Table of contents for October - November 2016 in RECOIL OFFGRID

1 Footwear MAKE & MODEL 5.11 Tactical Ranger Shoe MSRP $90 URL www.511tactical.com 2 Pants MAKE & MODEL Eddie Bauer Men’s Flex Jeans MSRP $70 URL www.eddiebauer.com 3 Belt MAKE & MODEL First Tactical Range Belt 1.5 Inch MSRP $20 URL www.firsttactical.com 4 Shirt MAKE & MODEL Eddie Bauer Men’s Guide Long-Sleeve Shirt MSRP $80 URL www.eddiebauer.com 5 Eye Protection MAKE & MODEL Ergodyne Skullerz Kvasir Safety Glasses MSRP $15 URL www.ergodyne.com 6 Hat MAKE & MODEL Ergodyne Skullerz 8960 Bump Cap with LED Lighting Technology MSRP $45 URL www.ergodyne.com 7 Gloves MAKE & MODEL Ergodyne ProFlex 710TX Heavy-Duty + Touch Gloves MSRP $33 URL www.ergodyne.com 8 Knife MAKE & MODEL Camillus Cutlery Les Stroud Inuit 9-Inch Fixed Blade Knife MSRP $35 URL www.camillusknives.com 9 Radio MAKE & MODEL Midland…

Have you ever held a flashlight to illuminate your workspace, only to fumble with it and wish you had an extra pair of hands? Most of us have encountered this frustrating situation at one time or another. You could try setting the light down somewhere, but that’s impossible if you’re on the move. Alternatively, you could get a headlamp, but it could interfere with certain headgear. Plus, they don’t fit as conveniently in a pants pocket as a flashlight and can make you look like Spencer Spelunker. What you could really use is a device that bridges the gap between flashlight and headlamp. Fortunately, such a tool already exists: the angle-head flashlight. The key benefit of an angle-head flashlight is its ability to clip onto your existing gear, whether that’s…

A hurricane is the haymaker of suckerpunches; nature’s fist of fury. Starting low, loose, and below the belt, it loops upward and lands in an arcing trajectory with enough force to take off your head. At worst, winds and waters combine for a one-two punch that leaves you for dead in a blind alley — Hurricane Alley. Can you take the hit? Will you be caught flat-footed? Survival for you and loved ones may depend on developing the ability to stay aware and stay prepped prior to and during the six-month Atlantic hurricane season. It runs June through November, when hurricane eye walls narrow into deadly killing funnels, with nice sounding names like Charley and Katrina. To learn how to prepare for and move (or not) before, during, and after…

Remember how we said we wouldn’t get too technical? Well, bear with us, because we’re going to need to bend that rule. Water purifiers are typically measured and rated to remove 99.X percent of viruses, bacteria, or protozoan cysts. Each digit in this percentage represents a power of 10, also called a “log” (short for logarithm). For example, a filter rated to remove 99.99 percent of bacteria would be rated at a “4-log bacteria reduction.” If your water had exactly 1,000,000 microbes in it, a 4-log reduction would mean only 100 of those microbes would be left in the water after treatment — 999,900 microbes would be removed. A 6-log or 99.9999-percent reduction would leave only 1 microbe in the water. For the purposes of this comparison chart, the ●…

The slaughter at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union. The attack on the Istanbul airport in Turkey. The circus that is the United States presidential race. The looming threat of a global Zika virus outbreak after the Olympics. The police shootings of black men captured on social media. The Dallas lunatic who killed five officers and the subsequent attacks on law enforcement in Georgia, Tennessee, and Missouri. The ongoing wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, not to mention major conflicts in other parts of the Middle East and Africa. And, of course, the international worries over the growing influence of ISIS. For the tinfoil hat society, these are all signs of the coming apocalypse. But I call bullsh*t. The uninformed would…

The hard rain droplets sounded like small stones, popping against the windowpanes. Yet, you peered through the window anyway, trying to spot your father’s missing dog — you didn’t want to leave the animal behind. Your father was likely to refuse to leave if you couldn’t produce his missing dog, and the idea of leaving a beloved pet behind made you feel guilty. The conditions worsened as each minute passed. Delaying your departure on account of the missing dog risked not making it out at all — and then where would your other loved ones be? The hurricane preparedness and survival plans you carefully made with your family began to fall apart because of a lost pet. You couldn’t get to your supplies, nor get your aging father to a…

Water: 1-gallon potable water per person for three days, plus 1 gallon for washing Food: Three meals per day per person plus utensils Sanitation: Bathroom facilities and trash storage, or disposable wipes, anti-bacterial hand sanitizer, and bleach, used for water treatment and as a general disinfectant Apparel: Dry change of clothes with waterproof shell, strong-soled boots or hiking shoes, gloves, respirator, and protective glasses Personal Kit: Individually selected items of value and need — i.e. cash, documentation, and reading glasses Medical: First-aid kit, medicines and prescriptions, sunblock, bug repellent, compact reflective blanket (space blanket), etc. Self-Defense Tools: Firearms, ammo, knife, etc. Electronics: Chargers, batteries, communications (radios, mobile or satellite phones), self-charging weather radio, flashlight, headlamps, chem lights, etc. Also consider: Signaling Devices: Whistle, flare, mirror, air horn, fire-starter Evacuation Tool(s):…

The world may have changed significantly since the time a hairy guy in a loincloth struck a couple of rocks together and discovered fire, but the power of controlled combustion to sustain us is the same as it was so long ago. And, the use of fire as a way to prepare food hasn’t changed all that much either. Pots, pans, and ovens are modern adaptions of ancient technology, as is the stove itself. What’s changed are the materials, mechanisms, and fuels that make cooking far more convenient and safe. A portable stove is a must-have when you step off the grid — whether by choice or by circumstance. Cooking, purifying water, and even producing some simple household necessities, such as glue, are all within reach with a good stove…

It’s been a few days since you got separated from the rest of the group. To stretch out your supplies while you await rescue or find help, you’ve been living off the earth as much as possible. While your intentions may have been sound, your ability to spot edible plants wasn’t. Something you ate isn’t playing well with your internals. At best, you may be dealing with a major bout of gas. At worst, you might have inadvertently ingested some sort of poison. If you’re forced to fend for yourself during a natural disaster, have found yourself in a postapocalyptic landscape, or are hopelessly lost in the woods, there’s a good chance that safe food and drinking water will be at a minimum. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pains can…

Activated carbon is found in several filters covered in this guide. This substance, also called activated charcoal, is highly porous and captures trace chemical elements found in water. This is especially useful for removing off-putting taste and odor, such as the chlorinated taste of tap water. It can also remove traces of other chemicals, heavy metals, and poisons (see “Poison Eraser” elsewhere in this issue). As a result, filters or purifiers that address taste and odor typically incorporate an activated carbon component. However — and this is an important point — an activated carbon filter shouldn’t be seen as a water purifier by itself. Activated carbon doesn’t treat or remove bacteria, protozoan cysts, or viruses. So, it can’t prevent you from getting sick from these contaminants. For comparison purposes, we…

Your Bible-thumping brother was right. It’s the end times. The Seven Seals are torn asunder. The Four Horsemen have burst forth. Fire and brimstone and yada yada yada. Or maybe it’s just a thunderstorm off in the distance? According to the World Meteorological Organization, Mother Nature kills roughly 250,000 people each year, mostly by floods, storms, and heat waves. Whether fireballs as big as Volkswagens are striking the earth around you, or a brush fire is creeping up on your neighborhood, there are 451 reasons you don’t want to be surrounded by paper at the library while looking for survival information you should already have on hand. That’s why you should carry survival literature with you, either in your car or as part of your emergency kit. Sure, we’d like…

Here in Ocala in the middle of Florida, far from the coastal breezes and surrounded by pine forests, we’re sweating even in the shade. Behind us a four-story concrete building burns from the inside out. Black smoke pours out of every door and window. It stings our eyes even though we turn our backs to it. No, we’re not witness to a wildfire that’s engulfed a nearby office building. This is an intentional inferno, set at the Florida State Fire College as part of the Florida Smoke Diver School. This intense one-week course teaches firefighters to survive and thrive in situations that would incapacitate some of their less-experienced counterparts. It’s meant for the best of the best, sort of like the SWAT academy of firefighting — which might explain why…

Clean drinking water is an absolute necessity. It’s often said humans can survive three days without water, but during strenuous physical a==ctivity, this could be a generous estimate. However, rehydrating isn’t as simple as drinking directly from the first pond or stream you find. Even if untreated water looks crystal clear, it may be packed with millions of pathogens that are invisible to the human eye. In a cruel twist of fate, drinking the wrong water can do more harm than drinking nothing at all. To avoid becoming ill, you’ll need to find a way to remove or inactivate these invisible microbes — which isn’t always easy if you’re fleeing a catastrophe. In the past, this meant setting up camp, building a fire, and boiling water — a laborious and…

There’s nothing like eating truly fresh eggs. We know, the egg carton you buy at the local grocer says they’re cage-free blah, blah, blah. But they’re not nearly as fresh and tasty as the eggs you might get from a hen that just laid them that morning in your backyard. And they’re even more satisfying because they came from your chickens. It’s a process the whole family can participate in — it’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun. No, this isn’t Farming Monthly. But for many preparedness-minded folks, having a sustainable source of food on your property goes hand in hand with survivalism. That’s why in this feature article we’re flying beak-first into the topic of raising chickens. Not everyone can raise poultry at home…

Seventy-five years ago, Robert Fair de Graff was convinced he could change the way people read by making books drastically smaller. In the 1930s, it was surprisingly hard for ordinary Americans to get good books. Libraries were small and limited, and the country only had about 500 bookstores, all clustered in the 12 biggest cities. Additionally, hardcovers cost about $2.50 (or $40 in today’s currency). De Graff revolutionized the market in 1939 when he started Pocket Books, a publishing division of Simon & Schuster. His product was a petite 4x6-inch book priced at 25 cents, and it changed everything about who could read and where they could read (and where they could be purchased). Working with the mob-controlled magazinedistribution industry, de Graff sold books at grocery stores, drugstores, and airport…

If you’re reading this magazine, there’s a good chance you’ve considered fortifying your food supplies and beefing up your home security. And if you’re a serious prepper, you’ve already done those things in addition to buying a backup generator for when the power cuts out or the aliens finally invade Earth. Usually powered by gasoline, a portable generator can provide electricity where a plugin isn’t available (e.g. a tailgate party) or if there’s a grid-down situation. However, there are drawbacks. Portable generators give off poisonous carbon monoxide fumes, not to mention noise pollution that can attract unwanted attention (i.e. marauders or the desperate). Too bad there isn’t a silent, zero-emission generator that doesn’t require fuel to work. Or is there? Enter Goal Zero, an industry leader in sun-powered illumination solutions.…