Discussions
Reply to: (Official discussion) Rainy day funds and cash on hand Posted May 20, 2021
Reply to: (Official discussion) Rainy day funds and cash on hand Posted May 20, 2021

Informal markets give additional insight into your excellent denomination lineups. Whenever I have a garage sale, everybody wants to pay with a $20 bill. I find $5 bills the most useful for making change, even better than $10 bills. Day laborers routinely claim to have no change, forcing me to overpay (which I don’t mind so much). So don’t be that person who only has a twenty. Swap one or two $20 bills for $5. My cash kit contains a few mint ones and fives for use in finicky vending machines. Larger bills should probably be in new, but clearly circulated condition. Too new, and they might appear counterfeit. I hear that black marketeers prefer the newest $100 bill design with the blue stripe. In your picture you have both designs of $100, which seems smart in case a seller has a preference, as might happen if there are counterfeits of one design in circulation.

Reply to: Tips for pets? – Pet Preparedness Posted March 28, 2021
Reply to: Tips for pets? – Pet Preparedness Posted March 28, 2021
Reply to: The best bulletproof body armor when SHTF Posted November 3, 2020
Reply to: Best bug out bag backpack Posted October 22, 2020

What a fine selection of backpacks. My BOB is on the smaller side, so I looked at your list of smaller bags and selected a few to scrutinize personally. Here is my report: Mystery Ranch Scree 32 32 liters, 2.8 lbs At 25x14x11.5, satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Awesome hip belt and suspension External daisy chain instead of MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Okay interior pockets Excellent water bottle pockets No laptop pocket My assessment: Excellent hiking and travel pack Mystery Ranch Two Day Assault 30 liters, 3.0 lbs Published measurements say it does not, but my measurements say it satisfies the airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Poor hip belt Lots of external MOLLE, tie points on the bottom Great interior pockets Laptop pocket My assessment: I liked this the best except that the lack of a proper hip belt knocked it out of the running for me. Too bad. Blackhawk Three Day Assault At $100, half the price of the others! 37 liters, heavy Way too wide for airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Okay hip belt No external MOLLE, No water bottle pockets, tie points on the bottom, includes sleeping bag straps Just three big pockets, no interior organization features No laptop pocket My assessment: The best value. Tie points on the bottom add capacity. Very plain and gray, it looks like an overgrown school backpack. Eberlestock Switchblade F5 25 liters, 3.6 lbs Satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Good suspension but no hip belt. They offer a hip belt for 40″ to 56″ waist which is too big for me, plus I don’t see where a hip belt can be attached. I asked them about it but they did not reply. Points off for customer service. External MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Great interior pockets My assessment: This pack is very firearms oriented. It is rather tactical looking but they have a grey version without MOLLE. The interior organization is excellent. I liked this pack but I really want a hip belt. Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 24 24 liters, 2.7 lbs satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit No hip belt No external MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Inserting a water bottle into the exterior pockets consumes space inside the pack Great interior pockets Laptop pocket My assessment: Great layout, very grey. I originally got this for the Gray Bearded Green Beret’s Ultralight Bug Out Bag. This is a really tight fit; maybe I’ll try again some time. Conclusion Originally I was thinking that I would get one high quality multipurpose backpack for travel, hiking and a BOB. That turned out to be too much of a stretch. My bug out bag loadout does not utilize interior pockets like pen pockets. Instead I have individual pouches for fire, or signaling and navigation. That way, I can easily transfer them to another pack for say, a day hike. In storage I put heavy water bottles inside the pack because over time they stretch elastic water bottle pockets out of shape. In the end, for my BOB, I decided on the Blackhawk because it is the most practical to keep at the ready. At $100, I do not risk overspending. I almost went for the Mystery Ranch Scree 32 for its comfortable fit and hip belt. I may yet get that for hiking or travel. It is a really fine backpack. During this evaluation my urban EDC backpack happened to fail, so I needed yet another backpack. For EDC I do not require a hip belt, and I want lots of organization features. For urban EDC I chose the Mystery Ranch Urban Assault for its excellent interior layout, available but out-of-the-way water bottle pockets, smaller size and subdued external appearance. My second choice on this list for EDC would be the larger Mystery Ranch Two Day Assault, with its similar interior design and more dramatic, tactical look.

Reply to: Doctors rank activities by COVID-19 risk Posted June 21, 2020
Reply to: Beginner’s guide to amateur (ham) radio for preppers Posted June 7, 2020
Reply to: Best survival hand saw Posted May 14, 2020
Reply to: Best survival hand saw Posted May 14, 2020
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Reply to: (Official discussion) Rainy day funds and cash on hand Posted May 20, 2021
Reply to: (Official discussion) Rainy day funds and cash on hand Posted May 20, 2021

Informal markets give additional insight into your excellent denomination lineups. Whenever I have a garage sale, everybody wants to pay with a $20 bill. I find $5 bills the most useful for making change, even better than $10 bills. Day laborers routinely claim to have no change, forcing me to overpay (which I don’t mind so much). So don’t be that person who only has a twenty. Swap one or two $20 bills for $5. My cash kit contains a few mint ones and fives for use in finicky vending machines. Larger bills should probably be in new, but clearly circulated condition. Too new, and they might appear counterfeit. I hear that black marketeers prefer the newest $100 bill design with the blue stripe. In your picture you have both designs of $100, which seems smart in case a seller has a preference, as might happen if there are counterfeits of one design in circulation.

Reply to: Tips for pets? – Pet Preparedness Posted March 28, 2021
Reply to: Tips for pets? – Pet Preparedness Posted March 28, 2021
Reply to: The best bulletproof body armor when SHTF Posted November 3, 2020
Reply to: Best bug out bag backpack Posted October 22, 2020

What a fine selection of backpacks. My BOB is on the smaller side, so I looked at your list of smaller bags and selected a few to scrutinize personally. Here is my report: Mystery Ranch Scree 32 32 liters, 2.8 lbs At 25x14x11.5, satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Awesome hip belt and suspension External daisy chain instead of MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Okay interior pockets Excellent water bottle pockets No laptop pocket My assessment: Excellent hiking and travel pack Mystery Ranch Two Day Assault 30 liters, 3.0 lbs Published measurements say it does not, but my measurements say it satisfies the airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Poor hip belt Lots of external MOLLE, tie points on the bottom Great interior pockets Laptop pocket My assessment: I liked this the best except that the lack of a proper hip belt knocked it out of the running for me. Too bad. Blackhawk Three Day Assault At $100, half the price of the others! 37 liters, heavy Way too wide for airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Okay hip belt No external MOLLE, No water bottle pockets, tie points on the bottom, includes sleeping bag straps Just three big pockets, no interior organization features No laptop pocket My assessment: The best value. Tie points on the bottom add capacity. Very plain and gray, it looks like an overgrown school backpack. Eberlestock Switchblade F5 25 liters, 3.6 lbs Satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit Good suspension but no hip belt. They offer a hip belt for 40″ to 56″ waist which is too big for me, plus I don’t see where a hip belt can be attached. I asked them about it but they did not reply. Points off for customer service. External MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Great interior pockets My assessment: This pack is very firearms oriented. It is rather tactical looking but they have a grey version without MOLLE. The interior organization is excellent. I liked this pack but I really want a hip belt. Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 24 24 liters, 2.7 lbs satisfies airline 22x14x9 carry on limit No hip belt No external MOLLE, no tie points on the bottom Inserting a water bottle into the exterior pockets consumes space inside the pack Great interior pockets Laptop pocket My assessment: Great layout, very grey. I originally got this for the Gray Bearded Green Beret’s Ultralight Bug Out Bag. This is a really tight fit; maybe I’ll try again some time. Conclusion Originally I was thinking that I would get one high quality multipurpose backpack for travel, hiking and a BOB. That turned out to be too much of a stretch. My bug out bag loadout does not utilize interior pockets like pen pockets. Instead I have individual pouches for fire, or signaling and navigation. That way, I can easily transfer them to another pack for say, a day hike. In storage I put heavy water bottles inside the pack because over time they stretch elastic water bottle pockets out of shape. In the end, for my BOB, I decided on the Blackhawk because it is the most practical to keep at the ready. At $100, I do not risk overspending. I almost went for the Mystery Ranch Scree 32 for its comfortable fit and hip belt. I may yet get that for hiking or travel. It is a really fine backpack. During this evaluation my urban EDC backpack happened to fail, so I needed yet another backpack. For EDC I do not require a hip belt, and I want lots of organization features. For urban EDC I chose the Mystery Ranch Urban Assault for its excellent interior layout, available but out-of-the-way water bottle pockets, smaller size and subdued external appearance. My second choice on this list for EDC would be the larger Mystery Ranch Two Day Assault, with its similar interior design and more dramatic, tactical look.

Reply to: Doctors rank activities by COVID-19 risk Posted June 21, 2020
Reply to: Beginner’s guide to amateur (ham) radio for preppers Posted June 7, 2020
Reply to: Best survival hand saw Posted May 14, 2020
Reply to: Best survival hand saw Posted May 14, 2020