Tag: equipment

Some Thoughts on Possessions and Minimalism

Post author By losophyp
Post date 30 May 2023

Today I would like to throw out some ideas about minimalism.

This is more a collection of thoughts and ideas rather than a coherent article. I hope some of it will be of use or interest to you.

My blogs have touched on this or related topics several times already.

Creating a capsule wardrobe in neutral and natural colours is an example of minimalism.

My friend Sam had the concept of “Sam’s Van”: that one should not have more than could be moved in a single vanload, an example of quantity-limited minimalism.

In all honesty, I cannot call myself a minimalist. My girlfriend is probably having a hearty laugh at the very notion! I have, however, attempted to make use of some of its techniques.

Don’t Count!

A very useful piece of advice I came across was “Don’t Count!”

“I only own n number of things” makes for a great blog title, but if many of us try to apply this in practice it can lead to unhealthy obsessiveness, or goal-post shifting. Well done to those who have reduced their belongings to just n-items, but bear in mind a more productive application of the exercise is to reduce your belongings to only the things you need, rather than an arbitrary number.

Some possessions naturally begat others. I have knives and other edged tools for my kitchen, hobbies, toolbox, camping and EDC. It would be very foolish for me not to own at least one other possession to keep them sharp, for example.

Sometimes a simple single addition may make a lot of difference.

I carry my keys on a carabiner. Not all of my trousers have loops in the best position for this.

I brought myself a robust key-hanger that fits on my belt. The hanger even has a couple of stout press-studs so I am able to place it on my belt without needing to unthread it. Now the keys always hang directly over the pocket.

Clear the Decks

Another good tip I have encountered is to “clear the decks”.

Ideally, nothing should be on your floor except your furniture. Once you have relocated or discarded the stuff that was taking up your floor-space, move on to the other horizontal surfaces and declutter them.

Minimalism for Preppers

Applying minimalist techniques can be a very useful exercise, especially for preppers. You can apply them just to your backpacking or bug-out outfit, or to your life in general.

I come across a lot of lists of equipment. Many of the “essentials” are actually only conveniences or “nice to haves”.

I have read a minimalist list where the person owned one bowl, one plate, one mug and one glass. Presumably their mates never came around for a cuppa or a drink. Or perhaps their mates were all minimalists too and were expected to bring their own cups!

The same list included a set of measuring cups for cooking. Perhaps a single measuring jug is more minimalist than a set of cups? Perhaps they could drink out of the measuring jug! I was rather pleased to see someone offering a graduated drinking glass!

Kitchenware

If you are on the move, your minimalist cooking kit is a canteen cup and a spork. Many canteen cups now have non-stick coating, so use a non-metalic spork.

For a more leisurely camping kit, have a frying-pan, pair of billies, spork, spatula and a piece of plastic flexible cutting board. The latter is cut to size and shape to fit in your frying-pan. This is not a bad basis for your minimalist home kitchen.

Stephane Reynaud wrote a cookbook called “One Knife, One Pot, One Dish”. Not as minimalist as some would want, since the “pot” in different recipes may be a casserole, frying-pan, saucepan, baking dish, bain-marie or even a food processor.

If you want a very minimalist cooking outfit for home, a frying pan/skillet and a flameproof casserole is not a bad option. The latter should be of the sort that you can use on either the hob or in the oven. If you use a halogen oven, you will obviously need a casserole that can fit inside of it and when filled is not too heavy for you to lift out.

An oven-baking dish is a useful supplement to the casserole. If you have a halogen oven, make sure your dish is of a size and shape that fits it.

Select a spatula that can serve as a turner, server and a stirrer.

I like to cook and get a little creative in the kitchen, so I do not think it is too great a disaster if I have a couple of extra pots and spatulas.

With respect to saucepans, you will probably find you do not need more than two or three of varying size. Two frying pans of different sizes is sometimes convenient.

If you do use a halogen oven, you will know that tongs are pretty useful for removing or turning hot food. You could use a pair of spatulas, I guess, but chances are your halogen oven came with a set of tongs, so why not keep these?.

You will need a chopping board and/or a set of flexible cutting board sheets for use with your knife. I would opt for a Chinese cleaver, but you may then need a small knife for those rare jobs the cleaver is not good for. You should also have a serrated knife for cutting bread and fruit.

It is useful to have scissors and a spare penknife in the kitchen. Then again, my kitchen also has a buck-axe and Mora-knife!

I quite like the sets of measuring cups and spoons I have hanging up in the kitchen. I try to use them to stop over-serving myself portions. The minimum is probably a measuring jug.

Have at least one mixing bowl. Perhaps invest in an ovenproof one that may be used in the microwave or halogen oven.

I could probably use a larger selection of storage boxes for the fridge, and make the ones I have more accessible.

For each person, there should be a bowl, plate, mug and drinking glass. If you are a big tea drinker, you will want your mug made from glass. A glass mug is a good all-rounder for all kinds of hot or cold drinks. For cold drinks you may want something taller with more volume and room for ice.

Ideally, have two sets of tableware for each person. You will need to wash-up less frequently and you can accommodate guests. If there are more than two of you, the extra plates and bowls are useful for serving. Bowls also get used for mixing, marinating and microwaving.

For each person, a set of utensils: knife, fork, spoon. All-metal, single-piece sets are more durable. The knife should be of a form that can cut cooked food and spread butter. Have a couple of spare sets for guests. You may want a steak/cutting knife and teaspoon for each person or guest too. Personally, I like to have at least half a dozen additional teaspoons. A teaspoon is far better for spreading jam or marmalade than a knife, incidentally.

Adopt my methods of quick, economical washing-up and you will find it easy to maintain a stock of clean cutlery and dishes.

I have a dish-drying cloth, but seldom use it since letting washing-up drain and air-dry is cleaner and more convenient. It gets used more often to swat flies. Drying my hands is more common, and this only needs a small hand-towel. Same hand-towel is useful for handling hot dishes and pots.

What Do You Really Need?

It is foolish to think what applies to yourself is true for everyone else. That is quite a useful thing to remember in everyday life. Keep this in mind when you read minimalist lists.

Sometimes I find that I do not need some of the items on minimalist’s lists. Having a good penknife does away with the need for many other implements.

My girlfriend recently tidied-up a bedroom that had been used for storage.

“Transformed” is probably a better term. It was hard to believe it was the same room!

I was looking around for a rug with a two-metre high pile of junk swept under it.

One of the few items she declared surplus to requirements was a desk-lamp. She had absolutely no use for this, she declaired. Neither had I, I realized.

I have two desk-lamps, both fitted with daylight bulbs. I only ever use them when I am photographing something.

I mention this, since several minimalist lists of belongings include desk-lamps or floor-lamps as essentials. Perhaps their home is considerably darker than mine and they do actually need them.

Most of us do our writing and reading on computers these days, so I would venture that many of us do not need a separate desk-lamp. I certainly do not need a lamp to “create mood”.

Sometime ago I got rid of a freestanding lamp since I never used it.

I think television shows create a false impression here. Often on the box we see an interior with multiple lamps, all of them lit in the middle of the day!

Don’t use lights you do not need, and reduce your energy bill. Sell or donate lamps you never use.

Another item that is surprisingly common on minimalist lists of “necessities” is bathroom scales. Personally, I have never owned a set of bathroom scales. I do not need a set to tell me I am carrying extra weight, I can see it! Similarly, weight-loss that the scale claims has no value. What matters is that which I and others perceive.

Wastebaskets? I have certain in-laws that cannot grasp not to use a bin without a liner. My rubbish for recycling goes into a repurposed plastic bag. This usually hangs from one corner of a kitchen chair, so I need no bin.

Foodstuff that might attract flies goes into a bag in the freezer until it is thrown out into the bins outside.

Not that I get many flies, since I fitted all the windows I might open for ventilation with insect mesh! Simple addition: big change!

Something I don’t see on many lists is a dressing gown. I spend most of my time at home wearing little else! One of the pleasures of a nice shower is drying off in a snuggly dressing gown! My older dressing gown has fallen to bits, so I may replace it with a longer, hooded fleece gown for the colder months, and to wear when the other fleece gown is being washed.

The dressing gown is supplemented by a fleece blanket in the lounge. I spend most of my time alone, so heating the whole house if it is a little chilly is stupid. I often watch television or play video games with a blanket thrown over me. If it gets colder, I throw a poncho-liner over this too.

Constructive Minimalism

In an apparent paradox, if I have been reading a minimal list of belongings, it is more usual for me to think about buying something rather than discarding something.

This illustrates how minimalist lists can be a useful tool for making you concentrate on what are your essentials and highlighting where you might make improvements.

I have, however, taken to practicing a self-imposed “cool-down” period. I wait at least 24 hours before I click “buy”. I may miss the occasional bargain, but generally I save more money by avoiding spending it on stuff I can manage without.

Thinking of your possessions as “collections” or “kits” can be productive in rationalizing what you have.

Bedding

Considering bedding, it occurred to me my life would be a lot easier if I had two brand-new sets of sheets and duvet covers. Some of my older stuff did not quite fit the mattress I now have.

Two sets give me one new set on the bed while the other is in the wash.

I have an extra duvet and pillow, so I can use my older stuff for these, again giving a set in use and one in the wash.

Stationary

If I consider the topic of “stationary”, what do I actually need, compared to what I have?

Most writing is now done on the computer, so pens and paper are seldom used.

I have blank A4 paper for the printer (although the printer seldom behaves well enough to print anything! The device is mainly used for scanning.). That blank A4 paper can be used for various other things. A pad of lined paper and/or a notepad or two. Pad of post-it notes.

You may have uses for a highlighter, stapler or some paper-clips.

Seldom do I need envelopes these days. If I do need one, I can fold a piece of paper into one. I do occasionally send packages, so some tape is useful.

Ruler, protractor and a pair of compasses can be handy at times, and also serve in the “tools/DIY” category.

I have plenty of knives, so I could do without a pencil sharpener, although there is little point in discarding the couple I have.

I have some glue and blu tac, although these reside in my modelling supplies.

Erasers, pens, pencils, of course.

Go through your pens and discard refills or disposable pens that no longer work.

Some forms require you to fill them in in black ink, so make sure that some of your pens are black.

Recently I had to send a parcel and was unable to find a thick pen to write the address with. So I bought a pair of black Sharpies, adding one to my EDC and keeping the other for home use.

Sometimes it is a matter of organization. I had lots of pens and pencils, but distributed in various diverse locations. Pool most of your erasers, pencils and pens into a box or a large pencil case. You can still have a pen and/or pencil in places you are likely to need them, but if you do need something you only have to look in one place.

I have a pen and pencil in a box in the lounge, a pen and pencil in a kitchen drawer, and everything else in a large pencil case in my room. A handful of paper-clips form the zip-pull.

Scan It and Toss It

As mentioned, my printer is also a scanner. It can feed-in and scan whole stacks of papers automatically. Or at least, it did until Epson discontinued the software needed to do this for my model!

A scanner may be very useful for decluttering your life.

When I moved in with my girlfriend, I scanned scores of folders of documents, magazine articles and old papers. This allowed me to throw out several sacks of the old papers and makes it easier to find the information I want when I want it.

Bag and Box

Bag or box stuff when you can. You will save yourself time if these bags and boxes are transparent or mesh.

For example, stick all of your pairs of gloves that are not in jacket pockets in a mesh bag in a drawer or on a wardrobe shelf. When you need gloves, just one place to look, and no hunting for a glove hiding in with the socks.

Things that are wanted but seldom used may be tucked away on a high shelf or bottom of a wardrobe. Conversely, some things that you might make more use of may currently be hidden out of sight and out of mind.

Put your teaspoons in a small jar on the countertop rather than hidden in the bottom of a crowded drawer. Makes them much easier to find.

My final advice is to understand that decluttering is likely to be a “work-in-progress”.

Many times you will think that you are nearly done, but are not! Changing one thing will put other things in a new context.

Scanning the last of my old papers got me thinking about the various plastic and card folders they had been in.

I have lots of books and DVDs. While I like to call the exercise “decluttering”, there is no way my home will ever look uncluttered.

It might be argued that much of my minimalism is “below the surface”.

There is now less in the cupboards and drawers. What is in there is now more logically organized and more easily found.

It is quite probable that no-one will notice the difference except myself.

Psychologically, the place feels calmer.

Tags cooking, EDC, equipment, long-term survival, survival, survival kit

Phillosoph

Tools in the Office

Post author By losophyp
Post date 13 May 2023

A friend of mine asked me for suggestions for the contents of a small repair/utility kit to place in a locker at his office. In his own words, he wants to be “the handy guy”.

Every time I have moved office, I have virtuously left my tool collection for my successor, (not that I had much choice in the matter last time!) Each time I have regretted this, as over the next few months I have needed tools I no longer have.

What to have in such a kit will depend on the office, and the sort of equipment likely to be encountered.

I once returned to my office to find a pair of colleagues attempting to help someone remove a finger-ring. I quickly confiscated the hacksaw(!) and demonstrated that a needle-file was the correct tool for the job.

A dearly missed friend of mine was a craftsman of the old school. He brought the best tools he could and they served him well for his entire lifetime. Good job he was cremated, since he would turn in his grave at my next suggestion!

Bear in mind the likely frequency of use of your office tool kit. For items that are only likely to be used occasionally, it may be warranted to acquire some of these items from “budget” sources.

Images are for illustration only! No recommendation of particular brands or models should be inferred.

Office Folders

My starting point for an office tool kit would be to find a penknife and/or multi-tool.

If you are a regular visitor to these pages, chances are you already carry a number of useful items as part of your EDC.

It is also possible that you have a couple of older items that you have replaced with something better and more suited to your needs. You may have brought yourself a full-sized multi-tool, only to decide it is too heavy for constant carry and your needs are better served by something such as a Swiss Army knife and a mini-Leatherman Squirt.

In my kitchen drawer I have a couple of penknives donated from lost property. One is large and bulky and includes a set of pliers. Both penknives hang on a hook in the drawer and are useful for tasks such as tightening cooking pot handles.

If you have a surplus penknife and/or multi-tool, make this the starting point of your office tool kit.

Screwing in the Office

The next addition would be some “proper” screwdrivers.

There are some places that the screwdrivers on a penknife or multi-tool cannot reach, or are too big for. If you have to remove a number of screws, or they are hard to remove, conventionally handled screwdrivers may be more comfortable and effective.

Items such as phones or laptops tend to use quite small screws. You may encounter cross/Phillips/posidriv or Torx-headed screws.

Have a set of several small screwdrivers of approximately 3 to 5mm width for the flat heads, and the other types of similar size, such as PH/PZ 0 to 2.

Some items have very small screws! A set of precision/“jeweller’s” screwdrivers is worth having. This will also make you popular with spectacles wearers.

As an aside, the very small screwdriver that fits in the corkscrew of a Swiss Army knife is worth acquiring for your EDC. I once saw someone’s glasses fall to bits while they were talking to me in a pub. I repaired them there on the spot.

You should also have at least one fairly hefty large slot screwdriver.

Recently an important keycard was left in a cabinet and the key-holder was absent with Corvid. I was told to get into the desk by any means possible. Unable to pick it, I used a large screwdriver as a wedge and prybar and opened the drawer with negligible damage.

Having a crowbar at work might raise eyebrows. A large screwdriver or two is more acceptable and in many respects more versatile.

Pinching in the Office

Next I would add a set of pliers. By “set” I mean a kit containing several pairs of different forms, for example fine, long-nose, curved, broad and side-cutters.

These are for all the jobs the pliers on a penknife or multitool are not ideal for.

Insulated handles are nice to have, although you should not be working on anything with live electricity.

A number of times I have been called on to repair colleagues’ jewellery.

I have a nice little set of five tools, each about four to five inches long. I picked these up in a model-railway shop.

These are backed up by a pair of heavier duty long-nose and standard pliers of about six to seven inches long.

○ Precision screwdrivers and fine pliers would be among the first tools I acquire for an office tool kit.

Nuts Loose in the Office

It is probably not your job to fix the sink. Even if you do actually know what you are doing, there are numerous good reasons why this should be left to someone paid to do the job.

You may, however, come across loose nuts on furniture in an office environment.

Your tool kit should have a set of Mole grips or an adjustable wrench for such contingencies.

Cuts in the Workplace

In this day and age, the sight of a penknife blade may cause some of your colleagues to soil their underwear.

A Stanley knife/box-cutter may be a more acceptable tool should you need to cut open packaging.

More assaults are probably committed with Stanley knives and box-cutters than penknives, but hoplophobia is not rational.

Tape It!

Final component of the basic kit would be a roll of duct tape and a roll of electrician’s insulating tape.

Additional Items

• Reorganizing is a popular distraction in offices. Will the desk fit? I am often asked if I have a tape-measure.

• Sometimes items using allen screws are encountered, so a small set of allen/hex keys might be handy.

There is a joke that Mole grips or duct tape are for things that move that shouldn’t, and that WD40 is for what won’t move but should!

• WD40 is handy for a number of things in the office. As well as being a lubricant, it can be used for cleaning.

See 2,000 Uses for WD40.

• Modifying your office environment with a hammer will probably be frowned on. It may prove tempting next time the printer or photocopier plays up!

As a starting point for your office tool kit you may have used a pre-made home kit, such as the one shown below, which includes a hammer. A claw hammer does make a useful substitute for a prybar.

• A magnifying glass may be useful for dealing with those tiny screws.

• A magnet is good for finding any screws you drop or keeping removed screws going astray.

• If working with small parts, tweezers may be handy. So too might a plastic “spudger”. You can probably carve the latter from the less-brittle examples of plastic cutlery.

• A small sewing kit may also prove handy.

• I am inclined to suggest a small flashlight might be a handy addition. My step-son will probably just point out that most people have phones with lights.

Whatever you decide upon, keep your tool kit under lock and key. Useful things like tools have a habit of getting borrowed and not returned.

Other Utility Items for the Office

My friend said tool/utility, so what else might he want in his locker? His EDC should cover most of his needs.

No idea about my friend’s current lifestyle. He may still enjoy a wild night out on the tiles. He might want a toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor and deodorant in his locker.

Female readers may wish to keep a supply of hygiene items.

Your place of work should have a stock of medical items, but you may maintain a supply of personal medication, and other items such as your preference in painkillers and anti-histamine, for example.

Spare clothing, such as clean underwear, warm hat, bandana, scarf, gloves, jumper and a poncho/rain-proof. A spare lighter and a space blanket is always prudent.

This is venturing into the topic of “get home” bags. That is a topic for another day.

Tags EDC, equipment, office, swiss army knife, tools

Phillosoph

Sharpie Skinwriter: A Proposal

Post author By losophyp
Post date 24 April 2023

Many Combat Injury-Immediate First Aid Kits (CI-IFAK) include a Sharpie marker in their contents.

This marker has a number of potential uses. It can be used to write tourniquet information on a casualty, mark an individual that has been administered morphine, or to fill in a casualty report card.

This role does not require a full-sized pen. Something about half the size would be sufficient. Is it worth creating a shorter pen to save just a couple of grams?

Our service-people are overloaded as it is, so saving a little weight where possible is prudent. When we consider whole companies and battalions being transported, saving a little weight for each person becomes a significant saving in fuel.

Creating a new model of Sharpie for this particular application also allows some useful new features to be introduced:

• The hue of human skin ranges from pale pink to dark brown. The colour of the “Sharpie Skinwriter” should be one that shows clearly on any tone of skin. This would probably be a light or medium shade of blue.

• The Sharpie Skinwriter would be approximately half the length of a standard Sharpie.

• Given that the user may be gloved and have their hands wet from blood, rain, snow etc, the cap and body of the Sharpie Skinwriter would be designed for easy manipulation under such conditions.

• Rather than grey, the body of the Sharpie Skinwriter should be made of a colour that allows it to be easily seen within the contents of the IFAK, even in diminished light levels. Medical/daylgo green is a possible choice.

My girlfriend took a look at this blog and presented me with this non-brand pen below. It is apparently used by tattoo artists.

It is 9 cm loa. The ring on the top could be used for a cord-pull loop, making it easier to remove when gloved. The barrel could do with some checkering to make it less slippery.

Pen used by Tattoo artists.

I have passed this idea on to the makers of Sharpies. Let us see if something comes of it.

Tags equipment, marker, medical, pen, sharpie

Phillosoph

Shortening the Shovel

Post author By losophyp
Post date 21 April 2023

Back when I was much younger than I am now, I worked in many temporary jobs to support myself during higher education. Warehouses, bakeries, kitchens and hospitals, to name a few of the places that I worked.

I am above average height, so I soon became aware that many of the fixtures or tools I was expected to use were too small for me. Even in this day and age, items such as vacuum cleaners, mops and sinks are designed with the assumption that they will be used by average-sized women rather than persons of my size.

In many of the places where I worked it was not uncommon to see broom-handles extended with a length of pipe. Sadly many other tools were not so easily adapted.

A Little Off the End

Recently, someone was describing to me their early working life as a labourer on building sites.

From https://www.lilliputworld.co.uk/products/britains-navvy-standing-with-shovel-trade

“One of the first things you would do is shorten your shovel by half an inch or an inch.”

Given my own early working background, it may not be surprising that I could not resist asking: “Which end?”

It turned out, it was not uncommon to shorten the shovel [spade] blade and resharpen the new edge.

Resharpening the edge made the tool more efficient and negated any neglect that a previous user might have inflicted. It also lightened the shovel a few grams, and if you were expected to use a shovel all day, this weight saving was considered to be significant and worth having.

Of a similar ilk, cleaning the tool at the end of the day was considered important. A few millimetres of concrete drying on the shovel would add weight and make the shovel harder to use the next day.

This rather reminded me of the old adage about an ounce on the feet being like a pound on the back. A slight decrease in shovel weight may significantly decrease fatigue.

Less is More?

Logically, a shorter shovel/spade blade results in a smaller volume of material that is moved by each shovelful. Less volume means less mass, so each shovelful/spadesful took less effort to move. Thus a small decrease in blade-size might mean a significant reduction in energy needed to move each spadesful, since each spadesful would be lighter.

Of course, to move a given volume would take more actions with a smaller blade, but that may be more practical than moving it as a smaller number of much heavier loads. Are half-a-dozen light loads easier to move than three that are twice as heavy?

The following diagram may not be familiar unless you work in safety, or injury liability. It shows the recommended maximal loads that should be attempted by an average male or female.

Maximum safe lifting is with the load close to the pelvis. The further the load is from this point, the less that can be safely lifted.

About 37% of work-related injuries are due to poor manual-handling practices, with a surprising number occurring in office and “white-collar” environments.

Based on the above, a shovel/spade-load and the tool being used to lift it should be around no more than 5 to 10 kilos in total mass.

In my blog on “Easier Entrenchment”, we encountered accounts of 19th century soldiers throwing up useful earthworks using trowel-sized bayonets. A narrower blade should penetrate packed earth better. Specially designed trenching shovels tend to have long heads than may be only four inches/100 mm wide. Very different from the modern, issued entrenching tool!

Can a smaller, more efficient shape make that much difference?

1873 trowel bayonet from https://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Identification_Guide/United_States__19th_Century_/us_19th_century_2_page2.html

All this suggests the basis for a really useful time-and-motion or ergonomics study.

What is the most effective way to throw up an earthwork with manual tools?

If the work is easier made in smaller rather than larger bites, what is the optimum size and shape of shovel blade?

I notice that some of the titanium tools on offer on the internet are not just lighter, but use blades of 200 x 90mm dimensions on a 64 cm haft.

What is the best configuration and length of handle for a typical male?

Tags entrenching, equipment, shovel, spade, survival tools

Phillosoph

Webbing Gear and Ventilation

Post author By losophyp
Post date 10 April 2023

Recently I have been reading some new stuff on “cold-dry” or “snow” survival.

Dipping back into one of my older books, I noticed this caption on an image:

“Most soldiers trained in Arctic warfare prefer to keep their webbing attached to their backpack, rather than over their clothes, which restricts movement. ”

“Survival” (1988), Len Cacutt (p.124)

If it is acceptable to not wear webbing during Arctic operations, this suggests that it may be practical to do without many of the contents of the webbing during operations in warmer climes.

Given the date and origin of the book, the webbing referred to would be the British 58-pattern. Below is an illustration from the SLR-era. The following comments are still applicable to later systems and those of many other nations.

As can be seen from the illustration, webbing carried a lot of gear that was not immediately mission relevant.

Earlier in “Survival” there is a recommendation to “eliminate all non-essential items” (p.60). It then shows webbing loaded with wash-kit, stove, mess-tins, boot-polish, cutlery etc.

Part of the problem is the kidney pouches. Their large size is a temptation to load them up.

The pouches cannot be easily removed from the system when the weight they carry is not needed.

The position of the kidney pouches also hindered the use of efficient rucksacks that transfer the weight to the pelvis.

The consequence of all this is the webbing is heavy and bulky. It cannot be worn comfortably unless the belt is clinched tight, and it requires some system of yoke or suspenders.

In the SLA Marshall loadout recently described, a notable feature was carrying the ammunition only in bandoliers. No equipment belt is mentioned. Presumably there is one, since the soldier had to carry a water canteen and possibly a pouch for his pair of grenades. However, this belt would be relatively light without 80 rounds (about 5 lbs) of ammunition weighing it down.

Note in the photo below the GI wears a belt without any clip-pouches and does not use suspenders.

Reading about pulks produced a similar observation from a Dutch source:

“As a result, Marines are now carrying a heavy backpack while moving on skis in snowy areas. An additional disadvantage of a complete package on the man is that the function of the worn clothing is not fully utilized (breathing capacity).”

In sub-zero operations it is important to avoid overheating.

Condensing perspiration can soak into clothing, reducing its insulating capability and chilling the body. This moisture can even freeze within the clothing.

There are a number of solutions to this problem. One is to not wear too much insulation. Another is to pay attention to the permeability and venting of clothes. Sweat must be prevented or allowed to escape the clothing before it becomes cold enough to condense.

It should be obvious that venting, air-circulation and removing excess insulation will all be hindered by the torso being constricted by a system of tight straps.

Air-circulation and heat-loss remain important considerations in warmer or hot-climates too.

Not only is what we carry important, but how we carry it!

Webbing/Load Carrying Equipment should be reserved for immediate-use mission gear. Items that do not qualify should be removed to a backpack. A small pack, or the detachable side-pockets of a large pack, can carry items for a 24 hour or CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) operations

Decreasing the mass and bulk of webbing gear to improve air-circulation will greatly improve soldier comfort and performance. As a regular reader so eloquently puts it, it “reduces sweating without the benefits!”

A simple chest/belly rig, as described here, should be used for the primary ammunition supply. This will have three two-magazine pouches and a couple of smaller pouches for up to six (standard size) grenades, for example, two smoke and four fragmentation grenades. The only other features of the rig would be a snap-link, map/dump pocket, small weapon-cleaning kit, flashlight carrier and a mounting for a pec-knife. comms and first field dressing.

An equipment/waist belt would be lightly loaded with an CI-IFAK pouch and up to two litres of water.

In sub-zero conditions, water might be better carried in a bladder worn under the clothing to keep it liquid.

Possible additions to the equipment belt would be a handgun, handgun-magazines, long knife and possibly additional grenades and rifle-magazines. Extra munitions may be better carried by other means such as a claymore bag.

This configuration leaves the back clear for the more comfortable carrying of backpacks.

Tags backpack, equipment, military, soldier's load, webbing

Phillosoph

SLA Marshall Soldier's Load

Post author By losophyp
Post date 24 March 2023

Over the years, this blog has visited the topic of Soldier’s Load several times, and published a number of equipment lists.

What to carry, and what not to, is of interest to any backpacker, outdoorsperson, prepper or survivalist. Although a list may have been written for a military context, understanding the reasons for any differences is often productive.

The following list is something of a “classic”, being taken from SLA Marshall’s book “The Soldier’s Load and the Mobility of a Nation”(1949). It seems to be obligatory to mention this work when writing about Soldier’s Load. How much notice is taken of its suggestions is beyond the scope of today’s blog.

Marshall, and many other sources, had concluded that the optimum marching load for the average man is not more than one-third of body weight. Marshall also maintained that troops would carry more food, more munitions, more everything into combat than there was any reason to believe they would use.

On this basis, Marshall proposed an optimum working combat of around 40 pounds (80% of optimum carried load).

SLA Marshall: “We can do it, as is shown by the following table of weights. Though we had many variations of combat dress in World War II, according to the climate, the present field uniform strikes a good general average insofar as weight is concerned.”

WEIGHT OF CLOTHING
Undershirt, drawers, socks…………..0.62
Shirt, flannel …………..1.13
Trousers, wool…………..1.69
Jacket, wool…………..3.02
Cap, field ………….. 0.25
Boots, combat…………..4.13
Belt, waist…………..0.19
○ Total for the field uniform…………… 11.03 [lbs]
Belt, cartridge 2/48 Rds M-1 ammunition………….. 2.29
Canteen w/cover and cup…………..2.69
First-aid packet…………..0.40
Helmet w/liner…………..2.82
Rifle M-1 w/o bayonet, w/sling…………..10.30
Two (2) Grenades (Fragmentation)…………..2.62
○ Light pack w/one (1) K Ration and mess gear………….. 7.79
Includes:
Haversack and carrier…………..2.46
Toilet articles…………..0.92
Change of underwear…………..0.43
Two (2) pairs of socks…………..0.38
One (1) K Ration…………..2.31
Mess gear…………..1.29
○ Total, field uniform and battle equipment…………..39.94 [lbs]

“On that figure, I am prepared to stand. One blanket, woolen, OD, would add another four pounds; one raincoat, another three pounds. During initial combat in hot weather, it is better to take a chance without them than to put that much extra weight on men just as they are about to undergo fire for the first time.”

Commentary

Unlike many later analysts, Marshall included the weight of the clothing in his estimate. This is often disregarded if the wearers are accustomed to wearing the items.

• Undershirt and drawers of this period are likely to be cotton tee-shirt and boxer shorts. Socks are presumably wool, rather then the cotton worn with service dress. Underwear can, of course, be varied with season and climate.

• “Flannel” is a somewhat ambiguous term these days. A M1937 wool shirt was in service at the time and this is probably that suggested. Woollen clothing is preferable if you are going to get rained on.

Incidentally, the prototype M43 combat dress had featured a “high-neck sweater” to be worn under the field coat or as outerwear in hot weather. The fatigue/utility shirt would become the preferred hot-weather wear.

A friend of mine likened soldiering to an extreme sport, which did make we wonder if field gear should be made to more closely resemble sports and active gear. Something modelled on a tracksuit top or hoodie may be a better intermediate layer than a conventional shirt.

Pocket configuration of hoodies/tracksuit tops is not ideal. Handwarmer pockets are a bad idea, since your hands should be out of them helping and defending you. Extra sleeve pockets and Napoleon chest-pockets are useful, as it a kidney-area pocket for soft items such as hats and scarves.

I prefer hoods that can be stowed away inside a collar. It is easy to snag a hood on a branch when moving through the woods.

Poppers to supplement any zip would allow for more versatility in ventilation. I am undecided as to whether a fully opening or pullover configuration works best as field wear.

• Wool trousers (M1937) are suggested. Cotton cargo trousers had seen widespread introduction with the new 1943 field gear. Cargo trousers are a good modern substitution, since the pockets are ideal for carrying much of your skin-level EDC emergency items.

• “Jacket, Wool”, could be one of several garments. It may be the M1939 wool field coat, or the ETO “Ike” Jacket. The latter had been based on British battledress and had been intended for both field and service wear. In practice they had been in short supply so usually only officers had them and kept them for non-combat use.

By the time of Marshall’s writing the M1939 had been widely replaced by the cotton and wool M41 “Parsons” field jacket and the cotton M43.

My experience with my desert parka makes me suspect that such an item is far more practical than a conventional half-length field jacket. Being uninsulated and lightweight, it can be worn comfortably across a broad range of weather. It appears a single layer, although the inside may have a closely bonded thin lining. Vent zips and a roomy interior allows for good air circulation in hot weather and cooling via bellows-effect. A loose cut allows room for the liner or other insulation when cold. Its larger size covers more of the distinctive human body-shape.

Buy your parka on the big side. Mine is thigh-length.

I have modified the hood of mine so that it rolls into a collar secured by poppers when not in use. The only other modification I might wish for is more and larger pockets.

The desert parka is a reasonably priced item, so is an easy way to modify a soldier’s appearance.

A parka intended for field use would be camouflaged and provided with textilage and attachment points for foliage. Such a field parka can easily be replaced by another more suited in colour and cut for non-combat, service or parade wear. The latter may appear something like the frock coat/greatcoat look that is used in some Japanese anime.

The idea of using a “long” coat as basic combat dress has obvious echoes of the French practice of usually fighting wearing their greatcoats.

• A woollen watchcap, beanie or headover may be a more useful and versatile item than a field-cap. A hat with a brim does keep the rain off my glasses, however.

At least one type of gGloves, and something to act as a scarf such as a keffiyah or scrim should also be part of a basic outfit.

• The belt listed is probably the item intended to hold up the trousers, rather than an equipment belt.

• “Belt, cartridge 2/48 Rds M-1 ammunition… 2.29” did give me pause. The cartridge belt for use with the Garand M1 rifle has ten pockets, each holding an eight-round clip.

With the rifle loaded, the soldier’s basic ammo load was 88 rounds. Marshall advocated soldiers carry less ammo, but only filling six pockets of the belt for 48 rounds seemed odd. And what did “2/” signify? Was it a transcription error in my PDF copy of the book?

Eventually, I learnt Garand ammo was issued in a throwaway cloth bandolier. This bandolier had six pockets, each holding one eight-round clip, for 48 rounds total! Soldiers would often carry a pair of bandoliers in addition to a fully loaded cartridge belt, for 23 clips/184 rounds.

It seemed logical that Marshall was suggesting that a soldier just carry a pair of bandoliers instead of a ten-pocket cartridge belt. This would still give the soldier 104 rounds (2 bandoliers of 48 + 8 loaded).

The quoted weight of “2.29 lbs” is still a mystery. A loaded Garand bandolier weighed 3.5 lbs, and a loaded M1923 cartridge belt even more, so the figure might be expected to be either 3.5 or 7 if a pair of bandoliers was intended.

This use of such bandoliers is a practical system for the Garand. I would not, however, recommend the Garand for modern shooters. There are lighter weapons with equivalent performance, and the need to have ammo in clips for the mechanism to fully function is an obvious potential problem.

The bandoliers used for the Garand were also used for the Springfield M1903, each pocket holding a pair of five-round strippers, for total of 60 rounds per bandolier. Thus something similar might be used for a bolt-action rifle or for the loose ammo for a shotgun. The bandolier was also apparently repurposed to hold six 15-round M1 Carbine magazines.

Few modern self-loading rifles can be loaded by strippers, so another arrangement for carrying their ammo must be used. The above does, however, give a useful idea of the number of ready rounds carried that may be practical.

Substantially reducing the weight carried on the waist belt and eliminating the need for tight webbing suspenders would improve both air and blood circulation. This would be very welcome in hot or very cold climates.

• A canteen/water-bottle is a reasonable item to carry on your person. Since a cartridge/equipment belt is not listed, it is not clear how Marshall’s soldier carried it. In a modern context a flexible water-bladder may be preferred to a rigid bottle. Many modern examples have a sip-tube so you can drink without unpacking your water container.

The canteen cup should probably be carried in the pack rather than on the belt.

• The first aid package is probably one area where greater quantities are prudent. Bullets often make exit holes as well as entries. Optimising the CI_IFAK/Trauma kit carried is an entire topic in itself!

• Marshall suggest a pair of fragmentation grenades, rather than the five to eight some units encouraged soldiers to carry. Modern fragmentation grenades are a little lighter than their 1949 era equivalents.

While a civilian would not carry fragmentation grenades, legal smoke bombs have practical applications for defence and signalling.

It is not explained how Marshall’s soldier was to carry his pair of grenades.

The 1943 combat gear had introduced jacket and trouser pockets designed to take several grenades.

In the thigh pockets grenades were difficult to reach and the weight was uncomfortable. Enough weight and the trousers would not stay up without suspenders.

The lower jacket pockets were difficult to access if wearing belt-gear and cast-iron weights swinging around your genitals was objectionable!

The above items constitute what some authors call a “fighting load”. The combat load is considered to include a fighting load and an approach march load. The approach march load is usually in a small pack that is dropped or cached before closing with the enemy. The haversack Marshall describes is the approach march load.

• The suggested haversack contents are reasonable. Two pairs of spare socks and a spare set of underwear sounds about right.

On other pages, I have described effective wash-kits much lighter than those many soldiers carry. This should include a roll of toilet paper.

The K-ration can be replaced by modern equivalents. Marshall is telling us the combat load need food for a day or so, not a week or more!

Rations such as MREs may include heating pouches, reducing the need for a stove and fuel.

The mess-kit can probably be replaced by a metal canteen cup and an emergency stove, such as the British Crusader or US Natick.

Pack the interior of the cup with packets of instant noodles and other useful items.

The only other eating item needed is a spork.

A plastic sandwich box makes a useful eating bowl. When not used as such, fill the interior with a brew-kit, spork and packet-soup and OXO cubes.

• The poncho-liner can substitute for the wool field blanket suggested.

A set of goggles and a flashlight are worth adding to the pack contents.

• The issue US army raincoat would be replaced by the more versatile and lighter rain-poncho.

Incidentally, another advantage of the desert parka is that it can be worn over a lightweight plastic raincoat, providing protection and camouflage while the waterproof stops water reaching the warm layers below.

Tags backpack, equipment, military, sla marshall, soldier's load, survival, survival kit

Phillosoph

Daysac Backpacks

Post author By losophyp
Post date 12 March 2023

Recently I have been jotting down some thoughts on minimalism. I will share some of these observations in a future blog.

This is quite a useful exercise, since often it identifies deficiencies in what I have. It also inspired me to organize my current possessions more logically.

A Room of Rucksacs

One field I started thinking about was that of bags.

Part of my bedroom floorspace is taken up by several rucksacs, and more lurk on top of the wardrobe or in a nearby trunk.

Different models for different purposes: The Alaskan Packboard I built that I used to tour Germany, Holland and Austria. The internal-framed pack I acquired for Iceland, since I did not trust airline baggage handling with my packboard. The DPM Northern Ireland Patrol Pack and large Bergen that I treated myself to. The most travelled pack is one that converts into a soft suitcase and has six large external pockets.

Daysacs

A large rucksac is a useful thing to own, and like me, you may own several, each suited for different purposes.

A smaller bag, such as a daysac, is likely to see more use, however. It may be used weekly, or even daily. I notice many women carry small rucksacs in lieu of a handbag.

Smaller packs are less well represented in my collection. The one I have used most recently is rather small, and somewhat tatty. I acquired this from lost property at work (yes, it is amazing what people leave and never come back for). It only has one external pocket and I have had to repair the shoulder strap junction at least twice.

Elsewhere, I have told the story of why my beloved North Face daysac is no longer with me. The multi-pocked pack I brought to replace it proved to be far too small for my trip to Kos.

Given the use it will get, it makes sense to invest in a good quality daysac. Sadly, I have very little budget for such things these days. I have spent several days web-searching for a new daysac, only to find what I did not want or could not afford.

Following my recent article, I wanted something neutral and natural in colour rather than the ubiquitous black. A search for khaki backpacks turned up an item on ebay. Price had dropped and was within my budget. For that money, I would risk it.

The Sunrise Khaki Backpack

The bag arrived several days ago, and I am pleasantly surprised.

Compass and Mil-Tec Daysacs

It is a little bigger than I expected. Dimensions quoted on websites can often be misleading.

Quoted dimensions were 47 x 31 x 21 cm, and size was quoted as 31 litres. That latter figure seems to be external volume rather than internal capacity.

The bag is probably ideal size for a general-purpose daysac. When I am travelling my daysac serves as my cabin baggage or carries the items I may need when sightseeing. This bag is of a size that most airlines will permit as cabin baggage. When moving between locations the daysac needs to be small enough to fit inside my larger rucksac, so I have only one bag to carry and watch.

Colour is a nice khaki-coyote brown shade, not so light that it will show up dirt. The inside is lined with a black nylon/polyester[?], so better finished than I was expecting. This, however, is my single, very minor gripe with this bag. A black interior makes things more difficult to located within a bag. More manufactures should utilize lighter materials such as the bright lime green used inside my girlfriend's theft-resistant bags.

Unlike my old North Face, the main compartment has a padded pocket that can take a laptop computer. I could have used this a few months ago while I was hot-desking!

Interior is large enough to take my soft-core pack with plenty of room left for other items.

The main external pocket is quite large. The interior seems rather bare. This could use some internal pockets for smaller items. One can only expect so much for this price, however. Interior pocket is something I may add when I have time.

On each side is an open-topped, elasticated pocket suitable for carrying a waterbottle or collapsible umbrella.

Very little needed to be done to bring this pack “up to speed”.

The shoulder straps each have a plastic D-ring, so adding a snap-link to the left one took an instant.

The zippers needed pull-tails, and short length of “desert-camo” paracord I had proved to be ideal length and colour. The main compartment zipper is two-way, that of the exterior compartment one-way.

The other addition I made was to coil a wallet chain around the grab-handle. This is a trick I have borrowed from my girlfriend's theft-resistant bags. When stationary, feed the chain around a chair or table leg to deter sneak thieves. Obviously, this precaution does not mean you can wander off to the toilets and leave your bag unattended! Even if you added a lock, a thief could cut through part of a bag if left unwatched.

This is not the highest quality bag you can find. You can easily spend ten times as much on a daysac. Whether or not you will get ten-times the bag is for you to decide.

This is all I can afford at the moment, and nicely demonstrates some of the features you might look for in a bag, and some of the modifications you might consider.

This particular bag is has the brand “Compass, Sunrise Bags” and model number “BPC108-KK”.

Mil-Tec MOLLE Multi-Pocket Backpack

While I was researching this blog, I discovered something new about my small black multi-pocket daysac. Other than its small size, this really is a nice bag, well-made with lots of nice features.

The bag is made by “Mil-Tec” in Germany. I discovered the same design is produced in two different capacities, 20 litres (“small”) and 36 litres (“large”). There is also a 14 litre kid's pack.

A number of sellers offer copies/knock-offs of the Mil-Tec design, many claiming to be “30 litres” The dimensions claimed for some of these suggest that even the exterior volume of the bag is less than 30 litres.

I suspect that I in fact brought the 20 litre version of the Mil-Tec, assuming it was the same as the “30 litre” bags being offered elsewhere.

The genuine 36 litre Mil-Tec can be found for quite a reasonable price, although out of my current budget, sadly. Based on my examination of the 20 litre version, the 36 litre may be a very good choice for anyone looking for a slightly larger daysac or patrol sack.

Tags backpack, daysac, EDC, equipment, mil-tec, rucksac, sunrise, survival, survival kit

Phillosoph

Beyond the Pail: Buckets for Survival

Post author By losophyp
Post date 21 January 2023

Why a bucket?

Recently I blogged on the topic of dish-washing. Today, I want you to imagine that you are somewhere far from civilized plumbing. You may want to wash your cookware, clothing or you may want to wash yourself. What do you do?

Some of you, I suspect, may suggest that you head for the nearest body of water and wash there. We will assume you have been prudent and lucky enough to have placed your camp within an easy travel distance of water. Not too close, to limit hassles from insects.

Washing yourself or your dishes in a body of water is not ideal. Even in parts of the world where that water is not inhabited by crocodiles, alligators, mosquitoes, schistosomiasis or similar.

The problem is that your activity generates what is known as “greywater” or “sullage”. Dirty water, soap or detergent, and also suspended fats, grease and food particles.

Even if you use biodegradable products, biodegradation takes time! While this process is on-going, your greywater may have various effects on the body of water, including changes in pH, viscosity and changes in oxygen level.

A much better approach is to cast your greywater on to the soil, some distance from the nearest body of water. The creatures of the soil can deal with greywater much better than those of the water, and any effects are more localized. Choose ground that is absorbent, and do not use the same place on consecutive days.

OK, so you have seen the wisdom of washing some distance from the water source. Just how do you get the water to wash with to the desired location?

Your water bottle or bladder probably only holds a litre or three. You have probably treated the contents to make them safe for drinking, so using this for washing is a little wasteful. Your canteen cup probably only holds half a litre or so. You may have larger cooking pans, but for efficiency these will only be a couple or litres capacity or less. Many modern designs do not have handles suited to carrying a couple of kilos of liquid any distance.

You could fabricate a water carrier from local materials. Kephart has a whole chapter on making utensils from bark. Such crafts take time, and suitable materials will not be available in every environment or season.

Would it not have been useful if you had brought a plastic bucket with you?

Buckets for Preppers

I recall being in a bar decades ago. I had just rented a new place, actually my first real flat with multiple rooms I did not have to share with anyone. I was chatting to a young woman and told her: “I have brought a plastic bucket and bowl, so I am all set!” Many years and many locations later, that same bucket and bowl are still with me. Used the bowl just a few weeks back to soak the grill of my halogen oven.

Some will scoff! “I'm a backpacker! I go ultra-light! There is no room for a bucket!”.

Empty buckets weight very little. Being mass-produced, they cost very little too! Shop around!

If you pack the bucket full of foodstuffs and other stores, it will take up very little room in your pack. It actually provides them with some protection. Oddly, some larger capacity buckets pack better than their smaller cousins. More on capacity later.

What Use Is a Bucket?

What uses can we put a bucket to? We have already mentioned carrying water for washing, dish-washing and laundry.

• A friend of mine gave me a folding camping sink that holds about ten litres. Not a priority for the bug-out bag, but he thought it might be useful for more recreational camping trips. I now look at this item and wonder just how I was supposed to fill it. Ten litres of water is around 22 pounds! A filled, folding sink is not something you want to carry from a standpipe. I would have needed a bulk-water carrier, or a bucket.

If you have tried the techniques in my dish-washing article, you will know that you do not need a large capacity vessel to wash most items.

You can use a small bowl or bucket of water to wash a large diameter item such as a plate, frying pan or yourself!

Use a cup, or your hand, as a water ladle to wet and rinse. The dirty water does not go back into the vessel, so it is cleaner and more efficient.

I doubt that folding sink will ever see use. I will find a bucket that fits into my pack. A bucket will probably be more durable than a sink/bowl designed to fold.

• Read through a survival manual or book on woodcraft, and you will probably come across references to soaking things to make them more pliable or more edible. You cannot fit much in a mess-tin!

• Cannot reach the water source? Bucket on a rope may solve that problem.

• Let the water come to you! Place your bucket to collect rainwater.

• Successful day fishing or squirrel shooting? Carry your windfall back to camp in a bucket.

• Find a patch of berries? Your bucket will hold as much as you can carry.

As a quick aside: In one of Ray Mears shows one of his local hosts had an interesting berry-picking technique. She simply swiped the bush with her basket. Enough berries apparently detached and ended up in the basket for this to be a considerable labour-saving. Something to experiment with in berry season!

• An empty bucket can be used as a drum to guide companions back to camp, or just let them know dinner is nearly ready.

• A bucket can be used to dig through soft snow or sand.

• A up-turned bucket makes a useful stool and (if sturdy enough) can be used as a step.

• If you have trouble squatting when attending to “calls of nature” an up-turned bucket can be a useful support while you hang your nether-regions over a “cat-hole”.

• And if it is really nasty outside the shelter, as a vase de nuit.

Any party of more than a couple of individuals should include a bucket in their equipment.

Smaller parties and solo travellers should give them serious consideration.

Any vehicle, be it boat, SUV or APC, should find room for a bucket. The interior of the bucket can be used to store other useful items. In an emergency, grab the bucket and be instantly equipped with useful assets.

Some companies even offer 72-hour kits packed in buckets.

Green ten litre bucket

Choosing a Bucket

For backpackers, cyclists and lightweight travellers, the bucket chosen needs some consideration.

Obviously, we want a bucket that will fit easily into our pack, with little wasted space.

There is little point in my recommending a bucket of a certain capacity. In my kitchen I have two buckets, not counting one for floor-washing. The five litre bucket is too narrow at the bottom. It will fit in a daysack, but it is space-inefficient. The three (Imperial) gallon bucket is about twice the capacity (13.6 litres) but is too wide at the top for even my largest rucksacks.

The interior dimensions of your pack will be more significant than bucket capacity. Taking your pack down to the hardware store and trying some buckets for size is not that bad an idea. Remember the bucket will be riding above your softer pack items, so perhaps put a sleeping bag and a realistic load of clothing in the pack before you hit the hardware store.

Depending on intended role, you may want bright colours or natural and neutral. The outside of a bucket can easily be spray-painted.

Cylindrical buckets, with the bottom of similar diameter to the top, may be a better choice than more conventional tapered designs. Between five and ten litre size may be a good option for these.

If you decide to buy a bucket on-line, bear in mind that perfectly suitable items may be available under various other names, such as “paint kettle” or “storage tub”. There will be bowls and various other containers that can be made into buckets with just the simple addition of a handle.

Tags bucket, bug-out bag, dish-washing, equipment, preparation, survival, survival kit, survival tools, wash kit, washing-up

Phillosoph

Camouflage: Light, Dark, Neutral and Natural

Post author By losophyp
Post date 29 December 2022

Camouflage is about “not being seen”, which is one of the most fundamental of survival strategies. If you cannot become “invisible”, you may be able to appear insignificant, uninteresting or become easily “lost in a crowd”.

Good use of monotone neutrals. In some shots the actresses blend into the terrain.

You may have spent good money on the latest designer camouflage, but it is of no use to you hanging up at home. The most likely source of threat is other human-beings, and you are most at risk when other people are around.

Miyamoto Musashi tells us in the “Book of Five Rings”:

“In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance. You must research this well.”

In clothing terms, what Musashi tells us means your everyday wear should be selected with a mind to decreasing your “visibility”.

Camouflage-patterned clothing does have a place in a prepper's wardrobe. There are, however, times when using camouflage-patterned clothing may be counter-productive. In cosmopolitan cities, clothing in camouflage or camouflage-like patterns may attract little attention. In other parts of the world, its use may attract unwelcome attention, or get you wrongly identified as military, paramilitary or a poacher.

Even if restricted to unpatterned clothing, there are strategies that we can adopt that will still decrease our visibility.

In previous blogs, I have touched upon a concept that might be called “camouflage without camouflage”. One can make oneself less observable by using a mix of non-camo-pattern clothing.

By using a variety of shades and hues, the basic identifiable human-shape can be broken up and become harder to distinguish. I have advised that you select clothing items in neutral and natural shades and colours.

While this remains good advice, a little more thought needs to be given to the system and some additional explanation may be warranted.

What is a Neutral Colour?

This website tells us:

“Neutral colors are muted shades that appear to lack color but often have underlying hues that change with different lighting. Examples of neutral colors include beige, taupe, gray, cream, brown, black, and white. While neutral colors are not on the color wheel, they complement primary and secondary colors.”

On this blog I have stressed “neutral and natural”. Not all colours classed as neutrals are suitable for concealment.

Black

Regular readers should already know that “black is NOT a camouflage colour”.

In the movies, the bad guys, and often the hero will be dressed in black. It looks great on screen, and makes the actors stand out. This is exactly the opposite of the effect we want our clothes to have!

Even at night, black is to be avoided. In many partially lit conditions, black can be too dark, and stand out. Seldom is it dark enough for black clothing.

The special forces in Vietnam who dyed their gear black knew the colour would soon fade to a more useful dark grey.

Pure black clothing also tends to show the dirt, so you might like to rethink its usefulness as general wear.

If you want a dark suit for weddings and funeral, buy charcoal-grey rather than true black.

White

White is another colour that stands out and should be avoided. Like black, white really shows up any dirt.

The only time to wear white is when there is snow on the ground.

White garments used as snow camouflage should be uninsulated. If they are warm, you will be tempted to wear them all the time, they will quickly become dirty and will no longer be effective as snow camouflage.

Obviously snow-camo should be unlined and of a material that is easily laundered.

Avoid white underwear if you can. Outer clothing can get damaged, and being exposed may expose you. Select underwear in neutral and natural tones.

If you have to wear a white shirt at a formal occasion, you may need a white undershirt to avoid the colour of the undergarment showing through.

If you have to wear a white shirt for work, carry a neutral colour scarf or keffiyah you can cover it with when outdoors.

Blue

Not all shades of blue are neutral. Some that are neutral are not that natural. Neutral shades of blue or blue-grey can work in a winter or urban environment.

Light blue is generally a “cold” colour and can be used in the snow. Some snow-camouflage patterns use light blue and white to break up the shape.

Watch some nature footage of polar bears in the snow and ice and note how much the terrain appears blue, grey or blue-grey. Interestingly, the bears often appear yellow-white.

In an urban environment, light blue is often encountered as faded or mid-blue denim. Light blue is a good colour for a button-up shirt.

Darker blues are probably less useful for concealment. A blue blazer is supposedly an essential in a gentleman's wardrobe (I don't have one!). If you want one, select a neutral shade of navy. If nothing else, it will at least go better with whatever other colours you may wear with it.

Undershadow

Many animals have lighter colouration on their undersides. This makes the shadow that their bodies cast less distinctive and is an example of counter-shading. The animal appears less three-dimensional and blends in better with the surface that it is upon. Behaviours such as crouching low further reduce the shadow, and the animal will often remain immobile while it thinks it is observed.

Interestingly, many aquatic or amphibious animals show an abrupt change from light underside to darker upper. When swimming near the surface the dark upper makes the animal very difficult to spot. A predator looking up from beneath will find the light underside difficult to see against the sky seen through the water surface.

A light underbelly, or clothing to simulate it, is of little use to a human, since we spend a significant portion of our time upright and bipedal.

Keeping close to the ground and remaining still is good tactics, however. If you are concerned with being observed you should never be reluctant to crawl if necessary.

An interesting example of trying to apply counter-shading can be found in the book “Second World War British Military Camouflage”, p.27-8 by Isla Forsyth.

Solomon J. Solomon was one of the early pioneers of modern camouflage. During the First World War he proposed “alterations to [British] soldiers’ uniforms to reduce their visibility, such as the darkening of the soldier’s cap and the lightening of his trousers.”

Upper surfaces catch more light, and correspondingly, need to be darker. Body areas that are commonly thrown into shadow need to be lighter.

Watch some videos of soldiers in action, and you will see they often appear as man-shaped blobs, darker than their surroundings. Modern combat gear often uses exactly the same pattern for headgear, torso and legs. The chest area is often shaded by the position of the arms, yet often the equipment worn here is actually darker! Even in desert environments, soldiers wearing black or woodland-pattern body armour or load-bearing gear are still seen.

Illumination

When considering camouflage, a lot of attention is paid to colours and patterns. More attention should be paid to shade, light and contrast.

I have advised you to select items in natural and neutral shades, but how dark should they be?

If you have to hide in a dense wood, particularly at night, a mix of clothing items in medium or dark shades of natural and neutral colours may serve you. There will be lots of shadows, so use them. Camouflage is about behaviour as well as colouration.

Suppose you leave the wood to move across a neighbouring field. How well will your dark and medium-coloured clothes serve you then?

Even at night, the surfaces you move over may be relatively light. Grass and hay may reflect any available light, even that from the moon and stars. If you go prone, you may appear as a dark blob that attracts investigation. During the day you may be even more conspicuous.

Most of us spend a significant proportion of our time in urban areas. Even at night, this is an environment with many light or medium-shaded surfaces, and many areas are illuminated by artificial lighting. Dark outfits may make you stand out.

Discussions of camouflage often mention shade and shadow. Level of illumination in the surroundings is often not given that much attention. Clearly, if you are in a shadow, you are illuminated less, but it should be clear by now that light level has a much wider significance to camouflage and concealment.

In really deep shadow, what you wear probably matters little. There is no light, or more correctly, there is none escaping. Not all shadows or unlit areas will be this dark, however.

Stronger light can have interesting effects on concealment. Suppose someone is wearing a sand-colour outfit and lays down in a grass field on a sunny day.

You might think that someone in yellow would be easy to spot in a green field. One thing that would prevent this is that shade is more significant than hue. If the sand-coloured clothing appears a similar shade to the grass at the viewing distance, the figure can be over-looked. Another factor is that light materials reflect. Sunlight hitting the grass causes them to reflect green light. This green light may in turn be reflected from the light-coloured cloth, causing it to appear to have a green tint.

Effectively, your world should be viewed one of light and shadows.

Some areas are “shadow-dominant”. These include deep forests and jungles, and poorly-lit building interiors.

“Illuminated” areas include desert, open fields and many urban exterior areas.

This status may be changed by time of day, weather or season. At night, a wood may become even more shadow-dominant, yet in winter it may become better illuminated.

In shadow-dominant areas, clothing of medium-shade, with some dark items may be most effective. In better lit areas, lighter clothing may be less conspicuous.

Your movements may take you from light to dark areas or the reverse, so what should you wear? Having to deal with both light-dominant and shadow-dominant areas may explain why most attempts at a universal camouflage pattern have only ever proved partially effective.

In the early days of camouflage experimentation, a number of double-sided items were fielded or tested. Some had a spring-summer pattern on one side and a autumn/snow pattern on the other. Jungle/desert and green-dominant/brown-dominant were also tried.

The needs for the different patterns were thus either separated by season or by geography. As far as I know, no double-sided garments based on patterns for differing illumination levels have been tried, which is a shame.

Camouflage Patterns

For camouflage patterns for illuminated areas there are a number of options. Some of the patterns designed for desert use may prove useful in a wider range of environments. Make sure the pattern has sufficient element-size and contrast to disrupt shape and outline. Off the shelf, “tropentarn” seems to work well, although I would wish for a grey rather than green in the pattern.

Some urban patterns are good, although some use too much white or are too greyscale and could use some browns and tans.

Some newer patterns such as multicam use lots of colours and small elements, resulting in garments that appear a single colour beyond a few metres. This very much depends on the material and print. I have seen some camouflaged gaiters in these patterns that look like they might work. Polycotton trousers and shirts in the same pattern tend to blob-out at a relatively short distance. Generally I would avoid these patterns. They may be no more effective than cheaper single-colour items. Many of these patterns are also too green-dominant for a multi-terrain pattern.

For shadow-dominant terrain, you should probably consider “older” patterns such as US m81 woodland, flecktarn and British DPM. Canadian Cadpat is presumably intended for deep woods, although the green looks a little bright in some examples I have seen. Unfortunately, these patterns vary considerably. Browns can range from natural-looking shades to chocolate. Greens also vary and the lightest shade may be either light-green or a more useful tan. Contrast between elements and overall darkness may also vary.

Many of these patterns have too much green. While green is good for summer woodland and lush jungle, a pattern with more browns and greys would be better for other dark environments and seasons.

You may also encounter fashion/police patterns consisting of blacks and dark greys. These are too dark and lack sufficient contrast between the shades to disrupt the shape.

Personal Camo-min

Camouflage without Camouflage

As was stated earlier, you cannot always wear a camouflage pattern. You may not have a garment such as camouflage parka (see below) with you.

How can you become less distinct wearing monotone clothing or “civvies gear”?

The first step is to mix it up! Different items should be different colours or shades. Obviously, what you select should be in neutral and natural colours suitable for your surroundings. Select medium and light shades unless the illumination level requires different.

Whilst you may not be able to wear a camouflage pattern, other patterns may have a disruptive effect, providing they do not use bright or primary colours. Some garments have pockets, collars or panels in contrasting colours, which may break up the shape.

Below is an example of the Russian Gorka wind-proof outfit. Some of these use camouflage, but they are also used in unpatterned cloth. Note how the two different shades and hues of neutral coloured panels break up the basic human shape.

You probably know that several thin layers of clothing will keep you warmer than a single thick garment. You can also regulate your insulation more easily by removing layers. What many people do not appreciate is that a layered clothing system can be used to change your appearance and for camouflage.

For example, on the street you may be wearing a light-tan hoodie over a dark-grey bomber jacket. If you move into a darker area, you may move the bomber jacket to being your outer layer.

More layers often means more pockets. Thus you can carry a spare scarf or more than one hat, letting you further change your appearance.

Some hoodies or jackets are reversible. Generally I think you are better off with several thin non-reversible garments. They will cost you less and offer you more options.

If your garment is lined, ensure the lining is a neutral and natural colour too.

There is another advantage of having a wardrobe that is mainly neutral colours. Neutral colours go with just about anything. Most suggestions for a capsule wardrobe are based on having a versatile selection of garments in neutral colours.

Face and Hands

When James Bond wants to skulk around at night, he wears a black polo-neck. He never bothers to cover his face nor hands. He must leave a lot of fingerprints!

There is little point using camouflage if you do not cover your face and hands. Irrespective of your skin-shade, human skin can reflect. Hidden troops are often detected from the air since someone always has to look up at the spotter aircraft. Even at several thousand feet, an uncovered human face pops out and cries “Here we are!”.

Skin can be darkened and matted down by various means. Do not overlook local resources such as dirt, soot and soil. These do nothing to conceal your hair. Face-paint or dirt are also difficult to remove easily if you want to later appear innocuous.

You should carry suitable head and face coverings. A full-face balaclava/ski mask in a medium to dark shade of grey or brown would seem a good choice. However, some cops have been know to label these “ninja masks” and treat their possession as intent if they feel inclined.

Various face and head coverings can be constructed by combinations of suitably coloured and patterned bandannas, neck gaiters, scarves and knit-caps.

Gloves will be needed, and of a suitable shade and colour. Olive meraklon glove liners are a good start. Fingerless leather gloves (aka “recondo gloves”) are worth considering in milder climates. They provide some protection to the hands when climbing or crawling, so you may be more inclined to “go low” when needed. They can be found in tan-brown, or you can cut down old gloves that are surplus to requirements.

The Lower Body

There is no reason why your lower body has to wear a camouflage pattern that matches that of the upper body. The legs are a different shape to the torso and larger than the arms, so may need a different pattern to disrupt their identifiable shape. Using a different pattern for the legs may help break-up your overall recognisable human shape.

How well the concept of countershading can be applied to the human form probably warrants further investigation. Having your trousers lighter than your upper body is worth considering.

Desert patterns are suitable for trousers. UCP/ACU might also be worth trying for leg camouflage.

If we are considering monotone garments, our choices are probably various neutral tones of light-blues, greens, tans and greys.

Many style guides for capsule wardrobes recommend trousers that are lighter than the jacket.

Personally, I am wary of light-blue outside urban or winter environments. I actually don't own any jeans, wearing cargo trousers instead. Much of my EDC is in the pockets,

Greens are good for many rural settings, but may stand-out a little more than some other colours in urban areas. Some shades of green will stand-out in rural areas. Even neutral shades of green are less common in certain rural areas or seasons that one might expect.

Tans and greys are your most versatile choices for monotones. Tans and browns have the advantage that mud does not show up so much on them. On the other hand, the contrast of mud on grey trousers probably has a disruptive effect that breaks up the leg's shape.

Gaiters should be of a suitable camouflage pattern or neutral and natural colour. Since these are seldom worn in town, bows of textilage can be added to break up the shape. Ensure any materials used for textilage will not soak-up water.

Langdon-Davis had a lot to say about the distinctive appearance of black army boots. Footwear should be natural and neutral colours and matt finish when possible.

Black socks are supposed to make your legs look longer. I am not sure that works without black shoes and dark trousers. I generally wear boots so the socks are not visible.

Update: Recently I attended a funeral and noticed my boot tops were visible when seated, at least when wearing my suit trousers. Own at least one long pair of black socks for formal occasions.

In town I often wear white cotton sport socks since they are cheaply available in quantity. In the field, spare socks may be used as extra carrying pouches tied to the outside of a pack. These should be neutral and natural colours.

Camouflaging Gear

The institutional military mind likes uniform, regular and symmetrical.

Good camouflage is variable, irregular and asymmetrical.

This may be part of the reason why personal camouflage has waxed and waned as a priority for soldiers.

Improving the camouflage of an item becomes unpopular when the additions must be stripped off for every parade or inspection. If you are outside of the military, then such restrictions will not limit you.

Previous blogs have discussed methods to improve the camouflage of your backpack. Similar methods can be applied to a chest-rig, contributing to the camouflage of your torso. Base colour for a chest-rig should be light or a desert pattern, since this area will often be shaded.

Camouflage Smock

A useful technique is to have a “camo-smock”. You put it on when you need a camouflage pattern. Roll it up and carry it when you want to appear non-military. You can carry more than one, and wear the most appropriate for the conditions.

Your bug-out outfit should include an item that can be used as a camo-smock.

My main camouflage item is a German Tropentarn desert-parka. Get this as big as possible so that it can form a camouflaged outermost layer over anything you may be wearing. There is a nice liner for it that makes it into a nice cold weather coat.

Without the liner, it is unlined so can be worn for camouflage in relatively hot weather. There are vent zips under the arms.

Being a parka, it comes down to mid-thigh so will fit over anything I might wear under it and partially conceals my legs and body shape.

Sleeves are long enough to conceal my hands and keep the wind and rain off them.

If this is a “field only” item, add some bows of textilage to the sleeves and shoulders.

The pockets of the smock/parka include items that can be used camouflage my hands, neck, face and head. Little point in camouflaging yourself without covering your extremities!

For darker conditions, I have a several metres of camouflaged scrimm that can be worn over the parka like a poncho. Bows of suitably covered material or scraps of camouflage cloth have been tied to the scrimm.

Tags boots, bug-out, bug-out bag, bug-out outfit, camo, camouflage, clothing, EDC, emergency, equipment, long-johns, military, parka, survival, survival kit, thermals, underwear

Phillosoph

Adding a Pin to a Swiss Army Knife

Post author By losophyp
Post date 7 January 2022

The tools on a Swiss Army Knife sometimes end up performing tasks you never imagined! A few months back I went to unlock my front door, only to have the entire barrel of the lock detach and come away with the key! The metal file/saw proved to be ideal for reaching to the back of the lock and turning the bolt.

My girlfriend’s son had asked me why I always carry my SAK. Exactly for times like the above!

The Early Years

For the first few years of my early adulthood I carried a Chinese-made version of a Swiss Army Knife. I vaguely recall there were actually two, although I do not recall why I had to replace the first. To be fair, these were quite nice knives, with a good assortment of tools. The only problem I actually recall is a time when the corkscrew straightened out as I attempted to open a bottle of wine.

Back in those days, they were all I could afford, and they served well.

Once I had some money, I invested in a genuine Victorinox Swiss Army Knife (aka SAK).

Victorinox Champion

The model I selected was called the “Champion”, not to be confused with the “SwissChamp” that had become available a few years previously. The longer named Champion was less bulky than the Champ, lacking the pliers.

The seven-layer Champion was about the ideal maximum size for a SAK, and had a really useful selection of tools.

Sadly, my Champion was lost in an unfortunate chain of events that do not need to be told here. Even worse, the Champion had been discontinued, so I could not buy a replacement.

There was no ebay back then, so little chance of locating a second-hand one.

Rise of the Ranger

As a replacement of the Champion, I selected a Ranger model. The most obvious difference between the two was the Ranger lacked a magnifying glass, fish scaler and Phillips screwdriver:

• The Phillips screwdriver had proved useful at times.

• I don’t recall ever using the fish scaler/hook disgorger, at least not for its intended purpose.

• I didn’t make much used of the magnifier either, although now that I am older and more decrepit, I suspect it might prove more useful. As an aside, the magnifying glass on the Champion was very cleverly thought out. Its focal length was the same as the magnifying glasses’ height. In other word, if you placed your knife on a map, the detail under the magnifying glass would be in focus. This may have been the case for other models that had the magnifying glass. I wonder if the same applies to the newer pattern of magnifier?

Since I wear glasses, an early addition I made to both the Champion and the later Ranger was to add the mini-screwdriver that fits into the corkscrew. Originally this tool was only included with the SwissChamp. They were sold as spares, however, so I acquired one. This has proved very useful over the years, often coming to the rescue of companions rather than myself. Half a lifetime ago I repaired the glasses of a grateful Swedish beauty in old Jerusalem.

Victorinox now offer three alternate tools, each with a different coloured end.

I have carried the Ranger for many decades now. The lack of Phillips screwdriver is compensated for by the Leatherman Squirt mini-tool I also carry. If you are in the market for a medium-size (91mm) model SAK, the Ranger must be one of the best options. The Huntsman model is a good choice, but I have often found uses for the file/metal saw of the Ranger.

Swiss Army Knife Wiki

Recently I came across the Swiss Army Knife Wiki. This site is worth a look around.

Some interesting information on how to use the various tools, and some applications for them you may not have known. My Ranger had a Phillips screwdriver all along and I never knew! I discovered that the tip of the can-opener is actually intended for use with Phillips screws as well as slot.

The tip of the file/metal saw can also be used on some Phillips or Pozidriv screws.

Adding a Pin to a SAK

The original reason I have been thinking about Swiss Army Knives recently is that I came across a blog post discussing the pin carried in the handle scales.

Below is a video on possible uses for “needles” [sic pins]. The channel has many other videos on various features of Swiss Army Knives.

Even before I watched the above video, I was thinking about adding a pin to my Ranger. I own a number of very fine drill bits, so creating a channel for a pin would not be too difficult. I could probably add a pair.

I have lots of cheap pins. I decided to try and find the pins actually used, since they were probably better quality and the head looked a little wider.

A number of ebay vendors offered replacement pins for Swiss Army Knives. The one I chose got my money since they offered another idea. Included with the five pins was a small magnet. This magnet was sized to fit in the can-opener. With such a magnet, a pin could be magnetized as a compass needle.

The bits arrived this morning.

Fitting the Magnet and Pin

The 5.8mm magnet was a perfect fit for the can-opener. The vendor included the advice that the tool next to the can-opener usually needs to be opened before closing the can-opener with the magnet stored in it. If this is not so, the magnet tends to pull out of position, attracted by the neighboring steel. Although stainless steel, the blades of a Swiss Army Knife are magnetic.

Finding a drill bit small enough for the pin was not a problem. Problem was most were too short to drill a channel as long as the pin. The other problem was my Ranger has solid scales. It lacks the air-spaces found on some newer and alternate scales.

Drilling a channel deep enough and straight enough proved problematic, and inevitably the very fine drill curved and the channel exited on the inner side of scale. This actually proved to be fortuitous, allowing me to file a notch on the inner side for end of the pin to rest in.

I settled for adding just one pin for now. Most of the alternate positions for a pin are obstructed by the rivets the scales snap on to.

Ranger Knife Modified — My Ranger with pin added (blue arrow) and notches on scale (green arrows). If the balloon goes up, I am ready!

Other Modifications

Incidentally, the back scale of my Ranger has two additional non-standard features.

One is a chip, where an idiot friend used my knife as a bottle-opener without using the bottle-opener! I could fix this damage, but it is a useful reminder to be more cautious of whom I trust.

More useful are a series of three notches. The second is five millimetres from the first, the third 57 mm for the first.

The first and third notch are used to draw a circle of 57 mm radius. The first and second are used to mark the circumference in five millimetre increments. Each millimetre of the circumference closely approximates one degree. Such a compass face can be used with various improvised modes of navigation.

Another addition I have made is to add a needle and thread. Take about a metre of invisible thread and pass one end through the eye of a needle. Tie the ends together and then wrap the thread around the needle. Push it down beneath the saw blade. It should be snug enough that it will not drop out if you invert the knife with the saw open. I used the metal saw rather than the woodsaw, since this is likely to see less use.

While you are at it, wax your woodsaw.

Tags EDC, equipment, preparation, SAK, survival, survival kit, survival knife, survival tool, swiss army knife