Looking for a Comfortable Tent for Stationary Camping...

I've been looking for a tent for stationary camping. Something that will be large enough for my wife and myself, as well as out dog. Taking a look at the 2-3 man tents, they were quickly ruled out as not being quite large enough. So the task was on to find something a bit larger. I happened upon the British Army 4 Man Arctic Shelter and have decided to give it a try.

I should begin by stating that this tent will be used for stationary camping, that is parking the car and camping just a few feet from it. Because of this, weight of the tent was a minor consideration and comfort and space inside the tent the main factors in its selection.

After looking about a bit, I finally selected the British Army 4 Man Arctic Shelter. Not including the "covered porch on either end of the tent, this tent measures 9'x6' and has 4' of headroom in the center of the tent.

The tent has openings on both ends with the option at one end of the tent to connect two of these tents together end to end.

The entrance can be minimized to two entrances at each end, or opened wide to create an entrance as large as the entire end of the tent.

The shelter is actually two tents, one inner tent consisting of a white cotton roof/sides and a green waterproof floor with short sides/walls. The outer tent is a fly which ties to the inner tent creating an insulating air space between the two tents.

The floor of the tent has a flap, closed by Velcro on three sides which opens to expose the ground below the tent, allowing you to safely operate a camp stove inside the tent.

The tens has mesh ventilation flaps at each end above the door.

And also on the outer tent as part of the "porch."

Along the ridge of the inner tent is a clothes line for drying and airing of clothing

Each end of the tent has a "porch" or covered section of ground for the storage of boots or anything else you want to protect, but don't want to bring inside the tent.

From research, I've been told these can be set up in 5 minutes, but from experience, you should have already tried setting up the tent and also have someone to help you. I have yet to find a published instruction on how to set up the tent, but even without it, I've managed to figure things out.

Also from research, they outer tent has some water repellent issues and should be sheltered from winds. It is not lightweight coming in at about 25 pounds.

But for a tent which you can use in a static camp, provided with a wind break and water proofed for additional water protection, it looks to be a fine tent and I look forward to many years of use.

I bought mine from Keep Shooting and would highly recommend them for their products and exceptional customer service.

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A Solid Fuel Solution to Emergency Cooking...

Hexamine, formally known as Hexamethylene Tetramine, is a solid fuel used for cooking in the British Army which was invented in Germany in 1936. Commonly known as a Tommy Cooker, it can be found commercially under the brand name Esbit, though the British Army version is larger. (I've found commercial versions of the British cooker available from Mil-Com and Kombat)

            

The British Army cooker is pocket sized (4 3/4" x 3 3/4"x 1 1/8" closed or 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" x 2 5/8" open), and comes issued in a brown paper wrapper with an adapter to hold a Crusader mug securely for heating. The tablets, 8 in the British Army issue, come packed in a waxed box packed inside the metal cooker. The standard issue is one cooker every three days and a refill of the fuel tablets every day.

Tablet burns about 7 1/2 minutes and was true for both tests. Leaves a residue on the mug or mess tin which can be cleaned off with a Brillo pad or in a pinch with a used tea bag. Doesn't quite reach at boil at 60 degrees, but is definitely hot enough to brew a mug of tea. (during the tests I brewed 500ml of water for tea.) The same was true at 70 degrees. During the 70 degree test, the water was too hot to keep a finger in it beyond 1 second by 4 1/2 minutes heating time. As the fuel is waxy, it is not easy to ignite, requiring three hurricane matches to light one tablet.

In the second test I used a single wooden match and achieved the same results.

In my third test I went back to the hurricane matches and again required three. This time I heated up a mushroom omelet boil in  the bag from a 24 hour ration. This fit snugly in the crusader mug with about half a litre of water. This heated nicely from the full 7 1/2 minute burn and I used the remaining heated water to make a cup of instant coffee. Using only 300ml of water the stove was able to bring the water to a rolling boil.

The fuel is toxic to consume and it is said the smell of the burning fuel is dreadful, though I did not experience this while cooking outdoors.

I would be sure to use the stove on a non-flammable surface, as well and a surface you are not worried about having damaged. The hexamine or its wax coating seems to drip down from the stove occasionally so you should be aware before you set it up for use.

This is my new go to emergency stove so you can certainly say that I'm hooked on hexi!

For those looking for British Army Hexamine, I suggest Go Army in Glasgow.

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The Perfect Little Multi-Tool...

It might sound silly to some, but until this year, I've never owned a multi-tool. Until now I've always relied on a pocket knife. In making emergency preparedness plans and even looking at camping / bushcrafting, I realized I needed to find a quality multi-tool. After some research, I've selected the Gerber Crucial, which was issued to the British Army in Afghanistan.

Like my previous blog on the Gerber Onyx 50 flashlight, Gerber was unable to provide me with information as to when this multi-tool was introduced, but the good news is that this multi-tool is still available.

One of the guiding features I needed was a knife blade under 2 1/2 inches, which is the requirement for entrance into US Federal Government Buildings.

Open the multi-tool has an overall length of 5.5" and closed it is a mere 3.6", weighing only 5 ounces. In addition to the knife, it features pliers with v-cut wire cutters, as well as a philips head and standard screw driver. It also features a belt clip and carabiner to secure to your clothing or gear. Mine also came with a durable nylon knife case with can fit to your belt or even Molle gear.

I wish I could say more about this or give more specifics, but Gerber or their website was unable to provide more information. Luckily this multi-tool speaks for itself. I love mine and would recommend it to others. Mine is in gray, but they also sell them in black, green, blue.

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When You Need To Light Up The Night...

I've been looking for a compact flashlight to use outdoors and was overwhelmed at the choices. After some research,I've selected the Gerber Onyx 50 Flashlight which was issued to the British Army in Afghanistan. If it was rugged enough for them, I think I can trust it to be rugged enough for me.

I'd love to tell you when it was introduced and when it was discontinued (yes, unfortunately it was discontinued) but Gerber was unable to provide me with that information. I'd also like to be able to tell you the "official" specifications as provided by Gerber, but they did not answer my requests for that information, so I've had to improvise and see what I could find from non-official online sources.

The Onyx 50 features an anodized aluminum body and tail cap switch, providing between 20 and 30 lumen of brightness. It is powered by a single AA battery with a battery life of 4 1/2 hours. It provides a steady white light projecting 25 meters, with no options for brightness control or flashing. It is approximately 4 3/4" long and 1" wide and weight 2.3 ounces without battery. The flashlight is water resistant, but I have found no information regarding how water resistant it was designed.

The Onyx 50 feels good in the hand and comes with a short lanyard. It is quite rugged and despite the lack of response from Gerber for information, I would recommend this flashlight, even though it has been discontinued. Gerber offers no flashlight as a replacement for this discontinued product which is a shame for anyone looking to find something similar.

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Looking for a Light When You Need Both Hands Free...

I'm going to admit that I'd never really given a headlamp much consideration until I started watching bushcrafter videos and seeing how much easier it is to do things in the dark with both hands free using a headlamp versus trying to hold a flashlight while performing tasked which usually require both hands. They're just were not something I used as a boy when camping, so I was not naturally drawn to them. That's all changed now.

The headlamp I selected was the Silva Ranger headlamp, which was issued to the British Army in Afghanistan. Being selected for such rugged use, I felt fairly safe in selecting this commercially available headlamp for my own purposes. It was designed with durability as it's main feature and even has a red light mode to protect your night vision. It is fully waterproof to IPX7 (submersible to one meter for 30 min) and features the Silva Intelligent Light® technology comprising both a strong light for distance, and the floodlight necessary for close-up vision. This headlamp began production at Silva Shenzhen, China in 2009 and was discontinued in 2015.

Specification for the Silva Ranger Headlamp:

Batteries/type - 1x AA

Beam pattern - Intelligent Light® optimized light distribution

Bulb type - 4x White LED + 1x Red LED

Discharge time (max mode) - 3h

Discharge time (min mode) - 20h

Light distance - 29m

Light modes - Max, Med, Min, Blink, Red, Red Blink

Light output - 30 Lumen

Water resistance - IPX7 Waterproof (submersible to one meter for 30 min)

Weight - 75g

The Silva Ranger Headlamp has now been replaced by the Silva Explore Headlamp which uses the same AA battery and Intelligent Light® optimized light distribution pattern and has the same level of water resistance. The Explore has added a battery status indicator which functions when the headlamp is turned off. They have changed from 4x White LED + 1x Red LED in the Ranger to 1x High power LED in the Explore. The discharge time in the max mode remains the same for both headlamps, but the discharge time in the min mode is only 10 hours in the Explore versus 20 hours in the Ranger. The light distance in the Explore has increased over the Ranger from 29 meters to 40 meters with the light output increasing from 30 lumen to 60 lumen, and the weight of the headlamp has decreased from 75 grams to 47 grams. The light modes have changes from Max, Med, Min, Blink, Red, Red Blink in the Ranger to Max, Min, Blink, Red, Orange in the Explore.

I haven't tested the Silva Explore, but I will have to give Silva top marks for their Ranger headlamp and would highly recommend the brand for anyone looking for a headlamp when rugged reliability is a priority.

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Summer Packing of the "Get Home Bag"...

Now that I've found a new bag to use as my "Get Home Bag," I thought I'd go into a little detail of its contents.

My "Get Home" gear is broken down into two parts, a vest which contains my water, food, first aid kit, and survival kit. I'll get into more detail about these at a future date, but the last two kits in the vest would be best described as the sort of kits you might carry on an average day hike and would cover the simple injury and lost in the woods situation. Some people might carry these sorts of things on a belt, but I selected a vest to better distribute the weight. But more on this in a future post.

Now on to the second part of my "Get Home" gear. This is a daypack which is set up to carry everything I need in case I get caught out in adverse weather or for overnight needs. Remember, my plans are for a kit which will serve my needs should I need to shelter in place at work or make a 37 mile hike home. If adverse weather were to cause the roads to be closed I don't mind staying overnight at work, but I want to be comfortable.

If you have read my earlier posts, the bag I have selected for summer is the British Army 30 Litre Patrol Pack (nsn 8415-99-869-3875) also known as the Northern Ireland Patrol Pack. Now I thought I'd go a bit more into detail as to the contents of this warm weather version of my "get home bag."

Comparison photo showing a used patrol pack (left) and a new patrol pack (right)

The pack, fully packed weighs only 17 pounds. I may have a bit more cool weather gear, but since daily temperature swings of 30 degrees are not unusual, I have retained the cool weather gear until I have sorted out my shelter solutions. Until then the pack consists of 1 gortex jacket and trousers, a warm weather sleeping bag with compression sack, a bivvy bag, a pair of wire cutters, 1 hat, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of undershorts and a coolmax t-shirt, 1 pair of coolmax socks, 1 windproof jacket and trousers and a wool sweater. (Food, water, and first aid items are carried in a load bearing vest which will be discussed in a future blog.)

Not a bad assortment of kit for a 37 mile hike home in the warm weather months which range in temperatures from 50 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit with the heat index. This should keep me warm and dry in the cooler end of the range, as well as keeping me cool as can be hoped for in the warmer end of the range. And to be honest, the windproofs in this kit might be overkill. But I won't know until I test it out.

I hope to take it out for a carry test soon, and will also be adding to it/modifying it as I acquire new kit, such as a tarp/basha, etc...

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Staying Warm at Night in an Emergency...

For some time I gave little thought to having a sleeping bag as part of my emergency kit. It isn't even mentioned as part of the suggested packing list for the "grab-and-go" nag at work. But then again, that list is just a starting point.

As I've mentioned before, the intention of my "get home bag" was to provide me with everything from a "shelter in place bag" for car or office, to a bag to carry what I need to get myself home on foot, should I be forced by weather or other emergency, the 37 mile trip that would entail. And the need to be able to do any of the above in temperature below 0 Fahrenheit and as high as 120 Fahrenheit.

Obviously I can't do any of that with any level of comfort without a sleeping bag. Or I should say sleeping bags, since one bag will never cover the full range of temperatures I could face in a year. So I reached the decision to select two sleeping bags, one for each end of the temperature range I might face in an emergency.

And it is important to remember that a daily swing of 30 degrees Fahrenheit between the high and low daily temperature is not unusual. Something to keep in mind when considering the needs of preparing for a night in a non-climate controlled environment.

For warm weather, I found the British Army Warm Weather Sleeping Bag (nsn 8465-99-869-5310), which was introduced in 1996 and replaced in July 2011. It has a squared foot and was issued to those serving in hot climates such as jungle and desert. It's pretty light weight, weighing 1.2kg, and in a compression sack is smaller than a soccer ball. This also would be ideal to use in a heated building for instances when you might need to shelter in place.

British Army Warm Weather Sleeping Bag

For cold weather, I needed something to handle arctic temperatures, so I looked for and found an arctic sleeping bag, more specifically the British Army Mk2 Arctic Sleeping Bag (nsn 8465-99-138-4584) which entered service before 1991 and has since been replaced. This is a 90/10 goose down sleeping bag, which means it has a fill of 90% down and 10% feathers. The higher the percentage of down, the better the bag. It has a heavy duty front zipper with an internal baffle to prevent the ingress of cold air through the zipper. It is rated to -20 degrees Fahrenheit and weights 2.5kg.

(top) British Army Mk2 Arctic Sleeping Bag inside a Bivy Bag

(bottom) British Army Mk2 Arctic Sleeping Bag

Hopefully this can help you make your own plans to say comfortable at night, regardless of the weather in an emergency situation.

The warm weather bag can be found at Keep Shooting here and the arctic bag can be found at Major Surplus here.

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Looking for a Smaller "Get Home Bag"...

When the weather got warmer and it was time for me to repack my Get Home Bag for the Summer months, I found that the larger bag I was using was now no longer needed as I needed less warm items during the hot summer months. I could simple tighten the straps on the larger bag, reducing its size, or I could look for a smaller size bag.

A smaller bag is also very useful for those who cannot carry a larger bag for some reason, be it size or weight.

I did some researching and recently one of the bags I'd looked into became available on the American market. This is the 30 Litre Patrol Pack (nsn 8415-99-869-3875) also known as the Northern Ireland Patrol Pack, which was introduced in late 1995. Designed for short duration patrols, it is not as large as the regular British Army bergen, holding approximately 30 litres versus 100 litres in the infantry bergen or the 50 litres all arms bergen. Also, the two side pouches are permanently attached and the bag lacks an internal frame, unlike the larger British Army bergens. The top flap has two zippered pouches above the large central main storage area of the pack.

Constructed of cordura nylon, this is a rugged and hard wearing pack will stand up to most activity. I will note, in my research, it was advised to stay away from civy street models of this pack and buy only the real surplus British Army pack, as the civy street models are not very durable.

Repacked for summer, mine weights only 17 pounds packed. Without getting into details about the contents (this will be covered in a future post) it contains undershorts and a t-shirt, socks, shorts, gortex rain suit, windproof jacket and trousers, wool jumper, sun hat, bivy bag and sleeping bag. Most of what I would need to cover 37 miles in 24 hours in any weather I might have to handle during the warmer months of the year. And I still have room in the bag for additional items.

Mine came from Keep Shooting which has been the source of a number of my emergency preparedness items. They offer quick shipping and fantastic customer support. www.keepshooting.com

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What to Eat in Case of an Emergency...

When planning for an emergency, food, water and shelter are three of the most important things for which to plan. In this post, I shall attempt to tackle the food planning portion of my own Emergency Preparedness Plan.

As I have mentioned before, my goal is to be able to be self-sufficient for up to 3 days, in temperature ranges from -10 degrees Fahrenheit to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. I also want to be able to eat with or without a heat source and be able to provide myself with the full range of nutrients and calories needed should I have to walk 37 miles home from work. I think I have finally found the solution.

While military field rations have been derided in the past as barely edible, modern food science and developments in meal selection have created a very wide range of "meals ready to eat." They require no cooking and aside from the beverages, require no added water, which is an advantage if you have a limited potable water supply. As part of my goal in emergency planning is not not just survive or exist, but to be comfortable. I could have selected American MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) as my food supply solution. I would need 6 of these for my needs and they are quite easy to find online, either surplus or commercially packaged for civy street sales.

Since I was looking for something new and different, I have opted to supply my food needs with the British ORP (Operational Ration Pack). Also known as 24 hour rations, they come in a single box per day and offer a wide variety of menu choices. The regular menu offers 20 different menus and they also have 10 different menus each for Vegetarian, Halal, Sikh/Hindu and Kosher. All food items in the packs were surveyed and all chosen for inclusion scored at least a 6.5 on a scale of one to 10, being at least between liked and moderately liked before being selected for inclusion.

The packs are designed to be stored in a temperature range of 37 to 77 degrees without additional protection from the environment for extended periods of time, though they can be stored in hot environments for short periods of time. Each pack weights about 5 pounds and contains about 4,000 calories, more than enough for a 37 mile hike home and will allow me to make each pack last even longer if I am sheltering in place.

The main menu items are packaged in retort pouches which can be reheated in 4 minutes in gently boiling water, though they can also be eaten without reheating them.

So on to the meals. Here is a photo of one of my older meals which I am rotating out of storage. This is Vegetarian menu 3, and personally, I have no issue with any of these vegetarian menus since I know they give the same level of nutrition as the regular menu items and honestly, I rarely notice that they are vegetarian.

One you open the box, you can get a full idea of how many items they contain.

Below is the example found in Vegetarian menu 3.

Meal Pouches: Mushroom Omelette, Vegetarian Tomato Noodle, Pasta and Bean Salad, and Sticky Toffee Pudding

Snacks: Castus Apricot Bar, Biscuit Fruit, Strawberry Boiled Sweets, Classic Fruit and Nut Mix, Oreo Biscuit, and Strawberry Jam

Drinks: Isotonic Tablet Orange, Blackcurrant Drink, Raspberry Drink, Cherry Drink, and Hot Chocolate Caramel

Sundries: Beverage Whitener (x4), Tabasco Red, Sweet Menthol, Spearmint, Strong Mint & Peppermint Dental Chewing Gum, Instant Coffee (x2), Sugar (x4), Wet Wipes (x2), Teabags (x2), Tissues, Spoon, Water Purification Tablets (x6), Matches, and a Reusable Poly Bag.

You can un-box the meal and re-pack the food items in your bag or even your pockets, as they are designed to withstand such a short duration re-pack. And since the ration also includes water purification tablets, you can purify up to 6 litres of water a day without worrying about additional water purification means.

They have a shelf life of 2 years based on the "best before dates" of the contents, so every 2 years I will rotate my stock. You may read that military rations will last for years. What I have found is that the commercially available food items, as well as the items containing fruit and nuts do not hold up for 5 years as some may claim. So play it safe and only buy rations which are "in date" and rotate your stock of food. (British rations have a pack date on the white circular label on the outside of the box noted as "PD0213" for example meaning pack date February 2013. This would have a "best before date of February 2015.) Since the food is quite tasty by camping/backpacking standards, this will be easy to do on a weekend hike or outing.

Highly recommended if not easy to find. Try looking on eBay or GoArmy in Scotland which does offer reasonable shipping to America. www.goarmy.co.uk/survival-sleeping/cooking-eating

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What I'm Lacking... And Need to Sort Out for Extreme Winter Weather Emergencies....

So after my first test of my "Get Home Bag"I've realized I have a few items which I am in need of to make life a bit more bearable in snow at low temperatures on a long walk home due to a disabled vehicle...

First, I am in need of better shoes and socks. I've got a few things in mind and perhaps in the coming week the sock issue will be settled.

The boots will have to wait a bit for now. But I have considered a pair of fairly compact snow shoes to help with the walking in snow. Not sure if that will materialized, but we shall see.

Right now I can carry 1.66 litres of water. Not nearly enough for an extended time out in the weather with a long walk home. My solution should be a 3 litre camelback, but I may have to resort to something a bit less expensive in the form of 1 litre water bottles. For now I plan to load the car with enough store bought water in 16oz water bottles to cover my needs. Even if frozen, I should be able to cut them open with a multi-tool and thaw them out 16oz at a time over a small cooker. I thought about simply putting a gallon jug of water in the trunk, but frozen, that is simply too much water to try to thaw out in any reasonable way.

I can't deny that keeping your neck warm in the cold windy weather is very important. Wearing a turtle neck solves that problem, but I don't wear them to work, so I need another solution to keeping my neck warm. I plan to do this with a headover. Basically a tube of material which is pulled over the head. It can function like the neck of a turtleneck shirt, but is also long enough to cover your ears and even your head if needed. Simple and compact, I plan to add this to my kit shortly.

I also need to add a small cooker to my kit. Having dealt with liquid fuel based stoves in the past I am looking for something a bit smaller. Right now my plans are to find a small solid fuel cooker and an aluminum mess tin which will allow me to thaw out 16oz of water at a time, boil water for tea or soup and heat a meal. More to follow on these items as I find them.

So, hopefully with these few additions, I should be more than prepared for the worst winter can throw at me if stuck at work, or disabled by bad weather on the way home.

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What Do You Do When You Can't Carry Everything...

Back in early 2014 when I first started to put together my "grab and go" bag as suggested by the government building where I work, I just threw together what I could find around the house. From the start it was not perfect but it was better than nothing.

Over the past year I've tried to improve and deal with some of the thing I was lacking originally. One of those items was a sleeping bag. Now while many people might not think they need one, I want to be comfortable if I have to sleep at work (we have no hotels or motels in close proximity) or in case I have to walk home all 37 miles or in case I get stuck in my car in a snow storm. The problem is, a winter grade sleeping bag takes up space, more space than I had in my existing bag. Luckily for me I just found a solution.

As I said before, I am trying to keep the cost of this emergency preparedness low and also something I won't mind throwing in the trunk of the car for months at a time without needing it for other purposes.

Now I've found the solution... The British Army All Arms Rucksack (nsn 8465-99-978-5364).

Also known as the Engineer Turtle Pack Bergen, this was designed for the branches of the British Army other than the infantry. It has a capacity of 50 litres, to which two 10 litre side pouches can be zipped on or clipped onto the sides, increasing the capacity to 70 litres.

The rucksack has a double ended zip at the top of the bag, with a velcro double layered storm flap. Inside there is one large space inside and a smaller pouch for smaller flat items.

There are padded shoulder straps and a padded waist belt for carrying the rucksack over long distances. On the top and bottom of the rucksack are adjustable quick release straps which can be used for compressing the rucksack or to tie-down sleeping pads or other additional gear. On the top of the rucksack are two heave duty webbing handles which allow you to carry the rucksack like a tote bag, though fully packed that would be difficult over anything more than short distances.

One very interesting feature of the bergen is the flap on the shoulder strap side of the bag which rolls up when wearing the rucksack. When not being worn, the flap rolls down and, secured with velcro on the sides and bottom, covers the shoulder straps and waist belt, allowing the rucksack to be stored and moved without the straps being caught up or tangled up on anything.

Next step will be to test this rucksack in a field test, but for now, it is keeping all my gear safe and together in one place, at low cost. I found this for only $49.99.

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New Ideas for Carrying the Contents of My Grab and Go Bag....

A new bit of kit I've added this winter as part of my "grab and go"/"get home" bag for emergencies to keep in my car is this tactical load carrying ensemble vest (nsn 8415-99-461-4932). Now I'll be the first to admit that I was very reluctant to buy anything with the word tactical in its name as part of my emergency kit. I don't have weapons nor do I intend to have any with me. And this vest was designed for an entirely different purpose than my own. But after reading about it online and doing some further research, I decided to give it a try. It came brand new in the original packaging, one vest and 13 pouches. The vest is covered in loops of webbing that is known as the pouch attachment ladder system or PALS. This means that pouches can be attached anywhere on the vest and are secured so they will not "flap about."

This vest came with 3 large utility pouches, 1 small utility pouch, 1 flashlight/knife pouch, 1 medical pouch, 1 canteen pouch, 2 ammunition pouches and 4 grenade pouches. I haven't a clue what to do with the grenade pouches, so I have not used them. The ammunition pouches are perfect for my thermal drinking mugs so they have been retained for use.

All of the pouches have a rubberized lining and a secure clip to keep them closed. The large utility pouches have a drawstring cover inside the lid to really keep the contents dry. The knife/flashlight pouch uses a simple velcro closure.

The vest also has two small and two large pockets inside the front of the vest which are easy to access and even in the cold with gloves on were easy to open and a great place to stuff my gloves when I needed the dexterity of my bare hands.

With its wide shoulder straps, this vest has the ability to distribute the weight of its contents in such a way that it does not cut into your shoulders, and with the internal mesh construction, does not allow heat to build up between your body and the vest. The combination of Fastex clips and Spanish tabs allow all the pouches and the front of the vest itself to close quickly and easily.

With the PALS fittings, you can arrange the pouches in any way you wish to suit your needs, and while the version I bought came with 13 pouches, some come without pouches and additional pouches are available for purchase from a variety of sources.

I decided to set my vest up using the manufacturers suggested layout as a starting place, omitting the four pouches I  mentioned earlier. Now it will be up to me to decide if the layout meets my needs and what to pack in my medical pouch and the 3 large and 1 small utility pouches.

After hiking 2 1/2 hours in temperatures from 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit this vest was still very comfortable and I was not sweaty underneath, which could result in a chill in those low temperatures. Still some experimenting is needed to get the load exactly as I want, But I think that this vest has a definite future as part of my grab and go bag.

I found my vest at MilitaryUniformSupply.com where they offered the vest and 13 pouches new in the original packaging here for $29.99.

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Finding an Ideal Outer Layer for the Cold Wind and Snow to Keep in the Car...

I've been trying to find an inexpensive solution to add to my "get-home" bag which I now keep in my car. Something I can throw on over my regular work clothes in severe weather in case I have to get home in a sever weather emergency and my car is disabled.

My requirements were simple: inexpensive, effective in staying warm but not too warm when walking in cold weather, water resistant, easy to put on over what I am wearing, and something I don't mind putting in the trunk of my car and keeping it there.

It's taken me a a while to find something which will meet these requirements, but this winter I think I have found what I've been looking for over the past year.

My solution is the British Army Windproof Smock and Trousers. Made of a 50/50 blend of cotton and polyester, they are windproof and water resistant. I wore these on a test hike of 2 1/2 hours in snow over my normal work attire in 15 to 25 degree Fahrenheit breezy weather and they kept me warm, but not so warm that I was sweating and never let me feel cold. While shoveling snow in 35 degree Fahrenheit weather over cotton khaki's in sunny calm weather, they proved too warm, but were an easy to remove.

The smock has a hood with a cord closure and a wire in the edge of the hood to make adjustment of it easy and windproof. There are two button flap chest pockets and two button flap waist pockets. It also has two zippered chest pockets behind the chest flap pockets. There is a drawstring waist and bottom edge to the smock. The cuffs are velcro closure and the hood can be held in place up along the collar with a button loop. The left sleeve has a very small velcro closure pocket. All the buttons on the smock are guaranteed to stay on as they are sewn on with cord, rather than thread.

The trousers have two pockets which stay closed with velcro, two side cargo pockets with button flap closures and one rear pocket with a button closure. They are button waist with a zipper and have drawstrings at the cuff, as well a velcro seam about 12 inches long at the cuff which allow you to easily pull them on or off over boots. Like the smock, the trousers buttons are guaranteed to stay on as they are sewn on with cord, rather than thread. They also have a button adjustable waist.

Both of these can be found at a variety of online sources. Mine came brand new in the original packaging from MilitaryUniformSupply.com which offered the best price and which allowed me to find the correct size. Some vendors only sell in small, medium, large, etc, but this company allowed me to buy knowing my height, chest, waist, seat and inseam. The smock can be found here for $29.99 and the trousers here for $17.99.

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Testing out the Emergency Kit....Test #1

This was the first winter where I have made a concerted effort to try to really be prepared for bad weather on my commute. Perhaps it was the 4 hour drive traveling only 37 miles which kicked my backside into gear. But luckily I had begun my preparations in advance.

Since I am not a government employee, but work in a government building, I get exposed to the annual "shelter in place" drill and am reminded that the government only makes basic provisions of emergency bags for their own employees and I must fend for myself.

So this winter, I have begun to keep an emergency bag in my car. I never want to use it, but I want it to be ready for when I need it.

Confession time: It is not 100% where I want it to be. I know I need to add some items, but for the first time I have done a test with it and discovered what is lacking and what is perfectly fine.

The kit is designed to be ready should I need to "shelter in place" at work overnight, to provide for me should I get stuck in my car overnight in a winter storm, and to be portable enough to  be carried 37 miles should I need to walk home in a horrible disaster.

When you think about what you'd need to have in such a kit when winter temperatures can reach below 0 degrees fahrenheit with wind chill, creating such a kit can be a bit daunting to figure out what to pack, a bit expensive if you go to some of the guicci retailers on civvy  street, and a bit heavy if you don't pack well.

This weekend I went out with a friend from work for a photo shoot and hike in the snow. Temperatures were from 15-20 degrees fahrenheit and it was a little windy in some of the more exposed sections along the river. Since we both have talked about "get-home" bags and emergency preparedness at work, I felt quite comfortable using this hike as a chance to test out my kit. I wore my normal winter work attire, which included a wool sweater, and added a pair of "Bean Boots" and heavy wool socks. This is what I'd wear to work on a day threatening snow or with snowy conditions on the ground from previous winter weather. No sense in ruining a pair of nice dress shoes with the liberal amounts of salt which cover the sidewalks around work.

To this I added a ex-British Army windproof smock and trousers, a nice thick cold weather hat which could cover my ears, a load bearing vest with pouches to carry whatever I needed, and a pack containing the majority of my "shelter in place"/"get home" bag.

Now I'll be the first to say, the vest was a new addition and right now I used it only to carry a spare pair of heavy duty gloves, 1.660 litres of water, and some wristlets to protect my hands while taking photos which would let me also work my camera in the cold.

Everything worked out successfully, except for a few details.

The straps on the pack slipped off one shoulder most of the hike due to the vest which was underneath, but since it was light it wasn't too uncomfortable and can be fixed with a utility strap holding both shoulder straps across my chest.

The seal of one of the thermal drinking mugs was not tight and there was a tiny bit of leakage when it was not sitting upright in the car.

Also, the "bean boots" and wool socks were not up for the extreme cold.

Other than that, everything performed magnificently. The smock and trousers fit nicely over my work attire and did not allow my to get hot hiking, but also kept me from getting cold. (I'll talk more about these in another post, but the windproof trousers were only $18 and the smock was only $30, so not too expensive to buy and keep in the car.

The vest was great for carrying the water and has clips to add a camelback without the need for shoulder straps, and plenty of pouches for everything you might need, like gloves, flashlight, thermal drinking mugs, etc...

The bag, which I have posted about before, worked well, but unfortunately is not large enough to add a sleeping bag, which is part of my emergency kit for my car in the winter. I've got a replacement bag on order so we shall see how that works shortly I hope.

When we finished the hike 2 1/2 hours later I still had a mug of hot tea waiting for me and my drive home and I was warm, but had not gotten sweaty, something to avoid in cold conditions when you can't be sure you will be able to get into a warm place to cool off.

More tests are in order, but this was quite productive and replacement socks and a bag are already on their way to see if I can't make further improvements on my winter emergency kit for my car/work needs.

More posts to follow to further discuss some items in this post in more detail.

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The Perfect Little Thermos

This is a follow up post to one from last summer. This is an interesting little bit of kit I've found. The British Army calls this a Thermal Insulated Mug. 

They are about the size of a can of coke or a bottle of water, so they take up very little room and can fit just about anywhere. The wide mouth makes drinking easy and would also make it easy for soup or any other hot food you might want to carry in them.

It holds 330ml of food or beverage and fits neatly into the standard British magazine pouch, giving civilian use for an specifically military pouch. It was introduced into British Army service in December 2005 and weighs 0.26kg. Advertised to keep contents hot for up to 8 hours and cold for 18 hours, it has a secure "leak proof" screw top lid with a lid compartment for sugar, coffee, tea bags, etc.

I have used mine on 3 occasions and have been very happy. Most commonly I used it to carry hot tea when out for a photo shoot in cold and/or rainy weather, I most recently used it for for hot tea on a 1 1/2 hour hike in temperatures from 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. It kept my tea piping hot as advertised, but it is not 100% leak proof. Be careful the seal on the lid between the lid compartment and the main bottle is tight, otherwise it may leak if not kept upright.

Overall, these little mugs are the perfect way to help cope with cold and/or rainy weather when all you really need or want is a hot mug of something to keep the chill at bay.

I found these on eBay.co.uk through the seller elecTech Stores. They offered great service.

Highly recommended!

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