Town of High River Disaster Workshop 29 & 30 Sep 2015

Looking for some real world disaster preparedness training?? Want to be a volunteer at the Town of High River Disaster Workshop on 29 & 30 Sep 2015??

Follow this link to learn more:

http://www.highriver.ca/index.php/en/publicforums/meteorite-disaster-workshop

This workshop will use a meteorite impact as the disaster event and wants the focus to be around how to best employ volunteers during a disaster. If you have any good ideas you want to share, then I recommend making yourself available for this workshop.

The Town of High River contact person is: Ms. Megan CORREIA e-mail: mecorreia@highriver.ca

I am still a firm believer in; working together, we can overcome any obstacle.

Cheers,

VAM

BOV Show & Shine 2015

It is time to motor your BOV to a show & shine.

If you happened to miss last year's Bring Out Your BOV Show & Shine in Langdon, AB; now is your chance to get together with other like-minded folks and talk shop!!

Fire an e-mail RSVP to the folks at Briden Solutions, so they know how much food to have on hand for lunch.

Hope to see you there.

V.A.M.

A G.O.O.D. Fire Lighting Kit

Metal Match & Pouch

Here is a G.O.O.D. Fire Lighting Kit, the Metal Match. Available from many sources, I got mine from Amazon.ca, because it shipped for free.

http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=B00U21NMDO&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AB00U21NMDO

The Metal Match was quite affordable, less than $30 for 20 units.The pouch on the other hand, I had to build myself. If you want to learn how to build a pouch like this visit:

http://mtnmanblog.blogspot.ca/2015/05/outdoor-survival-items-part-two.html

You can find more pictures and plans for making a pouch for the Metal Match.

Metal Match in Pouch

So, why is the Metal Match a good choice? First off it is compact. Second it is very light-weight. And, third, it will light many, many fires before it has been used up. The cost is also a valid reason for ordering a few for each BOB and/or BOV.

A small bottle of kerosene or lighter fluid will be needed to make the Metal Match fully functional, as they cannot be shipped with a combustible fluid inside.

This can be used as part of your larger fire making kit or as a stand alone mini kit.

Keep the home fires burning,

V.A.M.

Detailed Look at the Velcro Type Belt Loop

Wilderness First Aid from Inside Out Experience

Inside Out Experience

 I do not advertise, but I will endorse those who need to be recognized. This past weekend I enjoyed upgrading my first aid training and achieving Basic Wilderness First Aid - 20 hour. 

This training would not be possible without the excellent instructors Brent & Andrew from Inside Out Experience ( http://insideoutexperience.com/ ). Thanks for the great training.

As with other emergency preparedness skills, first aid must be kept current. Re-certifying every two years is a good idea. In my area of the world first aid is classified as Emergency Level (8 hour), Standard (16 hour) and then Wilderness First Aid - 20 hour, 40 hour and 80 hour. Wilderness First Aid is designed for rural activities that are more than 20 minutes from an advanced medical care facility. Those who find themselves in a post-disaster situation will be on their own for at least 72 hours, to be ready you may want to work your way toward getting a 40 hour Wilderness First Aid certification.

Keep you skills current....keep learning,

VAM.

Other Adventures by Inside Out Experience

A G.O.O.D. $4 LED Flashlight

$4 LED Flashlight

Let me introduce you to a great $4 LED Flashlight.

A most recent arrival, this $4 LED flashlight. This was ordered off of amazon.ca ( http://www.amazon.ca/300lm-Flashlight-Torch-Adjustable-Focus/dp/B006E0QAFY/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=AMTS6SG366MYX ) The vendor was hotsalecanada via the Amazon Marketplace.

This very compact flashlight runs on a single "AA" battery. It is quite bright. Manufacture says 300 lumens on high. It has a low setting and a (defence??) strobe setting. I would use a quality rechargeable "AA" battery like Tenergy from http://www.all-battery.com/ 

It is an all metal design (aluminum??) with the switch on the tail-cap. A pocket clip. And a large glass lens. And I recently learned, the flashlight beam is adjustable from flood to a spotlight.This is done by pulling the lens unit forward. With the correct bracket this could work as an affordable flashlight on a shotgun if you are ever in bear country and have unwanted visitors at night.

For less than $4 per unit, you can afford to stock-up and ensure you have light in every BOB or backpack.

Enjoy the photos.

VAM.

Glass Lens

Adjustable Beam - Flood or Spot

Compact

A G.O.O.D. Area Light (Pico LED Lantern)

UST Pico LED Lantern (Batteries Not Included)

More GOOD gear to chat about. This time it is the UST's (Ultimate Survival Technology) Pico LED Lantern.

This compact lantern is well made and reasonably weatherproof, too. It runs on 4x "AA" batteries, not included - of course. 

This unit sells for about $30 in many retail locations that sell UST products. However, if you have frugal blood in your veins, you may be able to seek even better prices from online vendors, like www.dvor.com. 

When the lantern arrived, I proceeded to test it with my re-chargeable batteries.....I was a little concerned at first. However, after giving the batteries a re-charge I instantly realized it was my partial charged batteries causing the dim glow. With charged batteries this little lantern can really share the shine!!

Pico Stats - 120 Lumens & 22 Hours Run-Time

UST Pico In Area Light Mode

The unit can be used as a sit or hang lantern or by removing the lantern shade/globe this nifty light can also be hung upside-down by a fold-away hook on the base of the unit, to be used as an area light.

There are 3 setting for the switch, Hi, Low & SOS strobe. In high, the lantern produces 120 lumens and can run for 22 hours. If used in a tent during a prolonged camping outting that means you will probably be charging the batteries every 4 to 5 days. Not too bad at all. On the low setting the lantern produces 15 lumens and will run for 91 hours. Not too much light, a strong glow to navigate by, like marking the location of the latrine. In a total darkness environment, say in a cave or tunnel...your eyes would grow accustomed to this light level and would be more useful. If left on for 12 hours a night, expect to re-charge your batteries once a week.

In SOS strobe mode the lantern can run for 120 hours. If I were to ever use any lantern/flashlight in SOS mode for rescue, I would first layout a mylar space blanket and then I would place the lantern/flashlight in the middle to maximize the strobe/flash effect.

I hope these gear reviews are working. If so, please post a comment. If not, post a comment and tell me what I am missing, please.

VAM.

A G.O.O.D. Stove for Your BOB

The New Stove and an Altoid/Sucrets Tin

 Howdy. I have been thinking about this blog for some time now and maybe I am not utilizing it to the fullest.

So, I am going to try an experiment and input some gear reviews as often as I can.

To start with, let's have a look at an affordable stove for your bugout bag (BOB). 

This compact stove was purchased through Amazon.ca and it shipped from Gadgest Super (Hong Kong).

Coleman Peak 1 & The New Stove

Here is the link:

http://www.amazon.ca/Ultralight-Backpacking-Canister-Stove-Ignition/dp/B00AXV1YGK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421895714&sr=8-3&keywords=camping+stove

The stove I received arrived in 17 days from Hong Kong. Shipping was only $0.98 per stove. Quite affordable. The stove itself was only $8.80. So, this is a $10 compact backpacking canister stove.

In the second picture you can see my tried and trusted Coleman Peak 1 Canister stove from the '90's.....and it cost over $65 at that time. My Coleman is a very small and light stove, but you can see that the new stove is half the size. And about half the weight, at 3.9 oz. 

The new stove fitted up nicely to a Primus butane/propane canister and lit up right away. The burner, although a small surface area, seems to put out a lot of heat. The valve control is very smooth. Simmering may actually be possible with the new stove. Field tests yet to be conducted.

If you are in the process of gearing up a BOB, you may want to consider this stove. It is affordable, light, small and fits the common butane/propane canisters.

Until the next gear review,

Keep your BOB packed and ready!

V.A.M.