Table of contents for February - March 2017 in RECOIL OFFGRID

Hey, we should climb up to someplace high before it gets dark. Maybe the phones will work up on a ridge or something.” Even before you shoot your friend a look that says dumbest plan ever, he looks down at your damaged knee and says “Oh, right. Never mind.” After a few minutes pass, the snowfall seems to increase and another awful plan gets proposed: “You know, if we could stand by the roadside long enough, some hot girls would probably pick us up, especially with you looking like a broken-legged puppy and all.” The snow was still falling. The light was fading fast. The car was completely off the road and there was no sign of anyone else in the area. Worst of all, your buddy didn’t have his…

Almost always out of sight and often shunned as smelly little biofactories, socks were once the forgotten stepchildren of the performance-wear market. Cheap cotton socks by the plastic bagful sulked on store walls beside their thick, itchy wool brethren, as customers thoughtfully considered how highly engineered fabrics would protect them from the ankles up. Perhaps sometime after the rise of the Beastie Boys, but before the release of Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic, sock-making hit a golden age. Minds, materials, and machines clicked, and people realized the comfort of their feet was important and worth more than a few bucks. The result is a pallet of options we have before us today that keep our feet dry and comfortable as never before. As winter grips North America, you may be looking…

ÒIf the monster hides under your bed, it must be afraid of you,” a father says to his 6-year-old son during Hurricane Katrina. The family had been sitting in the living room for the past four hours watching the emergency weather reports and the local news as it covered what they termed “the impending disaster” when the Break Falls River crested its banks. This had happened three times in the past six years, and each time, the family had waited for the evacuation signal, knowing that they could lose everything. But this time seemed different, and 10-year-old Margaret saw it in her parents’ faces. The whispers back and forth and the furtive looks at the television left her with “scary feelings” that were growing worse — as if 100 butterflies…

WARNING! Some of the content described in this story involves making fire, which is inherently dangerous. The materials provided are for illustrative purposes only. Any use of the information contained in this article shall be solely at the reader’s risk. This publication and its contributors are not responsible for any potential injuries. When I was young I remember people using cough-drop tins to carry or store all sorts of things. I have a dim recollection of grandma having some sewing supplies in one that she kept in her purse. Several people I knew had those cans rattling around in tackle boxes and on workbenches. They worked great for keeping little odds and ends at least somewhat organized. The modern equivalent today is the Altoids mint tin. To the prepper and…

If you ever attended church Sunday school as a kid, you may remember the Old Testament Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. According to the story, these three men were thrown into a blazing furnace as punishment for their refusal to bow down to the egotistical king, Nebuchadnezzar. Miraculously, they were spared an agonizing death — instead, the king watched as the men walked through the flames unharmed. We mention this tale because it served as the inspiration for the latest collaboration between blade designer Grady Burrell (of Master Proven) and blade maker Darrel Ralph (of DDR and DGT). This small knife is called the Shadrach, and just like its namesake, it has some fiery surprises in store. Grady Burrell and Master Proven The Shadrach blade started out as…

MAKE & MODEL Gerber Center-Drive Multi-tool TOOLS Pliers, Bit Driver, Plain Blade, Serrated Blade, Pry Bar, Awl, Wire Cutters, Wire Strippers, File, Ruler, Bottle Opener MSRP $89 URL www.center-drive.com NOTES Like you, we’re impatiently waiting for the release of the ME3 handheld cutting torch as used by the brave Colonial Marines on their failed mission to rescue the doomed terafarming colony on Archeron. In the meantime, Gerber released it’s latest multitool aimed at taking the place of a real set of tools. The Center-Drive features a long, offset bit driver that’s angled to spin on-axis, as a proper bit driver does. It uses standard 1⁄4-inch hex drive bits for universal compatibility. It sports another 10 (by our count) tools making it almost, but not quite as useful as a pocket…

Win or lose, you always learn.” This quote has been used by coaches and martial arts practitioners in various iterations, and true to some degree. No one will forget the feeling of getting choked out for the first time or what actions, in training, lead to getting struck, thrust, or shot. These experiences are great teachers. The wise fighter will catalog them to avoid them in the future. Sometimes, though, losing means losing it all. Some fight mistakes aren’t learning experiences — dying doesn’t afford someone a second chance to try again. What follows are common mistakes that have killed some but taught many. WARNING! The content in this story is provided for illustrative purposes only and not meant to be construed as advice or instruction. Seek a reputable self-defense…

Thanks to shows like Doomsday Preppers, a majority of Americans think that prepping is all about underground bunkers, a year’s worth of food, gas masks, and an armory filled with guns and ammo. While few rational people would argue with the logic of maintaining long-term food stores and employing robust security/self-defense measures, a realistic survival plan has to encompass much more. Whether you’re just getting started, or have been prepping for years, it’s really easy to get caught up in the hype and disregard crucial preparations. So, in this article we shed light on 10 of the most neglected — but essential — preps. WARNING! Some of the skills/gear described in this article can be dangerous. Even with training, quality gear and common sense, you can get seriously injured. The…

I first learned how to make these firestarters from noted survival authority John D. McCann (www.SurvivalResources.com). They remain my very favorite homemade fire-starter as they incorporate the ignition right into the mix. Supplies: Strike-anywhere matches Toilet paper Melted wax Aluminum foil or wax paper Tear one square of the toilet paper into two roughly equal pieces. Take two of the matches and hold them side by side, pinching one end of the piece of toilet paper between them. Tightly roll the toilet paper around the matches. Then, dip the whole works into the melted wax. Place it on foil or wax paper to cool, then dip the other end, completely sealing the matches in wax. Let it cool and harden. To use, gently scrape or rub the wax from the…

If all the lights shut off, and you needed to find your way to safety through unfamiliar surroundings, what would you do? Many of the everyday-carry (EDC) aficionados among us would whip out fullsize flashlights, while those less prepared would fumble with the built-in LED lights on their smartphones. Each of these choices has advantages and disadvantages. A full-size handheld torch is powerful, but also takes up a lot of pocket real estate. A smartphone light is convenient, but weak, and it consumes battery power that could be better used for navigation or communication. Fortunately, a compromise exists between these two options: mini flashlights. Whether they’re attached to a keychain, clipped to your clothing, or left loose in your pocket, these pint-sized lights give you the illumination you need with…

When people think of winter, they think of holidays, family, snowmen, and skating. What can be a fun time can also become a disaster if you’re ill prepared. Things that seem trivial the rest of the year can become a life-or-death scenario when the mercury plunges. Sometimes a sudden emergency becomes a double whammy if it occurs during inclement weather. Did you prepare for both? It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling by car to a mountain resort and have a breakdown, or if civil unrest has forced you to move, the time of year or location in which these events unfold can create additional complications. If you planned only for what might happen during favorable conditions, you’re only halfway there — and that may cost you more than you bargained…

WARNING! This story is meant to be a general overview and not a detailed guide on emergency first-aid methods. Do not attempt to perform these techniques without first receiving professional paramedic or first-aid training. The skill set of a U.S. special operations combat medic (SOCM) seems tailormade for preppers. Through years of training, they learn to do much with little, to improvise equipment and techniques, and to scrap and scrounge in the name of keeping their teammates alive. We had the privilege of learning how to treat some specific medical emergencies from a 26-year Special Operations Combat Medic. He’s uniquely suited to teach RECOIL OFFGRID’s readers since he’s accustomed to depending on himself to take care of things — whether waiting 72 hours for a helo to evacuate his wounded…

SOG Specialty Knives was born from a single cell. Over the past 30 years, it’s evolved into a successful company that’s grown steadily since its founder, Spencer Frazer, designed its first product, a hardworking reproduction of the Vietnam War-era SOG Bowie knife back in the ’80s. SOG isn’t a traditional knife company. Frazer, and the company he started, has always been a designer, not a manufacturer. He graduated from UCLA with degrees in math and science, then spent years working in the design and R&D fields. His first taste of entrepreneurship was starting a company with a friend making high-tech speakers. He left that enterprise to work on stealth projects behind the top-secret curtain at aerospace contractor Northrop. Frazer would later find himself in the aisle of a Southern California…

Water is one of the heaviest items we carry, and any experienced hiker or backpacker can attest to this fact. The U.S. Army recommends that an active individual consume approximately 75 percent of his or her body weight in ounces of water per day — about 112.5 fluid ounces for a 150-pound person, or even more under particularly hot or strenuous conditions. This amount of water weighs about 7.3 pounds; this doesn’t seem like much, but it belies an aspect that’s often overlooked: the space that water occupies. Once you drink every drop, hard plastic or metal water bottles get lighter, but they don’t get any smaller. A 32-ounce canteen still occupies the same amount of space in your backpack, whether empty or full. Between refills, you’re hauling containers of…

Speed and power are two vital qualities any prepper should have, lest the situation calls for you to burst out of a tight spot and haul ass to safety. With a litany of theories and exercises to choose from, what is the correct way to use power training to improve your speed? More importantly, which can be used to prepare for and possibly use during a disaster scenario? Read on to find out. Why Power Train for Survival? Survival scenarios can call for anything. The catch is, you have no idea what cards you’ll be dealt. From a physical standpoint, we need to do whatever we can to stack the cards in our favor, and in this case, it’s making us faster on our feet. Incorporating power training can certainly…