The Cor Outfitters Intelligence Community: 2016-04-10

Saturday, April 16, 2016

🌲 Just hangin'. Get your hammock gear in our bio: @thecoroutfitters #thecoroutfitters 📷: @moonmountainman _____

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Apartment Prepping: Short-Term Emergency Food

via YouTube Video Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies?
#SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

What to Pack in a Household Emergency Bug out Bag

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

The purpose of a Household Emergency Bug out Bag is to have a small bag ready with supplies and resources you may need if you were forced to temporarily abandon your house due to an extremely localized emergency (just you).

The post What to Pack in a Household Emergency Bug out Bag appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

from The Prepper Journal
Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies?
#SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

What did you do to prep this week?

Well, here we are again… another week closer to the balloon going up, the big one, the collapse, TEOTWAWKI. What will be the cause… economic collapse, plague and or super bugs, EMP, coronal mass ejection, Yellowstone eruption, cyber attack on the power grid, nuclear war, natural disaster, NWO police state, pole shift, asteroid strike, etc…

What will be the cause… economic collapse, plague and or super bugs, EMP, coronal mass ejection, Yellowstone eruption, cyber attack on the power grid, nuclear war, natural disaster, NWO police state, pole shift, asteroid strike,...

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Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. Are you ready for any situation?
#SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

Prep Blog Review: What About Water?

Prep Blog Water Big

In today’s Prep Blog Review, we are going back to preparedness fundamentals. Do you know about current water dangers we are facing? What about what will happen when SHTF? We were looking for new warnings, tips and tricks about water preparedness, and here is what we found in recent posts:

1. The Real Reason American Cities Have Lead in the Water Supply: “Humans Have Been Written Off”

corrosive-water-pipes

“Yet another public water supply has been found tainted with toxic lead from corrosive pipes. It is no surprise to watch crumbling rust belt cities under siege by corrosive, tainted and dangerous lead pipes, though it is tragic. Cincinnati, like Flint, has a major lead issue in its public water supply.”

Contest Winners in Our April 12, 2016 Non-Fiction Writing Contest…

Below are the winners in our most recent non-fiction writing contest… If you are on this list then please email me your shipping info (using the same email address that you used when you submitted your article), and I’ll get that information out to the sponsors and they will ship directly to you.

First place winner “How Do You Handle Emergency Food Storage?” by Moira M will receive a gift certificate for $150 off of rifle ammo at Lucky Gunner, an Urban Survival Kit a $109 value courtesy of TEOTWAWKI supplies, a WonderMix Deluxe Kitchen Mixer a $299 value...

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Friday, April 15, 2016

PrepperCon 2016: Why To Attend?

preppercon

PrepperCon 2016 promises the celebrity speakers, classes, vendors and attractions that one might expect from one of the nation’s (which means the world’s) largest survival expo’s, but with creative and competitive twists.

This year’s PrepperCon features a number of competitions to hone survival skills and keep emergency preparedness fun. Events such as a Fear Factor-style competitive eating of taboo survival food sources, a knife fighting tournament, a prepper chef cook-off and archery tag.

I attended PrepperCon 2015, which I reviewed for Survivopedia readers. I learned (while being interviewed on a live and archived PrepperCon Radio show) that PrepperCon’s CEO read my review of the 2015 Expo and took some feedback into consideration for this show.

When I review something, I have to do so critically and honestly. Even if that something is great, like the 2015 show was, know that I will still let you know what could have been better. I will keep that in mind as I critique the 2016 show.

Celebrities

This year’s celebs are:

Kyle Bell and his son Ben from the survival TV Show “Mountain Men”
David Holladay has trained many of the primitive survival reality TV stars you likely watch now has his own show, “No Man’s Land” on the History Channel. I never thought I’d see him on a show because he has never been one to seek fame, is wise and has no doubt heard his students’ war stories of producers pressuring them to do things no one in their right mind would do, but the History Channel seems to be a very different channel form NatGeo and I can’t imagine R. Lee Ermey taking any crap from them, so I guess I can see that. David is one of the granddaddies of the primitive survival movement and one of the “Three Musketeers” who founded the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. The man is a world class primitive skills instructor who really lives the life.
Doomsday Preppers: Tim Ralston, Braxton Southwick and Becky Brown – Last year, Becky commented on how NatGeo tried to cast her as a “crazy prepper.” Tim has come up with some notable inventions and innovations including the Crovel tool and the very cool survival model Motoped. Braxton has authored two books on survival and has been working the morning radio show circuit.
America 2016 Julie Elizabeth Harman, the official PrepperCon spokesmodel

Attractions

Last year’s event was creative with a survival fashion show, and costume events that you would expect to see at ComicCon, the comic industry event that helped inspire PrepperCon.

PrepperCon 2016 promises to be no less creative, with attractions I have not yet seen at other survival shows so I’ll give them high marks for originality. Now we will have to see how well they are able to execute these ideas and how they are accepted by the preppers who attend.

Attractions are slated to include:

Home Invasion Training House
Prepper’s Choice Survival Food Tasting Table
National Guard Rock Wall
Children’s Tsunami tank where kids can see how earthquakes generate waves
Hurricane simulator where you can experience category 3 winds

Education

Classes will cover some 35 survival and emergency preparedness subjects, covering a surprising spectrum topics. I will be among them, in an EMP Survival Q&A where a crowd will batter me questions about EMP survival for an hour beginning at 2:00pm on Friday. If you can’t come or miss my class, email at editor@survivopedia.com and I would be happy to answer your EMP survival questions too.

Survivopedia for PrepperCon 2016

Attendees have to buy a ticket to get in, but once they do, most of the classes are free … mine included. Check the website for other classes though because some classes, such as concealed firearm permit courses, have to charge fees and limit the number of students.

Competitions

The spirit of competition is apparently alive and well in Utah, because several of the events are competitive in nature. There is nothing wrong with getting the blood pumping at an expo. I am curious to see how these work out and what the participation level is.

Taboo survival food eating competition with David Holladay
Knife Fighting Tournament
Archery Tag Shooting Range
Prepper Chef Cook-off

Vendors

Vendors fill the balance of any exposition and far more registered this year than last year.

I am glad to hear that because the vendors provide a lot of value for attendees and it is a sign that both the survival/self-reliance movement and the market that it drives are health and growing. Many businesses provide deep discounts and giveaways at survival expos so they are an important draw.

As the survival industry grows, who knows … maybe YOU too can “fire your boss and give yourself a raise” and work at something you are passionate about. It is a risk to turn your hobby into a business, but it is enabling many preppers to realize dreams of relocation into a simpler and better life.

This article has been written by Cache Valley Prepper for Survivopedia.

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Medical Planning for Disaster Scenarios

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

What if you or a loved one have specific, unavoidable medical needs? Medical planning should be part of your overall preparedness plans for disasters.

The post Medical Planning for Disaster Scenarios appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Saving and Recycling Oils Should Be A Top Priority

This is a guest post by Kim B

If you really want to survive when times get tough, then save all of the oil that you can. I do not mean just car oil but used corn and bacon oils because they can be reused even if they go rancid. Like my mother, which taught me to do this, I have regularly practiced saving oils because “you never know”. Besides, why throw out something that you can use when the lights go out, the flame of a lamp is all the heat you are able to have and it is cost-effective for the budget.

After food has been cooked in them they can be poured into a stainless steel bowl...

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April 15, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) Forget the Election and Save Yourself While You Still Can: Our political parties are hopelessly corrupt. The politicians have been bought off by the corporations, we have nowhere to turn. You better learn to take care of yourself then you can focus on the election, etc. But for now, you better get food, water, guns, medicine etc.

2.) 2016: The Year Americans Found Out Their Elections Are Rigged: It’s becoming clear to everyone with a brain that the U.S. elections — and even more so, the presidential race — is a big scam being perpetrated on the American people.

And it dosen’t...

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How To Start Building A Flashlight From Scrap

SVP big flashlight

In the modern world, flashlights are very common, and therefore some of the most overlooked when it comes to a complete prepping plan. Let’s say you have stored away plenty of flashlights and rechargeable batteries, but what would you do if you won’t be able to use it?

Do you know how to build a flashlight from scavenged parts, or develop something new once the most important parts become unavailable?

No matter where you wind up living in the post-crisis world, there will come a time when you can no longer rely on supplies and tools that you were able to stockpile. Even before that time happens, you and others are bound to wind up scavenging for items that can no longer be manufactured or are not available for other reasons. Once these “waste” materials are gone, you will wind up having to improvise.

That’s why you need to know a few basic things before building a flashlight from scrap. Read this article to find out!

7 Basics for Your DIY Flashlight Project

There are many light sources that would never qualify as “flashlights” even though they may provide needed lighting. Therefore, before you start storing away parts that might be used to build a DIY flashlight, think about the following elements and how they contribute to the success or failure of a flashlight design:

It must be portable

Even though you can turn on a lamp, or use some other means to light up an area, flashlights are novel in the sense that they can be easily transported from one place to another.

If you cannot take a DIY flashlight into a basement or other area without wires dragging behind you, or other inconveniences, then your design will not be successful.

Must be lightweight and compact

Even though there are huge 9 volt lanterns on the market, most people still prefer the smallest design that produces the most light.

For example, even though LED flashlights are still on the expensive side, they are very popular because a tiny USB flashlight takes up less space and weighs less than other flashlights that put out the same amount of light.

Must be energy efficient

Today, many people are converting to small rechargeable batteries and solar chargers in order to save money on batteries for flashlights and many other devices. That being said, there are still many different flashlight bulbs on the market, and some require much more power than others.

Must be easy to power or recharge

There is nothing worse than turning on a flashlight, and then find out that the batteries are dead or very weak. While you may not be able to completely overcome this problem in a DIY survival flashlight, you should still be able to either recharge the batteries or find an alternative means of power.

Design must be scalable

A tiny key chain flashlight may work just fine if you are trying to find the door lock, but it won’t be of much use if your car breaks down and you have to look deep into the engine compartment.

As you develop your flashlight design, always make sure that you have a way to add more bulbs and more power so that you can always have as much light as you need.

DIY flashlights should have a hands free option

When you are trying to climb a fence, need to use your hands to hit, shoot a gun, or carry out some other task, trying to hold onto a flashlight can cause a lot of problems. While most modern flashlights do not have a practical means to make them wearable, your design should give the optimal amount of light when the unit is not in your hand.

For example, you can aim the reflector and bulb so that light is where you need it most while wearing a headband, or even on a cord hanging from your neck or around your waist.

Parts, especially bulbs, must be interchangeable

No matter whether you decide to bug in or bug out, the passing of time after a social crisis will lead to fewer and fewer supplies being available. If your scavenged flashlight only works with incandescent bulbs or even LEDs, you will be at a disadvantage sooner than expected.

Always make sure that you can change the most common parts of the flashlight and still have a working unit regardless of the situation.

The Basic Parts of a Flashlight

Bulb

Of all the parts of a flashlight, the part that actually produces the light will be the hardest to replace. Unlike bulbs in other devices, one sitting in a discarded incandescent bulb flashlight may still work even if other parts of the system have failed.

Even if you find hundreds of bulbs in a pile of trash or laying around in an abandoned factory, there is a very good chance that the filament inside will be broken, or something else will be wrong with them. By the same token, if you find discarded LEDs, they may have been damaged by an EMP or they may have burned out for some other reason.

I have personally seen LED arrays that were supposed to last for 10 years and up burn out in a matter of days. This technology is quite fascinating, however it is still relatively new and there are a lot of bad (yet cheap) knock offs on the market that can lead to problems.

Battery Case

Aside from holding the battery, the battery case may be integrated with the body of the flashlight. These should be available for some time after a major collapse occurs. They will not always be easy to make from scratch if you have to find substitutes for wire, solder, contacts, or anything that controls the amount of power actually flowing to the bulb.

Reflector

Just about anything that is shiny and can be shaped into a cone can be used as a reflector. You will also find plenty of reflectors in discarded flashlights that may have been thrown away because the prior owner did not have batteries, the bulb burned out, or something else went wrong with the flashlight. This is one of the easiest parts to scavenge and upgrade as needed.

Carrying Handle/Shell

There are literally hundreds of shapes and sizes for flashlight carry handles and shells. Some may or may not be salvageable based on whether or not you can get to the internal parts without ruining the case.

For example, a sealed key chain flashlight may actually have a good built-in it if the battery died and could not be replaced. There may also be a usable switch and some usable parts inside, but it is likely that the case will be ruined in trying to access them.

On/Off Switch

When it comes to evaluating a material on-site, the switch can be a culprit that causes you to throw away all sorts of good materials, including a rechargeable battery that has been drained. Regardless of the style, on/off switches may even wear out before the bulb. Before you put a salvaged switch on a new flashlight, make sure that it works first.

Power Source

Batteries can also be very difficult to evaluate at first glance. Always look for rechargeable batteries as they can sometimes be rehabilitated with slow charging or partial charge and usage cycles.

I do not recommend trying to recharge disposable batteries, although some people claim they can do so easily enough without causing the battery to explode. Personally, I’d rather use battery alternatives and save my explosion/fire experiment risks for something with a more tangible benefit.

Unusual Parts

In modern flashlights, you might find resistors or small electronic circuits that either step down or increase the power from the battery going into the bulb.

Pay careful attention to the color bands or numbers on resistors and also any other markings. Aside from their use in flashlights, older basics, usable diodes, resistors, capacitors, crystals, transistors, and coils are worth their weight in gold.

Video first seen on HouseholdHacker.

Alternatives to Consider

Even if you do not need to look to alternatives to the basics listed above for many years, it never hurts to know about some options that will enable you to make better use of materials that may already be on-hand.

Aside from the methods listed here, there are also many other alternatives that may produce the same effects, however they may not lend themselves well to a flashlight because of portability or other issues.

Battery Substitutes

When it comes to battery substitutes, your options are limitless in the sense that many materials can be paired together in order to store electrons and then discharge them at a fixed rate.

For example, something as simple as a potato or a copper penny can act as a battery for a single LED, a Christmas tree light bulb, or other small, low wattage bulbs. That being said, liquid batteries made from acids or even earth batteries may not be practical for a flashlight because they are not portable or may cause other problems.

The best and most viable battery alternatives for flashlights may well be some form of DIY capacitor based “battery”. Just remember that these batteries will still have to be charged, and it may take some effort to find a good set of materials for the capacitor.

For example, there are many sites online that claim you can make a regular capacitor from aluminum foil and wax paper. Even though this may be true, it will take more material than expected. You are better served by looking for other materials that will require less space. You can learn about capacitor “batteries”, and then consider how you can overcome the challenges of making as a DIY project.

Nanotechnologies are moving along rapidly. Even though you may not find many devices on the market that can scavenged yet, they may become available in the next 5 years. Keep track of DIY sites and always be on the lookout to see if any consumer based experimenters have taken any kind of nanotechnology based device and found a way to turn it into a battery substitute.

Magnet Fans

This is another fascinating system that can be used in place of a battery, and you might need to read our article about magnets to find out more about using them for different prepper applications. You may also want to experiment with vertical or shell style blade designs.

Also remember not to overlook some battery alternatives that might utilize a twisting rope to store energy, or anything else that can produce rotation. Never forget that once you have motion, you can use a magnet to induce electricity in a coil of wire.

Shake flashlights may also be of interest. These are especially fascinating and useful because you will never need to replace the batteries.

I would recommend making a coil winder so that the wire wraps in the smallest, and most compact form. Depending on how you construct the coil winder, you can also use it for larger coils that can be used in many devices including wind turbines and gravity fans. Just remember that a simple coil winder is not going to be of much use if you want to make torroid coils or other shapes that might be more useful for other purposes.

Also a DIY coil winder is still not going to be of use if you want to create complex windings for more powerful motors. Still, you can get the 300 and up windings easily enough for this flashlight and other low power applications. Needless to say, if you can get this device to work, then consider using the coils and shaking as a means to power other devices such as radios or other DC powered devices. When combined with a stationary bike or another source of motion, you may also be able to generate larger amounts of power.

Video first seen on Grant Thompson – “The King of Random”.

Bulb Substitutes

In most cases, you are not going to find something as compact as a light bulb that will be able to produce as much light.

Here are some options that you can consider:

Glow stick technologies – even though many of these require complicated chemicals, you may still be able to make them on your own. If at all possible, aim for ones that can be recharged, or be on the lookout for new technologies that make them easier to make or allow them to last longer. instructables.com/id/DIY-Glow-Sticks/
Phosphorescent materials – even though these “glow in the dark” materials do not provide much light, they can still be of use in time of need. Aside from storing away “glow in the dark” paint and other materials, you should also do some research on how to make urine glow in the dark.
You can also try to use glowing wires, however they will not last very long and will burn up quickly.

Wiring Substitutes

Just about anything that conducts electricity can be used as a wire substitute, including necklaces or metal chains and aluminum foil. But even if you have a material that conducts electricity, it may not work very well because there is not enough power being provided by the battery to overcome the resistance in the wire replacement.

Since every “wire” and substitute has some degree of resistance, you can try to mitigate the problem in the following ways:

Use as little connecting material as possible. For example, if you are going to use tin foil, use the shortest length and the least amount of material. Do some research on how much current can be transmitted by specific materials so that you will know best how to shape the wire alternative to meet the power constraints of the system.
Make sure the material is insulated with a non-conductor.
Before you begin searching for suitable wire replacements, do some research on wire free systems that use metal tabs. This includes systems where a metal tab is pushed in order to allow current to flow through the circuit. Aside from solving your wire problem, these methods can also make it easy to replace switches that have worn out or otherwise useless.
Always make sure that bare conductors do not touch and create a short circuit. For example, if you are using metal from a chain, make sure that the positive and negative “wires” do not touch each other at the required contact points on the bulb or the switch. This includes making sure that solder contact points are clean and not so close together that they can generate shorts.
If you do some research, you might be very tempted to see if there are ways to utilize liquid batteries or even gels in such a way that you can further limit the use of wires. While I am more than supportive of stationary lights utilizing these power forms, I don’t think they will ever be portable enough for a flashlight system. It would be better to remain focused on metals, or even newly emerging nanotechnologies that may make metal wires obsolete.
A few decades ago, it is believed that Tesla was able to transmit electricity through the air. At the current time, scientists can transmit small amounts of electricity over very short distances. You can try looking through Tesla’s patents and other information to see if you can come up with ways to transmit electricity in much the same way that radio signals are sent. Since electricity can actually be pulled from the air, research on these methods may also be of interest.

Parts to Look For on Scavenger Expeditions

When searching for parts on scavenger expeditions, it is your choice in terms of how limited or broad your scope is. For example, if you are looking for batteries, you may decide that you only want rechargeable that perfectly fit the flashlight you have on hand.

In this scenario, you will miss out on a number of short term and long term viable places to search. This includes looking in old radios or other portable devices that may have weak batteries that will still work in a flashlight.

You will also overlook very important alternative sized batteries that can still meet your needs. Before limiting your search to pre-existing flashlights, take a look at some videos and instructables on how to convert from one battery type to another. Chances are you will be very surprised at just how many different variations you can use in one flashlight with a minimum of modification. HERE is one simple guide to get you started.

flashlight

If you decide to use a more expanded parts list that includes capacitors, resistors and metal strips, viable materials can be found in just about anything that uses electricity.

When searching for electrical components, however, make sure that you know the difference between high voltage and low voltage circuits. This is especially important if you decide to remove capacitors from a board or if you find them laying around. Even a relatively small capacitor used in a high voltage circuit can deliver quite a jolt.

Never remove parts from a circuit board until you have used a multi-purpose meter to test them out. If you find a charged capacitor on a board, make sure that you know how to discharge it safely before removing the components.

When you read about different ways to scavenge flashlights, most of them will tell you how to interchange bulbs or do simple things that are little more than a matter of common sense. After the initial phases of a social collapse, and even during a short term crisis, these methods may be very useful. When there are no parts to exchange, or no materials that you might recognize as suitable for a flashlight, you must know how to improvise. Never limit your explorations on this topic, as there are new technologies emerging as well as older, simpler ones that can be used to meet your portable lighting needs.

Just take your time and think about each part of the flashlight to see how you can optimize it, and then fit it into a whole system that meets the best features of the flashlights you may be taking for granted right now.

This article has been written by Carmela Tyrell for Survivopedia.

Resources:

mpoweruk.com/alternatives.htm

researchgate.net/post/Is_there_any_alternative_method_except_batteries_to_store_solar_energy

web.mit.edu/erc/spotlights/ultracapacitor.html\

http://gas2.org/2008/09/26/new-battery-alternative-stores-huge-amounts-of-energy/

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Thursday, April 14, 2016

🇺🇸 A big thanks to all that are serving and have served, from @thecoroutfitters #thecoroutfitters 📷: @combat_flags ______

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The Best Gadgets for Your Guns

Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

So today, I’m going to point out offset sights, optics with integrated sights, and a specific type of single-point sling adaptor that could change some minds about the best gadgets for your guns.

The post The Best Gadgets for Your Guns appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Survival Organization- The "G- Roll"

The Miracle Herb for Women's Health!

Wet fire tinder tabs available on our site. @thecoroutfitters #thecoroutfitters ______

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Restraint Escape Carry: 16 Ways To Go Undetected

SVP big REK

Having an escape plan is a basic tenant of survival. While a prepper’s escape plan is often a good indicator of his overall state of preparedness, carrying a restraint escape kit doesn’t make him an evasion artist any more than owning a first aid kit makes him a physician.

The restraint escape kit is one facet of an escape plan, which is part of a survival plan that includes preparation, skills, training, planning, awareness and fitness in each of the basic areas of life. Knowing how to use and carry it, is another part of the deal.

You already know about the Survival Sensei Restraint Escape Kit from my previous article on Survivopedia about restraint escape kits. SS REK is a kit that I’ve designed to address shortcomings in commercially available kits, and now I’m going to tell you more about how to (and how not to) carry restraint escape gear.

Stay tuned, more is still to come about techniques specific to escape and evasion.

What Not To Do

Many vendors designing and selling restraint escape gear should know better than to hide it in wallets, glue it under a Rolex, attach it to or carry it in anything you are likely to be unceremoniously relieved of when mugged, much less abducted.

Unfortunately, some vendors are more interested in moving product than in your well-being, which is unacceptable. Some of the good guys currently teaching restraint escape are failing to think like bad guys. Police officers and soldiers may not be interested in taking your watch or wallet from you, but criminals are.

Some criminal organizations in the business of kidnapping strip victims down to their underwear and/or take their footwear once they are transported to a site where they can be held. Victims not ransomed are sometimes killed, sometimes prostituted and sometimes sold. The stupid and lazy criminal is a stereotype Hollywood uses to entertain and parents use to get young children to sleep.

Now that you know how a criminal acts, avoid these places to put your restraint escape gear unless you want it discovered and taken at the outset of the ordeal:

Wallet
Survival kit (Even a small kit is a target if stored in your clothing or worse yet, in or attached to a bag.)
Fake credit card
Watch band or under the watch (Especially an expensive watch. I have had watches as cheap as $15 stolen right off my arm.)
In jewelry that someone in a hurry could imagine to be of value
Bag or pack
Behind a badge, in a badge wallet or ID
In or attached to a gun belt or load bearing equipment
Bundled together or packed together in a Kit bulky enough to be found in a pat down and carried from the skin out.

The Balance Between Ideal and Convenient Carry

I carry restraint escape gear daily, so I understand the need to balance best practices with convenience. A REK or PSK (Personal Survival Kit) is not going to do you any good unless you have it when you need it.

People tend to leave gear behind if it is inconvenient to carry, so some degree of bundling of gear may be necessary in order to have the tools on hand that are necessary for you to escape the restraints most likely to be used on you.

If you decide to carry it all together in a single kit, justifying that you won’t carry it otherwise, at least consider carrying it in a kit that you can stash under layers of clothing, cheek, tape or deep carry in the event that your situation becomes dire and you have time to do so. I do not recommend planning on having time to hide RE gear at the last moment, because it may be too late by the time you realize that you need to do so.

If you are unlawfully restrained, it is unlikely that you will know beforehand what type of restraints will be used or in what position you will be restrained. If you are restrained with your hands in back and the tools you need are in front, you won’t be able to reach them and vice versa.

You need to be able to reach your tools whether your hands are in front of you or behind you. This can be accomplished by carrying two sets of tools, carrying them on your wrist, hands or feet, tying them to a cord that circles your waist, wearing them so they can be lowered or dropped into your hand, and so on.

It doesn’t matter how you do it. It only matters that the method is effective when you need it to be.

Carry For Your Environment

In jurisdictions or situations where the danger of being searched is high and/or the consequences of being caught carrying RE gear are severe, then carry everyday objects that can be quickly modified to serve the same purpose, e.g. mini binder clips can be carried as money clips and the handles used in place of handcuff keys.

RE Tool Substitutes

If you have long enough hair, wear hair clips and bobby pins.

RE Tools Made From Everyday Objects

In deciding on what to carry, this is what you must take into consideration:

Am I in a permissive or non-permissive environment? What are the risks and my exposure to those risks if I am caught with RE gear? What is my risk and exposure if I don’t carry RE gear and I end up needing it? Are there laws that apply to RE gear in the jurisdictions I will travel through?
Who are my potential enemies? What are their MO’s, motivations and capabilities? e.g. in one part of the world I frequent, a common method of murder is to bind the victim and tape a plastic bag over the head of the victim. It’s cheap, convenient, relatively quiet and doesn’t make a big bloody mess. It’s also a death you just might be able to escape if you are aware of the threat and properly trained and equipped.

Carry Options for Restraint Escape Gear

Carry options are only limited by imagination. Any given method is only effective with gear of the right size and shape, so I modify my RE gear to be adaptable to a great number of carry options, some of which are:

Elastic Loop Carry

The RE Modules can be folded in half and carried in elastic handcuff key loops sewn on many belts designed for concealed carry. The elastic loop also serves as the belt’s tag.

Elastic Loop Carry

This method is convenient in that your belt can be moved to whatever clothing you are wearing that day without having to move the tools. You can also sew elastic webbing loops onto other belts you own or even some articles of clothing. If you do, use a slightly wider elastic loop which enables you to store the kit laid flat. This makes the kit more difficult to detect in a pat down.

SERE Belt Carry

Laid flat, both RE Modules, the E&E Module, money, a friction saw and a couple of last ditch ingestible items all fit in mine without any noticeable bulges and room to spare.

The Black Ops by Oscar Delta is the best design I have found to date because it constructed like a taco that closes at the top with a thin strip of Velcro. This makes it easy to retrieve tools from the belt without dropping them.

SERE Belt Carry

The belt looks like a high quality version of countless other web belts and does not have a paramilitary look to it or the gimmicky molded buckles used to hide gear that are common.

Suspended Carry

It’s not cheap to buy a restraint escape kit and have it sewn in to each article of clothing you own, but it is affordable to add “suspender buttons” to your trousers and shorts so you can hang tools by a Kevlar thread/trip line for retrieval.

The line serves double duty as a lanyard for small tools to prevent them from being dropped out of reach into the dark by hands that are cold, wet, muddy, sweaty, bloody and/or injured.

You will most likely be operating at significantly less than 100% due to a mix of fear, fatigue, stress, pain, hunger, thirst or exposure. With this method, only two sets of RE tools (one accessible in front and one in back) are necessary since they can be moved each time you change clothing.

Hang tools so they lay behind reinforced areas of clothing like the flies, seams, tags, etc. and in areas that don’t typically get touched in a pat down.

Safety Pin Carry

Low tech and simple are often underrated these days. All modules of the SS REK come with a subdued safety pin to affix them inside. Most kits worth carrying can be adapted for this method with a safety pin, a little Gorilla tape and/or vinyl tape and a hole punch.

Safety Pin Carry

Safety pins are also useful tools in their own right. The inside of your underwear is one of few places your gear is likely to go unnoticed if you are forced to strip down to your drawers and change clothing, which is SOP for some organizations.

Fly Button Carry

Like a suspender button, you can loop a thread or cord over the button of button fly trousers. This is also a popular carry method for Go Tubes or Stash Tubes and an RE Module and most of the E&E Module or up to $1000 US in a 2.6″ tube using this method.

Under Tag Carry

RE modules are small enough to fit under the tags of some clothing brands. It is hard to feel tools underneath semi-rigid leather tags and it is a small matter to remove a tag from one article of a clothing to another.
Moleskin or Band Aid Carry

You can stash a cuff key and/or shim under a patch of Moleskin, Molefoam, a Band-aid or similar dressing from your First Aid Kit before going into a high threat situation. Make it look real and use the flattest cuff key possible. The E&E portion of the kit includes an extra pocket for a handcuff key modified for flat storage.

Moleskin or Band-aid Carry

Using bandages, medical devices, casts and even surgical implantation is a method of smuggling that enjoys a long and storied history including the famous Lincoln assassination, but Ed Calderone (Ed’s Manifesto, Libre Fighting Systems, TAD Black Box Course) arrived at the idea independently and would like to receive credit for it.

Considering his contributions to the field, I would be the last person to deprive him of that. (Well … that and the fact I don’t want to get hung on a meat hook and used as flesh piñata for one of his Black Box courses) … so, “Great job Ed!” : )

Patch Carry

The SS REK is sized to fit under Velcro flag patches on uniforms and in Velcro Covert Patch Pouches which are carried underneath a flag patch or on top of the Velcro on uniforms and hats and have an interior pocket to hide REK or E&E gear on a uniform, hat or anything else with a flag patch.

Smuggler’s Underwear

There are several brands of underwear on the market that have stash pouches designed into them. They range from hidden secret pockets to just well-placed pockets.

Travel Boxers

I travel to places where armed robberies are common enough that anybody who is streetwise carries an old cellphone in their hand or pocket in public and carries their newest phone in their underwear.

If it is so common why does it work? Probably because typical MO is that criminals will board a bus, one puts a pistol to the driver’s head and the other goes down the bus with a bag and a handgun telling everyone one to drop their wallet and their phone in the bag. If you don’t comply, they shoot you in the face and move on.

The laws are so easy on minors that in many countries that it’s mostly minors doing the robberies. In this case, the criminals are young, scared, in a hurry and don’t have time to search people … even foreigners. You need to stay situationally aware. That means understanding your enemies, their motivations, their situation, their capabilities and the same for yourself.

Jewelry or Accessory Carry

Escape kits or tools can be built into necklaces, earrings, hair clips, eye or sun glasses, bracelets, rings or any other accessory. To be effective, you want to avoid: looking like an escape tool, the appearance of being valuable, looking paramilitary in nature or standing out in any way.

Jewelry or Accessory Carry

Objects that look common, worthless and benign are more likely to be overlooked, but even this depends on the knowledge of your captor, how much of a hurry they are in, at what point you are in the abduction process and so on.

Objects hidden in plain sight are most useful immediately after capture or during transportation because they will likely be found later on.

Shoelace Carry

Most shoes come with a built-in friction saw in the form of shoelaces. Depending on the material use to restrain you, your shoe laces may work as a friction saw in a pinch, but it’s a simple matter to replace factory shoelaces with heat resistant, high strength, abrasion resistant cordage. A friction saw is a piece of cordage with loops tied on the ends and work similar to a wire survival saw.

Sheathed Kevlar Shoe Laces

The saw is threaded through restraints, you put your feet through the loops and use a bicycling motion to cut through restraints by generating heat. This technique can be used to cut para cord without a knife by using the cord to cut itself.

Friction saws are effective against duct tape, zip ties, rope or Zip Cuffs, but you may need to use a handcuff shim, bobby pin or other object to thread the saw between the bindings and your skin if it is tight. Tying a knot in the center will give the saw extra bite to cut rope made of natural fibers but knots are less effective when cutting synthetics.

Para cord works, gives you a source of cordage and comes in so many colors that it’s not difficult to find one that looks normal on boots, but Technora and Kevlar look less para military and are more resistant to heat. Sheathed Kevlar looks sharp on dress shoes. Just cut the cordage to length, burn the ends and add some aglets or improvise a pair from clear tape for a temporary, field expedient solution.

Shoelace Handcuff Key

At least one model of handcuff key is made to be crimped onto a shoelace in place of an aglet, hiding in plain sight.

Shoe Carry

Placing escape gear on the feet, or in footwear solves the problem of accessing a tool whether you are restrained with your hands in front or in back. Footwear often has complex lines, taped seams, insoles, soles and heels, making them a favorite of smugglers for hiding small objects.

Tools hidden in footwear are best used early on in the ordeal because captives are often relieved of their footwear at some point, but some of the best opportunities to escape often occur shortly after capture or during transportation. In some cases, abductees have been forced to give up their shoes but allowed to keep their socks.

Caching

At some point, it may be to your advantage to cache RE gear. You need to have RE gear on your person to start out with, but many escape tools are tiny so it is not unreasonable to carry a little extra. You will not likely be able to cache gear in the van used to abduct you ahead of time, but what about the trunk of your own car? Kids fatally trap themselves in car trunks often enough that interior trunk releases are now mandatory, but older vehicles don’t typically have them, they can be disabled and your chances of escape improve if you have freed yourself from restraints prior to opening the trunk and making a break for it.

Hiding an RE Module, a light source and a side arm in your car trunk can improve your chances of survival should you be stuffed into the trunk of your own vehicle by an opportunistic criminal who has underestimated you.

In the US, if a criminal armed with a handgun attempts to transport you, the chances the motive is robbery are almost nil and your chances of survival after being restrained and transported drop to single digits without an RE kit. Your chances are statistically far better if you fight and run … but this is only in the US and you have to make the call based on the circumstances and your abilities or lack thereof.

Percentage-wise, even if you are shot with a handgun during the escape attempt, you are 5 to 6 times more likely to survive than if you allow yourself to be bound or cuffed and put inside a vehicle. Given the opportunity, you may decide to cache some of the RE gear you carry or have obtained during the ordeal to prevent its discovery.

A glue dot or a little tape can help you seemingly defy the laws of physics to cache RE tools or hide them in a search of your person. Methods as simple as taping the kit to the bottom of a foot have escaped detection and enabled successful escapes.

It is also a sound practice to cache resources to aid in self recovery including backup RE gear in your area of operations. If you do manage to escape, it will likely be with precious few resources and stealing or using social engineering to get what you need can increase risk of recapture. Putting caches in place can be a simple insurance policy. Caches can be simple and inexpensive but need to be accessible 24/7/365 without anyone taking notice or being able to trace the cache back to you by any means if discovered.

Cheeking

Given the opportunity, you may be able to sneak a tool into your mouth. A slim shim is easiest. Definitely wouldn’t try for more than a handcuff Key and a bobby pin unless you are a magician and have gone so far as to make a dental prosthesis or have a flap surgically installed in your mouth. Like most techniques cheeking effectively takes practice.

Ingestion

Swallowing items for later retrieval is another option if capture is imminent, but the technique is dangerous, so you should make a risk-reward assessment according to your circumstances.

Candidates for swallowing are small non-ferrous, non-magnetic objects without any sharp edges making them less likely to damage the GI tract or get stuck in it which may require medical intervention to remove. The best candidate is a plastic hideout cuff key compatible with a reach around tool such as a bobby pin which should not be swallowed. Small button compasses have been swallowed by pilots and some instructors will tell you to do it, but that is risk-reward call.

I would absolutely not swallow a magnet or pairs of powerful rare earth magnets like I carry to use as a general direction compass by placing it on a small non-ferrous float or suspending it from a thread to point to magnetic North.

Once a magnet makes it’s way into the intestine it can attach to another magnet or a ferrous object, pinching off the intestine or the blood flow to an intestine which can be fatal. If either of the objects have a sharp edge or there is a small metal object such as a tiny flake of metal from grinding an object or using flint and steel in your GI tract, it could perforate your intestine.

Body Cavity Carry

This carry method is common enough that every culture seems to have it’s own euphemisms for carrying gear in the rectal cavity, the colon or any other body cavities you may happen to possess.

I get that this is not a topic for polite conversation or one where you are going to want to put in a lot of “range time” and is dangerous, but it is something people at risk should be aware of, should they find themselves in a desperate situation requiring such extreme measures. This technique is somewhat taboo to discuss, unpleasant to think about and surely more unpleasant to do … especially in situations where the pucker factor is so high you could scant drive a toothpick betwixt your cheeks with a sledge hammer.

Unfortunately, survival often entails going outside comfort zones and getting past cultural taboos. Ingestion and rectal insertion are dangerous and I certainly do not advocate this as an EDC method, but I did take this into consideration the design process.

Body Cavity Carry

This carry method typically involves placing the items to be carried inside a stash tube which is hidden in the rectum. The tube should made of a materials that are at short term biocompatible (at minimum), be as small as possible and free of any sharp edges.

It is possible pack a kit in a tight bundle without any sharp edges and tie it inside a condom. Obviously form factor and minimalism are of utmost importance here so an Altoids tin probably isn’t going to be a good candidate.

According to Don Rearic’s research on the topic, at least one desperate prisoner carried a small stash tube for 15 years or more, carrying it high enough in the colon to not be found in cavity searches. The SS REK is small enough that most of it can be packed into a stash tube and keistered for later retrieval.

The longer a stash is carried, the larger it is and the less biocompatible it is, the greater the danger will be to your health and the greater chance of discovery will be. See above for why a magnet and a ferrous object or more than one magnet in your GI tract can be fatal.

Disclaimer from the Author

This topic may hurt some feelings and make some of you sad or otherwise uncomfortable. Even for the rest of you, it will take many of you outside your comfort zone. I try to keep my material family-friendly and generally positive … not Pollyanna positive, but optimism, proactivity and courage save far more lives than reactivity, negativity and fear mongering.

Restraint Escape is about improving your chances to survive certain harsh realities of the world we live in, so if you are a child or emotionally fragile, please stop reading and get parental consent or guidance before continuing. Survival and restraint escape involve tools and techniques that are dangerous, may be illegal in some jurisdictions and which can get you killed if misapplied.

The author of this article is not a physician or a lawyer. This material is not presented as legal counsel or medical advice and is not intended to encourage or train the reader for any criminal activity. The author’s intent is to make readers aware of information that criminals already know in order to better protect themselves and save lives. The author does not advocate attempting to escape legal restraint or arrest by law enforcement. Attempting to escape legal restraint by a police officer is a quick way turn a misunderstanding or lesser crime into a felony or possibly even a funeral.

But still remember that anarchy and disaster don’t follow the rules, and the skills that you have will be your only mean of survival.

This article has been written by Cache Valley Prepper for Survivopedia.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2016

@realworld_tactical during some High Intensity Combat Athlete Training. Follow @thecoroutfitters for more. #thecoroutfitters 📷: @realworld_tactical _______

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🔫 @realworld_tactical durning some High Intensity Combat Athlete Training. Follow @thecoroutfitters for more. #thecoroutfitters _______

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Prepare Now to Avoid Panic Later

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

You can react in a logical and helpful manner in spite of your initial emotional state. With some practice, you can prepare now so that when emergencies happen, you will be able to lead and less likely to panic later.

The post Prepare Now to Avoid Panic Later appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Contest Winners Will be Announced Saturday

Contest winners for our most recent non-fiction writing contest will be announced Saturday in my weekly “What did you do to prep this week” blog post.

A note to all the people who waited until the last day to send in their entries – I can’t publish 20 articles on the last day of the contest, you’re better off to get those in early instead of waiting until the last-minute. All articles not used will be automatically entered into our next contest.

All articles not used will be automatically entered into our next contest.

Thank you to our contest...

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Things To Consider Before Bugging Out

Guest post by Michael

A year or so ago, I became interested in preparing for a disaster, so I went to the Internet to see what other folks are doing to prepare. I was surprised to learn the number of people who have been preparing for quite some time, and also at the level of their preparations; purchasing remote properties, building up a personal arsenal, and buying and storing food stocks for their families.

I figured I needed to ‘get on board’ and start my own preparations. I had a lot to do and a lot to consider; food stocks, weapons and ammunition, off-the-grid living, ...

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April 13, 2016 Miscellany News Brief

1.) Gun Owners Are Terrorists’: Hillary Nods in Agreement: A video of a woman asserting that gun owners are terrorists during a round-table meeting in New York yesterday shows Hillary Clinton nodding along in agreement.

2.) The mouse speaks – Kim Jong Un claims “ballistic rocket” will allow nuke strikes on US mainland.

3.) What in the World is Going on with Banks this Week?: Emergency meetings, banker summits, crashing European banks, and the worst bank reports since the Great Recession.

4.) Court Rules Police Can Legally Make Up Lies to Pull People Over to Fish for...

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A House Divided

house divided

The United States was first referred to as “The Great American Melting Pot” In the 1908 play, The Melting Pot, by Israel Zangwill.

Quickly adopted into popular culture, the term referred to how for over a century, people had come to America’s shores from around the world, leaving their nation and culture behind and becoming part of a new culture; the American culture.

Melting pot

This process of “melting” into a homogeneous society is something that has been rather unique in the USA.

Regardless of where people came from, what religion they professed, what culture they were born into or what skin color they had, upon arriving in the United States, they left that behind and became American.

For over two centuries, people have come to the USA to become Americans, with many having that as their lifelong dream.

While all have struggled to assimilate into the American culture, they all tried, seeing that as an important personal step in their path towards citizenship.

It’s important to note here that there is no immigration law which required these people to change their culture, it was something they decided to do on their own. There are requirements to become a citizen.

They must learn the English language, our system of government, swear loyalty to the flag and renounce their loyalty to their former country. But they are not required to assimilate.

Their decision to assimilate was a personal decision. They did it because they saw the benefit to themselves in becoming part of this great experiment in freedom we call America. They weren’t satisfied with being part time Americans, they wanted to be Americans all the way.

But Something Has Happened

No longer do all immigrants want to assimilate. Not only that, but I think ethnic minorities who are in the United States are purposely trying to separate themselves from mainstream society. They are looking for their own cultural identity, and it’s not an “American” identity that they want.

Today, many people are hyphenated Americans. They’re Afro-Americans, Latin-Americans, or something else-Americans. They’re LGBT first and Americans second. They’re Muslims in America, and not Americans. It seems that every sub-group has decided that it is wrong to be an American and it is better to be something else.

This fragmentation of our society is being labeled “multiculturalism” and is being lauded by the political left. They are apparently thrilled that people don’t want to be Americans any longer. They cheer when dissatisfied thugs wipe their rear end with the American flag or walk on it on the streets. They rejoice in the destruction of American history and the symbols of it.

It seems that liberals are on a campaign to find a way to destroy America, fragmenting it into a thousand separate pieces.

Video first seen on ReasonTV

A House Divided

Abraham Lincoln said it best: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.“

How can this house, our nation, continue to stand, when so many people are trying to tear it down? I’m not talking about our overseas enemies, but the enemies within. Those who are supposedly Americans, but want nothing more than to destroy America. They are our own worst enemies.

Ever since Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous speech, stating “I have a dream…” on August 28, 1963, our country has been slowly and painfully moving towards healing the racial divide which has existed since its foundations.

But in the last few years, race baiters like Barack Obama, Al Sharpton, Jessie Jackson and the #BlackLivesMatter movement have worked overtime to destroy those 50 years of progress. Now, we are more divided than we have been any time in my life.

It’s not just blacks against whites, either. Today, every minority and every liberal sub-culture in the United States, is demanding their piece of the pie.

pew - house

Who Is to Blame?

It seems to me that only liberal sub-cultures are doing this, and not conservatives. The conservatives want to keep the nation whole.

I first notice this trend with Mexican illegal immigrants. They were coming to the United States and demanding that we change our country to meet their needs. They wanted signs and legal documents to be in Spanish instead of English. They wanted to receive government benefits, even though they weren’t Americans. They thought, and still think, that we are mistreating them, because we aren’t learning Spanish, but rather, expecting them to learn English.

It’s worse with the radical Muslims. Not only they want us to change, they demand that we do. They are purposely trying to force Sharia Law down our collective throats and make us live according to its statutes, even though we are not Muslims.

These are the same people, of the same religion, who took down the World Trade Center on 9-11. Still, anything that offends a Muslim must be done away with, even if it requires destroying the American culture.

Of course, the #BlackLivesMatter movement demands the same thing. It’s absurd to demand that any sign of the Confederacy be removed, that was real and it was part of our history. While not a great part of our history, it is part of what has formed this country. Yet today, we are supposed to pretend it didn’t exist and remove any reminder.

black-lives-matter

While I firmly believe that people who have their roots in other cultures should teach their children about their roots and pass on their traditions, that’s a long way from keeping them as a separate culture.

It’s also a long way from allowing them to force changes on our culture, just to make them happy.

These demands by every liberal group are dividing this country, and they will continue to divide it until we reach the point of Civil War. That is, they will continue to divide it, unless someone can put it to a stop.

As long as each special interest group thinks they have a right to happiness, at the expense of everyone else, there will be no way of keeping this country together.

Just look at the damage that transgender activists are doing to the country. While I don’t believe in sexual reassignment in the least, I believe in living and letting others live. If someone wants to do that, then I will not come in their way.

But why should every woman and girl in this country be at risk, just because of a few confused people? Legally forcing businesses, schools and public places to allow transgenders to use women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and showers, is a sure way of seeing more women and girls abused, raped and put through incredible trauma.

No, I’m not accusing transgenders of being rapists. But you and I both know that some perverts are going to use the loophole that the “equal treatment” of transgenders gives them, to dress up as women and invade the most private sanctuaries of women.

Whether they will do so just to look at the naked women or whether their purposes will be more nefarious is immaterial. In either case, it will cause incredible emotional injury to the women and girls who are forced to allow them in.

The truly crazy thing about this is that those who support transgenders being in women’s restrooms are supposedly doing this so that the feelings of these people won’t be hurt. In doing so, they are saying that the feelings of the few clearly outweigh the feelings and emotional health of the many.

This Country Must Turn Around

Since when has the imagined needs of the few outweighed the needs of the many? Yet according to liberal logic, the needs of the few have become paramount; especially if those few have a loud political voice. If everyone else must suffer to satisfy them, then as far as the liberals are concerned, so be it.

This is absurd. Worse than that, it is tearing the country apart. We are reaching a point where we are no longer a Union, but a toxic mixture. No enemy will have to destroy our country, because these various groups of activists and their political lackeys will do it for them. As each one gets what they want, the country will die a little bit more.

Eventually, there won’t be much of a country left, and what is left will be weakened to the point where any enemy can just walk in and take over.

That may very well be part of the plan. We must remember that the liberal left is bent on a one world government. That’s their goal. They see a utopian paradise where every liberal in the world has their way, but all as part of one big happy family.

Of course, part of that is getting rid of those of us who don’t agree with them. Or, if not getting rid of us, then enslaving us with taxes, laws and political correctness, so that we are politically insignificant providers of taxes (without representation) to fund their favorite liberal causes.

We must become a country of laws once again. We must look to our fellow man once again; not to see what we can get from them, but to see how we can help them. We must stop pandering to every whim of every minority group and work together to reconcile our differences.

That doesn’t mean punishing some as an act of penance for imagined sins, but rather coming together and finding that common ground which once made this nation a true Union.

This article has been written by Bill White for Survivopedia.

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