The Survival Blade

By reader request, some of my thoughts about survival/self reliance/TEOTWAWKI knives.

A good knife is an essential part of any survival kit--big or small. And unless we're talking about a micro kit or urban EDC setup, that knife should be a fixed blade, full tang knife. A big, sturdy, nigh-indestructible knife.

Blade length varies upon the rest of your kit and your likely area of operations. For example, if you're carrying an axe, you'll have less need for a big blade to use for chopping duties.

Generally, you'll be looking at blades 3-7 inches in length--there's not a lot of additional utility for a blade beyond 7 inches, and they start to become heavy and unwieldy. A blade at around 5 inches in length will provide a happy medium of ease of carry and use while being big enough to get the job done.

Blade steel is often a big question, but in my experience, I've found that most of the steels used by reputable manufacturers to be of good and useful quality. If you have a favorite blade steel, go wild. If you don't care/don't know the difference, don't worry too much about it.

Also, I would recommend against spending hundreds of dollars on a fixed blade you'll be using for bushcraft, camping and survival/self reliance. It's a tool, and one that you're going to use hard--batoning through logs, chopping out stakes, skinning game, and so on. It will get dinged, scratched and chipped. I would personally have a hard time doing that with a high-dollar custom knife. And really, the money spent on such a such a knife provides little additional utility over a less expensive knife. If you have the money to and it doesn't bother you to ding up an expensive knife, go for it.

For production knives, my two favorite makers are Becker and RAT Cutlery. The both offer bomb-proof blades geared to these kinds of things.

My personal knife is a BK-7, a sturdy 7-inch knife that I would not hesitate to trust my life to. The blade steel on these knives is a massive 1/4-inch thick. The BK-2/Becker Companion is another good choice--two inches shorter than the BK-7 but just as sturdy and a little bit handier. Beckers can be had for $60-$75. You may or may not like the factory sheath, and may want to pick up a $30-$40 aftermarket one.

RAT Cutlery offers a wider variety of blade lengths, from the 3-inch RC 3 to the 6-inch RC 6. RAT knives are a bit more expensive, running from $80-$125. They are practical, durable, no-nonsense knives. The RAT Cutlery knives come with high quality kydex sheaths, but you may want to pick up an aftermarket sheath if you're picky.

My preferred knife vendor is New Graham Knives. They have a great selection, good prices, and have great customer service if you need to give them a call.

In a land with no guns...

So the question often comes up: if you can't have firearms--for whatever reason--what should you use to defend your home in time of need? It's a real question for people in countries with restrictive anti-gun laws, or for people who can otherwise not have firearms in their home.

So, let's look at some considerations for this kind of use.

1. Narrow hallways and doorways, with varying ranges--extreme close up to several yards.
2. Often a "barricade" type situation--get the family to a hardened point and defend.
3. Couches, tables, and other furniture to get in the way.
4. May need to be used by any capable member of the family--mom, dad and older children, with varying degrees of interest and experience.

Many will recommend a sword or other baseball bat. However, the narrow hallways and doorways can hinder the full-power swings needed. Movie example: Kill Bill 2's trailer fight w/ katanas. While a katana, long sword, or other may be a devastating weapon on an open field, they just don't have the room to work inside a home. Clubs and bats run into similar problems.

You could go with a shorter sword/machete type blade for this kind of environment, but the weapon still requires some room to swing. Also, you sacrifice range and strength/physicality/training become a more significant requirement. The kind of range you're working in is less forgiving.

So--you want a weapon that functions with straight-line jabs, vs. slashing swings. You want a weapon that can give its wielder some distance from the bad guy. You want a spear.

A spear, functioning with short stabby thrusts, gives you some distance from your opponent. It is an ideal weapon for defending the frontdoor, bedroom, or stairway. The straight-line attacks are not hindered by narrow hallways or doorways, and a furious barrage of jabs will keep an attacker at bay. Spears have a variable range--you can hold the weapon at the end of the shaft for the longest range, or choke up as needed.

Furthermore, the spear is fairly intuitive in its use and does not require great strength to wield, making it ideal for use by the inexperienced. Bayonets--basically a spear--have been standard army issue for a long, long time, because they're simple to teach and they just work.

Cold Steel produces several spears, which are available on such obscure websites as Amazon. The Boar Spear with standard length shaft towers at near 7-feet, which may be too long. I would cut down the shaft to a more manageable 5 or so feet for this kind of use. While I do not personally own one, the Assegai with Short Shaft looks like may be the best out of the box offering. It's 38-inches of African-styled war spear, made for a powerful gut/chest stab. Can be used one or two handed, and runs for an affordable $40-$50.

L4D 2 Trailer Hits @ E3!

Yay! The sequel to Left 4 Dead--TEOTWAWKI Blog's zombie killing game of choice--looks to improve on the game with melee weapons! Wicked blood-spattered trailer and game play videos below.

Ammo Prices Normalizing?

The Great Ammo Rush of '09 seems to be easing. Cheap 9mm and .223 available on the web--really.

High cap mags, ammo and reloading components--what's the next rush? BB guns? Optics? Muskets?

Survive the Wilderness: Wilderness Outfitters Instructional Videos

I love these videos. The host--Dave Canterbury--is plain spoken, humble, honest, and informative. Product demos and lots of excellent, detailed, no non-sense instructional videos. Lots of good ideas to be had, lots of new ways to think about solving classic survival problems.

Ridiculously valuable info, for free, via YouTube. There's 200 videos and growing. Really, if you're interested in wilderness survival at all, you owe it to yourself to check these out:

Wilderness Outfitters' YouTube Channel

When you're tired of the ordinary, try BRAINS!

Summer is the time of pot-luck picnics, why not switch out the conventional jello mold for something a little more interesting? Yes, now you can be the one to feed your fellow workplace zombie folk what they really desire, ooey gooey brain gelatin. Yum yum!

See ThinkGeek.

Thoughts: Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse

Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse-- is the latest edition of J.W., Rawles' epic novel of survival post a widescale economic collapse.

I've been meaning to pick it up, and when I finally got around to ordering it, had some struggles ordering it. Made the mistake of ordering from Buy.com, who after sending shipping confirmation, summarily canceled and refunded my order w/o my request. I went through Amazon, which was back-ordered by weeks after having sold out of the book, but was able to find an Amazon affiliate that shipped the book to me hassle-free.

Rawle's book has been through several edits and updates, and this edition is the latest and most recent. However, it was not an entirely comprehensive update. As an example, in some part the book talks about Barack Obama's election, but the general references to firearms, equipment and so on seem to be firmly in the late 90s, early 2000s. Some dates have been updated, while others haven't. It can be slightly jarring, and it's sometimes glaring obvious that a piece of up-to-date information was inserted into an older edition. A more comprehensive edit would have definitely helped here. However, the information is still relevant, and some readers may not notice at all.

"Patriots" aims to be a survival manual wrapped within a novel, which makes it an unusual read. On one hand, there is a wealth of useful information and thought provoking scenarios. On the other hand, the characters are generally forgetable and interchangable, and the book often gets buried in minutiae that the reader may or may not find interesting. I skimmed over several sections where my attention started drifiting, but was fascinated by many others.

When "Patriots" hits its stride and hits the balance between novel and manual, it's great.

One complaint is the seeming improbability of the survival group the novel focuses on. They're all quite successful and no one has any kids. It does mean that the group has lots of disposable income to afford the wealth of equipment, ammo, and other preps that they have. The book focuses on an optimally prepared group, which is interesting, but ultimately, the focus on logistics (retreat, preps) may rule out the book's informational usefulness for many readers. Few, I imagine, will find themselves in the same life/financial situation as the main characters presented in Patriots. A more "real-world" focus could have been beneficial.

Another nitpick--the group is based out of Chicago--why on earth did they set up their retreat on the other side of the country in Idaho?

Last one--some readers may find the last 3rd of the book overly far-right winged in politics, mildly offensive, or hard to believe. I wasn't bothered by it, but your mileage may vary.

Overall though, but book is an entertaining and informative read. At the ~$10 cover price that you can buy the book for, it's basically a must read anyone seriously interested in long-term survival post societal collapse.

Rawles reports that he is working on sequels to the novel, which I am vastly looking forward to. "Patriots", his first novel, written years ago and updated several times since, is still a great read and resource--can't wait to see what his new books will be like.

Jane Austen will eat your brains!

So my wife picked up a book the other day--Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. Lost manuscript of Jane Austen's I suppose. Hope Mr. Darcy's face gets eaten off.

It's currently riding at #23 on Amazon and is apparently getting lots of positive buzz outside of the usual zombie/apocalypse circles--which is why my wife picked it up. Could be a good way to get that loved one in your life interested in preparing for the coming zombie rising...

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

Swine Flu

So, the past week, the media whipped the planet into a near panic over the swine flu. People reacted accordingly. Results:

-N95 protective masks are getting ridiculously hard to get a hold of--most major national distributors are sold out and searching for more--millions more.
-Hand sanitizer supplies have been hit hard as well.
-Governments and businesses are starting to react accordingly. Threatened school districts are closing down, businesses are putting proactive policies in place.

However, it seems like the media frenzy has let up in the past few days, after reports that the flu might not be as serious as first thought. Some experts are saying that it might not be more serious than seasonal flu--may be a false alarm.

Next week will give us a good view about what the flu is going to do in the immediate future. Beyond that, we'll just have to wait and see--it could fizzle to nothingness and off the radar, or it could come back this fall with a vengeance. However, sooner or later, we will see some kind of pandemic illness.

If the swine flu fizzles, it will have still have been a kick in the pants to many--I know it served to point out of the many holes in my preps. Some areas that I need improvement on:

-Hand sanitizer. Always good to have on hand, and can be purchased cheaply in bulk sizes. Except when everyone is freaking out about swine flu and buys it all up. Good thing to stock up on. Survival situations are messy, germy, things, and even a minor illness can be deadly.

-Medicine. I stocked up on cold/flu medicine a year or two back, and checked the expiration dates a few weeks ago. All well expired. Rotate those.

-N95 masks. We have probably a half dozen, but it would not hurt to buy a few cheap bulk packs, when they are easy to get a hold of again.

-Gas Masks. Probably overkill for the flu, but would be nice to have in case of a seruiys outbreak. Should bite the bullet and get some nice gas masks and stock up on military-grade M95 filters.

What have you learned from swine flu? Post in the comments section below.

Update

Hi readers--yes, the blog has gone far too long without an update. What can I say, real life priorities (family, work, etc.) often get in the way, and at the end of the day, poor lil' TEOTWAWKI blog often gets forgotten. If anyone would like to request topics, please e-mail me at teotwawki.blog@gmail.com. I'll do my best to follow up.

Everything you ever wanted to know about MREs

When TEOTWAWKI strikes, we'll still all need to eat, right? And what is that classic survival meal, the ones piled high in the back of your local army surplus store? It's M.R.E.s, Meals Ready to Eat!

Why M.R.E.s?

Good question. They are stable, long-shelf life foods, pre-cooked and, yep, ready to eat. A real, full-sized M.R.E. contains several components--including an entrée, side dish, dessert, cracker or bread, spread, drink powder, coffee, utensils, and accessories (including the much-sought after mini-hot sauce bottles).

They can be eaten cold and on the go, but I don't really recommend it. Chemical heater bags--just add water--are usually packaged with the MRE, and can heat them up in minutes, with some mess and chemical smell. You can also heat them in any way you can figure out--leaving them out in the sun, putting the foil packets in boiling water, etc.

MREs vs. Mountain House

I view MRE's as a compromise; Mountain House-style, freeze-dried backpacking meals are lighter, generally taste better, and have a better shelf life--Mountain House claims 25 years for their meals.

But, Mountain House meals require hydration--adding clean, drinkable water. You can't really just rip open the package and start eating, like with an MRE You can rehydrate the meals just fine with room temperature or cold water, but hot will obviously be preferred. There are flame less heater kits available to do this, or you can always just use any method for creating hot water.

Mountain House meals are typically much more expensive per calorie than M.R.E.s are. A full-MRE has in the ballpark of 1300-1500 calories and runs around $7 each. You'd have to spend twice that amount to get the equivalent calories in Mountain House meals.

Why would you want MREs?
If you anticipate a need for a stick to your guts, ready-to-eat, easy-to-heat meal and need it to last 3-5 years. Are they the ideal "bug out" food--no, not really--there isn't one. They are heavier than a freeze-dried meal, but they don't require the addition of potable water. If your bug out area is short on water, or if you can't store sufficient water supplies at home, that may be an important quality to you. Also, the fact that you can easily open one up and wolf it down while on the move is unique. Finally, their lower-cost may make them an attractive alternative to backpacking-style meals. They're a good option to add to your bug out bag.

Why wouldn't you want MREs?
If your plan is to bug in--stay put--then you'd be better served storing up conventional food storage--canned goods, rice, beans, wheat, etc. You'll get a lot more bang for your buck, and the qualities of an MRE (portability, no-prep) are a lot less important if you won't be on the move. You could consider storing a case or two, for barter, use on excursions or guard duty, etc.

How do they taste?
Most of the MREs I've ever sampled have been from passable to fairly good. Go in with very low expectations and you'll be pleasantly surprised. The quality is akin to mediocre cafeteria food--the kind of stuff you may have had slopped on your plate in elementary school. The military has done a lot to improve the taste of the latest MREs, and while you won't be craving them any time soon, they're perfectly edible.

How long to they last?
Many have heard stories of people eating 10-15 year old MREs and living to tell the tale. While these may be true, a safe rule of thumb to follow is 5 years when stored at room temperature. When stored in hotter areas (the trunk of your car over the summer), the shelf life is reduced. MREs often don't "go bad" at that point, and can still be eaten, but most of the nutritional value has broken down.

How do I tell how old they are?
MREs are all packaged with a four digit date code--the first number being the year they were made, and then the following three the day in that year. So 7235 would be the 235th day of 2007. When shopping for MREs, always look for this date, as it will tell you how old they really are. Many sellers will mention the "inspection date" instead, which is usually 3 years after the actual package date. So, someone selling MREs with an 2006 inspection date is selling 5-year old MREs--probably not a wise purchase, as they've probably exceeded their useful life.

What else to look for when buying MREs?
Sellers will often push MRE components--usually the entrées--as full meals. This is not a full MRE, which should be large pouch and contain several different components (entrée, side, dessert, bread, etc.). It is generally not approved to sell the real-deal MREs, though they are available on eBay, and at gun shows and army surplus stores. These come in an unmistakable brown pouch.

There are also various civilian suppliers that put together the same MRE components to provide a similar--but not quite the same--product. Make sure to review the content list on non-military MREs before purchasing so you know what you're getting. Some will leave out the flameless heater or provide substandard crackers, desserts or accessories. A dead give-away is that they will not be packaged in the same brown pouch as real military MREs.

MRE Tips

• MRE packaging is generally overly bulky--lots of bags and boxes. You can cut down on weight and space by opening them, field stripping them down to what you want and losing the rest.
• MRE cheese and peanut butter spreads are very good, and make good snacks along with crackers. Keep a few stashed in your desk/car, along with a package of Ritz crackers, for a good snack.
• The MRE chemical heaters release hydrogen gas as they work. Placing an activated heater inside a plastic bottle and sealing it up can produce explosive results. I don't recommend attempting it, but something to file away in the memory banks.
  
• The military is releasing a new kind of MRE--First Strike Rations. These are lighter, more compact, and designed to be eaten by hand, on the go. The entrées take the form of sandwich pockets.
• Along with First Strike Rations, expect some old MRE components to be rotated out and new items in. Chipotle snack bread, salsa verde, and Twizzler Nibs are among the items to be added.

Left 4 Dead--Demo Review

Well, the full game hit the stores today. I'm too broke to pick it up quite yet, but have put it at the top of my "must have" list. Awesome, awesome game. Frantic, fast paced, intense--about as close as I want to get to a zombie apocalypse.

Co-op play is a BIG part of the game; there are 4 survivors at all times, the spots either filled my human players or computer-controlled bots. The bots are serviceable enough and don't generally do stupid things, but they don't take the lead and aren't nearly as effective or entertaining as another human player. Playing with real live people is the way to go--I predict that this game will gain a big following, with "Left 4 Dead" parties and groups popping up with gamers across the world, as the Halo series and other games have done before it.

The game puts you into the middle of a zombie-survival horror flick, with more guns and action than a Hollywood blockbuster can turn out. Zombie and apocalypse fans rejoice.

The AI-director is legitimately cool, and playing through the two levels provided in the demo was a different experience each time. While the structure of the level remains the same, and ammo/gun pickups generally spawn in one or two places, the game throws baddies at you in different ways. More sometimes, less other times, and from different directions. I got set up once to mow down a zombie horde I thought would be approaching from the direction they'd come in from the last time, only to find that that were coming from the opposite direction--right behind me--this time around.

The action is varies in pace, from picking off slowly shuffling "loner" zombies, to desperately trying to reload while being swarmed by a dozens. The game provides many unique opportunities for cooperation--there are many times when you'll find yourself in a situation where you need someone to save you, whether you've been tackled by a "Hunter" zombie or have been incapacitated by a zombie horde. Conserving ammo, reloading constantly, and watching your back all become fast habit if you hope to survive.

The weapons available in the demo are fun--not completely realistic, but decent for a video game. I found myself gravitating towards the zombie-slaying standby, the 12-gauge pump action, for brutal power and ammo conservation. The Uzi just seemed to chew through ammo too quickly...

My one complaint is that you're stuck with one of the four characters--a grizzled veteran, a biker, token female, and an office-worker who reminds me of the main character from Night of the Living Dead. While they are cool characters, it would be nice if there was some level of customization. Maybe this will be added to the game later.

The game runs perfectly on my 3-year old desktop. Fast a furious, with great visuals, and not a drop in frame rate even with a dozen zombies swarming across the screen.

Definitely a recommended purchase, if you've got the cash and are into zombies and computer games. My favorite game in a while--if you're trying to decide between Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3, I recommend Left 4 Dead. You can follow the link below to purchase via Amazon or get it at most any other purveyor of video/computer games: