Table of contents for October/November 2017 in RECOIL OFFGRID

Soft_Light/istockphoto.com I recently crammed three work trips into five weeks. Flying for what felt like back-to-back-to-back vacations — but without the vacation part — reinforced something I already knew: When you’re traveling in caffeine-fueled zombie mode, you won’t be in familiar territory or have your favorite kit in your carry-on. All you’ll have is you and your perishable skills. Sure, some might say, “Why not jam a three-day pack with supplies and check it in as a second piece of luggage?” I could do that, but the point is you don’t solve a problem with hardware, you solve it with software. No amount of cool kit will get you out of a jam if you don’t have the skills or experience to use it. This concept was reaffirmed on each…

You woke up slowly, grudgingly, and in a state of confusion. It was so cold, shockingly cold. As you lay there, curled up and shivering on the bench seat of the old pickup truck, with only your jacket for warmth, you couldn’t quite reconcile the facts. It wasn’t too long ago that you very nearly had a heat stroke. And just 10 hours later, you felt as though you were going to freeze to death. “How can all of that heat be gone?” you asked yourself, zipping your work jacket up to your chin and laying out spare clothing in your lap like a blanket. If only the truck would start, you lamented, wishing you could drive to safety (or at least run the heater for warmth). But the truck…

BOX OVEN Solavore Sport Solar Oven WEIGHT 9 pounds DIMENSIONS 21 by 30 by 20 inches MSRP $244 (plus $29 for the case) URL www.solavore.com 411: Made from thick insulated (R-value of 6.5) fiberglass with a black aluminum liner on the inside, the Solavore Sport box oven is big enough to put the two included 9-inch, 3-quart pots side by side with room left over for a small thermometer. The lid is also insulated with a plastic sheet, and reflective panels clip on the lid to provide additional heat if needed. Once in the sun, it reached a maximum temperature of 275 degrees F in about 25 minutes, but after an hour, it still couldn’t get the water to boil. Designed with a 30-degree slant to better catch UV rays,…

Chikungunya. Ever heard of it? Although you might not be familiar with it (much less able to pronounce it), trust us — you don’t want it. How about Dengue? Ring any bells? What about Lyme disease, West Nile virus, Yellow fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, malaria, and one that’s a pretty recent addition to this list of lovely afflictions — Zika. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2015 there were 61 symptomatic Zika virus cases reported in the USA and nine cases in U.S. territories. In 2016 those numbers jumped to 5,102 in the States and 36,079 in the territories. What does that tell you? And here’s some more alarming information: You don’t even have to be bitten by a mosquito carrying Zika to contract…

COLORS Blue Ridge, Cornflower Plaid (shown), Firma, Freestone Plaid MATERIAL 2.9-ounce polyester UPF RATING 40+ MSRP $65 URL www.mountainkhakis.com 411: This generously cut, lightweight polyester shirt looks plain vanilla on the surface, but has some subtle features, increasing its capabilities when it already has the second highest UPF rating in this buyer’s guide. First, the zippered oversized pocket on the left chest is big enough to easily accommodate a map or important documents. Second, a sunglass pocket is a feature we never knew we needed. Third, we liked the thoughtfulness of a snap-down collar and the incorporation of a small chamois lens cleaning cloth into the inside of the shirt. We can finally stop asking the wife for the hoarded napkins from her purse when we need to clean our…

In this age of titanium folding knives, state-ofthe- art bushcraft blades, and $500 tactical tomahawks, it’s easy to overlook one of the best survival tools that most of us already own: the little red knife with the corkscrew. A Victorinox Swiss Army knife is a small toolbox in your pocket. Have you ever cringed watching someone break the tip off his tactical knife while trying to turn a screw or pry a lid? Perhaps you’ve seen someone work up a sweat damaging or dulling his big blade while chopping or batoning a sapling, when a small saw blade would have sufficed? Tasks are often easier when you use the right tool. Swiss Army knives are available in many models, giving you lots of tool combinations to choose from without having…

Using our double-bladed kayak paddle as a hiking staff, spider-web sweeper, and snake stick, we skirted thick coastal lowlands in Florida to strike a brackish creek flowing with the outgoing tide into a shallow bay. Halting to get his bearings, our hiker leaned forward on the paddle shaft in human tripod mode, shrugging the weight of his 50-pound backpack and speeding blood flow to his arms for awaiting mosquitoes. No white lab coats and clipboards here. When launching into the wild with an inflatable kayak, why let crash-test dummies have all the fun? Our aim: Test the Innova Halibut, a rugged fishing kayak designed for angling and adventure in remote, hard-toreach, pack-in, paddle-out locations. Our eye was focused on its “wilderness worthiness” for emergency response scenarios and how an inflatable…

1 MAKE & MODEL Goal Zero Yeti 1400 Lithium DIMENSIONS 10.1 by 15.3 by 10.4 inches MSRP $2,000 URL www.goalzero.com NOTES Gasoline, propane, wood — all fuels that, in a long-term survival situation, will eventually be as scarce as honesty on a campaign trail. But there’s one resource that’ll never run out: sunlight. That’s why Goal Zero’s latest solar-powered portable power station is winning awards. The Yeti 1400 Lithium is essentially a giant 1425Wh battery that can power a fridge for a day, provide juice for a 12V LED for almost 20 days, or charge a smartphone 70 times. Once it’s depleted, the Yeti 1400 can be charged by a Boulder 100 Solar Panel (sold separately for $300) or by using AC power. In fact, you can charge via both means…

It was 07:00 at the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Compound. I stood at attention, holding a duffle bag stuffed with all the essentials for the next 13 weeks of my life. Standing as tall as my 5-foot-2 frame would allow, I had the world figured out. A New Hampshire state trooper, with his campaign hat pulled down low, got just 2 inches from my face and bellowed, “Why are you here?” My meek reply was, “I want to help people.” He screamed, “It’s called human compassion — we all have it! You better dig deeper and figure out why you’re really here!” And so began my journey to becoming a peace officer. What would seem to most like a simple interaction completely changed my mindset from a confident…

COLORS Dark Gray, Light Blue, Tan (shown), White MATERIAL 12-ounce 100-percent Nylon UPF RATING 30+ MSRP $70 URL www.clothingarts.com 411: This shirt is designed to blend into an urban setting, yet be perfectly at home in the outdoors — and the execution absolutely nailed it. We were pleasantly surprised, despite its business casual look, how well it performed during a hike through the cypress swamps near the Florida Everglades on a sunny 90-degree day. This longsleeve kept our skin from getting baked and our torso relatively cool all day without getting sweat-soaked. The quick-drying fabric feels soft, but not light, to the touch — almost cotton-like. The softness might not initially seem important when we’re considering weighty objectives like bugging out or surviving a blistering desert environment. Yet, it’s interesting…

COLORS Marmalade, Oceania, Olivine (shown) MATERIAL 2.8-ounce 100-percent cotton UPF RATING 25+ MSRP $58 URL www.royalrobbins.com 411: Though this Royal Robbins long-sleeve has the lowest UPF rating among the tops we tested, we didn’t so much as get a suntan in the areas it covered — proof that even though its fabric is light it’s also tightly woven, providing good UV shielding. This shirt’s stylish design is what reeled us in first. Inspired by India’s traditional lightweight Madras cloth, this classic look has been popular in America for nearly 100 years for good reason: It looks damn good on a man. It’s the kind of shirt you’d expect an experienced mountain guide to be wearing. Apparently though, mountain guides don’t put on a single ounce of winter weight, because this…

WARNING! The following story is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as a medical advice. Seek training from a reputable instructor or consultation from a licensed medical professional. There you are, surrounded on all sides. You can’t see them, but you know they’re there. Countless invaders are feasting on your body, multiplying at an exponential rate and crawling everywhere. Sound like a scene from a horror movie? Would you guess that it’s actually taking place on your skin … right this second? Granted, most of these skin florae are either beneficial or harmless. Yet, when skin is damaged or conditions alter in favor of overgrowth, some of these little guys can wreak havoc on your system. Maintaining your hygiene is an important — almost automatic — habit in…

The thirst is all-consuming as you lurch forward through the parched sand and loose rock of the desert canyon. You’re lost, having ventured off the hiking trail miles ago. You have only half of a bottle of water left. Stopping under the unmerciful sun, you examine the bottle as if you were studying some precious jewel. Your body knows what it needs. But your mind says, “No! I have to save it!” You’re not sure why, but somehow it seems too precious to waste, too valuable to use right now. So, you put the bottle back into your bag and continue stumbling forward, hoping to magically find a flowing stream in this barren land. The Myth: We’re often told that if we’re out on a strenuous hike, holed up at…

When it comes to flashlights, versatility is the name of the game. If you’re carrying a buttoncell keychain light, you can easily use it to search through your glovebox, but you can’t illuminate far-away objects. On the other hand, a heavy-duty spotlight excels at long range, but good luck trying to use it to read a map without blinding yourself. There are handheld lights that occupy various positions along this spectrum, but all are compromises — a concentrated spot beam for long-distance throw, a wide floodlight for up-close uses, or a blend of the two for intermediate ranges. This dilemma led to the development of beam-focusing flashlights, which feature a lens or reflector that moves independently from the light source to adjust the beam pattern. By pushing or twisting the…

Since I had no idea how long I would have to wait for another vehicle to appear, I decided to pass the time by sifting through my stash of supplies. There were so many things that I owned … that weren’t with me on this trip. But those possessions wouldn’t help me while they were sitting at home, so I decided to stop worrying about them. I focused on the supplies that would help right then. In the blinding sun, I made a mental list of the goods, and then put on my sunglasses to scan the horizon in every direction. No buildings, no towers, no sign of human existence were to be seen, other than myself, the road, and the broken-down truck. There was no point in trying to…

This is the golden age of survival entertainment. Like spitting in any direction and hitting a Starbucks, you can’t channel surf or scroll the interwebz without seeing a promo for yet another stranded-in-the-sticks show. Alone, Dual Survival, Naked and Afraid — it seems you can tune in any night of the week to watch every possible harrowing and embarrassing moment of an adventurer’s quest to stay alive in the middle of nowhere. None of this would be possible without Les Stroud. When his Survivorman show debuted in 2001 on the Discovery Channel, there was nothing else like it. (Sure, Ray Mears’ World of Survival debuted on the BBC several years before, but that series focused on Mears learning skills from the locals of various regions, not going it solo.) The…

when it comes to seeking shelter, we’ve been conditioned over the past 200 years to focus on having a roof over our heads. What’s less obvious is that “shelter” in some cases may consist of a broad-brimmed hat or, less conspicuously, the pants and shirts we wear. Especially in dry, arid climates, simply covering your skin will instantly drop your temperature to something approaching tolerable. And even when it’s hot and humid, protecting your skin from the sun’s rays will help you stay outside longer and maintain your endurance. Clothing with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor rating is specifically designed to shield your skin from the sun’s rays. It may incorporate a dense weave, thicker fabric, and/or special color dyes that help prevent transmission of ultraviolet rays through the fabric. UPF…

COLORS Agave Green, Carbon (shown), Khaki, Natural, Pirate Blue, Sky Blue MATERIAL 2.5-ounce to 4.7-ounce cotton/nylon/ polyester blends UPF RATING 30 MSRP $85 URL www.kuhl.com 411: We really had to sit down to study what makes this shirt work so well. This KÜHL shirt was the most expensive of the garments we tested, but every detail of its design and performance testified to money well spent. Unlike the other shirts we evaluated, which primarily use one type of fabric, the Airspeed uses three different types of fabrics for different areas of the shirt. The chest, back, and top of the arms use a woven fabric for maximum wicking and solar defense. Both sides of the shirt under the arms and inside the chest pockets use a perforated mesh for better…

COLORS Absinthe Green (shown), Black, Blackout Navy, Blue Marker, Smash Yellow, White MATERIAL Polyester UPF RATING 50+ MSRP $45 URL www.underarmour.com 411: This is a function-forward T-shirt, focused squarely on doing a single job really well: helping your performance during athletic pursuits no matter how sunny it is outside. We used it for workout runs on asphalt pavement and other roll-up-the-sleeves tasks, such as loading kayaks and setting up our basecamp. The solar shielding was great, as our torso didn’t even get a hint of a tan. However, the material didn’t seem to disperse heat as well as some of the other shirts. Compounding the problem, once we got really hot the fabric had a tendency to stick to our skin. On the plus side, the waffle texture allowed it…

WARNING! The exercises and content expressed in this column are for illustrative purposes only. Consult a medical professional before trying any physical activity or nutritional plan. With the summer heat in full swing, being fit enough to wear your bathing suit is probably on your mind. But let’s get out of the “beach body” mentality and think more about preparation. Swimming, much like running, is a skill you need to be able to do without much thought when the apocalypse hits. After all, not all emergencies happen on dry land. In 2010, 52 percent of the U.S. population lived across 673 coastal counties, so you should seriously consider adding swim training to your physical preparation plan due to big storms, tsunamis, hurricanes, and a rise in the sea level. In…

“Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” — John Muir I recently returned from a four-day excursion to Yosemite National Park. If you’ve never been, it’s most certainly a trip to add to your bucket list. Standing atop Glacier Point in the clear mountain air, I gazed at the immense structure of Half Dome casting its shadow across the Yosemite Valley and listened to the thunderous roar of water cascading over Vernal and Nevada Falls. Observing this picturesque scene, I considered how much more awe-inspiring it must have been to John Muir more than a century ago, wholly unobstructed by guardrails…