Know Prepare Survive

Firearms are a great equalizer. Some self-defense weapons require strength to use. Guns do not have this weakness. They remove strength from the equation and allow everyone to defend themselves equally. How you carry your weapon is up to you and your local laws. Citizens in Texas can proudly and …

Nearly everyone who lives in the American Midwest has a tornado story. Here’s one of mine: The closest I ever came to a tornado was one which skipped over my head. My family and I were hunkered under the basement stairs when the tornado came. Thanks to a large, steep …

Flashlights are just as important an EDC item as your wallet or a good pocket knife. I’m sure that if you don’t carry a flashlight with you right now, you think that you don’t need one. That’s how I used to think. But ever since I got an EDC flashlight, …

Communication over long distances can be difficult, even with modern technology. Smartphones lose signal and radio batteries die, right when disaster strikes. Then what do you do to contact rescuers? Fall back on older technology, and use a flashlight, signal mirror, or another source of light to send a message …

You’ve heard it before. Someone says that they will wake up at oh-seven-hundred, or will be finished with their task at twenty-three-hundred. It’s a way of saying the time, of course. But it’s a different method than the 12 hour clock most people use. Like many military skills, such as …

When it comes to emergency preparedness, the only thing second to a good survival knife is a good flashlight. The world is dark half the time. In a survival situation, access to light when the sun is down can mean the difference between danger and survival. Now, I’m prone to …

Anybody who lives away from the equator knows that it can get quite chilly in winter. Sometimes, central heating dies at the worst time, such as when it’s below zero and the roads are iced over. I’ve had to chop emergency firewood in the snow because a tiny electrical part …

There is no uncontaminated surface water source in the world. That may not be a technically true statement, but unless you’re drinking from a mountaintop spring right at the source, it’s a good thing to keep in mind to minimize risk. And even if you’re drinking from that supposedly safe …

  The golden standard for an everyday carry knife is one made by Benchmade. Even the name, Benchmade, speaks to the quality of the knives they produce. Handmade products are well made, but each product made varies. Factory-made products are consistent but lack the finish and polish of handmade products. …

Campfires have kept people alive for thousands of years. They provide warmth and comfort, cook your food, and can keep predators at bay. We’ve already covered how to start a fire, but that’s just the first step. If you want more than just a small flame, you have to build …

If you’re like me, you have a smartphone. I have half a dozen navigation apps on my phone, so I rarely get lost! But phones have several major weaknesses: battery life and signal reception. Both of those work against you when you’re tromping through the woods. So, just when you …

  Archery is one of the oldest skills known to man. The ability to take a sharp stick and poke it into a target way over there allowed early humans to be far more successful in hunting than before. Today, we have a variety of hunting tools. You can hunt …

In a perfect world, no human would enact violence upon another person. But we do not live in a perfect world and violence is common. I’ve witnessed violent attacks with my own eyes. No matter how many precautions you take to avoid getting into a bad situation, trouble may still …

Your mouth is awash in bacteria. Normally this is not a bad thing. But sometimes, the wrong bacteria can get in the wrong spot. Then you take a bit of food and instead of that delicious food you caught yourself, you feel pain. Ouch! You have an infected tooth! What …

If you’re like me, you like exploring the wilderness. I can spend days in the field, enjoying nature. But nature is not a sterile lab. There are sharp things everywhere, and they harbor bacteria. Some of that bacteria is harmful, pathogenic. I’ve accidentally cut myself in the woods and I’m …