Table of contents for February/March #29 2019 in RECOIL OFFGRID

As I write my editor’s letter, the East Coast is just starting the slow process of rebounding from Hurricane Michael. That includes not only homes ravaged by the storm, but the usual criminal looting that follows in those areas. We also just recently passed the 17-year mark since we all woke up to a country that’d never be the same again on Sept. 11, 2001. As I reflect on all the different ways these events continue to affect the U.S., I still can’t help but wonder, whether we’re at home or abroad, are we really any safer than we were 20 years ago? Is there really any bigger push to educate people on how to protect themselves? Here’s a case in point. A few other staff members and I recently…

As a frequent flyer, you’d heard your fair share of commotions on airplanes. From fighting couples to drunken passengers — the cramped cabin of a crowded airplane was hardly a quiet place, even when most of your fellow travelers were being respectful. Yes, you’d been on noisy flights before, but this ruckus was different. In the way that a parent can distinguish a child’s cry of pain from a howl of frustration, these raised voices conveyed alarm to you. Turning to your spouse, you asked, “Honey, are you hearing this?” She looked up from her book and turned a bit to listen. A moment later, a woman’s piercing scream tore through the low murmur of conversations in coach. It came from the front of the plane, behind the first-class curtain.…

Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for more than 20 years, training people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of three New York Times bestselling survival books, and the new Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Check out his wide range of hands-on training courses that are open to the public at www.AdvancedSurvivalTraining.com Hana L. Bilodeau has over 15 years of law enforcement experience, serving both locally and federally. Most recently she spent time with the Federal Air Marshal Service covering multiple domestic…

If you use an ax long enough, chances are that you'll need to replace a handle. The process is pretty easy in your garage with power tools, but what happens when you’re in the field? Misjudge your distance, accidentally strike the handle, and you may have a problem. How do you remove a wooden handle from the ax head? Follow these steps: Replacement Handle: We highly suggest carving a replacement handle before you attempt to remove the existing broken handle. You may still be able to use what’s left of the broken handle as a stubby handle to cut your new handle with. When you find a suitable piece of wood to carve the replacement handle from, reassemble the broken handle to the best of your ability and use it…

Many people assume handcuffs are only used by law enforcement officers on criminals — or perhaps used in the bedroom if you’re feeling adventurous. Unfortunately, criminals have firsthand experience with the effectiveness of these devices, and will have no qualms about using them to illegally restrain their captives. Knowing how to break free from a pair of handcuffs is a valuable skill, since doing so may be the last thing your captors expect.…

The “disaster” (fill in the catastrophe of choice) caused a lot of damage, but thankfully you and your family are safe. Now starts the recovery and reconstruction stage. You’ll want to take immediate steps to not only mitigate your losses, but also to document your damages as completely as possible. Here are some tips, ideas, and suggestions to help get you started. Contact Your Insurance Company and File a Claim: This may seem obvious, but surprisingly many people wait far too long to start this process. Before you call your insurer, make sure to have all the necessary information on hand. If possible, write it all down ahead of time. Before hanging up with your insurer, make sure to get a claim number and the name and phone number of…

Brunton Conventional Transit MATERIALS Aluminum WEIGHT 6.8 ounces DIMENSIONS 3.1 by 2.8 by 1.3 inches MSRP $440 URL brunton.com PROS: Extremely high craftsmanship Proven durability when cared for Impressive to look at and hold CONS: Heavy Expensive Not useful for map reading Everything about this precision compass exemplifies high quality and durability — and for its stratospheric price, it’s about what we’d expect to see. From the oiled leather case that it arrives in to the heavy (nearly 1/2 pound) cast-aluminum body, it definitely looks the part of a tool designed for serious and long-term use. Designed in 1894 by Canadian-born mining engineer David W. Brunton, the Transit is widely used to this day by professional geologists and engineers. The movement of the needle is smooth and very fast, with…

Survivalists have a definite “thing” for big sticks. Caught in an unexpected situation, one of their first orders of business is to find or cut a large stick that can serve as a hiking staff, club, fishing pole, or even a spear. Beyond those specific functions, a big chunk of wood is also just a comforting thing to have when you’re facing the unknown. No matter how creative you are, though, a stick plucked from nature is still only a stick. While it can certainly help you keep your balance on uneven terrain and give you a fighting chance against both two- and four-legged predators, its résumé pretty much ends there. To wring more function out of it, you need a better, “purpose-designed” stick like the Crawford Survival Staff. As…

1 MAKE & MODEL Kikkerland Mini Keychain Pliers DIMENSION 2.75 by 0.79 by 0.5 inches MSRP $13 URL www.kikkerland.com NOTES One way of ensuring there’s a future for our community is to educate our youth, and that starts with our own loved ones. Teach them life-saving skills, explain the dangers they could face, and show them how to be prepared. So if you’re looking for gifts this holiday season, the Kikkerland Mini Keychain Pliers is a good first multitool for a young son or daughter. It has a blade, a pair of pliers, a bottle opener, and a flathead screwdriver — all of which can help teach your child about safety, the responsibility of owning tools, and preparedness in general. It also comes with a chain and ring, so you…

We just reached the anniversary of one of the most devastating terrorist attacks on American soil. You often hear individuals preach “never forget,” but I have to ask, are you living and preparing as if you’ll “never forget?” We need only to remember back 17 years to find evidence that evil is present and terrorism exists. As Americans it’s our duty not only to never forget the lives lost but to also combat evil in the future. Preparation, and the wherewithal to survive, is a mental and physical exercise. Having worked previously in state and federal law enforcement, I understand all too clearly that crime can happen anywhere — even at 37,000 feet off the ground. Being locked inside a flying metal tube with complete strangers doesn’t provide me with…

Looking at Doug Marcaida, you might think he’s an artist of some sort with a gallery on Rodeo Drive. He’s got that goatee, the suave hair, and the elegant demeanor. He’s articulate and refined. So what’s he doing swinging swords, axes, and knives on the History Channel’s Forged in Fire? Forged in Fire (in case you’ve just emerged from your underground bunker) is a competition series with three judges (including Doug), one host, and four bladesmith contestants. Each episode focuses on forging a cutting tool or edged weapon from scratch. The winner walks away with a cool 10 grand in their pocket, and the episode’s championship title. How cool is that? Weapons, fire, forging, information, and fine edges are all displayed in full boob-tube brilliance. That explains why this year…

Where do you hide tools when there’s nowhere left to hide? The answer is an unpleasant but necessary option that has developed a reputation among prison inmates. No matter what nickname you use or how many jokes you make about this smelly stash spot, it provides a last-resort means of smuggling essential escape tools past a strip-search. If your life depends on it, you won’t be laughing. Ed showed us a few examples of caches that are effective for this purpose, including a metal lip balm tube from the 1960s, a WWII-era threaded metal capsule, and a custom tube made out of bamboo. These containers are small enough to be retrieved safely, but large enough to carry keys, shims, lockpicks, or even a blade. Plastic and other fragile materials should…

In 2017, natural disasters set many records around the globe. With monstrous wildfires, killer earthquakes, and super-strength hurricanes and floods, 2017 will also be remembered as one of the deadliest and most expensive years in recent history. But the widespread devastation also highlighted the need for more effective and timely communications — before, during, and after a disaster. This includes not only exploring more efficient ways of identifying victims and allocating relief efforts, but also providing the average person with access to lifesaving resources and communications. When things go sideways, obtaining accurate and timely information, or getting word from family and friends, can be difficult, if not impossible. But staying connected is a crucial part of surviving a natural or manmade crisis. Enter mobile applications. In this article, we review…

SimpleShot “The Hammer” Slingshot/Slingbow Kit TYPE Modular Wrist-Braced Slingshot or Arrow Launcher MSRP $100 URL simple-shot.com This high-quality kit includes a molded grip (with an integral Picatinny rail), a wrist brace, two modular yoke attachments (one conventional slingshot and one for shooting arrow), and dedicated band assemblies for each yoke. The slingshot used flat bands, while the arrow yoke used a special assembly of surgical tubing and a nocking string for the arrow. Since this was the only arrow launcher in the mix, testing focused primarily on the slingshot mode. PROS: Easiest to draw of all those tested Can be shot with or without the wrist brace Soft leather pouch was easy to load SimpleShot’s website is a treasure trove of slingshot information. CONS: Despite the brand name, assembly isn’t…

How hard can it be? After all, if you want to go “up” on a map, you just follow the direction that your compass is pointing, right? Well, it’s actually a bit more complicated than that. There are three different “norths” — true north, magnetic north, and grid north. True north refers to the very top of the globe (the North Pole), magnetic north is where the north-seeking arrow of your compass points, and grid north is the direction the vertical grid lines on your map point. Why are they different, and how does this affect your ability to navigate accurately? Follow along to find out. True North and Magnetic North True north and magnetic north are different because, despite what many believe, the North Pole isn’t magnetic and your…

We’ll go out on a limb here and say the extent of most people’s ax education is probably a talk about the “safety circle” and a warning not to cut in the direction of anything you don’t want to cut off, like your leg. Just about everyone who has received some sort of formal education on using a hatchet or ax has heard about the “safety circle” — as long as you’re still using an ax, you probably still have all the body parts you started with. We get it; you’re not supposed to use an ax if you don’t have a safe place to swing it, and no one wants to get cut. It’s good advice. Unfortunately, too many people fear what the ax can do, and their lack…

In May 2017, Frank Massabki and his fiancée, Jennifer, traveled to Mexico City to scout locations for their upcoming wedding. An hour after renting a car in the city, they were rear-ended by another vehicle. The couple told Inside Edition that they stepped out to inspect the damage, but were approached by several men with guns who threw them into the backseat and drove them to a location they didn’t recognize. The kidnappers bound their wrists with shoelaces, blindfolded them, and said they planned to demand a ransom. The men then attempted to sexually assault Jennifer, but she fought back, receiving a punch to the face that broke her nose. During this struggle, Frank managed to escape from his crude restraints and ran to call for help. Realizing they had…

In 2017, three major hurricanes affected the U.S. — Harvey, in Texas; Irma, in Florida; and Maria in Puerto Rico. Recently, we’ve seen the devastation of Hurricane Michael, and it’s only a matter of time before certain areas are battered by another such disaster. In the aftermath of these storms, many of the victims discovered that they were either underinsured or simply didn't have the proper insurance coverage — and would soon be facing enormous out-of-pocket reconstruction costs. This was a very loud wake-up call. We see it all the time. Every year, many people are driven to financial ruin because they incorrectly assumed that the insurance they had would adequately cover the damages caused by a natural or man-made disaster. To their shock and horror, people often don’t find…

The prospect of getting out of a bad situation under hostile conditions looms in the minds of most preppers. It seems that the more we enrich our life with children, pets, money, and other assets, the more we tend to think about what we’d do in a SHTF scenario. We also realize that time will be of the essence and that, in order to remain mobile and self-sufficient, storage space and load carriage is often at a premium. One of the biggest considerations for bugging out is firearms selection. A reliable pistol is usually considered a must, with type, caliber, form, and fit all boiling down to shooter’s preference. What about a long-range hunting rifle? It might be a no-brainer if you have access to the skills and environment to…

As survivalists, all of the gear we purchase or invest in is necessary, but some of it just isn’t that exciting. Water purification system? It’ll save you from contracting nasty parasites, but it’s not exactly a conversation piece you show off to all your friends. A lighter, stronger groundsheet to place under your tent? Meh. Other objects, thankfully, smack of high adventure and exploration, of manifest destiny and blazing a trail. The compass, clearly, falls into the latter category. If you still question why you’d ever need a compass since your phone has Google Maps and GPS, then this probably isn’t the article for you. If, however, you’ve ever gotten lost in the woods because your phone (or handheld GPS) ran out of batteries, lost signal, or fell into a…

Although energy drinks have been around for several decades, they seem to have exploded in popularity recently. The associated industry can now be measured in the billions of dollars with marketers taking aim at everyone from adventure athletes to average citizens, but is the hype backed by science and research or is it just a compelling gimmick? There are risks with each substance found in your favorite energy drinks, but there are also potential benefits from these substances. Let’s tone down the hype and look at some of the components of energy drinks and their effects. Caffeine This is the primary additive in energy drinks. Many drinks contain two to three times the amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee or four times the amount in your average…

Interested in learning more about the gray man mindset? Check out the following web-exclusive articles on ways to keep your gear and behavior more discreet: Security and surveillance expert Jim Henry shares five tips for threat identification to help you spot out-of-place individuals and be more aware of your own actions. http://offgridweb.com/?p=8627 Brandon Barton of Last Man Projects shares his take on how going gray requires fluid adaptation, and involves both physical and behavioral elements. http://offgridweb.com/?p=6347 We reviewed the Gypsy backpack from Grey Ghost Gear, and discussed how it blends tactical features with a relatively unobtrusive waxed canvas appearance. http://offgridweb.com/?p=14706 For more web-exclusive content, head to OFFGRIDweb.com, like our page at Facebook.com/OFFGRIDmag, or follow us on Instagram at @recoiloffgridmagazine.…