Table of contents for Summer 2013 in RECOIL OFFGRID

Whether you are bugging out of the city or bugging back home, when crap goes down in your town, you’re going to need a sturdy and comfortable backpack to haul your gear with. All the survival equipment in the world won’t do you any good if you can’t carry it with you. But, with thousands of backpacks on the market, how do you go about choosing the right one? We point out a few factors for consideration to help you make the right decision. When choosing any type of equipment, its use dictates which features work for the job at hand. In this case, we will base our needs of a general disaster scenario. FEMA recommends that basic emergency supplies allow for one person to survive for three days. The…

If the specter of flling up on sodium-saturated military-grade dried foodstufs doesn’t sound palatable to you or you have health concerns that bar you from partaking in them, you’re in luck. Those who camp, climb, hike, or do any other outdoorsy kind of activity may already be aware of the many freeze-dried meals that are on the market. Made for outdoor adventurers, they are like MREs in that they last for years afer their manufacture date, but unlike MREs, which are complete meals in a pouch, ofer only single courses. This doesn’t mean that you can’t select a few oferings to form your own complete meal, however. Generally speaking, these non-military-grade meals are USDA inspected for quality, get high marks for taste, and are, for the most part, nutritious. If…

Pros: > A basic variety of supply options. cons: > Higher per-unit prices. > Less variety than Wal-Mart. > Fewer options than money. > Economize in both directions. Notes: Very good selection at betterthan- expected prices relative to Wal-Mart. The only item not available in some form at Walgreens compared to the Wal-Mart list was water purification tablets. In my haste to meet the 30-minute deadline, I forgot to buy a lighter, but perhaps the one in the car or something at home will spark up our survival party. Water: Same 12-gallon requirement. Largest container was a 1-gallon jug. Listed at 2 gallons for $2. Price: $12 Food: Narrower variety of foods, but adequate, given the requirement of protein and caloriedense products that did not require refrigeration or preparation. I…

living in urban areas where medical help is only a phone call away makes it easy to take immediate first aid care for granted. The unfortunate reality is that when things go bad, these lifesaving services can be interrupted. Whether your medical need is for something as minor as a scraped knee or something as substantial as a broken arm, do you know what to do and have the supplies needed if professional help is not available? You never know when a medical emergency is going to happen. For this reason, everyone should have at least basic knowledge of first aid and a first aid kit available at a moment’s notice. Stick one in your home, workplace, car, and wherever else you frequent. In places with limited storage space such…

Unfortunately, it’s not very hard to imagine a scenario where the fuel supply system breaks down. Last year, the closure of just two refineries in California caused fuel prices to skyrocket and some stations to close in a state with more than 38-million people. Now, picture every refinery in the entire country, or even the whole world, shutting down, and record-high prices will seem like a minor inconvenience as supplies of ready-to-use fuel disappear. One way to insulate yourself from this kind of disaster is to learn how to find and make your own fuel before it happens, and biodiesel is your best bet for self-suficiency. What Is Biodiesel? The “bio” in biodiesel is there because the fuel comes from biological resources, instead of petroleum. Biodiesel can be made from…

So, you’ve made all your plans in case of a major disaster. You’ve got your plan of action, your bugout bag, your drinking water, your rations, and even extra batteries for your flashlight. But, what happens when the disaster doesn’t cooperate with your plan? Perhaps, your family’s meeting point has been compromised. Perhaps, the streets have become unsafe to travel. Perhaps the phone lines are down. What are you to do then? How are you going to be able to change the plan and let your loved ones know about it? We can tell you from recent experience that trying to reach someone right after an emergency was an arduous task. It took this author more than an hour to get through to someone just after the Boston Marathon bombings…

Time for a reality check, America; disasters happen and not just at the local mobile trailer park. Disasters happen in large cities, too. In 2003, a power outage in the Northeast left more than 7 million New York City residents without any type of power for two days. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated and flooded the city of New Orleans for weeks. In 2007, wildfires whipped up by the Santa Ana winds destroyed thousands of homes in the northern suburbs of San Diego; and in 2012, Hurricane Sandy erased some towns in New Jersey of the map and flooded New York City to levels not seen in 100 years. Most times, we have some indication that trouble is headed our way and we can make some preparations for weathering the…

The truth is that dedicated tools are much better than “jack of all trades, master of none” options. A full-sized version of a screwdriver or a saw will yield better results than miniature versions in just about any job you encounter. But, if space is at a minimum, such as in an emergency backpack or a car’s glove compartment, dedicated tools are often impractical and, in most cases, impossible to store due to their large size or heft. In those situations, the necessity of having scaled-down tools quickly becomes apparent. When pocket-sized tools are bundled together into a single unit, they are most often referred to as multitools. Do-it-all multitools may sound nice, but are they too good to be true? Sure, a 4-inch-long saw will take you some time…

Pros: > Big Gulps Cons: > Least variety of supplies. > Highest price per unit. > Fewer realistic options than money. > Get as much of the basics as possible and substitute as closely as possible on necessities. Notes: A convenience store is the least desirable option. Selection is severely limited. There are no shopping carts, so the simple logistics of getting $100 of product to the counter is a process. Having waited until late in the evening to hit the 7-Eleven, I enlisted the help of several curious, half-sober, but fully tattooed patrons who found it uniquely charming to be part of a magazine story. They had some entertaining but impractical advice on emergency preparedness and survival techniques. I used the experience as an opportunity to develop a rapport…

What is heatstroke or even heat exhaustion? How many of you reading this article have experienced body overheating in one form or another? Can you specifically recall a time and place and how you felt during that situation? A simple yet efective way to identify heatstroke or the potential of becoming a heat casualty (there are three forms of heat-related issues) is to keep in mind whether or not you’re urinating within a reasonable amount of time after consuming fluids. Basic rule of thumb, if you’re not peeing, you’re not drinking enough. The three main types of heat-related issues are dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke. These three types are listed here in severity from least damaging to the worst possible scenario. Dehydration Dehydration is losing more fluid than you are…

Natural disasters. Terrorism. The Zombie Apocalypse. There are dozens of disasters (a few fictional, the rest very real) that have given people cause to prepare for a bugout scenario. Just remember, being paranoid is not an efective survival skill, but awareness, on the other hand, is. We must understand that being aware and prepared is simply being responsible. So, no matter your level of experience or training, incorporating the following into your bug-out plan will provide you with a good starting point to survive almost any situation: > Preplanning > But-out bag > Gear > Evacuation plan > Communications > Security The following is a primer on how to create your own bug-out plan based on these elements. Even if you already have an emergency plan in place, it’s always…

Plain and simple, after water, food is the most important thing to survive and thrive on in any OFFGRID situation. Your go-bag can be filled with all the cool tools and toys, but without proper nutrition, your body will weaken and slowly shut down in a matter of days. What do you do to prepare for the inevitability of being separated from your usual means of sustenance? Refrigerated foods will begin to rot, and grocery stores will be the first places picked clean. You’re going to have to rely on what you’ve squirreled away for your body’s fuel source. You’ll need to keep fueled up to stay alert and physically ready to handle whatever might come next. You don’t want to just survive; you want to be one of the…

Urban disasters come in all shapes and forms. Whether it is a small-scale power outage or full-scale breakdown of society, there are strong arguments to be made for having a firearm. Guns are the great equalizer, allowing even a small-framed woman to fend of a bulkedup muscle-bound brute. With proper training, they can provide protection for you, your family, and your property in uncertain times. Firearm Safety Before we start delving into the selection or the use of firearms, we need to talk about firearm safety. There are four universal firearm safety rules, and while often worded diferently, the theme is always the same. If I were to add a fifth safety rule, it would state: You are responsible for the storage and care of your firearms. With these safety…

Pros > Wide variety of options. > Low relative pricing. Cons: > One-hundred dollars will go fast. Prioritization will be key. > Get what you must have and substitute on price because you will have more options than money. Water: Half a gallon per day (times 5 days) per person (times 4) equals 10 gallons, plus 2 additional gallons for cooking and hygiene. This implies a low volume of activity and relatively moderate temperatures. Err on the side of more water, if possible. Wal-Mart sells water in 2.5-gallon containers. Price: $1.11 per gallon ToTal: $13.32 Food: Each person will have diferent pantry contents at home. Presume you are shopping to supplement or continue after current supplies run out. Focus on calorie-dense items that require minimal preparation and no refrigeration. I…

Our society depends so much on electrical power. Every aspect of our homes and workplaces run on electricity. We expect that when we flip the switch, the lights turn on. But, what happens if they don’t? What if Mother Nature throws a massive tornado or a sudden blizzard at you? Or some other crisis breaks out? Time is the single biggest factor. What kind of time are we talking about? A few hours or possibly more than 30 days? The correct response is, it doesn’t matter. Depending on the event, there might not be a need to evacuate, but rather hunker down. It’s just a matter of how we prep our dwellings to deal with such an emergency. Obviously, there will be diferent plans for diferent homes in diferent regions.…

It’s always a good idea to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In this case, we’re applying that thought to vehicular travel. As a city dweller, you may already realize that if something bad happens in a major metropolitan area, a chance of monumental gridlock occurring is almost guaranteed. In that instance, you’re not going anywhere via car, truck, or most other land conveyances. But, if the disaster is not widespread and is localized to your particular area or you choose to bug-in and lay low for a while, the streets might clear up enough for you to escape. In that case, you need your wheels to be good to go at a moment’s notice. A key thing to keep in mind is that your vehicle should…