PREPARATION

SURVIVAL
Teach Your Family MOBILITY
How to Resist DEFENSE
and Outsmart MEDICAL
Human GEAR
Predators

COMMUNICATING
WITHOUT A
TRANSLATOR
P. 58

BUILD AND STASH

YOUR OWN
PVC PIPE CACHE
P. 44

STORMPROOF
BACKPACKS
P. 76

IMPROVISED
EVACUATION GEAR
P. 70

ISSUE 25
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#myp320
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www.sigsauer.com
CONTENTS ISSUE 25

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS

36 Victim-Proof 06 Editor’s Letter

You or Your Child May be Every Parent’s
Targeted for Assault or Worst Nightmare
Kidnapping. Learn What the Risk
Factors are and How to Stay One 10 Gear Up
Step Ahead The Latest and
Greatest Products
44 Buried Treasure
Learn Why You Should Cache 14 Pocket Preps
Important Survival Implements. Carabiners
Then We’ll Show You a Simple 18 What If?
Method How Your Child Disappears 26
52 Make the Right Call While Traveling?
How Pay Phones and 36
26 Survivalist Spotlight
Household Landlines Might Survival Lessons From
End Up Being Your Lifeline South of the Border
During an Emergency
84 Health
58 Breaking the Edible Plants and Their
Language Barrier Dangerous Doppelgängers
Tips to Communicate Efectively
Outside Your Native Tongue 90 Hands On
Review of the Cauldryn
64 Pistol Caliber Fire Water Bottle
Compatibility
Rugers New PCC May Have a 94 Debunked
Place in Your Bug-Out Plan The Myth of Not Getting Water 58
From Plants in North America
70 Improvised
Evacuation Methods 96 On the Grid
Options for Getting Wounded Staying Plugged-In
to Safety During a Crisis
98 The Last Page
76 Stormproof Sacks Review of The Savage
A Buyer’s Guide to
52
Bug-Out Bags That Can Cover photos: Jorge Nuñez;
Endure Extreme Weather webphotographeer, Berezko/istockphoto.com

Product Disclaimer Recoil OFFGRID, June/July 2018; Number

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this causes any confusion and thank you
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25, is published bimonthly by TEN:
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006
ISSUE 25
EDITOR’SLETTER
Every Parent’s
Worst Nightmare
By John Schwartze,
Network Manager & Acting Editor // RECOIL OFFGRID
’m the product of a very overprotective mother. Growing up,
I I had a hard time understanding her insistence on always
knowing where I was and what I was doing. When I was a
kid, I remember she had a bumper sticker on her car with a
phone number to call for anyone with information about a
missing girl named Laura Bradbury.
Laura, who was 3½ years old at the time of her disappearance, was
abducted in the fall of 1984 during a family outing in Joshua Tree,
California. She accompanied her brother to a campsite restroom and
waited outside. When he returned moments later, she had vanished.
No one saw a thing. A subsequent search of the area and exhaustive
investigation turned up little if any promising leads. The case went cold.
Recently, I began thinking about the disappearance again
and wondered if it’d ever been solved. I came across this
article (http://www.lacp.org/2010-Articles-Main/092010-
TheMysteryOfLauraBradbury.htm), which discussed what
happened to the family in the years following and the ultimate
outcome of Laura’s abduction. Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have a
happy ending.
It was heartbreaking to not only learn the bad news Laura’s family
waited years to be given, but also the feeling of deprivation they’ve
experienced and how it changed each of their lives. What’s even
more disturbing is that the person or people who abducted Laura are
probably still out there looking for others to victimize — if they haven’t
already. Whether you’re a parent or not, I encourage you to read this
article. Then afterward take a deep breath, hug your kids or someone
else you love, and let’s talk about how we can defend ourselves and
protect the next generation of survivalists.
It makes sense to teach our kids the “stranger danger” concept, but
we also must be cognizant of the fact that many times an attacker
may be someone we know (or at least think we know) who’s secretly
conspiring against us. There are predators roaming the streets with
compulsions that are beyond our comprehension. Google David
Parker Ray or Otis Toole, and you’ll see what I mean.
People who find fulfillment in inflicting pain or kidnap for financial
gain spend years perfecting their ability to strike and get away with
it. We can ponder the origins of this sadistic behavior all day long,
but one thing is for sure … you can’t reason with insanity. Be that as
it may, we’re all born with the instinct to protect our own lives and
those of our loved ones. There’s a word for this … survival. That makes
us all survivalists. You can’t be there 24/7 to safeguard your children
from the world’s monsters — but you can teach them how to survive
among them. So let’s get started.
Remedios/istockphoto.com
We posed a question to two of our contributors — what would they
do if their child went missing in a foreign country? I think you’ll find
their ideas for prep and action items during the crisis an informative
read. Mykel Hawke has also returned to grace our pages with tips on
how to communicate when dealing with a language barrier. We’ve
also thrown in some information on how to prepare yourself and your
kids for possible assault or kidnappings, with some tips on situational
awareness and how children can defend themselves against a much
larger attacker.
In our survivalist spotlight, we had the pleasure of getting to know
Ed Calderon, a counter-custody expert who has worked some of the
toughest groups and areas south of the border. Enrolling in one of his
classes is an eye-opening experience that I’d recommend you check
out. Getting a glimpse of the kind of remorseless abductions that
happen each year puts a new perspective on how you view the world.
Remember, you’re worth something to someone. Don’t give those
who view you as a dollar sign a chance to add your life’s worth to their
criminal cofers. Be aware of how they select their targets.
Monitor both your own and your kids’ online behavior — don’t
put vanity ahead of the safety of privacy. Discuss options with your
loved ones on how they can get in contact with you during situations
where communications are limited (see also our piece on having and
locating landlines). You might also want to invest in a device like a
Gizmo Watch after reading this story: http://ktla.com/2016/08/11/9-
year-old-utah-boy-escapes-kidnapper-uses-smartwatch-to-call-
for-help/. No matter the problem, there’s always a solution.
The world is a dangerous place, and unfortunately those who
choose murder, manipulation, and ransom as their pastime don’t
come with a warning label stamped on their foreheads. RECOIL
OFFGRID is here to provide you with the tools to protect the gift of
life we’ve all been given, so you can stack the survival odds in your
favor. We all have the wherewithal to outsmart the bad guys. It’s just
a question if you have the willingness to learn. I’m sure we both know
the answer to that.
And one more thing … thanks, mom. I get it now.
Love you always.
CORRECTION: In Issue 25’s article, “Ignite Your Inner
MacGyver,” when discussing using a chainsaw as an improvised
fire-starting device, we neglected to mention that the chainsaw
must be close enough to create a ground. For the updated
version of the article, please visit www.offgridweb.com/survival/
advanced-fire-starting-techniques-in-cold-weather.
 Editorial.
® Executive Editor/ Rob Curtis
Senior Editor/ Tom Marshall
Managing Editor/ Laura Peltakian
Contributing Editor/ Steven Kuo
Web Editor/ Patrick McCarthy
Photography Studio Manager/ Jorge Nuñez
Contributors/ AZPhotoMan, Jacki Billings, Jim Cobb, Richard Duarte,
Mykel Hawke, Ryan Houtekamer, Jordan Lance, Tim MacWelch,
Chad McBroom, Ryan Lee Price, Mark Saint, Andrew Schrader,
Patrick Vuong, Jared Wihongi
Special Thanks/ Sophia, Carson Schwartze, Chris Schwartze
FLASH SIGHT PICTURE,
REDEFINED. Art Direction & Design.
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THE ENHANCED F PISTOL WITH
Art Director/ Sarah Lampert
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WWW.CARACALUSA.COM
010
ISSUE 25
GEARUP
MAKE & MODEL
1 Outdoor Edge
Le Duck
OAL
6.25 inches
MSRP
$35
URL
www.outdooredge.com
NOTES
Outdoor Edge makes a variety of
tools that are smartly designed,
well built, and crazy affordable.
One such example is the Le
Duck, named so for its fowl-
looking pommel. This little knife
is adaptable thanks to its blade
profile and carry options. Made
of 8Cr14MoV stainless steel with
a Blackstone coating, the razor-
sharp fixed blade has a generous
belly that allows for detailed slic-
ing and a strong point for thrust-
ing. It comes with a polymer
sheath that has a removable clip,
which can rotate 360 degrees
for multiple carry positions. Also
included is a paracord lanyard
so you can use the Le Duck as
a neck knife. Though made of
thermoplastic rubber and a little
small even for our medium-sized
hands, the handle is comfortable
and moisture resistant. Overall,
it’s a versatile backup blade for
an inexpensive price.
2
MAKE & MODEL
2 Air Venturi
Dust Devil Frangible BBs
QUANTITY
1,500 per box
MSRP
$13
URL
www.airventuri.com
NOTES
Airguns are great fun, not to
mention fantastic survival tools.
Unlike firearms, air rifles let you
take small game (sometimes
even bigger animals, depending
on your caliber and model) in
a post-SHTF situation without
alerting every human and critter
within earshot. The problem with
BBs is that they can ricochet if
you miss. That’s why Air Venturi
has come out with what they
claim to be the world’s first
frangible BB. Rather than bounce
in unsafe directions after hitting
something solid, these BBs
shatter into a puff of powder.
Manufactured from a special
alloy, the 4.35-grain, .177-caliber
Dust Devils are lead-free and
reportedly 10-percent faster than
steel BBs. They come in an easy-
pour box that makes reloading
faster. Made in the USA.
1
4
MAKE & MODEL
3 Trayvax
Summit Notebook
DIMENSIONS
3.5 by 3 by 0.75 inches
MSRP
$66
URL
www.trayvax.com
NOTES
Trayvax is a relatively new
company that aims to upend the
traditional bifold wallet by offer-
ing minimalist models with fresh
designs that are made with such
materials as anodized aluminum.
Now the Washington state-based
company is looking to do the
same with the leather journal.
The Summit Notebook combines
Trayvax’s Summit wallet with an
all-weather, 20-page notepad
and Fisher Bullet Space Pen
wrapped in an oiled latigo leather
cover, giving you a multipurpose
everyday-carry package without
overburdening your pocket. The
notepad uses Rite in the Rain
paper, which is waterproof and
won’t turn to mush when wet
or exposed to oil and grime.
The Summit Notebook fits up
to eight cards, has heavy-duty
nylon stitching, and comes with a
65-year heirloom warranty. Made
in the USA.
MAKE & MODEL
4 Streamlight
Microstream USB
Pocket Light
OAL
3.87 inches
MSRP
$50
URL
www.streamlight.com
NOTES
Everyday-carry (EDC) lights tend
to be short but stout, due mostly
because of their stubby CR123
batteries. But battery technol-
ogy is constantly improving, and
Streamlight’s helping to push it
further along. The company’s
updated Microstream fits in
the palm of your hand or sits
unobtrusively in your pocket
because its lithium-ion cell pack
is so compact — yet puts out 250
lumens for 1.5 hours on high, or
50 lumens for 3.5 hours on low. It
recharges in four hours without
having to remove the battery;
just slide the sleeve forward on
its anodized aluminum body to
reveal the USB charging port. The
Microstream is water resistant,
impact resistant up to 1 meter,
and has a removable pocket clip
that can be attached to a hat
brim for hands-free use.
 MAKE & MODEL
5 Arcade Belt Co.
Guide
SIZE
One size fits most (up to 40
inches)
MSRP
$30
URL
www.arcadebelts.com
NOTES
Arcade Belt Co. was founded
by outdoor adventurers who
disliked the casual belts on the
market. They wanted something
that would feel better, last
longer, and outperform the
competition. So, they crafted
their own out of synthetic fibers
and natural rubber, resulting in
webbing that’s lightweight and
quick drying, yet can stretch
with the user’s movements. The
Guide is a scuff-resistant utility
belt that definitely exemplifies
those qualities. The alloy
belt buckle is nonslip, sturdy,
and sharp looking, while the
reinforced stretching is solid.
From everyday wear to hiking
steep trails, we’ve worn the
Guide comfortably for months
and found it’s delivered as
promised. Available in a variety
of colors, including brown,
camo, and burgundy.
MAKE & MODEL
6 Peltor Sport
SecureFit 400
Eye Protection
QUANTITY
Three per pack
MSRP
$14
URL
www.3m.com
NOTES
If you’re saving up for a food
cache or an extra power
generator, then you might cringe
at the thought of paying $100
for a pair of Wiley X or Oakley
shooting glasses. Thankfully 3M’s
Peltor Sport has the affordable
SecureFit 400 series of eye
protection. This three-pack
provides eye protection for you
and two loved ones for less
than the cost of three caramel
macchiatos. Each pair features
impact-resistant lenses that meet
ANSI Z87.1-2001 standards and
come with an anti-fog coating
and 99-percent UV protection.
The soft-touch nosepiece and
temples ensure a comfortable fit
while the flat, low-profile arms let
you wear earmuff-style hearing
protection without any pinching.
The glasses come with clear,
amber, and gray lenses.
MAKE & MODEL
7 Canyon Coolers
8 Zippo
Copper Adventure
Tumblers
CAPACITY
20 ounces, 30 ounces
MSRP
$25, $30
URL
www.canyoncoolers.com
NOTES
When it comes to enjoying a
beverage, there’s almost noth-
ing more annoying than having
a hot coffee or an iced tea
go lukewarm. Talk about blah.
Fortunately, Canyon Coolers
recently released its new lineup
of Copper Adventure Tumblers.
Thanks to their vacuum-insulat-
ed, double-walled construction,
the containers can keep hot
beverages hot and cold drinks
cold for hours on end. The tum-
blers are manufactured from
food-grade 18-8 stainless steel
with a copper coating on the
exterior, making them safe and
stylish yet durable. They feature
sliding lids that prevent leaks
and spillage. Plus, Canyon Cool-
ers say they’ll fit in 99 percent
of cupholders.
6
MAKE & MODEL
Tinder Shreds
DIMENSIONS
2 inches long by 1-inch
diameter (per shred)
MSRP
$5
URL
www.zippo.com
NOTES
Without fire, there can be no life
in a survival situation if the time-
line’s long enough — especially if
there’s inclement weather. Rain,
wind, and snow can dampen
even a master bushcrafter’s best
efforts to get a campfire going.
The Zippo Tinder Shreds can help
make things a bit easier in diffi-
cult times. Made of shredded pine
and coated with water-resistant
paraffin wax, these coils of tinder
light quickly, burn long enough
for you to stoke the flames, and
are easy to pack in your care.
Each set comes with 10 shreds in
a resealable clamshell container.
8
ISSUE 25
OFFGRIDWEB.COM 011
012
ISSUE 25
GEARUP
MAKE & MODEL
9 CenterPoint Archery
Volt 300
BOLT VELOCITY
300 feet per second
MSRP
$300
URL
www.crosman.com
NOTES
Long before Daryl of The Walk-
ing Dead made crossbows cool
among the zombie apocalypse
crowd, soldiers and hunters used
this ranged weapon to great
effect for centuries. That’s why
some crossbows nowadays can
cost more than a quality AR-15.
Don’t have an extra grand or two
lying around? Crosman hopes to
ease that financial squeeze by
offering the Volt 300 from its
CenterPoint Archery brand. It
includes a quiver, carbon arrows,
an adjustable buttstock, and a
1x40mm three-dot optic for $300.
With a reduced draw weight of
130 pounds, it’s ideal for those
looking for a smaller-framed
model that’s easier to cock yet
still delivers plenty of veloc-
ity. Also, it has quad limbs, an
auto-safety trigger mechanism,
a fully machined cams system,
and interchangeable grips and
buttstock. The Volt 300 should be
available come mid-May.
10
MAKE & MODEL
10 Sustain Supply Co.
Essentials2
NUMBER OF ITEMS
12 products (29 individual
pieces, not counting the first-
aid kit)
MSRP
$99
URL
www.getcyalume.com
NOTES
A great many go-bags on the
market are covered with PALS
webbing and camo patterns. If
you’re bugging out during an
urban disaster, those rucksacks
will scream, “Look, I have
valuable stuff!” The Essentials2
is a prepackaged survival kit
that’s much more discreet — and
comes with 72 hours’ worth of
life-sustaining supplies for two
people. It includes food rations,
a first-aid kit, a MoraKniv fixed
blade, a Sawyer mini water
filter, and more. The backpack
has various convenient features,
such as side mesh pockets,
padded adjustable shoulder
straps, and a robust grab
handle at the top. While we’d
prefer the company’s name
not be so obvious on the front,
the Essentials2 is an otherwise
inconspicuous and solid pack
to start with if you’re looking
to buy a bug-out bag instead of
building one yourself.
MAKE & MODEL
11 Rogue Ridge
Ridge Warrior RB1000
CARGO CAPACITY
300 pounds
MSRP
$4,600
URL
www.rogueridge.com
NOTES
Bicycles, e-bikes, and motor-
cycles are all potential bug-out
vehicles; each has its pros
and cons. Take the RB1000 for
example. It features a 1,000-watt
motor, a 13-amp-hour Panasonic
battery, and Kenda Juggernaut
Pro tires, giving you the off-road
capabilities of a human-powered
fat bike, but with the added
boost of a rechargeable engine.
You can ride up to 30 mph with
a range of 29 miles or up to 60
miles in Pedal-Assist Mode. The
drawbacks, however, are limited
cargo space and single occu-
pancy. Still, the Ridge Warrior’s
6061 aluminum alloy frame can
hold 300 pounds, making it ideal
for hunters who’ve bagged fresh
game or a survivalist who’s
bugging out.
11
MAKE & MODEL
12 CGear
Original Sand-Free Mat
COLORS
Blue/Green, Green,
and Orange/Tan
MSRP
$60
URL
www.cgear-sandfree.com
NOTES
Whether it’s a camping trip or
a day at the beach, it’s almost
impossible to lay down a tarp
or towel and not have sand or
dirt scattered all over it within
minutes. The Sand-Free Mat can
stop that. Originally designed
to allow military helicopters
to land without “brownout”
obscuring the pilot’s vision, the
mat is made up of a patented
multilayer weave that lets
particles fall through to the
bottom, but prevents them from
coming back up. Plus, it has
D-rings to pin the mat down
with stakes. It comes in multiple
colors and sizes, from small
(6 by 6 feet) to extra-large (12
by 12 feet). Note: they’re not
lightweight like common tarps,
with the smallest mat already
clocking in at 3.15 pounds. Still,
the Sand-Free Mat is a smart
design and ideal for RVers,
campers, and beachcombers.
12
 desert warrior®
39 ounces | 5 inch barrel
available in .45 ACP

trust is earned
america’s best rely on kimber—so should you.

(888) 243-4522
made in a merica what all guns should be™ kimberamerica.com

©2018, kimber mfg., inc. all rights reserved. information and specifications are for reference only and subject to change without notice.
014
ISSUE 25
Pocket PREPS

CARABINERS
By Patrick Vuong

f you haven’t thought about getting a

I carabiner, you’ll be a convert soon after

trying one. It’s an incredibly useful tool,
and you don’t have to be a mountain
climber to appreciate it.
Aside from using them for climbing, rappelling,
or caving as intended, ’biners have all sorts of
improvised functions, including, but not limited
1

to, rigging a shelter, acting as a tourniquet (when 3

coupled with a cord), being used as a striking
implement, and linking smaller packs to your get-
out-of-dodge bag. Of course, you can use them 2
for more mundane roles, such as a keychain or to
attach a water bottle to your hiking pack.
The predecessor of the carabiner was made in the
1800s for French cavalry troops called carabiniers,
who used metal spring hooks and slings to carry
their carbines whilst on horseback. However, it wasn’t
until after the 1910s when legendary German climber
Otto Herzog is credited as having created the first
modern ’biner by incorporating a springloaded gate
(the component that opens and closes). The German
term karabinerhaken means “spring hook,” but
translates literally as “carbine hook.”
Today ’biners generally come in four types:
asymmetric D-shaped, D-shaped, oval, and
pear-shaped. The other important element is the
gate, since it’s the part that opens to connect Bison Black Diamond Tuff Writer
to another object and closes to ensure it stays 1 Designs LLC 2 Equipment 3 Aluminum
G10 ClipTex RockLock Twistlock Carabiner - Red
connected that way. There are three gate types: Carabiner MATERIALS MATERIALS
straight, bent, and wire. Gates can further be MATERIALS Aluminum 6061-T6 aluminum
G10 OAL OAL
grouped into locking and non-locking. 4.5 inches 3 inches
OAL
While there are many more factors to consider 2.75 inches WEIGHT WEIGHT
WEIGHT 3.1 ounces 1.1 ounces
if you’re using carabiners for load-bearing 0.7 ounces MSRP MSRP
activities, we’re not delving that deeply here. MSRP $19 $40
$14 URL URL
However, the seven carabiners here give you www.tuffwriter.com
URL www.blackdiamond
a quick glimpse at the wide array of options www.bison equipment.com
designs.com
available on the market now. Their uses are
limited only by your imagination.
 DISCLAIMER:
Not all of the carabiners
reviewed here are rated
for climbing or repelling.
Also, don’t attempt any
load-bearing activities
without irst obtaining
proper instruction from
a qualiied instructor.

Kikkerland Design Inc. Nite Ize Nomad Petzl

4 Key Tools 5 S-Biner Dual Carabiner 6 Carabiner – Lightning 7 Am’D Triact-Lock
MATERIALS Stainless Steel #4 MATERIALS MATERIALS
Unlisted MATERIALS Stainless steel and Aluminum
OAL Stainless steel polycarbonate OAL
2 inches OAL OAL 4.5 inches
WEIGHT 3.52 inches 3.75 inches WEIGHT
1 ounce WEIGHT WEIGHT 2.6 ounces
MSRP 1.6 ounces 1.7 ounces MSRP
$10 MSRP MSRP $23
URL $3 $30 URL
www.kikkerland.com URL URL www.petzl.com
www.niteize.com www.hellonomad.com
ISSUE 25

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 015
016
ISSUE 25
Pocket PREPS

Bison Designs Black Diamond Tuff Writer Kikkerland Nite Ize Nomad Petzl
G10 ClipTex RockLock Aluminum Key Tools S-Biner Dual Goods, Inc. Am’D Triact-Lock
Twistlock Carabiner – Red Carabiner Carabiner –
Lightning

The ClipTex is adver- As Black Diamond’s Tuf Writer makes Kikkerland is known Colorado-based Nite In this Digital Age, it Fernand Petzl was a
tised as the world’s largest belay and rap- some of the industry’s for putting a fresh twist Ize impresses us was only a matter of caving expert who
first carabiner made of pel locking carabiner, best tactical pens. on common light-duty with not only the diver- time before someone founded his namesake
G10. This glass-based the RockLock features Now the Arizona- devices by redesigning sity and quality of its did it — Nomad Goods corporation in 1975
epoxy resin laminate a twistlock gate that based company has them in clever ways. products, but also how has combined the to mass produce
was originally made can be operated with teamed up with D22 (See our review of brilliantly they’re engi- frame of an asymmet- quality gear for techni-
for use as a base in cir- one hand. Simply Manufacturing to turn the Kikkerland Wood neered. Case in point: ric D-shaped carabiner cal rescue workers
cuit boards and is now rotate the gate sleeve its sights on carabin- Axe Multi Tool in Issue The S-Biner lineup. with a charging cord, and vertical sports
widely used for firearm clockwise, then pull it ers. The Aluminum 24.) But let’s be clear: They come in a variety giving you a light-duty athletes. Since then it’s
grips and knife handle back to open. To lock Carabiner is made out The asymmetrical of sizes and materials, ’biner that doubles as developed a strong
scales. Why? It’s strong it, simply let go and it of, well, aluminum — D-shaped carabiner but we reviewed the a backup Lightning global reputation.
yet lightweight, as well returns to the closed 6061-T6 to be exact — that comes with this #4 (second largest) cable. It’s USB 2.0 cer- The Am’D Triact-Lock
as non-conductive, position automati- and features the same Key Tools set isn’t model from the tified to charge up to continues that legacy.
non-corrosive, and cally. Since it’s made precise machining fooling anyone. Its stainless-steel series. 2.4 amperes and sync It feels great in hand,
resistant to extreme of aluminum, it’s and balance between sole purpose is to act It’s an oval-shaped your iPhone or iPad. has an auto-locking
temperatures. It also tremendously strong form and function as as a means to attach carabiner that features (Micro USB and DSLR gate, and can handle
doesn’t shrink or ab- — the RockLock has a the Tuf Writer pens. the key ring and the dual wire-gates on versions are also avail- 27 kiloNewtons (6,070
sorb water. This makes closed-gate strength Also available in black included bottle opener either side, making it able.) Not meant to pounds). Though this
for an incredibly rating of 24 kiloNew- blue, and purple, as and two screwdrivers much easier to con- be a primary charging is the tactical (all black)
durable carabiner, but tons (or 5,395 pounds), well as with an aged (flathead and Phillips) nect and disconnect cable, the Carabiner – version, the Am’D is
note that this asym- yet is quite lightweight. brass frame (for $80) to your pack or belt items. Not intended for Lightning is ruggedly also available in vari-
metric D-shaped ’biner Plus, it feels great in and a flamed titanium loop. Beyond that, it’s climbing, this tough built … even if it’s not ous colors with a ball-
isn’t rated for any load- hand in our medium- frame (for $120). Made not likely to impress yet lightweight ’biner meant for climbing. lock or a screw-lock.
bearing functions. sized hands. Made in in the USA. many. is rated to hold up to Made in France.
the USA. 75 pounds.

Pros: Pros: Pros: Pros: Pros: Pros: Pros:

A featherweight at Automatic twistlock Strong wire-gate The included screw- Dual-gate design Ideal for the minimal- Aluminum frame
less than an ounce ensures solid lockup spring that’s smooth drivers work well in Strong and tough, yet ist commuter or an ofers some serious
Super strong and One-handed opera- to open and snaps a pinch, and their lightweight emergency situation strength in a light-
durable tion shut. key-like shape helps Crazy afordable in which you need weight package
Wire-gate opens Awesome strength- Light yet durable provide torqueing price your iPhone for Size has greater gate
smoothly and closes to-weight ratio Hybrid oval-shaped leverage despite their Good quality despite communication or opening, making it
quickly Slightly curved spine ’biner is aesthetically short length. being manufactured navigation easier to link up.
Comes with a keyring allows for easy gate pleasing and works The Key Tools set as in China Surprisingly rugged With its asymmetric
opening well as a keyring a whole is a smart, construction D-shaped body and
retainer convenient idea. Lightweight and automatic Triact-Lock
versatile size system, it’s ideal for
belaying or holding
equipment.

Cons: Cons: Cons: Cons: Cons: Cons: Cons:

Not rated for load- Cons? Um … let us As a keychain ac- The spring in the Though it can hold Short cable, forcing The Triact-Lock isn’t
bearing activities think about this one. cessory, it isn’t rated gate is barely strong up to 75 pounds, it’s you to keep your the easiest to unlock
for weight-bearing enough to keep the not rated for climb- phone within 5 with one hand; you
activities. gate closed. ing or rappelling. inches of the power must push the gate
Smaller size means We were unable to source. sleeve up then, while
its gate opening is a determine its materi- Not for load-bearing holding it up, rotate
tad narrow. als before press time, functions it clockwise before
but we suspect the Tool doesn’t fit its pulling it back.
carabiner is soft pouch as well as This triple-action gate
aluminum. we’d like opening is especially
This ’biner and its awkward for lefties
gate opening is teeny. to operate.
018
ISSUE 25 OFFGRIDWEB.COM

WHAT IF?
Your Child Disappears While Traveling? Story By Tim MacWelch
Illustrations by Jordan Lance
 ne minute, she was there — holding my my face and realized our child wasn’t standing with us,

O hand, just like she always did. And the

next minute she was gone. The sicken-
ing panic began to rise within me, like a
surge of nausea — but far worse. I whirled
in circles looking for her, but in the press of people, there
was no trace. As soon as my wife saw the look of fear on
she began to shout our daughter’s name. But over the din
of the busy public square, no response could be heard.
Our child was gone.
In this installment of RECOIL OFFGRID’s What If?, the
editors asked us to explain our own approach to one of
the most horrifying scenarios that a parent can face — a po-
tential abduction. Continuing our new format, the authors
explain what we’d personally do, should we find ourselves
in this type of emergency situation. As a parent, this has
been one of the most unsettling What If’s that RECOIL
OFFGRID has formulated.

The Scenario
SITUATION TYPE
Traveling in a foreign country on vacation
YOUR CREW
You, your spouse, and your 6-year-old child
LOCATION
Paris, France
SEASON
Winter
WEATHER
Rainy; high 47 degrees F, low 39 degrees F

The Setup: You’ve finally made good on your promise

to take your spouse to Europe, and as it happens, you’re
taking your young child along too. You’ve planned an un-
forgettable vacation together, and you’re looking forward to
giving your spouse an unforgettable anniversary.
The Complication: While visiting Paris during a walking
tour you prearranged, you’re venturing down the Champs-
Élysées with your group when you stop to listen to the
guide’s spiel on the Arc de Triomphe. Your 6-year-old lets go
of your hand for a moment, and you think nothing of it. Only
a minute goes by while you’re watching the tour guide. You
look down to discover your child is no longer next to you.
As you search through the group and the immediate vi-
cinity, you cannot find your child. What do you do? Did they
just get distracted by something and are aimlessly wander-
ing somewhere you can’t see them? Were they abducted
by assailants stalking the tour group? What’s your response
plan? There’s no way to determine for sure what happened,
and you’re losing precious time.
If you were home you’d call 911 or ask people in the vicin-
ity. But you’re in a foreign country where residents may be
unfriendly toward Americans, your child doesn’t have their
own phone, you don’t know any French, and people in the
area might speak limited English. How do you deal with
this? Contact the police? Attempt to communicate with the
rest of your tour group and mobilize them? Do you search
ISSUE 25

with only your spouse? Try to call the child’s name?

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JOURNALIST AND MOTHER:
ISSUE 25
Prep
As any parent knows, a simple trip to the
grocery store with a child in tow can quickly
turn into a nightmare without some foresight;
so a trip overseas definitely entails some
heavy preplanning. To avoid any hiccups, I’d
focus on four areas:
Research and more research: Months
before we even set foot on an Air France
flight, I’d begin to meticulously gather data
about our French destination. Aside from
the usual hotel and restaurant recommenda-
tions, I’d seek out specific data on the tourist
locations we intend to visit. I’d want to know
when the busiest times are, if there are any
sketchy neighborhoods nearby, if there are
travel advisories for the area, and the location
of important establishments like police sta-
tions, hospitals, and the U.S. Embassy.
I’d pick up a physical map of the areas and
mark all these locations on my physical copy,
then also store the information in my smart-
phone. Since I always carry a notepad, I’d also
jot down relevant numbers like police, hotel,
etc,. to keep on my person should I need to
dial a number from another phone. To round
out my research, I’d familiarize myself with lo-
cal customs and etiquette so my family could
better assimilate into the local culture.
Bring on the tech: During the research
phase I’d also tackle technology. My first
step would be to call my particular cell
phone carrier and verify whether they ofer
international service and ensure I was placed
on that plan. I’d also inquire as to whether
my cell phone would work overseas. If not,
I’d purchase an unlocked phone that would
allow me to make and receive calls and texts
while in France. While I’m tracking down tech-
related information, I’d also take the time to
research GPS devices for my child. Though
we heavily emphasize sticking together, the
reality is that sometimes kids wander of. To
ensure we keep tabs on our 6-year-old, I’d
purchase a good GPS locator that we can use
while in France to track his location should
we become separated.
Learn the language: Communication
and the ability to understand basic concepts
Jacki Billings’ Approach
and words is vital when traveling overseas.
While I don’t expect my family to become
native speakers overnight, I’d insist that we
start learning French months before the
actual trip. I’d most likely sign us up for actual
classes, but if cost or scheduling proved too
dificult, we’d, at the very least, use software
or online tutorials. Setting time aside each
day to study, I’d make it a priority for us to
know how to communicate on a basic level.
In addition to actually studying, I’d invest in
a pocket phrase book/dictionary equipped
with basic and commonly used phrases for
us to keep on our person while in France.
This would prove useful if we need some-
thing specific and are conversing with a
French speaker who knows little English.
Prepping my child: One of the most
critical steps in the preplan process would be
prepping my child. Though visiting France
would be an exciting and fun-filled adventure
for him, it does mean lifting him out of his
normal schedule and routine. Doing so might
cause some unpredictable behavior that I’d
want to mitigate before stepping on French
soil. We’d start by including him in the French
lessons, teaching him basic words and
phrases to help him communicate. Know-
ing how to tell someone who he is, who his
parents are, and key phrases like “Help me”
or “I’m lost” would be vital should he become
separated or one of us become hurt or
injured while overseas.
We’d also make a point to continue review-
ing our policy on “bad guys” and how to
defend one’s self — information we’ve already
covered with our child but that we want to
continually refresh. Since he’s just 6 years old,
wielding a gun or knife isn’t really practical,
so I’d focus on encouraging him to use basic
self-defense skills to ward of potential kidnap-
pers. Criminals rarely want attention drawn to
themselves so if my child creates enough of
a distraction, he might prove too dificult for a
kidnapper to move to another location — an
act that likely leads to death.
To prep him for what he might face in
the real world, we’d role play to allow him
to practice yelling our names, screaming,
biting, scratching/gouging, kicking, and hit-
ting. Though we regularly reinforce what to
do if he becomes lost, we’d certainly amp
up those conversations. We’d review that
it’s best to stay put and yell for mom or dad,
using our real names, until we locate him. If
we’re nowhere in sight, we’d reinforce that
he should look for police oficers or security
guards to ask for help. Lastly, I’d purchase a
whistle for my child to wear while in France.
Since it can be heard more clearly over street
noise, we’d practice using it if someone tries
to grab him and run.
On Site
After a long flight trying to entertain a
6-year-old, I’d be ready to kick back at the ho-
tel for a bit. Before slipping into a jet-lagged
coma, I’d take a little time to attend to some
details. First, I’d confirm that our cell phones
do, in fact, work in France. If they consis-
tently show no signal, we’d purchase burner
phones to use while in country.
Once we got some rest and before we
headed out on our Champs-Élysées adven-
ture, I’d snap a picture of my child on my
phone. This picture could prove useful if he
became separated, with the most up-to-date
information on what he looks like and what
he’s wearing. Speaking of clothes, I’d also
outfit him in bright colors or patterns, such as
oranges and lime greens, so he’d better stick
out in a crowd and thus be easier to spot.
We’d review safety information with our
child, including what to do if he became lost
(look for police oficers in the area) and what
to do if someone tried to take him (fight and
draw attention). I’d also whip out the whistle
for him to wear around his neck as well as
the GPS locator watch I bought to track him.
Before we left the hotel, I’d verify the GPS
system is working properly with my phone to
make tracking my child easier and eficient.
Finally before heading out, I’d equip my
son with a sliver of paper from my handy
notepad with his name and age in addi-
tion to our information on it. This paper
would serve as an important tool should he
become too nervous to recall his French and
 WHAT
IF?

unable to communicate who he is and who Putting those French classes and our dic- search of our child, I’d look at my device to
his parents are. tionaries to use, my husband would commu- see if I can track our child via the GPS watch I
Once we arrived at the Champs, my nicate to the tour leader and group that our had slipped on his little wrist earlier. Best-case
husband and I would, once again, reiterate child is missing. While he was informing our scenario, it’d alert me to his location nearby;
that our child should always have “hands tour guide, I’d grab my cell phone to call the however, if we couldn’t establish his proxim-
on” mommy or daddy and that, at no time, police. Let’s say it had no signal in the area ity, we’d relay the GPS information to police
should he wander of or let go of us. We’d — I’d want to locate a working cell phone as as we followed the tracker. During this time,
also, again, review what to do if he became soon as possible. we’d keep eyes and ears peeled for any signs
lost or someone attempted to take him When we arrived on site, I found the Eng- of struggle in the crowd. Knowing that we
somewhere else. lish speakers in my tour group. I’d immediate- taught our child to fight back, create a scene,
While we gather with our tour group, I’d ly ask them to help me locate a phone and and cause as much noise and disruption as
take special note of the area. I’d look for start sweeping the area for signs of my child. possible, I’d be listening for my name or the
any individuals that seem out of place or Even if my phone has no signal, it does carry whistle and watching for gawking crowds or
as if they’re paying special attention to my a vital piece of information — the picture I signs of distress.
family in particular. If anything seems off, I’d
alert my husband so we could keep an eye
on them and a tighter grasp on our child.
This awareness would continue throughout
the tour.
As we prepare to embark on our tour, we’d
want to also take some time to familiarize
ourselves with our tour group and guide.
We’d look for anyone within the group who
speaks English and suss out any potential
dual French-English speakers. Introducing
ourselves would be the easiest way to ascer-
tain that information and become friendly
with those we’ll be spending the next few
hours with. We’d need to take some time to
introduce ourselves to the tour guide. While
I’d have selected a tour with a dual French-
English–speaking tour guide, we’d need to
check out just how much English he/she
knows so that if we need anything we know
the level at which we’ll have to communicate. took earlier. I’d pass the picture around the Assuming he hasn’t turned up by the time
group while I continued to call out for my police arrive on scene, I’d produce the pic-
Crisis child and track down a phone. ture of my child I snapped that morning. With
A parent’s worst nightmare — what Once we got a working phone, we’d use police now on hand, my husband would call
started out as the trip of a lifetime has quickly the notepad I carry with emergency num- the embassy and notify them of the situation,
devolved into panic as our child has gone bers to dial local police. We’d want to report hoping to be granted additional resources to
missing. Despite the fact that we’ve dis- our child missing as soon as possible. If our locate our child.
cussed at length that he should never let go child turns up nearby, a simple case of wan-
of mommy or daddy’s hand, he’s no longer dering of, we can simply apologize for his Conclusion
beside us. We’re left wondering whether he misbehavior with just mild embarrassment. A missing child is a terrifying ordeal for all
simply became distracted and walked of or if On the other hand, if he has been taken, parties involved, but preplanning to eliminate
more sinister forces are at play. quick police response and a perimeter might certain variables as well as staying aware
After calling his name and quickly search- save my child’s life. and responding quickly to his disappearance
ing our nearby vicinity, we’d make the While my husband is working with the tour would maximize our chances to bring him
ISSUE 25

decision to alert the tour guide and group. group and members begin spreading out in back safe and sound.

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SURVIVAL EXPERT:
ISSUE 25
Prep
Do My Homework: Planning and research
are a vital part of all forms of preparedness.
So the planning for a trip so far from home
would be much more extensive than the
planning for a local getaway. I’d endeavor to
find out as much information about higher
crime areas in Paris, then pick a hotel and
plan activities in a “safer” part of town.
We’d also take the time to learn a little bit
of the language. Yes, English is a common
language in Europe, but it’d be foolish to
expect everyone to speak a little English. To
increase our chances of successful com-
munication despite the language barrier, I’d
pick up an English to French dictionary. Any
traveler should know more than just “Where’s
the bathroom?” in the local language.
Wherever you travel, it’s smart to learn the
words for “yes,” “no,” “please,” “thank you,”
Tim MacWelch’s Approach
“excuse me,” “hello,” “goodbye,” “I don’t un-
derstand,” “I’m lost,” “Do you speak English?”,
and of course, “Where’s the bathroom?” And
make the efort to pronounce your new
words correctly — it really helps.
Set Up My Phone For Travel: The
ordinary mobile phone may not work “as is”
if taken to another country, but that can usu-
ally be remedied. Before the trip, I’d visit my
local phone carrier store and ask for help.
A great deal of confusion can be avoided
by working face-to-face with a professional.
There are several issues that can prevent a
phone from working abroad, and a knowl-
edgeable customer service rep should be
able to handle them all. They can tell me
whether the phone is locked or unlocked,
if the carrier has a partner in the city and
region I’ll be traveling to, and so many other
tech issues.
I’d also look into the possibility of purchasing
a local SIM card when I arrive in Paris, France.
This may be much cheaper than buying an
international phone plan or paying the high
price for roaming. And speaking of phones,
we’d need some phone numbers to call if we
ran into trouble. I’d write down the local emer-
gency numbers in Paris, and, just as important,
I’d get the number for the U.S. Embassy there.
School My Child: The lessons of “stranger
danger” tend to take away some of a child’s
innocence, but these are necessary lessons
in today’s messed-up world. Child abduc-
tions are a painful reality that must be faced
by today’s parents. The best way to face this
issue is to give our kids the tools they need to
recognize and react to a dangerous situation.
And while we don’t want to make children
paranoid, they really should be prepared for
dangerous situations.

Teach your little ones (and even your
teens) that they should never go with a
stranger, regardless of what the person says.
They should never get into a vehicle, go into
a room, or enter a building with a stranger.
Finally, children should be taught to listen
to their instincts. If any adult (even family
friends and acquaintances) asks them to
keep secrets, go with them unexpectedly,
or do anything that makes them uncomfort-
able, the child should shout “No” loudly and
go for help.
Going a bit further, children don’t always
need conventional weapons to defend
themselves. They can be taught self-defense
tactics (screaming, biting, gouging eyes) that
can be used during an attempted abduction.
And when the emergency isn’t an abduction,
just a simple matter of getting lost, we teach
our children to stay put.
A simple set of instructions (like stand
still and start counting) will give them
something to focus upon (besides fear),
and standing still makes them easier to
find. Finally, if your child realizes they’re in
trouble, instruct them to go to a uniformed
police officer or similar law keeper. You can
even specify that they go to a female law
enforcement professional, who may be natu-
rally less intimidating to a little child than a
male officer.
On Site
Once we reached Paris, my family made
our way to the hotel to relax. Our phones
were working, thanks to our eforts to ready
them for international usage. Due to the flight
time and the short winter days, we arrived
late in the evening, so we decided to get a
good night’s sleep before we began our ex-
ploration of the city. While the girls were get-
ting ready for bad, I slipped out to the hotel’s
little gift shop, where I bought an overpriced
local map.
Since I had no familiarity with the area,
this map would be a key part of navigat-
ing through the city. Bringing it back to the
room, along with some interesting-looking
French snacks, I then studied the street
layout carefully. This map would go in our
daypack as a reference, but we’d try to avoid
walking around with it. Standing there with
a map would be a dead giveaway we were
tourists, and that could draw attention that
we didn’t want. After tossing and turning
on the hard small bed (and suspecting that
bedbugs were biting me), we ate a cold and
wildly overpriced room service breakfast.
During the meal, we went over the hotel
name and address with our child, as well
as mom’s phone number just in case we
became separated. Every child should know
at least one parent’s phone number by heart,
starting at the youngest age possible. We
also made sure she was carrying a card in
her pocket with the hotel name and phone
number, and her name and our phone num-
bers. As we left the hotel, I grabbed one of
the hotel brochures for our daughter to carry.
WHAT
IF?
It had a picture of the building on the front,
as well as the address and phone number. I
folded it in half for her and she slid the bro-
chure into her pocket.
Crisis
From the first moment we lost track of
our child, my wife and I tried our hardest to
swallow the panic that’d be threatening to
overwhelm us. With our child missing, and
since we didn’t know if it was a kidnapping or
just a lost child, we informed the tour group
leader and approached the nearest authori-
ties patrolling the area. And we continued to
follow any parent’s instinct — calling for our
child — but we knew that a law enforcement
BOLO (be-on-the-look-out) would be even
more helpful than our frantic searching.
With the English-to-French dictionary
in hand, I communicated “lost” and “child”
to the first police oficers we found in the
square. Since our child had the hotel infor-
mation, my wife decided to go back to the
hotel, and I stayed in the park with a few
oficers and the tour group leader. After a
very tense 15 minutes, my mobile phone
began to ring. I was in shock from the whole
ordeal, so the phone rang a few times before
I was responsive enough to answer it. The
call came from my wife. She was at the hotel
with a very nice young female police oficer
— and our daughter — who had left my side
to look at pigeons and gotten disoriented. It
turned out that when the oficer saw a lone
child crying and looking around in a panic —
she intervened.
Our upset child didn’t remember the info
card in her pocket, just the brochure from
the hotel, but that was all that the oficer
needed to see. Overwhelmed with relief
and gratitude, I told the oficers and the tour
group leader, and I ran back to the hotel. My
wife, my daughter, and I held each other for
several minutes — so relieved that this had
only been a “lost child” situation and nothing
more sinister. And after another chat with the
police, we headed back to our room to regain
our composure and rethink our plans to visit
ISSUE 25
crowded places in Paris.
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ISSUE 25
Conclusion
When the worst has happened — your
loved one is missing — what can you do to
help? The first and most important thing
you can do to help your loved one is to
maintain your calm as best you can in the
terrifying situation and contact the authori-
ties. If the incident has happened in your
home country, of course you’d contact the
local authorities (and federal law enforce-
ment, if abduction was suspected). But if
the issue has occurred abroad, try to reach
your embassy or consulate to seek help.
In France and most other countries, you
can reach out to the U.S. Embassy and ask
for American Citizen Services. They can
coordinate with local law enforcement and
any American FBI ofices in the area.
If (for some strange reason) you can’t
get help from your own countrymen, then
you’ll have to rely on the local authorities
or local government ofice. Whoever ends
up assisting you, be patient with those
who are helping you and don’t expect a
quick resolution to this personal crisis.
Even though the odds of your child being
kidnapped by a stranger are very low in
the U.S., France, and most countries, it’d be
very nerve-racking to wonder “what if” for
even a short time while your child is lost.
For more information on protecting your
family, visit the website of the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children
at www.missingkids.com.
WHAT
IF?
About
the
Authors
Tim MacWelch
has been a sur-
vival instructor
for more than 20
years, training
people from
all walks of life,
including members from all branches of
the U.S. Armed Forces, the State Depart-
ment, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a fre-
quent public speaker for preparedness
groups and events. He’s also the author of
three New York Times-bestselling surviv-
al books, and the new Ultimate Bushcrat
Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching
survival or writing about it, MacWelch
lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his
family in Virginia. Check out more at
www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.
Jacki Billings is
a gun journalist
and single mom
of two. She holds
a black belt in the
Korean mixed
martial art of
Yongmoodo in addition to NRA Basic
Pistol and Refuse to Be a Victim Instruc-
tor certiication. She’s put in 17 years as
an American Heart Association Basic
Life Support instructor, teaching CPR,
irst aid, and BLS classes. With a degree in
journalism and a minor in criminology,
she uses her experiences and knowledge
to ofer classes through her training site,
Freelance Tactical. Check out more at
jackibillings.com.
026 OFFGRIDW
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ISSUE 25 WEB.COM
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SURVIVAL
LESSONS FROM
SOUTH
OF THE
BORDER
We Sit Down With Counter-Custody Expert
Ed Calderon to Learn More About
the Man Behind the Manifesto
Story by Tom Marshall
Photos by Mark Saint

A
t first glance, it’d be easy to overlook
Ed Calderon as a survival instructor. He
doesn’t walk around in bare feet, have
a lumberjack beard, or spend copious
amounts of time talking to a camera from
inside a tent. But the skills that one can learn from Ed’s
Manifesto aren’t meant for long-term prosperity in harsh
weather conditions. They’re meant to ensure survival in its
most immediate and primal context — the continuance of
one’s existence in the face of imminent physical danger
and threat of imprisonment.
Many survivalists consider the forces of nature to be
their ultimate foe, but the brutality of other human beings
may pose a far greater threat. Abduction by criminals is
one of the most dangerous situations that any of us could
possibly face. Mr. Calderon is more experienced than
most when it comes to this subject matter. He spent years
working in Mexican law enforcement, where he regularly
encountered the results of a nationwide epidemic of
kidnapping-for-profit.
In an article published by the Latin Times, Mexico experi-
enced a 245-percent increase in kidnapping between 2003
and 2013. To put hard numbers on that, in 2003, an aver-
age of 34 people were released from kidnaps each month.
In 2009, that number was up to 96 per month. By 2013
it was 1,162 per month. We spent several hours with Ed,
wherein he shed some harsh light on the reality of cartel
activity, philosophy, and the lessons he learned which he
now passes on to civilians, law enforcement agencies, and
military units around the country.
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Ed holding his RECOIL OFFGRID: Can you tell us a little bit about your
government childhood and where you grew up?
issued MP5
Ed Calderon: I was born and raised in Tijuana. I witnessed
somewhere in
Northern Mexico. my first cartel hit when I was 12. My mom and I were at a gas
station when four guys came out of a car and approached
the owner. They asked him a bunch of questions about who
he was. There was some back and forth between the owner
and the cartel guys, then they shot him point blank in the
face. My mom grew up in violent places as well, and knew
well enough to hide me behind the engine block.
How did this afect you going forward?
EC: Culturally speaking, my main influences growing up
were all American. Most of my friends were American, I
watched American television, and held American values.
My mom was very much the same way, and I got most of
my values from her. Originally, I never had any interest in
law enforcement. But I was in my second year of medical
school when Sept. 11 happened and put most of our [Mexi-
can] economy in the tank. I was looking for work and saw
an ad in the paper promising a career for young, unmarried
people who had stalled out in university. It was vaguely
worded, but I knew it was some kind of law enforcement.
That’s how I got started.
What can you tell us about your military/law
enforcement experience?
EC: I worked directly for the Mexican government. I went
through a selection process targeting young unmarried
individuals between 21 and 35. The selection lasted four
months, and was incredibly physically intensive. It was
designed specifically to weed out potential double agents
from the cartels. In addition to the physical training, every
candidate underwent a full FBI background check and
polygraph, financials investigation, and home visits. Being
trustworthy was vital.
After all this, we were placed into a regional police
academy in Northern Mexico — initial training here was
very much like military boot camp. The people in charge
of the training were primarily military oficers and former
Mexican Special Operations soldiers. One of them was
Colonel Leyzaola. There’s a documentary about him called
The Bravest Man in Mexico. They’d shave our heads with
a razor and make us do marching practice for hours in the
sun. Many of us would develop blisters on our heads from
being out so long. We weren’t soldiers, but the training was
highly militaristic.
After the first four months, it became more academic,
and we learned all the core functions of law enforcement.
Firearms training was cursory. We shot 50 rounds through
our Beretta 92FS pistols, about 20 rounds of shotgun, and
two mags or so through our AR and G3 rifles. Once we left
training and got to the field we were issued Glocks with
no holster and one spare magazine, plus soft body armor,
which didn’t do any good against the rifles carried by cartel
fighters.
In the field, we were formed into an operations group
that included members of my unit, military special opera-
tions, and various branches of Mexican police. Our primary
duties included anti-kidnapping and counter-narcotics
missions, including eradication of drug growing and
production facilities. We also conducted investigations and
executed high-risk warrants. But in many ways our work
was primarily preventive. We spent a lot of time looking
for clandestine transport hubs throughout the peninsula.
Sometimes we set up observation posts in an area of
known cartel activity. But we also followed up on local po-
lice reports and tips. In terms of movement, we had some
access to aircraft, but primarily used vehicles to patrol.
Were there any particular crime scenes or experiences
that left the biggest impression on you?
EC: There were several. One was having some of my work
colleagues be abducted. They went out as a pair, and were
picked up by fake federal police oficers. They were found
dead several hours later. One of them came up through

the unit with me, all the way back to the academy. It taught
me that we were “on” 24/7, with no ability to just relax after
hours. It instilled a fear that to this day is in the back of my
mind: It’s easy for somebody to just come take you.
During this time, the cartels had declared open season
on our unit. Anybody who could come in with our creden-
tials would be given a reward. Lieutenant Colonel Leyzaola
took this as a compliment. He had a lot of us stay at the
military barracks, and it caused us to change tactics from
law enforcement methods to counter-insurgency methods.
It really allowed us to bring the fight back to the cartel. This
was right around the time of Felipe Calderon’s [no relation]
“call to arms.”
Finally, there were several times that we would hit a
house or cartel facility and find background check notes
and personal information about members of our unit, pic-
tures of our houses and license plate numbers, and other
personal information. There were also Santa Muerte (holy
death) altars with pictures of our guys.
How does the occult play into cartel operations?
EC: Colonel Leyzaola used to say, “The hand that steals will
always hide. The hand that gives thanks will always show
itself.” What this meant was that cartel business opera-
tions are always very clandestine, but charity and public
works were very high profile. They regularly did things
like upgrading churches, paying for burials, and throwing
lavish quinciñeras in neighborhoods where kids don’t even
wear shoes. There’s a lot of faith involved in some of these
groups. They often used Santa Muerte altars. Some in the
cartels think this belief gives them an edge, or karma, in the
execution of their mission. It’s sort of an attempt to bribe
their way into heaven, or at least into success. There are a
couple of patrons that cartel members looked to for this
kind of extra boost.
One was Santa Muerte (“The Holy Death”), an old-
school Aztec religious deity. Santa Muerte is an under-
SURVIVAL LESSONS FROM
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
world goddess who, through the years, was influenced by
European religions, Freemasons, and even [famous Eng-
lish occultist] Aleister Crowley. She’s often seen as a “last
ditch” saint to pray to. If praying to other saints doesn’t
work, you pray to Santa Muerte.
Cartel members and police oficers would go to the San-
ta Muerte priestess to get protection rosaries made. These
are a promise to protect them as long as they pay her
— either in silver, because she doesn’t take gold, or blood.
For the latter, hit men or cops would have to acknowledge
that certain kills were done in sacrifice. There are rumors
about how these particular kills were marked. For example,
certain bodies would be found handcufed in the front or
left facedown, but it was all hearsay. But belief in Santa
Muerte is widespread, and not just within the cartels, either.
Soldiers, policemen, and politicians are all part of it, but
Below let:
their afiliation is often hidden from the public. The military
Fortiied
restraints with has standing orders to destroy any shrines or altars that are
angle cut zip-tie found during missions.
barbs in side The other occult deity is Malverde — a more regional,
the cuf, meant
to stab in to the
Sinaloa-based patron saint of drug trafickers. He’s depicted
victims wrist. as a young guy, well dressed with a moustache, sort of like
The cards are a Mexican Robin Hood (much like El Chapo is viewed now).
commonly seen
There’s a shrine to Malverde in Sinaloa where senior cartel
as part of the
cartels’ occult members leave oferings and thank you letters.
practices.
Do you think the media tends to ignore or falsify
information about cartels and the drug war? If so, what
Below: Ed going aren’t they covering that people need to know about?
through the EC: One thing I don’t see much coverage on is the fact that
anatomy of an
the cartels are already here. They’ve been having kids in
abduction at a
Counter Custody the U.S. that are now coming of age in places like Chicago
Class. and California, where most people wouldn’t think actually
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have significant cartel presence. Much of what they do is
aimed at the immigrant network, so it doesn’t get reported.
For example, cartel members will dress as ICE agents to
carry out abductions.
Also, we refuse to acknowledge that the drug war, as a
whole, is essentially a lost cause. Many Americans think we
can just throw money at the problem, and this has yet to
prove efective. Many of the resources that the American
people put into Mexico don’t go where people think it
should. The U.S. and its people should look more carefully
at exactly where their money is going. Viewing the drug
war as a foreign problem is dangerous because it blinds
people to the operations that the cartels are conducting
openly on U.S. soil.
Do you think legalizing drugs would help eliminate or
drastically reduce the problems we’re seeing on both
sides of the border? If so, how?
EC: I don’t see how. The cartels are diversified. Some of
the bigger ones make money through laundering, shell
corporations, and property holdings on both sides of the
border. They pay for people’s college degrees, immigration
processes, human traficking, sex traficking, stolen vehicle
and chop-shop rackets, and gun-running. They move meth
precursors (ingredients) from China. There’s extortion,
abduction, and protection schemes. Even if you legalized
drugs tomorrow they’d simply focus on the other parts of
their businesses. The problem is more systemic, rooted in
the political and cultural system. When I was on the job in
Mexico, I destroyed acres and acres of marijuana fields and
you guys [U.S. government] paid for the gas, the rifles, the
uniforms. Then I traveled to Colorado and walked into a
dispensary, and it really left me with a sense of futility and
wasted eforts.
How many of the kidnappings that take place in Mexico
Above: A small and in the U.S. are directly connected to the cartels?
assortment EC: In my opinion, probably around 80 percent is cartel
of Mexican
related in Mexico. The rest would be interpersonal violence
criminal occult
iconography, and or sexual predators whose crimes are specifically disguised
icepick death or carried out in a way to make them look like cartel activity.
threat, Malverde
I believe Mexico actually has one of the largest active serial
necklace and
Santa Muerte killer populations in Latin America.
rosarie. There are always rumors of organ harvesting for black
market sale in Mexico. From what I’ve heard, and my sourc-
es, some of that does happen. But there are also some
Above right: An isolated stories of more occult-related organ harvesting,
assortment of including for rituals or even for cannibalistic consumption.
premade and
improvised
escape tools that Walk us through what you think a typical kidnapping
Ed shows how scenario would look like — or is there such a thing as a
to carry and use
typical scenario?
in his classes,
including several EC: There is a wide variance in terms of how a target is
elements from selected and how surveillance is conducted. The environ-
SerePick. ment has a large impact on this — do the abductors have
police/military support? Is the kidnapper a former lover or a
family member? I start my material preparing for the point
of abduction. There’ll usually be some sort of observational
period, this could be anywhere from a few minutes to a
week or more, where the kidnappers are establishing pat-
terns of life, looking for an optimal opportunity for physical
abduction. There’s a process of figuring this out, which can
be widely diferent depending on the victim selection.
But you do usually see some type of restraint, whether it’s
physical, chemical, or psychological. Usually there’s a team.

The larger, more professional operations include a security
ring to block roads, chase vehicles, and lead vehicles. It usu-
ally takes three to four people to pull somebody into a van
or vehicle. Kidnappers dressing as military or local police
is also very common. There are ways to spot this — for
example, someone might be dressed as a soldier, but not
carrying the issued weapon of the local military.
Initial searches are typically very cursory. They’re worried
about being seen, so they bring the victim to some place
they can control, like a vehicle or pre-set room. They’re
betting on you being scared and overwhelmed and not
knowledgeable on how these things go down. During the
initial search, things can get missed.
Then there’s initial transport phase. At this point they’re
worried about 1) maintaining control of the victim, and 2)
if they were spotted by authorities or bystanders. This is a
good time to consider making a run for it, accessing tools,
or trying to fight. They may move you to a temporary
holding site like a parking lot, for a vehicle switch or to wait
and see if they were followed or noticed. At this point they’ll
likely perform a more in-depth search of the victim.
Victims may be incapacitated. After this, you get moved
to a long-term holding site. At this point you’re typically
down to your underwear and most of your equipment
will be gone. The long-term holding site will likely have
bars on the doors and windows, tarp or plastic sheeting
on the ground, windows covered with aluminum foil, or
SURVIVAL LESSONS FROM
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
makeshift cages. There’ll be equipment for long-term bond-
age — locks, chains, handcufs, etc. That’s when you know
you’re in for the long haul. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a latrine
bucket.
The plastic covering is put on the ground for two reasons:
first for cleanliness, because it’s easier to change out, and
second, it makes noise. There’s no way to move around
quietly on a plastic sheet. I’ve never seen or heard that part
discussed publicly.
How do kidnapping scenarios and motives difer from
country to country?
EC: In execution, there are differences down to what they
use to tie you up, how you’re held, the amount of torture
inflicted, and what the life expectancy is for somebody
getting abducted. Motivation is also key; religious and
ideological versus an organized criminal enterprise.
Specific environmental factors such as police or military
support for the kidnappers will also be different from
place to place.
What are the public’s biggest misconceptions about
how kidnappings are carried out? Overlooking the
EC: One of the biggest misconceptions is that people busiest border
crossing on the
believe they’ll be immediately thoroughly searched and
planet between
everything on them will be taken away. There’s actually a lot San Diego and
of opportunity to conceal tools, even past the abduction. Tijuana.
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People also believe they’ll never be able to overcome
the numbers. But there are lots of cases of people getting
away by either spotting the indicators before the abduction
or even jumping out of an abduction vehicle after break-
ing restraints. Training and equipment helps, but mindset
is probably the most important factor. Don’t give in to the
kidnappers’ illusion that they’re in complete control, and
you are helpless to fight back.
What’s the usual outcome for the victims if the kidnap-
pers’ demands aren’t met?
EC: Death is usually the immediate outcome. Body disposal
in Mexico occurs on an industrial level, and you will likely
never be found. They’re very professional when it comes to
body disposal. Caustic sodas, pig farms, and mass graves
are all over the place, and the forensic science isn’t at the
level where you will be identified post-mortem.

What factors make someone a target for kidnapping? You talk a lot on your site about understanding the per-
EC: Signs of wealth, demonstrated by their possessions. spective of a criminal or abductor. What do you think
Stress modiiers
used in some
Their social media, either through demonstration of wealth the average person should know about that?
of the more and status or establishing patterns of life and real-time loca- EC: They don’t have everything they need, and therefore
advanced tions. It’s an open window into your daily life that can be very they learn how to improvise. Criminals won’t go on the In-
counter custody
easily used to target you. If the abduction is ideologically ternet to order their equipment. People assume a lot about
materials include
the use of dogs to motivated, expressions of your nationality based on clothing, capabilities, but creativity is something that gets underesti-
get people in the language, attitude, body language, etc., can also be a factor. mated when assessing criminals.
right mindset.
Actress Kelly
Carlson and
What is the usual M.O. of the kidnappers? What’s the biggest lesson children should be taught
her dog, Kara, EC: Nowadays it’s very common for kidnappers to use social about potential abductions?
are seen here media to select and research targets. They may use your rou- EC: The value of resisting somebody trying to grab onto
participating
tine to help set up surveillance. They typically choose younger, you. A karate class or self-defense class isn’t enough. Any
in the demo
with one of Ed’s fitter, military-aged males for actual abduction teams. Targets sort of preparation of that nature has to include the par-
students. are almost always searched before they’re bound. ents. People should know that kids playing hide and seek

are learning a survival skill. Being able to incorporate a play
element doesn’t demean or devalue the training. It may
actually help them absorb the information. Even with my
students, I like to make a game of teaching them situational
awareness. I have them pass a card of on each other, with-
out the receiving student knowing the card is on them. The
loser may or may not have to sing karaoke.
Include your kids in any kind of training, like firearms or
survival, so they can get experience at a young age. There’s
no such thing as an R-rated abduction story for kids. They
need to know what the boogeyman looks like. It’s not gonna
be a guy in a trench coat ofering a lollipop. Evil has many
faces, and they’re usually pretty charming. It’s not about fear
mongering, they just need to be aware that those things are
real. Let them know the options, including breaking some-
body’s grasp. Above all, I think situational awareness is the
most valuable, and easily teachable skill for children.
Tell us about the types of courses you teach.
EC: I teach two types of courses, one mainly focused on
counter-custody or trying to escape any kind of irregular
custody. Much of the experience I draw on for counter-cus-
tody was simply based on what I witnessed in the field, as
opposed to any specific training I received. Also, just speak-
Kidnappers
won’t make it
easy on you.
Individual digital
restraints can be
used to negate
the manipulation
of escape tools.
Levis 504s are
great to hide tools
because of their
abundance of
pockets. Use of
seamstress tape
is an additional
way of making
tool concealment
pockets on
clothing.
SURVIVAL LESSONS FROM
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
ing to the Mexican populous and finding out how everyday
people prepare themselves for possible abduction. Being
abducted was a daily worry for our guys. We looked for
specific training in this skillset, and it was incredibly dificult
to find. So we reverse-engineered based of the tactics of
the cartels. But the courses I teach aren’t specific to cartel
abductions. I draw from anecdotal stories and parallels to
Middle Eastern and European threats as well.
Much of it revolves around making yourself a harder
target. But there’s also knowing what kinds of restraints
are being used. Everyone focuses on zip ties and duct
tape, but there are also psychological restraints, like telling
somebody their loved ones will be harmed if they escape.
Or restraint through mutilation, like cutting the bottoms of
the feet, or injecting saline solution into the soles of the feet
so you can’t run. There’s also chemical restraint through
being drugged or placed under the influence of narcotics. I
don’t see a lot of that information being taught, and I think
it’s something people should be aware of. I really like taking
the approach of having students use role play to self-assess
their situation and their own level of preparedness to con-
front these kinds of threats.
There’s a big movement to be the “gray man.” I believe
there are some limits to this theory. Instead of trying to be
a chameleon, be a zebra. Create a narrative other than your
real narrative and learn that. This will give you a camou-
flage regardless of where you are, instead of trying to blend
into each individual environment.
I also teach people how to hide things on their body.
How to sew homemade pockets and weave cordage into
their clothing. Most of these things I learned from the peo-
ple we chased, not the people who trained us. It’s a very
criminally based mindset, but it’s highly efective. Escape
tools must be carried redundantly in case you’re bound in
front or back. Criminals are looking at the same YouTube
videos you are. They’re researching the same social media
and Internet-based information you do. That black para-
cord survival bracelet isn’t fooling anyone. Example: They
are counter-acting the “body break” zip tie technique by
making angled cuts in the zip ties to slit your wrists when
you put weight on them. They are “hardening” their abduc-
tion techniques to beat SERE-level training. Also duct-taping
individual fingers to prevent access to tools.
My students learn to prepare accordingly for their region
before travelling there, and prepare for the kinds of threats
you actually are going to encounter. How to weaponize every-
day items. How to hide things on your body, and justify the
things you’re hiding. How to source or procure items locally. In
the end they must go through a full abduction scenario both
as an abductor and as a victim. Each scenario is debriefed so
that students can assess themselves going forward.
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There are also my Weaponology classes, which are more Then sometimes I’ll do small one-day classes on Mexican
focused on improvised weapons of both impact and pointy occult criminal practices and urban movement — the men-
kind, and how to get them past inspection. I have students tal aspects to movement through a hostile urban area.
practice on organic media. Basically I show them how to
use the worst, most evil street techniques that I’ve encoun- Speaking of weapons, what are the firearms laws like in
tered in my career. I also teach how to negate weapons Mexico? Do you think they’ve helped reduce crime or re-
access for an attacker. duced the general public’s ability to defend themselves?
EC: Firearms laws in Mexico are very strict. There aren’t indi-
vidual state laws in Mexico. There’s one blanket federal law.
It limits calibers, where you can buy a firearm, how many
Ed’s EDC
you can have, and where you can use them. Basically, you
PHLSTER Flat Pack SerePick ceramic razor, Flask (gifted, no
Tourniquet Carrier diamond wire, Advanced markings) can’t have anything outside of the parameters of the law.
LensLight flashlight Handcuff Key, mini Bird call (no markings) For example, a .380 Glock is legal to own, but you cannot
Oscar Delta SAD Tool chemlight, pee lighter Metal rat traps (bought
Oscar Delta Gulag Shim (these are concealed in Mexico City, no carry it. If you belong to a shooting club, you can take it to
Oscar Delta Poorman’s in some of the things in markings) the club and back. The only gun stores in Mexico are run by
Tablet the picture) Generic Scribe and
SerePick Bogota lock Tracker Dan Elvia knife soapstone marker the Mexican military. But everyone has a gun in Mexico. The
picks Eric Kramer Voodoo law is very strict, but only the law-abiding citizens follow it.
knife
The criminals are armed to the teeth. I think it’s one of the
saddest things that the culture of disarming the citizens is
still being pushed. Buybacks happen regularly and, usually,
there’s a spike in break-ins and robberies in an area immedi-
ately after a successful buyback. So I don’t think these laws
do anything to help anybody but the criminals.

What do you think most survivalists or TV survival

shows overlook about real-life urban survivalism?
EC: Actually doing their research on the cultural dimen-
sions of the region they’re moving into. I get a kick out
of these guys wearing 5.11 clothes and bracelets and big
bowie knives. I focus on “going local.” Religious iconogra-
phy, slang, sports teams, how those things will get you into
places you didn’t think you could get into, even without
speaking the language. Cultural research is just not some-
thing you see many people focusing on. For example, what
does being Catholic mean in Mexico? Does it mean they’ll
have a good place for me to sleep? Does it mean I can hide
out in a church? Or are those churches cartel-controlled?
Another great skill is how to barter — I can get into more
places by bartering. Learn what is of value to the people
around you. For example: SureFire flashlights get you into
Mexican nightclubs. Even without knowing the culture, I
know he’s a doorman at a nightclub, and light is important to
him. What do people need/want in that area? Also, bribery.
Knowing how to bribe somebody. Can you approach a po-
lice oficer in a third-world country? How much does it take
to get out of running a stop sign, or an accusation of DUI? It’s
not the most exciting thing to learn about, but it has saved
me in more situations than anything else. It can save you so
much hassle if you just do your research beforehand and
then talk to local people when you get there and “learn the
flavor.” I guess urban survival in a grid-down situation may be
 SURVIVAL LESSONS FROM
SOUTH OF THE BORDER
diferent than urban survival as a traveler in a hostile foreign
country. But bartering and bribery are universal.

What do you think is the one survival item people

should never leave their house without?
EC: A knife. A knife can be a medical tool, a survival tool, it
can make you other things, can help you make a fire. It can
also be used as a weapon. Historically, it is the No. 1 anti-rape
tool. Women in many cultures would always carry around a
small knife. There are accounts of this across history, from Vi-
kings to Japan to Indonesia. In Mexico, women carry knives a
lot, specifically prostitutes. It’s part of the reason many edged
weapons schools teach a lot of low-body targeting.

So what do you carry with you on a daily basis?

EC: A lighter, a roll of duct tape around that lighter, a small
knife (usually a Victorinox fruit knife because it belongs
everywhere). A set of titanium Bogota lock picks from
SEREPICK. Kevlar cordage because it’s pretty strong and
can be used to tie or to cut. It’s infused all over my body
through my clothing. A tourniquet. Finally, I always carry
a pack of cigarettes. I don’t smoke, but it helps make a lot
of friends. Oh, I do carry a silver flask of tequila, for two
reasons: because of its soothing alcohol goodness, but
also because the alcohol content is so high as to be almost
medical grade. This can make an excellent field-expedient
disinfectant. It also works as a social lubricant, in the sense
that taking a sip from a flask in public is a really reliable
conversation starter and friend-maker.

Ed Calderon
AGE: 35
HOMETOWN:
Tijuana, México
REQUIRED READING LIST
FOR SURVIVALISTS:
The Book of Five Rings:
A Classic Text on the
Japanese Way of the Sword
by Miyamoto Musashi
Social Engineering: The Art
of Human Hacking (2010)
by Christopher Hadnagy
The Liar The Cheat and The
Thief: Deception and the
Art of Sword
by Maija Soderholm
The Art of Deception:
Controlling the Human
Element of Security (2003)
by Kevin D. Mitnick
Black Box Thinking: Why
Most People Never Learn
from Their Mistakes — But
Some Do (2015)
by Matthew Syed
The Cartel
by Don Winslow
LAST MEAL REQUEST:
Four New York steak tacos
from Tacos El Gallo in Tijuana
— trust me on this one.
PERSONAL FIREARMS:
H&K MP5 and Glock 19
FAVORITE QUOTE:
Do not sleep under a roof.
Carry no money or food. Go
alone to places frightening
to the common brand of
men. Become a criminal of
purpose. Be put in jail, and
extricate yourself by your
own wisdom.
— Miyamoto Musash
URL:
edsmanifesto.com
036 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
ISSUE 25
VICTIM
PROOF
You or Your Child May be Targeted for Assault or
Kidnapping. Learn the Risk Factors and How to Stay
One Step Ahead
By Jared Wihongi
Photos and self-defense sequences courtesy of
Amber Staklinski and Ryan Hoover of Aperture Fight Focused
S
ixteen years ago while working as a
police oficer for Salt Lake City PD, I
was involved in an intense and frantic
search for a missing juvenile. It was the
stuf of every parent’s nightmare. In the
middle of the night, a cold and calculated psycho-
path crept through the window of a teenage girl’s
bedroom while her family slept. He kidnapped her
at knifepoint and, with the help of his wife, subjected
her to nine months of intense mental, physical, and
sexual abuse. Miraculously, the victim, Elizabeth
Smart, was found and rescued. Most victims of
such crimes aren’t so lucky.
Women and children continue to be some of the
most vulnerable members of society to crimes of
this nature. On average, 321,500 people are victims
of rape and sexual assault in the United States.
Eighty-two percent of juvenile victims are female.
Ninety percent of adult victims are female. Females
between the ages of 16 to 19 are four times more
likely than the general population to be victims
of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. Not all
crimes perpetrated against women and children
are sexual in nature either. The sociopathic nature
of violent criminals is to target those they perceive
to be easy targets. Another alarming statistic is that
there are 21-million people traficked for sexual ex-
ploitation worldwide each year, 96 percent of which
are women and girls.
So what steps can be taken to become less
vulnerable? How can we teach our loved ones to be
less vulnerable? Let’s examine some of the condi-
tions and environments in which crimes against
women and children commonly take place:
DISCLAIMER:
The concepts shown here are
for illustrative purposes only.
Seek professional training from
a reputable instructor before
attempting any techniques
discussed or shown in this story.
 Rapes and Sexual Assaults
Where:
48% of victims were sleeping or performing another activ-
ity at home when attacked
29% were traveling to work, school, or other places
12% were working
7% were attending school
Who: Statistically, it isn’t a masked man hiding in the
bushes who commits most of these types of crimes.
Sixty-six percent of rape victims know their assailant, while
48 percent are raped by a friend or acquaintance. Thirty
percent are perpetrated by a complete stranger.
When: The majority of rapes, 43 percent, happen during
the six hours between 6 p.m. and midnight. The second
highest six-hour window is midnight to 6 a.m., when 24 per-
cent of rapes happen. The remaining 33 percent happen
during the 12-hour time frame from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Alcohol is commonly a factor in rapes and sexual as-
saults. It’s the most common substance utilized in drug-
1. A woman loses focus of her surround- 2. She’s grabbed around the waist from
ings while buckling her daughter into behind by the first attacker.
her car seat.
5. She stays on the offensive, using the knife as an extension of her hand. She contin-
ues to strike with her empty hand while stabbing and slashing at the eyes, neck, and
whatever targets she can reach with the knife.
facilitated sexual assaults, considered the number-one date
rape drug. Approximately 50 percent of sexual assault
cases involve use of alcohol by the perpetrator, the victim,
or both.
Child Abductions
Where and When
Child abductions are most commonly perpetrated or
attempted when the victim is traveling to and from school,
or school-related activities, between the hours of 2 and 7
p.m. This accounts for about 32 percent of these crimes.
In 70 percent of child abductions, the perpetrator was
driving a vehicle, attempting to force the child into the
vehicle. The average age of child abduction victims is 11,
with 37 percent being between 10 and 14 years old.
These statistics help us understand the three themes
that constantly reoccur when teaching about situational
awareness: people, places, and things. Before learning
physical self-defense techniques, the most important thing
3. She lowers her base and gets her hips away from the at-
tacker, making it more difficult for him to lift her. As soon as
she breaks his grip, she attacks with elbows to the head.
6. After doing sufficient damage to ward of the first attacker,
she turns to face second one. She keeps her face covered and
hands up to stay protected and continues fighting.

to understand is how to avoid being in a position where
you’d ever need to use self-defense techniques.
Understanding statistics can help us know where, when,
and how these types of crimes are committed, which in
turn can help us with our general situational awareness
— not making assumptions as to who is or isn’t capable of
such crimes, and making sound decisions as to where we
should or shouldn’t be, and what we should or should not
be doing. It’s also important to train for situations in which
no matter what steps we’ve taken regarding awareness
and prevention, things sometimes just happen and we
need to be prepared. At the end of the day, we can’t hide
from the world, but we can prepare to defend against the
bad people in it.
Jef Cooper’s color codes can be valuable when
teaching general situational awareness and are worth
further study. As mentioned earlier, people, places, and
things are constant themes that come up with Cooper
color codes Let’s examine each of these themes in depth:
VICTIM
PROOF
People: Many people wrongly associate negativity
with the term “profiling,” when in reality profiling is an
essential component of situational awareness. While
profiling based strictly on race is certainly wrong, race
is one of many factors that contribute to an individual’s
profile. Other things include the individual’s gender, age,
size, hair style and color, actions, clothing, demeanor, ac-
cent/language, verbiage, personal belongings, and odor,
to name a few.
Does the profile of a person in your general environ-
ment stand out for some reason? If so, you might shift
from Condition Yellow — general awareness — into Condi-
tion Orange, or a heightened sense of awareness of one
or more people around you. Do they look, act, speak, or
smell like they’re intoxicated? Does their clothing suggest
they could be concealing a weapon? Does their general
demeanor suggest they’re nervous or paranoid?
Are they in a group, and if so how many? Are they in a
place where they shouldn’t be, based on the location or

4. While continuing to strike and turning to face the attacker, she draws a concealed fixed blade knife from her waist

7. The second attacker swings at her head. She 8. She counterattacks, punching with the pommel of the knife then stabbing and slashing until
defends the punch, using a reinforced high the second attacker flees.
cover, while preparing to counter attack.
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time? Instead of just teaching “stranger danger” to your
children, teach them to never approach a stranger’s vehicle
if being lured under any circumstances. Practice creating
“what-if” plans in your mind whenever you see someone
who has caught your attention. Teach your children to do
the same if approached by a stranger.
Places: Part of being situationally aware is being
aware of what kinds of situations you should avoid.
One thing I often say is “the fight you’ll always survive
is the one you’ve been able to avoid.” Avoiding places
Not being
aware of your that have a higher likelihood of getting you into trouble
surroundings is always a good idea when possible. This might be a
will make you certain part of town, a particular nightclub or bar, or a
a target. Trust
party where you know bad people will be or are known
your instincts
about things that to congregate. Teaching this principle to your children is
look out of place, essential. Not just where they shouldn’t be, but to avoid
like a stranger
being alone or traveling isolated routes while walking to
approaching
you while you’re and from school.
alone. Scan the Whenever you find yourself in unfamiliar environments,
area and remove whether it be another part of town or another country,
yourself from the
constantly be on the alert as to your surroundings. As-
situation if you
feel something sessing points of egress is also part of being familiar with
poses a threat. your environment. Whenever possible, position yourself
The ight you’re
with your back to a wall with visibility of entrance points
never in is
the ight you’ll and proximity to points of egress. Take advantage of
never lose. reflective windows or surfaces to see who’s behind you,
or casually stop to act as though you’re checking your
phone, if you feel you’re being followed to further assess a
situation. Prepared but not paranoid.
Things: Being aware of things in your general
environment can also highlight lifesaving information.
It might be something suspicious, like an unattended
bag or package in a subway station. It might be things
in the hands of a stranger who’s walking toward you in a
parking lot (or the inability to see what things he might
have in his hands). When something suspicious catches
your attention, be aware of what things you have in
your hands or are in the general environment that can
be used as weapons or distractions when hurled at an
assailant’s face. Don’t get too attached to material things.
If someone is stealing your wallet, purse, or car and
you’re confident that’s all they want, give it to them. Don’t
risk your life over replaceable things.
This may seem like a lot of information, so how can
we condition ourselves to a state of perpetual vigilance?
Try to make a game out of it. When in public, constantly
practice running “what-if” scenarios through your mind.
Not only is this a great way to become more aware of
your surroundings, but assessing “what-if” scenarios
can actually help you react much faster and more
appropriately to a threat should it materialize, and as
you’ve already identified it before it happened. To teach

ljubaphoto/istockphoto.com
 VICTIM
PROOF

1. Having recognized a potential threat, the mom sends her child to 2. The attackers are coming at different angles, so in order to keep
hide under the vehicle. She prepares the contents of her hands (a distance and create a distraction, she throws hot coffee into the face
mug full of hot coffee) to be used as an improvised weapon. of the first attacker.

3. Continuing to stay on the offensive, she turns to face the second 4. Using a backhand hammer type strike, she hits the second attacker
attacker, ready to strike with the coffee mug. in the jaw with the mug.

5. She immediately follows with an oblique stomp kick to the at- 6. Because the initial attacker is still a threat and blocking a safe entry
tacker’s knee. to the vehicle, she uses her shin ...

7. ... and boot to kick him in the head. 8. Once the threat is no longer imminent, she locates her child and
moves to safety while calling 911.

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your children, make fun games out of it. When in a bitten off more than they can chew. Research has shown SOURCES
supermarket or shopping mall, ask them to point out the some common patterns with children who escaped at- FOR
nearest exit. Where’s the car parked? The man who just tempted abductions. STATISTICS
> www.equality
walked by — what were in his hands? How many people 1. They were physically proactive in their defense, includ-
now.org/sex-
were in the room we just left? Help them to pay attention ing active resistance and running away when possible, trafficking-fact-
to people, places, and things. as opposed to passive behavior. sheet
> www.usatoday.
2. They were loud in addition to being physically aggres-
com/story/
Tools for Self-Defense sive, screaming and yelling to attract attention. news/nation/
Sometimes, no matter what steps you take to avoid a When being physically proactive, the more control a 2013/10/28/
bad situation, you may find yourself fighting to defend child can have in their aggression, the more successful alcohol-most
-common-drug
yourself. If forced into a self-defense situation, there are a they’ll be. Part of controlled aggression is to understand
-in-sexual-
few things that statistically have proved to be effective: the concepts of weapons and targets. In the absence of assaults/
Force multipliers. Weapons. In November last improvised weapons, empty-handed weapons include 3285139/
> www.parents.
year, a female jogger in Utah was sexually assaulted kicks, punches, elbows, knees, clawing attacks, and bit-
com/kids/
while jogging during the early morning hours. She was ing. Sensitive targets on the body should be the focus of safety/
carrying a knife for protection and was able to stab her these weapons. For example: stranger-
attacker several times, forcing him to flee. When dealing Clawing at eyes with the fingers safety/child-
abduction-facts/
with an attacker who’s larger than you, improvised Punches or elbows to the nose and throat
> www.missing
weapons or weapons by design can not only be great Knees or kicks to the groin, shins, or face, if it can kids.com/Key
equalizers, but they can turn the tide dramatically in the be reached Facts
> www.rainn.org/
defender’s favor.
statistics
Distractions. Like weapons, these can be improvised Conclusion
or distraction devices by design and can buy you time The goal as always is survival, and even if the prospect
to draw a weapon, deliver a counter-attack, or disengage of physically incapacitating a much larger attacker isn’t
from the situation. Examples of improvised distractions entirely realistic, just convincing them that they’ll be hurt
could be whatever you happen to be holding thrown into or caught can be enough to send them packing.
someone’s face. Examples of distraction devices could be Find ways to make yourself a hard target. Being within
a tactical light (strobe or otherwise), pepper spray, or a the most victimized demographic doesn’t mean you have
conductive electronic weapon (stun gun). to become a statistic. Don’t be of the mindset that it could
Martial arts: Fundamental, gross motor defensive never happen to you — that can put you in a vulnerable
techniques that tap into natural movement and athleti- state of mind. Rather, be of the mindset that it’s only a
cism can be easier to learn and retain at a functional level matter of time until someone will try to victimize you, and
for the long term. The sequences illustrated here incor- do all you can to be prepared for that moment.
porate these principles. While we give you some ideas
for self-defense to add to your tool belt, it’s impossible
to build a solid base of functional skills from reading an
article. You need to get out and train — even better under
the tutelage of a competent and credible self-defense in- About
structor. Locate and research martial arts schools in your
area and take trial classes to find an instructor you like.
Get involved in different groups and networks that host
the Author
self-defense or martial arts seminars and workshops. Jared Wihongi is a 16-year veteran law enforcement oicer with con-
Keep it fun, or it won’t last long. siderable time serving in the SWAT community, a specialist in close-
quarter combatives, and one of a handful of master-level instructors of
Fending Of a Larger Attacker the Filipino combat art Pekiti-Tirsia Kali. Moreover, Wihongi has more
Size and strength dynamics between prey and than a decade of experience instructing armed forces around the globe.
predator will always be a factor. But just like in the He’s the tactical consultant and frontman for Browning’s Black Label line
animal kingdom, it’s fully possible and plausible for of knives. Learn more about him at:
much smaller prey to drive off their would-be attacker. www.jaredwihongi.com.
Many predators aren’t willing to get hurt or risk getting
caught, and will quickly flee once they realize they’ve
044 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
ISSUE 25
BURIED
TREASURE
Learn Why You Should Cache
Important Survival Implements. Then
We’ll Show You How
ou fled your home several days ago when
Y you received word of mass rioting heading
your way. You haven’t eaten since losing
your bug-out bag to a horde of attackers
two days ago, but you managed to get away
with a few cuts and bruises — and most importantly, your
life. You’re cold, tired, hungry … and still at least 20 miles
from your bug-out location.
As you crest the next hill, your mood improves as you see
how close you are to that proverbial X that marks the spot.
Within an hour, you’ve dug up one of the caches you squir-
reled away along your planned route, and if your upturn of
luck continues, you’ll recover the rest and replenish your
supplies. You now have water boiling over a fire, almost
ready to pour into a bag of freeze-dried food. You’re warm,
dry, and just about ready to tackle the last leg of your jour-
ney. Morale is improving, energy is returning, and gratitude
is at an all-time high because you’d taken the time to bury
By Jim Cobb
these important items. Who knows what’s become of those
who thought they’d never encounter this situation and never
bothered to stash some lifesaving tools.
A cache, pronounced “cash,” not “cash-ay,” is simply a
collection of gear and supplies you’ve hidden away for
future use. For the last few decades, they’ve traditionally
been made using PVC tubing of various diameters. I was first
introduced to the concept back in the mid-1980s in a book
by old-time survivalist Ragnar Benson.
Other common cache containers include ammo cans
and 5-gallon plastic buckets. The popularity of geocaching
has led to the creation of many types of purpose-built cache
containers in every imaginable size and shape, from small
ones the size of a 35mm film canister to caches resembling
a log.
The size of the cache container dictates what you can
stash inside. Fortunately, many of the high-priority items we’ll
want to cache aren’t that large.
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While camou- Shelter small, easily storable, and filled with purified water. Most
lage is obviously
One of the first survival needs you may need to address are rated to last a few years. Depending on the company’s
an important part
of stashing your is protection from the elements. If you read the news ratings, the pouches usually won’t burst if they freeze,
cache, the last recently, we had snow in all 50 states at the same time. though you should be careful to bury your cache well
thing you want In other words, don’t overlook the importance of staying below the frost line anyway.
is for someone
to ind and steal warm. Items such as an emergency blanket take up very Cache enough water pouches to prepare at least a
your goods. little space in a cache. A bivvy may be beneficial as well. A couple of meals as well as to hydrate you and those you
Always consider wool hat, cold-weather gloves, and a shemagh will help if expect to be with you. Two pouches equal one cup, and
burying your
you’re forced to bug out in the cold months. there are 16 cups in a gallon. Health authorities commonly
goods in a rust-
proof, watertight Space permitting, consider tossing in a small tarp and recommend eight 8-ounce glasses (or a ½ gallon) per
container. cordage, such as tarred bank line or paracord. This will person, each day. It may sound like a daunting task to
allow you to construct an expedient shelter to protect cache this much water, but it’s all about prioritizing — you’ll
you from rain, wind, or snow. An extra pair of socks may be thankful you did if it means the diference between life
also prove to be something you never thought you’d be and death.
so excited to see again, especially if you’re desperate for In addition to the water pouches, the second prong
warm, dry clothing. to fulfill your hydration needs would be to cache a small
water filter and collapsible container. Check out RECOIL
Water OFFGRID Issue 15 for our buyer’s guide on water filters.
Use a two-pronged approach to meeting hydration A receptacle for water, like the Aqua-Pouch from Survival
needs with your cache. A variety of companies make Resources, folds flat, and takes up almost no space in a
water pouches. You often see these in first-aid kits; they’re cache, but will hold a full liter of water when deployed.
Continues on Page 50

Selecting
Cache Locations
Once you’ve built a cache, you need to ind a home
for it. One of the best locations, of course, is hidden on
property you own. If you own the property, there’s nobody
to complain about digging holes. Next on the list would
be property owned by someone you know and trust and
who has given you permission to place a cache there.
The next option is public land. Here’s the thing, though
— legalities. There may be a nice park down the street
that has an out-of-the-way corner you like or you might
fancy the area right beneath the headstone of a deceased
relative, but if there’s a big patch of dirt that looks like it
was recently dug up, some city employees or groundskee-
pers who routinely landscape and service the area might
check if someone put something there they shouldn’t.
The trick is to ind places that won’t be disturbed or look
like an obvious burial site. You wouldn’t put that hide-a-key
that mimics a rock in an area where it’s the only rock and
sticks out like a sore thumb, would you? Even if you have
that perfect place next to a power pole in an easement
that gets little foot traic, you’re likely prohibited from
digging in public locations. But like Ed Calderon (featured
elsewhere in this issue) would say, “What you’re allowed to
do and what you can do are two diferent things.”
BURIED
TREASURE
Think it through and determine what direction you’ll
likely head in an emergency and bury caches along
the way in areas that make sense. Do your research
on the ownership of the land, any proposed future
construction, or any other circumstances that could
put you in jeopardy if your belongings are found. If you
cache a firearm, you can imagine what would happen
if someone finds it. If you feel you have to store in
locations that flirt with legal ramifications, do so at your
own risk.
Also, don’t be like Vern in Stand By Me, with only a
general idea of where your jar of pennies was buried.
Keep a map (and copies of that map) in your bug-out bags,
vehicles, in your wallet, and anyplace else you can think
of to help you easily locate your caches. Practice finding
them to help become more familiar with those locations
in case of an emergency. Sometimes geography, foliage,
landmarks, and various other surroundings change over
time. Think of all the times you’ve returned to a location
a year later to find that it looks quite a bit different. What
good are caches if you can’t find them? Check your
locations at regular intervals to ensure your survival
trove is still there.
ISSUE 25
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Your first trip should be to the hardware store to pick up

DIY SURVIVAL some ABS or PVC pipe. We chose 4-inch-diameter ABS. It has
a fair amount of space to store supplies, is easy to bury, and

CACHE
Creating a PVC Pipe Storage Solution
By Ryan Houtekamer
fits easily in hand or a bag. You’ll also need an endcap, test
plug, and some PVC or ABS cement.
Black tube is ABS; white is PVC. For all intents and pur-
poses for building a cache, you can’t go wrong with either.
ABS is said to be a bit stronger and able to better withstand
cold, but it’s really more a matter of using what’s available
here are many reasons why you’d want to build a wa- and large enough to store the contents you wish to cache.
T tertight storage container. Here we walk you through
one method to make your own, small cache.
These pipe segments are the main components of your
storage system. You can cut or have a length of pipe cut to
your preferred size at the hardware store, but for this cache
Tools and Parts Required project, we focus on a 1-foot length of ABS pipe.
Tape Sandpaper You can cut it yourself using a chop saw or handsaw. The
ABS or PVC pipe cement PVC or ABS pipe of taller your blade, the straighter the cut you’ll get. A hacksaw
Handsaw required diameter will tend to wander when you make the cut, so try using a reg-
Thick grease PVC or ABS pipe endcap ular handsaw for wood. Once you’ve cut your pipe, clean the
2x plastic bags String/paracord edges of the pipe to ensure it seats well. Run a fine-toothed
Test plug Desiccant file or a piece of sandpaper over the outside and inside edge

A few materials
required:
1. 1-foot ABS pipe
2. Desiccant
package
3. ABS cement
4. Test Plug 1 2

3 4

to clean it up. This will get rid of any burrs from cutting it and
allow you to get a better seal.
Next, test-fit your endcap onto the pipe and use tape to
mark where it ends on the tube. This isn’t obligatory, but
it ensures that you cover the entire area of overlap with
adhesive. When taping something that you plan to remove,
double over the end of the tape to make a small tab. This
makes it much easier to pull of. Take the cap of and run the
brush from your can of cement around the inside edges of
the cap. Do the same for the outside surface above the tape
on the pipe. Don’t worry about getting adhesive on the tape
since you’ll pull it of later. Remove the tape and slide the cap
on. Give the cap a quarter turn, as this will help the adhesive
spread out.
With the bottom capped of, wait until the cement has
dried and start placing items inside the tube. The first thing
you should put in the tube is the desiccant pack. This will
help control any moisture inside the pipe. If you can’t pro-
cure a desiccant, you can improvise with a small sock filled
with cat litter.
1 Sand burrs 2 Sand edges
4 Cement here and there 5 Cement cap
7 Make Paracord Loop 8 Pull supplies out
BURIED
TREASURE
This next part is optional, but we definitely recommend
it. Place your items in a bag and wrap a loop of cord around
them, which will make much easier to pull the items out of the
tube later (think of how some tubes of survival matches are
packaged). We also toss another desiccant pack in the bag.
Never hurts to ensure your contents stay dry.
With your desired items stufed in the tube, we need to seal
it from the elements. This is where the test plug comes in. You
may have seen other caches constructed using a screw-on
PVC endcap. The issue with this method that you might need
a wrench to open it. The test plug uses a butterfly nut that you
can screw with your fingers to get a seal.
When you tighten the nut, it crushes the rubber seal, forcing
it into the interior walls of the pipe. We recommend greasing
up the metal parts heavily, though, to save you some grief
later. For a bit of added security, take your last bag, toss it over
the pipe, and then tape it to the pipe. This will keep any excess
moisture from afecting the test plug and your metal parts.
When you dig it up, you just need to tear through your bag
and unscrew the top.
3 Mark area to be glued
6 Twist
9 Voilà!
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ISSUE 25

Food
Storing food items in a cache can be somewhat
problematic as you can’t rotate the supply like you would at
home or in your bug-out bag, but that doesn’t mean you’re
totally without options. What you put in your cache might
be there for years, and it’s up to you to be cognizant of
when it was stored and how long it’ll last buried.
Stick with dehydrated or freeze-dried options. These
require nothing more than hot water to prepare, and you
can rehydrate the food right in the pouch. The amount of
water needed is noted on the pouch, typically one or two
cups. It isn’t absolutely necessary to use hot water. Cold
water roughly doubles the time needed to rehydrate the
food, but hot water does improve the taste considerably
and won’t decrease your core temperature.
Depending on the size of your cache, a metal pot large
enough to boil water as well as utensils could also be stored.
Check out our portable utensil buyer’s guide in Issue 23.
cool and dry, most remedies will remain viable for many
years, even after the stamped or printed expiration date
on the package. Exceptions to this include nitroglycerin
and insulin. For each medication you plan to include in the
cache, do your homework and talk to a pharmacist or your
doctor to determine just how long they’ll remain useful and
under what conditions they’ll become toxic or inefective.
You can also use a vacuum sealer (see Issue 10) to seal
and protect items that you store in your cache. Items in
vacuum sealed bags aren’t too pliable once they’re sealed,
so give some prior thought to how you group your items
and consider trimming bags to fit your items.
A cache is a great way to supplement your bug-out
bag and other gear. Like most of our survival supplies, we
hope we’ll never truly need them, but it’s reassuring to
know it’s there.

Fire
Fire is life. You’ll need a way to heat the water for your Storage Units:
freeze-dried vittles, stay warm, dry out, and just generally
keep your morale up. Store multiple ways to light a fire. The Ultimate Cache?
Options include good quality disposable lighters like BICs,
a waterproof container of strike-anywhere matches, and a We know what you’re thinking. Self-storage places are
ferrocerium rod with a striker. Waterproof matches should usually in the heart of the city, and that’s exactly where
also be considered. Bottom line — have multiple methods you don’t want to be if things are falling apart. Look a little harder,
to start a fire stored in case one unexpectedly fails. and you’ll probably ind storage places that are of the beaten path
Packing lighters in a sealed plastic bag will help reduce but still readily accessible.
any chance of corrosion if your cache leaks, or having fuel Many people use a storage unit at some point. Why not have it
from the lighters leak and afect other stored items. serve double duty? Choose a location that would be along your
In addition, pack tinder of your choice in a sealed bug-out route and that isn’t likely to be a bad area to visit in a crisis.
container within the cache so it stays dry. Instafire is a great Along with your old dishes and photo albums, store some survival
store-bought option, as are WetFire Cubes. A common DIY gear and supplies. Make extra sets of keys to keep in various places
option is cotton balls smeared with petroleum jelly. You won’t so you won’t have a problem accessing it. This isn’t a perfect solution
want to deal with finding dry tinder if it’s pouring rain out. for everyone, but for those who can make it work, it might be exactly
what they need.
Tools
A good knife is one of your most valuable assets in a
survival situation. Got a few? Stash one in each cache you
create. Lighting is also beneficial, so think about storing
some flashlights in your caches. Store the batteries
separately from the light. Toss in a few chem lights as
well. They glow very bright and don’t require batteries to
operate; simply crack and shake.

First aid
You, or someone with you, might very well be in rough
shape when it comes time to access the cache. Adhesive
bandages, gauze pads, and other basic first-aid items
should store just fine. As for medications, if they’re kept chandlerphoto/istockphoto.com
MAKE THE
RIGHT CALL
How Pay Phones and Household Landlines Might End Up Being
Your Lifelines During an Emergency
By Richard Duarte
andline phones and public telephone booths were
L once as common as typewriters, transistor radios, and
corner mailboxes. Fast-forward 30 years, however, and
everything about how we communicate has drastically
changed. Today, pay phones and landline phones are
on the endangered species list, while the use of cellular and Internet-
based phone networks has exploded.
In January 2017, a report from the Pew Research Center concluded
that the vast majority of Americans (95 percent) now own a cell-
phone of some kind. With so many cell phones, and the proliferation
of high-speed internet communications, are pay phones and landline
phones really just a relic of the past? And can the wired technology of
the last century be of any practical use in an era dominated by smart
devices and the ever-growing availability of wireless comms?
Pay phones and landline phones may be going the way of the di-
nosaurs, but if you know where to look, there’s still tremendous value
to be found in this dated technology.
In this article, we discuss how the landline phones that many folks
consider to be dead and buried may actually still have quite a bit
more to ofer, especially when the high-tech modern communica-
tions systems we rely on go dark.
The Wireless Revolution
It all started on April 3, 1973. On that date, Motorola engineer
Martin Cooper made the world’s first mobile phone call. The historic
call was reportedly made to Motorola’s main competitor at Bell
Systems to let them know that Motorola had done it first — it must
have been some conversation.
Ten years later, the world’s first mobile phone hit the market at
a cost of $3,995 (roughly $5,800 in today’s money). Few people at
that time could have ever imagined just how significant that first
call really was, and how it set in motion the events that’d change
everything about how we communicate.
Today, locating an actual landline phone or even a public pay
phone is getting more and more dificult. Mobile phones and wire-
less devices are ubiquitous, and they've all but replaced their wired
predecessors. However, that smartphone of yours may wind up as
little more than a paperweight if the grid goes down.
The Achilles’ Heel
Technology can be a wondrous thing. It ofers comfort, conve-
nience, and a multitude of amazing features. But it can also foster
a potentially dangerous dependency. Almost 45 years since that
first mobile phone call, many people have been lulled into exclu-
sive reliance on wireless communications and mobile devices for
all of their daily needs. Smartphones are now used to not only
make phone calls, but to send and receive all sorts of personal
and financial data.
This undeniably convenient technology is often taken com-
pletely for granted and is expected to function flawlessly and
without interruption, no matter the circumstances. Few people
actually consider the possibility that cell service may one day be
interrupted by a natural or manmade disaster. Fewer still have
any backup plans should their wireless devices stop working. This
unrealistic reliance tends to create a false sense of confidence and
can potentially result in very serious consequences.
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A natural disaster One recent example is Tropical Storm Harvey, which made
could wipe out landfall along the Texas coast on August 25, 2017, bringing
cellular networks
indeinitely.
winds in excess of 100 mph. According to the Federal Com-
Spend some munications Commission (FCC), Harvey’s impact resulted in
time research- widespread cell blackouts, including the disruption of 17 emer-
ing where public
gency call centers and 320 cellular sites. In a few Texas counties,
pay phones are
located in your blackouts afected more than 80 percent of the cell sites. (In
area or invest in Aransas County, Texas, for example, 18 out of 19 cell sites report-
a landline so you edly went down.)
have alternative
methods of com-
When the stakes are this high, overreliance on wireless com-
municating in the munications can have serious consequences. Enter the landline.
event of outages.
What’s a Landline?
During the majority of the 20th century, the only way for
most people to place or receive a telephone call was to use
a landline phone — public or private, these devices could be
found just about everywhere.
A landline telephone uses copper wiring to make and
receive phone calls, as opposed to a cellular phone that uses
radio waves. Landline phones can be hardwired (tethered)
directly to the dedicated physical phone line or can use a
cordless handset that’s connected wirelessly to a fixed base
unit nearby that’s then hardwired into the landline.
In a nutshell, the landline between the home and the
phone company consists of a pair of copper wires. The phone
paylessimages/istockphoto.com
company supplies the power needed to operate the phone,
assuming that the landline phone isn’t cordless. This is why
landline phones often continue to work even during severe
weather and widespread power outages — they have their
own power supply. If the phone was cordless, then you still
needed an independent power supply to power the operation
of the corresponding base unit.
Today, many home phones (even the ones with wires) are
connected not to an actual landline, but to the internet — a
cheaper alternative. This is called Voice Over Internet Protocol
(VoIP). Internet phone plans often provide access to both
domestic and international calling options; you can keep your
existing phone number. The phone operates in much the
same way as its landline predecessors — you even get a dial
tone. However, there’s one major diference — calls are placed
over an internet connection. In order for the phone to work,
you must have electricity and a fully functional internet con-
nection in your home or ofice.
In comparison to cell phones and VoIP, a landline phone is
almost bulletproof. Even if the grid power in your neighbor-
hood goes down, the landline phone will continue to work so
long as the telephone company's independent power source
stays live; this is a huge advantage over a phone that relies on
grid power and the internet. Public landline pay phones oper-
ate in much the same way.

Public Pay Phones - Pay As You Go
By some estimates, there are now fewer than 500,000 pay
phones in the entire United States. While these relics of the
20th century are becoming a very rare sight, if you happen
upon one, you should be prepared to pay.
Most of us are accustomed to dialing a number and getting
connected with no concerns about costs or with making
immediate payment. Public pay phones, such as those found
in train stations, government buildings, and hotels, charge
varying rates depending on the type of call you make and the
length of the conversation. Some of these rates can be much
more expensive than what a similar phone call would cost
on a cellular phone, private landline, or internet-based phone.
Make sure to confirm those costs before placing your call. To
make payment for the call, there are a number of options:
Cash/coin Pick up the receiver, drop in the coins, and dial
the desired phone number when you hear the dial tone. (And
hope the phone doesn’t eat your change.)
Credit cards Can be used to make long-distance calls on
landlines or public pay phones. Rates can be very expensive
for these calls.
Prepaid calling cards These cards are available for
purchase for a flat fee and can be used to make long-distance
calls using an access number and a PIN that’s printed on the
back of the card.
Collect calls Also known as a reverse-charge call, this is
when the calling party requests that the person being called
pays for the charges. This type of call requires approval from
the paying party and can be expensive.
Toll-free numbers Calls to toll-free numbers don’t
require payment. Here’s a survival tip: Individuals can obtain
a toll-free number for themselves (i.e., 888, 877, or 866). A
toll-free number means others can call you for no cost to the
caller. This may come in handy if family or other members of
your inner circle are trying to reach you during a crisis.
Remember that you can always place an emergency call to
“911” or to an operator “0” at no charge from any pay phone in
the U.S.
Note: International calls from the U.S. work much the same.
To phone another country, dial 011, the numerical code for the
country you’re calling, and the phone number. Payment for
these calls can be made by one of the methods shown above.
Survival Ready
Understanding the diferences between landline and cel-
lular phones makes it easy to see the distinct benefits and
advantages. Since you most likely already have a cell phone,
consider adding a landline phone to your survival plan for
additional communications options. The following is a list of
our top five tips for incorporating landline phones into your
survival planning:
MAKE THE
RIGHT CALL
Add a landline phone. Call your local provider and find
out if true landline service is still available in your area and
how much it will cost. Remember you’ll also need a landline
phone with a physical cord that’ll connect to the telephone
wires coming into your home. Adding a cordless phone to
a landline defeats the purpose of having a landline, since
cordless phones still require electricity and/or a rechargeable
battery to power the base unit.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Since internet phones are often
plugged into traditional-looking phone jacks, it’s sometimes
dificult to distinguish between a true landline and a VoIP
phone. If you’re in doubt, call your service provider and ask,
or look at your phone/internet bill. One sure way to find out
is to cut all electrical power going into your home at the
main circuit breaker panel. If the phone still works, even with
all the power cut of, it’s a true landline.
If the power goes out and you’re using an internet phone
service, you’re big-time SOL. A true landline has its own
power from the phone company, which is used to energize
the phone itself and to transmit the call signal. With an
internet phone, you need electricity to operate the modem
and the internet connection. It’s confusing because AT&T,
for example, sets up your internet phone service so that it’s
routed through the home’s modem, but it’s still wired into
the telephone copper wires within the home.
To any casual observer, it’s dificult to tell that it’s not a
landline since the phone plugs into the wall jacks and looks
just like a normal landline phone. But if the power goes out —
that’s it. You’re toast and can’t use the landline.
New Doesn’t
Mean Better
According to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion, (yes, CDC has been tracking phone ownership in the U.S. since 2004)
landline phones are rapidly losing ground against mobile phones. The follow-
ing table shows the dramatic shit that’s taken place in just the last 12 years.
2004 2016
U.S. Households with a landline phone: 92.7% 45.9%
U.S. Households with a cell phone only: 5.0% 50.8%
The numbers for younger Americans were even higher. “More than 70 per-
cent of all adults aged 25 to 34 and of adults renting their homes were living in
wireless-only households,” according to National Center for Health Statistics.
Public pay phones have fared no better. Since reaching a peak of 2.6 mil-
lion in the mid 1990s, public pay phones now number fewer than 500,000
in the entire United States, according to the American Public Communica-
tions Council.
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Just because On a true landline, the phone company runs copper wires copper wires aren’t damaged or cut. Although you may have
a home phone to your house that connect directly into the phone (without an older home built with a phone jack that was once powered
is wired into a
pre-existing jack a modem to translate audio signals into data to transmit over by a copper wire setup, that doesn’t necessarily mean your
doesn’t necessar- the internet). This phone will work come hell or high water, as current phone system still operates through the original infra-
ily mean it’s on long as the signal from the phone company is intact and the structure. Again, call your home phone provider to check.
the older copper
Get a community landline. If you can’t aford the
wire system with
its own power RR-Photo/istockphoto.com monthly cost of a landline all by yourself, consider a commu-
source. Ask your nity landline to be shared among neighbors. This arrange-
landline phone ment allows various people to pool their resources and get
provider if your
system is routed one landline to be shared among all the paying neighbors. If
through a cel- the cost is split among a small group, it becomes way more
lular network or afordable, while still providing benefits to the entire group.
not. A landline
Do your research. Do a search of your immediate area
powered by a
cellular network for public landline pay phones and mark the locations on a
may not work map. Knowing where these phones are in advance of a di-
in the event of a saster will save you time and efort at a later date. Start your
power outage.
search in the likely places — train stations, libraries, airports,
government buildings, bus terminals, and schools. Just make
sure that these locations will be accessible during a crisis.
Don’t forget to look in other independently owned places —
bars, restaurants, gas stations, and convenience stores.
You can also do an internet search for “nearest pay phone”
and orient to your address. Sometimes these searches can
be outdated, so if you’re searching somewhere nearby, scout
them out ahead of time to ensure they’re still in the location
identified by your online search and fully functional.
AT&T or other providers own their pay phones. They
place them based on how much profit they might make.
It’s up to the phone company and property owner to keep
them in service. In many cases, pay phones have been
removed at city facilities over the years because they were no

Travel Telephone Tips

If you go abroad without a mobile phone, you can still stay in
touch using public telephones. Below is a summary of how using
public phones may difer abroad and some of the standards you
should know if you’re in a foreign country.
Even though public pay phones are also disappearing in other
countries, many can still be found in train stations, post oices,
and other government buildings.
The most cost-efective way to place long-distance and interna-
tional calls is to use a prepaid calling card. These phone cards can
be purchased at your destination from train stations, newsstands,
and street concessions. Or you can buy them in the U.S. prior to
traveling. Buying a calling card in the U.S. will allow you to famil-
iarize yourself with the calling procedures and costs in advance,
while avoiding possible scams.
Be advised that not all public pay phones in foreign countries
accept coins. Be prepared to make payment with a calling card or
a credit card
If all else fails, remember that you can still try your luck with
a public computer at an internet café or a hotel lobby. Using one
of these devices, you can try to make an internet call, or use a
Google or Skype account to log in and place your call. Planning
ahead will save you time and money, and keep you connected.
(Be very guarded with your personal information on public
computers, especially with credit card information.) Another
option is to subscribe to a satellite phone service, though this can
be extremely expensive depending on your needs and destina-
tion. Like anything, your layers of protection and communication
should be layered.

longer used — hence no profit. AT&T and other companies
required a certain profit from the pay phones and forced
property owners to pay if the phones on their property
didn’t produce. Because of that, many property owners are
removing them permanently.
Purchase a calling card. A calling card will allow you to
use a public pay phone to make calls (local or long distance)
without having to keep a pocket full of change or a credit
card. A calling card can be useful even when using another
person’s landline phone, since you can call anywhere with-
out worrying about the charges.
Maintain a physical list of names and phone num-
bers. Speed dialing is eficient and very convenient, but it
also makes it really easy not to have to remember phone
numbers. Maintain a list of important telephone numbers
and have various copies as backup. Like older phones them-
selves, using an address book to maintain current contact
info or making regular prinouts will come in very handy
when you need it.
More Bad News for Landline Phones
If you live in any of the 21 states (Alabama, Arkansas,
California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Ken-
tucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada,
North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, and Wisconsin) where AT&T is the primary telephone
service provider, you may soon need to say goodbye to
your landline phone service.
Reportedly, AT&T has been spearheading eforts for
legislation to end landline phone service in those markets.
According to reports from the Chicago Tribune, lawmakers
in 20 of these states have already voted to allow AT&T to
end landline service in their respective states.
While AT&T will still need FCC approval before it can ter-
minate landline service, there’s a good chance that landline
customers in those states may soon face a choice between
upgrading their service to more modern alternatives or
face disconnection.
Opponents to AT&T’s eforts to eliminate landlines include
groups like AARP (a nonprofit organization that helps people
over 50 years of age). AARP representatives claim that the
bill will be especially harmful to the elderly, and the organiza-
tion says it intends to fight the law at the national level.
While it’s unclear how any of these eforts will afect the
eventual outcome, or when actual landline service elimina-
tion may take place, maintaining an aging landline network
is expensive, and it’s unlikely that other providers will step
in to ofer traditional landline services at anything close to
afordable rates. Current landline service averages about
$50 per month, depending on the market and the plan’s
features and usage.
MAKE THE
RIGHT CALL
Conclusion
Cutting cords changed everything, and going back to
devices tethered by wires seems unimaginable. And while
few people will ever give up their mobile devices, having a
landline phone adds a very useful and efective component
to your overall survival strategy and planning. Stay safe and
be prepared.
How a
Landline
Became My
Lifeline
In late August 1992, Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 Storm, slammed into
South Florida. At the time I was living in the suburban community of Country
Walk, just north of Homestead, Florida. My home, along with many others
in the community, was totally destroyed by Andrew. The morning ater the
storm I walked out of the shell that had once been my home with nothing
more than the clothes on my back.
As I emerged outside for the irst time, I was struck by the sheer magnitude
of the devastation. Nothing was spared — trees, utility poles, power lines,
vehicles, and homes were all completely obliterated or heavily damaged.
I needed to get word to my friends and family that I was OK. But with so
much damage and destruction, and no power, how would I communicate
with the outside world? Today most people would no doubt reach for their
cell phones and hope they had service. But in 1992, few average people had
access to what was still very expensive technology.
Out of desperation and habit, I reached for my landline phone — in 1992 just
about every home still had one. I was amazed to hear a dial tone; it was actu-
ally working. I didn’t know it at the time, but the reason the landline phone
still worked in spite of the complete loss of power was because the phone
company was still supplying it with electricity. I saw irsthand that landlines
work even during a blackout.
I started to dial so fast that I got the number wrong and had to hang up and
start again. When my cousin — who lived further north and had not been
afected by Andrew — picked up on the other end, I was so happy I almost
started to cry. With this landline I was able to reach out to friends and family
to advise them of my condition. I could also obtain critical information about
the road and infrastructure damage outside of the most severe impact zone —
which I was currently standing in. With these crucial facts, I was able to plan
an evacuation. Ater a few more calls, I agreed to stay with my cousin until I
could make more permanent arrangements. The landline literally became
my lifeline.
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Tips to Communicate Efectively
Outside Your Native Tongue
By Mykel Hawke
W
hen it comes to survival, an often
overlooked but seriously critical skill
is language. You might be thinking,
how is a language going to help me
survive? It may not be able to start a
fire, but let’s look at how language is the spark that ignites
teamwork, a critical component of survival.
First, if you’re not leaving the country, how can a foreign
language help you survive? What if you’re lost, hurt, or need
help from a stranger who doesn’t speak English? Or stuck in
the middle of a large-scale disaster and good folks around
you only speak Spanish? Or if someone is conspiring to steal
from you, and you’re linguistically oblivious to their intentions?
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2011 Language Mapper
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007-2011
American Community Survey, Table B16001
Even if you have no plans to travel internationally,
language skills at home could wind up being critical to
saving your life or helping others. Think of the predomi-
nant cultures concentrated in diferent regions of the U.S.
Throughout the country, Spanish is the best foreign lan-
guage to study, as it has the highest potential for use. But if
you’re in Louisiana or the Northeast near Canada, French
will serve you better. On the West Coast, Chinese might
be another survival language to study. Ask yourself where
you’re headed and examine some of the U.S. Census data
to determine which languages have a strong presence in
various areas of the country.
Familiarization with a second language for international trav-
el is also an important survival skill. Overseas, not everyone
speaks English or is willing to use it even if they know it. In this
case, asking for a lighter in the native language of wherever
you are could indeed help you get a fire started — touché!
Fluency vs. Functionality
Most people who study a foreign language get discour-
aged quickly for one main reason — time. Teachers operate
on the logical premise that you want to become fluent, which
requires a strong foundational base and a lot of time. They
start with the alphabet and grammar rules, and it could be
months or years before you get to really use the language.
As a former Green Beret, we were often deployed on
short notice to strange locations around the globe. Usually,
no one spoke English, and we rarely had an interpreter or
linguist on the team. Without a translator, and back then
Spanish
Chinese
Italian
German
French
Arabic
with no software or apps, we faced a lot of challenges and
misunderstandings. Sometimes the results were hilarious.
Sometimes, not so much.
After a few of these short-fuse missions, I realized there
was a pattern of what components of language were actu-
ally used. I wrote them down on paper and saw a pattern
of how to speak in a purely functional manner. It wasn’t
perfect, but it was mostly grammatically correct. I certainly
didn’t sound like a native, but I wasn’t trying to. Often, I
spoke like a simple child, but all my thoughts could be con-
veyed and my mission could be accomplished. And that’s
the survivalist’s way of learning a language on the fly.
Learn it the guerilla way — focus on the stuf that matters.
Analyze your own vocabulary in the course of a normal day
with family, friends, and coworkers, and you’ll find you typi-
cally only use about 200 words. Focusing your early efort
on learning basic vocabulary allows you to communicate
basic needs and maybe understand the gist of an over-
heard conversation.
Even basic vocabulary building still requires time and ef-
fort, but it’s not hard and you can start functioning on day
one. By week one, you can communicate the basics. There
are many books, apps, and other learning aids available to
help you learn the language info you need.
Forming Common Expressions
We’ll skip basic grammar and head directly into which
words are the most useful. Let’s break it down by familiar
parts of speech.
 Nouns: people, place, and thing. Make a list of key nouns
you’ll use in tough situations such as food, water, and help.
Verbs: to need, to go, to do
Adjectives: good, bad, big, little. Start with one, and learn
its opposite.
Adverbs: well, poorly, quickly, and slowly. Again, learn
one and its antonym.
Prepositions: in, out, above, below, etc.
Conjugations: Start with two: I want and you want,
for example. Many languages have a root verb that
changes according to who says it. For example, I want
versus she wants.
Time: now, later, today, tomorrow, yesterday, before, after
Interrogatives: Who, what, when, where, why, how,
how much
Courtesy: If you open every time with please and close
with thank you, no matter how badly you hack their lan-
guage, you’ll know you’re trying and you’ll score points
for politeness.
Salutations: hello, goodbye, my name is, what’s your name
Music: Buy some slower music, even children’s music, as a
great way to help your ear and brain adjust to the language
and pick up words. Stuf like “Old MacDonald” and other com-
mon nursery rhymes will turn what you’re already familiar
with into a new form. You can download them onto you
phone, tablet, or computer and listen whenever time allows.
Media: Watch children’s shows in the target language.
Buy some DVDs or watch some shows online. Download
them so you can watch when traveling or not connected
to the net. Try not to start with movies you know by heart,
as the speed and complexity of the spoken language with
plot subtexts is often not quite right in the translation and
you may learn some things wrong — and for sure you’ll be
overwhelmed.
visualspace/istockphoto.com

So, putting it all together, it may look something like: “Hello.

My name is John/Jane. I need water. Where, please? Thanks.”
Bam! Day one, speaking and communicating. Now, pick
your language, and we’ll look at some tools to help get you
there. An hour a day is a good start.

Training Tools
Books: A dictionary is key, but start with a youth version,
as it’ll help you learn how to pronounce and conjugate,
while utilizing simpler words. A phrase book showing the
language, your language, and phonetic pronunciation is
vital to quick learning.

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Top 10 Phrases
To Learn in Any Language
1. Hello. My name is _______.
What is your name?
2. I need help or Can you
help me, please?
3. Can, would, or are you
able to show me, please?
4. How do I get there or do
that, please?
5. Where is that person/
place/thing, please?
6. When is that or this,
please?
7. What is that? or What do
I do, please?
8. Who can help? or Who
is that, please?
9. How much is best
instead of how long
or how far, as you
can always say how
much time, how much
distance, as well as the
usual how much does
something cost.
10. Thank you, goodbye,
until later, go in peace.
AH86/istockphoto.com

While technolo- Also, if you have satellite radio or TV, try to find program-
gy is great, there’s ming in your desired language. You can watch with subtitles,
no substitute
for commit- which always helps, but without is still OK. The more you’re
ting things to exposed, the more you’ll begin to pick up the basics. Bottom
memory. Learn- line, self-imposed immersion is a proven method. So listen and
ing key phrases
watch, with or without subtitles — it all goes in. Even if it sounds
like these in the
target language like machine gun rapid fire, the more you listen the more your
can help get you brain gets attuned and reprogrammed to pick it up.
out of a bind in For study aids, check out: Berlitz, Barron’s, Lonely Planet,
an emergency
situation. Langenscheidts, Oxford, Fodors and Pimsleur. Find the
ones that fit your style, needs, and budget. There are many
free products out there; try those first and then invest more
as you’re ready to get more out of it.
Mobile Applications
There are so many great mobile apps for learning lan-
guages. You can find free ones or pay for one. Usually, the
premium ones are ad free and work better.
There are apps that use your mobile device’s camera
to translate written language, and some that allow folks
to speak into your phone and they’ll attempt to translate.
These are awesome, but often slow, flawed, and, if not con-
nected to the internet, they don’t work at all. Don’t become
reliant on technology to do the work for you. You need to
shoulder the bulk of the learning process in case you’re in a
situation where technology isn’t accessible.
Google Translate is one of the best. You can type in pas-
sages and translate more than 100 languages when con-
nected to the internet — about half that when you’re not. It can
work with more than 30 languages when translating photos
of signs, watching videos, and translating spoken language.
Microsoft isn’t quite able to match up to Google overall;
however, its real-time language translator is simply the best
one out there right now. SayHi is one of the better apps
for speech-to-speech translation, and, in general, Speak &
Translate as well as TripLingo are other excellent apps.
For Asian languages and their unique characters, some
apps specialize in these and are really good for native
European language speakers, such as Papago and Waygo.
There are also wearable translating devices, such as
the iLi and The Pilot. They have limitations, but are way
cheaper than hiring a personal translator.
Finally, there are some photo-translating apps that allow
you to take a photo of a sign or billboard, for example, and
then translate it. They require internet connectivity, so they
have some limitations on their utility, but signs are often
in a city or you can type the letters in your translator app
when not connected and read your downloaded dictionary
info to figure it out.
Not Everything Translates Equally
Gestures: A simple “OK” sign in America equates to calling
someone an “a**hole” in other countries. Do your homework.
Culture: In some places, people can become highly
offended if you stop and ask a woman for directions or
show the bottoms of your feet, for example. Be smart.
 Key Things to

praetorianphoto/istockphoto.com
Don’t assume you’ll get off the hook for these offenses
because you’re a foreigner. And learn the common signs
of other cultures if you plan to travel there; not every na-
tion uses U.S. or EU-style signage.
Also, some cultures yell as a way of communicating —
don’t take it personally. Yelling back doesn’t make them
understand you any better, so don’t get frustrated and
become the ugly American. Stay calm, expect mistakes,
and have a sense of humor. You’ll get through it. You may
make some lifelong friends along the way.
In the sidebar, we compiled a list of the top 10 phrases
to learn. The first key to success in using them is to choose
the easiest one for you to learn, remember it, and then use
the heck out of it!
The next key is to maximize use of the interrogatives and
always use polite words (please, thank you, excuse me, I’m
sorry) to cover any mistakes you make with general words
associated with kindness, as way to ensure the maximum
willingness and helpfulness from those you query.
Remember
Always repeat what you think someone said in the simplest way you
know. They’ll respond either “Yes, blah, blah blah” and you’ll know you
understood the gist or they’ll say “No, blah, blah, blah” and say more
words, and you can then focus on key words. Then you can focus on
listening for vital info like “go let” or “right,” etc.
Constantly listen and read, trying to understand everything you can.
Listen when folks are speaking to hear how the language is used.
Challenge yourself by asking, “How would I say ...” Then try to say it
without learning aids. This way, you’re using spare time to do mental
language training, converting passive vocabulary into active vocabulary
and usable phrases.

Memory Keys About The Author:

Spend a day writing down words in your target language
and listen online how to say them. Then, write down how
that sounds to your ears, commit it to memory, and you
can speak in a day. Use memory keys or associations that
help you remember.
For example, the Russian word for “key” is pronounced
“clootch.” I associate that with “she uses a key to lock her
clutch bag,” and I can always recall the word via that as-
sociation in my brain.
Mykel Hawke is a retired Special Forces combat commander and former
Green Beret sergeant in medicine, communications, and intelligence with
a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in psychology. He holds black belts in
Aikido and Judo, and has ratings in seven languages.
www.mykelhawke.com
Deagreez/istockphoto.com

Kid’s Stuf
For media, always start with kid’s stuf, and work your
way up. Get as many things with subtitles as you can. It’s
like studying a martial art, don’t try to get into the ring and
fight competitively until you’ve mastered your own moves
first. Slow is fast, fast is slow — you’ll learn bad habits (get-
ting words and meanings wrong), and it’ll take twice as
long to unlearn the bad and relearn them correctly.
Working in nine diferent conflicts over three decades, when
we had to find translators in a place where almost no one
spoke English, we mainly encountered two kinds — professors
and young adults. It wasn’t hard to understand how the profes-
sors learned English, but when asked, the kids almost all said
they learned English the same way — from MTV!

In the U.S., we take this generally accepted hand gesture

to mean “OK.” However, it’s not universally understood
that way, and you may unintentionally ofend
someone using it in another country. Do
your research and be cognizant of
what’s acceptable in other cultures.
064 OFFGRIDWEB.COM
ISSUE 25

PISTOL
CALIBER
COMPATIBILITY
Ruger’s New PCC May Have a Place
in Your Bug-Out Plan
By Chad McBroom
Photos by AZPhotoMan

he sound of a roaring engine wakes you from your sleep. You

T leap out of bed and look out the window, only to see your
truck speeding backward out of the driveway with a stranger
behind the wheel. As the man slams your truck into gear and
takes of down the block, you notice the neighbors frantically
throwing suitcases into their van. You can hear sirens echoing in the distance.
Whatever’s happening, it’s not good. Now's the time to get your family to a
safer location, but the highways are sure to be jammed with frantic drivers, so
you grab your bug-out bags and prepare to hit the road on foot.
In this hypothetical scenario, what weapons would you bring? A com-
pact 9mm handgun, such as a Glock 19, provides a concealable means of
personal protection, so it would be a good place to start. However, relying
entirely on a pistol might be unwise in the long run. The limited range and
accuracy of a handgun may not sufice when the time comes to hunt for
food. On the other hand, running out of the city with a rifle in hand may
draw unwanted attention.
Long-time readers of this magazine might recall the Ruger 10/22 Take-
down survival rifle we built in Issue 8. Such a rifle is lightweight, packable,
great for hunting small game, and could make a strong addition to your
bug-out loadout. However, it would also require carrying extra magazines
and .22LR ammo, a caliber that isn’t optimal for personal defense or hunting
larger animals.
Ruger has released a new rifle that shares the spirit of the 10/22 Take-
down, but potentially ofers more versatility and stopping power. The Ruger
PC Carbine is a takedown model chambered in 9mm rather than .22LR.
Better yet, it’s compatible with the extra Glock magazines you’d already be
carrying in the scenario above. This means you’d need to carry fewer mags
and only one type of ammo, simplifying your load out.
Intrigued by the potential value of this rifle, we set out to learn more
about it and test one firsthand at the range.
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BACKGROUND
Ruger’s first attempt at a pistol-caliber carbine came in
the Ruger Police Carbine that hit the market in 1996. The
Police Carbine was marketed as a shoulder-fired compan-
ion for use alongside Ruger’s P-series pistol, as both used
the same feeding source. Citing low demand, the Police
Carbine was discontinued by Ruger in 2006.
Over the years, loyal customers have refused to accept
the demise of Ruger’s pistol-caliber carbine line and, ac-
cording to president and CEO Chris Killoy, “have long been
requesting the return of a Ruger pistol-caliber carbine.”
Ruger obliged its customers’ requests with the reincarna-
tion of its pistol-caliber carbine in the form of the PC Car-
bine. This versatile and highly customizable firearm brings
Bottom let: The many desirable features that are sure to be as popular
takedown capa- with RECOIL OFFGRID readers as its price tag.
bility of the PC
We met this lovechild of the Ruger Police Carbine and
Carbine makes it
a welcome addi- the Ruger 10/22 Takedown a few weeks before its official
tion to a bug-out release date. After spending some time disassembling, re-
bag. The gun configuring, reassembling, and shooting this lovely med-
can be quickly
reassembled
ley of glass-filled nylon and steel, here’s what we learned.
by inserting the
barrel assembly OPERATION
into the receiver
Like its Police Carbine predecessor, this new carbine
and turning it
clockwise until it utilizes a dead-blow action. The bolt is held forward by its
locks in place. inertia and spring pressure. A custom tungsten dead-blow
weight shortens bolt travel and reduces felt recoil and
muzzle rise.
BARREL
The PC Carbine has a cold hammer-forged, chrome-mo-
ly steel barrel with precision rifling. The barrel is fluted for
weight reduction, bringing the gun in at just 6.8 pounds
with an empty tank. The Model 19100 featured here is
threaded with a ½-inch-28 thread pattern for use with
standard muzzle accessories and comes with a screw-
on thread protector. For those living in more restrictive
locales, the Model 19101 includes all the same features,
minus the scary barrel threading. (NOTE: This is the same
muzzle thread pitch as standard AR-15 barrels. Make sure
any muzzle device you attach to the PC Carbine is, in fact,
a 9mm muzzle device and not a 5.56mm muzzle device.)
BARREL ASSEMBLY TAKEDOWN
The Ruger 10/22 Takedown has been a popular weapon
among outdoorsmen and survivalists because the barrel
assembly can be quickly, easily, and safely disassembled
and reassembled without losing zero. Capitalizing on a
good thing, Ruger designed the PC Carbine in the same
fashion, using the already proven locking system of the
10/22 Takedown. Simply push the recessed locking lever
and rotate the barrel/fore end assembly counterclockwise

Bottom right:
Even with a less-
than-perfect zero,
keeping rapidly
executed shots
in the upper A-
zones at 15 yards
was an easy task.

to unlock the barrel from the receiver and break the car-
bine in half, making it backpack compatible.
INTERCHANGEABLE MAGAZINES
The most notable feature on the PC Carbine is its
interchangeable magazines. Ruger designed the PC
Carbine to accept common Ruger 9mm pistol magazines
like the SR-Series, Security 9, and Ruger American Pistol.
Ruger could have stopped there and called it a day, but
they took things one step further to ensure that this new
carbine would be a draw to more than just die-hard Ruger
fans. With a quick and easy magazine-well swap, the PC
Carbine will accept standard Glock 9mm magazines.
This is a somewhat unexpected move by Ruger, as they
aren’t known for being particularly well supported by the
aftermarket or even concerned with ease-of-compatibility
for the end user. We’re thankful to see it and, if the S ever
really does HTF, you’ll probably be thankful too.
Swapping out magazine well assemblies couldn’t be
any easier. Even without the aid of a user’s manual, we
were able to figure out how to exchange the preinstalled
SR-Series/Security 9 magazine well with the included
Glock-compatible magazine well in a matter of minutes.
With the barrel/fore end assembly removed, simply
remove the receiver from the stock via the two 5/32-inch
hex takedown screws, then compress the magazine
PISTOL CALIBER
COMPATIBILITY
release and remove the magwell assembly from the top. The PC Carbine
Slide in the other magwell assembly, and you’re ready to can be fully
disassembled
feed lead from your favorite Glock magazine. with a 5/32 Allen
wrench. Note
USER CUSTOMIZATION the plug-and-
play magazine
Having options like ambidextrous controls used to be
well assemblies
a concern for only the small percentage of left-handed accept either
shooters out there, but as shooting techniques and tactics Ruger SR-Series
have continued to develop along with firearms technol- or standard Glock
magazines.
ogy, the need for customization has become more appar-
ent. That need is compounded when we break away from
familiar tactical platforms like the AR-15 and try to carry
over our well-ingrained tactics. The customizable features
of the PC Carbine help bring the shooter to a happy place
where their weapon manipulation skills can be familiar
and efficient.
Out of the box, the PC Carbine is set up with the
magazine release button on the left side and the charg-
ing handle on the right side. Since we here at RECOIL
OFFGRID tend to look at things from the aforementioned
SHTF perspective, we decided to reconfigure this setup to
make it more combat friendly.
After working through some reloads and figuring out
the most efficient order of operations, we moved the
charging handle to the left side and the mag-release
ISSUE 25
button to the right side. Swapping the charging handle to
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With lines drawn the left side allowed for FAL-style support-hand operation of
from the Mini 14, the bolt assembly. Having the mag-release on the left side
the PC Carbine is
required us to hit the release at an awkward angle using
undeniably Ru-
ger. The compact the thumb and reducing the eficiency of the reloading
proile of a MRDS procedure, whereas moving it to the right allowed us to slide
makes it a perfect the support-hand straight back and hit the release with the
match for this
packable carbine. middle finger while en route to a fresh magazine on the belt.
To account for body size and length of pull variations
between shooters, the PC Carbine comes with three
½-inch spacers that allow the length of pull to be adjusted
from 12 5/8- to 14 1/8-inch in ½-inch increments. These
spacers sit between the buttstock and recoil pad and are
held in place with two hex screws.
TRIGGER
The bang switch on the PC Carbine uses 80-percent
10/22 components. The trigger is decent out of the box — it
has a crisp pull and positive reset with minimal overtravel.
Although we didn’t have a chance to test this theory, it’s
quite possible that if one were to obtain certain quality
10/22 aftermarket trigger parts, one might end up with an
enhanced trigger worthy of the highest accolades. But
again, it’s just a theory.
SIGHTS
The PC Carbine is outfitted with a ghost-ring adjustable
rear sight and a non-glare, protected front sight. Both sights
are mounted on the barrel forward of the receiver. This
reduces the sight radius but ensures consistency during
takedown and reassembly. All adjustments are made with
the rear sight by loosening the windage or elevation set
screws and sliding the aperture in the direction you want
bullet impact to shift.
The sighting system is probably the PC Carbine’s biggest
downfall. The free-sliding aperture and lack of positive click
adjustments make small sighting corrections more dificult
than necessary, but it's still a functional system. Fortunately,
the PC Carbine has plenty of rail space on the receiver, so
in keeping with the compact, packable nature of the gun,
we installed an EOTech Mini Red Dot Sight (MRDS) for use
during testing. It proved to be a perfect companion for the
PC Carbine.
LEAD DOWNRANGE
With the PC Carbine reconfigured to our liking, we
dropped in the Glock magazine well, grabbed a handful
of Gen4 9mm Glock magazines, courtesy of Elite Tactical
Systems, and headed to the range to see what this baby
could do. Included in the range bag were several boxes
of Federal’s 115-grain Train + Protect VHP and the newly
released 124-grain American Eagle Syntech ammunition.
After getting a quick zero with the MRDS at 25 yards
to make sure we were on paper, we moved back to the
50-yard line to get a more suitable zero. At 50 yards, shot
 PISTOL CALIBER
COMPATIBILITY

Ruger
PC Carbine
Model 19102
CALIBER
9mm Luger
BARREL LENGTH
16.12 inches
OAL
34.37 inches
MAGAZINE CAPACITY
17
WEIGHT UNLOADED
6.8 pounds
MSRP
$649
URL
www.ruger.com

grouping was consistently within 1.5 inches with both Functionally, the PC Carbine performed quite well. In The Elite Tactical
the 115- and 124-grain. This is quite an acceptable level of almost 400 rounds of hard running, we failed to experi- Systems Gen4
Glock 17, 19, and 18
accuracy for a pistol-caliber weapon. What’s more, the PC ence a single malfunction. This brings us to our final word magazines make
Carbine retained its zero after takedown and reassembly, of caution. The PC Carbine is extremely fun to shoot, so a great compan-
even with the optic mounted on the receiver. if you’re not careful, you can easily blow through several ion to the PC
Carbine.
We spent most of the range time running “up drills” at boxes of 9mm before you remember you’re not shooting
15 yards — two- to three-round volleys. The barely notice- a 10/22.
able recoil and red-dot optic made target acquisition and
follow-up shots quick and accurate. Our chief complaint CONCLUSION
from a tactical standpoint would be the push-button safety, If you’re looking for a packable long-arm that won’t break
which requires the shooter to break their shooting grip to the bank and is compatible with your beloved Glock or
put the gun on safe. Not a deal-breaker, though, as this is a Ruger-family 9mm pistol, the PC Carbine might just be the
ISSUE 25

common and reliable safety design. answer. Your bug-out bag will welcome the addition.

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IMPROVISED
EVACUATION METHODS
Options for Getting Wounded to Safety During a Crisis
By Andrew Schrader

DISCLAIMER:
This article is meant to be an
overview and not a detailed guide
on evacuating injured individuals to
safety during an emergency. Seek
professional medical training before
attempting any of these techniques.
 earning how to evacuate an injured person from
L a hazardous or remote location, such as an
active-shooter event or a backcountry hike gone
wrong, is like paying down your credit card bill
rather than buying new stuf every month — in
your heart you know you should do it, but it’s just not as fun or
as sexy as other options.
We believe in a holistic approach to preparedness and recognize
that it’s just as important to know how to save the lives of others
as it is to protect your own. To find out more, we spoke with Eric
Soderlund, who has worked as a detective for a large Florida county
law enforcement agency for the last 13 years. Prior to that, he served
as U.S. Army military policeman (95B, now 31B) for eight years. He's
on the board of advisers for the Committee on Tactical Emergency
Combat Care (CTECC) and serves on the training cadre for the
Florida SWAT association’s tactical EMS course.
“It’s great to have a gun on you,” Eric says, “But it’s about more
than just being armed. Like we saw in Las Vegas, all of those
3,000 people in the crowd could have had a gun on them, and it
wouldn’t have done any good. So we need to be a student of the
game. And these days the game includes medical training and
knowing how to move injured people.”
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Look at your Use Your Surroundings

environment
In the event that casualty evacuation becomes necessary,
and ask yourself
what you have Eric encourages trainees to first take a good look around
at your disposal them. This doesn’t mean to go all MacGyver and build an
that could serve ultralight hang-glider to escape out a window. Instead, keep
as an improvised
gurney or wheel- it simple and just think about what makes sense. “Look at the
chair to evacuate environment and see what’s ready to use,” Eric says. “If you
someone from have a minute to look around, see if there’s something that
danger quickly.
can make your life a little easier.”
If you’re in an ofice environment and a casualty can’t walk,
consider grabbing one of those ever-present rolling desk
chairs, placing them in the chair, and wheeling them out. You
may have to hold them from behind to keep them upright,
but it’ll still be easier than simply trying to drag them out with
your bare hands. “You don’t necessarily have to be Captain
Caveman, and lift and carry everything,” Eric adds. “Work
smarter, not harder.”
Otherwise, if you’re not immediately faced with a direct
threat and you have at least one other person to help you,
you could improvise a litter (like a flexible stretcher) out
carpeting on the floor. With the casualty laying down, cut an
outline around them using your knife. Then cut slits for hand-
holds on the sides and another at the head, and roll your pa-

Breach Pen is a
small, portable
tool to quickly
cut through locks
and other metal
materials that
may be impass-
able otherwise.
Like any heat-
conducting
device, proper
training is impor-
tant.
tient inside the carpet Corleone-style just like you’ve seen in
all those mafia movies. This will allow you to grab the carpet
much more easily and slide the casualty along the floor with
much less friction than otherwise. And if you decide that
you do want to add a dash of MacGyver, threading a pole or
mop handles through the cutout slits provide an even easier
handhold and improve the rigidity of the litter as well.
Find Alternate Paths
For those who work in the same place every day, it makes
sense to occasionally look around and think about what you
could use, and how you might be able to get out. “Think about
your situation ahead of time,” Eric says. “If you’re in a high-rise
building where a fire on top and bottom is a real possibility,
would you consider base jumping of the roof? That’s an
extreme example, but the idea is to look at your environment
and consider the possibilities. Think outside the box of leaving
the building using the stairs or an elevator.”
Many wooden doors can be broken down with a mule kick.
However, metal doors, as we’d find in a commercial or ofice
environment, aren’t quite so easy. But if we think outside the
box we might find that the walls either side of that door are
made from drywall and metal studs. In that case, there’s a
good chance you can bust through the drywall to access the
other side.
A commercially available Breach Pen cutting tool can be
used to burn your way through padlocks or chained doors,
and is much more portable than a bolt cutter. This lightweight
and packable tool, about the size of a small flare, allows you to
burn your way through any number of barriers. Additionally,
also consider keeping a fire-suppression tool on hand, like a
compact aerosol spray can fire extinguisher, such as those
from Blaze Defense Systems, which can quickly cool red hot
metal to hand-holdable temperatures.
Additionally, many ofice buildings have drop ceiling tiles. If
you can climb into the dropped ceiling space, you may well be
able to bypass locked doors and access other areas.
Last, consider breaking through windows to get out. Ten
to 15 years ago it’d never be an issue to break glass. But
depending on your location, the glass might be impact or
hurricane-rated, so you can’t necessarily just throw a chair
through it. To mitigate this, you could consider using a glass-
breaking tool ofered on some fire-rescue–style knives such
as the TOPS/BUCK CSAR-T. If necessary, you might also think
about shooting through the glass, after taking a look to see
what’s outside first.
“Just remember,” Eric says, “you own every single round
that comes out of that barrel, regardless of what kind of
crazy situation is going on. So maybe consider shooting
out a lower corner of the window so you’re aiming at the
ground, reducing the likelihood of collateral damage.”
Get Formal
Training to Learn
Improvisation
It’s not easy to tell someone how to improvise ahead of time, for the
same reason that it’s hard to predict the future. But formal training will
give you a good foundation of skills to build on and make it easier to
recognize improvisational opportunities when you ind them.
Here are some companies Eric recommends that teach patient/
casualty movement as part of their courses.
Lone Star Medics
Medicine X Course
This two-day “ambush medicine” course focuses on providing
casualty care while being ired upon and includes coverage of rescue
rigging and rapid trauma assessments.
lonestarmedics.com
Special Operations Aid & Rescue (SOAR)
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) Course
Based on national TECC committee guidelines and endorsed by the
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT),
this two-day course teaches students how to treat casualties in
wounded environments, but also includes treatment of pediatric
patients and techniques for dragging and carrying victims to safety.
www.soarescue.com
Talon Defense
Combatant Casualty Care
An advanced four-day course that includes coverage of patient drags
using both improvised and commercial litters and rigging, it also
teaches more advanced medical treatment techniques which can be
incorporated to treat casualties in place prior to evacuation.
talondefense.us.com
If you can’t make it to one of these in-person classes, check out
these two online resources that provide expert-approved guidance for
civilians in active shooter situations.
www.ready.gov/until-help-arrives
This reference guide, produced with input from the Committee
on Tactical Emergency Combat Care (CTECC), includes a helpful
interactive video to teach kids in addition to more advanced
discussion for adult civilians.
www.avoiddenydefend.org
Developed by Texas State University, this 12-minute video
eschews the common “hiding” advice regarding active shooters.
It also expands beyond the common oice or school shooting
environments to include reasonable (and possibly life-saving)
response techniques for open retail store environments, churches,
movie theaters, and more.
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Consider Atermarket Solutions to pushing a sturdy wooden crate versus trying to push a
In an ideal situation, you’ll have a full-size EMS stretcher canvas sack, or worse, a thin plastic bag filled with oranges.
next to you, like the ones you see EMTs load into rescues Eric recommends training with commercial products
(ambulances). It’s 100-percent rigid, so all of the force you where available, because having trained with good
use to push (or pull) the stretcher translates directly into products will help show you how to improvise a solution
moving the stretcher. Realistically, of course, that’ll never when the time comes. “The more you use the commercial
happen. So we trade rigidity for improved portability, and devices and formalized training,” Eric says, “the better you’ll
we use packable soft litters instead of stretchers. be at building improvised solutions because you’ll better
As litters get lighter and more portable, they also get understand the concepts behind it.”
more flexible, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. With a “Consider a commercial tourniquet, for example. If you’ve
more flexible litter, the force that would’ve moved your pa- used one you’ll know that you need a strap, a windlass,
tient is more likely to just bend your patient. It’s analogous and something to clip the tensioned windlass to. So don’t
eschew the commercial options just thinking you can ‘wing
Can't ind any-
thing nearby to it’ when you have to. Training with the real gear will help
move someone you wing it.”
who is injured? When it comes to commercially available products, Eric
Why not carry
has used several from Tactical Medical Solutions (TacMed
something with
you? The Foxtrot Solutions) that he favors. First is the Foxtrot Litter. “The Fox-
Litter by Tactical trot is the Cadillac of litters, and it’s relatively inexpensive,”
Medical Solutions Eric says. “It’s semi-rigid, striking a compromise between
is a portable, light-
weight platform usefulness and portability. For its size you can use a two-
that can be used or four-person carry, or just drag it on the ground as you
to move someone would in a wilderness situation. A Skedco Sked (sled) is also
to safety when
cool, but usually that’s not available unless you’re traveling
seconds count.
in a large vehicle or into overlanding with 4x4 Jeeps.”
For the photos seen in this article, we used a Rescue
Task Force (RTF) version of the Foxtrot Litter, which uses
somewhat beefed-up materials but is a similar concept. We
It can be used to also used the Evacuation and Rigging Strap (ER-S) from
carry a casu- TacMed Solutions, which is inexpensive, small enough to
alty in a low "bear- be packed inside any bag, and lets you perform a drag, a
crawl" position,
minimizing expo-
backpack carry, or a modified half-litter carry on a casualty
sure by maintain- with a few simple loops of the strap around them.
ing a low proile “Another soft litter is the Phantom from TacMed Solu-
when needed.
tions,” Eric says. “It can be thrown into a backpack or bag
easily. The trade-of is that you can’t drag it very far or you’ll
rip the sh*t out of it. It’s also super flexible, which actually
makes it harder to carry when you consider the patient
naturally flexing their knees and bending their hips.”

Decision to Move
When it comes to deciding whether or not you should at-
tempt to move casualties during an active shooter event, the
recommendations are fairly simple. If the casualty is dead,
then there’s no need to move them. And if you’re in a “hot
zone” where the shooter is a direct threat to you, you should
worry about protecting yourself with your own firearm if
possible or evading instead. Otherwise, if you’re in a “warm
zone” where the threat is still out there, but not directly in
front of you, then you should attempt to move the injured
casualty to safety.
 IMPROVISED
EVACUATION METHODS
Regardless of whether or not you suspect neck or spinal
injuries, unless you have advanced tactical medical train-
ing, don’t spend time trying to stabilize the patient's neck or
spine prior to evacuation. Chances are that you’ll just do it
wrong anyway, compounding the issue and wasting invalu-
able time. Instead, focus simply on getting the casualty to
professional care as soon as possible.
In a backcountry hiking or wilderness situation, it can be
dificult, if not impossible, to evacuate an injured party to
safety by yourself. In most situations it'll be safer for both
you and the casualty if you leave him or her to shelter in
place, and speed of by yourself to go find help. Otherwise,
you run the risk of running out of supplies or dying of expo-
sure on your way out because of the slowed pace when
One way to use
transporting casualties. The delay in medical care alone the ER-S strap
may doom the casualty. The better option is to quickly alert from TacMed
the local authorities, who can deploy a wilderness search- Solutions is to lay
the casualty on
and-rescue team. their back and
use the ER-S as a
Litter Use Tips convenient drag
strap, looped
When you strap the patient into an aftermarket litters,
around the casu-
consider strapping them so that they’re laying on their side alty's arms and
as opposed to on their back, like you see in all the mov- chest.
ies. This makes it easier for them to bend their bodies (or
you to bend their body for them) in order to navigate tight
corners or stairwells. Applied in a dif-
Think about it this way — if you’re laying on your back it’s ferent conigura-
quite dificult to arch your body into any configuration be- tion, the ER-S can
also be used to
sides straight up and down. But if placed on your side, it’s hoist a casualty
easy to bend into an S-shape or maneuver to help you fit and attach them
where you need to. This also has the added benefit of the to you like a
backpack, which
patient being in the “recovery” position already, reducing
is more appropri-
the chances of choking on vomit or blood, and making it ate for certain
easier for them to breathe. You can also utilize a backpack, conditions.
jackets, towels, etc., to prop them up into the recovery posi-
tion, or use these items to place in “hot spots,” bony areas
of the body that can take a beating if dragged in a litter
over rough terrain. About the
To summarize our tips: Try to use your environment to
help you, consider other ways besides doors to get out,
and consider purchasing aftermarket litters to train with
and carry with you. This way you’ll be helping not just
Author
Andrew Schrader recently served as an Advisor/
yourself and your family, but possibly the larger community Reviewer for the San Bernardino (California) City
as well. Fire Department’s Ater Action Report (AAR)
“Part of being prepared is being able to enable the of the Active Shooter Incident Response which
laypersons around you — showing them how to help oth- took place in December 2015. His company, Recon Response Engineering
ers while you do it yourself,” Eric says. “So get your family LLC, educates ireighters and search and rescue teams on the subject of
involved, and your kids and community. Get them involved urban search-and-rescue and building collapse. Most recently, he was de-
and thinking, it'll suck to have to carry some random casu- ployed in Florida to support rescue operations following Hurricane Irma.
alty or your wife by yourself down three flights of stairs in www.reconresponse.com
order to escape a threat.”
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A Buyer’s Guide for Bug-Out Bags That
Can Endure Extreme Weather
By Patrick Vuong
ny prepper worth their weight in MREs will
A have SHTF packs set up in several locations
for any number of potential disasters. A bug-
out bag at home, a get-home pack at the
ofice, and an emergency kit in the vehicle.
But what if the bags themselves don’t hold up? What if they fall
apart under a heavy load or get ruined in a torrential downpour
paired with gale-force winds? Now your precious three-day cache
is soaked, useless, or strewn across the muddy forest floor.
With spring showers approaching, we’re taking a closer look
at durable bags available today that will both increase your daily
carry capacity and endure punishing weather.
For the sake of argument, we’re calling them “stormproof”
backpacks. Note: This is not a buyer’s guide exclusively on
waterproof bags, also known as dry bags. Because they tend
to have just one large compartment and look like sacks made
out of inflatable swimming pools, dry bags aren’t as versatile
for preppers and may stick out in urban settings. Though there
are two dry bags among the six models we’ve tested here, we
also got hands on with a dufel, a lumbar pack, a campus-style
knapsack, and a true trail pack.
Each one fits a particular niche, but are adaptable enough for
use in other situations — all with an eye toward keeping your
vital supplies safe and dry. But how do you go about choosing?
What to Look For
For recommendations that hold water, we went to two sub-
ject-matter experts (SMEs) with almost a half century of com-
bined experience making gear for outdoor adventurers: Patrick
York Ma, the CEO and chief designer of Prometheus Design
Werx and Mel Terkla, an independent designer who’s worked for
a variety of companies, including Kifaru. Here are some things
they suggest you watch out for in a weatherproof pack.
Rain Cover: This is essentially a bag for your bag, and can
turn any backpack (even your favorite Jansport) into a storm-
proof sack. “Rain covers are ‘seamless’ covers with ample interior
coatings — typically polyurethane (P.U.) — that are sized to wrap
and cover your entire pack, except for the suspension,” Ma says.
Durable Fabric: “If I were looking for a stormproof pack, my
first priority would be durability,” Terkla says. After all, what good
is a stormproof pack if it’s just gonna rip and let moisture in?
Interior Coating: “Cordura can be had with a waterproof
coating on the inside layer of the fabric,” Terkla says. “Even with-
out sealed seams or waterproof zippers, this makes the pack
extremely water resistant.”
Exterior Coating: Ma recommends getting a pack with a
bingokid/istockphoto.com
good durable water repellent (DWR) coating on the outside,
too. DWR causes H2O to pool into beads on the fabric’s surface,
making it easier to shed the droplets.
078 OFFGRIDW
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Seams: Try to look for bags with welded or taped seams.
“This type of pack construction will be the best at blocking
water penetration,” Ma says, adding that packs with these
types of seams usually come with coated interiors.
Zippers: Both SMEs recommend looking for zippers
covered with an external flap.
Top-Load Design: Top-load backpacks feature a main
compartment that opens at, well, the top — think Santa’s
toy sack, but with an large flap that covers the opening.
Meanwhile, front-load backpacks feature a main compart-
ment that unzips in the shape of an “n” and unfolds like
a briefcase. While the latter design is easier to pack and
compartmentalizes your gear, the former is the way to go if
you want to keep your survival supplies dry, Ma says: “Top
Patrick York Ma
of Prometheus loaders with single or double quick-release buckles gener-
Design Werx ally block rain better than full-zip front-panel loaders.”
recommends
avoiding packs
with PALS
What to Avoid
webbing, as the On the flipside, our SMEs warned us to steer clear of
stitching are these attributes when shopping for a stormproof sack:
tiny holes where
Lightweight Fabrics: Terkla says the priority of any
water gets in.
Photo courtesy of stormproof pack should always be durable materials. Even
Patrick York Ma with DWR, thin fabrics can fray against rocks or snag on
tree branches, allowing moisture to seep in. Likewise, Ma
says to skip “any hipster cotton canvas,” waxed or not.
P.U.-Coated Reverse-Coil Zippers: Not all zippers are
created equal. Both SMEs agree that the recent trend of “wa-
terproof” P.U.-coated reverse-coil zippers should be avoided,
ironically enough. A regular zipper has its teeth, slider, and
puller visible on the exterior. These new reverse-coil zippers
have its teeth on the interior (hence the name) so that the
backside of the teeth (on the exterior) can be laminated with
water-resistant P.U. The problem is that P.U. gradually wears
out, and even more so with hard use. “These just become
more points of entry for rain as they wear out over time,” Ma
says. “A DWR-treated reverse-coil zipper is actually better at
repelling rain … but it’s not common, though.”
PALS Webbing: A MOLLE-style pack with PALS webbing
stitched on it is full of needle holes, Ma says, all of which are
tiny doorways for moisture to get in.
Also, survival expert and longtime RECOIL OFFGRID
contributor Tim MacWelch advocates avoiding go-bags
covered with PALS webbing in general, as they will attract
a lot more unwanted attention from the desperate and the
unprepared once SHTF.
Holes: It’s common sense not to select any stormproof
bags with drain holes or unprotected openings for wired
earphones or hydration bladders. “Any drain holes on the
bottom of a pack will let water in if you set it down on satu-
rated ground or a puddle,” Ma says.
Weathering the Test
With these tips in mind, we put the backpacks in this
buyer’s guide to the test. But since we’re not Halle Berry in
an X-Men movie, we couldn’t conjure up a storm with our
mutant powers.
To simulate a downpour and assess each bag’s ability to
shut out H2O, we stufed each pack full of newsprint paper
as a substitute for our survival gear. Why? Newsprint turns
to mush when wet, so we’d know right away if water got
inside a pack. Next, we stuck each bag under a running
showerhead for 10 minutes. Then we wiped down the ex-
teriors before unzipping each model, noting whether (and
where) any of the paper got soaked.
However, repelling water isn’t the only measure of a great
bug-out bag (BOB). We also looked at each pack’s cargo
capacity, internal storage organization, and comfort level
during use.
Whether you expect hail and showers in the coming
weeks, you live in a region prone to tornadoes in the spring
season, or you’re gonna hit the lake or river once the snow
melts, there’s no doubt a backpack option that can help
you weather the storm. Read on to see if one of the follow-
ing six bags is right for you.
 BUYER’S GUIDE STORMPROOF
SACKS

Arc’teryx
Carrier Dule 55
Canadian company Arc’teryx has
an international reputation for mak-
ing top-notch climbing, skiing, and
hiking gear. So, it shouldn’t surprise
anyone that its Carrier Duffle 55
is one tough, technical SOB. The
P.U.-coated nylon fabric combined
with sealed seams and Arc’teryx’s
trademarked WaterTight Zipper
shrug off rain, snow, and hail like
nobody’s business. In fact, in our
testing, not a single drop of water
got to the interior.
But how does it perform as a
go-bag? This duffel is definitely
durable. Designed for a variety of
uses (commuting, traveling, winter
sports, etc.), the Carrier Duffle 55
can withstand rigorous daily use
in assorted environments. From
the materials and hardware to the
straps and stitching, everything
malven57/istockphoto.com
lash points). The interior is white, double as a travel organizer and be
allowing greater visibility inside. thrown inside the duffel.
On the flipside, most duffels
have only one compartment, and CONS:
this Arc’teryx model is no excep- Just one large compartment; no
tion. So, if you’re bugging out, dividers or pockets to keep your
the contents might slosh around gear organized.
inside. Oh, and minor complaint: It’s not the coolest looking nor the
When packed full, it looks like a big most discreet duffel on the
shiny black pillow on our backs. Not market.
exactly indiscreet nor aesthetically
pleasing.
Overall, a hard-core pack that’s
BODY FABRIC
highly weather resistant and versa- Polyurethane-coated
tile enough for various duties … but NC400r-AC2 nylon
its lack of interior divisions might
CAPACITY
give preppers pause. 55 liters (3,356 cubic inches)
DIMENSIONS
PROS:
31 by 17 by 18 inches
Impressive weatherproofing
construction WEIGHT
1.3 pounds
Storm flap helps keep rain and

spells sturdy. The quick-release wind out COLORS

shoulder straps are both removable
and adjustable, so you can carry the
bag as if it’s a backpack, sling pack,
or briefcase (thanks in part to four
grab handles, which also work as
Can be carried like a backpack, sling Black (shown), Cardinal, Pilot
pack, or briefcase MSRP
When not in use, it can be stowed $199
compactly in the included mesh URL
bag. When in use, the mesh bag can www.arcteryx.com

Aquapac
Wet & Dry Backpack 35L
Aquapac set sail in 1983 when
three British friends had the idea of
making a case for a Sony Walkman
(which was like, you know, an old-
school MP3 player) so they could
listen to music while windsurfing.
Now the company produces water-
proof protection for everything from
tablets and cameras to maps and
insulin pumps.
Aquapac’s Wet & Dry Backpack is
a stormproof bag with the standards
rating to prove it. It has an IPX6 rat-
ing, meaning it can withstand rain,
splashing, and rough sea conditions.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Wet &
Dry Backpack had no problems pass-
ing our shower test.
Unlike most dry bags, the Wet &
Dry Backpack has more than one
compartment. It lives up to its
name with a sizeable internal wa-
terproof bag for separating clean
clothes from dirty ones. Further-
more, this yellow bag has a clear
pocket attached to it so you can
quickly find your keys, smartphone,
and other small objects without CONS:
having to dig around. This medium-sized pack won’t fit
On the outside, the padded back a lot of gear and supplies, so pack
support can be removed to dry out, judiciously.
be substituted with a hydration
bladder, or act as an improvised
seat cushion on rocky terrain. Mesh
pockets can hold water bottles or
other items. And there are multiple
lash points so you can clip on cara-
biners, lights, or other equipment.
BODY FABRIC
At 35 liters, the Wet & Dry Back-
Polyurethane-coated
pack isn’t large, but it can serve 210-denier Taslan, 500-denier
as a stellar daypack in turbulent Oxford polyester
conditions.
CAPACITY
35 liters (2,135 cubic inches)
PROS:
DIMENSIONS
Truly stormproof thanks to its
23.6 by 15.7 by 8.7 inches
coated nylon, taped seams, and roll-
top closure WEIGHT
1 pound, 14 ounces
Ability to separate clean and dirty
gear COLORS
Waist strap, breathable mesh shoul- Black
der straps, and a sternum strap that MSRP
slides $110
Interior bag is bright yellow for URL
greater visibility. www.aquapacusa.com
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Granite Gear
Talus
The Talus is a part of Granite Gear’s
Barrier lineup, which has proprietary
technology (including water-resistant
zippers, Tarpaulite material, and Re-
pelweave fabric) that aims to provide
protection from the elements.
Prior to our shower test, we
expected the Talus to fail because it
has no external zipper flaps. We were
surprised to find that the zippers and
the Repelweave fabric stayed true,
deterring water for seeping through
its teeth and weave, respectively.
Unfortunately, the seams betrayed
Granite Gear’s Barrier technology.
While newsprint at the top and
middle of the pack were bone dry, we
found that our newsprint was damp
where moisture had gotten through
the bottom corner seams
As a campus-style knapsack, this
bag has a padded, Tricot-lined sleeve
that fits most 17-inch laptops, as well as
a Tri-cot lined pocket for valuables like
eyewear, smartphone, or wallet — all of
which stayed dry during our tests.
However, you gotta take the pros
with the cons. The Talus’ tall-and-
slim design is meant to keep the making it awkward to get items from
weight of your load as close to your the bottom of the pack.
back as possible, easing the strain Water seeped through the seams at
on your spine and maintaining a the bottom corners.
better center of gravity. This means
BODY FABRIC
stacking your items on top of each Repelweave
other in the main compartment;
not inherently a bad thing in and of CAPACITY
33 liters (2,015 cubic inches)
itself. But the odd thing is that the
zipper on this front-loading pack DIMENSIONS
doesn’t go past halfway, meaning 20 by 12.75 by 9.25 inches
you can’t access stuff at the bottom WEIGHT
of the pack unless you remove the 2 pounds, 8 ounces
items at the top first. COLORS
Black (shown), Ember Orange,
PROS: Enamel Blue, Flint, Midnight Blue,
Rodin, Verbena
Divided sections, laptop sleeve, and
mesh pockets help keep contents MSRP
organized $45
Sliding sternum strap, adjustable URL
shoulder straps, and “hideable” www.granitegear.com
waist strap
Tri-cot lined pocket for valuables
Affordable price tag
CONS:
Zipper on main compartment
doesn’t extend down far enough,

Kelty
Revol 65
Asher “Dick” Kelty is considered
by many to be the inventor of
the aluminum-framed backpack,
among many other innovations. The
Revol 65 carries on Kelty’s legacy,
offering an ergonomic pack that
lets you lug around a poopload of
life-sustaining cargo.
The aluminum and HDPE plastic
frame combined with Kelty’s brilliant
PerfectFIT adjustable suspension
system keep the cargo weight on
your hips and shoulders instead of
your lower back. Plus, the lumbar
support is adjustable and the Kinesis
hip belt actually moves with your ev-
ery step to increase stability. If that
weren’t enough, there’s also a trap-
door compartment at the bottom
where you can access a sleeping bag
(or other gear) without unloading the
entire pack.
All this comes at a cost: weight.
It’s more than 4 pounds, the heaviest
pack in this buyer’s guide. If you load
up the Revol to its 65-liter capacity,
your three days’ worth of supplies
can easily weigh north of 50 pounds. handles, loops for trekking poles
On paper, adding 4 pounds doesn’t or ice axes, and a top stash pocket
seem like much, but after a few hours to keep phone and sunglasses from
they’ll feel like an extra 40. getting crushed.
The Revol 65 is a top-loader with
two quick-release buckles, meaning CONS:
the main section is virtually shielded At more than 4 pounds, it’s about a
from any drizzle or snow. However, in pound heavier than we’d like.
our shower testing, we were shocked While the main section stayed dry,
to find that the bottom of the pack the trapdoor compartment got damp
got damp. It appeared some moisture during our shower test.
slipped into the trapdoor compart-
ment through the stitching. Still, it’s BODY FABRIC
a technical trail pack that’s crazy 210-denier Robic nylon ripstop
comfortable and highly functional.
CAPACITY
65 liters (3,950 cubic inches)
PROS:
DIMENSIONS
Padded back panels, adjustable
30 by 12 by 10 inches
suspension system, and Kinesis
hip belt WEIGHT
4 pounds, 3 ounces
Trap-door compartment
Three-day pack that doesn’t COLORS
scream “bug-out bag!” Forest Green (shown), Raven
It’s packed (pun intended) with MSRP
subtle smart features, including an $220
external hydration sleeve, zippered URL
pockets in the hip belt, dual grab www.kelty.com
 STORMPROOF
SACKS

Mountainsmith
Tanack 10L Lumbar Pack
Founded almost four decades ago
by mountaineering guide Patrick
Smith, Mountainsmith has been a
staple among trailblazers because
of its many ground-breaking pat-
ents. In recent years, the company
has teamed up with photographer
Chris Burkard to create a series of
photography-focused packs. One
of the latest collaborations is the
Tanack 10 — the most hard-core
fanny pack you’ll ever see.
The Tanack 10’s Cordura fabric is
ridiculously tough, the zippers are
guarded by external flaps, and there’s
a removable rain cover hidden in the
base panel pocket. When encased in
said rain cover, this lumbar pack is
virtually waterproof. So naturally, we
took the rain cover off to see how
the lumbar pack would do naked. The
results? Not ideal. Water managed to
slip through, turning newsprint at the
top and bottom damp.
Still, the Tanack 10 has numerous
features to keep it as comfortable and
convenient as possible: removable
padded shoulder strap, two side pock-
filo, malven57/istockphoto.com
ets for water bottles or other items,
detachable interior bag for accessories
that can be attached to the exterior,
and a quick-release padded waist belt
(which is compatible with the Moutain-
smith Tanack 40 backpack).
Despite its name, the Tanack 10
actually has a 15-liter capacity —
not a whole lot. However, it can be
used as an improvised go-bag if
feces suddenly meets fan or as a
daypack on a hiking adventure. Of
course, if you’re into photography,
it works best for those who want to
stay mobile in challenging environ-
ments yet need quick access to their
camera. (Though you’ll need to pony
up an extra $60 if you want padded
dividers for your equipment.)
PROS:
Durable materials combined with
quality craftsmanship
Included rain cover provides
maximum protection from inclement
weather
Interior accessories pouch can trans-
form into additional external storage
Delta Compression System helps you
adjust for different loads, cinching
up as needed.
CONS:
Too small to hold a substantial
amount of survival supplies, yet
weighs almost 2 pounds.
Without the rain cover, the interior
got wet while the exterior stayed
damp the longest of all the packs
tested.
BODY FABRIC
610-denier Cordura HP,
210-denier nylon liner
CAPACITY
15 liters (900 cubic inches)
DIMENSIONS
11.75 by 12.25 by 5.5 inches
WEIGHT
1 pound 13 ounces
COLORS
Barley (shown), Black
MSRP
$100
URL
www.mountainsmith.com

Is Budget Waterprooing Feasible?

Testing all the bags for our stormproof
backpack buyer’s guide got us think-
ing: Is it feasible and possible to make
a weather-resistant knapsack on the
cheap? After all, not everyone has a
hundred bucks lying around to spend
on a brand-new dry bag. But a bottle of
waterproofing wax runs for only $10.
To crat our own DIY stormproof
backpack, we looked for a backpack that
wasn’t just afordable but also common
(to approximate what one might ind in
an average household). Anyone who’s
ever attended high school in the past 50
years has owned or seen a JanSport bag,
so we selected the Trans by JanSport Su-
perMax. It features a 15-inch padded lap-
top sleeve, four zippered compartments,
and a lifetime guarantee. Price tag? Any-
where between $25 to $35 online.
Next came selecting the waterproof
coating. There are all sorts or protec-
tants available today, from silicone aero-
sols to durable water repellents (DWR)
made of fluoropolymers. We chose a $9
bottle of Nikwax Tent & Gear Solar-
Proof. Aside from being a water-based
formula that’s non-aerosol, non-flamma-
ble, and non-hazardous, it provides both
H2O repellency and shielding against
UV damage.
Following the directions, we sprayed
an even coat of Nikwax on the Super-
Max, waited two minutes, and wiped
excess liquid with a damp cloth. We let
the pack dry overnight. The next day
we performed our in-house rain simula-
tion: stuffed it full of newsprint paper,
closed all the zippers, and put it under
a running showerhead for 10 minutes.
Then we wiped off the droplets on the
pack’s exterior.
So how did our DIY stormproof pack
do? Like a drunk celebrity at a police
checkpoint, it failed miserably. While the
Nikwax did indeed help water bead up
and stay on the surface of the polyester
fabric, the coating couldn’t stop H2O
from flowing through the seams or zip-
pers, where our newsprint paper was
most mush-like.
The lesson? You can paint a dinghy
to look like a submarine, but that won’t
stop it from taking on water when you hit
rough seas. If you’re looking for a truly
weatherproof pack for your next bug-out
bag, make sure it was manufactured with
weather-resistant properties in the irst
place, because a waterproof coating can
only do so much.
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SACKS

Scrubba
Stealth Pack
Certainly the most unique entry
in this buyer’s guide, the Scrubba
Stealth Pack is a four-in-one solu-
tion: a weatherproof backpack,
a compression dry bag, a camp
shower, and a portable washing
machine. Yes, you read those last
two functions correctly.
This invention came about when
Scrubba founder Ash Newland of Aus-
tralia and a friend were planning to
climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in
2010. They realized their cold-weather
apparel and camping gear would take
up most of the cargo space, leaving
them room for just a few changes of
casual clothes. Soon enough the first
Scrubba bag was born.
The Stealth Pack version com-
bines a waterproof roll-top bag, a
flexible integrated washboard, and a
multifunctional valve in one durable
package. To use it as a washer, place
your dirty clothes with some water
and detergent inside the bag, close
the roll-top closure, then scrub the Weatherproof design and
garments for up to 3 minutes. construction
If you’re in need of a shower after Outside-the-box design
mucking around in the backcountry, Excellent as a supplemental pack
just fill this dry bag with water, hang CONS:
it from a tree, and let its black nylon Limited 21-liter capacity
soak up some sunrays. Then turn Like most dry bags, there’s just
the valve and get a warm rinse in. one compartment; no internal or
If you’re traveling, this Scrubba can external pockets or pouches.
act as compression bag. Fill it with
clothes, squeeze out all the air, and BODY FABRIC
Waterproof 40-denier nylon fab-
tighten the valve. It’ll stay compact, ric, 210-denier nylon back panel
saving you luggage space.
As a dry bag, the Stealth Pack CAPACITY
21 liters (1,281 cubic inches)
effortlessly passed our shower test
with flying colors. DIMENSIONS
For serious survivalists, the Stealth 21 by 13 by 7 inches
Pack won’t suffice as a primary BOB, WEIGHT
but would shine as a valuable add-on 1 pound
thanks to its multipurpose design. COLORS
Black
PROS: MSRP
Can quadruple as a dry bag, com- $100
pression bag, portable washer, and URL
camp shower www.thescrubba.com

filo, weerapatkiatdumrong, malven57/istockphoto.com

“The other option is to separate all your

H2O
gear into waterproof bags” before placing
them in your backpack.
By “waterproof bags,” he’s referring to
airtight plastic pouches made by com-

Hack
As is the case with most survival gear,
the higher the standards of quality and
functionality we demand of our storm-
proof packs, the higher the price tags. So
how can you keep your supplies dry if
you can’t aford an expensive dry bag?
If you’re prepping on a budget, back-
pack designer Mel Terkla recommends
two economical strategies.
“A built-in waterproof pack rain cover
or a standalone one is the easiest way
to keep the rain at bay,” says Terkla, an
independent designer who’s worked for
a variety of companies including Kifaru.
panies such as Loksak. They look like
zippered sandwich bags but are 100-per-
cent waterproof, far more durable, and
come in a variety of sizes. For example,
Loksak’s OPSAK can be as small as 7 by
7 inches or as large as 28 by 20 inches
and start at $9.49 for a two-pack. If you’re
really pinching pennies, Terkla says,
then use that money to get a box of
Ziploc freezer bags and separate your
survival gear accordingly.
As for rain covers, if your backpack
doesn’t come with one, you can ind
generic models for as little as $5 or qual-
ity brand covers starting at about $15,
depending on size and compatibility.
“These two simple solutions will make
your bag absolutely stormproof without
any loss of durability,” Terkla says.
 AK63DS

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084
ISSUE 25

Edible Plants and Their Dangerous Doppelgängers

By Andrew Schrader
 theasis/istockphoto.com

ost of our readers already know that aging for plants in order to scrape by. The problem is that

M our preference is for fresh meat in the

wild during a bug-out or backcountry
hiking scenario. And as Green Beret
Mykel Hawke noted in Issue 23 of
RECOIL OFFGRID, it’s much easier to get life-saving nutrients
and energy from animals than it is from plants.
That being said, animals aren’t always available to us.
foraging for plants, although easier because they can’t run
away from you, is complicated by the fact that some plants
can harm you and others can kill you. The second issue
is that some plants that resemble edible options and look
familiar to us can actually be quite harmful if ingested. If
you’ve ever seen the movie Into the Wild, this situation was
depicted to reflect one of the theories about how Christo-
And in a true survival situation we may need to end up for- pher McCandless died.

WARNING!
This article is meant
to be an overview
and not a detailed
guide on identifying
and consuming edible
plants. Seek guidance
from a trained botanist
before attempting to
eat any plants. Any
attempt to consume
plants shall solely be
at the reader’s risk.
086
ISSUE 25
To help us sort things out, we tracked down profes-
sional backpacking and climbing guide Lee Vartanian.
These days, besides guiding in his “spare time,” he
works as the founder and head of Modern Icon, which
handcrafts K9 leashes and harnesses for high-end law
enforcement and military applications. He also helps
train U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) agencies in “the
art of vertical access in nonpermissive environments.” In
other words, using ropes and climbing skills to gain pas-
sage to areas that bad guys don’t want you to access.
Lee earned his bachelor’s degree in outdoor educa-
tion, with a minor in environmental science, and has
been guiding professionally for 18 years. As a kid, he
practiced by foraging for food in his neighborhood
and constructing homemade snares. Besides read-
ing every book on edible plants he could find, he also
hoarded magazine clippings from survivalists, includ-
ing wild food proponent Euell Gibbons, author of
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, who some readers may
recognize from circa-1970s Grape Nuts commercials.
“Everyone thinks about clubbing a wild rabbit and
cooking it over a fire when they think of survival experi-
ences,” Lee told us. “But they forget the importance of
being able to eat on the move. Killing and prepping wild
game with primitive tools is a challenge even on a good
day. Doing that while you’re malnourished, cold, and
sleep deprived can be close to impossible and poten-
tially hazardous to your physical safety.”
If unexpectedly stranded in the backcountry, Lee’s
recommendation for most people, most of the time, is to
shelter in place and wait for rescue. Hiking out, however,
may sometimes be necessary. “In either scenario,” Lee
said, “you may have to rely on both hunting and gather-
ing depending on how long you are lost. So don’t miss
out on the benefits of gathering plants that are plentiful
and won’t run away when you’re on the move.”
TESTING PLANTS
First of all, don’t just randomly chow down on the first
thing that looks like a tomato or a berry. Follow a series
of protocols to help make eating in the wild less hazard-
ous (note that we never used the word “safe.”)
Crush the plant’s leaves and take a whif. If it smells
Kateryna Pavliuk/istockphoto.com
unpleasant, or like almonds, discard it.
Rub the juice of the crushed leaf on the inside of
your arm, and wait for 15 minutes. If no irritation devel-
ops, place a small piece on your lips, then in the corner
of your mouth, then the tip of your tongue, and finally
under your tongue, holding each for three minutes
before moving.
If the plant irritates your skin or mouth, treat it as
you would an acid. Pour water over your skin to re-
move toxins, and use alcohol or dish soap to clean off
the residue. Contaminated clothing must be washed
or thoroughly discarded.
If no negative side efects are observed, swallow a
small amount and wait for five hours, consuming noth-
ing else in the meantime. Assuming nothing bad hap-
pens, the plant can be considered less hazardous to eat.
“The part a lot of people miss,” Lee said, “is ensuring
that whatever they’re testing is plentiful. Don’t let your
curiosity override your logic, and always consider boiling
the plant to make it more easily digestible.”
ACCIDENTAL INGESTION
If the sample you ate starts to give you a bad ride, or if
you or someone else inadvertently ate something that’s
turning out to be toxic, there aren’t a lot of great options.
An unpleasant reaction can turn deadly in a short amount
of time. The best thing to do is to make a note (or take
a sample) of the plant or plants ingested, then evacuate
immediately to a hospital. However, if you’re in such a bad
situation that you’re forced to eat plants in the first place,
it’s likely that immediate evacuation isn’t feasible.
If you can’t get your victim to a hospital, place them
into the recovery position (¾ prone) and prepare to wait
it out. Rest will give their body the best chance at fighting
the toxins in the event you’ve exhausted all other options.
Many people assume that the easy solution at this
point is to induce vomiting, but that’s really not the
answer. First, a toxic plant may cause vomiting on its
own, so if it’s going to happen, it’s probably already hap-
pening. Second, induced vomiting can cause caustic
substances to create more damage on the way up,
especially if the vomiting is projectile and goes through
the nose. Last, there’s also a chance to inadvertently
inhale the vomit accidentally, further complicating an
already bad situation.
Because your self-treatment options are so limited, it’s
critical to avoid eating anything that you can’t 100-per-
cent positively identify in the first place. The mess you
don’t make is the mess you don’t need to clean up.
So now that you know how to test items, and just
how dangerous it can be to accidentally eat the wrong
thing, watch out for the following deadly doppelgängers
— though keep in mind that this is just a small sampling
of harmful plants. Our hope is that this listing will help
you more safely stalk your own wild asparagus and get
more nutrition with less nausea. Good luck out there, and
happy “hunting!”
 EAT THIS,
NOT THAT

Wild Grapes
(Vitis riparia)
vs. Black Nightshade
Poisonous Virginia Creeper Range:
(Parthenocissus quinquefolia) Southern and Western
United States,
British Columbia
“This is my favorite deadly doppelgänger comparison because
everyone seems to want to eat anything that resembles a
grape or berry,” Lee said. “When in season, wild grapes provide
a tremendous amount of nutrition with their fruit, leaves, and
Photo by Richard A. Howard,
even new shoots being edible, but keep in mind that the roots hosted by the USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database
are poisonous. Wild grapes also provide a great source of po-
table water through cutting their vines. Cut high first, then low,
to maximize the amount of water yielded per vine.”
Photo by Larry Allain,
hosted by theUSDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database
Tell Them Apart: Wild grape tendrils are more conspicuous
and grow in branches, as opposed to Virginia Creeper, which
adhere using terminal pads. Also, Virginia Creeper leaves are
compound leaves, meaning that they consist of several leaflets
joined to a single stem. Wild grape leaves just have one leaf Deadly Nightshade
attached to each stem. Range:
Central United States,
Saskatchewan

Wild Grapes Range:

Eastern Half of Canada
and throughout the United
States, excluding the far
Photo by
Black Nightshade
Southwest and Wasrts (Solanum americanum)
Southeast U.S. vs.
Deadly Nightshade
(Atropa belladonna)

American Black Nightshade berries and leaves are traditionally

eaten by Native Americans as well as modern cultures in Cen-
tral American communities. Black Nightshade also has more
protein, calories, fiber, calcium, iron, B vitamins, and vitamin C
Photo by Bill Summers,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS than spinach.
PLANTS Database

Photo by Deadly Nightshade, on the other hand, can cause delirium,

Wasrts
hallucinations, and death when eaten in large quantities. “This
is the most likely deadly doppelgänger to get you into trouble,”
Lee said. “Avoiding both varieties, if you’re unsure, would be
your best bet.”

Virginia Tell Them Apart: “The most obvious way to diferentiate be-
Creeper Range: tween them is that the edible Black Nightshade berries grow in
Eastern half of United bunches, as opposed to Deadly Nightshade berries which grow
States and Canada individually. Remember that only the ripe berries can be eaten
ISSUE 25

safely, and the leaves still need to be boiled before consumption.”

Photo by James H. Miller,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database

OFFGRIDWEB.COM 087
088
ISSUE 25

Virginia Ground Cherry

(Physalis virginiana)
vs. Wild Garlic
Range:
Horse Nettles Eastern half of
(Solanum carolinense)
United States and
Canada
The Virginia Ground Cherry is edible when ripe, resembling
a small tomato. However, more often than not, any “wild
tomatoes” stumbled upon in the wild should be regarded with
suspicion due to their similarity to Horse Nettles. Photo by Thomas G. Barnes,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database

Though they look quite similar to cherry tomatoes, all parts of

the horse nettle are poisonous and can cause abdominal pain,
nausea, vomiting, and death.

Tell Them Apart: Horse Nettle has large spiky prickles on

its stems, while the Ground Cherry only has thick, stif hairs.
Additionally, the fruits of the Ground Cherry are enclosed in a
papery husk while those of the Horse Nettle are bare.
Death Camas
Photo by
Katy Chayka Range:
Virginia Throughout the
Ground Cherry United States and
Range: Canada
Central and Eastern
United States,
Eastern half of
Photo by Al Schneider,
Canada hosted by the USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database

Horse Nettles
Range: Wild Garlic
Throughout the (Allium canadense)
United States, vs.
Parts of Eastern
Canada
Death Camas
(Toxicoscordion venenosum and others)
s

Wild garlic should smell strongly of onions or garlic, and is

generally edible without issues. Use the chopped green leaves
as chives to make any food more palatable and eat the onion-
like bulb. Be aware, though, that Death Camas also looks a lot
like an onion. It can cause loss of voluntary muscle movement,
diarrhea, vomiting, among other unpleasantries.
Photo by Ted Bodner,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS
PLANTS Database
Tell Them Apart: Take a whif. Although the Death Camas
bulb looks like an onion, it won’t have the smell of garlic or
Photo by Jennifer Anderson,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS onion like its edible cousin.
PLANTS Database
 EAT THIS,
NOT THAT
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
Florida Native Plant Society
Wild Carrot aka Queen Anne’s Lace Ohio State University Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide
(Daucus carota) Purdue University Department of Agriculture
vs. University of Texas, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Poisonous Hemlock U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
(Conium maculatum)

The roots of young carrots are very edible, although as they

age they become more woody and inedible.

Tell Them Apart: Look for purple blotches or spots on the

smooth (hairless) stems of Poison Hemlock. Wild carrot stems
are usually covered in hairs, while hemlock is bare.

Wild Carrot
Range: Lee’s Recommendations for
Where to
Throughout the
United States and
Canada

Photo by
Joaquim Alves Gaspar
Learn More
Books by Tom Brown Jr. and Courses at his
Tracker School in New Jersey
“Tom Brown is one of my literary mentors,” Lee says.
“Anything written by Tom is a sure bet, and any survival
courses at his school come highly recommended, even
though people think he is a little ‘out there’ with the
Poisonous spiritual side of things.”
Hemlock Range: www.trackerschool.com
Throughout the
United States and Courses at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in
Canada Western North Carolina
Look for courses titled Wilderness Survival 1 and Wil-
derness Survival 2. The irst course teaches you how to
survive the irst 72 hours in the wild, when most rescues
typically happen. In the second course, you learn what
to do ater the irst three days have passed, addressing
the need to survive on the move while self-rescuing.
www.noc.com

Photo by
Gary A. Monroe Survival Courses from 88 Tactical at their
Tekamah Training Facility in Nebraska
With introductory to advanced courses ranging from 8
hours to 48 hours, 88 Tactical ofers skillset training you
can beneit from regardless of skill level.
Photo by Doug Goldman,
hosted by the USDA-NRCS www.88tactical.com
PLANTS Database
090
ISSUE 25
HANDSON
HEAT ON TAP
Boil Water Anywhere with the Cauldryn Fyre Water Bottle
ot water is life — whether
H on a mundane level, as
piping hot cofee keeps
people sane and civilized
during their everyday
routines, or in a survival situation where the
ability to sterilize water can keep you alive.
In RECOIL OFFGRID Issue 5, we reviewed
a selection of insulated and non-insulated
stainless steel water bottles. The best of the
insulated bottles did a great job of keeping
hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold. But all
they can do is maintain temperature as long
as possible. The Cauldryn Fyre water bottle
takes that a step further by incorporating a
heating element at the bottom of its stainless
steel, vacuum insulated bottle. You can at-
tach a large rechargeable battery to heat on
the go, or dock the bottle on an AC- or DC-
powered base and plug it into a wall outlet or
cigarette lighter socket in your car or boat.
The One Bottle To
Rule Them All?
With a name that Saruman would be
proud of, the Cauldryn Fyre aims to do it all.
The 16-ounce bottle is vacuum-insulated to
maintain temperatures on its own. It’s topped
with a screw-on lid with two openings — a
small one that flips open to sip from and a
larger spout with a threaded cap to pour
from. The pour spout also sports a pressure
release valve for boil mode. There’s a plastic
clip strap that keeps the lid attached to the
bottle and also includes a retention loop.
The heating element has two primary
modes accessed via two buttons on the
By Steven Kuo
bottle: maintain and boil. The former main-
tains a specified temperature; you can cycle
through four temperature ranges — 124-134
degrees, 135-145 degrees, 160-170 degrees,
and 194-204 degrees. Initiate the boil mode
and the element will stay on until the con-
tents reach the boiling point (212 degrees).
The four LEDs on the side of the bottle light
up as the temperature reaches 104, 140, 176,
and 212 degrees.
Keeping Hot Stuf Kinda Warm
and Cold Stuf Kinda Cool
Unfortunately, as an insulated water bottle,
the Cauldryn didn’t stack up well against the
bottles we tested previously in Issue 5. To test
the Cauldryn’s ability to keep its contents hot,
we filled it to capacity with 200-degree water.
After 12 hours at an ambient temperature in
the high 60s, the water had cooled down to
80 degrees, a 120-degree diference. As a
point of comparison, in our previous testing,
the best-performing bottle from Zojirushi
went from 195 degrees to 151 degrees after
12 hours, a loss of just 44 degrees, while the
least efective of the products tested fell to
92 degrees, shedding 103 degrees.
For our cold water test, we filled the Cauld-
ryn with 39-degree water. After just 15 hours,
the water had warmed to and remained
at ambient temperature, which was 65 de-
grees. In comparison, in our previous testing,
the Zojirushi bottle again topped the charts,
going from 36 degrees to 50 degrees after
24 hours, in an ambient temperature of
78 degrees. None of the previously tested
bottles reached ambient temperature in the
24-hour testing period; the worst bottle crept
up to 74 degrees after 24 hours.
Plan Ahead
So, the Cauldryn’s not a particularly good
insulated bottle, having performed notice-
ably worse than the least efective product
in our prior roundup. But it has something
none of those other bottles have — a heating
element. Using that element to maintain
temperature turned out to be our favorite
application for the Cauldryn, keeping cofee
and tea at our preferred temperature all day
without any fuss. We appreciated being able
to choose between the diferent tempera-
ture options, even enjoying hot soup. The
trade-of is that, due to its large battery, the
Cauldryn has much lower capacity and
weighs much more (a pound or more) than
traditional insulated bottles. With the battery
attached, it’s awkwardly tall, at over 12 inches.
We also tested the Cauldryn’s boil feature.
Untethered, we were able to get two boils
out of a fully charged battery. Starting with
16 ounces of 61-degree water, the Cauldryn
delivered boiling water as promised, taking
18 minutes to reach 212 degrees with the lid
closed. Without the lid, it took 20 minutes
and reached 211 degrees before automati-
cally shutting of. We thought this was a
rather leisurely pace — until we conducted
the next test.
HANDSON
The Cauldryn comes bundled with a
handy AC-powered base on which you
can dock the bottle. Perhaps our base unit
was faulty, but it didn’t work well. Boiling
61-degree water with the Cauldryn plugged
into a power outlet took a long time. The
tree outside our ofice window seemed to
be growing faster than the water tempera-
ture in the bottle. Perhaps taking mercy on
us, the Cauldryn finally threw in the towel
and shut itself of early at 199 degrees, after
51 torturously long minutes. CIA operatives
take note: Waterboarding may no longer
be an approved enhanced interrogation
technique, but being forced to watch the
Cauldryn boil water on its AC-powered base
might be a close substitute.
Other Considerations
Boiling water takes a lot of energy, so the
battery module is quite heavy (1.3 pounds)
and boasts a robust 75.5 watt-hour rating.
It’s also designed to recharge via a hefty 19-
volt, 2-amp power supply. This is no big deal
when you have access to AC power or use
Cauldryn’s optional DC adapter. However, if
you’re out in the field with the bottle and its
battery, common portable charging options
such as USB power banks or solar chargers
won’t charge the battery, even with an (un-
common) USB cable that fits the battery’s
thirsty circular plug.
Four LEDs on the battery display its status,
and you can also charge other items with
the Cauldryn’s battery via two USB ports.
Both output 5 volts, with one rated at 1 amp
and the other at 2.1 amps. While charging an
iPad that regularly pulls up to 1.8 amps from
a wall charger, we measured output up to 1.5
amps from the Cauldryn battery.
Some of the Cauldryn’s controls weren’t
as user friendly as they could be. The
 Red Rock Outdoor Gear
MAKE & MODEL
Cauldryn
Fyre Mobile
DIMENSIONS
8.25 x 3 7⁄16 (bottle)
maintain and boil buttons are unlabeled,
so you need to remember which is which.
The temperature LEDs are also unlabeled,
Riot Sling Pack MSRP $59.99
4.25 x 3 3⁄16 (battery)
but they’re color coded so it’s easy to get
12 1⁄8 x 3 7⁄16 (attached) the drift. The 1A and 2A USB charging ports
WEIGHT aren’t labeled either. You also need to mind
1 lb. (bottle)
1.3 lb. (battery) the battery’s power button; we unintention-
2.3 lb. (total)
ally actuated it several times. The retention
MSRP
$130 loop arrived broken, but that’s OK because
URL we didn’t like it anyway, as it’s made of plas-
www.cauldryn.com
tic and protrudes inconveniently.
With exposed leads on the bottom of
the bottle, you need to exercise some
care in cleaning the bottle after use. You
can’t just dunk it in the sink or throw it in
the dishwasher.
There are many supe-
rior insulated bottles on the
market that are also lighter,
smaller, less expensive, and
higher-capacity, so we’d suggest you
only consider the Cauldryn if you plan to use
its heating element frequently. We felt the
sweet spot for the Cauldryn was in keeping
liquids warm at your exact desired tempera-
ture — handy for everyday use or on short
outings. However, if you don’t mind losing a
little bit of temperature over time, a highly
rated insulated bottle would be a cheaper,
lighter, and more convenient option. The
boiling function consumes so much battery
power that we’d reserve it for emergency
use when in the field — but it’s a nice capabil-
ity to have and useful if you have ongoing
access to an AC or DC power source. As a
survival tool, though, the Cauldryn’s practi-
cality comes up short.

HOT WATER TEST COLD WATER TEST

Start 200 degrees Start 39 degrees

2 hrs 146 degrees 4 hours 54 degrees Proud maker of

4 hrs 121 degrees 8 hours 60 degrees
backpacks, sling packs,
8 hrs

12 hrs
93 degrees

80 degrees
12 hours 63 degrees

15 hours 65 degrees
gun bags, tactical slings,
Average ambient air
(ambient)
Average ambient air MOLLE attachments,
temperature at time of
testing: 68 degrees F
Average humidity: 54%
temperature at time of
testing: 65 degrees F
Average humidity: 63%
LBE, K9 gear,
We used a Kestrel Drop D3 data logger to collect the data. and accessories.
View the full line: rrog.com
1.800.342.4654
094
ISSUE 25
DEBUNKED
The Myth of Not Getting Water from Plants in North America
or those familiar with tropical survival techniques, you
F already know that water-rich jungle climates are home
to many species of vines and plants that yield safe
drinking water. But what happens if you find yourself
in North America, staring down the barrel of dehy-
dration? With only your surroundings as a resource, can you stay
hydrated from plant water sources?
The Myth
You’ve seen the cartoons. Just chop the top of a cactus and it will
be full of drinkable water. The only problem is, we’re not in a comic
book and that cactus is full of bitter, gelatinous pulp. There’s a myth
in the survival community (likely started by disillusioned cactus
choppers), that you can only extract drinking water from plants in
tropics. But that’s not true.
The Reality
Tap a Tree: In late winter and early spring, numerous trees pro-
duce drinkable water. Tree tapping is a simple operation, if you get
the timing and the species identification right. With a knife, drill, or
similar tool, bore a hole into the tree trunk. It should go through the
bark and a few inches into the wood. Insert a tube or some other
item to channel the sap flow into a waiting container, and wait for the
sap to start dripping. It typically flows best on days that are above
freezing that follow a sub-freezing night. Try diferent tree sizes and
locations of your chosen tree species.
A young strong tree may produce more sap than an older tree.
It’s also best to tap the sunny side of the tree, above a large root or
below a large limb. In mid to late winter, sycamore trees (Platanus
spp.) will have a very irregular sap run. These trees are found in the
east, as well as California and Arizona. In late winter, you can also tap
maple trees (Acer spp.), which are found throughout the country.
Maples can produce heavily; up to a gallon per day per tap during
the peak of the sap run.
Walnut (Juglans spp.) and hickory (Carya spp.) will produce around
the same time as maple. Birch (Betula spp.) is typically the last tree
to have a sap run. Walnut, hickory, and birch species are found
throughout the continent. But a word of caution, don’t drink any sap
from unfamiliar trees. There are more than a few toxic trees in North
America. Use a field guide!
Slice a Vine: After the sap run ends in usable trees, you have
another chance to collect sap for drinking water. Grape vines (the
genus Vitis) can be used on warm spring days. Chop the vine on an
pick-uppath/istockphoto.com
By Tim MacWelch
angle, place the pointed end into a container
and collect the water. Due to the higher tan- DISCLAIMER:
This article is meant to
nic acid level and low sugar content, grape be a quick overview and
not a detailed guide on
sap will taste a little bitter and astringent,
identifying and consuming
but it is perfectly drinkable. Vines less than edible plants. Seek
guidance from a trained
a ½ inch in diameter will drip for a few hours
botanist before attempting
before they stop, while larger vines will gush to eat any plants. Any
attempt to consume
water like a faucet. Like tree tapping, this
plants shall solely be at
is all about timing. There’ll be days when the reader’s risk.
the water will flow, and days when it won’t.
You’ll only know for sure when you try. Again, make certain that the
vine really is a grape, as there are some toxic vines with sap that
wouldn’t be safe to drink.
The Alternatives
Boil Down Syrup: If you’re lucky enough to have trees produc-
ing sugary sap you can boil of the water to make your own syrup.
All of the trees mentioned in this article can produce sweet syrup
(except the grape vine). Maple has the taste you already know and
love. Hickory is similar, with a hint of pecan. Walnut is sweet, with
walnut essence. Birch and sycamore have their own special flavors.
One quart of sap will boil down to a spoonful of delicious syrup.
This is well worth the trouble, especially if you have a fire going
anyway for warmth.
Berries as a Beverage: One frequently overlooked source of
hydration is the juice from edible berries. Blackberries, raspber-
ries, blueberries, mulberries, and other edible berries are found
throughout North America. These edibles are at their most plenti-
ful in the summertime and ripe ones have a high water content.
You could, of course, eat them for solid food and moisture. But
when you lack water, it’s not wise to eat anything. Digesting food
and passing waste are both processes that require water. Your best
option is to positively identify the edible berries, wrap them in a
piece of clean cloth, crush them and wring out the juice. This juice
will provide much needed hydration, with accompanying sugar,
vitamins, and minerals.
Claim the Cactus: Remember the cactus pulp we discussed ear-
lier? It’s not completely worthless. If you’re able to improvise some
distillation equipment, the cactus pulp can be added to your other
raw water sources. Whether you’ve built a still from a vessel and
some condensation coil, or you’ve dug a solar still pit in the ground,
cactus pulp will increase your water output. Use a local plant ID
guide to ensure that you’re not using any toxic greenery.
096
ISSUE 25 ONTHEGRID
beats the past alternatives of placing a wanted ad in the news-

Staying paper or nailing a notice to the bulletin board in front of

city hall. While you’re at it, you can follow our oficial social

Plugged-In
media accounts at Facebook.com/OFFGRIDmag and
@recoiloffgridmagazine on Instagram for news, event
coverage, and useful articles.
By Patrick McCarthy So, how does 21st century tech factor into your preparation
strategy, and what sort of electronics (if any) are present in
urvival isn’t easy, but it’s certainly easier today your survival kits? Let me know by emailing me at pmccar-

S than it was in centuries past. Some of this can

be attributed to modern medicine, which helps
doctors save lives that might otherwise be lost
to illness or injury. It’s also a result of the global
economy, which gives us access to a greater selection of
afordable tools and provisions. But perhaps the greatest
survival advantage we have today is technology.
thyoffgrid@gmail.com. You can also see what I’m currently
working on by following me on Instagram: @pmccarthy10.

Web Debriefing
Now, before you remind us that a major disaster could In case you missed them, here are three web-exclusive stories that can
cripple the power grid and render electronics powerless, hear help you better incorporate tech into your preparedness plan.
us out. These devices are tools, and like any other tools, you
Brandon Barton of Last Man
should be ready and able to survive without them. However, in Brandon Barton
Projects built a $200 DIY
the meantime, you’d be foolish not to make the most of them. emergency power pack that
For example, we wouldn’t head out into the woods without stays in the back of his bug-
a lighter simply because there’s a chance it could malfunction out Ford Bronco. It keeps his
or run out of fuel — but if it does, we’d have several backup mobile electronics charged and
methods of starting a fire. Similarly, we wouldn’t leave a connects to a roof-mounted
smartphone behind in a bug-out situation, since it provides a solar panel for sustainable
power. www.offgridweb.
convenient means of communication and navigation, among
com/?p=10962
many other things. But if the device breaks, signal drops to
zero, or a catastrophic event permanently wipes out the Andy Schrader discusses
power grid, we’d go to plan B. This is the diference between the advantages of using
preparedness and dependence. a smartphone for of-grid
navigation and how to
Even outside of SHTF situations, technology can be an
download maps to your device
incredibly valuable tool for improving your survival skills. The
for use in areas where cell
internet provides access to the answers to questions you’ve signal is nonexistent. He also
never even thought to ask and a near-endless source of useful addresses ways to conserve
tips, guides, and step-by-step tutorials — many are available and recharge your phone’s
on OFFGRIDweb.com. Thanks to personal electronics and battery. www.offgridweb.
the Internet, you can start learning virtually any survival skill com/?p=9479
onXmaps
without setting foot outside your home. You just need time,
patience, and real-world practice to prove its efectiveness. During short-term emergencies
Our ancestors would be incredibly jealous. and get-home scenarios, it’s
Those of you who read this column last issue will recall our helpful to be able to quickly
emphasis on the value of participating in a community of sur- recharge your devices
vivalists. This, too, is made easier thanks to technology. While from a multitude of power
sources. This guide discusses
social media is often used for posting cat pictures and arguing
considerations for assembling
about politics, it’s also a great way to stay in touch with like-
an everyday-carry electronics
minded people around the world. If you’re looking to connect kit. www.offgridweb.
with preppers in your area, you shouldn’t have trouble finding com/?p=6087
them with a quick search of local Facebook groups — it sure

For more web-exclusive content, head to OFFGRIDweb.com, like our page at Facebook.com/OFFGRIDmag, or follow us on Instagram at @recoiloffgridmagazine.
 When SHTF, will you be
caught holding the bag?

Be prepared.
Mobile optimized, fully interactive,
and featuring our trademark mix of
witty writing and gorgeous art design,
OFFGRIDweb.com is chock full of
expert advice, tips, and techniques to
enhance your skillset. Plus, we have
honest and in-depth reviews of the
latest gear, gadgets, and supplies.

It’s where preppers, survivalists, and

those who want to be in the know come
to stay ready. Experience it for yourself.

OFFGRIDweb.com

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 098
ISSUE 25
THE LAST PAGE

A Glimpse of Things to Come?

Review of The Savage by Frank Bill By Ryan Lee Price

NOVEL & AUTHOR

The Premise: Very rarely are novels reviewed in RECOIL The Verdict: In order for a book to earn a space on these
The Savage
OFFGRID, as this column is mostly reserved for books that delve pages, it usually must present itself as a tool for a life-after- Frank Bill
into the how’s and what’s of surviving a variety of catastrophic disaster scenario. Though this is a novel, there are some gems
PUBLISHER
situations. Post-apocalyptic fiction still ofers teachable moments of knowledge that can be gleaned from it. Bill succinctly de- FSG Originals
Publishing, New York
about survival and human nature during desperate times, though, scribes the proper method of gutting a deer, for example, and
MSRP
so enter Frank Bill’s newest book, The Savage, a dark, dreary, gut his fight scenes show a writer who has researched methods, $10.18
punch of a novel that’ll leave readers wanting to hug their children, actions, and reactions. (Amazon.com)
and be thankful for a house, job, and food on the table. They can/jar provisions, build fires, properly care for weap- URL
FSGOriginals.com
The story focuses on Van Dorn through the eyes of an ons, and Bill describes the harrowing instincts these bleak
PAGES
omniscient point of view, allowing the reader to see, hear, survivors experience in an unforgiving wasteland, one that 400
and feel just enough of what’s going on to remain solidly in nearly lacks all scruples and morals of any kind. However,
the dark until a spotlight is splashed in your eyes at just the the minor characters themselves are rather two-dimensional
right moment. We jump back and forth through a multiyear stereotypes (the burly white supremacist and the scholarly
period, alternating between when he was a young teen full of Asian, for example), and the book contains more than its
petulance and disdain to a 20-something man, alone and fully share of astronomical coincidences that the reader’s suspen-
engulfed in the desperate world his father warned him about. sion of disbelief will need to put in some overtime.
Chock full of violence, both past and present, we see a hos- Bill’s style of writing is, at times, dificult to read without
tile world through Van Dorn’s eyes, one of death, bloodshed, stumbling. His reliance on gratuitous violence nearly hampers
slavery, and ultimate despair. his ability to shape characters that the reader can associate
The 411: In a word, The Savage is grim and will likely make with and adequately root for, and it doesn’t give the story a
people uneasy. It’s choppy, staccato prose rat-tat-tats of of the chance to build suspenseful situations that pay of in later
page in fits and jerks with long stretches of vagueness pointed chapters. The theme of “immediate satisfaction” shows
by sudden explosions of text, all of it purposefully jarring throughout the book and Bill’s overused motifs of
your ability to remain comfortable. Mixed with that is horrific blood-spattered vengeance,
imagery, presented in slow motion. When a man is shot point righteousness, and justice
blank, “blood spewed like a blown head gasket,” and he meets appear obvious and tired to vet-
survivors of this economic holocaust that have survived solely eran dystopian novel readers.
on “the meat of man, woman, and child.” That said, it’s a riveting book
With elements of other popular dystopian novels at its base, set in the same universe (with
like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, — The Savage presents a not- some of the same types of char-
so-distant future we want to remain fiction, but the book reads acters) as Bill’s previous novel,
like it’s happening tomorrow. There’s no clever turns of phrase as Donnybrook. The loss of manu-
with 1984 (“the clock strikes thirteen”) or languid, stretching prose facturing jobs, the devaluing of
that settles you into a well-paced and linear timeline like The the dollar, the destruction of the
Road. Bill holds neither punch nor gouge from the get-go and national power grid, a full-blown
doesn’t let up until you close the book at the end. drug epidemic, the desolation of
Of course, for the reader to not completely lose every bit of towns and communities, and the
hope of humanity in Van Dorn against “the savages,” which domination of roving, warring
are nothing more than packs of murderous kidnappers to bands of cannibals are all thing
deal in skin and slavery — the plot curves into the realm of a that feel too real, too close to
romance between young Van Dorn and a girl he knows called home, and seeming coming to a
Sheldon (whom we meet early on, while we’re still wondering town near you sooner than we’d
if Van Dorn is someone worth rooting for). all like.

Shablon/istockphoto.com