The box I never want to open...

Ok, so if you have seen my previous blog posts, you know by now I'm big fan of organization and creating my organized prepackaged kit boxes. Well this is a peek into the box I never want to open. Its my WROL (without rule of law) kit.  There are a lot of things in here I am glad I was able to have retired when I changed my "line of work".  This is also where I keep my survival gear that I consider beyond what is acceptable in normal society.  On a more practical note I have children, and they also have friends that visit us, and as a responsible parent I feel it is my job to keep these tools in a safe manner and away from my children.

While some of this would be valuable during an evac situation, it is mainly items that would be used under the early days of civil unrest following some crisis or disaster during a "bug in", or while traveling to an evac location.

First, no firearms.  While I do have some, the long guns and most hand guns are kept under lock and key in gun safes, and my "daily carry" gun and a few other "security" weapons are kept secure but accessible.

My knives are almost exclusively "survival" in nature.  I already wrote about my favorite M-Tech MX8054, but I also have a few others.  They are sized for comfortable use and carry by the rest of my family, and I would insist that they keep them on their person for safety reasons if we were to evacuate.  I have a few friends who carry a knife daily, but i just don't see the "point". ;-)

Having closely observed what has worked best (and honestly what we needed but didn't have) during camping trips to clear a site, gather fuel, and various other wilderness tasks, I have a few longer edge weapons.   These are in fact more tools than weapons, with various uses in a camping environment.  Baring a Zombie apocalypse, they have little or no use in an urban setting or during a bug in.


This is also where I keep my tactical gear.  Retired duty belts, holsters, several pieces of body armor and shooting gloves, rifle slings and ammo pouches.  Since I run a tactical 20 gauge I'm a big fan of bandoleers, they may sound old fashion and western, but for me there is no better way to carry the volume of extra shells.  The weight is distributed and they are easily accessed for a reload.

 I have a couple of drop leg rigs for my Glocks as well as belt and paddle holsters.  I'm a big fan of Blackhawk's Serpa retention system. For speed and safety it is the best i've come across.  Anyone who spent time as a LEO or in the service will tell you about traditional hip holsters in a vehicle seat.




Body armor is just in case things deteriorate faster then I would anticipate and force me to evacuate under chaotic conditions.    Having been shot before, I know the best way to win a gunfight, is to avoid a gun fight.  But, we can't always control the events around us.  Since I already made the investment and owned them, I simply repurposed the investment as part of my Emergency preparedness gear.




This is not what I think prepping is all about, nor should it be the focus of a preparedness plan. Violence is not a solution, but it is a reality.  So being prepared to protect yourself and loved ones from harm, is as important as protecting them from cold or hunger.  I don't look forward to it nor do I fear it. Its just another force of nature to deal with.

Camping / Bug out cooking

Its far more likely that i'll be camping with this gear then in a evacuation situation, so as with most my gear I plan for the former and that covers both. This is a quick peek at the "cooking kit" I keep at the ready in my garage.  I planned it out to work with the type of camp and emergency food I keep just as it is. but given time I would also grab some heavier pots from my kitchen.  The key is the kit contains essentials so I don't forget anything.

The pots and pans are sackable teflon camp cookware and fit together to save space.  There are measuring cups, a spatula, mixing spoons, and a bunch of cutlery sets. 2 of my 6 mess kits, and very cool Coleman folding camp dish washing station.  I also keep 2 pair of cut-proof butchers gloves for food preparation without injury, and of course one of 3 can openers that are spread among my Preps.

One of my key methods for preparing food in a grid down or and evac situation would be the use of my thermal cooker.  In a nutshell, a thermal cooker is a stainless steel soup kettle that fits inside a highly insulated holder with a locking top.  

After bringing whatever you are cooking to a boil in the inner pot, you place it in the thermal holder where it will continue to slow cook from the reflected heat without using additional fuel. Especially helpful if fuel is at a premium or if you want to have a small heat signature.

Here are a couple of my "Thermal cooker" recipes I developed from my shelf stable emergency food

Crisis Gumbo

Bring 6 cups of water and a box of Zaterain's Gumbo with rice mix.  Cut up some Vienna sausages and add in a can of chicken.  Seal it in the thermal cooker and an hour later its ready.

One-Pot Spaghetti 

Bring pasta, dash of salt, spoon full of oil, and required water to a boil in base pot and seal in thermal cooker.  After half hour or so open and pour off water. Stir in can of spaghetti sauce, tomatos and canned ground beef  over a heat source. (this is just to warm up the canned ingredients).   Now place it back in thermal cooker and let it sit.  The cooker will keep the meal hot and ready to eat for few hours. 

Meals like this can be a tasty way to raise spirits in a crisis.  The canned and dry food requires no refrigeration and they "handle the road" very well if need be, and using the thermal cooker you can make a full meal for 4 with a rocket stove and just a few pine cones or a hand full of sticks for fuel.

My "bug out" evacuation food supply

So I have a few cases of MREs. Who doesn't, big deal! Right? Right!

There is nothing magic I have to share about them.  But since I shared my bug out / base camp trailer, and my overall food strategy.  And I clearly said I don't have or believe in a bug out bag to survive for 72 hours. I realized that these post would clearly point out a gap in my plan. That I may not be able to go from eating at home to an evacuation camp site in an single day. So then what?


My MREs are how I fill that gap. MREs are my "emergency rations" that can be heated and eaten on the road or in concealment without cooking, fire, establishing a full campsite, or compromising my location.  On an additional note, MRE's are now available in a "low sodium" variety.  While I don't have a hypertension, avoiding increased sodium while enduring the stress I would be under if I were eating these during an evac would be preferable.

I showed the case just for scale, but I have broken down 5 cases into 2 of my Green Horizon totes, just like the rest of my "kits", and they are ready for an evac just as quick as I could grab a Bug out bag.   These totes are solid and protect the MREs a lot better then the factory cardboard boxes they came in.  In addition the totes are designed to stack and lock together so they securely "fit" into both my truck and my evacuation plan.

I also have a supply of Mountain House freeze dried dinners for four and Gatorade drink mixes that I keep in these.  Of all the camping food, I think Mountain House brand is head and shoulders above the rest in taste. Whenever I catch these on sale, or I can get a good discount coupon for Dunham's, I add a few packs. The drink mixes add an extra electrolyte boost to bottled water while under the stress of travel or can help hide the taste of water after purification.

My favorite Survival knife

The M-Tech Xtreme MX8054

I'm not a knife guy.  I don't carry one every day, or have a big collection of pocket knives, or even particularly like knives.  In fact, of the 10 or so blade / edge weapons I own, 3 are this same knife. So, why is it my favorite and why would I spend time writing about it.  Because i'm not a knife guy and I like it, so if you are NOT a knife guy like me, the same reasons it is my favorite may make the MX8054 appeal to you.

First, its full tang.  full what?  yeah, I know, drop the tech talk.  Ok, its one solid piece of metal from tip to the bottom of the handle.  Anyway, being one big hunk of metal, it feels nice and solid. No flipping open and slicing your thumbs here (been there, done that) its a nice fixed blade.  But that also means its not something you can carry around every day.  

Second the grip has that curved hand guard which I LOVE because i'm always afraid my grip may get loose from water or sweat and my hand slide forward. Working with this I know my hand is protected. Also, Its thick enough to get a good grip on so it feels comfortable. 

Third, that blade shape creates the recessed area right in front of the guard, I found it perfect for shaving on sticks to create kindling for a camp fire. Fourth, at 3/16 of an inch thick and 440 Stainless Steel, I could beat on forever splitting small branches building a fire and never fear it would fail me.  Its just comfortable in a lot of ways, and "comfort" when you're not a knife guy says a lot.

Oddly enough, my son says to me the other day, "Dad, the guy in my video game has your knife".  I guess the M-Tech is the Call of Duty developers favorite knife too.







Now, just because I'm not a "knife guy" doesn't mean I can't work at it being comfortable with them (Remember my definition of prepping is learning a skill at a time and place of your choice and NOT because of a crisis).  In fact I have several books on knife combat, tactics, and usage, as well as several videos on the subject.  Here are my rubber training knives and I probably dedicate about an hour a week to practice knife tactics.

Anyway, if sharp objects are not your thing and you don't like knives, but need a good SHTF survival knife for your BOB, take a look at the M-tech. It just my be what you need.

Executing my "food strategy"

In an earlier post I explained my food strategy. Eat what you store, store what you eat, FIFO, "layering" my off the shelf and canned then freeze dried.  How my emergency food strategy works. But sometimes a picture can speak a thousand words, so let me give you a tour...

This is my pantry in my basement. I picked this room because it has no heat vent and is on an exterior basement wall, the room stays in the low 60s year round. I keep all my everyday foods here using the bins to organize them by type. Pasta, potatoes, muffin mix, lipton rice and noodle side dishes. I try to keep the heavy items on the bottom. I use grease markers to put purchase dates on bulk items from Sam's and Costco.

A tip, when storing food, don't forget spices, the ability to "punch up" the flavor on bland food can have a big impact on moral, and can help make some less then appetizing wild game palatable. And remember its my "food strategy" and I have developed it specifically to tie into my other prepps.  This is not a one size fits all solution and may not fit your needs.   I have a lot of "breads" because I have a camp oven, so I can bake even after an evac. These items work for me but would be almost useless if my plan were only for campfire cooking. Unless i had a well seasoned dutch oven.

Now for the longer term items, and what would be the first stuff loaded in an evacuation I use milk crates and 5 gallon buckets with Gamma lids.  They both are sturdy, and the limited size keeps them from getting overloaded and too heavy to be moved easily, and they stack very neat for transport.

A few cases of canned meats.  Tuna, chicken, to name a few, and of course SPAM, food of the gods... I also have a few cases of Keystone canned ground beef and cases of turkey and chicken gravy.  I have tested recipes using these and shelf stable mixes that can be used to make a hearty meal in camp with minimal fuel usage.


For example, bring 5 to 6 cups of water to boil in a thermal cooker interior pot (you can do this very quick with a rocket stove and a few sticks).  Pour in to a box of Zatarain's Gumbo mix with rice, then add a can of cut up vienna sausages and a can of shredded chicken, seal the pot in the thermal cooker and go do whatever else you need.  An hour or so later you have a hearty and tasty camp meal for 4 with a low smoke/heat/smell signature.   Maybe i'll do some complete field tested recipes posts later.


Anyway, these crates are all complete "meals in a can", such as hearty soups, ravioli, chili, beef stew.   They heat up in a field mess kit and feed 1 or 2 depending on if you have some sort bread to go along with it and stretch your supplies.  My kids love this stuff, so I rotate all of these to the pantry and then upstairs to the kitchen cabinets as they eat it and I buy new.



I have these canned ready to eat sauces to go over pasta thats sealed in mylar in a bin in the pantry. The pasta is the main source of energy being heavy carbs, but a tasty sauce on top makes it a much better meal. This isn't my favorite brand, I prefer Ragu and use that at home, but glass bottles do not "travel well under stress".

I also have some freeze dried products, mostly Auguson Farms because I like their quality.  The products I have are specifically chosen to fill nutrition wholes in my food plan by the lack of fresh fruit, vegetables, and dairy, that would be caused by the interim period during a protracted crisis.  In combination with my rice, and other dry grains I still have complete nutrition for my family.

Eventually all these food sources would be filled by fresh grown produce directly from a garden or farm after crops could be established, and from either wild (preferably trapped) game, or domesticated animals, if the crisis lasted that long and it came to that.  But then we are basically talking about a reset of society. 

Everybody needs these two radios

Its just my opinion but information is critical.  In a crisis news can save your life.  Here is my two Midland's XT511 emergency crank radio.  Its gets both AM and FM as well as weather band.  It also transmits on the standard GMRS walkie talkie frequencies so for me it can act as a base station for my other coms. You can plug it in or use the hand crank to power it in a blackout

key ways of getting information.  On the right is the "preppers standard",

I really like this radio and they are cheap enough where there is no excuse for every household not to have one.  You can find them on Ebay for around 60 dollars with free shipping

The second one is for a little more advanced, in that its a Uniden Bearcat BC355C scanner.  While its just a basic model, it gets Police dispatch, fire rescue, and EMS.   To be able to listen and know what is happening around you directly during and emergency, as appose to waiting for traditional news reports could buy you some much needed time if you decide to evacuate. These are on Ebay at about 80 dollars but you may want to add in some money to pick up and upgraded the antenna. I personally bought a much better suction cup window mount antenna, and the cigarette adapter cord.

I own, have tested, and rely on both of these radios to keep me informed in case of an emergency.

My base camp / bug out trailer inventory

I put the trailer up, but didn't go through everything I carry, so here is  a detailed inventory list.

Now first off, I know i'm carrying a lot of stuff that most preppers don't think is a necessity.  They figure "i'm evacuating so grab  my bag and what i need in 5 minutes and go".  But by keeping all my base camp gear packed and prepped, I can hook the trailer up just as quick as I can get to a closet and grab a BOB.  Yes, it takes a lot of discipline to clean and repack all my gear on a Sunday evening after a long weekend of camping when I'm hot, dirty, and just want a shower, but if you're committed and want to stay ready then thats the price.  If i let it get away from me, thats exactly when the crisis will come.

Second, IF I bug out, its gotten so bad chances are I am going to be gone a lot longer then a 72 hours, so I plan to take everything to survive for an extended period. Third, I keep it in an unheated garage, so a lot of temperature sensitive gear and all my food stays in the basement.  Just because you don't see it listed doesn't mean i don't have it ready, i just don't want some of my other gear subjected to the heat and cold. Ok so here we go...

1 Coleman Elite Weathermaster tent

1 Coleman Instant 8 person tent w/rain fly
(my tents are oversize for my family of 4 so it allows me to bring gear in and protect gear from the elements as well as offer others shelter if i need to)

2 waterproof 18oz duck canvas tarps custom sized to base layer under the tents

2 Coleman 4 in 1 air mattress sets (4 twins) 

5 sleeping bags all season sub 0 (one spare) 

4 camp chairs

3 Camo vinyl general use tarps
2 Camouflage nets 6 X 9

5 heavy duty rope cords

12 100ft cords or 550 para cord (4 black, 2 tan camo, 4 green camo, 2 winter camo)

Miscellaneous pulleys, tie-down hooks, and steaks   

Titanium chain and pad locks

30 1 LB propane tanks

1 Camp chef stove / oven

1 StoveTec Rocket stove

Field rated cookwear set

1 Mr Heater

1 Camp Chem toilet

1 Katadyn brand Ceradyn gravity water filter w/spare cartages 

2 cans fix a flat

2 fire extinguishers

Mosquito / bug netting

1 Shovel

1 large Axe 

1 Stanley extreme pry-bar multi-tool

1 bolt / lock cutters

1 Rubber mallet

1 Manual tire air pump

1 Camp shower

2 Fuel siphon hose (you never know what the fuel source will be)

6 BSA mess kits and cutlery sets

2 LED flash lights (there are a lot more other places)

4 Frog togg rain ponchos

First aid kit

I think I'm well equipped for my family of 4, but my spares allow me to assist and support others like additional family members or contribute to a small group should the need arise.  I also have space for my solar panels as part of my power generation system, but I don't keep them in the trailer.

Now, my Eagle Scout buddies out there and Bear Grylls are saying "Seriously dude, air mattresses, chem toilet, and camping chairs? WTF? Carry food!"  Well, thats what the bed of the pickup is reserved for... Seriously, do I have a food plan, and an environmental reason for an evacuation is a lot more likely then TEOTWAWKI.

So I figure if something environmental like with hurricane Sandy or Katrina happening is the cause of the evac, and you will be gone a while but eventually return home and things will normalize, you can afford to make your temporary camp as comfortable as possible.

I'm by no means an expert, so if you see something I missed, have any suggestions, ideas, or comments, i'ed love to hear them. 

Winter storms Hercules and Ion and the knot in my stomach.

Being a prepper I guess some people already would think i'm a bit of an alarmist.  I mean we talk about the fragility of our social and economic systems, the extreme reliance on the electrical grid, the lack of self sufficiency that our "just in time", fast food, and microwave  society has created.  But it really hit me today.

Even though i'm well stocked, I did manage to run low on Lactaid milk.  So after blowing the snow and cleaning and warming up all the cars, I decided to venture to my local grocery store for 2 half gallons so I could have a nice hot cup of hot chocolate.  I saw the news reports Saturday and Sunday about there being runs on staples and shelves being empty but I didn't think too much of it.  So, when I'm grabbing my Lactaid, I notice there is very little regular milk on the racks in the cooler. Not only that, but there were none of the usual racks filled with dairy products in the back of the cooler to restock.

I asked the stock guy, and his response was "yeah, we missed a bunch of our trucks today because of the storm.  We're out of eggs, almost out of dairy, and a bunch of other stuff if you look close".  I looked around.  Things like no "ready to bake" cookies, low on ice cream, no bread, no ground beef, a few packs of chicken...  A chill went up my spine.  I had not noticed because they repositioned inventory like lunch meat in the cooler to fill the space.    This is just a snow storm. The roads will get plowed and the trucks will eventually show up.  But what if it didn't? What if the trucks weren't coming? We aren't talking weeks, or even days, literally 24 hours and the wheels had begun to come off of society.  The cracks in the damn began to leak.

In studying the fragility of Great Britain's food chain, Lord Cameron of Dillington, the first head of the countryside agency, told Tony Blair that They were "Nine meals away from anarchy".   He was right, we are really that close to the edge.

Don't get caught up by stupid stuff

Simplify things and standardize.  Thats one of my underlying principals.  Great example is securing my prepps.  I put them in the kits and locked them, but I picked the simplest securest lock I could find.

Its a Master lock speed dial and I got 10 of them and set them ALL to the same combination and then made sure the whole family can open them.  I always hated combination locks in high school, they never worked for me then, and I can only imagine the stress I would be under if I had to open these cases.  The last thing I need is some persnickety combination lock that doesn't like when i go half way past right 17, or worse yet loose the darn key and end up standing in front of a case holding just what I need beating on a lock with a rock.

Now keeping this much gear, securing it was not an option.  Not just for transport but for safety.   I have children and their friends come visit all the time, and I don't want little Timmy from up the street playing with my tactical tomahawk or telling his mom how he took a aspirin only to find out its Cipro.  But foresight impacted two decisions.




First, my selection of tote/bins, i added hinged and lockable to my criteria, and second, when I could have bough any old pad locks, or stepped up to a bunch keyed alike, instead I looked for a "next level" solution.   None of this impacted the price, but its a matter of applying long term thinking to the smallest decisions.

This way everything is secure with no key, no hard to remember combination, and no worries.... Solve the problem before it IS a problem.

Ok, so EMPs and Solar flares don't worry me...

I know it goes against the "prepper code" to not take a threat seriously, but I prioritize based on probability and i just don't think its very likely.  So why am I even talking about them if i don't see them as a threat?  Well, just because they aren't high on the probability list doesn't mean I can't take some cheap and easy steps to minimize my exposure.

Now even though i'm planning on Bugging in, you probably know from other blog post that I store and organize my gear so IF i did have to evacuate its pre-packed.  Well I figured if i'm going to store field electronics, i may as well store them safe from EMPs.   OK, so first if you're reading this i'm sure you know an EMP is a electromagnetic pulse that fries circuits and makes high tech gear into paper weights, and that a Farady cage can protect your gear by shielding it.  But did you know you can make a "poor man's Farady cage" from a steel trash can?

OK, so a great big garbage can is not very mobile when full, but these little 6 gallon ones from Home Depot are perfect and they are like 15 bucks.  Line it with card board to make sure none of the gear touches the can and there you have it. Like I said, I have to store the gear anyway so why put it in a plastic box when I can just as easily put it in steel and protect it with no extra trouble.   So here is a quick tour of what I keep in.

Its mostly communication gear, field radios on the left (i have throat mikes for them too), a couple of Nextels set to direct chat (i've field tested them and you get almost half mile range), a crank emergency radio, a multimeter, in the center is my police scanner, and my 3 Bushnell backtracks.  I tossed in a couple of spare tactical LED flashlights too at the direction of a prepper friend of mine who swears they have chips and are subject to EMPs.  I also keep my night vision gear in there too, but i didn't pull it out since I already talked about it in another post.

So, now you know why EMPs and solar flares don't worry me...