note: article first appeared in October 2015

In the first article of this series I explained how humans “see” things, talked about what stands out, and where humans naturally don’t look. I also went into a couple examples of “narrative” and how that factors into humans’ ability to spot other humans.

If you haven’t read that first article that was posted day before yesterday I would suggest that you do. It will make reading this article easier for you.

In the second article of this series I began to show how different camo clothing really make a man harder to see. No, not invisible or some movie set fantasy land stuff, but real-life staying alive stuff. I ended that article with a picture of the guy from the back. And I pointed out how even a plain strap could draw the eye in to “seeing” something outside of the “narrative.”

If you haven’t read that second article that appeared yesterday I would suggest that you do. It will make reading this article with the continuation of the adding different gear easier to understand.

I am a big fan of the 5.11 Tactical Multicam TDU Rapid Assault Shirt. I will be doing a review on the shirt in the coming weeks so I won’t go into the details here. But I want to show the difference between that shirt and a regular BDU shirt.

Example #1 –

Example #2 –

Did you eye pick up on anything? Did your mind say something is different, more noticeable?

The guy is wearing a 5.11 Tactical Multicam TDU Rapid Assault Shirt. The shirt has a material that helps the torso stay cooler. But there is no camo pattern in that part of the shirt, just a plain dark earth colored material. While it may make the person marginally easier to see, don’t worry about it. That area of the shirt is normally covered up with the tactical vest as seen in the picture below.

In the next set of pictures there is another very subtle change that took place. Can you spot it? Don’t look too closely. Look away for a second and then look back and allow your eye to quickly assess what it is.

Did your eye pick up on anything?How about the man’s gloves? In the first picture (left) he is wearing black gloves with tan trim. In the second picture (right) he is wearing the same brand of gloves but in a multicam pattern. Every little bit helps.

In the next picture the guy now has an AR-15 slung on his front. I won’t show you a “before” vs. an “after” picture of this. Why? I want you to really understand all the details as to “why.” But first, why do you think it is very hard to see his “black gun” (AR-15) with his camo on?

Well, you would know the answer if you had read my article titled “Looks Do Matter” that appeared about a week ago. The article goes into great detail why you don’t want your gun “black.” Take the time to read the article and you will then understand why you don’t see this guys AR-15.

Clothing Details –

First – The pants. They are A-Tacs (UR). They show no distinct pattern, are lighter colored with plenty of slight variations. They look much like the rocky, sandy ground in the desert.

Second – The shirt. It is a multicam pattern. Look at the bushes that populate the various pictures. Notice the colors and the shapes of those colors? Does the multicam pattern mimic the environment?

Third – The hat. It is mutlicam as well. Does it look like the tops of the bushes? Do the colors match the bushes? The shapes of the colors match the bushes as well? Does the shape of the hat change the shape, or profile, of the head?

Fourth – The Gloves. Also multicam. In all the cop shows and movies when a cop is trying to arrest a bad guy what do they most often yell? “Show me your hands!” We naturally want to see a person’s hands; it is in a person’s hands that weapons reside.

Fifth – Tactical vest. What color do you think it is? If you guessed that it has multiple colors you are right. The basic vest is a 3-color desert pattern. The pouches are varies patterns but mostly multicam. What does that add to the overall situation?

Sixth – The weapon. read more about that…

All the camo clothing you wear and the camo weapon you carry won’t make a bit of difference if you are stupid. And part of being stupid is not knowing how to not be seen. So far we’ve only talked about clothing, then just a little bit on weapon color. In the fist article I did mention shadows. And in the second article I talk about bushes, etc. So let me touch on that just as we are closing out this series of articles so you can see it all coming together.

But let me make it really clear, this is for the grid-down, non-special forces, ordinary guy. If you have any kind of advanced training you will chuckle at this next section. But I am including it to give the average person a potential advantage over the untrained guy.

Where is the man in the picture below?

Here he is. All he did was kneel down for the previous picture.

The idea is to blend in with the environment. The mind’s narrative is seeing a desert environment with sand, rocks, cactus, brush, etc. Great! Your job is to not interrupt that narrative, play into it. You want to give nothing for his “Foveal vision” to pick up on. So you must learn to use your camo clothing and gear combined with the environment.

Even with your mind trying to pick out the bad guy it is hard to do. You are trying to force your mind to spot bad guys. But what is your mind subconsciously trying to do? Your mind is trying its best to create the narrative that you are in the desert southwest, there is sandy soil with occasional rocks present, along with bushes that have green leaves on them.

That being said, quite naturally, anything that blends into the narrative, the mind will try and accept as normal and not a threat.

That is where you want to be if you are the guy in camo clothing trying your hardest to not be seen.

If you are the guy trying to not get ambushed you are trying to force your mind to spot anything, anything at all, that might be out of place that could pose a threat. Even the smallest thing such as shoes.

This is the same guy, same location, but from only 10′ feet away…

Now, only 5 feet away…

Now, here is a 15′ view but from different angle, only 45 degrees different.

Huge difference! But, why?

Now continue to add another 45 degree change in viewing angle…

Would the people in the cabin in the background be able to spot him?

How about now? Same guy, same location see from about 50 yards away.  Can you see the guy at all? He is in the same exact location as the picture above.

Let me point him out to you…

Here is another before and after view…

Avoid becoming prey –

Let’s go back to the original mission of camouflage clothing…

“To stay alive.”

And you stay alive in one of two ways…

1. Defensive – To remain undetected so animals can’t kill you while avoiding contact with said animals.
2. Offensive – To remain undetected so you can render said animals lifeless.

OK, now I really want to shift directions on you for a moment. Let’s put you into the position of not wanting to be ambushed by the guy above. Here is a little info that might well save your life.

But I do want to touch on “instinct” as it applies to overcoming camo clothing and ambushes.

Ask anyone who has walked “point” in combat. Ask anyone who has stalked game in the wild. Even ask those that have played airsoft or paintball outdoors. Ask women who had been “hit on” in nightclubs. Ask them about instinct.

Your senses are on full alert, you are walking along watching for an ambush (or game) and you just “feel” something isn’t right. You know that you are being watched, or there is danger nearby. That can be your instinct as work; a “sixth sense” if you will.

Now, I won’t dispute that people can have a sixth sense. I also won’t argue against the existence of that “still small voice.” What I will refer to in this case is your subconscious.

Your subconscious can process information approximately 500,000 times faster than the conscious part of your mind. As you are moving along trying to avoid that ambush the ability of your subconscious mind to gather and process subtle clues can be the most valuable part of SA in a situation like that.

But, since it is the subconscious and you aren’t actually thinking it through, the danger impulse will come through as a “feeling” vs. “knowing”. The feeling will come through much faster than you trying to consciously process visual clues. Your brain won’t tell you, “Hey, there are five guys over there dressed in camo clothing all holding an M4 or AR-15 with 30round mags. And they are all pointing their weapons at you. And if you don’t avoid them they will click off their safeties, apply pressure to the triggers till their weapons fire, and then bullets will enter your body creating sufficient wound channels to terminate your life.”

Instead, you will simply get that prompting, that feeling, that life threatening danger is close by. You will feel like prey. Then it is up to your training as to what comes next. Hopefully your muscle memory will come into play and you will react with sufficient aggression to terminate the threat. Or, if that fails, maybe your “fight or flight” instinct will kick in sufficiently to help you survive by fleeing.

Let your instinct work for you. Train to allow your subconscious to process your incoming SA clues. An advantage by a factor of 500,000 is a pretty good benefit to have on your side.

< click here to read more about Situational Awareness >

Avoid acting like a predator –

Working against you is you “staring” at someone while trying to remain hidden, camo clothing or not.

You can have all the best camo clothing, have a great shadow to hide in, but if you are staring directly as someone you are trying to avoid, chances are they might pick up on that as well. Why?

Go back to the “instinct” advantage I mentioned just a minute ago. And now tie that back into our genetic wiring to avoid being prey. Most predators, just before they pounce, will do what? Stare at their prey to calculate how fast to run, how far to jump, where to bite to make the kill. Same thing in the field…with humans.

If you are laying in an ambush for the guys walking down the trail, you might not want to stare intently right at them. Why? Remember, they too are wired to avoid becoming prey. And, if they are well trained, their subconscious is processing all their incoming SA clues 500,000 times faster than you can think about what you are doing and what you are waiting for them to do.

Their subconscious may pick up on a subtle disturbance in the dirt on the trail. And their eyes may pick up a minor variation in the coloration of a bush, or a leaf pattern. But as they are scanning the area around them, their subconscious may allow their eye to see your eyes staring at them. And that final subconscious clue is all it takes for the red flag to go up, the warning bell to sound, and they counter your ambush. Don’t stare right at people you are trying to avoid.

Ask any woman that has been to a bar, a nightclub, or anywhere; if a guy is staring at her intently (even across a large room) does it set off her “alarm.” That is true even if it is a guy staring at her from behind. And if the guy has a “creep factor” to him, they are doubly aware.

And I am sure you have probably had that feeling as well, of being watched. Ask those that have been in a combat area, they will tell you of similar feelings of being watched.

Listen to that “feeling”, pay attention to your “instinct” and act on it. If you are the person trying to remain invisible, remember what can trip their subconscious into alerting them to your presence. Then don’t do those things!

Summary-

Under normal every-day life this information is of virtually no worth at all to you. Who is going to be camo’d out like this going around trying to avoid bad guys? And even hunting in most states require you to wear something that is blaze orange. But, when the time comes that the grid goes down and the bad guys are roaming around looking for their next victim…you don’t have to be that victim. You can be this guy..or way better!

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

note: article first appeared in October 2015

In the first article of this series I explained how humans “see” things, talked about what stands out, and where humans naturally don’t look. I also went into a couple examples of “narrative” and how that factors into humans’ ability to spot other humans.

If you haven’t read that first article from yesterday I would suggest that you do. It will make reading this article easier for you.

I ended the first article with the following pictures and asked a couple of questions. Review time…

So let me use visual examples as reference. Below is an example of the environment around where I live. And there is a man standing in that environment about 30 yards away from the camera.He is wearing a typical t-shirt.

Where do your eyes naturally go to? Where does your gaze come to rest almost immediately?

Based on what I talked about in the last article, why does you gaze come to rest in that location?

If you are like the vast majority of people your eyes came to rest on the white t-shirt or the glare of white spot just above and to the right of the man. What didn’t hold your gaze at all?

Now he is dressed in rather normal street clothes with a baseball cap. How does that work out for him?

Given the surrounding environment in the picture, what did you mind expect to see? In which picture was the man easier to see and why?

Remember what I said earlier about narrative and bright areas?

Your mind is trying to create a story about what the desert southwest should look like. And along comes a guy in a red shirt in the desert. Your mind immediately senses the situation and identifies him. In a grid-down this would be called “threat recognition.”

Is the guy truly a threat? Who knows. But until everyone is proven to not be a threat, anyone is considered a threat.

Now let’s put a plain neutral shade of green Columbia PFG short sleeve shirt on him…

So why does he blend in more now with the simple addition of a green shirt?

Now, we put a CADPAT-AR long-sleeve shirt on him. And you think?

Notice he is now looking down, does that make any difference?

What sticks out the most on him now?  Why?

Now we change the color of his hat, same style hat, just a different color…

Any difference?

Now we put a multicam BDU shirt on him with the Mandarin collar up.

So now what sticks out the most and catches your eye in the picture above?

Did you focus on his head…were your eyes drawn to his head? Why?

In the next picture all we did was change the style of hat. We put a multicam “boonie” hat on him. Look closely at the picture and identify what changed in your mind.

Notice how changing the style of the hat breaks up the shape of the head? Humans are genetically predisposed to noticing the shape of a human head, eyes as well. It is a defensive response to avoid becoming prey of a human predator.

Remember what I had written in the last article about “shadows” and the affect it had on how humans see things? So what is the major problem here?

Yup, the sun is glaring on one side of the man. And that creates a shadow on one side…it is unbalanced and out of place, plus it creates definition.

So, now we are ready to put some “battle rattle” on the man. Let’s see what affect that has.

Did all of that equipment, pouches, etc. make a big difference in how easy it is to see the man?

Let me give you a closer-up view for you to review…

If you want to know more about why his vest blends in so well you can read my article on Tactical Vests. < click here to read the tactical vest article >

How easily can you see his legs? Any thoughts to why?

They are A-TACS pants in the AU “Organic” pattern.

So why not use the same camo pattern for shirt and pants? Well, look at the pants in the environment that they were designed for. Now, look at the shirt. Pretty impressive, yes?But, does the environment in the above picture look like the same as the environment that I am using for my example? No. The desert environment that I am using has brush, some trees, cactus with green foliage on it. That foliage is more conducive to multicam. However, there is still the various shades of tan for the desert floor. That is conducive to the A-TACS AU Organic pattern. One camo pattern might be best for pants, another pattern for the shirt. It all depends on the environment you expect to operate in.

We’ve seen the front of our camo’d man, how does he look from the back?

Still appears to be blending it quite well. But, let’s take a closer look at his gear…

The man is now wearing a hydration back with his tactical vest. The hydration pack is a Desert 3-color pattern. Does it work as camo? Does it blend in?

So why did I go with a Desert 3-color and not multicam for a hydration pack? Practicality is the only answer I have for you. The surplus 3-color hydration pack costs less than half of a new multicam hydration pack. The 3-color works just fine…for less money

Note: Look at the picture above again. What stands out the most? Don’t look too long, don’t over analyze it. Most people says the plan khaki colored straps stick out the most. If that is the case, what could you do to reduce the prominence of those straps?

In the next post I will continue working on this guy’s camouflage clothing to see just how effective it can be. Patience…tomorrow will come soon enough.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

note: article first appeared in October 2015

I have read many purposes and definitions of camouflage, but I think they miss the mark, the “real” mission. Obviously you can tell the various explanations for camouflage were written by some very intelligent folks, a few PhDs in there for sure. And undoubtedly more than a couple generals made their contributions to the official definitions. But I don’t agree with any of them.

So here is my mission for camouflage –

“To stay alive.”

Sorry if that is a bit let down to you, but I am sincere in that mission statement. Now, in all fairness, let me explain the next part of that. There are only two functions that come out of that mission statement.

1. Defensive – To remain undetected so animals can’t kill you while avoiding contact with said animals.
2. Offensive – To remain undetected so you can render said animals lifeless.

Yup, no other reason or purpose for camo than that. Right?

OK, maybe one other reason…”tacti-cool.” Yeah, you want to look really cool so you wear a camo hat, t-shirt, or your truck is painted camo. Hence, now you are a cool kid if any of that applies to you…tacti-cool.

But, back to a more serious note…what is the true purpose of camouflage? It is to keep you alive. If the animals can’t see you, they probably can’t kill you.

Oh, “animals” can apply to whatever you wish to define it as. I am talking about bad guys being animals. You may wish to modify that to whatever makes you happy and your situation applicable, 2-legged or 4-legged.

Background –

There is a whole lot of information available to how camo works and how it applies to humans. But let me boil it down for you to make it a lot easier to understand.

Humans are both prey and predator in the animal kingdom. We both hunt and we are hunted. Over the generational history of humans we have experienced gene perfection as both prey and predator. One obvious sign is the placement of our eyes, facing forward. Simple eye placement gives us the ability to have depth perception. Don’t discount our peripheral vision though, it’s pretty dang good as well.

There have been studies done that test how our brains “look” at scenes. Basically, humans search for bright colors and movement. We also have built into our genes a predisposition to recognize certain shapes. Not surprisingly, the shapes that catch our attention the most are those associate with other predators. And at the top of that short list of predators are the shapes associated with humans. Yes, that means that humans are the most common predator of other humans.

“Foveal vision” is the human eye looking for fine details. That process occurs in the center of our gaze. Details get lost in our peripheral vision the further away from the center of our gaze. Our gaze jumps around more than you think. And eventually is drawn to the most detail-rich areas within our field of vision. That occurs because it is simply the most interesting area to look at. But our eyes will scan the areas that attempt to put together a “story” of what is happening. We’re instinctively looking for a narrative.

Sound a little like Situational Awareness (SA) stuff?

Let’s put that to the test for a moment –

Example #1 – We are in downtown New York City, Wall Street to be exact. It is 8:30am on a Tuesday. What would you expect to see?

Now, you are told to look for threats. Would you be able to “see” every man and woman walking the streets around you?

Now, what if you saw a man dressed head to toe in camouflage clothing carrying a back M-16 rifle? Would they stand out? Would your eye be drawn to him pretty quickly? What if he were standing in a crowd of say 50 people waiting to cross a street?

Why would he stand out? I mean, come on, he’s dressed in camo, right…when everyone else is dressed in civilian clothes. He would be the most “interesting” to gaze upon.

Example #2 – We are out in the forest in Colorado. It is 8:30am on a Tuesday. What would you expect to see?

Now, you are told to look for threats. Would you be able to see every hunter in the forest? Now, what if you saw a man dressed head to toe in a $1,000 suit, white shirt, yellow tie and carrying a black M-16 rifle? Would they stand out? Would your eye be drawn to him pretty quickly? What if he were standing in a crowd of say 50 people waiting to cross a stream? Why?

Think “narrative.” In NYC you expect to see people dressed for business. In the forest you expect to see people dressed for hunting. Your mind will try to create a story based on where you are and what you expect.

So how do you defeat, or more appropriately, overcome, how a person commonly “sees”?

Well, before we get to that let me mention one more thing…shadows. In testing associated with how people view pictures, art, and scenes around them, it is pretty conclusive that people look in shadows last and not for very long. Why? It is boring. Yup, it’s not very detail-rich so the human eye tends to simply skip those areas.

Defeat being spotted –

OK, so back to how we defeat being spotted. Remember, in our scenario being spotted is also dying.

Yeah, I forgot to tell you, I am talking today about the most extreme of examples…grid-down.

So, how do we avoid being spotted?

It goes back to Situational Awareness (SA) and the OODA Loop (Observer-Orient-Decide-Act). Having good SA and staying inside of your opponent’s OODA Loop is how you win (i.e. you don’t die). < click here to read more about Situational Awareness >

Here is the set-up…

1. It is grid-down. Society is a mess, lawlessness in the rule of the day.
2. You are out looking for places to set your snares (24-hour hunters).
3. You are in the woods and by yourself. You are armed with standard battle-rattle, but you are alone.
4. You hear people coming. You are sure that they haven’t seen you yet.
5. They are heavily armed and you have no doubt they are bad guys.
6. They are looking intensely around the area, appear to be on a recon mission.
7. You want to avoid all contact, at all cost.

How do you do that?

You use the principles of camouflage and how people “see” what is around them.

That being the case, their narrative (their mission/task) is to:

1. Avoid being ambushed.
2. Find people and/or food.

You apply the principles you’ve learned so far to stay outside of their narrative. Your narrative (your mission/task) is:

1. You don’t try to be a predator and you don’t try to ambush them. So you don’t take a predator posture.
2. You also want to avoid looking like prey. They are predators looking for prey. So you don’t run, that creates movement, which is easy for them to spot.

So, now that you have that part under control, what are some more things to do, or not to do?

1. You stay out of their “Foveal Vision.”
2. As slowly as possible, meld into shadows as much as possible.
3. You don’t have any noticeable fine details for their eyes to focus on. Yes, that means you are wearing camo clothing.
4. You stay motionless.

And the whole no “fine details” thing is where camouflage clothing comes into play. So what does camo clothing accomplish?

1. Breaks up any human shapes and forms by applying random non-detail patterns to your normal human form.
2. Further breaks up your shape by introducing shadows.
3. Continues to break up your shape by adding random applicable colors to your shape as well.

Right about now you should be thinking that wearing the appropriate camo clothing should be a pretty high priority. And you would be 100% right in thinking that. But make sure we are talking the same thing…I am talking real camo clothing.

What is “real” camo clothing? Or more entertainingly, what is “fake” camo clothing?

I am going to take the easy way out and tell you, “It is whatever camo clothing that is appropriate and applicable to your situation and environment.”

Yeah, a cop-out to be sure, right? Well, maybe not.

Here are some of the most popular camo patterns…

Military –

Hunting patterns…

The actual “how To” –

What I can do is go through the process that I used for choosing the right camo clothing for my situation and my environment. When you are done reading, and if I have done my job correctly, you will know how to figure out what is the right camo clothing for your situation/environment. You will have learned the assessment process.

So let me use visual examples as reference. Below is an example of the environment around where I live. And there is a man standing in that environment about 30 yards away from the camera. He is dressed in rather normal street clothes. How does that work out for him?

How about with the typical t-shirt?

Given the surrounding environment in the picture, what did you mind expect to see?

Now, why is the man so easy to spot?

Tomorrow I will go into detail on how to turn this man from easy-to-spot prey into………

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

note: first appeared in July 2015

Yeah, another bag/box of emergency equipment. Go ahead…laugh at me if you want to. I probably would if I was you. But hey, my job is to provide you with information that is both practical and useful for emergencies, disasters and grid-down. And having a vehicle breakdown in the middle of nowhere is an emergency in my book.

The scenario that I saw that is driving the need for a Vehicle Emergency Bag/Box (VEB) is simple. You or a family member is in a vehicle out in the middle of nowhere, no communications capability, and the vehicle breaks down. The threats remain the same for this scenario as with any other; violence, injury/sickness, etc.

So we have to meet those threats with solutions.

Having 20 years of experience responding to traffic accidents I have come to the conclusion that the number one threat to being broken down on the side of the road are idiot drivers. And I want to emphasize IDIOT drivers. I could tell you story after story of how stupid people are when it comes to driving, but I will spare you. Just understand that I believe the #1 threat to your safety if you are broken down are other drivers. They will take every opportunity to run you over or smash into your vehicle. And they can be very creative in doing so. Take nothing for granted, err on the side of caution.

The mission of the VEB is:

Ability to recover from a flat tire or stuck vehicle, or survive overnight from the stranding of vehicle in a remote location.

Here is a list of VEB contents. I will get into the explanation of each at the end of the list. The contents are:

Why didn’t I address the threat of violence? It is a matter of security. I can’t in good conscious recommend that you leave a firearm in the vehicle at all times. It simply wouldn’t be secure enough. Over the years I have had my personal vehicle broken into three times. It was bad enough that one of the times the low-life criminals stole the mechanics tools that my Dad had left to me after his death. But to have a gun stolen would have been even worse. Criminals have access to enough guns, I don’t want to make that worse.

How do I address the self-defense aspect as it applies to a VEB? You bring it with each time you get in the vehicle. I am a huge advocate of conceal carry. I believe that every prepper should conceal carry. I feel it is part of each prepper’s responsibility. However, if you don’t conceal carry that is your choice. But I would suggest that whenever you are going to be gone for any length or time or going more than just a short distance, take a firearm.

There are two options that I consider; 1) my conceal carry pistol, 2) a Stevens 12ga shotgun. Actually, I guess that technically there are three options, the two above and both combined.

When I would consider having both would be when I am headed into territory that I consider to have the potential to be dangerous. Yes, I know that means just about anywhere today but I am thinking more along the lines of southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, southern Texas, or any longer road trip.

That about covers the threat of violence issue pretty well. I do know a person or two that have installed law enforcement grade weapon retainers to lock down a shotgun and/or an AR. I am not a big fan of those because normally the retention hardware makes the long guns easily visible. I prefer to have my guns out of sight.

Here are the details of the VEB:

1. Toilet Paper – This is a “must have” item. Just take a roll from your supply at the house and place it in a freezer Ziplock bag.

2. First Aid Kit – I would suggest an IFAK for most situations. If you are going on a trip as a family then I would suggest adding a TBAK.

3. Flashlight – If you can’t see what you are doing the rest of this stuff doesn’t matter much. I would suggest you use the same tactical light that you use for everything else. Yes, standardization is a good thing. I personally use and recommend the LED Lenser. Always have a spare set of batteries. If you store your flashlight in a “box” I would suggest that you not have batteries in the flashlight, they will corrode. Keep them in a baggie with the flashlight and the spare set of batteries. Yes, always have a spare set of batteries.

4. Stanley Tri-Pod Work Light – This is a fantastic working light. It can operate off of 3, 6 or 9 AA batteries. The light is very bright, the head is adjustable and the legs make it capable of standing alone on the road berm leaving both hands free to work on whatever is needed.

5. Road Flares – There are two reasons for road flares in my opinion; 1) visual warning to other drivers that a breakdown or accident has occurred, 2) a weapon. Yup, a weapon.

6. Gloves – I would suggest a really decent pair of gloves, something along the lines of work gloves that can handle rough treatment. Thin cloth gloves are almost as bad as having no gloves. I like Mechanix brand gloves.

7. Fire Extinguisher – You can use one of those small 5lb extinguishers if you want to. Something is better than nothing. But I like a 20lb myself. In my years as a firefighter I’ve seen those 5lb’ers do little more than make a mess before the vehicle burned down.

8. Emergency Carry Knife – This can be a blade of your choice. I wouldn’t go with anything expensive. A Gerber “paraframe” model for $18 works just fine.

9. Emergency Blanket – This can be either the “space” blanket or an actual emergency blanket, either will work. You just want something to help you stay warm wrapped around you, or reflect the heat if you build a fire.

10. Waterproof Matches – You always gotta have a way to make fire; stay warm, signal, or defense.

11. Fix-A-Flat – I recommend two cans of the good stuff, large cans. Don’t skimp and buy the cheap stuff it won’t work when you need it to.

12. Air Compressor – A 12vDC model, plugs into your cigarette lighter. Sometimes the Fix-A-Flat just won’t be enough air.

13. Tire Air Pressure Gauge – This is a no-brainer. Again, don’t get the cheapest one. Get the one that will work for you when you need it to.

14. Tire Repair/Plug Kit – This is the little kit that has the two tools, one to clean the hole, and the other tool pushes the plug through. There is also some sealant cement to help hold the plug in place and prevent air from escaping.

NOTE: Slime Tire Spair Kit has all of the following –

• 24oz. Slime Tire Sealant (TPMS safe).
• Heavy-duty 12V tire inflator with LED light.
• Adapters for any battery.
• Key valve core removal tool.
• Valve caps and valve cores.
• Air adapters for inflatables.
• Alligator clips.
• Pencil tire gauge.
• 30 tire plugs.
• T-handle reamer and plugger tools.
• Convenient zippered case.

It is all high-quality gear in a great carry bag. The kit will run you less than $60.00 and well worth every single penny.

15. 4-Way Tire Iron – Your regular tire iron is probably shaped like an “L” and will work the majority of the time. But with a 4-way you will be able to get a whole lot more leverage when taking the lug nuts off. And you can spin it to get the nuts on and off a whole lot faster.

16. Jumper Cables – Here is another area not to skimp. You can get the good 4guage cables that are 20’ long and have much more power to jump your car. Or you can get the pathetic 10gauge and get a fraction of the power coming through the cable. Go for quality!

17. Folding Trench Shovel – These are hard to beat, they can get you out of a snow bank or the sand. And they can be a pretty lethal weapon as well.

18. Tow Chain/Strap – I actually carry both a chain and a strap. Both are 20’ long. That gives me options when it comes to how close the tow vehicle is relative to the stuck vehicle. Also, if I am stuck and I have to use the come-along to get myself out I use the strap around a tree, rock, etc. and then use the chain hooked to the truck.

19. Siphon Pump – This is purely to get gas from some other container (or vehicle) into my truck.

20. Canvas Drop Cloth (6’x9’) – This has a number of uses; cover, shelter, shade, etc.

21. Large Bath Towel – This is simply to dry myself off if I get wet.

22. Rags – Yup, to clean my hands with.

23. Trash Bags, Heavy (3mil or heavier) – These will be used for a couple different purposes; 1) trash, 2) makeshift ponchos for a number of folks, 3) collect water, etc. I like the Hefty SteelSak brand.

24. Tool Kit – Check the chart above for a list of the minimum tools you should have. You are not trying to have complete repair capability, just enough to get you moving again.

25. Pick-up Truck Kit – These are to help secure a load that you put on the truck or to improve your existing load security.

26. Mini-Survival Kit – This is not to replace your GHB or a GOOD BOB. These items are to use instead of your GBH or GOOD BOB items. If you end up with another person with you, they can use these items if it turns into a get home situation.

27. Heavy Kit – Notice the inclusion of a HighLift jack. If you haven’t been trained on how to use a HighLift jack…don’t use it! Man folks have come away with broken teeth and fractured faces because they try to use a HighLift jack and don’t know what they are doing.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is one of those “Wow!” moments. Yeah…seriously.

You know me, I am a gear junkie of the worst sort. I am always looking at emergency preparedness gear. It is sooooo bad I have had several hundred dollars worth of small-battery chargers sitting around my home office for months while I work on those articles. So yes, I am a gear junkie!

And…sometimes a piece of gear comes along that just absolutely surprises me. That just happened again…at Walmart. Yup, Walmart! Not that long ago I wrote an article about finding the Ozark Trail Multi-Tool at Walmart for $3.97. I bought a couple, tried them out, and absolutely loved them for the price vs value of that piece of gear. It’s happened again!

My wife and I were heading to our property in Arizona for a long weekend of fence mending, homesite scouting, etc. One of the things that I wanted us to have on hand was a headlamp. I didn’t want to breakout one of our good Petzl or Princeton headlamps, I just wanted a real simple, virtually disposable, headlamp for night walks or around camp. Off to Walmart!

So I was looking around and they had a pretty decent variety for the most part, all third-tier units or worse, in my opinion. Then I spotted this little sporty little headlamp for $8.97 I think the price was. But, it was only 50 lumens as the retail package was telling me in bright orange coloring. Ah, but next to it was its bigger brother…”bigger” in terms of lumen, not size. And it was priced at $12.97. A really outstanding price for a 150 lumen headlamp.

Let me divert for just a second, when using a headlamp at night I far prefer the red light vs. the white light. I have very good night vision and white light just destroys that. But, using a red light maintains that night vision once you turn the headlamp off.

For the $12.97 price tag I figured that there would be no way the headlamp would have a red light option. I was wrong. Sure enough right there on the package it said there was a red light setting. Now, if it was anything like most headlamps’ operations getting to the red would be click this, while hold that, and doing thus for 3 seconds after pressing the other button for 2 seconds…making sure it was a cloudy night and standing on one foot. But, I was OK with that…I was spending $12.97. Especially when I saw the headlamp package contained batteries…Duracell batteries!

I got home and started packing later that night. It came time to pack the headlamps in our respective gadget bags. I opened up the retail packaging and was again pleased to see the Duracell batteries. Duracell batteries…the best alkaline batteries made…period.

OK, so I am putting the batteries in the headlamp and I am actually impressed with the housing. Seems plenty durable enough. I hate the shiny sheen to the plastic but the housing is decent enough. There isn’t any rubber gasket sealing the battery compartment, but there is a respectable “lip” and the compartment closed pretty dang securely. I have no idea if it will hold up underwater -I doubt it- but it appears that it would handle rain just fine.

I turned the unit on and there were two settings for the white light; high, low. The high was plenty bright enough to see a large area clearly. The low setting still provide a whole lot of light but in a much smaller area. But…where was that all elusive red light setting. I gave up and read the directions. Pressing and holding the “on” button for 2 seconds turned on the red light. That’s it…just press the same “on” button…just hold it for 2 seconds. I liked that.

We used them every night during a four-night stay. They worked every single time, they were easy to use, the headband in strong, comfortable, and nicely adjustable. A great little piece of equipment…VERY nice when you consider it only costs $12.97.

I say buy this headlamp!!

Note: This article originally posted in 2016. I bought three of these units and they are still working now in 2019.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.