The top five reasons to put a ferro rod in your survival kit

The ability to make a fire during an emergency situation can save your life. But what is the best survival firestarting method? My money is on the ferrocerium (also commonly referred to as a flint or magnesium stick) rod. Here are five reasons you need one.

Check out these custom ferro rods!

by Leon Pantenburg
Several years, the late Dr. Jim Grenfell and I set out to research the most effective practical firemaking method. After extensive research, the ferro rod, combined with cotton balls and petroleum jelly, came out the winner. (To read the rest of the story, click on the top survival firemaking methods.)
Ferro rods are easy to come by and cheap. The Boy Scout Hot Spark on my keyring survival kit costs about three dollars at any scout store. It has a good handle and the ferro rod is very effective.
Ferro rods are also available at most sporting goods stores. But I'm surprised more outdoorspeople don't include them as part of their survival gear. Here are some things to consider:

• Extreme reliability: A ferrocerium rod, when scraped with a hardened steel striker, will produce sparks with temperatures of up to 5,500 degrees. These sparks will readily ignite many forms of tinder. (Check out the video on finding tinder under survival conditions) A ferro rod is also good for hundreds, if not thousands of fires. Matches, lighters and many other methods are finite.
• Compact and easy to carry: I carry a tiny ferro rod in my wallet, another on my keychain, and a third in my survival gear. (Some people might say I obsess about firemaking tools, since I also carry a BIC mini lighter in my pants pocket, my jacket pocket and my pack!) If a survival tool is not compact and easy to carry, it may get left behind. Your only survival tools are those you have along!
• Work under conditions that would disable other firemaking methods:This is one of the
  most important reasons to carry a ferro rod. Butane lighters are easily disabled by cold and moisture or a grain of sand. Matches are unreliable and degenerate over time. Every firemaking method has some disadvantage, but I believe a ferro rod has the fewest.
• Easy to learn: Every survival technique should be practiced before you rely on it. Making sparks with a ferro stick is easy, but you have to use the correct technique to get a fire started. Check out the video on starting a fire with a ferro stick.
• Wide range of uses: I use my ferro rod as a survival tool, of course, but also use one to light my propane Camp Chef double burner stove, my barbeque grill, backpacking stoves and wood stoves.

               Include a tin cup in your emergency gear

.Survival gear doesn't need to be elaborate or expensive. Some of the best items are common, easily-found products you may already have. One of those items is a large metal cup. Here's why you need one. (Check out the video below.)
by Leon Pantenburg
I slogged along in the ranks, Springfield slung over my shoulder, headed toward the sound of the guns. As an embedded journalist in the Confederate infantry, I was covering the battle of Champion Hill re-enactment between Vicksburg and Jackson, Mississippi.

These military metal cups earn their keep. (Pantenburg photo)

Except for the Nikon and ballpoint pen hidden in my haversack, all my accouterments and weapons were authentic. It didn't take long to form opinions.
The heavy wool uniform was like wearing a sweatsuit. The small kepi offered virtually no protection from the sun. The canteen was too small, the leather shoe soles were slippery and the authentic food really sucked.
But several common items proved invaluable. My cotton bandana was soaked in water and worn around my neck to cool and protect it from the fierce sun. A flint and steel kit could stand up to the hard marching and campaigning, where as matches didn't last in the heat and humidity. Hardtack was durable, but tasteless.
But the quart tin cup proved to be a stellar performer.
I've included a tin cup in my gear for many years. When I hiked the John Muir Trail in 1976, I carried a metal Sierra cup on my belt. At every running stream, I'd use the cup to get a drink. I also mixed instant oatmeal in it, and used it for just about everything.
That was my first wilderness trip where a tin cup proved its worth. Give some thought to adding one to your survival gear.
Here's what I have used a metal cup for:

• Mess Kit: I used a 40-ounce blue enamel cup and a plastic spoon as my only eating utensils during a nine-day canoe trip through the Boundary Waters. Weight was critical because of the frequent portages between lakes. During that trip the utensil was also used for picking blueberries, dipping water out of the lake for purification, brewing coffee, rinsing off after a sweaty portage, and various other tasks.
• Cooking: I typically carry an aluminum can alcohol stove in my 24-ounce metal cup, along with four ounces of alcohol in two small plastic containers. That is just enough fuel to last a day of cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or elk hunting. I put the metal cup directly on top of the alcohol stove, and brewing up a hot drink is quick and easy. If you have to warm up a hypothermic person, this tool can be a lifesaver.
• Campfire cooking: Save your stove fuel for emergencies. Time permitting, you can make a small fire and purify water or cook a hot meal over the flames. And it looks and feels really cool to do that!
• Bathing: NEVER pollute a water source by rinsing the soap off your body into it. Instead, fill your cup with water, get a good distance away from the source, wet yourself down and lather up. Rinse off the same way. You can also use the cup to hold water for brushing your teeth.

The cup can also be handy for dipping water out of suspicious source before purifying. In a pinch, you could also dig with it, but I wouldn't waste my time digging a hole to make a solar still!
The tin or enamelware cups are cheap and can be found anywhere. Include one in your survival gear and you'll be surprised how useful it is!

Field Test: The EcoZoom Biomass Stove

The EcoZoom is very efficient!

Consider this scenario: If the Stuff Has Hit the Fan (SHTF), you may end up with no potable water. In the aftermath of a large-scale disaster, such as the tornado that hit Joplin, MO, large groups of people will need pure drinking water. In many such cases, boiling may be the only practical way to kill the nasties that can cause water-borne illnesses.

And what about all that storage food you have on hand – how much of it needs to be cooked, and how long will your propane, charcoal or firewood reserves last?

Those are some of the reasons I agreed to field test the EcoZoom BioMass stove. To read more, click on EcoZoom review.

Randy Yow: An Expert Chooses the Best Backcountry Hunting Knives

Randy Yow's commute home from work.

Randy Yow, of La Pine, OR spends his time doing what most big game hunters can only dream about. As host of the popular ” on the pursuit channel, Randy is in the field about 60 days a year, pursuing different species of big game in several western states. In any given year, Yow’s group  may harvest bighorn sheep, bears, deer, elk and antelope.

So what is the best backcountry knife if you’re going to be hunting big game in remote, hard to access areas? If weight is an issue, what is the best choice in this critical survival/hunting tool? Here is what an expert chooses!

To read the complete story, click on Randy Yow knives.

Make Sure your Knife Sheath is Safe, Effective

(Illustration by C. T. Fischer)

So you’ve decided what fixed-blade knife to include in an emergency survival kit or Bug Out Bag.

But how will you safely carry it? Where is the best place to wear that knife on your belt? And what things should you look for in a sheath to make sure the knife isn’t lost?

Unfortunately, some fine knifes come with mediocre to poor sheaths. In some cases, these sheaths can be dangerous to the user!

Outdoorsman and knifemaker  C.T. Fischer explains the best ways to carry your fixed-blade knife, and things to look for in a sheath. 

Click on fixed-blade sheath safety to read the story!

Survival Knife Review: C.T. Fischer Nessmuk Knife

This Nessmuk-style knife is a winner!

Sometimes a knife just looks right, and that's what drew my eye to an ad for a "Nessmuk" knife.  It looked like a quality workhorse.

For a little background here, George Washington Sears, 1821-1890, is better known by his pen name of "Nessmuk". He wrote one of the first wilderness survival books,  "Woodcraft," in 1884 and was a regular contributor to "Forest and Stream Magazine."

So when I saw a Nessmuk-style knife  advertised by C.T. Fischer Knives, based in Elk City, Idaho, I just had to try one out . I called knife maker Christopher T. Fischer and asked about his product line.  

Here's my thoughts on the knife after testing it: click on Nessmuk knife review.

Camp Chef Remote Meat Thermometer

This remote thermometer works great - but do you need one?

Dutch oven cooks tend to fall  into two schools of thought: There are the frequent checkers (when it comes to lifting the lid and looking at the cooking food) and there are those never want to open the oven while cooking.
I am a frequent checker, since I don’t want to burn anything. My wife wants to leave the lid down. Her reasoning is that every time you lift the lid to look at the food, heat is lost. When we cook together, differences of opinion occur!
Recently, I tested the Camp Chef Remote Meat Thermometer at a Dutch oven dinner. Is this a viable tool in your Dutch oven survival kit? Read this thermometer review to decide!