EDC Combos for Different Budgets

Posted by FerFAL on Mar 21, 2013 in EDC, Uncategorized | 2 comments

Both here and in my youtube channel I get emails and messages from people trying to sort out a reasonable EDC kit. I explained my view on why its important to have a basic set of tools with you at all times in the video on my previous post. When disaster strikes, or when minor life inconveniences show up, what you have with you in your pockets is usually all you have to work with. It can be something as simple as opening a package, repairing something with your multitool, or something as critical as finding a lost child lost in the woods during a day hike, signaling for help or defending your life.

While some of us have piles of gear to review and try out, the most common scenario is that the average person is trying to get squared away without spending a fortune. Having extra cash in the wallet is just as important so spend your money wisely. These three are my suggestions as of right now:
1) Budget EDC: An affordable but high quality multitool and a good +100 Lumen LED light that uses cheap (and readily available) AA batteries. Sorry, no folder here, but the blade in the Sidekick can be opened single handed and carried clipped to your pocket.

Leatherman Sidekick ® Multi-Tool $26.90

Fenix 115 Lumens Flashlight $26.49

2) Mid Range EDC: Here we have an excellent multitool, a heavy duty folding knife and a 200 lumen LED. Id be a happy camper with these.

Leatherman New Wave Multitool with Leather/Nylon Combination Sheath $54.09

Fenix PD22 Flashlight High Performance Cree XP-G $54.95

Cold Steel Voyager Lg. Clip Point Plain Edge Knife $45.16

3) Premium EDC: Top of the line gear. A Surefire LED, undisputable military grade toughness and reliabily, though a Titanium Sunwayman Sirius M11R XM-L may be more classy. The best multitool money can buy and one of the most common folders of choice by Special Forces around the globe, in this case the recurved Commander model.

Surefire Backup Click Switch Dual Output LED Flashlight, Black $160.63

Charge TTi Multi-Tool with Leather Sheath and Bit Kit $115.95

Emerson Knives Commander Wave Feature 154CM Radial Thumb Lug $229.95

Yes, you have to throw in a lighter and here I have no perfect answer for you. A Bic will do nicely, but a Clipper which is refillable and has a replaceable flint would be better. I like Djeep lighters too because they have the exact size to fit a few inches or duct tape around them. Zippos are Imcos are nice though not as practical, given that the fuel does evaporate sooner rather than later. An Imco will last tice as long as a Zippo though, and either way you still can use cotton as a filler which you could ignite with the flint and wheel. Whatever you choose, do have a lighter.

That’s it guys, as of right now these are my suggestions. Yours may be different, there’s plenty of good gear out there but these are some of the ones I know you can’t go wrong with. Whatever you do, dont buy junk. Its not worth it, not when quality gear is affordable. If you have other EDC suggestions let me know on the comments section.

Take care!

FerFAL

Review: Zero Tolerance 0200 Military Folder

0 comments

Posted by FerFAL on Feb 28, 2013 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

The knife is the survival tool par excellence. In the world of wilderness survival it is the essential tool that you’re never supposed to be without, the one that allows you to build shelter, procure food, build a fire and basically keep yourself alive.

In my opinion a knife is also an essential tool for urban survival as well. Not only for cutting strings here and there and opening packages. Sure, a blade comes in handy for ordinary tasks, but on other cases it may be invaluable. As an extreme close range weapon its hard to beat the knife, which is a reason why most gun people that carry a firearm will usually carry a tactical folder as well. A tough knife can be used for limited prying on doors or cutting seat belts and prying victims out of wreckages. For urban survival applications and other demanding scenarios, sometimes you need more than just a cutting tool and the extra toughness can be priceless.

Zero Toleance 0200 Military Folder

The ZT 0200 is clearly a tough use, over-engineered tool. You can tell there’s been no cost compromise in making the knife.

Left to Right: Victorinox, Zero Tolerance 0200 and Spyderco Endura 4.

Design: The folder was designed by Ken Onion. The nearly 4” long and 0,15 “ thick blade is fantastic. It has a subtle yet effective recurved blade that makes it ideal for cutting and slashing, while still achieving a narrow tip that would penetrate nicely for defense or could be used for detailed work as well. The handle is very ergonomic and will fit most people with medium size hands like a glove. The knife can be opened both with an ambidextrous thumb stud or by flicking while applying pressure to the flipper.

Materials: The steel is 154CM which is used by other high end folder manufacturers. The handles are 3D machined G10. The liner lock is very thick, locking safely into place.

Liner Lock Comparison Leatherman Charge on top and ZT 0200 Military on the bottom.

Construction and Warranty : The knife is well made in USA. The warranty covers any defects and it says Zero Tolerance will re-sharpen your knife free of charge for you.

I wanted to thank Heinne Haynes for their support. You can find this knife here at Heinne as well as lots of other survival related products.

FerFAL

The Modern Survivalist Youtube Channel

1 comment

Posted by FerFAL on Jan 25, 2013 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

OK People,

I just finished organizing my youtube channel. There’s 245 uploaded videos, most of which are actually good if I may say so myself , but it was all mixed up and it was hard to find videos on specific topics. Now, the main page has the videos organized in Categories making it easier to find what you want. Check it out and subscribe! Here’s the LINK

FerFAL

Home Invasion and Murder in upscale Neighborhood outside Philadelphia

9 comments

Posted by FerFAL on Jan 20, 2013 in crime, home security, Uncategorized | 9 comments

Fernando

1) Here is a Philadelphia news report about a home robbery/murder occurring about 35 miles outside the

city. Some interesting points:

a) Home is in an upscale, low crime suburban area. Large Home is on 10 acres of land and worth roughly $900,000.

b) Killers were in home for several hours –tied up victim’s girlfriend and 12 year old son.

c) Victim , however, was a businessman who filed bankruptcy to evade $1.8 Million in debts.

See http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/police-seek-gunmen-in-fatal-home-invasion/article_a08b6962-974b-578b-8c3f-bb7f6d486ace.html

Don Williams

Hi Don, thanks the link.

This is another good example of the difference between wishful thinking and how events turn out in the real world.

Three big points here people:

1)We’ve said it time and again here in the blog: Seclusion and isolation doesn’t equal security. If anything, criminals have to worry about less eyes on them, there’s a smaller chance of someone noticing them and calling the police and they have all the time in the world to do what they want with their victims. You know why all these survival retreats have worked so well so far in terms of security? Because there still isn’t a serious crime problem in America!

2)They entered through a window. Notice how vulnerable most homes are. The window was probably opened, they just stepped inside through it. How many of you lock your front door but keep the back door opened? Doors and windows should be locked, and you should keep an eye on them when opening them for ventilation and fresh air. The reality is that most people don’t have barred windows and armored doors, and that means most people are pretty vulnerable in their homes.

3)The home owner had guns. Still, guns are a last line of defense, they are not an alarm, they don’t replace locked doors and windows and competent home security habits. Maybe if the window had been crashed to enter and the home owner had reacted fast enough or if he had been carrying his gun, he would have had a chance to defend himself. If you can carry in your State, serious gun owners carry at all times, when on the street or their living room. Especially if your home isn’t hardened for security, your reaction time gap is measured in the seconds it takes to shatter a sliding glass door with the butt or slide of the handgun and stepping inside. It’s a matter of few seconds, not few minutes.

FerFAL

Happy New Year Everyone!

1 comment

Posted by FerFAL on Dec 31, 2012 in Uncategorized | 1 comment

I hope you’re all spending new year surrounded by your loved ones and I wish you the very best for 2013!

Another year gone by and we’re still here, aren’t we? Zombies aren’t running loose and the refugees from the burned down cities haven’t invaded the country side… yet. J (its always about to happen!)

The kind of “disasters” that are affecting us all aren’t that interesting, aren’t they? More inflation, less jobs, more taxation, less family quality time, more stress, more government control, less freedom and more crime to worry about.

Lets enjoy these good times with the people we care about, recharge batteries so as to have the energy to face another challenging year!

FerFAL

Turning your Kid into a Mass Killer

10 comments

Posted by FerFAL on Dec 18, 2012 in Uncategorized | 10 comments

1) Make sure he’s socially impaired from an early age. He should not play with neighbors, be challenged by pairs in any way that upsets him or participate in team sports of any kind. The less he interacts with children and other people in general, the better.

2) Try spending as little time as possible with your son. You already did what is socially expected from you by having a kid, no sense in wasting any more of your spare time. After all, you work hard and deserve to relax and have a good time. You’re not supposed to have a life, have some fun? And lets be honest here, we all know you cant do that with a kid around.

3) If you must stay at home along with your son for more than 5 minutes, TV, internet and video games are the best way to keep him off your back. Get him Black Ops Two, he’ll spend entire days killing terrorists and other nation enemies. Better yet, buy him his own TV and let him play in his room. Sign him up for World of Worldcraft or some other virtual alternative life. His real life sucks anyway, a virtual one where he rules a kingdom of elves and slays anyone that opposes him might be good for him. That way you’ll never be bothered by him and you can watch Oprah on the living room undisturbed. Next week she’s presenting a book on parenting. You definitely want to watch that one!

4) You don’t want your son to grow up being a religious weirdo or pedophile so the best you can do is bring him up in a home with no crazy religious stuff. Catholic churches are the worst since they are all child molesters, and you certainly don’t want you son receiving orders from the Pope through text messages (it does happen, all the time!). Christianity in general is a bad idea. Not killing, lying or stealing and loving one another? Not on your watch! A good atheist that doesn’t believe in a higher power and consequences for his actions on an after-life is much better.

5) As your son grows older he might start avoiding sunlight, dressing in all black clothes and hanging posters of androgenous vampire rock stars who’s music sucks. Don’t worry. This is all very normal. You may be tempted to remove all that crap from your home, throw your kid in your truck and take him camping in the middle of winter so he both freezes his butt and mans up a little while spending some quality time with his old man. Restrain yourself from doing so.

6) You might want to seek help at this point even though this is all very normal for a teenager. You weren’t that way, neither was I, but its still normal, nothing wrong with your bundle of joy. Your bundle of joy might be better served by a cocktail of Prozac and Ritalin. This will keep him happy (being happy is the most important thing in life after all) and will help him focus in school. Watching less TV and playing less WOW along with spending more time outdoors with other humans, even playing sports might help too, but popping pills is more practical and lets face it, its so much quieter in the house when he’s locked in his room instead.

7) By now kids may be giving your son a hard time in school. This is of course other people’s fault as it always will be, so make sure you go to school and complain as much as you can. That’s what responsible and caring parents do after all, blame others for how poorly they are educating their kids. Remember to threaten to sue while you’re at it. Your son has every right to be the weirdest creep the world has ever seen. His classmates shouldn’t exclude him just because he doesn’t talk to anyone, wears more makeup than Lady Gaga and drinks chicken blood during lunch.

8) At this point, try anything you can do to detach your son from the real world even further. He has no friends, hardly speaks to anyone including teachers and spends hours every day in a virtual alternate reality killing people. By now you’re either divorced or pretty close to it and hardly talk with any of your family members at all. No aunts, uncles, grandparents, nothing, your son has no family support. Thankfully he doesn’t believe in some silly God that cares about him either, how crazy would that be? Lets see, what else can we do to mess up this kid even more. How about spending some quality time discussing doom and gloom end of the world issues? You want to be prepared after all, and TV shows tell you that’s what real survivalists do, prepare for far-fetched, unrealistic scenarios that never happened before but look cool on TV. Hey, your son might dig that, he’s already detached from reality anyways.

9) At this point you can teach your son how to shoot and leave several firearms lying around your medicated an mentally disturbed offspring. But don’t worry, if you don’t buy them and leave them unlocked for him to pick he can just go out there and just buy them illegally or steal them.

10) By the time you get the call about your son committing a heinous crime your work as a parent is done. Who would have thought that such a caring, loving person could do such a thing? But don’t worry, you have guns, videogames, survivalists and TV in general to blame. That’s clearly the reason why your son turned out that way.

FerFAL

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