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.

All Rights Reserved.

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.

All Rights Reserved.

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.

All Rights Reserved.

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!

All Rights Reserved.