Review: Spyderco Assist Salt Knife

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She’s bloody, upside down, unconscious, and behind a tinted window. Worse, you smell gasoline, and you have no cellphone signal to call 911 and no time to wait for help to arrive. Your choice is simple: extract her from the vehicle or watch the love of your life get barbecued under glass.

But all you have in your fisted and frustrated hands is the latest everyday-carry tactical ninja tanto blade. Nothing about it will help you safely get into the vehicle and extract her from her seatbelt without putting you and her at risk.

Saving your ass, or someone else’s, often comes down to preparing for what’s more likely (a car accident) rather than what’s not (a zombie outbreak). Enter the Spyderco Assist.

Both distinctive and utilitarian, Spyderco knives are a common sight clipped to the pockets of knowledgeable and practical people as EDC folding knives. But in the Assist, Spyderco founder Saul Glesser combined his decades of design experience and the best of modern materials to create an un-rustable, purpose-designed rescue and utility knife suited for both emergency professionals and the prepared of mind.

The 411

The “rescue knife” as a class of tools is intended primarily to extricate oneself or another person from a seatbelt or harness system, while also serving as an overall utility blade for the general cutting tasks encountered by first responders. So Saul applied several of the lessons learned from years of EDC knife design and incorporated them into the Assist. The knife’s controls are ambidextrous both in the one-handed opening features as well as the reversible clip that can be oriented for left or right and tip up or down carry.

Though not a compact knife, it does fit comfortably in the pocket.

Folded, the back rocker-locked Assist is 8.43 inches long overall and weighs in at 4 ounces. The knife’s blade has a blunt tip designed to both prevent the puncture of a victim inside a strap as well as function as a safe physical index for the user when the knife has to be positioned by feel while out of sight. The blade’s 3.69 inches is serrated for the majority of its length, but has a 7/8-inch chisel-ground, plain-edge section just before the tip for initiating strap cuts.

In its 5-inch folded configuration, the Assist hides two unique features. First, a squeeze of the finger-choiled blade into the handle exposes a carbide-tipped glass-breaker embedded in the pommel. This gives the user the ability to break windows in a rescue situation without carrying an exposed, sharp-tipped tool in an outside pocket. This tip is replaceable if you somehow manage to dull the carbide. Additionally, Spyderco designed a hesitation notch at the 45-degree blade-to-handle position. This notch allows the user to easily stop the blade in a partially open position and use it in concert with the handle in a scissor technique.

The Good

The “rescue knife” as a class of tools is intended primarily to extricate oneself or another person from a seatbelt...

Thick rope gets chopped like celery, where thinner cordage (such as parachute cord) should be held taut across the handle for a crisp cut. The feature gives the user an option to cut line, straps, or hoses without a sawing motion or worrying the blade might cut the victim or rescuer as the material is severed. This function takes a bit of practice, but once quickly mastered, the technique allows for a faster and safer approach to many cutting tasks. The Assist also contains a small but loud whistle cut into the contour of the handle that the user can utilize for self-rescue.

Thick rope gets chopped like celery, where thinner cordage (such as parachute cord) should be held taut across the...

Spyderco initially introduced the Assist with a black handle and coated VG-10 blade. But the popularity of the design and the appearance of its rustproof H1 steel in other designs demanded a marriage. Now the Assist can be found with Spyderdco’s bright rescue yellow fiber-reinforced nylon (FRN) handles and the H1 steel.

First introduced in its line of dive knives, the H1 steel is made with nitrogen rather than carbon. Without carbon, the steel is physically incapable of rusting. H1 is also an austenitic steel, which “work hardens” as the edge and serrations are ground, allowing for precise hardening of the cutting edges while leaving the thicker spine more flexible. And — though anathema as a formal test to most knife-makers, but infinitely practical to most end-users — the Assist gets an A+ as a box cutter. The curved tip and plain-edge section make for excellent controlled-depth cuts across tape and cardboard.

Without carbon, the steel is physically incapable of rusting.

The Not As Good

Ultimately, the Spyderco Assist Salt is a viable EDC for the emergency professional, but for the average person, it’s the knife you should have clipped to your vehicle’s sunvisor, tucked in the console, or at least within arm’s reach of the driver seat. Whether for self-rescue or to provide assistance to someone else, having the Assist in your vehicle will enable you to get through glass, seatbelts, and, if necessary, clothing to remove a victim in an extreme situation or when time or professional help is not available.

Will the Assist help you fight ninjas, zombies, or terrorists? Not likely — but in addition to its purpose-designed rescue features, it’ll do a very clean job of opening your latest Amazon Prime delivery without puncturing the contents.

Spyderco Assist Salt Specifications

Weight
3.9 Ounces

Overall Length
8.38 inches

Blade Length
3.69 inches

Blade Steel
H1

MSRP
$160

URL
www.spyderco.com

More From Issue 13

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 14

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 12

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original print version for the web.

New: Snow Peak Kojin Portable Grill

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Portable cooking tools come in a wide range of shapes and sizes. On one end of the spectrum, we have ultralight isobutane stoves or micro wood stoves, which are great for heating single-serve dehydrated meals. However, they're obviously not ideal for cooking large cuts of meat or food for a group. On the other end, there's something like a barbecue grill or smoker — you can wheel it around or throw it in your truck for a tailgating session, but it's only portable in a loose sense of the word.

The middle ground is occupied by what we'd consider car camping gear. These cooking tools are big enough for use by a whole family, but small enough to pack into the trunk of a passenger car or be carried to a beach bonfire. They'd also be a good option for a longer-term bug-out scenario. The new Kojin Grill from Japanese camping gear manufacturer Snow Peak falls into this category.

The Kojin Grill is a 22-inch-diameter stainless steel cylinder that packs down into two pieces. The base features three folding legs as well as charcoal trays and grill grates nested inside. A folding wall panel installs atop the base, and features doors as well as a series of notches where the grates can be installed at various heights.

This setup can be used as a smoker, an enclosed oven, a barbecue grill, or a combination of these functions. You could have one dish baking inside while another grills on top.

The unit weighs 40 pounds and measures 2.8 by 2.3 by 1.9 feet when fully expanded. It's quite pricey at $730 MSRP, but given our previous experience with Snow Peak gear, the build quality and materials are likely to be solid. For more information on the new Snow Peak Kojin Grill, go to SnowPeak.com.

Video: Cutting Rope or Paracord With No Tools

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If you've been following our site for a while now, you know that we're typically not big fans of so-called “life hack” videos. Most of the time, they're demonstrations of needlessly complicated solutions to problems almost no one actually has — like cooking an egg using a soda can, butane lighter, and rubber bands (as seen here). We appreciate creative problem-solving, but it's not necessary to re-invent the wheel with items from your junk drawer when a dozen easier and better solutions already exist.

That said, every once in a while we see one of these videos that demonstrates a technique that might actually come in handy someday. Such is the case with the following video from the YouTube channel DaveHax. This minute-and-a-half clip shows how to cut a strand of string, rope, or paracord by doubling it onto itself and forming a friction saw.

The rope is laid flat on the ground beneath your feet with a slight arch in the middle. One end is passed over the top, looped under the arch, and quickly sawed back and forth to sever the rope. You may recognize this as the same technique used to cut through zip tie handcuffs with a shoelace or hidden kevlar cord, because the principle is the same. You're just moving your hands instead of your feet.

A braided kevlar cord hidden on the body can be used to cut through restraints, even if your shoes were taken.

In most cases, it goes without saying that you should already have a knife on hand. But in case your cutting tool is lost, damaged, or not readily available, this technique could be helpful. Better yet, it doesn't require toothpicks, twine, a hot glue gun, or a wad of chewing gum like so many other “life hack” techniques. Note that with paracord and other multi-strand nylon ropes, you'll still want a lighter to melt the ends and prevent fraying, if possible.

Human Firewall: How to Protect Yourself Against Cyber Crimes

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This article originally appeared in Issue 10 of our magazine.

Does this sound familiar? SUBJECT: HELP! STUCK OVERSEAS! I’ve contacted my bank and the embassy, the embassy is willing to assist me but my funds are depleted to pay for a new passport fees and other miscellaneous expenses. I don’t have access to my account over and My bank said it would take 5 working days to access funds from my account. Please can you lend me some funds? I’ll pay back, as soon as I return home. — I desperately await your response, Fred Jones

You may have received phishing-type emails like this before. Fred Jones is just a pseudonym in this case, but used as an example to show you that it’s interchangeable with any name. If you’re on that hacked individual’s list of contacts, you may be the recipient of a fraudulent email like this and not be aware that it’s bogus.

Of course, being the compassionate person you are, you want to help, right? So you continue on this conversation until you wire money or perhaps some other personal information. Then you eventually discover that you’ve just fallen for a scam and may have provided the imposter with data that may further compromise your identity and finances.

From the cyber breach at the Office of Personnel Management to the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack, there are thousands of nameless, faceless criminals out there who have enough knowledge to tap into state-of-the-art data infrastructure systems to retrieve information. So if they can invade the networks of companies with staff members tasked with stopping a breach, how is the average citizen safe?

“One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that they won’t be a target of a hacker. Everyone is a target,” says Amy Baker, vice president of marketing for Wombat Security, a provider of software that helps organizations educate their employees on how to avoid cyber attacks. “Many people think that if they haven’t seen evidence of hacking or malware that they haven’t been attacked. We see examples of high-level breaches where companies didn’t know for months that they’d been hacked, but that goes for individuals too. They may have revealed information to a cyber criminal and just not known it. Just because there’s no evidence of a hack doesn’t mean that a cyber criminal doesn’t have your information and intend to use it at a later date.”

Unfortunately, cyber crimes are rampant, come in many guises, and what’s even worse is the offenders often go unprosecuted because people are too ashamed to admit they fell for this type of crime or don’t know who to report it to. Whether it’s malware, hacking, scams, or any other type of cyber crime, the reality is that buying certain kinds of software or hardware doesn’t protect you from your own ignorance.

Like owning a car, parking in a bad neighborhood still invites theft no matter how good your alarm is. Nothing takes the place of recognizing signs of potential threats. Here we’ll break down how to recognize common forms of cyber crimes, give you some preventative measures, explain how to report these crimes, and dispel common misconceptions.

How Do Cyber Crimes Happen?

An attacker intent on accessing your personal information will do everything they can to avoid raising awareness of their breach. While large companies and wealthy individuals are certainly targets, the average citizen still has money, an identity, Internet access, and the potential to be misled through false pretenses.

These attacks can be disguised as emails, messages, or websites masquerading as your bank, cellphone provider, a government agency, acquaintance, or service you use (such as eBay). While the source still may appear legitimate, wrongfully assuming that it is can allow transmittal of malware (viruses, spyware, worms, etc.) that can damage your computer, allow access to sensitive information, or trick you into paying for something spurious.

Common Forms of Cyber Attacks

Cyber attacks are perpetrated through a variety of methods. Phishing is the most common way people fall victim to cyber attacks because it is geared toward personal manipulation. It’s most often delivered through unsolicited email delivery, texts, or instant messaging, and poses as a trustworthy source to trick you into revealing information or downloading malware that may damage your system or allow criminals to gain additional intel.

These emails, messages, or websites may ask you to:

  • Provide personal and/or payment information in the context of avoiding criminal action
  • Retain a service for your own benefit, such as file your tax return or scan your computer to remove any newly detected viruses
  • Open an attachment that may appear safe, but contains malware
  • Click on a link that appears to be legitimate, but is really an alias that redirects you to a malicious site or downloads illicit software

Although these are common forms of phishing, it’s really limitless in how phishers engage potential victims. It can happen over the phone or even in person, although these offline interactions would be categorized under the broader term social engineering.

Unsafe web browsing is another phishing method to be aware of. Just visiting a site that isn’t mainstream can be a trap to invade your computer. Pop-ups can also be a phishing attempt that can still compromise your computer and personal info.

Flickr.com/jeroenbennink

Most cyber crimes are financially-motivated to steal information, allowing someone to take money or property; however, some forms of hacking and transmittal of malware are used solely for destructive purposes. “There are three main areas of cyber crime,” says Dan Vesley, CEO of Web Precision Internet Services, who has 20 years of web design, marketing, and IT services experience. “Cyber piracy: Using computer technology in unauthorized ways to steal, copy, and redistribute software or other proprietary information; Cyber trespass: Using technology to gain unauthorized access to a personal or business computer system or website; and Cyber vandalism: Using technology to disrupt networks and destroy computer data and system resources.”

Don’t think that your mobile device is impenetrable to malware and information theft either. Since so many people store information, communicate, and conduct business through their phones or tablets, there are thousands of methods to invade them. Anything from unsafe Wi-Fi connections to receiving a text message and clicking on an unsafe link to unknowingly downloading a nefarious app can compromise your device and info.

What Do I Look For?

People often put too much stock in the notion of being impervious to theft by buying certain hardware or anti-virus software, but these commodities won’t keep a naïve user from being fooled into taking an action that’s to their own detriment. No amount of money spent on the best computer and security measures will prevent you from potentially clicking on a website that locks your computer and tells you that you are delinquent on your IRS payments, only for you to give your credit card information for fear of arrest. The police and IRS don’t call ahead or communicate online to warn you of an impending arrest — they come to the door. The first step is knowing how to avoid the problem.

When in Doubt, Throw it Out

If something looks suspicious, too good to be true, or is asking you for money and personal information, it’s likely a hoax. Do not open unsolicited email. Delete it immediately. While malware cannot be transmitted in a plain body of text, the contents of the email such as links and attachments can lead to an infection.

If you receive an email or text asking you to confirm personal information or provide financial info, even from a trusted source you use regularly such as Amazon.com, your bank, or another company where you pay for services, do not assume it’s genuine. The terms of service these organizations offer spells out their policies regarding information disclosure.

Assume someone pressuring or threatening you with legal action as a way of getting your info is doing it under false pretenses. Legitimate sources will usually not use tactics like this and the ones you’ve done business with before already have your information so there’s no need to verify it. If someone is claiming to represent an organization, call it directly yourself so that you can substantiate the accuracy of requests being made for your personal info. Responding to the email or message in question is only going to perpetuate the scam.

Some common indicators of fraudulent URLs are those with hyphens, numbers, or symbols in the address, or a URL you don’t recognize. Some fraudulent URLs contain words you might recognize (e.g. “ebay.com”), but are structured to redirect you elsewhere. Also, legitimate services that shorten URLs can also obscure the final destination, so be careful clicking on those if you’re not sure of the source. If the URL contains characters such as these or is unfamiliar, do not click on it. You can do a web search for the dubious URL to learn additional information from other sources and verify its legitimacy. “Over 50,000 websites are hacked daily around the world and many are replaced by the hacker with a site that looks like the original, but contains a malicious site. Also, web pages that attempt to trick the user into updating plug-ins such as Java or Flash are common ways for hackers to gain access to your PC. You must be extremely careful when installing any such updates,” Vesley says.

Job applicants should verify whether or not companies they’re applying to actually exist by searching their name, checking what other websites say about them, and looking for a mailing address and phone number you can call or possibly visit in person.

A way to ensure you do not fall victim to a malicious pop-up or website that doesn’t allow you to click the “go back” button is to close or force quit your entire browser session. Even if you try to click on the “X” or “Close” button to exit a pop-up window, you may still enable a malware infection.

While app stores try to eradicate malicious software from their inventory, free applications are common ways that malware can be downloaded to your phone or mobile device. Research the application before you download it.

Computer Safeguards

Anti-malware software is another viable preventive measure to install on your computer. Getting the most recent version available is recommended since new threats are constantly being discovered and anti-malware programs do their best to keep current with the latest recognized forms of attack. Update your software and operating system as often as possible and make sure any spam filters are kept on.

On the hardware end of things, products such as encrypted hard drives can be installed as an enhanced safety measure, but do take some training for the average person to install and become familiar with. Find a good computer technician, ask your sales associate, or contact the computer company’s tech support group on how to maximize your computer’s safety features.

Protection Starts With the User

Although certain software and hardware components are better than no protection at all, these built-in or off-the-shelf safety measures are not foolproof. Anti-malware programs are engineered to block threats with a known design. The criminals out there generating malware are also doing their best to create workarounds to circumvent the software’s safety protocols.

“These kinds of programs would not stop a targeted attack,” says Baker of Wombat Security. “The last line of defense against the cyber crime is the individual.”

Your friend’s “stuck overseas” email may have coincided with a vacation they were actually on because they publicized it online. People divulge a great deal of information through social media without understanding how much they open themselves up to becoming a target. If you receive an email from someone you feel may be posing as an acquaintance, call them directly or ask them a question that only they would know the answer to so that you can attempt to verify if it’s sincere. If the response sounds desperate, accusatory, or out of character for what you know about this person, assume it’s “phishy” and avoid any further conversation. If the average person encountered trouble while traveling, they should know enough about resources in their location who can help them and would not need to reach out to someone through email for help.

5 Myths About Malware

Myth 1: Macs Don’t Get Malware
Steve Jobs fans argue that Macs are better than PCs partly because the latter are petri dishes for digital viruses — but both are susceptible to malware. Attacks such as phishing are targeted toward the user, so your choice of operating system becomes a moot point if the person on the keyboard falls for a scam. Hackers and cyber criminals tend to focus on the most popular systems for a higher success rate, so no matter what cellphone, tablet, or computer you buy, you cannot solely rely on its built-in safety measures to protect you.

Myth 2: Emails From Known Individuals Are Safe
People have their emails, messaging accounts, and social media profiles hacked or impersonated frequently. Clicking on a link in an email or message, downloading an attachment, or providing personal info online to someone you know is risky. If emails and messages appear to be random or unsolicited, even from people or companies you know, do not click on any links, open any attachments, or respond. Contact that person directly to verify if it’s legit.

Myth 3: Visiting Reputable Sites Is Always Safe
While avoiding questionable looking sites is good advice, there have been instances where even legitimate, reputable websites can be compromised. This may happen by receiving an email to visit a website that appears to be something you use regularly such as your bank, but is really a façade to record your information or deliver malicious code to your computer. You must exercise caution in visiting all websites.

Myth 4: Infections Are Always Obvious
Cyber criminals do not want to alert users to their presence. While some malware is designed specifically to disrupt an operating system and has obvious signs of infection, hacking and spyware can remain hidden indefinitely to record keystrokes for passwords, send spam through your email, or use your computer to attack websites.

Myth 5: Phones and Tablets Do Not Get Malware
Mobile traffic is quickly increasing and so has malware specifically designed for smartphones and tablets. Malware protection for mobile devices is available through many providers and is a good safety measure to implement. In general, be very cautious about the apps and games you install on your device, especially if they're from unknown publishers and have few reviews.

Good Cyber Security Hygiene

You may be in the habit of using the same password for most, if not all of, your system access needs so it’s easy to remember. While that may make your life more convenient in the short term, cyber criminals feed on this predictable behavior, and once they have your password to one site, you can bet they will try it with everything else. Here are some methods to mitigate having your information accessed by another party:

Choose a strong password: Do not use something simple or predictable. Many websites have generic security questions to verify the user by asking for information that’s easily extrapolated from various sources like social media, such as “Where did you go to high school?” Use something at least eight characters long made up of numbers, symbols, capital and lowercase letters. Do not use personal information such as your pet’s name, mother’s name, or birthdate. Use something no one could easily figure out.

Use a different password for each account: This may seem like a huge pain, but it may mean the difference between having your info stolen or not. Keeping a written ledger or some other record in a safe place with your current passwords will help if you feel you can’t remember them. Saving a list of your passwords on your computer or smartphone is not recommended. There are also applications available for your computer and mobile devices which generate unique passwords and help you use and manage them all.

Change your passwords often: Changing your password every 60 days is a good rule of thumb to ensure safer account access. Reusing a password is acceptable, but wait at least a year before changing your password on a particular account back to a previously used password.

Password protection: Be sure your devices offer password protection and keep that feature activated so you aren’t spelling it out for the world to see.

Social Media

We all have those friends — the ones who can’t live without making some announcement about themselves every 20 minutes on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. While you may want all your friends to know what an interesting life you live, your vanity and need for attention may cost you more than you realize. Sharing photos while you’re on vacation, checking in at your favorite locations, and showing a photo of the new home you just bought are things that invite disaster.

What you reveal about your personal life may be all that’s needed for someone to accumulate enough info about your relatives, hobbies, friends, pets, age, and workplace to impersonate you, guess a password to access your personal information, steal property, or potentially harm others you know. Here are some good tips to safely engage in social media:

Stranger Danger: You may be getting friend requests from people you don’t know and feel flattered that they have taken an interest in your life. However, since you don’t really know what their intentions are, it’s best to avoid this. Don’t interact with people you don’t know, regardless of how cute they may look in their photograph, how nice their message seems, or if you have a mutual friend.

Over-Sharing: If you want to share vacation photos, do it after you’re home. Checking into a restaurant may get you a discount, but that cheaper meal won’t taste so good when people monitoring your posts know you’re away and burglarize your home. Posting pictures of your kids and how proud you are that they got honor roll at XYZ school could potentially invite a kidnapping. The less you share, the safer you are.

Wi-Fi

Public, open WiFi is a feeding ground for cyber criminals. There are many ways they can monitor and breach these connections. Using a secure network that has a password will minimize your chances of revealing information. Visiting only secure websites with “https” in the URL prefix during a WiFi session is another way to reduce the information you share in an open network. Utilizing a VPN service (virtual private network) can also be done to keep your browsing hidden. Free and paid options are available for VPNs on various devices. Doing a web search for VPN systems and their ratings can help you select and set up a VPN for your operating systems.

Installing updates to your devices should not be done on public WiFi since it can sometimes be a false prompt that can trick you into downloading malware. Log off any services that you were signed into during your browsing session and deactivate any “connect automatically” features that your device may have that would connect you to that system again if you’re in range.

You can also enable a two-factor authentication feature on websites you commonly access, such as your email where a password can easily be sniffed out. This is not a perfect solution, but does offer another layer of security, as well as a potential early warning text message if someone tries to access your account.

Shut Down Your System

Infiltrations can still happen even if your browser is not open. When you have finished using your device, don’t just leave the computer on or log out. Shut off the computer completely as an added safeguard measure.

Big Brother?

Perhaps George Orwell was right. Although we enjoy the convenience of being easily connected with the rest of the world in so many ways, it’s not without its drawbacks. Our digital world continues to grow and, with it, our privacy continues to not only be violated, but things such as social media have also magically convinced us that privacy is an old idea that we no longer need.

We can, however, mitigate our own exposure by practicing good cyber security skills. When setting up your computer, research cyber security tips on what safeguards you can activate to increase your level of privacy while online. Ask your mobile device provider what safety features you can implement on your and your children’s cell phones and tablets. Use discretion when communicating with unknown individuals or being asked to reveal personal information online.

Cyber security education is one step toward a safer digital world.

Educate Yourself

Here are some resources you can visit to learn more on cyber incidents, how to protect your computer, and to get educated on common Internet scams:

How to Protect Your Computer
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/computer_protect

How to Protect Your Kids
https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/parent-guide

IC3 Crime Prevention Tips
https://www.ic3.gov/preventiontips.aspx

Recognizing Internet Fraud
https://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/internet_fraud

Tips, Tools, and How-to’s For Safe Online Communication
https://ssd.eff.org

Reporting Cyber Crimes

If you’ve been the victim of some sort of cyber attack, the likelihood that your local law enforcement agency has jurisdiction or can provide much help is low. So what’s your recourse? Sharing this information publicly is the first step toward a solution. The less that gets reported, the more these criminals are free to continue their onslaught. Here are some resources to report crimes:

Department of Justice
The DOJ categorizes various cyber crimes and can direct you to the proper reporting agency.
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ccips/reporting-computer-internet-related-or-intellectual-property-crime#C4

Federal Trade Commission
If you feel you’ve been the victim of identity theft, the FTC has resources to report the crime.
www.identitytheft.gov

Internet Crime Complaint Center
The IC3 was established as a partnership between the FBI and National White Collar Crime Center. You can visit their site to file a complaint if you feel you’ve been a victim of some form of cyber intrusion or e-scam.
https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team
A division of the Department of Homeland Security, US-CERT also provides publications, alerts, and tips to consumers and allows reporting of cyber crime incidents.
www.us-cert.gov

Anti-Phishing Working Group
The APWG publishes reports on cyber crimes, allows reporting of phishing and other cyber crimes, and provides educational resources on avoiding cyber crimes.
www.apwg.org

Thirst Quencher: 10 Ways to Fight Dehydration in a Survival Scenario

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Ask any survival instructor or wilderness expert about the top priorities in a survival situation, and you'll get a few typical responses. Assuming we're excluding intangible resources like knowledge and loophole answers like a climate-controlled motorhome full of cheeseburgers, most answers will relate to the commonly-known “Survival Rule of 3s.” This rule is a reminder that in extreme conditions, a normal person can usually survive for approximately three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

Air to breathe is something you either have or you don't — you won't be improvising any of that resource. Secondly, a basic shelter is usually relatively easy to find or improvise — even untrained individuals can find a rock outcrop to hide beneath, or pile up some branches for a simple lean-to. Unless you're facing a hurricane or tornado, these simple solutions should at least prevent you from dying of exposure in warmer months. It's certainly advisable to study how to build a variety of shelters, but you can usually make do for a short while with a crude roof over your head.

However, the next priority often requires more forethought, and it's especially critical in the hot summer months. So, today we'll be taking a quick look at 10 methods to fight dehydration in a survival setting. There's a lot more to it than just drinking the first water you find.

A Note About Purification
We can't talk about methods of fighting dehydration without discussing waterborne pathogens. Gulping down creek water without filtering or purifying it first can lead to severe diarrhea and vomiting that will only intensify the danger of dehydration. So, it's always best to purify water you gather before consuming it. This might mean boiling, filtering, chemically-purifying, or even distilling it. Our tips below take this into consideration.

1. Avoid Exposure

Flickr.com/sworldguy

As I write this article, it's 105°F outside my home in Arizona. In these conditions, severe dehydration can set in within a few hours, much less days. In other environments and seasons, finding a safe water source may be less of an urgent priority, but it's always going to be near the top of your to-do list. As we mentioned during our introductory comments on shelter, the environmental conditions will have a major effect on your survival priorities, so always keep this in mind.

Shelter comes into play here, since seeking out a cool, shaded area will be one of your first lines of defense. Time of day is another variable — limiting your activity to the early morning or late evening is another way to reduce your exposure.

2. Consider Physical Condition & Exertion

You also need to listen to your body, considering its present condition as well as projections for the coming hours and days. If you've been drinking water constantly before finding yourself in a survival situation, you'll be off to a better start than if you're already mildly dehydrated. Studies have shown that as many as 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. If you're urinating regularly and it's light-colored, that's a good sign; if you're not going as often and it's dark-colored, you're heading for trouble. Refer to our previous article on Dehydration Facts & Symptoms for some other physical warning signs to look for.

The same can be said for exertion — if you know you have to hike through several miles of steep terrain to return to safety, you're going to sweat and dehydrate yourself faster than you would sitting in the shade and waiting for rescuers to arrive. Plan accordingly.

3. Regulate Your Diet

As the Rule of 3s reminds us, you can survive a whole lot longer without food than you can without water. That's why food is a lower priority in a survival situation.

If you're beginning to get dehydrated and you're not sure where you'll be able to get more water, stop eating. Digestion requires water. If there's not enough, your body will shut this process down to save water for other organs, leading to stomach pain and constipation. Even watery foods can be problematic — contributor Tim MacWelch recommends squeezing these foods inside a cloth to extract the liquid from the solids.

Focus on hydrating before you worry about food. If you can't get water, food will be the least of your worries.

4. Cover Up to Retain Moisture

When it's hot and dry outside, our instinct is often to strip down to a T-shirt and shorts so we'll feel cooler. However, this may actually hurt you in the long run. Sweat will quickly evaporate off bare skin to cool your body — that's its purpose, after all. But as this process continues, it saps the moisture from your body.  That's fine if you have plenty of water on hand, but dangerous if you don't.

Photo: Rudolf Baumann | Flickr.com/ruba (CC BY 2.0)

When it comes to fighting dehydration, think Lawrence of Arabia. Wear loose, light-colored clothing to cover as much of your skin as possible. Cotton is especially helpful since it absorbs your sweat, keeping your skin moist and reducing the evaporative effect. Don't forget your head — consider a wide-brim hat, or a scarf or shemagh worn over the face and neck.

5. Take Stock of Existing Water (If Any)

Do you have any water in your pack already? If so, don't try to ration it until you're extremely thirsty. This can negatively impact your health and energy levels, reducing your ability to tackle other survival tasks and leading more severe dehydration or other injuries. Don't waste your water by splashing it all over the place, but don't hesitate to drink when you're thirsty, either. It's better to stay fully hydrated while you search for other sources of water than to be found dead with water you were saving for later.

The advisory Food and Water in an Emergency created by FEMA and the American Red Cross puts it simply: “If supplies run low, never ration water. Drink the amount you need today, and try to find more for tomorrow.”

If you're fresh out of water, then it's time to go to plan B — we'll get to some options for that below.

6. Look for Readily-Accessible Sources

Everyone knows that when you need water in a survival setting, you look for a nearby lake, stream, creek, or waterfall. It's so obvious it's basically programmed into our DNA. Unfortunately, in many survival settings, you won't be able to walk 50 feet and find a babbling brook. You'll need to search for it — but don't just wander aimlessly.

You've got a map and compass in your pack, and you're well-versed in basic navigational skills, right? If so, great. Look for blue on the map and go there. If not, you'll need to seek other signs.

Read the terrain, and try to spot a valley, ravine, or overhang where water might accumulate. (You might need to dig a little for it, but don't go overboard and sweat out more moisture than you'll find.) Look for game trails, since animals need to drink too. Check for denser areas of vegetation. Even insects can lead you in the right direction if you're observant.

Again, don't forget to purify this water, regardless of how clean it looks and smells. Otherwise you'll probably pay the price later, and may end up more dehydrated as a result.

7. Make Every Drop Count

Maybe there are no large bodies of water nearby, or maybe you just can't find them. There are still options, although most of them won't provide more than a few sips of water at a time.

Do some outside-the-box thinking about places water may collect — small puddles on rocks, morning dew on grass, pockets where plant leaves meet the stem, hollowed-out logs, and so on. You can soak up this water with a cloth, and squeeze it into a container to purify it later. If there's any chance of rainfall in the future, be ready to collect it in larger quantities.

8. Go Green

You may have heard that Brawndo's got what plants crave, but in a survival situation, plants have got what you crave. Sometimes accessing the water is as simple as squeezing clumps of moss inside a bandana; other times, you'll need to do more work.

Many plants contain toxins that can make you sick, so it's a good idea to study the commonly-occurring plants in your area and know which ones to avoid. Contrary to popular folklore, cacti aren't full of drinkable water. Other plants offer nutritious sources of liquid, such as maple or birch sap or coconut water. Refer to our previous article, Rural Refreshments: Drinking Water from Non-Tropical Plants, for more details on plant-based water sources.

Certain trees can provide large quantities of drinkable sap, such as this birch tree.

Beyond this, you can use a transpiration bag to capture moisture from live tree branches, or crush foliage and place it inside a solar still to collect the moisture it gives off once the greenhouse effect kicks in. Neither of these methods are going to be very efficient, so don't expect to get buckets full of water from them.

9. Weigh the Risk of Questionable Water

As we said before, purifying water is always the best option, and the one you should be choosing in 99.9% of situations. But if there's absolutely no other way to stay hydrated, drinking dirty water straight from a stream or lake is better than dying of dehydration. If you happen to ingest giardia parasites or some other waterborne pathogen in the process, you'll at least be able to seek medical attention after you (hopefully) make it out of this situation alive.

In this case, you can minimize the risk by using a cloth to strain out larger impurities, and/or make an improvised water filter. Just remember that neither of these methods eliminates the microorganisms in the water, so you're still rolling the dice unless you boil or purify that water afterward.

10. Even if You Can't Drink It…

Let's say you're stuck in the worst-nightmare scenario of many survivalists: a tiny life raft in the middle of a desolate ocean. You know you definitely can't drink the seawater, and you have no way to distill it to remove the harmful salt content. Fortunately, there's one other way that water can slow your rate of dehydration — cooling.

Even in cases where you know you can't drink from a water source safely, you can still use it to soak your clothes and keep your skin cool and damp, reducing moisture loss from perspiration. It won't help you rehydrate, but it can certainly slow the rate at which you lose water.

Despite what you may have seen on survival TV shows, urine falls into this category. It's a bad idea to drink it, even if it has been passed through a filter, unless you've distilled out the harmful dissolved salts that most other purification methods can't remove. However, in a worst-case scenario, your pee can be used to moisten your clothes as outlined above. The smell is a small price to pay if it helps you stay alive.

Basic Physical Fitness Techniques for Your Kids

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Illustrations by Joe Oesterle

This article originally appeared in Issue 9 of our magazine.

Warning: The exercises and content expressed in this story are for illustrative purposes only. Consult a medical professional before trying any physical activity or nutritional plan.

In an instant, you find yourself in dire straits. It’s the end of the world as we know it… yet your kids feel fine. No, it’s not because they’re playing Minecraft, but they’re occupied nonetheless.

Disasters can really take a toll on the morale of a group, especially the kids. Keeping your kids positive and active is key, especially when they could very well have no electricity, let alone be able to bury their faces in a video game. What they can enjoy, however, are some different types of games — games that will make them fit for a post-apocalyptic world.

Think Like a Kid

Sure, you may be able to get your 10-year-old to go out on a run, but that’s not what we’re concerned with here. Kids typically don’t have the attention span or a firm grasp of the benefits of exercise to follow a regular exercise program. Depending on their age, they may not have even developed enough to be put through one.

Regardless, for them, it’s about enjoyment. Are they having fun? Are the exercises or activities challenging, but still achievable? There’s a fine line between what’s fun and what’s boring. Making exercise a game is a great way to keep their spirits up, while also keeping them in shape for what the future holds.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise how kids react when given too much idle time. So, let’s use that time to create some activities they can follow that will both prepare them and entertain them for the worst of the worst.

Mention exercise to kids and they’re going to scream, “Boooorring!” So, make it fun for them. All kids love to play, so make it a game. If you make it work, you’ll have to force them to do it. When you make it fun, you’ll have to force them to stop doing it.

Kids can learn a lot through movement and playing. Especially at younger ages, they’ll be able to build both fine and gross motor skills, critical for their development. The key here is to make the experience of exercise fun. There may be times when sitting still and quiet for long periods of time is necessary, and possibly crucial, so give them a chance to let loose when the time is right.

The Benefits

Physical fitness can help kids:

  • Develop social skills and teamwork
  • Improve focus, concentration, and productivity
  • Become more active when they become adults
  • Reduce the chance of injury
  • Develop fundamental movement skills that will set the foundation for the rest of their lives

Use Your Head

Contact Games: While full-contact games can be fun, the risk-to-reward ratio doesn’t quite add up. Avoid games that may lead to broken bones or other serious injuries. Kids are resilient, yes, but good luck recovering from a broken bone without a doctor. Be smart!

Hot Weather: Keep the weather in perspective when creating these games for your kids. In warmer weather, plan to have more water handy and make them dress appropriately. Take more frequent rest breaks as well, preferably in a shaded area.

Cold Weather: Consider the lengths of time the kids spend playing. Set up a little warming station if you can. Otherwise, allow them to take frequent breaks to warm up, if need be. Again, have them dress appropriately.

Ages 3 to 5

Hop

For kids 3 to 5 years of age, the main focus for anything exercise related should be on very basic movements such as crawling, jumping, hopping, or running. A very simple way to incorporate this is follow the leader. In this version, however, we’ll be getting a little creative. The movements and exercises you’ll be having them do will be very important to their development and survival in unknown terrain.

Broad Jump

Follow the leader is a great game for younger kids because it allows them to have fun while building fundamental movement skills. It can be used to your advantage in situations where you need to evacuate an area without the kids becoming aware of the severity of the situation. It’ll be easier to maintain their attention on the task at hand because it’ll be a familiar game that they enjoy playing.

Bear Crawl

Traveling longer distances through wooded areas also provides great opportunities to make a mundane task fun for kids. Incorporating specific movements like crawling under a tree limb, using a fallen tree as a balance beam, or hopping over rocks provides some levity to a bleak atmosphere. The structure should be very loose with kids this young. It’s best to let the kids have fun with this, and see how creative you can get with your surroundings. Focus on spans of 20 to 30 minutes. That’s a great amount of time to keep their attention. Some key activities to incorporate in follow the leader include: crawling, hopping, climbing, running, and balancing.

Forward Jog

Ages 6 to 9

Kids who are 6 to 9 years old are better able to take direction, but we’ll still keep it to a minimum. We’re going to build on what we would do with younger kids by focusing on more fun and athletic movements that incorporate body awareness, coordination, and playing with objects.

Lateral Shuffle

We can incorporate athletic movements with kids by playing Red Light Green Light, which will be fantastic in teaching them body awareness and coordination. This age-old game has kids lined up at a start line facing the finish line. When you say, “Green light,” everyone moves toward the finish line. When you say, “Red light,” they must immediately halt. Anyone still moving is penalized. Follow the normal rules of the game, except make them do 10 jumping jacks when they move after you say, “red light.” Take the kids through the following movements on a “green light” — knee pull, butt kick pull, bear crawl, skipping, lateral shuffling, jogging forward, jogging backward, hopping, and broad jumping. Section off about 10 to 20 yards of space, and have them complete each movement for about 10 yards, so if you only have 10 yards of space, have them go to the end and back. Limit overall time to about 30 minutes so they don’t get bored or lose interest.

Backward Jog

Well-supervised sorting-and-gathering games are great to play with kids at this age, and it can really help out with our scenario. Pick smaller objects and make a game to collect as many of something as they can find. Make it a timed game, so they’ll move more quickly and get the exercise benefit. Some things to consider: sorting or collecting cans of food, gathering dry leaves or brush for kindling, gathering pieces of fruit or berries, sorting articles of clothing, or anything else that would be useful to you and your group. Again, stay within 30 minutes in length to keep their interest.

Forward Skip

Ages 10 to 12

Once you hit the ages of 10 to 12, you can start getting a little more technical with what you have the kids do. They can follow directions pretty well, so we’ll take advantage of this. Keep the timeframe to about 45 minutes to get a great exercise benefit, but not tire them out too much.

Knee Pull

Relay races are a great activity for kids this age to complete. Our OFFGRID-style relay races will kill two birds with one stone. We’ll improve the kids’ fitness, while also helping you or your whole group. Take advantage of this fun game when moving smaller supplies, loading or unloading vehicles, or anything that would require multiple trips to and from something. Have each kid complete one trip to and from the destination, retrieving an object each time. Have them start a good distance (about 20 yards, if possible) away, so we can get them to run most of the time. This can be played with as little as four kids, with two teams of two. Generally, though, the more kids the better.

Butt Kick Pull

Tag incorporates many athletic abilities, and circle tag is a great way to have fun in a more confined space. The goal here is to have at least three kids in a huddle, holding on to each other at the shoulders, waist, or hips. One kid is outside of the huddle trying to tag the designated kid in the huddle. The kids in the huddle work together to keep him or her from being tagged on the back. The person who was tagged becomes “it,” and the one on the outside now joins the circle. Play in 30-second intervals, or until the kid gets tagged. There are so many great things being tested here, including agility, acceleration, teamwork, coordination, and lateral movement.

Cradle Walk

Ages 12 to 15

Adolescents are mature enough to understand the benefits of exercise, and they can take instruction well enough to incorporate some more technical concepts. In addition to the games for 10 to 12 year olds, there are several others that preteens and teens in this age range can benefit from.

Diagonal Leap

A little more structure is possible for these kids, so taking them through a warm-up is a good idea. We’ll take some of the movements found in the 6-to-9 age group to serve as the warm-up. So, put together, the warm-up will look like this: butt kick pulls, cradle walks, toy soldiers, forward skip, lateral shuffle, lateral skip, carioca, forward jog, backward jog, and diagonal leaping. Have them complete eight to 10 repetitions of each of the movements listed.

Toy Soldier

Butt Kick Pull — 10 reps each, 1 set

Cradle Walk — 10 reps each 1 set

Toy Soldier — 10 reps each 1 set

Forward Skip — 10 yards, 1 set

Lateral Shuffle — 10 yards each, 1 set

Lateral Skip — 10 yards each, 1 set

Carioca — 10 yards each, 1 set

Forward Jog — 10 yards, 1 set

Lateral Walk

Obstacle course runs are a perfect way to get kids involved and creative in their own playing, and it’ll help them with several skills, such as agility, coordination, balance, speed, and acceleration. Allowing the kids to help construct it adds to the enjoyment because they’ve had a part in the creation.

Look to put together some of what’s around you to form something resembling a balance beam, small hurdles, objects to weave in and out of, something to crawl underneath or climb over, and a straightaway to get some acceleration and speed work.

Carioca

Tug of war is another game that can help kids work on some strength and stability of both the upper and lower body. The game is simple. Don’t get pulled beyond the starting halfway mark, or, if you want them to have a lot of fun, make the center pit muddy. It’s always a lot more fun when something’s at stake. There are many things that can be used to play, with a rope being the most obvious and best, but a large bed sheet rolled-up would also work. Again, be creative.

Critical Skills

Boys and girls build skills at different stages of development:

Conclusion

In the end, any way that you can keep your kids upbeat and entertained will significantly enhance their morale and enjoyment. The examples provided here can certainly give you some good information to start, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box and have a good time. Keep things light and free flowing. Remember, the adults can have fun, too. Just because the environment may be stressful doesn’t mean you can’t take a little break now and then to have a good time. Sometimes, it’s the little things like this that will get you through the tough times.

Source: Long-Term Athlete Development > www.humankinetics.com

Video: Which AA Batteries are the Best?

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These days, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the aggressive marketing, colorful packaging, and bold, often misleading performance claims used to sell products in stores. Whether you're looking for dish soap, dog food, or duct tape, many of us have stood in front of shelves full of brand-name items and wondered which one to buy. Some of us buy whatever brand we're most familiar with, others get whatever looks decent and is affordably-priced, and a few buy whatever costs the most in hopes that it'll be the best.

Project Farm used a multi-mode charger to discharge batteries and measure their mAh capacity.

Simple products often result in the most difficult purchase decisions — AA batteries are a good example of this. Is ultra better than quantum? Does Energizer spend all its money on CGI bunny ads instead of product R&D? Are the cheapest batteries just as good, or so close that it doesn't matter? How much difference is there between alkaline and lithium? The YouTube channel Project Farm produced a video that shows comparison testing between 10 types of AA batteries to help answer some of these questions:

First off, the “drop test” to separate used batteries from new ones was pretty cool. We'll be keeping that trick in mind for next time we need to dig through a stash of loose batteries.

Try this test at home to see the difference between new and used AA alkaline batteries.

Although we weren't too surprised to see the cheaper batteries perform worse than the more expensive ones, we were definitely surprised by how big the difference was. And in case you're thinking those cheaper batteries might still be decent value for the money, the comparison chart proves that they underperformed there, too. The conclusions about lithium batteries were interesting as well — while we could see them being useful in cases where maximum runtime is very important, it seems like buying alkalines and swapping them a little more often is a better choice in many cases.

Project Farm also posted a follow-up video on rechargeable AA batteries, plus four more standard alkaline brands. Check it out:

Feast or Famine: A Prepper’s Guide to Nutrition

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This article originally appeared in Issue 9 of our magazine.

Warning: The exercises and content expressed in this column are for illustrative purposes only. Consult a medical professional before trying any physical activity or nutritional plan.

The standard American diet is commonly referred to as the SAD diet, and for good reason — it’s awful. Thanks to fast-food joints, vending machines, and microwave dinners, the vast majority of American society no longer knows what real nutrition is. Rather than thinking of food in terms of organic, free-range, or grass-fed, many people speak in terms of “combo No. 1,” “a side of fries,” and “supersize me.”

While Twinkies or McDonald’s might last a lifetime, they’re not the ideal source of healthy, storable food. At this point, then, you may be asking yourself, “As a prepper, what do I need to know to stay healthy, both now and after a big disaster or crisis?”

Proteins

Proteins are the building blocks of life. We need them to build bodily tissues, enzymes, and hormones, and for many other functions. Without enough protein, we’re not able to function well.

The general recommendation for daily intake of protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. Note that this is based on what your body needs to prevent a protein deficiency, not to function optimally. Depending on activity, you may need up to 2 grams per kilogram on the high end. Contrary to popular belief, this can come from a single meal or from multiple meals eaten throughout the day. You don’t need to get up at 3 a.m. to down a protein drink. That’s just silly.

Above: Nuts and legumes are good sources of protein and, if stored properly, will last longer than many other foods.

Good Storable Sources: Information about nutrition can be meaningless for the prepper if we don’t also discuss storable food options. Meat is obviously a great source of protein, but can be difficult to store long-term, especially if the power grid is down indefinitely or if you’ve bugged out and must stay mobile. Aside from canned meat, MREs, or other freeze-dried options, there are actually other good protein sources that can be stored much more easily than meat. If we look to vegetarian options for protein, there are many sources available, including spirulina, nuts, nut butters, legumes, and whey (dairy), egg, pea, or hemp protein powders. Soy is best avoided based on its chemical similarity to estrogen — just 30 grams has been shown to disrupt thyroid function.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide a more immediate fuel source for the body to break down into energy. While fats and protein can be used for energy as well, carbs provide the quickest breakdown and utilization. They can be separated into two types: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are smaller and more easily processed molecules, while complex carbs are larger and take more time and energy to break down. The latter variety provides energy for a longer time span, which is always a good option when considering the uncertainties of bug-out scenarios.
The minimum recommended amount of carbs per day is 130 grams for the average person. This number can increase or decrease depending on activity and body size, with larger or more active people requiring more, and smaller or inactive people requiring less.

Above: Complex carbs like brown rice provide energy for longer periods — though due to their fat content, they won’t last too much past a year.

Fiber is considered a carbohydrate, but one that we can’t digest. Because it can’t be broken down into sugar like other carbs, it passes through the body (helping us stay “regular”). It’s much more prevalent in complex sources of carbohydrates, which is another reason to prioritize complex sources. Per day, it’s recommended that adults get at least 25 grams, but anywhere from 35 to 45 grams is ideal.

Good Storable Sources: From a storable food standpoint, it’s better to focus on more complex carbohydrates (such as legumes or brown rice) rather than simple carbohydrates (such as sugar). If in a bind, by all means eat what you have available. But if the option presents itself, a longer-lasting fuel source will be more beneficial. Some very good options for carbs include wild/brown rice, quinoa, oats (preferably steel-cut), bulgar, amaranth, spelt, and legumes.

Fats

Fats are extremely important, with the benefits including immunity, hormone production, metabolism, and nutrient absorption. Dietary fats come in two different types: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats are not. From a health standpoint, it’s beneficial to get both, preferably the least processed kinds from whole foods.

Above: Nut butters provide not only protein, but also healthy fats.

Some examples include oils, avocados, nuts, seeds, fish, animal meats, eggs, olives, and coconuts. Fats aren’t something to be too concerned about in terms of exact quantities — worry more about the quality.

Good Storable Sources: Storable options are slightly more limited than the list above. The primary ones that keep the best are nuts, nut butters, and seeds. Some outstanding specific seeds to look for are chia, flax, or hemp. They tend to last a while, are extremely nutritious, and also contain fiber and protein.

Primer On Sports Nutrition

Understanding sports nutrition is important for any prepper because it’ll inform what you eat before a calamity and affect how you perform physically during said calamity. While commonly thought to be an intricate equation of what to eat and when, recent research proves that the timing of what you eat doesn’t really matter. For most people, eating a solid meal one to two hours before exercise and one to two hours after is just fine. That said, we’ll discuss some points to consider depending on the scenario you’re faced with.

Above: Protein powder can be stored easily and last a while — ideal for short-term survival situations and CrossFit workouts alike.

Pre-Exercise: Before activity, we’re looking to improve performance, sustain energy, preserve muscle mass, or maintain adequate hydration. To do this, we’ll examine the major three macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

First, protein is important since it’s responsible for tissue repair. When exercising (or fleeing or fighting), there will be some degree of tissue damage, and protein ingested before an activity will provide more readily available protein. This can reduce the amount of damage that muscles undergo during exercise. Don’t worry too much about the type of protein. Any source eaten within an hour or two of the workout will do just fine.

Men should look to get about 30 to 40 grams at this time, while women should consume about 20 to 30.

As we learned earlier, carbohydrates are responsible for more immediate energy, and therefore, they’re a great addition to a pre-workout meal. Eating carbs before you work out can spare some of the stores your body already has in the liver and muscles, allowing you to sustain exercise for longer or minimize the amount you pull from your body. These are both good things.

Men should consume about 40 to 50 grams of carbohydrates, and women would be good with about 30 to 40 grams.

Fats don’t really appear to benefit us much from a pre-workout meal standpoint. Because they’re much slower-digesting, they can help to maintain blood and glucose levels, but this won’t make much difference unless you’re completing very long duration activities.

If you’re planning on eating something within an hour of your exercise session, liquids are a better option, as you won’t have enough time to digest solids. Opt for a protein and carbohydrate source that can be mixed well with water, such as a pre-made whey protein carbohydrate drink. If you have a blender handy, you can mix protein powder with fruit and some greens. Either option will work.

During Activity: Unless you’re engaging in multiple exercise sessions per day, completing activities lasting longer than two hours, or have a goal of gaining muscle mass, you don’t need to worry about what to eat or drink during exercise. This is very necessary, however, when traversing long distances, such as when looking for shelter or moving between towns in life-and-death scenarios.
One of the main points to consider about nutrition during exercise or higher levels of movement is that blood flow will be redirected toward your working muscles. This will cause digestion to slow down quite a bit. So, the nutritional sources taken in during physical activity should be very easy to digest. For these sort of situations, let’s take a look at what you might need to pack in your bug-out bag.

Protein during exercise helps prevent your muscle mass from breaking down and will help you recover. The best sources are those that mix well with water, such as the protein powders listed previously or spirulina. Shoot for about 15 grams per hour.

If you’re not in the drinking mood, branched-chain amino acid pills or drink mix can be a great alternative. You’ll need about 10 to 15 grams during the activity.

Carbs taken during exercise can be beneficial to provide immediate energy that may have been depleted. This can be advantageous for long hikes, marathons, or while on the move all day with little food. The maximum you’ll be able to use is somewhere between 60 and 70 grams per hour. Any more than that will not be beneficial, and will almost certainly cause some stomach upset. When mixed with protein, you can take in less (around 30 to 40 grams) with similar benefit. Some great fast-digesting carbohydrate sources are pre-packaged gels (similar to what marathon runners use), sugary fruits such as bananas or grapes, or sports drinks like Gatorade. For a great storable option, look for Gatorade in powder form.

Post-Exercise: When you’re finished exercising, the main goals of your nutrition strategy should be to refuel what you used, improve recovery and future performance, and rehydrate.

Exercise causes muscle breakdown, so a logical addition to your post-workout meal should include protein for the benefit of tissue repair. As stated earlier, we’re not concerned with any 30-minute windows of opportunity, so no need to do the mad dash to your protein powder. If your pre-workout nutrition was adequate, there will be amino acids in your bloodstream to help kick-start the recovery process. For this post-exercise meal, men should take in 40 to 50 grams, and women should get 25 to 35 grams.

Carbs are also important at this time, mainly to restock the fuel we used during exercise. Instead of the common misconception of eating very quick-digesting sources, your best bets are some fruit or minimally-processed sources (such as rice or oats). Men should look for 50 to 60 grams of carbs, while women should eat 30 to 40 grams.

Conclusion

These guidelines are generally geared toward exercise, but it’s easy to translate them to bug-out scenarios. The main thing to keep in mind is that scenarios can pop up out of nowhere, and you should always be prepared. Having some fast-digesting carbohydrate sources and protein powders on hand can make all the difference when forced to travel very long distances without much notice. Luckily, there are numerous sources that are generally pre-packaged and small enough to fit into any bag or pocket for immediate grab-and-go situations. So, do your research, pack your gear, and most importantly, keep training.

About the Author

Ryne Gioviano, M.S.Ed., NSCA-CPT is the owner of Achieve Personal Training & Lifestyle Design. He holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology and is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. For more information, visit www.achieve-personaltraining.com. You can find Ryne on Twitter and Instagram at @RGioviano.

RECOILtv: Off-Road Testing a Mercedes G-Class

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Although most Americans know Mercedes as a luxury vehicle brand, the German automaker has produced some seriously rugged trucks throughout its long history — the legendary Unimog is one notable example. The Mercedes G-Class, also known as the G-Wagen or Geländewagen (meaning “cross-country vehicle”), is another. In the United States, most of these SUVs are outfitted with fancy chrome wheels and low-profile tires, and rarely see terrain more challenging than mall parking lots — but the underlying platform is surprisingly capable.

An early civilian G-Wagen. Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The G-Wagen has been around since the 1970s. It was originally developed as a military vehicle but later offered in civilian form, much like the Humvee. Although newer versions of the G-Class have transformed into luxury SUVs, they're still off-roaders at heart. They feature true body-on-frame construction, three locking differentials, short overhangs, and respectable ground clearance.

For the latest RECOILtv Transport episode, Mike Glover and George Bell of Fieldcraft Survival took a 1996 G320 out on the trails in Arizona to review its performance. This G-Class was imported straight from Germany, so you'll notice its appearance is a bit more barebones than that of newer American models (especially the flashy AMG version).

The duo also discussed considerations for a search and rescue vehicle, and how a PACE plan — primary, alternate, contingency, emergency — should be applied to communications gear in the backcountry. Check out the full video below:

Selling Preparedness: How to Introduce the Prepper Lifestyle to Skeptics

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This article originally appeared in Issue 9 of our magazine.

Photos by Michael Grey and Jorge Nuñez

Among the most common complaints heard from preppers, an unsupportive or uninterested spouse ranks just behind not having enough money in the disaster readiness budget and just ahead of not being able to find like-minded folks in their local area. While the world would be pretty boring if we all agreed on every single thing, it can be nearly impossible to work out a complete disaster readiness plan if you’re the only person in the household interested in doing it.

Even if you’re unmarried and living alone, undoubtedly there are people in your life you’d like to get involved with prepping, but they’ve thus far resisted your efforts.

Here’s the thing. If these are people you truly want around you, odds are they’re fairly intelligent, rational human beings, right? That being the case, and this can be difficult to admit, odds are that they aren’t the problem. Most likely, it’s you, or at least your approach when it comes to talking about preparedness. In other words, you’re not selling it very well.

Preparedness isn't necessarily about being ready for the end of the world. It's a practical mindset.

One-Trick Pony

You know that guy at work who’s way more interested in football than seems sane? It seems like you can’t have any sort of conversation with him without passing plays, injury reports, or the latest trade rumors being somehow brought up. All you were trying to do is be polite in asking him how his weekend was and now you’ve been trapped for the last 30 minutes as he goes all Monday morning quarterback on you. Sound familiar?

Guess what? That might very well be exactly how you sound when the subject of prepping comes up. If your spouse’s eyes tend to glaze over rather quickly any time you talk about bug-out bags, home canning, or first-aid supplies, odds are pretty good you’ve overdone it a time or two in the past.

Being passionate about disaster readiness is one thing, obsessed is quite another. Honestly, it just isn’t healthy for any particular interest to have such an overriding effect on a human being. Remember your teen years when your primary mission in life seemed to be to attract the attention of a potential girlfriend or boyfriend? Remember all the dumb stuff you said and did back then? That, my friend, is what obsession can do.

If all you ever talk about is prepping, you begin to sound like a used car salesman who’s just trying to close a deal. Expand your horizons just a tad. Let people see you as a well-rounded person rather than a one-trick pony. Then, when the subject does come up, they’re more likely to pay attention and not feel as though they’ve heard it all before.

Slow Your Roll

Another very common mistake is going from 0 to 60 in 0.2 seconds flat. Here’s how it often plays out: Coworker comes and up and says, “Hey Bob, did you see the sale this week on canned chili?” Within moments, Bob is explaining, in excruciating detail, just how many cans of chili are necessary in a comprehensive food-storage plan, one that’s designed to last a family of four at least 10 years, taking into account all of the caloric and nutritional needs of each individual in the family. Ten years, of course, being the minimum time necessary for society to rebound from the coming zombie apocalypse, a disaster the government has been grooming us to handle for years, as they’re the ones behind all of the wildly popular undead TV shows and movies.

Associating practical preparedness with zombie-apocalypse fiction can make it seem unrealistic or absurd.

Coworker probably lost interest about four seconds into that conversation, and now thinks Bob is a weirdo.

If you truly want to get more people on board with prepping, you can’t go from zero to “end of the world as we know it” at the drop of a hat. You need to ease them into it. Talk about far more common, though admittedly more boring, disasters like severe weather, power outages, and such. Leave the world-altering disaster discussions for later, once they’ve caught the prepping bug.

Dollars and Sense

Money, or the lack thereof, leads to more marital strife than any other cause. The reason spending habits cause so many arguments is because the two people involved don’t agree on the relative importance of the items being purchased. If you both agreed that Jimmy Choo shoes were absolutely essential to life, there wouldn’t be an argument at all, right?

Here’s the thing. Some preppers do go overboard and put their families into serious financial trouble. Of course, so do many non-preppers. But, the fact is that prepping costs money. While there are many things you can learn to do on your own, such as gardening, home canning, and such, there are expenses involved no matter what. Your significant other might see these purchases as being wasteful because they don’t believe a disaster will ever strike.

Here’s the counter-argument: By maintaining a decent food pantry at home, you can eat tomorrow at today’s prices. Do some homework and keep track of what you spend on food supplies and let your spouse see how you’re actually saving money in the long run. Of course, you should also be using coupons and taking advantage of sales, rather than just buying for the sake of buying.

Insurance

Here’s a secret that many non-preppers don’t know. Most of us who are actively preparing for potential disasters truly and deeply pray we never need to use our plans for real. You know what else we spend money on and hope we never have to use? Insurance.

Think about it. Car insurance, in particular, is something that costs us a lot of money, and yet we’ll go out of our way to never use it. If we’re in a small fender-bender, we’re far more likely to try and work things out privately than we are to call our insurance agent. If we drive for 50 years, spend a total of $30,000 or more in insurance premiums during that time, and never once file a claim, we call that a win.

People often think (incorrectly) that preppers are all about the doom and gloom, hoping and praying for a major disaster to wipe out significant portions of the population. Really, though, that’s like saying anyone who buys house insurance is praying for a fire to turn all their possessions into ash. The reality is that we buy insurance because it’s a necessary evil. If our house burns down, we need the insurance to help us rebuild. If we get sick, we need health insurance to help us afford the proper treatment. If a major disaster strikes, we want our preparations to be able to keep us safe and alive until all is right with the world again. It truly is that simple.

Unsurprisingly, insurance companies frequently attest to the value of a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan — this article from USAA is a great example to share. Here's a relevant excerpt:

“You don’t have to live in Tornado Alley or along a major geological fault line to have a plan for surviving and riding out a disaster. It’s prudent to have an emergency plan and an emergency kit in place no matter where you live, because even if you’re at low risk for a hurricane or earthquake, events like house fires and power outages can happen anywhere.”

Conclusion

We each have a vested interest in getting our friends and family on board with prepping. Not only will doing so reduce the overall stress in your life, every person who preps is one less person likely to be knocking on your door, looking for a handout, if disaster does hit.

Something else to keep in mind — you can lead a person to knowledge, but you can’t make them think. There will always be people who will refuse to see the light. That doesn’t make them bad people. But, if they are close to your heart, you might consider doing a little prepping on their behalf.

About the Author

Jim Cobb is a recognized authority on disaster preparedness. He has studied, practiced, and taught survival strategies for about 30 years. Today, he resides in the upper Midwest with his beautiful and patient wife and their three adolescent weapons of mass destruction. His books include Prepper’s Home Defense, Countdown to Preparedness, and Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide. Jim’s primary home online is www.SurvivalWeekly.com. He’s also active on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimcobbsurvival. Jim offers a consulting service as well as educational opportunities at www.DisasterPrepConsultants.com.