I See England, I See France...

I know that I've, excuse the expression, "brief"ly touched upon this subject before, and this is not an abiding preoccupation of mine as subjects go, but thinking about the number of useful tips, anecdotes and even critical information to convey on this topic I thought that there would be no harm in revisiting this subject in more depth as a separate article, so to speak.

It's probably something that most of us little think of when thinking about survival, or in combat, while traveling, or just recreational camping, but if you don't choose undergarments wisely or don't properly care for them, there is the very real potential for a series of minor cascade of exigencies that lead to a chain of potentially serious consequences in the field (sores, infections/pus, debilitating irritations, necrosis, sepsis/fevers, death).

At it's most fundamental, underwear is simply the base layer. That layer of clothing which is directly against the skin, especially that which covers the genital/rectal area and also, with many gender and style variations, the area around the chest. Socks can also be considered a sort of (vital) undergarment for the feet, as they actually serve most of the same functions.

Since ancient times, underwear serves primarily as a liner layer or a physical barrier between the skin and the next layer of clothing. Laundering and caring for the various outer wear garments is usually more labour intensive and leads to more noticeable wear and tear, so the undergarments simply extend the time between washings by providing a protective, absorbant layer between the outer clothes and the human body with all it's pores, ducts, openings, stoma and ora. The body is constantly secreting and discharging biological products and by-products, among these sweat and oils, dead skin cells, possibly blood from small cuts, clear lymph from insect bites, pus from acne and other bacteriological eruptions, mucous from the sinuses, saliva from the mouth, ear wax, not to mention the various resultant residue of micturation, defecation, menstruation, and copulation. A diaper basically serves the same purpose, just on a different scale.

Perhaps, secondarily, undergarments serve conversely to protect us from our own clothing. Outer clothing usually designed mainly to look good outwardly is usually made of hardier, rougher, less flexible materials and often have irritating seams, bumps, backs of zippers, knots, and other otherwise impressing physical features that underwear by being smoother, softer and more slippery protect us from. For both genders, it literally pads and protects the soft, vulnerable genitalia from injury, the squeezing, pinching, binding, abrasions, snapping, zipping, and poking. If you have no idea what I am speaking of, try wearing a new pair of jeans without undies sometime and try walking and sitting down.

Other functions of underwear that may concern us in survival or travel are its insulative functions (keeping us warm or thermo-regulated) and its supportive functions (keeping our various dangling parts from freely swinging). And, yes, perhaps lastly, I will mention that it protects our modesty (it hides us from complete nudity) and in some situations it is even meant to be seen (as a focus of allure) and can re-shape the human outline.

For thermoregulation, it is my opinion that there are few fibers better than natural silk. It is very thin and lightweight compared to other bulky materials, but yet it efficiently traps air and remains insulative even when wet. I think I've elsewhere mentioned the characteristics of silk fabric and it's astounding utility in survival situations. Perhaps secondly, I like polypropylene (and or silk weight micro-capilene) which performs almost as well as silk for thermo-regulation and wicking (moisture transport) from the skin to the air. If neither of these are readily available almost any good synthetic material nylon, spandex, Nomex, woven into a thin, elastic, absorbant panels is the next best thing. My last choice of common underwear material would be 100% cotton. Yes, cotton is comfortable and it's actually good if you have the means to change frequently. However, it does get damp rapidly, and then remains damp. Then it quickly gets abrasive and will chafe once damp. And, yes, while cotton is absorbant, it will also readily retain and even culture the odor causing bacteria, speaking nothing of the ammonia from urine.

I personally prefer underwear to stay close to the skin and follow the contours of the body. I like the feeling of support, and slight compression so that things don't move around. However, I do acknowledge that looser, freer form of underwear has it's advantages also, mainly in ventilation, unrestricted comfort, and even in being "seen". However, through years of trial and error, I think that the optimum underwear design for survival, hiking, combat, travel and general long-term use is something in between the two, like boxer-brief.... or something like a boy-shorts design. This design has the advantages of briefs with the coverage of boxers, and eliminating some of the problems of briefs, like chafing at the leg openings. Good coverage also has it's advantages in better protecting the body and the outer clothes, plus, it allows for extra liner layers and/or adult diapers.

It's a very small consideration, but I personally prefer underwear that is coloured and does not obviously look like underwear, that is, at a glance underwear that looks like shorts or swimtrunks. I suppose in an emergency it really doesn't matter, but I've had occasion to evacuate a building suddenly in the middle of the night and was glad not to be huddling out in cold in tighty whities. On one unforgettable occasion, my MP unit successfully repulsed a EPW rescue raid by elements of the 75th Ranger Bn during an exercise, and half our unit was fighting in their skivvies!

I don't recommend extremely tight underwear, or underwear with any rough or irritating edges or accoutrements. I don't recommend thongs because they don't adequately fulfill many of the practical functions of underwear. I have heard many times how wool underwear is great and practical and warm (even when drenched), but I have never found wool underwear of any type to be comfortable. And I honestly don't find "wearing no underwear" prurient or practical in most cases. It just makes me think.... "ewww, your clothes must be contaminated". I inspect underwear carefully for vinyl care tags, raised welts, thin elastic, or seam stitching which would leave marks or impressions, and eventually chafe and abrade. I have heard all the arguments for white and I understand the many advantages of it, but I always prefer a coloured fabric perhaps a light heather grey being the lightest.

Of course, when one has the means, changing underwear once a day every day is the best option, but sometimes this is not practical or possible. When I camp or go into survival mode, I will (yes, I know, yuck) try to wear one pair until it is really badly soiled (from 2 to 4 days!). My thinking is, is there really that much difference between yucky, really yucky and really really yucky. There seems to be a point where it seems to not matter anymore, you just can't get much dirtier. This of course assumes a situation where washing, bathing and changing is just impractical, which is rare. If the situation allows lots of down time and ample time for personal hygiene, I will try to rotate out my underwear every other day, one hand-washed and drying in my drying bag while one is worn. When I travel, I use a 4-day rotation, 3 pairs hand-washed in the hotel sink and drying on my portable clothes line, while one is worn.

Getting down to some nasty details... if one is by situation forced to wear the same set of clothes for an extended time (as in some desperate survival situations), there comes a time when the outer clothes become just as dirty, sweaty, smelly and contaminated as one's underwear. In that case, one might consider first turning underwear inside out (ewww) and then second just going "commando"... lol, and trying to launder/dry one's undies for that day. If the particular situation does not involve lots of movement, hiking or running, but instead long periods of waiting (stuck in one place), or like driving/sitting for a long time, then one might consider putting improvised "liner" layers in one's undies.... TP, paper towels, feminine hygiene pads, or even a folded piece of cloth or towel. Without spelling it out, this (obviously) puts an extra layer of absorbant protective barrier between your skin and your underwear, prolonging the clean "life" of your underwear.

It was not much discussed, but it was understood that in combat, a soldier would have to do what he/she had to do when he/she had to do it. Troops engaged in combat or on the move may not be able to stop for the call of nature of individuals. One modern adaptation to this exigency of life was the adult diaper (many commercially available brands now available). Of course one avoided "using" it if one could, but it was always there just in case.

There are several very practical, easily improvised underwear forms which can be made with pieces of cloth, including the loincloth, the fundoshi, and basically, what amounts to a cloth diaper. I don't include the codpiece, which is actually outerwear, nor the primitive gourd penis sheath, which is just rubbish.

On the technology side, among the modern high-performance synthetics available today the British Army had been researching underwear with silver fibers woven into the material which essentially make them "odorless", that is, odor causing bacteria will not grow on them. Now, I have a pair of expensive high-tech liner socks with silver fibers and I can aver that they are indeed "odorless" as advertised. So I imagine the silver underwear must work the same way.

Whistles While You Walk

"You know how to whistle don't you? Just put your lips together... and blow"

Today I thought I'd discuss a very simple, but very easy to overlook piece of kit that can potentially save your life... a whistle. Yeah, I'm talking about the little piece of moulded plastic or stamped or machined metal that when air is forcefully blown through it produces a disproportionately loud shrieking sound. By "forceful", I merely mean directed as one of the advantages of using a whistle is that it produces a lot of sound with minimal effort (like a small weak puff through a whistle can still produce a significant blast that can be heard at a great distance). It is useful for attracting attention in survival emergencies, for sports, for signalling, for self-defense, for directing traffic, etc, etc. A good whistle is one of the first pieces of gear that I would supply young kids with.

Imagine, getting lost in the woods while hiking, or inadvertantly skiing out of bounds (and not being able to get back to the proper side of a mountain as the sun goes down and the temperatures are dropping). Or imagine skidding off the road in your vehicle and crashing, unseen, in a ditch or ravine just off the road, and you find yourself injured and unable to walk out. Or maybe you take a wrong turn down a dark deserted alley in a big city, and suddenly find your way blocked by a group of crackheads who intend to mug you (or worse). Or imagine your boat/kayak flips over and you genuinely need some assistance as the current takes you out to sea, and help is within sight, but being so low in the water, nobody can see you. Or imagine that you are the first on the scene of a medical emergency and you are rendering aid, you call 911, and the police/fire/medics are just down the block but they cannot see where you are, partially obscured by cars and landscaping. I can go on and on with these hypotheticals and variations thereof, but the point is, in all of these situations, merely having a simple whistle on hand would be very useful.

A whistle falls under the category of "signaling devices" to announce an emergency or alert rescue personnel and along with visual panels, flares, smoke, marker panels, water dyes, and strobes are an important part of any survival kit. Most emergency survival situations are assumed to be temporary situations, with the eventual goal of getting rescued. Signaling is a very important part of an emergency survival kit if you ever want to get help. 3 whistle blasts (or 3 firearm shots, 3 flashes, 3 puffs of smoke, any series of 3) is generally accepted as the universal distress signal (even if you don't know International Morse Code). Many people at least know the Morse (CW) for "S. O. S.", which is easy to learn/memorize ". . . - - - . . ." (dot dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot), or (short short short, loooong loooong loooong, short short short).

Ideally, the whistle should make a slightly shrill, annoying, unpleasant noise so that it tends to capture attention above regular background din or loud crowd noise. A whistle sound that is too soft, harmonic, musical (tonal) and pleasant to the ear can more readily be ignored. Like, although it is a good whistle, I think that the Acme of London "Bobby" style whistle is too pleasant and musical in tone for emergency use. It sounds kind of whimsical to me, like a circus calliope or something. You might remember the sound of it from old Sherlock Holmes or perhaps Jack the Ripper films, with Bobby whistles sounding off in the "fog". I think most wooden whistles have timbres that sound too warm and friendly also, they "tooooot" like low flutes or tiny train whistles. Also, I would like to mention though it is a small consideration that I would always prefer a NON-METAL whistle no matter how good the design, not only because it would be lighterweight and quieter (as far as noise discipline), but also because of the real problem of metal whistles can get extremely cold (below freezing) and can freeze to and injure ones lips in cold climates (unless you pre-"thaw" it, or keep it deep within insulated layers).

After decades of technological stagnation, whistles have suddenly jumped technologically ahead in the past few decades, becoming "pea-less", much easier to blow, double-chambered or triple-chambered, louder and more focused, more ergonomically shaped, and even now able to function underwater!

I guess I happened to be more aware of whistle technology because I was an MP and many of us felt that the standard issue whistle (bulky OD green with a cork pea and OD green lanyard), although adequate, was somewhat of a dinosaur compared to the sleek, super-loud Fox 40 which was just hitting the market in the mid-80s. The Fox 40 and the Mini-Fox 40 is my whistle of choice. The double-chambered Fox 40 deafeningly "shrieks" with half the effort, and some of us started using them (for directing traffic and catching attention at long distance). Luckily they made it in a tactical black colour as well as the blaze safety orange. Also, I found that Fox 40 included two semi-circular "flanges" to the body of the whistle, ostensibly to make it more shaped like a conventional whistle, however, I discovered that they are superfluous decorative adjuncts only. They can be easily snapped off (with pliers) and filed smooth if you wish to make the Fox 40 a bit flatter and less bulky (like on a keychain).

One option that I will mention, mostly because of their durability, are the single piece machined metal whistles that are like very small cylinders, and can conveniently and inconspicuously be carried on a keychain, or zipper pull. They are great because they are cheap (about a buck), very small, nearly indestructible, and for their size, decently loud. Most of them are made of aluminum, and thus feather-weight. There are some custom machined titanium versions out there, but they tend to run into the exorbitant range as far as price (like cost vs. benefit is really dubious IMO). I thought this small keychain whistle is worth mentioning because... remember my favourite survival adage, "what's the best _____?" (in this case the piece of gear is a whistle). Answer: the one that you have on you. I see it all the time with people that buy big, fancy, expensive gear, and guess what? when an emergency happens, it will most likely be sitting in a nice protective case, probably packed away safely at home, where it is doing zilcho good.

There is a popular 5 in 1 mini-survival kit with a compass, matchcase, flint, fishing kit, etc. that has a built in whistle included. Bright orange and relatively inexpensive, it's a good all in one survival device if you invested in nothing else.... lol. I think that I insist that all my family members have one of these, at a minimum, in each of their vehicles.

In the category of overkill and double redundancy, many of my Fast-tek clips (like on my headlamp, my sternum strap, my cell phone case) are the mini-whistle clip versions, which have a very small, but effective "pea-less" whistle.

As part of my early survival kits, with ACR signal mirror, came the flat ACR "hurricane"-type whistle, also called the "Howler" whistle in England. ACR included it for free with the signal mirror or with their signal flare kits. It's like the flat rectangular double chambered whistle, safety orange or black in colour, that is often attached to PFDs as a zipper pull. It too is incredibly loud for it's size and has a wide comfortable mouthpiece so that it is possible to blast a large quantity of air through it with minimal effort.

Probably the smallest, really loud whistle on the market is the Jetscream, which is flat and slightly larger than a housekey. It is nicely designed to be very portable, and it produces a very respectable 122db sound.

Probably the loudest safety whistle at 130db +, and unfortunately probably the LARGEST, is the Wind Storm emergency, made by the All-Weather Safety Whistle Co. It can be heard up to half a mile a way, through obstructions (like helmets and vehicles), and can even be blown and heard underwater, up to 50 feet. The only drawback, I feel, is it's size, because the whistle is, literally, a handfull. It's bulky and oddly shaped like a hand grip with a protruding mouthpiece, and can barely be worn around the neck. Once a whistle gets this big, I start thinking, maybe I will just get a mini air horn, or just carry around a bugle or hunting horn or something... LOL.

Now, Fox 40 has developed a new 110 db Rescue Howler flat whistle with THREE chambers. A triple chambered whistle produces three separate tones simultaneously. So far it comes in a bright yellow colour. They are currently sold in two packs for a nominal $9 or so, retail.

I know. Big deal. A whistle may not be the most exciting or important piece of safety equipment, but it's at least worth the trouble of paying a buck at the local drugstore and attaching to your keychain, just in case. A mere $1 investment in preparation. It's better to have one and not need it than to need it and not have one. It may someday save your life.

My Own Private Alamo

This is a kind of oddball edition to my blog as it is partially a discussion of fact and partially a pure musing, a fantasy. I actually was conflicted about whether to include the second half of this entry as it is somewhat out of character with the informational, educational spirit of this blog. Plus it is somewhat revealing about my psyche also. Nevertheless, I think that it is a thoughtful fantasy, not entirely without practical merit, so I think I am going to publish it for now.



I assess the "threat" priority in my location (SF Bay Area) in the following order: 1) Earthquake 2) Civil Disturbance 3) Critical Resource Disruption (possibly related to Climate Change) 4) Flood 5) Random Predatory Violence (drive-by, home invasion, burglary). Most of these are self-explanatory.

The Critical Resource Disruption above refers to things like the rolling blackouts that we've been experiencing this past decade supposedly due to peak power usage (but after they mysteriously and suddenly ceased after 9/11/10 were actually discovered to be intentional leveraging by greedy power company execs), the emergency water conservation measures we've been asked to take due to low reservoirs and hot drought condition weather, garbage landfills and toxic waste storage that have reached capacity (and looking for other places to export it to), and the high cost of heating gas in cold winter months, and even the record high (as much as $5 in California, also I suspect due to artificial price leveraging by greedy oil company execs) cost of gasoline to run our vehicles and transport goods to our stores, and most alarmingly, to me, reports of actual "food shortages" in the media, which have consequentally driven up prices and created runs on certain commodities. These might seem like paranoid imaginings.... but they are actually happening, here and now, and I take them to be the earliest signs of a population that is reaching it's peak manageable level for the available resources.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this because of how eccentric and paranoid it sounds, but I actually live, most of the time, in a sort of bunker, or a panic room as they are popularly called. Let me explain. Basically, I have converted one half of my bedroom into a survival redoubt where I store much of my food, water, supplies, ammo, and gear. I needed a place to store all my gear (from multiple sports and activities) anyway, and much of it was too expensive to just leave out in the garage. So I went to one of those "surplus" outlets, the kind that sell old office furniture and retail/wholesale shelving, and bought a bunch of solid steel shelving units (for $10 each!) and lined the walls of my bedroom with them, bolted them down, and bolted them together to form a solid frame and earthquake resistant "box". And I simply changed the flimsy (interior) door with a solid one with a deadbolt (obtained from a friend's remodeling) and reinforced the frame around the deadbolt and hinges. There is only one door, but... there are actually 3 ways out of the room.

My gear and supplies occupy the shelving, and taking an idea from my Army days when we would make our own personal "hooches" (out in FOBs) made of ammo crates and other stacked supplies, I sub-divided the room with a wall made of supplies and equipment, packed into those Rubbermaid container bins and stacked neatly. So this room is divided into two main spaces.... one is a living space (a mini-apartment) where I usually sleep. It has a mini-fridge, microwave, toaster oven, plush carpeting, and is very cozy and comfortable actually. The other section of the room (which has a single slit window) is my "office" and laboratory.... with my secondary computer (WiFi connected of course), 3 televisions, Xbox 360, a comfortable rolling chair, a workbench, scientific instruments, wall charts, favourite artworks, back-up electronics, emergency power supplies (including a solar panel), my safe, my hand tools, my favourite specimens from my personal collections, oh, and a portable chem toilet. This is actually my "man cave" and I can very comfortably and happily spend my days and nights there with every comfort and necessity readily at hand.

After some hit and miss testing, I decided on the Rubbermaid storage bin because of it's ruggedness (thick plastic), the various available sizes (and colours), and because it has a nice snap on lid. It is water resistant (rain proof), but not waterproof. Also, it was cost effective, since I would pay under $5 for a large 18 gal unit and less for smaller units. Another handy feature is that they stack and bear weight well. Other containers I tried were simply too expensive, more fragile, too small or didn't lend themselves to stacking well.

Although it is no longer my main library, I do have quite a lot of books on bookselves also in this room. I only mention this because, interestingly, books are actually effective cover against bullets! And furthermore, I read back in the Cold War days that books and thick stacks of paper are actually effective against radiation... lol.

As much as I love the convenience of power tools, most of my tools are manual human-powered hand tools. I have rescue/extrication tools, full MOPP gear, military protective masks, a firefighter's SCBA and turnout gear, SCUBA gear with 2 aluminum 80s, geiger counter, decon kit, thick multi-use Vis-Cleen bags, and test kit. It's all stuff that I hope I never have to use (again) but that I've accumulated through the years from my various careers (I happen to be a Haz Mat Technician also).

With my stored water, plus water filters, plus water purifiers, plus access to a creek and pool, I feel I have ample survival water. And with my refrigerated food, my pantry food, my stored dried/canned goods, my MREs, and Mainstays, I probably have food for myself for at least 6 months, probably more if I ration it.

With my generator, deep-cell battery, solar panels, stored batteries, hand-crank dynamo devices, car alternator/transformer, I have alternate power for several weeks at peak (with fuel), and then indefinitely at low power usage (running only small electronics). I wish I had the means to install a roof solar system, including filtered ventilation to blow out hot air that rises to the attic area, keeping positive pressure inside. Contaminants, pollutants, pollen, fallout would tend to stay out because incoming air would be filtered and constant pressure would keep air blowing out of the house.

Unfortunately, I DON'T have a fireplace or wood burning stove with external exhaust port. I wish I did. But I'd be able to cook with propane range, butane cartridge stove, and finally a multi-fuel camp stove for maybe over a month. Then, it's woodfires in a fire brazier and a portable hibachi.

I no longer have a landline. I have embraced mobile communications technology, however, if price were no object, I think I would retain a landline as a back up in my "panic room". I do have both wired and wireless internet connections, as well as digital cable television.



Now ideally (perhaps when I retire to Alaska), I wish my home were built on a steel frame and self-supporting (i.e. not dependant on gravity, perhaps like a ship/submarine on land or a buried motor home/bus), and perhaps even on shock absorbers like Cheyenne Mountain. I have enjoyed the benefits of bouncy floor rooms before, like at an aerobics studio for lower impacts and thought why not make all rooms like that. I think my dream home would be partly or mostly underground, or at least bored into a hillside or cliff, like a series of tubes and domes. I'd like to use the Roman formula for long-lasting concrete, or one of the new high-tech mould-injected concrete mixes, like Moon-crete, plus lots of natural rock. Underground homes tend to stay naturally insulated without lots of extra energy expenditure for heating or cooling. Windows would be double-paned and all exterior doors would be two-staged, like an airlock. There should be at least one roof hatch and perhaps a tube or passway to an outlying building. The roof should be an active, living, integral part of the home, with living plants and mosses, solar panels, ventilation exhaust, and louvered windows to allow in natural light. Perhaps I've been reading too much Sunset magazine, but I also like houses that have a "natural" blending with the environment, where the line between inside and outside the house become somewhat blurred. Plants might grow indoor (like in integral planters or living walls), and maybe a small waterway or even a waterfall, may trickle right through the living area. In fact, climate permitting, I'd love to have an outdoor kitchen, outdoor dining room, outdoor shower, and firepit lounging area. The outlying building might be a small guest house, perhaps built around a more conventional A-frame chalet design, or better yet, a treehouse! (my other fantasy design). Somewhere on the property there must be a dedicated observatory, possibly even a radio observatory. I picture a sort of VLA made up of dozens of sat dishes positioned above tree top level across the property.

To supplement the roof solar collectors, I plan to have a wind generator on site also. I suppose the astronomy dome, satellite dishes, aerial booms, exhaust ducts and power generating fan would look pretty odd and incongruous in the forest, but I hope to disguise them in a sort of tree-like tower or towers and definitely try to paint them to blend in better, and have ample fake or real foliage around them.

Whatever the design, the grounds (the landscape design) are another important consideration. I would prefer the maximum amount of privacy and defensibility that finances and zoning would permit. Direct long sightlines to the house should be obstructed (by many natural trees, boulders, hillocks, and shrubberies). Most likely the house will occupy the higher ground and will have the superior sightlines, going all the way down to the river or lake that borders the property. A natural water source would be ideal. I'd probably still want a cistern and/or a water tank of some kind gravity fed above the house. Access to the house, the front of the house, would be on the water side, either to a private t-shaped dock where boats or floatplanes could tie up, or a canti-levered vehicle bridge. A small stone gatehouse structure would face the bridge driveway. The driveway would have at least two turns before it led to a level, paved vehicle turnaround/parking lot area off to the side of the house. It might be the only smooth level paving on the property (except for wheelchair compliant ramps), large enough for 6 car spaces and an adjacent hangar-like structure that is a 3 car garage. The parking area, besides being marked for car parking, would also be big enough for, marked for, and lit for, helicopter access. The long axis would run toward the lake, and a lane would be left open through the trees for aircraft, possibly even ultra-light planes. This multi-purpose paved area would probably also be marked for volleyball, basketball, and roller hockey with accompanying poles, nets, and goals. The garage would have ample built-in storage along the walls, and really I don't plan to have more than 1 car and 1 motorcycle occupying it, normally.

Besides the garage, gatehouse, and guesthouse, as outlying structures, I think I would ideally like one more building possibly at the rear end of the property (away from the lake, away from guesthouse, away from the mainhouse). It would be like a barn/henhouse/kennel and storage shed. Possibly using the most conventional design of all the buildings, I would like it to be somewhat high-tech and comfortable, to the extent that even a human could stay comfortably in this building. Insulated double walls, air-conditioning, heating, lights, running water, etc. I think I would like to have a variety of birds, chickens, geese, ostrich, a turkey, and most definitely a pack of dogs (huskies, malamuts, a german shepherd, and a golden retriever). I've considered other useful animals too (like a milking cow), but the care and feeding might get to be excessive. At least I understand birds and dogs. Adjacent to the "barn" would be a vegetable garden, a natural composting-mulching center, and way at the furthest end of the property near the rear fence, a private archery range with a variety of targets (3-d, moving, pop-ups, decoys), and multiple shooting positions (ground, cover, trees).

I imagine natural looking terraced covering landscaping (my own terrain theme park) all the way from the double perimeter fence up to the house, like conveniently placed boulders, fallen logs (even if they are cast concrete), rises and depressions of earth, maybe concrete culvert-tunnels with a track system, inpenetrable vegetation in strategic rows, all designed to funnel personnel into certain avenues of approach or confound them with obstacles and dead ends. Within this double perimeter fencing (visible soft fence/hazardous electronic hard fence) the dogs and geese would have free run. and would act as an early warning system and deterrent. CCTV and ground sensor alarms would be the next layer of security. And finally activatable defensive measures (traps, reactionary measures, remote firing stations) would be the final line, up to the front doors. I imagine this to be a more natural-looking, more whimsical version of a Japanese castle, taking the best elements of training courses I've seen.

Wonderous Bags of Holding!

Ahh... the magnificent plastic bag! What a marvelous wonder of modern technology. I am only half-kidding here, plastic bags really are very useful. Now, despite what well-meaning but misfocused environmentalists will tell you about the evils of plastic bags, I can think of few more useful and versatile configurations of .5 oz pieces of petroleum molecules than a plastic bag. Sincerely. When scavenging, salvaging, or taking stock of ones assets during a disaster or a survival situation, I feel fortunate indeed to find at least a few plastic bags. You probably think I am joking now, but in the following essay I plan to make you a true believer.


Applying MacGyver-like thinking to any decent sized plastic bag... say a 1 gallon Zip-loc, what you have is a strong, transparent, lightweight, airtight, watertight, impermeable membrane with a useful tensile strength and a sealable container that has the special property of being able to change in size (volume) and shape. When not in use, it can compact down to an inch square. It was well-designed for storing, carrying, and organizing, which is mainly why you should have lots of them in your kit (separating food from dirty laundry, organizing loose gear into logical categories, keeping socks clean and dry). I tend to re-use them over and over, gradually down-grading their status, until they get one final use for waste and rubbish recepticle. I almost always have at least one plastic ziploc in one of my pockets.

In the case of a shopping bag or a garbage bag, it can be "butterflied" open to form a large, smooth, waterproof panel (for collecting water, making solar stills, shelters, ponchos). Or, cut into thinner lengthwise strips, it can be braided into dynamic rope. With some plastic bags and some duct tape, I have fabricated a complete set of clothing (hat, shirt, poncho, pants, even shoes!). Solar distilleries are an important method for obtaining one of the key survival priorities, water.

A plastic bag is a handy multi-purpose carrying container able to hold solids, liquids, even gases). Lot of loose items can be collected in a bag, even messy (bloody/greasy) things like meat. Only ones imagination is the limit as far as what liquids can be held in a plastic bag (gasoline, alcohol, dyes, sun tea, blood, urine). A simple Ziploc bag makes a decent water bladder, and interestingly, plastic bags can be used as a "sandbag" that is, filled with water, sand, rocks or dirt, to provide cover. Filled with air, sealed plastic bags form "balloons" which are in fact insulative. Lighter than air gases will make plastic bags float, useful for signalling or perhaps carrying something aloft. Depending on what gases plastic bags are filled with, they can serve a variety of useful functions, including explosive/flammable booby traps. With a little practice, a small zip-loc can be used to hold a "breath" of air so that an extended underwater swim can be made. A larger, transparent plastic bag filled with air, sufficiently weighted to negate it's buoyancy should in theory be usable as a "diving bell".

A plastic bag can be a useful aid in medical emergencies and I keep many on-hand in my kit. Besides being a good containers and organizers, plastic bags make good ice bags. They can contain amputated parts. They can be occlusive dressings for pneumothorax and penetrative wounds to the pleural sac. They can be a receptacle for vomitus or other excreta. They can be filled with sand or water for c-spine immobilization. Combined with other elements (tubing, duct tape, valves, funnels, filters) other useful devices can be fabricated with a little imagination.

I've occasionally found plastic bags useful in field cooking. Primarily of course for storage, but also for coating breading/flour onto meat and fish, for steeping herbs, teas, and foraged vegetable matter in the sun or hot water (trapping all the nutrients in the resultant broth). Plastic bags can serve as a protective barrier when storing food in special conditions, like caches, burying perishable food in the cold ground or permafrost, or for submerging food in cold streams.

Plastic bags can be useful impromptu floatation devices, both for personal survival and for floating equipment and gear across water.

Finally, I shall just mention that as with most other things in the world, a plastic bag can be a deadly weapon or a component in weapons. Again, all it takes is a bit of imagination. A simple rock in a plastic shopping bag swung at high speed can indent a human cranium, but a plastic bag is inherently hazardous because of suffocation. And, as mentioned, it can hold solids, liquids and gases, sometimes poisonous, which can cause death or serious bodily injury if accelerated, ignited, inhaled, or exploded.

The simple plastic bag can contribute to saving your life in a survival situation. Despite the consternation that it causes people involved in environmental causes, I find it rather an ironic advantage that plastic bags are so frequently found among the detritus, flotsam and jetsam of human society. So don't discount it when foraging for assets.

Med Kit for EMERGENCIES

Of course any serious discussion of emergency preparations must include some thought of medical supplies and medicines for trauma and illness. It is in fact one of the most important preparedness considerations. One can write whole books on what supplies are vital and how they may be used.

As I finally get around to tackling this subject, I am actually very torn along multiple axis about how I should proceed with this subject here. Should I assume that readers are completely untrained novices? moreover, do I stick strictly to established medical guidelines for medical training and standards of care (what the law allows) or do I assume that all bets are off during a survival emergency? also, I know from experience that there is not a more contentious and opiniated group in the medical community than emergency responders. Everyone seems to have an unwavering opinion on what's right and useful, and if you wait around long enough, there will be someone who has a "valid" counter-argument against everything (from CPR to C-spine precautions). I see it every time I go to a training class or re-cert. Inevitably, the various highly trained debaters will start to "pull rank" and start whipping out their level of qualification and years of experience to support their position and to see who has the biggest "cert" in the room.... LOL. Seriously, I've seen medics almost come to blows over proper strapping procedures for a backboard, or how to figure the rule of 9s.

Personally, I am of the school of thought that what is most important is the knowledge (and later, experience) that a medical responder carries in his/her head. Bags full of nice shiny medical gear would be great to have on hand in case of emergency, but, really, most of the emergency techniques and gear can be improvised (especially in an urban disaster setting). Those really effective and helpful pieces of equipment or medicines are expensive, hard to get and harder to carry (and have on hand) i.e. AEDs, O2 tank, IVs, and perishable, controlled meds like Epi or morphine. Secondly, I am greatly disappointed at what is generally sold in the civilian world as so-called First Aid Kits. Even the largest and most extensive kits are really not good for much more than lacerations and maybe some splinting. What I think of when I speak of Medical Kits are for major trauma (battlefield/disaster wounds, burns, fractures) or life threatening illness (cardiac arrest, diabetic shock, aniphyllactic reactions). One will not die (immediately) from minor cuts and scrapes. Also, related to this, is the fact that no matter how well supplied one is, many medical supplies and medicines have a finite shelf life or expire rapidly without refrigeration. Thirdly, and perhaps most controversially, though I do believe in proper training, certifications, continuing education, and following current standards of care, I also believe that in an emergency situation, whatever you do for a patient (with consent) in a good faith attempt to help (as opposed to doing nothing) is all good. In other words, I will do what has to be done to the best of my knowledge.

A decent, practical medical kit IMO should have those band-aids, antiseptics and aspirins that store-bought kits have, but then you should have at least enough bulky dressings for 2 serious hemorrhages (like two GSWs or stab wounds), plus enough tape or bandages to hold them on. Ten 4 x 4 dressings will do. Or two US military field first aid dressings. Cloth medical tape is good multi-purpose tape (but don't forget duct tape which works just as well and can even be an occlusive dressing!). Roller gauze, Kerlex or even an ace bandage will suffice for holding dressings on. A pair of scissors (bandage scissors or medic shears) would be handy (but remember anything sharp can cut bandages and tape). If you don't have the training or the means to get sutures, adhesive steri-strips and/or butterflies are the next best thing. In fact, skillfull use of steri-strips can leave lacerations healing with no scars (don't forget super-glue, originally invented for surgical purposes!). A small bottle of beta-dyne or hydrogen peroxide is good for general anti-septic use and even irrigation (don't forget the other uses of iodine and H2O2 for water purification, dyeing and incendiaries).

My personal medical kit for emergencies has about 7 "modules". You can buy a handy medic pouch (stocked or unstocked) or a nice commercially available FAK with multiple pockets, or, you can place your medical supplies in clear Zip-loc bags and just carry them around in a paper sack for all it matters. As I said, the container that you carry your medical supplies is not terribly important, but that is not to say there are not certain desirable features. Waterproof or water resistant is good. Organized into separate pockets, pouches or sections is helpful for quickly accessing the requisite module, and labeled or colour coded (ROYGBIV) is further advantageous. Clear see through plastic windows or mesh screens are helpful seeing the contents of each module at a glance.

The first and perhaps the most important module is the (black) first responder kit. This module is usually on my belt or separate from the rest of my medical bag. It basically contains the Universal Precautions, and the most basic tools to assist with the initial assessment, gain access, and conduct a head to toe survey. Universal precautions are the gear that protect the medic from the patient... nitrile glove (not latex), mouth barrier breathing device, safety glasses, and liquid hand sanitizer. Basic assessment tools include a reliable penlight, EMT shears, pen (for field notes on glove, tape, or notebook), and a small prying tool of some kind (for light rescue). Though not necessary, intermediate level diagnostic tools like a stethoscope, sphygmomanometer, and are useful. Actually this module can be quite small (about the size of a small belt pouch) but of course if you included everything (like translation book, pediatric conversion wheel) then it can get to be a sizeable pouch (perhaps like a fanny pack in size). I will mention that for most urban medical emergencies (99%), merely this first module is often sufficient... to do the ABCs, get a history, quick survey, and to stabilize (c-spine or control bleeding).... until someone calls 911 and paramedics arrive.

Because of its immediate relation to the basic ABC steps, the next (green for 02) module is primarily about supporting respiration. If I had my druthers, I'd of course like to have an O2 bottle. Oxygen is a treatment that is indicated in a large range of medical and trauma emergencies, if for nothing else to prevent shock. Unfortunately, O2 bottles are heavy, bulky, and not always practical to carry around in a portable med kit. Additionally, they require certification (license or prescription), servicing (refills), and maintenance (annual corrosion check). My recommendation is if you have the time and the means, by all means get O2. Get lots of O2. Probably the main thing that I keep in this module is an Ambu-bag and pocket mask with 02 adapter. This allows rescue breathing without direct contact. I also have an NRM and nasal cannula. The rest of this module is airways, nasal-pharyngeal and a complete set of oral-pharyngeal.

Probably the most conventional and recognized module of a medical kit is (red) for bleeding/hemorrhaging control. Indeed, this is what most commercial/civilian first aid kits concentrate on. This includes lots of 4 x 4 sterile gauze dressings, bulkier abdominal dressings, rolled bandages, rolled Kerlex, and perhaps some occlusive dressings (with petroleum jelly) for pneumothorax. A pair of bandage scissors and first aid tape would normally complete this part of the kit. Now I always like to point out at this point that (sterility aside) direct pressure, dressings, pressure points, and even tourniquets do not really require special equipment or supplies. I will improvise and use whatever materials are on hand (sheets, towels, napkins, feminine products, t-shirt, a belt, a necktie, power cord, plastic sandwich bag). The military designs neatly compacted, sterile, camoufluaged dressings of various sizes, specifically for various battlefield wounds (such as GSW), so if you can secure a source, military dressings and bandages will save lots of time, space, and have proven effectiveness. The core of my hemorrhage control measures are military dressings and surgical dressings. I would like to briefly mention two highly effective military products for controlling bleeding. One is the so-called "Israeli" bandage which is a field first aid dressing that a wounded soldier can deploy by oneself, even one handed! very useful. And two, there is a current wave of popularity of this coagulant powder called Quik Clot. Quik Clot can be very effective for certain types of wounds (like penetrative trauma where arterial bleeding is not involved), but should be used with caution by the untrained because of the hazard of doing more harm than good by using it inappropriately.

I don't mean this to be a field first aid training class, but I think it is worth mentioning that although stopping ex-sanguination is a medical priority, a human can bleed out quite a bit before it becomes life threatening. One good training exercise is to pour out some water and actually "see" for oneself what a cup of water looks like poured out onto the ground or soaked into clothes. One may be surprised how big a puddle a small volume of water can make. About 4 to 5 cups is when the danger of hypo-volemic shock (reaction to life threatening blood loss)sets in. Even in the case of amputations, the human body reacts rapidly to shunt blood flow to the core and not as much blood as one might expect gets lost after the initial hemorrhaging. And finally, because humans are such brain-intensive animals, head wounds tend to bleed profusely and always look horrible and serious even from small lacerations. I mention all of these things perhaps to bring calm and comfort to the emergency responder and victim, that bleeding, though serious, is not always critical (say, within 10-20 mins) and rudimentary measures, like simply slapping your hand over a wound firmly, greatly extends that time. The main exception is arterial bleeding or major organs. True story, during training we saw video footage of Oakland paramedics saving a gunshot victim hit 9 times with a 9mm pistol. The GSW victim survived because no major arteries or organs (except one punctured lung) were hit, medics immediately supported volume and a vascular surgeon repaired all the tiny punctures.

Probably the last "conventional" (as in, might be found in standard first aid kits) module is my (orange for) ortho kit which might be the largest in my med kit, containing supplies for C-spine immobilization, splinting, taping, and cold-packs. An adjustable cervical spine collar is the main piece of gear in this category. Generally, I would rely on improvising for splints, but I do stock a couple of compact, versatile Sam Splints which are like these fully padded rolled pieces of metal mesh which can be extended, folded and shaped into adequate splints for any extremity. The rest of the kit is medical tape, elastic bandages, velcro strapping, and instant chemical cold packs, for sprains, strains, and reducing swelling. Now in my bigger "battlefield" kit, which is a big backpack, I would also carry a KED and KED Sled which is another immobilization device and a sort of drag sled/emergency stretcher.

The final three modules are generally beyond the scope of basic first aid, and most people are not trained in the use of this equipment. Nevertheless, I'm going to mention them here perhaps as suggestions as to what you might consider supplying yourself with just in case (as in just in case a medic or someone more highly trained becomes part of your survival group).

The obstetrics kit (actually sold in complete kit form) is obviously for delivering babies in the field. It contains drapes, swabs, sterile gloves, scalpel, bulb suction device, umbilical clamps, surgical mask, and pads. Once again, I will mention that there is nothing "special" about this gear in particular. Everything can fairly easily be improvised or fabricated with some imagination, and when it comes right down to it, women have been successfully giving birth without assistance for many millenia (so when it comes right down to it, birth is not necessarily a medical emergency unless there is some complication). That's why it's yellow and bright (yellow and mellow).

Probably my most controversial module as far as course and scope (legally) is my (surgical blue) surgical kit. Yes, I said surgical. I have not been formally trained as a surgeon and I hold no medical license. However, through my science education (dissections, anatomy and physiology, pre-med training), private studies, life experiences, and on the job training, I have amassed knowledge in certain basic surgical procedures such as suturing, phlebotomy, administering IVs, and emergency procedures like crichs and needle thoracostomy. I would not presume to do any surgery on anyone else (I might on a family member in a dire, dire emergency when there is no other alternative). However, I can aver that I have sutured myself, I have surgically removed foreign objects from myself, I have drained and debrided my own wounds, and I have even extracted my own teeth (plural)so far without ill effects. Basically, I just bought this ready-made Surgical Kit from a mail order source. It contains needles/sutures, syringes, scalpels, hemostats, forceps (kelly, metzenbaums, banjo), surgical scissors, and beta-dyne swabs. It also comes with Catheters for IVs. IV bags of NS, D5W and LR are great to have (for supporting volume, administering drugs, rehydration/nourishment), however, they are bulky, heavy, fragile, and perishable, so unless someone is financing me, I don't carry them with the exception of a small 250 ml plastic bottle of normal saline for irrigation. The other plastic bottle that I carry in my kit is Beta-dyne (staining iodine solution) for use as a topical anti-septic.

Lastly, my (magical purple) module is for my medications. One can get all the basic medications over the counter. Analgesics (pain killers), anti-pyretics (fever reducers), and anti-inflammatories (relaxants) are the core meds... i.e. acetominophen, aspirin, ibuprofen and anaprosyn. Next come meds for specific maladies... decongenstants, anti-allergy, anti-diarrheal, anti-emetics (stopping nausea and vomiting). Most of these are most commonly in pill or capsule form. Whenever possible, I like liqui-gels, or liquid forms of these meds because I think they are faster acting and more absorbable. I like fast acting and multi-use meds like Alka-Seltzer with Aspirin, or Sudafed PE (allergy medicine with decongestant). I also prefer medicines sealed in individual single dose packages or blister packs (rather than bottles full of pills). There are common OTC meds available for just about every symptom from acid reflux to toothache so what you choose to stock is up to your medical needs and concerns. Some good readily available specialty meds to have on hand are Insta-glucose (for insulin shock), activated charcoal (for poisoning) and Ipecac (for inducing vomiting). Certain controlled or prescription drugs are very useful to have on hand, most importantly, a good general anti-biotic. I prefer Amoxycillin, however, be aware that some people are allergic to penicillin compounds. I suppose it's no big secret that meds like anti-biotics are readily available without much hassle online or mail order. Another handy source if you happen to live near the border is foreign pharmacies. The last few meds that I will mention are genuinely hard to get (legally) but I consider them essential if you are going to travel to an area where you might be separated from modern medical facilities or might be in imminent danger of serious injury (like a conflict zone).
Epinephrine in a convenient auto-injector pen mainly for allergic reactions, Atropine also in an auto-injector (used to re-start the heart), and Morphine Sulfate in pill form for moderate to severe pain. These are powerful and potentially dangerous medicines which unfortunately have recreational allure. I have possessed all three of these important medications legally and extra-legally, but again, they are tightly controlled, expire rapidly, and are expensive to obtain, so I will put out the recommendation but the practicality of actually getting them are problematic at best.

All of these supplies are stored in one of my waterproof "disaster" tubs and are logically divided into a large (backpack), medium (medic shoulder bag), and small (belt pouch-fanny pack). My medical bags are military OD green, advantageous if the situation is tactical, but I have reflective emblems and panels attached with velcro for highway safety and identification. I used to have bright safety orange bags, but found them too... gaudy... and attention/curiosity attracting.

Booby Traps

I know that the word "booby trap" has a somewhat sinister connotation these days, being tainted by their current, vivid association with enemy insurgency groups that we are fighting (Iraqis), or enemies we've fought in the past (Viet Cong, Japanese) who have used them effectively. This is partly why I feel that this subject should be discussed, or, at least should not be discounted. Booby traps are a tremendously effective force multiplier, useful when economy of personnel is critical or when an area or route must be denied but you have few resources, a good alternate source of food that works by itself, at the very least as an early warning device, and even just to have a psychological effect on an attacker or pursuer.

For safety and legal reasons, I shall NOT be describing the details of how to build booby traps. But I will merely suggest their general utility in certain survival situations. I have personally used or field tested all of these methods and can aver that they are practical and effective. If you wish to learn the "how to", I suggest consulting an expert or learn the basics from a field manual. As with all things, practice is important and much of the early learning curve on this tactic is worked out by trial and error.

I guess I started messing around with booby traps as a kid thinking up ways of doing little practical jokes on my friends, brother, dog, and sister remotely. With kite string, scotch tape, scrap paper, and paper clips, I would rig envelopes full of 3-ring dot confetti, rubber bands, party poppers, caps, and cups of water to pour down, launch or loudly explode, startling the victim and giving me a remote feedback and a good laugh. I used to devise ever more complex Rube Goldberg-like machines which worked sometimes, but more usually came crashing down as the weak point in the system failed. I did learn from these failures.

There can be additional components to a booby trap, but I find it useful for the sake of visualizing it to think of booby traps as 3 main component sub-systems. The trigger, the power, and the payload (or payoff). The good thing, with a few exceptions, is that variations of each of these sub-systems are interchangeable, like you can use trigger type B (trip wire), with power source C (a 5 lb rock lifted to tree top level), hooked to payload A (wire noose snare).

The trigger is usually some type of moving part which activates the trap. It can be a tripwire or cord, a bent nail, a knotched branch, a door, a drawer, a hinged lid, or just about any free-standing object that can be moved.

The power can be the trigger or payload itself (i.e. the movement of an object, or explosive in the case of a bomb), but it is the potential energy source that powers the device, whether it be mechanical, electical or chemical. Examples, springs, twisted elastic, branches that are pulled back, weights that are lifted or suspended, flowing water, bowstrings, batteries, gunpowder, explosives.

The payload (or payoff) can be non-lethal, simple noise-maker, glowstick, flare, smoke, bucket of water, confetti, banana cream pie. However, it is usually assumed to be something more dangerous, sharpened stakes, deadfalls, pitfalls, swing weights, projectiles (arrow, rocks, spears), shotgun shells, IEDs, frag grenades, mines, not to mention, live poisonous animals or insects. Perhaps more pertinent to our blog theme is the payoff which is specifically for survival like snares, jaw traps, and fall traps.

My favourite booby trap (most used) is the spring tension trip wire flare or trip wire snare. This is a trap that I learned in the Army, and we used it mostly to deny certain avenues of approach when we did not have enough personnel (and occasionally to scare the bejeezus out of one of the FNGs... lol). Game trails, doors, windows, paths, canyons, corridors, and choke points are what this booby trap is ideal for. It is mechanically simple, can very hastily emplaced (about 2 mins each), and allows for many options on same basic trap... noisemakers, flares, grenades, or a self-tightening game snare. With some special parts (a frame) one can also use 12 gauge shotgun shells (for noise, flare, or shrapnel).

I actually have a booby trap "kit" which I can attach to my tac gear, but a quick trip to the hardware store or drugstore can supply one with all the requisite components for many good traps.
-flexible wire (10 gauge or less), sold in coils, I recommend the coloured type (not metallic silver). I happen to have bought a personal supply of military surplus tripwire in green and sand colour. It should be flexible enough to shape and tie, harder to see is a big plus, and strong enough so that small game cannot escape easily.
-twine, string, cord - a ball or spool of string or twine might be the next best thing. Parachute cord is great multipurpose cord.
-monofilament fishing line makes handy snares and traps. Tends to shine and stand out too much to be a good trip wire, but may be useful for "fake" booby traps.
-duct tape, our old friend is ever useful for quickly attaching objects to other objects. I especially like it for handling/attaching explosives.
-cable ties, are surpringly useful for quick, durable tie downs, sliding components, hanging components. Remember, multiple cable ties can be daisy-chained to make larger "loops".
-springs, almost any type/size of spring is useful, but the optimum ones for booby traps are about 4 to 6 inches long, providing about 12 to 20 lbs of pressure.
-nails, smaller nails about 2 inches long are very useful
-u-tacks, almost as useful as regular nails, allows simple redirection of cords and wires
-staple gun/staples, I used to "hammer" nails and u-tacks with the end of my Kabar or a rock, but then I discovered that a good staple gun with u-staples saves me a whole lot of time and energy. One click and I have a firm anchor point.
-plastic sandwich bags, filled with napthalene, kerosene, gasoline, mixed with liquid Palmolive so it sticks, or two bags that combine for a bipolar reaction (acid/base, chlorine/ammonia, etc),
-mousetraps or rat traps are an excellent trigger for many traps
-party poppers, the cheap little noisemakers have a friction activated detonator
-shotgun shells, blanks, birdbombs, flare, and... #8 shot (note: always wear safety glasses when handling or modifiying live ammunition or explosives for booby trap use)
-black rifle powder, preferably 4F (extra fine grained) is a stable low-velocity explosive that can be purchased without much hassle or regulation.

Most of the rest of it can be "improvised" from garbage and objects found around you. Scrap metal, glass, cans, twigs, tree branches, rocks, twine, wire, cigarettes. All of these useful items are not always handy together in the same location, so I usually forage for useful components as I hike along.

If you don't already have a nice multi-tool, you might need a knife, pliers, wire cutters, and file.

Notice that all of the above listed items are perfectly legal, readily available household products, sold pretty much off the shelf ready to go. I am NOT listing or suggesting in any way, the creation of any homemade explosives, which are dangerous and illegal. Also, I am conspicuously omitting electronics.... batteries, wires, foil, capacitors, soldering iron, mercury switches, and alligator clips. Using electronics in booby traps is a bit more advanced/tricky (requiring professional training), and, it almost always involves the use of explosives, which I am not discussing here.

I mentioned the "fake" booby trap above, which is another useful tactic. For every real booby trap that I set, I find it a decent investment in time to set up a fake booby trap or two (like just stringing wire between two trees). It has a significant psychological effect on an enemy or pursuer, causing them to stop to investigate or to move more slowly/cautiously not knowing which ones are "live". They can even be annoying harrasments, like clothes-lining an equestrian or tripping someone on a dark stairwell.

Yet another step in booby trap construction can be camoufluaging, concealing or disguising it. Unless you want the trap or fake trap to be seen, it is often prudent to take the additional step of hiding it using natural foliage, dirt or objects in the vicinity. Hiding a trip wire with foliage, or burying a pressure release switch in dirt may seem obvious, but don't forget that one can also "hide in plain sight", like a booby trapped aluminum can may look perfectly natural among other garbage, or a booby trapped folding chair (in an urban setting) would raise no suspicion among other folding chairs. "Bait" much like it's purpose in angling can lure animals and humans into a trap trigger, like leaving something interesting or alluring to bring prey to trap killzone.

Finally, a brief word about explosive mines. A mine is an advanced variant of booby traps, cousin to the IED. A mine may be indistinguishable from a IED in mechanics and effect. I mention this because mines, like booby traps, raise a certain "moral" issue in that a booby trap or mine indescriminate as to it's target (victim). Emplacing dangerous unmarked traps and mines in proximity to civilians (though not yet specifically forbidden by the Geneva Conventions) is a tactic that must be carefully weighed (exigent benefit vs. potential collateral damage). In the end, it is just that, a tactic. A method or technique. Used responsibly, I believe the effectiveness of the booby trap makes it far too valuable a tactic to disavow simply because of complaints by civilians. I'm sorry about the innocent bystanders but all's fair in war. Warfare is about horror and violence of many, many types. If you don't like it, vote against war. I basically feel the same about barbed wire and nukes.

Let There Be Light

We happen to live in a very advantageous nexus in technological history for portable, personal lighting when various technologies have come together to produce many excellent, efficient, durable, and cost effective illumination options. I mean just in the last decade or so the advances in flashlight technology have been revolutionary. Around 1980, I was still using this thin, stamped sheet metal flashlight, with a cast plastic head, an incandescent bulb which cast a pale yellowish light and burned out every few months, and most commonly these big honkin' D cell batteries, or worse, those giant "lantern" sized batteries. Nowadays, you have the option of high intensity halogen lamps, like xenon, or energy-efficient, super long lasting LEDs, in a virtually indestructible machined aluminum case, and powered by a variety of very compact power cells (from AA, AAA, AAAA down to N-cells and CR123s).

In the following essay, I will mention many different brands and types of personal lighting (some with purposes not ideally suited for a "survival" or "disaster" flashlight but nevertheless useful for some special applications (like explosive atmospheres, underwater, for the intense shock of being attached to a weapon, hands free use around camp or while mountaineering, or casting a more general light over a wider area). But in general, I would like to bring up 3 very desireable characteristics that are easy to find when you go to a sporting goods, camping/outdoors, surplus, or police supply store. Even Target nowadays stocks good "emergency" flashlights suitable for shelter use. The main characteristics to look for are: 1) LED lamp instead of an incandescent bulb 2) durable body, with 0-ring seal, and 3) uses a common battery type, like a D, C, AA, or AAA.


First of the popular light types for consideration is the headlamp. Headlamps have been around of course for centuries in mining, rescue and spelunking, but with the advent of bright, lightweight and cost effective LED technology have recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Around a modern campsite, mountaineering, adventure racing, or expedition , they are pretty much standard. With a headlamp, everywhere that you turn your head and look is illuminated, conveniently casting a light just where you need it. For a relatively inexpensive $20 up to $100, one can obtain a good, reliable headlamp. Just remember the three criteria I mentioned, and in particular for the third criteria, I think, the smaller and lighter weight the battery is, the better. Like I prefer a good single AA battery headlamp (made by Eddie Bauer), even though a 2 D-cell headlamp might be brighter and last longer, I don't like being "tethered" to a heavy battery pack that you have to schlep around. For my rescue/combat helmet, I use a military grade waterproof, OD green Princeton Tec Quad 4-LED headlamp which uses a reasonable 3 AAA batteries in a single self-contained unit (as opposed to a separate lamp unit and battery pack). I'm not particular about headlamps as long as it can sufficiently illuminate the ground 6 feet in front of me around a dark campsite, or allow me to find some piece of gear out of my pack. Lumens aside, I would pick a headlamp based on battery type (which effects weight) and battery life. No matter how blindingly bright a headlamp will illuminate, I would go with LED, NOT incandescent.

Back in the day, I was a Maglite fanatic and I think I owned about 10 of them (various sizes, lengths, and colours) at one time. Smaller, brighter, longer lasting LED flashlights have supplanted most of my Mags and I relegated most of my Mags to "fixed" positions (closet, stairway, garage, auto emergency kit, etc) where weight is not an issue. The availability of after-market LED retrofit kits for the Maglights have given several of my old Mags new life (because, let's face it, there is absolutely no more socially acceptable excuse to carry an aluminum club in plain view than a big honkin' flashlight.... LOL). They perform great, bright white light, great range. They turn your Maglite into a "modern" LED flashlight and as a side benefit, batteries will seem to last forever. Win win.

I understand (I am aware) that there is much current enthusiasm for some small, extremely bright "tactical" flashlights with crenulated bezels and machined alloy bodies that can shine an amazing 200 metres, and I too think that they are excellent, cool, sexy. However, as superbly engineered as they are, they tend to be exorbitantly expensive ($100-$200), use expensive exotic batteries and lamps, and are not known for their long battery life (usually single digit peak use). I suppose these high-tech illumination tools are for people whose price is no object, or have an agency or employer footing the bill.

For far, far less cost, you can get a decent (waterproof, durable metal body, compact, lightweight) LED flashlight that may not be as bright, but will perform adequately for 20, 30, sometimes 40 hours, using inexpensive COMMON batteries. In the field, I find it far more practical to have multiple inexpensive LED lights using common AA batteries than carry around a valuable Fenix that I'm worried about setting down (and losing), or abusing (as an impromptu hammer or whatever). There are so many of these decent LED flashlights available practically everywhere (surplus, electronics, discounters, drug, and even grocery stores) in the $10 to $25 range that it's hard to endorse any one brand or model in particular. There seem to be two main classes of these LED lights. Ones that provide general lighting in a wide cone, sometimes utilizing multiple LEDs, and ones that focus the LED beam tightly, like the excellent Inova line.

In the first category, my kudos to the CMG Infinity. Running on a single AA battery this LED light lasts for a loooong time, it puts out a decent cone of light, it's small (and can be clipped onto a shoulder strap or hat), very durable ("soldier proof"), and waterproof. I have the original version also in matte black, which was issued to me in the late 80s and is stamped with "U.S. Government". Light output on that is slightly dimmer on this one, but the flipside is that the light seems to last forever. I use one Infinity as my keychain light, mainly because it has a counter-intuitive on-off system. You must tighten (screw in) the lens bezel to turn it ON, and loosen (screw out) the lens bezel to turn it OFF. This neat feature makes it very hard indeed to accidentally turn it ON (and break light discipline), because screws don't tend to spontaneously tighten. This BTW I found was the fundamental design flaw in the old Mini-Maglites and Maglight Solitaires which used the more intuitive but opposite system (tighten to turn OFF and loosen to turn ON). I can't tell you how many batteries I've wasted because of this idiosyncrasy.

My (excuse the expression) "glowing" endorsement of this product is withdrawn for the GERBER version of the Infinity light. Gerber took over manufacture of the Infinity light from CMG and made two design changes. They re-worked the tail cap section to form a more conical shape, which is both more aesthetic and probably better for things like lanyard attachment, AND, to the Infinity's detriment, they moved the on-off twist switch from the lens bezel (head) back to the tail cap. Now, it may seem like an insignificant change but because the tension spring is also in the tailcap, I'm sorry to report that (at least in the 2 Gerber Infinitys that I've owned) it has led to odd and not entirely explicable performance problems. Like, my first one stopped working reliably. I could not get it to turn on when I needed it (and the problem had nothing to do with the battery or the LED bulb). It would only turn "on" intermittently after much turning of the tailcap. The second one lasted a bit longer, but on this one, the problem was that the light would spontaneously turn on. I would respond by further "unscrewing" the cap, which would turn it off temporarily, but then a few minutes later, the light would be on again. It was making sporadic contact somewhere because the LED would flash on and off (annoyingly) as I walked or moved my keyring around. I went back to using my original CMG brand version of the Infinity, and, so far, the problems did not manifest itself. Since 2 out of 2 of the Gerber Infinity's failed, it is my subjective opinion that their is a design flaw with the tail cap on-off switch system.

I've been a longtime fan of the Fisher Space Pen, especially the Bullet model which I've used since the mid-80s, so when I heard that Fisher would be making a compact focused beam LED flashlight I was thrilled. It was going to be smaller and thinner that the excellent Inova lights that I had been using/carrying. It certainly looks really cool, like some alien technology. It's slightly larger and fatter than a Fisher Space "Bullet" Pen. The light is "hella" bright and very, very tight (almost too focused, as it is has zero "spillover" light). It makes a sharp 1 metre circle at about 6 paces. The package specs reads an incredible 1250 lumens... but that sounds very high to me. The light beam does look painfully bright so perhaps it is true.

I don't like that there is not lanyard hole or any possible attachment point. It's just a smooth casing with the one seam. The so-called pocket clip is useless right out of the box. It barely stays on the light. It will slip right off the end. I had to glue it down. I also added a rubberized "bite grip" for both hands free use.

Finally, I'd like to mention the so-called Krill Lamp which is a small, single AA, low power "glow" lantern, much equivalent to a small chem light. It casts a dim coloured, even glow in a 360 degree radius. Just as a chem light would, a Krill Lamp is most useful as a marker, in tent night light, or dim light to read a map by without blowing ones night vision. The advantage over a chem light though is that you can turn it on and off at will. My other lantern style LED light that I use is that Guyot Firefly water bottle light that I've mentioned before. It uses 2 AA batteries and provides a 360 degree cheery light bright enough to read by.

Desirable features checklist:
LED - for long life and brightness
compact - no longer than 6 inches, no thicker than 1 inch in diameter
durable - all metal, machined body
waterproof - 0-ring seals, submersible to at least 1 meter
common battery powered - AA or AAA is probably best, no rechargables!
lanyard hole - to guard against accidental dropping
dark coloured or matte finish - so it doesn't shine in sun
screw off/on activation - preferred over push button (which is always a weak point)
common diameter, crenulated bezel - attachments and lens are available for 1" diameter and the crenulations can make even small flashlights into weapons