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The Silva Ranger Headlamp has now been replaced by the Silva Explore Headlamp which uses the same AA battery and Intelligent Light® optimized light distribution pattern and has the same level of water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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