Table of contents for December/January #34 2019/20 in RECOIL OFFGRID

Why do we prep? It’s a deeply personal question. I’m sure the answers are unique for each and every one of you, but the bottom line is that these are uncertain times, and the world doesn’t show any signs of suddenly achieving widespread peace and stability. So, it behooves us to be ready for whatever chaos and confusion we think is headed our way. But what do we think that looks like? Many of us have given some thought to the various scenarios that could lead to a large-scale, long-term collapse of society and infrastructure. Terms like TEOTWAWKI and Black Swan have become more and more common in the survivalist lexicon — referring to a sudden, massive disruption of our civilization and daily lives. While it’s always worthwhile to prep…

The air in the jail was hot, humid, and foul beyond words. You were separated from your friends and shoved in a cramped concrete holding cell. There were no beds or chairs. The space just had three rough walls, a low ceiling, a filthy floor, and a row of rusty bars bearing a locked door in the middle. There wasn’t even a toilet in the cell, just a hole in the floor near the back corner of the room. You thought this was likely to be the source of the stench that filled your nostrils, nearly making you retch; but this wasn’t the most worrisome thing in the room. Three local men were also in the cell with you. The expressions on their faces were varied. One man looked at…

It usually starts with one of those conversations: If you could only have one gun … Personally, I really don’t want to live in a world where I’d be restricted to one firearm. However, if you go on an extended trip off the grid in a hunting or survival situation, you probably won’t be able to tote your entire collection of firearms with you. You can pick out a rifle and handgun for your situation, but you’ll still find gaps between the two. Your rifle may be able to reach out at long ranges and your pistol may be enough to keep you safe from two-legged predators, but will either excel at harvesting game, keeping varmints in check, or providing defense against a four-legged predator? What if you did have…

The terms bushcraft and survival have developed two distinct connotations as a result of their portrayals in various forms of media. If you think of a survivalist, you’ll probably envision someone who takes a modern approach to preparedness, often using contemporary weapons and tactical gear in an urban environment. On the other hand, bushcrafter usually evokes images of a seasoned outdoorsman clad in wool and leather, honing primitive skills at a remote campsite in the backcountry. Bushcraft is clearly linked with an emphasis on perfecting traditional techniques as opposed to relying on store-bought gear — as legendary Canadian outdoorsman Mors Kochanski put it, “the more you know, the less you carry.” (See The Last Page in Issue 31 for our review of Kochanski’s eponymous book, Bushcraft.) If you tend to…

1 MAKE & MODEL Kelty Big Shady DIMENSIONS (OPENED) 14 by 10.8 by 10.8 feet MSRP $250 URL kelty.com NOTES Anyone who’s ever spent time at a picnic or farmer’s market will be familiar with pop-up canopies. But most only provide decent shade when the sun is high in the sky. That’s why the Big Shady is far more effective at blocking out the elements. Once erected, it kinda looks like a humongous flying squirrel that’s trying to shield you from the rain. That’s our odd way of saying it does a fantastic job of blocking out sun, rain, and wind from different angles. Peak height is 90 inches while the 151-square-foot floor area can house a foldable table and six chairs. Its fly is made of 68-denier polyester while the…

Some of you may be familiar with Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse” since one of its lines became the title of the Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men. It tells of a farmer who inadvertently digs up a field mouse’s winter home with his plow and apologetically consoles the mouse as it trembles before him with fear. He ruminates on how the mouse, who instinctively burrowed to build a home for the winter, is now temporarily without shelter. His observation continues about how mice and men are alike in that their plans can often be disrupted without notice, but he’s somewhat envious that the mouse lives in the present. Meanwhile, humans often remain anchored to the regret of their past and look with apprehension and uncertainty about what the…

If you’ve ever watched Naked and Afraid on the Discovery Channel, you’ve wondered about the hygiene on the show. Twenty-one days is a long time without a shower and soap. Obviously, they generally do fine, and it seems as if hygiene is downplayed on the show. It always gets me thinking, though. What kinds of issues would arise in that type of survival situation? How would I mitigate the atrocity of no soap? First, let me start by saying that not having soap in that three-week period might not be as bad as you might guess. As long as you had water to clean with, you might be fine. In using your hands to scrub all of those 2,000 body parts, you remove debris and dead skin. This may keep…

Deception has always been a constant throughout human history. From the moment our earliest ancestors realized they wanted what others had, people have been using various forms of trickery for personal gain. This abuse of trust is a powerful force, and also one of mankind’s most universally hated characteristics — it’s no coincidence that the Great Deceiver is another name for the devil. Unfortunately, deception is naturally tough to detect, and only gets tougher when you’re facing a skilled practitioner. As the ironic quote above reminds us, anyone who claims to be completely honest is likely to be the exact opposite. Even those who are usually truthful may employ deception selectively, and if you’re not paying attention, you and your loved ones can be blindsided. For those of us who…

In your overall plan for preparedness, you may not have considered getting out of an elevated area. However, height, like most other environmental factors, doesn’t discriminate. If there’s no other viable option, you may need to descend a tall building or structure, whether you’re hunting on an elevated platform or just at home or work. Though the differences seem great, the principles and most of the equipment are very similar. Putting aside experience level and environment, bailout systems can be easily added to your personal preparedness plan. The environments in which we live and our individual experiences differ greatly, giving us widely varied ideas of the potential threats we anticipate in our lives. Consequently, we’ll each have different measures to achieve what we deem to be a safe level of…

“If necessary you should choose to disguise yourself as a shukke [monk], yamabushi [hermit], merchant or anything else that you feel is appropriate to the situation. Pilgrims have a good reason to move around shrines and temples. For this purpose, which is different from other cases, it may be better for you to move as a company of two or three people. In such cases, the technique of dakkō, to understand all the local customs and dialects, is used.””— Quote taken from the Shoninki, as written in 1681 by Master Ninja Natori Masazumi I recently found myself standing on a corner in downtown Tijuana, waiting for the light to change so I could cross the street, when I saw a man walking a donkey painted as a zebra. He was…

For our inaugural installment of “Bag Drop,” I’m going to talk about a bag that’s been with me for years. It has literally travelled the world and was built for a clear purpose. I learned a long time ago that equipment selection is a form of mission analysis. In layman’s terms — a well-packed bag should fill a specific need and do so with a minimum of bulk or excess. This particular bag can also be seen in “Trick Your Truck” in RECOIL OFFGRID Issue 33. In a previous lifetime, I worked in Afghanistan as an independent contractor, providing facility security and close protection services to government personnel. Part of this job required driving or riding in armored SUVs, often as a single-truck element, in areas where IEDs and ambushes…

The Premise: The notion that the American power grid system is vulnerable to a cyberattack or an electromagnetic pulse device, launched by terrorists or a foreign nation, is a frightening premise. In Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath, Ted Koppel, one of the nation’s most experienced and well-known journalists, outlines the realities of an attack on the American power grid, the vulnerabilities plaguing the defense systems which protect it, and the preparations that Americans can take now to prepare for an unthinkable grid-down scenario. The 411: Koppel uses his proven skills in journalism to thoroughly explore not only the vulnerability of an aging power grid system, but also the politics that envelop hardening the system itself. The first few chapters offer an in-depth analysis of how…