to strobe, timers,
and lockouts.
connect these lights to the sPOD system for independent fog light button (which is only active when the headlights
control, rather than using them with the truck’s factory are turned on). These Squadron fog lights add an even
wider spread of light to illuminate both sides of the road
and any obstacles immediately in front of the truck. The 20-inch
Finally, I selected a pair of S2 Sport reverse lights with light bar is
a wide cornering beam pattern. While it’s possible to barely visible
mount these beneath the rear bumper or flush-mount when it’s turned
off, but shines
them in the bumper itself, I decided to place them higher
through the
up at the back of the roof rack. upper grille
These Wide Cornering work lights can be used for clearly once it’s
backing up in extremely dark places, camping or working powered on.
around the rear of the truck, or even as a way to alert
vehicles of a roadside emergency. The latter function is
especially useful with the sPOD’s strobe setting. The S2 Sport
lights are angled
down slightly
to project light
over the edge of
the spoiler at the
top of the 4Run-
ner’s hatch.
Clearance is
very tight with
the hatch open,
but they don’t
make contact.

ISSUE 56

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 061
 OVERLAND 4RUNNER
062 PROJECT: PART 2
Westcott Designs Lo-Pro Roof Rack
I’m a big believer in supporting local businesses when-
ever it’s possible — I’d rather help those who are bringing
jobs and revenue to the local economy, as opposed to

A Note on those who outsource it overseas. So, when I learned that

Westcott Designs was only a short trip from my home

Amber Lighting in Arizona, I decided to head over and check out their
shop. They gave me a tour of their manufacturing facility
Why are yellow or amber lights so popular in the off-road and in Phoenix and showed me some of the metalwork that
overland market? Well, as some of you may already know, amber lights goes into building rock sliders, roof racks, bed racks,
help with visibility in less-than-ideal conditions — dust, rain, fog, and spare tire carriers, and other off-road vehicle parts. From
snow. However, the reason behind this is a little more complicated. raw sheet metal to cutting and welding to the powder-
The human eye is adapted to see best in daylight, which is equivalent coated final product, everything is done in-house.
to approximately 5,000 Kelvin on a color temperature scale. As light Westcott Designs offers two roof rack styles for the 5th
becomes more blue (higher than 5,000K temperature values) it can Gen 4Runner: the standard Modular Rack and the Lo-Pro
cause fatigue and eye strain to gradually build up. In a video on the Rack. Both are constructed from lightweight aluminum
Baja Designs YouTube channel, an engineer explains that yellow light with sturdy steel mounting brackets. I selected the latter
(lower than 5,000K) results in “less optical workload to register and de- design and pulled my truck into one of Westcott’s shop
fine what’s in your environment.” While amber lights don’t physically bays to have it installed.
cut through dust particles or raindrops better, they do help your brain
process visual data more easily despite haze or reduced contrast.

Graphic courtesy of Baja Designs

First, the rack

was loosely
assembled on
the ground
with all slotted
crossbars in
place. Various
Technically, Baja Designs “amber” lights aren’t true amber. They’re wind deflec-
selective yellow, or approximately 3,000K color temperature. The term tor options are
amber is used because that’s the industry standard for off-road lights in available to
accommodate
this portion of the color spectrum. Many amber lights on the market are
aftermarket
more orange, but Baja Designs says that color has a detrimental effect light bars from I selected the 40-inch
on lumen output. As light enters the orange and red portion of the color 40 to 44 inches cutout wind deflector,
spectrum, it can become harder to recognize objects we’re used to see- or arrays of and Westcott employee
ing in daylight, so you wouldn’t want to go too far into the “warm” end individual lights Jesus got started on
of the spectrum. Selective yellow is similar enough to daylight with the
(10 4-inch lights assembling it with the
or six 6-inch OnX6+ light bar. Tracks
added advantage of enhanced visibility in inclement conditions.
lights). on the back side of the
wind deflector allowed
him to secure the wiring
harness out of sight.
 OVERLAND 4RUNNER
1A/2A: OF THE PEOPLE PROJECT: PART 2

After an appropriate amount of 10-gauge
wire was measured and cut to reach from
the light bar into the engine bay, Jesus
coated it in a combination of wire loom and
heatshrink to protect it from the elements.
A few extra helpers stepped in to lift the
Lo-Pro roof rack onto my 4Runner. It’s
not heavy — only 44 pounds — but we
didn’t want it accidentally scratching the
roof as we maneuvered it over the truck.

Moving to the Finally, Jesus lifted

rear of the rack, the visor and light
the S2 Sport bar into position,
reverse lights and tightened the
were mocked remaining hard-
up on the rear- ware to secure
most bar. The the rack and visor.
hardware was The angle of the
left fi nger-tight, light bar was also
since these set at this point
would need by tightening the
to be adjusted bolts on either
later. end.

Jesus removed The fi nal step was

the factory to route the wires
Toyota roof from the three
rack and ap- lights (OnX6+ and
plied weather- dual S2 Sports)
resistant sealant down into the
around the bolt engine bay. A
holes to prepare protective rubber
for the Westcott channel was
Designs rack. adhered along the
This new rack is edge of the A-pil-
a no-drill design, lar, and the wiring
so it reuses the harnesses were
original mount- routed through
ing points on the the channel and
roof. under the hood.
 OVERLAND 4RUNNER
066 OFFGRID
GRIDWEB.COM
GRID
1A/2A: TO KEEP PROJECT: PART 2
Jesus started by
using the included
template and a
punch to mark the
drilling locations
onto the fuse box
lid. Next, the lid
was removed
and drilled in
the appropriate
locations. The
BantamX was
attached using the
included screws.

sPOD BantamX Installation
The flat top of the 4Runner’s fuse box provides a per-
fect mounting location for the sPOD BantamX. The posi-
tive and ground wires from the lights were connected to
four of the eight switch terminals on the BantamX unit,
leaving four terminals open for future upgrades.
There are many options for customization, includ-
ing renaming the switches, changing icons, and even
linking multiple switches together. Some features can
be accessed through the built-in menu, but since the
sPOD has Bluetooth, it’s easier to configure it through
the sPOD mobile app. The app also allows for firmware
updates and access to “Pro-Series” functions for a one-
time $30 fee — these include advanced functions such
as circuit timers, variable strobe settings, and program-
mable ignition control. The Pro app isn’t mandatory, but
it was worth the upgrade for our needs.
I configured my sPOD with custom names and icons
for the four Baja Designs lights. Each switch shows the
light’s amp draw in the bottom corner, and turning on
“Off Road” mode enables flash or strobe functions. A
slider on the right side of the screen allows each light
to be dimmed from 100 to 1 percent. The controller also
displays battery voltage and the temperature of the Ban-
tamX unit under the hood.
If I ever forget to turn off a light, the unit will automati-
cally shut off once voltage drops below a set threshold;
this prevents the battery from draining completely and
rendering the truck unable to start. And if there’s a short
or current spike, the self-healing fault protection system
will kick in to turn off the offending switch without blow-
ing a fuse.

Since the Ban-

tamX is connected
to the sPOD
Touchscreen
controller inside
the cab by a single
Ethernet cable,
we only needed to
run one wire into
the truck’s interior.
That certainly
beats running
eight wires to
four traditional The power wire from the BantamX was
switches. There’s connected to the battery, with an in-line
a second Ethernet fuse attached to the engine bay wall near
cable port on the the fuse box. The ground wire was also
BantamX so it can attached to a nearby ground point. To con-
be daisy-chained nect the individual positive and ground
to another unit, ex- wires from the light bars, Jesus crimped
panding up to four the included spade connectors onto the
daisy-chained end of each wire and secured them to
BantamX units each + and - screw terminal. The lid was
with 32 switches. reinstalled to protect the electronics.
 PRESENTS

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068
1A/2A: AND BEAR ARMS,
Inside the 4Runner, the
other end of the Ethernet
cable was routed through
the fi rewall and up to the
left side of the dash. We
decided to mount the
sPOD Touchscreen on
a removable trim panel
to the left of the gauge
cluster for easy access.
The position was marked
onto masking tape, then
the panel was removed
and drilled out.
Once the controller was
mounted and plugged in,
we started the engine to
boot up the sPOD system
(it won’t start under
ignition power alone on
the fi rst boot-up). The
full-color screen turned
on, and we confi rmed
that pressing each switch
activated the appropriate
lights.
OVERLAND 4RUNNER
PROJECT: PART 2
The Road Ahead
These upgrades feel like a substantial step forward for
our RECOIL OFFGRID 4Runner project. The Baja Designs
lights have already proven themselves valuable by cut-
ting through rainstorms and dust like a hot knife through
butter. The sPOD controller makes it possible to dim the
output and transform any of the LEDs into area lights
at a campsite, or to send them into full strobe mode for
signaling. Beyond this, I’ve barely scratched the surface
of the incredible amount of customization offered by the
sPOD touchscreen and mobile app. As for the Westcott
Designs roof rack, it’s a good-looking, rock-solid platform
for these lights as well as future upgrades — I plan to add
an awning, locking cargo case, and some basic recovery
tools onto the rack in the near future. And for those of
you wondering why the truck is still riding on stock tires
and suspension, don't worry, that's on the list too.
SOURCES
Baja Designs > bajadesigns.com
sPOD > 4x4spod.com
Westcott Designs > westcottdesigns.net
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070
1A/2A: SHALL NOT

Our Review of the good knife is considered by many to be the

Mini and TU-2, a Pair
of Affordable Hand-
made Blades from
a Veteran-Owned
Knife Company
foundation of a good survival plan. More than just
The Stroup Mini’s
sheath is set up for
a tool, a handcrafted knife tells a story — not just “scout” carry paral-
of the blade’s intended use, but of the crafter and
lel to the wearer’s
belt. It can be
their life experience. It was this story that brought
concealed under
us to Stroup Knives. Chris Stroup is a medically retired veteran of
a specialized JSOC unit, who formalized his knife-making journey
a loose T-shirt or
jacket.
with his wife in 2017. Since then, Chris has made a point of
target-recruiting military and law enforcement veterans
looking for both a trade and a purpose. From wounded
Green Berets to retired police officers, the machines in
Stroup’s shop are manned by folks who’ve dedicated their
lives to the service of others. Their catalog is straightforward and
easy-to-navigate, their blade designs simple and rugged. We got
the chance to examine two of their models: the Mini and the TU-2.

Stroup Knives Mini

Multi-layered The Mini is ideal for daily wear, whether you’re spending a day on
G10 scales the trail, in the shop, or around town. The 3-inch, 5⁄32-inch thickness
on the TU-2’s blade is well-sized for household chores and small field tasks but
handle create otherwise unassuming and not burdensome on the belt.
an interest-
Speaking of which, the Mini’s sheath features a Tek-Lok belt clip
ing pattern as
they’re ground oriented for horizontal carry, ideal for small-of-back or forward-of-
away and con- hip wear. With an overall length of 6.75 inches, there isn’t a whole
toured. ton of grip space. For those with smaller hands, it’ll likely fill that
“Goldilocks” size for a carry fixed blade. But if you’ve got A size compari-
catcher’s gloves for hands, chances are this will be a son between
the Stroup TU-2
three-finger knife for you.
(top) and the
Mini (bottom).
Stroup Knives TU-2 Both feature
On the other end of end of the spectrum is the Tactical Kydex sheaths
Use series. We also got a chance to try out the TU-2, which with Tek-Lok
features a larger 4.5-inch long, 3⁄16-inch-thick blade. At 8.75 belt clips.
inches overall, the TU-2 is probably not a daily carry blade The Stroup Mini
for most of us. It does, however, make a great general- is a good size
purpose field knife. We used the vertically oriented Tek-Lok for everyday
clip to mount our TU-2 on the waist strap of our Stone carry, with just
enough handle
Glacier Avail pack, which currently gets used once or twice
length for a full-
per week for summer hikes or road marches. In this role, fi st grip.
it’s slim, unobtrusive, and easily accessible.

Features and Options

All Stroup blades are 1095 carbon steel, flat ground,
acid etched, and rock tumbled. The dark, uneven charcoal
color and roughed-up texture on the flat surfaces give these knives an artisan, hand-hewn feel. The G10 grip
scales, available in a variety of colors, are also cut with
a scalloped stone-like texture. The overall aesthetic of
these knives seems to convey the historical relationship
mankind has with edged tools. Looking like they could
have been dug up from the grave site of a Viking warrior
— which is appropriate given the decades (if not centuries)
of collective deployment and street time of the Stroup
Knives staff.
Perhaps the best part of all is the pricing. Handmade
knives with handsome styling are often priced in a range
that’s stretching toward four figures. But Stroup Knives
are tools, made to be used and made to be accessible for
purchase. The Mini comes in at $145 with the larger TU-2
coming in a little higher at $220, both of which are very
competitive, given the handcrafted construction and fi-
nancial support going directly into veterans’ pockets. They
also recently announced a line of axes as well as a col-
laboration knife with Justin Melnick of the TV series SEAL
Team. Sales of this knife will benefit the Special Operations
Wounded Warriors charity.
If any of Stroup Knives’ offerings happen to fit your
knife needs, they’re certainly an easy company to support,
The TU-2 offering reasonably priced hard-use blades hand-built by
mounted on the military and law enforcement veterans.
waist belt of a
Stone Glacier
Avail backpack. SOURCE
Stroup Knives > stroupknives.com
ISSUE 56

071
 An Overview of Common
Contaminants and Methods to
Eliminate Them from Drinking Water
By Joe Alton, MD
Photos by Amy Alton

DISCLAIMER
This is a general
overview and not a
comprehensive guide
to all waterborne
contaminants and
purification methods.
If you’re unsure if a
source of water is safe,
be sure to purify it
thoroughly before using
it for drinking, cooking,
or cleaning.
 ater. The source of all life, there’s
no animal that isn’t composed
partly of it. The microscopic
tardigrade, also known as a “wa-
ter bear,” can drop its moisture
content to less than 1 percent of normal, but still harbors
about 3 percent at its driest. Humans, however, are about
60 percent water and don’t have the ability to survive
without fresh water for more than about three days.
In normal times, those who receive a water bill from
chemical runoff.
their town or city are purchasing it from a system where
the water is tested, and one that must prove to the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it meets
National Primary Drinking Standards. An annual water
quality report is compiled and available through the
water company with information about contaminants
that have possible health effects. Having said that, germs
and chemicals can get into the water, either at its source,
through the distribution system, or even after leaving
water treatment facilities. The Flint, Michigan, water crisis
is one of the most infamous examples of this in recent
history. The city’s drinking water was contaminated with
harmful levels of lead, and studies also found evidence
that an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease (caused by wa-
terborne bacteria) may have been linked to the municipal
water supply.
Flood waters
aren’t safe to
drink, as they
often contain
sewage and
How Water Gets Contaminated
If water is taken from the wrong source, it can result in
miserable illness or even death. The challenge is to find
safe drinkable (potable) water or, at least, to have the
materials and knowledge to make it safe to drink.
Harmful microorganisms or toxic chemicals can get in
the water from many sources, including:
• Fertilizers, pesticides, or other chemicals used on land
near the water
• Concentrated feed operations from livestock farms
• Manufacturing operations from factories
• Overflowing sewers and cracks in water piping systems
• Flood waters
• Wildlife (usually in smaller water sources like creeks)
• Soil containing substances such as arsenic and uranium

Water supplies
are tested to
see if they
meet National
Primary
Drinking
Standards.

Calcium
hypochlorite
can be stored
as a solid water
disinfection
method.

Safe to Drink or Not?

It’s not always obvious that water, even from the tap, is
Water storage
containers safe to drink. Some signs that should warn you of ques-
must be food- tionable water is if it’s:
grade quality. Cloudy – Turbidity, or cloudiness, could signal the pres-
ence of disease-causing microbes.
Slimy – Hard water can cause your hands to feel slimy
ISSUE 56

when touching it. This doesn’t have to mean danger but

could indicate the presence of lead or other toxic metals.

073
074
ISSUE 56
Discolored – Brown or other colored water may
signify the presence of microbes or toxins like copper,
iron, or lead. It could also indicate tannins. Tannins are
natural organic matter that can result from water passing
through decaying vegetation. In small concentrations,
they aren’t dangerous, but can cause a number of prob-
lems if present in excess.
Questionable
water sources
require
disinfection.
Myths About
Water Purification
1. Water filters are expensive and high maintenance. Cheap water filters
such as the Sawyer Mini, Lifestraw, and others are compact, lightweight,
and easy to use.
2. Bottled water is better. Bottled water is fine, but the quantity required
for a family is huge over time and contributes to environmental damage.
A water filtration system, on the other hand, is a one-time investment for
continuous supplies of safe water.
3. Water filters remove all the good minerals from your diet. Water
filters do remove minerals, but the percentage of calcium, iron, and other
minerals in water is small compared to what you get from food like veg-
etables, fruits, and leafy greens.
4. Your city or town guarantees the supply of pure water. Municipalities
use a lot of chemicals to make water safe for consumption; contaminants
may always be present.
5. Clear water and/or fast-flowing water is safe water. Pesticides, chemi-
cals, microorganisms, and other contaminants that aren’t visible to the
human eye may be present in tap water or naturally occurring sources.
6. Water filters completely purify water. Water filters, well, filter, but they
don’t always make water safe to drink. For example, a Lifestraw can-
not remove the dissolved salt in seawater. Always consider the source
of your water carefully and use a treatment method that’s suitable for
the contaminants it might contain. To be extra safe, double-up with two
purification methods.
Smelly – Water that smells bad could harbor disease-
causing organisms or toxins like barium or cadmium.
Odors like rotten eggs may indicate the presence of
hydrogen sulfide. When exposed to certain bacteria, it
converts into sulfate, which can cause dehydration or
diarrhea.
A high level of suspicion is wise with just about any
new water source. Even the clearest mountain stream
may harbor giardia, a parasite that causes diarrhea and
dehydration. Better safe than sorry.
If you lose access to municipal drinking water, you can
still count certain sources in the home as generally safe:
• Melted ice cubes made with water that isn’t contaminated
• Liquid from canned vegetables and fruit
• Water from your home’s toilet tank (not from the bowl),
if it’s clear and not discolored by chemical treatment
• Water from your home’s water heater (the tank that con-
nects to the water that comes out of your faucets and
showerheads)
• Bottled water from coolers
Water from swimming pools and spas can be used for
hygiene purposes, but not for drinking. Also, never use
water from radiator tanks or boilers that are part of your
home heating system. They are different from your water
heater for faucets and showers and not safe to drink.
Disinfecting Water
If you suspect that the water quality is questionable,
there are simple ways to help make it safe to drink.
Boiling is perhaps the most well-known and eliminates
bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Simply take a container,
fill it with water, and get it to a rolling boil for one full
minute. For altitudes over 6,500 feet, boil for three full
minutes. Why? As altitude increases, the atmospheric
pressure decreases as does the boiling point of water. To
compensate for the lower boiling point, the boiling time
must be increased.
Ultraviolet light
from full sun
disinfects water
in about 6 hours.
KNIVES 2023, presented by BLADE, has more of what you’re looking for: knives,
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076
ISSUE 56

Boiling takes fuel, so you might consider, instead,

chemical disinfection to get rid of bacteria and viruses.
This is most easily accomplished with 5 to 9 percent
sodium hypochlorite (unscented household bleach). Common
Use eight drops of bleach per gallon, but 16 drops if the
water is cloudy. Mix the bleach into the water thoroughly, Waterborne
and let it stand for 30 minutes before consuming. Other
chemicals such as iodine or chlorine dioxide will work as Contaminants
well after a period of waiting. Be aware that old bleach
(older than six months) loses potency. Many bacteria, parasites, and viruses thrive
For storage purposes, calcium hypochlorite may be an in an aquatic environment, including:
improvement on household bleach. A 1-pound package Cryptosporidium E. coli O157 Giardia
of calcium hypochlorite in granular form can treat up to Legionella Rotavirus Shigella
10,000 gallons of drinking water. It destroys a variety Campylobacter Enterovirus Hepatitis A
of disease-causing organisms including bacteria, yeast, Norovirus Salmonella
fungus, spores, and viruses.
Calcium hypochlorite is widely available for use as a Chemicals that have been known to contaminate tap water include:
swimming pool additive. Using granular calcium hypo- Arsenic Nitrate Copper Radon Lead
chlorite to disinfect water is a three-step process.
1. To make a stock of chlorine solution (do not drink
this!), dissolve one heaping teaspoon (about one-quarter
of an ounce) of (78 percent) granular calcium hypochlo- commercial UV sterilizers available, such as the Steri-Pen.
rite for each 2 gallons (8 liters) of water. It should be noted that water containing toxic chemi-
2. Add just one part of the chlorine solution to 100 cals or radioactivity is not made safe with any of the
parts water to be treated. disinfection methods mentioned thus far.
3. Let the mixture sit for at least a half hour before
drinking. Filtering Water
In some circumstances, you may have neither fuel You may have methods to disinfect water, but if it’s
for boiling nor chemical agents for disinfection. In this cloudy or has particulate matter in it, you must filter it
case, you can use the ultraviolet light from the sun. This first. Commercial filters such as the Lifestraw, Sawyer
is known as the solar water disinfection (SODIS) method. Mini, or the Berkey are useful and highly effective, but if
Colorless, label-less 2-liter plastic or glass bottles will serve you don’t have these, some improvisation is required.
the purpose. Fill the bottle about 90 percent with the Here’s a list of what you’ll need:
questionable but clear water. Then, expose it to full sun- • Plastic bottle with a cap
light for six full hours. Cloudy weather takes much longer. • Knife
If raining, collect the rainwater instead. For the best effect, • Hammer and nail
consider placing the bottle on a reflective metal sur- • Coffee filter or thin cloth
face, such as aluminum foil, to increase the bottle’s light • Large cup or mug (either one works)
exposure. For a simpler way to UV sterilize water, there are • Activated charcoal

Different
types of filter
material.

Materials used
to improvise a
simple filter.
078
ISSUE 56

• Sand
• Gravel
• Container to catch the water (jar, cup, mug, etc.)
Step 1: Cut off First, use the knife to cut the bottom off the plastic
the bottom bottle. Take the hammer and nail and punch a hole or
third of a clear two in the cap. If you don’t have a hammer or nail, use
plastic bottle. the knife to cut an X shape into the bottle cap.
Cover the mouth of the bottle with the coffee filter and
tighten the cap over it. Put the bottle upside-down into
the container that’ll collect the water (or use the cutout
Step 2: Make bottom of the bottle).
one or two Now add layers of filtering material. Start by filling the
holes in the bottom of the bottle with the charcoal. If the charcoal
bottle cap. is in large pieces, break it down with the hammer into
pea-sized particles. Fill the middle with undyed sand. Fill
Step 3: Place
the coffee filter the rest with gravel (layers should be about the same
or thin cloth thickness) but leave an inch or so of space at the top to
between the avoid spillage.
bottle and the The gravel layer will catch larger pieces of debris. The
cap. sand layer catches smaller particles, such as dirt, and the
charcoal layer can reduce levels of bacteria and some
Step 4: Place chemicals. Be aware that, at the beginning, the charcoal
a layer of may have some “soot.”
charcoal in the Hold your improvised filter over a container. Pour water
upside-down
in slowly and be patient, as the now-filtered water may
bottle.
take some time to flow into the container. If still not clear,
Step 5: Add a put the water through a second time. If it takes too long,
layer of loose use thinner layers. Additional graduated layers may be
sand. added as desired.
Another method suggests making a filter out of the
sapwood of trees like pine. Sapwood contains xylem,
Step 6: Add a
which filters out dirt and even bacteria (but not viruses).
layer of gravel
or small rocks. For this, you’ll begin with a plastic bottle as before. Then:
• Cut a 4-inch-long piece from a pine tree branch of the
Step 7: Pour thickness that, when the bark is peeled off, fits tightly
water to be into the bottle’s neck.
filtered on top, • Slide the first inch or so of the stick into the neck of the
let drain into
bottle.
container at
bottom. • Cut the bottom of the bottle off and turn the bottle
upside down.
• Fill the bottle with water, and let the water drain through
the stick.
With this method, it’s important that the xylem remains
constantly moist, or you will lose the filtering effect.
While improvised water filters can greatly improve taste
and odor as well as reduce levels of contaminants, it’s wise
to follow up with a secondary purification method (such
as bleach or boiling) whenever possible. Even if your DIY
filter eliminates 90 percent of bacteria, the remaining 10
percent might still be enough to make you sick.
080
ISSUE 56
Storing Water Safely
Once you have a safe water source, you’ll want to store
a supply of it. Use food-grade water storage containers;
these won’t leach toxic substances into the water they’re
holding and can be found at camping supply stores. The
container you use should be made of durable materials;
in other words, not glass. It should have a narrow open-
ing that makes pouring easy and have a top that can be
closed tightly. Avoid containers that previously held toxic
chemicals, such as bleach. Write the date on a label and
keep them stored in a dark place with a temperature pref-
erably between 50 and 70 degrees F. Replace your water
supply every six months or so.
Stored water will often taste “flat.” This occurs because,
over time, the water loses oxygen much like soda loses
carbonation. To restore the original taste, shake your
water in a container for a minute or two before drinking.
About the Author
Joe Alton, MD, is a physician, medical prepared-
ness advocate, and N.Y. Times-bestselling author
of The Survival Medicine Handbook: The Essential
Guide For When Help Is Not On The Way, now in
its 700-page fourth edition. He’s also an outdoor
enthusiast and member of The Wilderness Medi-
cal Society. His website at doomandbloom.net
has over 1,300 articles, podcasts, and videos on
medical preparedness as well as an entire line of
quality medical kits designed by the author and
packed in the United States.
What About Salt Water?
You’ve heard that it’s dangerous to drink salt water.
Among other reasons, this is because:
An improvised • The human kidney can’t eliminate large amounts of salt,
solar still. causing excessive strain and leading to dehydration.
• Too much salt causes elevated blood pressures that
Top right: may lead to organ failure.
Bring water to • Drinking salt water causes muscle cramps.
a rolling boil to
If your only option is salt water, there are ways to
disinfect it.
desalinate it. Off the grid, the best method may be distil-
lation by evaporation. When water is evaporated, salt and
other particles are separated from it. The distilled water is
caught in a container and should be safe to drink. Desali-
nation is most quickly achieved by boiling to trap steam;
you can, however, get condensation from seawater with
sunlight. You’ll need a pot, a smaller pot, some plastic
wrap or sheeting, and one or two weights.
Partly fill the larger pot with sea water and put the
The Lifestraw
smaller pot in the larger pot. Cover the whole thing with
and Sawyer
Mini are plastic wrap and put a weight on the plastic over the
compact, center of the smaller pot (but not touching it). Condensa-
lightweight tion of fresh water will occur on the inside of the plastic
commercial sheet, leaving the salt behind. The weight on the plastic
water filters.
will cause fresh water to drip into the smaller pot, which
However, they
cannot be used you can drink from. They call
to desalinate this method a “solar still”
seawater. or “moisture trap.”
 Atlanta, GA | June 2-4, 2023

Salt Lake City, UT Ft. Worth, TX

October 13-14, 2023 Feb 23-24, 2024

FOR DETAILS ON ALL THREE EVENTS, GO TO

BLADESHOW.COM
CONNECT WITH US AT #BLADESHOW
082
ISSUE 56
BAGDROP

Disguised as a
classy EDC day
pack, SLNT’s
E3 Faraday
backpack blocks
nefarious wire-
less signals.
SLNT E3 Faraday
Backpack t may be hard to believe, but over two centuries ago,
a man by the name of Michael Faraday invented the
electric motor, the first dynamo, and what would
come to be known as the Faraday cage. By coating a
room entirely with metal foil, Faraday could prevent
electromagnetic fields outside the room from interfering with
sensitive equipment inside. Conversely, signals from inside
the Faraday cage could not escape. At first it was useful for
scientific research, but has since expanded into other realms,
most notably in recent times for data security. Today, the
concept behind a Faraday cage is still used in everything
from science labs to USB cables, and even prison build-
ings. Some folks have probably experienced the effects of a
Faraday cage by trying to make a call on their cell phone in
an elevator, or in a steel structured building. Wireless signals
from devices are unable to get in or out.
In the digital age, Faraday’s methods of blocking signals
have become increasingly important for safety and security.
Nefarious individuals can use active and passive devices to
read RFID or NFC chips embedded into cards, steal informa-
tion from smart devices, and possibly even damage hard-
ware. A study at the University of Maryland found that there
is a “near-constant rate of hacker attacks on computers with
internet access,” equating to an average of 2,244 attempts
per day per device studied — most of these attacks are
automated brute-force techniques probing every computer
they can find, leaving users blissfully unaware they’re hap-
pening. Even Mother Nature can take its toll on electronics in
the form of solar radiation or geomagnetic storms. Look up
the Carrington Event for an idea of how destructive our own
sun has the potential to be. Society has become intrinsically
intertwined with electronic devices, and we increasingly rely
on them to store critical information. Now more than ever, it
is important to find a way to keep those devices safe from
tampering or destruction. But who wants to carry around a
metal shielded box or line an entire room in foil?
This is where the company SLNT comes to the rescue. By
incorporating metallic fabric into common everyday carry
A Deep Dive into
Protecting Your Data
By Patrick Diedrich
items, like wallets, purses, and backpacks, they’ve leveled
the electronic warfare playing field. One of their items, the
E3 Faraday Backpack, is particularly versatile. Electronic
shielding lines parts of this pack, some of which is Military
Standard 188-125-2 compliant, which means it’s rated to
block the effects of a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse
(HEMP). For anyone who hasn’t read the book One Second
After, it is a well-known fact that a single HEMP has the
capability to cripple most of the continental United States for
years. It also exceeds IEEE 299-2006 standards, which cov-
ers radio frequency ranges between 1 and 40 GHz. These
are ratings meant to ensure nuclear missile silos and sensi-
tive database infrastructure will be able to survive mutually
assured destruction, so a bag built to withstand that level of
electromagnetic power should be able to block malicious
short-range hackers.
SLNT E3 Faraday Backpack
The E3 is a 23-liter bag, measuring 20.5 by 12.2 by 7.1
inches (52 by 31 by 18 cm), which makes it quite handy for
day pack or airplane carry-on. It’s black and stylish, giving
it a professional vibe for the office or school, and looks like
a pack you wouldn’t be embarrassed to bring to a meet-
ing. For those environmentally minded, the material is
made from 100-percent recycled products and is coated to
increase weather resistance. A total of 15 separate compart-
ments allow for plenty of storage options, and it comes
with a removable shoe or laundry bag to keep items such
as gym clothes separate from the rest of your gear. One of
the shoulder straps is designed with an easily accessible
zippered pocket, perfect for a key fob, room key or thumb
drive. Connecting the two shoulder straps is a magnetic
sternum strap that helps reduce shoulder strain. Inside, two
sizes of silent-pocket Faraday sleeves magnetically lock into
place — one large enough to store a 16-inch laptop and a
smaller one for a large model of smartphone. The entire bag
ISSUE 56
comes packaged in a lightweight dust cover perfect for use
as a dirty laundry bag when you’re on the go.
OFFGRIDWEB.COM 083
084
ISSUE 56
BAGDROP
This bag looks good and sounds good on paper, but we’re
interested in real-world performance. So, let’s take a deeper
dive into its effectiveness at blocking signals and see if it
lives up to the company’s claims. SLNT’s website has an
entire page dedicated to its own testing results that looks
impressive. Call me a bit of a skeptic, but it’s easy to make
claims and fabricate tables to back them up, so I like to verify
things independently. To perform my own testing, I down-
loaded a few apps to an iPhone 12 that’ll test upload and
download speeds, GPS communications, Bluetooth connec-
tivity, and run it through some common scenarios.
Testing Faraday Capabilities
To establish a baseline of the phone working normally,
the signal testing apps were run with the phone in the open
air. Signal testing is performed inside a residence built with
an aluminum roof, and about 4 meters from a Wi-Fi router.
Using numer- Inside the house are several devices that connect via Blue-
ous connection tooth, and there’s a 4G cellular tower less than a half-mile
testing apps, E3’s
away. This location is in a sparsely populated residential
signal-blocking
capabilities zone in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the signal
were put to the density isn’t as high as you would find in a metropolitan
test, specifically
area. The phone settings are typical of what would be used
cellular, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth and to conserve data, connecting to known Wi-Fi networks when
GPS signals. they’re available, and using cellular data when they’re not.
Unfortunately, if a phone’s settings allow it to automati-
cally connect to signals as it comes within range, it becomes
vulnerable to attacks from hackers lurking on unsecured net-
works. Even secured networks can be hacked with enough
time and effort, allowing whoever is on the other side to
victimize any devices that are connected. So, it pays to take
device protection seriously. Smartphone at the ready, I began
to test how well the E3 can prevent these types of attacks
from occurring in the first place.
The aforementioned apps indicated that baseline data
transfer speeds on the smartphone were relatively fast, with
average download speeds between 80 and 100 Mbps, and
upload speeds clocking in between 10 and 13 Mbps. GPS
status varied more drastically inside the residence with error
rates ranging between 10 and 50 feet horizontally. Perhaps
this was due to the aluminum roof, or the location of GPS
satellites. Regardless of the reason, the phone was tracking
my location. Bluetooth connectivity functioned normally,
with the phone able to easily detect the devices communi-
cating with it, such as headphones and smart devices. As ex-
pected, the phone was functioning the way it usually does,
and was able to communicate with the world around it.
Still inside the building, I placed the phone in the main
backpack compartment, closed the zipper, and started run-
ning the speed tests. For reference, modern Wi-Fi routers
run between 2 and 5 gigahertz (GHz), GPS communicates
near the 1.5 GHz range, and Bluetooth communicates near
the 2.4 GHz range. Cell phones can make use of a huge
range of frequencies, between 600 MHz and 39 GHz,
depending on the carrier. RFID chips can use anything be-
tween around 500 MHz and 1 GHz, and in the U.S., key fobs
operate in the around the 315 MHz range.
After running the test inside the main backpack compart-
ment, the app reported that data transfer speed was slightly di-
minished, but the phone was still connecting to both Wi-Fi and
cellular data with relatively fast speed. The smartphone did not
detect Bluetooth objects that were greater than 5 meters away,
and GPS error margins increased dramatically. Similar results
were obtained in the second large backpack compartment as
well. It seems that these main compartments have more of
an effect on electromagnetic frequencies between 1.5 and 2.4
GHz, and only a slight impact on the 2 to 5 GHz range.
Nestled close to the back of the pack is a pocket made
for passports and other travel documents. The lining of
this pocket makes a louder metallic crackling noise when
it’s opened, suggesting there’s a thicker Faraday lining.
The same connectivity tests were repeated with the zipper
closed, and the results were similar to what occurred in
the main compartments of the pack: slightly slower trans-
fer speeds, much larger GPS error margins, and reduced
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086
ISSUE 56
BAGDROP
Bluetooth detection. To test something with a different Data is huge in our modern era, especially user-specific data
frequency range, a key fob was placed in this travel docu- regarding individuals. Thanks to the GPS functionality of the
ment pocket, zipped closed, and the buttons were pressed devices we carry every day, corporations and governments
through the outside of the pack. However, the key fob was can actively or passively track our every move and establish
able to communicate with the vehicle, even while enclosed patterns. With enough of this kind of information, a profile can
in the pack. What this back pocket did well was to prevent be built, and some entity or agency can start to understand
my smartphone from reading an NFC tag, which suggests us better than we understand ourselves. While this is going
that most of the backpack prevents low frequency electro- on, unethical, tech-savvy hackers can use wireless vulner-
magnetic radiation from getting to whatever is inside. abilities to read sensitive data from our mobile devices. This
Moving on to the more serious protective features are two knowledge can make data security feel like an insurmountable
specially shielded removable pouches, magnetically clipped threat that’s too complicated to think about or prepare for.
inside the E3, which SLNT dubs the Silent Pocket. One is smart- Thankfully, few preparations are easier than putting a
phone sized, and another is laptop sized. These two pouches device in a bag. That simple action with SLNT’s E3 Faraday
specifically are the ones with the Mil-spec and IEEE ratings. Backpack and Silent Pockets could be what prevents a MAKE & MODEL
SLNT
Once an electronic device is placed inside, it’s supposed to stolen identity, data theft or destruction, and possibly years E3 Faraday
Backpack
be safe from cellular, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, EMR, of heartache. Many people, when they think about a disaster,
MSRP
EMF, EMPs, and solar radiation. Each pouch opens and closes often experience cognitive dissonance in the form of, “it $330
silently with a magnetic strip holding it closed. No obnoxious- could never happen to me.” But why even take the chance URL
slnt.com
sounding Velcro to wake up a passenger sleeping next to you when options like this exist?
on a trip or draw unwanted attention in a public setting. This
seal is tight enough to feel confident, knowing that an expen-
sive electronic will not fall out when it is jostled around.
After placing a smartphone inside the Faraday pouch, the
same connectivity tests were run, and the results were much
more dramatic. Simply put, there was no connectivity once
placed inside the pouch — no cell tower communication, no
Wi-Fi connection, and no Bluetooth pairing. I recruited some-
one with my contact info to call and send messages while my
phone remained in the sealed Faraday pouch. They were un-
able to send anything through, and from their end, it looked
like my phone was turned off completely. Placing a laptop
in the appropriately sized Faraday pouch yielded the same
results. No signals got in, and nothing got out. Sadly, I do not
have the power to detonate a HEMP or control the flow of
solar radiation, but I think it’s safe to assume that these Silent
Pockets will offer a decent, if not total, amount of protection.

Faraday Effectiveness
SLNT’s E3 Faraday Backpack looks great and is one of the
most functional packs for EDC purposes I’ve had the op-
portunity to review. Overall, the pack has minimal shielding,
suitable only for protecting RFID cards and tags from being
scanned, but it’s material is sturdy enough to protect from
most inclement weather elements. Its shoulder straps are
comfortable, and the padding against the wearer’s back will
maintain comfort and airflow while out and about. For more
serious electromagnetic defense, electronics need to be
placed and sealed completely inside one of the removable
Faraday Silent Pockets. Once inside, nothing can communi-
cate with or damage the device via electromagnetic fields.
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THEFINALWEAPON
Disappearing in the Desert
ost survival skills are environmen-
tally dependent. The way you’d
build a shelter in the arctic tundra is
quite different from the way you’d
perform that same task in a rainfor-
est. But camouflage is perhaps the most environmentally
varied survival skill of all. In nature, we see animal species
that are uniquely adapted to blend into the exact colors
and textures of their surroundings — mottled brown owls,
bright green caterpillars, stealthy tan lions, and so on. Many
species, such as snowshoe hares, even change their coats
seasonally to maintain concealment year-round.
Some of you may recall our feature article in Issue 54
about Greenside Training’s Camo Craft class. The author of
that article, Patrick Diedrich, attended a course in Michigan’s
Upper Peninsula and wrote about his experiences learning
to blend into the dense forest. Around the same time, I also
attended a Greenside Training class in a drastically different
setting: the Arizona desert. In this article, I’ll briefly examine
some of the variations in gear and technique as they apply
to the desert.
Greenside founder and former USMC Scout Sniper Freddy
Osuna began by reiterating the three main ways humans de-
tect objects: movement, shape, and contrast. In the sparse,
low-lying vegetation of the Sonoran Desert, movement and
contrast are especially apparent. Clearings and areas with
minimal cover (called “low-traction areas” by Osuna) are plen-
tiful, so experienced trackers will spend more time scanning
the few “high-traction areas” (i.e., good hiding places). This
gives them a strong chance of identifying you there. Move
cautiously to avoid detection, and always be aware of your
backdrop to limit contrast.
Plan your route carefully to avoid large clearings. In the
desert, your options will be limited. When you do have to
cross a clearing, a painfully slow “skull drag” face-down crawl
may be necessary to conceal your movement.
There’s one upside to the scarcity of dense foliage, and
that’s a lack of branches that’ll be displaced as you pass
through. In forested areas with thick brush, every twig
you crawl past moves slightly overhead, and a keen-eyed
observer will see the difference between breeze movement
and animal/human movement. This is still a consideration in
the desert, but it’s much less frequent.
The best hiding spots in the desert are often the most
By Patrick McCarthy
uninviting. Get used to baking daytime heat, freezing night-
time cold, and being poked by cacti and mesquite thorns.
As Osuna put it, “If you’re comfortable in a position, you’re
wrong.” The hellish cholla cactus field ahead is your salvation;
the inviting shaded spot under a lone tree is a death trap.
Another crucial factor in the bright desert sun is reflectiv-
ity. Whether it’s the glisten of your sweaty skin or a sparkle
of light from your watch, the intense sun has a tendency to
reveal any shiny object. Half of the students in our first ob-
servation exercise were identified by instructors due to the
glint of their binocular lenses. Even though they were clad
head-to-toe in camouflage fabric and wearing ghillie veils to
break up the outlines of their bodies, the glass revealed them
in an instant. After that point, we learned to wrap our bino
lenses in camouflage mesh with small slits cut for visibility.
Above all, remember that observers in any environment
— whether they’re animals you’re hunting or people you’re
trying to avoid — are typically operating on their home turf.
They know instinctively what looks out of place. This applies
to goat herders in the Middle East who have never left a
15-mile radius of their home, and it also applies to your nosy
busybody neighbor who knows every inch of the block.
Whether you’re in the desert of Arizona or the forest of
Michigan, to evade the locals, you need to be observant and
Sparse, waist-
methodical. However, don’t play it too safe. Osuna frequently
high bushes and
reminded us to be bold in our movements when the op- cacti don’t provide
portunity presented itself. Never pass up a chance to sneak much conceal-
past a distracted or lazy observer, because you may not get ment, and the
harsh sunlight
that chance again. creates intense
I got a lot of valuable lessons from this class, and really en- contrast and bright
joyed learning more about how to blend into the desert that glint off reflective
surfaces. These
is my own backyard (or detect others who are attempting to
are just a few of the
do so). For more information on upcoming Greenside Train- challenges of des-
ing Camo Craft classes, go to greensidetraining.com. ert camouflage.
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A series by Green Beret (Special Forces Sniper) and Tim Kennedy (former top 5 UFC Middleweight).
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ISSUE 56
THELASTPAGE
Steadfast Decisions
Review of Homestead Survival: An Insider’s Guide to Your Great Escape
The Premise: Are you looking for a homestead? Do
you know what to look for? Homesteading isn’t new, but
during 2020, people started waking up to the realiza-
tion that they wanted a different life. To quote the book,
“The urban escape is global.” This book is meant to guide
those who are looking for a life filled with self-sufficiency
away from the crowded cities. But which state is right
for you? Do you know how to access clean water? What
type of home is best for you and your needs? How will
you power the homestead? What about providing food
through gardening and raising livestock? If you’re looking
for a homestead, these questions, and more, are all spin-
ning around your head. But lucky for us, Marty Raney has
come to our rescue.
The 411: Raney, author of Homestead Survival, is the star
of the TV show Homestead Rescue , which started in 2016.
Raney heads to struggling homesteads to help them keep
their dreams alive. The advice he offers in this book will
give anyone thinking about starting a homestead, the
roadmap for success. It starts out with getting into the
mindset of homesteading and how to get the whole fam-
ily on board with the idea. From there each chapter takes
the reader step-by-step into what they need to consider
for their homestead from finding the land, to gardening
and even a discussion on tools.
He goes into good detail about everything, including
building a home, electricity, and even building a com-
post toilet. Options for living on- and off-grid are also
discussed. I do wish it had gone into even deeper detail
about exact builds, but there are plenty of books out
there that do that. The purpose of this book was to give
the reader concrete places to start. It introduces you to
concepts and ideas that maybe you hadn’t thought of
before so you won’t need to call upon Raney to rescue
your homestead.
He did have a greater emphasis on off-grid living, talk-
ing about passive solar, heating, and wood stoves. I think
planning for off-grid living is an important part of having
a homestead, so this was a pleasant surprise. It touched a
little on hunting, which was great, but I think I missed the
part about foraging for wild edibles and fishing. Of course,
that’s not what this book is about, but I figured those
would’ve been mentioned along with hunting. Home-
By Morgan Rogue
steading is about using all our resources, not just ones we BOOK & AUTHOR
Homestead
can produce. Survival: An
It did talk about predators, which is usually just a Insider’s Guide
to Your Great
side-mention in most books, but as it said in the book, Escape
“Avoiding or deterring predators is your job, not theirs.” By Marty Raney
This couldn’t be truer, especially if you have livestock or PUBLISHER
a garden. It ends the book talking about expecting the Tarcher Perlgee
worst-case scenario. This is true about life and even more MSRP
$16.48
so when you run a homestead, which is a lot of work and
PAGES
the more you take on, the more points of failure there are. 188
The Verdict: Raney gives it to the reader straight, but in RATING
a realistic manner. He isn’t feeding us a dream that can’t
THRIVE
be reached; he’s telling us exactly what’s needed to make
your dreams a reality. One of the reasons I really enjoy
SURVIVE
this book is because you can tell he wants to help people. DIE
He also offers many out-of-the-box ideas and solutions.
He makes it very clear that if there’s a will, there’s a way.
Of course, sometimes that way is getting really creative,
but there’s always a way.
Through his decades of experience building a home-
stead of his own in the last frontier of Alaska, he has
seen and done it all. He speaks from experience. I really
appreciated that he added in the natural disaster aspect.
I vividly remember reading about a homestead in Hawaii
that was burned away from an exploding volcano. What
a nightmare that must have been for that family. But he
helped them get back on their feet, to overcome the
obstacle, and to continue on with their dream.
I loved the personal stories he presented
to showcase the struggles, but also the
possibilities. His stories simply drove home
the ideas that anyone can homestead
anywhere, but it’s all about preparation.
My only wish was for a few more pictures.
There were some nice illustrations scat-
tered throughout the book, but I wish there
were more. I would’ve especially liked to
see some screen captures from the show,
Homestead Rescue , to really showcase
some of the things we were reading about.
In saying all of this, this is the book you
need for the roadmap to get your home-
stead started and make it successful.