Bad Self Defense and False sense of Security

I’ve talked about this before but these guys do a great job explaining why certain feel-good, yoga studio self-defense just doesn’t work. Let me say this. I have nothing against the yoga pant lady in the video. She looks very fit, in great shape.

I’m not being sarcastic. Being fit is far more likely to improve her health and long term quality of life, so there’s that to be said.

The key is this: If you can’t get it to work against a partner that is the least bit non-cooperative, then it wont work in the streets. In the street you won’t have a partner, you’ll have an enemy, and he will be VERY non-cooperative. He will be downright combative.
Stay safe.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Trump sends troops to the border to stop illegal caravans. Liberals outraged.

President Trump has said he’s “"bringing out the military" to secure the border with Mexico. He called the situation “a national Emergency” and is sending at least 800 troops.

Trump to send at least 800 troops to southern border ahead of migrant caravan

Trump said on Twitter:

"Sadly, it looks like Mexico's Police and Military are unable to stop the Caravan heading to the Southern Border of the United States. Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy. Must change laws!" Trump said in a Twitter post.

It would seem that some in the liberal media are surprised/upset even outraged that this is happening, but truth be told using the military to protect a country’s border is the most common thing in the world and most countries do it.

Some in the media have said most of these "asylum seekers" were children an families, but pictures show the great majority to be young men.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Bushcraft level, Inca: A bridge made of grass

This is “Godlike” level bushcrafting right here.

It takes place in Peru, in the Apurímac river region. The knowledge and technique used has been passed along from parents to children for hundreds, maybe thousands of years from their Inca ancestors.

The plant used it called “q’oya”, which is particularly strong. The long, strong blades are worked into rope. Each of the four communities bring rope to build the bridge.



The video is in Spanish and some other native language but well worth the time and the images speak for themselves really.

It’s a community effort, involving a thousand villagers from all over the region that come together to make the bridge. Even the children help.

Once a year during the second week of July they get together to cut down the old one and rebuild the bridge again. They also have a party to celebrate the occasion.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Hurricane AAR: Best Phone and Diesel advantages

Our area just came through a major hurricane. It turned out, the model of phone you have is not that important. Service provider is extremely important. In the US, we still have both GSM and CDMA networks.

For whatever reason, post-storm the GSM providers are mostly working, and the CDMA providers are crap. I understand the network is different in Europe, so that probably doesn’t apply to you. Just putting it out there.

Also, I’d like to confirm your earlier observation/conjecture that in a crisis, diesel vehicles are better. 24 hours before the storm, all area gas stations were out of regular gas. But some of them still had diesel.

-Cord



Hello Cord, thanks for your reply.
Great point, thanks for bringing it up. There’s no point in having the best phone if your provider isn’t reliable. It is crucial to check and hire with the most reputable, most reliable service provider. It’s a good idea to ask around in your local area, wherever it is that you are, so as to get advice regarding this.

Good point on diesel too. Indeed, when there’s no gas, usually you can still find diesel. Depending on the diesel vehicle you can even get a bit creative as of what you feed it, especially older diesel vehicles. Diesel also stores far better, it is less dangerous and more stable for long term storage. Also, diesel gives you more torque, sometimes significantly more than their gas counterparts. I was caught going uphill during some hard rain on the side of a hill some time ago. Water was flowing down, the street turning into a downhill river. The diesel Honda CRV truck along. Water would splash over the hood and for a minute I thought I was in serious trouble but the CR-V got me home.

A few days later I found the car of a neighbour that wasn’t as lucky, pic of his car can be seen above.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Recommendation for a Prepper Phone ?

Message: Moto G 4 gen fell from my pocket while using moto-taxi, a car drove of over it (on a dirt road). But due to the Poetic heavy duty case and motorola quality I guess, the phone survived, although it is visibly curved and the top of the screen has a dozen breaking lines. Still works perfectly. The kids that picked it up believed the phone was dead, so they returned it to me when we went back to search for it. In case it gives the ghost, what it your current recommendation for prepper phone ? Moto G 5 Gen seems to have a removable battery. Samuel . Hello Samuel, I’m glad the Moto G has performed well for you. The Moto G series is a high value phone that I have recommended in the past several times. Low price yet high quality and very good specs. I basically look at 7 things when shopping for a new phone.

• Good value. Doesn’t matter if its 200 bucks or 800, I just want to get my money’s worth. This is particularly important with a product that depreciates as fast as a smartphone.
• Updated Specs. I want a phone that works well and does what you would expect a smartphone to do today. I want a nice, big screen. A fast processor, to take good pictures. I want a micro SD card slot for extra storage. I don’t need the latest most expensive, but reasonable for the current times. One of the things I’ve noticed is that many “rugged” phones cheap out on the specs, and are several years behind, simply because they focus on being rugged than in being up to date tech wise.
• Most well-known brands are of good enough quality. Apple makes a reliable phone. Samsung hold on nicely. Lenovo makes good laptops and sure makes good phones too. LG has been good to me so far and reviews seem solid enough. But I avoid no-name brands or cheapo phones with no backing from a trusted manufacturer.
• Water Resistance. For a survivalist, few things are as important as knowing your phone will still work even if rain, floods, falling in a river or God knows what else. In case you’re wondering about IP67 vs IP68, it just means that IP67 can be dropped into a body of water up to a meter deep for half an hour, while IP68 guarantees protection in water up to 1.5m deep for the same period of time. Both are resistant to dust. These are lab tests though, carefully placed in water containers on pretty much ideal conditions. In practical terms it means that the IP67 IPhone can take a bit of water splash when brushing your teeth, maybe survive being dropped in the toilet, but little else. Lets say if you barely survived a flash flood and are calling 911 from a tree top, you want IP68.

(Iphone X IP67 water resistance on a thousand dollar phone is unacceptable, by the way )

• Popularity and availability. I want a phone that is popular enough in the market to find cases and screen protectors for it. Obscure models suck at this.
• Big enough battery so as to last a reasonable period of time. Removable battery would be nice, but less and less models are produced with one and they often sacrifice water resistance to achieve that.
• Built in FM radio. Again, not as popular as it used to be but some models do have it. The cool thing about a real built in FM radio is that in the worst case scenarios you can still pick up air signals to listen to the news, rather than listening to the radio through the internet data service like so many people do.

As for recommendations, I have a few based on how much money you want to spend. For a budget yet high quality smartphone, I still recommend the latest Moto G, currently that being the Moto G6 (water-repellent though, no IP certification). Another phone doing very well at a similar price range is the Huawei Mate SE  ( IP67 Water Resistance)  . Its one of the best sellers over at Amazon and holds a 4.5 star rating with almost a thousand reviews. This would be my top choice as of today for a budget smartphone.

Huawei Mate SE 
A phone I really like is my current one, the LG G6. For a few more bucks you get a high quality, high spec phone.  It’s a last year flagship model but at the current price I believe it’s a great deal. Its 2:1 screen form factor makes it easy to slip in any pocket even with a reasonably durable case (I use the Spigen armor), yet the screen is big enough so that I don’t miss my olf Note.  It is true waterproof IP68, a big battery, perfectly placed fingerprint reader on the center back and two great cameras.
LG G6
If youre wondering about Iphone X, I haven’t bought an Iphone in years. Android is just more compatible with everything and more flexible. Besides, a IP67 water proof rating on a thousand dollar phone is insulting.
 
Samsung Galaxy S9+
If you want one of the best phones around and don’t care about spending even more money, there’s the Samsung Galaxy S9 plus. My wife got one a few months ago and is very happy with it.  The best current specs, also waterproof IP68 and just beautiful all around. Just get a good case and screen protector because those edges are pretty exposed. I’ll stick to my LG G6 though, but if I lose/break it, I’d probably go with a LG V30.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Take Note: Great item for your First Aid Kit

So some time ago I was at the vet with my dog. Bull terriers have a high tolerance to pain and can often hurt themselves against sharp objects and barely notice. Mine will easily get cuts and scrap all over its face.

So the vet gives me this pink liquid for cleaning the wounds. I use it for a few days and yes, turns out it works very well mixed with some water into a pale pink solution.

I mention this to the vet and she says “yes, it’s very good. I get cuts and scratches on my hands all the time and this is what I use too. Its cheap, you get a lot of product for the money mixing it with water and it works very well for disinfecting wounds”. Ding! Ding! Ding! The alarm bell in my survivalist brain went off. A good, cheap disinfectant? Sounds like the kind of stuff I would want to stock up on.

So I went and got a bottle for the dog and another for myself. The products is called Chlorhexidine.
You can find it for humans, but also by the gallon for horses and dogs. Sometimes it’s sold as mouthwash for gingivitis at an even lower concentration.

Its available on Amazon, heres the link.

Antimicrobial/Antiseptic 32 Ounce Bottle $15.58

You can also buy it per gallon for "dogs and horses" although its the same thing and if you read the comments people use it on themselves. Folks use it on pets, for wounds and with shampoo, use it also on people and to disinfect things around the house.

Chlorhexidine 2% for Horses & Dogs, One Gallon $19.94

I was told to mix it with water at about 5%, but as long as there's a visible pink (or blue)  tint it should work and that seemed to work ok with my dog.
I would advise you to read up on Chlorhexidine so as to know when to use it. This stuff is strong, so never use it on eyes, nose, inner lips (unless it’s a mouthwash solution) and genitals because it will destroy mucous membranes.
 
Take care,

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

The Brazilian Trump: Three things you should know about Brazil’s next President… and why you should care.

If you heard anything on the main stream media about the man who will most likely become Brazil’s next president, Jair Bolsonaro, it probably wasn’t very positive to say the least. Far right, homophobic, sexist and gun nut.

But here’s the Top 3 things you should know about the man.

1)Number one, and the main reason Jair Bolsonaro is so popular in Brazil, is because of his clean record. Nearly all other Brazilian politicians and certainly all the left leaning ones are either already in jail for corruption or about to end up there ( many related to the infamous Car Wash scandal). Say what you want about Bolsonaro, but the one thing you cant say about him is that he’s corrupt. That drives the Left crazy, but its one of his biggest selling points for the Brazilian voter fed up with corrupt politicians.

2)He’s got Christian, conservative values. The other important point that explains Bolsonaro’s popularity is his conservative values. Brazilians, like millions of people around the world and especially in South America, are fed up with Leftist’s agenda.  He does not believe homosexuality is “normal”, he believes men and women are different and have a different roles in society. He may be a bit rough around the edges in the way he expresses these cultural views of his, but that doesn’t change the fact that he reflects the view of a lot of people that are simply fed up with the leftist cultural brainwashing.
In fact, he's got liberals so upset, one of them stabbed him recently during the campaign, nearly killing him.

3)He is very much pro gun. He has a military background, went to a military school, artillery parachutists with the rank of Captain. And the man likes his guns. That’s obvious by the way he handles firearms in some of the youtube videos. He has promised to pave the way for concealed carry in Brazil.

So what do I care

If anything, know that people like John Oliver hate the guy, meaning you’re likely to like him. A lot.

Also, you should because like it or not we’re all stuck in this world together and Brazil happens to be in America (as in the continent)  it’s the 5^th largest country in the world and an economic leader in the region.

A man that finally cuts the BS with all the Liberal hysteria in many ways ruining countries, Bolsonaro can be a fantastic presidential figure in the region. Mauricio Macri in Argentina was a nice bit of fresh air. Although in global terms considered a moderate centrist, he’s as far right as anything Argentina produced in decades. A very well educated engineer, bilingual, millionaire and pretty much a man that has been very successful at anything he set his mind to from president of Boca Jr. Football club, business man dealing with Donald Trump or Mayor Of Buenos Aires city. But for all his political success so far he’s struggling economically and is far too moderate to lead the region on his own.

With a bit of luck Bolsonaro’s success in reducing crime with a pro gun agenda will help popularize the idea in the region.

Bolsonaro would be a great figure to influence the entire region for more permanent change, the kind that lasts for generations.
FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

A Big Thank you to Sootch00 from SensiblePrepper

Hope everyone had great weekend.

I just wanted to thank Sootch00 from SensiblePrepper for recommending my book “The Modern Survival Manual” in his latest video.

I happen to like his channel a lot and have watched several of his videos over the years.

Stay safe everyone, enjoy the rest of your day!

FerFAL

My EDC for Rome/Vatican City Trip

Went there for a few days, had a great time. Highly recommended for anyone that hasnt visited already.

Anyway, a short video showing the stuff I took with me to the trip.

Also a list of some of the items, available in Amazon.

Phone: LG G6 https://amzn.to/2MRhOKu

Spigen Tough Armor case https://amzn.to/2zVi1Jb

Thrunite T10 https://amzn.to/2BZOgID

Glock Hat https://amzn.to/2KUApEY

Leatherman PS4 https://amzn.to/2mCA7b4

Wiley X Valor (polarized) https://amzn.to/2KVBMmV

20,000mAh Power Bank https://amzn.to/2PfNtXx

Casio Protrek https://amzn.to/2CD2nQH

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

5 Best guns for Barter/Sell after SHTF

Guns are often brought up when people discuss firearms as barter items post SHTF.
My position is that I simply don’t believe much in having barter items at all. Every time I’ve seen it used, it was always by people is pretty desperate situations, trading at a loss. This is something you saw a lot of in Argentina after 2001, you saw it again in 2014 and its happening again with the latest crisis, a 100% devaluation in the last few weeks.(Nope, never a boring day in Argentina)
My point is, anything you may have heard being mentioned as “worth its weight in gold” or otherwise a great barter item to be had, every single time my conclusion was that such person would have been better off having the actual cash at hand instead. Either cash or its equivalent in precious metal as insurance for said type of devaluation. The toilet paper, the seeds, the tools, its all just junk you end up trading at a loss during desperate times.

There are certain items though that I believe hold enough intrinsic value and are of such wide use that you can feel safe in stockpiling them. Food for example, is both valuable and more important, you consume it yourself. Ammo, somewhat of the same thing. And guns. Guns are not only used for the critical role of defending yourself and your loved ones, they hold value rather well too.

Some people are concerned regarding trading or bartering guns, worried that they may be used against them. I talking about dealing with reputable people you actually trust, or maybe your local gun shop. In my experience guns are not only useful, they hold value very well. Even in very unstable economies like Argentina, Ive managed to convert guns I didn’t have a need for anymore into cash rather fast.

Having said that, not all guns are equal and some are easier to sell/trade and are in higher demand than others.

Combat/Defense handguns

Chief among them, 9mm Glock, models 19 and 17. Guns like Beretta 92, CZ75, XD, HK USP and Sig 22X. Reputable guns for self defense or carry. Popular models are easier to move, but Glock 9mm are without a doubt the most popular ones, almost as good as cash in hand. Its not a bad idea to buy police trade ins as spares, even 40 S&W Glocks trade well and are good guns in their own right.

Premium guns
These would be the guns the collector community always seems to be interested in. A Colt Python is almost a commodity of a certain market value. Same for original Colt 1911 service pistols, S&W model 29 just to name a couple. Sometimes you can cross over categories. The HK P7 for example is a wonderful gun for defense while also being highly desirable among collectors.

Work guns
Popular 22 carbines like the Marlin 10/22 or shotguns like the Mossberg 500 or Remington 870. Even a solid 357 revolver like the Ruger GP100 to an extent.
These are usually easy to trade or sell at the right price. These are practical, versatile "tools" and even if already common and everyone seems to have one already, they continue to be in high demand if the price is right.
Cheap guns
At the other end of the spectrum you have the cheap junk guns. They may work, but their main attraction is simply being cheap. Hi Points, Taurus guns, these are the ones that go for 50-100 bucks, but they still sell because they are affordable.

Service Rifles
Old surplus Mausers, Mosin Nagants, AR15, SKS, FAL, AK, G3. These are guns that have a somewhat fixed market price and you can usually expect to get your money’s worth for them rather fast.
Uncommon guns, guns in unusual calibers, brands that aren’t as well known, these would be the guns that are harder to sell or trade, even if they are great guns in their own right.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

“Leave No Trace”: A movie every Prepper should watch

“Leave No Trace” (yes, its available in Amazon) is a genuinely good movie. You may like it more or less but it is certainly good, enjoying a Rotten Tomato rating of 100% critic and 86% audience at the moment.

It is family friendly, not violent in any way, so feel free to drop it in the list for this weekend.
The movie starts with a father and his teen daughter living in the woods, away from society. That’s as far as I will go, no point in ruining a good movie.
What I will say though is that the main point of the movie is one that many preppers and survivalists can certainly relate to. One I’ve seen somewhat regularly when meeting with other survivalists: The desire to escape society, escape people. It is a recurring topic and it is found to a greater or lesser degree but it is there quite often. Its folks that don’t mind or actually enjoy being alone (most of us in this community are a bit like that) most prefer avoiding crowded, big cities, some avoid even small towns and live a bit away from them, others try to live as far from anyone else as they can possibly get. Some people have real problems having friends, basic neighbourly interactions or even having a family. It is a topic brought up every now and then in the forums, about preppers and survivalists that are alone, and yes, at times feel lonely.

This is one of the main topics of the movie and it is somewhat of a real concern for some folks in our community. Personally, I don’t think that in my case it is that bad. My family helps a lot. I always knew I wanted to get married and have kids, and at least that part comes naturally to me. I honestly don’t have to “work” at making my marriage work like I sometimes read that you’re supposed to. So I guess I’m lucky in that regard. But I also see how with that particularly screw in my head tightened another half a turn or so, I could have easily ended up being that guy alone in a cabin in the woods.
“No man is an island” according to John Donne and I agree. In my opinion a modern survivalist, the way I conceive survivalism, is both capable of going at it alone or working in a group, being part of society, not escaping from it. In fact, I’d say building up relations and a network of people is one of your greatest assets. And why not, having friends is not only a tactical choice but also a way of enjoying life more.

Is it always easy? No, not always. And the lone wolf thing comes much easier to most of us than it does to most people, but I think its something we do have to work in keeping at check, stay reasonable. I know of cases in which survivalism turned into doom worshiping, paranoia and ended up consuming people’s lives.

We have to stay reasonable, balanced, understand what’s good for us and work in those things that may not come to some of us as naturally.
Take care

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”