Wilderness Innovation New site is Home to the Blogs Now

Well there has been much progression in the business at Wilderness Innovation. We have a totally new site design, with our products, and we will be adding many others shortly, a shopping cart finally, and the site is now the new home to our blogs. There will be 2 or 3 blogs a week, we already have 8 blogs up covering subjects like Haiti and considering our own preparedness, keeping dry in the snow, getting enough fluids. The blog has also introduced new items and features such as:

We have a new logo

We are making lots of new videos, 65 currently, with 20 more just on winter on the schedule.

Some of the videos are on food at home, preparation, storage, etc.

We have introduced on our YouTube Channel - Wilderness Quick-Tips which are short videos of less than 60 seconds that give a little hint or idea.

Some of the blogs are video blogs, and others have links to related videos

Our YouTube WildernessInnovation Channel is picking up steam gradually, we now are getting more than a thousand views a week, and that is great. We want steady growth and not a flash viral, although if something went viral, who would complain?

Can I let the "cat outta the bag?" Sure at least a little info, mostly because I can't possibly keep my mouth shut  about it, too excited I suppose. After lots of research and designing we will shortly introduce a new product. But hold it, it doesn't even have a name yet, it's so generic. Anyway its our Wilderness Survival Tarp, and it's so cool. It will come in 2 sizes 7x7 personal and a 10 x 10. It is lightweight super tough ripstop nylon, digital camo and it can be configured in at least 11 different ways due to how it is tabbed out. The WST will come in a bag like the WI Off Road Survival Kit complete with the additional attaching method PALS for MOLLE packs.

So anyway check us out if its been a while, (click me)

Out in the Cold - Using the body's heat generation

In the last blog post I talked about the most important ingredient needed to survive and not only to survive but to enjoy the cold, and that is an attitude of hope. This is made possible by preparation, which engenders confidence. Today I want to talk further about the body and it's reaction to cold, and how to use what we know about the body to preserve it.

There are things that happen as the body functions that are important to know about. One of these is that the body generates heat as a by-product of metabolism or work. Since there is a narrow band of acceptable body temperatures (96 deg F to 101 deg F), excess heat must be removed to prevent overheating. 

In  conditions where air temperature is below 77 deg F the body must conserve part of the heat to prevent excessive cooling (hypothermia). The idea then, where temperatures are low, is to capture and retain as much of this body heat as possible. If enough heat cannot be retained, then outside heat, such as fire, must be applied to prevent hypothermia, It is best to rely on heat generated by the body, it is more dependable than a fire or stove. Fires and stoves are not practical in blizzards.

It is best to make gear to insulate effectively and use body heat to create a micro-climate inside this protective clothing. We use the term thermal self-sufficiency to describe the idea of using the body's heat generating capacity to maintain it's core temperature at an appropriate level. Only with properly constructed clothing can this be done. Thus clothing becomes one of the most significant survival items one can possess. 

In upcoming blog posts I will talk about, A) retaining body generated heat, B) how to keep the "furnace" stoked up, and C) other uses of the heat generated by the body. In all we seek to utilize all heat energy, trying not to waste any of it if possible.

Meanwhile keep an eye on our videos on YouTube for further information, WI videos

Introduction to Winter Clothing Series

We have started the series on Winter Camping and Survival on YouTube with several introductory videos, showing the use of the foam hat and mittens even when soaked in ice water. The series will continue showing all the elements of clothing and sleeping gear and it's proper use. We will also show how to manufacture the items. In addition there will be training on food, water, and psychological preparation.

What follows here is an overview of our cold weather system, Part 1 Introduction.

Man, to survive, must provide for himself, a few essentials. An area immediately around the body must be maintained within certain limits, a micro climate, if you will.

Animals, unlike man, are very well suited for survival in a wide variety of circumstances. Seals can swim in very cold water. Caribou are able to withstand severe winter conditions. In contrast, man, naked, can become hypothermic at temperatures lower than 77 deg F. The advantage that man possesses, intelligence and reason, can more than make up for the physical deficiences.

Perhaps the ingredient most important in survival, would be an attitude of hope. The ability to think clearly, coupled with confidence, provide the best opportunity to successfully resolve most difficulties.

The Survival System for Adverse Weather that we talk about is designed to meet the above conditions. When a person has made a System and then begins to use it, a confidence begins to build, in the ability to deal with conditions that may arise.

When a person has made, with his own hands, the articles of the System, a feeling of accomplishment develops. This feeling gives an assurance of being better able to withstand, or even to enjoy, occurrences of foul weather. The primary reason for this System being successful, is that it works!

The Off Road Survival Kit

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

The Off Road Survival Kit

View more presentations from Wilderness Innovation.

Off-Road Kit Item Veiw

(Click here to see a larger view)

The featured picture here is a posterized view of the kit in it's and photos of each piece. The kit bag is heavy duty cordura with D rings and velcro straps for attachment. A highlight of the contents going clockwise starting at upper left:

Victorinoix Swiss Army Knife Camper/Hiker series - 11 features, including 2 blades, wood saw, drill/reamer/awl, can opener, and tweezers. Has a lifetime warranty.

GSI stainless steel cup - with folding handles, 16 oz, tough enough to take much abuse. Start a small fire and slide it right into the fire or onto the coals, works great.

The Wilderness Innovation FireStarter Kit - We have described this in detail in earlier posts, but briefly it is a Doan magesium fire starter bar with integrated ferrocerium spark rod, attached to the bar is a stretch lanyard (our exclusive) holding the striker blade, 20 feet of wax paper for scraping the shavings into, wax cord for extending burn time, and all contained in a cordura case with 2 pockets, belt loop and D ring.

LED light - compact flat design, bright, 16 - 20 hour burn time

550 Parachute Cord - Military spec, nylon jacket, 7 strands inside that are removable for other uses, 25 foot. Use for making shelter, lures, snares, lashings

Tabs - 4 tabs with see through stretch fabric containing all the small items in the kit in an organized manner, first aid kit, bandages, gauze, antibiotic ointments, pain relievers, cleansers, itch relief, moleskin, sewing kit, pins, etc. The tabs make it easy to retrieve and store the small items.

Lip Balm - avoid cracked bleeding lips, ears, and nose

Plastic sheet - for making a solar still, or a catch basin for rainwater, or extracting moisture from leaves and other green matter.

Duck tape - 8 feet of this versatile material, its uses limited only by your imagination. Use for reinforcing or repairing tarp, poncho or clothing, shoes etc.

Whistle/compass/magnifier - the first one of these I had was from Silva, now they are marketed under many names. durable sturdy design, loud whistle.

Nalgene bottle - 32 oz HDPE, tough design I have some of these bottles from the early 80's still working fine.

Poncho - light weight, reasonable for protecting against rain soaking you. can be slit open to use in waterproofing a roof, can be used as a catch basin.

Space Blanket - reasonably sturdy for use reflecting body heat back into you, also can be used as a tarp by reinforcing attachment points with Duck Tape, also makes a great heat reflector for a fire.

Fish hooks with leader - use is obvious for fishing, attach to inner strand of Para Cord to make longer line. can also be baited and used to snare ground animals or fowl.

Poster Draft Copy

---Rough Draft poster----

I'm working on poster style page that will highlight the ways the Off-Road Kit can be carried, which is one of the nice features of that kit. The photo illustrates what I am working towards, but I need some additional pictures showing it in use, and with other people besides me. I want to show the kit attached to various things with carabiners, strapped to things such as snowmobile, ATV, dirt bike; personal carry with shoulder strap; and perhaps some kind of creative other idea, I'm open to suggestions....

Jacob and Angie are in Guatamala on a humanitarian aid trip and will have some photos of the kit when they return. Jen has volunteered, as soon as I get her a kit, she has a proto 1 of the RealSurvival Kit currently.

I have to learn how to do photoshop type stuff to illustrate all I want to on these kits, I'm not too saavy with that currently, I just want to go, click, click, click and it's done, haha, but that's not the way it works!! I did this poster with Picassa Collage, saved that as a photo, then used Paintshop Pro to add arrows and text, kinda crude now, but I'll learn it :)

More fun in the works...

I'm getting ready to start teaching survival classes soon, I will have several different classes, and not just wilderness type survival, but urban. Also I am going to incorporate Emergency Preparedness into training, since that is something there is a lot of interest in. I'm soon going to be teaching a class on that in Springville.

More Info on the Off-Road Survival Kit

Well after about 6 weeks of crazyness, vacations, family reunions, marriage and all, we're getting back into the groove and getting ready for marketing the kit. I'm working on some brochures and a good way to easily see what's in the kit and compare that with recommendations from such places as the military, and other survival experts.

I think we are going to market the kit and other accessories on our own website with a paypal checkout. This way we have more control over how the site is structured. I want to be able to provide lots of information about the products, and most of the canned sites are limited in this regard. There is also another survival website interested in carrying the kits, where we will drop ship for them.

In the long term scheme of things the Off-Road Survival Kit, the RealSurvival Kit, the FireStarter Kit are just the beginning of our efforts, these are all part of layer 1 in a 3 layer survival kit. Layer 1 is what you carry on your person or with you in or on your vehicle, ie. Car, truck, boat, airplane, snowmobile, ATV, mountain bike, dirt bike, etc. Layer 2 is an expansion of Layer 1, adding more First Aid components, some additional tools such as a folding saw, a heavy duty fixed blade knife. Layer 3 adds even more capability in added First Aid, tarp, food and water gathering, etc. Layer 1 is the lighter weight personal items that are considered essential, the RealSurvival Kit contains these items, the Off-Road Kit adds a little bit more to this with the cooking cup and water bottle.