Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Blog rating!

I happened across a mention alert in one of my feeds for this blog and was very pleased to find that the aggregator service Feedspot had rated and included Apocalypse Equipped in their rankings. They ranked "Tactical blogs" by Relevancy, authority, social media followers and freshness. Based on their assessments, this blog ranked 35th out of 60 (out of thousands that exist)

Needless to say,I'm thrilled and proud. 

Since starting this blog in January 2012, I've made 724 posts, and received some 1,862,102 views. I've had the good fortune to work with Industry leaders like Platatac, Propper, 5.11 and Breach Bang and Clear

I've slowed the pace of my reviews in the last few years, focusing more on living life with my family, but look forwards to sharing many more needful items, tips and tricks, continuing to bring you all my honest, considered and thorough reviews of kit and gear. 




 

Friday, March 16, 2018

lJ posts - reflections on the past.


So, back in the day, in the late 2000's I had a LiveJournal into which the first iterations of this blog came to pass.

A couple of important things were journaled there in my beginnings of documenting preparation things:
1) my EDC and BUG-OUT bag kits:
2) Black Saturday 2008/09 fire season:

my 2007 EDC loadout: Compare with my 2012 version posted here:

Someone asked me recently if there was anything I didn't have on
me, and I thought I'd post the list I made afterwards. Not quite a
Bug-Out-Bag, but at any given time, this is what I carry around with me.

That's before I even pack things into my bag . . .

Green Crumpler satchel
-sharpening tools (diamond stones) x3
-Alan keys (full set)
-packaged survival kit-in-a-can
-cable ties (180x4.5mm) x20 or so
-waiters friend
-metal chopsticks
-9" section of aluminium arrow shaft (my metal straw)
-titanium splade
- 90cm wire saw
-essential oils
-personal grooming stuff (toothpaste, floss, toothbrush, tissues,
hairbrush)
-needles and thread
-first aid kit (overstocked from Hospital supplies, lube, condoms (you NEVER know))

Under-vest-Harness
-Barz prescription polarised goggles
-wallet (safety pins and needle&thread)
-work ID
-USB memory sticks x2
-Folding C.R.K.T. K.I.S.S. 3"
-LED flashlight
-pen
-iPod
-PDA
-aluminium accessory carabineer
-all elastic hair ties
-keys on big steel carabineer
-mobile phone
-20m nylon cord

Belt
-BuckTool multitool (with attached HD magnet)
-rope kasari fundo (String of Doom)


Zombie edition EDC (Nov. 8th, 2007)

So, apart from what I usually lug around (and again, not
including my lunches, kendo gear twice a week, books, external 300Gb
hard drives, or the odd 14" cast iron camping hot-plate on occasion),
here is my theoretical end-of-civilization bug-out-kit.

Its very similar to the kind of gear I lug about when I got to BIF
weekends, so I know what I can manage, but there I do it in period-ish
style. The boar spear is a bit overkill, but, well, that's so me
isn't it? For non-supernatural disasters, I'd probably leave the spear
in the car. . . hahaha

Green Crumpler satchel
-sharpening tools (diamond stones) x3
-Alan keys (full set)
-packaged survival kit-in-a-can
-cable ties (180x4.5mm) x20 or so
-waiters friend
-metal chopsticks
-9" section of aluminium arrow shaft (my metal straw)
-titanium splade
- 90cm wire saw
-essential oils
-personal grooming stuff (toothpaste, floss, toothbrush, tissues,
hairbrush)
-needles and thread
-first aid kit (overstocked from Hospital supplies, lube, condoms (you
NEVER know))
-Fluid resistant surgical masks
-food supplement bars ~380Cal/100g
-30m 11mm static line
-Petzl Ascension, Shunt, figure 8
-Hydration pack
-short bolt cutters

Camping hip bag
-20m 5mm dynamic line
-
carabineer
 -camouflage waterproof hooded poncho
-tricks + traps kit
-20 4" nails
-mini gas stove + bottle
-battery free induction flashlight
-Swedish Army fire steel
-collapsible bowl/sink
-lensatic compass
-LED head lamp
-enamel mug
-CRKT Stiff KISS knife (l.hip)

Under-vest-Harness
-Barz prescription polarised goggles
-wallet (safety pins and needle&thread)
-work ID
-USB memory sticks x2
-Folding C.R.K.T. K.I.S.S. 3"
-LED flashlight
-pen
-iPod
-PDA
-aluminium accessory carabineer
-all elastic hair ties
-keys on big steel carabineer
-mobile phone
-20m nylon cord

Belt
-BuckTool multitool (with attached HD magnet)
-rope kasari fundo (String of Doom)

Ontario 30" Blackwind sword (l.hip)
Fiskars 23.5" splitting axe (r.shoulder)
Arcteryx climbing harness
Dainese body armour+2nd back plate
Leather work gloves (over)
Latex examination gloves (under)
Armoured shorts (street hockey)
Shin + knee armour (street hockey)
HiTech GP boots
Cold Steel boar spear





2008 Fire Prep



Sunset, Friday night, from Belgrave shops. The Sun looked like a cherry, and i could look right at it without blinking.


I've fought fires before, and know what it is like to get embers and ash in your eyes, nose and mouth, the length keeps it out of ears, and the back of my neck. I have practice wearing head-dresses, they are very comfortable.




suede doesn't ignite easily, and is easily made damp, the goggles are polarised and i have tended fires with them and they are really good at smoke and ember protection, and the 9 LED light is, well, brilliant.

wearing this, i can protect my head from radiant heat, and ember attack for any expose to the fires i may get. Better prepared is better better protected.


 Belgrave Fires
  fires all downgraded to "safe" still, going to be vigilant


We are on the other side of the valley, and the wind is going the other way. No smoke, no embers. Elvis the water bomber and a couple of Huey's have been back and forth for the last hour, but they have stopped.

We are standing by to put our fire plan into action if needs be.

Gutters are stopped up and water-filled, buckets and mops ready.
My PPE is ready, the car is fueled we are going to gather the essentials and have them ready, just in case.
My neighbors are on their deck's talking loudly on their phones and laughing. I am not planning to leave just yet.


FiresFeb. 8th, 2009 at 7:04 PM

66 dead, 700 homes, 2 towns -gone-, not damaged,

GONE

we're fine, its rained overnight and today, which has made everything extra damp, which is great

details of the scope of the disaster here:

in the advent of fire, my family will evacuate at first sign, and i will stay and defend the house. i have several contingency plans, and have witnessed bushfire and grass-fires before.

a locally living buddy has selflessly volunteered to come and help me, if needs be, he's "just down the hill" and its always good policy to "dive-with-a-buddy"

just so you all know, and before you tell me off . . .
i have been told, in no uncertain terms, that i am not to "be a hero" and die for my home. i can live with that, i have a lot to live for.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Curated ReBlog: South Korean threat from North Korea

I'm going to be spotlighting some of  my fellow bloggers in addition to my own content to spread some love. First up is from Unprecedented Mediocrity by Jeff Edwards  who shares some opinions on "better them than us" with regards to the North Korea vs South Korea questions:

Check it out here:

http://www.unprecedentedmediocrity.com/nothing-wrong-south-korea-taking-brunt-north-korean-war/

"Or I will Bring Fury and Fire Like You Have Never Seen Before Upon You"
-POTUS

Monday, July 13, 2015

Events: 500 posts!

I am very pleased to report that I've clocked over the 500 post milestone, which is a whole lot of knives, pouches, lights and rants opinions about safety, security and the end of the world!

[edit] over the weekend I also cleared the 600,000 hits milestone too, rather cuffed, all together.

I've been a bit slack with the content in the last few months, combinations of new new work situations, rolling seasonal illnesses at home and just so much LIFE going on has sometimes made it hard for me to spend time in front of a keyboard putting thoughts to pixels for you all, but I'll keep at it.

I've been really pleased with the reach I've been getting, and the responses I've gotten from both readers and makers. It's always a big thrill for me to hear that my review prompted someone to get some good kit themselves, or to have a manufacturer want to have me review a product.
I'd also like to thank the Breach Bang & Clear team for putting me on as part of JTF Mad Duo, it's been amazing to be a staff-writer. Now if only it could be my 9-5!

One new development I'd like to make you all aware of is that I'll be opening up an online store shortly, and you will be able to purchase some of the cool kit I've managed to secure access to.

www.tacticalcoyote.com coming soon!

Thanks for following along, and as always, if love to hear any requests, suggestions and recommendations.

Be prepared, be safe, be Apocalypse Equipped!

Thursday, January 22, 2015

500,000 hits! wow!

Overnight here, I clocked over 500,000 hits recorded on Blogger. (Google Analytics suggests its more like 559,000, which I think counts my FaceBook and Twitter accounts too).

It's been a great run so far, from December 2011 till now, and I have to thank the good folks at Zombie Tools, Snow Lizard, UV PaqLite and Tactical Keychains for re-posting my articles and sending so much traffic my way, the awesome guys at Platatac for always being there and really getting me started in the gear-review field, and David Reader and all the folks at BreachBangClear, RecoilWeb and previously KitUp! as well.

Without the support of these folks, and everyone else who's supported me, I'd not have had the success I have had, and will continue to have. Thanks to all my readers, I hope that it's been fun, informative and thought provoking!

Josh
Be Ready For Anything
be Apocalypse Equipped

Monday, August 4, 2014

400 Posts! - Indexes: now with more entries!

 So, another little milestone for my efforts, this is my 400th published entry.

From the first post till now, since December 2, 2011 till August 4 2014 I've been tapping away, reviewing, adventuring, testing and fooling about.

I've had some great luck with some awesome contacts, and gotten to try out some really cool kit along the way, as well as making some good friends and hopefully entertaining and maybe even educating some folks out there.

Here's how I reflected on the last few milestones:

300th Post; a call-out for guest writers (thanks Tony)

200th Post; my Mayan calendar loadout post.

100th Post; a Q&A request, that garnered no comments or questions.

1st Post; outlining what I hope to accomplish with the writing.

Work-life has been a bit hectic recently, eating into my writing capacity (the cheek!) but I hope to be in a mental state to be able get a bunch more out over the next few weeks whilst the Contracts people work their glacial magic.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Events: Two years!



Two years ago, one of my lovely partners, Omega said I should start blogging about all the gear I had been collecting. It had been a whiles since I had done any writing,and I thought I would give it a shot.

For a while I worried about Impostor syndrome, as unlike many of my peers in the blogoshpere, I have never had military service, or LE service. I'm not a paramedic, firefighter, SES worker  nor any kind of professional hero. I'm just a guy, who likes camping, MilSim roleplay and has lived an exciting life in exciting places.  I feel the weight of your scrutiny heavily, and just stick to my guns, knowing that I have an opinion, have critical thinking, and a message to spread.




 I started this blog, in the beginning, with my manifesto such as it was, that I would cover gear, situations, preparation and the mentality of becoming "Apocalypse Equipped". Not with any clear suggestion of impending doom, but rather, "what if...?"

I'm not overly concerned about any given event, I don't really consider myself a conspiracy theorist, or any more connected to the data, but instead, I like to take my day to day life, and see if I can improve it, to suit the tumultuous world around us.

100 posts in, I did a recap, and again at 300 posts (This. Is. BRIGHTON). I was pretty excited when I clocked over at 100,000 page views,  and am constantly amazed at my daily, weekly and monthly  tally of hits.

I owe a lot of thanks to the fine folks who have supported me, either big companies who have sent me gear to review, or individual kit-makers who have cut me a sweet deal, and even just the folks in-store who have been kind enough to hear me out when I've asked "I want to put 'this' into 'that', and be able to hang upside-down ...." or let me guest-post on their blogs.

Last month was my best-tracking month yet, and I had a very gratifying connection with someone who has directly benefited from reading, so I hope that I can keep up the interest, as well as keep on top of my own prepping, and writing!

It's going to be a hot, dry summer here, so I'm sure I'll have lots of inspiration.

Stay safe, Ready For Anything!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

300 posts! Tonight we dine in THE BUNKER!

Hi all, I just noticed that yesterday was my 300th post, and I wanted to drop a quite post in here whilst I am compiling to say thank you to all my readers, commentors, vendors who send me cool things, friends and family who let me test things on and with them, train with me and generally support me in my quest to be Apocalypse Equipped!

In the almost three years of doing this blog I have had the good fortune to make a bunch of great connections, friends and learn a whole lot.

If anyone out there wants to join me in my adventures, guestwriter-spot, try some of my gear and ideas out, drop me a line and we'll make something happen!
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