Throwing a Molotov cocktail against a buttoned-up tank means that somebody might eventually repaint the tank. Throwing one against an unarmored civilian vehicle — if you don’t break a window — means the owner is going to be incredibly annoyed and the ...
Survive
The Fallacy of the ‘If You Had Only One Survival Tool’ Debate
I’ve been a professional survival instructor since 2007. Before that, I worked as a canoeing and kayaking outfitter from 1998 to 2006. I’ve seen the booming interest in survival television shows, the popularity of survival gear surge in retail ...
Sleep or Die: Survival Shows Don’t Stress the Importance of Getting Rest
In 2012, I asked a friend to help me assemble a demo reel to show executives in Hollywood after being signed by WME in the reality unscripted genre. I was instructed to show as much movement as possible to attract the interest of these production ...
Clint Emerson Teaches Readers to Live ‘The Rugged Life’ With New Book
In today’s society, someone can tap the screen of a smartphone, and moments later, food or supplies arrive on the doorstep. Modern technology and the convenience it brings have made the average American lazy and complacent — so much so that they ...
Camping on the Fly: How to Choose the Best Emergency Bivy
When I was 15 years old, I met up with one of my high-school buddies, Jim, to do an overnight hiking and camping trip just on the outskirts of my hometown. I didn't have a driver's license, meaning mom dropped me off. Like a lot of teenage boys, we ...
‘Jesus, There It Is’ — Inside a Daring High Country Rescue
“Jesus, there it is.” It was 4:46 p.m. on Aug. 28, and Brent Kallem — a flight paramedic on board St. Luke’s Health System’s Bell 429 GlobalRanger high country rescue helicopter — gazed along the east side of a granite peak in ...
5 Rare Survival Rifles Designed for Air Force Crews
On Dec. 21, 1943, Lt. Leon Crane was conducting a flyover of the Alaska interior when one of the engines of his B-24 Liberator malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to spiral out of control. Crane grabbed a parachute and dove from the open bomb ...
Climbing Documentary Chronicles Family, Mountains, Death, and Reconciliation
The climbing documentary genre has steadily grown into a larger-than-life, reality-defying experience for those of us who keep our feet on terra firma's lesser elevations. Alex Honold’s Free Solo, Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk, and Conrad Anker’s ...
Raise Them Right: Emergency Preparedness for Kids
The word pedagogy is used in the realm of education to distinguish various teaching styles and theories of learning. As the primary educator of my children in our chosen realm of home education, I make it a practice to continually study the ways in ...
Sinking an F-150 in the Arctic, and Other Stupid Shit Rich Dudes Do
Every once in a while, a bunch of rich dudes get what they think is a helluva damn good idea over a few country club bourbons. One hundred percent of the time it's an idea better left on the bar with the tip. But when one of the guys gets a bit ...
5 of the Deadliest Insects You’ll Find in the Field
Once accepted, trained and later deployed as a military service member, you should be ready to operate in the world’s most remote areas. It is common to have the military deployed in the driest parts of the world or tropical rainforests. In such ...
Traveling Prepared: Building a Proper Vehicle Emergency Kit
Since a significant percentage of the average American family’s waking hours are spent behind the wheel, it’s paramount that we take the necessary steps to ensure that we are trained and traveling with a vehicle emergency kit to address the most ...
Top Burners: How to Choose the Best Firewood
Understanding how different wood burns is essential to getting the most out of your fire, whether building one in a hearth or in a fire ring for grilling, smoking, or drying. Master these simple tips to choose the best firewood and get the most out ...
Disaster Prep: The Importance of Everyday Readiness
Unless you’ve been half asleep, you probably have noticed that 2020 was remarkable. COVID-19, double — correction — quintuplet hurricanes, murder hornets, threats to public health, and civil unrest. We couldn’t get a break. The fabric of our ...
Faint Screaming, Mounted Agents: Border Patrol Rescue of a Lost Hiker
Sixteen hours into a search inside Big Bend National Park’s remote backcountry for a lost hiker, US Border Patrol agents on horseback heard what they called “faint screaming.” About 20 miles north of the Rio Grande River on Tuesday afternoon, ...
Is Your Bug-Out Vehicle Go-Ready for When Shit Hits the Fan?
I spent most of my years in the military operating in the Recon genre of Special Operations — a job that had me go-ready, living out of a rucksack for days, if not weeks, at a time. I learned very quickly in combat what optimization and efficiency ...
Desert Nomad: Overlanding Lessons From Afghanistan
Wilfred Thesiger, a British Military Officer, writer, and explorer, once said, “No man can live this life and emerge unchanged. He will carry the imprint of the desert, the nomad, and he will have a yearning to return for this cruel land can cast a ...
Why a Trauma Kit Should Be Part of Your Everyday Mobility
I’ve spent the majority of my adult life Overlanding. I started with my Jeep Wrangler Sahara, which to this day is the only vehicle I’ve never sold and will never part with. I frequented Uwharrie National Forest every weekend and spent my free time ...
‘River Dave’ Skips Court, Potentially Saves Camp From Another Fire
David Lidstone, a famous hermit who lives on the Merrimack River in New Hampshire, where he’s better known as River Dave, was arrested in December 2021 for trespassing in an ongoing dispute with the owner of the land where he’s been living for ...
A Green Beret’s ‘No-Fail Event’ — Summiting Everest Without Oxygen
Music drowned out the sound of Jason Howell’s fingertip exploding. It was the Saturday after he’d started the Special Forces Qualification Course — informally known as the Q Course — and he was alternating between dumbbell chest presses and flyes ...
2 Rescues in 2 Days: AZ Clusterf*ck Serves as Hiking Safety Reminder
At 12,633 feet, Humphreys Peak is the tallest in Arizona. The trail to its summit is 5 miles up and 5 miles down, with an elevation gain of more than 3,000 feet. It’s a challenging trek even in great weather with a clear trail — it’s utterly ...
Shackleton’s Sunken Ship ‘Endurance’ Found After 107 Years
After sinking off the coast of Antarctica 107 years ago, Ernest Shackleton’s three-masted ship, Endurance, has been located at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. According to a release from Endurance22, the international expedition that ...
Off-road Tire Pressure: How to Get the Best Ride From Your Rig
If you want to kick ass off the beaten path, your rig needs to have the correct off-road tire pressure for optimal traction, handling, and wear. Determining the proper tire pressure depends on the terrain you’re driving on and the weight of your rig. ...
Tactical Canyoneering: Rappelling Down Waterfalls on the Hana Highway
Rappelling down a waterfall in Maui is a bucket list adventure. If you’ve been to Hawaii, specifically Maui, chances are you’ve heard about the Hana Highway, also known as the “Road to Hana.” It’s an infamous 64-mile-long stretch of serious curves, ...
How To Survive on Wild Edible Plants and Not Get Dead
Terence McKenna, famous American philosopher, ethnobotanist (one who studies a region's plants and their practical uses through the traditional knowledge of local culture and people), and author once stated, "Nature loves courage. You make the ...
Stay Fit in Preparation to Survive
If you grew up in the 1980s or the early part of the 1990s, you probably thought a chiseled, oiled, and likely chemically enhanced physique is what you needed to stay fit to survive. You can probably picture it now — a muscle-bound, larger than life, ...
Bushcraft 101 with Kevin Estela
“Bushcraft” is a term used interchangeably with “survival,” but they are not true synonyms. Bushcraft is the art of doing more with less and using nature’s resources whenever called upon. Survival is the art of getting by at any cost and is generally ...
5 Ways to Ensure Medical Preparedness
As a woman, I always take my role as protector of my children and any children in my company very seriously. As a registered nurse by education, the tendencies to gravitate toward being a healer come naturally to me, but as medical ...
Struggles of a Modern Hermit: Chewing the Fat With ‘River Dave’
David "River Dave" Lidstone has become something of a folk hero for New Hampshire residents who recreate on the Merrimack River and only dream about living a Thoreau-style, off-the-grid lifestyle. For the past 27 years, Lidstone has carved ...
Recognizing and Preventing Altitude Sickness
I remember the first western hunt I went on. I was black bear hunting at about 7,000 ft. in the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. Not exactly a high-altitude hunt. But I’m a flatlander from Minnesota who hadn’t been to the mountains in years. Having ...
