One Year of the Wuhan Corona Virus

It was detected as early as December 2019. The whole world had been plunged into this mess but a lot have forgotten how it all started. 

I hope that Dr. Li Wenliang would never be forgotten. He's the original whistleblower that was punished for trying to warn people about the virus. 

Kindly look him up. 

People should dig deeper into the origins of the virus and skip the "official" sources as that a particular government has worked night and day to rewrite and shift the blame. 

There are a bunch of video sharing sites that walk the gray line that still have early videos of people inside mainland china who were attempting to get the message out. Reports of mass burial, forced abductions, boarding up of people inside their buildings, and other horrific city-wide human rights violations.

I caught wind of these as early as January but it sure spiraled out of control by March. 

Chris Chappel of the China Uncensored YouTube channel has been relentless in this field.  Go give him a look. He's been at this lonely crusade doe years and I'm glad he and his team have persevered and come such a long way. 

I remember his early years. His videos were mostly a humorous take on government censorship and doublespeak. How life inside the mainland is different from the west in general.

The Coronavirus situation however took Chris on a more serious and urgent tone. Soon, his channel had been targeted from all sorts of pressure. I'm pretty sure he's on their watchlist as the 50 cent troll army has spent some time spamming his comments section for the past year.

Well, he's come up with his own 50 Cent Army to counter the trolls. Look it up here folks.

Volunteers > Conscripts, quality beats quantity, the truth shall not be silenced. 

Yeah well, money talks. And the wumao boss has deep pockets!

For a quick summary of what went down, check out this CNN article.  I have a lot to say about this news agency but it does land the mark from time to time. 

This rabbit hole goes a long way. 

Click here for the full article 

Stay vigilant! 

The 11.11 Sale for Survivalists

I'm on Lazada and Shopee right now looking for deals 'coz its the 11.11 Sale.  

The vendor RG Tactical  is selling solid survival items. Not your usual collection of knock-offs and knick-knacks. Give them a look.

I'm looking to restock my Aquatabs, Korean MREs, solid fuel and most of his stuff are sold out. I'm actually happy about that. It means more folks out there are getting ready. 

This is a great time to build an additional bug out or survival kit for the family with all the good deals going on right now.

There's yet another typhoon at our doorstep. I got this alert on my mobile. Its our version of your civil defense broadcasts.  

These services are getting better.  Back in the '90s all we had was our well-loved weather guys. For me it was the great Amado Pineda and Ernie Baron. High five if you know those good chaps. 

The alert basically says: 

People in these affected areas are advised to evacuate and seek higher ground. 

Expect strong wind and rain within 12 hours. 

Possible storm surge reaching 1-2 meters high along the coast.

Seek higher ground if you are in these areas.

Hopefully it fizzes out 'coz we could all use a little break from 2020. 

Could you believe its already November? 

Stay vigilant! 

Typhoon Rolly Incoming

2020 ain't done yet. Not by a longshot. 

We've got water, did some minor roof repairs, gas for our stove, and food for a few more weeks. 

Now's the time to charge your devices like phones, ham radios, flashlights, and solar lamps. 

Position your bug out bags and emergency consumables out from storage. Y'all know the drill.

Gusts on 185 KPH ain't nothing to sneeze at. 

I'm expecting a lot of flying debris like roof tiles and branches so windows need to be boarded up.

Be safe and keep your powder dry too. It should all blow over by Wednesday. 

Link to article here

Stay vigilant!

A Decade of Preparedness: The Zombie Hunter Turns 10!

Ten years.  I am quite blown away. 

In the beginning I was a young dad working to protect his family. 

There is a lot to reminisce about when I was new to all this. I was in my early 30's and wanted to get myself together. I needed to get strong, learn things, and be prepared. 

And just like that, it is now October 30, 2020. 

Its quite unreal to be writing all of this in today's situation. If I knew back then about our "new normal" and everything that led up to it I'd be both amazed, horrified... but not surprised!

I have much to be grateful for. My family has been safe for this span of time. We continue to grow in many ways. We were able to help a few friends and family through various calamities. 

********** 

To celebrate this wonderful milestone I would like to share a short summary of this blog: 

TEN YEARS OF ZOMBIE PREPAREDNESS!

The Early Years: 2010 to 2014

Here's a link to 2010. Its quite the time capsule!

This blog was born when I began my firearms training armed with my Para-Ordnance P16.40 and Benelli M3T. These are now venerable designs but remain at the top of my list for sheer firepower and reliability for over two decades of use. 

I got into competition shooting intensely and worked hard to get into shape. I was an athlete in my highschool years and was determined to become the first and best defense for my young family. 

Looking at the photo again I would deem myself more than adequate if the home came under any sort of attack. With what I know today I could see us doing alright against most forms of danger. 

These were the years of putting together what I had and making do with numerous limitations. I had to start somewhere.

My wife could also blame Max Brooks for the extreme measures we had taken to prep the family. His book played a gigantic role in my endeavors and continues to serve as a trusted guide to this day. It is nice to know that his father and legend Mr. Mel Brooks is doing fine right now. 

that autograph someday

Birth of the Prepper Culture & 2020 Vindication

It was a fringe movement. People would get ridiculed for being called one. Family members didn't pull punches either.

I never relished it but: I TOLD Y'ALL SO

And then the coronavirus happened. Saw it early as December 2019.

All the stuff I wrote then paid off THIS YEAR: 

• The giant water tank I have in my back yard that came into play during COVID-19 Lockdown

• Canned food was still good, the boxes of MREs, water that lasted us more than a month!

• Here's a favorite: my military gas masks and respirators when Taal Volcano and Coronavirus happened

• Radios when the power grid went down

• Our medical supplies and skills came in handy in more than a few times!

• I even bartered some of my ammunition for food. COULD YOU BELIEVE THAT? 

bullets for mushrooms

 my friend was worried about security so I gave more than they asked for

I could go on all day about the useful skills we learned and honed. My family is healthier and smarter. We shall continue on this trajectory. 

BLOG FAVORITES: TZH SURVIVAL STRATEGIES!

These are some of the most popular articles. The Survival Strategies form the essential topics and objectives that we had worked on at home. 

click to expand

You know what? I've been using good old PAINT for all my photo editing work. Its free!

BLOG FAVORITES: THE SMASHING COCONUT TEST

click here for the good stuff

Coconuts are a good way to simulate the human skull. Remove the husk covering it and you'll have the hard shell that is nearly as good as the real thing. If you can punch through it then you have a viable zombie killing tool. 

We've covered pellet guns, a melee weapon, arrows, and firearms. I'll be adding a few more this year. 

The Blogger Community 

Becoming part of the community a of writers was an unexpected but enriching experience.  I began as a solitary survivalist and found that there are many wonderful friends to be made.

I am quite fortunate to have touched base with excellent writers such as Ashley R. Pollard, Charmaine Clancy, and Adam Baker. Staying in touch with these lovely people over the years is one of my cherished experiences. 

We even got to sample zombie related music from a DJ. Cool stuff!

The horror film and writing culture also drew me in. Much of my time was spent getting to know the finer details of classic and modern creepy movies. Monsters of all sorts, not just zombies. There are tons of awesome blogs on this who are going strong. One of my favorites from when we were new to this blogging thing is The Real Queen of Horror. I'd leave comments on her articles many moons ago 'coz she makes great reviews.

Check her out, Zena is super cool!

10 Year Stats!

click on the photo to expand

Its amusing that most of my readers come over looking for firearm information. The USA is my top audience and that is no surprise. 

I also get a few hundred page visits from Russia and the Ukraine. I know its some shady bot thing and I still have no idea why they come over in big hordes of activity about twice a year. 

So if they're from Eastern Europe and in big numbers, they're all kinda sus. 

Zombie Craze

Undead this and that. The Walking Dead comics and TV Series, Doomsday Preppers, the World War Z movie. Bullets for zombies, the biohazard logo. 

There were zombie walks or marathons too. That was super cool. Halloween saw more walking dead than ever before. 

Everybody and their mothers joined in. Suddenly we bloggers were invaded by big media. I didn't mind This was when the genre had finally hit the mainstream. 

Marathons in general were also casualties of 2020

The Silent Years: 2015-2018

I wasn't able to make a single article in the year of 2015. I was heavily engrossed in IPSC practical shooting and a lot of work related things. I went abroad to join the USPSA IPSC Nationals. The year before that I was in New Zealand for the Australasia Handgun Championship as well. 

This period was quite hectic! Writing was sparse and I always carried a little guilt for not adding much to the blog. There was much to be posted and they stayed on draft for months or years. 

The good news is that I stayed in touch with a few fellow writers using other social media outlets. 

Refinements

A lot of improvements came to us in this time. Mrs. Zombie Hunter and I were engrossed with fitness and education. Our daughter had grown quite a bit. She's into sports and martial arts. Today she stands nearly as tall as her mum. All of this makes my head spin!

Our combat readiness had gone through years of refinement. From budget-friendly, to today's high-speed uncompromising standards. It can be seen in the choice of firearms that I had collected over time. Some I sort of regret, but most of them I remain happy to keep. 

chronology: upper left to right and then lower left to lower right

My combat loadout has come a long way. I tried to avoid trends and those tactical fads. This required research and patience on my part for every acquisition. We needed to put our best foot forward at any given time. 

The lower right hand photo is the latest evolution and the belt is very low profile can carries only the bare essentials. 

Better exercise routines also made me lose a lot of weight and its evident in these photos. There was a time when carrying all of this on my back was unfeasible but now I run a dozen miles on a good week and train in full 60 pound kit at least monthly.

These quiet years were spent turning theory into reality. 

Here is my daughter who has grown up really fast.

awwww

The Present: 2019-2020

"Who would expect that we would be hit by a global pandemic?"

"Taal Volcano covered 10 million people in ash"

"The world is turning against china"

"Mindless looting in Portland and across America"

"Flakka drug turned people into flesh eating zombies"

"Prepping is the new normal"

These are today's headlines. A decade ago people would have called me crazy. It pains me to say that I was right and I never wanted any of this to happen. Here we are today with this gigantic mess. 

I was going to write more during the early part of the Pandemic but kept myself busy helping my family and others. We donated a lot of our spares to people who needed them. 

As of this writing the whole world needs more Survivalists. We need to not just get by, we need to thrive. It is hard because a lot have suffered horrible losses this year. 

Hope for the Future

I like to tell my daughter that these trials make us stronger. Just like the stories I heard about my grandparents during the second world war. They left us important lessons so that we can learn and do much better. 

All these years I wrote with hope in my heart that someday my daughter and her little ones would look back at this journal and say that they're living in much better times. That the zombie apocalypse did not come to pass and the coronavirus crisis was the worst of its kind.

To my good readers, you have my dearest thanks. I hope you are well and continue to find my journal a useful guide.

So here is to another ten years of survival! May 2030 find all of us in much better times. 

Stay vigilant!

Typhoon "Ambo" Makes Landfall in the Philippines

2020's getting pretty wild.

• Taal Volcano Eruption 

• COVID 19

• Earthquakes 

• And our first typhoon of the year!

Just so you know, we average about 19 every year.

Photo from Weather Philippines Foundation

Stay vigilant!

Visitors from Turkmenistan

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the recent visitors from Turkmenistan.

Salam we hoş!

Where the blazes is the "unknown region"??

We are honored by your visit! It is my wish that my humble journal provides helpful information for your well-being and safety vs the undead.

In turn I visited your embassy's website and discovered these wondrous sights and locations.

Images are from the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Yerevan, Armenia and Atlas Obscura. 

Yes, Turkmenistan conquers through its beauty. It has a fascinating country, culture, and history.

I wish it would be possible to visit someday. I'm all about the great outdoors, ancient ruins, meeting the locals, and enjoying the food. Just thinking about travel is making me hungry.


Stay vigilant!

hüşgär boluň!

PHILVOCS Bulletin: 5.5 Earthquake Hits Luzon

Click here to visit the website.

I felt that.

At 3:18 AM a magnitude 5.5 earthquake rocked Metro Manila and southern Luzon. Its epicenter was just off the coast of Batangas City.

While I was watching YouTube, over a dozen of my friends started posting about it on social media. Judging from their strong reactions I could tell that most of them were living in apartment buildings.

My couch wiggled a little with one jolt and that was it. It felt like my dog jumped to sit beside me.

I immediately looked up to my chandelier and half full glass of water on the table, neither showed movement.  I knew right away that it wasn't strong in my area.

• What if it was the so-called "big one"? (A magnitude 7.5)

• Would we evacuate? 

• Where would we go?

• What if we had injuries?  

• Where are our supplies and how will we be affected if the quake made them inaccessible? 

These are my 4AM thoughts. They should be yours too.

I took a quick look around the house checking for damage. Nothing. All is well.

Stay vigilant!

The Smashing Coconut Test V: FX Wildcat MK2 .25

Behold, the quietest and most accurate lead-slinger in our collection. 

The  FX Wildcat Mark II is a  pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle. It can fling a .25cal pellet weighting 25.39gr at 895 feet per second. This compact and lightweight rifle wins gold for benchrest accuracy and hunting small to medium sized game.

Real-world stuff? I could make nearly single-hole groups at 50 meters and pellet on pellet hits at anything closer.

I ordered a suppressor from a local gunsmith and it matches the performance of imported designs. The OEM moderator was adequate but I got something that would make it inaudible from outside my window.

This belongs at the highest-end category for air rifles. It contrasts greatly to my break-barrel Gamo Whisper IGT in terms of price and performance.

At 45.15 Foot Pounds Energy, it is a little over half the power of a subsonic .22lr.


Accessories: 

• Coupled with a Vortex Ranger 1000 range finder and the Hawke Sidewinder 8-32x56 Mil Dot scope,  we could land all of our first hits out to a maximum of 200 meters. 

• Ammunition featured is the JSB Exact Kings Diabolo airgun pellet. Made in the Czech Republic, these are the gold standard for airgun pellets.

• I added a bipod and rifle sling to enhance its versatility in field conditions.

-----------------------------------

Can it kill a zombie? Let's find out!

I brought along our young Zombie Hunter so she could do all of the shooting.

A. Target: 

Three fresh coconut shells with the husks removed for consistency. These simulate the hardness of a zombie skull.

B. Distance: 35 and 50 meters

C. Results: 

Zombie brains destroyed!

There were no exit holes at either distance. All pellets expanded completely flat inside the coconut for maximum damage and energy transfer.

The Wildcat is a certified zombie killer.

It has zero recoil and its laser-accuracy lets us hit any eyeball under 100 meters with ease.

As mentioned earlier, the suppressor is a major contributor to this weapon's effectiveness.

Imagine being able to silently eradicate hundreds of walkers without being noticed.

My daughter enjoys shooting this rifle. It is a bit large for her but she is growing very fast and that will cease to be an issue in a year or two.

Click the video to watch the test!

We shot all kinds of things so check out the video for the surprise at the end!

This was tremendous quality time.

Who knows what else we would yeet together?


Stay vigilant!


(Click here to check out to all previous Smashing Coconut Tests starting all the way back to 2011)

Pistol Caliber Carbines for SHTF

I can remember very clearly how 10 years ago people were saying that the 9mm carbine or submachinegun was obsolete.  This was when the 300 BLK platform was the cool kid and anybody who had a short barreled 5.56 was somehow doing it wrong for CQB.

Back then the only PCC I could think of was the Kel-Tec SUB2K.

The same critics are now singing praises over every new AR9 coming out saying its ideal for home defense and 9mm isn't anemic. 

I never thought that carbines were obsolete.  The US army has recently acquired a 9mm SMG.

There will always be a place for a pistol caliner carbine before, during, and after SHTF. 

For the Zombie Apocalypse, I would recommend one for a few key reasons:

1. Ammunition availability: there was never a great rimfire drought for traditional pistol ammunition. In the Philippines, 5.56 and 7.62 are hard to come by in this present political climate. 

2. Superior handling: It may lack the power and range of a proper rifle caliber, but a PCC can help a shooter land quicker and accurate fire in distances up to 100 yards far better than someone using a handgun. 

Its so easy, smaller framed people could use it effectively. 

More on that later.

3. Size: The smallest ones like the new IWI Uzi can fit inside the smallest of man-bags. An AR9 can be folded and stuffed into a laptop bag. How cool is that? 

4. Training opportunities: Many countries such as mine have competitive venues for PCC matches. Just like in the USA, the Philippines has caught... the PCC bug. We even have carry permits for them too because of convoluted gun logic that for once works in our favor. 

5. Variety: There is a PCC for everyone.  The Angstadt UDP-9, Ruger PC carbines, IWI Tavor 9mm, Norinco MsP5 clone, CZ Scorpion, Sig MPX, JP Enterprise AR9s, CMMG Banshee, and a whole lot more have already seen tournament use here in the Philippines.  

6. You could add a suppressor. Against the undead? 'Nuff said!

**********

For our young Hunter I've had two firearms in mind for her, the CMMG Banshee or the Kalashnikov KR-9. 

East vs. West!

I'm really a NATO kind of guy and prefer the AR15 ergos aesthetics, but that Russian PDW looks slick, shoots really well, and is ideal for folks who want a gun that's good to go without all the tinkering AR-platform boys like to do. 

I am likely to go with the Banshee for my stated reasons, plus parts availability and the delayed blowback technology in its bolt. An edge is and edge. 

Think of a suppressed short barreled rifle with an optic that wakes up when you grab it, plus 33 rounds on tap. 

With this in her hands she'd be incredibly potent against any foe, living or undead. 

Things are looking up. With more choices becoming available to us and careful planning we could vastly improve our defensive capabilities.  

Stay vigilant!

Outfitting a Young Zombie Hunter: The Light Reaction Kit

Our goal during a global zombie apocalypse is to survive. My daughter has spent the past few years preparing to do just that. In addition to rigorous academic pursuits, she continues to train in hand to hand combat, wilderness survival, first aid, and firearms.

The latter skill requires specialized equipment that we have acquired for our young Zombie Hunter.

Light Reaction Kit

Capabilities: 

This is her baseline equipment for fighting the undead. Its is tailored to utilize her present size and skills. If things go bad, she can put all of this on in a few minutes. With all of this she can silently destroy the undead from afar or in CQB.

At present she has qualified with her rifles to hit eyeball sized targets at 50 meters and brain sized bogeys at 100. She aspires to increase her effective range in due time.

She is also deadly accurate with her sidearm which was custom built with match grade components.

Items can be added according to the mission such as ballistic armor, melee weapons, survival and evasion gear, or additional ammunition. 

Firearms: 

The Kel-Tec SU22 was the first firearm she trained with in 2016. The suppressor makes it hearing safe with CCI Standard Velocity ammunition. Averaging 1050 fps with 40 gr. heads, these blast through hard coconut shells at 300 meters. The 3x UTG magnifier combined with the Holosun HS503c lets her engage zeds close-in and push out to medium range.

The Marlin XT-22YR uses Armscor Super Quiet ammunition. They are 40 gr. projectiles but shoot at an average of 875 fps making this rifle inaudible at 50 meters. The rifle has a buttstock bag that keeps extra magazines. Inside I was able to fit 5 more 10 round magazines and a small box of 50 more rounds of ammo. She can easily carry up to 300 more cartridges in her chest rig. 

The sidearm is a Metro Arms MAC Classic 1911 chambered in 9mm. We enhanced all of the pistol's internals with EGW parts for top level performance, all installed and tuned by one the best gunsmiths in the country.  

Carry ammo is Hornady Critical Duty but I load primarily 147 gr. SWC heads for maximum accuracy.

It is also her competition handgun in IPSC matches. We hope to bring it to California so she could give USPSA rules a go. 

Load Bearing Gear: 

click to enlarge

Yes that was my 5.11 TacTec Chest Rig, its hers now. With minor adjustments it fits perfectly. I'm particularly fond of how easily the six magazine pouches hold all everything in a very low profile. She can conceal all of this under a jacket.

An essential tool is the Vortex Ranger 1000. This rangefinder has a red LED display so she can stalk prey at nighttime. It is fast and precise so all of her shots land with pinpoint accuracy.

The radio is a Versa Alerto dual band HAM radio. Its basically identical to the popular Baofeng UV5R. We have a few more of these that are always ready to use along with spare batteries.

The medical items could be found at the right side pocket of the photograph. I decided to just put them in there instead of a dedicated medical pouch to minimize bulk.

The gas mask was purchased via VARUSTELEKA in Finland. I'm quite happy about their products services. They ship directly to the Philippines in less than a week's time. We replaced the old army surplus filters with a new one.

The ESSTAC Shooter's belt is fantastic. It has a rigid inner lining that helps keep everything upright. The build quality tells me that this will see decades of use as long as the user's waistline stays generally the same. I love this belt!

I will replace that BLACKHAWK Serpa as soon as our Enhanced Community Quarantine is over with a mid-ride Safariland ALS holster. Its the only thing that I want to change in this entire setup.

The Schrade SCHF13 drop point is her favorite knife, totally loves that thing. Glad to know she has something to use if ammunition ever runs out or to pry open a can to eat.

The 5.11 3x6 Medical Kit was one of our earliest accessories. It carries just enough to control massive bleeding.


Putting it Together

Smart placement is key. She should be able to grab anything instinctively.

Look at how slick her back is. She could put on a survival backpack or sit in vehicles without any difficulty.

She prefers to keep the magazine pouches open for quick access. Elastic bands in the pouches keep them from falling out. Saying it again: that ESSTAC Shooter's Belt is smokin' hot. The Geissele hat? Top tier swag!

Going stealthy with her Marlin XT-22YR

The Hunter and her knife

That's a pro shooter's grip.

The most important thing is to make everything suit the user.

She's had this chest rig long enough to work out the kinks and train with all of the items.

Should SHTF happen, there would be more than one in our household who could save the day. I've been looking forward to putting this article for many years.

She helped me quite a bit on this project. From the photoshoots, suggestions, and practice sessions.

In her language, this was a great 'collab.

She asked me just now what would her dodo (granddad) would say about all of her training. I told her that all of us are immensely proud of her. Thank goodness she likes to learn new things with me. That alone gives us more than a fighting chance.

She's come a long way but we will keep on training, learning more, and equipping better.

Keep on moving if you want to survive, for even the undead do not stand still.

Stay vigilant!

TZH: The Zombie Hunter YouTube Channel

Click here to check it out!

I keep forgetting to mention that I've got a YouTube channel. It is a repository of the small number of videos I've made for this journal. I'm amused at how old some of them are.

The cameras show their age, downright primitive in my early days. From a low megapixel budget phone from 2010, a Canon Ixus from that era, GoPro Hero2, Contour Roam 2, and an Olympus TG2 Tough from 2015.

I've yet to use something better than my four year old Samsung Galaxy Edge 7. Maybe someday I'll get myself a proper camera.

TZH also does Instagram  'coz I enjoy a little photography.

***************************

I thought that doing more than the blog was going to feel like work, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. 

For an introvert like me, I really appreciate the wonderful and interesting friends I've made on these platforms. I've grown to be a huge fan of the writers, veterans, athletes, teachers, musicians, and "regular" family people who are all stellar for just being themselves. 

This is why I up my game to help ya'll survive. The world needs cool folks like you!

Stay vigilant!

Product Review: BioLite Camp Stove & Portable Grill (7 Years)

click to watch

I got this cool gadget at REI on October 2013 in Hillsboro, Oregon. It promised a smoke-free flame using any wood or twigs that you could find anywhere. Hey cool, it charges your devices while you cook!

The promise of self-sufficient cooking during a grid down scenario made me buy it. Here's how it went for us.

I. Technical Skinny: 

It weights about 2.5 pounds, measures 7.5 inches tall and 5 inches wide packed. It has an internal battery that charges when the probe is sufficiently heated by fire.

This powers the fans that help circulate air for a more efficient and smoke free combustion.

When it reaches sufficient heat, the battery can also charge mobile phones.

The mesh surrounding it allows you to pick it up without burning yourself. Its got three foldable legs below for stability.

The whole device is clever!



II. Expectations VS Reality

I was hoping to add this to our bug out bag.

We soon found out that it was too bulky to put in a practical bug out bag or even a full on camping pack. It is possible but there are just too many better options.

The BioLite stove did score major points for its choice of fuel. It didn't need much fuel to boil water. We could make two cups of hot coffee in two minutes with two handfuls of sticks.

We also charged our phones but it took about 20 minutes on a full flame to get from zero charge to 15%. That isn't bad at all if this were Mad Max, but 2 hours of cooking to get to 50% isn't good enough.

The best way to charge devices was to plug a battery or power pack into the BioLite instead of the actual device. You could get a lot more juice into them faster this way.


III. Cooking

Its fun to use and the meat didn't taste like smoke, that makes it better than a traditional campfire. It wasn't as fast as a Jetboil but I never worried about fuel.

We cooked hot dogs, ham, bacon, marinated chicken, pork chops, various Mountain House and Wise Company entrees, coffee, boiled pasta, hot chocolate, etc. Good memories.

You just need to prep a few handfuls of wood if you plan to cook for your family. In the Philippines we have a lot of firewood as long as you're not living downtown.

Its easy to clean and pack away after a day's work. You won't leave a mess at your campsite either.


IV. Accessories

I'm really glad we got the Portable Grill. Among all the other doodads they were selling, this one was the most useful.

As of today, BioLite has a ton of other things that go with the stove like a lamp, solar panels, batteries, kettle pot, and even a full sized home stove and fire pit. I never felt the urge to get those.

The latter two just tell me that a BioLite is better suited to a more static role.


V. Longevity

Its 7 years old and still works.

There was a period of three years where the stove was just tucked away. By this time the battery had already gone dead and won't charge the fans even after putting a fire on the thermoelectric generator probe for thirty minutes.

I had plug the device to a wall socket for around an hour to revive the battery. That made me happy. Some users ditched the stove without doing this.

I've accidentally dropped the device a few times, left it out in the sun, gotten moist too from light rain. The parts are constructed from sturdy components and I never worried about having to replace anything. Except perhaps the battery.


VI. Verdict

• Its just too big. For a serious BOB, you're better off with a pocket folding stove or alcohol burner. 

• If you wanted to charge devices, get a solar panel. 

• My trusty axe and five minutes of chopping makes for two meals of cooking

• Longevity: works reliably and all parts are well-built

• This as a great backup means of cooking if the grid goes down. No propane or butane? no problem!

There is an updated BioLite CampStove 2 that is better at charging devices and even has power level LED indicators. Its superior to the orignal but not enough for me to ditch mine just yet even after 2550 days.

If they made something with half the dimensions with the same output I'd grab it in a heartbeat!



Final Score: 3.7 of 5

Stay vigilant!

Product Review: 5.11 TACTEC TACTICAL CHEST RIG

The 5.11 TACTEC Tactical Chest Rig has been in our inventory since 2013. It was a new release at the time when 5.11 was becoming a recognized brand. Nutnfancy, Instructor Zero, and various channels gave good early impressions.

Like all zombie hunters, I needed a way to carry equipment on me at a moment's notice.  It was inexpensive but had enough features to suit a variety of mission profiles.

Here is how the chest rig evolved over the years.

2013-2014 - "Do it All"
The setup was built around the Kel-Tec SU22. Around this time I maxed out the magazine capacity and even added an additional double AR mag pouch to the front right side. With 8 magazines I could throw more than 200 rounds of suppressed .22lr at the hordes of undead.

Also MOLLE'd to the front is a Maxpedition admin panel, a 5.11 vertical trauma kit and a radio pouch that holds a Versa Alerto dual band ham radio that has the same capabilities as the popular Baofeng UV5R.

I connected a big rectangular pouch to the back strap of the chest rig to hold additional medical supplies. If you look at the upper right photo, my medical supplies at the time were rudimentary and came from the local equivalent of your CVS or Walgreens.

This era of chest rigs could be described pretty well by the following links.

25 lb Tactical / Survival Loadout + 72 Hour Bug Out Survival Kit - Best Budget Tactical Chest Rig?

Drug Smuggler Interdiction Lightweight Loadout

2015-2016 "Maximum Ammo"

I switched to feeding our AR15. I didn't have a plate carrier then but the AR500 plate slid easily into the mesh pouch makeshift-style.

I again carried as much ammunition as I could. That was 8 mags plus one in the rifle. No battle belt meant everything was on the rig and it held up!  Observe the three 19-round .40 pistol magazines. The good news is nothing fell out even if I ran up and down the range in IPSC-style courses of fire.

2016-2018 

I already had a proper plate carrier by this time so we didn't need to throw everything on it plus the kitchen sink.

Enter the light weight configuration. Gone are most of the accessory pouches and this is how the manufacturers intended it to be used.

Magazine count is down to five so the rightmost side carries a bleeder kit and compass. The Vortex Ranger 1000 was a favorite toy. Back when the .22lr was our primary zombie blaster having a rangefinder was an absolute must because I needed each shot to land between the eyes up to 200 yards.

2019-present

Its my daughter's chest rig now. 

Using her "logic", all of my stuff is now her stuff. Fine then. >:3 (she typed that squiggle face, deal with it. YEET)

This mission profile is for long range zombie hunting with her suppressed long guns. Her sidearm is a MetroArms Mac 1911 Classic 9mm. Its got a match grade bull barrel and all EGW upgraded internals and hammer. 

Her favorite item is her knife the Schrade SCHF13.

I only had to tighten a few straps at the back harness to fit her 11 year old-frame. She used it a few times at the range and she also gave it a positive score!

More on this whole big igloo kit later.

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7-Year Evaluation

Good: 

• Elastic mag holders good as new after 7 years!
• Affordable
• Soft but durable fabric
• Stitching has held up. Even the mesh pouch compartment is still good. 
• Lightweight, easy to stuff into a backpack. 
• Dries quickly if left in the sun. Doesn't smell. 
• Carries all kinds of AR magazines.

Instructor Zero also uses this chest rig for extensive training programs around the world if you needed me to mention a noteworthy internet celebrity zombie slayer.

Bad:

• TacTec sounds like "tic tac". aaaaaargh I can't get over it
• Every two pouches are not separated by a wall. What actually holds the magazines are an elastic loop that's about 3 inches wide. Its adequately secure but because there is no divider for the two "pouches", they can slide around if you only use the top flap to secure each magazine. You could use a sewing kit and 10 minutes if you can't stand it. 
• For a long while this particular feature bugged the heck out of me and a lot of users to this day. I eventually got over it.

Ugly:

You might be tempted to get carried away accessorizing it like I did. That's the magic of MOLLE. It can hold up to whatever suits your fancy as I happily found out.

Score: 8/10


Summary: 

If you need a versatile, sturdy, and well-made LBE, the 5.11 TacTec will get it done. There are more popular choices out there today but this was one of the not-so mainstream options in 2013 and it still holds up. As stated before, the weird mag pouch thing is a minor thing if you can just get over it.

Our chest rig has endured seven years of service and will continue to do so in these interesting times.

Stay vigilant!