Home Front: Training and Skills

As I mentioned in my opening post, I believe there is a lot we can do in order to be ready to face a disaster or catastrophe. Not just stockpiling needfuls, or getting the best kit and setup. More than choosing a prime bug-out location or arming yourself to the teeth, knowing how to survive in the face of hardship, and having the skills to get you out of a tight spot, and make it work in the long term to my mind is the difference between the gormless masses and the prepared. Molding the body and mind, as my kendo instructors have taught me, takes time, effort and dedication. Good teachers will guide, but it is up to the individual to learn, work and expand on that. I was inspired at an early age reading my fathers extensive library of Golden Age sci-fi. I came across this quote and it's stuck with me.

"A man should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." Lazarus Long Time Enough For Love - Robert A. Heinlein 

I like to think that in my life, I've managed to accumulate a number of skills, and more importantly an attitude much like those referenced by Clint Eastwood's character GySgt Highway in his 1986 film, Heartbreak Ridge "Adapt, innovate, overcome!". Somethings, like raising and keeping chookens, and growing a vegetable patch are pretty pedestrian, and apart from the space and effort of maintaining them, they are pretty low-skill skills to acquire. A while back I decided that the feral doves that were raiding our chooken food were worth potting, so modified a part of the bunny hutch to make a "lobster pot" type trap. 

After catching a bunch of them over the space of a few days, and plucking, gutting and cleaning them, I was able to make a variety of reasonably-tasty meals with what was essentially foraged meat. Later after deciding that it was a LOT of work for what it was, we returned the wire extension to the bunnies, much to the delight of Triceratops Girl (or in this case, Bunny Girl)

Cross training, is a skill that can be applied to -life-, not just the adventurous. I happen to be adventurous, so my cross-skilling takes that path. I can sail-board, snorkel and SCUBA dive, I learned to drive a 4WD in the desert of Dubai, in preparation for possible evacuation in the lead up to the First Gulf War as a teen, though it was a lot longer till I was road-licensed. Spending a lot of time climbing indoor walls (and buildings, before parkour became a "thing") whilst in uni gave me a good feel for rope use, rigging and ascension. Not to mention how to get into places that you generally shouldn't or expect to be able to.
I took woodwork in Junior High in Canada, from which some skills with hammers, nails, chisels and saws came, good for building, breaking and repairing when simply buying a new one isn't an option.Having "handy" skills is a real draw-card, I've found, and opens many doors, especially when in a community that might otherwise lack that particular set. Knowledge is currency in the information age, but so are social skills. Being able to network with those around you is just as much a learn-able and valuable skill as being able to knock together a coop, turn a couple of hand fulls of seeds into hearty dove stew or rigging a rope bridge across a chasm. Not everyone can be good at everything, and one person, whilst able to accomplish a lot, will be taxed and stressed enough by a disaster situation, without having the pressure of "doing it all themselves". Gather your crew, work out who can do what, who is willing to learn and do new things, and how you can improve and develop everyone's skills, and attitudes.

Most people wont find the prospect of my training for the Tough Mudder to be very appealing, then again, who relishes the idea of digging in the fields to get next seasons crops in, or doing a full inventory audit of your supplies? Some things need preparation, in order to be ready for the challenges ahead!


We have a saying in our house, which is pretty well understood by us and ours "you get a place in our bunker..." (and the converse, equally holds "they DON'T get a place in the bunker..."). So perhaps you need to ask yourself, have you got the skills it will take to adapt, innovate and overcome? If not, or if you think there are things you could learn, train and develop in yourself, when is too soon to start? gambatte!  

Review: Stanley FatMax FUBAR

A couple of years ago I received a catalog in the mailbox from a local hardware store, and whilst flipping through it, came across something that immediately stopped me in my tracks. I've had a few hammers over the years, from ones I inherited from my father, to the bastard leftovers of shared-house shed tool boxes but I'd never before bought my own. I've even reviewed a multi-tool hammer I bought as a gift last Giftmas, but this is something different. This is the Stanley FatMax range FUBAR and it is a real beast. At 1.13kg it's a pretty heft piece if steel to be swinging, but this is no tack-driver. This is a breaker.

Made from a single piece of forged steel, with no fitting joins to weaken the tool, just a rubberised and textured grip covering the middle of the bar, this is a piece designed for some serious durability. It's design incorporates 4 tools in one, which as I've previously mentioned is always a draw-card for me. I appreciate extra functionality that doesn't compromise the efficacy of the tool. The head-end features a large striking face, positioned and balanced fairly well for rough work; pounding big nails, and bashing things into shape. As I said, it's not a tool for delicate fittings.

The back of the head features my favorite part, the toothed jaws are designed to fit and grab common lumber sizes (2x4 and decking boards). This is great, and I've demolished a packing crate in less than a minute with this, salvaging almost every piece for handy-work, where a regular hammer would have taken a lot more effort, time and risk of injury. Right tool, right job. I've also made bricks go away with it, not only popping one brick out of a wall, but also shattering them into gravel when the need arose.

The tail end is made up an angled pry-bar, with a nice broad chisel edge for getting a good "bite" into whatever you have slated for forceful opening, without being a snapable knife-edge. It also features a nail slot, beveled into the body of the tail, so as not to reduce the structural integrity of the edge. I've also used it as a lanyard loop. As you can see, the tool is coated in a protective coating, but has flaked off revealing the tempered steel underneath on the areas of hard wear. The hardened steel has taken pretty much all the beating I have dished out with only some light scratching, and I am fully satisfied with this as a demolition tool.

There has been some debate I've read about this as a post-Apocalyptic hand-weapon, and whilst heafty, and oddly shaped, I'd suggest that with practice, it would be a valuable addition to your arsenal. By practice, I mean using it as intended without mangling yourself or those around you. Whether tearing down improvised barricades, or putting them up, I'm glad to know I have a FUBAR in my car, to FUBAR anything that blocks my path. Just like Stanley the Honey Badger would. FTW.

Video demonstration anyone? 

Review: Light My Fire - Meal Kit

Being a very lucky critter, I was fortunate enough to get a swag of cool camping and outdoorsy time kit for Giftmas, and it's time I got around to giving credit where credit is due. My lovely partner and mother of Tactical Baby, who writes her own inspirational blog  went all out at one of our local adventure gear shops with both this blog, and my own tendencies in mind. One of those items is the Meal Kit by Light My Fire who are the the amazing people behind the Swedish Fire Steel So will little more ado, let me talk you through the Meal Kit.

Firstly, the strapping is elasticized on two of the three bands, giving a very close grip whilst still being easy to get into to gain access tot he Kit.
Likewise, it was simple to put back on when needed. The third leg of the strap is webbing, which includes reflective fibers like those found in a safety belt and a wire-gated swivel clip for mounting to a pack. This is a great idea for someone like myself who goes hiking, as having some extra passive signaling material hanging from your back gives you an extra Search and Rescue option, not to mention letting traffic know you're there. This might be an issue for people for whom light-discipline is an issue, but nothing some tape wouldn't fix, I expect. Inside the tightly sealing lid (which holds 450mL) is a collection of really nice secondary items:

A spork with a knife edge, very handy and remarkably good to eat with. A combined strainer and cutting board, which is an awesome addition. I usually end up trying to do my chopping on my plate, and strain with a fork. So much simpler with such a light and flat-packed addition! The spill-free cup holds 350mL with measuring lines at 100, 200 and 300mL. Its lid is a tight fit but the sippy lid leaves the container unsealed so its not ideal for storage on the go. A woven cord holds the lid of the sippy cup to its body, good news for those of us who loose pieces when washing in communal sinks. Nested within the cup is the fully sealing SnapBox which holds 170mL. All of these secondary items fit within the main bowl which itself holds 900mL. There is a hole in the rim of the main bowl, presumably for hanging it to dry.

I wondered how much use the kit would be as a pre-packed meal set, rather than just a full mess-kit and found that the elastic straps stretched enough such the the sippy cup (containing the SnapBox) could be carried outside the main bowl/plate combo.  This means it could be packed full of ingredients, ready to prepare later or eat immediately, which is a real bonus if you have the time to pack it before bugging out. 

 

The plastics are all microwave safe, dishwasher safe. and interestingly enough, the kit is reported to float. Good to know if you expect to face water hazards, or the dreaded shared camp-kitchen sink. This is a really cool set. I like its lines, and the proud Scandi that I am appreciates its efficient and neatly nested design. Again, I'm a very lucky critter, and I'm grateful I'm loved enough to be bought cool gear!

Home Front: Suplies!

To me, nothing says "preparedness" like a well stocked pantry. Whether it's a hoard of stinky roleplayers, a hoard of slinky poly-folk or a hoard of radioactive muties, you want to have plenty on hand to ensure you can pull through unscathed.  Not only staples, but also all the fixings to be able to do more than -survive-. Subsistence living is a morale killer and a well made meal can make all the difference to someones spirits, I've found. This is the same if you're on a tight budget financially, or if "The Big One" has come and you have to simply make do with what you can get, and resupply is a long way off.  Bulk stores, in well sealed containers are the way to go. The fact our pantry is tall and deep means we can shelve a lot, without too much hassle.

Planning for a house-full of people showing up at any time, can take a bit of doing. Its a good discipline to have, especially with the forethought that those skills encourage. As previously mentioned we do a bit of urban-homesteading (the yucky squash vine miraculously became a pumpkin vine, thankfully) and home preserving of produce but that just acts as a supplement. For our big fresh-food buys, we hit the markets, and for the even bigger storable staples, we hit somewhere BIG. Buying in bulk gives savings, and those savings not only give you more to buy more, but also to pad out the bulk with tasty morsels and luxury items, or "just in case" purchases that might otherwise not make it to your domestic grocery list.

I wont go into what you should or shouldn't put into your grocery basket, but keep in mind the "use-by" dates, combinations of foods that can be mixed and matched to produce variety from limited resources and reducing not only wastage, but with careful selection, not stocking up on things that no one will like or eat. We often buy whole 24can slabs of canned goods, beans, corn, lentils, tomato pulp, because they keep, are modular and can be added to most meals in some way. The kids also eat them, a real bonus, in ANY situation.
So after securing your giant load of shopping, bulk TP and nappies in hand, what do you DO with it all. How much can you haul at any one go? I have a 5door RAV4 cruiser, which happens to have roof-racks and a tow-ball, but with some good Coyote-magic fueled 3D Tetris skills pretty well honed through years of moving house and international travel we can usually fill up the cargo section without encroaching on the back seat, where we have two child seats and one long-suffering teenager.  Once home, we decant into the pantry, two fridges, a chest freezer and into these recognizable and ubiquitous modular storage systems that can be yanked and stacked in the back of the RAV4 at a moments notice. Stock rotation is important, not only for freshness, but to check what is being consumed, what is being rejected, and what has been forgotten.  Bulk water containers, dry-goods, flour and the like all have important parts to play, as do household items like cleaning products and first aid supplies.

It all comes down to: know what you have, know what you need, know where it is, how to store it and know how to move it if the need arises.

Review: Platatac SR25 Utility Double Mag Pouch

I'm a big fan of pouches, especially modular, multifunction pouches. It's always good to have the option to reach in and grab what you want, know that it will be where you put it, and that you can get to -some- of your gear without having to rummage through -all- of your gear. I've previously reviewed Platatac's FUP Pouch which is a tremendous pouch, but different needs can be met better by different products. So let me waste no more time, and introduce you to the SR25 Utility Double Mag pouch. This is designed primarily to carry two popular 7.62mm magazines, as utilised by the SR-25 sniper rifle, from which the name is derived.

(As a side-note, I'm not much of a gun-nut, and almost all my knowledge is theoretical, fan-boy based, but the SR25/M110 would be one of my choices from the Matrix Stockroom , that's how I roll.) Apart from that factoid, here's what you can expect from this pouch. Made from the same 1000D Cordura the other pouches in their range, but this one is listed in as being made double-thickness, which no doubt will give this high-intensity usage survivability well beyond my requirements, at least. In keeping with the FUP, the SR25 has both a hook-and-loop and double press-stud closure.

I really like having the option of either of these methods. I prefer press-studs, but hook-and-loop is a fast and ready means to secure variably sized load-outs. As well as the dual method closures, the pouch comes with an elastic compression strap, principally for when only 1 magazine is used, but really, any time the pouch is half-filled, it keeps it snug and stops your needfuls rattling about. Another great feature are the two strips of MOLLE attachment points on the lid of the flap. I keep my SAR Eclipse Signal tags on one of mine. A great accessory point right there. A pull tab on the lid-flap makes for easy access and also as a lanyard attachment point for dummy-cords. The pouch attaches with twin-strips of the PALS/MOLLE system featured in all of the Platatac range. I love it, gives a sturdy, trouble free connection, in one piece. A drainage eyelet ensures it doesn't become a swimming pool.

Here it is lined up against the FUP, just to give it some perspective. I use mine as utility pouches whilst at Stargate LRP events, with one holding my compass and monocular, the other holding nitrile gloves, surgical mask and some administrative documents. I like the low-profile fit and the ease of which it provides access to my stowed gear. I have no doubt that if I were slinging steel, These pouches would serve their intended purpose admirably, they certainly suit my needs when pew-pew-pewing with laser-tag or NERF as they fit the NERF clip system clips too...

Review: Fiskars Log Splitter

When disaster strikes, sometimes it's the basic things that are the most important. Freedom to move is one of those. I frequently travel up into the Dandenong Ranges so visit, collect and return my 3yo daughter, Triceratops Girl. The way is heavily forested, mountainous and prone to storms and heavy rainfall, as well as bushfires. I've had to clear fallen trees from my path on more than one occasion, which is one of the reasons I keep my favorite camping axe in the back of the car. I picked this piece up at a hardware store a number of years ago, after seeing the advertisements where a tractor is pictured sitting on the handle, lent over a log.

Between seeing that, and hefting it in the shop, I was all but sold. If it's something I can trust the Finns with, it's chopping wood. And Vodka. Which may have led to the parking of the tractor on the axe in the first place. The proof, they say, is in the pudding and here is what I can tell you. The hollow haft is made of a lightweight and extremely hard wearing fiberglass material called "FiberComp". This puts almost all the weight in the head, where you want it. It's flexible enough to take the shock of some serious and extensive chopping and splitting, and still sturdy enough to DO all that work. The hook in the handle ensures a positive grip and the haft is well textured for both a good swinging action and also keeping a solid positive grip. as well as having a lanyard hole for added safety.

The head is where the action is. Firstly, the head is molded into the haft, and in all the years I have had it it's never given the slightest hint of budging. The entire head is coated with a non-stick substance called PTFE (Teflon is DuPont's name for it...)which according to Fiskars reduces the friction of blade strike and withdrawal by 25%. Most important to my way of thought however is the blade geometry, which is really special. The convex cross-section acts not only to enure a deep bite, but also provides a wide bevel to force logs open, Star Destroyer style! The convex shape helps keep it from being wedged into its cut. The steel has been drop forged, doubled hardened. What this means for you and I is that it holds a very keen edge and is easy to maintain. There are a couple of dings, from loaning it to lesser humans, who chopped wood onto gravel. I've worked most of the damage out with my diamond files.  So dumb I couldn't even get angry. Just took it away from them, and let them forage for firewood from then on.


I've taken this with me on every camping trip since having it, and over Easter last year, chopped enough red-gum to cook for 10 people for 6 days with it. I bent the ring I was wearing, gave myself a little blister and needed -one- resharpening. A very fine effort. The locking case not only holds the very sharp edge safely, but I have also used it to affix the axe to my hip, either lashing it to my belt, or by feeding my gorgeous little camping-knife in its sheath through the handle like a big button. As you can see, from the wear on the handle and head, I've gotten a lot of use from this axe, and plan to get a lot more.

It's one of the first items that comes to mind when someone mentions disaster preparedness, because its reliable, light, effective and extremely hardy. Fallen trees, barricades, firewood, encroaching Triffid hoards, this axe and I will go a long way to making ready!

Review: EDC holster harness

I have a lot of "things" on my person. My EDC makes most of my friends balk. Simply the amount of keys I seem to have accumulated would put many high-school janitors to shame, it seems. Included here are the previously reviewed EDC keychain tools, my mighty but petite Surefire flashlight, and my formidable and functional Folding K.I.S.S. but also seen here are a few other items worth noting. Two "little" pens (I used to have a Fisher Space Pen but its sleek little body slipped a pocket and was lost, years ago). A hank of fast-rope that was originally venetian-blind cord, a tiny box of Crumpler matches, a lonely looking ear-plug (woops) and my foxy Poken RFID based business card. Also on my -second- keychain, as well as a nautical grade Stainless steel carabiner, are my airport-safe nail-clippers, my VPN token and a USB stick I opened and embedded with paraffin to water and shock-proof. My wallet (with an accessory carabiner and dummy-cord) and a few hair-ties top off what would fill up my pockets on a daily basis, not including the iPhone I used to snap this pic.Where do I -put- all of this gear?

Here: A custom made holster-of-pockets that I had made by the very fine people of RemoteEquipment Repairs."Specialist Outdoor Adventure Gear Repairs"

I walked into their upstairs shop on day many years ago (perhaps as long ago as 10, because I had a dumb phone and a Palm V) and emptied my pockets, and the el-cheepo holster-of-pockets I had scored at a market somewhere and said "I need to fit all of this, under my arms, no hook-and-loop, big buckles and zippers, it needs to be rugged, black and adjustable." They delivered for a modest fee, a piece of kit that I now consider myself all but naked when not wearing. It features two internal pockets under the buckles, and a spacious zipperable pocket sufficient for passports, phones and the like. My sunglasses dangle in their case, which also contains my earbuds.

The nylon shows the wear of all-day-every-day use, but this has seen me right in every situation I have put it through. When I go to airports (after removing all the pointies) I unsling this, toss it through the X-ray, and wander on through. I've even decorated the front straps with badges and buttons, Jeans for Genes day, a poppy for Armistice Day, a Kodama sprite, a "boo-yah" button, and some words of wisdom from AFT's Jungle Recon and Army Ranger.

This holster has been a real boon to me, and lets me keep all my needfuls hands-free but on hand. When it finally goes to broken-gear heaven, I will give it a Viking funeral, but not before securing an even more rugged, modular and adjustable replacement.