Water purification seems simple enough on paper—just kill or remove all the harmful bacteria in water. However, it’s not so easy in the real world. You can boil water, but that requires starting a fire and consuming fuel. You can use a water filter or purifier device, but many of these are bulky or expensive. Finally, you can use purification chemical tablets or even household bleach, but these methods require anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours to work. All of these methods can be effective in the right circumstances, but it never hurts to have new options.
This diagram shows how the new nanostructured water purifier uses sunlight to kill bacteria. Source: slac.stanford.edu
Speaking of new options, a team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Lab and Stanford University have just announced the development of a new type of nanotechnology-based water purifier. The device is tiny—about half the size of a postage stamp— and has no moving parts or batteries. To the naked eye, it looks like a tiny rectangle of black glass, but this device is actually covered in “nanoflakes” of molybdenum disulfide material, which are stacked together like the walls of an intricate maze. These layers are only visible under an electron microscope.
An electron micrograph shows the intricate “nanoflakes” which resemble a jumbled fingerprint pattern.
When exposed to sunlight, these nanoflakes act as a photocatalyst, and trigger the formation of hydrogen peroxide (H202) and other “reactive oxygen” molecules. If you’re familiar with hydrogen peroxide, you may know that it acts as a powerful disinfectant and ruptures the cell walls of bacteria, killing them. In initial testing, this device killed more than 99.999% of three bacteria strains found in water in only 20 minutes. Granted, that’s not quite as effective as other water purifiers on the market, which can meet the NSF/ANSI P231 standard by removing 99.9999% of bacteria, but it’s still a promising start. It’s also impressively small, light, and fast-acting.
Better still, the molybdenum disulfide material is cheap and easy to manufacture, and is already being used extensively as an automotive and industrial lubricant (moly grease). So, once this device is refined further, it could potentially offer a reusable alternative to water purification tablets—just drop it into a full water bottle, expose to sunlight for 20 minutes, and drink.
Boker USA has recently unveiled a new compact folding knife, known as the Kubasek Tag Knife or KTK. John Kubasek is a knife designer who worked with Boker on successful projects like the Boker Plus Credit Card Knife. The credit card blade was extremely slim, but this time around, Kubasek came up with an even smaller and lighter blade—a dog tag knife.
This new Boker Plus KTK knife is composed of a 1-3/4-inch 440C stainless blade, paired with a lightweight 2-inch titanium handle scale. The blade folds out to a total length of 2-3/4 inches, and has a magnetic safety button to prevent accidental opening. This safety means that the knife locks in both the open and closed positions.
The KTK dog tag knife has a central pivot that also serves as a lanyard hole, and it comes complete with a black beaded neck chain with shackle. This allows the knife to be worn as a discreet neck knife, or as a compact backup blade for delicate tasks. Thanks to the use of lightweight materials, the entire knife weighs only 1 ounce.
Here’s a summary of the key specs of the Boker KTK neck knife:
Overall Length: 3-3/4 inches
Blade Length: 1-3/4 inches
Blade Material: 440C stainless steel
Handle Material: Titanium
Weight: 1.0 oz
MSRP: $40
For more information on the KTK and other Boker knives, visit Boker.de/us.
We’ve discussed many fire-starting methods here in the past—everything from matches to bow drills to fire pistons. However, thanks to the endless creativity of the human race, there are plenty of other methods for improvised ignition that we have yet to cover. One such device is the Fresnel lens.
You’re probably familiar with the concept of starting a fire with eyeglasses or a magnifying glass. The general idea is to focus the sun’s rays into a single point of light and heat atop your tinder bundle, and then wait for an ember to appear (if all goes according to plan). A Fresnel lens achieves the same result, but the design is quite different from an ordinary lens. This is because a Fresnel lens is composed of many angled segments, rather than a single large arc.
Top: cross-section of traditional lens. Bottom: cross-section of Fresnel lens of equivalent power. Source: Wikipedia / Pko
Without getting too much into the scientific content behind how a Fresnel lens works, we’ll tell you why you should care. A Fresnel lens can be paper-thin. You can carry one of these lenses in your wallet in place of a business card, and have a means of starting a fire as long as bright sunlight and dry tinder are also available.
Emberlit gave us the business card fire lens seen above at the Outdoor Retailer show. It’s the size and thickness of a standard business card, and it’s even flexible. If you want one, they’re included in the Emberlit fire starting kit, or you can buy value-packs of these lenses from various online retailers. They weigh almost nothing, so you can easily store them in your wallet, bug-out bag, glove box, and various other key locations.
So, now you know what a Fresnel lens is, but how easily can it start a fire? See for yourself:
Pretty effective, but it’s also possible to take this concept to the extreme. One YouTuber removed the Fresnel lens from the surface of an old flat-screen TV, and turned it into a monstrous 2000-degree solar torch. Less portable, but a whole lot more powerful:
Luminox has announced the launch of several new watch models for Fall 2016. We’ll show a few of our favorite designs here, so you can take a look at some of the latest Swiss-made timepieces from this renowned watch manufacturer. As with other Luminox watches, these models are intended for rigorous use by military personnel, including pilots and Navy SEALs.
First in the list of new models are the Authorized for Navy Use or ANU 4222 (top) and 4242 (bottom right) watches. Both are 45mm designs with quartz movement, and fall into Luminox’s Sea Series. These watches offer 200-meter water resistance and a new stainless steel strap design. Existing models offer rubber and nylon straps. The 4222 features time and date functionality, and retails for $795. The 4242 offers full chronograph/date function, and retails for $1,100.
Next up in the line of new Luminox watches is the F117 Nighthawk series. These watches are offered in two models, the 6421 with a nylon band (above right), or the 6422 with a stainless steel bracelet (above left). Both are 45mm with quartz movement and offer a secondary time zone function for frequent flyers. The 6421 retails for $1,000, and the 6422 retails for $1,400.
Finally, there’s the Carbon Seal 3800 series, with three new watch models. The case on these watches is made of a new composite material that uses 40% carbon in bar form, making the case ultra-light—about one third the weight of titanium. It’s also more durable, scratch-, chemical-, and heat-resistant than most other materials on the market. The 3801 (above left) retails for $675, the 3802 (above center) retails for $750, and the 3813 (above right) retails for $675. Each sub-model offers a different face pattern and/or coloration.
For more information on what’s new at Luminox, and to see the other models that we couldn’t fit here, go to Luminox.com.
Thanks to his work training boat crews, CJ had connections to local military officials.
We often share hypothetical “What If?” survival scenarios in order to convey lessons about self-defense and preparedness. However, we recently received an email from a reader who shared a real-life story about a potentially dangerous scenario he dealt with while working overseas. His name is CJ Lozano, and he works for a boat-building company that often works under contract with the U.S. government and armed forces.
A photo of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, taken from the International Space Station. Source: NASA / Chris Hadfield
One particular contract led CJ to Mozambique, a nation located on the southeastern coast of Africa. Mozambique was formerly a Portuguese colony, and the official spoken language there is still Portuguese to this day. After gaining its independence in 1975, the country underwent a violent civil war from 1977 through 1992. Crime and corruption remain major issues in Mozambique, according to the U.S. Agency of International Development, and CJ’s story illustrates how these factors can directly impact foreigners.
Tea plantations in rural northern Mozambique. Source: Paulo Oliveira / Wikipedia
Here is CJ’s story, which he recounted to us via email. It may prove valuable to those who travel overseas to locales where corruption is a serious threat, whether that’s Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics, or any number of seemingly-safe tourist destinations. Be aware, plan ahead, and learn from CJ’s survival story.
Thank you for the invitation to share my story. I am a salesman/trainer in a small boat building company, and I sell boats to the U.S. government. When we get contracted to go overseas, we are pretty much on our own unless there is a high threat level. Then we get to tag on to the government employees who may be traveling with us.
CJ (center) training a local Mozambican naval crew.
In my story, I was traveling with a government employee, who is a good friend of mine. He stayed in-country one week and I was scheduled for two weeks. During the first week we traveled from the hotel to the waterfront in Maputo a number of times. On one occasion, after visiting the U.S. Embassy, we basically got held up by police in front of the embassy for making an illegal U-turn. After being intimidated by the police, who were armed with AK-47s, I paid a “fine” of about $20 US and we were on our merry way.
The day after my friend left, I was down at the port working on the boats, and decided to walk into town a few blocks away to look for a place to eat. I found myself in a neighborhood with typical street scenes, women carrying baskets on their heads, et cetera. So, I took out my camera to get some photos. There also happened to be four local police officers conducting “traffic stops” a block away. I noticed them, but thought nothing of it.
Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is located alongside a large bay and estuary. Source: Gustavo Sugahara / Wikipedia
After taking a few photos, I noticed citizens yelling over to the cops. I was walking back towards the port when they stopped conducting their traffic stops, and basically surrounded me. Now understand, all of this was being done in Portuguese, which I do not speak. Here I found myself behind a building, surrounded by four police officers armed with AKs, all of whom were probably no older than 25 and carrying weapons that weighed probably a tenth of their body weight.
They made it very clear that they wanted $150 US, as I had broken a law for taking “illegal” pictures. Otherwise, they would throw me in jail. Now, I had been warned about taking photos around the presidential palace or government buildings, but nothing of the sort was anywhere close to where I was currently standing. I tried to make them understand that I was with the U.S. Embassy/Military. When that did not work, I pulled out a cellphone given to me by the colonel at the embassy to contact him if needed.
Thanks to his work training boat crews, CJ had connections to local military officials.
I got the colonel on the line and explained the situation to him. He advised me not to pay them a dime and to hand the phone over to the head police officer, which I gladly did. Now if anyone has ever been in a situation like this, they understand when I say my mind was racing. It occurred to me that any photo on my camera would be considered “illegal”, so I very quietly slipped the memory card out of my camera and hid it in a pocket in my pants. Then, as the phone conversation continued between the police and colonel, I began what I call my Jason Bourne evaluation of the policemen, and how I could do some serious harm to them before being beat down or killed. After zoning out on that for a few seconds, I realized I was being stupid, and tried to pay attention to what was happening. At least I had a plan of action if things went downhill fast.
The officers eventually handed the phone back to me, and the colonel advised me again not to pay them anything and to try to keep from being taken to jail. Basically, the cavalry was on the way. After hanging up, the bribe money demands suddenly started being reduced, but I continued to refuse them all. Finally, they decided they wanted to see my camera. Aha! I expected it to be destroyed in front of me but they only wanted to see the photos. Aha again! After turning it on, NO PICTURES on the magic box! Finally, they realized they had nothing on me, and that they weren’t going to get anything, so they told me to leave.
Hiding the camera’s memory card was a dangerous gamble, but proved to be a wise choice.
Knowing that the colonel was on the way and could ruin their lives and jobs, they scattered to the wind. I immediately phoned the colonel again and he called the troops off. I made my way back to my car, making sure no one was following me (I still had a week to work in that area), and returned to the hotel. Once there, after letting everything sink in, I proceeded to drink a bottle of rum just to calm my nerves.
The moral of the story, and my lessons learned when traveling overseas:
Always stay in contact with your local consulate or embassy, or at least be aware of where it is.
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Always try to be aware of local customs and laws.
Never wear anything that will give you away as an American.
Never show expensive equipment.
When possible, keep your head about you, and try to think ahead.
Don’t make matters worse by trying to be a hero—or Jason Bourne.
Always try to have a “what if “ Plan B. In my case, I always plan to get to the boats if possible, and take to the open ocean.
I hope this helps someone when the rubber meets the road. The information you provide is not just for situations in a movie. This stuff really does happen on a daily basis, and the better prepared you are, the better chances you have of coming out on the good end.
We’ve always had an appreciation for real craftsmanship, especially bladesmithing. There’s something powerful about carefully cutting, grinding, and refining a plain piece of steel into a razor-sharp knife. The knife is also a quintessential survival tool, so being able to make your own custom knife can be a fun and valuable skill. We’ve previously posted about making improvised knives from a wrench or a metal file, but the following project is in a different league.
The creation of this Bushcrafter’s Dream blade was filmed from start to finish. Check out the videos below to see how it was made.
While browsing the wilderness survival subreddit, we recently came across a post where a user showed off a custom knife he made. According to his post, he had initially asked some members of the bushcraft community on Reddit about design features they’d like to see on a fixed blade knife. He received suggestions on the following design considerations:
Length of blade
Size and shape of handle
Steel choice, carbon steel
The placement of the point of the knife (center of axis)
Jimping on the tip, as well as on the handle/blade transition
Recessed handle for batoning without handle damage
Simple yet interesting handle material/execution
Lanyard hole/tube
Based on the feedback he received, he sketched the knife on paper, and used it as a template to create the blade from scratch. The entire process was filmed and edited into a two-part video series on his YouTube channel, Eternal Improvement. The videos are definitely worth watching if you’re interested in learning to make a knife, or if you just like watching a skillful craftsman in action.
Here’s part one, where the host completes the blade of the knife:
Here’s part two, where the handle is sculpted and added to the knife:
Finally, if you’re curious about the cost and materials used, here’s a rundown from the video description:
Steel: 80CRV2 carbon steel tempered to 60 HRC
Handle: Alumilite handle scale material by 5th Arrow
Ever go swimming in the ocean and wonder what might be swimming underneath you? It’s a common fear, and has only become more widespread due to the popularity of films like Jaws. However, shark attacks are not just confined to works of fiction. In fact, according to the International Shark Attack File, 2015 set a record high for unprovoked shark attacks around the world. Shark attacks are a growing problem, so it’s understandable that researchers have been looking into ways to prevent them.
The bull shark is an aggressive species responsible for many near-shore attacks on humans. Source: Wikipedia
One method that has proven effective at deterring sharks is the use of magnetic fields. This works due to a sensory organ found on the nose of sharks, known as the Ampullae of Lorenzini. These jelly-filled pores allow a shark to sense electric fields in water, and the shark uses them to pick up the muscle contractions of prey, and also to navigate based on the earth’s natural magnetic fields. Scientists eventually determined that strong magnets can interfere with this organ at close range, much like staring directly into a bright spotlight would interfere with your vision.
Sharkbanz, a father-son company based in Charleston, South Carolina, applied this technology to wearable wristbands. It may sound hard to believe that a magnetic wristband could really scare away a shark, but the company has done quite a bit of research and testing to prove that it works. They even partnered with Dr. Patrick Rice, a marine biologist, and Dr. Eric Stroud, a chemist, to validate the technology against various shark species.
Essentially, Sharkbanz is a 3-ounce rubberized device, similar in size and shape to a large wristwatch. It’s worn like a wristwatch, too, or can be strapped to your ankle if you prefer. It uses no electricity or batteries, and is designed to fit wrist and ankle sizes between 5.5 to 14 inches in circumference. Currently, three colors are available, each at an MSRP of $65.
Obviously, this is not a fail-safe technology, so you should still be careful when and where you swim, and maintain good situational awareness in the water. However, it appears that these Sharkbanz may provide an effective and non-lethal way to deter sharks from swimmers. For more information on Sharkbanz wristbands and other products, visit Sharkbanz.com.
Venomous snakes are found throughout the United States, and the CDC estimates that between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals are bitten by venomous snakes each year. Most snakes will only bite humans if they feel threatened, but hikers, backpackers, and those who spend considerable time outdoors may unknowingly enter a snake’s path. If this interaction results in a bite, it’s important to know what to do immediately. Otherwise, the venom of several common American snakes (such as rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads) can cause serious injury, limb loss, or even death.
Unfortunately, many misconceptions about snake bites still exist. Possibly the most pervasive is that the venom should be sucked out of the wound immediately by mouth, to prevent it from entering the bloodstream. Other myths state that applying a tourniquet will slow the spread of venom, or even that cutting away the affected tissue will save the victim. None of these claims are true—in fact, they’ll generally make things worse.
The infographic below summarizes the basics of snake bite first aid:
Seems simple enough, right? That’s because it is. If you can conceivably get the victim of a snakebite to a hospital, immobilizing the affected limb and doing so should be the first priority. Again, go immediately to a hospital. This is the only effective option for venomous snake bites.
Now, you may be thinking: what if there isn’t a hospital nearby? When professional medical care is absolutely not a possibility, the situation gets grim. There really isn’t much you can do to fix a snakebite without antivenom, but you can at least slow the spread of the toxin.
Here’s what you can do if hospital care is not available:
Immobilize the wound, and wash with soap and water as seen above.
Keep the victim calm and stationary—minimize heart rate and stop all physical activity.
If possible, call the National Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222. It is open 24/7 and an adviser can provide help over the phone.
Do not apply ice or a tourniquet. Do not give the victim alcohol, caffeine, or painkillers.
Do NOT elevate the wound—in fact, do the opposite. Have the victim sit or lie down with the bite site BELOW the level of the heart.
Apply a clean bandage to the wound, and hope for the best. Some snake bites are “dry bites” with no venom injection, so they may be survivable without professional treatment.
If neurotoxic venom has been injected, and you are certain no medical care or antivenom is available, there is very little that can be done. Get comfortable and try to signal for rescue.
When faced with the slim chance of navigating safely through a dangerous asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo famously says “never tell me the odds”. In a Hollywood film, this fearless gung-ho mentality seems pretty cool—but in real life, it’s wise to be cautious and know what sort of situation you’re getting into. After all, when you’re not the protagonist in a movie, the odds of something bad happening to you tend to increase dramatically.
“Never tell me the odds!”
As boring as they may seem on the surface, statistics can help us to understand day-to-day risks, and to use this analysis to improve our odds of survival. And honestly, some statistics and probabilities can be pretty interesting in the right context. For example, the following infographic compares several unlikely causes of death, so you can properly understand the actual risk involved.
When floating in the ocean, many of us fear shark attacks. Bungee-jumping and skydiving seem like extremely dangerous activities. Death from food poisoning sounds like a reasonably-common problem. However, all of these risks are minimal compared to much more ordinary dangers. Check it out:
Obviously, take all of these unlikely causes of death with a grain of salt. If you never go skydiving, your risk of death from skydiving is zero. If you swim 50 laps every day, your risk of drowning in the pool skyrockets. If you drink in excess constantly, your risk of alcohol poisoning will inevitably rise. So, don’t just assume that you can speed around on a motorcycle 24/7 because it’s much “safer” statistically than walking. Many other factors come into play here.
Nevertheless, it’s useful to remember that some activities we assume are extremely dangerous are actually quite safe. On the other hand, activities that seem mundane—like scarfing down a burrito for lunch—could easily lead to your untimely demise.
Shoelaces are an often-overlooked component of any outdoor gear loadout. Virtually all shoes and boots already come with laces, and for many of us, they get the job done. As long as they stay tied and don’t fray or snap, we tend to forget they’re even there.
Some experienced survivalists replace their boot laces with 550 paracord, as it provides an accessible source of emergency cordage. Others will take it a step further, and use flammable Fire Cord as laces—this special paracord contains a waxed internal wick that can easily be ignited with a ferrocerium rod or flint and steel. However, Wasatch Outdoors has combined all of these concepts into a single purpose-built pair of survival laces.
Inside one lace: fishing line running the entire length
Inside the other lace: red waxed tinder strand running the entire length, plus a 1-inch ferro rod
The survival laces can be ordered in sizes from 48 inches to 84 inches, and in your choice of black or olive drab coloration. Wasatch Outdoors also offers a survival lace for hoodie sweatshirts, so you can replace the rarely-used hood pull cord with something much more useful. The MSRP of the boot laces is currently $18, and the hoodie lace is available for $12.
Our only concern about the design of these laces is the glaring omission of a striker for the ferro rod. Sure, most users will already have a knife on hand to generate sparks, but if you ended up stranded with only the clothes on your back, you’d have a hard time finding a suitable striker in the wild. A sharp rock fragment or piece of glass or ceramic would get the job done, but you’d still have to search for it. A hard edge on one of the metal aglets would work well, but the current design appears to lack this element.
Aside from this one potential issue, we could see these survival laces serving as a useful backup tool in your loadout. They take traditional paracord or Fire Cord laces to the next level. To learn more about these laces, visit WasatchOutdoors.com.
