Survival prep is something most of us never want to have to worry about. Unfortunately, that also means it’s often the most overlooked group of items that one should carry if they find themselves venturing into the great outdoors. I believe that camping should consist of what’s needed for your trip along with a few “just in case” items. I don’t need a four-course meal while trekking through the backcountry. The feeling of being remote is what brings me pleasure. Getting away from pavement, getting away from crowds, getting away from the creature comforts of home and calling the forest or desert your home for even just a few short days, that’s what it’s all about. Regardless of how you spend your time outdoors, being prepared is something you need to be concerned with.
You may have read Bryan’s latest article on smoke detectors and recently replaced yours, but do you have a plan for what to do when they go off? Smoke detectors may work in different ways, but their primary goal is to alert those nearby that something has changed in the air, be it gas, smoke or carbon dioxide.
It’s important to know the difference in the sound of your smoke detectors, due to the fact that it changes how a person needs to react to save themselves and their family. [Read More…]
I was talking to a fellow on the phone the other day about bug-out bags. He indicated that he had read somewhere lately that he should mark his map with three routes to his BOL (Bug-Out Location) and asked what I thought of the idea.
I indicated that, at least in my opinion, that it didn’t sound like a sensible OPSEC (Operational Security) idea. In a bug-out situation there are many conditions that could cause your map to fall into the wrong hands.
If you’ve been following our progression as we get closer to the GORUCK Ascent, you’re probably wondering what gear we’ve decided to take.
When Bryan and I first committed to the Ascent, we knew almost nothing other than everything we’d be taking would have to be carried in or on a GORUCK GR2 and that we’d be climbing 14′ers. We didn’t receive the packing list until about a month after signing up.
Though the packing list set in place by GORUCK is strict, we have the freedom to choose exactly what pieces of gear we will be taking. Everything from what base layers to a tent (if you even want a tent). They were also adamant that if it wasn’t on the list, we wouldn’t need it; including food other than lickies and chewies.
Before getting too far in this article we’d like to extend a HUGE thank you to Todd and Julie at Tactical Distributors for working with us as a liaison between many of the companies you’ll read about that are providing gear for our adventure to allow us to tell you all about how it performs for us. [Read More…]
I’m sitting at my desk as I feel the floor gently ‘bounce.’ I work on the 11th floor of an office building in downtown Washington DC. Being at the top of the building and next to a small bridge, it’s not uncommon to feel small ‘shutters’ of movement as a large truck passes by.
Was this a truck? An earthquake? An explosion? The bounce subsided for a few moments as my coworkers and I stood and stared blankly at each other.
The air is thin at 14,000 feet. That’s a little over two and a half miles straight up. At that altitude, the oxygen available is only 61% of that which is available at sea level. Breathing and heart rates will be more strained, struggling to find oxygen. That’s why fitness is both paramount and completely irrelevant.
When it comes to altitude sickness (acute mountain sickness), it doesn’t always matter how physically fit you are. Being as in shape as possible is still important and if you don’t do what you can to prepare your muscles for the riggers of non-stop uphill hiking, you’re going to have quite an interesting time.
What Bryan and I have been focusing on are a mixture of physical fitness and gear choice. We plan on arriving to Colorado a few days early for the GORUCK Ascent to try and get a head start on the acclimatization process. In a best case scenario, we would need a good couple of weeks at altitude to truly acclimate but a few days certainly won’t hurt. Also, having quality lightweight gear will make the hiking less strenuous on our bodies. [Read More…]
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce a new series we’re starting on ITS Tactical all about survival kits.
Rather than review typical full-blown survival kits, we’ll be focusing on the survival kits that fit in your pocket.
Most of these are given as stocking stuffers and we want you to know which kits are qualified to be called true “survival kits.”
Over the next few months you’ll see overviews and opinions on a number of kits. Some of these kits may look like simple novelties, but we’ll be answering this important question.
“Can you depend on them for your survival and that of your loved ones?” [Read More…]
Have you ever spent the weekend enjoying a camping trip or went for a hike off the beaten path to a less traveled trail?
Perhaps you live near a state park or national forest and enjoy your off time out in areas far away from the modern world.
Let’s hope that while enjoying the great outdoors nothing serious ever happens but if it does, here are some tips to do the best you can when you have next to nothing. [Read More…]
We’ve received numerous questions in the past pertaining to MREs (Meal Ready to Eat), namely what commercial MREs are the best to purchase.
If you remember our MRE Field Strip article, where we went into how to repack an MRE for space and weight savings, you’ll know we’re all pretty big fans of the venerable MRE.
Having eaten them more times in the service than any man should, I still strangely love eating MREs, and always pack a few with me just in case.
Today, we’ll jump into some pros and cons of MREs, and list some good resources of where you can go to find out more. [Read More…]
It was 30DEC99 and my son was a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He had been born in September with a serious heart defect. My wife and I were very anxious for several reasons, since he was stable my biggest fear was being stuck in the ghetto of Baltimore for Y2K.
I had secured leave from the police department so that I could take my family to my parents house and watch the world from a safe distance. What worried me then, as it does now with major social events, is not the danger of the events themselves, but the actions of those who are unprepared and desperate.
As we know, Y2K turned out to be a non-event. Either way we had been discharged from the hospital and traveled to my parents house to enjoy the new year. The interesting thing about Y2K was that unlike any other event it was scheduled. We knew the exact time and date and were given time to plan for it. For many, it was their first time dabbling in the survival community, which is now known as the preparedness community. [Read More…]
Recent Comments