Monday, March 18, 2024

Product Review: Portable Car Jump Starter

Not actually Erin.
& is used with permission.
Back in 2022 I blogged about a portable car jump starter which I had bought but had not tested. Well, that situation has been rectified, because as it turns out I needed to jump start my car today, and it worked exactly as advertised. 

First, I checked the charge on the power bank. Despite not having been charged since I bought it back in August of 2022 and having been kept in a hot car for all that time, the power display still read 100% charge. 

I then plugged the sensor module into the power bank and attached the clamps to the battery terminals. As I said in my previous post, "I especially like how the clamps are manufactured with extra plastic that bulks them up such that it's impossible to short anything out by having the teeth touch each other; I would have to deliberately circumvent the safety features to short-circuit these. I also appreciate how the sensor module has lights which tell me if I have the positive clamp attached to the positive terminal or not."  The sensor showed steady green, so I got in the driver's seat said a quick prayer, and turned the key. 


The engine started effortlessly, and when I put the jump starter away the battery said 98% charge remaining. I am incredibly pleased with how well this product worked, and the only thing keeping me from giving it a full product recommendation is the fact that I can't find my specific model on Amazon, and Chinese clones of products can be a gamble in terms of quality. 

Still, even if it doesn't jump your care, you still have a rechargeable 18,000mAh power bank with built-in flashlight and emergency strobe, which is very useful in a lot of situations. And if it does work, then you've potentially saved yourself from needing to call a very expensive roadside mechanic or having your vehicle towed. 

At $60, I'll take that gamble. 

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Bike Time Is Near!

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

Decent weather will be here very soon, but that doesn't mean you should ignore motorcycles until you put away your sweaters. One thing I was told before I even had a license was "Look for and count motorcycles when you're driving around. That way, you'll have a good chance of always seeing motorcycles when you start driving on your own."

I was able to talk to a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer at my local bike shop late last year, and I asked him if he rides on his own time. He said yes, but not as much as before due to what he sees on the job. He said in accidents where the biker wasn't 100% at fault (such as single bike accident, speeding, bad lane changes, etc.) 75% of accidents between a car and a motorcycle, the car driver always says "I didn't see the bike!" 

To me that says some bad things about about the bike rider. Do we have lights on? Are we riding so as to be seen as easily as possible? Are we riding with enough space front and back to give us 'bail out' space? Can you see the driver in their mirrors? Yes, I know, those seem to be as often ignored as turn signals on the Interstates. 

YouTube, Instagram and TikTok seem to be lacking videos of bikers riding the speed limit, following traffic laws and not auditioning as stunt riders for the next Mad Max movie. Now this isn't to say that I don't ride faster than the posted speed limit; I certainly do, and I drive faster that that in my car also. I also live where filtering at a stop is allowed and lane splitting is legal. What I don't do, and what I don't recommend, is splitting lanes when traffic is flowing well and at a double digit percentage of the surrounding traffic.

In short, we bikers have a responsibility to be cautious driver and to make ourselves as visible as possible (and I'm not talking enough reflective tape to look like a crime scene). This is as much for our own safety as it is to be good examples. 

On To More Fun Things
I am 100% a fair weather rider, and I embrace that label, so if there's the chance of rain my bike is parked. I do carry some waterproof gear with me, because here in North California the coast can be foggy and damp even in summer, let along the random rain in the Sierras. What I pack are Frogg Toggs Men's Ultra-Lite2 Waterproof Breathable Rain Suit.

https://amzn.to/3v2Lnog

From the Amazon ad:
  • WATERPROOF – Made with frogg toggs breathable, non-woven fabric that is waterproof, wind resistant and extremely lightweight. Perfect for light use when reliable waterproof protection is necessary. ASTM F1695 protection and blood penetration rated 
  • RAIN SUIT – Jacket and Pant included. The unique Polypropylene material provides an excellent, affordable, and reliable rain wear option 
  • FEATURES – Jacket features and adjustable hood with cord locks, full front zipper with storm flap and elastic cuffs. Pant features and elastic waist, straight leg design and stuff sack that fit s both pant and jacket 
  • USES – The Ultra Lite2 Rainsuit compresses easily and is perfect for backpackers, stadium seats, sports sidelines, golf bags, emergency kits or anywhere a lightweight rain suit is needed. The Ultra Lite is not designed for rugged use, wandering through brambles or areas where sharp objects could tear. For these uses we recommend you look at other frogg toggs Rain Suits for rugged use 
  • SINCE 1996 - frogg toggs has endeavored to provide the world’s best rainwear, waders, cooling products, footwear and accessories at the best possible prices

I like this rain suit not only for how it's made, but also how it's packaged. Previously I had a generic, inexpensive rain jacket that came in a plastic envelope that I kept in my saddle bags all the time. That was a mistake, as rubbing around unsecured wore a hole in the package as well as the jacket. Frogg Toggs come in a very heavy plastic/vinyl package, and I'm not sure that I want to try them on since the set is folded up so nicely and I don't think I could get them back into the package! I do know they will fit, though, as a friend has a set and he is the same build as myself.

Safety Equipment
In my last post, I mentioned the first aid gear that I carry in my car and on my bike, the Adventure Medical Kits Trauma Pak First Aid Kit with QuikClot Sponge and the bigger North American Rescue Mini First Aid KitTo keep them together and easy to grab I've hooked them together with a small zip tie.

The zip tie is barely visible.

I'm still working on how to secure everything in the saddle bags to prevent wear and tear, so as the weather gets better I'll hopefully work out a decent answer!

Recap and Takeaway
  • The only thing I haven't reviewed previously are the Frogg Toggs, and the folks who own them all swear by the quality at that price point.
  • Adventure Medical Kits and N.A.R. Kits are items I can't recommend any higher. You can certainly get better, more detailed kits, but you will be spending more that what you see here.
    • One Adventure Medical Kit was also purchased from Amazon for $25.97 with Prime.
    • One North American Rescue Kit was purchased directly from N.A.R. for $108.69, and I believe the price has gone up from when I bought my last one.
Stay safe on the road, everyone, and keep your heads on a swivel.
 
* * *

Just a reminder: if you plan on buying anything through Amazon, please consider using our referral link. When you do, a portion of the sale comes back here to help keep this site running!
 
If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

3D Printing Revisited

As I covered in a post in January 2022, I'm a fairly new member of the 3D printing community. When getting started, there are many decisions that need to be made, as well as a variety of trials and tribulations for a newbie to 3D printers and printing.

Buying a Printer
There are many of them on the market with various features and a wide range of price tags. Bambu, Creality, Prussa, and Voron are just a few of the companies offering benchtop 3D printers. Most people recommend starting with a Creality Ender 3; in my case, I chose the V2 model. The V3 has since been released, and by all accounts it's worth the increased price tag, as some of the upgrades I mention below are included as standard in the new model.

Printers can also often be found on sale, either online through websites like Woot, or in stores such as Microcenter. Assembly and setup generally aren't terribly difficult, so long as you can use basic hand tools and follow printed directions.

Upgrades
One of the first upgrades most 3D printers usually get is replacing the extruder/feeder parts with metal ones, as well as replacing the springs and adjustment knobs for the print bed.

Ender 3 Upgrade Kit


When the Trouble Begins
Bed leveling, also called tramming, is one of the larger bugaboos of the printer world. It takes time, patience, and close attention to fine detail. The purpose of this operation is to make sure the print nozzle -- the part where the melted plastic exits onto the print bed -- is neither too close nor too far away from that bed. Both of these extremes will cause problems, either with prints not adhering to be bed properly or adhering too well, the latter potentially causing damage to the bed when attempting to remove a print.

From what I've read, the optimal distance is approximately 0.1 millimeters between the nozzle and the bed, or about the thickness of a piece of paper. However, a metal feeler gauge of the appropriate size is more precise.


The frustration from attempting and repeatedly failing in this operation caused me to walk away from my printer for a few months until a friend sent me one of the best upgrades to reduce the aggravation involved with bed leveling. Called the CR Touch, it's a small mechanism attached to the side of the print head and a software package that enables the printer to check bed leveling automatically. The bed still needs to be leveled manually first, but once that's done the printer can more easily maintain proper offset.

CR Touch

This was a game changer for me, and I went from angrily attempting to relevel the bed repeatedly after each failed print to near-perfect prints most of the time.

Designs
Speaking of prints, we need design files in order to print something, and there are a number of online resources where these can be found. Thingiverse and Printables are two of the more well-known and popular ones, but there are many others, including sites hosting designs specific to the 3D printed firearms community.

For those with graphic design skill, there are also tools available for creating our own printer files, such as Tinkercad. I've uploaded a few I created to Thingiverse and Printables myself.

A needle file holder designed by the author


I've also downloaded, and either used as-is or modified, a variety of other designs. One I think would be of particular interest to preppers is a set of nesting dividers that fit in an Altoids tin. This was originally designed for watercolor paints, but I'm sure we could come up with a variety of other uses.

Altoids tin dividers


Slicing
Once a print is acquired, generally as an STL file, it needs to be run through what's called a slicer, a program that uses gcode to create the tool path and extrusion details the printer needs to actually print. I use UltimakerCura, but there are other slicers available as well.

Within these programs, we can rotate and scale our models, as well as adjust print specifications such as temperature, speed, quality, and a million other options. I'm only reasonably familiar with a couple dozen of these settings myself.

Ultimaker Cura screenshot


Filament
Once the sliced file has been output and transferred to the printer, we still need filament. The most common filament on the market right now is PLA, which stands for polylactic acid. The current version, PLA+, can be found in a bewildering array of colors and, if bought in bulk, for a reasonable price. I've been happy with the filament I've ordered online from IIIDMax.

After everything's been set in motion, all that's left is to cross our fingers and wait. If all goes well, in a few hours, we'll have a completed print. If not, we'll have a print bed full of what's appropriately called spaghetti.
 
A failed print


My very first successful print was one that came with the basic printer files, a Lucky Cat. Since then, I've downloaded and printed a variety of decorative and useful objects. But as a tradition, and possibly some superstition, I first print a lucky cat with each new filament color.

clowder of lucky cats


As my skill and confidence have increased, I've begun printing firearm parts. I started with relatively simple things such as grips, optic mounts, and fore-ends, then moved on to more complicated designs, such as linear compensators.

Two AR pistol grips


I've printed two linear comps, the first for a 5.56 AR, and the other for one in .300 Blackout. They came out beautifully, and I've run a couple magazines through the 5.56 one with no issues.

My next achievement will be printing a frame or receiver. Maybe this is how I finally get a Glock?


I'm sure I've left out a number of important 3D printing details, but as I said, I'm still a novice in this world and I know I still have much to learn. Some additional links are provided below.

May your bed always be level, and your spaghetti only be the kind cooked for dinner.

Links:

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Emergency Payments

Not actually Erin.
& is used with permission.
Back in December, my mother's dog Precious needed to be taken to a 24 veterinary hospital for emergency surgery. (Precious is fine now, so don't worry about that. She came through the surgery like a champ and has completely recovered.)

Miss Precious, Christmas 2023

Like most emergencies, this came late at night and without warning, so neither my mother nor I were at our mental best. This is one of the reasons why I prep, so instead of having to think I just got dressed, grabbed my ER bag, and got in the car. Unfortunately, my mother isn't a prepper, and she tends to panic in high-stress situations, which is why I prep for her. This will become relevant in a moment. 

Long story short, we got Precious in the car, took her to the hospital, had her seen, and were told that the surgeon needed to operate on her immediately. All well and good, but less good was the price quoted to us, which was just shy of $2000. Given that Precious could die during the operation, we were asked to pay before services were rendered. 

Normally this wouldn't be a problem as we have that much in our emergency funds. However, remember that panic I mentioned? Mom forgot to bring her checkbook along. She did have her wallet with her debit card (we don't use credit cards anymore, given the debt that my father got us in with them due to his dementia), but the debit card had a hard limit on it that wouldn't cover half of the procedure. 

If I knew then what I knew now, I'd ask mom to give me her debit card, call the 24 hour customer service number on the back, and have her talk to whomever answered about temporarily lifting that limit. If you didn't know you could do that, now you do, so keep that in mind. 

Unfortunately we didn't know that at the time, so we needed to get credit another way. The receptionist at the hospital told us about CareCredit and Scratchpay, which are both businesses which help finance medical bills. They are functionally the same, with the chief difference being that CareCredit doesn't do as deep of a credit check as Scratchpay does, and so were told to apply to CareCredit first so that if we were rejected for it the credit check wouldn't hurt our chances for Scratchpay approval. 

Fortunately for us, we were approved (likely because my mother had clawed us out of the debt my father got us into) and we were able to pay the hospital for Precious' surgery. As of now, Precious is doing fine, the debt is paid off, and we have a CareCredit account in case I (who can't afford health insurance) get hurt. 

So remember: if you ever need to pay a medical bill in the middle of the night on a weekend and don't have the money for it, you can apply to one of these medical financing companies. 

This knowledge weighs nothing, so always carry it with you.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Guest Post: Titanium at the Mammoth Sniper Challenge

by George Groot




George is a member of our Facebook Group and has written for us before.
 




In January of 2023 I participated in the Mammoth Sniper Challenge, a three day endurance event where you have to pack everything except water and live out of your pack. This year I used an ALPS OutdoorZ Commander freighter frame and pack bag, stowing an AR-15 in the rifle retention system on the pack and carrying 150 rounds of 5.56x45 and 100 rounds of 9x19 on the opposite side pouch to balance the load. Magazines went in the outer utility pockets. My food, clothes, cooking kit, and pistol went in the upper compartment, my sleeping system went in the bottom compartment, and my sleeping pad was rolled up and strapped to the bottom. 

https://amzn.to/49HtERS

All told, my pack weighed in at 59 lbs at the beginning. I had 2.2 lbs of food per day, with around 3,000-3,500 calories per day. At the end, with most ammunition expended and two days of food gone, my pack was around 45 lbs.

Cooking
I’ve served in the US Army for 25 years, and I have plenty of experience long distance rucking, but I always had the opportunity to make a small cooking fire or to re-supply with MREs at logistics points. Since fires aren't allowed during Mammoth by Fort Eisenhower Range Control, I had to purchase a packable cooking solution. I went to Walmart and picked up this Coleman Peak One butane-propane stove for my cooking needs.

https://amzn.to/3T8kFDH

The good: It works, it’s small, and it is easy to use. It was available at my local Walmart for about $14 when I bought it in 2022.

The bad: It’s 6.7 ounces, or nearly 200 grams. 6.7 ounces feels light in the hand, but I learned the hard way, again, that ounces make pounds, and pounds make pain.

For Mammoth 2024, I used a titanium stove that weighs only 26 grams:

https://amzn.to/3uMZMEW

The good: It works, it’s small and it's light. At $24, its price is competitive with the Peak One whose 2024 price has risen to $22 at Amazon. 

The bad: It’s slightly less efficient at turning fuel into heat than the Coleman, adding about 20 seconds of time to boil one liter of water. My partner for Mammoth picked up the same stove, and neither of us had any issues actually using it throughout the event.

Fuel
Another thing I learned is that I should pack the absolute smallest isobutane canister possible. Since Mammoth only lasts three days, I only really need to cook about seven meals, and even the smallest fuel container can cover boiling water to re-hydrate nine freeze dried camping meals. 

In 2023 I bought the “econo-size”450g canister at Walmart, and I’m still using it multiple campouts later. While it was good value for my money, it was also weight that I didn’t need to carry for three days. This time I bought the absolute smallest canister I could, and it lasted the entire event just fine, and because the location hardly ever drops below 25° F, I chose a pure isobutane fuel instead of an isobutane/propane mix. If you live in an area where it does get colder than the boiling temperature of isobutane, you’ll want an alternate cooking method.

Mess Kit
The second upgrade to my kit was going from two stainless steel cups to a titanium cup and a titanium pot. The 450 ml cup was 20 dollars and comes with a lid...

https://amzn.to/3uNrTnn


... and the 750 ml pot with lid was 18 dollars.  

https://amzn.to/3USdnoT

As you’ll see later, the real upgrade is going to vessels with lids, which makes it easier to cook over a fire without cinders or ash falling back into your food. 

Weight Savings
Between the burner and the two vessels, I’m shaving six ounces off my load.  

Old Stainless Kit: 14.9 ounces (no lids). This “heavy” loadout cost me about $23 because I got the burner on sale and one of the stainless cups from the Goodwill thrift shop for 99 cents. 

Stainless Steel


Pure Titanium Kit: 8.9 ounces, including lids. This new loadout cost about twice as much, for just over half the weight. My partner at Mammoth 2024 used a stainless steel Stanley cup with a plastic nesting cup, and he’s already decided to replicate my Titanium loadout if he competes in Mammoth 2025. 

I also  have two teenagers, one of whom needs his own backpacking setup, so he can get the “heavy” option until something better comes his way.  
 
Pure Titanium

If you're curious, my old stainless kit with a new titanium lightweight burner weighs in at 9.2 ounces, but don't get any lids for the cups, and I have no idea where you can get my bigger cup that I got from Goodwill. 

For me, the weight savings are worth the cost. For those of you who might need a “get home bag” that isn’t carrying a long gun with 150 rounds of ammunition and a  pistol with 75 rounds of ammunition, your weight budget might easily handle a stainless steel cup or pot, or even a 1.7 lb Kelly Kettle. If you plan on “bugging in”, then having a stainless Kelly Kettle at your location is very good at rapidly boiling water.

https://amzn.to/3SUotY8


Recommendations for Blue Collar Preppers
If your “get home bag” doesn’t need to include food prep items, this entire article doesn’t apply.

I am a big fan of stainless steel, as it is affordable and durable, but it's also heavier than aluminum or titanium. I am against cooking in aluminum, as over the long term it can negatively impact health, but if you just need to get from Point A to Point B over a few days rather than a long term thing, I’d have no issue with boiling water in aluminum vessels (the human body routinely cleans out aluminum ions, but too much can overwhelm the system). 
  • If you are really pinching pennies and just need it for insurance in your go bag, or are really trying to cut weight for a short term survival kit such as on an aircraft, aluminum is the best value and weight option. 
  • If you need something to cook with long term, and are pinching pennies, stainless steel is your best choice. 
  • The cost premium is titanium, which is a good long term cooking option that is lighter than stainless steel (but not lighter than aluminum), but the weight savings only really matter if you're going to be walking a lot.
My recommendation is that you get a titanium burner since the cost difference is minimal at best, and stainless steel cups with at least one lid since they cost half that of the titanium equivalent.

https://amzn.to/3UNzWv9

Whichever setup you choose, I highly recommend keeping some black teabags in your kit in a ziplock bag. They weigh just a few grams, and heating up the 750 ml cup in the morning with two Tetley brand tea bags gave me and my partner a hot, caffeinated drink that tasted pretty good. In Mammoth 2023 I used Starbucks Cafe Vita instant coffee packets, but those are expensive, and I honestly think the hot tea was easier on our bodies this year, especially on Saturday when it rained from 0100 until 0900. There's nothing like ruck marching in the rain, soaked to the bone, and when your life really sucks a hot beverage is great, and tea just brews easier than instant coffee (and cleans up easier too).

Additionally, if you search Amazon for “long handled titanium camping spoon” you’ll see quite a few options. I didn’t use one the last two years, but it is now on my purchase plan because when you're rehydrating freeze dried meals, the long handle allows you to stir the food without sticking your hand deep into the bag. 

One final thought: a three day endurance event isn’t a disaster “get home” rehearsal, but it is pretty close to the same level of physical exertion and “outdoor surviving” required to go from point A to point B. I never had to worry about getting clean water (it was provided to us, and I never needed to carry more water than I planned to drink on the ruck march), but you probably will, so bring at least a Sawyer Mini filter or iodine tablets

Friday, February 16, 2024

Guest Post: Car Roof Cargo Bag Review

by George Groot




George is a member of our Facebook Group and has written for us before.
 




Due to the price of gasoline (and airline tickets over the holiday season) my wife and I decided to take the extra time and drive from Georgia to Washington state. The problem was that our two vehicles aren’t great options for a family of 4 on a long road trip. My Nissan Frontier is fine, but doesn’t have a canopy over the bed and the gas mileage is not great (seriously, it’s shaped like a brick; not the most aerodynamic option). The wife’s Subaru Outback is better on gas by about 5 miles per gallon, but even with the station wagon-level storage, there wasn’t enough room for everything we’d need. We looked at hard-shell roof cargo options, but I ended up purchasing a soft roof cargo bag.

https://amzn.to/3SImCFB

The Good
These are cheap, and you get good quality for the price. They also fold up into a really small storage bag so you can throw one on the shelf in the garage, or toss it inside the car if you need to bring it with you to pick up stuff.

The Bad
These aren’t very secure at all; anyone with a knife or improvised cutting tool can get into your stuff. They also aren’t convenient to access routinely, and they can slip a bit over a 3,400 mile drive (we had about two inches of slipping, as the front straps got tighter and tighter).

The Utility
You can hold a lot of stuff in these bags. About five fully packed out green GI duffel bags fit snuggly, which represents a lot of sleeping bags, tents, and other stuff you might need to bring along, so long as you don't need it inside the car for immediate access.

Mileage
Over the course of 3,400 miles the Subaru Outback averaged 23.7 miles per gallon. This didn’t concern me too much, but it does represent a drop from the 30 - 32 miles per gallon a Subaru Outback would normally get on mostly freeway driving. Even with that decrease, it was still more efficient than using my pickup. With the bag installed and filled, the Subaru's top profile only came up to match the Frontier).

The Interesting
I went with the “international safety orange” version since I plan on re-using this bag to support my local Trail Life troop in the future. Having a great big, highly visible beacon has a lot of utility for normal outdoor recreational activities. However, if you wanted to be more clandestine, there is a grey option available. If you need to camouflage an orange version, keep some olive drab spray paint on
hand, or actual fabric paint to reduce the visible signature.

The Final Verdict
If you have a car with a roof rack or rail system, this is a great option. Even beyond using it to haul stuff from point to point, having a weather-resistant storage bag has plenty of utility at a campsite or location where some additional protection from the elements is needed (such as hand tools, spare batteries, extra rope, etc).

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Rotate Your Carry Ammo

We've talked at length about rotating your preps to keep your supplies fresh and at maximum benefit to you. While most of the time this applies mainly to food and fuel, it really should apply to all consumables you stock, even ones not traditionally considered perishable.

This point was driven home to me on a recent range trip. Having acquired some new carry ammunition for my 10mm, I decided to shoot the old ammo in my magazines, just for the heck of it. It's pretty well established that modern ammunition stored properly will last almost indefinitely, but while that is indeed true, it isn't foolproof. 

The rounds in my magazines were a couple years old, from a major US manufacturer. In the 15 rounds in my primary magazine (the one actually in the pistol) I had 3 failures to fire. On the range, this is an annoyance; in a hunting scenario, that 20% failure rate is bad, but recoverable. In a self-defense situation, however, a failure rate like that has an unacceptably high chance of being fatal.

While I don't have any conclusive answers what caused my failures, ammunition in magazines is subject to the conditions that tend to cause failure, namely humidity and heat changes. Even here in the desert, being out and about means you'll encounter some increased humidity, and obviously temperature swings are a thing.

Ammunition is definitely less perishable than food, and good ammo is expensive to rotate every range trip, so the schedule I'm implementing at home and proposing here is to shoot through your magazines of carry ammo on the same schedule as you change the batteries in your smoke detector, and for the same reason. Having fresh consumables in life-saving hardware can mean the difference between seeing another sunrise... or not.

Lokidude

The Fine Print


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial- No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Creative Commons License


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