Blog - Page 2 of 11 - Tactical & Military Surplus Gear

When Water Treatment Fails: What to Do If Your Filter Freezes, Clogs, or Can’t Handle Viruses (Field Workarounds Included)

Why Filters Fail in Real Terrain (And Why It’s Usually Your Workflow) Water treatment fails at the worst possible time: when you’re tired, cold, behind schedule, and already rationing calories. In training and in the backcountry, the pattern is the same. People don’t get sick because they “didn’t know water

Bear-Proof Camp Food Storage: Hang Systems, Canister Strategy, and Scent-Control Workflow to Prevent Night Encounters

Bears Aren’t “Curious” About Your Tent-They’re Tracking Calories A bear that wanders into camp at night isn’t looking for conversation. It’s doing what it’s built to do: find dense calories with minimal risk. Related Articles: Night Camp Control Procedures: Challenge/Password, Sectors of Fire, Noise Discipline, and Preventing Blue-on-Blue Incidents Backcountry

Altitude Sickness for Hikers: Acclimatization Plans, Red-Flag Symptoms, and Field Treatment When Descent Isn’t Immediate

Altitude sickness is a planning problem, not bad luck Altitude illness usually shows up like a minor nuisance: a dull headache, a little nausea, a hiker who’s suddenly quiet. In the mountains, small problems don’t stay small if you keep climbing. From a military perspective, this is a preventable casualty

Heat Illness in the Field: Preventing, Recognizing, and Cooling Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke When You’re Miles from Help

Heat Illness Is a Performance Failure First, a Medical Emergency Second Heat illness usually starts as a small drop in output: slower pace, more breaks, and sloppy decisions. In the military, we treated that as a warning light, not laziness. If you ignore it, you don’t just risk discomfort. You

Snow Shelters That Don’t Collapse: Quinzhee, Snow Trench, and Snow Cave Construction with Ventilation and Entry Design

Snow as a Building Material: Strength, Sintering, and Load Paths Why snow shelters fail in the real world Snow shelters usually fail for boring reasons, not dramatic ones. The roof gets too thin, the shape is wrong, or someone keeps “touching up” the ceiling until it turns into a weak

Night Camp Control Procedures: Challenge/Password, Sectors of Fire, Noise Discipline, and Preventing Blue-on-Blue Incidents

Night camp control starts before darkness and before stress A controlled night camp isn’t about turning your campsite into a fortress. It’s about reducing ambiguity when everyone’s senses are degraded. Darkness, fatigue, cold, and unfamiliar terrain all combine to make simple mistakes more likely. Related Articles: Bear-Proof Camp Food Storage:

Brackish and Saltwater Survival: When You Can’t Drink What You Find (Solar Still Builds, Distillation Basics, and Hydration Myths)

Brackish and Saltwater Reality: Why “A Little” Can Make Things Worse Salinity, osmosis, and the kidney problem you can’t out-muscle Saltwater isn’t just “dirty water.” It’s water with a salt load your body can’t process without paying a fee in more water. Related Articles: When Water Treatment Fails: What to

Avalanche Terrain for Hikers and Snowshoers: Identifying Hazard Slopes, Safer Route Choices, and Survival Actions If Caught

Avalanche terrain basics that hikers and snowshoers routinely miss Avalanche terrain is not a “mountaineers only” problem. If you hike or snowshoe in winter, you’re in the same physics as everyone else: snow on a slope, plus a trigger, plus a weak layer, equals motion. Related Articles: Route Planning and

Traveling Safely on Loose Terrain: Scree, Talus, and Rockfall Movement Techniques, Spacing Rules, and Injury Avoidance

Scree, Talus, and Rockfall: What You’re Actually Walking On Loose terrain is one of those hazards that feels “optional” until it isn’t. One minute you’re on a normal trail, and the next you’re on ball-bearing gravel, a ridge of shifting blocks, or a gully that funnels rockfall like a bowling

Improvised Splints That Actually Hold: Trekking Pole Splints, Pack Frames, Rigging Principles, and Circulation Checks

Splints that hold start with the mission: stabilize, don’t decorate When someone’s hurt, it’s easy to get busy doing something that looks medical without actually improving the situation. In the field, a splint has one job: prevent the injured area from moving in ways that worsen damage and pain. Related