Old or New - I'm Torn

It's interesting, the evolution of things. I have spent a lot of time this past year looking back at equipment I used to use, and reading about what was used in the 1800's to the 1930's. At first glance it makes me think, "how did they ever survive with that stuff?" However, on further analysis much of that gear was simple in a cleaver sort of way.

Today money is the only thing separating us from all the so called "top of the line" equipment. I say so called for a reason, when we look at what the early explorers did without solar heat absorbing fabric and sophisticated insulations, without titanium cookware, and freeze dried food, no polycarbonate utensils, without GPS navigation, exotic butane powered stoves and cooking systems, and tents made of super-light synthetic materials; we are left to wonder how they did it.

We just need to go back to the essentials of survival; shelter, fire, water, food, and medical care, take care of these and it doesn't really matter what materials we use. Granted the new materials and gear can be much more effective, weight saving, and efficient.

I guess I can say I'm in a phase right now where I am testing the old and trying to integrate it with the modern. In our haste for materials perhaps we have bypassed some of the old methods, discarding them before evaluating their usefulness.

I was reviewing some new gear the other day, here are some examples: Inflatable sleeping pad that is extremely light, $150 and somewhat fragile. It's great technology, but can't I make myself comfortable without that? How about the specialized stove-cook set combos that can boil water faster than you can imagine, nice, but you can't interchange anything, want a bigger pot, sure $150 will get you one. There is something to be said for a tin can pot set in the coals, takes a little longer to boil water, but what am I in a hurry for, will I miss the bus?

Well I'm not against all this modern gear, I'm seeking to learn some of the old stuff, to get acquainted with a slower pace of life, to relax. I don't want to be timing my boiling water to see if I set a new record. This new stuff is cool, so cool, it's amazing and I love it.

But what really turns me, is the thought of taking my Wilderness Innovation Off Road Survival Kit, and the Personal Survival Tarp, some oats, ramen, jerky, chocolate mix, rice and flour in some ziplock baggies and wander off for a few days to make the best of it. I don't really want to go primitive, I did that years ago. I guess a little bit of minimalism kinda rocks my world.

Whatever you are into for survival items, camping gear and cooking, make yourself comfortable and settle into the wilderness, learn to enjoy the challenge of making yourself comfortable with whatever you have. Breathe deep the clean fresh air and get into loving the outdoors.

Until next time - Perry Peacock signing off, have a great day!!

PST Sneak Peek - Our new Personal Survival Tarp

I know I should wait, but sorry it's just too exciting to hold back now. We've been busy working on the PST or Personal Survival Tarp for some time now. I have done sketches earlier in the year, and off and on over the years. About six months ago I got intensely into research, the most helpful things came about while investigating tents and tarps from the 1880's to the 1940's, the information from those studies helped to congeal what I had in my mind and the things I had been drawing. I took all those notes and did a CAD drawing, from there we started prototyping. Shauna helped to refine and improve some of the construction.

So just what is the PST?

The concept is to have a tarp that is light weight, very durable, water and wind proof, sized for one person. The tarp is 7 feet square and made of rip-stop nylon, it has 18 webbing tabs for configuring various shapes; the tarp is sold with 5-20' hanks of 550 Parachute cord, 4-9" tent stakes, shock cording, and a tough Cordura nylon bag like the one for the Off-Road Survival Kit, only a couple inches taller and equipped with MOLLY PALS attachment system.

We know of 14 different ways to pitch the tarp, and there are a couple others to try out. That's the idea, a tarp that can be set up many different ways according to conditions. I've used it and pitched it many times in the mountains near the shop, and recently in the desert of Southwestern Utah.

The more I use the tarp the more I love it. I knew it would really be cool, but as I use it and learn from using it, I am more pleased all the time. It seems so simple and it is, but at the same time a very capable piece of survival gear.

We will have much more on it in the next couple of months. I'm not certain how soon we will begin marketing it (haha I just started here in this blog :), but easily in time for spring. Check out more pics and details on our FaceBook page, be sure to Fan us so you can keep up with things.

I've got to get to bed soon, but I may not sleep well, I have plans in the morning as soon as it is light to work with the PSTarp, it's all so exciting.

Until next time, have a great day!!  Perry Peacock

Survival – Circles of Priority - Targeting

When I think of survival, or even emergency preparedness, I tend to divide it up into categories. It's hard for us to do everything at once, and if we try we may become discouraged. The old saying still holds, “How do you eat an elephant? A bite at a time.” So lets break it all down and get organized, visualize a target with a bulls-eye at the center, and rings expanding out from that.

Step 1 - The Center or Bulls-Eye: EDC or as the survivalist world knows it Every Day Carry

Another blog on Every Day Carry will follow this one, with a post by Beau, detailing his experience with what he likes to carry, and his interviews with others about what they have with them. This is usually personal, and it should be, some items people don't want to disclose, and that's fine as well.

The only other thing I will say on this, leaving the rest to Beau, is I try to be a realist, a lot of what I see people saying is EDC is not; it is only EDC when out in the bush. I want to know what people carry ALWAYS, to me that's the true EDC. I always have a knife and a fire starter for example, that's my bare minimum.

Step 2 – First Ring: Personal Essentials – What most would call a Survival Kit

To survive all of us need the same things: Shelter, Fire, Water, Food, and Medical Care are some general categories. The amount of each we need varies according to our circumstances and our personal condition, but regardless, all of us will perish without these things. When I'm talking of the First Ring – Personal Essentials I'm thinking of what an individual needs to live out a couple of days to perhaps a couple of weeks, truly surviving the ordeal, not necessarily in comfort.

Based on these factors we developed our Real Survival Kit and the it's enhanced brother the Off Road Survival Kit, both of these providing the tools needed to help a person get through difficult times. The kits contain items such as: Victorinox Swiss Army Knife, Doan Magnesium Fire Starter, 550 Parachute Cord, Compass, Whistle, First Aid Kit, Flashlight, Poncho, Space Blanket, Fish Hooks and leader, etc...

Step 3 – Second Ring: Personal Efficiency Survival Items – For Effective use of Time and Energy

Although our Wilderness Innovation survival kits, or kits you may have providing the same functionality, will generally get us through the tough spots; something of consideration, especially if the conditions are exceptionally rough or the amount of time we must stay out is extended, is conservation of energy and good use of time. To the onlooker, a person in a survival situation has nothing but time to kill, and that is most certainly not true. In our modern society the amount of time we spend procuring food, shelter, fire and water, is relatively small. When conditions force us to survive, those things are now life and death matters, with not much leeway in there, 3 days max without water and depending on conditions, perhaps not even a day without fire or shelter. Time is critical to manage effectively.

Why the emphasis on energy conservation? The human body requires a lot of energy (calories obtained from food) just to stay operational. When a person doesn't know when he will eat again or in what quantity, it becomes imperative that all energy used is metered doing only that which is essential.

So in light of what we've just discussed what items would be key to saving energy and time?

Folding Saw – We may hack away with a folding knife or just try breaking branches for fire or shelter, but with a folding saw of 10 – 16 inches, we can do perhaps ten times the work for the same energy, and the time savings is proportional to that as well.

Tarp – A personal size tarp is light weight and very effective for creating all or part of a shelter. A lean-to of branches and boughs may take half a day to make, a debris hut may take a day to several days to make, a shelter formed with a tarp may be constructed in 15 to 30 minutes.

Fixed Blade Knife – A person may choose to insert a 4” to 6” heavy duty fixed blade knife here and forgo the Folding saw, placing it in the items of the Third Ring. A knife of this type is useful in chopping with a baton, carving, cutting, splitting and many other functions. A saw is certainly much more effective at cutting, but the knife is the only option for splitting.

Reserve Food Items – Carrying of extra dried or packaged food, will easily extend the time a person can hold out, as well as providing comfort and consolation in a difficult time. Ramen noodles are light, flavored, quick and easy to prepare, and they are convenient to combine with whatever a person may find locally. These should still be limited, light, and easy to prepare. Jerky, dried fruits and vegetables, rolled oats, nuts, etc.

Step 4 – Third Ring: Personal Comfort and Safety Items

At this point I would consider that we have broken somewhat from surviving to living, and this involves a good deal more in preparedness than simply survival items. This is where more thinking is involved and much more personalization, and customizing. In fact these items in the Third Ring will usually vary with the trip or adventure

Stove - This is a nice addition, it saves always having a fire, particularly if one is not needed for warmth, or is difficult to start or maintain due to current conditions. Food preparation time is greatly reduced, as is boiling water for purification.

Larger Tarp or bivy – For extra comfort a bivy or larger size tarp can offer more protection. I prefer the tarp because it can be configured so many different ways, where the bivy has a single method of deployment. Our new Survival Tarp Series are tabbed out in a way that they can be set up more than 12 ways.

Extra Food Items – Adding some MRE's or Freeze Dried meals can really take the edge off of a very tough situation. Include some food items you have tested and tried to give some welcome comfort while awaiting rescue.

Expanded First Aid – Include some personal items that you may need due to a condition. Triangle bandages, more gauze and cremes and lotions, perhaps a suture kit. Add plenty of extra pain relievers, etc.

Water Filtration – The addition of a quality water filter set up can save lots of fuel or time in the fire which makes moving about easier if you need to. Use the filter to stock up your water bottles

Ax – Finally as mentioned earlier an ax can really be a blessing. It can effectively split wood and even chop in a reasonable manner, you can use an ax to pound in stakes. It is unparalleled in prepping a pile of wood for the fire. You can get the job done and then relax a bit.

In closing, this list is not at all totally inclusive and should be in many cases customized for each person. More information and details will be discussed in future blogs.

Have a great day – Perry Peacock