Black Friday Prepping Deals

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography.

Used with permission.

As is tradition, in this post I'm going to point our readers at some great Black Friday deals on prepping items. In previous years the offerings haven't been very noteworthy, but this year I've found some good ones and I hope this pattern continues. 

Unlike a lot of prepping sites, I don't link to any old deal that's nothing but a reduced price on an item. I only link to products which I either know are good, are recommended to me by people that I trust, or have a stellar reputation for quality. If you know of any similar deals on quality prepping items, let me know in the comments

FireFlame Fire Starters (60 pieces for $28.79)

https://amzn.to/3tr21uf

I reviewed these fire starters back in 2022 and these are still my go-to method of starting fires. I have a week's supply of these starters in my bug-out bag and my get-home bag, and more are kept with my hurricane supplies. This is bar none the easiest way I've found to light fires, and you can heat a cup of water with just the starter itself. At $28.79 for 60 you're paying 48 cents for each starter, and while this is still a little on the pricy side for skinflints like me, it's nevertheless a great deal as it usually sells for $35 (58 cents per starter). 

EverBrite 350 Lumen Rechargeable Headlamp ($11.99)

 

https://amzn.to/49fQnpl

Another product that I have good experience with (reviewed here), I have two of these in my preps and they've served me well. With three colors of light (white, red, and green) and four white light options (high, medium, low, and strobe) there's a lot of utility in an inexpensive package. Originally it only came in black with a gray band, but now it also comes in pink, light blue, and olive green with matching bands. The green, blue, and pink ones are a dollar less than the black ($12.99), and I would recommend against getting the green because it will be harder to see if you accidentally drop it into foliage. 

Hazard 4 Poncho Villa Mk2 ($89.99)

 

https://amzn.to/4g8tcPS

I have owned a Hazard 4 Poncho Villa since 2016 and it's been one of the best things I've ever owned. It's kept me dry through multiple hurricane seasons, breathable enough to keep me from sweating underneath it, and giving my arms enough freedom of movement that I'm confident I could draw my concealed carry pistol from underneath it without issue. It also has grommets at the corners, giving you the ability to turn it into a shelter. Normally $140, the Royal Blue version is now $50 off! The Mk 2 version also comes with interior snaps allowing you to secure a fleece liner ($72.86) to it for cold-weather comfort. 

Fairwin Rigger's Belt ($12.55)

https://amzn.to/3BduqKI

I don't own this (yet), but at 4.4 stars with over 22,000 reviews, I think it's pretty solid. You never know when you might need a solid belt to keep your pants up or strap some gear to your waist, and the V-ring claims to have a bearing weight of 1,100 lbs. While I wouldn't be willing to trust any belt with that much weight, I can see the use for tying it around an object like a tree trunk and using it as a rope anchor. If you don't want the V-ring but still want a decent tactical belt, Fairwin has one without the ring for $11.75.

Mechanix FastFit Tactical Gloves ($12.99)

https://amzn.to/4fVbH64

Mechanix is another company with a reputation for quality products. I can't wear their gloves because my hands are too small, but I expect they'll fit most male hands. There are a variety of models all on discount for Black Friday, and this is just the least expensive. You can also get their Tactical Work Gloves for $19 or their M-Pact Tactical Gloves for $24. 

Anker 548 PowerCore ($89.99)

https://amzn.to/3BhLL5c

Another product that's $50 off from another company with a reputation for making quality products, the Anker 548 is a 60,000 mAh battery that can recharge a laptop 3 times or a smartphone 7 times. It also comes with an inbuilt LED light (42 hours of runtime if not used for anything else) and a carrying handle for portability (weighs 5 lbs)

If you know of any other great Black Friday or upcoming Cyber Monday deals, let me know!

The Ryobi 3716 Chainsaw: a 5+ Year Review

There are big names in the Chainsaw product line, like Stihl and Husqvarna for the professional loggers, with Echo and Poulan targeting the home user market segment. And there are not-so-big names such as Craftsman (which used to be the Sears brand, and is now available at Lowe’s), Ryobi (available at Home Depot), and a whole bunch of “Me Too” Chinese brands that you can find online.

For context, I’ve used my  Ryobi 3716 chainsaw to fell trees, cut firewood, and remove debris preventing access. My Trail Life troop has a few “work days” where we assist other organizations by cutting firewood, and my Ryobi has held up alongside the Stihl, Husqvarna, Poulan, Crafstman, Homelite, and Echo saws the other dads bring. This isn’t saying the Ryobi is better, only that it isn’t any worse than other established brands. My neighbor has a BlueMax (available at Lowes) brand saw, and it too worked just fine when we were clearing his backyard.

With all this comparative experience over the years, I wouldn’t say that the Ryobi 3716 is a “must buy,” as there are plenty of reasonable alternatives in the same price bracket. For example if you have a Lowe’s near you but not a Home Depot, a Craftsman or BlueMax chainsaw might make a lot more sense in your situation. But if you do have a Home Depot as your nearest major home improvement store, perhaps it’s the right option for your situation.

https://amzn.to/3B2nRdW

The Ryobi 3716 is aptly named. The 37 is for 37 cubic centimeters of displacement, and the 16 is for the 16” bar size. It comes in at 12 pounds, which isn’t ultra-light for a chainsaw, but is much handier than the 20+ pound McCulloch chainsaw my dad let me use to cut firewood. In the 16” bar range, the 37CC engine on the Ryobi 3716 is completely adequate, and I would not recommend getting a smaller saw unless you are also stepping down to a 14” bar. A more powerful saw will cut faster (given equal blade sharpness), but not noticeably so over the course of a homeowner response to a few trees falling. If you were going to be in a job where time is money, then the chainsaw would become a time sink, and you should get  a “top tier” chainsaw.

The Good 

The initial price is cheap for a chainsaw, and is a very good value.

Consumable costs are also very good, as Ryobi is able to use the “Powercare” line of blades and bars, as well as Oregon blades and bars. My buddy with a Husqvarna pays nearly 37 dollars a blade, and I can buy a two pack for just over half that.

Other consumable parts, such as spark plugs and air filters, are cheap and available due to Home Depot carrying them, and after 5+ years of use, I should probably get a tune up kit for it. 

https://amzn.to/4g8ePLy

The Bad

After Hurricane Helene, I found myself needing to do two cuts to get through the trunk of large trees. If you have a lot of work to do, with two foot diameter trees, a more powerful saw with a longer blade is probably a better option. This was never really a problem before, as all of my chainsaw work up to that point had been pre-planned on my schedule. But in a disaster response, sometimes I wished for a 20” bar as that extra 4 inches of cutting length would have come in handy quite a bit, and a Craftsman 20 inch chainsaw with 46cc engine is only about 50 to 60 dollars more. However, the blades and bars get more expensive as well (to get more, one must pay more).

The Interesting

If you want a real German or Swedish chainsaw, you’ll pay top dollar for one. Pretty much all of the affordable chainsaws, regardless of brand, are made in China, and brands that want to build on brand recognition and brand equity keep a tight reign on their original equipment manufacturer (OEM) quality control. Ryobi is no different in this regard; the Ryobi name is Japanese, but Ryobi power tools in North America is owned by a Hong Kong conglomerate. 

If you find a brand you know nothing about, look up a YouTube review or two before purchasing. It doesn’t save you any money in the long run if the saw needs the expensive brand blades or parts.

Prepping Thoughts

To be prepared with a chainsaw you also need to stock fuel, bar oil, spare blades, and at least one spare bar. I recommend spending the money on a pre-mix fuel (I use TrueFuel 50:1 92 octane, no ethanol) as it lasts a long time, and bar oil lasts indefinitely. If find yourself without bar oil, you can substitute normal car engine oil, but as it is thinner you’ll need refill more often.

https://amzn.to/3V8zSWb

If you don’t have a chainsaw at all, and live where windstorms can knock trees down and lock you in (like what happened recently in the Pacific Northwest), or live where hurricanes are a known risk (pretty much all of the South), or even where Nor’easters can hit and drop trees, you probably should have a chainsaw in your resiliency preps, and it probably should be a two cycle gas chainsaw unless you have a robust power generation setup where you could recharge a bunch of 40 volt lithium battery packs. After Helene, no one was using electric chainsaws after day two, as there were more pressing needs for electricity, like refrigeration.

Press-N-Go Bullseye Holsters

One of my local gun shops carries a line of Bullseye brand kydex holsters that are designed to be custom molded to your particular pistol. I wanted to use my Beretta 92 for the Protector 1 class taught by Sheepdog Defense, and the required holster type is “kydex, no Serpas,” so I took my Beretta in, paid my sixty dollars for the kit and pressing fee, and got a strong retention inside the waistband (IWB) holster.

The Good

It works.

 Bullseye "Heat Press Go" kydex holster in "carbon fiber" texture 

The Bad

It has a leather back. I don’t like the feel of leather against my skin, so I always wear a shirt tucked in between my skin and the holster. I would have preferred 100% kydex, but “large frame auto, left hand draw, IWB” only had one option that day, and it was the leather-backed design. The good part about leather is that it is slightly more comfortable, but the bad part about leather is that it gets wet, gets floppy over time, and can stretch, making that “friction retention” holster looser and looser.

My gripe about leather aside, if you carry something with widespread adoption like a Glock, odds are good you don’t need to get a custom holster. The Beretta 92 may have been all the rage in the 1980s with the Lethal Weapon franchise, but it’s a full size service pistol that isn’t particularly good for concealed carry; however, I’m 6’1” and over 200lbs, so there is plenty of real estate to carry a full size auto in my situation. I carry a Beretta because it’s what I use for Service Pistol competitions (choices for that are limited to 1911s, Beretta M9 clones, and probably the new Sig Sauer M17 commercial equivalents).

Currently, the Bullseye Holster web site is less than helpful and I can find no Amazon outlet for the brand. However they seem to be in stock with multiple gun stores, such as Keene Tactical.  

Should You Get One?
Does the Bullseye IWB heat-press-go holster get my recommendation? No, not unless you have no other option (my situation at the time) and absolutely need one right now, or you are getting an outside the waistband (OWB) holster in full kydex. The cost of convenience is what it is, and I don’t have a setup to mold kydex at home. 

I’ve since found a full kydex IWB Beretta 92 holster for half the price of the Bullseye.

https://amzn.to/496sFLV

Holsters are like firearms in that they are designed around a deliberate set of compromises on material, size, texture, features, etc. There are no “perfect” firearms or holsters, but you may find a pair that perfectly aligns with the set of compromises you prefer, and if you are carrying a more common polymer frame auto, you should have a lot more options at a lot more price points.

Prepper's Pantry: Garlic Cheese Biscuits

I saw these tasty treats mentioned online, but when I tried to go back, I couldn't find the source. I decided to try my hand at making them myself, based on what I remembered of the description.

While I made mine from fresh ingredients, nearly every component of this recipe can be found in a well-stocked prepper's pantry. 

• Harder cheeses, if prepared properly, can last without refrigeration for quite a while. 
• Canned cheeses are also available, and they have shelf lives measured in years. 
• The same is true for butter. 
• Jarred crushed garlic, if unopened and stored in a cool dark place, can last quite a while, and powdered garlic lasts even longer.
• Home-made biscuit dough can be used, though the article I read called for the pre-made kind found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.

I've made these biscuits twice now, once with each type of dough. A lesson I learned was not rolling the home-made kind too thin.

Once the dough is prepared, assembly can begin.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits

Ingredients

• Biscuit dough
• Cheese, cubed or shredded
• Garlic, crushed
• Butter

Recipe

1. Roll the biscuit dough no less than ½" thick and cut into 3" rounds.
2. Place approximately ½ teaspoon of butter in the middle of the dough.
3. Add preferred cheese, enough to cover the butter. (I used mozzarella.)
4. Add ½ teaspoon or so of crushed garlic.
5. Carefully fold the dough over the contents and pinch closed.
6. Bake at 350° for 14-16 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Don't be concerned if some of the biscuits open during baking.

If desired, drizzle with melted butter, and serve while still warm. 

Biscuit rounds cut and rolled out with filling added

Folded over and ready for the oven

Out of the oven and ready to serve

These biscuit can be reheated... if there are any left over, that is. 

Enjoy!

Immersion Heaters

Not actually Erin.

Picture by KJ Photography.

Used with permission.

There are times when you lose hot water but still have some kind of electricity: when your water heater breaks; after a disaster like a hurricane where utilities are down but battery backups powered by solar panels provide you with power; or you're car camping and want a hot cup of coffee, but don't have the time or energy to make a fire to boil water. 

Regardless of the specifics, it's not an improbable, edge-case situation to need hot water and still have power, and in those cases the immersion heater shines. Invented in 1924, an immersion heater is little more than a shielded metal coil that quickly heats up from the electricity running through it from a conventional wall socket, and just as quickly cools to the touch when unplugged. It is fast, efficient, and far more portable and convenient than heating water in a kettle or over a fire. 

I bought this 300W immersion heater for $16.50 on Amazon, and I use it to heat a cup of water for rinsing my teeth after brushing (my teeth are sensitive to cold water) rather than wasting water by letting the faucet run until hot water arrives from the other side of the house. 

https://amzn.to/3CzsFIf

I don't need the water to be very hot, so a minute is all it takes for it to go from 70° at the tap to 100° in my 12 oz. (1.5 cups) mug.* This is less time than it takes me to brush my teeth, so when the water is hot enough (through practice I can determine this based on the amount of bubbles on the heating element and confirmed with touching the water with a finger) I unplug the heater to allow it to cool. When I'm finished brushing and ready to rinse, the heater is cool to the touch and can  safely be removed and placed on a towel to dry. 

* I haven't needed to boil water with it yet, but I can tell you that after 2.5 minutes the water is 125° and that's hotter than anything I'd like to drink. 

It's essential that you always immerse the heater in water before plugging it in, and submerge as much of the heating element as possible. If you hear the sound of something boiling over, too much of the element is uncovered, so add more water or push the heater deeper if possible. 

It's also essential to always unplug the immersion heater and let it cool off in the water, even if that water is boiling, for 30 seconds before it is safe to remove. Doing otherwise could result in burns to yourself or heat damage to objects. 

I would only use an immersion heater in glass, Pyrex, or similar materials. A metal container could result in burns from touching it if the water reaches boiling, and I would be concerned about the heating element melting a plastic cup. 

https://amzn.to/3CzsFIf

If you are a car camper, long haul trucker, or just want to warm your coffee during a long commute, there is also a 12V DC version (currently $11 on Amazon) which uses a standard automobile power port. Again, be mindful to prevent burns or scalds. 

https://amzn.to/3ANu4uf

Larger immersion heaters also exist, suitable for heating up buckets or even bathtubs full of water. After being very happy with my cup-size heater, I bought this larger heater for $25 on Amazon.

https://amzn.to/48QEVQL

I haven't tested this one yet because I haven't needed to use it; my planned use case is if I need a lot of hot water post-hurricane, and I will use a battery bank to power it. Given its efficiency, and that I very much doubt I'll need to boil gallons of water at a time, using this heater shouldn't drain my battery too much and I ought to be able to recharge whatever is lost via solar panels. 

https://amzn.to/48QEVQL

As with the smaller unit above, observe the safety protocol of fully immersing the heater before plugging it in, only use it in a safe container, and always unplug it and allow it to cool before removing it. 

Despite being 100 year old technology and a niche product, an immersion heater deserves a place in any prepper's supplies to provide fast, efficient, convenient, and smokeless hot water practically on demand. 

Prepper's Pantry: Cooking in the Dark

In a previous article, I talked about different choices for power free ingredient prep. However, this does us only so much good unless we are also able to cook without power. Thankfully, there are a number of different options available to us for this process as well. While some of these alternatives are more accessible for those living in a less urban environment, there should be something available for everyone.

WARNING: several of these methods can produce dangerous combustion residue, such as carbon monoxide, and should never be used indoors.

Gas Stoves

Whether running off propane or natural gas, a traditional non-electric stove can usually still be used during a power outage. Some of the more modern versions of this appliance may be encumbered by computerized controls (such as touch pads) that limit their utility; however, if there are manual knobs to turn on gas to the burners and matches to light them, then cooking can commence.

Traditional Gas Oven

While this process may not work for activating the oven, many meals can be prepared solely on the stovetop. Just make sure the gas is properly turned off when cooking is done.

Grills

Available in sizes from large to small, and fueled by either charcoal or propane, grills are the next option to discuss. While generally not viable for apartment dwellers (unless they have a balcony or access to a park or other common area), there are a wide variety of choices in this area.

Small cast iron charcoal grills, commonly called hibachi, are the most basic example of this category. Don't let their minimal size mislead you; they can certainly be used to prepare full meals.

Classic Hibachi Style Grill

From here, grills move up in size and expense. Next up are the traditional Weber Buoy or Kettle style charcoal grills and similar designs. There are a variety of options, capacities, and accessories to choose from with these grills.

Weber Classic Kettle Grill

Propane grills have really taken off over the past few decades, and there are a dizzying variety of sizes, styles, options, and accessories available in this area.

Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill

Camp Stoves

On a related (but much more portable) note are classic camp stoves. These come in many sizes, from small enough to perch on top of a small fuel canister...

Coleman Bottle Top Propane Stove

...to large enough for heating two pots at the same time. These days, most run on propane, but there are other options as well, such as butane.

Coleman Classic Camp Stove

An even more compact version of the camp stove concept is the small, folding Esbit-type pocket stoves, which are designed to be run off fuel tablets. However, they also can use twigs or even small candles in a pinch.

Esbit Pocket Stove

Fire Pits

For those with appropriate space and zoning, another possibility is a fire pit, either as a permanent emplacement or a free-standing unit.

The Author's Backyard Fire Pit

If you plan on going this route, some sort of grate or pot hanger should be purchased to simplify cooking over an open fire.

Folding Cooking Grate

Campfire Tripod Pot Hanger

There are even fire pits on the market that come with cooking surfaces included.

Portable Fire Pit with Cooking Surfaces

These are just some of the available considerations for cooking when electricity isn't available.

Regardless which option is used, it's always a good idea to have some sort of fire suppression system on hand in case of accidents or emergencies. 

Have fun, and cook safely.

Rope as Cordage

In any “survival packing list” worth a darn you’ll see “cordage” listed as an essential. Even if you aren’t roughing it in the wilderness, having rope and cordage on hand can be a real asset in a disaster or disruption of normal life.

Some quick background information:

• Cordage is twine and string, useful for small tasks.
• Rope is bigger than cordage in all dimensions.
• There are two types of rope, static and dynamic. This simply means one (static) stretches less than 5% of its length under load, and the other (dynamic) stretches more than that. 
• Both types have a broad range of uses, but when the power is out, sometimes having rope on hand is the difference between waiting for someone else to solve your problem, or being able to do it yourself. 
• Static ropes are generally used for climbing, rappelling, and other activities where humans are going up and down the ropes. 
• The cheapest, most readily available rope worth having on hand is dynamic, and made from synthetic fiber, 3/8th of an inch in diameter. 

You can do a lot with dynamic rope, from simply tying things together to creating a simple pully system using household hardware items like eye bolts and carabiners. I generally like to have one or two lengths of this type on hand, although the last two times I used up my stash it was just to teach youngsters how to tie knots. You can get 100 feet of it for about $6 at Home Depot, and essentially the same stuff at Lowes.

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Chains-Ropes-Rope/3-8-inch/N-5yc1vZc2grZ1z1slt3 

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, one of the problems we had was a massive amount of downed trees, leading to a lot of chainsaw and tree removal work. One tree dropped right over my neighbors' deck, and the problem became how to remove the tree without having all the weight of the trunk fall on his deck. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you see it), my neighbor was able to arrange for a professional to remove the trunk with heavy machinery before I had another weekend free to help him finish the job (which is a huge plug for having a solid Homeowner's insurance policy).

That neighbor and I had already used a bunch of rope to control the fall of tree limbs as I limbed the big beech tree. I tossed the rope over a limb using a weight (small sandbags work great for this), then tied a safe knot around the rope, and neighbor tied the other end to his lawn tractor. He would apply tension with the lawn tractor, and I would chainsaw the limb, letting him pull the limbs away from over his fence so they landed safely on the lawn. A six dollar rope saved hundreds of dollars in fence repair.

I’ve since found commercial block and tackle pulley systems available for very moderate prices (this one costs about the same as a few eye bolts, plus high strength snap-over carabiners, and I think I'll purchase one for the next time I have to teach kids about simple machines (levers, incline planes, and pulleys).

https://amzn.to/4hKjQeD

One other use of cordage was helping another friend cut through the downed forest to get to his shed where they stored their animal feed. When we got to the shed, it was crushed, but my buddy had a come-along and a bunch of 550 cord. In order to not snap the cord, I wrapped it around the fallen tree trunk about a dozen times to distribute the pressure over multiple strands, and that worked fine to pull the fallen oak off the shed enough to retrieve the animal feed so they could keep their farm running.

Finally, knots. You should know how to tie a square knot, and a bowline. These two knots cover the vast majority of practical rope and cordage uses you will encounter in an emergency, or a camping trip. Yes there may be more appropriate knots for tying down a rain fly over a tent, but you can get it done with square and bowline knots. 

There is a lot more information about the different types of rope out there: braided, double braided, twisted, natural fiber, kernmantle, etc. There are a lot more knots, and a lot more potential pulley setups. There are many better ropes than a 3/8” polypropylene rope, but I found that the cheap 3/8th polypropylene, as well as non-milspec 550 cord, served perfectly well in disaster response.