The best of the $5 preps

Wow, Its been awhile. . . I'm sure everybody was worried if we were alive, and I just wanted to let you all know, we still are! Although my time is short today, I wanted to come to you guys about one of my favorite, and most important pieces of kit.  My Wool Shemagh.
I'm sure that a lot of readers will know that a Shemagh is a traditional Middle Eastern Headdress, that has been used for ages to protect the wearer from blowing dust, keep the sun off the neck, head and face, and as a wrap for warmth on cold desert nights.  Once I learned how to tie it around my head properly, which is not a difficult task with a little research on the Internet, this became one of my regular pieces of equipment, but we are going to repurpose it.  As I was reading around a year or so ago, I came across this list of 30 uses for a bandana by survivalcache.com (Linky)
1. Signal (also see signal mirror)
2. Neck Gaiter for cold weather
3. Tourniquet (But for Snake Bites use a Sawyer Extractor)
4. Pot Holder
5. Collecting Wild Edibles
6. Sun block for neck
7. Sling (first-aid – also see medical kits for you BOB)
8. Sling (as in David and Goliath)
9. Sling (for a staff )
10. Cordage  (strips or as is)
11. Washcloth/Towel (Bathe out of a Collapsible Bucket)
12. Sweatband
13. Waist pack/pouch
14. Hobo Pack
15. Padding a hotspot
16. Cleaning Patches for Firearm
17. Bullet Patches for Muzzleloader
18. Gun Wipe Cloth (with oil)
19. Toilet Paper
20. Mark a Trail
21. Dish Rag
22. Napkin
23. Eye patch
24. Pre-water Filter (like Coffee Filters)
25. Clean Glasses and other lens
26. Ear Muffs
27. Bind a stone and toss a line over a limb
28. Dust Mask (in Urban Survival)
29. Wet and wear for Hot Weather
30. Sneezing
upon reading it, I immediately concluded that a shemagh would be better suited for all of these tasks. There is a lot of material to play with, but the shemagh does not take up a lot of room and is relatively cheap.  It is also 100% cotton.  I have used it as a makeshift air conditioner dust filter, a sweat rag, a sand/wind/dust wrap, a gear cover during sand storms, a cooling rag (when wet), and a number of other things.  I highly encourage anyone reading this to purchase one and give it a shot.
The every day uses, and uses during a stressful situation, such as a natural disaster, would be endless.  If any particulates remain in the air following an earthquake, building collapse, fire, etc. and you do not have a mask (I’d bet you won’t) you will have face and head protection.  If you find yourself without adequate shelter in the cold, one of these shemaghs could provide additional insulation. I would encourage you to read  ”30 Uses for a Bandana” as this is a very informative article and is completely relevant to this piece of equipment.  Shemaghs come in a number of colors too, so I have added an olive drab/black one for concealment, and a red/white one for visibility in my Bug Out Bag.  A word of caution: I would avoid traditional colors (black/white, red/white) when traveling to the Middle East for they have certain cultural connotations.  You can find them in non-traditional colors easily, such as tan/black, red/black, blue/black, etc to suit your taste and your environment.  They can be found on Amazon for a reasonable price.  Purchase one or two and you will be amazed how many uses it has, and you will add a few to your survival kit, guaranteed.

Whats this? New product from my favorites... TAD

Hey guys Tag here, with some sneak peeks for an upcoming product review that Is in progress now!

5.11 RUSH 72 as a BOB

Hey guys! Miles here with BFFTactical, Today I am excited to bring to you my "first impressions" post over the 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 Pack. This is my first written review over a piece of gear so please bear with me:)
First off you probably know why they call it the 72, if not they call it this because of it's three day capacity. (food, water, clothing, gear, ect.) The 5.11 Rush series consist of the; Rush 12, 24, 48, and 72. The 72, being the largest of the bunch with a capacity of over 2639 cubic inches and dimensions of 23'' H x 15''W x 8'' D is more suited for military, LE or any prepared citizen. Also, this would NOT be my choice for light weight backpacking because of its heavy empty weight and bulk.

5.11 Specs:   http://www.511tactical.com/All-Products/Bags-Backpacks/Backpacks/RUSH-72-Backpack.html

So, What about quality and build? If you look at the bottom of the specs..... see it? .....yep, it says "imported" the only thing I can find that says "look at me! I'm made in Taiwan!" is just a couple loose threads hanging off the shoulder straps. From the looks of it, the build quality is there but only time will tell so stay tuned to the blog for updates in the future. Now the materials, the outside of the bag is made with a high quality 1050D nylon with a PUx2 water repellent coating, the only downside to this fabric is its weight, The inside pockets and flaps are made of 210D 118T nylon with the same water repellent coating. overall this seems like a extremely durable pack and the test of time should be no test for it.

Below are photos of EVERY pocket in this pack, prepare for photo overload :)

    Outside of the Admin pouch with a ITS Tactical ETA Trauma kit and a survival kit strapped to the             MOLLE straps.

                    Inside the Admin pouch with plenty of space to stow smaller items.

The Admin pouch has a "clamshell" type opening feature that opens away from the main pack reveling a "stuff" area for a tarp or poncho. It can then be sinched back down against the main body of the pack using the compression straps seen on the right and left hand side of the photo. (there are also two more compression straps at the bottom of the pack that you will see in a later photo.)

Here you can see the bottom compression straps and the mesh siding of the admin pouch.

Here is the small organizational pouch placed just right above the admin pouch for easy access. The upper MOLLE strap also has hook and loop for attaching a name tape.

 The small organizational pouch with its small back pocket and small front zippered mesh pocket.

The Rush 72's carry handle is rated for 2,000 pounds!!

On either side of the carry handle there is a hook and loop cover that, once peeled away, revels a hole which allows for the use of a hydration bladder or radio antenna to be pushed through as seen below.

On either side of the 72 there are rocket pouches that,once opened, revel two smaller internal pockets.

Located right behind the carry handle is a small fleece lined pocket, perfect for stowing sunglasses or small electronics.

The main compartment opens clam shell style, allowing for easy access on your larger items.

The main internal pocket also has plenty of mesh and water resistant nylon pouches for all your bits and pieces.

The draw sting closure pocket in the main internal compartment is perfect for stowing wet clothes or tarps.

One down side to the fleece lined pouch is that it is exposed in the main compartment allowing for its contents to get crushed if not careful.

The high stress areas on the pack are reinforced with double material to help relieve tension off the stitching.

 MOLLE is also put to use on the shoulder straps and waist straps.

The ventilation on the back could defiantly use some improvement but padding is defiantly sufficient.

     At the bottom of the back of the pack are two rubber inserts that help keep the pack from bouncing around by gripping on to your shirt.

 If you choose not to use the waist straps you can simply tuck them away underneath the bottom padding. 

If you guys have any questions feel free to contact me via here, or my YouTube channel (BassFishingFrenzy)

Thanks! -- Miles, BFFTactical  

Product Design... My thoughts

As a "blogger", and as an engineering and creative arts student, I really think quite a lot about product design.  Everything, from my phone, to my clothes, to my pen or pencil, I'm constantly analyzing, determining the features, and thinking up what would make it better.  All of this takes up a lot of space in my head, so I scrap most of it, and just take things as they are.

But there are some ideas, some that in my opinion are innovative, and would make a better product, that I write down.  I've been writing down ideas since I got my first Rite in the rain 4x6 notebook about two years ago.  I've now filled that up, and am almost done with filling up a third, with all these ideas in my head, that would otherwise just go on, and float.

I blogged today, to start to show the world my ideas.  I think Im going to do a once weekly product design post, where I showcase my favorite idea from the week,  Today Im going to start with my idea for the most versatile hoodie I can think of

It could be Merino wool, Fleece, softshell or Hardshell.  Its basically a ranger hoodie, without a zipper.  Its got all the cool little pockets and stuff you'd expect, while still being low profile and high speed.  I think that with a bit of editing this could be a great product.  I'll add more as the design develops

-TL

The DPX gear HEFT 4 Assault

Hey guys, its Tag again, with another spectacular product coming your way! This time We're checking out the DPx Gear HEFT 4 Assault edition.  this knife can be found at http://www.dpxgear.com/dpx-heft-4-milspec.html

What DPx Calls the HEFT

 DPx Gear redefined the term “survival knife” with the DPx H•E•S•T. Now the Hostile Environment Field Tool takes our survival concept bigger, harder and longer. 

The DPx HEST has a stouter, bolder, four inch brother in 0.19” thick patented German Lohmann Niolox 1.4153.03 stainless, high-performance blade steel sword-grind blade is machined from German Uddeholm Niolox® niobium-enhanced stainless tool steel tempered and cryo-hardened to 61 HRC. This “take to the fight” version delivers more punch in an open use environment or where the pry bar and concealed use of the HEST is not as critical.

This is a knife that is virtually indestructible even in the most demanding survival situations. Built to get you home alive, the DPx HEFT 4 is your ticket out of adversity. It's the last survival knife you'll buy and is a hard working blade that is ideal for military and rugged outdoor pursuits. Ideal for both the demands of bushcraft and wilderness survival use, the HEFT 4 Milspec also comes into play as a self defense weapon and edged tool.

Made to be hammered, abused, and stressed to its limits, the blade will stay razor sharp though extended use, requiring only minor strop. The ergonomic American G10 laminate handle scales with ergonomic grips conceal a cavity for fire starter, fishhooks, and other survival gear. The hollow handle gives the knife a forward balance point that makes cutting, chopping, and hacking less fatiguing.

The HEFT 4 Assault features a hollow handle and an innovative bottle opener/pry bar and lanyard hole all in a well thought out CORDURA sheath.

What the HEFT really is

The HEFT 4 is truly a great little blade, and one that, far surpasses ESEE, Rat and even the infallible BUSSE and Fallkniven blades for bushcraft.  It is not so often that I give a knife such high praise, but The HEFT 4 really deserves it.

Why it rocks

Simply: 

Its Cheaper, has a Deep Belly, Nice gimping, great scales, and marvelous, feature packed blade and design

Complicatedly:

The HEFT rocks for so many reasons, but I'm going to just have to say the biggest ones.  First off, There's the price.  $175 for a super high end knife, isn't really bad at all.  I mean, sure theres way cheaper, like the Gerber LMF II and even the ESEE 4 and Laser strike, but they don't even come close to this knife.  Lets take the ESEE 4 for example, It's definitely cheaper at $150, but, what less do you get?  With the ESEE you dont get:

• Wire cutter/stripper
• Bottle opener
• Handle storage
• Skull crusher
• Niolox Steel
• Pry bar
• Bit driver
• and for all you snobs, Made in ITALY by Lionsteel:)

In just that list, you can tell that the knife has a lot of bang for your buck.  But, thats not all that you want to hear, because it sounds like a sales pitch.  so lets talk about the knife itself.  

The blade:

The blade is a sword ground 4" Niolox hunk of steel that is super fancily cryo treated so that it has an absurd HRC of 61.  The steel, at first hearing of how hard it is, seems to be way off for a field knife, but clearly Robert young pelton must have slewn multitudes of unicorns and used their blood to quench the blade, because Ive found it to be absurdly easy to sharpen, and even better to hold an edge!  

Also, on the blade is the Great wire stripper Gimping.  Its very Aggressive and employs itself to help your hand find purchase in a multitude of positions, and hey, it works great for stripping wire too!
The Sword grind with its Inch and a sixteenth bellly, works fantastically for all tasks in the bushcraft world.  It whittles like a champ, with your hand finding great purchase on the gimping, and on the other end of the spectrum, its very tough, and stands up well to batoning and use as a shovel and pry bar.  It also does great with other camp tasks, like cleaning fingers, cutting up dinner, and stirring up soup!  In my opinion, the HEFT is really one of my favorite bush knives... ever.

The Handle:

The HEFT 4, just as with its smaller companion knife the HEST II, has a very wonderful, made in America, G10 handle.  I usually prefer micarta, but the design of this G10 forces me to make an acception.  It is, smooth, and yet my hands never to seem to struggle to gain purchase.

 Also, I love the fact that when you remove the handles, they're hollow, and can easily fit a firesteel and a pea lighter inside!  I sadly dont have pictures of this, but I assure you its great!  Also, the HEFT 4 has the bottle opener and hex driver in its handles as well.  While I really like this functionality, I would like it more if they gave me a set of bits to put in the sheath.

 The sheath: 

So, obviously I like the knife, its really great.  But I hate to say, I despise the sheath and all that it is.  I hate nylon sheaths in the first place, as I just feel that theyre too bulky and annoying for any sort of useful carry.  Dont get me wrong though, the sheath is very well built and heavy duty.  It has a front storage pocket, which would be perfect for that bit kit I was talking about before.  But I really do dislike the sheath.  I think if I could have gotten it in Coyote or OD, I might have not disliked it as much, but its black.  I dont like black.  I think the knife would have been better suited with a kydex sheath, and a buyer choice for either horizontal or vertical carry, and then a small pouch as an add on, that could carry the bit kit.  

 Closing thoughts:

RYP and his team really outdid themselves on this one.  It seriously is durable, and well thought out.  Besides the Ugly sheath, I have zero complaints! and plus, you cannot beat this price: $180.  I think that anyone looking for a Bush knife should try this thing out before going with someone else, because its utterly bombproof.  

buy it here at: http://www.dpxgear.com/

ADDENDUM:

I only call the knife the "best" because I love lots of features, especially when they work, even if It sacrifices some things.  So take this review with some salt, if you arent like that.

Disclaimer: ,I was given this by DPx gear.  I am in no way affiliated with them. Although sometimes I wish I was!

Ledge Outdoors: Great gear, Better price

Ledge Featherlite 0: High Value Sleeping Bag (Video Review!)
This Ledge sleeping bag is rated at 0 degrees fahrenheit and has a street price of only $60.00
If you're looking for a bag that is light, compressible, and warm, this might be one you'll want to look at.

Check it out here: http://ledgestore.com/FeatherLite-0-Ledge-Ultra-Light-Sleeping-Bag-2600.htm

The Grey Ghost Gear Stealth Operator Pack

In Kryptek Mandrake

Price: $119

So, at the start of last month, a slice of the badass pie got sent to me from Grey Ghost Gear. This slice of badassery, was none other than the GGG stealth operator pack, in the wickedly cool, and pretty low profile (to the untrained eye) Kryptek Mandrake.

My first Impression: 

  When I received the S.O.P In early June, I immediately noticed two things about it:
-it looked trippy as anything, due to the shocking and effective camouflage of the 500D, lightweight, and über durable Kryptek Mandrake.  Sadly I dont have any pictures of the camo at work because when i was doing my 'woodsbum' review, my Nikon D7000's shutter crapped out, and now, the bag is fulfilling a role of EDC.  But, I promise you, there is nothing better than Mandrake for the woods of the midwest.
And
-the quality was easily on par with Tactical Tailor, Mystery ranch, and I venture to say almost as good as My Kifaru E&E. Even though there are a small amount of skeptics that dont believe the GGG line is USA Made, Im not one of them.  While my pack has no tag stating that it is made in America, it does have a tag stating "TT17594" and other production info.  From this, and other info about GGG and Tactical Tailor being partners, i think we can safely assume that this came out of an American plant.

During my initial overview I decided that this was a perfect minimalist bag, that was well made, and had perfect features for me.  So, now that my spiel on quality is over, lets get to the nitty gritty!

The Bag:

So, in my opinion Grey Ghost has made quite the minimalist pack.  Especially for a Concealed Carry/EDC bag.  Its only 18"x9.5"x4.25" (so its a meager 725 cubes) which, can be a good thing for those of us who like to fit the kitchen sink, and then some, in our bags, but, if you are going for a long time and want this to be a main gear bag for the trip, you should think twice.
That being said, it definitely holds enough snacks, and stuff to keep me supplied for the day.

On the outside:

As Ive previously mentioned the bag is 500D lightweight cordura.  It makes generous use of YKK zips, guarded by a sewn in rain collar, which definitely is great, although sometimes it gets in the way.  To keep it low drag, all the zipper pulls are genuine 550 cord, and the buckles and other hardware are genuine ITW.  It has a very minimalist and streamline design, with only two pockets, the front CCW pocket, and the main gear pocket.

As you flip to the backside, you notice the straps.  They are also 500D cordura, but they have a great yoke shape, and are plenty wide.  Theres a good sternum strap and plentiful adjustment.  I dont have any complaints about the back, except for the fact that the space mesh back isnt shaped very well.  Its just way too square for me.  Other than that, the exterior is well designed.

The innards:

The inside of the bag is also, minimalist.  The main pocket has a very sparse design, with twin AR sized mag pouches with velcro closure, and a small admin area, all made of web.  The interior is lined in a light silnylon, which helps add to a sense of feeling.  If I could change the pack I would remove this organization, put in the frame sheet, and line the main compartment with MOLLE, because Im a neat freak.  Moving to the CCW pocket,  you have a very simple designed admin area (nothing special really) and then,

behind it, there's a simple 1000D holster velcroed to the inside of the bag.  As Illinois does not permit Concealed Carry, I haven't tested the holster, but I think it does the trick.

Summary:

The GGG stealth operator pack Is a very nice, minimalist, and simple EDC pack that can also CCW your pistol.  Its well made and durable, plus it comes in all the hottest camos.

Disclaimer: 
I was given this pack by GGG.  I am in no way affiliated with them, I just happen to love their gear!