OFFGRID Live: Experts Discuss Plate Carriers & Chest Rigs

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Plate carriers and chest rigs are a topic that's frequently discussed on the internet, and it's not hard to see why. Everyone has their own gear preferences and needs, whether it's for sustained combat in a warzone or occasional trips to the shooting range. Regardless, these load-bearing rigs offer a means of carrying spare magazines, medical gear, survival tools, communications equipment, and (in the case of plate carriers) hard armor plates on your torso. As with any survival topic, it's wise to listen to the opinions of those who have had the most real-world experience, and take their thoughts into consideration. This was the impetus behind our latest OFFGRID Live video webinar.

The one-hour webinar, which was held yesterday afternoon, consisted of four subject-matter experts (SMEs) who have worked with OFFGRID and RECOIL in the past:

  • Dan Brokos – Owner/Instructor for Lead Faucet Tactical, 20+ years US Army Special Forces
  • Gabriel Bryant – Owner/Instructor Blue Green Alliance, active duty USMC Reconnaissance and CQT Instructor
  • Ed Calderon – Ed’s Manifesto, 10+ years counter-narcotics law enforcement and protective specialist
  • Aaron Cowan – Owner/Instructor for Sage Dynamics, former US Army, Federal LEO and Security Contractor

As with our previous OFFGRID Live episode, head editor Tom Marshall led the discussion while RECOIL staff member Dave Merrill watched the comments for questions from the audience. Pivotal topics included what to look for when purchasing plate carriers or chest rigs, and how to set them up to best serve your needs. Check out the full webinar on RECOILtv, and stay tuned for more OFFGRID Live streams in the future.

Dead Drops: Cold War Spycraft for Secure Communications

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Photos by Niccole Elizabeth

In the post-Sept. 11 era of the U.S. PATRIOT Act, the level of scrutiny given to electronic communication, by both government and criminals alike, is so intense as to be the butt of cocktail party jokes. The slew of memes, comedy sketches, and sarcastic eye-rolls has all but completely normalized the idea that our various electronic communications are under constant surveillance by one agency or another. (If our NSA handler reads this, we promise all those countersurveillance-related Google searches were for research purposes only.) But when sensitive information is at stake, the jokes get old in a hurry.

So how can we counter the various armies of hackers, code-crackers, and digital pirates looking to get their electronic eyes on our data? One way is by looking toward the growing market for IT security. Dozens of new products and services are popping up around the web to help protect your privacy. Everything from antivirus software to professional penetration testers can help you lock down your digital footprint. But there’s another alternative: Take your sensitive messages completely offline and find another way to transmit them. This could be as innocuous as sticking a letter in the mail. Or you could employ a slightly more creative solution, such as the dead drop.

The dead drop has its roots in “The Great Game” played by the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While Hollywood spy movies regale us with tales of exploding pens, exotic locales, and seductive double-agents, true intelligence tradecraft is often much more mundane. Dead drops are a perfect example of this. Simple, unexciting, but ruggedly effective, dead dropping can be a great tool to communicate in a more discreet manner.

Though initially intended to pass state secrets between agents, there are some less-sensational scenarios where a dead drop could be set up and employed effectively, without nefarious intent. If you find yourself in a less-developed part of the world where digital service coverage is spotty and postal service is either unreliable or non-existent, a prearranged dead drop with a local contact could be a long-standing method to get messages back and forth without risking interception by criminal elements or corrupt local government. If there’s a local or regional disruption to daily life, like a large-scale power outage or natural disaster that short-circuits normal lines of communication, you could employ a dead drop to get messages to your neighbors or loved ones. Or you could have a standing dead drop as a contingency component of an overall family communication plan, whereby everyone in the family knows the drop location as well as the signpost and marking method (we’ll discuss all this in a minute) and if any member of the family sees the appropriate signal, they check the drop.

Regardless of what you use them for, dead drops require a little bit of advanced planning and careful consideration.

The Plan

In intelligence parlance, when two people meet in person to exchange information or materiel face-to-face, this is known as a live drop. In spy movies, a live drop usually looks something like this: Agent #1 sits down at a café table, placing his briefcase on the floor under the table. Minutes later, Agent #2 sits down across the table. After a cup of coffee and some mindless chit-chat about the weather, Agent #2 picks up the briefcase and both men walk away.

A signpost should be discreet, quickly removable, and innocuous to the uninformed passerby.

In contrast, a dead drop is when the two agents never actually come into direct contact to transmit information. The parties involved must set two things ahead of time: the drop point and the signpost. The drop point, obviously, is where the message or information would be left for the other party to pick up. Drop points must be selected with due consideration to the circumstances. If you have to go to a specific location at a specific time, you’d best be able to justify your presence there on the off-chance someone questions you about it.

Famed Cold War defector Aldrich Ames used chalk marks on a public mailbox, similar to what's pictured here.

A signpost would be at a different location from the drop point, where a signal can be left to indicate that there is, in fact, a message waiting at the drop. A well-known example of signposting comes from the case of Aldrich Ames, a CIA officer who volunteered himself to the KGB as a double agent in 1985. He subsequently spent nearly a decade feeding the Soviet government detailed information about our intelligence operations against them. While working for the CIA in Washington DC, Ames would use chalk to make small, nondescript marks on a particular mailbox in Northwestern DC. Russian agents would observe this mailbox at regular intervals. Whenever they saw chalk marks on the side, they would send someone to the drop point to retrieve whatever materials Ames had left for them.

If chalk scribbles on a mailbox don’t suit your fancy, the signpost could be a ribbon tied around a specific tree in your yard. Or a piece of chewing gum stuck to the windshield of the recipient’s car. The possibilities are endless, as long as you and your partner agree upon exactly what the signpost signal is and where it should be placed.

A small square of tape left in the bottom of an obscured window can also work. This lets the recipient know that...

Alternately, you could forgo the use of a signpost completely. In that situation, the drop point would simply be checked on a regular schedule. If using this method, precautions should be taken so that regularly scheduled trips to check the drop point don’t stand out from your normal daily activities. For example, let’s say there’s a public park down the street from your house. Every morning you get up early and walk your dog around the park before getting ready for work. Then, we agree that our drop point will be the underside of the green bench on the northeast side of that park, and that you’ll check it every Wednesday at 7:45 a.m. Since you’re already at that location, at that time, as part of your normal routine, taking a break on that bench every Wednesday morning is much less likely to be noticed by casual observers or other morning dog-walkers.

The Execution

When actually leaving information at a drop point, you can perform either a covert or overt drop. A covert drop is deliberately concealed from view and must be found or retrieved, while an overt drop makes use of everyday items or contextual camouflage to “hide in plain sight.”

The ITS Dead Drop Spike can be loaded with a note and stomped into the ground to be pulled out and emptied later.

The item most commonly associated with covert dead drops is the dead drop spike. Although they’re not nearly as common as in past eras, they can still be found. The example you see here comes from ITS Tactical. It’s a hollow steel spike with a threaded cap at the flat end. Simply unscrew the cap, drop your message or items inside, and screw it closed. The ITS model even features a rubber gasket on the cap to keep the contents safe from moisture. Once sealed, the spike can be pushed into the ground, to be pulled up by the recipient later.

Overt dead drops can be just about any size or shape your drop site will allow. There are some specialized tools available for this task. As a counterpoint to their Dead Drop Spike, ITS also sells a hollow spy bolt. This is an actual steel bolt with a head that can be removed to access the bolt’s hollow body.

Above: ITS Tactical still produces hollowed-out bolts and coins to conceal small items. These items can be left at the drop point with a small paper note or micro SD card inside.

Similarly, hollow coins have been in use for decades. During the Cold War, they’d conceal small squares of microfilm. In modern times, micro SD cards can fit in almost the same size footprint.

If you don’t have, need, or want special dead drop tools, there are plenty of ways to conceal or camouflage a dead drop. Covert drops can be regular items stuck underneath a park bench or public trash barrel, or inside the toilet paper dispenser of a public bathroom. Overt drops could be as simple as putting a USB drive inside an empty soda can and leaving it to look like discarded litter. Just be careful where you place your drop and how long it’s left there before pickup. The old flash-drive-in-a-soda-can trick goes awry awfully quick if some eco-conscious passer-by decides to recycle your trash for you.

Above: If you don't want to use specialty items like the ITS Tactical products, everyday trash like an empty can are also ideal for concealing things like encrypted flash drives. 

Considerations

As with any other communication method, there are risks and drawbacks to consider. For starters, there’ll be a built-in time delay from the time you plant the drop until the time it’s received — a few hours at a minimum, more likely a couple of days. So, truly urgent or highly time-sensitive information may need to be passed through other means. Also, there may be size limits to the kinds of things you can leave at a drop. In the old days, messages were passed on hand-written notes. Documents were shrunk down to microdots. So the squirrely spy tools designed for this purpose only had to be large enough to hide a rolled up piece of paper or film. While a USB sticks and SD cards aren’t particularly large, they’re larger than a single scrap of note paper. You’ll have to build out your dead drop plan accordingly to accommodate the physical size of whatever you intend to conceal.

There’s also the inherent risk of your drop being found by someone other than its intended recipient. This is why your drop point and method of concealment are both vitally important. If possible, you may want to consider “proofing” your drop point by leaving a sacrificial item there and seeing if a curious stranger notices it. With digital media, you can also password-protect or encrypt files for an added level of safety.

From a security standpoint, there are two major considerations to look at. One is the possibility of being spotted while placing or retrieving a drop. If someone witnesses you servicing a drop point, especially if the same person sees you more than once, it can quickly draw curiosity or suspicion. Do you have a narrative as to what you’re doing at that spot at that hour? Is anything about the information you’re passing illicit or illegal? The other consideration is that if your drop gets discovered unbeknownst to you, both you and your recipient could be manipulated with false information left by a third party. This may or may not be an issue at all, depending on what you’re using the dead drop for in the first place. But it’s something to think about.

Covert Communication Signals From the CIA

During the Cold War, CIA agents operating behind the Iron Curtain reportedly used some ingeniously subtle visual cues to communicate with their contacts. Several of these were documented by Robert Parker in his book The Cold War Spy Pocket Manual. For example, agents might vary the pattern in which shoelaces were inserted into shoes, change the size or color of one shirt button, or alter the position of a pen or pencil in a pocket. These on-body signposts might mean “I have information for you” or “I’m awaiting new instructions.” To read more about these codes, refer to our previous article Covert Communication: The CIA Shoelace Code.

Conclusion

Dead drops are a niche method of transferring information, originally developed for spies and agents to avoid interception by hostile intelligence services. But the basic principles can be tweaked to make a solid grid-down or non-permissive communications plan. The fact that dead dropping requires no electricity or outside resources whatsoever makes it unhackable, untappable, and EMP-proof. With some careful planning and a little ingenuity, you can set up a sustainable system of passing along whatever information you need, regardless of Wi-Fi signal, cell reception, or power supply.

What You Need to Know About Masks for COVID-19

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The Internet is an excellent source of vital information, but it's also a breeding ground for dangerous misinformation — especially in times of crisis like this COVID-19 pandemic. Most of us know that so-called “social distancing” is the best way to reduce our chances of catching the virus, but it's impossible to completely cut yourself off from society overnight. Sooner or later, you'll need to go out to buy groceries, pick up a prescription, drop off a package at the post office, or perform some similarly-mundane activity. When you do go out, you probably also know that wearing a mask or respirator is a good way to reduce your likelihood of getting sick. But beyond that commonly-accepted fact, we've seen a lot of confusion circulating about the acceptable types and characteristics of masks for COVID-19, including the efficacy of DIY and improvised options.

An article published yesterday on NoOneComing.com provides an extremely in-depth, research-backed look at the potential effectiveness of various mask types, as well as critical considerations for selecting an improvised mask when purpose-built N95 masks are not available. Here's a quick excerpt, shared with permission from the author:

There is no good substitute for proven N95 (or better) face-piece respirators. All of the “solutions” proposed to combat this crisis are the lesser of multiple evils, but are absolutely not an ideal and shouldn’t be anyone's first choice where a choice exists. This has to be absolutely understood, but it doesn’t change the circumstance we find ourselves in where these homemade (or industry made) fabric mask alternatives are the best of bad choices, the only thing left.

However, some mask designs are worse than others. There are many DIY patterns being offered right now by sewing blogs, healthcare organizations, employers, etc., and there are many homemade and small business made masks being offered for sale right now, very suddenly. What most of these have in common is that they aren’t going to protect you. Many of them are made with single layers of material, or are made with the wrong kinds of material. Many of them are poor designs which do not create a tight seal against the face, but instead leave gaps around the nose, on the cheeks, or around the chin. While folks should be applauded for trying to help, many of these DIY’ers and small businesses aren’t helping – They’re selling false confidence. While these simplest, thinnest, worst fitting of masks might help an infected person from spreading the SARS-CoV-2 virus, even that is in doubt when thin single layers, and large gaps around the side, can allowed expelled particles to escape. If you endeavor to make your own mask, or you go to purchase already made masks from someone, please be aware of these kind of shortcomings, and of the intended use, and make appropriate selections.

Based on the available data, these are our internal recommendations for DIY face-pieces with at least some filtration capability:

  • Find or make masks (plural) that are made of multiple layers of recommended fabrics, ideally sterilization wrap (at least two layers). Or, find/make masks (plural) that can use filter inserts and stock up on those inserts either by purchasing or making them (from sterilization wrap or HEPA bags)
  • Ensure that the masks are a contouring design, which has dual straps or ties, and a flexible (moldable) nose-piece, to get the closest fit possible
  • Wear the mask properly, at all times
  • Do not touch the mask while wearing it
  • Take precautions handling the mask, especially when doffing it after wear, to avoid touching the outside. Doff the mask by handling only the elastics or ties
  • Wash your hands before removing your mask
  • Rotate masks throughout extended periods of wear (this is why multiple masks is recommended) to prevent saturation of any one. Especially with woven fabrics, a wet mask is not a filtering mask. Two – four hours seems to be the limit for woven fabrics, before materials are saturated. Remove the worn, contaminated, mask safely, and then throw away any filter insert (if they aren’t being reused), and move the mask to a closed container to be washed/deconed
  • Wash your hands after doffing and storing a used mask, and before donning a clean mask
  • Store clean masks in a container which provides a barrier against transmission. Store dirty masks in a separate container which also provides a barrier

We highly recommend taking the time to sit down and read the entire article, since it's packed with useful data and (most importantly) actionable steps you can take to increase your family's likelihood of avoiding COVID-19. Some of the points, such as safe mask storage and DIY decontamination methods, are topics we haven't seen thoroughly addressed elsewhere. Even if you have the best mask or respirator money can buy, it's no good to you if you don't wear, handle, or maintain it properly.

New: Leupold Sunglasses & Shooting Eyewear

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It’s no surprise that a company known for its optics has developed a keen understanding of the importance of visual clarity. Leupold’s recent development of a performance eyewear line is a logical extension of this knowledge base — after all, the perceived quality of your scope is easily diminished if you’re squinting at it through a pair of scuffed-up dollar-store shades. The new line of Leupold sunglasses consists of five models, ranging from range-oriented wraparound styles to casual and EDC-friendly designs.

We recently received a sample of the new Leupold Becnara, seen above. The Becnara offers a squared-off shape with shatterproof, mirror polarized lenses. Four colorways are currently available for this style: matte black with bronze lenses (pictured), matte black / gloss black with gray lenses, matte black / matte tortoise with bronze lenses, and matte tortoise with blue lenses.

We found these sunglasses to be sturdy and comfortable — the rubberized inserts at the nose and behind the ear are a nice touch. We also appreciate the subtle Leupold branding on these lifestyle shades. The polarized lenses do a great job of cutting down on glare while driving.

Although the Becnara isn't ballistic rated due to its open-sided design, many of the other styles in the Leupold sunglasses line are fully Z87.1 rated for maximum eye protection at the range. The Packout (pictured below), Switchback, and Tracer all offer shooting-oriented wraparound coverage, while the Becnara and Katmai fall into the more casual lifestyle category. Most of the designs are also prescription-compatible.

The new Leupold sunglasses are designed, machined, and assembled in the USA. MSRPs range from $130 to $190, depending on style and lens type. For more information, go to Leupold.com.

Bag Drop: The Austere Environment Backpack

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Working in an austere environment brings with it a unique set of challenges when it comes to packing and maintaining a sustainment backpack that allows one to be independent and successful. The bag I’ll be describing is a culmination of three separate trips to Syria with a relief group that focuses on casualty and humanitarian needs in conflict zones throughout the world. In order to support our team and our mission, I spent a good amount of time working out of my bag, and thus it was a very important addition to my gear selection.

Because we were vehicle-mounted, we had the liberty of bringing more personal items in a larger duffel-sized bag as well. But I needed something that would sustain me throughout varying weather conditions, in the front seat of our vehicles while on the road, and could be used to quickly bed down for the night. Due to the ever-changing circumstances of our relief work, sometimes we stayed in a single location for weeks, other times we were moving on a daily basis as needs and requirements fluctuated day to day. One day we could be sleeping in a comfortable hotel in the Syrian town of Qamishli, the next on ground mats in a rural field with our electronics powered by vehicles, power banks, and solar panels. Through much trial and error (which is never-ending), I settled on a combination and balance of items that allowed me to support our team’s work.

Selection

I found an assault pack-sized backpack more useful than a waist-mounted or even a ruck option better for working in Syria for a number of reasons. An assault pack can be kept up front in a driver seat; it can be slung over the headrest out of the way; if you have to walk a long distance or transit via other vehicles, you can sustain yourself well. In the event that you need to fill it with mission-essential equipment (such as medical supplies and communications gear), it can support that aspect of a mission for an entire day or more.

Due to the nature of the threats abroad, a small measure of mitigating being targeted comes with maintaining a low profile. I often see products in the tactical gear world that bill themselves as low-profile/low-visibility but realistically fall short. If a bit of kit is Coyote tan or has some sort of MOLLE panel or Velcro sections, it screams tactical to even the most casual observer and will certainly raise eyebrows from those willing to do harm.

Mountainsmith Approach 25 Daypack

MSRP
$90 — This pack has been discontinued, but the Clear Creek 25 offers similar features and pricing.

URL
mountainsmith.com

Contents

I made sure to always keep certain contents of the pack with it, while others would be constantly switched out depending on the mission tempo and daily rhythm of our team. Depending on the weather conditions and seasons, sometimes it’d include warming layers and appropriate jackets.

A very important note to be made here is the necessity of electronics and their accessories. Some of our most essential tasks depended on the ability to communicate, edit reports, power our phones, and top off our headlamps with rechargeable batteries. Even without a cellular connection, phones can be incredibly useful tools in an austere environment. Taking photographs of casualties, navigating offline with MapsMe, and sending documents and reports to team members in the field via a Bluetooth connection were all critical tasks that our phones permitted. In order to support these, I always carried the following cables: MicroUSB, Apple Lightning, USB-C, and a 12V power port cable. On top of these electronics was a Goal Zero power bank that can support AC outlet charging or be hooked up to a solar panel, in addition to a smaller Goal Zero power bank to recharge my headlamp. Finally, I have my laptop (with hard case) and a Sandisk 2-Terabyte Solid State Drive — possibly one of the smallest on the commercial market that won’t break a typical budget.

Other staple items were my first-aid kit (TQ, gauze, bandages, latex gloves), local scarf (can be used to cover face, hide sensitive items, clean or dry equipment, or function as a ground mat), flip-flops, international power adapter, pens, extra pair of socks, oral hygiene gear, raincoat, boonie hat, and textured gloves. During colder seasons, I made sure to pack a lightweight jacket and a beanie. If the weather got even worse I could put in thinner warming layers as well.

Closing Thoughts

The bag I chose and the items I packed in it were the result of constant trial and error over several mission trips, realizing what was truly important and what wasn’t. But all of this could change overnight if I find a deficiency that needs to be fixed. More important than any of these items is an ability to always be thinking and finding a better way, realizing that there’s usually no single solution to dynamic mission requirements that’ll last. That’s how we can get channeled into poor gear selection and is something we need to be considering when working in an austere environment.

RECOIL Live: How COVID-19 is Affecting the Gun Industry

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If you've had any involvement with a gun store in the last few weeks, whether you were shopping online for ammo or buying something at a physical storefront, you've certainly noticed that things are rather hectic at the moment. Concerns related to the coronavirus, a.k.a. COVID-19, have led people throughout the United States to stock up on supplies — that includes guns and ammunition. There has also been a wave of first-time buyers seeking tools to defend themselves and their families during these uncertain times. The resulting situation led the RECOIL team to gather a panel of four experts to discuss how COVID-19 is affecting the gun industry.

The gun industry panel was hosted by RECOIL editor Iain Harrison, and consisted of the following four guests:

  • Tom Taylor: CMO & EVP Sales, SIG SAUER
  • Dan Brokos: Tactical Instructor & Owner, Lead Faucet Tactical
  • Ryan Repp: Director of Content and Communications, Brownells, Inc.
  • Jason Hornady: Vice President, Hornady

Topics of discussion included sales trends, product availability, and carry gun recommendations for new owners. Jason Hornady likened the overall situation to “locusts hitting a cornfield,” and said that despite having seen similar rushes throughout his career, purchases as a result of the COVID-19 situation grew at an especially surprising rate. Taylor said that SIG sold more ammo in the month of March than it did in all of 2019. It's hard to predict when things will get back to normal at gun stores, but it may not be any time soon.

Check out the full video stream using the RECOILtv player above. More OFFGRID and RECOIL Live videos are in the works, so stay tuned here and on RECOILweb for future panel discussions and Q&A sessions.

Book Review: “On Combat” by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

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The Premise: Lt. Col. David Grossman followed up his best-selling book, On Killing, with On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace. We consider this to be the second part of Grossman’s Killology Opus, and this one is definitely more focused on individuals ready to perform, cope, and survive in combat. It also applies to survival on the streets of a large city as a police officer, an armed citizen, or more importantly, someone who has lived through a deadly encounter. For this book, Grossman partnered with Loren Christensen, a former policeman, martial-arts expert, and author.

On Combat is full of experiences relayed to the authors by combat veterans and police officers who have survived deadly encounters. The latter is probably more relevant to the armed citizen who is looking to defend his or herself and family, particularly if the reader has no professional background in either of these areas.

The guidance contained within On Combat should give the reader a greater understanding of what to expect after a violent confrontation when the aggressor is defeated. The hidden aspects of combat and its effects are explored. Whether it is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress inoculation, or the “Mark of Cain” perception, whereby the warrior feels society views him differently because he has killed another human being.

The 411: At times the prose seems repetitive or even redundant, but after reading the book several times or even going back to read different parts, the reader can see a reason for this.
The book has a therapeutic and reassuring tone as if it was written with an underlying theme of comforting a person who has gone through that trauma and feels scarred to the soul. Critics may condemn it for its lack of an academic style, but Grossman and Christensen don’t seem to care if their work is read or criticized by the ivory tower types. They wrote this one for the warriors.

There’s a bit of hyperbole to the writing, and while the categorization of people as wolves, sheep, or sheepdogs is a good basic analogy, in the years since its publication it has become a bit played out and unfortunately very diluted. Many less-qualified individuals are quick to latch onto the analogy, perhaps by taking it too literally.

Not every combat veteran will have experiences that mirror those cited in the text. However, they’ll often see similarities between most of what’s mentioned because, frankly, no two people have the exact same mentality, spirituality, training, psychological makeup, or life experiences. What affects one person greatly may not have any effect on another. As a result, the physiological effects may be completely different.

Some readers believe that On Killing is the better half of Grossman’s Killology Opus. This reviewer disagrees and holds this volume in higher regard as more of a practical application or first-aid kit for the brain.

The Verdict: There’s a unique aspect to this book as it delves into the physiological and psychological changes that a human being goes through in a life-threatening situation. We’ve all heard of the “adrenaline dump” and the “fight or flight” conundrum that comes with it, and Grossman lays it out in all its ugliness.

Like our review of On Killing in Issue 35, we feel this is a book that contains a wealth of good information on the subject at hand and one that can be referenced again and again. It’s an important one to read before the fight, but perhaps more importantly it should be read again after the fight as a sort of coping mechanism.

This book should be required reading not only for the survivors of a deadly encounter, but for the families, spouses, and friends of someone who has gone through that ordeal. Additionally, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and even grief counselors and Veteran’s Administration personnel who deal with the effects that combat can have on a person should become familiar with its contents.

On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace
by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen

Publisher
Warrior Science Publications; 2nd edition

MSRP
$25 (Amazon)

URL
www.killology.com/publications

Pages
416

Rating
>Thrive
Survive
Die

OFFGRID Library of Recommended Books

Material Matters: Testing Nonmetallic Weapons

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Nonmetallic knives aren’t a new phenomenon. Man’s earliest weapons consisted of pointed staves and sharpened stone, which were quite effective for hunting, skinning, carving, and fighting. Today, nonmetallic weapons have benefitted greatly from durable and lightweight modern materials, making them more accessible and easier to carry and conceal.

Human trafficking is a thriving criminal enterprise in the United States and abroad, making forceful abduction one of the many possible scenarios the modern prepper needs to be ready for. Escaping unlawful custody requires preplanning, training, and the ability to conceal a means of escape and defense. In many cases, discreet, nonmetallic tools may be the only thing one can get past an initial security sweep conducted by a criminal element during this type of incident.

In the aftermath of events like Sept. 11, where box cutters were used to hijack and weaponize commercial aircraft, there has been a legitimate concern over edged weapons that can be smuggled past security checkpoints. Having recognized that fact, we want to be clear that our objective here isn’t to encourage our readers to break the law, but to educate you about the real capabilities of nonmetallic edged weapons. Remember that the bad guys won’t hesitate to disregard laws and carry out attacks in so-called “weapon-free” zones, so it’s wise to be ready to defend yourself, regardless of the time and place.

From left to right: Boker Plus Anti-Grav, Bastion CF Neck Knife, GLG Knifeworks Warcry and Lumber Crayon, Greg Moffatt Knives MG1, ReadyMan CIA Letter Opener, and Cold Steel FGX

To that end, we acquired samples of a few popular nonmetallic edged weapon designs composed of various materials, and established an informal yet realistic testing protocol to measure their performance in several key areas.

Nonmetallic Weapon Testing Protocol

Our testing protocol consisted of three categories: 1) Metallic Signature, 2) Cut and Puncture, and 3) Durability.

For the metal signature test, we used a Super Omni metal detecting wand to scan the test samples. Some of the sheaths contained metal components, so for those samples that included a sheath, we tested them with and without the sheath against the metal detector.

For the cut and puncture testing, we used a large pork rump to provide an organic medium that would closely simulate the bare flesh of a human being. All tools were first tested using a slashing cut against the pork rump covered with a white cotton undershirt, then stabbed into the rump through the T-shirt. The same two tests were again conducted against the meat with the T-shirt removed. A pressure cut, where the edge of the blade was first pressed against the meat then drawn through, was also performed with all the samples that had a cutting edge. Finally, a stab into the meat followed by a withdrawal cut was attempted with each sample.

We understand there are limitations to nonmetallic edged weapons, so to keep the testing within a reasonable level of expectations, our durability testing involved targeting the bone inside the meat, twisting the blade while it was inside, and removing it with a levering action from a 90-degree angle to a 0-degree angle.

Ceramic

Ceramic Boker Plus Anti-Grav

Our ceramic test blade was the Boker Plus Anti-Grav ceramic folder. The Anti-Grav, which is filled with metal screws, a metal pivot pin, and a pocket clip, failed the metal signature test faster than we could open it, making it a poor choice as a deep concealment knife. Conversely, it was the top performer in the other two categories. The razor-sharp blade cut through the T-shirt and deep into the flesh of our test subject on the first slash. It also penetrated cleanly through the T-shirt and through the 7-inch-thick hunk of meat. On the pressure cut test, the blade cut more than halfway through the meat, and almost severed it completely in half during the stab and cutaway. The ceramic material held up well against the bone, but the very tip was broken off when it hit the edge of the metal table holding the target in place during one of the test cuts.

G10

G10 MG1 from Greg Moffatt Knives

Our G10 edged weapon samples consisted of the Greg Moffatt Knives MG1, the GLG Knifeworks G10 Warcry, and the GLG Knifeworks G10 Lumber Crayon. Of the three samples, only one, the MG1, had a cutting edge. The MG1 was surprisingly sharp for G10 and was able to cut through the T-shirt and about an inch into the meat. It performed even better against the bare meat, leaving a substantially deep laceration. The results were equally impressive with the pressure cut.

The blade geometry was less conducive to penetration and was unable to penetrate the T-shirt when stabbed into the meat. Against the bare flesh, it was able to penetrate deep enough to hit the bone, but suffered delamination damage (separation of the bonded layers) at the tip.

The Warcry and Lumber Crayon were stellar performers in the stabbing portions of the testing, both penetrating deeply, even when the T-shirt was present. These two were the only tools tested that didn’t suffer some type of damage to the tip when hitting bone or the hard backstop behind the meat.

All three G10 samples were resilient against the lateral stress generated in the durability test. They also passed undetected under the metal wand, proving that G10 is a good choice for nonpermissive environments. The metal-free Kydex MG1 sheath was the only sheath that passed the metal signature test, making the Moffatt MG1 a front runner in overall performance.

Carbon Fiber

Bastion Carbon Fiber Neck Knife

The compact Bastion Carbon Fiber Neck Knife served as our carbon-fiber test knife. Out of the box, the Bastion CF was second only to the ceramic in sharpness and we expected it to be a performer.

During the sharpness testing, the CF was able to make a small cut through the T-shirt and into the meat. Had the blade been larger, this material would’ve likely performed equal to if not better than the G10. It was the only other composite material that possessed the sharpness to cut through the clothing and into the meat.

Against the bare meat, the CF cut cleanly and deeply. The blade’s shape allowed it to penetrate easily through the T-shirt and through the meat all the way to the bone, but the tip suffered a slight amount of damage from the impact.

The major downside of carbon fiber is its metal signature. Carbon graphite strands form the base of carbon-fiber material, giving it enough magnetic properties to trigger a metal detector. In the case of the Bastion, the Kydex sheath, minus the steel neck chain, was the only part of the rig that didn’t have a metal signature.

Glass-Filled Nylon

In the glass-filled nylon category was the ReadyMan CIA Letter Opener. The Letter Opener was unable to cut through the clothing at all, but had no trouble lacerating the bare meat with both the slash and pressure cut. The thin, double-edged dagger design was able to penetrate the meat and the clothing when thrust into the target. The small serrations on the rear portions of the blade made for a nasty wound, ripping the cotton material and tearing the meat prior to leaving a deep laceration during the cutaway.

The glass-filled nylon held up against the lateral stress of the durability test, however, the blade tip rolled a little when it hit the backstop during the puncture test. It also passed undetected by the metal wand in the metal signature test.

Grivory Polymer (Griv-Ex)

Cold Steel FGX Boot Blade

The Cold Steel FGX Boot Blade was used for our Griv-Ex sample. The FGX may have been the most surprising performer. At first glance, the FGX looks more like a nonlethal training knife than a serious defensive tool, but it yielded some shocking results.

The metal ring through the lanyard hole gave this sample a metal signature. This is the manufacturer’s remedy to keep it legal where such signature is required by law on nonmetallic knives. We removed the ring to keep it consistent with our testing parameters. After doing so, the knife passed the metal signature test.

The FGX was ineffective at cutting through either the T-shirt covered meat or the bare meat when we used the slashing cut. It also failed to pierce the T-shirt during the puncture test, but it penetrated the meat to the guard and took the shirt with it.

What really surprised us was during the pressure cut, the FGX cut deeper and left a larger wound channel than most of the other blades. This was completely unexpected given the complete lack of any noticeable edge sharpness. Like every other edged tool we tested, the FGX experienced damage to the tip when it hit the backstop. The tip bent to a 90-degree angle, and even though it could be straightened, it appeared to be significantly weakened.

Maintenance

For the most part, nonmetallic edged weapons are essentially disposable tools intended for single use. You’re probably not going to pull out your CIA Letter Opener to cut your steak during dinner. It’s a last-ditch defensive option, not designed for everyday use. However, there are some basic things that can be done to sharpen or repair these tools should they become damaged during your daily carry.

Ceramic is a common cutlery material, making it the exception to the single-use rule, however it does behave quite differently than steel and requires special techniques to maintain. Ceramic is almost twice as hard as steel, so many of the abrasives used to sharpen steel knives will not work on ceramic. Diamond stones are the only viable option for sharpening ceramic.
While extremely hard, ceramic is also very brittle and doesn’t do well against lateral stress. When sharpening ceramic, it’s important to keep pressure against the opposite side of the blade with the fingers to keep the blade from snapping in half.

Above: Every nonmetallic knife sample we tested suffered some form of damage to the tip after making contact with bone or another hard surface.

Carbon fiber and G10 can be sharpened and reshaped using fine grit sandpaper or an emery board like a sharpening stone. We were able to sharpen and repair the damaged tips of both materials using the Work Sharp system at a low speed with a fine grit belt.

As for Griv-Ex and Glass-Filled Nylon, you’re stuck with what you get from the factory and might as well throw them in the trash if they’re dulled or damaged. One might be able to restore an edge by shaving away material with a knife, but using any form of traditional sharpening is futile.

Final Remarks

Based on our informal testing, all the tools and materials we tested proved to be viable nonmetallic weapon options, each having their strengths and weaknesses.

The Greg Moffatt G10 MG1 was the only sample to pass every portion of every test, from beating the metal detector to cutting through clothing and flesh. With the added benefit of easy maintenance, G10 is one of the best choices for a last-ditch edged weapon in a nonpermissive environment. A fixed blade ceramic knife without all the metal accoutrements contained in the Anti-Grav would also rank pretty high on our list.

Ed Calderon Sheds Light on Kidnapping & Abduction Trends

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Abduction scenarios can originate in a myriad of ways. It’s not always about guys in ski masks jumping out of a panel van and putting you in zip-ties. Many of the students who’ve been through the training that I’ve provided over the years dealing with counter-custody have actually faced situations of irregular custody. This may involve being restrained illegally within the confines of their own community by people they actually know, or during home-invasion situations. So, don’t close yourself off to the possibilities of this being a threat in your environment. It’s not something you only need to think about or prepare for if you travel outside of your hometown or country.

The Feathered Snake Eating its Tail

For our intents and purposes, we’re going to be focusing on abduction and kidnapping for ransom, being used as a political hostage, for retribution, or as access to someone else’s monetary means. Although each of these situations have a different purpose behind them, they usually have the same planning and action process or cycle.

Selection and Surveillance

The first part of the cycle is selection. Criminal groups will select an individual out of the many or out of a specific group that holds a known value to them, be it because of their economic means, the means of the company they represent, their social circle, nationality, religion, or just because he or she is in possession of something they want.

Selection happens in many ways, but one of the most current trends is exploiting openly accessible online social media — especially the social media of the victim’s families and associates — to gather information pertaining to the victim. This typically includes his or her day-to-day patterns, family ties that could be exploited psychologically later on, any sign of financial means, and possible future scheduling opportunities for criminals to make a move on a potential mark. It’s not all just standing outside of an airport scanning a crowd nowadays. Things have gone digital, even in the most low-tech environments. Most people already have the most effective information-gathering device on the planet in their hands: a smartphone.

One common thing criminals look at when it comes to selecting a potential victim are patterns of behavior and predictability of movement — that is, the ability to predict where and when the individual being targeted will go. So, anything related to your mode of transportation, your arrival times, the hotel rooms you’re staying in, possible dinner plans, business meetings you may need to attend, or the locations of offices during a business trip, for example, have to be kept on a need-to-know basis. This is even necessary with the people closest to you or those you’re traveling with.

Simple things like keeping all of your information in written format on a piece of paper to hand over to a hotel clerk means he or she doesn’t have to say your name or room number out loud. This keeps people from acquiring that information if they’re casually listening to you at the check-in desk. There’s nothing wrong with being unpredictable. It’s about being harder to catch than the person next to you. Hindsight is 20/20.

Above: It can take less than a minute to get you out of a vehicle and into a trunk. Bound and en route to a second location is one of the worst situations to be in. In a kidnapping attempt, time is life.

One thing I always hear people recounting when I debrief after these events are situations or events around them that seemed suspicious, like people staring at them for a bit too long, or making phone calls around them, or the presence of various kids in sandals carrying smartphones getting on the phone every time they moved out of the hotel. Anything that’s the least bit suspicious must be documented. Take pictures or video immediately and use one of many secure apps like Signal to send to various people who you’ve complete confidence in. This will assist in creating a trail. Be as obvious as you want to about this — again, you want people to be aware you’re not going to be an easy target.

Game Plan

The second part of the process involves the formulation or creation of a plan and/or manufacture of a situation where you’re completely vulnerable to a direct abduction attempt or, as we liked to call it, a snatch or initial contact. This takes place after a surveillance cycle that may have started long before you got onto the plane or stepped out of your house. Surveillance could be mobile or static and, depending on who is doing it, might be very obvious to anyone with a trained eye. That’s why I always try to push the mindset of thinking like the bad guy, or as my friends from the contingency group say, “adversarial thinking.” (Editor’s Note: See our previous article “The Crimson Perception” in Issue 35 for more information on developing an adversarial mindset.)

If you want to make the best counter-ambush group on the planet, you teach them to be the best ambushers in the world. The same needs to apply to preparing people who might face this kind of threat. You want them to be able to prepare something like this for themselves. That’s why I do certain exercises in some of the training that I provide where students plan and try to pull off an abduction in a controlled training space. It’s a mental exercise that gives you lessons you’ll always carry with you. When you feel like you’re the subject of a surveillance attempt of any kind, your paranoia will be educated, and you can focus on the anomalies. Most places have a baseline, a set pattern of normality. If you pay attention, you can see these anomalies before they turn into a threat.

Personal Locator Beacon:

The shift from criminal planning to actual direct action against the victim could take as long as a few weeks or as quick as a few minutes if they have the willingness and opportunity. Don’t assume anything about anybody. Criminals could be targeting you for a quick ride to the ATM and then let you go after an hour (an express kidnapping). They could be trying to put you in a cage for a few months to see if they can get a large payout because the company you work for has a great abduction policy. Or lastly, it could be the true-believer type of enemy who sees everything he hates in you. All of these potential threats follow the same pattern: victim selection, surveillance, and a planning stage.

Vary your routes, don’t be predictable, keep yours and your family’s sh*t offline, get your family on the same game plan, and be aware. If something feels off, document it and send it back to the people you trust. And if all else fails, have a contingency plan.

The Attempt

Above: These screenshots were taken from surveillance footage of an actual kidnapping in Northern Mexico. Note the use of rifles, tactical vests, and a multi-man snatch team.

Current trends and the areas I operate in usually deal with groups of between four and six people being part of the direct-action snatch team. During an attempt, know they’ll take advantage of their prior research on you. They’ll take note of the people around you and their capabilities, in some cases. The numbers they use will be based on their capabilities as a group and whether you’re seen as easy or difficult to manage.

If you have a mark on you, the people around you might have a mark on them too. Remember that in these types of situations, if you didn’t pay attention, they now have all the advantages. The first and foremost is the ability to pick the time and the place. There's no one-size-fits-all solution in a situation like this because there are a lot of variables.

Usually these criminal groups will look for a space and time when they’re sure you’ll be present and nobody will interfere.

If it’s a highly trafficked area, usually you’ll get a sign or a reaction from people around you who have more experience or are more educated about the environment. I usually call these people “active eyes.” By this I mean that the locals know all the ins and outs of the area and have a clear understanding of what baseline normality is there. If they see a guy dressed in a fake police uniform with an AK-47, they know that’s out of the ordinary and will react to it even if you don’t. So, it’s a pretty good idea to be aware of people like that in your environment. If the guy in the newspaper stand across the street is ducking behind his counter, it’s probably a good idea for you to duck behind your Uber, if you know what I mean.

The Snatch

Criminal groups plan for complete and overwhelming domination over their victim. Depending on the region, sometimes the intimidation tool could be a handgun or a rifle, but don’t be surprised if the weapon is just a cell phone with the desperate voice of a family member on the other end of it. In the latter case, you might decide to walk into the van willingly. This isn’t uncommon. Also, realize that some scenarios will originate in chemical restraints. For example, you might be drugged at a bar or another place where you felt secure — these scenarios aren’t unheard of.

One of the first things you’ll see in a classic abduction situation is people brandishing their firearms or weapons in a threatening manner toward you. However, some of the same weapons may also be pointed away from you, outwardly guarding the surrounding area from potential police presence or security elements that they might not have taken into account. Be aware of gaps in their awareness and in their ability to contain you. Your ability to act, or even whether you can act, is completely dependent on you. In my experience, awareness and cardio have been the best escape-and-evasion tools I’ve ever seen next to a smile, cash, and an AK-47.

There’s usually a process of purging that happens between the initial contact, subjugation of the victim, and moving the mark from the abduction area to an initial holding site or “wait and see” spot. Current trends in some of the abduction groups that I’ve had to work against have led me to realize that most of them are aware of all of the SOS technology out there. Expect them to discard anything with a battery in it. Belts, shoes, jackets, hats, wallets, watches, backpacks, or anything else that isn’t directly on your person will be discarded or taken to look through later. Don’t count on having anything with a battery in it left on you if you’re taken. This should dictate where you hide things for counter-custody applications. If you could lose elements of clothing in a full-contact sporting event, those are probably not good places to hide a handcuff key or a razor blade. That’s just my two cents.

Pepper Spray on Steroids:

At this point in the scenario, restraints start being pulled out to be put on the mark. The North American trifecta of restraints are handcuffs, zip-ties, and duct tape, though we're now seeing a lot more chain- and padlock-type restraints being put on people in a long-term captivity setting. These are the specific restraints you need to worry about most in the environments in and around North America. Again, these will dictate the tools you carry and how you train specifically for the environment you’re moving into.

Above: When you configure your EDC or E&E kit on your body, do you include redundancy to account for the multiple ways you may be restrained or positioned? Could you reach your escape tools with your hands behind your back and your face against the wall?

Prepare for the possible — if the improbable happens, you’re already halfway to a solution. During initial contact, you’ll be put into one form of physical restraint or another. It may be just them holding your head down and keeping a gun on you, or being put in between two large individuals. Basically, they want to convince you that you’re hopelessly trapped, and they’ve the means to do you physical harm and maybe even life-ending damage. They also want to place restraints on you to limit your ability to move around. During this first ride, the first part of the purge happens — this is where things start being taken away from you.

Wait and See

If it’s a professional abduction team, they’ll probably take you to an initial holding site. This will be somewhere close, but not too close to where they’ll be holding you for the long term. It’s a “wait-and-see” space. They want to know if they’re being followed, if they were made, if you have some sort of tracking element on you, and so on. Once they’re sure that the coast is clear, you’ll be moved to a long-term holding spot if that’s what they’re looking to do with you as a victim. It’s the same all over — this is a very common tactic even in the Middle East, according both the SOF community guys who I’ve had the privilege of exchanging information with, and the sex-trafficking groups that I’ve helped in the past.

Once you reach that long-term holding site, the slow burn happens. They can now take their time with you; they’re secure, safe, and in control, and the interrogation and exploitation of the victim commences. Look for a sh*t bucket in the room where they’re holding you and empty water bottles on the ground — that’s usually a sign of a long-term holding site, and it’s not a good place to be. Most of your opportunities for escape occur between the initial contact and the transport to the wait-and-see site. After that, your window of opportunity becomes smaller and smaller. But you must always be ready and, if opportunity knocks, be prepared to answer. The decision to act is completely up to you. Some people will advise you not to do anything and wait for the negotiators (if you have any) or the State Department to do their thing (if it’s one of those types of situations). I'd recommend to have the knowhow, training, tools, and experience using them in a controlled training environment. These “just in case” options might lead to your salvation.

Above: This looks bad, but reality is worse. Being stripped naked and fleeced of all the escape tools you keep in your pockets and wallets should be expected. Keep your wits about you and look for the earliest opportunity to escape.

Ed’s Field Notes

In a recent case in Northern Mexico, a young businessman was targeted by a small armed cell of criminals. He was picked up outside of his house as he was parked in his truck, talking on his cell phone. The target selection and surveillance cycle took only a few minutes, according to the investigation notes I saw about the case. There were two vehicles involved in the snatch. Four individuals got out of a single sedan as the other one sat on the roadside to cover the abduction team.

Covert Wallet Knife:

They didn’t put any restraints on him, and pushed him into a vehicle while threatening him with AK-47s. The abductors made a point of taking his cell phone from the car, and left it on the curbside. They took him and his truck away with nobody around to do anything about it. It’s interesting to note that there was a lone guy in the background providing security for the abduction team. The victim was later let go. It turns out that they were only after his truck — a valuable commodity right now in northern Mexico, because they can be turned into “technicals” for the ongoing narcotics insurgency raging in the country. It’s an interesting case study with a lot of parallels to situations like this in other parts of the world, including the U.S.

All restraints are temporary, but it’s better to be able to choose when you want to get out of them.

About the Author

For over a decade, Ed Calderon worked in the fields of counter-narcotics, organized crime investigation, and public safety in the northern-border region of Mexico. Learn more about his survival courses at edsmanifesto.com.

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New: Pro Eagle Off-Road Jacks

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If you own a truck, SUV, or Jeep, there's a pretty good chance you've also installed larger-diameter tires and a leveling kit or lift kit. These modifications increase ground clearance and improve off-road capabilities, but they also present some issues you may not have considered. That taller ride height means the barebones scissor jack that came with your vehicle might no longer provide enough elevation to change a tire. Regular floor jacks from the local auto parts store will do a little better, but what happens if you have a problem somewhere other than your driveway? Pro Eagle jacks are specifically built to provide an off-the-grid solution to this dilemma.

Compare modern trucks to those from 20 or 30 years ago, and you'll realize how much bigger, taller, and more off-road-capable new vehicles have become from the factory. However, jack design hasn't changed much in recent decades. Pro Eagle saw this as an opportunity to improve upon the conventional floor jack design, and make something specifically for those of us who like to get out and explore.

As seen in the video above, these jacks are used extensively by off-road racers, and feature several distinguishing features that improve their capabilities on surfaces other than pavement. The large non-pneumatic tires are designed to roll easily through dirt, gravel, rocks, and most other surfaces. The solid steel axles offer increased strength for lifting heavier rigs. Each jack comes with a built-in skid plate to keep it from sinking in soft dirt, sand, or mud. There's also an adjustable extension that provides an extra 8 inches of lift height when needed. Of course, the company says its jacks will also work just as well for regular maintenance in the garage.

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In addition to floor jacks, Pro Eagle also offers an ultra-portable CO2 air jack that's designed for lighter vehicles such as UTVs and side-by-sides.

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Also Handy:

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