Idaho Backcountry Bushcraft Class Recap

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Editor's Note: The following article was originally published by our friends at Breach Bang Clear. It appears here in its entirety with their permission. For more from the Mad Duo and crew, go to BreachBangClear.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Self-reliance is a growing trend nowadays and rightfully so. Our current culture has grown soft and too dependent on others. We aren’t saying that modern society is a failure, it isn’t. We are saying that the modern common person is not nearly as capable of taking care of themselves as our past generations. In an ongoing effort to better ourselves, many of us seek out training in various skill sets medical, firearms, trades, and for this instance primitive skills.

James Gibson spoon carving.

James Gibson spoon carving.

Randall’s Adventure & Training (RAT) started as a survival company specializing in expeditions into the Peruvian Amazon. Over time they set up a training center in Alabama and host training in wilderness survival, land navigation, tracking, SAR, Rope techniques, and various types of Law Enforcement training. Once RAT had moved more operations to the United States they teamed up with ESEE knives to produce the tools necessary for such harsh environments.

The view from our class site.

The view from our class site.

Day 1

This year was the first year RAT/ ESEE offered a course in Idaho, although ESEE knives have been produced in Idaho Falls since their inception. The Idaho Backcountry Bushcraft course started with a tour of the ROWEN Manufacturing headquarters (where ESEE is made). Look for a future Small American Business article highlighting the Rowen Family and ESEE knives. The facility tour was informative and showed the processes each knife goes through; laser cutting the material, heat treating (a proprietary method they kept secret) cleaning and grinding, sharpening etc. All students picked any blade they wished and were then instructed to complete the knife by adding the correct grips. I opted for the new ESEE PR4 designed by lead instructor Patrick Rollins. After our knife selections we had pizza then headed out to Walmart for supplies before going into the mountains. Once we reached our mountain training area we set up camps, had meals, and were given a formal block of instructions on knife safety. From there we finished out the day watching the incredibly talented James Gibson, of Knob Creek Forge, carve a spoon while teaching us carving basics.

Start of the ROWEN Manufacturing tour.

Start of the ROWEN Manufacturing tour.

Cody Rowen sharpening a production knife.

Cody Rowen sharpening a production knife.

Day 2

The first full day of training started with a safety brief by the EMT in the class about hydrating and again knife safety. To familiarize us with the nomenclature of certain cuts we began work on a “try stick”. There are several different variants of try sticks but the overall purpose is to practice different types of cuts and notches that are commonly used in bushcrafting materials. We had a discussion on the importance of shelters in survival situations and the general rule of 3. A person can survive 3 minutes without air, 3 hours in harsh weather, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. As a class, we decided a lean-to style shelter with a raised bed and fire “reflector” would be best. As a group, this task only took us a couple of hours and during construction, we discussed how the workload would impact a single person or a couple. Shelter building takes a decent amount of effort and that is one of the reasons it should be one of the first considerations for energy expenditure.

Our team built shelter getting finishing touches.

Our team built shelter getting finishing touches.

After shelter construction and a lunch break, we began the instruction block on friction fire methods. We began practice on bow drill fires, a task that is more difficult than it appears. Wood selection plays an important role in friction fires and for this exercise, we used good old cedar fence boards. Whittling down our drill and hearth board then carving out the necessary notch size for production and collection of the coal. We used jute twine and natural materials for the tinder. One of the more difficult aspects of the hand drill was placement and size of the notches to ensure dust collection. Coordination is key when using the bow drill to keep a good rhythm and maintain control of the bow and drill.

Caleb Olander demonstrating hand drill technique.

Caleb Olander demonstrating hand drill technique.

The hand drill portion as much easier. We constructed the hand drill much like a modern drill that would use a bit. A dowel and a hollow reed are put together and secured allowing the changing of “bits” which are the friction portion on the hearth board. The hearth board and bit were cedar. The hand drill offered much more control and was easier to get a coal in less time than the bow drill.

Primitive flint arrowhead with pine pitch.

Primitive flint arrowhead with pine pitch.

We also learned about the fire board technique where the builder uses two relatively flat boards and a cotton ball with wood ash rolled into it. Start by rolling the cotton ball/ ash into a doobie. Place it between the boards and roll it vigorously until it begins to burn. This process is very easy and takes only a few minutes. An ESEE Prostaff member, Caleb Olander from Arizona, was on hand to demonstrate another method of friction fire that used your mouth to stabilize the spindle allowing both hands to control the speed and stability. This offered more control over other methods and also seemed less strenuous.

Drilling holes in rocks with rocks.

Drilling holes in rocks with rocks.

The day came to a close around the campfire with an informal block of instructions from James Gibson on knife maintenance and sharpening tools.

Day 3

The third day started with instructions on natural cordage techniques. Utilizing the two strand twist method as well as lashing. We also worked on gorge hooks for fishing, which is a type of choke hook the fish swallows and becomes lodged inside of it. To aid as sinkers a demonstration was done on drilling holes in rocks using flints and our hand drill setups. River rocks wedged in a simple stick vise were relatively easy to penetrate and easy to keep control of. We rotated on the hand drill to minimize work effort and to let students understand how the grinding of the rocks felt. Before we broke for lunch we had a competition for making fire the fastest with our previous days’ bow drill setups. The winner took less than five minutes to get an ember and flame and was awarded an ESEE knife of their choosing.

Gorge hook.

Gorge hook.

After lunch, the next activity was to make a pair of sandals. Each student made a template of their feet and used it to cut from a rubber material. This was a very simple process and was used as an opportunity to talk about protecting oneself from natural elements, especially the feet. As with several of the teachings, we were encouraged to discuss how this skill can be applied to a variety of scenarios.

Toward the end of day three, we had another competition for who could get fire the fastest with the hand drill method. The winner took less than five minutes to produce an ember and flame and was awarded an ESEE knife of their choosing. The day came to a close with everyone talking around the fire about different outdoor experiences. Patrick Rollins was asked what the worst thing he had ever eaten was and he didn’t hesitate when he answered “sloth”. He stated he couldn’t describe it very well and he never wanted to eat it again.

Day 4

The last day of class we spent the morning around the fire learning how to make pine pitch. Heating pine sap and mixing it with wood ash to create a glue. James Gibson performed a flint knapping demonstration and gave each of us a small blade made of flint. We coated the handle portion of these blades in pine pitch to give us some grip and we used them to practice with our own “try sticks” like before but with much more difficulty. Primitive arrow/spear making was then shown with the appropriate notches on the shaft, a flint arrowhead, and pine pitch applied for a finished product.

The author’s award-winning fish hook.

The author’s award-winning fish hook.

For the afternoon we learned about trapping techniques both modern and primitive. Patrick Rollins instructed us on creating a figure four deadfall device and Caleb Olander taught the Paiute deadfall technique. We set up each students devices and triggered them manually. The Paiute deadfall was tricky to set up but was much easier to trigger than the figure four.

Figure four deadfall.

Figure four deadfall.

For modern traps, we learned about leg holds and how to employ them effectively against different types of critters. The most time was spent on how the area around the trap is to be set up and treated to minimize human scent.

PR4’s getting processed.

PR4’s getting processed.

After lunch, we were given a lesson on fish hook carving and construction. James Gibson demonstrated the technique and then turned us loose. At the end of the exercise, our hooks were judged and the winner was selected. Not to brag too much but my hook was the best looking and won, I happily picked an ESEE Junglas as my prize.

This brought our class to a close and we all packed up and said our goodbyes.

The PR4 with author’s name.

The PR4 with author’s name.

Lessons Learned

For me, this was my first exposure to a formal Bushcraft and primitive skills class. The instructors were fantastic and spent plenty of time with each student discussing techniques and applying them. ESEE knives have a phenomenal track record for many years as hard use blades. Being able to experiment with all of the different models and use them in the field was great and I plan to buy a CR2.5 now having experience with small blades performing big tasks. The chosen PR4 at the beginning of the class performed all tasks with ease and proved itself as an excellent all-purpose tool. For another review of an excellent ESEE product check out this post on the ESEE 5.

About the Author

Alexander Crown OFFGRIDweb author photo

Alexander Crown served as an Infantryman with the Scout/ Sniper Platoon of the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Ft. Richardson, Alaska, where he specialized in radio communications and reconnaissance. Since separating, Alexander spends his time as an avid outdoorsman and hunter with an appreciation for self-sufficiency in the form of gardening. He also enjoys woodworking, firearms, and reloading. You can follow him on Instagram @acrown509.

The Will to Drive On: Emergency Driving Skills

Written by

Photos by Steven Kuo and Patrick McCarthy

WARNING! This article is meant to be a quick overview and not a detailed guide on high-speed performance driving. Seek qualified instruction from a reputable trainer before attempting any of the techniques discussed in this article.

A 2016 article published by the American Automobile Association states that, on average, Americans are behind the wheel for 17,600 minutes per year. Yet most people are woefully underprepared to best utilize their vehicle in an emergency situation. This is usually not a result of willful neglect or even lack of effort. People simply don’t know what they don’t know about driving. And, like shooting, the number of reliable sources for quality information versus the number of people who need that information is simply depressing when pondered too seriously.

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We read about these situations in the news, but never think it’ll happen to us. What if you’re being chased? What if a simple “forgot to signal” mistake on your part provokes someone high on drugs to try running you off the road? What if one or more cars attempt to barricade you in so you’ll be kidnapped or carjacked? What if you’re a passenger and the driver of the car falls unconscious? These are just a few of the situations you can learn to handle at Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

As the name implies, the school was founded by racing legend Bob Bondurant and is the oldest continuously operating performance-driving school in the country. You may be tempted to dismiss a racing school as niche, saying to yourself, I’m not a race car driver. Why do I need to learn how to race?

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Notice that the name of the school is not Bondurant School of go-really-fast-in-a-circle. The principles of high-performance driving (or HPD) can be successfully applied to any vehicle and any situation to life-saving effect. This was proven to us when several RECOIL OFFGRID staff members took a trip to Bondurant to learn first-hand from the experts exactly how HPD can Help us be Prepared Daily. (See what we did there?)

For our first exercise, about half our class piled into a 12-passenger van. An instructor got behind the wheel and proceeded to drive the full length of the track at highway speed. While the author nearly lost his lunch sitting all the way in the back, we all learned a very valuable point: lessons learned from high-performance driving aren’t restricted to high-performance vehicles. Said lessons involve much more than speed. In fact, most of what we learned had more to do with vehicle handling. Specifically, how to maneuver your vehicle to create an advantage across a wide array of potential emergencies.

Our time at Bondurant was spent immersed in their three-day Executive Protection Driving program. This is a class that Bondurant has taught to private protection teams, special operations units, and law enforcement groups. While the class is grounded in the foundations of performance driving, it included additional material designed to help cope with some in-extremis situations you might encounter behind the wheel.

Scenario: The Stalker

Like most people, you have a favorite route you like to take to and from work. You see it twice a day, five days a week. You may not think about it consciously, but you’re well-accustomed to “normal” patterns along these roads. That’s why it struck you as strange to see the same ratty minivan with the same license plate popping up along your commute.

The first time, it followed behind you for over five miles before turning off onto a side road. Maybe a little weird, but it’s a busy road and a main thoroughfare, so probably just coincidence or someone who has the same route as you do. Two days later, you spotted the same minivan parked outside of your office while walking to your car after work. Several days after that, it showed up immediately after you picked your daughter up from school and tailgated behind you almost all the way home. When you turned into your driveway, they slowed down, but kept going straight and looked over as if observing you.

Tonight, you’re headed out to drop off your daughter at her friend’s house for a sleepover. You pull out of your driveway and start to head down your street when suddenly that ratty van seems to come out of nowhere, pulling across the intersection and stopping. It’s a narrow residential street, so you don’t have enough room to go around him — you’re blocked. That’s when the doors open, and two guys step out. One has a gun, and the other opens the back of the van up and two other men in masks get out. You're outnumbered, unarmed, the lives of you and your child are clearly in danger, and there’s only seconds to react. What do you do?

Protective Driving Skill #1: Reverse 180

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CONCEPT: A technique known as the reverse 180 (also called a J-turn) might be able to get you away from this threat in a hurry. The idea is to accelerate quickly in reverse and swing your vehicle in a hard 180-degree turn to orient you away from the threat. Then, simply press on the gas and get out of dodge. This is a fast way to break contact with a threat when you cannot simply drive through.

OVERVIEW: Check to make sure there are no obstacles behind you. Hit the gas and pick up speed going backward. When you get to about 30 mph, let off the gas to shift the car's weight, and quickly spin the steering wheel hard right or left, depending on which way you want to turn. Don't touch the brake pedal! Momentum and the sudden change in direction will cause the vehicle to pivot around its rear end until you’re facing the direction of travel and “reverse” is now “forward.” About halfway through the turn, shift the car into drive and start to bring the wheel to center. When you’re facing forward, get back on the gas to continue traveling away from the threat.

CONSIDERATIONS: Know what’s behind you before you begin this maneuver! Your escape will be utterly ineffective if you throw it in reverse and stomp that pedal only to back into another car. Similarly, make sure you have enough room to swing the vehicle. You don’t need much, but if you’re on a one-way street that’s lined on both sides with parked cars, you might not make it. Also check the rearview and find your escape route before you start to reverse. Know where you’re going to go once you get turned around. Additionally, become familiar with your vehicle — some have speed limiters in reverse gear.

Scenario: Road Rage

It’s late on a weeknight. You’re on your way home from a friend’s house, about 45 minutes away. It’s way past your normal bedtime for a work night, and the highway is pretty much empty. You haven’t seen a single state trooper and only a couple other cars. But one of those other cars comes roaring past you on the shoulder and cuts sharply into your lane. You brake hard and honk, cussing at your windshield.

You change lanes, but the car in front of you changes lanes with you, blocking you from passing. You flash your high beams and honk again. The other vehicle gets out of your lane and slams on the brakes. You pass them, only to have them pull up dangerously close behind you and throw on their high beams. You speed up to try and get away from them, but their car is faster than yours. They continue to follow ridiculously close, blinding you, honking, and tapping your bumper. Your vehicle just isn’t up to the task of outrunning them — as the saying goes, where’s a cop when you need one?

Protective Driving Skill #2: The PIT Maneuver

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CONCEPT: A move made popular by law enforcement, the Precision Immobilization Technique aka Pursuit Intervention Technique is meant to end car chases and stop fleeing suspects by pushing their vehicle into a spin in a controlled and (relatively) safe manner.

OVERVIEW: The principle is simple, if not easy. Match speed with the assailant’s vehicle and line up your front left quarter-panel a few inches from their right rear quarter-panel (or vice versa for the other side). Then, gently turn your vehicle into theirs and accelerate. Be sure when turning into their car that your front wheel is behind their rear wheel. If executed properly, the target vehicle should spin out 180 degrees while you maintain control and continue in your original direction of travel.

CONSIDERATIONS: There are several very serious considerations when entertaining the idea of attempting to PIT out another vehicle. The first is legality. If you try this move on your nearest interstate, it'll likely be considered vehicular assault. Furthermore, if the car you PIT spins into another vehicle or off the road and anybody gets injured — or worse — you’ll likely have to answer for that if and when you do make it out of the immediate crisis. Also, there’s a reason they call this a precision technique. You must be able to match the other vehicle’s speed exactly — and while in the perfect position. Too far back and you cause them to fishtail slightly, but not spin. Too far forward and you will just dent the door.

Also, this isn’t a hard slam into the broad side of your target vehicles, like in Hollywood car chases. This is a gentle nudge — a gradual pressure applied from your car to theirs, perpendicular to direction of travel. Don’t forget to accelerate as you begin turning into their car until they begin spinning out. If they turn, change lanes, brake, or accelerate, you will have to mirror all of those changes while holding that rear quarter-panel position. Even in our practice sessions at Bondurant alongside a relatively cooperative “suspect” vehicle, this technique was tricky to pull off.

Furthermore, PIT maneuvers can be countered or “short-circuited” with a little bit of effort. As stated above, this move is heavily predicated on proper position and spacing of the two vehicles. Any sudden changes in speed or lane position forces the person initiating the PIT to start from scratch, re-positioning their vehicle. It’s possible for this loop to go on ad infinitum if the target vehicle is constantly changing rate of speed or swerving back and forth across the road.

Scenario: Attempted Kidnapping

You’re on a business trip to a foreign country that has a reputation for taking foreigners hostage. It’s been several days and despite some apprehension before you left home, your experience here so far has been positive. You’re driving from downtown back to where you’re staying and wind up right in the middle of a traffic jam. As your vehicle crawls closer to the source, you see a man in military fatigues waving people along on the road.

As you get up to the soldier, he waves you down a muddy side road, and a truck full of shirtless men pulls out to follow you. You’re not sure about this, but the soldier was very insistent. A quarter-mile down the road, you find yourself approaching a shoddy-looking checkpoint. Far from official, it seems to just be a large sedan parked sideways in the middle of the road, flanked by teenagers in ratty street clothes with AK-47s slung over their shoulders. With the truck immediately behind you, a reverse 180 won’t be possible.

Protective Driving Skill #3: Pushing Through a Vehicular Blockade

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CONCEPT: Using your vehicle to ram into another vehicle is far from ideal. But there’s a right way to do it that can minimize damage to your car and allow you to make a hasty escape when there is no less-violent option.

OVERVIEW: Accelerate hard to build up speed, and try to align the corner of your vehicle’s frame with one of the axles of the other vehicle. As you approach the target vehicle, abruptly lift off the accelerator and coast for a short distance to transfer weight to the front of your vehicle. When you’re a few feet from the blocking vehicle, get back on the gas pedal aggressively. This burst of power applied at the right moment should lift the nose of your vehicle and give you the momentum to lift and shove the other car out of the way, spinning it 90 degrees.

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CONSIDERATIONS: When this technique was first developed, cars were built with body-on-frame construction like modern-day pickup trucks. If your vehicle has a unibody construction, apply the same principles with the understanding that the damage will be more significant. If you have airbags, they’ll almost certainly deploy on impact. This may disorient you and impede your ability to escape. Also, know that vehicle size and weight will play a large part in determining the feasibility of this in your specific situation. If you’re in a compact city car and the road is blocked by a heavy-duty pickup truck, the odds — and laws of physics — will be stacked against you.

Scenario: Evading a Collision

You and your loved ones are taking a weekend afternoon drive up through the mountains. There’s not a building in sight for miles, and the road is a wide-open two-lane blacktop. The weather is gorgeous; you’ve got the windows down and the radio up, and everything is serene. An 18-wheel tractor trailer crests the horizon coming toward you in the opposite lane.

Normally not a big deal, as this road is often used by long-haul truckers to dodge interstate traffic. But as the two of you get closer and closer, each going a few miles above the posted speed limit, the truck swerves into your lane and is now heading directly for you. Stopping would be useless, and you can’t trade lanes with the truck as there’s already more traffic coming toward you on that side as well. The roadside is a soft shoulder of dirt, gravel, and overgrown weeds. But it beats a head-on collision.

Protective Driving Skill #4: Dirt-to-Pavement Transition

CONCEPT: Rather than a specific technique, the instructors at Bondurant gave us more of a set of guidelines on how to deal with rapidly changing road conditions. There are plenty of situations on the road better handled by a controlled transition to off-road than slamming on the brake pedal or trying to swerve into the next lane with no warning.

OVERVIEW: Don’t give up your control of the vehicle. Veer off the road in a controlled turn, just like you would take an off-ramp on the highway. Once you’ve avoided the obstacle on the road, you’ll want to try and square up your front end toward the road as much as possible. Keep an even foot on the accelerator at a safe speed and, once you’re back on the road, orient properly into your lane as quickly as possible and speed up/slow down as necessary for the flow of traffic.

CONSIDERATIONS: Once your wheels hit the dirt/gravel/grass, you’ll lose some responsiveness in steering and braking. Keep your mind and your wheel ahead of the vehicle. If you turn the wheel right, don’t wait for the car to start skidding before you correct the wheel back to center. If the surface is loose gravel or sandy, any sudden acceleration or braking might induce a loss of traction. The key is to be smooth in all your inputs (steering, braking, acceleration) and anticipate the vehicle’s next move.

Conclusion

We rode along as instructors tore around the course at a staggering pace.

We rode along as instructors tore around the course at a staggering pace.

While our descriptions of countermeasures are meant to help you understand possible solutions, nothing can truly take the place of empirical knowledge. Like any other aspect of preparation, reading about it and practicing it alongside trained instructors are two different things. A vehicle is an extension of yourself, and like a firearm or knife, it’s only as effective as the person wielding it. You won’t get this kind of training with DMV instructors.

In the classroom, instructors discussed the theory behind cornering. Being able to see and follow the ideal racing line is essential for maintaining speed through twists and turns.

In the classroom, instructors discussed the theory behind cornering. Being able to see and follow the ideal racing line...

Think of that rush of panic that goes through you when you’ve had to slam on the brakes suddenly or when you start to hydroplane after it’s been raining. Multiply that times a thousand in a situation where your only hope for survival is how well you can control that four-wheeled machine you’re sitting in. Consider signing up for a course at a high-performance driving school like Bondurant, so you can truly understand and experience the physics behind it.

Hydraulic outriggers on these skid cars induce traction loss on demand, teaching students to correct for oversteer and understeer.

Hydraulic outriggers on these skid cars induce traction loss on demand, teaching students to correct for oversteer and...

Bondurant Racing School – www.bondurant.com

For more lessons learned from our time at Bondurant, check out the OFFGRIDweb-exclusive article “Driving Force: Lessons Learned at Bondurant Racing School”.

More From Issue 27

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 28

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 26

Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

Pocket Preps: Wallet-Sized Tools

Written by

Imagine you had just seconds to grab your essentials before a raging wildfire engulfed your home. It would be chaos, right? That’s why we have get-out-of-Dodge bags at the ready. But the one thing we won’t be hauling with us is the garage — our man cave of power tools, manual implements, and other equipment.

Sure, if you’re bugging out in an RV or off-road rig, you probably have a tool kit preloaded. But if you’re fleeing on foot from impending doom, you’ll be lucky to make it out with the clothes and pack on your back.

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That’s why in this edition of Pocket Preps we’re focusing on wallet-sized tools. These little devices are super slim and featherweight but can often serve various duties when things go awry — or be used for more mundane things like popping open a brewski. Plus, these multitools are portable and can fit pretty much anywhere a credit card can. That means you can have a mini toolbox in your pocket no matter where you go.

Crawford Knives Credit Card Kara Bit

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Material
Titanium

Dimensions
3.25 by 2 by 0.03 inches

Weight
0.5 ounce

MSRP
$70

URL
www.crawfordknives.com

Notes
As a prepper and a combatives instructor, this author is conflicted about the Credit Card Kara Bit. Its design as a covert knife is innovative. It’s carried in a Kydex sheath — though our review sample didn’t come with one — which attaches to one’s belt loop via paracord. To deploy, just pull it out like a chain wallet. Sadly, its ergonomics are disappointing and the lack of integrated tools is a wasted opportunity. Overall though, the Kara Bit features top-notch manufacturing and provides a unique concealed blade option.

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Pros:

  • Razor sharp knife fillets cardboard into ribbons
  • Titanium body is light yet incredibly strong
  • Out-of-the-box design
  • Ideal for concealed carry

Cons:

  • Awkward finger placement
  • The flat of the card could have housed built-in tools, such as hex wrenches and a bottle-opener.

Hutan Supply Co. Hutan Pressure Tool

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Material
Titanium

Dimensions
3.54 by 2.24 by 0.11 inches

Weight
0.99 ounce

MSRP
$89

URL
www.hutan.co

Notes
If a bug-out vehicle is in your preparedness plans, the Hutan Pressure Tool is worth consideration. Made out of titanium with a diamond-like coating, this little device gets its name from its primary function: releasing air from a tire’s Schrader valve. Having the right tire pressure is key to safely driving over rough terrain, whether you’re fleeing a disaster or heading out on an overland journey. It has several other tools, including a nail remover, a multi-size wrench, and a bottle-opener. Plus, it comes with a fine leather sleeve.

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Pros:

  • Efficiently designed with almost every inch featuring a different tool
  • Slim, yet thick enough that the edges don’t dig into your fingers
  • Strong, tough, and lightweight
  • Quality leather sleeve lets you stow the tool safely in your pocket, pack, or vehicle.

Cons:

  • Vehicle-specific design means niche appeal and adaptability

Tool Logic Credit Card Companion

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Materials
ABS plastic and stainless steel

Dimensions
3.375 by 2.125 by 0.09 inches

Weight
1.4 ounces

MSRP
$15

URL
www.toollogic.com

Notes
It’s hard to beat the appeal of a tool that’s easy to use, affordable, and actually useful not just in a pinch, but in daily life, too. The Credit Card Companion is an everyday carry (EDC) item with nine tools in total, all of which are housed in a compact-yet-durable ABS body. While you won’t win any geocaching contests using the compass, it can give you at least a general clue of where to go if you’re lost. There are also tweezers, a screwdriver, a combo can/bottle-opener, a 2-inch serrated blade, and more.

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Pros:

  • Abundant number of tools in such a slender package
  • Tools seamlessly tuck into the card for convenient carry.
    Sharp blade is great for cutting fibrous material, like rope or branches.
  • Price tag won’t break the piggy bank

Cons:

  • To use most of the tools, you have to separate them from the card. And because they’re small, they offer limited grip space and leverage, especially the piece that holds the can-opener, bottle-opener, and screwdriver.

Vargo Swing Blade Tool – Bolt

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Materials
Titanium and 420HC stainless steel

Dimensions
2.8 by 1.75 by 0.06 inches

Weight
0.9 ounce

MSRP
$30

URL
www.vargooutdoors.com

Notes
Vargo makes some stellar outdoor gear, from fire-starters and portable wood stoves to backpacks and camping pots. It also makes cool tools, including this one. As an upgrade to the original Swing Blade Tool, the Bolt version is so named because of the 8mm, 10mm, and 13mm wrenches on one end of its titanium body for turning bolts and nuts. It also features a bottle-opener, two screwdrivers, a keyhole ring, and the eponymous razor blade. The latter tool is tension locked for safe storage, but can rotate out when needed.

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Pros:

  • The 420HC stainless steel blade is sharp out of the box and easy to hone.
  • Titanium platform is lightweight and durable.
  • Multiple tools make this more than just a tiny knife.

Cons:

  • Not the smartest knife-opening mechanism; your right thumb rotates the blade toward your left thumb, which needs to stay put to push down on the lock-bar to let the blade come out.
  • Blade pivot is annoyingly tight.

Zootility Co. Wildcard

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Materials
Stainless steel

Dimensions
3.06 by 2.06 by 0.03 inches

Weight
1.2 ounces

MSRP
$35

URL
www.zootility.com

Notes
The Wildcard is similar to the Vargo Swing Blade Tool in that it’s a card-shaped multitool with a rotating blade. But the Wildcard’s knife opening mechanism is more akin to a traditional folding knife, with the edge moving away from the user’s other hand. Zootility’s patent-pending FlyOff technology means you can quickly remove the blade if it becomes unusable or you forget you had it in your wallet at a TSA checkpoint. Plus, it has a built-in pry-bar, screwdrivers, bottle opener, and both metric and imperial rulers. Made in the USA.

OFGP-181000-ZOOTILITY-REVIEW-02.JPG

Pros:

  • Brilliant design combines card-style multitool with a folding knife.
  • Blade is sharp, easy to use, and replaceable.
  • No marketing exaggerations here; all the tools are practical and performed well for this type of device

Cons:

  • Blade has some lateral play and isn’t the thickest or strongest piece of stainless steel

Victorinox SwissCard Lite

OFGP-181000-VICTORINOX-LINEUP-02.JPG

Materials
ABS/Cellidor and stainless steel

Dimensions
3.2 by 2.06 by 0.09 inches

Weight
0.9 ounces

MSRP
$38

URL
www.swissarmy.com

Notes
More than 100 years ago, Victorinox revolutionized the multi-use pocketknife when its founder created what would become the iconic Swiss Army Knife. The SwissCard Lite carries on that legacy by morphing the traditional multitool into a wallet-sized essential. Its moniker refers not to this being a smaller version of a bigger model, but rather to its integrated LED. With the included light, this device packs 13 functions — from a ballpoint pen to a magnifying glass — in a compact and convenient format.

OFGP-181000-VICTORINOX-REVIEW-02.JPG

Pros:

  • Thirteen tools, all brilliantly stowed in a lean body
  • Translucent plastic lets you see the tool you need
  • Letter opener makes for a super sharp last-ditch blade
  • Its mini scissors cut effectively

Cons:

  • The LED was disappointingly dim.
  • The pullout unit that holds its four screwdrivers is tiny and provides little grip space or leverage.

Wazoo Survival Gear Burnable Business Card

OFGP-181000-WAZOO-LINEUP-02.JPG

Materials
Birch wood

Dimensions
3.5 by 2 by 0.03 inches

Weight
Negligible

MSRP
$5

URL
www.wazoosurvivalgear.com

This tool has a narrow use, and it’s a one-time use at that. But that’s all it takes to save your life. As its name implies, this tool is the size of a business card and meant to be broken apart, assembled, and set aflame as kindling. It comes with a Fresnel lens and vinyl case, so carrying this barely noticeable card in your wallet gives you not only fuel, but also a platform to build a fire no matter what survival situation you end up in. It’s made in the USA out of birch wood.

OFGP-181000-WAZOO-REVIEW-01.JPG

Pros:

  • Featherweight — when we repeatedly tried to weigh the card, the scale kept displaying 0.00 ounces!
  • Combined with the Fresnel lens, this clever card gives you all you need to start a life-saving fire.
  • Comes perforated so you can break it into sections and reassemble them into a fire lay.

Cons:

  • Due to its singular purpose, this card is the least versatile wallet-sized device in this buyer’s guide.

More From Issue 27

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 28

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 26

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Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

What If Your Vehicle Is Attacked By an Angry Mob?

Written by

Illustrations by Ruben Juarez

“What’s this protest about?” my wife absentmindedly asked as she thumbed through Facebook on her phone. “More president hating or something about vegetable rights this time?” she mocked. The ride to our son Johnny’s game was taking longer than expected, and we were all getting frustrated with the slow pace. Earlier in the day, I had heard something on the radio about protests, and as the vehicles ground to a halt, the uncharacteristic evening traffic started to make sense.

People with poster board signs, many with covered faces, began to fill the spaces between the idling cars. Some of the more energetic protesters started to jump onto car hoods and hurl objects at the gridlocked motorists. Then I saw it, a few cars ahead of us. Several men crowded around a car, and the driver surged forward. Many voices cried out loudly as the vehicle sped away. The first of the cries sounded like pain, and the following ones had a tone of anger and surprise. Someone had just been injured.

The protesters then began to lash out at the remaining vehicles, smashing windows and even pulling a woman out of her car! This was getting ugly quick. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel hard, and all I could think was how the hell I was going to protect my family from this.

For this episode of RECOIL OFFGRID’s “What If?” column, the editors have created a situation to place a family in the proverbial crosshairs of a group of protesters who turn violent and take out their aggression on passing motorists. Here we’ll discuss some possible methods to handle these circumstances, and walk you through preps, plans, and decisions to consider if you find yourself in a similar situation. While we won’t hijack a garbage truck to “scoop and compact” our way through these marching marauders — we’ll present some options that just might keep you out of harm’s way.

The Scenario

SITUATION TYPE
Traveling to a ball game
YOUR CREW
You, your wife, and son
LOCATION
Los Angeles, California
SEASON
Summer
WEATHER
Clear; high 97 degrees F, low 79 degrees F

The Setup: There has been a recent string of protests in areas of downtown Los Angeles you often travel through, but you have no idea how long it’ll last or where exactly it’ll pop up next, making route planning to avoid the protests somewhat problematic. Over the last several days, the protests have been nothing more than verbal demonstrations with no violence reported.
You’re driving your pregnant wife and 10-year-old son to your son’s nighttime little league game in a small crossover SUV. While on a two-lane city street lined with buildings, traffic in front of you suddenly comes to a standstill. Protesters are unexpectedly advancing toward vehicles on both sides of the street. You assume this will only be a slight delay, the crowd will keep marching past you, and no one will become physically aggressive.

OffGrid_Protest_01_Final.psd

The Complication: In a seemingly unprovoked manner, the protesters start antagonizing passing motorists going in either direction, spilling into the street to block cars. Some motorists slowly make their way through the converging crowd, honking and pushing ahead. As a sedan that’s two cars in front of you makes a mad dash through the crowd, it appears that one of the protesters is injured by that driver’s decision to make a break for it.

This angers the protesters, who quickly seek revenge by converging on the remaining cars. They attempt to open doors, throw objects to hit windows in an attempt to break through, and rock your car back and forth making you think they intend to flip it over. You’re blocked on the driver side by opposing traffic, as well as cars in front of and behind you experiencing the same attack. You’re essentially boxed in unless you try to drive up on the sidewalk. What steps can you take to help protect your family and alert authorities? Should you attempt verbal persuasion or look for an opportunity to flee your car and escape on foot? Are you justified in using your car as a weapon, possibly injuring other protesters or disabling your vehicle in the enraged crowd?

ATTORNEY: Jason Squires’ Approach

Prep

I always have my SUV stocked with basic survival necessities. I break these into three categories: 1. People. Items people need to survive such as water, clothing, and self-defense items; 2. Vehicle. Goods to keep the vehicle functioning; 3. Mission-specific items. For example: things needed for my son’s baseball game.

While traveling with a pregnant wife, the matter is further complicated because of emergency issues related to the unborn child. I must have a bag specifically for the wife stocked with essentials like birth certificates, insurance information, cash and credit/debit cards, and preparation for a hospital stay.

People: While traveling anywhere you must have clothing to anticipate changes in temperature. Children have no concept of preparation, and extra care must be given to ensure each child has comfortable shoes and a warm jacket at a minimum. The wife, being pregnant, is susceptible to slight temperature variations. We always expect the cold to be the problem, but heat variations can be just as problematic. Each person has a durable water bottle, usually filled with water and ice. I also keep other large plastic water bottles to refill each individual bottle if needed. It’s prudent to include sufficient snack foods for children, if for no other reason than to reduce stress when the children begin complaining. Remember, food can be quite comforting in a stress situation.

For self-defense items, as a lawyer, I’m always mindful of local, state, and federal laws related to firearms and weaponry. Generally, knife blades less than 5 inches are universally accepted in almost all jurisdictions. Just remember, you must be very close — too close — to an attacker to use a knife. Knife wounds are often more dangerous than bullet wounds. Items like flashlights, headlamps, and light sticks are essential. Where permitted, I carry a pistol and AR-15 with a reliable, long-lasting red dot optic. But, given this scenario is in Los Angeles, I’d have to leave my AR-15 at home in Arizona.

Vehicle: I always prefer SUVs. A crossover SUV offers extended mileage on a single tank of gas. I always reinforce the bumpers with a midrange, affordable bumper system that’d survive pushing the vehicle in front of me, if necessary. My SUV never goes below three-quarters full for any potential and unexpected long drives. Each vehicle has a seatbelt cutter in the sunglasses compartment. Since most SUVs ride higher than other vehicles, that allows me to see further ahead to anticipate trouble or traffic.

Flashlights, multitools, and a basic toolkit (metric and standard sockets, screwdrivers, tow rope, ratchet straps, etc.) are also kept in the vehicle. Additionally, any SUV should be outfitted with all-terrain tires and a full-size spare (not that ridiculous donut). Duct tape, lighters, 550 cord (200 feet), and cash are hidden in the vehicle. I also keep laminated copies of all federal firearms licenses and maps of the area showing alternate routes to areas of refuge outside the city.

I also keep meds for everyone, like EpiPens, NSAIDs, aspirin, and basic first-aid supplies. Remembering when to replace these items can be a chore. I replace all batteries on the longest day of the year (6/21) and the shortest day of the year (12/21). Also, I keep an inverter that plugs into the cigarette lighter as well as two battery packs that’ll recharge cell phones five times each. Additionally, I carry a satellite phone, which I began doing when my wife became pregnant so I’d never have spotty cell coverage — yes there can be spotty satellite coverage, too (building obstructions).
Mission-Specific Items: I’m going to a baseball game and my wife is pregnant, so I keep those items for my person, vehicle, and what we need today (baseball equipment and emergency labor/hospital bag). When traveling outside the city, I also bring sleeping bags, more warm clothes, gloves, 5 extra gallons of water, 2 quarts of oil and transmission fluid, fix flat, etc.

On Site

I wouldn’t knowingly take my pregnant wife and kid through an area known for trouble. I know that I’m literally a “sitting duck” if my vehicle is surrounded by angry protesters. I’d give a wide berth to any trouble or even potential trouble. I know, as a lawyer, that trouble usually means serious injury or handcuffs — this isn’t an overstatement.

Remember, an angry mob has no collective intelligence. A mob is the sum of the individuals who’ll say they were doing nothing wrong when you struck them with your vehicle. All assailants will claim they were “merely present,” a legal term to suggest at the scene, but doing nothing wrong. Keep a watchful eye 10 to 20 car lengths ahead to scan for trouble; what constitutes trouble should be self-explanatory. Large groupings of angry people surrounding vehicles is trouble. Protesters are trouble. We might admire their First Amendment right, but we don’t want to be victimized by it. I’d also keep at least three car lengths behind the vehicle in front of me. This distance allows me to quickly maneuver my vehicle and turn around at even the slightest suggestion of danger.

Let’s assume I was doing everything reasonable. I was keeping a safe distance, scanning for threats, wearing seatbelts, had a cell phone charged and ready for use, and the mob suddenly appears seemingly out of nowhere. My friend is my accelerator. The vehicle is a target when stationary. Immediately, I’d utilize the distance I’ve kept between me and the vehicle ahead of me and conduct a three-point turn (learn this technique). I do this immediately. I move the vehicle quickly. I don’t assume any angry grouping of people will remain peaceful.

I had this example recently where a group of teachers were protesting. I don’t fear teachers; I love them. I know instinctively that troublemakers will embed themselves in large groups only to cause mayhem. So at first sign of trouble: I’m gone. If you’re stuck in between cars (a person unexpectedly changes lanes into your lane seeing the protesters), I use the push bumper I had installed on the SUV. It’s better to beg for forgiveness later than die. My insurance will pay damages to anyone’s vehicle. But as a lawyer, I know this will mean future trouble — so I don’t ram the vehicle in front of me when the Girl Scouts appear out of nowhere with cookies.

OffGrid_Protest_03_Final.psd

When I see the angry mob, I immediately call 911. I don’t say on the recorded 911 call: “Well, ah, there are some people, and they’re walking toward me.” I know to articulate fear in a verbal manner. “911, What is your emergency?” “Help! There’s an angry mob trying to hurt me, my pregnant wife, and 10-year-old son. I’m worried we’re going to die.”

In thousands of 911 calls I’ve heard and litigated, I’ve never thought a person expressing intense fear was lying. I’ve seen, many times, people appearing flat and unafraid. It’s hard to claim I was afraid at the time when I don’t sound afraid on the recorded call that will certainly be reviewed by someone else (insurance company and/or prosecutors). Protests are usually localized events. Whatever direction will take us away from trouble is the path I seek. I’d be doing this while on the phone asking for police assistance. While many people have differing views of law enforcement, I’ll say these men and women are here to help. But make no mistake, if they’re busy with other trouble, you’re on your own. So I wouldn’t pull over a block away and wait for the good guys.

I’m responsible for the safety of others. Let’s say I’ve caused damage to the vehicle in front of me by utilizing the push bumper to safely get my wife and son away from danger. I call 911 and report what I did. There’s such a thing as the necessity defense. It’s legally grounded in the “Reasonable Person Standard,” meaning: Would a reasonable person feel the need to push the vehicle in front of him to avoid any angry mob? It’s not whether I feel the danger, subjectively, but rather, would another reasonable person do the same. Wide latitude is given to people who are acting in self-defense. Some people would cause damage, leave, and not want the potential legal headache. I’d run to the law and safely travel that distance to communicate with authorities the fear for my life and my pregnant wife and son, describing damage I created to avoid a potential criminal charge for hit and run.

If the mob gets me, my wife, and son, I know my fate is in their collective hands. I must do everything to avoid that possibility because, at that point, I’m lucky if I or my family isn’t seriously injured or killed. I must utilize all available assets, but I must admit that I’ve done many things wrong if I find myself surrounded by this angry mob. I’ve failed to scan for threats far ahead of my vehicle. I’ve failed to keep a three-car distance from the vehicle ahead of me. I’ve failed to remove myself and family from the threat by using the accelerator. One of my last lines of defense is to plead for law enforcement to come get me. They’ll respond by priority … so maybe my pregnant wife speaks to the 911 operator and explains that while I try to maneuver the vehicle away from danger.

If I must drive on a sidewalk: Well, I say better to be judged by 12 rather than carried by six. I’ll apply all force and fury to protect my family. Remember, legally speaking, a mob is comprised of individuals, and I will be held responsible for any injuries or damage to innocent people who are merely present. I can’t drive blindly through the mob, running people over. You must maneuver away from danger, utilizing the bare minimum damage and injury to others. Let’s say a child is with his mother who’s a protester. The law doesn’t transmit mom’s venom to her innocent child. So, think way ahead, be prepared for all reasonable contingencies, and flee at the first sign of trouble. Discretion is the better part of valor. The first line of defense is to live by that proverb.

SURVIVAL EXPERT: Tim MacWelch’s Approach

Prep

One of the most important things I can recommend before hitting the road is to study a street map long and hard. I don’t care if you’re looking at a map of your hometown, an area you work in, or a vacation destination. Get to know the connections and choke points of the streets, bypasses, and highways through the area. This helps you find alternate routes and avoid congested areas. Once the city streets are familiar, take time to study the map again periodically, and bring the paper map with you in the vehicle. I’m not suggesting that you ignore your phone’s navigation apps or throw your Garmin out the window. On the contrary, use those tools as much as you like. But understand that nothing beats map study to really know the “lay of the land.”

Once I know my routes and alternates, I’ll think about the items that should be stocked our car. All the usual suspects make sense. Carrying food, water, tools, jumper cables, flashlights, first-aid kit, and the personal defenses we train with regularly will leave us prepared for most roadside emergencies. But preparing for a possible encounter with attackers on the road — this is a much more complicated matter. What if we had to defend ourselves against a crowd? If these were Mad Max times, things would be different, but depending on the circumstances, some jurors may frown on the use of your vehicle as a weapon, even if those shouting buffoons became physically aggressive.

Now there are some enhancements you can add to your car to thwart attacks and attempted break-ins. For the average Joe, turning your grocery getter into a fully armored vehicle is cost-prohibitive, and adding certain offensive capabilities may get you in trouble (think anti-carjacking flamethrowers seen in South Africa). Don’t despair, there are a few things most of us can afford that would help to harden a vehicle. Buying puncture-resistant (run-flat) tires may allow you to keep rolling, even though you just got a flat tire in a scary neighborhood. Aftermarket oversized gas tanks can keep you idling in traffic long after the other cars are out of gas. Consider a cell phone booster that could improve your communication options in case cell phone reception is spotty or you’re separated from your family members. Finally, think about mounting a dashboard cam to record any incidents that happen so you have proof that can be shown in court.

We’d do our best to stay informed of protest activity, since information is one of our best defenses. It’s important to know why the protest is happening, as well as the location of the event. Listening to the radio may provide some current local news, but who knows if that information is correct or current. Keep in mind that violence and crowd size are sometimes downplayed by the authorities and the media for various reasons. Check various forms of social media. These can sometimes provide local information; however, it may also be inaccurate. Whatever forms of news you find, use them to assess where the unrest is happening and why. Have a discussion with the family, preparing them for the possibility of running into some angry protesters and explain that your best defense is to get out of their way.

OffGrid_Protest_02_Final.psd

On Site

As a general safety precaution, vehicle doors stay locked and windows stay up when traveling in our car as a family or alone. Many of the newer cars on the road have automatic door locks that engage after driving for a minute or so, but why wait? Lock them as soon as you enter the vehicle. And even when it’s hot, we like to keep the windows up and let the AC do its job. It’ll cool off soon enough.

Once we’re on the road, defensive driving is the name of the game. All drivers should watch the vehicle in front of them, but I go a step beyond and watch both the vehicle in front of me and the vehicle in front of them. This way, I have more time to react. But what about driving in tight streets with lots of company? Your driver’s ed teacher would be proud if you could maintain the “two-car length” spacing between your grille and the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of you, but let’s get real. In city driving, people will cut in front of you constantly when they see that much room. You won’t be going anywhere fast with that much space in front. Keep enough room to give yourself space to make a quick exit if needed.

Once I spot the protestors coming down the street, I’d check the door locks again and get the phone handy in case we had to make an emergency call. Scanning the crowd, I’d try to absorb as much detail as possible to try and predict their behavior. With faces covered, they’re not marching to save the whales. They’re trying to prevent their faces from being photographed. This strongly suggests that they’re planning (or at least hoping) to do plenty of things they shouldn’t.

The Crisis

Look at the stats, and you’ll find that most marches and protests are peaceful. But if they do turn violent, understand that riots are survivable events, assuming you know how to navigate the situation.

Pinned in place by gridlock, our vehicle isn’t going to get us out of the area. Our exodus is will have to be on foot. I know my wife and son will be frightened to exit the imagined safety of the vehicle, but with car windows being smashed — it’s well past the time to go. With multiple people on foot trying to break into or turn over our car, we’ll make a break to the nearest store or business that’ll let us in. It’s not our job to police this crowd, but it is my job as a spouse and parent to protect my loved ones. We’ll do that by getting away. Any provocation coming from my “group” could instigate an onslaught from the others. Just like bees, when one or more of those seen as threats are attacked — the rest may join in because they believe it’s necessary to defend themselves.

Of course, the safest place to be during unrest is far away, but if we were caught in a mob and can’t get to shelter — our best bet may be to blend in. Chant what they chant, and repeat the types of statements you’re hearing the crowd say. Don’t stick up for opposing views or groups. Pride won’t help you. Tell them what they want to hear until you can get the hell out of there.

Conclusion

When a crowd becomes angered, tribal mentality often sets in. Bottles and rocks are thrown, nearby businesses are looted, cars are flipped, and fires are set. Whether it’s after a sporting event with drunken fans pouring into the street or during a politically charged rally, sometimes it’s impossible to predict when a group will suddenly turn into a rioting horde. When it happens, innocent bystanders often perceived as outsiders are treated as potential threats and pulled into the fray. That simple protest may escalate into a full-blown riot. Often the bigger the crowd and more attention they think they’re getting, the lower their inhibitions and collective conscience becomes.

Individually, each protester has logic, beliefs, and reasoning, but as a group, their anger often leads to a criminal mindset. You can’t reason with insanity; the best thing you can do is get out of its way until the tantrum is over, subdued by law enforcement, or just plain exhausted. Whether or not you know if you’ll have to venture into the proximity of an unstable crowd, you should plan your vehicular belongings and alternate travel routes accordingly. The more options you have to escape, the better your chances of surviving the onslaught are.

If you'd like to read more of our articles about hypothetical survival scenarios, pick up a copy of OFFGRID Presents: What If?, on sale now at GunDigestStore.com.

Meet Our Panel

Tim MacWelch

Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for more than 20 years, training people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of three New York Times-bestselling survival books, and the new Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Check out his wide range of hands-on training courses that are open to the public at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.

Jason Squires

Jason Squires is an attorney with over 25 years of defense experience protecting the rights of citizens accused of gun crimes. Squires also represents, advises, and protects members of law enforcement following “deadly force encounters.” He’s an avid firearms enthusiast and when not working, he competes in 3-gun competitions nationwide.

More From Issue 27

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 28

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 26

Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

Issue 27 Gear Up

Written by

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-HAWKE-01.JPG

Make & Model
Hawke Endurance 30 WA SF 4-16×50 .223/.308

Weight
1.23 pounds

MSRP
$480

URL
us.hawkeoptics.com

Notes
After your fridge has gone bare and the supermarkets have run dry, you’ll be left to your own devices when it’s TEOTWAWKI. And hopefully one of those devices will be a powerful scope for hitting big game at long distances. The Endurance 30 gives you a reticle that’s still accurate even if you’ve adjusted to maximum magnification. In this case, the wide-angle, second-focal-plane optic has a 100-yard zero and holdover aim points out to 600 yards, with the distances glass-etched. The Endurance features a 30mm monotube chassis, a 4-inch eye relief, and an 18-layer coated lens. It’s also shockproof, waterproof, and nitrogen purged. While the reticle might be a tad thin for some and it’s made in China, the Endurance 30 is a solid budget option for hunters and survivalists. Comes with lens cloth, lens covers, CR2032 battery, and 4-inch screw-in sunshade.

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-MOUNTAINSMITH-03.JPG

Make & Model
Mountainsmith Sidekick Medium

Dimensions
8.25 by 5.5 by 2.75 inches

MSRP
$28

URL
mountainsmith.com

Notes
We’re calling this the Transformer of fanny packs. The Sidekick Medium can be worn as a traditional lumbar pack or as a cross-body sling bag. Or you can remove its 1.5-inch waist belt and use its hook-and-loop tabs to connect it to MOLLE attachments or various points on your get-out-of-dodge bag, thereby increasing your carry capacity. You could even connect it to the handlebars of your mountain bike or motorcycle. It’s made from 305-denier Cordura HP with a 210-denier nylon embossed liner and YKK zippers. Weighing just 6 ounces, the 1.9-liter Sidekick Medium can hold up to 7 pounds of gear.

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-PYRAMEX-04.JPG

Make & Model
Pyramex Isotope

Lens Color
Amber, Clear, Gray (shown), and Indoor/Outdoor

MSRP
$15

URL
pyramexsafety.com

Notes
If you’re a firearms enthusiast, when someone says “eye protection” you probably envision a pair of shooting glasses. While those would definitely keep your peepers safe from an errant shell casing on a range, it probably won’t do as well against spills or dust during a crisis. Think windstorm or building collapse. That’s where eyewear like the Isotope comes in. In addition to its curved lens, it has a rubber gasket that provides a tight but comfortable fit, while also protecting you from splashes, flying debris, and other particulate matter that could affect your eyesight. The anti-fog, scratch-resistant polycarbonate lens also provides 100-percent protection against UVA and UVB rays.

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-NITEIZE-02.JPG

Make & Model
Nite Ize Figure 9 Carabiner

Length
4.56 inches

MSRP
$11

URL
niteize.com

Notes
Nite Ize continues to impress us with its groundbreaking designs sold at affordable prices. Its patented Figure 9 Carabiner can secure, tighten, and tension ropes without the need for knots — especially useful if you have difficulty untying tight knots or use ropes that lose tension. Just weave the rope through the strategically engineered prongs, pull it tight, then connect the carabiner to an anchor. The Figure 9 can be used for all sorts of functions, from mundane tasks like securing boxes to a hand truck, to survival uses like building a shelter. While it’s not meant for climbing, it can hold a load of up to 150 pounds while weighing only 1.9 ounces itself.

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-KIKKERLAND-01.JPG

Make & Model
Kikkerland Design Huckleberry First Pocket Knife

Dimensions
3.74 by 1.14 by 0.75 inches

MSRP
$15

URL
kikkerland.com

Notes
Let’s be clear: You’re not going to scale Mount McKinley or survive the zombie apocalypse with this multitool. It is not meant for hard use. But as its name implies, the Huckleberry First Pocket Knife is a great gift to bestow your child in an effort to teach him or her the concepts of self-reliance and the responsibilities of owning an important tool. Or you could throw it into one of your underground caches, knowing that you won’t lose any sleep over its $15 price tag if you never need to dig it up. More practically, you could toss it into your kit as a backup to your premium multitool. This Kikkerland model features a 2.25-inch blade, scissors, awl, and beechwood scales.

OFGP-181000-GEARUP-ADIDAS-05.JPG

Make & Model
Adidas Outdoor Terrex Agravic Speed

Materials
Mesh, ripstop, EVA, Continental rubber

MSRP
$120

URL
adidasoutdoor.com

Notes
If you’re gonna flee a disaster, you’ll want bug-out footwear that won’t attract unwanted attention on the sidewalk but also help you haul ass once you hit the backcountry. The recently released Terrex Agravic Speed can do just that. They’re extremely lightweight yet provide tremendous grip and stable footing. The Continental rubber outsole has strategic cutouts to reduce weight and provide traction in mixed trails. The EVA midsole offers long-term cushioning while the mesh and ripstop upper gives you a breathable, sock-like fit for optimal comfort. Available in various colors for men and women.

Gear Up Issue 27 survival prepping 2

Make & Model
Ruffwear Grip Trex

Colors
Black, Blue Spring, Red Currant (shown)

MSRP
$75 (set of four boots)

URL
ruffwear.com

Notes
Dogs were bred to be human’s smartest and most loyal survival tool. The first domesticated canines helped us hunt, kept us warm at night, and guarded us (and later our livestock) against predators. So, it’s only smart to incorporate Lassie into the family’s emergency plan. If your escape route (or daylong hike) takes you through jagged terrain, you’ll want to protect your pup’s paws. That’s why Ruffwear’s Grip Trex have non-marking Vibram outsoles with tough lugs for traction and flexibility. On top the tightly woven breathable mesh lets air in but dirt and debris out. The gusset design allows for a wide opening to make it easier to put on and take off, while the hook-and-loop closure ensures a customized fit. Plus, it has a reflective trim for low-light visibility.

Gear Up Issue 27 survival prepping 1

Make & Model
Sierra Designs Backcountry Bed 700 / 35 Degree

Colors
80 inches (regular), 86 inches (long)

MSRP
$250 regular, $270 long

URL
sierradesigns.com

Notes
Thanks to advancing technology, snoozing under the stars is becoming more and more comfy. The Backcountry Bed is certainly helping to push this envelope. It features a sleeve on the bottom so you can slip a sleeping pad underneath to maintain a bed-like structure. On top, its patent-pending zipperless design features an integrated comforter that can be tucked in to resemble a mummy-style sleeping bag or pushed off when it’s warm like a rectangular bag. There are also insulated hand pockets and a stretch cord closure system to seal out drafts. And at the end is a hands-free foot vent, which lets you slip your toes out. The shell is made of 20-denier polyester ripstop, the liner is 20-denier polyester taffeta, and the insulation is 700-fill-power DriDown.

More From Issue 27

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 28

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 26

Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original version for the web.

 

Primitive Technology: Wood Ash Cement

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Cement is a substance that surrounds us every day in the city and suburbs, and along with asphalt, it forms the basis for most of our urban developments. But have you ever considered how it's made? No, we're not talking about driving to the local hardware store, buying a bag, and adding water. If you needed to make your own cement from scratch, how would you do it?

Primitive technology wood ash cement bushcraft survival 4

In his latest video, the Aussie survival instructor at Primitive Technology shows how to make improvised cement from natural wood ash. He begins by burning dry bark in a clay kiln design he demonstrated in a previous video — you can watch that here. Once the bark was fully combusted and the fire died out, a pile of dry ash was left at the base of the kiln.

Primitive technology wood ash cement bushcraft survival 2

He then carefully mixed this with water, pouring off the excess until desired moisture was achieved. A ball formed from this paste was heated in a fire then dropped into water, and crushed clay was incorporated to reinforce the ash. After setting for three days, a cube made from the wood ash cement proved hard and moisture-resistant.

Primitive technology wood ash cement bushcraft survival 1

Although materials such as wattle and daub and adobe may be able to produce viable long-term structures, this wood ash cement is substantially more advanced. Modern cement's weather-resistance is outstanding, and this improvised variety appears to share this characteristic. Check out the video below to see the entire cement-making process:

Unconventional Weapon: The OSS Stinger Pen Gun

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During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was responsible for coordinating espionage and other secretive missions behind enemy lines. As a result, this organization developed some fascinating weapons and gadgets — often the sort of thing you'd expect to see in a James Bond film. These included covert firearms, explosive devices, and poisons designed to eliminate high-value targets.

OSS Stinger pen gun covert weapon survival self defense tool 1

One weapon developed by the OSS was known as the Stinger, and resembles the size and shape of a pen. In actuality, it was a covert gun that fired a .22 Short cartridge. The OSS Stinger was designed for single use and sealed around the cartridge, so once it had been fired, it was disposed of immediately.

OSS Stinger pen gun covert weapon survival self defense tool 2

Several variants of the Stinger were developed throughout the war, with reinforcements made to the chamber and firing mechanism to reduce the risk of misfires (and damage to the shooter's hand). In the following video, Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons examines three variants of the Stinger pen gun and discusses its history in greater detail:

What If a Dirty Bomb Goes Off in Your City?

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Five seconds. Only five seconds had passed. But it felt like five hours as your mind slowly processed what had happened. The booming sound outside of your home, the rattling of the old single-pane windows, the screaming you heard on the street — all of it let you know that something horrible had struck.

You were just a kid when the Sept. 11 attacks happened, but it had a major impact on your childhood. Maybe today it was happening again.

Terrorism is the new Cold War. Many of us today worry when the next big ISIS or ISIS-inspired attack will occur and in what form it will take. Some of us are so concerned that we’ve taken measures to be prepared for it. But what happens when it’s time to leap from theoretical plans to a state of action? In this edition of What If?, we pose the question: What if a dirty bomb explodes in your hometown?

This would invariably create a cascade of unpredictable events. To explore as many possible outcomes and viewpoints, RECOIL OFFGRID asked three different survival writers whether they would hunker down or hit the road. For this installment, we have Candice Horner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, registered nurse, and competitive shooter with experience in federal law enforcement. Next is Mike Seeklander, a former law enforcement officer who’s also a Marine Corps combat veteran, firearms instructor, and a martial artist.

And for contestant number three, our editor asked me to craft a story as well. I’ve been teaching people how to survive almost everything for the past 20 years, and I’ve written New York Times-bestselling survival manuals.

And now it’s time to find out just how prepared we really are.

The Scenario

SITUATION TYPE
Terrorist attack

YOUR CREW
You (mid 20s) and your 3-month-old baby

LOCATION
Baltimore, Maryland

SEASON
Autumn (October)

WEATHER
Cloudy, 63 degrees F, with slight wind

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The Setup: You’re an electrician in your mid 20s. Recently separated from her deadbeat mom, you now have sole custody of your infant, Ashley. With your babysitter (your mom) on vacation, you also take a two-week vacation to spend some quality time with Ashley in your townhouse in the Federal Hill neighborhood. In the shadow of our nation’s capital, Baltimore can be a rough city — you consider the government dysfunctional, the infrastructure in disrepair, and the crime rate impressively high; but it’s home.

Just as you introduce Ashley to the glory of televised Ravens football, you hear a distant boom followed by some rumbling. Then the texts, tweets, and posts start flooding your smartphone. Something about a building collapse. Next, the commentators stop their pregame show to report there was some sort of explosion at Johns Hopkins University. A big one. Eventually, the network’s breaking news alert interrupts the game: A massive explosion has vaporized the campus’ entire School of Education building on Charles Street and destroyed much of the surrounding residential and business buildings. Terrorist attack? Unless it’s the biggest gas leak accident ever, most likely.

The Complication: As news reports grow scarier by the minute, you realize you can’t go numb. After putting Ashley down to sleep, you start gathering your supplies and gear. That’s when you see the TV and online updates: ISIS has claimed responsibility for the explosion, saying it was a truck bomb laced with radioactive material. They say they struck at “the heart of a blasphemous education system that teaches Americans how to hate Islam.” The phrase “dirty bomb” echoes in your head, stopped only by another ISIS threat: “There will be more.”

The New Plan: You don’t know if there’ll be another attack that’s closer, but you know that the university is only 5 miles away. And if that attack really was a dirty bomb, exposure to radioactive debris could spell bad news — and you’re not willing to do nothing with Ashley in your care. So, do you use your preps, supplies, and survival skills to shelter in place and fortify your townhouse? Or do you grab your baby, climb into your work truck, and hope to get as much distance between you and any possible fallout or follow-up attack?

Former U.S. Marine: Candice Horner’s Approach

In an instant, the city went into a synchronized panic. Screams of terror seemed to come from all directions. Word had quickly spread that ISIS was responsible for the bombing. I didn’t need to look outside to know the city was in chaos.

I love Baltimore, but unfortunately I’ve seen firsthand how quickly a crowd can turn into a violent mob. Because the news reporters were providing conflicting statements, I had to believe no one actually knew the full story. With limited information, but enough to know it was dangerous outside, I decided we were staying put.

I quickly scanned the Internet to get a Cliff’s Notes version of how to survive a dirty bomb attack. Most of what I found advised staying inside if we were already sheltered in a safe place at the time of the attack. I wasn’t sure if we were upwind or not, but I figured I could look into that once I had a clear plan for our “staycation.”

I double-checked to make sure we had enough food, water, baby formula, diapers, and wipes to tide us over for a few days. After scooping up Ashley and her Pack ’n’ Play, we headed down to the basement, which doubles as my man cave.

My man cave has many comforts, but a bathroom is not one of them. A 5-gallon bucket with a lid became my makeshift throne. The small windows in the basement were old and could potentially leave and allow the infiltration of radiologic dust, so I sealed them with duct tape. My paranoia took me a step further by cutting my shower curtain liner slightly larger than each window and completely covering the frame and again sealing it with duct tape. Even though the heat wasn’t running, I shut off the air system and taped the air vents in the basement. If there was dirty bomb dust outside, it was going to have one hell of a time getting into my safe haven.

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Ashley was sound asleep by the time I finished taping the air vents. The sight of her peaceful slumber had a calming effect on me. I sat down, closed my eyes, and focused on the feeling of clean air rushing into my nose and then slowly exhaling out of my mouth. In that moment, all I thought about was the blessing of those breaths.

Then, déjà vu erupted, but from a different direction. ISIS meant what they said, and initial news reports said they annihilated Fort McHenry with another dirty bomb. Not only were we now sandwiched between two dirty bombs, but these bastards also destroyed the birthplace of our national anthem. Fearing things were getting worse by the second, I ran upstairs to get my shotgun and extra 00 buck just in case local punks took advantage of the situation to loot homes and businesses.

On the way back down, I grabbed the air purifier so the basement wouldn’t get stuffy while we waited out this nightmare. The most terrifying aspect of the whole situation was not knowing what to do, or how long we would be in danger. I had the news on TV, the radio on, and the Baltimore Police Department scanner broadcasting via my laptop. Although I loathe social media, Twitter provided the most up-to-date information from eyewitnesses. The hashtag #baltimorebomb was in full effect.

I needed to learn more, but part of me didn’t want to delve deeper only to find my man cave could quickly turn into our coffin. I had to mentally compartmentalize the turn of events so that I could be productive and, if nothing else, attempt to prepare for our doom. I looked up the current wind direction report online. The wind was drifting slowly northeast. This meant the dust from the first bomb wouldn’t come near us, but the fallout from Fort McHenry could hit us.

Because the windows of my house were drafty, I was concerned they’d let radiologic dust in and possibly slip into the basement via the door. I taped up and covered the basement door in the same fashion as the windows. My mother sent me a frantic email that she’d been trying to call. Everyone must have been calling their loved ones in Baltimore, because I couldn’t call her back. Thankfully, the Internet was working, and I was able to give email and Facebook updates to everyone who wanted to make sure sweet Ashley and I hadn’t perished. Being connected while bugging in was reassuring and it ever-so-slightly softened the hard edge of doom surrounding us.

It had only been three hours since the first bomb, and the future possibilities were slowly setting into my mind. I’d do anything to go back to yesterday, as mediocre as it was. The day prior to the bombings was normal; I came home from work and had the usual discontent toward my job, but loved the life I could live thanks to it. The sounds of cars driving down my street and kids laughing on the stoop next door were now replaced with rumbles of a city in distress.

Hopelessness set in, my heart sank, and I closed my eyes. I guess stress had gotten to me so much that I passed out from mental exhaustion. I was startled awake by high-pitched screams coming from the street.

I peeled back the shower liner from the window and saw my elderly neighbor, Ms. Thompson, kneeling on the sidewalk cursing the sky. She looked angered, but equally terrified. I knew she lived alone. I assessed the situation for what seemed like an eternity. I felt like I should help her, but I didn’t want to put Ashley or myself at risk.

Ashley started crying. Luckily she wasn’t old enough to comprehend what was going on — she was just hungry. But I had to go help Ms. Thompson; she was going to scare herself to death. Peeling back the barrier on the door upstairs felt like a knife to my gut. I got over myself and pushed forward with my rescue mission. As soon as Ms. Thompson saw me, the look on her face affirmed my decision to help. She was relieved. Once we got inside, I instructed her to take a shower in the extra bathroom to wash off any possible radioactive material, and to put her clothes in a plastic bag. I gave her a set of Ravens sweats and told her I’d meet her in the basement. Since I had gone outside, I followed my own directions and took a shower in the master bath, albeit without a shower curtain, before returning to the basement.

By nightfall, Ms. Thompson was very sick. She had continuous bouts of vomiting; she was drenched in sweat and became lethargic. The next morning I was able to get a call through to 911, and they said someone would be there as soon as possible. As soon as possible is a relative term, and they were able to take her to the hospital the following night. Once she was in capable hands, I was able to make the most out of my basement retreat with Ashley.

Disaster relief workers took us to a safe area five days later. But, we still weren’t out of the weeds since the effects of the fallout could take weeks to show. Baltimore would never be the same.

Former Law Enforcement Officer: Mike Seeklander’s Approach

I remembered my parents’ reaction when the Twin Towers fell in New York City, the horror on their faces. As a 10-year-old at the time, I had no idea the emotions they felt — until today. Now father of a beautiful girl, I truly understood what it meant to have kin possibly face harm or even death. My gut told me that the explosion was only the beginning, and, if ISIS repeated the pattern that Osama Bin Laden planned 15 years ago, there were certainly other targets.

“Move!” I heard my father’s voice in my head. A former U.S. Marine (there are “no ex-Marines, just Marines”), he would always say action trumps intent every single time. I had to act, and speed was of the essence.

Baltimore was both beautiful and sinister, and I knew from experience that when things went bad, the bad people came out. My lovely city had one of the highest crime rates around, and if food, water, and power started to dry up, all hell would break loose. Not to mention there was a dangerous cloud of potentially radioactive dust headed in who knows what direction. And there was no hope in waiting for the government to step in. I figured they would be suffering from HUA (head up ass) disease for at least several days before reacting properly. Nope. Time to bug out.
And thanks to being raised by a Marine, I knew what to do. When I was a kid, we’d often head out with minimal gear and tell my mother that we’d be back the next morning. While these outings were only a mile or so into the wooded area behind our house, each excursion taught me something new. The one constant? Always make a packing list. I know, it didn’t really sound like such a cool survival lesson. But the way it worked with my old man was that if you forgot something, you lived a night without it. Forgot your bug spray? Live with ticks. Forgot your fire-building kit? Sleep cold.

A packing list was a great tool for gathering the right items quickly, but also something you could tweak depending on your trip. Because I would be jumping into my work truck — a 2011 Toyota Tundra Rock Warrior 4×4 outfitted with the tools of my trade — I had plenty of room to pack the essentials.

My goal wasn’t to grab my baby and live off the land for an extended period of time, but rather get clear of the crime-ridden areas with the potential to succeed in any environment that I ended up in. My destination was one that I lucked upon several years ago while on a project. A longtime customer, a rich dentist named Richard, hired me to do a complete wire job of his family’s old cabin that he inherited. It was on secluded acreage near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. If I helped keep the place up and do any electrical work he needed, I had a key and free access.

The cabin was about 100 miles northwest of Baltimore — well outside of any potential radioactive dust cloud and far north of other potential targets, such as Annapolis and Washington, D.C., but not so far that I couldn’t reach it by truck with my spare fuel cans.

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I opted for my full camping kit plus a few creature comforts for Ashley. This included a small tent, air mattress, sleeping bag, fire-starting kit, solar charger, and my drop box of small supplies — ranging from silverware to a coffee pot. While I had plenty of comfort items at the lodge, I had many miles to cover to get there and had no idea what I might encounter.

Next, I stowed my Smith & Wesson M&P 9C and two spare magazines into a Vertx sling bag then placed my Marlin 336BL lever-action rifle and a .30-30 Winchester with an 18-inch barrel in a secured compartment in the truck bed. After double-checking my list, I headed out. Total packing time: about 25 minutes, getting me out ahead of the mass of panicked fans leaving the football stadium.

Luckily, my job required a lot of driving, so I knew how to navigate through my Federal Hill neighborhood without hitting the major thoroughfares. My goal was to avoid Interstate 95 and 83 altogether and instead use surface streets to eventually get to Maryland Route 26, which would take me northwest to my destination.

All was going well until the 26 neared the Interstate 695. I could see the line of traffic ahead of me. I wasn’t sure if the jam was caused by panicked drivers or it might actually be a roadblock set up by law enforcement.

Based on the radio reports, there were at least two more explosions, and now at least two cells of terrorists were playing hide and seek with local and state police. Several gun battles had erupted, and the city was placing all residents on a lockdown, warning them to stay inside their homes. And while I appreciated what the police were trying to do, there was no way I was getting trapped inside the Baltimore metro area covered with a cloud of potentially radioactive material and relying on the government to save me.

As traffic inched forward, I was able to switch lanes and get out from behind a semi-truck. I could see police lights in the distance; no doubt a road block. Sitting like a frog stuck in mud was not an option. I decided to do something about it.

One thing I had learned from years of camping and off-roading was that there was almost always a way around an obstacle, especially on the East Coast with hundreds of years of old trails and small winding roads. I drove up onto the curb, cutting into the parking lot of a restaurant to double back. I found a set of residential streets that paralleled the roadblock and knew that if I could navigate another half mile west I could probably jump back on a main road and be good to go. A few backtracks later I finally found a decent route and made it back to the 26.

After an intense first hour trying to bug out from the Baltimore area and a smooth 90 minutes after that, we finally rolled up to the Chambersburg property. Exhausted, I took Ashley out of her car seat and put her in a baby carrier on my chest. As I was about to grab the baby bug-out bag I had packed, a silhouette stepped out from behind a bush. Instinctively, I grabbed the M&P handgun from my sling bag and kept it in the low ready position as I turned.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief to find it was Richard, the dentist and cabin owner.

“Thank God you made it,” he said, stepping forward like he just saw a ghost. He was at the cabin with his family for a weekend trip and had heard the news about the attacks. I discreetly put the gun away, opened the truck door, and gave him an embrace. I had never been so happy to see a dentist before.

Survival Expert: Tim Macwelch's Approach

Leave or stay? The debate raged in my mind. Every instinct urged me to flee, but I knew how bad traffic was in Baltimore at rush hour. And a panicked exodus out of the city would be worse than any rush hour imaginable. The friendly flat screen TV that was about to show my favorite football team was spewing forth information that I just didn’t want to hear. ISIS was threatening more attacks in my area, and the emergency broadcast system was instructing people to “shelter in place.”

I didn’t want my little girl to breathe radioactive dust. I just wanted to get out of town. But I knew the traffic could turn into gridlock in a heartbeat and just one automobile accident could leave thousands of people trapped in their cars — with no shelter from the tainted air. Despite the fact that every fiber of my body wanted to put my sleeping baby in my work truck and drive away, I knew I had to stay put. It was the only logical choice, and after several minutes, I finally came to grips with it.

But how could I make sure the air in our poorly insulated townhouse was safe to breathe? I didn’t have duct tape and tarps to keep the dust from creeping in, and I wasn’t even sure which way the wind was blowing that day. Did I have time to seal off all the windows in one room, or would the wind blow all of the dust out over the water and away from our home? I just didn’t know.

I had to find out if we were in harm’s way. Pulling out my phone and searching for weather maps with wind direction and speed, I found a weather webpage from a local news station. Thank God, I thought — the wind wasn’t blowing from the university toward my house. But it was blowing between my home and the school.

Then the situation finally hit me. The bombing site was a busy university. All those people, dead or dying. I felt as if I’d throw up, but I knew I had to control my emotions.

The wind wasn’t blowing the dust in my direction at that time, but that could change with a moment’s notice. I had to seal up my daughter’s room, but I didn’t have the duct tape and plastic sheeting recommended for shelter-in-place situations. I did have plenty of electrical tape in my work truck. I quickly ran out to the vehicle, astonished by all the people in the street. They were watching the smoke cloud rise into the sky and drift to the south. “You should all stay inside!” I yelled to a few of my neighbors. They looked at me questioningly, as if they didn’t understand what I said. But I didn’t have time to stop and explain the situation.

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I unlocked the truck, grabbed a cardboard box of black electrical tape, and headed back inside. I had 15 tape rolls, and I wasn’t afraid to use them. I locked the front door and taped the door cracks behind me. Then, I headed to Ashley’s room and taped the cracks around the window sashes. I taped the electrical outlets and light switch, as well as the HVAC duct in the floor.

After doing all that, I went over everything again with more tape, making wider seals. I hurried to the kitchen, and filling up a grocery bag with clean bottles, nipples, and pacifiers. Then, grabbing a can of formula and a jug of distilled water, I stashed all these things in my baby’s room. Finally, I grabbed my get-out-of-Dodge bag and all the drinks from the fridge and headed to the baby’s room. I looked at the weather on my phone again, hoping that the wind hadn’t shifted my way — thankfully it hadn’t. I cracked open a beer as quietly as I could to avoid waking Ashley and took a long swig of the cold brew. But just as I started to feel like I had everything under control, all hell broke loose.

A second explosion rocked the city of Baltimore, much closer to my home this time. The old windows in the baby’s room rattled and one of the panes cracked.

Ashley awoke from her nap, screaming. This was the ISIS threat made real. And much closer to home. I rushed to tape the crack in the window pane and check all of the tape strips for a good seal.
Through the one window of my child’s room, I saw a hazy smoke begin to pass by the window. The dread built as I realized that I was smelling smoke. This meant that the outside air was still getting in. I’d worked in these houses for years as an electrician, and I knew just how shoddy the construction was, but now these half-assed homes were a real threat. I checked all the tape again with my right hand, holding and bouncing the baby in the crook of my left arm to calm her. I could still smell the smoke and dust, but all the tape was tight. How was I going to keep the dirty air out? I stressed. If only I had a way to pressurize the room.

Then it hit me — my uncle’s carpentry tools! When the housing bubble burst on the East Coast, a lot of small construction companies went out of business. My uncle was among them, and he asked me to store a few of his power tools, including an air compressor. I pulled open the bedroom door, breaking the tape seal, and ran to the basement. The air seemed musty, but much cleaner down there, and I plugged in the compressor unit. The loud motor kicked on and soon the large tank was full of air.

Rushing back upstairs, I re-taped the door and put a small nick in the hose with the tip of my pocketknife. The air hissed out very slowly, and as I held my daughter, I aimed the leaking air toward our faces. After a few minutes of this, the smoke smell didn’t seem so noticeable. “This might be working, baby” I said to my little one. Maybe the air pressure in the room was higher than that outside the room, and it would keep the dust and smoke at bay.

The air had cleared outside of the window, and it seemed that an autumn breeze had picked up. Maybe we might just make it, I thought. Maybe.

Conclusion

There’s nothing that isn’t alarming about a dirty bomb, but it isn’t quite as dangerous as it sounds. Of course, anyone in the blast radius of any bomb is at great risk for traumatic injury or death, but what terrorists would be banking on with a dirty bomb is a greater panic due to the inclusion of a scary substance, namely something radioactive.

Sure, radiation is bad and enough of it can kill you, but a dirty bomb is hardly a nuclear warhead. Avoid the dust, stay indoors, let the prevailing winds disperse the dust and smoke, and — above all — don’t panic. It’s likely that you’d get more radiation in a dentist’s office than in a city that’s been dirty bombed, and when we panic, the bad guys get the exact reaction that they want. (For more, see our article on Dirty Bombs).

Meet Our Panel

Tim MacWelch

Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for more than 20 years, training people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, DOD, and DOJ personnel. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of three New York Times-bestselling survival books, and the new Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Check out his wide range of hands-on training courses that are open to the public at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.

Candice Horner

Candice Horner has the heart of a prepper, but the traveling schedule of a gypsy. Ever resourceful, this U.S. Marine Corps veteran and emergency room/prison nurse has a honed and refined skillset, focusing on adaptability and utilizing the tools on-hand. As a competitive shooter, Horner is often on the road, so she’s usually rolling with a go-bag, a survivalist mentality, and enough firepower to have your back in a SHTF scenario. www.recoilweb.com / www.candi323.com

Mike Seeklander

Mike Seeklander is the owner of Shooting-Performance LLC, a full-service training company and co-hosts The Best Defense, the Outdoor Channel’s leading firearm instructional TV show. In addition to being a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran, a former law enforcement officer, and a competitive shooting champion, he’s an accomplished martial-arts instructor and holds multiple ranks. Learn more about him at: www.shooting-performance.com

More From Issue 16

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Read articles from the next issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 17

Read articles from the previous issue of Recoil Offgrid: Issue 15

Check out our other publications on the web: Recoil | Gun Digest | Blade | RecoilTV | RECOILtv (YouTube)

Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original print version for the web.

Can You Survive After a Nuclear War?

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If you’re reading this, you must have survived. Soon you’ll realize that those who didn’t survive were the lucky ones, obliterated in an instant flash of light or shattered to bits by a tremendous shockwave rippling outward from the epicenter of a thermonuclear detonation.

Who knows what the rest of the country looks like, and you’ll have no way of finding out.

OK, so the above situation is more hypothetical than historical. But with current events making people wonder if we’ve regressed to the 1960s, we take a look at that time period’s worst fear: nuclear winter. Is it possible to survive after a nuclear war? What would your world look like if you did? And what sort of preps can you make now?

What better way to be prepared for the future than to research the past. After all, George Santayana warned us that, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

The Atomic Age

The Atomic Age began with a bang in 1945. Although the United States hoped to have a monopoly on its newest technological terror, stolen secrets spread around the globe. The USA tested its first nuclear bomb in July 1945, and the Soviets followed with its own tests four years later. The U.K., France, and China joined the Atomic Age by the early 1960s.

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968 and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996 curbed some countries from developing nukes, but spurred others — India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iran, Syria, and Israel — to pursue nuclear programs. Stockpiles of nuclear weapons, which today are at an all-time low, hit a high-water mark during the Cold War with 70,000 warheads and a variety of delivery systems.

According to data from the New START Treaty of 2015, together the USA and Russia currently deploy 3,179 strategic warheads on 1,300 bombers and missiles — far more than is needed to completely annihilate the globe.

Dr. Ira Helfand, chair of the security committee and co-president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, writes: “If only 300 warheads in the Russian arsenal got through to targets in American cities, 75 million to 100 million people would be killed in the first 30 minutes.”

Cloudy With a Chance of Radiation

In 1983, a group of scientists wrote that an all-out nuclear war would easily doom humankind, and in doing so they coined the phrase “nuclear winter.” What would follow, they suggested, would be a winter so severe that the living might well envy the dead. Beneath the sun-blocking dome of dust, surface temperatures would plummet, conceivably by as much as 60 degrees F. Plant and animal life would die, and crops would wither. With only a 10-percent drop in worldwide crops, famine would spread across the globe.

Alan Robock, a professor at Rutgers University and the country’s foremost authority on the aftermath of a nuclear confrontation, says, “There are now nine nuclear-weapons states. Use of a fraction (only 1 percent or 50 Hiroshima-size bombs) of the global nuclear arsenal by anyone still presents the largest potential environmental danger to the planet by humans.”

There’s no need to detonate 50 warheads to understand what happens when millions of tons of dust are hurtled into the atmosphere. One must merely look to history, specifically at the 1815 volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia.

Lord Byron wrote in his 1816 poem, Darkness, about an “icy earth” and “the sun being extinguished” based on his observations while on the other side of the globe in Switzerland. Thomas Robbins, a reverend in Ohio, wrote in his diary about the “year without a summer,” remarking on June 9, 1816: “The cold and wind still continue. The last three days have been extraordinary. It is said that there was snow at the northward last Thursday.” On August 22, there was frost on the ground.

Imagine this on a scale 100 times larger, due to the black soot particles thrown into the atmosphere from a nuclear event.

Dr. Luke Oman, a physical scientist at Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory at NASA, explains, “Whereas sulfate particles from a volcano might warm the air of the upper atmosphere by a couple degrees, black carbon absorbs heat from the sun and can lead to much more atmospheric warming. Black carbon particles are smaller than sulfate particles and can be lofted much higher by solar heating, where their influence on climate can last up to a decade.”

Can You Survive This?

Well, the short answer is probably not. If in a full-scale nuclear war between superpowers you’re located anywhere near a largely populated city or a military installation of any kind, you’re at ground zero. The blasts will probably kill you.

“One of these false beliefs is that nuclear war would be such a terrible catastrophe that it is an unthinkable impossibility,” says Cresson H. Kearny, who wrote Nuclear War Survival Skills. “If these were true, there would be no logical reason to worry about nuclear war or to make preparations to survive a nuclear attack.”

However, the long answer is that anything is survivable if you’re very prepared … but most of the world is not prepared.

Dr. Helfand explains: “The entire economic infrastructure, on which we depend to sustain our population, would be destroyed. The transportation system, the communications network, the public health and banking systems, the food distribution network — all would be gone.”

Provided you survived the initial attack, there are other dangers to follow (before the advent of nuclear winter). Radiation from fallout (if it’s a surface blast) will return to the earth within a few days unless it’s carried aloft by winds in the upper atmosphere. This not only leads to nuclear winter, but also contributes to radiated fallout to be spread farther away.

The area just outside the blast and shockwave radii is in danger of fires and building collapses. Fires will spread rapidly due to broken gas lines, damaged structures, etc.

Not a danger, but certainly a hindrance to your gear, is the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that can be emitted during a nuclear detonation. This EMP could potentially damage sensitive electrical equipment for hundreds of miles around the blast.

Plan for Disaster

One would want to plan for such a terrible situation for the same reason one would plan for any disaster: to survive. Therefore, the strategy is no different — plan ahead.

In 1983, Carl Sagan and his peers predicted the conditions you may face: “For many simulated exchanges of several thousand megatons, in which dust and smoke are generated and encircle the Earth within one to two weeks, average light levels can be reduced to a few percent of ambient, and land temperatures can reach -15 to -25 degrees C.” According to their estimations, there will be a 75-percent drop in rainfall worldwide and a 90-percent drop in visibility in the highly affected areas.

Today, scientists continue to debate the level of severity predicted by Sagan’s initial theory — some say this nuclear winter would be more like a nuclear autumn. However, most researchers agree that even a small-scale nuclear exchange would eventually have a dramatic affect on the global climate.

Keep on hand appropriate winter clothing and emergency sources of heat, such as gas-fueled heaters and stoves with a surplus of firewood. Wear clothing in layers; consider materials like wool that not only wick away sweat, but still insulate when wet.

Winterize your home or shelter with the best methods possible. Upgrade the insulation factor in your attic and basement, while making sure your windows and doors seal properly. Keep in your cache of gear a few cans of insulation foam/sealant in case drafts are discovered. Not only will this keep out the cold, but it could also keep out any extra radiation (though your house isn’t a good barrier from radiation to begin with).

And though it might be perpetually cloudy, you’d still want to lather on sunscreen. The ozone would be effected, greatly increasing levels of ultraviolet radiation from the sun (even in the shade of high-atmosphere dust clouds). UV light can cause serious damage to your skin and corneas, leading to blindness and cancer.

Pack UV-protected sunglasses or goggles, limit your time outdoors, and consider a wide-brim hat and/or a hooded jacket.

Food

Starvation will be the real killer. Though it might seem impractical to keep a year’s supply or more of non-perishable food on hand for each person, it’s not impossible. There are many companies selling 365 days’ worth of meals that offer variety, nutrition, and ease of preparation.

If you have to live off of the land, root vegetables (like carrots, potatoes, and radishes) are the safest because they’re protected by the earth. Animals can be harvested and eaten, but leave about 1⁄8 inch of meat on the bone because radiation builds up in the skeletal system. Avoid fish and birds completely, though depending on the severity of the nuclear winter, both might end up in short supply.

Always available will be insects, as they’re likely to survive any level of nuclear attack. Crickets, grasshoppers, and many beetles have a great deal of protein, essential minerals, and vitamins.

Growing vegetables in low light (obstructed sun) can be difficult, but not impossible. Leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and cabbage don’t require a great deal of light (equal to about two hours of sunlight a day). Getting creative with light-colored walls, reflective mulch (or tinfoil around each plant), and even mirrors can increase the amount of light in your garden. Barring that, consider a hydroponic system in your basement or shelter (if it’s large enough); you can grow as much (and as many varieties of) food as you need without the worry of the lack of sun or contaminant-free soil.

Water

For most urban-dwellers, clean water will be the biggest challenge. For example, storing 1 gallon of water for four people (for example) per day for one year equates to 27 55-gallon drums of water — impractical to store in most people’s homes. Having a deep-drilled well on your property and a mechanical way of retrieving it is your best bet to get safe water for a long-term scenario. Besides that, safe water can be found in underground springs (in caves), water stored in underground tanks or pipes, snow taken 5 or more feet from the surface, and water from fast-flowing rivers.

If you have to get water from outside surface sources, such as rivers, lakes, and even swimming pools, it’ll need to be filtered to remove not only the normal contaminants found in water (viruses, bacteria, etc.), but any potential radioactive material as well. An anti-radiation “total radioisotope aqua purifier” (TRAP) filter can remove radioactive particles from potential drinking water. Without this filter, distilling and reverse osmosis methods are both good at removing the contaminants.

Protect Your Family

With even a limited nuclear battle, the government will either be destroyed or too busy dealing with the threat to concern itself with your well-being. Expect social breakdown in the months to come, especially when nuclear winter dries up all the usual sources of food and water. Protect not only your family, but your resources as well.

Don’t advertise that you have these preps, and like the 1950s fallout shelter advertisements suggested, don’t tell all your friends you’ve got a fully stocked hideout.

You’ve prepared for a reason. In the event of nuclear winter, up to 1 billion lives will be lost. Don’t be one of them. Instead, take a few steps to ensure you have the knowledge, supplies, and foresight to protect yourself and your loved ones. The future of civilization might be in your hands.

Exploding Nuclear Myths

Myth #1: The fallout would stay around for years and kill everyone.

False: The danger of radioactive fallout lessens with time. According to FEMA, the 7:10 Rule of Thumb states that for every seven-fold increase in time after detonation, there is a 10-fold decrease in the exposure rate. For example, two hours after detonation, the exposure rate would be 400 Roentgen/hour. After 14 hours, the exposure rate would be 1/10 as much, or 40 Roentgen/hour. For more on radiation sickness, see “Invisible Death” in Issue 16.

Myth #2: All of the food in a fallout area would be poisoned and inedible.

Mostly False: Food and water in dust-tight containers will be completely free of radiation particles. Peeling fruits and vegetables and removing the top several inches of stored grain will eliminate most of the radiated material. Tiny doses may still prevail.

Myth #3: Most unborn children would be genetically damaged from parents exposed to radiation.

False: Published in 1977, A Thirty Year Study of the Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki concluded that incidences of genetic abnormalities were no higher among children born from exposed parents as they were among children born from unexposed parents.

Myth #4: A full-scale nuclear war would completely destroy mankind.

False: Though many military facilities are within cities and surrounded by populations, much of the world is populated by people who have no military value whatsoever and are not on the list of targets from either side. Life will go on, just maybe not in your region.

Suit Up?

By John Schwartze

The first prep that pops to mind when people say “surviving a nuclear holocaust” is a hazardous materials (hazmat) suit. As with any gear, having it and knowing how to use it are two different things. Hazmat suits are broken into several categories.

Level A: Fully encapsulating, vapor and chemical protective suit. Typically worn with SCBA-type (self-contained breathing apparatus) units with closed-loop, rebreather systems where air is scrubbed and recirculated. Used when working with substances that can be absorbed by or are hazardous to skin.

Level B: Non-gas-tight encapsulating suits. Mainly for splash protection; not ideal for radiation environments. Used mainly with open-loop SCBA or SAR (supplied air respirators) where air comes from a compressed cylinder and exhaled air is released to the atmosphere. Worn if substances cannot be absorbed by or are not hazardous to skin.

Level C: Similar material/protection level as B, but can be worn with respirators that filter outside air. Used when environmental contaminants will not harm or be absorbed by exposed skin.

Level D: No chemical exposure protection. Worn if atmosphere contains no known hazard and if work precludes splashes, immersion, or potential for unexpected inhalation with hazardous chemical levels. Worn mainly by hospital/medical personnel.

While these suits are available for public purchase, they do pose certain risks. For instance, Level A suits, which offer the best protection against nuclear/radiation threats, pose potential fatigue and overheating concerns. Someone wearing such a suit would need to be in good shape with no respiratory problems. There’s also a specific process to don and doff them safely to prevent contamination.

Level A suits are reserved for hazmat specialists in the first-responder industry and typically require at least 200 hours of training. These suits can cost thousands of dollars, so before buying anything, do your research to see if they offer the protection level you desire. Proceed with caution, though. For the same reason scuba divers get certified, training is imperative and people can die without it. Manufacturers may also limit their access due to potent liability. For other protective measures against radiation exposure, see our previous article on Dirty Bombs.

Rad Gear, Dude

OFGP-161000-NUKE-SB2-02.jpg

Heavy Metal Filter
MSRP: $30
www.NukePills.com
The Seychelle filtration system included on this 28-ounce BPA-free water bottle removes up to 99.99 percent of toxic chemicals, contaminants, and pollutants found in fresh water, including Radon 222, DDT, arsenic, asbestos, detergents, aluminum, and other heavy metals. The filter can decontaminate up to 100 gallons of water before needing to be replaced.

Nuclear war atomic bomb mushroom cloud radiation survival shtf disaster prepping 5

Watch Your Radiation
MSRP: $1,500
www.SpecialOpsWatch.com
The MTM RAD is a line of tactical watches that includes integrated Geiger-Müller tubes, measuring single-dose gamma ray levels, as well as cumulative exposure. The ultrasensitive detector tracks dose equivalents (a measure of tissue damage caused by radiation) from 0.0001 to 9,999 millisieverts, and the dose equivalent rate up to 4,000 microsieverts per hour. Users can set their minimum radiation threshold, and an alarm will sound when this level has been reached.

OFGP-161000-NUKE-SB2-06.jpg

Take Shelter
MSRP: $50,000 (one space in Indiana)
www.TerraVivos.com
The Vivos Group offers a series of pre-built shelters around the world with locations in Indiana and in Europe, as well as a line of custom-built shelters for personal use. The Quantum Shelter package comes completely furnished, includes a primary and emergency exit, water and septic tanks, and backup systems. Shown is a proposed plan for the Vivos Trine, a scalable bunker for 200 people.

More From Issue 16

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Editor's Note: This article has been modified from its original print version for the web.

Petya: The World’s Most Devastating Cyber-Attack

Written by

Imagine the first volley of an all-out war between world superpowers. What images come to mind? If you grew up during the Cold War,  you'll probably think of ICBMs loaded with nuclear warheads detonating in major cities, wiping out millions of lives in the blink of an eye. Or perhaps you see guerrilla-style attacks with conventional explosives, dirty bombs, or even chemical or biological weapons as a greater possibility. While the prospect of any of these incidents is horrifying, there's an increasing probability that a modern-day war between superpowers would begin with an entirely different kind of attack — a cyber-attack.

No, we're not talking about the rise of the machines.

Unlike fictional Hollywood portrayals, a cyber-war is a real possibility in the near future.

Before you roll your eyes and write off cyber-war as the sort of thing that only happens in science-fiction movies, consider some recent historical evidence — specifically, the devastating spread of ransomware known as Petya.  This malware (i.e. malicious software), and its subsequent variant NotPetya, wiped out computers and computer-controlled systems around the world in 2016 and 2017. A statement from the Press Secretary of the United States called this “the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history… causing billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.”

By studying and analyzing the Petya and NotPetya malware, we can glean a better understanding of the very real possibility of a state-sponsored cyber-war between nations. Although these may have been the first cyber-attacks of this scale and severity, our ever-increasing dependence on technology ensures they won't be the last.

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A screenshot of the warning screen generated after a computer was infected with Petya.

The Origin of Petya

In Spring 2016, security researchers discovered a new piece of malware that began spreading to businesses through emails that posed as job applications. Each email reportedly contained a short message with a fake  applicant's photo and a link to a file that appeared to be a PDF document. If the email recipient downloaded and opened the file, the malware would be installed and the computer would crash immediately with a blue screen.

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Once the the computer was rebooted, a message would appear stating that the computer's file system was being repaired. This closely resembles an actual Check Disk message generated by Windows in the event of a system error, so many users assumed it was not out of the ordinary. However, the process actually encrypts all documents and files on the infected computer.

Petya ransomware cyberattack war technology computers terrorism survival prepping 2

Once the process completed, a message would appear stating that the computer had been infected by Petya (a reference to one of the Soviet weapon satellites in the James Bond movie GoldenEye) and that all data would be permanently lost unless a Bitcoin payment was sent to those responsible for the attack — hence the name ransomware.

The attackers promised to provide a decryption key that would unlock the computer after the payment equivalent to roughly $900 was received, but the encryption was generally irreversible through other means. In other words, any computer affected by Petya was instantly unusable and all data on it was locked. For most users, the only option was to wipe the hard drive, permanently erasing all the files on the computer.

The following video shows how a 2016 version of Petya functions:

As ransomware, these early versions of Petya were tools for monetary gain, holding computers hostage in the hope that panicked users would give in to attackers' demands. But Petya hadn't made major headlines yet. This was only the beginning.

NotPetya – The Malware Evolves

On June 27th, 2017, a new cyber-attack began. It was based heavily on the earlier versions of Petya, and used a similar mechanism of encrypting files after a computer was rebooted. However, according to a statement by Microsoft, this variant was “more sophisticated”. Security researchers would eventually name it NotPetya.

The NotPetya

The NotPetya “ransom” screen featured different instructions and a lower demand of $300.

The first cases of NotPetya infection have been traced back to MEDoc, a Ukrainian tax and accounting software company. Later investigation would show that hackers stole an employee's login credentials and added code to MEDoc, causing its update process to distribute NotPetya and start the infection.

Unfortunately, computers with MEDoc software were not the only victims — this was only the first wave of the cyber-attack.

An especially insidious new characteristic of NotPetya was its ability to spread through networks via a security vulnerability in Windows. After a computer was infected, the program would automatically search for all other accessible computers on the local network and install itself on them. This meant that the malware could spread from one computer to infect every PC in an entire company.

Unlike the original Petya, researchers have concluded that NotPetya's goal was not monetary. In fact, Symantec concluded that the randomly-generated installation key has no relationship to the disk encryption and “the disk can never be decrypted”. Rather than considering NotPetya ransomware, Symantec calls it a “wiper” — malware designed to irreversibly destroy files and disable computers. This was no longer simple extortion, it was a weapon.

Evidence of Targeting

MEDoc, the initial vector for the attack, is a Ukrainian company whose software is widely-used in that country. According to Reuters, “M.E.Doc is used by 80 percent of Ukrainian companies and installed on about 1 million computers in the country.” This made it an ideal means of distributing the malware within the country.

The following graphic from Symantec shows a comparison of the number of organizations affected by NotPetya in 20 countries:

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In addition to the initiation of the NotPetya attack in Ukraine and the disproportionate number of Ukrainian computers affected by the malware, even the date of the attack bears some significance. June 28th is Ukraine's Constitution Day, a day which celebrates the country's independence. This would be comparable to a major attack on the United States occurring on the afternoon of July 3rd.

Given this information, security researchers soon concluded that Ukraine was the primary target of the NotPetya attack, and that its spread to other countries could be considered either diversion or simple collateral damage. Craig Williams, senior technical leader for Cisco’s Talos intelligence unit told Reuters, “This wasn’t made for any other purpose but to destabilize businesses in the Ukraine.”

Possible State Sponsorship

Flickr.com/larrywkoester

Flickr.com/larrywkoester

Considering the long-running conflict between Russia and Ukraine, analysts began to speculate that the attack may have originated in Russia, and shortly after the attack, Ukrainian officials made statements accusing this connection. Anton Gerashenko, a member of Ukrainian Parliament, called it “just one part of the hybrid war of the Russian empire against Ukraine.”

Official statements from the White House and the UK Foreign Office also blamed Russia for the attack — the former said it was “part of the Kremlin’s ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine” and “a reckless and indiscriminate cyber-attack that will be met with international consequences.” A Kremlin spokesman responded by denying responsibility for these attacks and calling these accusations “Russophobic”.

Ironically, the EternalBlue security vulnerability that made NotPetya's spread through networks possible was initially developed by the U.S. National Security Administration (NSA). Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, clearly stated that the vulnerability was “stolen from the NSA” before being leaked to the public and eventually being utilized by the criminals behind this and other ransomware attacks. He also wrote that there is “a completely unintended but disconcerting link between the two most serious forms of cybersecurity threats in the world today – nation-state action and organized criminal action.”

Conclusions

Flickr.com/jeroenbennink

Regardless of the origin of NotPetya, it is clear that this malware was intended to cause catastrophic damage on a national (and potentially international) scale. It succeeded in this aim.

Within the Ukraine, computers at numerous government agencies, hospitals, banks, transit systems, utility providers, and even the radiation monitoring system at Chernobyl suddenly went offline. Outside the Ukraine, numerous multinational organizations were also affected. DLA Piper — one of the world's largest law firms with 3,600 lawyers across 40 countries — instantly went into lockdown mode and lost millions of dollars as a result of NotPetya. Other multi-national organizations affected by NotPetya include Danish shipping company Maersk, German shipping company DHL, U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck, French construction company Saint-Gobain, and India's largest shipping port JNPT.

Ambulance hospital medical trauma first responder accident

Computers are intertwined with every facet of our society, from banking to medical care.

While the widespread use of computers and technology has certainly made our lives easier, it has also left us vulnerable to cyber-attacks that can cause sudden disruptions in the availability of resources we rely on. Cyber-attacks such as Petya can interfere with our personal PCs, but more sophisticated variants such as NotPetya have proven themselves capable of shutting down financial institutions, electrical infrastructure, shipping and manufacturing of consumer goods, medical treatment, and other essential services. Without these, our polite society would quickly descend into chaos.

A cyber-war started by a rogue terrorist group or criminal organization is a substantial threat, but one sponsored by national funding could be truly devastating, even if you're not over-reliant on personal electronics. Fortunately, if you're prepared for a large-scale emergency situation, the cause — whether it's a natural disaster, conventional attack, cyber-attack, or Terminator-esque sentient cyborg uprising — will be irrelevant.