Author: losophyp

Phillosoph

Debugging Your Bug-Out Bag: 4 Other Stuff

Post author By losophyp
Post date 29 March 2025

So far, this series has dealt with shelter, sleeping, clothing, food, water and cooking.

In what will probably be the final part of the series, I am going to look at a few other considerations.

Many of my other recommendations will echo those in my articles on foundation survival kits.

Making a List, Checking It Twice

In Part 2 I mentioned grabbing fresh food from the kitchen and adding it to your bag.

Realistically, it is not likely that everything you will want will be ready packed in your bag.

There may be important documents or personal items you will want to take with you.

There may be things you will want to do before you leave, if time permits. Turning the gas and water supply off will reduce the damage to the house that might occur while you are away, for example.

Sit down, and make a list of things you will want to do before bugging out. List things you will want to add to your bag, and their location. Then leave your list for a day or so. Other things are bound to occur to you.

Then reorganize your list by location. In the kitchen, you will need to do this, and this, and take this, for example.

Once you are happy with your list, sleep on it, then add anything else that occurred. Print it out in large font.

You may be stressed and hurried if you have to use it. Make it clear and easy to read.

Radio

Many BOB lists suggest having a radio receiver so that you may listen to weather reports and other emergency broadcasts.

For obvious reasons, such a radio should not be too heavy or bulky.

Examples that use a hand crank power source and/or solar charging are available. Many of these also act as flashlights and phone chargers.

If the device has solar charging, you may want to come up with a way to carry it where it gets its required dose of sunlight.

Make sure that any design you buy can receive the emergency broadcasts for the region and country that you will be operating it in.

Flashlight

You may have brought a 1000 candlepower “special forces” tactical flashlight that can survive a nuclear blast and immersion in the Marianas trench.

It won’t be much use if the battery is flat.

At least one of your light sources with your bug out bag should be hand cranked.

Fire

Have a fire kit in your pack. This will supplement the fire kit you carry on your person, some of which will be part of your EDC.

Hexamine blocks have a very long shelf life, so having a pack in your bag as firelighters or as an alternative fuel is a good idea.

The alcohol gel for your stove may also be used for firelighting.

Tools

Your survival knife(s), penknife etc should be carried on your person. The small pouch in the photo above contains a sharpening stone and a fire kit.

A hiking pole or staff is worth having.

The pack carries tools that are less often needed. Unless you are in the jungle, your machete will likely ride in or on your pack until needed.

If you live in the colder, wooded latitudes, an axe may be more useful than a machete. A three quarter or Hudson Bay model is often suggested as a good compromise between utility and portability.

Digging tools are carried in the pack and only transferred to one's person when use is expected.

A crowbar is useful in urban areas, and makes a passable digging stick.

As advised in Part 2 of this series, carrying some lengths of cordage of various types and sizes is prudent.

Wash Kit

Since we are talking about a 72 hour scenario, our wash kit should be very basic.

Toothbrush, small tube of toothpaste, half a bar of soap, one razor, perhaps a small plastic mirror and a microfibre flannel.

That is all you really need in a 72 hour emergency scenario.

All this will fit in a small drawcord mesh bag.

Fit the bag in a small sandwich box and you may use the box as a wash bowl.

A tenugui or microfibre towel rides elsewhere in the pack so that it can dry.

We are trying to keep our load light, so consider a children’s toothbrush, a cut down adult brush or one of the travel toothbrushes. Some of the latter come with a really tiny tube of toothpaste!

No shaving foam, you can use the soap. It is debatable if you actually need the razor in a 72 hour emergency scenario. You probably won’t be attending any job interviews!

You can survive 72 hours without shampoo (or use the soap!)

A stick of deodorant, however, may be appreciated if you share your shelter!

A supply of feminine hygiene items may need to be included in your BOB. These have alternate uses such as fire lighting or as wound dressings.

First Aid

Suggestions for first aid kits for bug out bags often go over the top.

I have seen recommendations that a bug out bag include a full stainless steel surgical kit, a couple of reference books on medicine and surgery (680 pages between them!), diethyl ether, saline solution, a thermometer and so on.

Your first aid kit is mainly there for cuts, grazes, sprained ankles and such.

My own travel kit, which I have used for trips of more than three weeks (504 hours!) is shown here. The lice comb may not be necessary for a 72 hour kit. I hope to never need it!

Some disposable gloves in a Zio‑lock bag and a CPR face shield might be useful additions.

Robert dePugh stated that the basis of a good first aid kit was water purification tablets, aspirin, soap and a toothbrush.

In addition to pain relief, aspirin can treat fevers, inflammation and cold and flu symptoms.

Soap is in your wash kit. It is a far better antiseptic than hand‐sanitizer or most other things you are likely to have available.

Use Soap and Water
Yes, Soap Is Better than Hand Sanitizer
No, Soap Is Not Infectious!

The toothbrush is probably also with your wash kit.

Some water purification tablets should be carried on your person, others with one of your water containers.

To that list I would recommend adding some plasters, alcohol wipes and a roller bandage.

A twisted or sprained ankle is no fun when you have a backpack, hence the roller bandage. In addition to conventional plasters, have a few feet of elasticated plaster tape that is useful for the minor cuts to the fingers that accompany careless knife use.

A little tin of Vaseline is also useful for chaps and chaffing.

Both the Vaseline and alcohol wipes may assist in fire lighting.

A snake bite kit should be carried where venomous snakes are a likely hazard. Have a bee-sting kit if anyone in your party is allergic.

If you expect combat, you should have shell dressings, a CAT tourniquet and an CI-IFAK kit, but these items are more useful carried on your person, not in your pack.

I am of the opinion that any activity that involves knives and hand tools should have some plasters readily available.

Likewise, any activity where guns or bows are involved should have some shell dressings and similar nearby.

If you take any personal medications, place them on your list and add them to your bag or clothing pockets when you bug out.

Your “internal medical kit” should be “fully stocked”. Ensure all relevant vaccinations are up to date.

Paperwork

Have a roll or two of toilet paper.

Put each in a Zip‑lock bag to keep them dry and carry a tube of hand‑sanitizer with one.

Your hand‑sanitizer should be 60 to 95% alcohol, both for its antiseptic properties and to ensure it is flammable. Sanitizer and toilet paper are both possible aids to fire lighting.

In addition to the items in the bug out bag, have a Zip‑lock bag with a number of paper napkins or sheets of toilet paper on your person. I have this in the right cargo pocket of my trousers.

Books

Whether to take any books in your BOB is up to you. Most books claimed to be “ideal for your bug-out bag” are nothing of the kind.

My travel emergency kit does include a pocket edition of the “SAS Survival Handbook”. Greenbank's “The Survival Handbook” or “AFM 64-5” are good alternatives.

A book on identifying edible plants in your area might be considered.

Repairs and Spares

Repairs and Spares were described in the article on rucksack packing.

You do not need the bulky “housewives” offered by some merchants.

You just need a couple of needles, already threaded with a metre or so of invisible thread. A couple of safety pins. A couple of rucksack buckles. A few metres of electrical and duct tape. Perhaps a couple of buttons, a neutral-coloured cloth patch and a tube of super glue. All these fit in a little Zip‑lock bag.

No need for folding scissors. I have a penknife with scissors on my belt and another on my keyring.

For heavier repairs I use dental floss. I have a reel of this in my EDC and also some in my wash kit. Ensure one of your needles has an eye large enough to take dental floss and thicker materials you might improvise.

Other items to include in your bug out bag: spare compass, goggles/sunglasses, spare glasses, plastic mirror for signalling, whistle, ear plugs, notepad, sunscreen, insect repellent.

Some of these items are backup or spares for items carried on your person.

A few extra space blankets may prove useful. Find room for several large plastic bags (clear are most versatile), and some additional Zip‑lock bags.

To Part One

Tags bug-out, bug-out bag, fire kit, medical, medical kit, survival kit, survival knife, survival tools, toothbrush, wash kit

Phillosoph

Survival Library: Chapter 7, The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide

Post author By losophyp
Post date 28 March 2025

Today’s review is for “The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide” by J.Wayne Fears.

I had not planned for this to be the next review. I got looking at a copy and burned right through it.

One of the merits of this book is that it is highly digestible. I read through it in a single (admittedly extended) lunch break.

This book is written specifically for outdoorsmen who might become lost in the woods. The premise is that such individuals are most likely to be found within 72 hours of the search being initiated.

Preparation

The first few chapters, logically enough, deal with preparations before your trip to ensure that a search is conducted should you not return by an expected time.

Give an itinerary to a responsible individual [or better still, several!].

A similar account of your intentions might be placed in a plastic bag and left under the windscreen wiper of the vehicle you used to reach the woods. Give it a label such as “For Attention after 24th April…”

A list of useful advice to include is given, including giving the make and sole pattern of the footwear you are wearing, which will be useful to trackers.

Although not suggested in the book, this idea might be extended by including a photograph of your actual boot soles. (Putting a worn sock in for the tracker dogs may be going too far, however!)

There is a brief summary of how a search and rescue may be conducted. I found the version of this in “Desert Survival” better.

Later in the book, how to deal with a member of your group going missing is covered, which is a subject many books do not cover.

Survival Kit

The section on survival kit does show some originality and fresh thought. He advises that one prepares for three unexpected extra days to any trip.

Fears’ personal, “two pound” kit is given as:

◦ (Coghlan’s) Tube tent

◦ Strike-anywhere kitchen matches in waterproof match safe

◦ Flashlight

◦ Fire starters [hexamine fuel blocks?]

◦ Signal mirror [Star Flash]

◦ Police whistle [actually a Fox 40 is suggested in the text]

◦ MPI Emergency Space bag

◦ Parachute cord – 50'

◦ Aluminum foil – 36" x 36"

◦ Insect repellent [sachet]

◦ Water purification tablets

◦ Pocket Survival Guide [Fears’ book]

◦ First Aid Kit

◦ Gallon Ziplock bag.

These items are in addition to a belt knife, map and compass, GPS, water canteen, personal medication and cell phone/two-way radio.

How this kit is carried is not made clear, other than it is packed inside the gallon zip-lock bag, which may also be used as a water carrier. [I suggest you reinforce the seams with duct tape]

The bulk of the kit would suggest that it is in some form of daypack. Some emergency items are best carried on one’s person should the daypack and survivor part company. A lot of my basic kit is in my trouser pockets or on my trouser belt.

The somewhat misnamed “tube tent” is an item not often included in survival kit lists. It seems to be a reasonably priced and useful item.

There are variants that have silver Mylar lining, and/or doors at the end. The silver-lined versions should probably be turned silver-side out in desert conditions.

Since the plastic is impermeable, condensation in these tube tents may be an issue if there is not a flow of air. However, one would want to partially block the ends to reduce draughts on the sleeper(s).

Leaves or similar could be piled underneath for more padding and insulation when sleeping.

Drip-wicks added to the suspension cord are recommended.

Fears echoes my own view that an emergency is no time to rely on gadgets or primitive skills to provide you with fire.

Fears suggests replacing the matches often since they “have a short shelf life”. This is not a concern that I have seen in other books.

My kitchen drawer has matches that must be more than fifteen years old and that still light. Perhaps out in the damp woods it is different, but a match safe that is genuinely waterproof should have some influence.

As regular readers know, I prefer a butane lighter or two and some candles for no-nonsense fire lighting.

While the Star Flash mirror is recommended in the book, other items will serve just as well without the high price tag.

Water purification tablets and insect repellent are sound additions, although oddly he only packs a single sachet of insect repellent alongside a whole bottle of purification tablets.

A small bottle of insect repellent would last several nights, and be very welcome should your stay be extended. Some insect repellents may be used for fire-lighting, remember.

The space bag is like a Mylar space blanket, but a closed bag. These used to be fairly common, but nowadays it is hard to find anything except the foil blanket.

A space blanket or two is a good substitution, and a blanket is somewhat easier to vent.

Heavier foil lined bags with a green or orange outer are on sale. These resemble an All-Weather blanket I have carried one of the latter in my daysack for decades. The blanket configuration is probably more versatile. It can be made into a cloak against the rain, for example.

Fears’ suggestions for a personal pocket first aid kit are much more practical than those in some other publications. I would suggest adding some aspirin and alcohol wipes. Aspirin may be used to reduce inflammation, reduce a fever and reduce the symptoms of colds or flu. Used alcohol wipes may be used for tinder.

In accordance with the book’s basic premise, there is no attempt to teach the reader navigation.

Wandering around can greatly hinder the efforts of a search party.

Fears notes that topics such as navigation and first aid are better learnt on a course or by deeper study than can be provided by a book such as this.

STOP

STOP, as in “Sit, Think, Observe and Plan” is advocated for readers who become lost or encounter a similar emergency.

While other books have different translations of this acronym, it remains sound advice.

As I was once told, “Don’t just do something, sit there!”

This section works well with the later section on dealing with fear and panic.

There is also some lip-service paid to “will to live” and “positive attitude”, but no real practical advice on this topic.

Signalling

The section on signalling has some good advice, such as avoid noisy areas such as waterfalls if you intend to use your whistle. If static, I would see what objects around the camp may be used as improvised drums.

Instructions on how to use the signal mirror reproduce those on the back of the Star Flash (which neglects to mention that you should move your forward hand as you move the mirror to aim it in a new direction!)

There is also an illustration of someone lying on their back and using a mirror, with no explanation of why this is being done. See here and here for information on the use of heliographs. Using a Heligraph

Fears notes that a CD/DVD may be used as a reflector and already has a sighting hole. I am sceptical as to whether a sighting hole is really needed in a heliograph.

Most of us have some CDs or DVDs that have stopped working or that we do not want (remember AOL?). These can be cut to a pocket-size and shape by placing them in a freezer or warm water for ten minutes before cutting. Cover the back with some duct tape, since they may be fragile.

Glue a pair of CDs label to label for a more robust item that is mirrored on both sides.

The book also claims the “X” is the universal ground to air signal for help. Most other sources give the meaning of this symbol as “unable to proceed”, “unable to move” or “require medical assistance”.

“V” is more commonly used for “require assistance”, and easier to construct on the ground than “SOS”.

Too Brief in Places

While the book is easily digestible, some of the sections could have been greatly improved by one or two more lines.

For example, there is a section on removing ticks, but no mention of saving them in a plastic bag for later identification and testing to assist in prevention of any long term consequences of bites.

A photo caption describes using “your knife to get into the dry wood found in the center of a damp log”, but there is no explanation that what is being shown is a stick being used to baton the blade into the log.

The section “When There Is No Repellent” could have used some mention of materials such as pine oil that may be used as improvised insect repellents.

Similarly, the sections on fire, sleeping and shelter could have used some additional passages.

While a rock overhang can provide shelter, heating from fires underneath have been known to cause rockfalls.

The section on snow shelters could have used some mention of some of the improvised digging devices a survivor might use: vehicle hubcaps, plank of wood split from a log, digging stick, snowshoes, frying pan, billies etc.

Water

The chapter on water I had the most issue with.

Carrying plenty of water purification tablets is sound advice, although it is odd the same kit that packs a whole bottle of tablets has only a sachet of insect repellent to last the whole unplanned stay!

We have the flawed advice about boiling water for ten minutes, complete with the old chestnut complaining that boiled water has a flat taste. That is not going to be one of my major concerns if stuck in the woods for a couple of days!

Halazone and iodine are no longer recommended for water purification in the field since they do not affect certain organisms.

It is also claimed that water filtration devices make water safe to drink. They don’t! Viruses are too small for these devices to filter out, so chemical or thermal treatment of the water is still needed.

It would also have been appropriate to describe the Indian/Seepage well in this section.

Food — Not a Necessity

The book does not attempt to teach trapping, fishing or identifying edible plants, since Fears points out a few days without food is not likely to be fatal.

The plant edibility test is reproduced, but lacks the stipulation that this should only be used on plants that are abundant in this area.

It is worth bearing in mind that “most people found within 72 hours” requires the outdoorsman to be overdue or authorities to receive some other notification before a search is launched. If your plan was to be in the woods a week or more, you could be roughing it for some time before anyone starts looking for you. Some of the stories in the book used for illustration have the survivor being in the woods for much longer than 72 hours before being found.

Tending a trot-line and building some traps may be a good way to occupy yourself while you are waiting. Animals often shy away from human activity and recent disruptions to their environment, so it may be some time before your traps get anything. Better to make them before you get hungry!

And if you are stuck in the woods, it is worth learning which trees have edible inner bark or can be harvested for sap.

The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide is a quick read, and has some useful content.

Its chief strength is that it makes a survivor aware of their obligations in a rescue operation. These may be summarized as “Stay Put”, “Make Yourself Comfortable” and “Make Yourself Visible”.

It is, however, overly brief in certain sections, and in some places out of date.

You will need a lot of the knowledge in the books previously reviewed for this series to make best use of the content within.

Tags book, book review, books, cold weather, survival library, survival manual, woodcraft

Phillosoph

Survival Library: Chapter 6, Northern Bushcraft

Post author By losophyp
Post date 25 March 2025

The taiga or boreal forest is the Earth’s largest land biome.

Many of my readers probably live in this area, so some recommendations for survival in these regions is warranted.

With this in mind, the next book reviewed for the Survival Library is “Northern Bushcraft” by Mors L. Kochanski.

Note that this book may also be encountered simply entitled “Bushcraft”.

Some copies include a section of colour photographs at the end of the volume.

I was actually surprised to reach the end of the book and discover Kochanski was a Canadian. The early chapters seemed to have a Scandinavian vibe.

In my previous review I commented that many survival manuals are “much of a muchness”. Many seem to be clones of FM 21-76 with a few embellishments by the author.

Northern Bushcraft is another book that takes a different approach. It does not cover as many topics as a typical survival manual, but those it does cover, it covers in greater depth than is usual.

Logically enough, the book begins with firecraft.

Most survival manuals mention the friction fire drill. Some even suggest that you cannot be a “proper” survivalist unless you can light a fire with this device.

Kochanski goes into much greater detail regarding this device. He discusses how different components require different properties and which woods are most suitable for their construction. There are numerous other useful tips and advice on this subject.

If you have struggled with friction firelighting, or just want to get better, this chapter is well worth a read.

Also, check-out this variation.

Various other fire-related topics are covered. Particular emphasis is given to ensuring a fire is really extinguished and will not ignite long after you have left the area.

“Stone Rimmed Fire Places. A common, though unnecessary practice, is to ring open fires with stones. This practice is based on the claim that the stones confine a fire and make it safer, yet many forest fires are in fact traced to such fireplaces. There are, however, justifiable uses of stones in a fire: to store warmth in a closed shelter: to support pots when no other means arc available: and to produce steam for a steam bath or a steam cooking pit. Rocks used without good reason arc needlessly defaced and, unless they are scattered after use. leave a permanent marker of the campfire. A stone fireplace also requires more effort to cool, and the stones that are not moved aside can harbour hot spots that may start a forest fire.”

An interesting tip on cutting fish along the backbone rather than the belly for grilling.

The following chapters are on Axecraft, Knifecraft and Sawcraft, and each treats its subject in considerable depth.

Bearing in mind he also packed a full-sized axe or a hatchet, Kochanski recommends a small fixed blade knife. “One of the best methods in preventing the loss of a knife while carrying it is to use a deep sheath and wear it around the neck to be constantly aware of the knife’s presence. When the knife is not in use the sheath is tucked in the shirt.” Kochanski was to become a fan of Moras.

The chapter on “Bindcraft” mainly deals with constructing cordage from natural materials.

The Sheltercraft chapter returns to some of the ideas introduced in the first chapter.

Sleeping outside at minus 40 (Centigrade or Fahrenheit, minus 40 is where the two meet!) requires an understanding of both fire and shelter construction!

As a change of pace, the next chapters discuss the various uses that many of the common trees and shrubs in the northern forests may be put to.

The final two chapters discuss the moose and the varying (aka snowshoe) hare. The trap designed to prevent the hare biting through snare lines is not one I have seen in most other books. It has the merits of being both simple and ingenious.

The colour section is nice enough, although I have some reservations about the text where it mentions medical uses by indigenous populations. These things are often romanticised. If tinder fungus really is a remedy for cancer, I think we might have heard more about it!

In my previous review, I noted that “Desert Survival” contained many ideas that were useful even if you were not prone to venture into dry sandy places.

“Northern Bushcraft” is similar, in that it includes many skills and topics of information that have more general applications.

“Northern Bushcraft” is a recommended addition to your survival library.

Several copies of the older edition of the book are available on Internet Archive.

Tags book, book review, books, cold weather, desert, survival library, survival manual, woodcraft

Phillosoph

Debugging Your Bug-Out Bag: 3 Clothing

Post author By losophyp
Post date 23 March 2025

Conceivably, the need to bug out may occur when you are in the shower, or snug in your bed.

You will need to wear something other than your current garb! (Although admittedly pyjamas seem to have worked well for the Viet Cong!) Polycotton Long-Johns

In previous articles, I have talked about having an outfit to bug out in. These may either be kept with your bug‑out bag (BOB), or in your BOB and changed into when there is time.

At the very least, you should have a good coat and pair of boots near your bag. Packing these items in your bag will take up space you could use for other items.

Your boots should be in good condition, but broken in.

It is not a bad idea to have a pair of socks with them, ready to put on. Socks may be used to form a “nightcap” over the top of boots to hinder the entry of scorpions and other critters. A plastic bag over the top keeps the moths from feasting on your good wool socks.

It is wise to give your boots a good shake before putting them on anyway.

I suggest a good coat rather than a jacket. I intend to use my desert parka, adding the warm liner if needed.

Some books suggest your main coat or jacket be a breathable waterproof. These may be insufficiently breathable or hot in warm weather. If you wear your waterproof all the time the chances of it getting damaged are higher, and they tend to be very expensive!

In anticipation of its use, various useful items are already packed into the pockets of my parka. These are not EDC items, but supplements to the EDC items I carry in/with my trousers.

Parka contents include: neck-gaiter/headover, scrim scarf/veil, merkalon gloves, compass with sighting mirror, plastic mirror/heliograph, wire-saw, space blanket, cotton string/tinder, butane lighter. On a neck cord with a ferro-rod and striker are a whistle, snap-link and photon light.

Typically a warm hat, bandana and keffiyeh is nearby.

Various items from the BOB are likely to migrate to the parka or trousers so they are more accessible.

Also with the bag I have a hip‑belt with my kukri, Mora, sharpening stone and a small fire kit mounted on it.

Clothing

This topic of clothing to keep with your bug-out-bag I have previously discussed in my blog on “Dressing for Bug-Out”.

This blog will concentrate on what clothing to have in your bag.

A bug‑out bag is intended to support you for 72 hours, so you will not need that many changes of clothing.

On the other hand, wind, rain and sun can kill you in a few hours if your clothing is not suitable.

How much clothing to carry when travelling light?

Opinions differ here.

My theory is that you should have at least one complete change of clothing, since you should expect an unexpected dunking.

Some soldiers wear one set of clothing during the day and change into their alternate set to sleep, letting the day set dry and air. Kephart suggested a similar strategy.

Have a Change of Clothes

It is not practical to carry a spare parka, but a spare shirt/tunic and trousers will take little room inside a pack.

You should have two sets of undergarments, a “wear and a spare”, appropriate for season and climate.

Thermal underwear is great when it is really cold. Under most conditions it will have you sweaty and miserable. Have intermediate options.

Socks

One of the first clothing purchases for your bug-out bag that you should make is to invest in three or four pairs of good quality woollen socks. You will get nowhere without your feet.

Four pairs let you change into a drier pair whenever necessary. You may double up if it is unexpectedly cold. Two pairs of medium weight socks will be warmer than a single extremely thick pair.

A couple of extra (cheaper?) pairs of socks are worth the weight and may be tucked into various locations to pad other gear, stop things rattling etc.

For very cold conditions, have two pairs of boot insoles and alternate them. One pair airs and dries while the other pair is worn. Punch a hole in them so you can tie them to something when airing.

Similarly, sew loops of ribbon to your socks so they may be tied to the outside of your pack while drying.

Rain Poncho

Have a rain-poncho or two. If your poncho is in a pouch or has a pocket, keep a couple of lengths of cord with it. Paracord stretches, so something non-elastic is preferable. These will be handy when rigging your poncho as a shelter.

If it is very windy, one of these cords may be used as a belt for your poncho.

I always have a couple of spans of bootlace or cord in my left trouser pocket, and these may be used with the poncho in the same fashion.

Accessories such as hats, scarf and gloves may make the difference between comfort and catastrophe. Have spares!

Gloves

You should carry protective gloves and warm gloves. Glove liners are useful when you need more dexterity or it is especially cold.

When the wind is high or the mercury low, losing a glove can be serious. Have a spare set of gloves may save you using spare socks as mittens.

Sew a loop of ribbon, webbing or elastic to each of your gloves. You can attach them to your coat cuffs using a safety pin. This is probably more secure than the clips sold for the same purpose.

Or tie the gloves to a cord run down your sleeves and across your shoulders.

Headwear

Hats are another item it is wise to carry spares of. Extra woolly hat or headover in the cold, extra hat with brim in sun. In some parts of the world you may want a rainhat!

Pack a watch-cap with your sleeping gear as a nightcap.

Don’t let the wind steal your head-coverings! Buy a metre or two of elastic and add hat-straps to the hats that do not have them.

Carry several bandannas (some on your person) and a spare keffiyeh or scarf, depending on climate and season. Bandannas are another practical way to stop gear rattling, and serve as water filters, havelocks, oven gloves etc.

Eye Protection

Your bug-out bag should include goggles and/or sunglasses. In some environments these will be very important, so have spares. In such conditions carry one set on your person and your spares in your bag.

Hi-Viz

I prefer my clothing to be neutral or natural shades.

There will be times when you very much want to be seen, however.

A hi-viz jerkin with reflective tape weighs little and packs up small. You cannot really use this while wearing your poncho, so I would also recommend an orange or red cap or woolly hat.

There are hi-viz rucksack covers that increase your visibility when viewed from the rear. These might not fit if you have a lot of gear on the outside of your pack. In this case, have a panel of hi-viz material and reflective tape with ties that may be knotted around your rucksac straps.

This panel may be used as a flag to attract rescuers to your camp site.

If walking along roadways, walk on the side of oncoming traffic.

Part 4

Tags boots, bug-out, bug-out bag, bug-out outfit, clothing, keffiyeh, poncho, poncho-liner, rain-poncho, survival kit

Phillosoph

Survival Library: Chapter 5, Desert Survival (Lehman)

Post author By losophyp
Post date 13 March 2025

“Desert Survival” by Charles A. Lehman was one of the first books I thought of including when I began the “Survival Library” series of blog posts.

Not surprisingly, this book concentrates on survival in a desert environment!

There is, however, plenty of sound advice relevant to other environments, so you can only be commended if you are flicking through a copy sitting in a hut near one of the poles.

Two Priorities

Lehman gives the survivor two priorities:

The first is “looking after your body”.

Secondary to this is “getting rescued”.

The primary threats to your body in the desert are identified as hyperthermia, dehydration and hypothermia. Some of these are, of course, concerns in other environments.

Chapters on shelter, clothing, fire-lighting and medical emergencies, among others, all relate to looking after your body.

Advice on getting rescued includes a useful account of how a search and rescue (SAR) operation will conduct a search, and steps a survivor may take to help (or unintentionally hinder) an effort.

This is information not included in most survival manuals, so the book is worth reading for this section alone.

Survival Kits

Another very good section is the advice given on putting together your own survival kit.

His advice is similar to what I have been repeating on this blog for decades: Avoid gimmicks and gizmos, don’t put all your eggs in the same basket, and have some vital items on your person, not in a pack or jacket you might put down “just for a moment”.

The survival kit/outfit suggestions are more practical than many I have encountered. I would recommend the addition of some space blankets and a compass to the personal items. To the suggested vehicle kit I would also include some duct tape, since it is more effective for certain tasks than electrical tape.

To my mind, the section on shelter was a little brief, and I feel some mention of double canopy shelters would have been appropriate for a book about surviving deserts.

Sun, wind and rain can kill you quicker than thirst.

Like many authors, he recommends the use of woollen clothing, with little consideration given to just how high a price tag often comes with such an outfit these days. Some discussion of alternatives might have been given.

While I no longer have enough hair to really justify carrying a comb, apparently I can use one to remove cholla cactus!

Pilot Outfitting

Advice given for pilots includes:

“Diversity of environmental problems complicates the "What to Wear" problem for pilots and passengers in light aircraft. Fortunately, there are some ways to cope with it. One of the easiest answers is to wear a flying suit like military pilots do. The utter utility of multi-pocketed coveralls is hard to beat.

With a good quality flight suit as an outer layer, even a business suit becomes an acceptable survival garment for moderate temperatures. If you fly over really cold areas, carry a set of the quilted type of insulated underwear. They weigh very little and offer super protection.

In really hot weather the suit will protect you from the sun and scorching rocks or sand. Try to find one that has side zippers, as well as the one in front. They allow you to ventilate the suit better.

With a flying suit, insulated underwear, and a good hat, you are nearly prepared for a survival situation, but you will need boots. This is the only clothing item that's really a weight problem. If pounds are critical in your aircraft, I would recommend wearing boots instead of shoes when you fly. That way the additional weight is insignificant. There are sturdy boots available that are dressy enough to wear with a business suit.”

To echo another desert survival manual (Air Ministry Pamphlet 225): “always fly in the boots in which you intend walking home.”

The medical section is clear and simple, grouping likely problems under eleven headings, distinguished by means of treatment. This would be a good section to photocopy and carry with a first aid kit.

A minor criticism is that the illustration of pressure points (aka “digital pressure”) seems to omit many of the points on the limbs. Add a copy of a better diagram, such as in “SAS Survival Handbook” or FM 4-25.11/FM 21-11.

Some of these medical sections are very brief, so the would-be survivor should have done some background reading about each topic.

The chapter on playing “What If?” nicely rounds off the book.

This book would not be my sole read for survival, even if my particular priority was desert survival. It is never wise to trust a single source on any subject.

The book is very much orientated towards North America, so some additional background reading would be advised if heading to sandy places elsewhere in the world.

I would recommend adding this book to your survival library, since it nicely supplements the titles suggested in Chapter One.

Many survival manuals can be “much of a muchness”, which makes them rather a chore to review, if nothing else.

Desert Survival is highly readable, and the different approach of this manual is refreshing, which probably helps you retain more of the information.

A very nice feature of this book is that it crams in a lot of useful information into just 81 pages. That is very welcome, given so many manuals run to hundreds of pages and can be heavy going.

This book is available to borrow at Internet Archive. Please support Internet Archive!

Tags book, book review, books, desert, desert survival, survival library, survival manual

Phillosoph

Debugging Your Bug-Out Bag: 2 Sustenance

Post author By losophyp
Post date 8 March 2025

Food and Cooking

A bug-out is not going to be three square meals a day with a choice of ice cream flavours!

For a bug-out bag, most of the food should be capable of being consumed without cooking. A significant part should be food you can consume on the move.

Long shelf-life without the need for refrigeration or freezing is a priority.

MREs are an expensive and somewhat bulky way to stay fed for 72 hours. You will also be lugging around weight and junk you do not need such as multiple spoons, instant coffee and chewing gum.

Soldiers often strip down their MREs before a patrol. Vast amounts of fuel and money could be saved if many of these items were not included in the first place!

Stripping down the MREs for a bug-out bag beforehand is not really practical since you will violate the packaging and affect the shelf-life.

Possibly the best feature of MREs is the provision of flame-less heating pouches.

There are lots of other foods that meet the above criteria, many of them available down the supermarket. I suggest you read DePugh’s comments on food selection.

Some possible things to provision your BOB include:

Dried or semi-dried food such as sultanas, apricots and banana flakes.

Matzos and/or hardtack.

Rolled Oats/Porridge: One of the few grains that can be eaten without cooking.

Cured or smoked sausage.

Tinned meats such as Spam, corned beef etc.

Trail mix (has a relatively short shelf life, but use it if you have it).

Home-made Jerky (a good stock of the store bought stuff may be expensive, so make your own!)

Cereal bars.You can make your own.

Lifeboat Biscuits.

Pinole (easily made from polenta).

Parched rice.

Malt barley.

Note that many of these are “go-foods” which may be consumed on the move.

If you are not in immediate danger, add fresh foods you may have in the house. Priorities are fruit, cheese, bread, jams, butter, and cooked meats.

Carbs, fats and sugars: The end of the world is no time to keep to the diet!

Carry a bag of hard candy/boiled sweets. One of these can give you a quick boost when you are flagging.

Don’t waste space and money on vitamin supplements. You should only be taking these if instructed by your doctor. Vitamin deficiency is not going to be a major threat in 72 hours!

While carrying a bug-out bag and its contents will consume energy, many reading this will be used to eating larger meals and more frequently than they need to. You can go a lot further on less than you might think.

In addition to the above, you may wish to put together a “brew kit”. In certain conditions hot liquids are much more than just a morale boost.

Have tea bags and coffee bags. If civilisation is ending you don’t want the last thing you drink to be yucky instant pseudo-coffee!

Add some variety such as hot chocolate mix, stock cubes, packet-soups and even some blocks of instant noodles.

If water supplies are a concern, sugars and starches take less water to digest than fats. Eating tends to stimulate thirst. Eating less food if water is restricted is usually prudent, and appetite is often reduced in vary hot weather, so the quantity of food may be reduced in favour of more water.

Many of us are carrying extra weight around our middles, so a couple of days on light rations will not harm us. A couple of days without adequate water will!

Boiling Water

Even if you do not carry a brew kit, some means to heat water to render it safe to drink will be needed.

This is another area where bad advice is common. I have seen recommendations to boil for twenty minutes and allow to stand for another twenty! The WHO standard specifies a rolling boil for ten minutes.This is not a strictly scientific criteria and is deliberate overkill. (This criteria may have been updated since I was educated!) Ten minutes is not really practical if your fuel supply is limited.

Generally, your actual requirement is to pasteurize your water (kill pathogens) rather than sterilize it. This may be done by heating water to 65°C for six minutes. More practically, since the pasteurization process is exponential, bringing water to a rolling boil (100°C) for a few seconds has the same effect. That is how humans have been pasteurizing water (and making tea) for thousands of years.

I am a qualified microbiologist (be it an old one!), but don’t take my word for it, do some research of your own. Many sites on solar cooking have information on water pasteurization and SODIS, and may have links to scientific papers on the topic.

A European mess kit is a better choice for cooking and boiling than a canteen cup. It will treat a more useful quantity of water and may be hung above a fire. It may also be used as a bucket to fetch water, collect berries and similar.

The interior of your mess kit may be packed with your brew kit and other items.

I would not recommend carrying your stove and fuel inside your cooking vessel, even if bagged up.

A mess kit or canteen cup is a pack item, not belt-kit.

Stove

A stove will be needed for when a fire cannot be used.

Alcohol gel stoves are probably the best option for your bug-out-bag.

Some of these resemble small paint cans with a pot stand. Other models of stove, such as the Crusader cup stoves, mini-Trangia and Trangia Triangle will work with either alcohol gel or solid fuel blocks. The Trangia stoves and the Esbit folding stoves can be modified to use gel by adding a metal dish for the fuel. Some solid alcohol blocks work with the standard Esbit stove.

Solid fuel blocks or gel may also be used to help light more traditional fires.

Other designs of stove, pot support or burning dish are easily constructed.

You may use your stove while the pot handle hangs from a stick or other support. This is useful when your cooking space is not totally level, or your pot is likely to get knocked.

Air Ministry Pamphlet “Desert Survival” 225:

Paragraph 11. “The following items, in addition to water, should be carried if possible: heliograph, signal pistol and cartridges or flares, a small reliable compass, maps (indicating roads and sources of water if possible), tinted flying goggles or sun glasses, head covering, knife, matches, salt tablets, a minimum of concentrated emergency rations, first aid kit, anti-burn cream, torch, warm clothing (for use at night), and.a pair of strong boots. A useful maxim to bear in mind is “always fly in the boots in which you intend walking home”.

Water

You will need some means to carry water, the quantity depending on climate and availability. In arid and semi-arid conditions water is one of your priorities. In the jungle or Pacific Northwest there may be more water around than you care for.

Water consumption should not exceed water loss. When water supplies are a concern, minimize water loss. “Ration Sweat”. Cover your head and exposed skin. Stick to the shade. Hike or work at night.

When water is scarce, priority is for drinking rather than washing or cooking. Washing should be restricted to washing wounds and cleaning the hands before eating or medical procedures.

Each litre of water you carry will weigh one kilo/ 2.2 lbs, not including the container.

A water bladder with a drinking tube is recommended, since it allows you to drink on the move without needing to remove or unpack your pack. Stay hydrated!

A hydration pack is a water bladder with carrying straps, so it can be worn as a small pack when you are not wearing your rucksack. The hydration pack should either fit in or onto the outside of your rucksack when you are wearing the latter.

You only really need one bladder with a drinking tube in your bug-out-bag. The rest of your water may be carried in containers such as large soda bottles, which saves a few pennies. Refill your water bladder from the soda bottles as needed.

There are various pros and cons regarding keeping the water bottles in your bug-out-bag already filled.

Firstly, any water kept for an extended period should have a few drops of unscented bleach added to it. This sterilizes the water and harmlessly decays down into water and hint of salt over time. I would not keep water in water bladders when they are not in use.

Plastic components leaching into the stored water has been raised as an objection. According to scientific studies this is a very minor worry. If a nearby volcano or the local nuclear plant is about to blow, this may be fairly low on your list of worries!

There may not be time to fill-up your water bottles before you go. The mains water supply may have been cut off, or toxic waste dumped into the water supply by your friendly local industry may be the reason you are evacuating.

Filling the bottles in your bug-out-gear in a supply of water you stored for the purpose has been suggested. Presumably some people intend to use non-plastic bottles. Finding non-plastic storage bottles larger than a litre may be difficult. That may be a lot of bottles you will need to find room for!

Obviously, if storing water long term, use water that is as clean and clear as possible. Preboil it if possible. Reoxygenate it as described on the SODIS protocol before topping up and adding bleach or purification tablets.

Leaving the filled and sealed bottles standing in strong sunlight for a day or so will not hurt.

While most of your water should be in your pack, you should have a reserve on your person to carry when you are away from your main pack.

Hydration packs or canteens with slings are good, but there will be temptation to put them down. Slings or carrying straps may get caught on undergrowth and branches.

A canteen in a belt pouch may make sloshing noises that will give your presence away or alert game. A water bladder in a belt pouch may be a better option.

Smaller bottles, such as the US pilot’s flask (One US pint) can be carried in a large pocket.

With your water supply you might decide to carry a dew-sponge, length of plastic tube, and a bandanna/cloth to be used for initial filtration.

Your bug-out-bag should have a good supply of water-purification tablets for instances when you cannot heat treat your water. Get the sort intended for travellers, where a single tablet treats one litre of water. Some varieties treat 5 or 200 litres per tablet!

Water purification pumps are possibly not necessary for an individual travelling light in a 72 hour scenario, but useful for a squad or group or for a longer trip. Such water will still need chemical or heat treatment. Filtration will remove many harmful organisms but cannot remove all viruses.

Recommendations for trapping and fishing gear for a bug-out bag can also get quite extensive.

In many bug-out scenarios there may not be time or suitable conditions for trapping and fishing. Trapping and fishing involves staying in an area for some time, when in a bug-out travelling may be a priority.

My EDC includes a six-span length of braided fishing line and 22 hooks on nylon. If I was expecting to venture into the wilds, I might add some additional gear to my EDC. I will talk about that another day. Today I am discussing what to carry in your bug-out-bag.

Brass wire suitable for making snares may be used for repairs or for other purposes, so a ten metre coil has a place in your bug-out bag.

A generous amount of braided fishing line also has many other applications. You might as well pack whatever was left on the reel once you had constructed your EDC fishing lines.

Some advise to also have a spool of light monofilament or flurocarbon line for when fish are shy of a braided or heavy line. All my hooks are on nylon and in a survival/bug-out situation I am most likely to be night fishing, so I expect line visibility will not be a major problem.

It is not a bad idea to fill the nooks and crannies of your bag with various types of cordage: ball of cotton string, bundle of bankline, hank of paracord.

Fishing hooks and lures cost little and take up little room, so have a good supply. They will be no great burden even if you do not have a chance to use them. All should already be tied to nylon leaders or fitted with snap-swivels.

A bundle of wire leaders will be useful if you find yourself lucky enough to be fishing for bigger, sharp-toothed fish. Long leaders may also be used as snares.

I am a little dubious about carrying fishing rods and other items intended for active angling. There are easier methods for catching fish. If travelling the most likely technique will be setting a night line while sleeping.

A fishing gig and a net are useful if you are certain that you will be fishing.

Most gigs I have seen have a screw fitting. You will need to modify this so you have a socket that may be mounted on a stick.

In Brazil, my girlfriend would use a net she called a “pulsa”. Her description sounds like a circular lift net, but it would be thrown out over the water like a frisbee and then hauled back, effectively trawling. Similar nets fold up to a size compatible with a large pack.

As far as active hunting goes, you may not have time if the emergency requires you to move fast or travel far.

All the chaos and human activity may make game shy, or they may have bugged out themselves before humans woke-up to the danger.

A hand catapult takes up little room in a bag, although you may have little opportunity to hunt with it. It could be useful in driving off aggressive dogs.

A .22 hunting rifle may not see much use either.

In a 72 hour bug-out scenario, other human beings are likely to be more of a problem than hunger. This should be figured into what firearms you decide to take with you.

Part Three

Tags bug-out, bug-out bag, fishing kit, food, hunting, mess kit, mess tin, survival kit, water, water purification

Phillosoph

Debugging Your Bug-Out Bag: 1 Sleep Tight

Post author By losophyp
Post date 7 March 2025

There are literally hundreds of books and websites telling you how to put together a 72 hour kit/Bug-Out Bag (BOB).

Generally I have tried to address less common topics.

Having recently seen just how bad some of these BOB suggestions are, I now feel inclined to share some thoughts and suggestions on a few topics.

If you are putting together a Bug-Out Bag (BOB) I suggest you first have a read of Robert DePugh’s observations on food and gear.

Then have a browse of Kephart’s Summer and Autumn Outfits. Several chapters of Kephart’s book are well worth a read before progressing.

Kephart’s mentor Nessmuk has several passages that provide further insight of what could be achieved more than a century ago:

"Fine woolen cassimere of medium thickness for coat, vest and pantaloons, with no cotton lining. Color, slate gray or deadleaf (either is good). Two soft, thick woolen shirts; two pairs of fine, but substantial, woolen drawers; two pairs of strong woolen socks or stockings; these are what you need, and all you need in the way of clothing for the woods, excepting hat and boots, or gaiters."

"My own load, including canoe, extra clothing, blanketbag, two days’ rations, pocketaxe, rod and knapsack, never exceeded 26 pounds; and I went prepared to camp out any and every night." [Including canoe!]

"I made calculations on losing the trail the first day, and being out a full week. The outfit consisted of rifle, hatchet, compass, blanketbag, knapsack and knife. For rations, one loaf of bread, two quarts of meal, two pounds of pork, one pound of sugar, with tea, salt, etc., and a supply of jerked venison. One tin dish, twelve rounds of ammunition, and the bulletmolds, filled the list, and did not make a heavy load."

AFM 64-5 (1952) advises:

Don't overload; a 25-30 pound sack should carry all you need except in the Arctic in winter. Try to carry as many of the following items as possible: matches or lighter, candle, compass, necessary maps, airplane first-aid kit, notebook and pencil — all in waterproof containers — machete or stout knife, water, food, signal mirror, sunglasses, watch, small bottle of gasoline, gun and ammunition, wire or shroud lines, extra socks.

Arctic: In the winter, in addition to the essentials recommended above, carry a sleeping bag, parka, mittens, snowshoes, or skis, and mukluks. In summer don't forget mosquito netting and repellent, extra clothing (socks especially) and shoepacs. Wear sunglasses when sun is high on snow surface. Keep feet dry, summer and winter.

Desert: Water is the most important factor in desert survival. Carry along all you can — even at the expense of leaving behind some food and other equipment. Take along a piece of parachute to serve as a sunshade during the day; carry some extra clothing for the cold nights.

Tropics: The most useful aids to travel in the tropics are a machete, to help cut your way, find food, make a raft; a compass, for maintaining direction; a first aid kit, to keep you going in the face of fever and the risk of infection; stout shoes, that will save your feet and enable you to walk out; and a hammock.

Greenbank also recommends a 30 lb load, although he may have been influenced by AFM 64-5.

The US DOD definition of “manportable” is that an item is less than 14 kg/31 lbs. Of course, many soldiers get lumbered with several “manportable” items along with a heap of other gear!

Your bag may be heavier than this, but it is a good target to aim for.

How to pack a rucksack I have described previously. Ideally, you want a large pack, packed light. The sleeping kit suggested belowis bulky, but relatively light. The mass of denser items carried above it helps compress it.

I will work on the common premise that a bug-out-bag is designed to keep you going for 72 hours until you reach safety or an emergency response has been organized.

I will limit myself to bag contents. Elsewhere I have discussed what to have with your bag..

Sleeping and Shelter

If you do not already have a rucksack you intend to use, it may be prudent to assemble your sleeping and shelter gear before you purchase your rucksack.

Your goal is a roomy pack, lightly packed.

How much room your sleeping and shelter gear takes up, and how you carry it will influence how much other stuff you take with you.

I hear of soldiers and some outdoor types omitting their sleeping gear and resigning themselves to being uncomfortable and having a bad night's sleep. This is not really advisable.

We spend at least a third of our time sleeping. Not getting a good sleep may very adversely affect our performance when awake. You may need to be at your best!

Poncho Liner or Blanket

At the very minimum, you will need a blanket or poncho-liner. These may also serve as a warm garment, and may be modified to better serve in this role.

A blanket or poncho-liner may be combined with other sleeping items for additional warmth.

In a tactical scenario a blanket or poncho-liner will keep you warm but may be immediately discarded if necessary.

Many soldiers who “rough-it” could have simply thrown a ponch-liner over themselves.

This conjures up a nice image of the first sergeant doing his rounds and tucking in exhausted grunts. Aww!

Sleeping Bags

Unless you live in the tropics, you will need to have a 1 to 2 or 2-season sleeping bag and a 2 to 3 or 3-season bag for colder conditions. Select which best suits the anticipated conditions.

Which to buy first? Let the current season be your guide.

When it is colder, the bags may be used in combination with each other, and/or with the poncho-liner/blanket.

If you want your BOB ready to go at a moment’s notice, have the sleeping bag appropriate for the current season packed in your rucksack while the other “rests” uncompressed. This will prolong the life and performance of your bags.

Supposably, down bags pack smaller and are more tolerant of being compressed for long periods of time.

If you live where it is more often wet than cold, a synthetic bag may be a better choice.

Select according to your budget and local conditions.

A sleeping bag liner keeps your bedding cleaner. There are silk and fleece versions that may increase the temperature range of your sleeping system.

Your sleeping kit should also include a pair of sandbags or similar. If you have to sleep in your boots, cover your boots with the sandbags.

Have a woolly hat or headover to serve as a nightcap.

Kip Mats

The ground will probably be cold and wet at night. A kip mat costs little and will make a big difference to your comfort.

There are alternatives such as self-inflating mattresses. It is debatable if the expense is justified if the item is permanently to be kept in a BOB.

A rolled kip mat does not need heavy duty straps. I used a couple of polyester ribbons and buckles for one of mine. If you know your basic knots as you should, you can use a length of cord. The cord may be put to other purposes while the mat is in use.

Kip mats are often rolled and carried strapped to the outside of a bag. Unless kept in a camouflage sack, they compromise your camouflage.

They are also somewhat vulnerable in this position. Many soldiers do not bother carrying them since they are likely to be ripped away while the rucksack is hung on the outside of a vehicle.

A rucksack that is large enough to accommodate a foldied kip mat is obviously an advantage. The mat provides additional padding against the back.

If you do lose your kip mat, try stuffing a bin-bag full of leaves or similar. Your rucksack should have half a dozen large bin-bags. They have numerous uses.

Bivi-Bags

Bivi-bags seem to get much less attention than they used to.

A bivi-bag will keep you dry and a little warmer when it is not possible to rig a shelter. The variants with a lengthwise opening are probably a little easier to exit in a hurry. For the same reasons, I do not recommend “hooped bivis”, which are actually tube tents.

When on the move, stick the bivi-bag in the bottom of your rucksack and cram your sleeping bag(s) into it.

Most bivi-bags are green or green dominant camouflages. They seem to spend a lot of this time on brown forest floors!

Poncho/Basha

When practical, you can use your bivi-bag in combination with a poncho or basha.

This keeps the rain from pooling on your bivi-bag and gives you some shelter when dressing or cooking.

You will also need pegs, some cordage and/or bungees. If it is really windy, you may need to peg down your kip mat and/or bivi-bag, so have enough pegs.

You will need some support poles for when Mother Nature neglects to provide conveniently located trees.

In the desert, or very cold conditions, use a double canopy above you for added insulation. A space blanket, spare poncho etc may be used.

Hammocks

If your evacuation will take you through jungle or wooded areas, a lightweight hammock may prove handy.

Potentially, a net hammock can be used to fish, although the holes are on the large side in many examples I have seen.

Nets may also be used to catch rabbits if you can “smoke” them out of their warrens.

Twisted, a hammock may serve as an emergency rope.

Locations where you might use a hammock often also require mosquito netting. Biting insects can be a concern in colder latitudes too, however.

Tents

A poncho shelter gives you good situational awareness, which is prudent if bad people might try and take your stuff or do stuff to you. Emergencies are likely to bring out both the best and worst of humanity!

In some climates or seasons a tent is necessary.

Single person tents tend to be cramped, so you will probably end up rigging a poncho shelter in addition.

Crawling in and out of a small tent can be a slow process. If you need to exit a bivi-bag quickly, stand up and let it drop.

“One Plus One” tents are designed to be roomier for a solo traveller, yet can accommodate two people if they get on well.

If you intend to bug-out as part of a group, two-person tents may be warranted.

Dividing the components of a tent between two people is generally not a good idea. If a pair are separated neither has a complete shelter.

The exception to this are tents made from military shelter halves. Each half may be used as a lean-to.

One person should carry the full two-person tent while the other carries individual emergency shelter items. The tent carrier’s load may be lightened by their partner carrying a greater proportion of the food or water.

Part Two

Tags bug-out, bug-out bag, poncho, poncho-liner, rain-poncho, shelter, sleeping, sleeping bag

Phillosoph

Survival Library: Chapter 4, No Need to Die

Post author By losophyp
Post date 25 February 2025

The other day, I went looking for an old survival book.

The search engine provided me with hundreds of titles just within the bushcraft/wilderness field alone.

Back in the 1980s, the choice seemed much more limited. Of course, with my memory I may be forgetting quite a few titles from then!

Eddie MacGee Rucksack Packing Suggestions

The main work in the field was what was then FM21-76 and related publications.

There were a few books from other official sources, such as the Air Ministry pamphlets: “Arctic Survival”, “Desert Survival”, “Jungle Survival” and “Sea Survival”. Those are still well worth a read, incidentally.

“Combat Survival and Evasion” was apparently compiled from the course notes of some gentlemen in Hereford. It is an interesting, if a little eccentric, read which I may discuss in a later blog.

I owned copies of “Can You Survive” by Robert DePugh, “Jack Knife Cookery” by James Austin Wilder and “The Art of Survival” by Cord Christian Troebst. Not strictly survival manuals, but all interesting and all containing some useful information.

“The SAS Survival Handbook” by John “Lofty” Wiseman was the new kid on the block, and had already established itself as one of the go-to books on the subject.

The “Survival Handbook”/“The Book of Survival” by Anthony Greenback was a little older, but did not seem to get as much attention as some other works. A shame, since it remains an excellent book.

Admittedly, my memory often fails me these days, but the only other manual I can recall from that time is “No Need to Die” by Eddie McGee. This was actually the book I had been searching for, although naturally I could not recall the author nor title until I found it.

Back in those days, this had been one of the few survival books my local library had.

Personally, I tend to think of this book as more of a discourse than a guide. Some topics are covered in great detail, while other fields, less so.

For example, there is some discussion of direction finding using plants and other means, but very little instruction in navigation as a broader topic.

On the other hand, there are large sections on tracking, trapping and fishing. These are very good, and it will be a very rare reader that does not learn something new.

There is a certain, very British eccentricity to the book. It is written in an informal, chatty style. There are numerous cartoons and sketches by the author, some of which detail ideas only touched on in the main text.

Reading it once again after several decades, one of the sections I now find interesting me is that on the use of fishing skiffs and fishing with gourds/balloons/condoms/plastic bags.

Pine bark as insect repellent is worth knowing too. (Some other tree barks, such as birch and cedar may also be suitable, as might other parts of the pine tree)

“The Tepee Fire: This method is probably the most common one used all over the world. Simple to light, providing there are plenty of dry materials available. However, no matter how simple or practical it may be, this method will not work on snow or very wet ground. All fires, no matter which type, should always be built on some form of a platform. [My emphasis] Because this method has no controlled fire surrounds it quickly consumes the fuels. More forest fires are started by this method than any other. Often the lazy campers just kick the fire out and move out leaving the fire to smoulder and relight.”

I would not suggest “No Need to Die” as a sole or first book someone should read on survival. See Survival Library Chapter One for my recommendations in this regard.

“No Need to Die” is certainly a book worth reading once you have a grounding in the basics. You are bound to learn a few things.

McGee was later to write “Eddie McGee's Complete Book Of Survival”. I hope to find time to read and review this in the near future.

One story from “No Need to Die” sticks with me (p.178):

“I remember once on a long desert walk in the Oman, while serving with the Sultan’s forces, making my way across to a known water well. I knew that the arabs guarded their water hole tenaciously but when I arrived at the well I did not expect to find that each arab, in fact, carried his own water collection skin, so having found the water well and removed the stone covering I was dumbfounded to find the water over twenty feet down and the hole about two feet in diameter. I had no bucket, only my water bottle and no means of lowering it down by rope and it was certainly too dangerous for me to climb down, so I sat a little and thought. I removed my survival bag from my belt, took off my vest, fastened my fishing line to it and lowered this to the water. In a couple of minutes I had not only filled my container, I’d also stepped back and had a good strip wash and removed some of the grime and salt from my body. Later I made a cup of tea, went to sleep, had a good rest and moved off the next morning feeling on top of the world and re-supplied with water.”

As luck would have it, the same day I read the above passage, I came across a forum where some members were glibly challenging if anyone’s life had ever been saved by a survival fishing kit?

Right here was an example of how a component of a fishing kit (and a vest!) had potentially saved someone’s life, even though they were in a desert and probably miles from the nearest stream.

With my current situation, lifestyle and location, the chances of myself needing to fish or trap to feed myself are remote. Thus, I had been tardy getting around adding any fishing or trapping components to my skin-level EDC.

Reading the above story, I vowed to add some fishing line to my EDC pouch. A couple of packets of hooks on nylon couldn’t hurt either. Better to have them and never use them…

Tags long-term survival, survival, survival library, survival manual

Phillosoph

Hidden Hand Trio: Wrist Grab Escapes

Post author By losophyp
Post date 13 February 2025

Escapes from wrist grabs are not a topic I have often covered in this blog. There are hundreds of books, blogs and videos showing such techniques. They range from simple to intricate, and from realistic to the not so much!

Here at survive.phillosoph.com, I try to offer content not found on other defence or survival pages. When I do consider a more common topic, I endeveor to look at it from a different angle, or provide fresh insight or novel information. I hope that I have achieved this, at least sometimes.

If some self-defence courses and books are to be believed, someone walking up to you and holding your wrist is a common problem. Maybe not for some of us. I am big and ugly and not that many people wish to hold my hand.

On the other hand, (pun intended!) wrist grabs are probably a more common feature of altercations between a man and a woman. And there are fighting styles that often feature controlling an arm to apply a lock, throw or to pull aside a defence for a strike.

Therefore, your repertoire of defensive techniques should include some responses to wrist grabs.

“Crash Combat” mainly concentrates on the method I have called the “under and up”, the “under and out” or even “under, out and up”. Use whichever name helps you remember how it works.

This technique works for same-side grabs (right hand to right wrist, left to left), or cross/mirror-stance grabs (left to right wrist, or right to left-wrist).

It works for whether the grabber's thumb is towards or away from the defender’s hand.

The same technique is used to respond to your knife wrist being grabbed, or someone grabbing your baton or rifle barrel.

Being a more extensive work, “Attack, Avoid, Survive” adds some additional techniques, ranging from the very simple jerking action against the thumb, to the kuk sool won-based throwing techniques.

Recently I started reading “Analysis of Shaolin Chin-na”. This included advice that I will paraphrase as: “if someone grabs you (by your wrist, fingers etc), poke them in the eyes or kick their shins. Attack, Avoid, Survive contains the same tactics, although not as catchily expressed as Jwing-Ming Yang put it, I will admit.

Techniques from Bagua

I was inspired to dig through my collection and find the DVD that included Erle Montaigue teaching eight methods of wrist escape. I found it on MTG15 “Dim-Mak and Combat Wrestling”, which is worth checking out, btw.

The clip below does not include the wrist grab section, but has some other techniques worth knowing, some of which may be used to prevent or follow-up a wrist grab.

The eight techniques Erle shows each use a hand form from bagua/pa-kur. Several of these are actually the under and up technique, but using a variety of hand configurations.

Today I would like to look at three of the other methods in the video. I personally think of these as the “Hidden Hand Wrist Grab” responses.

For ease of illustration, let us assume that it is the defender’s right wrist being held in the following descriptions.

First Method

In the first method, the wrist is grabbed, the grabber’s thumb away from the hand and his palm on the outside/back of the forearm.

In response, the fingers of the grabbed hand are splayed out. This action is also seen in the kuk sool won techniques in Attack, Avoid, Survive, so I presume the intention is to fortify the wrist.

The fingers are then thrust towards the grabber’s throat or face. This echoes the “poke ‘em in the eyes” advice, but uses the grabbed hand rather than your free hand.

The restrained hand is driven forward, not just by the arm, but by a rotation of the hips and waist and the forward movement of the whole body.

As the thrust is made, the hand is turned palm up so there is a corkscrew-type action, and considerable weight and force is applied to the space between the grabber’s thumb and fingers.

There is a supplementary technique to this move, which I will address a little later.

Second Method

The second technique is very similar, but in this case the grab is to the inner side of the wrist.

Again, splay your fingers and use your body motion to twist the arm and drive the fingers at the throat or face.

“Head Scratch” Method

The third and final technique we will look at is the fourth method on Erle’s video. To avoid confusion, I will call this the “head scratch” technique.

The wrist has been grabbed as in the first technique. The grabber holds the right wrist with his left hand.

Splay the fingers and raise your hand up so you look at your own palm. Without pausing, continue raising the hand as though you intend to scratch your head above the forehead. At the same time as you make this action, you utilize the body rotation and movement that powers it to turn to your left and move away from the grabber.

If the hold is not broken and the grabber does not let go, they will be pulled along behind the defender.

As the defender turns away, they may choose to throw their hand before them and thrust forward with their palm, applying additional force to break the hold or pull the grabber off balance.

This technique may also be used right hand against right wrist, or left against left, but you will need to change the direction you move away. Move to take yourself to the outside of the grabbing arm. This will take you out of reach of the grabber’s free hand.

Supplementary Technique

The supplementary technique for all three moves is essentially the same for all.

As your grabbed right hand begins to move, your free left hand moves toward your right elbow and then swings up toward your right hand. The left hand moves parallel to the underside of your held forearm. The grabber may not notice this motion, which is why I call these “hidden hand” escape techniques.

By grasping your wrist, the grabber has effectively immobilized their own, making it easy for you to grasp their wrist with your free hand. Use your thumb or fingers to attack nei gwan/neigwan/PC-6.

Rather than trying to grab the wrist outright, try placing your left palm on the forearm and allowing it to slip slightly down the forearm as it tightens the grip.

If the foe’s wrist grip on you is broken, use your own wrist hold to pull the foe off balance, or pull their arm out of the way while you strike with your freed arm, for example using a hammer-fist or elbow strike.

If the hold was not broken, twist your body to pull him forward, stepping across his front so that he is tripped.

Successfully exploiting a grab or lock may require disrupting the foe with some strikes. Similarly, a lock of grab may only be a prelude to a throwing technique..

For the head scratch technique, the action of turning away may be used to drive a hip or shoulder throw without waiting to see if the hold is broken.

If the hold is broken during the initial “head scratch” motion, the turn away may be replaced with a turn back to deliver a strike.

There are many other options, of course.

Your grab on his wrist may be used to pull his hand low and then up behind his back, for instance.

If moving to the outside of the grabbing arm the arm may be taken up to create a high bent arm lock to force the attack to overbalance backwards.

Tags bagua, dim-mak, erle, martial arts, pa-kua, self-defence, tai chi, wrist grab

Phillosoph

Get Thinner! Reduce Bulk

Post author By losophyp
Post date 5 February 2025

About 20 to 25 minutes into the movie “The Omega Man”, the protagonist (Dr. Neville aka Charlton Heston) is seen searching for the mutant nest.

He apparently combines this activity with his cardiovascular exercise, so we see him with both a tracksuit and a submachine gun.

This allows him to move fast and light, with significant firepower to draw on. I have seen much less practical loadouts for a reconnaissance mission!

Neville wears a belt carrying his iconic flashlight, additional magazines, and a tape-recorder (for exposition purposes). Also on his person he carries a map.

What else he carries on this belt is hard to make out in this sequence.

There may be a holstered handgun.

No sign of a water bottle, although this would be a logical thing to have for “reconnaissance jogging”, as would some binoculars/field glasses.

Watching the movie a few months ago, I fancied I caught a glimpse of a knife on the belt, possibly a Ka-Bar. Rewatching the scenes, I am not so sure. A knife would, however, be a logical thing to take with you on such a mission, and operating as Neville does, you would not want anything too heavy or two bulky.

Bulk is always something to consider when selecting equipment. If I was planning to travel light, would I trade my kukri for a Ka-Bar or my Buck 119?

On the scales, the kukri is heavier. On the belt, the difference in length, bulk and mass seems less significant. It is the hilt you notice most, and that of all these examples is similar in size. And the ten inch kukri is a far better choice for, say, chopping through a door than a six or seven inch bowie blade.

This line of thought got me thinking about what I might carry if for some reason I was not carrying the Scrapboard Survivor. I realized that many of the “other” fixed blade knives I owned would also probably be too bulky for many such scenarios. In many cases, the limiting factor was the handle.

In contrast to most of these knives, I remembered that when I was visiting some friends on the West Coast, I had treated myself to a Hibben throwing knife.

Like most throwing knives, the grip section is of similar thickness to the blade so as not to offer too much aerodynamic resistance.

Unusually for a throwing knife, this model came with a nylon belt sheath and the grip section was wrapped in polyester thread.

It was quite possible (and not unknown) for me to take a nap and remain perfectly comfortable while still wearing that knife. Not a property that many of my other knives had!

So, I have been thinking about knives with low-bulk grips.

A notable example was the Buckmaster LT/Buck model 185. This was the Buckmaster blade fitted with a flatter grip rather than the then obligatory cylindrical hollow-handle of most survival designs.

Buckmaster LT/Buck 185 slimline survival knife

I like that the LT used a plastic coating on the grip. I once (unintentionally!) sawed through a live electrical circuit and was very grateful the saw I was using was the only brand of Gigli saw with insulating plastic tubing over the end loops. Although that incident involved a saw, since that lucky escape, the conductivity of tool handles has been a consideration for me.

Bare metal handles are not much fun in sub-zero conditions either, particularly if you do not have time to put on your gloves when you need the tool in a hurry.

On the downside side, the shape of the Buckmaster LT grip and guard looked pretty dorky.

I am wary of pronounced finger grooves. They are as likely to not suit your hand as they are. A grip that may fit your hand perfectly may not if you put on gloves.

The Buckmaster LT is no longer in production, and I am not aware of anything similar on offer.

My friend Ed once sent me sketches of a “throwing kukri” which had a simple flat grip. He suggested it might actually be a fairly useful lightweight camp tool too.

Closest I have to this is a flat version of the Alphamega knife, a gift from a friend.

Alphamega were based on a knife I saw in a Macedonian museum, itself probably influenced by the Greek kopis, so this resembles a small kukri to many people, although the blade is actually straighter. This Alphamega is, however, a one of a kind. The Alphamega will be discussed further in a later blog.

It is debatable as to how much need there is for a seven to twelve inch blade with a flat, low profile grip. Such blades may be put to heavy uses, and such a grip configuration may be hard on the hands.

Boot Knives

A field where flatter grip designs would be more welcome would be for boot knives.

Flatter grips would make them more concealable, which is a priority for this category of knife.

There are some boot knife designs with skeletonized handles. Some of these look to be a little too narrow to give a good grip, or are fitted with deep finger grooves that may, or may not suit your fingers.

It would be nice to see some of the other models of boot knife offered with the option of covered but low-bulk grips. If a flatter grip needs to be wider to fill the hand better, so be it.

Comfort and concealability should be priorities.

Quillons should be no more than is needed to keep the fingers off the edge. .

A friend had asked me for some thoughts on boot knives:

Shape-wise, the hilt of the AG Russel Sting is hard to beat. Very comfortable and practical, yet only 0.36" in thickness. (figures from a website, I haven’t measured my own example).

The blade and hilt of the Sting is made from a single piece of steel. It is obviously possible that blade and tang be constructed from a thinner piece of steel and thin scales of some other material then added. This would allow for a greater variety, and improve thermal and electrical insulation.

Decades back, I sketched some designs for a range of boot knife type knives with ring pommels. I figured this feature might assist in drawing the knives from concealed positions.

I have cooled to that feature, thinking a more solid pommel may be more practical. I do regard a cord channel in the butt of a boot knife and essential, however.

A short loop of cord can assist in drawing the knife. Once drawn, the same loop may aid knife retention. About 40 cm tied into an 18 cm loop is good for my skinny hands. If you have big paws, start with a longer piece.

I would also like to see such boot knives offered in a choice of blade lengths and styles.

If I have one criticism of the Sting, it would be that there is not a commonly available variant with a longer blade available.

I rather like the one and a half edge/M3-style of my Smith & Wesson SW820 boot knife, and this configuration makes good business sense, allowing sales in backward places that consider double-edged blades to be “evil”.

A tanto- or modified tanto-style blade would doubtless appeal to many buyers. A kanmuri-otoshi or kissaki-moroha style might prove to be both versatile and practical.

Some users would probably prefer a clip-point or sabre-point utility-orientated blade instead. A low profile, Mora-style bladed boot knife sounds like a very useful option.

Mora and puukkot blades are available as unhilted “blanks”, although these sometimes cost more than a finished knife! Adding your own thinner grip to one is a feasible home project.

Other Knives

Boot knives are not the only knives that it would be desirable to see in flatter, low-bulk options. We have already touched on the subject of thinner field and utility knives.

The picture above shows a pair of CRKT Stiff KISS knives, along with a neck knife and A.G. Russel Sting copy (for scale) by the same company.

The Stiff KISSes were a useful low-bulk fixed blade. Typically, they are no longer in production! The point of the drop-point (“MDP”) was a little too acute to my mind. A point with more belly would have been more versatile. Similarly, the tanto's point could have been less angular.

My main purpose for showing these Stiff KISSes is they illustrate two ways a bare tang design may be modified.

The tanto has a wrap of black kangaroo leather (given to me by whip-maker Joe Strain).

The MDP has scales of teakwood added (admittedly due for a clean and oil). The scales are deliberately different, the one on the private side being thinner and flatter than the public side scale.

I have seen it suggested that the narrow hilt of the bare model, with a finger notch rather than a guard, is not ideal for “serious” use, which is probably a fair comment.

The MDP or tanto easily fits in the thigh pocket of cargo trousers. This allowed me to have a useful fixed blade available while camping at a crowded “civilized” site.

Pec-Knives

The Gerber Strongarm was not the first knife I brought as a pec-knife!

Those of you who have read “Survival Weapons” will know that my first pec-knife was a Mantis MF-1. Appropriately for its more general role, this is a thicker and larger knife than a typical boot knife. It is still a good choice.

The Gerber is good for overt wear. If concealment is more of an issue, I might be inclined to carry the flatter MF-1 instead.

Even without a cord-wrap, the grip is quite hand filling. The knife was “engineered for use with paracord wrap”. Without a wrap, the balance point is a bit more forward, although this has little practical effect.

As may be seen, my MF-1 has a wrap of paracord. If bulk was more of an issue, a wrap of tape could be used instead. Alternatively, a thin pair of wooden, plywood or plastic scales could be constructed and bolted together over the tang.

Bootknives and Pec-knives could be flatter

Photo above: CRKT/A.G.Russel Sting, SW820, Gerber Strongarm, Mantis MF-1, Gil HIbben throwing knife. Note how the Gerber and Mantis have much wider and thicker blades than the boot knives.

Another potential low bulk utility knife was the United Cutlery S.O.A. Navy SEAL knife. (If you can find one! All my searches today are giving “out of stock” and “discontinued” messages).

I am kicking myself that I never got around to getting one of these! When I first saw the design I assumed a ridiculously high price tag. Quite the opposite, in fact!

The “BlackField Integral pocket knife” appears to be a copy with an increased price tag. Steel is listed as “440” rather the AUS-6 of the UC version

Something like the Mantis MF-1 or UC SEAL might be the sort of low-bulk, lightweight, versatile knife suitable for the Omega Man’s jogging kit.

Tags alphamega, boot knife, combat knife, fighting knife, gerber Strongarm, kopis, kukri, pec-knife, survival knife, tanto