The Innovative Leatherman Tread Will Blow Your Mind [VIDEO]

Remember when the Leatherman multitool emerged… and pretty much redefined what it means for a tool to be “handy,” changing the lives of anyone who enjoys wearing small leather holsters on their belts? Well, Leatherman may be on to something almost as groundbreaking as that famous multitool. This 25-in-one piece of hardware belongs to the next generation of multitool. Instead of wearing it next to your cellphone on your belt, this tool lives on your wrist. It’s a bracelet, yes, but to make it sound more utilitarian/masculine, Leatherman opted to call it “Tread.” What looks like a clunky fashion accessories doubles […]

Bang for Your Buck: 11 Best Semiautomatics on a Budget

When it comes to self-defense, the vast majority of military and tactical experts choose to carry a sidearm, rather than a shotgun or rifle. Semi-automatic pistols, in specific, are hands down winner when you put it to vote. And the reasons are simple. Semi-auto pistols offer a great deal of tactical advantages over other firearms. They’re lighter, more compact, and they hold plenty of ammo. For these reasons, they make a much more practical “everyday carry” than a pump shotgun or even a Colt revolver. Plus, there’s just something really nice about squeezing off a few rounds through a semi-auto. […]

5 Best Axes Under $50

Six million people have watched the video below, featuring some guy swinging an overpriced, state-of-the-art splitting axe to turn a tire filled with logs into perfectly split matchstick kindling… It’s like a Home Shopping Network advertisement for a new kitchen tool that turns a potatoes into perfect french fries in seconds. The rub is that this “magic axe” can be yours, for one easy payment of… $350. I can almost see your eyes roll… At best, we can only assume that the folks watching this video with eyes bulging (wondering why they haven’t seen this in the Brookstone catalog) are […]

The Top 17 Must-Have Items in Your First-Aid Kit

Most of us gloss over how important our health is, until we become ill… Then it becomes painfully obvious that, without our health, little else really matters. In a emergency situation, the premium we place on health is even higher. Access to medical care may be severely limited. If your plans include a remote location, the trip to the ER may simply take too long. In either case, you’ll need to become competent in dealing with minor emergencies. In order to do this, you’ll need a medicine kit with the proper tools. Here are the 17 most crucial items to keep […]

3 Devastating Weapons Hiding in Plain Sight

It goes without saying that most members of the self-reliance community prefer to be armed with some type of weapon when they go outside the home. Many members in the community carry concealed firearms for this purpose, when and where the law allows. Concealed carry is not available to all people in all areas, however, as state and local laws differ greatly throughout the nation. The vast majority of survivalists I’ve observed prefer the convenience of a pocketknife. Question: How confident do you really feel about your knife fighting skills? Unless you’ve been trained in martial arts, the answer should […]

Get Home Bag Vs. Bug-Out Bag [Urban Survival]

You’ve heard of the “bug-out bag,” the “go bag,” and the “72-hour bag.” Lately, I’ve noticed an uptick in chatter regarding about something called the “Get Home Bag.” Seriously, how many bags is a guy (or gal) supposed to have? Sheesh. Not to mention, if you’re going to keep weapons in each of these bags, that’s a lot to keep track of… Not to paint with too broad a brush, but I’m guessing that you’re not the type of person with 12 different pair of black dress shoes, one for each nuanced occasion. But that doesn’t mean you should dismiss […]

Top 3 B.O.B. Guns

Recently, I had a friend ask me, “what’s the best gun for my bug-out bag?” It’s a question that I’ve answered more than a few of times over the years, but my answer has always been the same. I answer with another question: Do you consider yourself a firearms enthusiast? Now, I don’t ask this to be condescending. I’m always happy to talk about firearms until I’m blue in the face… but the answer to this question helps me give a much more helpful answer. The reason is that I need to determine the person’s level of familiarity with firearms […]

10 Self-Reliance Skills EVERYONE Should Learn

There are a number of skills that, no matter who you are, you MUST have a working knowledge of in order to be self-sufficient in a SHTF scenario. It’s essential that you know at least how to perform these tasks theoretically… even if you can’t boast any true, hands-on experience just yet. These aren’t necessarily difficult tasks. Some of them are as simple as knowing the proper way to cut down a tree. Others are simple overviews, common sense guides for how to perform fundamental tasks like the Heimlich maneuver. The key factor is that they’re all fact-checked and accurate. They […]

Top 5 Shotguns for Home Defense (Under $350)

In most movies with climactic home defense scenes, the hero usually carries a semi-auto pistol or a Dirty Harry style .44 Mag revolver. There are two reasons for this: 1.) Hollywood movie producers know next to nothing about guns. 2.) These shootout scenes wouldn’t last nearly as long if the hero was armed with a pump shotgun. To drag a shootout scene out for maximum cinematic effect, many shots must be fired… and the vast majority of them need to be misses. If you know much about firearms, you can probably guess where we’re headed… Why the 12-Gauge Pump is […]

5 Survival Items Within Arm’s Length

Initially, I was going to limit this list to items that fit in your pocket, but then I started digging around and found a few extremely handy items (which I call “hyper-multipurpose”) that I’d have to leave out, like newspaper or aluminum cans… Instead, I’ve settled on items that are most likely within arm’s length of you right now, as you’re reading this. My goal: To turn as many common household items into multi-tools as possible. Changing the way we look at everyday items sharpens our minds in the event that we truly do need to improvise in a SHTF […]