Tag Archives: heavy hiking boot

Momma Bear: Our Favorite Military Things

Posted on by
Reply

Just to clarify (again), being in the military is NOT synonymous with being a prepper. But, it does give you an edge on preparedness. So, I thought I would highlight some of our family’s favorite military items that we use and have in our GOOD (Get Out of Dodge*) bags and/or car kits.

Military boots have come a LONG way since Vietnam and even Desert Storm. There are a number of  “military-approved manufacturers” these days and the boots come in a variety of styles to fit the working conditions. Gone are the days of just “steel toe” or “no steel toe”. There are quality boots for hot weather, cold weather, ultra lightweight, steel toe, and everything in between. The least expensive cost about $100. My husband’s favorites (and mind you, shoes/boots are a very personal choice) are the Bates Durashocks Hot Weather boot, which run about $140. These are a medium weight, suede boot in a natural leather color. He wears these even in cold weather because he says the cold weather boots make your feet sweat unless temperatures constantly stay below 35 degrees. Around military bases there are still shoe repair places (cobblers), so it is common to have your favorite boots resoled and repaired rather than buying new ones.

When it comes to staying warm and dry, layering is the best method. Two invaluable items, in the military, for this are: Gore-Tex and liners. Gore-Tex is a high-end trademarked fabric used for making outer apparel water-proof and breathable. Most commonly you will see these as big, hooded camo jackets with matching pants. These can be expensive when purchased for personal use, but can be found used and are truly worth their weight in gold. The second component, which you can also find used–and these are inexpensive–are the jacket and pants liners. These are made of a ‘poofy’, olive drab, quilted fabric very similar to a parachute. They are very light weight, easy to compress, and excellent for layering under coats. We purchased a 10-pack of used jacket liners for about $35, including shipping, from eBay. I personally am terrible about NOT wearing coats, even in the winter, so I keep a couple of these stashed in my kit in the trunk of my car.

The last thing I will mention is the military poncho liner, affectionately known in the military as a “wooby”. It is made from the same parachute type quilted fabric as the jacket/pants liners. It is also easy to compress and pack along. BUT, in my opinion, it’s greatest strength is that things don’t stick to it. That means I can use it in sand or dirt, then just pick it up and shake it off. Even pet fur tends to just slide right off. Also it will not only keep you warm, but when used in a warm climate it feels cool against your skin (you won’t sweat up against it). Since the military changed to a digital camo pattern, there are plenty of these for sale in the outdated “woodland” camo pattern. They can be found online from about $10-30. Our family owns several, keeps them in our GOOD Bags, and also packs them along whenever we travel.

All of these items are easy to find online through military supply sites, or eBay. Most of them originally came from military sources; when the military discontinues items, they put them up at bulk auctions and people buy them in large lots (for example “400 mixed size jacket liners”). Dealers will buy these large quantities and then resell them in smaller lots or even individually, thus giving you access to genuine military-issue gear.

Building a good GOOD kit/BOB doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy, even when it comes to things to keep you warm and dry. You can get some pretty good deals using old military surplus items. Imagine, your very own veteran wooby could be just a mouse click away!

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

*A complete list of acronyms used can be found in the ‘Check Here…‘ tab at the top of the page.

What We Did This Week To Prep 3/23/12

Posted on by
8

I’ve discussed the importance of walking and having quality hiking boots several times, but I’ve never gone over caring for leather boots. Since joining the USMC at 18 years old, polishing boots has been a part of my life. But I realize most people don’t have this habit; even current military people – those new tan boots don’t even require polish (what do you do in boot camp with your ‘spare time’ if you don’t have to polish boots?!?) To polish my leather boots I use Lincoln Shoe Polish, but any quality brand will work; I’m not a purist. At least once a month I thoroughly clean–using saddle soap if necessary–and polish my boots. Think of leather boots like your skin, when it loses its moisture it becomes dried out and can even crack. While living skin has natural occurring lubricants and protectants, leather doesn’t. So it’s essential to regularly clean and polish your leather boots to ensure they will last for many years. After cleaning, and letting them dry, I use a dauber, or a soft cloth, to work the polish into the leather. Then I use a soft brush to buff them out, effectively sealing the boots with the polish (I used to buff them for appearance and function, now it’s just function). You paid a lot of money for your quality boots, take good care of them.

Also on the topic of walking I came across a great ‘white board’ video this week by Dr. Mike Evans: 23 and 1/2 hours. He discusses the health benefits of spending half hour a day walking – then you can do whatever you’d like with the remaining 23 1/2 hours. He talks about how exercise, mostly just walking, half an hour a day will significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, dementia, and diabetes. It will reduce anxiety, depression, and fatigue. It will even help you live longer and improve your quality of life. He clearly shows how “low cardio-respiratory fitness” (aka not enough exercise) is the number one preventable cause of early death. He quotes Hippocrates (the Father of Medicine) “Walking is man’s best medicine.” And concludes the presentation with, “Can you limit your sitting and sleeping to just 23 1/2 hours a day?” We’re preppers, we’re doing so much to try to be prepared – take half an hour a day to prepare and care for your body also.

Another month, another trip to Costco. We restocked some canned goods we’ve used (you’re rotating your SWYE foods right?), got some more OTC allergy meds (on sale), more ibuprofen, and more Vitamin C (on sale), extra toothpaste (not crucial in a collapse, but nice to have), toilet paper was on sale, added more charcoal to our preps (on sale), and batteries were on sale (which was nice because we rotated batteries in prep items this month). Plus we got Sarah a new office chair so she has somewhere comfortable to sit while she’s helping me edit my blog.

The other big thing was that we finally did our annual BOB inspection and rotation. We brought all three BOBs (we keep one in each vehicle) into the house. We opened them up, changed out batteries, replaced most food items, replaced the bleach (it’s only good for a year), changed out the water, added dog food (we didn’t have Kate last year), and packed them back up. Not much more to say, but we’re glad it’s all done.

What did you do?

(Monday: Gun Show Review*)

*Gun show this weekend at the fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA (March 24-25), I’ll be going Sunday. It’s put on by the Washington Arms Collectors and open to all. They, of course, have a wide selection of guns, ammo, and related equipment, but also a good variety of prepper items and books.

A Walk In The Woods

Posted on by
7

How Quickly The Familiar Can Become The Unfamiliar

Not long ago–on an overcast and potentially stormy afternoon–Sarah, Kate (our Border Collie), and I went for a walk in the woods behind our neighborhood. Several years ago (during the housing boom) that area had been cleared and intended for another subdivision, but it never was built. Since then it has overgrown, but a few dirt roads/trails, still used by hikers or four-wheel drive vehicles, remain.

We had walked back there before, always following familiar trails. This day we had plenty of time so we decided to do some exploring. Instead of our normal route, we decided to see where the dirt roads went figuring that they would eventually connect back to our neighborhood. As we followed the overgrown road, it would end into what would have been a cul-de-sac or just a dead-end; we’d backtrack to the main “road” and continue on, and the same would happen on the next branch. After a couple of hours of this–as we were enjoying the day, the exercise, and the time together–what had begun as an overcast day with some drizzle developed into rain showers. No big deal, it was Western Washington in the winter and we were dressed appropriately. After following another promising branch of the road we, again, hit another dead-end surrounded by thick trees (we really thought that one would go through). At this point we thought we were well past our neighborhood; we figured we could cut through the forest to get back–and save significant distance–or, of course, we had the option to go back the way we had come (a distance of about three or four miles).

We had no extra equipment, just rain coats, warm clothes, good boots, and my phone. We pulled up the mapping app on my phone and determined where we were (hoping that our pinpointed location was accurate); we were surprised how far we had gone. We needed to go north, and the phone’s compass app showed us which way that was. Once determined, we started through the forest; the undergrowth was heavy, but fortunately there weren’t any blackberry bushes. I went first, with Sarah a little behind me to avoid getting snapped by branches, and Kate (who was only a few months old) jumping over fallen branches and undergrowth going back and forth to “check” on us (she slept very well when we got home). We had to navigate around several areas either too thick to pass or low spots full of water. I had to depend completely on the compass (even though the phone battery was getting low) because between the rainy day and thick woods, there was no way to see landmarks to keep us on course. The experience was reminiscent of Camp McCall when I was in the Army.

Close to an hour later, we finally made it to the edge of our subdivision – because of the rain, low clouds, and trees we weren’t able to even see the houses until we were almost to them. From there only another half mile and we were home. Soaking wet and tired, but fine.

Later I reflected how quickly a “normal”, “routine”, or “ordinary” outing can turn into something more than planned. Fortunately we were dressed appropriately, physically fit enough, and disaster didn’t strike. But, it would have only taken an injury–fall, stick in the eye, twisted ankle–a dead phone, or a worse storm and suddenly “just a walk” would have been something much more serious.

We can’t choose our disaster, when it will happen, or where we’ll be. It’s been said to avoid danger, “… don’t go to stupid places, with stupid people, and do stupid things.” That’s good advice, but frequently things don’t start off that way. On a daily basis it’s worth remembering we’re not just planning for “the big one”, but that common things happen commonly and we need to be prepared for the likely things that happen.

Now, when I go for a walk in the woods, I carry a pack. It’s mostly full of rocks (really) because carrying the heavy pack on my walks with Kate is part of my workout. BUT it also contains: a first-aid kit, warm gloves and hat, a small tarp, water, food, a compass, a flashlight, a fire starting kit, and other items; I also plant to get an external phone backup battery. Do I need all that? No. Am I recommending all that? No. I’ve just decided if I’m carrying a pack for a workout I might as well carry useful things. I also looked at that area on Google Maps and now I know where the trails go and where they don’t. So I’ve thought about what happened, planned how to avoid duplicating it, am more prepared if something does go wrong, and learned from the experience.

For any activity you’re involved in: Think. Plan. Prepare. Learn.

(Wednesday: Momma Bear)

Sarah’s View: Traveling For Work

Posted on by
2

This week I am travelling to Minneapolis for work. I’ve traveled for work a couple of times before, but never for a full week and not since Trace and I began prepping. Traveling offers a whole new set of “what ifs”, and not even of the SHTF* variety. Simply, what if the plane is delayed? What if they lose my luggage? What if…? And then there are the disaster what ifs.

Luckily I was able to mitigate many of the life ‘what ifs’ by taking a nonstop flight (if it’s delayed, it’s not a big deal as there are no connections I need to make) and I decided not to check any luggage. The luggage question, however, was one Trace and I discussed; not checking makes sense for many reasons – cost, time, risk (of loss) – however, from a prepping point of view it would make more sense to check a bag. By checking a bag I would be able to bring my pepper spray and my Gerber EAB knife both part of my EDC. We looked at the pros and cons of checking a bag, as well as at the likelihood that I would need those items, and decided not to.

There were a couple of reasons we came to this conclusion. First, my hotel is less than two blocks from where I’m working. Not only that, but Minneapolis has a wonderful system of skyways, which, for me, mitigated the need for either item. The skyways were also the reason I chose to leave my winter coat at home. What?!? Minneapolis in March and no winter coat? The weather report was uncharacteristically good – upper 40s to low 70s– and I did bring a number of layers that would keep me warm should the weather turn.

I did, however, decide to bring my good boots. If anything were to happen while I was here, it was important I be able to walk, through wet ground or snow if necessary. My sister works in the other Twin City, St. Paul, so, if the SHTF while I was here, my plan would be to get to her and/or her place of work. Obviously this is a fairly loose plan, but at least it’s something. I’ve planned for the likeliest scenarios (snow/bad weather, flight delays, lost luggage) and thought about how I would respond to something bigger.

All in all, for better or worse, I didn’t really bring any extra “get home” stuff. I have my work backpack which also serves as my GHB when commuting to and from work normally. Ironically, not only did I not add to it, but as I said, I took out my pepper spray and EAB knife (both of which usually “live” in my backpack). I also took out my mini-leatherman and any other non-TSA approved items. I did bring my towel, my headlamp with extra batteries, a few protein bars, and water bottle. Unfortunately I don’t have much that can be used as a weapon, however, I am prepared to be somewhat self-reliant and mobile, if necessary.

As the wife of a good prepper, I don’t have to think too much about our preps on a day-to-day basis (thank you Trace); he takes care of most (all) of the worry and the coordination. I help on an as-needed basis with logistics, planning, and allocation of finances. However, as the one travelling, alone, I was forced to think about what was important to me and what I needed with me in order to feel prepared and as safe as possible.

(Friday: What We Did This Week To Prep)

My wife Sarah writes, from a prepper’s wife’s point of view, ‘Sarah’s View’ the second Wednesday of each month. See her other posts: Time To Order Seeds, and “What Do You Think of All This?”.

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

What I Did This Week To Prep 1/13/12

Posted on by
4

Taking my own advice, I bought some new heavy hiking boots. I needed to replace my old Danner boots that I have owned for over 14 years – since I was in the military. I knew they had finally given up the ghost when the Danner Refurbishing Department said they couldn’t rebuild my boots again (they had been rebuilt once and resoled three times – I loved those boots). So I went to a local shop and got them repaired and resoled as best as they could, and passed them down to Ryan. When Danner said they couldn’t rebuild my boots, they did send me a 25% off coupon for a new pair. For a late Christmas gift we ordered me a new pair of Danner Rain Forest Plain Toe Work Boots. They arrived in the mail this week. I was thrilled to have them, but not thrilled to have to break in a new pair of boots. It’s much easier to talk (or blog) the talk, then walk the walk (pun intended). Fortunately today’s genre of hiking boots is far better and easier to break in then they were a generation ago. But they sure felt stiff when Kate (our Border Collie) and I went out for the first three-mile walk. Now, I no longer have an excuse when it’s time to take her for a walk.

We visited Costco this week. (For the record, this month’s coupons sucked; nothing in the way of good prepper stuff.) We purchased a cross-cut paper shredder to be able to ‘create’ more browns for our compost pile (reference last week’s What I Did This Week To Prep). We also got a three-pack set of basic utilities knives for $10 to put in our BOBs*, they’re not as cool as the Gerber EAB, but at 1/3 of the cost they’ll work just fine and they–the utility knifes and the Gerber EAB–all use the same blades so we’ll only have to stock one type. Also, interesting to note, peanut butter (that went up in price in November, see What I Did This Week To Prep 10/21/11) is still $2 higher than it’s price last fall. We’re glad we had our SWYE all stocked up with plenty of PB and don’t need to buy it now at the higher price.

I also ordered the book, The Eagle Has Crashed by Ted Lacksonen. A novel about an economic meltdown and how society collapses in the aftermath. I heard him interviewed on The Survival Podcast (Episode 814) and was impressed with his insights and attitudes. I look forward to reading his book and plan to write a review of it.

What did you do?

(Monday: Adding New Page: My Reading List)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

Walk A Mile In Your Shoes, Part 2*

Posted on by
5

Boot Selection and Common Hiking Injuries

Boot Selection

Before you walk too far–either by choice or circumstance–I’d strongly encourage you to get a good pair of hiking boots. What I believe you need (as an individual striving to be prepared) is a heavy boot made of leather, at least six inches tall, with a quality sole, and preferably with a water-proof lining. These boots will be a relatively expensive initial investment, ranging from $200 – $300. But, if well cared for, they will last for years and you (and your feet) will never regret that purchase.

A trail shoe, or light weight boot may feel very comfortable, but it won’t hold up to serious walking; especially off-trail and/or for multiple days. A heavy boot will be rigid enough to support your feet (arch and toes), will provide shock absorption for your joints (all the way up to your lower back), will provide good ankle support, and it will last.

If your feet get wet and/or cold you will be miserable. To keep your feet dry, I recommend you buy a boot with a waterproof (such as Gore-Tex) lining. To keep your feet warm, insulated boots are available. Boots insulated with 200 grams of Thinsulate will keep them warm in temperate climates, 400 – 600 grams will work well in cold climates, 1000 grams will ensure warm feet in extreme conditions.

The biggest disadvantage of a heavy boot, other than the initial cost (and the weight), is that they are stiff and require a break-in period. We’ve discussed before that you can’t  buy stuff to have ‘just in case’; this is especially true with a heavy hiking boot. You need to walk in them, start with shorter walks and build up. Figure out how to adjust and lace them up comfortably, and what kind of sock(s) to wear. As endurance improves, start going on longer walks, on dirt trails, carrying a pack.

Common Hiking Injuries

Blisters are formed when skin is damaged by friction (this is accelerated by wetness). Fluid collects between the upper layers of skin, attempting to cushion the tissue underneath and protecting it from further damage. Wet feet, poorly fitted boots, boots not properly broken in, and unconditioned feet all can result in blisters.

Shin splints–pain when you lift your toes to take a step–are frequently caused by a muscle imbalance, specifically tightness of the calf muscles and weak shin (tibialis anterior) muscles. Too quickly increasing intensity and duration of walking causes these lower leg muscles to become fatigued and makes it difficult for them to absorb the shock of the impact from each step. This impact is worse when walking uphill, downhill or on hard surfaces; wearing poor or worn-our shoes also contributes.

In addition to muscle soreness in your feet and legs, your lower back muscles can become fatigued and sore as they are forced to stabilize, along with the abdominal muscles, the upper body each step you take.

Once you throw on a pack your shoulders and neck may become sore from the additional weight. Loading a pack efficiently, with proper weight distribution, takes practice and experience. Remember to use the waist strap, and consider using the chest strap, to redistribute the weight.

We take our ability to walk for granted. We assume that if we need to we can walk as far as is required. But–in the modern, inactive, motorized world we live in–distance walking is becoming a lost skill. But it’s an easy one to regain: invest in a good pair of boots, break them in properly, and start walking.

(Friday: What I Did This Week To Prep)

*review Walk A Mile In Your Shoes, Part 1