Blog | Wilderness Innovation

New Nano Ultralight Stove by Firebox

By pdpeacock On July 27, 2013 · Add Comment

Nano Ultralight Stove by Firebox

This is a great little stove by Firebox that we were able to have a part in by doing field testing, making comments and ultimately encouraging this design to be the production model. Wilderness Innovation was one of the first companies to purchase the original Firebox Folding Stoves and have seen it develop over the past years. We are delighted to be able to participate in the introduction of this new stove.

More Information Coming Soon – We will soon have video up on our YouTube channel showing the production model prototype and also some clips of beta testing the earlier model. Also we will have a podcast or vlog coming where Ben and I discuss the stove in detail; history of our involvement in looking for a stove like this and the development of the stove itself, included will be details on using the stove, test findings and specs. Etc.

Our primary interest in the stove was due to some special cook sets we started testing and developing. The cook sets for one, two, and four persons would include cook ware, dishware, and stove, clean up items, and importantly space to store 3 days basic foods. We’ll talk more about what led us to the Nano on the podcast, suffice it to say we wanted something that could use wood and alcohol as fuel.

The stove had to be small to fit in our cook sets, especially difficult was fitting one for the One Person Cook Set, we came close with a couple stoves, but just not quite a match for us. The Nano is just what we need for our cook sets. We will be selling it on its own as well as with the cook sets and other kits we are developing.

Here are some facts about the stove.

Dimensions and Weights

Height: 4.75” (12 cm)
Width: 3.0” (8 cm)
Thickness Folded: 0.25” (6,35 mm)
Weight: 5.6 oz. (159 gm.)

Features

Small size about that of a 3 x 5 card
High Power, high output
Multifuel, wood sticks, Trangia Spirit Burner alcohol, Esbit, other
Accommodates small diameter cups
L shaped legs and pot supports turn out for more support of larger pans
Stainless Steel construction for strength and value
Stove can be used with floor panel up or down
Unique perpendicular dual fuel ports provide intense fire
No adjustment needed for Trangia Spirit Burner use

The pricing on the stove itself will be $39.95. The manufacturer is offering a pre order special price which is restricted to purchase only through them. We typically offer special kits, or bags with products we sell from other manufacturers, and we are planning a couple of deals that will offer the same kind of value over all as the manufacturer’s pre order. It is going to be 4-6 weeks yet before the stoves are ready to ship. Keep an eye on our Blogs, the product page, YouTube videos and our newsletters to be aware of the deals we will be offering.

Check out the product page here

Final note, we absolutely love this stove, light yet sturdy, easy to use and set up, all the parts are connected so there is nothing to lose, and the pricing is perfect for the value. Again we will be giving lots of information on the stove in the next month, stay with us and don’t miss any of it.

**Pictures shown are the beta test model, some variation to production model**

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Our Neighborhood Earthquake Readiness Test

By pdpeacock On July 24, 2013 · Add Comment

CERT_victim_carry

There is no way to assure your readiness than to test yourself with a scenario as real as possible.

In about three weeks we are doing a preparedness drill in my area, I am doing some teaching there. Emily R. is promoting it to the neighbors and has secured the use of a field to gather in. The scenario is an earthquake and since we live near a major fault this is quite appropriate. We are gathering on the first evening, to help each other and to assess the situation, the following day we would go around and assess damage to homes to see what is safe and what isn’t by utilizing information and training from the CERT program.

Below is a rough guide we are using to run the scenario. It will be fleshed out a little more in the coming weeks, but this would be a guide to get started.

Neighborhood Earthquake Preparedness Drill

Location: Russell Property

Scenario: Earthquake damages homes and structures, everyone to meet at Russell’s to set up temporary camp for a few days while damages are assessed, homes inspected, repairs made. Scenario covers first night and following day. People to bring their 72 hour kits or Bug Out Bags for each family member.

Basic Activity Outline

Greeters’ duty:

Stationed at entry area to meet people as they arrive
Resources cataloged for rough idea of available food, medical, water, shelter, heating/cooking, rescue, etc.
Note those who have completed CERT or other disaster training that can assist
Also make list of skills of those gathering, outdoor cooking, shelter building, medical, construction/engineering, etc.

Shelter

At homes, check for gas leaks, shut off gas as needed.
Set up shelters as needed with materials available, have someone assigned to help coordinate this activity, could use vehicles themselves for shelter, tarps could be tied between them for shade or cooking areas as needed.
Check for electrical utilities in service.
Find those with skills to start looking at houses starting next day to determine livability, what repairs need to be made.

Fire

Determine cooking capabilities, stoves, fuel, fire, pots, and pans.
If possible have a fire for comfort if nothing else.

Water

Check for water supplies brought with group
If some have barrels or buckets of water in storage at homes that is safe to get at, bring some to meeting site to help with the group.

Medical

Medical care and such for first night. Utilize those with medical training to take care of any injured, others to assist as needed.
Greeters could tie colored ribbons around arms of various people as they arrive indicating certain injuries. Simulate taking care of them and their families.
Assume all people have to be taken care of locally no hospital or outside medical care available.

Food

Have persons assigned to help with cooking as needed.
Depending on what resources are available, may not need cooking for first night.
Plan cooking for Saturday activities

Social/Rescue

Note any who have radio capability with which to stay in touch with other groups and city authorities.
Have someone assigned to help settle families in organized fashion.
Set up reporting of status to community/church officials as indicated in local emergency protocol
Tag homes after inspection as safe/unsafe according to CERT guidelines
Plan group assistance to help with repairing damages and making homes livable again

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

How to decide what Gear to Buy

By pdpeacock On July 16, 2013 · Add Comment

How to decide what Gear to Buy

It is so easy to become a “gear nut or gear head” these days with all the information available and the incredible variety on the market, but gear isn’t just things you buy.

Purpose of Gear

To determine the purpose of gear we have to define what it is. Generally speaking for our discussion it’s all the devices we utilize to be prepared. It’s pretty much everything but our physical bodies. On a Core level, gear is all the things needed to keep our bodies alive in any situation, beyond that it provides efficiency and comfort.

Since gear encompasses such a broad spectrum of devices it would be helpful to break it down a little. First of all I would say we take care of Core or essential needs. This would be things we always have on us or around us. EDC (Every Day Carry) would fall in this area. Think about what is necessary to get through three days or so, just gut level stuff.

We use three levels of gear

CORE – This is the items needed to get by for three to seven days in most any condition you would encounter in your activities.
EFFICIENCY – These are added to CORE, and they make things easier, more manageable, and able to sustain oneself for a longer period of time and in greater comfort.
COMFORT – At this level you are working towards the type of lifestyle that is convenient and able to sustain life indefinitely, ultimately providing all the comfort and security of a modern society.

The decision on each piece of gear you are considering is what level are you building with this item? It is essential to build out a CORE level first as that is the minimal requirement for you to survive. If you are a knife collector that is one thing, just make sure you have in your CORE kit a knife for basic use. Don’t just buy things to buy them, unless you have an endless supply of money. Also it crucial to consider items that can be used for 2 or more functions, that equals more bang for your buck. Not all gear is purchased, some you may make yourself at home, some may be improvised on site with available natural materials.

Cooking under the Personal Survival Tarp

You can decide how basic or advanced you want to be. You can have family preparedness at a COMFORT or EFFICIENCY level, and still challenge yourself by going out in the woods at CORE level.

Here are some ideas for building out a CORE kit in the Six Essentials for Survival.

Shelter – Knife, cordage, clothing, emergency blanket
Fire – Doan magnesium bar, lighter, char cloth, knife, cotton balls, lamp wick
Water – Containers for carrying and boiling water, purifying tablets, siphon tube
Medical – First aid kit, medications required by you,
Food – Not needed in the short term, simple broths or soups if desired
Social/Rescue – Whistle, flare, signal mirror, radio

A few simple items to enhance CORE level very effectively. Note, this starts to build EFFICIENCY level.

A tarp like our PST
A multifunction shelter like our PSS
Water filter

We have a schedule set now where we will be covering these items in much more detail in additional blogs, videos and podcasts, so keep on watching us.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Survival Skills – Get Out and Do It

By pdpeacock On July 2, 2013 · Add Comment

Survival Skills – Get Out and Do It

We live in the age of electronics, a time when there is more knowledge and information available than ever before. Not only is this information easily available, it is in many formats for our convenience. In survival or life in general, knowledge is only part of the picture.

In the training manual I am still working on, each of the six elements of survival are broken down into three parts; knowledge, skills, and gear. These days many are highly involved in the knowledge part of things, blogs, news, and videos. I see many of these people becoming “gear heads” or “gear nuts.” What happens is they watch blog or video reviews and buy stuff like it’s going out of style. Then they hardly use the gear in real life.

I remember when I was quite young helping my dad and my uncle build a house for my grandparents, dad was putting in a window and driving nails in the frame, I asked him how he could do that without breaking the glass. My question was based on the fact that I would certainly have my aim off a bit and hit the glass. Dad’s words to me were simply, “I’ve pounded a lot of nails in my life, I don’t really even have to think about it.” Essentially he was saying to me it was about doing it, practicing, becoming experienced.

Some years ago I was asked to teach some scouts a fire starting skill using a magnesium bar. In a few minutes time they scared me to death and I had to do some preliminary training. You see when I was young, in early grade school it was common for all boys to carry a pocket knife. I grew up with a knife in my hand. This generation of kids have been raised and trained that a knife is a vicious weapon, not a tool. As a result the boys were not skilled in using a knife. We had to do a little more training in knife use and safety. The boys, however, were still awkward in working a knife as they lacked experience.

“With practice comes improved ability and that increases confidence, which bolsters attitude” -pdpeacock

I have said it many times, you can watch YouTube videos 24/7 and never be efficient at knife use, ax skills, knots and rope, etc. Nothing wrong at all with the videos, but the next step needs to happen and that is practice or what we call skill building.

When you gain knowledge, you have to put that to the test and try it, develop the skills. I Recall my youth and seeing in a book

Some guys in front of Shelter built for rain

starting fire with a knife and a flint. I am telling you I beat a knife to death trying this. What I didn’t know then was I didn’t have enough knowledge of the process to ever make it work properly. Later I learned that what happens is a hard stone with a sharp edge scrapes a tiny shaving of steel off a knife blade or steel striker. This shaving is extremely hot as the process involves a lot of friction. The hot spark can start an ember or in some cases ignite some very fine tinder.

The more times you do something the better you can become if you are observant of what is going on, and this is the other thing to remember, a person can do something a hundred times and be no more successful unless he watches what is happening and tries to improve on it.

One other thing to think about is seldom does an instructional video, blog or manual tell you every detail you really need to know to be successful in a skill, some of these nuances are only acquired with much practice.

Some years ago we were on a cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship, one of the themes they told us over and over on that cruise was to, “Get out and do it.” We would all do well to follow that advice in our survival and preparedness quest.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Personal and Camp Cleanliness

By pdpeacock On June 13, 2013 · Add Comment

Personal and Camp Cleanliness

I’m the first to take a day or so off from cleaning up, a little grubbiness is ok, and let’s face it, kinda cool. There is a limit however to that coolness, especially when around others. But it’s not just a smell or appearance problem, it can quickly escalate into a sanitary condition. The thing about it is, it’s not all that difficult to take care of.

My Grandfather used to wander out on the deserts of central Utah looking for twisted cedars to make lamps and furniture out of and rock hounding for whatever he could find. I was with him on many of those occasions. He grew up in the San Rafael Swell area, riding horses all over. While we were out on various excursions, he taught me many things.

One Quart Shower

In an area that could be very short on water many times, conservation was essential, one of the things he taught me was how to take a shower with one quart of water. Really it works best with two people, one to pour and the person washes themselves, I’ve done it by myself just fine too, just a little slower. It can actually be done! The key is water only gets poured on the head and very slowly, just a dribble. Don’t use too much soap, whatever you put on has to be rinsed off. The other key is everything is top down, wash hair first, let that soapy water be used to help wash the lower areas. The best thing of all is how refreshing it feels to be clean after a couple of days.

Without some cleaning up now and then rashes, fungus, bugs and other nasty things can begin to make your life miserable and even threaten your health.

Washcloth

1-IMG_1731

One essential thing I like to have packed is either a washcloth or hand towel, sometimes both. Cloth is best, nothing fancy, just old stuff you don’t want at the house anymore is fine. A washcloth can make quick work of keeping clean, then just rinse it out and hang in the sun to dry and purify.

Campsite

The other big thing is camp, it can easily become cluttered and even dangerously unsanitary. A few old boy scout rules will help, with disposing of trash by burning or burying, toilet facilities set up properly away from camp and kept covered with soil. Now I know there are a gazillion rules from the government and environmental concerns, so follow those rules when you can.

Here are a few other tips

Sunshine can clean you up. Exposure to sun on the skin can help dramatically. Use good judgment here.
There are areas on the body that don’t typically get ventilated well, take extra care to clean and dry these places. They are often the first to cause painful irritations.
In winter you can do a snow scrub to clean yourself. Snow is abrasive due to the ice crystals it is made of. Work on a little of your body at a time, taking a handful of snow and scrubbing. It will remove dead skin and dirt. And it’s quite invigorating.
Make sure water is clean, soiled water can quickly turn into life threatening danger, especially with children and elderly. Diarrhea can dehydrate in short order, other bugs can be very nasty as well. A one minute boil is sufficient in most situations. Or SODIS bottle in the sun for 6 hours.
Cleaning cookware is not difficult even without soap. Many steel items can be burned out in the fire or with coals. Scrubby leaves, branches or small brush can be utilized as scrubbers. Dirt and sand can also be abrasive enough to scour things out. Sometimes even leaving to dry in the sun then just peel off the dried food.

Well I could go on and on, but this is enough for now, just a little something to promote thinking. Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Ideas List for Camp or Bug Out

By pdpeacock On May 31, 2013 · 1 Comment

My Idle Time Camp Notes

We are up in the mountains with many of our family for the holiday, yesterday was quite busy as was this morning, but by midday things slowed down, many were napping, others going for walks. I decided to do a blog on some of the things I did and some notes of helpful ideas for both camping and bug out type preparedness.

Practice – it is fun and educational to work survival and preparedness into the normal camping routine. Sometimes even theme a campout for more thorough learning.
Sharpen Tools in idle time – sharpen and hone axes and knives
Organize – We put most of our gear in tough boxes; food, cookware, axes, knives, saws, camp kitchen, etc.
Cloth instead of paper – paper towels are nice and are part of our gear, but they go fast. Have some cloth towels and wash cloths, they can be used over and over, extending the time you can be out.
It’s good to have some leather gloves in your pack. They are indispensable for managing fire, breaking tough branches, protecting from cuts while sharpening the ax, or a myriad of other things.
Wooden utensils are great in modern nonstick pans, and have the added benefit of not melting under heat or around a fire.
Have on hand flour such as our Buchanan’s Old Mill Pancake Mix, Bisquick, or cornmeal mix. There are so many things to use these for such as pancakes, ash cakes, dough boys, muffins, rolls, bread, tortillas, cobblers, cinnamon rolls, etc.
Learn a plant or two here and there, try ways of fixing them to eat if edible, or use them for cord or whatever their best use is. It’s amazing how much you can learn a little bit at a time.
If you use tarps like we do, experiment with different set up configurations
Weave a basket out of local available materials. It may not be ideal due to plant availability or season, but see what you can come up with, it’s fun!
Practice some wilderness first aid.
It is fine to go a couple days without cleanup but make sure you have soap, dental care and other personal care items in your pack. Cleaning up makes you feel better and helps to preserve good health.
Get comfortable, seriously this is very important! If the need should arise to have to spend some extended time away from the conveniences of home, one of the most critical things is to get good sleep and to make things cozy. Our PSS poncho makes into a very comfortable hammock, this allows the body and mind to rest and rejuvenate. Wherever you are try to make it better in some way.
Cordage, take plenty of rope and cord. Although it can be made in the wild, it can be time consuming and generally inferior to modern cords. Take some Bank Line #12, #24, take some 550 Parachute Cord, some ½” rope might be good as well.
Signaling is a good thing to practice, you can use native materials for signal fire or bring with you some item to be used for this purpose. Signal blankets, or other static sign to lay out, mirrors and whistles work really well in signaling at a distance. Practice with these items.

So above are a few ideas so no one gets bored at camp. Doing some of these things can make camp more of an adventure as well. Bring along some of the suggested items or add your own to your camp gear to make effective use of time and energy.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

How to Choose a Stove part 1

By pdpeacock On May 18, 2013 · Add Comment

I don’t even know how many stoves there are out there, perhaps a hundred in North America, then add Europe to the mix and go from there. Surely there are many hundreds of them. It can be dizzying trying to evaluate them all, especially if you get into all the reviews and the specs for each.

Years ago when I was in the electronic security business at times a problem would crop up in some large commercial building that could be daunting to pin down. I found that by dividing the system and seeing if the problem was in front of or behind that point, then dividing again and so forth, it was not so hard to isolate the problem. We can apply the same type of thinking in deciding what stove to buy.

In reality, there are many stoves that can satisfy your needs, it’s more a matter of preferences based on how you will use it. I have many stoves, I don’t know how many, lots. Some for family camping, some used in truck camping, some for winter inside a shelter, some for emergency only, and so on.

Start by asking, what is the next stove needed for? With the purpose being defined the field can easily be pared down by at least three quarters. I’m all about multi-purposing, but that can only go so far in practical terms. It will certainly be the case that you will need a few stoves. For my home preparedness, I like to have stoves that operate on different fuels, just in case. Propane, white gas, wood, butane, alcohol, etc.

A CAUTION– don’t get sucked in too deeply by the, “how fast can it boil two cups of water,” argument. Originally it served as a reference to what the stove could do in performance (BTU’s), it has become obsessive to some degree these days. Many, not all, of the high output stoves will guzzle lots of fuel, so be aware of that. For me it’s nice to know, but really is it going to kill me if it takes another minute or two to boil some water? If I’m out camping I could care less, I want to relax and I don’t care that much. The other thing for me is I’m not a huge fan of pasta based meals, I prefer to do a little cooking, and so I’m not a “water boiler.” Many stoves for example will not throttle down to a simmer, if you can’t do that, you can’t cook.

Obviously it’s going to take more than this little blog to really evaluate stoves, so we’ll do some follow up posts. For now below is a list of things to consider in selecting a stove to fit your purpose.

Portability – stationary kitchen stove or fireplace, BBQ grill, ultra lite backpack stove
Size of cooking task – Family meal, a couple people, just yourself, also average pot size used
Compactness – does the stove break down small for storage? If not can things be stored in it?
Fuel – type of fuel or multi-fuel, fuel availability, temperature considerations, energy output
Adjustable heat output, can it go down to a simmer?
Fuel consumption – this can be crucial in how much fuel to take or store
Weight – this is mostly for mobility in a backpack, 72 hour kit, or Bug Out Bag where weight is a big factor
Quality – how well made the stove is, ease of use, durability, movable parts secure
Cost – look for value, weigh feature value to cost, some features may not be worth it

Finally don’t get too stressed out, there are lots of great stoves out there that will work just fine for you, buy a stove that meets the purpose you need it for and chances are you’ll be happy. Ideally if you can see stoves in use at a campout or such that will help greatly, ask a few friends. Watch here for the next installment where I’ll cover some details about the above items.

FYI stove in picture: back row l-r, Canadian Coleman Propane 2 burner; Generic Butane; MSR white gas; Pocket Stove for Trangia Spirit burner, twigs, or Esbit Tabs; Mojo Stand for Spirit Burner, Emberlit Mini Titanium for twigs or Spirit Burner: Front row l-r, Firebox Folding Stove for twigs, Spirit Burner, Esbit tabs, Granular and Pellet fuels, Charcoal Briquets, etc; Svea 123 Stove, white gas; Wilderness Innovation turbo’d Hobo style twig stove for twigs.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, Simplifying Survival

Is Shelter the Most Important Survival Item?

By pdpeacock On April 17, 2013 · 1 Comment

Fire seems to get a lot of credit as the most import thing there is in survival, perhaps too much. If you have spent a good deal of time outdoors, you know there are times when fire is not possible or practical. There may be a storm or high winds or on the other hand it may be that there is excessive heat and blazing sun that we need protection from.

We consider that there are six basic elements necessary for us to survive, the loss of any one of which may result in death, not in particular order they are; Shelter, Fire, Water, Medical, Food, Social/Rescue.

We should ask ourselves, what is shelter? We are not like the animals that inhabit this planet and are naturally equipped to live in the environment without any accessories. Shelter is whatever items that may be useful to protect our bodies from the elements. Shelter is a shield from sun, rain, snow, wind, sand, bugs, creatures, heat, and cold. It starts with the clothing that touches our skin and goes out from there, besides clothing it includes, tarps, tents, huts, caves, cabins, campers, trailers, and homes.

In my experience a good bit of the time the most needed thing a shelter must provide is protection from the wind. We’ve all been out when the temperature is not all that cold, but the wind just saps the heat from our bodies. In that case a windbreak can make things tolerable. It is important to note that people have commonly perished in temperatures in the 50° F range (10° C). The core temperature of our bodies cannot deviate more than a few degrees above or below 98.6° F (37° C) without detrimental results. Food processors use a combination of cold and wind to quickly chill foods, wind removes heat very rapidly.

We can live for days without water, weeks without food, but if the body temperature changes too much it can be over for us quickly. I read a few months ago a tragic story of a man and his two sons that all died in less than a day to exposure, hypothermia in this case. The family had been staying in a lodge in the Midwestern US, the father took his boys on a hike in the surrounding countryside. A rainstorm came up they were not prepared for, the temperatures dropped, trying to get back they took a wrong turn on the trail, they were found by searchers the next morning soaking wet, the father was dead, the sons could not be revived. A rain poncho may have been enough to have saved them. It made me sick to read the story and to think of the tragedy for that family; a mother, her two daughters and a young son left to mourn the loss.

So many times I see people out with minimal gear, some with nothing but shorts and a T shirt above 9000 feet elevation, most of the time things turn out just fine, but all too often some turn of events leaves the unprepared fighting for their lives. I know it is fashionable to take as little as possible, there is a thrill to that, but it does not come without some risk. Our PSS or Personal Survival Shelter is a Poncho, a Tarp, and can also be a hammock or chair. It weighs less than 2 pounds in its sturdy Cordura bag, why not take one with you, just to be safe. Watch this video to see how you can even connect two or more PSS to make a larger shelter.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Show Me Event Next Week New PSS Features

By pdpeacock On April 11, 2013 · Add Comment

We are starting up our Show Me Event Series again after taking the winter off. We still went camping, but the logistics of doing the Show Me during the winter did not permit it this past season, we are planning to remedy that for this coming year and do the Show Me year round, once per month.

Originally scheduled for the last weekend of the month we’ve needed to move it up a week this time. If you can please come out. We are showing some new ideas on how to use the PSS, our Poncho based shelter system. Also we have some additional accessories for the PSS that we will show you.

Also on display will be our new 1 person and 2 person cooksets, we have been working on these during the last year and are adding them to our website for sale. See them them first at the Show Me. As usual you will be able to try all our gear in the field, learn about it, set up yourself, get familiar.

We will be doing supper on Friday evening 4/19/13 for all attendees, and breakfast in the morning Saturday 4/20. Campfire waffles will be served using a Revolutionary War period replica camp waffle iron, it’s really cool.

No charge for the event, unless you stay overnight, then we ask just $5 per car to cover camp charges. It will be a blast so come on out. You can come just Friday or Saturday or stay for both, it’s up to you. So it’s Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon.

Please let us know you are coming and how many you anticipate bringing so we have an idea. Click the contact link below and put “Show Me” in the subject line.

RSVP Show Me

See ya there

What is Our PST Anyway?

By pdpeacock On June 28, 2012 · Add Comment

Some History –

Many years ago we did a lot with foam insulated sub-zero winter gear, a few years ago we re-booted the company and started off building a fire starter kit based on what I had refined over the years and now our FSK is a premium fire starting kit, one of the worlds finest and most dependable pieces of gear for starting fire. Next we started on our survival kit which was called the WI Real Survival Kit, with the word “real” to emphasize the quality of the components, not a pile of junk called a survival kit, but pieces you could count on. It was altered to a cylindrical shape to accommodate a stainless steel cup and Nalgene bottle and the bag made to allow mounting to handle bars or roll bars in addition to being in a pack compartment. It was renamed the “Offroad Real Survival Kit” we are now converting to the name CSK for Core Survival Kit, to match up with our developing training program. In the end all our gear was fitted with our own version of MOLLE mounting, at the suggestion of our partner Beau Graves. With those items out of the way so to speak, taking care of fire and core survival needs, we turned our attention to shelter beyond clothing, and that meant a tent or tarp.

PST development – I spent the better part of a year studying shelter, the current offerings as well as scouring old books looking at what people used to use. Most of the old tents were hardly more than modified tarps. As I looked at all the different tent set ups, I made notes of the pluses and minuses of each, there were a number of them that I liked equally well. In the end I went in the direction of versatility, having always had a desire for multi-functional gear, so I decided to make a tarp. A rectangular shape is generally considered best for a tarp, but for what I was after I found the square shape could give me most of the configuration styles that I liked, and by using diagonal setups I could use a much smaller and lighter tarp. These diagonal setups were my adaptations of some tent styles of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

PST – what is it?

PST stands for Personal Survival Tarp. We wanted to emphasize that this was intended to be sized for individual use in a survival situation to provide essential shelter. After a lot of testing and experimenting I settled on the size of 7 x 7 feet. I see now that perhaps it has never been explained to people the value and versatility of this size. We sell far more of the PSTL which is 10 x 10, probably because in normal thinking 7 x 7 is too small for most people, well I’ve never been called normal. For most people a tarp would be set up as an awning, a lean to, a cover, or ground cloth, and I grant that at 7 feet long it is minimally acceptable in these configurations. Although we’ve had a lot of success even at that. When you start setting up with the many variations of diagonal styles it can be found that the standard PST is adequate for two persons generally, not bad for that small of a tarp! The PSTL can accommodate 4 – 6 adults easily. Recently I tried to see how many configurations I could come up with for each, and I’m at 30 for the PSTL, and about 25 for the PST.

What are the features of the PST?

Tough light weight ripstop nylon fabric
Corner gussets for reinforcing
Webbing tabs rather than grommets for lashing
Center tabs from center diagonal to one corner
Velcro on center tabs and on stake bag for pole mounting
Five 20 foot hanks of 550 parachute cord
Three varied length shock cords with cordloc adjustment
Six 9″ poly tent stakes with shock cord loops
Cordura tarp bag with MOLLE and 2 D Rings for attachments

I’ll have to do another blog or perhaps even better a podcast detailing more information than this. Our PST’s are certainly among the worlds best value in survival tarps. There are so many more things for me to say about the PST, but for now it’s a start at least. Check out our new video featuring the diagonal setup called the “Stingray” that uses a PST over a PSS made into a hammock, amazingly roomy for a 7 x 7 tarp over a hammock, and another new video making the PTSL into a “Super Shelter” suitable for 4-6 adults for winter camping without sleeping bags.

EVENTS:

Still looking for a “Show Me” location in the Roosevelt area for August, or Sept.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

New Nano Ultralight Stove by Firebox

Our Neighborhood Earthquake Readiness Test

How to decide what Gear to Buy

Survival Skills – Get Out and Do It

Personal and Camp Cleanliness

Ideas List for Camp or Bug Out

How to Choose a Stove part 1

Is Shelter the Most Important Survival Item?

Show Me Event Next Week New PSS Features

What is Our PST Anyway?

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