Growing a Survival Garden

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For those lucky enough to acquire a property with a thriving orchard, the benefits are obvious in the first year. What’s not immediately clear is all the decision-making and patience that were necessary in the beginning. There’s an old proverb: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.” That certainly applies to fruits. Once established, though, one can expect years of production. Blueberries, for instance, can produce for up to 50 years. Standard apples and pears can be productive for 35 to 45 years. Consider fruits a multigenerational investment. 

In addition to being long-lived, fruits are versatile, both in terms of usage and storage capacity. Fruits can be eaten fresh or rendered into jams, jellies, juices, fruit leathers, cider, and wine. They can be frozen, canned, or dehydrated. Some late-season apple varieties like Arkansas Black, Stayman, Pink Lady, and Fuji can keep up to five months if stored in a cool and humid environment.

The Planning Phase

Regardless of which fruits make sense for your situation, some basic homework beforehand will ensure successful establishment. Site selection is important. Vegetable gardens are challenging on sloped terrain, but fruits and slopes are a great fit. Placing fruits on a high point of the landscape allows heavy, cold air to flow past the plants rather than settling right on top of them. Be mindful that south-facing slopes warm up quicker in the winter, which sounds like a positive, but it can also encourage earlier blooming and subsequent damage by late frosts. 

Soil testing is always a good idea. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Service about their procedures and fees. Normally, soil testing costs will range from free to $10. The results will give you an indication not only of nutrient needs, but also the natural pH of your soil. A soil pH between 6 and 6.5 will be perfect for tree fruits, strawberries, grapes, and brambles, such as raspberries and blackberries. Blueberries need more acidity, so a pH of 4.5 to 5.2 should be the target. If your score is too low, it can be raised with limestone. If too high, adjustment with sulfur may be in order.

PawPaw Fruit

Above: Pawpaw is a native fruit reminiscent in flavor to a banana, but the mushy texture is a turnoff to some.

The number of fruit cultivars is overwhelming, but a good starting point would be to speak with neighbors. What fruits have done well for them? Universities in your state with an agricultural program will periodically publish variety trials for common fruits, and while the list isn’t exhaustive, it can at least provide insight into a handful of varieties that do well. As an example, search online for “Growing blueberries in [your state] .edu.” A lot of first-time fruit growers make the mistake of planting supermarket varieties they’ve enjoyed — think Honeycrisp apples or Bing cherries — even if those aren’t adapted to their region.

Propagation

A seed will contain genetic material from both parents, and as a result, the fruit produced by the offspring may be unrecognizable. Therefore, asexual propagation (cloning) is best. Grafting is a cheap and easy way to clone an apple or pear tree, and brambles can be easily propagated from cuttings or “tip-layering,” where the tips of trailing canes are covered with soil or mulch, resulting in new roots that can be cut from the mother plant. Strawberries produce “runners,” which can be transplanted to a new location.

If obtaining cuttings or other plant materials from friends and neighbors, be mindful of carrying plant diseases home. Did the person giving you these cuttings monitor and manage for disease problems? An argument can be made for only getting plants from reputable nurseries to avoid diseases, but neighbors have been sharing plants since the dawn of time. At least visually inspect those runners or cuttings to ensure they look healthy.

survival garden bees polinating

Above: Native bees can pollinate fruit crops more efficiently than honeybees can, in a lot of situations.

Pollination

We’ve learned a lot over the last decade about the value of native bees to the pollination of fruit crops. Studies in the Northeast have concluded that, even in the absence of honeybees, native species such as bumblebees, orchard mason bees and leafcutter bees can adequately pollinate commercial orchards. So, don’t let anybody tell you that you have to have honeybees for fruit production. Nonetheless, a colony or two of honeybees on your property provide insurance for those years when native bee populations dip. Another option is to build simple nesting structures for native bees, such as blocks of wood with predrilled holes for orchard mason bees. 

Some fruits are self-pollinating. On the other hand, plums, apples, sweet cherries, pears, and blueberries need to have another variety nearby for cross-pollination. The two varieties should be compatible in terms of their bloom windows. Nursery catalogs will often list varieties that cross-pollinate, or you can find charts online with compatible cultivars.

Survival Garden Pruning Fruit Trees

Above: Pruning of fruit trees is something you should commit to every year.

Pruning

Yearly pruning of fruit trees, brambles, grapes, and blueberries will be necessary. To put it another way, it'll be much easier to commit to pruning every year than to try to fix neglected plants a decade from now. 

Pruning is a science and an art, and a lot of practice is needed to become proficient. It helps, though, to remember why you’re pruning. Pruning should focus first on removing diseased or damaged limbs or canes or unproductive wood. Then, the goal should be to open up the plants’ canopies enough for good airflow and sunlight penetration, which will mean drier foliage and therefore less opportunity for fungal invasions.

A final but important motivation for pruning is to shape the tree to support a maximum fruit load, favoring wide-angled connections between the limbs and trunk.

Pests

Most of the diseases that’ll impact fruits are fungal and include a long list of inflictions such as cedar-apple rust, black knot, black rot, brown rot, gray mold, anthracnose, and powdery mildew. The bacterial disease fireblight is a major problem with pears and apples. In addition, each region of the country is facing its own armies of both native and invasive insect pests, from plum curculio to spotted wing drosophila fly to cicada to spotted lanternfly.

 

Survival Garden pests

Above: Aesthetically perfect tree fruit doesn’t just happen, and management of insect and disease pressures will need to be factored into your growing plan.

Approved products, insect presence, disease occurrence, and treatment windows will vary from region to region, so it’s wise to consult a spray schedule created specifically for your part of the world. Your local Extension office can provide that. These often include organic options for those leery of conventional chemical products.

Many diseases are carried from one season to the next in mummified fruit, so make it a habit to gather old fruit from your vines and trees in the fall and destroy it. Raking and removing leaves from beneath your plants is a good practice as well. When pruning, disinfect your tools with alcohol between plants.

Wildlife Damage

Bears, deer, beavers, rabbits, and other mammals can wreak havoc on fruit trees and bushes. Birds, too, can devour berries or peck holes in tree fruit. If wildlife populations are heavy near your property, electric fencing would be a good idea, especially when the plants are young and tender. 

Voles are small rodents that’ll feed on the roots and bark of young trees. Hawks, owls, and snakes will eliminate some of your vole problems, but beyond that, habitat modification and traps can be useful.

Bird netting stretched over the plants before fruits ripen will ensure that your family — and not the birds — gets most of the harvest.

Apples and Pears

An orchard is a symbol of success for a ruralite, but even a couple of apple or pear trees can result in bushels of fruit. 

Graftage is the best and most economical way to build an orchard with proven varieties. Two things are needed: rootstock and scionwood. Contact your local Cooperative Extension Service to see if they sell rootstock in the winter or order online from a nursery. The rootstock can impart certain characteristics to your trees, including disease resistance, anchorage, and/or a dwarfing or semi-dwarfing growth habit. Rootstock is often sold at $1 to $2, each.

Scionwood is collected from the desired trees during the dormant season. The best scionwood is from year-old
watersprouts that are roughly the diameter of your pinky. Don’t collect watersprouts at the base of the tree, as this is likely off the rootstock. 

The grafting process is an easy skill to acquire. Farm- or horticulture-based organizations in your community may offer yearly grafting workshops, but if not, it’s a skill that can be picked up from online videos or a knowledgeable neighbor. The only tools you’ll need besides the scion and rootstock are a sharp knife and masking tape.

Standard-sized apple trees should be spaced 30 feet apart. The spacing should be 18 feet for semidwarf and 8 feet for dwarf trees. For pears, spacing for standard and dwarf varieties should be 25 feet or 12 feet, respectively.

cedar-apple rust

Above: Cedar-apple rust is a fungus that produces galls in juniper species in the spring before moving into apple trees later in the season.

Commercial production (i.e., visually appealing fruits) of apples and pears requires considerable inputs, including a dozen or more sprays — organic or conventional — during the season. But if you’re not easily offended by ugly apples, you can skip some of those. Fly speck and sooty blotch, for instance, are two fungal diseases that look unattractive but don’t significantly impact the fruit’s usefulness.

Stone Fruit

Apricots, sweet cherries, and Japanese plums need warmer climates to thrive, whereas European plums, hybrid plums, and sour cherries are more winter hardy. Peaches prefer hot summers but also winter temperatures that fall below 45 degrees F. Again, it’ll be a matter of consulting neighbors as to what has worked for them and what hasn’t. Learn what USDA hardiness zone you live in, and use that as a preliminary guide when perusing nursery catalogs.

Unless you’re situated in that perfect range, your harvest may not happen every year. In the southern Appalachian Mountains, for example, peach trees have a heavy load two years out of five, but those who grow them consider it worth the wait.

While grafting can be done with stone fruits as with apples and pears, the more common propagation method is budding, done in late spring or early summer. With this method, a bud from the desired tree is inserted into the trunk bark of another.

Brambles

If low inputs and organic production are your goals, then raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries are the way to go. They face disease and insect pressures as well, but they tend to require fewer chemical preventatives than do tree fruits and grapes.

If raspberries or blackberries are content with a site, they’ll quickly grow into a dense patch unless you take steps to prune and trellis them.

Blueberries

High-bush, low-bush, and rabbiteye are distinct types of blueberries grown in the U.S., and within each of those types are varieties that are distinguished by size, sweetness, fruiting window, and other factors. Again, your location’s climate will determine which type to choose, and there are likely cultivars that have been proven producers in your region. 

When planting blueberries, first ensure that you’re planting into a soil with the proper acidity of 4.5 to 5.2 pH. Amend each planting hole with a gallon of peat moss and mulch with pine needles or wood chips after planting. 

Strawberries

Strawberries are classified as June-bearing, ever-bearing, or day-neutral. The first produces a heavier, more flavorful crop between May and July. The other types have a fruiting period that’s stretched out over a longer season, normally culminating in late summer or fall.

Strawberry blossoms should be pinched off the first year, so as to channel each plant’s energy toward root development. Growers should also plan to renovate their strawberries periodically, as unmanaged patches will tend to produce smaller and smaller berries over time.

strawberries

Above: A well-planned and tended strawberry patch can provide you with gallons of sweet fruit well before summer arrives.

One approach to strawberry management is to have four planting areas. Once the first area is planted, the runners can be cut and transplanted into Plot 2. The runners from Plot 2 can be planted into Plot 3 the following year, and so on. In the fourth year, Plot 1 can be completely cleared and replanted.

Because weed management can be an ongoing challenge in strawberry production, many commercial producers treat their plants as annuals, planting into black plastic or other types of mulch in fall, harvesting the following spring and then starting all over again.

Grapes

As with apples and pears, grapes are prone to a long list of diseases and insect pressures and will need significant management to maximize the harvest. An age-old practice involves planting a few roses in the vineyard to serve as sentinels. They’ll often show symptoms of various fungal diseases or insect pressures in advance of the grapes.

survival garden grapesAbove: The more humid your climate, the earlier you’ll need to manage for fungal diseases in grapes.

A major input with grapes will be some type of trellis or arbor system, which can range from simple cattle panels bent into a hoop to more elaborate systems. 

Black rot is especially trying for aspiring vineyard owners, and one way it’s carried from one season to the next is in mummified fruits. Just like with other fruit diseases, it’s a good practice to remove old fruit from the vines as early as possible and destroy those.

While this all sounds daunting, the shotgun approach works for many. Plant whatever trees and bushes are on sale at your local garden center, give them a minimal amount of attention, and hope for the best. It’s not ideal, and you certainly won’t maximize production that way, but there have been many apples eaten from neglected trees and lots of cobblers made from haphazardly planted berries.

Other Possibilities

Lesser-known and under-appreciated fruits are worth considering. Gooseberries and currants, for instance, are options that can handle a bit more shade than other berries, and deer don’t mess with these much.

Fig is another one unpopular with deer, and there are varieties on the market hardy to Zone 6.

Then, there are native fruits perfectly adapted to your climate, from pawpaws to persimmons to prickly pear.

Fruits are a long-term investment for a property, but establishing berries or tree fruits will eventually pay off. No fruits are a plant-it-and-walk-away prospect, but if you’re willing to invest in learning and management today, the rewards will someday be sweet. 

More on Survival Food and Preparation

What If Critical Supply Lines are Indefinitely Interrupted?

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It’s impossible to predict the flashpoint that could reduce a city to chaos in a matter of hours. One thing is for sure: There will always be some among us who are looking for an excuse to see the world burn. We’ve watched certain U.S. cities silently condone violent civil unrest in 2020, blithely lumping it into the same category as peaceful protests. What will that flagrant disregard for safety and stability culminate in this year? Rather than throw caution to the wind and assume “everything will be alright,” we decided to look into a situation that could potentially have a devastating impact on commerce. What if your hometown was so consumed with rioting that the services and supplies you take for granted suddenly became unavailable? 

The Scenario:

The Setup: You live in a major city that has been under siege with nonstop civil unrest. The weeks of ongoing riots have not only forced many city centers and local businesses to close but have also interrupted commerce for the average citizen. Everything from supermarkets to hardware stores have stopped receiving deliveries. Roadblocks, because of protests as well as trucks being looted, have not only made it difficult to conduct business, but some companies are flat-out refusing to send their drivers into areas where their lives are in danger. Curfews and limited public movement have only exacerbated your inability to replenish supplies you used to take for granted. Store shelves are empty, fighting over what’s available is a regular occurrence, and you have no clue when things will subside enough for life to resume as normal.

Situation Type: Long Term Supply Shortage

Your Crew: You, your Spouse, and your Children

Location: Calumet Heights, IL

Season: Summer

Weather: Hot: High 90 degrees F, Low 70 degrees F. 

The Complication: Since you’re not able to just pick up and leave your home that easily, and the suburbs have experienced a run on their supplies, you’re forced to improvise with what you have and stretch supplies as far as you can to make them last. Of course, traveling through areas that are fraught with unrest comes with its own risks, not to mention the fact that there are long lines at gas stations due to a diminishing fuel supply. It’s summertime, and the heat only makes a bad situation worse — the scarcity and chaos are weighing heavily on the mental state of an already agitated local population. 

Although mail has continued to be delivered, you fear that the USPS may be the next link in the chain to break. Services like UPS, DHL, and FedEx have stopped delivering goods in order to protect their staff, making it somewhat difficult to purchase supplies via e-commerce. For this “What If,” we’ve asked survival instructor Kevin Estela and agriculture and natural resources educator Phillip Meeks how they’d adapt their lifestyle to these conditions. Each writer was asked to consider things like food storage/cultivation, making or improvising needed household items, finding alternatives for medication and first-aid supplies, and self-defense resources like ammo without consistent availability of commercial goods and services.

The daily morning news has given me no hope of this current civil unrest stopping. The government has failed the people and has let the lunatics run the asylum. My normal supermarket has been trashed, my favorite local family owned deli and convenience store was burned for allegedly aligning with the politics of the mob’s apparent oppressor, and desperation around the city is at an all-time high. Cellular service is still consistent and access to the internet has given me a chance to collect valuable intelligence from my environment. I’m going to let the looters fight over scraps as I direct my attention elsewhere.

For most people, running out of food is a death sentence. Many of my neighbors have left town for the suburbs, but I’m holding ground. I’ve heard reports of those who left late being met by ad-hoc militia-type groups with skewed politics and maniacal leaders. I’ve seen photos of the evacuees’ trashed cars, but haven’t seen any of the evacuees themselves. We can only speculate. Those who remained have told me they are in the same boat as I am, and we’ve talked about our homes as our castles that we’d be willing to defend. We are trying to stay low-profile, and we’ve even adopted the clothing color scheme of the “protestors” to blend in. If only they could see how much I loathe their reckless actions behind this stupid disguise I’m choosing to wear.

Most of the leftover families have backgrounds in self-reliance much like my own, and many are weekend sportsmen with a modest home armory of at least a .22 rifle, 12-gauge shotgun, and .30-06 bolt gun. In many large cities like this one, politicians have limited our ability to own most pistols and modern sporting rifles. My sister and my nieces have come to my house, so this fight for survival isn’t mine alone. If I only had to worry about myself, I’d suck it up and sacrifice comfort voluntarily. With kids around, this isn’t going to be easy. We have a stocked cupboard, but that food won’t last long. Canned food doesn’t require reconstitution, but the trade-off is weight and space. We’re part Asian, so we were fortunate to have a healthy supply of rice on hand already. I need to think of ways to extend those meals. I need to find fillers out there to get us through this winter.

We stocked up a modest medicine cabinet with more vitamins, dietary supplements, and bandages for boo-boos. Since we don’t plan on moving about much, we’ve moved the bug-out kits from our vehicles to our house. Car windows are just fragile doors that haven’t been smashed open yet, so we don’t want to leave anything of value out on the street. 

Appearances vs. Reality

Knowing we’d need to get across town from time to time, I secured the rattiest-looking shopping carts I could find. The “protestors” loot and steal from stores, shops, and wealthy individuals. It’s a gamble, but I doubt being seen as a bum would attract too much attention, especially at hours of the day when most are preprogrammed to sleep and definitely when the cold of winter keeps most “protestors” indoors on their computers and phones. 

We all know the actions of this mob don’t constitute lawful protest. I watched it play out time and time again and was quick to stock up on freeze-dried foods at the local Walmart. I also grabbed plenty of canned goods at the supermarket as soon as I suspected something like this was happening in my backyard. I let the idiots fight over toilet paper while I grabbed another large sack of rice, plenty of cooking oil, and tuna packets. 

The way I look at it, with just these three ingredients, I have carbs, fat, and protein. I grabbed some spices and seasoning packets before I left, knowing I could provide some variety to my unexpected guests who experience food boredom easily. One last thing I picked up on my way out of the store were oversized clothes for my nieces and sister. I want them to look like they have been without food and unable to fill out their normal clothes. Perhaps that’ll help to keep prying eyes from looking too closely at us in our well-prepared state.

Coordination

It pays to have friends. Thankfully, the bonds built around campfires and in hunting camps are hard to break. Outdoor pursuits like these tend to attract similar mindsets. Before all this nonsense popped off, my hunting buddies and I discussed using our phones as a primary means of communication along with two-way radios as an alternate means of communication. Some of us don’t have our license to transmit over civilian amateur bands, but we’re pretty sure law enforcement has bigger fish to fry than some guys chatting on open lines the mob likely isn’t monitoring. Using past cases of civil unrest, we’re fairly confident phone and internet service won’t be interrupted, as people were tweeting and calling from inside occupied zones in the Pacific Northwest. 

Should the local government services or utility providers shut down, they’ll only temper the resolve of the mob to stay on mission. My hunting buddies and I decided to use a simple code along with GPS hunting software (OnX Hunt) on our cell phones to keep track of mob positions that we could share with one another. We could also pool our resources if times really got tough. We decided to pop common critters found in most cities as survival food, and save them with the tools found in most of our kitchens like Kitchen-Aid meat grinders, vacuum packers, and food dehydrators. 

As a community, we feel the strongest resource we have is one another. Even though we don’t have a medical doctor in our immediate group, we’ve identified who will be our “doc” with the highest medical training. We’ve used text message chains to inventory our medicine cabinets by sharing the photos of what we have. Who knows, maybe someone has a leftover prescription or remedy someone else may need. Without a regular doctor to visit, this will have to do. The rest of us will work in support roles, and we’ll fall back on print resources like the book Where There Is No Doctor. We know this isn’t perfect, but we can work with what we have and address what we face. 

What if Supply Lines

Redefining “Food”

If I’ve learned one thing about eating in the wilderness, it’s that hunger is great sauce. I know what it’s like to fast, but how do you convince kids to eat conservatively? My sister is a good mother, and like most moms, she’ll sacrifice her comfort for her kids. Some of the kids’ picky eating habits will make this scenario more difficult. I’ll have to field dress and butcher out in the field, and return with cuts of meat that resemble what could’ve been bought in the grocery store. Doing this in the field will make me more vulnerable, but the trade-off is having to carry less weight over distance. 

Drop cakes and fry bread are easy to make with just basic ingredients. Additional nutritional ingredients can be added and snuck into the girls’ food like a dog mama sticking a pill in some peanut butter for her pooch. We’ve got a meat grinder attachment. I know I can mix random scraps of meat, fat, cheese, and spices to make what should remind the girls of meat snacks. 

Discreet Food and Water Collection

Even though I live in a city, I know there’s a major body of water directly east of me, Lake Michigan on the outskirts of Calumet Heights. Should I run out of food or if the water gets shut off, I’ll take my shopping cart, don a disguise — most likely a utility worker outfit with a hard hat, vest, and clipboard — and head there. I won’t chip through the ice with my hatchet until long after dark. The good thing about ice fishing is that I can set multiple homemade tip-ups and bail multiple hooks on a single line. It’s a form of passive fishing that’ll let me seek out resources while the baited hooks do the work. If I resort to active fishing, I’ll be a sitting duck and an easy target.

My friends and I decided we wouldn’t take from other families in the same scenario we’re in. If we ran out of food, we would fall back on taking food from government buildings and, in particular, schools. Schools serve hundreds if not thousands of meals each day. The supplies found in the cafeteria, the athletic trainer’s office, school nurse’s office, and various family and consumer science classrooms would give us plenty to sort through. We know the looters and protestors are more interested in high-value real estate like department stores and political buildings. 

We can work efficiently and without disruption by going where the agitators won’t be. The frustrating lack of action by the federal government to harden schools, despite numerous calls for basic physical security measures to protect against school shootings, means easy access for us. We asked officials to block off ground-floor windows and create security corridors to prevent unauthorized access, but since they took no action, we know there’ll be multiple easy entry points. 

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

I’ve already mentioned how most residents of Illinois don’t have the firearm resources of less restrictive states. Standing toe-to-toe with the rioters is foolish and strategically irresponsible. While I know my hunting partners are capable marksmen and the value of a single well-placed round can’t be measured, there are better options that draw on strategy than force. From watching the news, we know there are multiple domestic terrorist groups “protesting,” but without any real direction. We know mob mentality is often reactive and driven by emotion, which is how we’ll divide the mob and direct their attention at one another instead of the populace. All it takes to incite a mob is a perceived threat. A few bricks with gang colors or inflammatory notes thrown through some rival windows will send a strong manufactured message. Enough bricks can build a house or break down the perceived structure of an organization when equally disorganized groups turn on one another. 

We know this civil unrest can’t last forever. In all the cases in our recent history, the government has eventually stepped in. This isn’t a matter of surviving indefinitely; it’s simply a matter of holding out. While some of society has crumbled around us, the backbone of this nation is still holding strong and working together through a secret network. Compared to a mob looking for attention and likes on their social media hashtags, we value community and cooperation. We’re going to outlast and see this through. 

Both peaceful demonstrations and riots increased significantly around the globe from 2011 to 2018, according to data published by the Cross-National Time Series. Last year alone saw some of the most costly civil unrest in U.S. history, with one set of protests extending to 140 U.S. cities and leading to personal and corporate insurance losses in excess of $1 billion, says the Insurance Information Institute.

It seems that unrest capable of impacting local businesses and grinding day-to-day life to a halt is a greater possibility than it’s ever been, especially in cities. And these events won’t necessarily come and go within a few days. 

Indoor Preparations

When I was a kid, I learned a lot about preparedness from a space my parents referred to simply as their “utility room.” They’d converted their carport into a new kitchen, leaving the old refrigerator and cabinets behind. Over time, my folks filled this space with razors, shampoo, toothpaste, adhesive bandages, Ibuprofen, salt, and practically any other worthwhile item they caught on sale. In the same way, the old refrigerator got packed with condiments, ground beef, soft drinks, and frozen pizzas. This continuous and long-term larder-loading is what I’ve tried to adapt as an adult. It can be an affordable way to build enough supplies to carry a family through a long-term event … but only if you start now.  

You may use a lot of disposable items in your normal, day-to-day life — things like paper plates, paper cups, paper towels, and wet wipes. It’s good to have a few weeks’ worth of these things in stock, but for the long-term, there’ll come a point where it’ll be more sustainable to switch to real dinnerware and towels to be laundered. For an emergency that stretches on for months, plenty of laundry detergent and dish soap are good investments. Some ultralight backpackers forego the need for a lot of toilet paper by using a squeeze bottle as a makeshift bidet. The thought makes some squeamish, but the fact is it’s an acceptable way to keep oneself clean when paper products run out. 

Another angle regarding the replacement of disposable with reusable items is this: if trash disposal is disrupted for weeks or months, what will the accumulation of garbage in your home mean to your family’s health and morale?

Buy drinking water in reusable 5-gallon containers to cut down on waste. Hygiene and household cleaning can be accomplished with pool water or a rain barrel. It’s possible the rainwater can be made potable in a pinch, too, depending on the surfaces it touches.

Plan to cook during an extended crisis, and give the entire family a role in the process. (A selection of easy-to-prepare instant meals will be fine for when time and energy run low.) Canned meats, vegetables, and fruits have a long shelf-life, as do pastas, flour, and cornmeal. Powdered milk is great to have on your shelf, but liquid milk can be frozen for several months, too. Have family members select recipes now that use a minimal number of ingredients, and concentrate on putting those items in your pantry. 

If you haven’t stockpiled first-aid supplies and medications such as over-the-counter painkillers and allergy relief for both children and adults, begin doing so immediately, always being mindful of expiration dates. Keep appropriate amounts of ammo for hunting or defense stashed away. In fact, double what you think is a reasonable amount. Dry pet food will store for a long time, so be sure to have some extra, as well as common pet medications.

Pick a room in the house such as the master bedroom, and equip it with solid locks and extra shelves. Store communications equipment, first-aid supplies, extra food, and defensive tools in there. This can be where you lock up your supplies should you have to leave for a few hours, or it can serve double duty as the spot to which your family retreats in an emergency.

Have some cash in small denominations set aside, as well as items that can be used for bartering with your neighbors: hard candy, instant coffee, sample bottles of whisky, cigarettes and cigars, travel-sized toiletries, and so on.

Outdoor Preparations

Most vegetable seeds will keep for years in the freezer, so stock up when those go on clearance. Snap peas and beets are versatile in that their leaves can be eaten, too. Radishes are ready for harvest in under a month. Vegetables with many fruits per plant do well in containers on a balcony, and a nice crop of potatoes can be harvested from buckets, mulch piles, or even cardboard boxes. To work edible components into the landscape, blackberries, raspberries, currants, serviceberries, and strawberries can all be used in attractive ways.

Embrace the concept of “succession planting.” Once you harvest onions, for example, fill that spot with snow peas or kale. Understand which vegetables are best direct-seeded into the soil and which need to be grown first as transplants, and invest in a few trays and a bag of starter mix for cabbage, broccoli, and tomato transplants. Cool-season crops that you’d normally grow in early spring can typically be planted again in late summer for a fall harvest.

A roll of “floating row cover” will extend the fall growing season by at least a couple of weeks, providing fresh produce until Thanksgiving or beyond.

What if Supply Lines

On Site

Family and friends outside the area may still be able to access supplies normally. Take advantage of that silver lining as long as USPS delivery is still happening to fill in gaps with medications, toiletries, or other supplies.

Parks and greenways can prove to be a source of wild edibles, especially in the summer, and the fact that maintenance of public green spaces may cease will mean a proliferation of blackberries, greenbrier, wild carrot, pokeweed, and other food-worthy plants. Be wary of collecting edibles from previously well-maintained lawns and golf courses, though, as these could still cling to some pesticide residues. Don’t overlook the many species of weedy mints that could be used for teas. Most home lawns (once maintenance subsides) will host good yields of dandelion, chickweed, oxalis, violets, and other edibles.

While fish and crayfish can be easily harvested from nearby water bodies, water quality is likely a concern in the city, and the harvest of squirrels or groundhogs from a city park may draw undue attention. However, those protein sources are there if desperately needed, as are winged options such as starlings and pigeons. 

Entomophagy (the practice of eating bugs) is ranked as a last resort by most, but with a little cooking and lots of barbecue sauce, it’s possible to convert grasshoppers and cicadas that emerge in the summer into novelty dishes to stretch the food supply.

Fuel, herbicide, fertilizer, and pharmaceutical runoff can all make urban streams and ponds questionable, so be cautious when seeking an emergency water source. Focus instead on rainwater catchment, if possible, and treat drinking water by boiling or using a backcountry filter system. 

Crisis

An individual or household can easily navigate through many short-term disasters, but the longer the emergency, the more you need community. That can be your physical neighbors, members of a faith-based organization to which you belong, or a group of buddies who all live within walking distance of each other. Studies have looked at the value of community in disaster resilience, and the bottom line is that those neighborhoods and broader communities able to invest in their own recovery from the bottom up — as opposed to waiting for authorities to fix everything — stand a much better chance of emerging from a serious disaster. There are two ways to view your neighbors: as competitors for limited supplies or as potential allies whose knowledge and skills can complement your own.

A coordinated neighborhood gardening effort can minimize idle hands and involve men, women, and children in preparing for their own nutritional needs. A few folks with shovels, mattocks, and wheelbarrows can easily convert turf to garden in a few hours. Within days, every yard and vacant lot on a given street can be prepped for vegetable production.

Children can be given the task of overseeing small plantings at their own homes, monitoring the patio tomatoes for hornworms, for instance, or picking slugs off the cabbages. 

Another community effort directly related to gardening — and an important one given that urban soil is often less than ideal for growing — is the development and maintenance of compost. A team can be responsible for collecting all compostable materials from the neighbors (newspapers, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings) and keeping it aerated. The more a compost pile is turned, the quicker it becomes something useful. 

Beyond gardening, a coalition among just a few neighbors could help address other needs, such as those that relate to clothing, repairs, or medical emergencies. “Maria has some new sheets she’ll donate if we agree to replace them after all this is over, and Stan is handy with a sewing machine.” 

It can be surprising what tools and skills you may uncover on the block. Mark has a tractor with a bucket and a rototiller attachment; Lisa spent two semesters studying veterinary medicine; Richard is a retired tailor. A neighborhood swap meet can be a good way to exchange any surplus you may have for items the family next door can part with: shoes, tools, disinfectants, seasonings. The social aspect of these kinds of activities can help keep everybody sane at the same time. 

A good, progressive approach to preparedness that’s been presented to me is to first think about a 72-hour event. After that, make it a goal to have all you need for two weeks, and so on. It’s good to maximize all available storage space over time with your family’s nutrition, hygiene, health, and safety in mind. In thinking of disasters that could potentially go on for months, it’s also wise to consider what neighbors might bring to the table.

Conclusion

Lots of situations can interrupt the flow of commerce. COVID, snowstorms, the Suez Canal blockage, and the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack all recently contributed to an interruption in goods reaching their destination. Civil unrest is just another piece in the puzzle that can also indefinitely affect our ability to procure the goods or services we take for granted. Many in the ammunition industry believe that the demand has exceeded the supply so dramatically that it may take at least two years to catch up. Ask yourself what would happen if that type of demand impacted food, medical supplies, and other items you absolutely need to live. 

Do your part to not only use these techniques to maximize your self-sustainability during an emergency, but also consider forming neighborhood groups with like-minded individuals who share your concern. Determine what everyone’s willingness to participate is, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what role they can fulfill when everyone needs to pool their resources to survive a supply shortage. A little extra planning now will pay dividends when another unforeseen event threatens to force the average citizen to do without the conveniences they’ve grown accustomed to.   

About the Authors

Kevin Estela is the Director of Training for Fieldcraft Survival and best-selling author of 101 Skills You Need To Survive In The Woods. He’s an Associate Level Sayoc Kali Instructor, Purple Belt in Brazilian jiujitsu, and graduate of numerous firearm schools. He’s a lifelong outdoorsman who is an avid hunter, fisherman, and backpacker. When not teaching or writing about survival skills, he resides near the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. 

Kevin Estela

Phillip Meeks is an agriculture and natural resources educator with a B.S. in Forestry and an M.S. in Community & Leadership Development. He, his wife, and three children live in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Phillip and his family garden, keep bees, make maple syrup, and hunt mushrooms whenever they can.

Philip Meeks

MORE SCENARIOS TO CONSIDER:

GBRS Group Assaulter Belt: Carrying the Weight Without Adding Weight

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On the one hand, a best practice for reviewing duty/combat/survival gear is to compare and contrast it with other options available at the time. On the other hand, a belt of this type should also be independently considered for its objective features, and how they measure up under pressure. Earlier this year GBRS Group appeared in OFFGRID #43, bringing Tier 1 Tactical Training and the experience to back it. In addition to on-demand performance and instruction, they have recently dropped a belt built by LBT for special operations: the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt. From out of the bag, to on the range, to out in the field, it takes time for the belt to settle in, but once it does: it's time to take notes.

Beginning with the context, if you were to look at assaulter/war/battle belts over the last 13 years, you might be concerned that we've simply gone full circle, back to where we started. The floppy, slim, sleeve-like “belts” of 2008, which nearly required suspenders were replaced by the thicker, taller, and more rigid “battle belt” design. The mutli-belt variation eventually crept from the 3-Gun and USPSA world into more tactical lines of gear, and while the GBRS Group Assaulter belt may look like this style at first glance, it has vastly different properties than the distinctly rigid comp gear.

GBRS Group Assaulter Belt

Top: Protective Shroud. Mid: Inner Belt. Bottom: Rigged Up Outer Belt.

Construction

Out of the packaging, the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt system includes a thin inner belt, the main load-bearing belt, and a third cover-belt of sorts that is to protect the hook interface when the outer belt isn't being worn. Instead of following the tradition of competition gear, which put the hard side, or hook side of the velcro/hook and loop tape on the inside of the outer belt, GBRS chose to put the soft side facing one's body. Thus, the third cover belt is there to protect the hard side/hook side when wearing it in an EDC fashion.

The outer belt gets its structure from a thin and lightweight, semi-rigid thermo-polymer, allowing it to bear pistol and rifle magazines, med kits, holsters, hatchets, knives, and more. In comparison to other belts of its type, the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt feels remarkably light, and although it will flex more horizontally (on the z axis), the vertical (y axis) play is still minimal, just the way a belt like this needs to flex. One layer in from the thermo-plastic core, Type 13, 1-23/32” belt webbing provides the tensile strength, to a measure of 7000 pounds. 

GBRS Group Assaulter Belt

Where some use rigid material such as scuba webbing to give a belt its form, with the Molle or similar interface attached to that, the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt has laser-cut holes in the thermo-polymer that act as the mounting spot for pouches. Effectively gaining two properties with one layer: modularity and form. A cobra buckle seals the deal, with a D-ring for either a safety lanyard or rappelling device, although the belt is in the process of testing and certification. Until then, keep it on the range.

Getting Attached

The bad news of the belt is that it's quite difficult to mount gear onto it. The payoff, however, is that once mounted, the equipment fits securely and tightly to the body. The Molle/PALS like interface of the thermo-polymer tightly engages with whatever pouches are mounted and favors some methods over others such as Malice Clips. Gone are the days of pouches twisting and jostling about, but genuine work must be put in to get them there. A Tek-Lok will fit over the whole outer belt without problems, and although they can be used, the Esstac belt mounts must be removed from the mag caddie first, then re-connected mid-belt. One end of the belt is permanently affixed to the D-ring side of the Cobra Buckle, the other has a flaring of the thermo-polymer for holster support, or branding. Either way, the user will have to do a little tinkering to get everything to fit, but once it does, it's secure.

GBRS Group Branding Block

The Branding Block effectively prevents EssTac Kywi's from being slid directly onto the belt.

The pile/loop/soft side that runs on the inside of the outer belt allows the user to throw it on in an emergency, something uniquely pressing to those on the fighting edge of the military, and gives some credence to the design. In the event that there's no time to set the outer belt onto the inner belt, it can be thrown on without having to plan a trip to the med shed after the hard work is done. The inner belt, however, is so thin and light that it adds very little by means of support when attached. Instead, it adds one more restraint to keeping everything in place when sprinting, jumping, vaulting, or taking an aggressive knee under night vision goggles.

Life Under Weight

As if taking inspiration from Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the changes in gear trends rarely follow a clean trajectory. That is to say, if someone were to try to draw a path through the development of load bearing tactical gear, they would not be able to keep it straight, but rather cyclical, as new threats, technological advancements, environments, and relationships between manufacturers and end-users develop and change the landscape of equipment. The GBRS Group Assaulter Belt, in the last ten years, has arrived in its time.

S&S Precision PF-M

The belt fits right in with high end equipment. Gear shown on Plate Carrier: (Front) S&S Precision...

With the soldier, SEAL, or Ranger in mind, the ability to reduce weight while actually maintaining if not improving load-bearing capability is one thing. For those on the competition field, a little more weight on the hips will rarely make a difference. But for those doing 3-5 km infils on a target area, where and how the weight rests on your hips will impact long-term endurance. Many a Ranger Private has been warned not to put too much weight on his hips, lest he restrict the blood to his legs, tiring him out quicker.

Toor Knives tomahawk

The GBRS Group Assaulter Belt system integrates, if not improves the current commonality amongst upper-echelon warfighters to move some of the equipment from their plate carrier or chest rig to their belt, if not for weight, then for speed. After going through the work of installing AR-15 magazine carriers like Esstac Kywi's or G-Code Scorpions, they feel like part of one's body, agile in CQB situations, and secure in aggressive sprints. A Safariland Holster can either be shifted slightly forward on the hip for a clean fit, or kept closer to the 3 o'clock and used in tandem with a leg strap.

Base Layer Scrutiny

After ten years of the everyday wear of the Ares Gear Ranger, built heavily with scuba webbing, the lighter weight buckle-less design of the GBRS inner belt and shroud support a full-size pistol carried appendix without a problem when worn with the protective shroud. Wedging the belt clip of a holster between the layers only adds confidence to a draw-stroke as the holster remains secure. Despite its near weightlessness, the foundation is comfortable, even as it gets bent by belt loops. It's clear that the primary objective was weight reduction.

GBRS Group Assaulter BeltDoes the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt base layer make for a good EDC belt? Yes and no. Until a Black version is released, it comes in Multicam, which in some places it is viewed as a mere random fashion choice, in others, like Minneapolis, it'll draw attention at the time of writing. Make no mistake, you're not taking off your pants in a steamy, sexy slow-motion smooth maneuver, instead, it's the tearing sound of hook and loop fastening. In regards to EDC gear, this is chastity belt secure, however. What's attached is staying attached.

Wrapping the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt

To answer the easy question, the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt is worth the cost of entry, without a doubt. In a progression from early 2000's frameless belts, to VTAC Brokos Belt, to Ronin Tactics Senshi, this belt is the next step in the natural progression.

The worst thing that can be said about it is that it's not for casuals, at all times. The inner belt and cover are not going to ultimately replace everyone's EDC belt, and is the most likely wear point on the belt as a whole. This is easily solved by purchasing a spare set, should they become available.

GBRS Group Assaulter Belt Full Kit

True to its roots as an end-user designed piece of gear, the GBRS Group Assaulter Belt would greatly improve the lives of those going to war. For those on the homefront, it stands out amidst a sea of options, distinguishing itself as a adept fusion of lighter weight, supporting semi-rigidity, and secure attachment, if you'll put in the work for it.

GBRS Group Assaulter Belt

Sizes: S/M, L/XL
Colors: Multicam, Black (as of 1300 Eastern, 1 July 2021)

S/M Specs
Fits: 30-35 waist size
Inner Belt Weight: 1.9 ounces
Outer Belt Weight: 11.1 ounces
Outer Belt Webbing OAL: 46 inches, with 13 inches of adjustability.

L/XL Specs
Fits: 36-42 waist size
Inner Belt Weight: 2 ounces
Outer Belt Weight: 11.5 ounces
Outer Belt Webbing OAL: 51 inches with 14.5 inches of adjustablilty

MSRP: $255
URL: gbrsgroupgear.com

Kevin Estela: The Perpetual Student

Written by

It’s often said that what salt is to food, passion is to teaching. During his formative years, Kevin Estela would listen intently to his father’s stories of living off the land in the jungles of the Philippines during World War II, because it was the only way for their family to escape death or imprisonment. He realized early on that survival isn’t an occupation or hobby — it’s a way of life. Those real examples of hardship and struggle piqued his interest in the outdoors and helped him develop a knack for breaking down complex concepts into easily digestible skills. Although he could’ve comfortably rode out his position as a tenured history teacher into retirement, he knew instinctively that he had a higher calling. 

When presented with an opportunity to teach survival full-time, he knew he’d found the next chapter in life. But even as an author, martial artist, and Director of Training for Fieldcraft Survival, he’s far from believing he’s finished. A true teacher will always be humble enough to realize that the learning process is never complete. And for Kevin, teaching new flocks of students how to handle the life-and-death situations they’re likely to encounter is another opportunity to continually improve as a person, a mentor, and a preparedness advocate. We spoke with Kevin about public education, survival instruction, censorship, and what it takes to remain both humble and passionate. 

RECOIL OFFGRID: How long were you a teacher and what made you want to pursue that career?

Kevin Estela: I was a teacher for 14 years and two months. I think I’ve always been an educator. I taught swimming lessons, canoeing, kayaking, and when I was in grad school, I was substitute teaching while I was writing papers. I noticed that the kids were actually interested in how I presented information. I took the exit exam before I took the entrance exam, passed the exit exam, and then started sweating bullets when I realized I’d have to take a math exam as part of the entrance exam. I fell in love with it from then on.

kevin estela

Above: Kevin Estela regularly holds bushcraft and survival courses/clinics at the Fieldcraft Survival Headquarters and training facility in Heber City, Utah.

What subjects and grades did you teach?

Kevin Estela: Over the years, I taught everyone from freshmen to seniors in high school. It was essentially all the history courses in our catalog — everything from general history to college-prep AP classes, like world history, geography, and AP U.S. history. I also taught a bunch of elective courses like geography and cultures where I was able to show kids things like friction fires and atlatls. I was able to incorporate some of the survival stuff into the curriculum. 

If you could wave a magic wand and change the educational system, what would you do?

Kevin Estela: What I would love to do is hold parents accountable. I think teachers out there now are kicking ass and doing what they can. Unfortunately, the students’ performance is often reflected upon the teacher. If we were to apply the same logic to, let’s say, a chef who’s given ingredients that are spoiled or tainted, then you wouldn’t blame the chef, right? If you start with good ingredients, which is the byproduct of good parenting, I think that would improve the way schools perform. 

When parents come in for school conferences there’s always these comments like, “What are you doing to my kid?” It’s like, I’ve got your kid for 84 minutes, you’ve got your kid for the entire afternoon, evening, and morning for breakfast. I would definitely hold parents accountable and have mandatory attendance for them at school conferences, because I think many of them are just looking to dump their kids at school to get them out of their hair. If parents don’t care, they need to be forced to care, because they’re friggin’ parents! 

How did you get into survival instruction?

Kevin Estela: It was a byproduct of canoeing and kayaking. Along with the courses I gave at the canoe shop, we’d occasionally have campouts where I’d show kids how to make fires and cook. It was what I was already doing. It wasn’t until 2006 that I took a course with my mentor, Marty Simon, and it was eye opening. The way he presented was straightforward. No fluff, nothing spiritual, just hard skills. That was really the turning point for me — seeing how someone could demonstrate all these skills that are incredibly difficult to master, but very important to convey to the students. I was like, damn, I want to do this. 

I didn’t realize that Marty was grooming me to be one of his instructors. Every time we’d organize a camping trip, Marty would throw these occasional tests at me like, “Hey, what’s this plant?” or “I bet you can’t do this.” And then the following year, Marty was like, “Hey you’re coming up for the basic class, right?” I was like, “Marty I did that class last year.” He goes, “No, you need to come up for it.” Marty is one of my best friends, so I agreed. When I got up there, he was like, “Here are all the students, I’m Marty, that’s Kevin, and he’s my instructor.” I had no idea. I was like, OK, I guess I’m an instructor now. That was the formal beginning of me teaching survival skills. 

Who are your other mentors or influences?

Kevin Estela: There were a few guiding people. In addition to Marty, I learned from Tim Smith at Jack Mountain Bushcraft, Mike Douglas, Arthur Haines, Mal Stephens — all those guys are affiliated with the Maine Primitive Skills School. Really, my first survival teacher, so to speak, was my dad. In January of 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the Philippines. My grandfather was a wanted man for his political stance and outspoken nature, so he moved the family from my father’s town into the jungle. That’s where they lived from 1941 to 1945. 

From age 2 to 6, my dad grew up in the jungles of the Philippines living in a cave. You can imagine why, having that as a bedtime story as a kid, I didn’t care about playing football or baseball. I wanted to build fires, learn to shoot a bow and arrow or slingshot, and do all the stuff that my dad did. Those were the key influences. Around the time I met Marty, I started training in Sayoc Kali, which is a Filipino martial art. What I was exposed to there really influenced me as well. 

Kevin’s EDC

kevin estela EDC

  • Android phone
  • Burt’s Bees honey lip balm
  • Atienza Kali EDC 4 Blade
  • Blackpoint Tactical Mini Wing holster
  • Filson wallet
  • Swiss Army Knife Ranger with Exotac fireROD
  • BIC Lighter with bike innertube wrap
  • SIG Sauer P365 XL with standard slide and spare mag
  • SOF-T Tourniquet
  • NxN merino wool handkerchief
  • Streamlight Protac 2L
  • 6.3 feet of 550 Paracord
  • Keys

prototype grossman knives

These two knives are the original prototypes of the Gossman Knives Bolo and the Gossman Knives Polaris. 

How did you hook up with Fieldcraft Survival?

Kevin Estela: In October of 2019, the owner of Fieldcraft, Mike Glover, reached out to me to be on his podcast. He read my book and said he wanted to talk, so we podcasted for about an hour and a half and, when it was over, we talked for probably another hour afterward. We instantly had a connection as two guys who were half Asian, connected to the outdoors, and stuff like that. It wasn’t until June of the following year that Mike reached out to me and was like, “Hey, have you ever thought about teaching survival full-time?”

I’d thought about it, but I was a tenured high school teacher and was pretty comfortable in my position there. He gave me an offer that was pretty enticing, so I went out to Fieldcraft in August of last year and co-instructed the bug-out-on-foot course. I met Kevin Owens, Mike, Austin, and all the guys here and thought, Man, this company is great to work for. Then, I went back to teaching at high school, and, with all the distance learning, I felt in my heart I was done teaching there. I knew I could have a bigger impact elsewhere and that Fieldcraft could help me get to where I needed to be. I put in my notice, left teaching, came out to Utah to scope out new places to live, and in January, I moved out here.

What areas of teaching do you focus on?

Kevin Estela: I focus on different concepts, like all methods of fire-starting from modern back to primitive, but I always teach the strongest first. If I only have one afternoon with a bunch of people, I want them to have the best tools available to them early on, and then I can handicap them backward. I’ll show the traditional bushcraft skills because I find them interesting. 

I love learning from folks who are traditionally living a bushcraft lifestyle, and I see how those skills can be applied to the modern world, but I also focus on the ways of the modern sportsman. I love teaching fishing, hunting, incorporating the firearms training that I had, and showing people how to be better marksmen, so it’s really all-encompassing. I can talk about the short-term 72-hour skills or the long-term skills of prepping your home. That’s one of the beautiful things about working here — they’re letting me cover so much ground.

fieldcraft survival kevin estela

Above: Estela blends tradition with modern tools to address backcountry topics such as using tripods to construct camp structures.

How do you think COVID has impacted what you do and survival awareness overall?

Kevin Estela: Positively. I think it’s easy for people to play the victim with COVID. It’s easy for people to say, “Oh, I can’t go out to this diner,” or “Oh, I can’t hang out with my friends.” What they do have is time to self-improve. COVID has made prepping less of a dirty word and made people want to get outdoors. During COVID, I see more people on trails now because they weren’t able to meet together, but they still wanted to be active or go fishing. 

I know a lot of states have loosened the restrictions on fishing and actually opened the seasons earlier to get people outdoors. I think COVID has made prepping more important because we realize how fragile all of our supplies are. Toilet paper disappeared. Here we are a year later and there’s still toilet paper, but I think people are realizing they can’t just have the bare necessities. You need about a month’s supply of provisions, because at any point hysteria can kick in. 

You mentioned prepping having a negative connotation. Do you think calling it prepping or survival instruction is accurate or misleading?

Kevin Estela: Calling it prepping is part of what the ultimate goal is. I preach readiness. That’s my personal thing, and what I wrote about in my book, and that comes from Sayoc. Prepping is part of the solution to survival, meaning working toward readiness. Readiness is equal parts awareness, preparedness, and willingness. Prepping is great — I love it when people go to the grocery store and buy a little extra to put aside, or cut the trees back from their houses so they don’t have to worry about them falling on power lines. People should realize that they shouldn’t be content with just buying a month’s worth of food. They should constantly strive to be more ready by being a student for life, constantly testing themselves, and staying in shape. It’s not necessarily misleading, it’s just not the whole picture.

Why do you think survival or prepping often gets a bad rap as an extremist or paranoid movement?

Kevin Estela: I think it’s all left over from the ’90s. Let’s face it, this country has had some very high-profile “preppers” who’ve given us all a bad name. I met some of the people who I consider friends today in prepping circles. With the media, we tend to focus on the negative. We don’t look at the communities that are getting together to teach kids how to safely hunt, or notice when women get together and build support groups about how not to be a victim. I think prepping gets a bad rap because of the residual memories of some of the preppers we’ve had in this country, but it’s not that preppers are bad people. If anything, you’ll see more preppers and more communities looking to help each other than hurt each other. 

kevin estela

Above: Even as Director of Training, Estela enjoys traveling the country to teach.

Tell me about some of the censorship that Fieldcraft Survival has experienced.

Kevin Estela: We’ve had bank accounts shut off without warning — $70,000-plus frozen until further notice. We’ve seen on social media, when you search for various personalities we have at the company, their names don’t come up in the search function, even though they have the highest number of followers. You’d assume they’d be the first ones, but because of censorship, they’re pushed to the bottom. 

We’ve seen where we’ve put out information and that information has had banners go across it saying it’s been proven false by fact checkers, even though it’s a fact taken from a reliable source. We’ve seen this across the community, and it’s something we’re trying to combat by building our own app and moving to our own server, because we know that it’s not going away. We know that for at least the next four years, we’re going to continue seeing people come after groups like us because they assume we’re something that we’re not. 

Did you get any explanation as to why they’re censoring you? What set this off?

Kevin Estela: I don’t think we got any explanation for it, but I do know censorship is triggered if you have any connection to firearms, keywords like “knives,” or if you have a political stance that isn’t tied to either party but points toward freedom. It’s a shame that in this country, you have to worry about saying you’re proud of your country. 

Back in September, I posted a picture of my face in front of an American flag, and said I love this country. I said that my dad was from the Philippines, that my mother’s side is from Poland, and that if it weren’t for the flag behind me, my Filipino relatives would be speaking Japanese and my Polish relatives would be speaking German. I posted that and lost well over 100 followers because I was speaking about how proud I was of my country. I may not always trust my politicians on both sides, but I will always love this country. And that’s something I’ll say until the day I die. 

What do you think the collateral effects of this censorship movement are going to culminate in?

Kevin Estela: I think we’re going to see a lot of people who fall back on rhetoric without explanation. People use catchphrases to explain their dislike or hatred of people that are dissimilar to them, but they won’t be able to explain it beyond what I call bumper-sticker talk. I don’t think we should be looking at each other as enemies — we need to see that we have different opinions. Right now, when we express an opinion people are quick to cancel, shut off, and censor. Cancel culture is the trending term, but the real term should be “censorship culture.” I believe in the First Amendment, but we’re moving toward censorship and that’s really really dangerous. 

kevin estela snowmobile

Above: Estela on a recent scouting trip of the 2,500 acres of land Fieldcraft Survival utilizes in conjunction with Kifaru International.

Survival is an instinct that we as human beings have, yet so many people are afraid of learning more about it. What do you think can be done to educate the public about survival so it’s not continually stigmatized?

Kevin Estela: What’s really important is bringing up real-world examples. Right now, Texas is doing very well, but not too long before that, Texas was being hit by extreme snowstorms. There was a huge cattle die-off; people lost power and dealt with temperatures that their homes weren’t equipped to handle. You have to demonstrate that survival isn’t just what’s portrayed in pop culture. It’s not just Man vs. Wild or My Side of the Mountain. Survival is day-to-day. Little habits that make you stronger — I don’t see how those habits can be a bad thing. 

Teaching people to refill their gas tanks at the halfway mark instead of waiting for it to get to a quarter or eighth, that’s not bad information — it’s survival. It prevents you from having to live a hard life. Tying all the skills back to real-world examples, which we can find right here in this country or anywhere in the world, that’s what’s going to get people to want to learn more or explore. When they realize that feeling of self-reliance and have a true understanding of their capabilities, it’s intoxicating. If someone needs a knife, it’s a great feeling to know you can pull a knife out of your pocket to help them cut something. It feels good being useful, and it feels horrible when you’re expendable.

As individuals, what do you think the most likely survival situations are that people will face?

Kevin Estela: One of the likeliest survival situations someone might face is a broken-down car. We have AAA for a reason, but they’re only useful if you have cellphone service. It’s important to learn how to survive in and around your car, how you can keep it moving, and what you can pull from your car to extend your survivability. That’s something that, whether it’s 25 years from now or whenever we have flying cars, is going to be a real concern people need to address. 

Another thing I think people need to realize is that every year, survival scenarios happen when people get lost. As people explore the great outdoors, they’re going to continue to venture where they can’t find someone else. They’ll get lost, injured, and have to fall back on themselves to affect their own rescue. So, I think between vehicles and backcountry travel, those two are very realistic. 

The third most likely situation is some type of urban or suburban violence. You’d be a fool to think that all the protests we had last year were peaceful. Even people who supported the relevant political philosophies still had their businesses destroyed or were beaten in the streets, so I think it’s very important to learn the concepts of protection and what you need to do to stay safe. 

kevin estela

Above: At the heart of Estela’s passion for teaching wilderness survival skills is a genuine love for the outdoors and an active lifestyle in the mountains.

What sort of nationwide survival situations might we face in that same timeframe?

Kevin Estela: I think at some point we have to look at the threats to our infrastructure. There’s no doubt our digital infrastructure is very vulnerable. Individuals are getting hacked every day. Financial crises happen when personal information is compromised. It’s really important that everyone in this country does what they need to do to make sure their financial security is in check, because we have domestic and foreign actors who realize how vulnerable things are. Another concern we have to look at is if COVID were to mutate into something that’s resistant to our existing forms of prevention. The flu mutates from year to year and, up until last year, no one had really heard of COVID. I’m wondering if it’s going to develop another strain that is terrifyingly difficult to combat.

What aspects of survival do you think children should be made to learn in the K through 12 curriculum?

Kevin Estela: I wouldn’t censor any history. I believe you should make children smarter sooner, not keep them dumb longer. I don’t believe in hiding history. If a kid asks me a question, I’m going to tell them the answer, but that answer is going to be as nonpartisan and objective as possible. I’d also love to incorporate more training about what’s right and wrong — teaching how to be a good American, beyond what your basic high school civics course teaches, with a volunteer component where kids are required to do some type of community work. If kids do something in the community, they’ll respect it more. 

The most important thing I’d like to see is a mentoring program of more high school students helping junior high students, and the junior high students helping the elementary school students. This would be under supervision, of course, but I think we don’t have a shortage of resources. There are plenty of aspiring teachers who want to teach, but there aren’t any jobs for them. I think they can earn a spot, maybe make a little money on the side, and gain plenty of experience by helping the students they’re certified to teach. 

A lot of people think that survival training only applies to the outdoors. How do you make average people understand how it applies to an urban setting?

Kevin Estela: When it comes to medical training, everyone pictures trauma training as active-shooter training or blowout training where you’re dealing with gunshot wounds, stabbings, or violent acts like that. So, we make it a point to explain how a car accident could lead to something that requires the use of a tourniquet. We explain how physics work, and how steel can be turned into jagged edges very quickly, and we try to make it as realistic as possible by bringing up scenarios. You’re more likely to be in a car accident than a plane crash. I carry a tourniquet every single day. I carry multiple tourniquets in my vehicle, because there could be multiple passengers in that vehicle. We try to live the lifestyle we preach and that’s something we always say. What we’re showing people isn’t just a hobby, it’s how we live day-to-day. We challenge people to call us out if they catch us without this gear we say that we carry. 

kevin estela fishing

Above: A lifelong outdoorsman, Estela is an avid hunter and fisherman pictured here on the Kenai River in Alaska.

What do you think the survival community, in general, needs to do to convert skeptics into passionate advocates?

Kevin Estela: The survival community is really good at promoting how tough, strong, and secure they are, but I think they’re really bad about telling outsiders how weak they are or how wrong they are. There’s no doubt there are some who are ready and some who aren’t, but we shouldn’t use our capability as something to taunt people who aren’t like us. If anything, we should be elevating and teaching them. The survival community needs to educate and encourage newcomers. If I can get a brand-new person out in the woods or in the classroom and show them something memorable, I’m making a difference. We need to stop acting like we’re better than they are, because, if anything, that makes people think we’re crazy. That’s not how it should be. 

Have you ever been in a survival situation?

Kevin Estela: There were times I was lost as a teenager. I went on a camping trip and we lost clear sight of a mountain, so we had to find the trail in the morning. In 2016, I went to Alaska and was in the early stages of hypothermia because I was floating down the Sag River with one of my hunting buddies. I had to remedy that by boiling water and keeping the water inside a metal container next to my body. As someone who’s made a pretty good bubble to protect myself against these scenarios by thinking about them ahead of time, I’d say getting lost and getting really cold are the two that come to mind. Both were great learning opportunities. After I got lost, I learned to use a map and compass really well. After I got cold, I reexamined the clothing I wore when I was hunting. I’ve changed it to be warmer, better, and more evolved.

kevin estela shooting

Above: Estela continues to train in marksmanship with pistol, shotgun, carbine, and precision scoped rifle.

Do you think you’ll write another book?

Kevin Estela: Definitely. I already have five chapters written in the second book. My original publisher wanted me to do a cookbook, which I’m all for. I may eventually get to that, but I wanted to do an advanced survival skills book. I had to cut my first book by 20,000 words to fit within the publishing guidelines, so the next book will be an extension of the first. I’m going to cover topics like marksmanship, canoeing, winter travel and camping, field repair of equipment, and more of the survival skills people would want to learn after they do the basics. 

What do you think most survival instructors get wrong?

Kevin Estela: They put too much emphasis on gear. It’s very easy for instructors to stick their logos on everything, when there might be a better product already being made by a brand you’re not seeing a penny from. In the end, is it really the best gear for your students? Another thing — many will lead through hardship first, and have students waste their time and be frustrated before they achieve success. I’d rather see students achieve success and handicap themselves until they hit a failure point. Once they get to that point, I can coach them past it until they hit another. 

101 skills you need to survey in the woods

Above: Estela’s book, 101 Skills You Need to Survive in the Woods, is a bestseller and endorsed by many primitive skills practitioners and elite military personnel. 

What’s one piece of kit people should always have with them?

Kevin Estela: A knife. I’m Filipino [laughs], so I’d say that everyone needs to have a knife on them, preferably a fixed blade. I could teach a whole course on just using a knife. With a knife, you’re able to create so many products in the outdoors to affect your survival. I could make a bark bowl to collect water, I could start a friction fire, I can process materials to make cordage, and I could defend my life with just a knife. The knife is absolutely important — that’s a cultural thing, but it’s also based on experience.

What skills do you still want to learn?

Kevin Estela: More skills in terms of alternative mobility, like advanced horseback. I’m a scuba diver and would love to learn more advanced scuba skills. I’d love more medical training because you can never get enough certifications or experience. Amateur radio too, always expand there. All those skills fall back on that concept of combat effectiveness. The concepts of being able to shoot, move, communicate, resupply, or support — those are some of the key areas of interest now. I’ve always enjoyed marksmanship training. I’m just constantly trying to absorb what’s useful and apply it to what I teach. 

[Editor's Note: Photography by Fieldcraft Survival.]

Kevin Estela

kevin estela bio

Age: 41
Hometown: Bristol, Connecticut
Recommended reading list:

  • Out on the Land by Ray Mears
  • Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales
  • The Gift of Fear: And Other Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence by Gavin de Becker
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Martial arts background: Sayoc Kali Associate Instructor Level 6, Brazilian jiujitsu purple belt
Favorite drink: Coconut water
Favorite knife: Gossman Knives Polaris
Favorite quote: “Trust your training.”
URL: fieldcraftsurvival.com

More Survival Spotlights on OFFGRID

Survival Water Filter: Pure Hydration

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Water is one of the fundamental elements required for human life. If you’re completely cut off from any form of drinking water, you could die in as little as three days, depending on environmental factors and your level of physical exertion. However, a total absence of water usually isn’t the problem — it’s much more likely that you’ll be able to find a lake, pond, creek, or a puddle somewhere in the vicinity. Even if these natural water sources look clean, they can be teeming with dangerous bacteria (such as Cholera and E. coli) that would only be visible through a microscope. Even if they smell clean, they can contain dormant parasites (such as cryptosporidium and giardia) and viruses (such as hepatitis A and norovirus). Even if they’re not shallow or stagnant, they might be carrying the remnants of a rotting animal corpse or raw sewage from further upstream. Instead of rolling the dice and hoping you don’t end up puking your guts out in a few hours, you should always have a plan to purify water in the field such as a survival water filter.

Narrowing Down the Options

Boiling is a tried-and-true method of killing invisible pathogens in water, but it’s far from convenient. You’ll need to set up camp, start a fire, gather water in a heat-resistant vessel (assuming you have one), wait for it to reach a rolling boil, and wait some more for it to cool enough to drink. Chemical purifier tablets or droplets don’t require a heat source, but most need at least half an hour to take effect, and many leave an unpleasant aftertaste. You might also recall one of the numerous improvised water-purification techniques we’ve discussed in previous issues, such as a solar still. All of these are valuable techniques to know, but we wouldn’t rely on any of them as a primary means of purifying water. They also won’t help to strain out the unappealing muck and floaties that are swirling in your cup. 

As usual, humans have solved this problem by using our brains and opposable thumbs to craft tools. Portable water purifiers allow us to produce safe, drinkable water in seconds rather than minutes or hours, without using up our consumable resources. Inexpensive, compact straw-style devices such as the LifeStraw are good survival water filter for occasional use or emergencies, but they have some downsides. First, they’re powered by suction, so it’s tiring to gather more than a few gulps of water. Second — with a few exceptions such as the Sawyer Squeeze — they must be used on-site at a body of water, rather than offering a means of portable hydration. There’s a reason our ancestors started carrying water in animal hides, gourds, and other vessels thousands of years ago — it allowed us to venture further from the rivers and coastlines.

With all of this in mind, we rounded up three water purifiers that share some of our key criteria for backpacking, camping, or survival outdoors. Each of them uses pressure to rapidly push water through a survival water filter, instead of forcing the user to go blue in the face sucking gallons through a tiny straw. All three also feature ways to help you carry water on the move — either an integrated bottle, an output hose to fill your reservoir of choice, or both. These purifiers are small and light enough to easily fit into a backpack, and most importantly, they offer high-level protection against the most common waterborne pathogens: bacteria, protozoan cysts, and viruses. They’ll also filter out sediment, certain dissolved chemicals, and heavy metals, thereby improving the taste, odor, and clarity of even the grimiest water source you can track down.

Setting the Bar

How pure should water be before you can consider it safe to drink? Two major safety certification organizations, NSF International and ANSI, joined forces to create a standard called NSF/ANSI P231 that answers that question. Based on data from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report titled “Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers,” they concluded that at a minimum, water purifiers should remove 99.9999 percent of bacteria, 99.9 percent of protozoan cysts, and 99.99 percent of viruses from water.

Before you say this sounds like splitting hairs, let’s look at an example. Say you have a cup of water that contains exactly 1,000,000 illness-causing microbes. Basic math tells us that eliminating 99 percent of those microbes would leave 10,000 in the cup — more than enough to make you sick. A 99.9 percent reduction rating would remove all but 1,000, 99.99 percent would remove all but 100, and so on. No water purifier can promise 100-percent effectiveness, but each one of these decimal places offers extra assurance against serious illness.

Much like body armor and tourniquets, water purifiers can be considered life-saving emergency equipment. You don’t want to trust your life to something that will probably be good enough; you want something that has been proven to meet the highest standards. Choose carefully.

In the chart below, each • represents one decimal place after 99 percent.

BacteriaProtozoan CystsVirusesConclusion
NSF/ANSI
P231
Standard		•••••••
GRAYL•••••••Meets standard in all categories. Also meets newer NSF P42 and P53 standards.
LifeSaver•••••••••Meets standard for bacteria and viruses. Exceeds standard for protozoan cysts.
Survivor Filter•••*••••••May not meet standard* for bacteria. Exceeds standard in other categories.

*See Our Notes on the Survival Filter for more details.

GRAYL GeoPress

Dimensions: 3.4 by 10.4 inches
Weight: 1 pound
Lifespan: 250 liters / 350 refills per replaceable cartridge ($30 each)
MSRP: $90
URL: grayl.com

Grayl Geopress survival water filter

What Can It Do? 

We weren’t able to find a PDF of test results for the GeoPress on Grayl’s site (see update below). However, the company clearly states that it was “independently tested by a certified laboratory” and shown to remove 99.9999 percent of bacteria, 99.9 percent of protozoan cysts, and 99.99 percent of viruses. This claim meets the NSF/ANSI P231 standard.

Update 6/30/2021 – After the publication of this article, a Grayl representative reached out to us via email, and provided PDFs of independent test results from BCS Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida. These test results verified the claims mentioned above, confirming that the Grayl GeoPress meets NSF/ANSI P231 standards as well as the more recent NSF P42 and P53 standards. The latter two NSF standards involve reduction of substances with aesthetic effects (chlorine, particulate, etc.) and substances with health effects (Cryptosporidium, volatile organic compounds, etc.). In addition, the laboratory performed testing for removal of microplastics and exhaustion testing “to verify efficacy over the lifetime claims of the cartridge.” Based on our experience reviewing other purifiers, this is an extremely thorough suite of tests.

Best of all, we learned that Grayl sends samples from every production lot to BCS to confirm that its product quality remains consistent. The documentation states, “Over the past 5 years, Grayl has run microbiological (bacteria, virus, and protozoa cyst) removal testing on samples from every production lot (in total over 40 production lots with hundreds of samples tested).”

Although these documents are not currently available for public download on Grayl's site, the representative told us the company is “in the process of creating a landing page on [its] website to host testing data and lab-certified results.” We hope to see this in the future, as it will give every customer the same peace of mind we now have about the GeoPress.

How Does It Work?

Grayl Geopress1. Pull apart to separate outer sleeve from the purifier.

Grayl geopress2. Fill sleeve with dirty water to the indicated maximum line.

grayl geopress3. Loosen “Simplevent” spout cap by a half turn to allow air to escape. Then, press the purifier firmly into the sleeve, forcing water up through the purifier cartridge.

Notes:

Back in our “H2O Hygiene” buyer’s guide in Issue 15, we reviewed the predecessor to this purifier, the Grayl Ultralight, and awarded it our “Top Pick” above seven other competitors. The GeoPress is essentially a larger version of the same concept, but with a few notable improvements. Its capacity is now 24 fluid ounces, allowing the user to filter more water per press and travel further between refills. The styling is more appealing, with rubberized Topogrip accents and a variety of color combinations to choose from. But the most important upgrades are found on the cap. While it can be unscrewed and removed like the Ultralight, it also has a small pour spout with a second protective cap. This makes it more convenient to drink from, and greatly reduces the risk of cross-contamination while pressing on the purifier. There’s even a loop for carrying it or clipping it to gear. As much as we liked the Ultralight, the GeoPress outshines it in every way, as long as you can accept that it’s a tiny bit heavier (5 ounces, to be exact).

grayl Geopress survival water filter

Pros:

  • Wonderfully fast and convenient — just scoop, press down for 8 seconds, and drink
  • 24-ounce capacity makes this a good stand-alone bottle
  • This cap design is a huge improvement compared to the old Ultralight. It protects the spout from contamination and allows air to vent without exposing the clean water.

Cons:

  • Grayl repeatedly states that the GeoPress meets the NSF/ANSI P231 standard, and the listed reduction specs match this claim. However, we’d have a little more peace of mind if we could validate the reduction ratings by viewing the test results firsthand. (Update: See notes under “How Does It Work?” heading above.)
  • Relatively short cartridge lifespan leads to a higher long-term operating cost

LifeSaver Liberty

Dimensions: 3.2 by 10 inches
Weight: 1.2 pounds / 1.4 pounds with accessories
Lifespan: 2,000 liters / 5,000 refills per replaceable cartridge ($55 each)
MSRP: $140
URL: iconlifesaver.com

Lifesaver Liberty Survival Water filter

What Can It Do? 

Independently tested by BCS Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida. A summary of test results is available in PDF format on the manufacturer’s website. This purifier was shown to remove more than 99.9999 percent of bacteria, 99.999 percent of protozoan cysts, and more than 99.99 percent of viruses. These results exceed the NSF/ANSI P231 standard.

Update 7/6/2021 – After the publication of this article, a representative from Icon LifeSaver reached out to us to clarify some points regarding the the Liberty purifier. To summarize, the Liberty doesn't just meet the P231 log reduction requirements. It is tested using the exact NSF/ANSI P231 test protocol — this involves a specific sequence of procedures, including testing the filter continuously for ten days with contaminated tap water and worst-case-scenario water (altered pH and temperature, high levels of sediment, bacteria, and other realistic contaminants).

For those who want more details, we'll share the exact explanation we received from Lifesaver:

In short, there are some companies who claim to ‘meet' NSF P231/ANSI reduction standards, but they haven't actually passed the test itself and there is a very important difference. The full P231 test is very rigorous and involves testing products against two types of water over a number of days. The first is Type 1 water and is effectively ‘clean' tap water, which has been spiked with plastic ‘microbiological contaminant sized' surrogates. The second water type is Type 3 ‘challenged' water and it's full of organics, designed to replicate the ‘worst' case water you might come across in the actual outdoors.

It's also important to be aware of the subtle difference in the technologies used in the products you reviewed. The LifeSaver and the Survivor Pro filters both use hollow fibre membrane technology i.e a ‘physical barrier' or ‘occlusion' style filter. The Grayl products use Adsorptive technology, which involves a chemical reaction style filter. The difference is that occlusion filters maintain a constant degree of efficacy from their first litre to their final litre. Therefore, the claims made in testing reports are constant and reliable for the life of the product. Adsorptive technology on the other hand is at its most effective on its first use and its efficacy drops continually over time as it's used i.e. for every litre going through the product, the water produced is less and less safe. There is no way to know when adsorptive filters have become fully ineffective either. Whereas hollow fibre membranes will eventually block up and require replacing, so you have a visual indication of when you need to change filters. This is why we call our technology ‘fail safe'.

Finally, addressing the potential weakness of the water flow valve on the Liberty bottle which you mentioned in the review, I thought you might like to know that we stress test all of our batches of Libertys. These tests range from performing manual repeated drop tests from over 1m height, to using automated machines to work the moving parts repeatedly to check for durability issues. In the video, you'll see our test includes repeatedly using the water flow valve and the pump. This process has never broken the parts yet.

How Does It Work?

BOTTLE MODE

LifeSaver Liberty1. Unscrew base of purifier, and scoop dirty water into the reservoir.

LifeSaver Liberty2. Tightly screw on base, then twist bottom cap a half turn to unlock pump handle. Pump three times.

LifeSaver Liberty3. Unscrew top cap and rotate white flow valve 90 degrees to release pressurized water from nozzle. Continue pumping to maintain flow rate as needed.

PUMP MODE

LifeSaver LibertyAttach scavenger hose to inlet on bottom cap. Place float in dirty water source. Open lid and water flow valve, then pump continuously to maintain flow rate.

Notes:

Much like the Grayl GeoPress improved upon the Ultralight, the LifeSaver Liberty is an evolution of this UK-based company’s previous purifier, the original LifeSaver Bottle. We also reviewed that purifier back in Issue 15. The Liberty condenses LifeSaver’s ultra-filtration technology into a smaller package. The durable body is available in five different colors, each with black rubberized accents and clear windows to show the water level inside its 400-milliliter (13.5 fluid ounces) container. Twisting the top cap a half turn reveals an output nozzle surrounded by a sports-drink-style rubber bite protector. An optional hose can be connected here to pipe clean water into a bottle or bladder, or the entire purifier can be inverted and screwed onto a wide-mouth bottle. Our favorite feature is the scavenger hose attachment, which comes in a drawstring carry bag. Hooking it up converts this bottle into an in-line pump that can process 1.2 liters of clean water per minute. For quick fill-ups on the trail, it can be used in bottle mode, but pump mode is our first choice for use on longer treks or at a campsite.

LifeSaver Liberty survival water wilter

Pros:

  • Extremely versatile — can be used as a stand-alone bottle, threaded onto a wide-mouth Nalgene, or installed in-line on a CamelBak with the optional hydration tube adapter ($22)
  • Pressurized water stream is useful for washing hands or dishes
  • Bottle mode works well for individuals; pump mode is great for families and small groups

Cons:

  • Immersing the container to fill its reservoir immerses the output side of the purifier in dirty water. If the protective cap isn’t fully tightened, this could lead to cross-contamination of the purified water nozzle.
  • The white plastic flow valve lever is thin and seems like it might snap off easily. We would’ve preferred a larger, sturdier knob for this critical control. (Update: LifeSaver sent us an email that gave additional information on the flow valve, including video evidence of repetitive mechanical stress testing of this part. Although we still feel its shape and size could be more ergonomically-friendly, this reassures us about its durability.)

Survivor Filter Pro

Dimensions: 4.5 by 7.5 by 3 inches
Weight: 1.2 pounds
Lifespan: 100,000 liters for replaceable pre-filter and ultra-filter ($30 for both); 2,000 liters for replaceable carbon filter ($15 each)
MSRP: $70
URL: survivorfilter.com

Survivor Filter Pro Survival Water Filter

What Can It Do? 

Independently tested by Intertek in Columbus, Ohio, for bacteria and virus reduction; independently tested by BCS Laboratories in Gainesville, Florida, for protozoan cyst reduction. Both test results are available in PDF format on the manufacturer’s website. This purifier was shown to remove more than 99.999 percent of bacteria, more than 99.999 percent of protozoan cysts, and more than 99.999 percent of viruses.

How Does It Work?

Survivor Filter ProConnect inlet hose to lower nozzle, and place float in dirty water source. Remove clear plastic cap from unit and connect outlet hose to upper nozzle (marked “OUT”). Place end of outlet hose in the clear plastic cap, or a clean water reservoir of your choice, using the included clip to hold it in place if necessary. Pump handle to maintain flow rate.

Notes:

The most compact purifier of our trio, the Survivor Filter Pro exclusively functions as a pump device. It can’t carry water internally like the other two, but it does have a clear plastic cover that doubles as a cup in a pinch. Otherwise, just stick the outlet hose into your favorite bottle, canteen, or hydration bladder. Working the manual pump produces approximately 500 milliliters of clean water per minute. Much like straw filters, flow rate will gradually decrease over time as the filter becomes clogged. A backflush syringe is included to push clean water back through the survival water filter, which will restore original flow rate in less than a minute. For those who don’t want to lift a finger, an electric-powered Pro X version ($125) is also available and uses two AA batteries to produce the same flow rate with the press of a button.

Pros:

  • Packs away neatly into the included carrying case, and doesn’t occupy much space in your ruck
  • Low price and long-lasting, user-serviceable survival water filter make this a budget-friendly choice

Cons:

  • The results don’t conclusively prove that it meets the P231 standard for bacteria, since “more than 99.999%” is not necessarily the same as “99.9999% or more.” Despite this technicality, it seems very likely that it would pass.
  • Its flow rate is the slowest of any of the purifiers we tested — less than half that of the LifeSaver, and 1/10th that of the Grayl.
  • Packing recently used clean and dirty water hoses in the same carrying case could lead to cross-contamination. A larger plastic cover would’ve allowed the output hose to be stored safely inside.

More on Hydration Survival Gear and Strategy

Night Vision Goggles: Staring into the Darkness

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Night Vision evokes a sense of the near future, and as it becomes more and more available to those not in the military's special operations units, we are fortunate to live in a country that occasionally believes that its citizens should not be left in the dark. In OFFGRID 43 we looked at how a set of Night Vision tubes are judged for quality, and were discovered, at least on the inside, the technology can sometimes look like one part science, one part magic. But it's not just what's on the inside that counts. Two of the most popular models of night vision goggles, the RNVG and DTNVG are getting a specific look for what they bring to the table and where one might be chosen over the other.

night vision goggles

Night vision goggles can only be represented so well by film and video games, and apart from using them, it can be difficult to get a picture of what are the advantages and drawbacks of a dual tube system. The history of night vision is a tangled path of experimentation, but over the course of the Global War on Terror, the military's use and development of the equipment has illuminated their application, at least in a tactical environment. As more and more night vision ends up in the public's hands, new uses pop up.

Night Vision Goggles Terminology

The term Night Vision Goggles (NVG) has been used to identify a variety of types of night vision, from misused general reference, to AN/PVS-7's with a single objective lens, but two eyepieces, to what is accurately described as goggles: housing with two independent tubes. The term NVD (Night Vision Device) has held more wide-spread standing, along with NOD (Night Observation Device) have leaked into common use, and for the sake of this article, we are restraining the use of the term Night Vision Goggles to those with two independent pods, each with their own objective lense, “tube” or internals, and ocular lense.

night vision goggles rnvg opscore

Above: Opscore FAST SF Super High Cut Ballistic Helmet with Illumination and Strobe by S&S Precision. Wilcox mount and TNVC Ruggedized Night Vision Goggles.

Military men and women involved in night operations during the last 20 years of war have likely undergone various iterations of night vision development. From the clunky AN/PVS-7 (Army/Navy Portable Visual Search – 7) to the comparatively sleek monocular AN/PVS-14, to NVG's, and for a special few, the quad-tube GPNVG's. Within the military, a distinction was made between land-centric, and aviation-focused night vision devices, where a few generalities could distinguish the design intent between one and the other. Aviation NVG's were typically lighter, and more fragile, and prioritized optical clarity, while the mission set of those using ground-based night vision required something that could withstand a broad variety of adverse environments.

night vision goggles

Above: Photo by Samantha Lauraina

Outside of the military, however, this distinction loses purchase, partially because the availability of night vision is such a recent development for civilians. As a result, while some things are still behind a government/civilian partition, the buyer is opened up to an expanding plethora of options when it comes to night vision. From green or white phosphor tubes, to new options in lenses, to a growing list of different housings, each with its quirks and qualities.

Why Binos/Goggles?

Unlike video games, night vision devices affect what you can see more than washing it in one color scale. One of the first things noticed when wearing NODs for the first time is how it affects one's depth perception. Albeit oversimplified, in the daylight, both eyes and one's neurology work together to achieve stereopsis: a “solid vision” including an understanding of distance in reference to one's self. A monocle NOD, such as the AN/PVS-14 grants the user the ability to see in the dark, but their depth perception is fairly hampered. Although there is still some distortion, night vision goggles handle this phenomenon drastically better.

The field of view changes everything. Single tube night vision isn’t part of the conversation because of the total lack of situational awareness. Typical dual tubes have 40 degrees, where 4-tube night vision has  97 degrees. That means less tunnel vision. When you’re looking through night vision, if an object is even slightly outside of that field of view, you don’t see it at all. Adding that extra field of view increases both reaction time, and situational awareness. It gets really dangerous when do- ing things like breaching or skydiving, or riding a dirt bike under night vision. – GBRS Group from our interview with them in OFFGRID 43.

Components

In the article on evaluating Night Vision tubes, most of the focus was on the guts of the devices. FOM, or figure of merit considers the image intensifier, which for some reason have been colloquially referred to as “tubes.” So when we say “tube” we mean what's inside the tube, but when we say “pod” it's the actual cylinder holding the guts in place.

night vision riding

Above: Photo by Samantha Lauraina

Commercially, AN/PVS-14 lenses rule the market. As a result, most night vision goggle bodies/housings are designed to take AN/PVS-14 glass. Some military models stray from this, and are trickling down into the civilian world, such as the L3 Harris BNVD AN/PVS-31a with its fixed diopter.

A Tale of Two Housings

With nearly identical tubes and lenses, two different housings show what each brings to the table. The RNVG or Ruggedized Night Vision Goggle came from TNVC to take a look at what is likely the most rugged housing on the market. Ideal for doing unorthodox activities like trying to Offroad a motorcycle under NODs, where you hope to avoid testing the integrity of night vision goggles. The RNVG's are constructed out of 7075 aluminum by AB Night Vision, giving it considerable rigidity to protect the expensive tubes inside.

TNVC RNVG Night Vision goggles

Each of the pods effectively run on a track and the inter-pupillary adjustment of the RNVG's is accomplished by turning a knob at each end. Due to the shape, they do not stow as close to the helmet/forehead as the individually articulating pods on other housings. There are better candidates out there for “day noodles,” but nothing beats the RNVG for protection against bumps and falls: something anyone who has spent time under night vision is very familiar with. For those who do not personally have a fully-functioning supply chain to replace broken or tweaked equipment, the RNVG by TNVC deserves a second look.

Built into TNVC's RNVGs, a small Infrared light comes standard, and although the adjustments can make the NODs feel stiff, such is the tradeoff for its rigidity. The housing is heavier than other night vision goggle bodies, but we're talking about the weight of two CR123 batteries, so nothing extreme.

TNVC RNVG

RNVG

Built by TNVC

Optional Image Intensifiers: L3 Unfilmed White, L3 Thin Filmed Green
Weight: 570 grams, 20.1 ounces
Battery: CR123, or External Battery Pack
MSRP with L3 Unfilmed (White): $8,700
URL: tnvc.com

At the time of writing, Night Vision Incorporated still has DTNVG housings by ACTinBlack in stock. While they have been mostly replaced by the DTNVS housings by the same manufacturer, the genetic code remains consistent between the two generations. With individually articulating pods, the wearer can choose baetween left-eye, right-eye, or both with quick, easy adjustments. When transitioning from the dark outside to a lit room, a quick push of the pods moves them out of the way, where they automatically shut off to protect the internals.

Night Vision Incorporated DTNVG

DTNVGs represent a well-rounded housing, with more than adequately rugged fiber reinforced polycarbonate body, reasonable water resistance, and very straightforward manipulation. With L3 White Phosphor tubes at their core, they hold up well against all but the most aggressive builds, which typically demand a considerably higher pricetag. Some drawbacks, such as the lack of a port for an external battery pack, are partially solved by things like the ACTinBlack DICC. So, no high-altitude skydiving immediately out of the box, at least not where you'd need a cold-weather pack.

Multicam Black DTNVG

Above: The Multicam Black pattern is not original to the DTNVGs, but instead is a Nocorium Wrap sold by Steele Industries.

DTNVGs are on the heavier side for night vision goggles, but once again, we are dealing in grams and fractions of ounces for the most part. Night Vision Incorporated also offers to build DTNVGs with Ether Eyepieces, which drop the overall weight of the unit by 40 grams. When a premium set of BNVDs comes in at <450 grams, the difference isn't vast, making DTNVGs a general-use set of night vision goggles.

ACTinBlack DTNVG backplate

ACTinBlack DTNVG

Built by Night Vision Incorporated

Optional Image Intensifiers: L3 Harris 24 UA Gen3 Unfilmed White, Photonis 4G Hybrid White
Weight: 528 grams, 18.6 ounces
Battery: CR123
MSRP with L3 Unfilmed: $11,500
URL: nvincorporated.com

Closing Considerations on Night Vision Goggles

While the AN/PVS-14 may be referred to as the new Glock Gen 3 of night vision, as the “everyman's NODs,” night vision goggles will continue to proceed as the world standard for above-recreational equipment. The cost of entry for night vision definitely requires some time, consideration, and planning for most civilian buyers, and it doesn't stop at what you're looking through. Along with NVGs, one will have to consider helmet, mount, and if there's a weapon involved, IR laser/illuminator.

Still, for the long-term, night vision goggles are the staple for all but top tier special operations units. Maybe a breakthrough will occur that will force us to eat our words on the matter of NVG cost of entry, but if that comes to pass, we certainly won't be complaining.

More on Night Vision

Slam Fire Shotgun DIY: Building Joe Biden’s Blaster

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Last year, we built a 410-gauge shotgun from a kit and a lot of pipe fittings for our sister magazine RECOIL OFFGRID. One thing about building that particular piece was that even the parts kit that was provided by Pop-A-410 could easily be sourced at a home improvement store. So this time, we set about building one relying purely on Home Depot’s inventory to build a Slam Fire Shotgun.

Disclaimer:

It’s legal for you to build your own firearms. Convicted felons or other prohibited persons, however, cannot. There may also be other applicable laws where you live, so double-check the regulations in your jurisdiction. The following article is for educational and entertainment purposes only. CMG West, its parent entities, and subsidiaries shall be held harmless in the event any entity acts on information provided in this article.

Some people who consider the firearm lifestyle a mere hobby couldn’t get over themselves decrying how dangerous and irresponsible these types of builds are for a shooter. There are inherent risks at every turn when it comes to firearms, and like anything with a modicum of danger, they’re unforgiving of human error.

slam ffire shotgun DIY

Above: Construction is simple, using four pieces of pipe, two pipe caps, two tees, two set screws and some scrap pieces of steel. The only element of complexity is in lining up the welds properly to ensure consistent ignition.

With that in mind, we set out to build a slam fire shotgun in 12-gauge.

BUILDING the SLAM FIRE SHOTGUN

It’s legal for gun owners to build their own firearms, so long as they can legally own and possess what they’re building — convicted felons or other prohibited persons cannot. There may be additional restrictions where you live, so be sure to double check.

Schedule 40 black iron pipe is sold in a number of sizes. For 12-gauge slam fire shotgun, you’ll need ¾- and 1-inch diameter pipes, plus a 1-inch cap to thread on the end of the 1-inch pipe that’ll act as your receiver.

It gets tricky here, as not all pipes are created equal, and the sizes aren’t close to being uniform. The reason for this is that plumbing isn’t a modern invention, and most standards are really just guidelines. Furthermore, pipe threads will certainly not be concentric to the bore.

When selecting a ¾-inch pipe, try to bring a few different types of shotgun shells with you to see if they’ll fit. Some will, but most won’t. If you check several pipes on the same shelf, you’ll often find inside diameter variances between all of them. Ideally, the front of the rim should sit flush, and the shell itself should have very little, if any, play at all.

slam fire shotgun

The next step is to check that the ¾-inch pipe will fit inside the 1-inch pipe. If it drops in with a tight fit, even better. Most likely, you’ll need to hog out the inside with a sanding bit. Ideally, you want enough clearance and fit so that the ¾-inch pipe freely moves back and forth through the 1-inch pipe.

Ensure that the cap easily threads down on the 1-inch pipe. A proper seal is critical for this next step. This was our stumbling block, so we turned to good friends Tyler Norona and Jarrett Bushey at Illumined Arms to cut and rethread the pipe ends. 

Back at the shop, drill and tap the center of the cap to install the firing pin. Centering will be the hardest part, because you’ll find that even the cap is woefully out of spec when compared to most gun parts. You can mark the primer of your shotgun shell, load it in the ¾-inch pipe, and see where the marking agent hits the inside of the cap. This is where you need to drill and will become your breech face.

Once you have a hole all the way through, you can start your tap from the outside. Go slow and use cutting oil; back out every so often to keep it clean. We used an 8-40 tap because that was the size of the set screws we had on hand.

slam fire shotgun

Above: She may not be pretty, but the JBB-12 is effective and can be either a fun “I made this” project, or a weapon of last resort when it’s the only thing you can lay hands on.

Thread the set screw into the threads you created. You just need the tip to barely protrude. Too deep and you run the risk of piercing a primer. Once the tip of the firing pin is set, hit it for about 15 seconds with a butane torch to harden it.

Lastly, we attached a ¾-inch tee to the threaded end of the ¾-inch pipe, making a forend grip to more easily slam-fire the gun.

These five parts comprise a basic slam-fire gun. Aside from preparing the cap, the only real tools you need are a pipe wrench to ensure everything is snug, tools for cutting the pipe, and a file or Dremel to size the insides if needed. 

We christened our creation the JBB-12.

INSPIRATION for the SLAM FIRE SHOTGUN

Former Vice President Joe Biden once remarked that all anyone needs for self-defense is a shotgun:

“I said, ‘Jill, if there’s ever a problem, just walk out on the balcony here, walk out and put that double-barrel shotgun and fire two blasts outside the house,’” Biden said. 

“You don’t need an AR-15 — it’s harder to aim,” he added, “it’s harder to use, and in fact you don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!”

slam fire shotgun

Above: You can make the frond easier to rack by wrapping the pipe sections in burlap (as shown), parachute cord, wire, or rubber from a bicycle inner tube.

We decided to build this firearm just like he advised.

It’s a bit more of a challenging build as you need to connect the two outer pipes and ensure that the barrels can move back and forth. This means welding. Once we spaced the chambered receivers, we did the same with the barrels, using ¾-inch pipe tees to add a foregrip made of shorter pieces of pipe. Fitting the pipes was tough, and we used a liberal amount of Lucas Oil Gun Grease to keep the action smooth. As it was a bit heavy and cumbersome, we mounted a piece of pipe to act as a pistol grip.

This was intended to mostly be fired from the hip. You could add a stock, but firing two 12-gauges simultaneously, inches away from your face, didn’t seem like a good idea.

FIRING THE JBB-12

To fire the JBB-12, you load the chambers, take hold of the forward grip, aim, and slam the barrels rearward. The impact of the firing pins against the primers of the shells causes ignition and fires the projectile.

You also might want to say a Hail Mary that you don’t blow yourself up in the process.

Our first try was experimental to lessen the chances of grave injury or death. We emptied the shot out of a pair of mini shells about 1.75 inches long. Only one barrel successfully discharged, so we tightened down the set screw on the faulty chamber and slammed it again. It went bang. Next, we moved up to live ammo, again in the form of mini shells, then eventually a few 2¾-inch loads from bird shot to #4 buck shot. Both barrels fired simultaneously 90 percent of the time. You can somewhat-intentionally fire a single barrel instead of two by altering your angle when you slam.

slam fire shotgun parts

Above: The JBB-12 breaks down into two components for ease in transportation, with each section measuring 20 inches and 14 inches, respectively.

We had built a fully functional double-barrel, slam-fire gun and have to admit the recoil was much milder than anticipated, due to the weight of the piece and the thickness of the pipe. It was much quieter than a typical double-barrel, but hip firing may have played a role there.

NFA

The slam fire shotgun barrels measured 19.5 inches, and the overall length was 20 inches. While the barrel length was certainly legal if you were building a shotgun, the overall length was below 26 inches. Had we placed a stock on the JBB-12 or added an extra 6 inches to the barrels, this would be a typical Title 1 firearm. However, there was no need for a stock on this project. In this case, the end result was to register it as an AOW (Any Other Weapon).

slam fire shotgun

Above: Two shots are better than one sometimes, but make sure your shells will fit in the chambers as you build.

This is a catch-all classification for firearms that don’t have a traditional design, such as pen guns, glove guns, and so forth. If your pipe gun is extremely simple, with no grips, stocks, or triggers, looking like one piece of pipe inside another with a cap, that’ll be an AOW. The classification is also applied to firearms with one rifled and one smoothbore barrel under the 18- or 26-inch minimum requirements, like the old Marble’s Game Getter. Likewise, if you have a smoothbore firearm that has never had a stock installed and doesn’t meet both length requirements, an AOW tax stamp is the order of the day.

It costs $200 to build an AOW, just like any other NFA item on a Form 1. However, the transfer tax is only $5, so there’s a benefit when you transfer it to another entity.

ALTERNATIVES AND LOOSE ROUNDS

The slam fire shotgun was yet another fun project. It was definitely less expensive than building the slam-fire 410-gauge, and you can walk away with the satisfaction that you built a firearm on your own. Moreover, putting it together may give you a better sense of how firearms work.

This is a gun for a time we hope never comes — when your own guns are confiscated or destroyed, and you have no chance of buying another one. Had we built a single-shot version, our cost would’ve been about $45. This one came in at about $95.

If you just want a sterile firearm, there are plenty out there in the form of shotguns and rimfire rifles built prior to 1968 that have no serial numbers. They can be had for not much more than what was invested in this project. 

slam fire shotgun cover

Above: A homemade shotgun is one of the few firearms you can build without using any actual gun parts; the JBB-12 is a volley fire 12-gauge AOW (Any Other Weapon).

Look for names like Hopkins & Allen, New England Firearms, Harrington & Richardson, Iver Johnson, Savage/Stevens, Sears, Western Auto, and the like. You’ll end up with something safe and definitely a more accurate shooter.

The home-built slam fire shotgun is more of a tool to help you understand how a firearm works in most simplistic terms, providing a basic blueprint for building something like this when you have no other choice. Beyond the fun factor, this is a firearm of last resort. 

It may also be your only alternative should a certain political party get their way in all branches of government and decide to shred the um, uh, you know the thing. 

More DIY from RECOIL

A Chest Rig for Every Occasion

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It's important for those in the line of duty, and those in charge of gear acquisition, to remember that the mission drives gear. Before this principle can be followed, the objective itself must be clearly defined and established. For those not in such positions, it can be tempting to spend time and money on gear, hoping that the possession of such equipment will inspire or create opportunities to use it. Whether for situations of civil unrest or scouting for feral hogs: where ammo and other gear might be carried, where mobility and stealth are higher priorities, a chest rig might be the right answer.

We've talked before about some of the history of load-bearing equipment such as a bullet proof vest, and even as gear development goes through phases and cycles centered around the current situation, we are reminded the real world is very different than the “current meta” in a video game. We're often sent looking for the best piece of gear only to be reminded that there are objective and subjective elements in play. A plate carrier is objectively better at stopping a bullet than a chest rig, but in relation to most scouting operations, ends up being a possible mission-crippling burden.

“You will be weighed down with body armor, rations, extra ammumition, communications gear, and a thousand other things. The enemy will carry a rifle, or RPG, a shemagh, and a water bottle, if he is lucky.”
– Kilcullen, David Counterinsergency. Narrated by Peter Ganim. Audible, 2011. Audiobook. (1:17:00)

One of the greatest advantages of a chest rig is its scalability. Even before the placard system was popularized on plate carriers, a chest rig could easily be worn over body armor. A product of modern warfare, where battles are fought more in skirmishes, than grand assaults, in streets, not trenches, the lightweight and easy-to-produce piece of kit has evolved to fit the needs of the operator, the hunter, and the terrorist.

S&S Precision Chest Rig Modular

Above: The S&S Precision Chest Rig-Modular represents an example of using modern manufacturing and materials to create a uniquely advanced piece of kit with one of the best fit and most space for attaching mission-essential equipment.

History and Origins

Two historical elements influenced and inspired the development of the chest rig, all such taking place in the latter half of the 20th century. As industrialized militaries adjusted their gear and tactics, the chest rig came about through the proliferation of AK-47 pattern rifles, the integration of contemporary vehicles, and specialized small-unit tactics. While the Rhodesians are often credited with creating the chest rig during their Bush War, it was the Chinese Communists that first fielded them during the Viet Nam conflict. The size and curvature of AK-47 style magazines denied the use of belt-mounted carrying systems.

Another key integration came about when cars, trucks, and tanks appeared on the scene. The U.S. Army's ALICE system worked well to reduce the weight an individual soldier would carry, but what worked in the field didn't always work in the passenger seat. This is where the Rhodesian Bush War comes in, as the Selous Scouts and similar forces popularized the chest rig as it facilitated reloading a rifle in the confines of a vehicle. Since then, the influence can be seen in the way plate carriers developed, adapting to both mounted patrols and dismounted special operations simultaneously. To date, the U.S. Military continues to in field chest rigs, especially in reconnaissance-related activities.

Chest Rig Types

Now it wouldn't be fair to lump all chest rigs together and simply grade them on quality. Three distinct types stand out, each emerging to address different problems. Even as they are divided between light, medium, and heavy chest, each addresses a different scenario altogether.

Light/Minimalist Chest Rig

Recently represented by the Spiritus Systems Bank Robber and the Unobtanium Gear Dank Robber, the lightweight category is built for the covert nature of many modern conflicts. Able to be concealed under a jacket or hoodie, they fit the clandestine nature of counter-insurgency, as well as bank robberies. Minimalist chest rigs are typically designed to meet a specific goal, and so are not as configurable to different scenarios. In exchange, they are simple, and in some cases, disposable.

dank robber chest rig

In our review of the Dank Robber chest rig by Unobtanium Gear, we highlighted that the simplicity of the gear was it's strongest point. Although it had the ability to carry up to three rifle and three pistol mags, as well as a small radio and smoke grenade or first aid kit, it worked very well carrying less.

eberlestock EDC Pack cover

For those not currently engaged in guerilla-warfare, these light chest rigs vary in design, such as the INVRT bandoleer featured in this EDC Bag Dump of the Eberlestock Cherry Bomb. A set-it-and-forget-it piece of equipment, that if carried, should come out to the range with you from time to time, minimalist chest rigs fit well in tight spaces and get-home bags. A well-worn and adapted chest rig of this type is suited for providing neighborhood security during times of civil unrest, as it can easily go unnoticed.

Minimalist Chest Rig Reviews

Mid-Weight/Recce Chest Rigs

These approach two very separate, but related scenarios: military ranging, and stalking elusive game. In both situations, there is a time to move quickly over adverse terrain, and another to move with precision, while still carrying an array of mission-specific tools. Where the hunter may drop his pack and set up camp, those ranging deep behind enemy lines will set up a patrol base when approaching a specific target.

redwire gear Emr

Above: The Redline Gear Emergency Management Rack with attached Demo Pouch represents a mid-size chest rig that could attach to a plate carrier.

The mid-weight chest rig will carry the mission essential gear, from demolitions, to binoculars. It can be thought of as a chest rig meant to carry tools in addition to the baseline of ammunition, medical, and signalling. Some come in one piece, pre-built but adaptable such as the Haley Strategic D3CRM and D3CRX, and others must be built, such as the S&S Precision Chest Rig-Modular.

Haley Strategic D3

Above: On this Haley Strategic D3CRX: 4 Rifle Mags, 2 Pistol Mags, a Skallywag Dagger, and a Surefire Flashlight. The large flanking pouches are perfect for a smoke canister or medical gear.

Sometimes these rigs are capable of accepting armor plates via a sleeve or other system. The adaptation of many plate carriers have turned many mid-weight chest rigs into placards to simplify and remain consistent across practice. That way, the chest rig that rides around in the trunk can be scaled up to an armored situation when the driver gets home, or when moving from patrol base to patrol base, the team can download their armor in order to prioritize speed and stealth.

Haley Strategic D3CRX on a esstac plate carrier

Above: The Haley Strategic D3CRX can be quickly attached to a plate carrier equipped with the right clips, such as this Esstac Daeodon Plate Carrier.

When hunting, these will still ride underneath a pack, allowing for navigation tools, and snacks to be stored in a centralized location on the body. If signs of their quarry were to be suddenly found, they could quickly drop their pack and move on their prey.

Heavy/Expedition Level Chest Rig

The final catagory of chest rig is the most uncommon, in that it's only preferred in either very specific instances, or has been replaced, in many ways, by the Plate Carrier. In contrast, however, it harkens back to a time not too long ago, when larger, long-term operations would take forces far from supply lines. As a result, however, these are more often found in recreational scenarios now.

barrel and hatchet ghost chest rig

Above: The Barrel and Hatchet Ghost Chest Rig fulfills the role of a long-term operation sustainment gear, capable of carrying water, food, and necessary equipment for both surviving and seeing the mission completed. 

The end-all-bring-all of Chest Rigs, water, food, and other sustainment resources can be carried on these larger, more expansive load-bearing rigs. Most likely to be modular, these can be thrown over a plate carrier if need be, but it distinguishes itself from the mid-weight category via application. Where a mid-weight might be used for a 3-10 day operation, an expedition class rig is for those expecting multiple consecutive weeks away from a base, who can be resupplied in the field.

Closing Considerations

It can be easy to fall into the trap of seeing a chest rig as merely a load-bearing system that doesn't accept armor plates, but that would be viewing it as something it's not trying to be. Even though it's a champaign problem for many, gear selection, and the integration of a chest rig into an ecosystem of surveillance or defense depends on what that piece of gear is trying to accomplish. As stated earlier, it can be easy to put the cart far before the horse when buying a chest rig. A slick, low-profile rig does a spy make.

Civilian applications are fundamentally rooted in individual responsibility. Whether pursuing game over adventuresome terrain or establishing the perimeter in a civil unrest scenario, the chest rig is one solution among many, but also one with a decisive history. That being the case, when looking for a mobile and compact package to carry specified equipment, or add a layer of scalability to an EDC Survival Loadout, this is the way.

MORE ON CHEST RIGS, BODY ARMOR, AND TACTICAL GEAR

Dehydrating Food: A Survivalist’s Guide

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From a medical standpoint, dehydration is never your friend, but when it comes to nutrition, dehydrating food can extend life instead of ending it. Long before the age of refrigeration and freezers, our ancestors figured out that if you remove moisture from food, it’ll last longer. This has been observed all over the world, from seeds and fruits to meat and fish, proving this an effective method. As a prepared citizen, you should already be familiarizing yourself with growing, hunting, and gathering some of your own food. 

Previous articles on OFFGRIDweb have covered ways to grow your own food, and some on ways to preserve it, such as canning, pickling, and, of course, freezing. In many states, hunting seasons change throughout the year, allowing you to harvest different types of game, most of which can be stored for future use through the dehydration process. Even if you’re not a hunter, finding a good sale at the grocery store allows you to bulk buy and store the excess somewhere other than the freezer. Having a variety of foods on hand, particularly ones that are stored without the need for constant electricity, is a major advantage during any emergency. 

Necessary Equipment

Maximizing these bounties will require some tools to make the process easier — and more importantly, safer — than what our ancestors could manage. The most obvious prerequisite will be a dehydrator. A purpose-built dehydrator is relatively inexpensive (some can be had for $40) and makes it much easier to control the proper temperature for various types of foods. Entry-level dehydrators usually come with a few trays that can stack on top of each other, allowing the warm air to circulate around the food. This allows the food to dry at a constant rate for uniformity. Larger and more expensive dehydrating food tools will look like miniature ovens, and have built-in timers and more precise temperature control. 

You can use your kitchen oven for dehydrating food, but the process is much less efficient than a dedicated piece of equipment. Most kitchen ovens can’t produce a low enough temperature for herbs or fruits and vegetables. Really you can only use a kitchen oven for meats, so long as it can be set to about 165 to 175 degrees F. 

Fruits

Once the dehydrator is acquired, getting started is straightforward for most food items.

dehydrating food oranges

Above: Dehydrated oranges, bananas, and strawberries ready for eating or storage.

Here we’ll start with fruit — a survivalist’s friend for vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and, of course, sugar. One of the most popular garden staples is the tomato, and yes, it’s a fruit, not a vegetable. You may have seen our previous web-exclusive article on making your own DIY tomato powder back in March 2018. There we outline how to make your own dehydrated tomato powder and the various uses, like instant tomato paste. The paste can then be transformed into pizza sauce, because everyone loves pizza, especially when times are tough. 

dehydrating food fruit

Similar to the tomato, dehydrating food like apples, pears, and peaches requires you to pick the best fruit available and give it a good wash. Slice the fruits uniformly in ¼- to ½-inch-thick sections, removing the cores/pits and place them on the drying racks of your dehydrator. Set it to 135 degrees F and forget it — let the machine do its job and check on the fruits in a few hours. They should be dried and shriveled or dehydrated to your liking. The less moisture, the longer these will last. If fruits feel stiff and brittle, they’ve been thoroughly dehydrated; if they bend, they may need more time. Citrus fruits, bananas, and berries are similar in that you want them to be as uniform as possible, cleaned, and in the best condition. 

Fruit Leather

Fruit leather, commonly known as fruit rolls, can be a crowd pleaser, especially for younger members of the family. These are simply made from fruit puree and can be crafted from some of the less desirable fruits that are bruised, slightly past their prime, or irregularly shaped. Many find that using blueberries for fruit leather is better than dehydrating individual berries. Combining fruits that have more pectin (like apples) with fruits that have more juice (like citrus) can create great flavors and still have the desired consistency. 

Start by washing the fruits and cutting away any bruised areas. Combine the pieces into a blender and puree until smooth — it may be necessary to add water or juice, but do so sparingly. Be sure to taste the mixture before moving on to the drying portion. Purees that are too tart can be augmented using honey, but avoid using granulated sugar if possible. Once the puree tastes the way you want, coat your drying tray lightly with vegetable oil to prevent sticking, then pour on your mixture. Drying the leather is similar to drying most other fruits. 

dehydrating food tomatoes

Above: Dehydrated tomatoes can be pulverized into powder, and later reconstituted with water.

Vegetables

Vegetables aren’t as forgiving as fruit when it comes to dehydration. Special care needs to take place in order to maximize the effectiveness of the process. Many vegetables will require the extra step of blanching. Blanching is similar to steaming; this is a process to break down (soften) the cell wall of the vegetable, which will allow moisture to escape more easily during the dehydration process. See the sidebar for the blanching process. 

DIY Soupbase

Above: Blanching is an extra step needed for some vegetables to dehydrate properly.

Vegetables that should be blanched include artichoke, asparagus, green beans, carrots, celery, corn, eggplant, peas, and potatoes — this isn’t an all-inclusive list, but more of a guideline. Beets, onions, garlic, peppers, and mushrooms (we know this isn’t a vegetable, but the process is close enough) are some of the vegetables that don’t require blanching. 

Blanching

  1. Prepare the vegetables by washing, removing any bruised portions, and cutting to desired size.
  2. Have a large bowl of ice water available, a slotted spoon, and a drying area.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
  4. Place the vegetables into the boiling water for about 30
    seconds, or until tender.
  5. Remove the vegetables and immediately submerge them into the ice water to stop the cooking process.
  6. Once the vegetables are cooled, remove them from the water and place them on the drying area. You can pat them dry before moving them to the dehydrator.

Delicate greens such as lettuce and arugula don’t take well to dehydrating, but others such as kale, spinach, and chard are heartier and dehydrate well. Making kale chips from a harvest is a great way to get fiber into your diet. These don’t require blanching. 

Aside from blanching, the process is similar to fruit. Place the uniform pieces onto the drying tray, set it to 135 degrees F and forget it for at least six to 12 hours. You can check that the vegetables are fully dried by trying to snap a piece between your fingers — if it bends, leave it in longer. 

dehydrating vegetables

Above: Blanching is an extra step needed for some vegetables to dehydrate properly.

Many of the vegetables can be ground into a powder, such as tomatoes. Peppers, particularly hot ones, are excellent in powdered form, and can be used as a flavoring agent by themselves or mixed with salt and other dry seasonings to bring a dish to flavor town. 

Herbs & Flowers

Having a fully stocked spice cabinet can help break the food monotony often found during trying times. Therefore, you should have several pounds of salt in storage, but also plenty of different herbs. The process of dehydrating herbs depends on the size of the leaf. Broad-leafed herbs such as basil and sage require you to split the leaf down the middle, along the stem. This allows air to penetrate the leaf more easily and makes drying time quicker. Small-leaf herbs such as thyme and rosemary can be dried directly on the stem. This will prevent the leaves from flying around in the dehydrator with the air current. Once dry, the leaves will come off the stems easily. As with all the other methods, wash the herbs prior to dehydrating them. 

dehydrating herbs

Broad-leaf herbs may require up to 24 hours to dry while others may be finished in three to four hours. It’s important to check these periodically. If the leaves or stems bend, they aren’t ready. If they snap or crack, they should be good to go. Herbs require the lowest temperature setting of the dehydrator, or roughly 95 degrees F, and should be dried by themselves, separate from fruits and vegetables. Drying herbs concentrates their flavor and potency, so bear this in mind when using them to cook. You may need less than you think. 

dehydrating food spices

Above: Herbs can be dried, making for a longer-lasting and more flavorful addition to your meals.

Another method to dry herbs is to suspend them in bunches in a cool dark place, like a basement or pantry. Use a rubber band to keep the bunches together as they dry. Dry time will vary based on the environment and the size of the herb. Areas with high humidity may face mold issues, so be aware of that. 

Meats

Preserving meats through drying is an ancient art. Archeologists have found dried meats in Egyptian tombs dating back to 3200 B.C. — probably a little past the “best by” date. The modern equivalent is the ever-popular gas station snack: jerky. Jerky can be made from practically any meat — beef, pork, chicken, turkey, wild birds, and some fish all produce a good product. The process for dehydrating meats is similar to vegetables and fruits, however the temperature is set much higher at 160 degrees F. 

dehydrating food dove

Above: Each piece of dove jerky is one dove breast, making perfect two-bite morsels.

Using your preferred cut of meat, begin by slicing it into uniform pieces and removing as much fat as possible, since fatty meat will spoil in storage much quicker. Cut across the grain to make the jerky easier to break apart and chew when finished. Try to keep slices about ¼- to 3/8-inch thick. You can use a simple spice rub if desired or marinate the meat. Check this recipe for Dove Jerky from RECOILweb.com that can be used for other meats as well.

Dove Jerky

  • Dove breasts (the more the better)
  • ¾ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup Dr. Pepper
  • 1½ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder

Special equipment: food dehydrator

Mix all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Add the breasts and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Pat them dry before placing them on your dehydrator. Set the dehydrator to 160 degrees F and allow several hours for dehydration. Dove jerky can be stored in plastic bags or Tupperware for several weeks.

See recoilweb.com for more Dove Recipies.

Jerky guns are another method to make jerky. This takes ground meats and lays them onto the dehydrator trays for a precise size and consistency. Choose ground meats that are low in fat, or about 85- to 90-percent lean. This is a great way to use game birds like dove that are low in fat and combine them with fattier meats like beef. Venison, bison, and turkey are also excellent choices for the jerky gun application. This method’s product is easier to chew than the sliced variety. It can also be less expensive if you’re using store-bought meats. 

Dehydrating meat is a great way to extend the shelf life and produce a tasty snack. One slight downside is that it’s difficult to incorporate jerky into other foods. It’s mostly a stand-alone food instead of a recipe additive, but if the situation is dire, no one will complain about jerky as a protein source. It’s also important to note that meats such as pork, chicken, or turkey should be precooked and processed to limit the chances of salmonella. Some even recommend putting the finished jerky in the oven at 165 degrees F for 30 minutes just to be on the safe side. 

Dehydrating Food: Using Your Bounty

The fruits you dehydrate can be eaten by themselves as a quick snack — our favorite is dehydrated apples sprinkled with cinnamon — but they really lend themselves well to incorporation into other meals. Many prepared individuals keep oats in their preps; adding your dehydrated fruits to oatmeal will give more flavor and nutrients to otherwise bland food. Dehydrated fruits can be rehydrated and cooked into pie fillings or added to bread and muffins (like bananas). You’re only limited by your imagination. 

dehydrating food butcher block

Above: Dehydrated soup greens create an easily prepared meal for the field and weigh next to nothing.

Dehydrated vegetables are excellent additions to soups and stews, either at home or in the field. You also get the fiber and nutrient bonus that many prepackaged or canned foods lack. Beyond soups, these vegetables can be added to casseroles, sauces, and even bread. See the sidebar for our DIY Dehydrated Soup Base recipe, as previously featured on OFFGRIDweb.com. 

DIY Dehydrated Soup Base

  • 1¾ cup water
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube (or your desired flavor)
  • 1 cup soup mix (adjust amounts to what’s available or preferred tastes)
  • Dehydrated onion
  • Dehydrated carrot
  • Dehydrated bell pepper
  • Dehydrated kale and chard mix
  • Dehydrated tomato powder
  • Pinch of pepper
  • Pinch of garlic powder

Begin to heat water and add bouillon. As water heats, add soup mix and garlic powder. Boil for 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let steep for another five to 10 minutes. Stir and add pepper (and/or other spices) to taste and enjoy. This recipe can be prepared beforehand by adding all ingredients to a plastic bag for easy transport — just pour into a cup and add hot water.

For a thorough step-by-step guide to making dry soup base, see this Dehydrated Soup Base Guide on OFFGRIDweb.

Using herbs is pretty straightforward. Apply them to make food taste better. Keeping salt, pepper, and popular condiments in your stockpile can help make the difference between choking something down or feeling satiated and content. Combining herbs to make blends is a smart move for tailoring food to your specific taste. 

Turning meat into jerky is a satisfying endeavor and enjoying the protein-packed fruit of your labor is worth the time spent. Homemade jerky will help keep you away from excessive sodium and preservatives found in the expensive store-bought varieties, and it lets you exercise your own judgment in the flavor. Jerky is a great on-the-go snack that has a place in anyone’s bugout bag. 

dehydrating food soup base

Above: Storage can be as easy as a mason jar and reusable lid.

Storing all of your hard work is similar to typical food storage best practices. Keep dehydrated foods in an airtight container and away from light. Mason jars with an added oxygen absorber and a vacuum seal attachment are our go-to, but Tupperware or a simple Ziploc bag can work too. These dehydrated goods should be rotated into your weekly routine, so they won’t stay in the pantry too long. 

Closing and Other Considerations When Dehydrating Food

Dehydrating food is a great way to prevent surplus calories from being wasted and extending the shelf life for future use. Dehydrating your own herbs can also be a great way to save money, as some off-the-shelf spices can be awfully expensive compared to growing your own and preserving them. Even growing a little bit of your own food is a great step toward living a more prepared life, but being able to preserve that food is an often-overlooked next step. Dehydration is a simple procedure that doesn’t require as much time, effort, and investment as canning. The end result may not last as long as a canned product, but it does offer you a smorgasbord of tasty treats. 

More on Survival Food

OFFGRID 44 Editor’s Letter: How Handy Are You?

Written by

I ask because I am not. Period. Full-stop. As the editor of a survival magazine, it’s a bit of a skeleton in my closet that I don’t spend Saturday afternoons building my own rainwater collectors, smelting metal in my backyard forge, or freezing bricks of my signature pemmican. Like most of you, I imagine, I keep a couple cases of bottled water, MREs, batteries, and other sundries around, and I take as many training classes as my budget and schedule will allow to try and fill in the gaps. 

We’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of issues focusing on inherently urban aspects of survival. But the weather is warming up and many people are heading outdoors, whether to a secluded family cabin, beach house, or a campsite in the middle of some state or national park. Spending time in the wilderness is good for the soul, but it also means separating yourself from many of the survival assets built into your daily routine and the conveniences of urban life. 

So, we’re taking this issue to focus on self-sustainability. Even if remote summer vacations aren’t your thing, there are a number of situations where being able to do it yourself could make all the difference. Maybe a short-term disruption — like a power outage or storm — lasts longer or hits harder than expected. Maybe you parse out some of your cached supplies to friends, family, or neighbors to tide them over, and now your stock is looking a little thin. Maybe you’re on a business trip or luxury getaway and, while it’s not exactly anywhere remote, you may have to make do with whatever’s in your luggage when disaster strikes. 

Regardless of the scenario, the ability to generate your own survival equipment or supplies is handy at worst and life-saving at best. So, we’ve included a number of home-preparedness projects that include both tools and consumables. Mike Searson walks us through his experience with a slam-fire pipe shotgun, and Forrest Cooper attempts to home-brew smoke signals from grocery store ingredients. Elsewhere in this issue, Alexander Crown talks about dehydrating food, and Phil Meeks cultivates his own fruit. 

If you do plan on being outward-bound this summer, Patrick McCarthy brings us two timely roundups: one on binoculars and the other on packable water filters. Plus, Patrick Diedrich shares his professional forestry experience to give us a lesson on how to properly fell a tree. We round out our feature set with two outside-the-box topics: using practical landscaping as part of a property defense plan, and potential uses for marijuana in a preparedness context. 

Whatever your natural aptitude for DIY projects of any kind, we hope this issue gives you some food for thought, and some ideas for small projects you may want to undertake on your own for fun and preparedness. As always, stay safe and stay ready.