Image Source: www.americansnipermovie.com American Sniper does something modern movies rarely do anymore; it presents us with a protagonist who has no doubts about the righteousness of his actions. At times, Chris Kyle was appalled at the sickening choice he had to make, but he never doubted that his choice was the right one in the …
The most commonly used items in your basic first aid kit are antiseptic wipes and adhesive bandages; everything else you add to the kit is an improvement, but in my opinion no first aid kit is complete without those two items. If you do have an interest in improving your kit, I recommend a few items I …
Hard tack is simply a bland, dry bread with the consistency of a brick. It is not particularly appetizing on its own; its virtue is in that it can be preserved for decades, even centuries, and retain some nutritional value. The whole point of hard tack is that it must be completely dehydrated in order to keep, …
The ESEE 5 is not a knife for the faint of heart. It’s a quarter-inch thick, tough as a Russian wrestler on steroids (is there any other kind?), and weighs a full pound. If the swiss army knife is a multitool, the ESEE 5 is a wrecking ball. But that’s OK, because the ESEE 5 not …
Caveat: This episode does not demonstrate a proper ankle wrap, which requires some basic first aid training and materials. In contrast, it demonstrates doing the best you can with limited knowledge and whatever you might find in your backpack, or maybe the trunk of your car. This is consistent with principles of basic self reliance, …
No matter how many extra batteries and candles you stock, some day you might have to improvise a lamp. I’ve previously sung the praises of sardines as an emergency food stock, and while you’d probably rather eat the oil, you can burn it instead. All you need is a wick. The easiest wick is a …
In Part 1 we discussed the ingredients, the equipment you’ll need, a few safety rules, and how to calculate how much lye to mix with your fat, depending on the fat’s saponification value. Here we’ll discuss how to combine the ingredients and form the soap. I have a secret tip for making sure your soap has the …
Making your own soap is not, I admit, a do-or-die survival skill, but it certainly is a great self-reliance booster. And just think of the benefits to morale, knowing you won’t have to smell a lot of BO after the power grid goes down and the grocery store runs out of soap. Plus, it’s so …
The key to building an emergency shelter is knowing how to improvise. Whatever the situation, whatever materials you have, if you need shelter from the elements, you’ll have to make do. Be efficient; every calorie spent is a calorie you’ll have to replace, so build your shelter using the least time and energy you can. …
Building an Emergency Shelter With Whatever You Have Read More »
This is Part 4 of the Basic Self Reliance series. Part 1 — How to Choose a Survival Cache Location Part 2 — Recovering Your Survival Cache Part 3 — Stocking an Emergency Evacuation Cache In Part 3, we discussed the various purposes your survival cache might serve, and how to stock them accordingly. The …