Space Niggas,
As many of you know, I lived in the wilderness like a hermit for about a year. I've noticed that a lot of people have had a lot of questions about this part of my life and it's probably one of the more interesting things I've done. I decided I would assemble a picture megathread for everybody. This is going to be a really long read, but that's because I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
What was life like living in the wilderness
There was no average day up on the hill, but there's one word I will use that encompassed my new life there -
Freedom. I could basically do whatever I want. I had a lot of time to pursue the things I want to pursue, and there are very few restrictions on what I am able to do. Nowadays, I always have to worry about bills. Everything I do comes down to maintaining that delicate balance of ensuring I don't compromise my performance at work. "I'd better not drink too much tonight, I have work in the morning!" Or how about "I'd really like to go visit so-and-so, but I have to get back in time for work!" That's seldom if
ever an issue anymore.
Normally I would go groundhog hunting or set some traps, but it's a little too cold out for that right now. Unfortunately, I forgot it was a leap year, so small game season snuck out on me before I could stock up on squirrels, rabbits and birds. Just for the record, I spend a lot of my free time hunting. I justify it because I do in fact need the meat, but I mainly spend a lot of time doing it because I enjoy it. I hunt all year round. Almost every state in the US has something edible in season all year round - even if it's just sparrow and groundhog. Laugh it up, but you can easily bag 20 sparrows in a couple of hours and one groundhog is more than enough meat for one day.
I also fish on occasion. It takes way less calories and sometimes it's easier to get something. I'd like to pose as if I was the ultimate survivalist wizard on the mountain, but fishing is honestly something I'm still trying to figure out.
I posted up like 54 pictures in the original version of this thread, only to remember that pictures are basically not allowed.
Mindset
Look, everybody in the "survivalist community" loves talking about guns, bricks and MREs, but the most important component to my perseverance throughout the last two years has been my mindset. I appreciate how supportive most of you guys have been since I've been part of this nuthouse, but the majority of the people I met thought I was absolutely crazy to leave my job and live out in the woods. Furthermore, when you're confined in less than a 20 square foot building for a whole day because and ocean of freezing rain is tumbling from the skies outside, you don't always feel on top of the world. If you're out hunting for hours, only see one single groundhog, and then proceed to miss an easy shot that you know you can do practically blindfolded on the target range, going home hungry and mad at yourself afterwards is an awful feeling. There have been several times when I have failed at what I was trying to do. The path to my current success is littered with mistakes. Believe me, I speak from firsthand experience when I say the hardest thing in the world is to take all those horrible feelings in the pit of your stomach and move on anyway.
I don't regret my decision to leave and I love my new life, but don't be fooled into thinking it's a constant mountaintop experience. There
are struggles. If you lack the commitment or confidence to go through with something like this, it's not for you. If I wasn't 110% dedicated to it, I wouldn't have made it. I think the resistance training I got in the military definitely helped, but I really think it's something people are born with. There's no way around it, you have to be mentally tough to do this. It takes brass ones to leave everything and everyone behind.
Gear
The second most important thing I want to stress is gear. I couldn't be sincere to you guys if I left it out. The gear has been really important to my success. However, just to reiterate, your mindset is much more important. A lethally trained sniper with a .22lr is much more effective than some milquetoast art professor with a match grade AR-15. So remember, while you can be confident that I have tested a lot of this stuff against some pretty extreme conditions, buying a ton of stuff doesn't make you a survivalist. It makes you a gear queer.
If my experience in the infantry taught me anything, it's that the gear you pick could be what makes the difference between life and death. Think about how stupid you'd feel if, after getting known as the survivalist of the bunch, you put yourself or your family at risk because your $20 flashlight failed due to rain or something silly like that. Or worse, what happens if you're in freezing weather and your preferred fire starter fails?
I'm going to be a little bold here: I literally lived my life like this for over a year. I have had military training. I know what works and I know what doesn't.When I first got started, I had my fair share of trial and error. I'm not trying to talk down to anybody here or act like I'm all high and mighty - but what I'm saying is
I want you to learn from my mistakes.You have to be really careful because there's a metric ton of overrated
crap floating around out there that people sell to survivalists at a jacked up price. Remember, fear is mankind's most primal emotion. Sleazy marketers will definitely take advantage of yours and mine if we let them. However, there's also the less sinister reality that a lot of this stuff simply isn't marketed to us survivalists. Plenty of this is designed for a family that goes camping for two weeks out of the year, and it might be perfect for them. You need to know the difference if you're serious about prepping or otherwise, by the time you find out, it'll be too late!
What I've done here was make a list here of the stuff I use most frequently. If there's a brand in particular that I'm very confident in, I listed it by name and provided a link to it so that you could get an idea of what it looks like, what it sells for, and other people's experience with it in the reviews section. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but it should get you started. I've also steered away from guns and ammunition brands, although maybe I can do that in another thread. The reason is most survivalists seem to want to talk about guns and ammo endlessly, but there's more to survival than defending yourself (although I don't dispute it's an important part). I do, however, have a thorough section about my homemade cleaning kit.
I'm a big fan of getting stuff online. The reason is because capitalism works, and web based storefronts really emulate the older (unmessed around with) market scenario. What I mean is that these sites have a lot of sellers competing for the same products, which ends up giving the buyer the best price. This is especially true on sites that let you get stuff used (like amazon), because the store can't oversell you something at too high of a price since you can just as easily grabbed a used one. Plus, they ship it right to you, so why not? This saves me money in gas.
Also, for those of you who don't know a lot about Amazon, they often have lots of vendors selling the same thing. I took the liberty of only providing you guys with links to good vendors and versions of the product that have some kind of special going on. It's easy to spend a lot of money on survivalist stuff, but I don't want you to break the bank. I scowered the internet for
hours finding whatever was going to give you the most bang for your buck (you're welcome).
Let's face it - it's not like I didn't have the time to do it. :p
Footware and CareBootshttp://amzn.to/1T84Mc6There's no way around it, you need a sturdy pair of boots. Not only this, but they have to be comfortable. I had a pair of (Wolf) Boots that fit perfectly, were water proof, and were durable as steel - but after the first mile I'd get bad blisters all over my feet. They just weren't comfortable enough on the inside and it felt like I was walking in a block of wood. I will never wear Wolf boots again.
Everybody has their own preference, but I've come to really like Keen.This pair is Leather and Fabric, is waterproof, has metal eyelets, the footbed is replacable, it has a drylex lining, and it's slip resistant. To top it all off, the inside is a soft plush that breathes really well. It's like wearing a warm, dry cloud on your foot.
I've had people ask me about military service boots, and my honest opinion is that this is
WAY better. Granted,
some civilian companies have made military compliant boots that are great, but they'd never be G.I. You'd have to buy them at the PX (and would definitely pay a high price for them). These things are worth every penny.
Moleskinhttp://amzn.to/1T85m9OThose of my fellow infantrymen will back me up on this - you have to take care of your feet. I don't care how much gear or training you have, if your feet have blisters on them, walking forty-five yards will seem like an eternity. Don't even think about running. The good news is that the solution is really cheap. Moleskin makes your blisters go away by removing the friction caused by your feet rubbing against the inside of your boot. When I was in the army, our unit made us take this with us, and my survival cache has over 100 packages of it (because it's very cheap but valuable to trade).
Warm Sockshttp://amzn.to/1QLF8ncAgain, my fellow infantrymen will stand behind me in explaining how you have to keep your feet warm and dry. As the pictures originally showed, the weather in my state is no joke. Your body doesn't need food any less when it snows, so you can't always hide in the cabin. I personally like these Kodiak socks out of all the brands I've tried. They're made of some
really strong combination of heavy yarns and other things that not only keeps them warm - but they dry easily. There are different kinds, so feel free to play around with whatever your preference is. My only gripe is to stay away from wool because it doesn't dry as quickly.
CookwareA guy's gotta eat, right?
Cooking Kithttp://amzn.to/21DkbpJSo I'm going to be honest with you, Coleman products are hit or miss. They're a good company, but a lot of their stuff is made for weekend warriors. I would say that this mess kit is the exception. This is the kit I use. I like it because it's really lightweight and all collapses together, which makes it really easy for carrying in your ruck sack. You won't be the idiot with pots hanging off of his bag that clanks every step. It's also made out of titanium so it cleans easily, doesn't rust, and doesn't leave a metalic taste when you cook stuff with it.
Silverwarehttp://amzn.to/1T86QkqI am in love with this thing. The reason is because it has all the food utenils you need all tethered together (spoon, fork, can opener, knife, corkscrew, and bottle opener). The fork also actually detaches from the rest of the tool, so you can eat with it. This also makes it really easy to clean food desbris off of. It's also a lot cheaper becaue it's an off brand, but I literally use this thing everyday and haven't had any problems.
The company is also apparently doing some kind of goofy online special where you can get two for like six bucks or something and they're throwing in some kind of carrying case. That's a pretty sweet deal if you ask me, seeing as each one of these parts independently are would be like twenty-five dollars.
MREshttp://amzn.to/1QLQCa4These things have saved my life more than once, and I have a lot of opinions about them. Namely, there's a lot of stuff out there that people don't know about MREs. Truth be told, a lot of them are really bad for you and not designed to be eaten for long periods of time. You have to be aware of what you're putting into your body. For this reason, I encourage everyone to stay away from the military MREs. Trust me, I get the nostaligic factor probably better than most, but people who are spending money on those are getting hosed. They're not good for you and they have tons of empty calories. That's outstanding if you're fighting the Vietnam war, but most of us are not going to want to eat that.
I've shopped all around, and Mountain House MREs are hands down the best I've found. I mean, they're literally like a miracle of modern science. First of all, they're delicious. Like, really delicious. Some of this stuff is better than I
can actually cook. They have a really extensive menu of stuff that you can try, including beef stroganoff and Chinese Fried rice! Secondly, they're dehydrated food. That means the way they preserve themselves is by having all the water removed out of it. So there's no artificial preservatives or whatever other junk you'd find in other, cheaper MREs. Thirdly, they have enough calories that you won't starve but not so many that you'll have health problems. I think there's somewhere between 350 and 500 per individual package (depending on the type). Finally, they last a very long time. A lot of this stuff will stay good for well over 20 years.
For longer term storage, they have the cans:
http://amzn.to/1QLQCa4You can also buy these suckers individually if you want, but it's more cost effective to get them in bulk. I've talked to customer service before and they're really helpful. I would advise getting them on Amazon instead of the website though because (as I already specified), this vendor is doing some kind of promotion right now.
Again, the cans are the most cost effective for storage.
However, there are downsides to Mountain House. First of all, you need a heat source and about 1 bottle of water per package (ouch). It's a big trade, but if you have it, it's worth it. I have lots of water stored up, including purified water (which is cheaper than drinking water) specific for hygeine and Mountian House. The other thing is you have to watch your sodium content. Mountain House intentionally put a decent amount of sodium in these because they're supposed to be for those of us who are running around outdoors all day. The goal is to replenish the sodium content you sweat out of your body. So if you're sitting around all day, maybe save one for tomorrow.
Still, I think this is the best bang for your buck when it comes to MREs. With proper preparation, they're hands down top tier.
Water enhancementhttp://amzn.to/21DGPOKI have several of these, including a few in storage. These things are perfect. I know there are some cheaper water enhancements out there (such as LifeStraw), but I'd advise against those. I had a girlfriend who really liked lifestraw, but these Sawyer ones are better in my opinion. I feel that they're easier to clean and they last longer. Also, this is water you're putting into your body, so I don't mind spending the extra two dollars to ensure that I'm getting the better product.
For those of you who don't know, the way this thing works is that it uses Micron hollow tube fiber membrane liners (which is a fancy name for a really, really thorough enhancement). It enhancements out pathogens that would get you sick from sources of water - including ponds. The only thing is that this
doesn't enhancement out chemicals. Keep that in mind if you're trying to drink out of a mud puddle or something.
Personal HygeineA lot of survivalist groups seem to skip out on how important this is. Although common wisdom seems to suggest otherwise, personal hygiene is only important for meeting beautiful survivalist girls, that's only one of the perks). The reason you need good personal hygiene out in the bush is because
it prevents you from getting sick. Eating with your hands, not washing your hands, or refusing to bathe is just asking to get ill. Haven't brushed your teeth in a month? Not sure if there are any dentists around here,
but tooth decay will actually kill you if left untreated.Soaphttp://amzn.to/1TSjWB5As far as soap is concerned, there are a lot of options. When it come to hygiene products, I'm personally a fan of
Dead Down Wind stuff. I've never seen it in a store and didn't even know about it until I did my first big online survival package.
Mainly, I like this because it's cheap and all purpose. That means you can wash your face with the same
soap you wash your dishes with. It even works with hard water. It's also odorless, so it's perfect for those of us hunters who don't want to get winded and scare wild game away.
http://amzn.to/21DmZDbWhat I will say is that the all purpose stuff is great, but they also have a version specifically for body and hair. You can use the all purpose if you want, but I have found that I prefer using body and hair for personal hygiene and all purpose for cleaning camping equipment.
Tooth Pastehttp://amzn.to/1Y1SykJThis is the tooth paste I like. Once again, it's a Dead Down Wind product. Unlike regular tooth paste, it stores really well. It also has a sexy menthol flavor that I really like. I will warn you that the peppermint is a strong smell though, which some people have complained about. Personally I haven't noticed a big difference from regular tooth paste, but I like this one.
Anti-Persperanthttp://amzn.to/1Y1Vf5MNot much to say here besides I really like this. I know that Dead Down Wind makes an anti-persperant, but this is the one I've grown fond of It's odorless and pretty cheap. It's also on special.
Firearms StuffHow many times have you seen some joker with a decent weapon with thousands of dollars worth of crap on it to "improve accuracy," but they don't even have a sling? We almost all love guns here I'm guessing, so I'm not going to make another thread about guns. In this section, I'm going to tell you my recommendations for stuff that goes with it. I've put together my own cleaning kits and stuff too, so I'll show you what I've used.
Adult Hunting Air Riflehttp://amzn.to/1UyYr8ZAs I explained in another thread, an adult pellet gun is sometimes simply the right tool for the job. Ammunition is
very cheap and pellets are ideal for killing very small wild game (like sparrows or squirrels). Personally, I own the Gamo Whisper model, and I'm in love with this thing. Also, this particular model is
very silent. You could probably shoot squirrels out of your yard in a suburban neighborhood and nobody would notice.
Just please do not underestimate this weapon or perform unsafe acts with it becase "it's only a pellet gun." Some of these things shoot at like 1,400 feet per second and people have been killed or seriously injured because of them.
http://amzn.to/1UyZEgwHere's a cheaper version of the same rifle. Right not they're both on special for like $100 off. I won't lie to you and tell you that they're cheap, but it's I've saved so much in ammunition that this sucker paid itself off in the first year. Also, cheap ammo means target practice is fun with this little guy! It's also super easy to clean. I know there are some other models around that you can browse, but I encourage you to get this one. Whatever you pick, I
strongly recommend using an adult pellet style hunting rifle that is designed for hunting or pest control. Don't get something for $30 dollars and go around wounding squirrels.
Hunting pelletshttp://amzn.to/21DuWbDI want to take a minute to have a serious discussion about this part of your loadout. The thing is that, whenever you shoot an animal in order to kill it, you're taking it's life away forever. I don't mean to get all flower child on everyone up in here, but I have a firm commitment to trying to reduce suffering when I take it upon myself to kill something. I'm no vegetarian, but you want something that will put down your rabbit or squirrel humanely when you deliver a well placed shot. What you don't want is that miserable feeling of knowing you've wounded an animal.
So this is why I go the extra mile and get hunting grade pellets. It's still cheaper than bullets. Like any other weapon, the load that performs best will be contingent on the pellet gun you're using. As far as the load itself is concerned, I like H &N Sports Baracuda Hunter Extreme. It's like 400 shots for less than $20.
If you've never shot the rifle before or are just starting to test its performance, I would recommend getting a couple different boxes of different pellets and see how they shoot. There are a lot of starter mixes-and-matches packs that are perfect for this, like this one:
http://amzn.to/1Uz0x99Get to know your weapon and see which one it performs best with. Personally, I'd stay away from the gold plated ones for hunting. I'm talking about these:
http://amzn.to/1Y1Ze26I know a lot of people swear by them because actually they make your weapon fire around 30% quicker (which is a lot when you consider some of these things are already shooting over a thousand feet a second), but I have found these rounds aren't always lethal at even moderate ranges. If you want to see how fast you can shoot pellets out of your weapon, you'll be impressed by these, but please save it for the target range.
Weapons Cleaning KitsI take this part extremely seriously. I don't care if you can hit a fly out of the sky while shooting behind your back, if your weapon isn't clean, it isn't going to function optimally. Carbon affects the accuracy and overall performance of your weapon. For this reason, I've made my old cleaning kit.
In fact, I made it out of the shoebox my Keen boots came in.
I will say this though:
One of the most common ways people screw survivalists is by selling things in "kits," so be very careful of what you buy! I always encourage people to make their own kits, which is what I did here.
Special Rifle Cleaning Swabshttp://amzn.to/1Uz1Yo1You can use regular Q-tips, but the reason I don't have any pictured in my kit is because I used them all.
I love these things. They're durable enough to apply pressure to since the base is made of a thick wood, so you actually use less of them than these flimsy little Q-tips I have here. The pointed head also makes them optimal for cleaning out odd crevasses you see, like the inside of the upper receiving of an AR-15.
Barrel Snakehttp://amzn.to/1Uz2tOJIf there's one thing I'd have to say to remember from this whole gear recommendation portion, it's that this thing kicks @$$! After spending years cleaning an M-16 with one of those old school metallic rod things, I'll never ever go back. Basically the way this works is you drop the back end through the barrel of your rifle and it falls out the muzzle. Then you just pull it through, and it drags the brush behind it. Cleaning my barrel used to take hours. Now it takes less than five minutes. I want to find the guy who invented this thing and shake his hand.
I even went to far as to find a link that has the option for different calibers. Just pick your caliber.
Rem Oilhttp://amzn.to/1QLLWRzI mix and match the oils that I use, but I literally have around one hundred of these little bottles. The first picture shows how small it really is. The main reason I have so many is because, unlike a spray, you use less of this when you drip it. It also fits nicely into the back of an AR-15 cleaning compartment.
http://amzn.to/1Uz3GFT (Rem Oil)
http://amzn.to/1Uz3PJo (CLP)
I have some bigger oils too, like these. They're in my kit. As far as my favorites, it's a tie between CLP and Rem Oil. We used CLP in the Army and I've come to like Rem Oil (as you can see in the picture).
I do have to say however, the best thing for in the field by far is Rem Oil Wipes.
http://amzn.to/1QLMSFGThese things are outstanding. They come in little packages like moist towelettes, and they're perfect for cleaning weapons out in the bush. I have a few stuffed in the back of my AR-15.
ToothBrushesCome on, you know what a tooth bush looks like! :D
http://amzn.to/1QLN47NThis goes without saying. It's not really a secret that toothbrushes are awesome for cleaning weapons. You can get them cheaper online if you buy in bulk.
Heavy Duty Quilted Paper Towelshttp://amzn.to/1Y246o1Normal paper towels work too, but heavy duty shop towels are ideal for cleaning up tough grease and carbon for weapons. I've found that I save more money buying one box of these than two rolls of Scott.
Bluing Touch Up Markerhttp://amzn.to/1Uz50saThis thing is awesome for touching
minor scratches on your weapon. It also takes almost no brains to use.
AR-15 Buttstock Cleaning Kithttp://amzn.to/21DBJ5eCaution!This thing does not work as advertised. Some of the bottles are defective and leak (mine didn't, but don't take the risk). It also will not fit in your buttstock! However, if you take some of the components out, they will fit in your buttstock. It comes with Alice clip and easily fits on your ruck sack. I own this and feel like it's worth mentioning for these reasons, but just be aware of what you're getting. Also, it's not authentic G.I., but it's pretty close in my opinion.
Slinghttp://amzn.to/21DCOd9I like this sling because it's comfortable. It's not super tactical, but it also isn't trying to be. It's kind of padded and makes for easy carrying. Mine is Mossy Oak Breakup, but there isn't a special on it so I posted this one instead.
Emergency Electronic SuppliesFlashlightshttp://amzn.to/1Uz73wDThere are tons of flashlights out there. I love these things because they're super small, aluminum, are machined to make them easier to hold (instead of just being a smooth tube thing), and they work pretty reliably. They're also cheap.
Headlampshttp://amzn.to/1RHC3aQBasically like a flashlight that doesn't require your hands. This is ideal for combat missions and training at night when I was in the service. It's also just more convenient to have your hands free. I like this version because it's (currently) $30 off and it has three straps instead of just two (so it'll fit on your head a lot sturdier).
Amateur Radiohttp://amzn.to/21DDoHZThis little Chinese thing is awesome. It's less than $30 and works wonders. If you're ambitious as I am, you can even use a computer to program your own bands into it outside of the Amateur Radio bands. The whole reason I got this thing was because RustyShackelford from Zoklet recommended it.
Just remember it's against the law to broadcast without a license (you will get into a lot of trouble), but anyone can listen. I will also admit that, in a true SHTF scenario, I'm not sure how hard the FCC is going to be on people broadcasting without a license. :)
Shortwave Radiohttp://amzn.to/1RHxTzGThe one I linked to is better than the one than I have and is being sold for a more fair price. Of course you could program the Chinese radio to scan shortwave bands, but not everybody went to school for computers. For those of you who don't know, the cool thing about a shortwave radio is that it gets local stuff
as well as picks up broadcasts overseas! You can hear the news in Puerto Rico or Germany. Since I have no electricity, I really love this thing because it helps me keep in touch with the world around me.
So that's a long ass story, but it was literally my life for like a year.
