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More Yucca Uses: Food, Soap, Fire Starters, and Fishing

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Improvised cordage yucca plant 4v2

In our first post about Yucca plants, we showed how to turn the fibrous leaves into improvised cordage, which is an invaluable skill if you’re going to be trying to survive in a desert environment. However, there are many other Yucca uses, from food to fire-starting. This plant is jam-packed with useful materials and resources.

Improvised cordage yucca plant 4v2

First of all, Yucca can be made into primitive soap or shampoo. There’s even a variety of Yucca called “soaptree” due to its high saponin content. Just grind and squeeze Yucca roots, as seen in the video below:

Secondly, Yucca plants feature some edible components. Specifically, the white Yucca flowers can be boiled, roasted, or eaten raw (although raw flowers may taste bitter and cause a stomach ache for some). Here’s a recipe for sauteed Yucca flowers with chipotle and garlic, if you want to get all epicurean. The Yucca fruits can also be cooked or eaten raw, and seeds can be roasted, ground, and boiled. Even the young flower stalks are edible.

Improvised cordage yucca plant 6
The white Yucca flower blossoms can be bitter if eaten raw, so boil them to mellow the flavor.

The dry brown leaves, fibers, and stalks of Yucca plants make for excellent tinder material for starting fires. In fact, the wood in a dry Yucca stalk has one of the lowest kindling points of any type of wood, so it ignites very easily. Just grab some dry Yucca leaves or wood and hit them with your favorite fire-starter—you’ll have a crackling fire going in no time.

Improvised cordage yucca plant 5
Can you spot the Yucca plant? Yeah, it’s kind of hard to miss, actually.

Yucca juice can even be used to stun or kill fish, and has been used for this purpose by many Native American tribes. If you extract the liquid from crushing Yucca leaves or roots (as seen in the soap video above), and then pour it into streams or ponds with a high density of fish, those fish will be temporarily paralyzed and can be collected easily. It’s theorized that this was one of the earliest methods of fish farming in the Americas.

Note: poisoning fish is illegal, so only use this method as a last resort if you need food to survive.

Yucca plant stun fish
If you can’t craft a fishing line and hook in a survival scenario, Yucca juice can stun fish temporarily.

Finally, here’s some icing on the cake: the Yucca plant (not to be confused with Yuca, a different species also known as Cassava) is a close relative to the Agave, which is the key to creating Tequila. Now, we wouldn’t recommend trying to brew up some Yucca moonshine, but in theory it could be done. Just sayin’.

Improvised Cordage from Yucca Plants

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Improvised cordage yucca plant
The Yucca plant is plentiful in the southwestern U.S., and easy to identify.

Aside from a fire starter and a knife, cordage is one of the most important tools you can have in a survival scenario. Of course, we recommend carrying some 550 paracord as part of your survival kit, but what if your cordage gets lost or stolen? You’re going to have to improvise, adapt, and overcome.

Improvised cordage yucca plant
The Yucca plant is plentiful in the southwestern U.S., and its green leaves are easy to identify.

The Yucca plant can be found throughout most of the western United States, as well as Central America and South America. Its distinctive pointy, green, sword-shaped leaves are instantly recognizable—and that’s a good thing, because you’re going to want to find some Yucca to make cordage.

Improvised cordage yucca plant 3
A map showing the distribution of Yucca plant species in the United States. Source: Wikipedia

In fact, one of the most common varieties of the plant is Yucca filamentosa, which hints at the fact that its leaves are full of many strong filaments or fibers. Historically, Yucca plants were even referred to as “meat hangers” in some Appalachian regions, since the leaf fibers and sharp tips were used to puncture meat and hang it in the air for salt curing.

Improvised cordage yucca plant 2

Now we know Yucca plants are full of strong fibers, but how do you get them out? This video from Bob Hansler on YouTube shows each of the steps:

In case you can’t watch the video right now, here’s a rundown of the basic steps:

  1. Harvest several green leaves from a Yucca plant.
  2. Set a leaf on a hard, relatively flat surface, like a log or boulder.
  3. Obtain a hammering tool (such as a stone or hard stick) and a scraping tool (such as a knife or sharp stone).
  4. Hammer the Yucca leaf repeatedly to thoroughly crush it.
  5. Scrape away any remaining plant flesh with your scraper tool.
  6. Pull apart the fibers, and twist or braid them together as needed.
  7. Knot the ends to keep the braid intact. You’re done!

As with many useful plants, the Yucca can serve more than just this one purpose. Bob Hansler actually compares the plant to a natural Swiss Army Knife. We’ll be discussing more uses for this helpful plant species in a second post tomorrow, so stay tuned on OFFGRIDweb.com.

Infographic: Scams to Avoid Around the World

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Scams to avoid featured image

Ask someone if they’re gullible, and they’ll almost always reply with an emphatic “no”. Nobody likes to think they’ll fall for a scam while traveling, but tourists around the world are getting robbed, extorted, and ripped off in creative new ways every single day. Even if you’re skeptical and self-aware, you can be caught off guard by scam artists if you’re unprepared.

Scams to avoid 2
Walk the streets of any urban area for long enough, and someone will try to separate you from your money.

Most of us know to avoid the classic “shell game” scam, where you’re supposed to point out a marble under one of three moving shells or cups. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other methods that criminals will use to take your valuables—from begging and guilt-trips to pickpocketing and armed robbery.

This in-depth infographic from Just the Flight shows 40 different scams to avoid while traveling. How many of these have you experienced first-hand?

Scams to avoid 1a

Scams to avoid 1b

Scams to avoid 1c

By learning about as many of these tricks as possible, you can stay ahead of the game and avoid getting conned out of your cash. Even if you really aren’t the gullible type, there are plenty of con men out there who will be more than willing to test your resolve.

Looking Back: Gear Counterfeiter Arrested in Sting Operation

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Chinese eyewear counterfeiters arrested 1

You’ve probably noticed that we love high-quality survival gear, given all the time we spend studying, testing, reviewing, and photographing it. As a result, we have been exposed to some of the behind-the-scenes development of this gear, much of which is never seen by the general public.

Hundreds or thousands of man-hours often go into the planning, R&D, design revisions, testing, and certification of a single product—especially when that product is designed for military or government use. It’s a laborious process, but it’s worth it for companies to create gear they can stand behind and stake their reputation on.

The Revision Military Desert Locust™ goggle, which was recently a victim of overseas counterfeiters.
Revision Military’s Desert Locust goggles recently fell victim to overseas counterfeiters.

That said, you can probably imagine the damaging effect counterfeiters have on this process. A company here in the USA may spend years creating a product, only to have the design stolen and shoddily reproduced overseas for pennies on the dollar. It not only reflects poorly on the American company, but also hurts and confuses their customers.

This scenario occurred just last week to Revision Military, an American manufacturer of ballistic eyewear. The company is an industry leader in eyewear manufacturing, with a multi-million-dollar 11,000 square foot clean room, ISO 9001-2008 manufacturing certification, and stringent in-house quality control and testing facility.

Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision Military, said “Our customers expect only the best quality and performance from our products. We take pride in exceeding the highest specifications for optics and ballistic impact protection and have invested huge amounts of money to create the best possible protective products.”

The Desert Locust goggles meet high ballistic standards, and are thoroughly tested in-house.
The Desert Locust goggles meet high ballistic impact standards, and are thoroughly tested in-house.

Recently, Revision Military was alarmed to find out that their Desert Locust goggle system had fallen victim to Chinese gear counterfeiters. Guangzhou Botai Optical Visor Co., Ltd., (also known as “Guangzhou Botai”) was producing unauthorized counterfeit versions of the goggles. Worse still, Revision Military tested the eyewear and found that they met “none of the established industry standards for optical or ballistic quality”—the knock-offs were extremely unsafe.

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Revision worked in conjunction with the Dearborn and Ohio County Prosecutor’s Office in Indiana to track Guangzhou Botai down. The company’s U.S. representative and co-owner was arrested on January 28th at the SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Snow Show in Denver, Colorado.

Chinese eyewear counterfeiters arrested 1
The Guangzhou Botai co-owner was taken into custody on the showroom floor at the SIA Snow Show.

Arrest warrants have also been issued for three other Guangzhou Botai executives. The four are facing six felony charges: counterfeiting, theft, corrupt business practices, conspiracy to commit counterfeiting, conspiracy to commit theft, and conspiracy to commit corrupt business practices. These charges are being brought in Indiana.

Revision has a zero tolerance approach when it comes to customers being victimized by inferior forgeries. Mr. Blanshay stated, “the Revision brand signifies integrity and elite performance. Fraudulent products undermine our core mission to protect the troops who protect all of us. We are taking this matter very seriously.”

We’re always happy to see companies standing up for their products, and fighting the unsafe gear counterfeiter operations that could put lives at risk.

Two-Wheel Road Warrior

By
Offgrid Staff
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Retaining mobility when a disaster on a grand scale strikes your town can be as, or even more important, than plans to stock up supplies and bunker down at home. When things are good, getting in, out, and around town is as easy as jumping in your transportation mode of choice — be it a car, truck, motorcycle, or even subway or bus — and simply going from point A to point B. But when roads are clogged, fuel is scarce, and the city’s infrastructure is in disarray, moving about could get mighty tricky.

The most reliable mode of transportation is your feet. You can use them to traverse a multitude of terrain, and they require no additional forms of fuel other than what you already need to sustain your life. If your vehicle is rendered useless or the streets around you become impassable for some disastrous reason, you can probably still hike yourself out if need be. But relying on your feet to get you and your gear across long distances is a surefire way to turn them into hamburger meat. Because we like our feet the way there are, let’s explore another human-powered alternative.

The bicycle runs on the same power as your feet, meaning that you don’t need additional fuel to power it. Bicycles allow you to travel great distances more efficiently and allow you to be on the move quicker with heavier loads, while using less energy and having less impact on your body than if you were to go on foot. If there is a need to keep a low profile, which might often be the case, bicycles are a lot quieter than most motorized vehicles.

When properly equipped, the right bicycle can take you and your heavy survival gear, or possibly another passenger, over a number of types of terrain. If shit hits the fan while you are at work, a prepositioned bike could get you home faster than waiting for the roads to clear up. On the other hand, if you’re bugging in and waiting it out in your prepared fortress, bicycles are a great way to scout the area rapidly and quietly while having a viable way to bring supplies back to home base. With basic tools and a couple of spares, your bike can always bring you and your gear to safety.

Although there are some really nice bicycles out there, you don’t need to break the bank in order to get a two-wheeled escape plan going. There are plenty of used bikes you can pick up on the cheap from Goodwill, yard sales, Craigslist, pawn shops, and the like on which to base your silent escape rig. One of our staff members actually picked up a bike for $50 at a yard sale. He rigged his own carriers out of milk crates, scrap metal, and used backpacks to complete his get-out-of-town bike for less than $100. If you do pick up a used bike, make sure that it is inspected and serviced for safety at your local bike shop.

Like everything in life, what bike you get and how you set it up is all about what your individual needs are. Let’s take a look at a couple of differently outfitted bikes and their accessories to get an idea of how you can configure a bike to best suit your needs.

The All-Terrain Scout

This setup is based on the Cogburn CB4 bike. With its oversized 3.8-inch-wide tires, the CB4 is an all-terrain fat bike capable of taking on some seriously rough roads and torn-up asphalt. Built to fulfill an all-terrain scout role, we wanted a bike that could zip around city-center all the way to the outskirts of town regardless of road conditions. It is capable of carrying back foraged food and supplies with its bags and single pannier as well as providing the rider with some defense and hunting capabilities with its mounted rifle.

It’s equipped with disc brakes, wide track handle bars for confident control even with heavier loads, and pre-threaded attachment points all over the place for racks and carriers. We took advantage of those attachment points and added a few carriers and accessories that would help this bike fill a scout role.

[buyersguide title=”The All-Terrain Scout” ids=”2771, 2772, 2773, 2774, 2776, 2777, 2775, 2778″]

The Pack-Mule

This alternative setup is focused on the transportation of gear and supplies. Think of it as a pickup truck or cargo van version of a bicycle, if you will. This bike is set up with multiple racks, bags, panniers, and even a trailer that allows it to carry large loads in the event you need to get out of your place. If you do find yourself in a position where you need to move someplace else — and depending on the overall situation, you will probably want to take as many supplies and equipment as you can with you.

We based this example on a non-current model TREK FX, which is considered a hybrid bike. Hybrids are great for long rides due to their more upright seating position. Like we mentioned earlier, many used road-worthy bikes can be outfitted in much the same way at a fraction of the cost of a brand-new bicycle.

[buyersguide title=”The Pack-Mule” ids=”2779, 2780, 2781, 2782, 2783, 2784, 2785, 2786, 2787″]

Must-Have Accessories

Along with safety equipment such as gloves and a helmet for your noggin, we recommend taking a look at aftermarket seats if you don’t find yours comfortable to sit on for hours on end. Also, to keep your bicycle on the road, and you on the move, we highly recommend a few tools and accessories to keep packed on the bike.

[buyersguide title=”Must-Have Accessories” ids=”2788, 2791, 2792, 2793, 2795, 2794, 2813″]

Choosing a Bicycle

Bicycles come in all different flavors, as do their riders, intended terrain, carrying load, and distance to be ridden. Picking the right bicycle can be tricky — and writing about how to pick the right bicycle can be even trickier. This topic can quickly become a 100-page dissertation, but we only have the space inside this little box, so we’ll make it brief.

We are speaking in generalities here so you have a cursory idea of what to look for in a bike, but the experts at your local bicycle shop will be able to nail down the specifics of what bike will best fit your needs. Remember that fit is of upmost importance, so getting a bike that is the correct size for you along with being fitted to the proper seat height and handle bar adjustments is critical for riding comfort and efficiency.

Road Bikes

road-bike

Good on pavement, road bikes are the sports cars of bicycles. They feature nimble handling, are built lighter, and are capable of greater speeds than other bikes when ridden on relatively smooth roads.

Hybrid Bikes

hybrid-bike

Hybrid bikes work well on everything from smooth pavement to gravel roads. They are generally built for comfort, ease of use, and sturdiness. Hybrids are heavier than typical road bikes, but feature heavier-duty wheels, wider tires, and a more comfortable upright-style seating position. Like mountain bikes, many hybrids offer front suspension options. We prefer this type of bike in urban settings to base a build around.

Mountain Bikes

mountain-bike

Good on dirt and rocky roads, as well as rough roads with uneven pavement. Mountain bikes can be looked at as the Jeeps of the bike world. Many of them feature suspensions, some on the front only, and some with shocks front and back. If you are planning to ride on both soft surfaces such as dirt as well as pavement, a front suspension-only, or “hardtail” bike, is what you’ll want. The idea of having a suspension in front and back might sound appealing, but the shocks on a bike make pedaling inefficient on hard surfaces — reducing speed, making the bike heavier, and sometimes even compromising the number of gear attachment points. They are great for complete off-road riding, however, providing more rear-wheel traction.

Fat Bikes

fat-bike

Fat bikes hail from the snow banks of Alaska and the deserts of New Mexico. They are essentially mountain bikes built with wider frames so they can accommodate extremely wide rims and tires. These “fat” wheels allow fat bikes to traverse a large range of terrain effortlessly and feel very stable to ride.

The Destructive Power of Lightning Strikes

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Lightning strikes video 1

What superheats air to 50,000° Fahrenheit, travels at 90,000 miles per second, and occurs tens of millions of times each year throughout the United States? If you read the title of this article, you probably know the answer: lightning strikes.

Lightning strikes video 2
You may think it could never happen to you, but it’s wise to take all possible precautions against lightning strikes.

Although we often use the phrase “about as likely as getting struck by lightning” as a comparative tool for unlikely events, it’s actually much more common than you might think. The U.S. National Weather Service states that there has been an average of 49 deaths per year over the last 30 years.

That may not sound like much compared to other weather-related fatalities, but for those of us who spend substantial time outside (especially in inclement weather), it’s definitely significant enough to be aware of.

Lightning strikes video 3v2

To put things into perspective, here’s an impressive video from a few weeks ago of lightning obliterating a tree in Tyler, Texas.

Without context, it almost looks like the tree was hit with an explosive charge. However, the violent blast is caused by the lightning superheating and vaporizing the water in the tree trunk. Here’s a compilation of more footage of lightning strikes:

So, we’ve seen what lightning can do, but if you’re in the middle of a major storm, how can you minimize your risk? the National Weather Service cuts straight to the point on their web site: “There is no safe place outside when thunderstorms are in the area. If you hear thunder, you are likely within striking distance of the storm. Just remember, when thunder roars, go indoors.”

The NWS also dispels several myths on their site. Here’s a reality check:

  • Crouching does not make you any safer from lightning strikes. Lying down may even increase your risk of injury from ground current.
  • Lightning can strike 10-15 miles from the thunderstorm, even if clouds aren’t overhead.
  • Height, pointy shape, and isolation are the dominant factors controlling where a lightning bolt will strike.
  • Taking shelter under a tree is the second leading cause of lightning casualties. Avoid anything tall, pointy, and isolated!
  • Being inside a car reduces your risk of injury, due to the metal body channeling electricity away from you. Avoid touching the doors or body.
  • Being inside a building is the best way to stay safe, but avoid anything that conducts electricity.

You may think lightning will never strike you, but if you keep the tips above in mind, you can reduce your risk of becoming another statistic.

Fontus Self-Filling Water Bottle

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Fontus self filling water bottle 2
Ironically, the Fontus bottle turned out to be vaporware, unable to fulfill the lofty promises made by its crowdfunding campaign.

Obtaining clean drinking water is one of the fundamental challenges of survival, and it’s a problem faced by millions of people in third-world countries each day. Many people don’t have access to clean running water, and as a result they suffer and die from bacteria, parasites, and other waterborne pathogens.

Scientists have been working hard to develop water purification technology to solve this problem, but it remains a widespread issue. However, one recent invention appears to use an ingenious way to extract and capture water from the air we breathe. It’s called the Fontus self-filling water bottle, and it was invented by Kristof Retezár, an Industrial Designer from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

Fontus self filling water bottle 3
An initial prototype of Fontus Ryde, designed to be mounted on a bicycle.

While contemplating potential clean water sources, Retezár realized we are literally surrounded by invisible water vapor in the form of humidity. This led him to design a device called the Fontus Ryde that mounts to a bicycle and condenses humidity from the air using energy from integrated solar panels.

This invention was launched in 2014, and went on to win Retezár a James Dyson Foundation award and generate significant media attention.

Fontus self filling water bottle 2
An illustration that shows how the Fontus system works.

More recently, the Ryde design has been revised and improved, and Retezár has also begun working on a stand-alone bottle known as the Airo. The Fontus Airo includes a larger, removable solar panel sleeve that claims to allow it to generate enough energy to condense water while stationary.

Fontus self filling water bottle
The revised Fontus Ryde design, now with a sleek black exterior and larger solar panels.

Fontus’s web site claims the water bottles “literally never run dry” and can harvest “up to 0.8L of water in an hour’s time under the right climatic conditions”.

Speaking of climatic conditions, the system would work best in warm, humid conditions, specifically “between 86 degrees and 104 degrees Fahrenheit and between 80 and 90% humidity”. See the map below for the regions where the device is claimed to be most effective.

Fontus self filling water bottle 4

The company plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign soon, and release the product to the public later this fall. Retezár hopes to make the Fontus available for a retail price of under $100.

The Fontus self-filling water bottle certainly seems like an interesting and valuable technology if it works as expected. However, some sources have criticized the design for being “vaporware in just about every sense of the phrase”.

It remains to be seen how the Fontus will fare in the real world—hopefully we can get our hands on one, and let you know.

Mil-Spec Brownies

By
Patrick McCarthy
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Mil spec brownies

We posted a few weeks ago about the specifications that define mil-spec 550lb paracord, via a document known as C-5040H. This 20-page standard outlines the construction, assembly, and strength requirements for cordage used by the U.S. Military.

paracord
Paracord may seem like a simple material, but every detail has been analyzed and tested by the U.S. Government.

Military specifications like C-5040H are extremely detailed, almost to the point of absurdity, but many would argue that it’s a necessary evil. Love them or hate them, these bureaucratic regulations eliminate minuscule variations in quality, and prevent corner-cutting that might cost the lives of military personnel.

This also got us thinking: what other military products have rules and regulations this specific? Oddly enough, there is actually a military specification for brownies, specifically the brownies found in MRE (meal ready-to-eat) ration packages. The 26-page specification is known as C-44072C, and you can click here to read it in its entirety.

meals-ready-to-eat
Next time you open an MRE, remember that thousands of man-hours were spent analyzing its contents.

Here are a few highlights from the C-44072C mil-spec brownies regulations:

  • “All ingredients shall be clean, sound, wholesome, and free from foreign material, evidence of rodent or insect infestation, extraneous material, off-odors, off-flavors, and off-colors.”

Mmm, extraneous material. While we get that C-44072C needs to be specific, we would hope this part goes without saying.

  • “Nuts shall be either almonds, pecans, or walnuts or any combination thereof.”

That doesn’t seem too specific… until you get to the next part.

  • Regarding shelled walnuts: “A minimum of 90 percent, by weight, of the pieces shall pass through a 4/16-inch diameter round hole screen and not more than 1 percent, by weight, shall pass through a 2/16-inch diameter round hole screen.”
The U.S. Department of Defense takes walnut sizes very seriously.
The U.S. Department of Defense takes walnut sizes very seriously.

Now we’re imagining some guy in a lab coat spot-checking walnut diameter under a magnifying glass. This next statement doesn’t help us forget that image, either.

  • “If necessary, each ingredient shall be examined organoleptically.”

We actually had to look that word up. Organoleptic means “involving the use of the sense organs”, so it’s basically saying the ingredients should be visually checked and taste-tested. Remember that one next time you lick some batter off the spoon—it’s not a snack, it’s an organoleptic examination to ensure quality.

“Sorry honey, I had to perform an organoleptic exam on the cookie. It’s for science, I swear.”
  • “The brownies shall be completely enrobed with a continuous uniform chocolate coating (see 3.2.14) in an amount which shall be not less than 29 percent by weight of the finished product.”

29 percent uniform chocolate enrobement by weight, just like grandma used to make.

We may laugh at these absurd rules for mil-spec brownies, but like other mil-spec products, they’re held to a high standard. So, next time you chow down on an MRE, remember that there have been teams of government employees analyzing every detail of its contents.

 

Review: AquaPodKit Emergency Water Storage

By
Patrick McCarthy
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AquaPodKit emergency water storage 01

If you’ve been following our daily posts here on OFFGRIDweb, you may recognize the name AquaPodKit. We previously mentioned this clever emergency water storage system in a short post, which you can read here. Since the product seemed like a valuable resource for preparedness, we went ahead and ordered an AquaPodKit system to thoroughly test out.

About AquaPodKit

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 05
The AquaPodKit PlusOne, with 2 plastic liners, sealing sleeve, pump, zip ties, and instructions.

To recap from our previous post, the AquaPodKit is a complete liner and pump setup that includes everything you need to store clean water in your bathtub.

Why the bathtub? Well, it’s already designed to hold large amounts of water, often 65 gallons or more. That’s enough water to keep you clean and hydrated for nearly 2 months, or enough to supply a family of four for 14 days. So, it’s logical to make use of this capacity in emergencies. This allows you to be prepared for a disaster that may disable or contaminate your running water supply for an extended period.

This brings us to the concept of cleanliness. Unless you obsessively scrub your bathroom on a daily basis, you probably wouldn’t want to eat or drink anything that’s sitting directly on the tub floor. Adding time to the mix just provides added opportunity for mold and nasty bacteria to grow in the stagnant exposed water.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 06
Even if your bathroom looks clean, it’s still host to a variety of bacteria you don’t want to ingest.

The idea behind the AquaPodKit is to ensure that your drinking water stays sealed in a food-grade liner, making it safe for long-term storage. On top of this, AquaPodKit provides a convenient and easy-to-assemble pumping mechanism for dispensing water as needed.

In order to test if this system works as well in practice as it would seem to in theory, we decided to order one for ourselves.

Buying a Kit

All of the AquaPodKit products are available directly from the manufacturer’s web site, AquaPodKit.com. Notice we say products plural—there are actually several variations and options to consider beyond the basic kit.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 03
The AquaPodKit PlusOne (rear) and AquaPodKit with WaterBasics Pump and Filter (front).

The standard AquaPodKit sells for $24.99, which seems pretty reasonable to us. However, it only includes one liner, and once that has been filled and drained, it must be thrown away to prevent mold growth or other contamination. Additional liners are available for $12.99 each.

Alternatively, you can buy the PlusOne kit, which includes two liners right off the bat for $34.99. This way, you avoid the hassle of re-ordering a new liner after the first use (and you save a few bucks, too).

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 04
Here’s everything that’s included in the upgraded AquaPodKit with WaterBasics Pump and Filter.

There’s one more option to consider: the AquaPodKit with WaterBasics Pump and Filter. This upgraded kit is available for $39.99, and includes a WaterBasics pump and Green Line filter from the water purification experts at Aquamira. The pump makes dispensing water easier than the standard squeeze bulb, and the filter is capable of removing over 99.9999% of bacteria from water. It even eliminates any unpleasant tastes or odors that may be present.

We went ahead and ordered the $34.99 PlusOne kit, and also the $39.99 upgraded kit with WaterBasics pump and filter. After unboxing both and flipping through the instructions, it was time to test the system out.

Setup and Filling

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 07
The first part is pretty obvious: lay out the heavy-duty 4-mil Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) plastic liner in the tub. It’ll need to be unfolded with the open end under the tub spout.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 08

Next, pull the opening in the liner up over the spout, and secure it with the included zip tie. This makes sure the liner won’t slip off while it’s being filled. However, don’t over-tighten this, as you’ll need to cut it off later.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 09

Now you’re ready to turn on the water flow and start filling the liner. Although the liner will hold up to 100 gallons of water, most tubs only hold 70 gallons. AquaPodKit’s instructions recommend you fill the liner to “a few inches” below the edge of your tub, which should be about 65 gallons.

After 10 to 15 minutes, the liner should be filled up. Some air pockets may have formed and inflated the bag slightly, but that’s nothing to be concerned about.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 13

Use some scissors or wire cutters to remove the zip tie from the spout, then pull the open end of the liner off it as well.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 14

Next, you’ll install the sleeve to seal the liner. Before you do this, you may want to compress the liner a little, and let air pockets that formed during filling escape. Then pull the liner’s opening up through the inner portion of the blue plastic sleeve.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 15

Roll the liner’s opening down over the inner sleeve. This will provide a tight seal that keeps out bacteria and contaminants.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 16

Finally, push the outer sleeve and cap onto the inner sleeve. If you have the basic kit, the pump would be connected directly to the sleeve cap. In the case of the upgraded WaterBasics kit seen here, there’s a blue rubber hose that will attach to the pump.

Dispensing Water

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 17
To dispense water, you’ll need to connect either the standard bulb pump, or the upgraded WaterBasics orange pump. For the WaterBasics system, the hose is attached to the pump via a threaded fitting.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 18

With the fitting tightened, the pump is ready to go. Yes, we’ll admit it looks a lot like an off-brand Super Soaker.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 19

Dispensing water is easy with the pump, albeit slower than we expected. It took several minutes to fill this 3-gallon wash bucket.

Optional WaterBasics Filtration

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For dispensing drinking water, we recommend installing the included WaterBasics filter. It removes bacteria, unpleasant tastes, and odors from up to 80 gallons of water (more than one bathtub full).

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Simply press the filter firmly into the pump, ensuring the “water flow” label is pointing the right direction. Then you’re ready to start pumping water again.

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Fill up your canteen, cooking vessel, or even a hydration bladder if you’re heading out for supplies. There’s more than enough clean water to go around.

Conclusions

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AquaPodKit says the water inside the liner can stay fresh for up to 8 weeks, depending on humidity and temperature conditions. Also, as we said before, the 65 gallon capacity is enough to supply a family of four for about 14 days (or much more if the water is carefully rationed). That means you should have more than enough water to get through a short-term disaster, or at least buy yourself time to find an alternative water source.

The AquaPodKit is a great tool for anyone who plans to hunker down at home if a disaster hits. It’s simple enough that even young children could learn how to fill and use it, and it’s available at an extremely affordable price point. The WaterBasics filtration option also provides a lot of added value, considering it’s only $15 more than the basic kit, so we’d definitely recommend that version if you choose to buy an AquaPodKit product.

AquaPodKit emergency water storage 01

To sum things up, here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

  • Very simple to fill and use.
  • Affordable price point.
  • Optional WaterBasics filter removes bacteria for added safety, and also improves taste.
  • Made in the USA. Assembly of the kits supports local organizations, such as the Austin State School of the Aged and Disabled, in Austin, Texas.

Cons:

  • Pumping water manually is slow and labor-intensive.
  • Added back-pressure from the water filter tends to cause the WaterBasics pump’s seals to leak and drip if you pump quickly.

For more information on these emergency water storage systems, visit AquaPodKit.com.

 

Hot Rock Boiling to Purify Water

By
Patrick McCarthy
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0
Hot rock boiling stones
Rocks are available almost everywhere on earth, and can be used to boil water.

Most of us know that boiling is one of the most effective methods to purify drinking water in the wild. In mere minutes, boiling can destroy any nasty viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and other waterborne pathogens that could otherwise wreak havoc in your digestive system or kill you.

However, boiling water off the grid may not be as easy as it sounds. Unless you have a sturdy single-walled metal water bottle, canteen, or pot, you can’t simply toss it into the fire and wait for the water to boil.

Most metal water bottles are insulated, and cannot be exposed to direct flame for boiling.
Most metal water bottles are insulated, and cannot be exposed to direct flame for boiling water.

Notice we said single-walled water bottle—the popular double-walled or insulated bottles found at many stores must not be placed on an open flame, and may even explode from the heat. Composite and plastic bottles can’t take the heat either, and will begin to melt over the flames. So, how do you boil water if you don’t have a metal vessel to boil it in?

Hot rock boiling stones
Rocks are available almost everywhere on earth, and can be used to boil water through heat transfer.

The answer is both simple and ancient: hot rock boiling. You can simply heat several rocks over a campfire, then pick them up with sticks, and drop them into the water vessel of your choice. The residual heat of the stones will heat the water rapidly, and eventually bring it to a boil, purifying it.

Here’s a video that shows how it works (you may want to mute the audio if you’re not a fan of smooth jazz):

Notice in the video, hand-carved wood vessels are used, and the rocks are rinsed to remove ash and soot before adding to the drinking water. Both of these are smart choices—although small amounts of ash from the campfire may not be harmful to drink, they certainly won’t taste good.

Water over rocks

A few more tips:

  • Your rocks should be heated for about 10-15 minutes to reach an adequate temperature.
  • Never place rocks back on the fire immediately after placing them in the water. They may crack or explode.
  • If you don’t have a water vessel, you can boil water in the ditches or pools found near a lake or stream bank. This will require building a fire near the river bank, however.
  • To be safe, it’s recommended to boil the water for at least one minute, especially at higher altitudes (since water boils at a lower temperature there).
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