I was bored the other day and I thought, I don't have an AR15 chest rig. I have a belt rig (a sort of patrol rig), but I wanted a very lightweight chest rig. I don't have plates and I see this as more of an emergency deployment rig.
I have a 3 mag kangaroo pouch which is perfect as I can carry 3 x 30 round AR mags and 3 x pistol mags (most likely a Glock 19).
Kangaroo Pouch
All the pouch needs to create the chest rig is a way to attach it to my body. I used the MOLLE straps on the back of the pouch to secure a chest belt. The belt is attached by adjustable buckles so I can pull it nice and tight, wear it over something bulky (in winter).
The top and back strap form a sort of halter top, again adjustable with buckles. As this is a lightweight rig, this is all that is needed to hold the weight.
The whole rig is very adjustable, which given the variation in weather here, is a good thing. When I get the chance I will try this with some weight.
One of the things I have been meaning to make recently is a small day hiking kit. What I want is a hiking belt, rather than a backpack, because sometimes on a shorter hike you just don't want a pack and the sweaty back that comes with it.
All I need is enough space for my EDC items and a hydration pouch for a Nalgene bottle which should provide enough water for two people for 2-3 hours of gentle hiking in the sun. In addition, it might be handy to have a place to store my rolled up rain jacket, just in case of inclement weather. A large pouch or a couple of straps might be handy for that.
The Hiking Kit
When out for a walk or a hike, its good to carry a few things with you.
Water - dehydration sucks and its dry in CO
Snacks - I am a fat man and need snacks often
Phone and keys - I might need to call an uber to get home
But in addition I like to carry a few other useful things:
Knife or multi tool - for repairs and odd jobs while on the march
Flashlight - just in case we get caught in the dark
Sunscreen - the direct sun here is brutal sometimes
Some of these things are overkill of course. It's unlikely I will need the flashlight for a walk around the lake in the morning, or the pocket survival kit if I am on one of the trails in town, but the point here is that I could carry them if I needed to. Things happen.
With regards extra clothing, if its winter I will be more likely to carry a pack but on a warm summer day I will be more likely to use the hiking belt. It is unlikely that I will need to carry any extra clothes, but I could pack a cap and gloves in there if I need to.
The Belt Pack
I picked this up from Amazon for a few bucks. I could have gone with something like Mountainsmith but did not want to spend the money so I got this cheap thing.
Seen here with a 16oz Nalgene bottle
My EDC
As for my EDC, most often that can go in my pockets, but it is handy to put in the bag when I am wearing sweat pants as I often am on my daily walk.
My EDC
My EDC consists of a pocket knife, Swiss army knife, small AAA flashlight and a small tube of factor 40 for my delicate skin. I also have a para-cord lanyard on the Swiss army knife just because. All of this fits nicely in the pack with plenty of space to spare for another 16oz Nalgene and some snacks. Of course the phone, ear buds, battery pack and cables could also easily fit in here as well, as could an iPad mini.
In case of inclement weather I might need to bring my raincoat. It packs up into a small roll, so I could secure it to the outside of the pack with some straps but honestly if I expect rain, I am either not walking or I am bringing a pack.
How does it feel?
I walked about 3 miles at a brisk pace last night as the sun was setting and the kit felt quite comfortable. I can see me using this frequently, especially when I don't want to take a pack with me. I have no objections to a pack, its just sometimes I don't feel like it. All in all, I think this is a keeper for short walks.
Sometimes I do things for no apparent reason other than I have the things to play with.That sort of makes sense but bear with me.
I was being a couch potato today and scrolling Amazon as I do sometimes, looking at pocket tools (I have a fascination for them) and it occurred to me that I could use a small tool kit.We have a move coming up in late September/early October and this means odd jobs about the house. Now I have a small tool bag that I keep my regular tools in (one of these) and it works well, but I want something smaller I can throw into a messenger bag with other things on moving day.
So I scoured my garage and collections and came up with this handy tool kit:
Click to embiggen
Leatherman Skeletool CX
Leatherman additional tool bits
Leatherman drive extension
Victorinox Classic SD
Measuring tape
Flashlight (Felix EO1)
Prybar multi tool (Kershaw PT-1)
TI toothpick
Pocket razor blade
4 in 1 screwdriver
1/4" driver
1/4" Sockets and bits
This is actually a cable organizer
The only thing missing is a small hammer, level and pen for marking with. I have a small plastic level on its way from Amazon as we speak.
It's a burrito!
This will be handy for odd jobs as we move and the occasional job about the office. What else should go in there? Am I missing anything?
Based off my previous post about keeping a Bug out Bag (BoB) in the trunk of the car, I thought I would provide an update based on the output of that post. In addition, while I was updating the bags, I figured I would add some pics that were sadly lacking in the last post.
The updates to the bags are:
A pocket survival kit to add to my wife's pack
A large folding knife to add to her pack
Disposable lighters to add to both packs
The Pocket Survival Kits:
The pocket survival tins are a last ditch survival kit that should be pulled from the pack and put in your pocket. This is in case you ever get separated from you our pack. The kit has enough materials and tools to start a small fire, set a trap and butcher small animals ... just in case.
As you can see, it is pretty small.
The Photos
And here are the packs, mine is the big one.
His and Hers packs.
The electronics pack - flashlight and batteries, USB chargers and cables.
The gun, multitool and knife
Radio kit
To sum it all up, both packs are simple kits of useful stuff; it will keep you warm, start a fire, help you communicate, make a shelter and in extreme cases, protect yourself.
Like many, I keep a few handy items in the trunk of the car, just in case. What you keep in your car is going to vary depending on where you live. As I live in Northern Colorado, my risks are going to be different from those who live, for instance in southern New Mexico or California, so my preps are going to be tailored to my immediate environment. What I am saying here, is don't copy my list of preps, but maybe use it as inspiration for your own.
So what am I prepping for?
First and foremost, a breakdown. I mitigate the risk of a breakdown by keeping the car well maintained but the risk of breakdown is never zero.
Accidents are also a consideration. I drive defensively (I've taken classes for years in defensive driving) as a way of again mitigating this risk, but as with everything the risk is not zero that an accident will happen.
Bad weather is a larger risk especially in winter. We get a lot of snow here and so getting stuck in snow is a larger risk we face.
Then there are the much lower risk items like civil unrest, natural or man made disaster that may require us to leave the area we live either temporarily or permanently.
The key here is to think about your risks and plan accordingly.
Car Preps: The Basics
We keep fuel in the tank and try not to let the gas get below a quarter full, just in case we need to go somewhere unexpectedly and we need to move quickly. It's unlikely that will happen, but unlikely is never a zero risk.
We also keep the car maintained. I am not much for doing my own maintenance, but I have a good local dealer so I have them change the oil, take care of the tires, wiper blades, battery etc. all checked as per the manufacturers schedule. This keeps the car in good condition and gives me a degree of confidence that there are no lurking issues ready to derail us at a critical moment.
Whats in the car?
I keep a few things in the car. We have a vacuum packed wool blanket, a flashlight with a magnetic base and parachute bag with assorted goodies in. The parachute bag contents fall into three categories;
Tools and roadside
My backpack
My wife's backpack
Tools and Roadside
I keep the following in the bag for any roadside issues, like breakdowns, accidents etc. The gear list is as follows:
Jumper cables
Emergency Triangle
Tow Strap
Shovel (The shovel has a chopping edge for chopping wood)
Hi Viz Jacket
Small Tarp
Selection of glow sticks
Bag of basic tools including
Mechanics gloves
para cord
Folding saw
Fuses
Headlight
I also keep a small bag of cargo straps just in case I am moving something that needs to be strapped down.
Whats in the backpacks?
I also keep two backpacks in the big bag; one for me and one for my wife, although they are essentially the same and are interchangeable. Mine just has a few extra bits and pieces.
Common items in both backpacks consist of:
Clothing: a hoody, pair socks, pair gloves, wooly hat, handkerchief
Electronics: Headlight, Flashlight, spare batteries, USB charger and cables
What I did today was drag all of this stuff out of the car, and unpack everything. I compare the items with my inventory list and make sure that everything is where it should be. I pay careful attention to batteries to ensure they have not started to rot or go bad, While the car is kept in a garage, it is still subject to temperature and humidity (or lack thereof in CO) and this can result in rot and mold and other issues. If everything looks ok, I repack and put it back into the car, but I also note changes that I may want to make.
Potential Changes
While everything looked good this time, there are some things I may change. For instance I want to add:
a folding knife to my wife's backpack
a pocket survival kit to my wife's backpack
Bic lighters to both backpacks
I wrote this after having completed my checks but I think next time I do this, I will add photos just so that you can see what all this kit looks like. You can see that for the most part, this is roadside equipment and warm clothing. Given where we live, these are the items we are most likely to need.
Every day carry (EDC) is a term to reference those useful items that we carry on a day by day basis. However, because I am a recluse and never leave the house any more, I really don't carry what I used to carry. I do however keep a number of items handy that in other circumstances might be considered EDC.
Pocket knife
I always have a pocket knife handy, as they have so many uses. Most recently of course, opening mail and Amazon boxes, but there are other occasional uses. My EDC consists of two knives; a Wenger Evo Grip 14 and a CRKT CEO knife.
Wenger Evo Grip 14
The Wenger knife is used mostly for odd jobs where I need a general purpose knife, or a screwdriver. Occasionally the nail file get used, as does the scissors but the tool I use the most is the tooth pick. I eat a lot of salads and occasionally need to get a tomato seed or similar out from my gums or between my teeth.
I also keep a CRKT CEO around as I love the slim blade profile and it is great for opening mail and Amazon packages.
CRKT CEO EDC
Phone
I always have a phone with me. My cell phone is an iPhone SE (2020 model). I am not a fan of large phones and have considered downsizing further and most likely would if I could find a smart phone smaller than this one.
My favorite phone was a burner I picked up in the UK. I was there for maybe a week so I picked up a cheap smart phone and SIM (My old phone was CDMA and that is no use in Europe). The phone I got was a Huawei Ascend Y220 (2014 model apparently)
I loved that phone for two reasons; it was small and it was simple; despite being a smart phone. I could load all the apps on there I needed, access them easily, and simply. It was not fast, or blessed with large amounts of memory, but it was enough.
I guess my phone use has grown over the years now, because I use it to order dinner some nights, alcohol some days, check my finances, and a whole host of other things, but most of these things are just distractions. All I really need is music for the most part,
I also have a Smartish Phone Wallet Slayer that I use with my iPhone to carry my drivers license and credit cards. I have found this to be one of the most useful items I own.
Watch
I really don't wear a watch that much. For a while I was wearing a Huawei Honor band watch but I realized that I wasn't doing anything with the data I was collecting. If I wasn't doing anything with the data, then why wear the watch?
I do have a number of watches to choose from but the one I gravitate to the most is the Citizen Eco-Drive. I wear it when ever we go out at the moment as it needs to be kept charged. The watch face of an Eco Drive watch is one large solar panel so you can't keep this in a drawer and expect it to work.
Citizen Eco-Drive
Checking the Citizen web site, it looks like they don't make my model any more although there are a few there that are similar.
Man Bag
On the occasions when I do leave the house, I usually carry these things along with masks and keys in a bag - my man bag! I have two main bags for this; a shoulder bag that I wear cross body or a fanny pack that I wear millennial style.
I am so millennial
This pic is great because you can also see the phone case that I mentioned above. I have had the sewing machine out and modified the bag slightly to adjust the straps so it sits better on me.
Bag/Pocket Organizer
When I am rattling about the house, I put the phone, knives and a pen in an organizer. I picked this one up from Amazon a few months back and it is perfect for carrying the small amounts of crap I like to keep with me.
The ensemble
I didn't mention the pen, but then I am not a pen geek; that would be my wife, she is the pen geek. So that is my EDC; what do you carry?
Welcome to part 2 of the preparedness series. In this post we will look at step one of the preparedness planning and that risk determination. Most people plan for zombies, because if you have planned for zombies, you have planned for everything. This is of course total bullshit.
So the first thing we should do is determine what is a risk. My definition of a risk is something that can affect the outcome of your life in a negative manner. For instance there is a risk in crossing the road. We may get hit by a truck and we mitigate this risk by looking both ways before we cross.
He Might be your father Luke
So what risks do i have?
I expect I have many of the same risks that you have, but to make this easier, lets break them down into categories:
Do you have a job (Employment)?
What does your health look like (Health)?
Where do you live (Location)?
The other thing to consider is that you have limited resources, and cannot prepare of absolutely everything. No one person can and this is one of the functions of government; to provide resources and resource management in times of crisis. So don’t get bent out of shape because you don’t have enough money to purchase a plane and a tank.
Employment
Loss of employment is one of the highest risks we face and yet it is given the least amount of thought. Most people are 1-3 paychecks away from starving or homelessness or both. The recent global pandemic has highlighted this like never before and yet most people still don’t consider it a problem that they need to plan for, its just a part of life and government will bail them out. Well no, government won’t bail you out as I believe we have all recently discovered.
So how do we plan for loss of employment? There needs to be an understanding of your financial position, and a plan to improve it. That plan my include eliminating debt, and building an emergency fund, and then some more long term savings. Frankly this is something that everyone should do, but few people do. Tell your co workers that you have no debt and watch their heads explode.
In our case, the wife and I eliminated our debt a few years ago. In addition we keep a small amount of money in savings for emergencies, and keep about 6 months of expenses in an investment account. This should (and did) cushion us against disaster if one of us lost our employment.
Another important aspect is to be aware of how your benefits work because loss of benefits can be an issue, especially if you have health issues. Being able to pivot from your benefits to your spouse’s benefits by working with HR is valuable and you should be able to do this. Interruption in medical coverage is a thing that can come back to bite you.
If you want to understand more about how to get financial affairs in order, I would recommend checking out folks like Mr Money Mustache and the Millennial Revolution folks. You may find some of the things they have to say unpalatable, but I can assure you, they know their shit and they live it. If you want someone a little gentler, then try Dave Ramsey.
Health
This is the second highest and more long term risk that we face. Health issues can really screw us if we are not careful. The first thing to do is an honest assessment of your health. Are you healthy? Are you taking drugs for a chronic condition? Do you keep fit?
You don’t have to be special forces fit or anything like that but can walk a few miles without suffering painfully? Can you carry a bag or backpack with 30lbs of weight for any distance? If the answer is no, then we have to make a plan to get you there.
The first thing I would suggest is regular doctor and dentist visits. Preventative maintenance beats emergencies any day of the week. I can tell you from first hand experience that a colonoscopy can prevent colon cancer. I might not be here today if it was not for a colonoscopy. It cost be about $1k for the procedure, but I guarantee that not spending that money would have cost me 100x that and my most likely my life.
Get fit, and get off as many drugs and you can. I suffer from three chronic conditions that require drugs and for the past few years I have been working at getting off them and getting healthier. It is a slow process but the process is working. However, you also need to plan to cover any drugs you do need in an emergency.
Location
This is the factor that most people consider when prepping, but it is the lowest on my list of risks, with employment and health as my highest risks. The first and most obvious risk is access to your home - do you rent or do you own? If you rent, can your home be sold out from under you? This happens to people quite often, and is in essence a financial problem - do you have the means to find another home, and move within a month? This could be covered by the emergency fund we discussed above, but if you are living paycheck to paycheck, this will be much harder that it should be.
Once you have considered access to your home, what about your immediate environment? Are you close to man made hazards or natural hazards? Man made might be manufacturing facilities, or refineries, chemical plants, railway lines and the like.
Natural hazards might be woodland that can catch fire (California for instance) or areas prone to flooding (New Orleans), earthquakes, mud slides, and so on. Any cursory search of news articles over the 100 years will provide plenty of examples.
For me, I live in the heart of a major city, very close to a railway line, and major road. My risks will therefore include civil unrest, hazardous cargo burning or spilling and bad weather - it can snow a lot here. We also live in an apartment so we need to plan for the loss of our home or a move if required.
I am a fan of prepping. Yes sometimes that makes me appear strange to others who are not, but hear me out. I was raised to be self reliant. My father was a very practical man who could fix just about anything mechanical. My grandfather was the same with electrical devices and I inherited some of that from both of them.
It should be no surprise that I became and engineer, and have an interest in mechanical and electrical devices. This has lead me gradually down a path of self reliance and in many way preparedness.
Now some of you are going to have this picture of a guy surrounded by MREs, guns and ammo, but that is not what I mean by preparedness. For instance I wrote this post a few years back when living in Georgia and suffering through one of the South’s rare but fierce ice storms.
So what is preparedness if there are no MREs and guns involved? Well, there might be but that is just one small component of overall preparedness. Your starting point is not to start buying up all the ammo you can find, but rather to determine what the risks are that you face.
I can’t answer that question for you, but I can tell you what my risks are and what I have done to mitigate them, because at its heart, preparedness is risk mitigation. The first step is to understand that there is a three step process to prepping.
Determine And understand your risks
Plan to mitigate each risk factor
Test your plan
All three steps are equally important and in the next few posts I am going to discuss these steps as the pertain to me, and break down how to mitigate them.
Currently there is no self defense weapon in my bug out bag. (Yes I have a bug out bag for emergencies like natural disasters or the house burning down). This means in the event of a crisis, I would need to remember to grab something from the dresser draw - currently either the Glock 19 or the Sig 1911 in 45ACP.
Chances are I would go with the Glock 19. It's a 9mm weapon with more ammo choices, higher capacity etc. What I think I need is to put the G19 back in the safe and get myself a smaller conceal
carry gun, perhaps then I will carry more often. The purpose is as a last resort 'get the fuck off me' gun. This is not a going to war gun - I already have some of those. So what to get?
The choice is going to be set by the following:
1. Caliber 2. Auto or revolver 3. size
First let's look at caliber.
I'm a believer in not worrying too much about caliber. For a small pistol I think a smaller caliber gives greater capacity and easier follow up shots, so I am not going to get hung up on caliber. With that said, it is unlikely that I will go with 22LR as much as I like my .22LR Walther PPK/s,. It has 10 round capacity but 22lr self defense rounds are usually too small and too slow to expand on impact and in some circumstances can be stopped with thick heavy clothing. So what does that leave me with?
• .32 • .380 • 9mm
Auto or revolver?
Auto because I don't do revolvers well. That was easy.
Size
This is where it gets tricky. I think I want a sub compact of some sort. Something like the small Kel-Tec PF9 or even the 380/32 might be about the right size. I can carry it in a pocket holster and I am more likely to carry that way I think.
So what options do I have:
Compact 9mm
Glock 26
S&W M&P Shield
Kahr CM9 ($380)
Beretta nano ($400)
What are the costs?
.32ACP
KT P32 ($ 240)
NAA Guardian ($ 400)
beretta 3032 ($ 450) not available
LWS .32 ($ 550) not available
.380 ACP
Ruger LCP ($ 360)
Bersa 380 ($ 280)
KT P3AT ($ 260)
S&W Bodyguard ($ 360)
RM380 ($ 350)
SIG P238 ($ 630)
9mm
Ruger LC9 ($ 360)
KT PF9 ($ 260)
KT P11 ($ 243)
Kahr P3 ($ 650)
Conclusion
At this time there are limited options available as these seems to have been a run on these small guns so I have a limited choice. That choice seems to be:
Kel Tek P32
Ruger LCP
Bersa 380
I have owned a Bersa in the past and it was ok. The 32 seems like it might be a little too small, so I think I am going with the Ruger LCP in 380ACP.
I live in the south and the poor weather we are experiencing has caused a lot of problems. I get the derision that is heaped upon the south from our northern neighbors when it comes to 'just an inch' of snow causing complete paralysis. The problem is, that inch of snow doesn't stay snow. As soon as it hits a road surface, it turns to ice. It started snowing at about midday yesterday, and it wasn't a heavy snow fall, it was light with a good wind behind it.
By 1:30pm there was a thin layer on ice on most of the roads, and as the afternoon went on, it got thicker and thicker. That is what caused the problem. But that is not why I am writing this. What I want to write about is the selfishness I saw yesterday. One of the things I have seen in the media this morning is how great it is that people have pulled together and helped each other out. People feeding and helping stranded motorists and all that good stuff.
I'm going to go against the grain here, and talk about how much selfishness I saw yesterday, and here is why:
I saw people in vehicles who had no clue what they were doing. They blocked roads, sometimes for a few minutes, hours or in some cases, those roads are still blocked. I saw people who have no clue how to drive in adverse conditions, fuck it up for those of us who can. Yes I know we all want to get home safely, but instead of watching jersey shore, watch a you tube video on how to drive in ice and snow. That knowledge might,you know, come in handy one day.
I saw an awful lot of people who are just so unprepared for this sort of weather and this sort of eventuality. Yes I know this doesn't happen often but I have also seen these same types of people unprepared for the summer heat too.
All of these people are now looking to the emergency services to save them, rescue their vehicles and so on, and this is why they are selfish; they want to put other people's lives at risk because they can't get their shit together and have even the most basic of plans.
I get that I am 'a bit out there' with some of my views and attitudes. My father (bless him, he probably still thinks I have two left hands) taught me to think, plan ahead and be at least somewhat self sufficient. No one man can survive everything that is thrown at him, that is why we have emergency services, but so much of what people these days think of as emergencies, can be mitigated with a little planning some household items.
To those people today who are stranded, blocking roads, and awaiting rescue; would it have hurt to have a few basic survival items packed into your funny little sports car? You know, the one that is currently askew, half way up a hill somewhere, blocking a side road. Those tires sure do offer a lot of grip on the blacktop when its all hot and sticky, but not so much when there is a half an inch of ice covering it.
Just a few items would make the world of difference. A blanket, flashlight, some water, gloves and a watch cap could literally save your ass. It can make: do you need help? - oh gods thank you yes I am freezing and stuck, into; do you need help? - thank you but I'm good. I have a bit of a walk ahead of me, and you'll find my car, a mile or two back there, tucked into the side of the road out of the way, but I am warm and hydrated. I'll be fine.
... which allows those first responders to move on to people who really need the help, like the elderly, or people giving birth on 285 because they are stuck there. There are plenty of preparedness resources out there. There really is no excuse for not being prepared. Yes it isn't hip, it isn't trendy or fashionable, but how warm does fashion make you feel when it is dark, below freezing, you are out of gas, thirsty and hungry?
Don't be selfish and expect others to take care of you. Take a few simple steps to take care of yourself, and lets make it easier for everyone, especially those who are working their asses off today in some very dangerous conditions.
Many of you know, I open carry. I know there is the whole debate about how prudent it is, but there is something else that I want to point out. It has nothing to do with tactics or even being a gun guy, and everything to do with being a citizen.
I've often pointed out that I don't carry concealed because I am not a criminal and have no need to hide my weapon. This is true, but it is a simplistic, general statement. The feeling I have about this goes much deeper. I am a citizen, not a subject. I am a free man, not a slave.
Meme's like that have been plastered all over forums and Facebook; meme's are everywhere, but for me this does actually mean something. For those who don't know, I am from the UK. Its a civilized first world country, not some backwater hell hole, however just carrying a small Swiss Army Knife can land you in trouble.
Don't even think about defending yourself or your loved ones, and protecting your property is strictly forbidden. The police and courts will try and make examples of you for 'taking the law in your own hands'. Most parts of the United States don't suffer from this yet and many parts (like GA for instance) are actively working to make sure this situation does not happen here.
If I walk down the high street in my (UK) home town, with what I normally carry in my pockets, I could be arrested and jailed. Add the gun, and certainly I would be. That is not the case here in GA. Here, I can walk down Main Street Woodstock, with my pocket knife, my multi-tool, and my 1911 with little fear of harassment or arrest.
Why? Because I am a citizen and a free man. A lot of Americans utter those words but for me they really do have meaning. Its really not about the carrying of the gun, its about the freedom. I am free; the gun is simply a reminder of that freedom; my safety is in my hands, not based on some flawed social contract. Is this freedom perfect? No, of course not, but that can be changed and is being changed, sometimes for the better, and sometimes not, but it can be changed despite the corruption, greed and politics that gets in the way.
My gun is a reminder that I am a free man, and I will not hide it.
