North Carolina is regrettably a state with fantastically circular, messy, and downright confusing statutes governing the ownership and carry of knives. Several particular categories of knives are banned from ownership outright, and many common configurations of knife may not be carried concealed under any conditions. The only class of knife that is legal for concealed … Read more
Sprucing up and maintaining your home is often not associated with prepping, but when you stop to think about it, it is your home itself that is one, big container for all of your many preps. If the structural integrity of that container is breached, the contents within will be vulnerable to degradation and loss, … Read more
Out of all of the tools that a prepper is likely to use in a survival situation one of the most important, and most primordial, is fire. Fire has long been mankind’s servant, even though it is one that is never truly mastered. Fire serves us by providing light, warmth, a way to cook our … Read more
A reflector oven is an antique cooking apparatus that are seeing resurgence today thanks to its adaptability, convenience, and overall efficiency. These used to be a staple for every work camp and an awful lot of kitchens across the nation, but as their use was replaced by modern contrivances, it looked like these handy contraptions … Read more
When the weather turns cooler, those of us who rely on wood for heating will have much to do. Even if you are planning only the occasional summer cookout, fall bonfire or cheery winter gathering around the fire pit, you will need lots of firewood. But, chucking logs and sticks into your stove, fireplace or … Read more
Do you ever grow irrationally angry just contemplating how far the tentacles of government reach into our lives? Does the notion that you are governed by a stack of laws as thick as a man’s leg every second of your life drive you crazy? I know how you feel. America is famously known as the … Read more
There is hardly a better tool for fieldcraft in a woodland environment than an axe. So varied and so multi-purpose is this tool that you are likely to use it for pretty much everything. Unfortunately, axes can do relatively quickly, and continuing to work and work and work with a dull axe will likely lead … Read more
When it comes to food preservation we all have it pretty easy today. Refrigerators and freezers often take center stage in kitchens owing to these devices’ singular importance. Placing food inside either is an effortless way to extend its edible life by days, weeks or even months. Now you’re fresh food will last longer and … Read more
For preppers who just want to get away from it all and live a simpler, agrarian lifestyle, or those who want to be well and truly away from civilization when the inevitable collapse occurs, living off the grid is usually a long-term objective. But living off-grid, while simple in concept and the standard of life … Read more
If you engage in climbing as a pastime, professional pursuit or in any other capacity you likely have cause to use carabiners day in and day out. But even if you aren’t working in high places you have probably seen these D- or oval-shaped spring loaded clips attached to backpacks, key rings, wrenches and anything … Read more
With all the many destructive and spectacular disasters that can occur you might find it difficult to believe that cold weather and accompanying snow storms are capable of inflicting widespread and long listing damage, and are statistically one of these single most dangerous weather events that you can be expected to face in your lifetime. … Read more
Rhode Island has some fairly ugly knife laws, with broad restrictions on the open or concealed carry of many knife classes and an overall restriction that only allows for the carry of any otherwise legal class of knife so long as it has a blade that is 3 inches or shorter. If you want to … Read more
Most preppers will be ably prepared for a variety of disasters when they are ensconced safe and sound at their fortified and well-stocked home, but fewer are prepared for dealing with emergencies while traveling. One of the worst things that can happen to you when going by car or truck is being overtaken by a … Read more
If there is one old, clichéd saying that is always applicable it is that “the times it will keep on changing.” If you are living in our current era, you might have noticed plenty of dark clouds gathering on the horizon, and from all directions: cultural changes, government overreach and increasingly wide, some would say … Read more
Picking the right knife for your purposes is almost a rite of passage in prepping. A simple knife is going to be one of the most commonly used and most important tools you’ll have to rely on in a survival situation, and it will be called on to help you complete all kinds of tasks. … Read more
Part of being prepared means keeping certain tools and gear with you at pretty much all times. Improvisation might be a tenet of prepping, but only the unprepared or the extremely unlucky will have to resort to it. It is far better to go out into the world with a few, modest gear choices that … Read more
There is not much to read in the law books of Oklahoma concerning the possession and carry of knives. This was not always the case and, like many states, Oklahoma’s laws were once upon a time a jumbled mishmash of statutes resulting from repeated visits from the good idea fairy over the years. In 2015 … Read more
Perhaps the only way I can describe Pennsylvania’s knife laws is disappointing. Upon cursory review, you might want to congratulate the state for being so pro-knife: you can own virtually any kind of knife except automatics and switchblades, and may legally carry pretty much any other kind of knife you want, to include such common … Read more
If you have spent any amount of time growing crops, either in a small backyard garden or a large multi-acre farm, you probably know by now that producing bountiful, healthy returns is anything but easy, and doing so repeatedly can be maddeningly difficult. Between irrigation, pest control and dozens of other variables that must be … Read more
Almost everybody is familiar and comfortable with carrying guns, knives and pepper spray for self-defense, with a few folks still choosing to carry a taser or stun gun. But there is one venerable close-quarters weapon that used to rule the roost when it came to close-in, high stakes fighting: The blackjack. The blackjack is still … Read more
Batteries. Unless you are living some agrarian “Little House on the Prairie” lifestyle, these indispensable little marvels are utterly essential for modern life. Batteries large and small make many of our technological innovations possible and serve all kinds of purposes, from the trivial and entertaining to the critically important. From pumping out tunes to running … Read more
Nevada is a state with all around excellent knife laws, marred only by one single, ugly flaw. Nevada allows its citizens to own and carry virtually any kind of knife that utilizes any action with a blade of any length with the sole exception of machetes. This applies whether or not a citizen has a … Read more
The juniper plant is one of the most widespread and hardiest that grows across the world. Ranging in shape from a tall tree to a low shrub, this versatile and adaptable species can be found anywhere from the frozen poles of the Arctic reaches all the way down through the blazing heat of Africa and … Read more
It is rare to encounter anybody who does not have a smartphone these days. Rich or poor, prince or pauper, the proliferation of smart devices is approaching “total saturation” in the West. Even the most devoutly Luddite prepper probably has a smartphone on or about their person at all times. And let’s be honest, it … Read more