The Battle Belt

click to enlarge

I prefer to call this piece of kit by its funky nickname: the Boogaloo Belt. Many moons ago I devised a makeshift one composed of stuff that collected over the years. It was relatively low on my "to-do" list but I'm very happy that I finally put this one together. 

What's it for? Its a rig that holds my secondary weapon, extra magazines, and a trauma kit.

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THE OLD: 

My previous system used to have a Serpa holster (cringe away), nylon-buckled condor belt, a few soft 5.11 magazine pouches, maxpedition drop pouch, and a Condor rip-away mini trauma kit. Of all the items on that old rig, that last one was actually very good.  All this stuff didn't match but they'd get the job done. I'll say it again: the Condor Rip-Away Mini is solid, you damn elitists.

I could plug holes, make holes, and keep my pants from falling.

THE NEW: 

This is as high-speed & low-drag as you could get. I really wanted to add a knife, tomahawk, and second AR15 magazine pouch to this but I stood my ground. Perhaps I'll add one last pouch behind the holster and move my Leatherman over there from my plate carrier. 

One of my goals was to reduce the weight on my hips, and I've succeeded. 

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click to enlarge

Components: 

HSGI Cobra Belt with velcro inner belt

2 HSGI polymer taco pistol magazine pouches

1 HSGI polymer  taco AR15 magazine

Voodoo Tactical tourniquet pouch that holds 1 CAT tourniquet and trauma shears

Blue Force Gear Trauma Kit Now Mini: standard trauma kit inside

Safariland QLS system holding a mid-ride 6004 series holster

That itty-bitty trauma kit packs a ton in a miniscule pouch that you could tug from the left or right side. Its soft and flat enough that I can sit down in a car and not have anything poking my back.

Firearm: Para-Ordnance P16.40

Capacity: 18 rounds

Caliber: .40 S&W

This is my old competition pistol from 1997. To clarify, I used it from 2008 to 2014. It has never let me down. I can run it hard for over 1000 rounds without cleaning. Its utterly reliable, accurate, and has light recoil. We put a Bar-Sto match barrel in there too. 

*****

I've run competition holsters for nearly a decade and really appreciate the sturdiness of this Safariland system. The QLS lets me unhook the holster from the Han Solo style thigh rig. That leg strap also keeps things very stable with all the running I've done.

Having a belt like this allows me bring it anywhere. Try to fit those other heavier ones in a backpack, mine can.

I can't emphasize "lightweight" enough. My main strength as a fighter is speed. I'm fleet of foot compared to a lot of guys and I'm going to make the most out of it.

My tests have proven that it is indeed sturdy and gives me no movement penalties whatsoever. Heck yeah I love this thing, lets rock!

Stay vigilant!

Time Skip Ended: Back After A Year!

My last entry was August 2018. Hello wonderful readers!

A ton has happened, all of them good. I truly hope this message finds you well.

And now for the updates!

  I was planning to make a YouTube channel but put that on hold for a while. Its terrific fun but writing journals is my thing.

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All of 2018 was training twice a week and competing in matches at least 3x a month. I landed in the middle of Class A and feel quite proud of my journey. That season took me all over the country and we gained a lot of hard-won knowledge. This marks a major improvement in my shooting fundamentals. What a tough but rewarding year!

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Lots of gear were evaluated for some time, and some have earned a spot on our must-have list.

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I now load my own ammo. I've done it for more than a year and have made over 50,000 rounds. We consume around 800 rounds a week just for practice in 2018's qualifier season. Let's say that I can make quality match ammunition that can deliver a low standard deviation for consistency and the lowest recoil possible. This is the good stuff.

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We built better BUG OUT BAGS for the family. They're all ready to go. We can handle any weather condition in the country for more than 2 weeks. We've got trauma kits, water filtration, shelter, and all inside lightweight and durable packs. We'd rather bug in, more on that later.

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My man-cave has a reloading bench and a locked cabinet for storing my war gear. 

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My fight kit has evolved since this blog started.  From a chest rig + STALKER type to a Crye JPC combat loadout. The chest rig will go to my kid, 'coz two is one and one is none. The new stuff is high-speed and low-drag. We tested level 4 plates and soft armor too. 

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My battle belt system was a mixed bag, its now Tier 1 legit.  We are finally past the Magpul Dynamic Pie era. 

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Our home has begun to use HAM radios. My fight kit has them too in case I need to go without mobile phones. What remains is to hook them up to a portable solar charging system.

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Everybody learned new skills, grown up, and gotten stronger too. 

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There was a magnitude 5.4 earthquake in a major city here a few weeks ago. A buildings took light damage but it was enough to tell us that a slightly stronger one would bring real problems. We're also over due for a BIG ONE. That would shut us down for more than a month at a minimum. That's SHTF. 

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I've kept a lot of drafts in the past months and hope to publish bite-sized articles because this stuff "brings me joy" or something like that. Speaking of which, we de-cluttered loads of stuff and shared them to those who needed more. That's prepping too!

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I never stopped getting ready, I hope you did the same. Wishing everybody good health. 

Stay vigilant!

TZH Watches: The Canadian Prepper

Fun fact: I lived in Vancouver in the mid 90's. Good times.

Out of my cave I have emerged to say that I'm a longtime fan of the Canadian Prepper.

I've watched him evolve, its been an impressive journey. Canadian Prepper's older videos delved into the criminal mind and various predators. I also enjoy it very much on how he has an emphasis on the psychological aspect of survival and what it takes to get ready for truly challenging times.

The After the Collapse playlist is a great place to start.

Some channels paint some fantasy Mad Max scenario for clicks. For years the prepping community devlolved into sponsored gear reviews over "tactical" or "prepping" gear as taglines.

This guy challenges the viewers to reflect on hard questions without being alarmist.

Other preppers are too frikkin dark. They're peddling fear porn, and that's not cool. Fear is the mind killer some desert guy said.

The Canadian Prepper is also fun. He's got a bunch of videos telling us to lighten the heck up. 'Coz if we don't we'll all go crazy.

Canucks vs Yanks never gets old

I can pitch tent near this guy's shelter and would be dandy cool about that. I can't say the same about other preparedness guys there who give me the creeps.

He's got a good head on him and finds pleasure in sharing helpful knowledge.

Oh, and there's a really great online store too. Hey YouTube's been a real jerk to the preparedness community. Anybody how hurts our efforts to prepare for SHTF is definitely on my not-cool list. So check it out coz we need to stick together.

Anyway, check out the Canadian Prepper as soon as you can. He's also on Facebook too over here.


Hey cool, my 1st 2018 post! hahahahaha

Stay vigilant!

Day of the Dead: Bloodline Red-Band Trailer (2018)

A trailer!  A remake! Are we going back to our roots?

My thoughts on the footage: 

• Two words of doom: 1. Fast 2. Zombies  (we're screwed!)

• No big name actors in the trailer

• cliché "car won't start" and zombie slams into the glass scene. we've done this a bazilion times with every movie monster out there. I mean come on!

• Military base with scientists looking for a cure

• Sexytime scenes. Guess this really ain't for kids

• Not so decayed looking zombies

• Old school gore. Didn't see so many CG scenes. That's cool. 

• A zombie in the air duct? That's new

• Fences. I hate scenes with fences. Reminds me of TWD's Prison

• The usual fast-paced chase scenes and a claustrophobic horror thing to mix it up. Two kinds of scares? I'm okay with that. 

• Budget seems lowish, but production levels seem decent

• Here's a biggie: The dude has an ACOG but no back up irons. If this was SHTF, I'd be obsessed about contingencies!

Zombies were so '60s but we're still here. I'm still here. 

This better not suck. I want it to be cool. 





Stay vigilant!

Survival Strategy #16: A Bug Out Bag in the Philippines for Kids

Today is a very special day! Could you believe it, we're making the most exciting homework ever! I started this blog back in 2010 to chronicle my journey of preparedness. My little girl is now 8 and will be 9 in a few months. She was less than a year old when this was but a spark in my mind. All of these activities, the skills, prepping, equipment, training, blogging, its all for her.

And now WE BUILD A BUG OUT BAG TOGETHER. Major parenting win here folks!

So the task was to build an Emergency Plan and her very own B.O.B. And get this: their school calls it a "Z-Bag", playing on the name "emergen-zee". As far as I'm concerned, we all know what the Z really stands for! How cool is that??

My little survivalist will present two days from now these things in a show & tell format for Science. That happens to be one of my favorite subjects. Don't give me that look.

I. The Emergency Plan

In case she is ever caught in a calamity in school or at home all by herself. We constructed a few simple rules for her to follow to ensure safety.

We have safe-zones for her to stay in case of an earthquake, typhoon, flood, or riots & civil disturbances.

Listed down were the locations of where she will evacuate to if she is forced to leave these safe zones and where to find our supplies. Snazzy.

As you could see, many elements of the Emergency Plan came from our previous articles, particularly the Home Defense Analysis. It was really cool to revisit Floorplanner.com to find that my files from 2011 were still there.  Awesome!


II. The Z-Bag

The contents were expertly constructed by her mom. Mrs. Zombie Hunter sorted and zip-locked the contents for easy access. The mission was to be okay for two days. Stay warm & dry, hydrated, light her path, fix minor boo-boos, fill her stomach, and handle obstacles such as smoke, rain, and general confusion.

A key element for building a bug out bag for kids is being mindful of the overall weight. Mobility and having enough supplies are opposed to each other. Having "enough" is always subject to harsh debate.

Mrs. Z and I are never a few miles away from our daughter even while at work so being separated from each other by even the harshest of calamities will never go beyond two days of walking. Even if a massive earthquake, tsunami, zombie attack, or whatever happens, either of us can reach her in 24 hours.

Armed with this, we have outfitted our daughter to handle 48 hours for her pack.

A liter of water per day, 

she also asked for a few favorite snacks and canned goods...

III. Evacuation Drill & Area Reconnisance

We took a little tour of the neighborhood. We've been here for 10 years but this is the first time my daughter had a look around the place keeping in mind how things could be like during a disaster.

Lets go for a walk...

It was a lovely day. A few light showers didn't bother us, we had rain gear in case it got stronger. It didn't.


Its not exactly a long-range patrol, but it was good to have look around for possibly trouble areas like bottle-necks, flood-prone areas, dead-ends, points of ambush, hiding spots, and other points of interest.

I'm hoping to develop in her mind the technique of looking at her surroundings in this manner at all times. If it becomes second-nature, then she'll become increasingly self-reliant.

"how many neighborhoods surround us?"

"where does that creek lead to? is the water good or bad?"

"that street is a dead-end, but it has a good hiding spot"

"how many trees have edibles?"

"is that house really haunted?"

"where will daddy come and find me?



This way of thinking trains her mind. Looking at the world through a scout's eye will give her a tremendous advantage.

It was also the perfect time for her to evaluate our neighborhood to find good reception for communicating with home base. For a child like her born in this decade surrounded by Samsung Galaxy 8s, micro-drones, and other gadgets, the concept of handheld radios and UHF/VHF is a novel experience. Too many houses blocked line of sight. We did however find a few spots that gave clear signal and decent coverage.

At last we arrived at the safe zone. Its the club house where sports and parties are typically held. Its common practice to make this an assembly point for calamities as its a large building that has two basketball courts, 3 tennis courts, a bowling alley, and two large ballrooms. Its also got a few decent restrooms for a fairly large capacity. Its sturdily built and it can take a lot of punishment. I'm perfectly fine with her staying at this place if ever our home is compromised.

She made it!

IV. Lessons Learned

Most of her education regarding preparedness came from the classroom and this was the first time that we did this as a family. Mrs. Z was amused by all this saying that this blog has been waiting for the little girl all ths time.

As a parent, I'm swelling with pride because she's reached a point where all of these concepts of safety and self-reliance are finally within her understanding.

I was too accustomed to how I'd treat her like when she was younger.  I keep saying it to myself every year: don't underestimate her.

She had a good day. Her adrenaline was up till late night too. I'm so pumped, I wrote all of this in a single go. Before she slept, we talked about doing more practice runs like this, I'm so thrilled. Look out world, player three has entered the game. :-)


Stay vigilant!