A Huge Thank You and a Milestone Giveaway! – Gear Tasting 100

We’ve recently reached some incredible milestones on YouTube! Not only is this the 100th episode of Gear Tasting, but we’re at 50m views and close to 250k subscribers! Today, Bryan says thank you to everyone that made it happen and provides the details of how you can win our giveaway, worth over $300!

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Strife Happens: What to Do During an Urban Uprising

The level of political discourse in the United States has increased to the highest it’s been since the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Those who weren’t alive may not remember the level of violence; with dozens of bombings in NY, LA, San Francisco, Marin, Orlando, Chicago, Rochester, Boston and D.C. in 1970-71.

I remember riots on the Sunset strip in Hollywood where buses were overturned and of course, I remember the student takeover at UC Berkeley. Many college campuses in America were rocked by violent protests. Who can forget Kent State and the shooting of students by the Ohio National Guard or the violence at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago? Continue reading

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Five Minutes to Evacuate – Gear Tasting Radio 26

Are you prepared to leave your home and all your possessions at a moment’s notice? This week on Gear Tasting, we discuss how a recent article published on ITS made us rethink some of our strategies behind preparation and evacuation.

In addition to the tips learned from the article, we also offered our thoughts on some important items to keep ready to go in case you need to leave in a hurry.

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What is Numismatic Crime and Why Should it Matter to You?

Most people, when they hear the word numismatics, have no clue what it means. While we all love money, the majority of us don’t study or collect it in any other way than a bank account.

Believe it or not, the buying, selling and collecting of coins and paper money (numismatics) is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s also an industry that experiences an immense amount of risk and theft, particularly at coin & paper money shows. Continue reading

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Choose Your Side with the New ITS Hydra and Shield Morale Patch Set!

Whether you choose to Hail Hydra or follow the path of Shield, our newest morale patch set is perfect for you! The ITS Hydra and Shield Morale Patch Set pays homage to both the good and evil in our favorite comic universe.

Hurry though, only 100 of these Limited Edition ITS Hydra and Shield Morale Patch Sets were made, so get your order placed before the battle’s over and they’re all gone! Continue reading

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Zip Bags, Overwhites and Choosing Survival Essentials – Gear Tasting 99

Organization takes effort and today on Gear Tasting, Bryan showcases some new sizes of our ITS Nylon Zip Bags that make organizing a breeze. He also offers a look at a new Canvas Zip Bag colorway and hints at some new nylon products coming in the future.

During Questions Over Coffee, Bryan tackles camouflage during the winter and what items he’d choose as a contestant on the History Channel’s show, Alone. Continue reading

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Real Life Survival: One Family’s Experience with Disaster when the Floods Came

First I want to say that this isn’t a commentary on paranoia, it’s just an account of realism. There are many disaster-related incidents that can happen at any time, at any moment, that have nothing to do with Zombies or EMPs. (Though I don’t feel an EMP is farfetched.)

Realistic disaster scenarios could include everything from a derailed train of nasty chemicals, a toxic spill in your sewer, a factory in your area has a fire or explosion spewing deadly fumes, an overturned tractor trailer fire between you and your kid’s school, or a hundred other unexpected man-made disasters. Continue reading

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Tips for Lightweight Backpacking – Gear Tasting Radio 25

No matter what your definition is for lightweight backpacking, we can all agree that saving weight is the priority. Today on Gear Tasting Radio, Bryan and Rob discuss some tips for lightweight backpacking.

After calculating the weight for all your gear, you can use some of these tips to start shaving ounces, which will turn into pounds saved at the end. In addition to some physical things you can do to save weight, we also discussed the mindset that goes along with lightweight backpacking.

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Golden Gate Frogman Swim Honoring Extortion 17 and the Navy SEAL Foundation

The Golden Gate Frogman Swim is a 1.5 Mile Open Ocean Swim that I’ll be swimming in with my good friend and ITS contributor, Nick Hays. I was in the Navy with Nick and we met at Boot Camp, both learning we had the same A-School (Operations Specialist) and more than likely the same BUD/s class. During A-School, we also met another guy named Jason Workman who was also going to BUD/s. Jason was a machine when it came to PT, but also a down-to-earth super nice guy.

Jason went on to graduate from BUD/s and was one of the SEALs on the Extortion 17 Chinook when it crashed on 8.6.11. This swim holds a special meaning to me and Nick and it’s no coincidence that it takes place on August 6th, honoring the memory of Jason and his teammates that perished that day in 2011. We’ll be swimming on August 6th for Jason and in memory of our fallen.

Today, I’m asking for your help in donating to the Team ITS fundraiser for the Golden Gate Frogman Swim, all funds raised by the event and my donation page benefit the Navy SEAL Foundation (NSF), a 501(c)(3) with a coveted four star rating by Charity Navigator. While we’d sincerely appreciate any amount you can spare to donate, we have a special deal going with those in our Hook & Loop Society Facebook Group. For every $25 donated, we’ll be sending out one of our ITS Frogman Swim Patches shown in the photo above.

In the past, these have only been given out to finishers at the Tampa Bay Frogman Swim events that ITS has sponsored and never sold. For complete details of how to get in on this offer, please request to join our FB group here and look for my post in the group about the patch.

Golden Gate Frogman Swim Details

The Golden Gate Frogman Swim strives to build national awareness of the Naval Special Warfare community and support the Navy SEAL Foundation whose mission is to provide immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare community and their families.

The swim presents a challenging endeavor to provide a small reminder of the hardships endured by our elite and silent warriors, while encouraging others to support and donate to the cause.

I would appreciate any donation that you’d be willing to make in my effort to help raise funds for the swim. It will be challenging and it’s been over ten years since I’ve done an open water swim like this. However, I’ve been training and while I’m not in the shape I was during the 2-Mile Ocean Swims we did at BUD/s, I know I’ll Prevail™!

In Memory of Our Fallen,
~ Bryan Black

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Meet the Maker: Behind the Scenes with Jake Hoback of Hoback Knives

Like many of you out there, we’re blade geeks. Whether it’s a folding knife for Every Day Carry or a solid fixed blade for bushcraft adventures, we’re always on the lookout for good quality knives. Recently, we had an opportunity to take a look at a couple knives from Jake Hoback and also ask him a few questions to get a behind the scenes look at his blades and their manufacturing process.

The following are Jake’s answers to our questions, as well as some great photos of his shop. We covered questions on everything from how Jake got into making knives, to why metallurgy plays such an integral role in knife making. Continue reading

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