Platypus Hydration Bladders

Submitted by Everett Mobley

Camelbak packs are high quality, but I hate their hydration bladder. It collapses flat and is difficult to clean and dry.

The Platypus bladders expand like an envelope, and they can be free-standing. They are easy to fill and to drain and dry. They have screw-on caps for use as water-bottles if you're not using the sipper tube.

ED -- Everett, which Platypus system do you use?  In looking over the selection, it seems that the best bladder to use would be the Big Zip SL, with its slid lock closure system located at the top of the bladder, which makes for easy filling.  The other bladder system, the Hoser, has a screw cap, and while the loop at the top makes a convenient hanging point for the bag, the small cap opening would appear to be a drawback (most modern Camelbak bladders have a large diameter opening which allows for you to add ice or what ever easily.)  Also, at 2L. (70 Oz.) the Big Zip is still 1L. shy of the biggest Camelbak bladders.

Check out the Platypus Line of Hydration Bladders here.

Smith’s 3 in 1 Sharpener

 

Submitted by Eric Daniel

I have come to the conclusion that serrated pocket knives are a fact of life.  Don’t get me wrong, I think serrated blades are a definite plus, especially when it comes to cutting things like cord, rope, cardboard and the like, but sharpening them can be a pain.  A couple of the Joes in my unit are knife magnets and they carry a number of tools to sharpen their field blade collections, but I was wanting something more universal.  What I came across was a device from Smith’s. 

Technically, I believe the sharpener is called the Smith’s Carbide, Ceramic and Diamond sharpener (though REI refers to it as the Pocket Pal.)  The carbide parts are for gross sharpening and resetting the edge, while the ceramic ‘stones’ are for finishing.  Both the ceramic and carbide stones are reversible and replaceable.  What really turned me on to the Smith’s sharpener, however, was the tapered diamond rod. The tapered diamond rod allows me to sharpen the serrations on my pocket knives that feature them, and because it’s tapered, it “scales” well with the different sized serrations (Spyderco knives, for example, were ‘notorious’ for having different radii serrations in their blades).  To sharpen the serrations, you just need to run the rod up the middle of the serration and the expanding diameter of the rod will sharpen the entire curved surface.

To be sure, this is not the best or finest sharpener out there, and I probably will not be using it to sharpen my fillet knife, but it certainly does a number on my field knives, as well as the blades on my Gerber-tool, and at $10, it’s doesn’t break the bank and I won’t cry too much if I lose it.

Check out the Smith's Sharpener here.

BlastMatch 1-Handed Fire Starter

 
Submitted by Scott F Murphy

Here I go again - throwing in my 2 cents.

I have both of these units: StrikeForce Fire Starter and the BlastMatch Fire Starter

I used to have the standard magnesium fire starter - while it works well, it basically ruins what would otherwise be a perfectly good knife.  The Blastmatch unit is amazing - I have even been able to get damp tinder started using this thing - the sparks are really hot.  The main differences between the two units are the ability to use the Blastmatch with one hand, but both produce a lot of sparks.

(No, I don't work for REI, they just ROCK.)

ED – Last time I was in REI I didn’t see the BlastMatch (though I might not have recognized it) but I did see the other striker you mention.  As you say, the only downside to the magnesium bar/flint combination is you tear up a perfectly good knife using it.  Now granted, in my case, I have been using a small pocket knife for all my fire starting dirty work, and that’s all I use the knife for, not needing to carry a separate knife to get the fire going would be nice.  I especially like the one handed set up on the BlastMatch.  I assume the flint is spring loaded in the handle and when you push the release it “shoots out” along the steel striker to make sparks.  To reload it all you do is push the flint back in (I assume this can be done just by pushing the unit against a solid surface)?

Rocket Fuel

 
Submitted by Amtho

Also try the waterless hand cleaner gel that every grunt should be carrying.  I love playing with that stuff.  It puts out a blue/clear flame (read extremely hot) and it is a gel, so handles well.  Put that in the middle of your tinder and you are good to go. 

ED – Amtho, you are a genius.  I gave this a go, and as you described, it functioned as advertised.  In experimenting I found that trying to ignite a blob of this stuff is a bit problematic; while you could light it with a match, it didn’t light very well with my sparker.  Once I soaked a cotton ball with it though, it sparked right up.  In fact, when used in conjunction with my old WWII-era ration heater, all I have to do is repack the tin and keep it saturated with Purell, which, as you say, can be found everywhere.  In fact, this has become my new tactical fuel of choice (I’ll use the trioxane until my supply is exhausted, but I don’t see myself buying any more.)

Officially, the only Purell product I tested this with was their "stock" sanitizer, which listed Ethyl Alcohol as the only active ingredient (62%).  While I'm sure their other products might work just as well (except for maybe the foaming stuff) when in doubt I'd recommend you read the label first to see what you're burning.  Purell is available at most convenience and drug stores.

Check out Purell hand sanitizer here.

Lord of the Flame

 

Submitted by Eric Daniel

I like the fact that the MRE accessory packs come with matches, but the reality is, unless you’re operating indoors or in a xeric environment like NTC (when it isn’t raining) you only get a couple of days durability out of them, before they absorb so much moisture that they turn to mush.  Now this isn’t an issue if you’re on a daily ration of MREs (oh joy) but it can be an issue if you’re not (by the way, I use the matches to light my stove to boil water with.)

In the past, a Zippo was my primary source of flame.  They are durable, reliable, and easy to maintain.  However, they are no, officially, a pain in the ass to travel with.  You need to check them if you fly (if you’re allowed to fly with them at all; in leaving Iraq, if you wanted to fly with a lighter in your C bag it needed to be completely disassembled with the flint and packing removed.)  With the Zippo on the shelf, I started using the MRE matches, but they took up space, they didn’t tolerate wet well, and, well, I still had the problem of flying with them (funny story – when asked what they did during the 6-hour flight from Tinian to Hiroshima to drop the first atomic bomb, Paul Tibbets replied, “Smoked a lot.”)

So I started looking around for an alternate method for getting the stove fired up.  One of the things I’d always been curious about was those “emergency” magnesium block fire starters, so I thought this would be as good a time as any to try one out. 

The one I selected was by Coghlan’s and cost me about $5.  Through trial and error I learned a couple of things about these devices.  They make sparks, lots and lots of sparks.  If you’re using a relatively volatile fuel, such as white gas or propane, the striker on the fire starter will do the job.  If you’re trying to light something less explosive, like paper, you’re going to need some assistance.  This is where the magnesium block comes in.  The theory is, you scrape some magnesium off with a knife (the same knife you use on the striker), pile it up, and use the striker to ignite the metal shavings, and use that flame to start your fire (as you can see from the photo, the knife I used for this task is a little cheapie folder; you really don't want to dull your main knife by shaving a metal block.)

A word of caution though.  It isn’t as easy as it looks.  If you’ve got to resort to the magnesium block, more is better – use a lot of shavings.  I’m not suggesting you grind the entire block into dust, but you will need a generous pile (that was basically my unit of measure; if I’d scraped enough to be able to make a pile with my fingers, then that was enough.)  Also, unless you want to be there all day scraping, be sure you scrape your filings into or onto something flat and non-porous, like a rock, or a piece of paper (I used the lid of my WWII era-ration heater), so that your shavings don’t fall into the cracks, as it were, and get lost.  You will also need to be out of the wind.  While the striker will work just fine in the wind, the shavings lack mass and are easy to blow away.  The same goes for the rain – the magnesium will burn when wet, but your tiny pile is unlikely to maintain coherency in a rainstorm.  Finally, be prepared.  Those filings burn quick.  Don’t expect to get your pile started, and then put some tinder on; the filings and the tinder need to be co-located so that the flame gets it going.

At the end of the day though, the fire starter worked just fine, since the two fuels I use most often are white gas and trioxide tabs, and both of these light readily with the striker (I have to admit though, I was pleasantly surprised by how easily the fuel tabs started.) 

If however, you want to carry an extra bit of insurance with you can make a batch of cotton fireballs.  The fireballs are nothing more than ordinary cotton balls soaked in Vaseline.  To make them, microwave (or otherwise heat up) 1.5 tablespoons of Vaseline in a heat resistant container.  Once the Vaseline has melted, add 8 cotton balls, pushing them in, en masse, into the Vaseline.  Flip the mass over and press again, ensuring the cotton gets completely saturated.  Allow the cotton to cool and then pack the balls in a suitable container (I used an old locking prescription bottle.)  To use, simply remove a cotton ball from the container, stretch it out a bit to expose it to air, and ignite.  The Vaseline lights easily and the ball will burn for several minutes, which makes it less time sensitive than the magnesium.

ACR Hot Shot Signal Mirror

 
Submitted by scottmurphy

I have 3 different signal mirrors.  The one I like the most is the ACR Electronics Hot Shot Signal Mirror.  It puts a "red dot" site on the target you're trying to signal.  This helps you line up the sun, mirror and target.  I've used it to signal overflying aircraft with a lot of success.

ED -- SM, I can't fault you on your choice of mirrors.  The ACR is an excelent mirror, and as you said, it has the "red dot" feature to assist you in aiming.  One other thing I like about this particular lash up is that it comes with a whistle and a float, so you can take it on the water with you.

Check out the ACR Hot Shot here.

Byrd Multitool

 
Submitted by Redleg Geek

The original SpyderRench was made in Japan, but was so expensive to make, Spyderco discontinued production for about five years. Now it's made in China by their Byrd Knife subsidiary. Byrd makes the same thing under its own brand name, differing only in the shape of the thumb hole on the blade. Street price for the Spyderco is about $102, while the Byrd is about $87. The two Chinese versions are actually slightly better than the original Japanese one, but that is a quality tool, too. I keep the Spydercos in my collection, but the ByrdRench in my go bag.

Check out the ByrdRench here.

Field Munchies

 

Submitted by Eric Daniel

I had an epiphany about butter the other day. Back when I was stationed in Germany we had an opportunity to train with some German tankers.  Now I’d heard all the jokes about why we were, at the time, patrolling the German borders instead of the German army (“the only nation that doesn’t respect Germany’s borders is Germany,” or “German tanks don’t come with breaks,” or “The problem is, once the German Army gets to the border, it tends to keep on going…”) but I tell you, those guys were flat out aggressive.  When they went on the attack, they took it to you.  There was no creepy-crawling in those Leo IIs.  They were on the move all the time, and by on the move I mean moving flat out.

Anyway, adding insult to injury was the apparent fact that these panzer guys did all this on a diet of black bread and butter.  Any time we were laagered up together for an AAR there they’d be, sitting on their little efficient field stools with a tin of butter and a square of black bread, having a snack while the O/C explained to us how they just handed us our asses.  At the time, what I really found intriguing was the little aluminum tin they had for keeping the butter.  It was about 1.5” tall, 3” in diameter, and has a three lug locking lid.  Inside was a plastic liner, and the lid itself had a rubber gasket to seal it.  I glommed on to one of those tins in an attempt to emulate them (black bread and butter is quite tasty, actually) but maintaining a supply of bread and butter was always an issue (they got theirs delivered with LOGPAC.) 

Anyway, the years go by and there I am, sitting on a hill looking at a bunch of Seabees go about their business (we were doing recon and surveillance training) when several thoughts went through my head.  First, the wheat snack bread they put in the MREs now isn’t half bad, and second, when it get’s really really hot, the issue cheese spread isn’t very appetizing.  That’s when I had my epiphany.  “What if I broke out my old West German butter tin?”  That would be nice, except that it gets a whole hell of a lot hotter in the Mojave than it does in Bavaria and the idea of carrying a tin of butter soup around to dip my bread in didn’t sound all that appealing. That’s when brainwave #2 occurred.  Use that European wunderfood, nutella.  For those of you who’ve never had it, nutella is a chocolate-hazelnut spread that goes very well with bread.  It’s tasty, and unlike butter, it will soften, but not melt completely, in the heat, so even on the hottest of days, it’ll keep it’s form well enough to spread, and used sparingly, a tin full of nutella will last me several weeks. 

Now if I can just get one of those Leo IIs…

Get a German Army butter tin here.

Flashing your Friends

 

Submitted by Eric Daniel

A couple years back, I was sitting in on a training meeting at NTC with an active duty 1SG and his subordinates.  The topic of the meeting was the First Sergeant’s concern over troop dependency on technology for mission accomplishment, specifically navigation and communication.  He was worried that the joes were becoming too dependent on gadgets to figure out where they were and communicating between teams on the ground, as well as with supporting aircraft (helicopters mostly) in the air, and that they were losing core soldier skills.  At one point, seeing as how I was the only guardsman in attendance, he asked me, since we lacked all the modern high speed gear that the AC had, how we managed to get from point A to point B.  I replied, “With a sextant and a rutter, just like everyone else…”

Seriously though, this got me to thinking about non-verbal communication.  One of the stock tools we used extensively in the forest service for communicating, or at least getting the attention of, aircraft was a signal mirror.  It wasn’t so much an issue that we couldn’t communicate with the aircraft, generally we could, it was just that it was usually pretty difficult to rapidly orient them and get them to our location (“Yeah, look for the guy next to the tree…”) By using a signal mirror, we could flash them from ten miles out and steer them right to us with little fuss or cluttering up the net with useless traffic. 

The mirror I’ve had and used for the last 20 years is a laminate mil-spec glass mirror.  I’ve had several additional mirrors over the years, mostly plastic or metal, but these have never stood the test of time and abuse that my glass one has (to be fair, I view the plastic ones as truly emergency use.  The mirror itself is covered by a protective sticker which you peel off to use the mirror.  Once the sticker comes off, the plastic is really easy to scratch and dull, so the mirror ought to be replaced with a new "covered" one as soon as possible.)

In looking up a source for my 20 year old mirror online, I discovered there’s quite the controversy going on about these mirrors.  The one I have is a Vector 1 style, manufactured in Japan.  Another style available is made by the S.I. Howard glass company.  Both of these mirrors are made from tempered laminate glass, and feature a “retro-reflective” sighting hole in the center of the glass.  This retro-reflective sight provides you with a “fireball” aiming point to help you accurately flash your target (if you put the spot on the target, then the sun is being reflected properly.)  Other glass signaling mirrors may resemble the Vector and Howard mirrors, but only these two have the retro reflective finish in the center for aiming.

Having a signal mirror goes way beyond martial and firefighting applications.  There’s no reason what so ever for someone going abroad out of doors to not carry one of these for emergency purposes (for you maritime adventurers, either get a USCG approved lexan mirror that floats, or get a glass one and run a float through the lanyard loop.)  They don’t take up a lot of space, they’ll last you forever, and it might just save your life some day.

The Parahooch and the Assault Shelter

 
Submitted by Doug

Another couple of options for tactical shelters include: the Parahooch and Tipis from Kifaru and the camping outfitter Sierra Designs which makes shelters, bivy bags and sleeping bags.

ED – Doug, interesting gear here.  As a completely minimalist approach, the Parahooch looks like a winner, since it’s extremely lightweight (11 oz. without the optional pole kit) and freestanding (you don’t have to tie it off on a tree or “something”) and appears to be less complicated than the tarptent design.  The “hooch” is made of UV resistant and waterproof paraglider fabric and is available in two colors; white and coyote brown.

The Sierra Designs solo assault shelter (which is said to be an issue item for the Navy SEALS) looks like a good all around choice as well.  Though heavier than the parahooch by almost 3 pounds (packed weight is 4 lb. 6 oz.) the assault shelter is also a stand alone tent.  You do not have to stake it to anything in order for it to work (with the tarptents, at a minimum, you have to be able to stake the corners to the ground, which would limit it’s utility in sandy or soft soil situations where the ground wasn’t firm enough to hold the stakes, or in snow.)  The assault shelter is similar in design to the ICS except that it is of a single wall design (there is no rain fly, which saves on weight) though it also comes with an attached “lean to” type vestibule over the main “door” which can be staked down, tied off on a tree branch, or connected to another assault shelter to increase covered area.