Review: FieldLine Sling Backpack

ROE Sling Bag

By FieldLine Tactical (Made in China) purchased at Wal-mart

Price: $26.95

Alright, I know, you’ve already read a couple things I know that have turned you off. Made in China and Wal=mart. I’m a prepper on a budget, so I don’t always get the pack I want. 5.11 hasn’t come out with a pack in my price range so until they do, its time to get creative. This pack is basically a clone of the 5.11 RUSH 12. But is it worth the $27?

Lets start with the construction of the bag. It’s your standard backpack material. Its heavy and double stitched. It’s clearly not intended to be a survival pack but as a daily bag, its fantastic so far with a few exceptions. It has 3 different compartments no including the bladder compartment. The exterior is covered in molle strapping. Then there are all kinds of straps and basic garbage. The plastics are junk and should be replaced immediately. On my first adventure out with it, I threw it over my shoulder and it went straight to the ground. I was confused thinking maybe I forgot to connect the quick release buckle. Quick check showed me that it was good, but the strap had come undone and come out. Quick fix! HOWEVER, that is a mark against it.

I’ve taken it out on several occasions on errand runs and runs with the dog. Its held up. Its been efficient. Nothing is visibly falling apart or coming undone, and its held everything I needed it to, sometimes its been tight as the width of the largest compartment is kind of small. I’m also happy with the look. Utility and efficiency is most important.

3 out of 5 – Its cheap, but its not garbage. If you’re looking for a new pack for your daily running or maybe for your trunk bag this is worthy of your $27. If you’re looking for a long term bug out bag, save another $130 and get yourself something nice.

Now, I’ve never done this before because I’ve not had the opportunity until now. If you’re on the fence about it, buy it. Then go about the store and pick up some thread and needles, a higher quality carabineer, some adhesive-backed hook and loop, and if they are available some different quick release buckles. With some creativity and some time a couple extra dollars and you’ve upgraded the bag.

My only continued gripe are the zippers, NOT that I’ve had a problem with them, I just feel like they’re going to break. 

4 out of 5 - With the necessary upgrades and some personal touches you have yourself a real solid bag for $35. 

2013 Gardening and 2014 plans

The growing season has come and gone. My container gardening has once again proved to be aggravating to say the least. I arranged everything so that I could maximize the sunlight, but still it wasn't enough to get a good crop. We did pull some things off of it, they were quite tasty. What we didn't eat was seeded and the seeds are stored away for next year's testing phase. As long as they reproduce, I'll keep pulling seeds so that we have a reliable seed cache.
The most exciting thing is our plans and projects. The first of 2 major projects is a simple 10x10 raised bed garden. Its low key, but has the ability to produce a large quantity of fruit. I would very much like to push tomatoes on our first season. I want to make all kind of things to store. After designing and deciding on a solid design I priced it and we're at a $98 dollar build. A hundred bucks is a big chunk and I understand but I think that if we produce enough fruit then we can make that back simply on saving on grocery bills later. Also, this gives us time to learn to can properly. It'll be a great learning experience and a great team work experience.
I feel like since I got married I lost a lot friends. There are a handful of friends that didn't go anywhere and I feel like the bonds between us are getting stronger and stronger. I really can't explain how good it feels to know that I have these people in my life. 
Anyway, the first project is a 10x10 garden. The second project (likely slated for spring of 2015) is a 10x20 shed/greenhouse which would attach to the 10x10 garden and a 3x10 garden for raspberries. The design I have drawn up looks really neat. The price of that project however, its not $98. That might cover the plywood and 2x4s we'll need. but there is way more than that to the whole thing. It looks so badass though. I wish there was a grant out there for folks trying to grow their own groceries. I just want 1 square acre that I could farm on.
Like I said, I would like to push for heavy tomato crops in the first season so that we can make and can our own tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup, sun dried tomatoes and basil, and all kind of other things. I get giddy just thinking about it. I can't wait to get through winter so we can get dirty and learn. When the opportunity comes up, I'll post a picture of the full design of the greenhouse/shed/garden. I'll be coming up with recipes and reviewing the uses of all possible vegetables in the garden. I'm too excited.

I can't wait to get dirty, build things, and then harvest what we've worked hard to produce. 

I think that moment when stand there looking at a good harvest or maybe after we've filled our shelves with freshly canned goodness is the moment when the four of us will realize that we really are capable to doing amazing things and that the time and energy we put into this was completely worth it. I can't wait. 

26 November 2013

Its been several months since my last post. Not much has changed actually. The growing season has come and gone, winter is upon us, and we're doing pretty good.
I really want to talk about the gardening situation, but I have so much to talk about that I'm afraid it will dominate this post. I'll post another shortly.
I've done some gear upgrades. I was originally using a Taigear tactical vest as my molle platform, but (for my wedding anniversary) I got a Condor Defender Vest. I think I'm going to end up writing up a quick review of it this week. I trimmed some of my other gear too. At this point, I'm far more focused on food storage.
That leads me into my next topic. The prep room is coming along. We decided that the bed in the bedroom was kind of useless and taking up valuable room. So we actually stripped the room completely, cleaned the carpets, and took some time to decide what was important. I'm actually typing this at my desk in there. It has a nice, warm war room feel. We're working on decorations. It feels kind of sterile right now, almost like a dorm room of a lunatic. It will come around and be a great room in the house that the wife and I can both enjoy. I'd like to make it a reading room with a classic Border's feel. Where was I was going was our food storage is coming along because of the added room and area to focus on what we can keep and stock without losing track of it. I'm actually really confident in our abilities.
The wife as really come along. I still think she was pretty hesitant when I started to get into this. However, after a vacation trip to Virginia she came home with books and determination to use knowledge she got from Williamsburg tours and books she picked up. She picked up some herbs at Lowes on clearance and got things growing. She even has a crab apple planted. I can't be more proud of her.
We've added some new books to our collection. The next is going to be The Prepper's Cookbook. Once we have that I believe I'm going to be doing a review of it. All the new stuff is basically based around herbs and their uses. Its outside of my grasp of understanding, but I'll work on it.
The winter season has started. I have the house winterized, which is what prompted me to start looking at a redesign of the prep room/war room. We're going to be testing some of our stuff like our stove here soon to make sure it works properly, and so we can get a little practice on it incase something should actually happen.
A quick side note, both my wife and I are medicated now which I think has spawned a thirst of knowledge and more drive and determination. I know that that is especially true for me.
In sad news however, after finding a dealer right near by sells great equipment, I made a list of all the things I wanted and then this happened.
http://shipnc.com/articles/2013/11/12/news/doc5282372d46076656827649.txt
Yup. NCIS shut them down because they were thieves. It like having your favorite family member that has been there for you your whole life turn out to be a pedophile. Its uncomfortable and now I don't know how much I can trust dealers like that. It makes me angry, but most of all it disappoints me that people would so happily buy stolen Marine's property. Thats our guys that you're taking from. Its disappointing from where I stand. I have a grocery list of things they had. I want to go and steal from them so they can never see a cent of profit. I don't care what the reasoning was, I don't want a sob story from them.
The rest of wants going on is based around gardening and upcoming projects. So for now I'll end it here. I want to get all my gardening stuff out.

Last quick side note, I think I'm going to start learning about writing. I do enjoy it, but I feel like everything I write is disjointed and hard to follow. It seems to be a stream of consciousness, and thats not always fun to read.

16 July 2013

Its been a bit since I made an entry here. Its been for several reasons. I've been busy, I've been short on ideas, I've been in a preppers slump for a while, but mainly I've been busy. Made some serious changes in my every day life.

So since I last posted, I've taken a serious interest in my personal health. I've lost 25lbs so far. Kicking soda and watching what I'm eating is making a huge difference. I feel better. I'm actually proud of how I appear. I've made an effort to watch what I eat, or make decisions about what I eat. I started thinking of calories as shame. How much shame can I afford in one meal? It makes a big difference. I now have several shirts that I bought and never wore because I didn't feel comfortable in them that I can wear and feel awesome in. I know preppers harp on using technology blah blah blah, but its available I'm going to use it. I have an App on my phone called MyFitnessPal that is helping a ton. It helps in situations like, I'm a little hungry and I think I want to go to McDonalds. My typical 2 McDoubles is 780 calories, thats a third of what my allotment is for the day. I find its way easier to say no to those kind of decisions. If you're trying to lose some weight or just track what you eat and have an smartphone, get this. It helps 100% and its free.

We've been doings weekly Flea Market runs, its its been a pretty depressing season so far. The flea market has expanded, however, the people that are there just bring the same stuff every week and want standard retail prices for their junk. They refuse to haggle and frankly alot of them are rude when you try to haggle down the price. Nothing great has turned up in 2 months. I'll keep going, its good exercise.

The retraining of Panzer is hard to get back into. He's such a puppy at heart, its very tough to break him of puppy habits. He doesn't destroy anything which is amazing, but he gets REALLY rambunctious when people come in. We will continue to work on this. I still have every intention of getting him the good citizen award.

My prepping gear continues to grow, however, I've slowed down. I've made an effort to come up with smaller, lighter, just as functional equipment. My current project is a fishing kit that can be stored in a pill bottle.

My ComicCon costume is well on its way, I need the uniform and boots yet and it will be ready. However, through a series of shit circumstances, my wife may not be able to go with me. This is pretty irritating. We're still a month and a half out, so it can always change.

Finally, my garden is looking pretty fantastic. We changed locations on the porch to maximize sunlight. We had some casualties. But everything else took off and we couldn't be happier. I was looking at a neighbor's garden right down the street and in suburbia they have a 12ft x 12ft garden. Holy crap, they may have 100 tomatoes growing on 6 plants. Their plants are so full its almost unbelievable. They have several other plants and everything seems to be producing amazing amounts of fruit. I can't want to have a plot of land. A year is too long.

In closing, I'm doing well. Life is hectic. I hope everyone is doing well out there!

Week in review 4/21/13

I spent last week reviewing the past couple months, but I'm making an attempt to get back into the motion of updating every Sunday. I'm also trying something new to make things more cohesive. Thats right, I'm finally writing things down so I can keep track of what I want to say. Without further ado: Last week.

Well start with the continuation of Phase 2, we planted the seeds on Sunday. its been one week, and they've exploded. The green bean plants are now about 14 inches tall. Both types of cucumbers are now all about 4 to 6 inches tall. Thats great right? Wrong. Its still dropping down to sometimes freezing at night. I think we might have to make an emergency transplant of the green beans into plants that we can keep inside until its safe to put them outside. I have determined that gardening is not a science, it does not have standards, and it will do whatever the hell it wants regardless of what you think and feel. I'm happy to seem them sprouting up so nicely, I may have some extra to send out this year again. I helped a friend move yesterday, now she has a nice back porch and she wants to plants. I think she'll be receiving a few. I really hope these plants produce something. I would be very pleased with myself.

While talking about Phase 2, I wanted to mention that people throw away perfectly good things in my neighborhood. I don't mean a broken chair that needs a new back and it will be useable. I don't want to sound like a hoarder. Yesterday on a walk my wife noticed some stuff stacked up beside a dumpster. Yes, this story is about (sort of) dumpster diving. Someone threw some stuff and in the stuff were 3 almost brand new flower pots. They look like they were used one season and then tossed to the garbage. Today, I emptied one and brought it in. The last two will be brought in later tonight. I don't like doing that durring the day, I'd rather do it under the cover of darkness. It makes me feel like a secret agent. Point of the story? Living in an apartment complex isn't so bad. It has its perks.

I've been thinking a reoccurring post each week that deals with my Sunday routine. I go to the William's Grove Flea Market almost every Sunday. The only times I don't are on holidays and days it rains. I think I'm going to start posting a small post about the stuff I find. I don't always buy, but I always see interesting things and meet interesting people. And if I don't do either of those, I find out some thing interesting about a friend I didn't know. For instance, my friend Mike who I only knew him as being a movie buff and a nerd was walking around with me last sunday and he started looking at fishing sinkers. I said to him, "I didn't think you were a fisher." His reply, which took my by surprise, "I'm not, but you can melt these down and use it to make bullets." Needless to say, I was completely shocked. I think at this point "Preppers" are pretty common, they just don't know what they are yet.

As for this week at the flea market, I'm happy to report that ammo has started popping up on tables. Its not always what you're looking for but people are emptying out their workshops and closets and selling off what they don't want/need. I found a gentleman who had a couple boxes of 308 for sale at a decent price that I'm sure didn't last the day. I found plenty of 30/30 and 30-06 for sale. I also noticed an uptick in rifles and shotguns for sale. These are standard hunting rifles, no black guns. These is now a nice self -defense guys there. They sell kubatons, batons, tasers, stun guns, pepper spray, and other stuff. Today they threw some .22LR, 9mm, 5.56, and some .380 on the table. When people saw it, it didn't last. When I got to the table, they had 1 50-round box of CCI standard .22, 3 boxes of TulAmmo .380 at $25/box, and some 5.56 left. They're cool guys and when I learn what the the name of their business is I'll plug it. As for the day, we didn't get there until later than normal. We had boots on the ground at 9:30am and it was still too cold for most people so there were quite a few open spaces. It wasn't a bad day but it wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. It was a zero dollar day.
Yeah, after writing that I have decided I will be making that a weekly post. 

Finally, today ended up making a trip to Dunham's and a fabric place. I needed some stuff for my drop bag I got the other day. Dunham's had a weird twist though. I went in fully knowing I wasn't going to find any ammo. I spent some time talking to the guy behind the counter with the guns. We'll call him "Dan". He was very knowledgable, we talked about the GSG-9, the MP5 clone by ATI. I've been looking to buy one because...well because I think they look cool and I think they'd be fun to shoot. He showed me the AR .22 that they also made. Its not as fun as the MP5. Suddenly, my wife called me over where she was standing with an employee. He had 4 boxes of .22LR in his hand. He hands them to me and tells me he was holding them for himself but he heard me talking. So because of an incredibly nice staff member I got 200 Federal .22LR for $16. I know its not a great price, but this two weekends of shooting for me. That guy rocks, I appreciate what he did and I can't thank him enough. If you're whining because he was holding product for himself, shut up you never worked retail in an store that you had interest in.

That brings this week to a close. I'm hoping to have a more structured week next week!
At the beginning of starting writing this I had 860 views, so we're close to 1000 views! I'm excited.

Personal Update

I have spent the last 24 hours thinking about how awful that last post was written. There was so much to talk about but I didn't really hit anything I wanted to. So I decided we're going to go back and be a little more decisive with the update.

I mentioned that there is a military surplus place near my apartment that stock changes regularly. I went back because I was kind of interested in a Pro Mask bag they had that didn't have a price tag on it last time. Well, today I went back. It was marked for $8. I didn't think that was bad, so I bought one. I also saw they had new boots for $49. I didn't buy any, they didn't have my size. I think it will be a purchase when they finally do have my size. I was also told through the grapevine that the state surplus warehouse used to/still might sell surplus state police gear. I was told there were bins of boots and holsters for a few bucks a piece. I'm hoping to confirm that by early next week. I also talked about my gear upgrades. There is my personal gear so far. I'm pretty proud of it. I might add I look like a beast when I'm in full gear.

I fit all my gear, but it could always fit better. I maintain a distaste for my body. I'm too big. I'm not obese or disgustingly fat, but I am not proud of it. My goal at this point is to be in a size 38 waist  and a comfortable fit of an XL shirt by mid August. The goal is mid august is so that I have time to order a set of black BDU's for Comic Con in Baltimore in September. I'm dressing up this year as an Umbrella Corp soldier. The costume looks suspiciously like my bug out gear. I maintain my status as a nerd.

Also, Phase 2 2013 was just started. We've backed down the amount of plants this year from 72 to 36. we ended up with alot of extra plants that we couldn't send anywhere. Its only been a couple days since they were planted and already we're seeing growth! What you're looking at is 6 cucumber, 6 bell pepper, 6 hot pepper, 6 lettuce, 6 pickling cucumbers, and 6 green beans. This year we want to produce a decent amount of vegetables  If all 36 make it to plant stage, we're still going to have to give some away. There is some extra thought put into this. If we can produce pickling cucumbers, we are going to make pickles. I'm very excited. We made our share of mistakes last year that were all noted. I hope to avoid as many hiccups as we can this year and produce to good food!

Finally, mentally I've been feeling great. I've been maintaining my regiment of supplements  I've been sick minimal amount of times this year. Allergies were the culprit in almost all the cases  of missing work. However, I've done something to my leg. I get a limp sometimes and my knee and the back of my thigh above the back of my knee hurt like hell. I'm not quite ready to see a doctor, its relatively new. I will be starting my gym regiment again in a day or two. It recently flipped to a 24 hour gym so I can go at night on the weekend. I'm 26 and when I think about the weekend I'm trying to figure out when I can start going to the gym. You have to have your priorities. Also, I recently had to buy some clothes. Its never a fun time, especially as a larger built fellow. I have found that every store has dropped their big and tall section.

It's mid way through April now. I have my goals set for mid August. I would like to see size 36/38 and maintaining by the end of the year. I have also had to make the decision that if I am forced by lack of supply to practice shooting I will spend that extra time running. However, I think I will be rationing my supply to make sure that I can do SOME shooting so I can at very least maintain my ability to hit a target at 100 yards with a long rifle and maintain a decent group with my pistol at 10 feet. I think it would be horribly counter productive to let myself get rusty because I don't want to dwindle my supplies.

Anyway, that is all for now. This isn't the article I expected to write, but it was worth it.

Four months into 2013.

So I've been busy and lazy. Maybe not lazy, winter has taken my motivation from me. With the weather warming up and getting to spend more time in the sun has revitalized me. So, here we go!

Also, I won't be talking about current events in this post. I'm going to make another post to discuss that stuff.

First, lets talk about the horrible winter that we endured. By horrible I meant non existant. That is Pennsylvania for you. So with a non existant winter we didn't have to use any of our supplies, but we did anyway. We've had some stuff sitting for a while so we circulated some of our food. That is my final report on Winter 2012/13 or lack there of.

Recently, we decided that we wanted to buy our dog a yard and a dog house. We decided we were going to try to find a yard what had a house for the wife and I too. Unfortunately, due to financial slips on my part we are unable to get a mortgage for a year. We did learn a couple good lessons from it all. While I was incredible let down, we decided to take some extra money and get rid of debt and we made a good budget that is going to give us some extra money to use to resupply. So its not all bad. We have 12 months and we'll try again.

I took my first (of many) civil service tests so I can get a promotion. I'm still shitting bricks about the scores. I probably won't know for another week. Side note, an agreement with my father may lead to a shotgun if the score is 93% or better. I've been trying like hell to score a shotgun but money is never in my favor. Where that all leads is to where I'm at with my gear. I recently picked up a fantastic molle vest and some pouches. I need some other pouches. I found a cool surplus shop near my place that I am checking out weekly because there stuff is always moving. They have promask leg pouches for a couple bucks that I think I'm going to pick up. I'm not sure what I'll use it for but its a good durable drop pouch. It might be useful for raiding or scavenging. I found my missing mag for my pistol. So I'm up to 3 now. So those things are checked off the list. So I'm making headway!

Here is the everything important:
1. Winter was boring and uneventful.
2. I will be maintaining my living conditions for another 12 months.
3. Trying to get a promotion. In turn, also may get a shotgun.
4. Added vest, pouches, new flashlight, and magazines to gear list. In turn, taken them off the list.
5. I sucked at writing tonight, and that saddens me.
6. I have way more things I wanted to talk about. Tomorrow, I'll being writing a better piece.

Seriously, amen for spring. If winter would have drug on any longer, I don't know if I would have survived. Also, I'm sorry this is a jumble of stuff. Its been a while since I wrote anything and I think I rambled. So...sorry. I'm going to get back to writing more! I have some stuff I want to review too. I'm also looking for local folks to meet and greet. I would love to have some like minded people around. Anyway, thats all for now.

Winter Update

Yeah its been a while since I posted last. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Mine didn't go so well. I ended up in the ER Christmas Eve. Turns out a cold that I was fighting turned into a double ear infection. I spent most of my Christmas day sleeping. But that was the worst that happened.

My dad asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I almost jokingly typed "Ammo and MREs". I told my brother and sure enough, for Christmas a case of MREs landing on my lap. 12 MREs and 650 rounds of ammo, and some miscellaneous stuff were my gifts. My wife got her first pistol too! Its a very exciting time. It was a great holiday with my family. It was the first without my brother-in-law, who passed away several months ago, and my brother and his family, they moved out of state making it tough to get together for holidays. But enough of all that.

The York Gunshow was last weekend. In the wake of tragedy in CT, the good folks that love and own guns have lost their minds. I am a (stable-minded) gun owner, I don't like to panic buy. However, dealers there, and from what I understand, everywhere, have gouged their prices for "assault rifle style" weapons. (Side Note: I hate the term assault rifle because its not through around in the media to describe any rifle that has a pistol grip and is magazine fed. ALSO, they started throwing around the term "Semi-Automatic". The words "Assault" and "automatic" scare the crap out of people that don't understand or respect weapons.) I saw Saiga shotguns, that 3 weeks ago at the Harrisburg MAAC gunshow, were around 750-800. They were 1100 at the York show. The unfortunate part is people were happy to pay whatever price dealers felt like selling it at. AR style weapons were in the 2000 range. They were flying off the tables. When we allow that kind of treatment, we tell the dealers that this is okay. Also, when we behave like this it gives these anti-gun folks something to point at and yell "SEE! THEY'RE UNSTABLE! LOOK AT THEM BUYING! WE CAN'T HAVE THIS!" Please, please, please, stop buying like this. They're just using us to fuel their own machine. Now, on a positive note, gun parts were at an all time low price. There wasn't much there, though I wasn't surprised in the least. I knew this gun show would be the push for rifles and ammo. 7.62x39 was sold out by Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, a single case was left. Each box of 20 rounds was selling at a $10/box.
So gun parts were low priced and tactical gear was plentiful. I picked up a great thigh rig and a pouch for $20. That's it in the picture. Also, picked up a magazine for the pistol and for the wife's pistol. Including $29 in fuel, we spent right under $100. It was a good run. I also got my samurai patch, made my donation to the Wounded Vets, and finally got a 550 cord bracelet that fit!

Over the weekend, I officially started integrating my wife into the prepping. Shes always been a part of it, she's supported it and actively participated. But we've now broken the barrier. We're going to starting putting together her B.O.B. She officially has her own box on the shelf. I know it doesn't seem extremely exciting but it is to me.

Speaking of the shelves, I recently revamped the prepping room. Originally, the shelves were placed against the wall making them fully visible from the door. This was easy access for our food when we were going to use it. However, it was visible from the door. There was the problem. I didn't like that by walking past the door, or looking up through the window you could see the shelves. You weren't able to see what was on them, but shelving units like this are not a standard furnishing in an apartment like mine. Someone might be able to tell that I was stockpiling. I have taken to the idea of its probably best to stay low-key. Taking the opportunity to rearrange I could also go through everything. So the picture there is what is left of the food stuff after I picked it over. For two people, I'd say that isn't so bad.

I also missed the whole Mayan end of the world thing. Obviously, we're all still here. No one did anything really dumb. We all live to fight another day.

Well, this went much longer than I thought it would. I hope everyone enjoys the last of 2012! I'll update with some winter updates as things change. Its a very exciting time!

Post Gear Inventory Review

I didn't get the feedback, but the folks that did respond (and thank you for the responses!) gave me great advice!

So everyone that respond brought up some simple things that I have completely looked over. The simple things usually get looked over completely. So here are a few things that folks brought up and some things I thought of.

1. A compass.
I have a compass. Its an app on my iPhone. ...Obviously, I cannot rely on that.

2. Duct tape.
Who the hell doesn't have a roll of duct tape!? Me. But not for long. I'm going to fix that.

3. Solar lights.
These can be found pretty cheap and would be really nice to have in a no power situation. ...as long as the sun doesn't burn out I have a reusable resource.

4. Fishing kit. 
 I have one, BUT I've been meaning to expand it.

5. Water purification system.
I don't have one. ...Thats silly. I'm going to work on that.

6. Eating utensils.
No plate, bowl, cup, fork, knife, or spoon. I'm a little surprised that I've overlooked that.

So we're going to fix those things. I'm going to keep working on other stuff. I've got some other things I want to learn. I'll update everyone with that later! but for now, I'm off! Its back to normal grind tomorrow! 

Physical Gear Inventory

I decided I wanted to go through my gear so I can see a full list. This is going to be the list of what I have on my shelves. I'll make a post later this evening after I've made my decisions about which direction I want to go. SO here is it!

1 Power Inverter
1 Hand crank radio/flashlight
2 AAA Battery powered LED flashlights
1 AAA Battery powered LED Headlamp
20 AAA Batteries
10+ Lighters
10+ Boxes of matches
5 Bricks of Triocane
50+ Tea light candles
3 Bandanas
1 Shemagh
1 Pair of leather gloves
12 Pairs of latex gloves
1 Drop Holster
2 2-quart canteens
1 compressed fleece blanket
5 Heavy-duty contractor bags
100+ Feet of 550 cord
1 Fully stocked gun cleaning kit
1 Fully stocked sewing kit
2 Fully stocked first aid kits
1 Fully stocked tool kit
1 Minor electrical repair kit
1 Duffel bag
1 Backpack
2 Compressed nylon bags
2 30 caliber ammo cans
1 Etool
Various bottles of vitamins
Various manuals
Various local/county maps
1 Kubaton
26 12 gauge shells
2000+ .22LR rounds
260 7.62x39 rounds
200 5.56 rounds
10+ Various knives (including metal, poly, folding, and fixed)
2 Pairs of handcuffs

I also have my primary, secondary, and hand to hand weapons.

I'd let to get some feedback on this so I can get a different view point before I post my second post tonight.

Pre-Winter Inventory

So as you may remember my Pre-Fall inventory was a little painful. I didn't realize how much I DIDN'T have. Needless to say, at the end of that day I was feeling a little like a beat puppy.

Since that day, I made some lists and some conscious decisions to make some changes. SO without further ado, I present my Pre-Winter Inventory:

(1) Camp Stove
(1) 3 Gal. Drink Dispenser
(4) Cans of Sterno Fuel
(3) Bottles of propane
(48) Bottles of water (stored)
(9) Boxes of Mac and Cheese (Requires Milk and Butter)
(16) Cups of mixed fruit
(8) Boxes of assorted dry pasta
(2) Jars Spaghetti sauce
(2) Bottles of ketchup
(1) Bottle of BBQ Sauce
(2) Boxes Mac and Cheese (Requires nothing extra)
(1) Carton bread crumbs
(34) Packs of Roman Noodles
(3) Cans of Dinty Moore Beef Stew
(4) Cans of assorted soups

Its still not my target but it is WAY better than before. From here I'll be making additional lists and some more decisions about what is going to be useful.

As for plans for the following couples months, I've made a list of things I'd like to accomplish. This is the list in no specific order:

1. Learn how to properly pickle. As a first test, make pickles.
2. Reform my decisions in the gym. Starting with my lack of gym time.
3. Learn how to make bread.
4. Continue my stockpiling.
5. Reform my finances.
6. By the end of the winter, I would like to own my first shotgun.

I don't think that any of that is unreachable. But that list is ever changing and currently it is not prioritized.

For now, that is it. I'll be working on my physical inventory of non-food items and eventually post it. I know there are a few small kits that I would like to finish before I post it.

I'm Gearing Up to Return

Being on hiatus for almost a month, I've had time to get thing back into order. So over the next couple days I'm going to start posting posts. This weekend I'll be doing my pre-winter inventory along with some a list of corrections from my pre-fall inventory. Also a post of what I'll be doing for the next couple months. For now though, lets recap the Superstorm Sandy.

In my particular area, Sandy was a flop. It did not turn out to be what it was thought to be. Now, miles away my parents house got hammered, they had multiple trees come down close my and snap multiple lines, and some damage was done to near by cemetery. Hopefully everything can be fixed. I know most of the damage happened in one of the old parts. The flop is not really the main part of the conversation. The wife and I didn't seem immediate danger, we did some travelling and errand running Monday after the county I work in was declared state of emergency. We decided that it would be fun to go for a walk around walmart to find out what they did to it. I wish now that I would have taken pictures because it was comedically bare. Propane, water, flashlights, camp stoves, bread, and most batteries were wiped clean. Also, surprisingly, junk food. People were stocking up on comfort food. I didn't need anything but we did decide to pick up two cases of bottled water because they were available and the storm gave me a reason to buy it. The other reason was the line was all but empty. It was fun to be able to go into the place and not worry about trying to find anything or desperately search for scraps.

We took a run west to Chambersburg to Gander Mountain. I was looking for ammo prices and found that people had pillaged Gander for propane and camp stoves. So here is where it got fun, to prepare for a long duration indoors we made a trip into Comics World and got lots of entertainment and reading material.

Side Note: 
Comic Fans listen up! The following comics are awesome:
1. Before Watchmen: Comedian
2. Before Watchmen: Rorschach
3. Batman: Arkham Unhinged
4. Hit Girl (From Kick Ass)
5. Batman: The Dark Knight
 
It occurred to me that morale is terribly important in these situations. These goofy ill prepared people grabbed flashlights and water and went home to a tense family. While the power was on they were watching TV, playing video games, or messing with their phone. What happens when the power is gone? Suddenly no one has something to focus attention on. I'm all for families spending quality time together but if you're not used to it, they will eventually get irritable. Makes for a terrible bug-in situation. SO, Sandy taught me to never forget about morale.

So, when we got home we decided the wind was picking up and the rain was starting to fall we decided to button up the house. Cleaning out the bathtub and filling it, taking the dog out for a quick walk, pack up the porch, and purge all the garbage were priority. We were locked down in just less than 15 minutes. I was proud however, I think its time to decide protocol for lock down. After I originally posted that we had it locked down, Bohica said practice. I think that is a good idea so that in case we have a short notice problem, which are most problems are, we can get it together as fast.

That's it for now! Saturday I'll be doing my Pre-Winter Inventory. As a preview, I'm way happier with this inventory than the Pre-Fall Inventory.

Week in Review

You can look at this as very late or 3 days early.

If you're thinking its very late, its because it is. My apologies. I've been running full speed the past week. So here's the timeline!

Last week: Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing, Nothing

Saturday: Left nice and early in the morning and went to Baltimore for Comic con! This was the wife's first convention and she loved it. She decided that she wants to go back next year, but she wants to go in costume. SO, that gives me an exciting opportunity. I would like to dress up too and what I want to make allows me to get a few of the things I'd like for my kit. Now, I can piece it together over a long period of time because I have over a year to do it. Its not going to be one big lump sum all at once. The picture is the idea for my costume. With that costume I'll have to buy the gloves, knee pads, and elbow pads I've wanted. I'm also adding a thigh rig to it, and a few pouches since my pockets in the pants won't be able to be used I'll have to have something to put stuff into. Finally, I'll need to purchase proper boots and a set of black BDUs. But its all beside the point, it really has nothing to do with prepping. But its gonna be fun anyway.

Sunday: I spent some time at Barnes and Noble reading. I've been looking into alot of books about personal finances. The new system we came up with is working GREAT. We have majority of our bills paid off the FIRST paycheck of the month. I'm taking care of some debt when I get paid and we knocked down some extra on a one of the credit cards. But again, like Comic Con, it has nothing to do with prepping. Simply, we're working with our money and getting more out of it. Hopefully, this extra money we can expand our prepping.

Now we get to this week and its all headed down hill.
Monday: Nothing happens, Panzer is acting funny.

Tuesday: Panzer continues to act funny. That evening, I bent down to pat Panzer for following his command perfectly, suddenly a pain shoots up from the base of my spine to the back of my neck. I ignored and powered through the pain thinking it will be better in the morning.

Wednesday: I wake up and can hardly move. My back is stiff and very sore. Again, like an idiot, I power through it. I make it through work until about lunch. My wife made my first ever Chiropractor appointment. The chiropractor could be my friend, I felt pretty good. However, basically my right side is way more tense then my left. This is connected to my ankle hurting. Also may be the reason my knee has been hurting.

Thursday: Woke up very sore. ...Very sore. Can't really move. Unfortunately, I had to call off. With my wife off for the day and me being down for the day we decided to take Panzer to the Vet. He has been acting funny for the past 2 weeks. He wasn't eating, scratching, and had some sores on his belly and tail. Turns out he has fleas and the eating problem is his being picky. So I spent the day tearing apart the house and cleaning top to bottom. I'm not interested in any kind of infestations. It gave me a great chance to clean from top to bottom. This evening we started out second round of obedience training classes.

The week has been a little rough. 

Tomorrow, I go back to the chiropractor to have him look. Also, going back to work with being off for a day is terrifying. I never know what I'm walking into. But I'm ready to take it all on.

The plan for this weekend is to go to DF and EF's future house, we're doing some repainting and I get to check out the next locations for a greenhouse.

Man, that's all for now. I'll update again on Sunday. Again, sorry for the delay.

Week in Review

This week has been very calm. Nothing of major note has happened.

While I wasn't actually going to post anything, it has become a weekly ritual. I don't like missing weeks.

There is one thing that came of this week. After all the numbers and looking at the money I've decided that for the next couple months I'm going to very low. I have some shows and movies I want to catch up on, some range time to put in, some planning to do, and some games I've been meaning to put some time in to. Most of all, money to save. So I'm putting all Field Trips on hiatus. There aren't many Field Trips left that I had planned, but the ones I did I'm putting on hold probably for a few months. However, I'm hoping for some more training exercise ideas. I think my next one will be a hands on time with my bug out bag. I wish I had more people around that would take part in a bug in/bug out weekend. I would love to set up a weekend. I'm working out the kinks. Even if no one else will participate I'll do it by myself. I'll begin planning this week, work out the kinks then have a full on scenario.

Anyway, I have to cut this short. I've lost track of time today. Sorry this wasn't more exciting.

Rest in peace - Dino Taylor

A month or so back I posted a fundraiser for a Baltimore City police officer. His name was Dino Taylor. He was in a nasty accident a while back that put him down for a bit. He past away last week. He was a friend and worked with my brother in law who past away a few months ago. It is a sad loss for Baltimore City. I still have friends there and I wish them the best of luck and hope that they stay out of danger.

My wife wrote:
Today we lost a great husband, father, police officer, and friend Dino Taylor. He was a great man, who was there for me when I lost my brother exactly 5 months ago. Dino you will never be forgotten. I'm sure Nick was there to greet you with that contagious smile of his. Love and miss you, my friend.

If any of you did donate, I thank you. I know we all don't agree with police and the media only shows us the cops that kick a woman in the face while she cuffed on the ground or whatever. The truth of it all is what we're shown is only the nasty power driven cops, who are only cops because they have a badge. The ones we often forget about are the good guys that do their job day after day, that go to work knowing they could be punched, shot, stabbed, spit on, or whatever. Those police aren't given enough credit. 

Rest in peace, Dino. You'll be missed.

It's not a hobby, it's a way of life.

For the record this is a junk post. Lots of thoughts but no organizations...Read at your own Risk.
 
So I'm crunching numbers budgeting my personal finances. I'm doing this because it needs done and usually my wife does it, but I feel like I've put all the pressure on her and its unfair. Also, we're looking at a new TV this evening. Our TV is about to go tits up I'm sure. It was bought in the early 90s, its a 27in CRT TV. The color is going, the picture gets cut off. It makes watching TV miserable. But anyway, I'm crunching numbers thinking about where my money goes each month and I gotta say that the little purchases just eat up ALL the money.

BUT where all this comes from is me thinking about how I plan for things. I plan for things that are unknown in the future, but I realized I stopped paying attention to the important things that NEED done. I've put alot of thought into it and I realized that by prioritizing and planning everything going on around me everything will come together like a puzzle. It made me think about what I've heard alot of you guys say: Its not a hobby, its a way of life. When it boils down, I was treating prepping like a hobby. I was doing that and not understanding why I felt like I wasn't making any progress.

I've crunched my total debt. Its way more than a person my age should have. I've crunched may monthly income vs. my monthly costs. We make more than we spend so that means we should be packing up some extra money.

SO drawing all of this together and a reason why I bothered to write any of this. Here is where my wife and I are at currently: Too much debt and no plan to fix it and no goal to accomplish it. We always talk about planning and setting goals to make progress with our skills, stockpiles, and supplies. Here I am with no goal and no plan and a huge lingering problem. I don't like feeling lost or unprepared, that is why I do what I do.



Conclusion: I don't know where I was going with it all and it was terribly written. I apologize to everyone for it. BUT no plan and no goal means no progress and integrate prepping into your day-to-day life or both will feel unfulfilled. Finally, I'm probably buying a TV.

Project Appleseed

There is a Project Appleseed weekend in Chambersburg Sept. 8 & 9.
Men: $70 for the weekend including $10 registration fee.
Women: FREE weekend with $10 registration fee.
Youth: FREE weekend with $5 registration fee.

Anyone ever attend Project Appleseed? I really want to go, but I want some feedback before I spend the money. I know ITRH podcast talks a lot about them and I think that they've both attended. But anyway, anyone else every attend? Chambersburg is just a hop away from me and I would like to take the wife.

Week In Review

Well, we're almost back to normal. Its been a pretty standard week. I've been taking a few medical problems I've been having and I'm going to start taking care of them. I recently listened to a podcast called In The Rabbit Hole (ITRH), which is a fantastic podcast. They're very tasteful, not overly paranoid, and they make tons of good points. But anyway, the episode was called "Survival CHI". At first glance I thought it was stupid but it played over my stereo at work and it was actually pretty enlightening. 

Community

Health

Intelligence

Yeah, not as stupid as it sounds, right? I'm working on my community. I'm getting a few locals on my Facebook and that's great. However, Health, not my strong point. I'm feeling good about myself, but I know there are some things I need to fix. I'm working on them but some I actually need to see a doctor to have it looked at. My ankle has been killing me for the past couple weeks, but its been hurting for several months. I am bullheaded enough to just go through with the pain. It is starting to effect my work and that's not good at all. So its time to start making the changes. I have insurance, so why not? 

This week Panzer graduated from his basic obedience training with flying colors. We're very proud of him. In September he'll move on to his next course. We have been looking into his bug out gear. That stuff is expensive. A pack for a dog is just as much as a backpack for a human. That's ridiculous. But what is more important is that its there. Port-a-bowls are also pretty nifty too. We may end up buying his gear soon. 

He doesn't like hats. 

Friday night we weeded out the garden because we really fear we’re not going to get a harvest from it. Though as we were weeding it out we found that our tomato plants actually are starting to bear fruit. So we narrowed out the whole garden and we’re down to four tomato plants and two green pepper plants. The gardens at the bug out locations produced HUGE amounts for harvest. The zucchini are averaging just shy of a foot long. We’re waiting on the cucumbers and some other things. We lost our green beans and lettuce in our garden, we lost the green beans because of a lack of light. We lost the lettuce because it seeded too quickly. The four lettuce plants were giant. But we waited to long to harvest. We lost two cilantro plants, but no matter what we lost, we made it grew something from seed to fruit. I’m still impressed we did it. Now with that in mind, since then I have been thinking about how I want to build my first green house and I’ve come up with the first plans that include the materials and even the cut list. It is unknown what we are going to grow but I know how I want to build a nice greenhouse. With the greenhouse I’m coming up with plans to build a rain catcher so we are going to have water right beside greenhouse. THAT made me think even more about it. I’ve decided that I want to incorporate the rain catcher and the greenhouse. …I’ll post a picture when the blueprints (…I guess) when they are completely done. VERY excited. 

Finally, I may be making a purchase I've been wanting to make soon. Hopefully, I'll be buying my thigh rig soon. I'm hoping to buy my thigh rig and a few pouches. Also, completely unrelated to prepping or ANY of this for that matter, the wife and I decided that for Christmas we decided to abandon the typical Christmas garbage we decided we're going to buy ourselves a nice TV. I'm very excited that we can finally get rid of failing 27 inch CRT TV sitting on the odd rolling thing its sitting on. The important part to all this is: I get to build a TV stand and I know exactly what I'm building. Again, this is completely unrelated but here is the picture!

Enjoy your french toast.

So I don't really know how to start this. Something has been bugging me and it has to do with the general public. Why is it when I mention that I prep the general public gives me a look like I said that I store dead bodies? Usually though at the end of the conversation it ends with "Well I know where to go if something bad ever happens..." Well, thats pretty unfair. First, you look at me like I'm a serial killer, then you just go ahead and invite yourself if you ever need help?

My other big problem is, I'm a bigger fellow. When I explain what I do people look at me like bigger folks don't stand a chance. Its as if, if your skinny you're obviously going to survive anything, you can run forever, and you'll always be ready to move. I'm a big guy and if I have to, I can move. There are people that can vouch for that. I'm mathematical, always prioritizing and calculating, and I have a decent head on my shoulders. Lets also not forget that I have some extra fat stored away so I'm not a skeleton in 2 weeks if something bad should happen.

Why is our lifestyle/hobby so scary to people? Why so quick to make a judgement about me if I clearly am not a fanatic? I've watched Doomsday Preppers, its really just fun to watch. I don't want to be like some of those people. Most have forgotten that they still have today. They only live to survive the future. I work a normal job, have a wife and a puppy, I go out to the movies, I go to the range, I clean my house, read comic books, play video games, and watch TV. But if you open the door to my spare bedroom you'll see 2 shelving units of organized, stockpiled food, and a few boxes with inventory lists on.

Really what I'm trying to figure out is: Why is the idea of what we do so frightening to "normal people"?

Some of my family think I've dove into the deep-end preparing for the "zombie apocalypse" stockpiling MREs, guns, ammo, and band-aids. When they've never asked why I do what I do, what I'm actually afraid of, or any question that involves bringing the subject up. Its pretty scary to think that I'm simply doing what my great, great grandparents did. To most people we're insane but they don't realize that insanity is rushing out the grocery store to buy milk, bread, and eggs when snow might be coming. Those people don't plan and when something bad may happen they LOSE their minds.

Enjoy your french toast.

For the record, those people that I just described are the relatives that think that I'M the crazy one.

Wishlist v2.0

I’ve decided to abandon my last wishlist. I think since I wrote that I’ve matured a little bit, and saw the true flaws in my stockpiling. The cooking issue needs to be addressed quickly and a few other things need to be taken into heavy consideration. So, without further delay, I present Wishlist v2.0:
 
1. Camp Stove
2. Additional Propane cylinders
3. 2 Walther P22 magazines
4. Gloves
5. Kneepads
6. 2 poly camp sporks
7. Duct Tape (I have zero, and it is incredibly useful.)
8. Food Saver
9. Additional Ammo (.22, 7.62x39, & 12 Gauge)
10. 10-round SKS magazines

I say I matured a little because a few of the things I really wanted were more for looks than truly helpful. There are still a few things on my list that were on v1.0 but I’ve removed some things that were far less important to make room for the crucial. And we all my field trips I’ve found the cheapest places for some of this stuff.

Also, if anyone has access to Sam’s Club, I’d like to know if they have camping equipment available. I know they do at BJ’s. I’m pricing stuff there this weekend, probably. I’m also hoping for a successful pirate raid (Flea market) this weekend. But it looks like its calling for rain, so I may not get to. Around this time of year people start dumping all their camping gear to make room in their garages and such. I might be able to pick up a nice stove for a couple bucks. If anyone has any thoughts about things I should change on my list, please let me know. I’m still new with the whole thing and I’m trying to make proper decisions, but the kid in my brain keeps coming out wanting to play army man and telling me I need silly shit.