New: TOPS Knives Viking Tactics Bloodline Series

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Knives, like most other tools, are heavily influenced by personal preference. Centuries ago, craftsmen often made their own blades or hired the local blacksmith to forge something to their specifications. These days, one-off knives are less common, but some knifemakers are still producing personalized production knives for a few specialist users. TOPS Knives recently partnered with Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics to create three new VTAC-branded fixed blades, dubbed the Norseman, Crusader, and Patriot.

After spending more than two decades in the U.S. Army, 15 years in Delta Force, and fighting in infamous warzones such as Mogadishu, Sergeant Major (retired) Kyle Lamb has some well-established preferences for tools. TOPS made these three Viking Tactics Bloodline knives to his specifications, with distinctive two-tone Micarta handle scales and a “viking vine” pattern that serves as spine jimping. All are made from 1095 steel finished in TOPS' popular “Acid Rain” finish.

The Viking Tactics Norseman is the largest of the trio, with a 5.88-inch blade and 11.5-inch overall length. It features a drop point shape and slim, straight handle. A tan Kydex sheath with MOLLE Lok clip is included. MSRP is $225.

Next is the Crusader, which features more aggressive handle curvature, a large forefinger notch, and a substantial thumb ramp for added control. This was inspired by VTAC's first ever knife design, the Assault. This also includes a Kydex sheath with MOLLE Lok clip. MSRP is $210.

Finally, there's the VTAC Patriot. This is the smallest of the three, with a 3-inch blade and 6.75-inch OAL. It includes a long belly and upswept tip for peeling, skinning, and slashing. The Kydex sheath features belt loops for scout carry. MSRP is $190.

For more information on the new TOPS Knives Viking Tactics Bloodline series, go to TopsKnives.com or VikingTactics.com.

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RECOILtv: Off-Roading at the 2019 Overland Challenge

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Competition fuels improvement — if you're looking to develop a skill, facing off against others in a competitive setting is a great way to do so. That might mean shooting three-gun matches, running marathons or GoRuck races, or even signing up for a literal survival competition. Since transportation is an essential aspect of survival, it's wise to try your hand at some vehicle-based competitions as well. The 2019 Overland Challenge is one such example.

Referred to as an off-road rally race, the Southern Xpeditions Overland Challenge is a three-day event that takes place in Uwharrie, North Carolina each year. It includes mud bogs, rock crawls, water crossings, steep inclines, and tight trail sections that push vehicles to their limits. There are also technical obstacle courses and team vs. team events that test competitors' communication and coordination. Winners receive prizes from sponsors, and all profits from the event are donated to veteran-oriented charities.

Our partners at RECOIL sent a film crew to North Carolina to cover the 2019 Overland Challenge, and produced a three-part video series for RECOILtv. Check out each episode below:

For more information on the Overland Challenge or to sign up for the 2020 event, go to southernxpeditions.com/overland-challenge.

It’s a Trap! – Small Game Trapping Tips for Survival

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This article originally appeared in Issue 10 of our magazine.

Warning! The following article is a brief overview on setting traps and snares and is not meant to be a thorough in-depth guide. Some traps may be illegal or dangerous and are set at your own risk. For more information, consult with a reputable trapper or survival instructor.

It doesn’t get much worse than this. The collapse of society has come and gone. What’s left is a wasteland of devastated metropolises, a loose society ruled by roving warlords, and scattered remnants of resources. You now subsist on what you find in the urban jungles and the surrounding wilderness.

But how did you go from clueless cubicle monkey to keen trapper?

Your transformation from John in the IT department to Grizzly Adams wasn’t easy, but it had a powerful driving force — hunger is a very persuasive motivator. If we can stay alive long enough to figure out a new skill through trial and error, then we’ve learned what to do and what not to do. But there’s another path. We can try door No. 2. Learn a new skill and move toward mastery of it while we still have expert guidance and a safety net in place. If door No. 2 sounds like a smart way to learn how to secure some food, then read on.

Trapping is the ancient art form of harvesting animal foods while you’re absent from that area. It dates back thousands of years. Many of the different traps that our forebears used have survived into modern times, still used by traditional cultures around the globe — and for good reason.

Traps are like little mechanical hunters that you set out on the landscape. They hunt for you while you’re off doing other tasks. They hunt throughout the night while you’re sound asleep. They hunt in places you wouldn’t want to sit in for very long, like swamps and icy woodlands. With the proper construction, de-scenting, placement, and baiting, your “automated hunting machine” can be just as effective as the devices of the old-time trappers.

And there’s no shortage of traps to try. There are foothold traps, body grip traps, “live catch” box traps, and traps that defy classification. There are also snares and deadfalls, which are the two common types that we will discuss here. Just follow these steps, and you can set traps to provide yourself with meat, fat, and useful hides.

Seek the Best Quarry

If you’re trapping for food, then this is all about the calories. In that context, the best animals to trap prey are fatty animals. Raccoon, porcupine, and beaver have much more body fat (and therefore calories) than rabbits, squirrels, and groundhogs. People have literally starved to death eating only lean rabbit meat (look it up, it’s called “rabbit starvation”). Now this doesn’t mean that you should avoid trapping rabbits and other lean game. It just means you need to diversify your menu.

Another aspect to consider is the animal’s gullibility. “Will they fall for this trap?” is what you should be asking yourself when you select a target game species and set the trap to match your target. Some animals aren’t too bright and will fall for anything, like porcupines and groundhogs. Other animals are very discerning and intelligent.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Poorly crafted traps are a big problem in trapping. So are traps that are loaded with human scent and traps placed in “dead zones.” The first problem of craftsmanship can usually be remedied by practice and with patience. Make these traps over and over, until it becomes second nature and they function perfectly. And take your time with the work, it’s not a race.

The second problem is human scent. Wary animals will avoid a trap with too much human skin oil and skin flakes on it (yes, their noses can be that sensitive). Wipe your hands and the trap with dirt, crushed charcoal, and local non-toxic aromatic plant parts (like pine needles) to cover the human scent. Do this to your hands before collecting the materials to make traps. Do it to hands your and traps before you go out to set them.

Finally, avoid trapping in “dead zones” by selecting trap sites with plenty of tracks and other animal sign in the area. Some places just don’t have that many animals, and this is a poor place to trap.

Play Your Numbers

Since our first ancestor figured out the first trap, the art of trapping has always been a numbers game. You’re living in a fantasyland if you think you can just set out one trap and feed yourself with it. Professional trappers with modern traps enjoy only about a 10-percent return on their activities. They have to set out dozens of traps to catch just a couple of animals each day. And historic trappers during the American fur trade era probably had even less success with their field-built snares and finicky old-fashioned footholds.

Use Better Baits

Not all traps use bait to lure in your quarry. Some traps are simply placed in trails and rely on the animal’s passage to engage the trigger. But with the traps that are bait driven, that bait had better be just right. You want to bait with something that matches the animal’s diet. Use red meat, fowl, and fish for carnivores and omnivores. Use nuts, roots, and fruits for herbivores (rabbits don’t care for bloody meat chunks). It’s very helpful to use something that’s out of season or out of their reach. This scarcity will entice them further. Just remember the old trapper’s adage: Don’t bait with corn in the middle of a cornfield. This means that you should avoid using a common bait item that the animal can easily get without going toward the strangely scented and ominous-looking contraption.

Follow the Rules

In an emergency, you’ll do whatever you must, rules be damned. But in normal circumstances, check your local trapping regulations before engaging in any trapping activities, practice, or otherwise. Get a trapping license, as many areas require this. Get a signed letter that grants you permission if you are trapping on private land that you do not own. And obey the trapping season for your target game species. Certain animals are only legal to trap at certain times.

Fixed Snare

Snares are a type of trap that constrict around an animal and either hold them securely or actually kill them. Snares can be made with rope or wire, easily scavenged from modern homes, businesses, and vehicles. But for best results, we should stock up on actual snare sets made from braided steel cables with metal locking mechanisms. These are far stronger and more durable than most improvised snares, and any quarry you’ve caught is less likely to escape.

The fixed snare is typically set along small animal runs and paths, or over the mouth of animal burrows. There are typically no baits involved, we just catch the animal because it runs through the snare loop, gets hung up, and then tightens the noose by trying to run away. This snare can work well for rabbits (who are always moving quickly and likely to tighten the noose fast). It also works for slower creatures like raccoon, groundhog, and possum.

Step 1: Find an animal run or burrow opening as a trapping site. Look for tracks to confirm that it’s active and to get an idea of the species that are using it.

Step 2: Find a nearby sapling or shrub to use as an anchor for the snare. You could also drive a stake in the ground for attachment if nothing suitable is available.

Step 3: Attach the snare to the anchor and use twigs to prop the loop open in the run or over the burrow mouth. Make the opening the right size to fit your target species’ head. Too small, and they can’t fit in the noose. Too big, they simply jump through the “hoop.”

Step 4: Check the trap once or twice daily from a distance. Reset it if it gets knocked down. Collect any dead animals and butcher immediately. Use a spear, bow, or firearm to dispatch any live-caught animals.

Spring Pole Peg Snare

This versatile snare can be activated by an animal running down a trail (like a fixed snare), or it can be baited to lure in an animal. This trap includes the addition of a spring pole, which is a flexible sapling tree that lifts the snared animal up off the ground. Ideally, the spring pole should be strong enough to lift the animal at least 5 feet off the ground to keep it out of the reach of scavengers. Here’s how to set up the spring pole peg snare.

Step 1: Tie a bowline knot or similar loop in the end of a 3-foot rope and pass the free end of the rope through it (or better yet, get a manufactured cable snare noose). Carve two sticks to have hook-like notches. One stick needs to be only about 6 inches, and the other will need to be about 1 foot with a point at the non-notched end. This longer stick will be driven into the ground like a stake.

Step 2: Find a flexible sapling tree in a suitable trapping area (an area with obvious animal tracks and traffic — or a spot with food, water, and cover for animals). Bend the small tree down and trim the leaves and branches from it. This reduces drag when the trap goes off.

Step 3: Tie your snare line to the tip of the sapling tree. If using a rope noose, tie your 6-inch trigger peg stick to the snare line about 1 foot away from the tip of the sapling tree. Make sure you tie the knot on the 6-inch trigger peg on the side of the peg into which you cut the hook. Tying the line on any other side of the peg will pull the trigger at an odd angle, and you’ll never be able to set the trap.

Step 4: Drive your foot-long, notched stake into the ground with a rock or hammer. Make sure the stake is placed in a spot where the line from the tree will be plumb (completely vertical, not pulling sideways). If the stake and the line from the sapling tree aren’t plumb, they’ll be very hard to set.

Step 5: Bend the sapling down and put it under your armpit so you can safely hold it and use both hands. Set your noose in the animal’s path, propped open with sticks. Set the trigger and carefully withdraw.

Important Safety Note: Once a trigger is set and the spring pole is pulling on it, never touch an open noose with your fingers. Use a stick to adjust the noose. If you try to hold the noose or fiddle with it by hand, and the trap goes off unexpectedly, the noose can tighten around one or more of your digits. As the spring pole goes up, the noose will either skin your fingers or remove them. Remember that traps can be dangerous not only to the prey, but to the trapper as well. Be very careful and respectful of all traps.

Greasy String Deadfall

Our remote ancestors never had steel cables or Internet websites where they could buy a jar of mouse paste for trap bait (yes, that’s a real product). They worked with basic natural materials that were found all around them, and they worked with the things at hand. This trap is part of a class called deadfalls. These traps involve a trigger system that holds up a rock, log, or similar weight.

When the trigger is tripped, the weight falls upon the prey and crushes it. It’s not a pretty kill, but it gets the job done.

The greasy string deadfall is the least complicated trap in this article, best suited for small creatures, particularly rodents. For this trap, the bait is mashed into a piece of twine (which is holding up the weight). The animal goes under the weight to chew on the twine, and it breaks — dropping the rock.

Step 1: Gather your components. This trap consists of a forked stick, a deadfall weight, a length of thin twine, and suitable bait. You also will need something to secure the free end of the twine. We can get the best results by choosing a forked stick that has nearly parallel branching, and one long fork leg and a shorter one. The twine should be thin and barely able to support the weight of the deadfall. It could be hand-woven string, or a piece of cord you scavenge. The bait should be a good match for your target species.

Step 2: Tie one end of your twine to the shorter branch on the forked stick and the other end of the twine to a small shrub or stake in the ground. The deadfall weight should be placed against the forked stick so that the twine is tight and running under the weight, but not touching it. You’re not done yet, but simply placing the deadfall weight in position so you can determine where to place the bait. Remove the weight and add the bait.

Step 3: Squish the bait into the twine deeply, in a spot deep under the weight. Replace the weight and check the trap daily.

Foothold Trap

The foothold trap dates back centuries, showing up at least as early as the 1600s. These traps consist of clamping jaws that hold an animal’s foot after they set on it. These traps have been used for catching small game and larger animals, even bears. Foothold traps don’t usually kill an animal (unless they die of stress). The quarry is typically dispatched by the trapper. While you can’t make a reliable foothold trap from scratch in the wild, they’re still a great trap to know — and a better trap to stockpile. Here’s how to set one, tailored to catch predators.

Step 1: Locate a good site for this trap. A stream bank or small hillside works well. Drive a wooden stake into the bank, wiggle it around, and pull it out. This makes a hole in the dirt that resembles a rodent hole. Insert bait deep into the hole. It’s OK if you leave a little fresh loose dirt at the mouth of the hole — this makes it look “lived in.”

Step 2: Dig a shallow hole, large enough to hold the open jaws of the foothold trap, near the fake rodent hole. Drive a stake into the ground and attach the foothold chain to it. Place a piece of wax paper over the set foothold trap. This keeps the cover dirt from filling in the space under the foothold trigger. Cover lightly with dirt or sand. The ideal distance from the fake rodent hole to the foothold is the same distance from the target species’ nose to its front feet, and slightly right or left of center.

Step 3: Set up a fence or funnel. Place rocks, logs, thorny branches, or other natural obstructions near the foothold, but not over it. This will help to persuade the animal to step in the right spot. Check your trap daily and dispatch any trapped game.

Conclusion

Trapping is just like any other survival skill. The more you practice it, the better you’ll get. And you can even get in some practice time in the city and suburbs. Set traps without their harmful component.

For example, create a foothold set without burying the foothold. Just create a patch of damp sand, a baited fake rodent hole, and set up obstructions to direct the animal to set in the “track trap” to catch only their footprint. You could also set up snares with thread instead of cables or rope. Wipe a little sticky pine pitch on the tread and see what happens. If an animal gets caught, the thread will break. This shows you that your trap could have worked, and the sticky sap may give you a hair or two so you can see which species tripped the trap.

Keep these trapping tips in mind and practice your traps often — the skill will always be there to serve you.

Sources:

New: Grey Ghost Gear Impact 24 EDC Backpack

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Grey Ghost Gear recently released a new addition to its already extensive line of packs and bags: the Impact 24. It's designed for urban EDC, but the company already has some packs built for that — for example, the Gypsy backpack we previously reviewed. So why another? The answer, we're told, lies with GG Senior Product Designer Stephen Crowe. He designed the pack while commuting every day by bicycle.

Crowe explains his reasoning: “I needed a more vertical backpack with a specific pocket configuration that I had not seen yet in any of our existing bags. I kept experimenting with tiered exterior pockets for all the essentials I needed in an average 24-hour period like my phone, wallet, and keys… [and] space for bike tools, patch kit and an extra tube in case of a flat.”

“Most importantly, I wanted to truncate the main compartment in favor of a third exterior pocket at the bottom with maximum depth. Originally intended to house pre-made meals, this bottom pocket is spacious enough for cameras, small drones and other sensitive items that would otherwise get crushed if tossed into the main compartment with other items.”

The Impact 24 was designed with bicycle use in mind, but it's potentially a good choice for a number of uses, whether you're pounding pavement, bugging out on a 2×2 utility bike, or just riding the metro.

The Impact 24 is made of Rip-Stop Nylon and 500D Cordura to keep the bag lightweight and well balanced “for anyone on the move; something you will appreciate if you ride your bicycle, motorcycle, skateboard or scooter to work.” It includes a laptop sleeve, long zippered side pockets, and a front zippered mesh pocket for quick-access EDC kit items. The exterior features daisy-chain loops for carabiner attachment or lashing on other gear.

The Impact 24 EDC backpack is available in Black, Wolf Grey, and Olive colorways. MSRP is $175, but it's currently up for pre-order at $105 on GreyGhostGear.com.

Specifications:

  • Upper Interior: 12.5” H x 10” W x 7” D
  • Tablet Sleeve: 12” x 10” W
  • Lower Interior: 7” H X 10” W X 7” D
  • Upper Exterior: 6” HX 8.5” W X 2” D
  • Middle Exterior: 5” H X 5.5” W X 2” D
  • Total Volume: 23.7 liters

Digital Home Security: 5 Easy Ways to Protect Your WiFi Network

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Most of us have put a substantial amount of thought and effort into protecting our homes against intruders. You might have an alarm system, a doorbell camera, high fences, a dog that barks loudly, upgraded door locks and striker plates, a bedside gun, or all of the above. You'd certainly be angry if an uninvited stranger opened your door and started going through all your drawers, taking pictures of your valuables, looking over your shoulder as you type, and listening to your private conversations.

A physical intrusion of that magnitude seems absurd, but in the digital space, it's more common than you might think. It's possible for someone to break into most WiFi networks with nothing but a laptop, a modicum of research skills, and (depending on your security measures) some patience. Hackers can find targets from a neighboring house or apartment, on foot, or inside a vehicle (known as wardriving). You may not even know an intrusion is happening — unlike a burglar kicking in your door, an uninvited guest on your wireless network can easily go unnoticed.

The Dangers of Poor Network Security

In the best case, an intruder may just be freeloading off the internet service you're paying for, using your bandwidth and slowing down your devices. In worse cases, they could be skimming your passwords and personal information, or committing crimes from within your network. Just imagine law enforcement officers pounding on your door to ask why child porn was being distributed from your network. That could conceivably be the result of a criminal exploiting a major lapse in your digital home security.

The dangers of poor network security aren't just local, either. Last year, security researchers learned that an “advanced, likely state-sponsored” malware known as VPNFilter had affected at least 500,000 routers and other network devices in 54 countries. Most of these devices were victimized because of “known public exploits or default credentials that make compromise relatively straightforward.” Like the devastating cyberattack known as Petya, analysts have speculated this malware originated in Russia and may have been at least partially targeted at the Ukraine.

According to the cybersecurity experts at CISCO Talos, “[VPNFilter] has a destructive capability that can render an infected device unusable, which can be triggered on individual victim machines or en masse, and has the potential of cutting off internet access for hundreds of thousands of victims worldwide.” It also gave attackers the ability to harvest website credentials and monitor network traffic.

Fortunately, protecting against most of these attacks is often as simple as ensuring your router is frequently updated and equipped with a few key security features. Read on to find out how.

Routers & Modems

Examples of a Netgear router (left) and Motorola modem (right).

Before we go any further, it's worth clarifying the difference between a router and modem. If you already know this difference, go ahead and skip the remainder of this section.

A modem enables you to connect to the internet through your internet service provider (ISP). The modem receives signal from outside your home over a coaxial cable (for cable modems) or telephone wire (for DSL modems). Standalone modems typically have only one output port for another device — this usually connects directly to your router.

A router distributes (or routes) that connection to various other wired and wireless devices in your home. To borrow a simplified metaphor from Gizmodo, the router is like a front-desk receptionist at a large office building. It's easy to walk through the front door (modem) but the receptionist (router) is the single point of contact who will determine who you are and where you're going in the building. If your credentials are incorrect or you're asking to meet with the wrong person, security (the router's firewall) won't let you go any further. The router is therefore your main point of defense — if someone gets past it, they can cause all sorts of havoc.

The router acts like a receptionist in the entrance of an office building. (Flickr.com/oimax | CC BY 2.0)

It's possible to get a router/modem combination unit with all-in-one functionality — many people get these as rentals or loaners from their ISP. However, if you're looking to maximize your security, we'd advise you to buy your own separate, high-quality modem and router. This can help you maximize the speed you're paying for, and also improve reliability. If one of the devices starts having issues, it'll be easier to troubleshoot and replace the culprit. Make sure the modem you buy is on your ISP's approved list for your internet package (check the company's web site or search “[provider name] modem list”).

Accessing Router Settings

For the rest of this article, we'll focus on your router, since it's your primary line of defense. We'll also assume it's one you've purchased and have complete administrative control over.

To figure out how to log in to your router's control panel, check the instruction manual. Most of the time it's as simple as connecting a device, opening the internet browser, typing in 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 into the address bar, and entering the username and password from the instruction manual. If you can't log in for any reason, you may need to press the factory reset button on your router — this will reset the admin username and password to the factory default, and clear any other custom settings.

1. Make Sure Firmware & Hardware is Up-to-Date

Once you've connected to your router, the first thing to look at is the version of its firmware (the software that controls it). There's usually a button to check for updates — click it, and take a few minutes to install the latest firmware version that's available. These updates often fix security vulnerabilities that were discovered after the router was released, such as the KRACK exploit that allowed hackers to breach networks in 2017.

If no updates are available, or if you've owned your router for more than 3-4 years, it may be time to upgrade to a newer model. Router technology moves quickly, so upgrading to a new (but not bleeding-edge new) model every few years will give you the latest security features. In many cases, it'll also improve connection reliability and speed by meeting the latest industry standards.

2. Change Your Wifi Network Name (SSID)

Here's an exercise to try at home: get your cell phone or laptop and check the available WiFi networks in your vicinity. Most of them will be password-protected, but the network names (also known as SSIDs) will still tell you quite a bit of information. “Smith network” tells you the owner's last name so you can look up their address and learn more about their family or business. “Netgear” tells you the type of router so you can research security exploits for it, and also indicates that the device is probably still using the manufacturer's default settings (and admin username/password).

smartphone cell phone wifi internet

To avoid giving away information about your network, simply change the network name to something that has nothing to do with your family or device. If you're especially crafty, you could do some misdirection and call it “Linksys” when your router is actually a Netgear. That way, if someone tries to research device-related exploits, they'll be sent on a wild goose chase. (Don't bother with comedy names like “virus distribution network” or “FBI surveillance van” — you're not scaring anyone off with those.)

Hiding your SSID is an option that makes your network invisible to the public, but it's more of an inconvenience to your guests than an effective security measure. It's very easy to discover hidden networks with a single command in Windows, and anyone who might try to hack your network is likely to know this. Still, you might get lucky and avoid the attention of less-experienced hackers.

3. Use a Strong Encryption Protocol

If you've ever configured a new WiFi network, you've probably seen a few options next to the password field. These might include None, WEP, WPA, WPA-TKIP, WPA-AES, and WPA2-AES. The “none” option means an open network with no password — we shouldn't have to explain why that's a terrible idea. The other options are security protocols. You can think of these like locks on the virtual door to your network.

WEP is the oldest and trivially easy to crack, taking only minutes to breach with commonly-available programs. WPA (as well as the newer WPA-TKIP and WPA-AES variants) are better choices, but they're still not ideal. WPA2-AES is the industry standard and the most secure option of these choices. By ensuring your router is set to WPA2-AES and following the password recommendations below, you'll be placing a huge roadblock in the way of anyone looking to break into your network.

(A newer protocol, WPA3, is on the horizon, but will likely need some more work before it's considered a true security improvement on WPA2-AES.)

4. Set Secure Passwords

Immediately after setting the SSID and encryption protocol, you'll need to set secure passwords for your WiFi network and router. Do not use the default credentials. Unless this is your first day on the internet, you should know that common words like “password” and numbers like “12345” are weak. Many people go to the opposite end of the spectrum and think that passwords need to be complex gibberish like “Q7#eN8*52hW2k$35” — fortunately, that's not necessarily the case.

A happy medium is to start with a long, complex, and memorable phrase. Ideally it should be obscure or totally unique. Avoid famous lines like “franklymydearidontgiveadamn” or “ilovethesmellofnapalminthemorning.” Once you have a phrase, incorporate capital letters, symbols, and numbers throughout the phrase to make it more difficult to guess. In the article Tips for Better Passwords, Consumer Reports gave the example, “Th3Qu1ckBr0wnF0xJump$0verTh3LazyD0g.” This method produces a passphrase that's secure, but not impossible to memorize like the gibberish example above.

Diceware is another method that involves rolling dice to generate a randomized string of numbers that are cross-referenced with a word list to create a phrase.

You should create secure passwords for your WiFi network(s) as well as your router's administrator control panel. Use different passwords for each. This way, someone can't gain access to your WiFi network through legitimate means (i.e. visiting your house) and sneakily disable the router's security features while they're logged-on.

5. Monitor Connected Devices

Even if you've done all these things, it's unlikely that someone will defeat your security measures, but it's not impossible. You should therefore know how to check the devices that are currently connected to your WiFi network — if you don't recognize one or more of them, you should dig deeper to see if your network has been compromised.

(MAC addresses in this image have been censored, but would normally be unique to each device.)

Most routers have a “connected devices” menu that will list the names and MAC addresses of devices that are connected to the router.

The name is set by the user or manufacturer, and can be almost anything — for example “DELL-DESKTOP” or “IPHONE.” Don't trust that this is an accurate representation of a device, since many device names can be changed at will.

A MAC address is a string of 12 numbers and letters that serves as a unique* identifier assigned to a specific internet-connected device — for example, 08:6D:41:00:00:01. The first 6 characters provide information about the company that manufactured the device (or its internet adapter), and this information can be checked using sites such as WireShark.org. In the case of the example, 08:6D:41 comes back as “Apple, Inc.”

*MAC addresses are not always unique — hackers can scan for trusted devices on a network and imitate or “spoof” the MAC address of one of those devices.

Occam's Razor applies here — if you don't recognize a device, don't freak out and assume you've been hacked. That device could be anything from a tablet or e-reader to an Internet of Things device like a smart washing machine (those unnecessarily-smart devices pose threats of their own, but that's a topic for another day). Use the name and MAC address to narrow down what it is.

MAC address filtering, called Access Control in this example, can allow or block specific devices.

If it still seems unusual, you can use your router's MAC address filtering to block certain devices, or block all devices that aren't on a preset whitelist. But as with hiding your SSID, this can become a hassle that's more trouble than it's worth, especially if friends regularly visit and try to use your network.  Help Desk Geek managing editor Aseem Kishore wrote that “[MAC address filtering] really provides no extra security and can actually make your WiFi network less secure.” Periodic MAC address monitoring is a sufficient precaution in most cases.

Closing Thoughts

As with any type of security, you need to balance protection with practicality — for most of us on home networks, the five simple steps above will offer sufficient protection against the most common WiFi intrusion attempts. However, if you'd like to delve more into network security and set up additional barriers, we'll leave you with some other tips:

  • Reducing broadcast range is one easy (albeit potentially inconvenient) way to enhance security — hackers have to be within range of your network to breach it. On dual-band routers, the 2.4 GHz band can pass through walls and other obstructions more easily than 5 GHz, meaning that it extends beyond the property line of many homes. Disabling 2.4 GHz in your router settings will limit how far your network spreads, but may also lead to dead zones in your house.
  • Disable remote management or SSH access. These features create a web gateway for remote login to the router, and provide one more avenue for hackers to attack. Thankfully, most routers have this feature disabled by default.
  • Disable WPS. This press-to-connect “easy button” makes it more convenient to connect new devices to your router, but it's also notoriously easy to crack the PIN, allowing hackers to completely circumvent your WiFi password. Many newer routers have lockouts to prevent continuous “brute force” WPS PIN attempts, but it's safer to simply turn off this feature or buy a router that doesn't support it.
  • Disable WiFi when it's not needed. This is the most extreme measure you can take, but the only one that guarantees the network can't be hacked wirelessly. Some routers (such as Synology) offer the ability to turn WiFi on and off at scheduled times, so you can shut it down while you're at work, asleep, or out of town.

For an in-depth checklist of router and WiFi network security measures, refer to RouterSecurity.org. However, keep in mind that many of the tips there are increasingly technical and bring a higher degree of hassle than the measures we discussed above.

Prepare to Meet SHTF Fitness Standards

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This article originally appeared in Issue 7 of our magazine.

Warning! The exercises and content expressed in this column are for illustrative purposes only. Consult a medical professional before trying any physical activity or nutritional plan.

The moment you’ve been planning for has come. Disaster has struck, and you’re prepared. “I’ll just grab my bug-out bag and hoof it to safety,” you might say. Sounds good on paper… but are you actually fit enough to do it?

Physical preparation is the oft-neglected aspect of being prepared for what is to come. Preparation is about being durable — being able to take whatever is thrown your way. This could involve wading knee-deep in water or climbing over a pile of rubble. Heck, it may even be a literal run for your life. Combine these physical feats with your heavy bug-out bag and some extra supplies, and suddenly SHTF fitness becomes a whole different ballgame.

This begs the question, are you fit enough to save your own life? Let’s take a look at some minimum SHTF fitness standards to ensure you’re ready.

Minimums

Military and law enforcement are known to have minimum physical fitness requirements or standards you must meet to be considered for a spot. There’s a very broad range of requirements that is based on the job, and survival is no different. One should be expected to have the ability to perform basic human movements, but above all else, you should be able to handle what’s thrown at you.

You don’t want to be the weak link in your group, do you? Worse yet, if you’re alone, you have only yourself to rely on to get through tough times. Running from pursuers, jumping across a stream, swimming to safety, climbing over a fence, and lifting and carrying supplies all seem like pretty realistic physical activities that you may need to undertake. Based on that, let’s take a look at some bare minimums you should be able to complete. If you can’t, it looks like you have some training to do.

Running

Having adequate endurance is a must, especially when moving long distances with equipment. Running is one of the basic human movements that will absolutely be necessary at some point.

Test: 3-mile run for time

Standard for Men: 27 minutes

Standard for Women: 30 minutes

Training: We’ll look at using quarter-mile repeats to improve endurance and, to a degree, running speed. You’ll start by running four quarter-mile intervals, with no more than two minutes of rest in between and run times being within about five seconds of each other. This will take a little bit of trial and error. Every other week, bump up the number of intervals by one. When you can, reduce your rest periods in 15-second intervals. Complete two sessions per week.

Swimming

Swimming may be the difference between life and death. Floods can happen when bad weather strikes, and ensuring you can get to safety is crucial. The 12-minute swim test is a great way to determine your swimming ability. Simply swim as far as you can in 12 minutes.

Test: 12-minute swim test (freestyle)

Standard for Men: 500 yards

Standard for Women: 400 yards

Training: Start training with a total distance of 200 yards per session in 50-yard intervals, two to three times per week. Increase in 50-yard increments each week until you reach 500 yards. From there, add 25 yards every other week until you are able to swim for 12 minutes without stopping.

Jumping

Jumping over obstacles, or even having the necessary lower body power to do so, can really come in handy. Hell, how about jumping between buildings Jason Bourne-style? Who knows? We’ll use the standing long jump to measure this. Standing in one spot, jump forward as far as you can. Measure where you make contact with the ground at your heels.

Test: Standing long jump

Standard for Men: 1.25 x your height

Standard for Women: 1 x your height

Training: The squat jump is a great power training exercise for the lower body. Start from a standing position. Drop straight down with your hips back, and aggressively jump as high as you can. Move down fast, then up fast. Stick the landing before completing another repetition. Add load if necessary. Complete three sets of eight repetitions, two to three times per week.

Climbing

Manipulating your bodyweight is something everyone should be able to do, and what better way than climbing? Being able to climb up a tree or over a fence is a pretty realistic necessity. We’ll mimic this by setting a minimum of pull-ups — only we’ll do the tactical variation (thumb next to index finger), which is more applicable to real-world obstacles.

Test: Tactical pull-up for repetitions

Standard for Men: 8

Standard for Women: 3

Training: If you are unable to complete a pull-up, first focus on doing assisted pull-ups until you build up strength. This is best done through using a band to provide some assistance. Start by putting one foot through a band and crossing the other leg over. Grab a bar overhead and squeeze it very hard. Pull your shoulder blades down, creating space between your neck and shoulders. Drive your elbows to your sides until your neck is in-line with the bar. Slowly return to the starting position. Performing three to five sets of three to five reps, two to three times per week, will help you build the requisite strength to complete the above standard.

Strength

Picking a heavy object off of the floor is about as basic as it gets, so it should come as no surprise that this made it on the list. What exercise can help you with that? A deadlift.

Test: Deadlift

Standard for Men: 1.5 x your bodyweight

Standard for Women: 1 x your bodyweight

Training: Begin standing comfortably with the bar directly over your shoelaces. Take a deep breath through your belly, brace your abs (like someone is going to punch you), and hold it. This will help stabilize your spine. Drive your hips backward, keeping your lower back flat, until you feel your hamstrings tighten. Bend your knees to reach the bar. Grab the bar and crush it. Your grip should be just outside your legs. With heavier weight, an alternated grip (pictured here) will work best. Make a double-chin and shift your head backwards to get neutral neck alignment. Look up with your eyes, not your head. Pull the bar back into your shins and drive your heels through the floor. Finish at the top by squeezing your butt. Reverse the previous instructions to return to the starting position. As with the pull-up, deadlift strength can be built very well by following three to five of three to five repetitions, two to three times per week.

Carrying

Carrying people, moving supplies, or clearing obstacles are all things you most likely will have to do, regardless of the scenario. You should be able to carry some pretty heavy weight — at least your body weight.

Test: Farmer’s carry your body weight for 20 seconds

Standard for Men: Half of your bodyweight in each hand

Standard for Women: Half of your bodyweight in each hand

Training: Simply grab two heavy weights (too heavy to shrug), and go for a walk. Complete three sets, three times per week. Focus on crushing the handles and slowly build up to the above recommendation.

Conclusion

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, if you’re proficient in these areas, you’ll be in good shape. These should be looked at as minimums, so if these standards seem difficult, you have some work to do. You should be able to far exceed the SHTF fitness minimums given some proper training. It really can’t be stressed enough that physical preparedness is absolutely vital to any bug-out plan. You never know what life will throw your way. Do what you need to do to prepare for the worst, and don’t let fitness be the limiting factor.

About the Author

Ryne Gioviano, M.S.Ed., NSCA-CPT is the owner of Achieve Personal Training & Lifestyle Design. He holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology and is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. For more information, visit www.achieve-personaltraining.com. You can find Ryne on Twitter and Instagram at @RGioviano.

Situational Awareness: Can You Recognize the Sound of Gunfire?

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Situational awareness is the foundation of most survival skills. By constantly looking, listening, and using your other senses to pay attention to your surroundings, you develop a natural early warning system for various dangers. Those dark clouds on the horizon and the sudden breeze against your skin may signify an incoming storm. An individual's tense body language, avoidant gaze, and unusually bulky jacket may indicate they're planning an armed robbery of the store you just walked into. And in a worst-case scenario, those pops you just heard inside your office building might have been the sound of gunfire.

Shots at an outdoor range will sound substantially different than those echoing through a building.

By paying attention to these initial cues, we can be ready to react to a threat if it presents itself. On the other hand, if you're glued to your phone, blasting music through your earbuds, or sidetracked by any number of other distractions, you may not see a threat coming until it's too late.

Hearing the sound of gunfire might be an immediate sign of a life-and-death situation — of course, this is heavily dependent on context. In the wilderness or near a shooting range, it isn't unusual, but in a school, church, or office building, it certainly is. Above all, it's important to determine if what you heard was in fact a gunshot.

For those of us who've been shooting frequently for years or decades, it's easy to feel assured that we'd know gunshots if we heard them. However, it's not necessarily that simple. The sound of a handgun at an indoor range differs greatly from the sound of a large-caliber rifle outdoors; distance and directionality are also important factors. Also consider the presence or absence of ear protection, ambient noise, and other environmental factors that might skew perception.

Experience is the most effective teacher of this skill, but there are a few other ways to become better prepared to detect the first signs of gunfire. As a police officer and shooting instructor, Greg Ellifritz has often been asked the question “what does gunfire sound like?” by less-experienced members of the community. His article on ActiveResponseTraining.net offers a few suggestions — here are some excerpts:

First, acknowledge the fact that an active shooter event can happen anywhere. If you hear loud popping noises, don’t allow denial or rationalization to convince you that they aren’t gunshots. If you hear loud popping sounds in a public location, assume that they are gunshots and immediately come up with an escape plan.

Be cautious of wearing iPod or stereo headphones in a public place that may be the site of a shooting. Many shots are difficult to hear inside a building. They are far more difficult to identify while wearing headphones.

Even if you have fired a weapon many times, you should recognize that guns fired indoors sound different than guns fired outside.

If you know what guns sound like, do your children? They need to know too. Take them to the range.

If you have control over a large building, it would be very useful to wait until the building is empty and have a friend fire some blank rounds from various locations inside. Get a feel for what the shots sound like and try to locate the shooter. It will be much more difficult than you think.

For more on this subject, check out the original article on ActiveResponseTraining.net. For most of us, the likelihood of encountering an active shooter is low, but situational awareness and the ability to identify this sound can buy you precious seconds if you ever find yourself in that scenario.

Survival Sanitation: Dealing with the “S” in SHTF

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It finally happened. The sh!t hit the fan. And as you and your friends in the preparedness community shake your collective fingers and say, “I told you so” to the woefully unprepared, that old familiar pressure in your gut begins to build. You realize that it’s time to make a sacrifice at the porcelain altar. But if the power is out and the water has stopped running, where will you make your “deposit” — and how can you clean up afterward? What about everybody else? You can’t just start digging holes in your backyard behind the shrubbery…or can you?

In this semi-tastefully written article, we will discuss how to handle pee, poop, and trash in three SHTF scenarios: 1) bugging in, 2) bugging out, and 3) at your bug-out location. When your bowels start to growl, you have to pee like a race horse, or you have an armload of garbage, follow these easy procedures and you’ll have one less thing to worry about in the middle of mayhem.

Bugging in at Home

Despite being embroiled in the struggles of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, we can’t just pile up waste wherever we like — especially at home. Trash and human waste need to be dealt with in a safe and timely manner. The type of sewage system at your home will have a great bearing on your human waste disposal after a disaster.

If you’re on a municipal water and sewage system, the water will flow until the source breaks down. Likewise, the sewage will continue to flow away until that facility fails.

If you’re in a more rural setting, your water usually comes from an electrically powered pump in a well on your own land. You also have a septic system that is usually gravity fed and drains your household sewage into a septic tank — then the liquid overflows into a buried drain field. If your sewage system is on-site and gravity fed, all you need is a bucket of water to pour into the toilet tank or directly into the bowl to keep flushing your toilet for years to come.

Urine: If your toilet is still working, a simple bucket of water from a nearby source will allow you to continue using it. To save on labor and valuable H2O, follow the time-worn adage, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow,” and leave urine in the bowl through multiple uses. When someone drops the inevitable No. 2, use your bucket of water to flush it all away. If your toilet is not functional, it’s usually helpful to keep urine separate from solid human waste to assist in disposal.

A bucket with a tight-fitting lid can make a fine urinal for both genders. It will begin to generate a strong odor after a few days; this is ammonia coming from the breakdown of waste products in the urine. This should be dumped outdoors, preferably in a pit or gravel bed — because the ammonia-rich urine will kill grass, trees, crops, and other vegetation, as any readers with dogs and dead patches in their lawn know quite well.

Feces: Again, a working toilet flushed with buckets of water will spare you some rather unsavory work. But if this isn’t an option, another bucket and lid can save the day. Throw used toilet paper and feminine hygiene products in there as well, since you don’t want to mix this with your trash. Add a little dry material after each use too. This can be a sprinkle of wood ashes, sawdust, dried grass, or shredded newspaper. Dry material helps mitigate the smell, as will a splash of chlorine bleach. It’s OK if some pee ends up in the bucket, but try to keep it separate.

When the bucket nears full (or sooner if you can’t stand the stench), dump the contents in a compost pit and bury it. You could also seal the lid with duct tape and set the bucket outside, hoping that waste management eventually resumes and they’ll know what to do with the biohazard you created.

Trash: Garbage can be treasure when situations become dire. Jars can make drinking glasses. Metal cans could be used as cooking vessels. Paper waste can be crumpled and fluffed into toilet paper. (Don’t believe us? Take a piece of used copy paper or loose-leaf and continually crumble it up. Eventually, it’ll be almost as smooth as tissue.)

Sort your trash and pull out anything that could be useful. Clean or disinfect it somehow, and find a use for it. If it’s just too nasty to save, place it in a bin or bucket with a sprinkle of bleach and a lid. It’s generally not very safe to burn trash in a situation without a functional fire department, so your last resort with particularly vile garbage should be burial rather than flames. Last thing you need in a long-term survival situation is a house fire.

Bugging Out and On the Move

Going while you’re on the go is much simpler than you might expect. And dealing with trash isn’t rocket science either. Since we’re not faced with the issue of fouling our home base, the rules are quite a bit looser. Here’s how you can relieve yourself of burdens while you’re on the move — and even be stealthy about it.

Urine: This one is the simplest of all, pee wherever you like. Since you’re just passing through, it doesn’t matter if you leave behind a urine-scented wet spot in a back alley, the deep forest, or a sandy desert. But if you’re trying to remain off the radar and enjoy some privacy, step off the beaten path and try not to make a disturbance. If you’re being tracked, for example, a gentleman peeing on a tree trunk could leave a visible wet spot for hours. And ladies may leave two deep footprints as they straddle the ground and a toilet paper flag when they’re done, if they’re not careful.

Feces: A “cat hole” is the best way to do the doo in the great outdoors. Use a stick, a shovel, or a trowel to dig a hole 6 to 8 inches deep. Make yourself a bit lighter, wipe up, and bury the evidence. Use your best camouflaging skills to blend in the disturbed soil, and no one should be the wiser. For insurance, throw some sticks or a small log on top to prevent people from stepping in your land mine. If you forgot the toilet paper in your bug-out bag, you can wipe with a stack of dead dry leaves, a stray piece of paper, or anything else with some absorbency — though your nether regions will be non too pleased. (Hence, it’s a good idea to pack a roll of TP in your bug-out bag.)

Trash: There are really only two choices to deal with trash while you’re on the go — bring it with you or hide it. If you think you’re being followed, you can’t exactly litter as you walk. That trail of PowerBar wrappers could lead people right to your bug-out location. You could bury the trash as you go, assuming you’re good at camo techniques, but the best bet is to bring it all with you.

When You're Off the Grid

Since you don’t know how long you’ll be at your bug-out spot, it’s best to treat it like your home and handle things similarly to the home sanitation procedures. There are a few exceptions, however. If your bug-out location (BOL) is a camp in the remote wilderness, there won’t be a toilet to flush with a bucket of water. In an arid climate, you may not have the water to spare even if you do have a toilet on a home septic system. And as we’ll discuss, burning your trash is usually not the best course of action. It’s time to think about a trash pit and a latrine.

Urine: This will end up where the poop ends up, hopefully in a deep latrine hole. That is, unless you decide to do something else with it (see the sidebar to the right).

Feces: Whether your BOL is a campsite, cave, or shack, you’ll most likely need a latrine. This should be a fairly deep but narrow hole, situated both downwind and downhill from your shelter. It should also be at least 50 yards away from your water source, whether it’s a spring, a stream, or a well. The bottom of the latrine should also be at least 6 feet above the water table.
If camouflage is not a concern, you can build a privacy screen with tarps or whatever materials are available. To keep your latrine stealthy, situate it in a cluster of existing bushes or boulders. Keep the hole covered when not in use. Stock some toilet paper in a waterproof container at the latrine (coffee cans are great). A pile of dirt and a small spade allow you to cover the waste after each latrine use. Also, keep some hand sanitizer nearby, or at least soap and water.

Trash: It may be a little tricky figuring out how to handle trash at your hideout. Trash that cannot be repurposed could be burnt, but the smoke may be seen or sniffed by unwelcome guests. Starting a wildfire is also more of a possibility when you start burning trash. For best results, create a trash pit near the latrine and use it for unwanted refuse. A thin, flat rock can hide the pit and help to keep scavenging animals out of the trash.

Pet Pooper

If we’ve learned anything from the classic children’s book Everybody Poops, it’s that your companion animals have to go too. In a crisis event that forces you to stay holed up at home, housebroken dogs and outdoor cats probably won’t change their deuce-dropping style. It really doesn’t matter where they pee, as long as it’s outside.

You should make an effort to clean up their poop, though. This will prevent the spread of bacteria (e.g. when you step in it and track it all over the house), and thereby prevent the spread of potential illness. When your furry pal is done, use a bag over your hand to pick up their poop and drop it in your latrine hole. You’ll have to get creative when you run out of litter for your indoor cat. Try a pan of gravel, mulch, or better yet, sand. Cats are desert creatures, and it’s hard for them to resist burying treasures for you in the sand. Dump the litter box and refill it periodically, pouring the whole thing into your latrine hole.

Making Fertilizer

If your mail is being delivered by Kevin Costner on horseback, then things are pretty grim — all the more reason to make use of every commodity at your disposal. “Nicer” waste, like trash, can have a myriad of uses. Paper products can be used to start fires. Bottles and cans are useful as containers.

As for other forms of waste, urine can be collected and sealed in bottles. Add a bit of dirt before sealing and leave them in the sun until they turn almost black. You’ve now created a nitrogen-rich fertilizer which can be poured sparingly around your crops. Your “hu-manure” can be used similarly. After a year-long composting, most (if not all) of the dangerous pathogens are gone, and this rich compost can be used in the soil before planting.

Don’t believe it will work? This technique of extreme recycling has allowed some areas in Asia to continuously grow food in the same soil for more than 4,000 consecutive years without depleting the land.

3 Handy Cleaning Items

Whether your bathroom is a bucket or a ditch in the woods, it’s crucial to maintain high standards of hygiene. In small units and in close quarters, gastrointestinal bugs can often run wild and play havoc within your survival group. Thankfully, a few household items can prove invaluable when used to clean things up.

Bleach is the king of the cleaning products. You can make a quick disinfecting solution by adding ¼ cup of ordinary bleach to 2¼ cups of water. Used in a spray bottle, this can mist any “dirty” surfaces as a disinfectant.

Anti-bacterial soap is another great cleaning item. Use it to wash your hands, your body, even your hair and clothes.

High-proof clear liquor can be used as a gentle disinfectant or deodorizer for skin, clothing, your mouth, and lots of other dirty surfaces.

4 “Oh Sh!t” Mistakes to Avoid

There’s just no coming back from certain potential events. These are some common mistakes that could pop up when providing your own sanitation, and how to avoid them.

1. Make sure there’s stable footing around outdoor latrines. In wet weather, or by heavy usage, the rim around a pit privy can become slippery. Fix this by using a few boards around the perimeter and nailing them together for stability. Trust us, you don’t want to slip and step in the hole.

2. Check for paper before you go. Even in pre-apocalypse times, this one can get the best of us. Make sure there’s a stock of wiping material before you begin.

3. Sanitize those hands. A quick squirt of sanitizer or diluted-bleach water can take the place of hand washing in austere environments. Don’t skip this step. You could literally sicken your entire group by touching things with your dirty hands.

4. Be vigilant for vermin. In a grid-down situation, pests could run rampant. Cover your latrine hole when not in use. Keep all trash out of the reach of animals. Bury garbage that is particularly stinky. Get familiar with many methods of catching rats and mice, as their populations may swell after a crisis.

Conclusion

It’s easy for this topic to be humorous, and we didn’t shy away from plucking some low-hanging fruit while writing this article. But what’s not a joke is the danger of ignoring sanitation during an emergency.

It’s not uncommon for people to contract bacterial illnesses when living in camps or off the grid. Fecal bacteria can cause diarrhea and vomiting, leading to even nastier messes to clean up. Fever, weakness, and dysentery (bloody diarrhea) can follow if medical treatment is unavailable. If the body’s immune system cannot win the fight, then the ill person might even die. That means a preventable death happened, just because somebody was behaving like an animal and failed to clean up after themselves. So let’s keep things tidy, folks.

About the Author

A frequent OFFGRID contributor, Tim MacWelch has been a survival instructor for the past 19 years and has trained people from all walks of life, including members from all branches of U.S. Armed Forces, the State Department, and the Department of Defense, among other federal agencies. He’s a frequent public speaker for preparedness groups and events. He’s also the author of the survival books, Prepare For Anything and Hunting And Gathering Survival Manual. When he’s not teaching survival or writing about it, MacWelch lives a self-reliant lifestyle with his family in Virginia. Follow him on Twitter @timmacwelch for daily survival skills and tips. www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com

Widener’s “Epic Water Filter Test” Lives Up to Its Name

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The internet is an incredible resource for information, but it's also a major source of misinformation, especially when it comes to highly complex topics. During our own research for our H2O Hygiene buyer's guide back in Issue 15, we learned that water filtration and purification is one such topic. It's somewhat understandable, since it deals with microscopic organisms and contaminants that are invisible to the human eye — a cup of water might appear perfectly clear and smell fresh, but drinking even one sip of it could result in days of agony or a trip to the hospital. There are lots of persistent myths about the subject. And even if a filter or purifier claims to deal with those contaminants, the manufacturer's claims can be surprisingly misleading.

In 2016, we compared these eight water filters and purifiers in our “H2O Hygiene” buyer's guide.

As we mentioned in our 2016 buyer's guide, “Adequately testing the purity of water is impossible without sophisticated lab equipment and highly trained personnel. Off-the-shelf water test kits can’t possibly detect the minuscule levels of contaminants we’re dealing with here.” Since time and budget constraints prevented us from commissioning microbiological lab tests for that article, we evaluated the filters and purifiers based on preexisting test results from third-party labs. While the buyer's guide revealed some clear pros and cons for each product, we still would've liked to delve deeper.

Widener's tested 17 different water filters and sent samples to BCS Laboratories for evaluation.

We recently came across a new article from Widener's Guns, Ammo, & Shooting Blog, titled simply Survival & Backpacking Water Filter Tests. After reading this article and its “Epic Water Filter Test” segment, we can say it's easily one of the most comprehensive we've read on the subject, and an outstanding overview of water filters and purifiers.

The lengthy article touches on many of the points we wrote about back in 2016 — the hazards posed by various contaminants, log reduction, and the importance of demonstrating compliance with NSF/ANSI standards. Better yet, Widener's collected water from three contaminated sources, passed this water through 17 filters and purifiers, and had the resulting samples tested at BCS Laboratories according to “EPA purifier protocol and WHO/NSF purifier test standards.” That's a ton of work, and we commend them for it.

The conclusions of the article are fascinating. The authors compared the results of their tests to the manufacturers' claims, and gave each product a rating of Pure, Clean, Cloudy, or Murky based on the number of inconsistencies they found. Some of the cheaper filters did surprisingly well, and some of the more expensive ones didn't. Several companies omitted important information, and one was said to use “misleading marketing tactics to trick consumers into thinking it offered more protection than it actually does.”

If you're at all interested in learning more about water purification, we'd encourage you to set aside half an hour to read the full Epic Water Filter Test here: wideners.com/blog/water-filter-tests-for-survival

New: BioLite National Preparedness Month Bundles

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Several gear companies are making the most of National Preparedness Month 2019 with special programs and promotions — we recently wrote about the free survival courses being offered throughout September at the 5.11 Tactical ABR Academy. BioLite is tapping in to NPM by offering limited-edition emergency bundles that include lighting, power, and water purification gear for households of various sizes.

BioLite's emergency bundles will be available only during September, and are designed to help users cope with storms, power outages, and other common disasters. Given the company's specialization, it's not surprising that each kit is centered around lighting products, but they also include LifeStraw water filters. Three bundles are available:

Solo Kit — BioLite HeadLamp 330, SunLight area lamp, Charge 20 power bank, diffuser stuff sack (for using the HeadLamp as an area light), and a LifeStraw Classic filter. $130 MSRP (approx. $20 less than buying all items separately at MSRP).

Apartment Kit — SolarHome 620 system with wall charger, 2 SunLight area lamps, 2 HeadLamp 330s, 2 diffuser stuff sacks, and a LifeStraw Classic filter. $310 MSRP (approx. $50 less than buying all items separately at MSRP).

Family Kit — SolarHome 620 system with wall charger, 4 SunLight area lamps, 4 HeadLamp 330s, 4 diffuser stuff sacks, and a LifeStraw Family filter. $460 MSRP (approx. $75 less than buying all items separately at MSRP).

All kits include solar-powered SunLight area lights, which can be placed independently throughout the house in a blackout. The Apartment and Family kits also include SolarHome “microgrid” systems, which offer a control box that can toggle four area lights and charge USB devices.

Although a proper emergency kit should include much more than lighting/power and water filtration, these kits might be a good start for someone who's just getting into preparation. They provide the ability to see clearly during power outages, without relying on candles or mismatched flashlights scattered around the house. For more info on the National Preparedness Month kits and individual products, go to BioLiteEnergy.com.