Sometimes you just want a small stove for your tent. Wouldn’t that be nice to have an actual wood-burning method of heating a shelter that doesn’t cost a fortune, and is easy to carry around? Now dont’ get me wrong, I truly covet a nice stove for the wall tent I dream of owning some day, but reality hasn’t let that come into my posession yet.
Sustainable home heat
Two years ago, I wrote about emergency home heat. In the article, I compared various options, mentioned my desire for both short-term, convenient and long-term, sustainable solutions, and decided on propane and wood, respectively.
Since then, I have moved, built a new home, and done even more research. While my conclusions have not changed generally, my overall plan has. For the most part, I no longer see the need for two solutions. In my mind, there is now a single, universal solution that is the most efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable. Continue reading “Sustainable home heat”
How to survive a night without power
Just a quick post today. With the severe wind storms some people have found that they are not prepared for an emergency such as spending a single winter night without power. KSL posted an article this morning with some useful information on how your family can weather such an emergency.
Also, it might be a good time to refer to articles we’ve done about emergency kits, off-grid power, lighting, and heat.
Take a few minutes to read through it.
Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener
Having a sharp knife is critical. I’m sort of a knife junkie, and am always looking for new and better ways to keep my tools sharp. I was at a gun show earlier this year and picked up the “Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener“.
What Is It (and what’s in the box):
This Work Sharp basically amounts to a hand held belt sander. For the Alton Brown fans among us, this device is definitely a Multi-Tasker. The package comes with several angle guides and some different grits of sanding belts. The coarsest grit is for sharpening tools like shovels, axes or lawn mower blades. The medium grit is for fixing up damaged or really dull blades. The fine grit is for putting on a razor sharp polish. Continue reading “Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener”
Review – Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker
A few weeks ago, several of our authors met up on a Saturday to test out some stoves we were given to review. Jayce will be posting some information and pictures on those soon. The subject of this post was an unexpected surprise to me. At our meet up were the owners of Saratoga Jacks, a local company that imports and sells high quality thermal cookers.
After the break you’ll find a complete unboxing and review of the 7 liter Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker as well as an introduction to thermal cookers and why they matter to preppers.
Continue reading “Review – Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker”
Group Stove Test: First Thoughts
Last weekend several of the UtahPreppers got together with some friends to begin doing some hands on tests to start preparing for winter. Recently several of us have acquired new stoves and we wanted to give a conduct some tests to compare how well they worked. For our first meet up we wanted to test a few stoves and other devices with the group. While we learned a lot we realized that we’ve got some more comprehensive tests to run through before we can highlight each of them adequately. But before we move along with the individual tests, we wanted to thank some of the people that helped make this first stove test so much fun and informative. Continue reading “Group Stove Test: First Thoughts”
Reusable Canning Lids
How many canning lids do you have in your storage? Canning in a long term emergency situation means having the supplies to do it. You’ll need your canner, jars, rings, and of course those pesky lids. Lots of them. Those lids that you can only use once and then you need a new lid. And once you’ve used your stash of lids, then what? Or is there a better way? What about canning lids that can be used over and over?
Last fall I tried some Tattler reusable canning lids. I canned jam, tomatoes, and salsa with them. The Tattler company has been making these lids since 1976. They are two pieces–a plastic lid and a rubber gasket. You’ll need the metal rings that came with your jars or you can buy some extras on the Tattler site if you’re short on rings. The lids are BPA free and made in the USA. Tattler has them available for wide mouth and regular jars. The upfront cost of $7.00-$8.00 per dozen is, of course, more than the metal lids, but with regular re-use they pay for themselves pretty quickly.
Suture Follow Up – Suture Kits and Instructions!
This is a follow up to my previous post on Suturing a Scalp. At the Self Reliance Expo today, I spent the day with Dr. Bones of the Doom and Bloom Show and he just happened to be selling suture kits for a great price! I showed him my post on suturing a scalp and he loved it, then he agreed to let us offer all of you his suture kits for his show price of $20.00! Click the image on the right to see a much larger picture of it.
The kits come with a Needle Driver, forceps and a pair of scissors along with a sterile field, gloves and 2 sutures. They also come with the step by step pictorial guide that you can see in the picture. These are very nice kits and the price is fantastic! If you would like to order them, send an email to [email protected] and let them know what you would like to order. There will be shipping on top of the cost, of course.
Continue reading “Suture Follow Up – Suture Kits and Instructions!”
Suturing a scalp
Suturing is an important skill to have. Knowing how to properly sew somebody shut isn’t something you need every day, but when you need it – you need it! Sure, right now we can just run to the doctor, but what if you’re way in the outback or things have collapsed and good medical care isn’t easily available. Suturing allows you to quickly close up a wound to help stop bleeding, help prevent infection and to lower the risk of damaging a wound while trying to get to better care – if needed. There are plenty of ways and places to get training in suturing without going through medical school. It’s easy to do once you learn, you just need to look around and find a class you can take.
Quick Skinning, Cleaning and Butchering a Deer
Continue reading “Quick Skinning, Cleaning and Butchering a Deer”
Review: Daily Bread Beef Stroganoff With Noodles
The way to a man’s heart is his stomach. When that man is a prepper, and a blogger, nothing could be more true. With that said, I was overjoyed recently when I was contacted by one of our local freeze-dried companies. They were wondering if I would be interested in sampling a couple of their entrees, and writing my opinion on them. Not exactly a difficult decision there.
What made this choice even better was the timing. I just happened to be heading up that weekend with the guys for a little man-camp time. What a better way to test things out. Continue reading “Review: Daily Bread Beef Stroganoff With Noodles”
Backyard Chickens
Over the past year, I have noticed an increased interest in raising chickens arising all over the nation. Locally, KSL has published several articles recently about this phenomenon (see below) as has the Wall Street Journal (also below) and most prepper blogs. My family started keeping backyard chickens about four years ago and have had some good success. In this article we’ll summarize some of the benefits to raising chickens, what you’ll need to get started and some links to resources to help you out once you’ve got your flock.