If you’re like me, you have meticulous records, backups of everything, and are always war gaming everything. “What would happen if the house burnt down and I wasn’t able to get anything out?”
I seriously go through these scenarios all the time, especially when it comes to important documents. I’ve recently started investigating the steps to obtaining duplicate passports and passport cards for myself and my family.
There are many reasons why you’d want to have a duplicate passport and even one of the new U.S. Passport Cards. [Read More…]
This article has been in the works for some time now, as we worked out how to present the information. Rather than discuss how to make our version of an alcohol stove, (we’ll be releasing that as a members only video) we’re going to look at the DIY Alcohol Stove compared to a couple that are commercially available.
We’ll be comparing size, weight, fuel efficiency, fuel capacity and burn time to give you an accurate representation of just how much difference there is between what you can make yourself and what you can buy.
Included in the review are the DIY stove, the Vargo Triad XE Titanium and the Trangia 28-T Backpacking Stove. All these stoves were tested using Denatured Alcohol, and what our results are based on. [Read More…]
A Paramedic friend of ours recently brought a DIY antiseptic to our attention called Dakin’s Solution.
In a situation where you might not have a drug store nearby, or commerce has come to a halt during a natural disaster, Dakin’s Solution can easily be made with simple household ingredients.
[Read More…]
by Joel on December 3, 2009
As I’m sure ITS readers understand, having the right gear for the mission is absolutely critical. The problem is, sometimes the right gear just isn’t out there.
We’ve all had that moment. One day inspiration strikes and you’re sure you’re sitting on the latest, groundbreaking design for a magazine pouch, plate carrier, backpack, whatever. It’s time to give it a shot and start sewing! [Read More…]
Today we’d like to show you how to build a cool way to store and display your gear.
This idea originally came to us after viewing the Marc Lee and Michael Monsoor memorial a few years ago on the SEAL Team Three Quarterdeck.
Under glass cases, they have Lee and Monsoor’s gear prominentley displayed for all to see.
We thought this kind of wooden stand would be the perfect way to hang up heavy body armor that typically breaks normal hangers, and also easily access your gear. [Read More…]
The purpose of using a dummy cord on important gear is to prevent it’s loss in a situation where you have a temporary lapse of motor control, or you just plain drop it!
Dummy cording works by tying a line from your person to the said piece of gear, or can be as broad as tying in a motor in case a rouge wave knocks the motor off a Zodiac.
Imagine navigating at night when a branch sneaks up on you and knocks your compass out of your hand. It falls to the ground just as the man behind you conveniently steps on it.
Hopefully in that situation you’d have a backup, “two is one and one is none,” right?
To circumvent the possibility of even letting yourself fall into that position, take a few seconds and dummy cord that compass! [Read More…]
Stenciling is something the Navy hammered into our brains as a way to distinguish our equipment from the next guy. It worked most of the time, even though I lost several pairs of skivies during laundry… go figure.
In the Navy they had a large stencil cutting machine that would punch letters and numbers out of card stock making a perfect stencil. You’d then use Texpen Fabric Markers to color in the stencil on whatever you’d need your name on. There were times that the stencil markers just didn’t cut it (crap out) and you’d resort to a Sharpie. [Read More…]
Parachute Rigger’s Rubber Bands are seldom talked about, but are extremely beneficial to aid in securing gear, and numerous other uses. The primary purpose of these rubber bands is to hold parachute 550 line securely in order to allow an easy deployment of the lines when a chute is opened. If you’ve ever packed a chute, or been around one when it was, you’ll surely recognize these. We primarily use them to hold tourniquets and strobes to our gear. [Read More…]
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