UK Preppers Guide» Reviews & Guides

Grilliput Fire Bowl and Barbecue Test and Review

UK Prepper — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 07:48:42 +0000

Testing and review of the Grilliput Fire Bowl and Folding Barbecue Grill.

There are many times when you’re out hiking or camping and you can have an open fire or barbecue but it needs to be contained and controlled.

Well, if you want to cook on an open fire, BBQ style, you definitely don’t want to be carrying around a ‘normal’ BBQ grill – it’s far too heavy and bulky for sure - weight is always an issue and choosing what to put in your rucksack or even your bug out bag, will restrict the type of gear you carry.

So what is the alternative?

I stumbled on this great bit of kit a while back and finally got a chance to try it out and review the Grilliput Fire Bowl and Folding Barbecue Grill.

This is my review:

The unit is sold in two separate parts:

Each part is designed to fold down into a very compact and lightweight unit, taking up minimal space within your rucksack – in fact, it’s easy to find space for the Grilliput within most rucksacks – you can set up the fire bowl in seconds, the grill will take you a little longer as everything is neatly ‘hidden’ within one of the tubular side supports and you assemble it all together to form the main grill.

That being said, you can be set up and be ready to barbecue within five minute – giving a safe, controlled and confined fire bowl to ensure you keep everything contained in one place.

Now, you can buy each item separately, and even use them separately if you want, but they are designed to work and fit together – I found this the best way.

When I opened my Grilliput

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B000I7NWXC/UK/grilliput-21/">firebowl and
Grilliput Folding Barbeque
List Price: £29.99
Current Price: £24.99
Prices are accurate as of 08/07/2014 at 9:52 AM.
" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B000980JMW/UK/grilliput-21/">Folding Barbecue Grill the first thing that strikes you is the fact that it’s all stainless steel and a very good finish, making it nice and easy to clean up after use – all the grill components come apart, which is good as they can all be wiped down and cleaned very easily as well – there’s also a ‘cleaning groove’ on one of the grill sides which makes it easy to pull the grilling bars through and scrape off any excess meat etc. that has spilled and stuck to the grill bars.

The main fire bowl is quite a lot more fiddly to clean though, and I found the best way to clean it was straight after use, wiping down with a cloth [especially if any cooking fat or meat has dropped into it] and then just soaking for a little while before drying off.

The disassembly was as quick as putting it all together and, for those in a hurry, you’re off on your way in no time.

With this type of equipment the only way to really see how it performs is to see it in action

- so this is my video review below -

Performance wise – well, it does exactly what is says on the tin..!

As you can see in the video, the fire bowl is an excellent way to contain your fire in one compact area, maintaining fuel and heat at the same time – with a really clever way to fold it down to a compact little unit after use and the grill works well, but best of all, folds down into one easy to carry tube.

Conclusions:

Can’t really fault this neat bit of kit – if you’re after something to give that real outdoors BBQ cooking feeling, thats easy to carry in your rucksack and hassle free, then this is the bit of kit for you.

Grilliput Folding Barbeque

List Price: £29.99

Current Price: £24.99

Price Disclaimer

Grilliput Men's Fire Bowl - Stainless Steel

List Price: £14.99

Current Price: £14.09

Price Disclaimer

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UK Gun Laws

UK Prepper — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 11:19:52 +0000

Do you know the UK Gun Laws

Gun ownership is considered to be a privilege rather than a right and the control of firearms in the UK are definitely one of the more closely monitored and toughest in the world.

As a direct result of these UK Gun Laws the amount of firearm offences make up less than 0.2% of recorded crime here in the United Kingdom.

The state considers any firearm as a dangerous weapon and, as such, has a duty to protect the public from its misuse - based on this duty to the British public the firearms licensing law was created.

What is meant by the term “firearm”.?

A firearm is a term given to a lethal barrelled weapon. That weapon can be of any description from which any shot, bullet or missile can be discharged.

* There is one small area where the firearms licensing law does not apply and that is air rifles or pistols. You can legally own an air rifle which has a muzzle energy of below 12 ft lbs or a pistol below 6 ft lbs without a FAC ( fire arms certificate )

Any air rifle above this will require licensing – A pistol above 6 ft lbs is completely prohibited.

see choosing an air rifle for preppers.

Who can legally own a firearm in the UK.?

Any member of the public can legally own a firearm in the UK provided they meet the requirements within the firearm licensing law.

A Firearm license gives permission to:

posses
purchase
acquire

That permission will only be granted to you, once fully assessed by the licensing authority, namely, the police, as [1] not posing a threat to public safety & [2] having good reason to own a firearm.

A typical ‘good reason’ would be target shooting club, museums or firearms dealer.

In order for the police to decide if you are fit to own a firearm they will carry out a number of specific checks on yourself and associates, as well as quite a few other ‘checks’ which will include interviews, a visit to your home, in depth criminal record searches as well as require references from friends.

Your GP may well be contacted as well.

Basically, anyone or anything that might give reason for the police to see you as unfit to own a firearm.

What is a ‘good reason’ to own a firearm.?

You must be legitimate in your application and be able to demonstrate a genuine reason for actually wanting to own a firearm.

Typical, legitimate reasons for owning a firearm on a regular basis may be:

work associated
sport
leisure
collecting
research

Each case is judged on its own merits and an individual basis

The cost of a firearms certificate.

A certificate is normally issued for 5 years but can vary for different firearms
Grant of Firearm or Shotgun Certificate ………………………. 50
Renewal of Firearm or Shotgun Certificate …………………….40
Registered Firearms Dealers – Grant or Renewal …………..150
Replacement of lost or stolen Shotgun Certificate……………… 8
Replacement of lost or stolen Firearm Certificate ………………9
Visitor permit ………………………………………………………12
Registered Firearms Dealer Grant for Game Fair etc. …………12

Common sense ownership in the UK.?

Many people get very confused when it comes to what you can or cannot legally own in the UK.

There are currently some 170,000 firearms licences and around 620,000 shotgun licences on issue here in the UK today.

The vast majority of these licence holders are quite legitimate and extremely responsible with the use of their firearms at work and for their leisure pursuits.

It’s only a very extremely small minority of individual cases where a legally held firearms is seen to be misused.

As a UK citizen you have a perfect right to own a firearm providing you prove yourself worthy of the Fire Arms Certificate – it’s a simple as that.

What firearms can you legally own in the UK.?

You’d probably be surprised how many and what type of firearms you can actually own.!

Take a look here and see what FIREARMS you can LEGALLY own in the UK.

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Airgun Laws UK

UK Prepper — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 13:29:55 +0000

Air Rifle & AirGun Law in the UK

What you can, and cannot do with an air rifle are very strictly laid down in the UK law. In 2011 the UK Laws on airguns were amended and are the current standard to work from.

As with most firearms the duty of care is very much on the gun owner and no one else.

If it’s your weapon then you need to make sure it safe, secure and unlikely to get into the hands of children as well as transporting it lawfully and using it safely.

Who can buy an air rifle.?

To purchase an air rifle or pistol you must be over 18 years of age and show a photo identity as proof of this.

You may also be asked, by some suppliers, for proof of address as well – you cannot buy on-line.

However, you can only freely buy an air rifle that has a muzzle energy of below 12 ft lbs or a pistol below 6 ft lbs – anything with a higher velocity than this will require a FAC ( Fire Arms Certificate ) – Air pistols that produce more than 6ft.lb are prohibited.

The FAC is not necessarily difficult to obtain but you will need to fulfill a very strict set of criteria and be inspected by your local police as to why you actually need a more high powered rifle in order to be granted permission to have one.

This process applies to all high velocity rifles in the UK including semi automatics and gauges up to .50 cal.

*this does not include Northern Ireland..

Your duty of care..

As the gun owner, you, and only you, are responsible for that weapon – and you must behave in the appropriate way and take all the necessary precautions to ensure you act in a common sense way that will not cause injury to anyone, including yourself…

Special attention should be given to storing your rifle or air pistol in a manner where it cannot be removed from its ‘safe store’. – this now means, you must keep any rifles or pistols in a sensible place – for example, not in a garage or outbuilding

Under the amended laws of February 2011, the Crime and Security Act 2010 now makes it an offence for a person in possession of an air gun (the gun owner) to fail to take “reasonable precautions” to prevent someone under the age of 18 from gaining unauthorised access to it.

*the obvious thing to do here is store your gun in a cabinet under lock and key – that way you are completely covered and within the law – however, for a sub 12 ft lb air rifle you do not necessarily need to do this – just reasonable precautions. This can mean out of sight and high up away from prying eyes and stored separately from any pellets.

Of course, if you own several air rifles I would very much suggest a gun cabinet at best or a securely locked cupboard.

Using an airgun

It is legal for any person over the age of 14 to shoot an airgun, unsupervised and on private land

Full permission to shoot has to be been given by the landowner.

Anyone under the age of 14 may also shoot an airgun but only if closely supervised by someone over 21 years of age. The supervising adult is legally responsible for the actions of the junior shooter.

You must have the full permission to shoot on any land – this includes your garden or on private land, or land that is owned or leased by any club or an individual owner.

*All pellets must remain within the boundaries of that land.

It is illegal to shoot an airgun on the following land:

common land
recreational land
playing fields
land that is covered by water e.g. ponds, lakes, canals and rivers *where you do not have the owners permission
closer than 50 ft [15mtrs] from the centre of any public highway
closer than 50 ft [15mtrs] from the centre of any bridal path or footpath

Transporting airguns

Anyone over 18 years of age can transport their air rifle or pistol, however, all air guns should be transported in a securely fastened case – this case must prevent the air gun from being fired.

Anyone between 14 and 18 years of age cannot transport an airgun – they must be accompanied and supervised by someone over 21.

*it is illegal to have an airgun, loaded or not, and whether in a secure case or not, in any public place without lawful authority to do so, or reasonable excuse.

If you keep to these basic rules you’ll be safe and within the law. But remember, the onus is very firmly on you, the gun owner.

Failing to comply with any of the above laws you risk potential penalties, which are extremely severe.

Please make it your priority to learn and understand these UK airgun laws as they apply to you and your shooting.

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DD Jungle Camping Hammock Review

UK Prepper — Fri, 13 Jun 2014 14:01:01 +0000

Camping Hammock Review

The decision between using a tent or hammock is a purely personal one.

But, in my opinion, once you have tried a hammock you’ll be hard pressed to want to sleep in a tent again.!

Modern hammocks are, without doubt, both comfortable and spacious.

If you have never tried a hammock or maybe tested one out many years ago you are in for a surprise – they are extremely comfortable, well made and roomy, offering a choice of left or right entry, although not many of the manufacturers are able to offer that ( the hammock I’m reviewing here does though,! )

You will also find a built in mosquito nets to keep you nice and bug free.

Modern technology and materials now mean you can get a high end hammock with all the trimmings in one, super lightweight carry bag.

You don’t need to carry around several bits of kit – a tent, fly sheet, poles and pegs, a mallet, a sleeping mat, a mossi net or a ground sheet – it’s all there in one lightweight carry bag – your survival hammock……

All good manufacturers consider the environment now, and the effect of someone setting up camp with a tent, even for a few days, will leave a footprint of dried and damaged soil and plants – using a hammock will completely eliminate that.

Hammock design has now taken that on board as well, ensuring the methods of securing your hammock to a tree are both safe and will not harm the bark of the tree at all.

Manufacturers supply purpose make tree slings that loop around the tree to secure the hammock, these are easily removed and will leave no trace on the tree.

This is an important point to consider when choosing your camping hammock – I have found that the good quality manufacturers take this seriously and produce quality equipment to go with their hammock system.

Choosing your hammock

There are several good points that favour a hammock over the conventional tent setup -

off the ground sleeping
a level bed
lightweight
compact

But, of course the downside has always been – what if your not in a forest and have no trees around you.?

Introducing the DD Jungle Camping Hammock

I have been looking for a system that can offer the best of both worlds – a tent, for hiking across open ground and a hammock for woods, and I think I have found the solution.

The

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00FWYKDNI/UK/ddreview-21/">DD Jungle Hammock. This hammock system offers you a comfortable conventional hammock as well as easily being used as a bivvy for setting up camp in the open fields.

I really like this hammock – it only weighs in at 1800 grams,

Weight breakdown:

Hammock + Whoopie Slings = 510g

Mosquito Net = 490g

Waterproof Layer = 370g

Poles = 210g

Tree Huggers, Karabiners, Elastic + Bag = 220g

that’s less than two bags of sugar!

The whole kit goes into the supplied custom waterproof carry bag that measures 42cm x 16cm x 16cm – that is tiny compared to carrying a tent, you also get a couple of straps to keep everything in place.

I found this size of carry bag easily fits onto a rucksack – mine is a 60ltr Mod and the width is perfect.

So how does it work and what makes this a good choice of camping hammock..?

Having tried a few hammocks back in the old days I was very surprised at how far technology has improved and this All New Modular Camping System from DD Hammocks. it really is the bees knees.!

I have divided it up into 3 main sections:

1. the main hammock - this include the lightweight tree suspension kit/slings – DD call these a “whoopie sling suspension kit”.

2. a removable mosquito net.

3. a custom waterproof tarp layer – this can be used in three ways – 1/ left off completely: 2/ below as a bivvy ground sheet: 3/ above the hammock as a compact rain/sun tarp.

* there are also full width “spreader poles” – these give the hammock width and give a very spacious sleeping area – you can leave these off if you want.

I tend to do very little ‘lightweight’ hiking as I prefer to have as many creature comforts with me as possible.! This means having a hammock that does everything right yet it is light and compact to carry is a big bonus for me – it means I can carry more luxuries.!!

Now I am not tall, measuring in as a British Standard Englishman of 5’8″ but the hammock has tons of room inside – enough for anyone upto 6’5″ and weighing 125kg [ that's nearly 20 stone ]

You also have some fiberglass poles that spring together and are fed through the mossi net which act as spreader bars – these make a huge difference to the width of the hammock and are a brilliant design.

Conclusions:

All in all it’s hard to fault this excellent bit of survival kit. If you’ve always fancied the idea of using a hammock instead of a tent then you won’t go far wrong in choosing this one.

DD Hammocks also make a variety of other hammocks to suit different survival and camping scenarios, but for pure quality and versatility I would go for the Jungle Hammock every time – theres also a DD Jungle Hammock with 2 Base Layers – this is identical to the standard jungle hammock but with an additional base layer for added insulation.

The

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00KGDZBI2/UK/ddreview-21/">2 Base Layer hammock adds weight in your pack, at just over the 2kg as opposed to the 1.8kg for the
DD Jungle Hammock - All New Modular Camping System
Current Price: £119.95
Prices are accurate as of 08/06/2014 at 12:53 PM.
" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00FWYKDNI/UK/ddreview-21/">Standard DD Jungle Hammock - but neither is better or worse than the other really, it’s just personal preference – lighter weight to carry or a bit more insulation – your choice really….

You can add to this hammock setup to make things even more comfortable, namely:

Theres also a rather nice 3m x 3m – Lightweight Tarp that goes over the whole hammock setup – with a purpose sown in ridge line.

It’s a super tough coated polyester with a good 3000PU water resistance and as you can see in the photo, has lots of solid attachment points so this will gives very usable dry ‘camp’ area below and around your hammock position.

It’s also perfect for a normal ground sheet or a basha for some low level stealth camping.

I think it’s priced very competitively at under £40 inc VAT & delivery, especially considering the quality and the added ridgeline fixings.

I hope you have enjoyed my Best Camping Hammock Review - Happy Prepping Folks..

“must have” preppers gear

DD Jungle Hammock - All New Modular Camping System

Current Price: £119.95

Price Disclaimer

DD Jungle Hammock - 2 Base Layers

Current Price: £129.95

Price Disclaimer

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Will you need Body Armour when SHTF

UK Prepper — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:29:25 +0000

Will you need Body Armour when SHTF

What levels of protective gear should a Survivalist Wear?

The survivalist lifestyle is one that includes extreme preparedness, precision and planning. With the unpredictability of the economy, the government and the world in general, there’s a lot that needs to be taken into consideration when such a lifestyle is taken on.

For many on the outside looking in, stockpiling may seem to be the primary focus of a survivalist.

This, however, couldn’t be further from the truth.

Survivalists and Preppers, of course, aim to ensure that their food supply is adequate, but they also put high priority on making sure that they are safe all round and can protect themselves in the case of an attack.

Many survivalists will stock up on weaponry of many kinds. This includes, but is not limited to, bows, guns, and knives. They take their target practice seriously as they know that in the case of a life threatening situation, mediocre skills won’t get them through

But what about the types of clothing needed to survive different threats?

This is something that you need to be very aware of and pay close attention to – proper assessment of any threats that may arise as well as the conditions and climate of the area need to be analysed in order to determine the best gear to wear in different high risk situations.

Example Situations:

Societal -Economic Collapse

When companies go bankrupt and the government’s attempts to keep the country in order, fails, citizens will be filled with fear trying to figure out what their next moves will be and how they will feed their families.

Adequate body armour may be the difference between survival and defeat.

In such a collapse it is quite certain that there will be chaos, resulting in protests, rampages and an all-out free for all.

Those who haven’t prepared for the downfall of the economy will turn to violence in order to acquire the essentials they need for them and their families.

Guns and other harmful weapons will be seen in more abundance.

Survivalists will want to ensure that if they are the targets, they are protected and can properly defend themselves.

Covert body armour will be the ideal choice in such a situation.

Survivalists will be able to wear covert protective gear underneath their regular clothing and maintain a level of concealability.

This, for the most part, will keep the survivalist out of the line of fire, as they won’t easily be identified as a target for the perpetrator but in the case that the survivalist is targeted then he/she will have just the protection needed to put up a good fight.

These are some of the various concealed clothing – protection level 3A

Executive (body armor - bulletproof) Bullet Proof Vest protection Level III-A (Sizes M-XL) Prices are accurate as of 08/06/2014 at 4:21 PM. " href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B008QMTW1C/UK/ukpreppersguide-21/">Executive (body armor – bulletproof) Bullet Proof Vest protection Level III-A (Sizes M-XL)	Concealable Bulletproof Vest Concealed Bullet Proof Body Armor Vest V.I.P. Protection Level 3A Size M Medium ballistic, kevlar, bullet resistant jacket Israel Defence Force Tested, made in Israel Current Price: £384.96 Prices are accurate as of 08/06/2014 at 4:21 PM. " href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B007BK66XM/UK/ukpreppersguide-21/">Concealable Bulletproof Vest Concealed Bullet Proof Body Armor Vest V.I.P. Protection Level 3A Size M Medium ballistic, kevlar, bullet resistant jacket Israel Defence Force Tested, made in Israel	Concealable Bulletproof (Body Armor) Vest Level 3-A, Color White, Sizes M-XXXXL (XXXXLarge) Current Price: £287.56 Prices are accurate as of 08/06/2014 at 4:21 PM. " href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B008R8KOLW/UK/ukpreppersguide-21/">Concealable Bulletproof (Body Armor) Vest Level 3-A, Color White, Sizes M-XXXXL (XXXXLarge)

Anthropogenic Disasters

Based on the way the world is running, with chemicals and radioactive materials being put in the hands of those with too much power and too little concern for the people, there’s no telling where things may lead one day.

Government oppression is also not ruled off the list for any country, be it the United Kingdom or the United States.

Whereas the bulk of society may push this thought to the back of their minds, survivalists ensure that in the case of an anthropogenic disaster, they’ve got all they need to have a fighting chance.

But what protective gear will suffice during government oppression?

If this disaster is one that has the government as its backbone then there’s no denying that they’ve got the weapons and the protection needed to stand tall and take charge.

Civilians will want to have their voices heard.

Protests and riots will line the streets and those who aren’t properly protected may meet their demise even before they have uttered that first word.

Having an overt Kevlar vest will prove to come in handy during such times.One of the main differences between overt and covert vests is the weight.

Overt vests are generally heavier and thus, aren’t recommended for cases where high levels of flexibility are imperative. However, in the case of a protest, or any situation where movement is constricted, and the level of threat is high, overt vests are the most viable option.

The fact that such instances will be common in the case of government oppression means that overt vests are the gear that needs to be at hand.

Bugging out?

Because you never know what or who you will face on your way out of the mainland and into the woods, body armour is a piece that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Bugging out calls for a lighter vest that’s comfortable to wear and easy on the skin. Due to the conditions that may be faced, water resistance and thus, Gore-Tex is an option that should be considered. In terms of an overall vest, survivalists should look at a covert vest, where cotton is incorporated for added comfort.

CoolMAX will also be effective as this material helps to cool the wearer down in high temperatures and keep him/her warm in cooler temperatures.

It is important to note that body armour comes in 6 different NIJ levels. [ I, II-A, II, III-A, III, IV ]

Higher levels carry a lot more weight than vests of lower levels and thus movement will be subjected to more restriction with higher levels.

For an all out attack, where ammunition such as 7.62 mm FMJ rounds may come into play, a level IV vest will offer the best protection – this level of armour is only available from hard body armor retailers like safeguardarmor.com.

These are overt vests and thus, concealability won’t be achieved when wearing them, however, the maximum protection is gained by wearing this type of body armour.

Covert and Overt vests are an option that should be carefully considered by survivalists and preppers alike – although not a cheap option, they will afford you the best level of protection – and, as always we must weigh up the perceived threat, the chances of you being part of that threat and the cost to you if you are not prepared for it.

For us preppers and survivalists who are looking for an effective means of protection, covert/overt vests can offer the best of both worlds.

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Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove Test and Review

UK Prepper — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 19:05:11 +0000

Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove Test and Review

One of the key factors when hiking and on the move is the weight of your survival gear – even an EDC bag can get a bit heavy when you try to cover all your survival needs.

Well, in this review I am covering one of the very lightest, fully functioning survival stoves you can get today.

The Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove from Bushcraft Essentials in Germany have produced a cooking stove that is a mere 2 1/4 oz in weight. [61 grams] – thats almost half the weight of an iPhone..!!!

The Bushbox Ultralight folds down to an amazing 1.5 mm thick, making this a super light, super compact quality stove.

Specifications:

Multi fuel stove
100% stainless spring steel 5 parts
Carry weight 61 grams
Carry thickness 1.5 mm
Optional ashtray
Optional cotton carry bag

In this review I will be covering how to assemble the UltraLight Stove in its various configurations depending on the fuel type and then firing it up and cooking up a survival meal.

Conclusions:

The only tricky bit about the Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove is assembling the stove – it will take you a few attempts to get the hang of how to hold the stove whilst squeezing and manipulating the parts together.

Maybe a half dozen attempts and you’re there..!

Other than that, you’re good to go – a perfect little stove, more than capable of performing all cooking tasks from a cup of water for your coffee stop to a main meal.

Everything fits and locks together perfectly and this makes it a sturdy little unit. Disassembly is really easy once one side is ‘unclipped’ the whole unit will come apart – very nice and very easy….

Price wise I think the Ultralight offers good value for your money, currently

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00JEG84AE/UK/ultralightreview-21/">under £30 +shipping from Amazon, you’re paying for quality and good design here, as well as a nice bit of lightweight kit.

Overall, I liked using this stove very much, it seems to be a very “user friendly” and I tend to choose carrying it with me when out for a days hiking and travelling light.

“must have” preppers gear

Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove

Current Price: £28.99

Price Disclaimer

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Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box Review

UK Prepper — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 12:20:43 +0000

Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box Review

Possibly one of the smallest micro stoves in the world..!

This is my review of the Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box – sometimes this size of cooking stove is referred to as either a micro stove, and EDC stove or a hobo cook stove, in effect they are all pretty much the same in so much as they are small, compact cooking stoves.

Quite how well they all work varies a lot, in fact, you can even make your own hobo stove very cheaply and it will work quite well – but, as I always say, you will benifit, in the long run run, by choosing a high quality stove over a cheaper or home made one any day….

Quality of manufacture will guarantee a long working life of your stove and, as preppers, having reliable, quality gear is an essential part of our prepping plan.

Never buy cheap.

Having tested and reviewed other stoves from BushBox Essentials – the Bushbox XL Combination and the Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Stove I was eager to test out the smallest cooking stove in their range,the Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box and below is my full review and video review:

Specifications:

100% stainless steel
Multi fuel burner
Ash Pan soil protection
Size: 47mm x 65mm
Only 77 grams
Fits in pocket or wallet

This tiny survival stove is supplied with a nice, well made pouch that allows you to keep all the parts together and then kept in your pocket or even in your wallet – being so compact and light it fits nicely along with a

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B0090YAS7C/UK/bushboxxlreview-21/">standard survival card or the " href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00CS2HPM4/UK/bushboxxlreview-21/">BE Survival-Card.

This is my full review and test of the Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box

Final thoughts:

This little stove has got to be the ultimate EDC cooking stove – it is quite amazing how good the engineering quality is and how compact it is – probably best of all is the fact that is actually works well. Being compact you must ensure it’s placed on a flat level base before trying to put a cup or pan on it and make sure the cup is balanced before letting go – use your multi tool pliers to feed the fuel in [much better than getting burnt] and, be patient, other than that, I can’t find fault with it at all..!

In use, it was much easier with the Esbit fuel tablet, which required a lot less attention than the wood fuel, and also left a lot less residue on the insides of the micro stove.

I have not spoken about price – for the quality of material and engineering the stove represents great value for money at under £17 +postage from Amazon

I keep mine in my wallet along with my

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00CS2HPM4/UK/bushboxxlreview-21/">BE Survival-Card, as you can see here -

click image to enlarge

Conclusions:

Pros -

Well worth the money for the high quality of stove.
very well engineered.
cleans easily being all stainless steel.
very compact, light and easy to carry.

Cons -

be patient.
best used on flat and level ground

“must have” preppers gear

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Best Value For Money Hunting Crossbow UK

UK Prepper — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 13:35:52 +0000

Best Value For Money Hunting Crossbow UK

This is the Virginia 150lb Hunting Crossbow and is fully suitable for hunting large and small game and represents one of the best value for money hunting crosbows in the UK today.

It has all the feature you want and certainly packs a punch.

The 150lb draw weight is a comfortable amount for most people and the rope clicks nicely into the trigger mechanism which is a good idea as it is then very safe when loading a bolt.

Once the bolt is in place it’s simply a matter of releasing the safety with your thumb and you’re good to go.

The Virginia Hunting Crossbow features 150Lbs draw weight which means your arrows can travel up to 210 FPS – making this crossbow more than capable of taking down big game.

Specifications::

Stock is a real wooden short stock
Powerful 150Lbs draw weight
Bolts will travel up to 210 FPS
Limb made from high tec fibreglass
Barrel Constructed of aluminium
Full auto safety cocking mechanism.

Another couple of plus points that puts this firmly into the best value for money crossbow in the UK is the build quality – using high tec materials and then adding a touch of traditional wood make this crossbow just look the part..!

It’s light, at only 2.5kg and quite compact [34" x 26"] and takes standard 16″ bolts – these will give an accuracy range of about 100mtrs.

All in all, a great, high quality entry level crossbow that’s affordable and designed to look good and last.

Highly Recommended…

also see: Crossbow Laws Uk

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Crossbow Laws UK

UK Prepper — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 13:10:39 +0000

Do you know the Crossbow Laws in the UK.?

As a prepper it is important to have a variety of good hunting tools at your disposal.

One of the very best is the crossbow – a silent, accurate and deadly hunting weapon that is well worth considering as a ‘must have’ bit of survival kit.

However, as preppers, we have a duty to ensure we all act within the laws of the United Kingdom and make sure your safety and the safety of others is never ever compromised.

Failing to comply to the Crossbow Laws in the UK will result in serious consequences – namely, imprisonment if you’re stupid enough to think you can go outside of these laws.

What does the law say:

Crossbows Act 1987

1987 CHAPTER 32

An Act to create offences relating to the sale and letting on hire of crossbows to, and the purchase, hiring and possession of crossbows by, persons under the age of seventeen; and for connected purposes.

[15th May 1987]

1; Sale and letting on hire.

A person who sells or lets on hire a crossbow or a part of a crossbow to a person under the age of eightteen is guilty of an offence, unless he believes him to be seventeen years of age or older and has reasonable ground for the belief.

2; Purchase and hiring.

A person under the age of eightteen who buys or hires a crossbow or a part of a crossbow is guilty of an offence.

3; Possession.

A person under the age of eightteen who has with him—

(a) a crossbow which is capable of discharging a missile, or

(b) parts of a crossbow which together (and without any other parts) can be assembled to form a crossbow capable of discharging a missile,

is guilty of an offence, unless he is under the supervision of a person who is twenty-one years of age or older.

4; Powers of search and seizure etc.

(1) If a constable suspects with reasonable cause that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 3, the constable may—

(a) search that person for a crossbow or part of a crossbow;

(b) search any vehicle, or anything in or on a vehicle, in or on which the constable suspects with reasonable cause there is a crossbow, or part of a crossbow, connected with the offence.

(2) A constable may detain a person or vehicle for the purpose of a search under subsection (1).

(3) A constable may seize and retain for the purpose of proceedings for an offence under this Act anything discovered by him in the course of a search under subsection (1) which appears to him to be a crossbow or part of a crossbow.

(4) For the purpose of exercising the powers conferred by this section a constable may enter any land other than a dwelling-house.

5; Exception.

This Act does not apply to crossbows with a draw weight of less than 1.4 kilograms.

So, in a nutshell, the above official government laws mean……

Section 1 – (The Sale): It is considered an offence for any person to sell or let on hire a crossbow or part/parts of a crossbow to a person under the age of 18.

Section 2 – (The Purchase): It is considered an offence for any person under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow, or hire a crossbow or part/parts of a crossbow.

Section 3 – (The Possession): It is considered an offence for any person under the age of 18 to have on his/her person, a crossbow which is capable of firing and discharging a missile, or to have parts of a crossbow which together can be assembled to form a crossbow which is capable of firing and discharging a missile.

Remember – Hunting, in general, is illegal in the UK and a crossbow can only be used on private land with the owners permission.

The crossbow itself cannot be carried in public and a common sense approach should be adopted when transporting a crossbow.

It is not illegal to own a crossbow, however, you can only use target points – broadhead bolts are illegal.

Finally – a crossbow is a powerful, lethal weapon and, as such, should be treated with a planned, common sense approach and be given the respect it deserves as a lethal weapon – always use safe practices at all times and ensure you have ample space beyond your target.

Best, value for money, 150lb Hunting Crossbow;

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Bugging Out to a Foreign Country

UK Prepper — Mon, 12 May 2014 12:43:22 +0000

Ever thought of Bugging Out to a Foreign Country..?

Some People prepare their Bug Out Locations close to their home or they try to make their house a fortress.

Others prefer places where hardly anyone is living: In the dessert, in the mountains, or in the forest.

Most of the places that preppers are calling a Bug Out Location, however, do not provide unlimited shelter and at the same time unlimited food.

I have found somewhere quite different.

This bug out location is part of a huge farm, Finca Bayano in Panama, in a very sparsely populated area, you wont need to eat canned food, full of chemicals, that stays fresh until 2030.

Instead there are fresh papayas and fresh bananas. Even if others would steal all the food, you would still be able to survive, because fresh food is growing every day.

They don’t dig shelters that have no sunlight, and won’t built fortresses, that can be beleaguered.

Instead they keep good relations with our Panamanian neighbors. By assisting the villagers in a water project and some are working at Finca Bayano.

This is how they are preparing for an uncertain future.

No one can anticipate the day when major supply disruptions will occur, how long disorder might take, and of what degree the breakdown could be.

Some people believe, that after three months it’s back to normal, but it may take three years, or even more. The collapse, as we are expecting it, might not be over when food and water run out, or when there is no more wood for a fire.

It might take much longer, and maybe life won’t be the same it was before. What most people do not know, is that their land cannot produce enough food to survive without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Back to normal might not be impossible – but this place is different….

So why not prepare in a place which can provide food for everyone that lives there?

Take a look at their website and what they offer – it’s worth considering……

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Edible insects UK

UK Prepper — Fri, 09 May 2014 12:22:41 +0000

Edible Insects UK

Can you really eat insects and bugs?

Yes, of course you can, alive or dead, but there’s always that risk of getting something quite nasty as a result.

In this review I want to show you a way you can try a whole selection of insects and bugs that you wouldn’t normally think of eating.

Kindly donated by BugGrub, I shall go through a good selection from simple worms to some nice juicy scorpions.!

These are my samples for this review:

Bamboo Worms
Grasshoppers
Giant Waterbug
Superworms
Armour Tail Scorpions
Mealworms
Mole Crickets
Small Crickets
Scorpions
Silkworm Pupae
Bug Kebab

click image to enlarge

When we think of insects and bugs as food, we normally think of someone like Bear Grylls, chomping away on a big fat maggot or some other crunchy critter and think “I’d like to try that”….

As well as insects being possible life savers in a survival situation, they are also surprisingly nutritious, with a simple grasshopper having some 30g protein per 100grams.

Edible insects in the UK are quite rare and finding a good selection of safe edible insects and bug food, even rarer.

So I have jumped at this opportunity to test out and review this great selection and this is my review video:

Edible insects Uk – test & review

So, as you can see, a great selection of bugs and insects, perfectly prepared and packaged, making a great high protein snack at any time.

They look good and really do taste good – especially the chocolate covered scorpion.!

My final verdict – get yourself over to BugGrub and order some, their grrrrrreat… Don’t forget to enter my FREE PRIZE DRAW for a Bushtucker Bug Fest Banquet

1st prize – win a 7 piece bug banquet

2nd prize – win a 5 piece bug banquet

3rd prize – win a 3 piece bug banquet

find out more here – Bug Fest Competition

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Bushtucker Bug Banquet BugFest – May Prize Draw

UK Prepper — Mon, 05 May 2014 09:02:33 +0000

Welcome to our FREE PRIZE DRAW for May – NOW ENDED

enter for a chance to win one of three top prizes of Bush Tucker Bug Banquets.

Kindly donated by our friends over at BugGrub.com

to see the all the bugs on offer – see my full edible bug review

The Bug Grub Contest has now finished - congratulations to prize draw winners:

1st prize: 7 piece Bush Tucker Banquet - Dave Howells
2nd prize: 5 piece Bush Tucker Banquet – Kev Bowser
3rd prize: 3 piece Bush Tucker Banquet - Carla Knight

A big thank you to all those who entered and watch out for our next free draw contest.

*Prizewinners will be notified by Email on 2nd June 2014 and receive their prize completely free of any charges.

Prizes: 1st place – 7 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

Prizes: 2nd place – 5 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

Prizes: 3rd place – 3 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

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Best Legal Folding Pocket Knife for UK Survival

UK Prepper — Sat, 03 May 2014 19:13:07 +0000

Best Folding Pocket Knife Reviews and Comparison Guide

A pocket knife is one of the very few knives you are legally allowed to carry in the UK. As we all know, our knife laws are very strict and if you are caught carrying an illegal knife you could be looking at some serious repercussions.

If you are in any way in doubt, I suggest a quick trip to https://www.gov.uk/find-out-if-i-can-buy-or-carry-a-knife to see what the law says.

I would also like to add that the legalities of carrying a knife of any sort depends on the circumstances and the type of knife – a folding, NON-LOCKABLE, pocket knife is one of the few legal weapons you can carry around – but you would be setting yourself up for big problems carrying one into a football match or to a concert, if you got stopped – well, you see what I mean, depends on - ‘The Circumstances’…

What is constitutes a folding pocket knife.

knife with a folding blade that is fully enclosed when folded/closed
below 3 inches long (7.62 cm)
non lockable

And thats it..! The blade must not be fixed and can any be opened by actually folding the blade out – a flick knife style blade that shoots out is not folding..

So, for the purpose of this comparison guide I have concentrated on LEGAL pocket knives for the UK only.

So what makes the Best Folding Pocket Knife for Survival here in the UK.?

Blade is locked in position when closed
High quality blade material
Very light weight
One hand operation to open blade
Belt, pocket clip or own pouch

This superb, non locking, classic traditional design Steel & cherry wood handle folding pocket knife, shown above is typical of a quality folding pocket knife that is perfectly UK legal.

But, what is the right knife for you?

Ask yourself this question – “what do I want to use my pocket knife for?”

If its sole purpose is for opening the odd parcel or difficult envelope then just about any will do – even a cheap one, Blunt or sharp, it won’t make much difference!

However, survival is a different thing altogether and if you will be using it for survival purposes then you you need to consider what these are.

EDC, hunting, skinning, cooking and even self defence. These are all considerations when choosing a new folding pocket knife.

Avoid buying cheap.

Never be tempted to buy a knife because its cheap – but fortunately, folding pocket knives are relatively inexpensive, in fact a quality ‘hand made’ knife, using high end materials will only set you back between £35 – £75

Below you can see a typical Handmade Damascus Folding knife with a Stag Antler handle and costs around £45 – that pretty good for a handmade knife if you ask me..!

Be aware theres a lot of inferior steel and crappy alloy out there that the foreign manufacturers make many goods from – the result is a knife thats next to useless in any survival situation – a good, tried and tested manufacturer has a reputation to keep any would never produce an inferior blade.

Some knife have the manufacturers stamp on them allowing you to return any knife that your not happy with or even return it for repair or restoration – a trusted brand is something to always go with.

Below is a comparison guide to some of the Best Folding Pocket Knife for the UK.

all the knives below are UK Legal and within the UK Law to carry in public

Within the columns you can choose from:

type of survival knife
cost comparison in ££’s
blade & knife length guide
knife weight
survival rating

There are many survival knives to choose from, but below I have listed my favourites -

*use the column arrows within the headers to help you choose from blade lengths, weight, price etc…….

Description	Price £££	Blade Length inches	Closed Length inches	Score
Nieto Pocket Knife With Ironwood Handle - Handle Length 10.2 cm	18	2.75	4	8.5
Custom made All Damascus Pocket Knife Damascus & Stag handle -By Koobi- For camping and Bushcraft	45	3	3.5	9.5
Outstanding Value - Handmade Damascus Folding Knife - For camping and Bushcraft - Legal to Carry	45	3	3.5	9
MASSIVE SALE! Custom made Damascus folding knife - 'legal' size. Don't Miss them!	35	2.75	4	8.5
Outstanding value -Handmade Pocket Knife Damascus Steel - Legal to Carry	50	3	3.5	8
Small pocket key ring fit UK legal non locking blade .Steel & cherry wood handle camping or kitchen folding pocket knife.Closed L = 8.5cm. Blade 6.7cm	20	2.5	3.4	8.5
Handmade Damascus Folding knife -Stag Antler- Legal to carry - Work of Art for camping & Bushcraft	45	3	4	9
SANRENMU AO-H02 ORANGE FOLDING BUSHCRAFT SURVIVAL KNIFE WITH LANYARD HOLE UK LEGAL STAINLESS STEEL BLADE	15	2.7	3.6	8
Traditional Lambsfoot Knife UK Legal Carry	10	2.5	3	8
Joker Folding Knife Bocote NB87	35	3	3.5	9
Outstanding - Handcrafted Smaller Bushcraft Knife - Buffalo HornHandle	50	3	3.5	9.5
Small non locking UK legal cherry wood handle fruit preparation or small jobs knife .Easy fits to key ring car keys ect. Weight 34g. 57HRC	20	2	3	8.5
Beautiful folding pocket knife - 'legal' length - Damascus steel	30	3	3.5	9
Pocket Knife - Lambfoot 18	25	3	4	8.5
GDC Tech Skin Pocket Knife	20	3	3.5	8.5
SALE - Beautiful folding bushcraft knife - Damascus steel! Only a few! Legal carry! BARGAIN!	40	3	4	9

For more reviews on other survival knives, please see the selection below:

	Legal weapons UK	- what weapons are legal here in the UK
	Weapons for self defence UK	- legal to own weapons and more
	How to choose the Best survival Knife	- what you need to know about survival knives
	Best Survival Knife Guide UK	- comparison guide for choosing a survival knife
	Best Folding Pocket knife Guide	- reviews and comparison guide


Survival Knife Reviews	Gerber LMF II Infantry	Gerber Warrant Tanto Fixed Blade Knife
	Mora Heavy Duty Carbon Steel	Buk Survival – Carbon 5160 – Punk
	White Hunter Damascus Blade	Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Pro
	Bear Grylls Ultimate Fine Edge

I hope you have enjoyed our Best Folding Pocket Knife Reviews and Comparison Guide and it has helped you in your pocket knife decision. Please leave any comments below. Thanks.

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The Wilderness Gathering, a festival of Bushcraft

UK Prepper — Thu, 01 May 2014 19:55:24 +0000

THE TWELFTH WILDERNESS GATHERING - 14^th to 17^th August 2014

It seems such a few short years ago that the first Wilderness Gathering took place at The Bison Centre, West Knoyle in Wiltshire back in 2003. However you can see by the years that this year will in fact be the twelfth Gathering!

Those years have seen this event grow from a small event in one field with some traders and schools sharing Bushcraft skills and knowledge to a festival of wilderness living skills encompassing Bushcraft/survival and woodland crafts.

The show has grown into an event with something for all the family with stories and music by the campfire in the evenings and skills workshops and activities throughout the three whole days of the festival.

The Wilderness Gathering has, without a doubt, become the premier family event for all those interested in Bushcraft and the great outdoors.

The show has Bushcraft clubs for all age groups of children to get involved in plus more activities for all including den building and wilderness skills classes for all ages. There are hands on demonstrations of game preparation, knife sharpening, basha boat building, archery and axe throwing and primitive fire lighting to name just a few. All of these skills are there for everybody and anybody to participate in.

There is a wealth of good quality trade stands that are carefully selected to be in theme for the show selling everything from custom knives to tipis and outdoor clothing to primitive tools. The organisers have even laid on a free service of a bring and buy stall where you can bring along your used and unwanted kit and they’ll sell it for you.

There are local scout and explorer groups onsite promoting the Worldwide Scouting Movement as well helping out with some of the classes and site logistics.

The catering is within the theme of the event with venison and game featuring on the menus plus organic cakes and drinks. The woodland and open field camping facilities (with hot showers) giving you the option to visit for the whole weekend or just to attend as a day visitor.

Check out www.wildernessgathering.co.uk or call 0845 8387062 you really won’t regret it.

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UK Legal Pepper Spray for self defence

UK Prepper — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 17:03:15 +0000

The alternative UK Pepper Spray for Survival Defence

UK laws regarding self defence are very strict, and for any normal member of the public this can be a problem – as a prepper it presents its own problems especially if SHTF.

The choice of weapons to defend yourself, your family and your preps is very limited and controlled by the strict UK laws and rightly so.

You cannot walk around with a 10″ machete strapped to your back, a handgun or any other weapon for that matter, even if you say it’s just for self defence.

A weapon is a weapon, as simple as that, if you carry one then the intention must be there that you would use one – resulting in varying injury levels to an attacker, even death.

So when it comes to the question of preparing and defending yourself the choice of “weapon” is not so easy.

In the UK it is very much against the law to even hold and point a knife at some, would be looter, and even worse to actually use it.

Additionally, the crime rate in the UK remains a problem – theft, break-ins and mugging are still commonplace, especially in our cities.

So, when you add to that to the fact that we cannot legally carry a weapon to defend ourselves, we are constantly having to look for an alternative method of protection for ourselves, our children and the family.

Possibly the most effective, non lethal, weapon that would deter a would be looter is ‘pepper spray‘ –

unfortunately this is also classed as an offensive, and thus illegal, weapon.

The law is very specific, and is laid out in Section 5(1) (b) of the firearms act 1968.

This act prohibits any weapon of any description, designed or adapted for the discharge of any noxious liquid, gas or other substance.

In a nutshell the law is saying that full on pepper spray, the type the UK police use [ as seen in the photo on the right ] that contains a noxious gas is one of those items that is considered illegal to carry and illegal to use in the UK by civilians and preppers alike.

So what are the alternatives to pepper spray for members of the public…?

The only LEGAL ALTERNATIVE that the public or UK preppers have at their disposal and is the equivalent to Pepper Spray in the UK for self defence is the Mini Self Defence Spray Criminal Identifier

Can be carried by any adult for personal protection
Discreet and compact
This is a non lethal defence spray
Contains no chemicals or toxins
Spray range 4 mtrs
Highly effective, giving time to escape

The Spray Container is very discreet and measures in at only 85 x 34 mm yet packs a punch that will stop a mugger in his tracks.

If sprayed at face level it will completely disorientated the attacker – with the natural instinct for him to back off – if sprayed at the yes it also cause blurred vision, making an attack even more difficult.

Having tested this on myself, I can assure you it was not possible to do anything other than try to protect myself and my face from the spray. (see video below)

Also, the natural instinct is to try and wipe it off – this only makes thing worse.!

Can you image the panic factor you put into the attacker when he looks down at his blood red hands after you have sprayed him..!? He will have no idea what has just happened and be more scared and ready to run off, than you !

This Farb Gel remains on the attackers skin and clothing for up to 7 days – making the police very aware if a potential attack has taken place. Value for money, this is a ‘must have’ self defence method for everyone, especially at the silly price of under £10 + VAT & Delivery from Amazon.

Do you even need a method of self defence in the UK.?

In the UK statistics show that crime against adults [16 and over] has decreased. In fact crime in the UK is at an all time low and continues to fall.

From its peak in 1996 to 2013 it has steadily fallen each year.

So is everything OK then.?

Well, yes and no –

Yes, in so much as it’s good that the crime rates are falling and things are getting safer.

No, when you look at the actual figures and the amount of crime still reported.

Latest figures and statistics from the governments own information website, The Office of National Statistics, quotes that in the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) there is an estimated 8.5 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults (aged 16 and over).

The study is for England and Wales during the year ending June 2013. The good news is that this figure actually represents a 7% decrease compared with the previous year’s survey. But 8.5 million incidents..!!

That an awful lot if you ask me.

As a member of the public, I do not want to be one of those statistics, thank you very much…..

And again, as a UK Prepper, being prepared is what it’s all about and whenever I go out I always carry and EDC plus my survival keyring kit AND my Defence Spray – it just makes sense..

See my personal video of the Pepper Spray UK Alternative in action

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWGr0qUSKg

The spray has been designed to meet all UK legal requirements and is totally legal to carry here – any member of the public who has concerns about safety for themselves or their family should definitely consider purchasing and carrying one of these sprays.

The good thing is the red coloured gel remains on the attacker for upto a week after, making them instantly recognizable as a potential threat again.

I like this Pepper Spray UK Alternative very much and have invested in several for my family - not only are they cheap and effective, they are also completely legal to carry.

You can buy the spray with a neat belt pouch for a couple of pounds extra – I found this very handy as it will clip onto a 2″ belt quite easily, as well as onto a ladies handbag where it it readily accessible if you need it – I then just bought the spray on its own as a backup.

TIW FARB gel self defence spray with belt pouch

Price Disclaimer

TIW Mini Self Defence Spray Criminal Identifier

List Price: £14.99

Current Price: £10.09

Price Disclaimer

Also see:

UK Legal Pepper Spray Alternatives for Women

Personal Attack Alarms for Women

Alternative Non Lethal Self Defence Method against an attacker

I have found out a couple of legal points regarding the Farb Gel Spray – please read before you buy:

This spray is only legal in UK mainland and wont be shipped outside of the UK mainland
There are some concerns as to whether it is legal to ‘use’ in Northern Ireland.- you can own the spray but you may possibly be breaking the Northern Ireland laws if you actually use it .

Generally as an Alternative UK Legal Pepper Spray for self defence this product ticks all the boxes and is something to consider for all the family, especially as it is effective and easy to use.

But, the best of all, it works AND it’s very cheap…

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Lighting EVER CREE LED Torches, Super Bright, Adjustable Focus Review

UK Prepper — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 11:04:51 +0000

Lighting EVER CREE LED Torches, Super Bright, Adjustable Focus Review

This is a quick review on the Lighting Ever Cree LED Torch -

I have decided to review this torch due to its amazing popularity with preppers. You only have to Checkout the 5 star reviews over on Amazon to see what I mean,

It is not a full on tactical torch with all the added features, however, as a everyday carry and support torch it really does tick all the boxes, and keeps up with many LED Torches that sell for a lot more money.

It appears to be designed as a sturdy, light weight (95 grms), palm torch for everyday use.

This LED torch offers amazing value for money – in fact I don’t think you can buy better for the price.

The torch itself is very compact considering what you you get – at 109mm long it take 3 AAA batteries within the body section. It’s nice and chunky as well with a 34mm diameter body and fits snugly into your hand as you can see here.

I have found the battery life to reasonable when I had ‘normal’ bateries fitted – they were the

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B004NT888A/UK/creeledever-21/?cart=yes">Duracell Plus Power AAA Batteries – and with everyday usage for about 20 minutes whilst locking up a site, the torch never lost brightness and lasted for 4 weeks.

I have since changed to the

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B003B00484/UK/creeledever-21/?cart=yes">Duracell Rechargeable Accu HR03 750 mAh AAA Batteries – 4-Pack and these perform much better – not only that, the saving is greater – so well worth changing right from the start.

I actually always carry a spare set of fully charged batteries in my EDC pack anyway.

Lighting Ever Cree LED Torch Specifications: (from Cree)

Output is upto 140 Lms
Heavy duty aluminium casing
Scratch & Fade resistant
Shockproof
Vibration proof
White Light LED
Adjustable beam focus
Beam distance upto 150mtrs
Lanyard strap
LED life 30,000 hrs

My testing and findings:

Firstly, this is a very good mid sized LED Torch – In fact it is now a permanent addition to my gear along with my Klarus ST11 Tactical ( see review here ) – to date, I have had no problems with it, in fact, performance is as good as ever.

The ease of use is very good with the main on/off button at the very end of the torch, making one handed operation easy – which is something I like, especially when the torch is around my wrist on the lanyard. You can simply flick the torch up in to your hand its ready for operation with your thumb.

It’s a straightforward on/off, one click operation.

I found the claim of beam length of 150mtrs a bit high – in fact it is more like 100 mtrs for a usable amount of light, although it will reach the 150 mtr mark, that really only applies to high reflective surfaces – but for this type of torch, 100mtrs is more than acceptable.

You can adjust the beam focus very easily, again with one hand, which then gives a very nice and smooth transition from beam to spot, by using the front bezel and sliding it forward or back to suit the beam focus you require.

This feature is ideal and it works very well for me over an average distance of 10 mtrs where I are able to spot focus on an object or light the room up.

Conclusions:

There are very few LED torches of this quality for the price of under £10 (currently £9.99 +postage on Amazon), so that make this the bargain of the year if you ask me..

So, I only really have one conclusion about the Lighting EVER CREE LED Torch, and that’s, buy one now before Cree come to there senses and put the price up..!!!

Lighting EVER CREE LED Torches, Super Bright, Adjustable Focus

List Price: £9.99

Current Price: £9.99

Price Disclaimer

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Magnum Stealth Force 8 Boots – personal view

UK Prepper — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 20:26:11 +0000

Magnum Stealth Force 8 Boots – personal view

Well, I’ve just collected a lovely new pair of boots from Magnum this afternoon.

I’ve been looking at these Force 8′s boots for some time now as the need for a new pair of multi purpose boots was well overdue.

Straight Out of the Box:

The first thing I noticed was the weight, or rather lack of it. Weighing in at just under 760 grams per boot these are less than half the weight of my current steel toe plated work boots.

With the added bonus of the side zip for quick donning and doffing.

Now I have been fairly sceptical of the side zip as I am a professional at breaking zips and laces do to my preference of a tight fit, so will the they be strong enough to withstand the abuse, find out further in the review.

No more steel toe cap

The traditional steel toe cap and sole plate has been replaced with a much lighter composite plastic however this doesn’t sacrifice any protection and still comes with the EN 20345 rating for safety footwear with SRC slip resistance.

Its also scanner safe so no embarrassing moments at the airport.

So if your favourite past time is stepping on broken glass, nails or dropping a fridge on your foot then these are definitely the boot for you.

Another thing that catches the eye is the ribbed section between the heel and ball of the boot, these show the military origins of this boot and are for braking whilst fast roping down a building or from a helicopter, not something many of us will do on a daily basis but perfect for military service personnel.

The ribbed area will also protect the side of your boot from wear due to friction.

A slight disappointment is the removal of the lace storage on the upper tongue which I felt was a brilliant addition to past Magnum tactical boots. Back to tucking them in but this really is me being overly picky, also no hoop on the rear ankle section of the boot to assist in pulling the boot on which I’m a great fan of.

The heel plate on the rear of the boot is extended in height to prevent damage due to lazy doffing, ie non handed boot removal and Magnum have even stitched a hard leather kick plate to assist in this method.

As far as the tread goes there’s certainly plenty of it.

Lack of grip is not something you would normally associate a Magnum boot with so good to see there’s no change here, still looking as grippy as ever with the oil resistant and anti slip properties seen on previous boots but more on the grip once I’ve got them on and gone for a hike and put them through their paces in an Airsoft game.

Although this is marketed as a safety/tactical boot the leather is soft and supple excluding the toe cap for obvious reasons but its flexible yet strong at the same time.

Now I’ve laced them how I like them with is pretty much as tight as I can get them I can report that these have to be the most comfortable safety boots I’ve ever worn…

The neck of the boot slopes away at the rear of the boot removing the usual chafing I’m used to on a tactical boot, nice touch. Nice padding around the ankle making these supremely comfortable.

Its great knowing I don’t have lace these up each time I put them on which brings me to a small but pleasing find. The laces are not smooth and are more rough and strong meaning when you pull them tight through each of the lace holes it does not immediately slacken off which really irritates me.

The side zip is great if you need to be on the move in an instant.
Foot in, pull the zip up and you’re ready for action.

All in all on first inspections this really does ooze quality and comfort coupled with the knowledge that should I unwittingly step on a nail, or drop something on my foot, my first thought would be if I’d scuffed them instead of heading for A&E.

I’ll be using these at work in a warehouse, as well as the office, and I’ll also put these through their paces at an Airsoft game and see how they work as a proper tactical boot crossing tricky terrain, climbing through windows and crawling through a ditch to see how well they fare there.

Well after a great days Airsoft courtesy of Airsoft Plantation in Essex I can let you all know that these boots really are fantastic. To say it was wet and muddy was an understatement as you can see from the video review.

As far as the waterproofing goes there is no need to worry, not one drop entered the boot despite being up to above the ankle in water, other than user error ie misjudging the depth of a puddle, serious Vicar of Dibley moment there although luckily not caught on camera.

Support is top notch and really inspired confidence in jumping over ditches, climbing muddy slopes and crossing tricky terrain. You really feel like you can do anything and these boots will take care of you.

Comfort was something I thought may have been compromised due to the safety orientated style of boot however I’m happy to say they far exceeded expectations, they are genuinely brilliant, also my feet always felt warm but never sweaty.

For the safety side I did test the composite plastic toe caps quite a bit in the warehouse and can safely say there are no problems there, even from a washing machine being dropped on them.

These boots did require a bit of breaking in however nothing major, no blisters or sore feet. I’d go as far as saying they were very comfy straight out of the box and just kept getting better and better each day I wore them.

These definitely are a great pair of boots and should be part of your kit, they aren’t cheap but they are also not the most expensive. You only get one pair of feet so look after them.

Also see the video review here

Also see customer reviews on Amazon here

Magnum Unisex Adult Stealth Force 8.0 Leather Ct/cp-sz Boot

Price Disclaimer

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Magnum Stealth Force 8 CT CP SZ Waterproof Boots

UK Prepper — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 13:02:57 +0000

Magnum Stealth Force 8 CT CP SZ Waterproof Boots

In this review I am testing a pair of Stealth Force 8 boots from Magnum. They are the side zip version of these boots and feature the cleaver YKK side zipper – Magnum also make these in a non zipped boot.

In this review I take the boots through a full test, especially testing out their waterproof qualities.

The slip on – slip off, feature is something I like about these boots, and it really does save you time and effect.

Technical Stuff

This is pretty much straight from the Magnum website - as they know how the boot is really made..!

Available in UK size 4 – 13
YKK circular side-zip for quick donning and doffing
Natural Leather upper section – coated with water repellent surface enhancement
Protective composite toecap
Protective sole plate
Comfortable suede ankle collar
High traction oil resistant carbon rubber sole
M-P.A.C.T Memory foam insole
Scanner safe hardware
Tested and certified to European Standard EN 20345
Agion antibacterial treated

Non technical stuff – Just my opinion…..

These Stealth Force 8′s side zips are, without doubt, a very stylish, good looking, tactical boot. There styling means they will look good in the field and walking down the street.

Considering they are a full on safety boot, they are very well styled, and look, every part, a tactical boot. They weigh in as one of the heavier boot that Magnum produce, however, that little bit of extra weight, and I am only talking a few grams, is hardly noticeable and they still weigh in at a mere 760 grms. – thats next to nothing.

In my video test and review they are taken through their paces, although the video action is only a few minutes, the boots were used all day.

As you will see they performed very well – I could not find any faults with the boots and they definitely live up to Magnums promises - If I had to be really picky, there are two additions I would like to see on these boots – a pull loop to help when putting on and a lace store to clip the ends of your laces – but thats just me being very picky.

Pricing and availability information for the Magnum Stealth Force 8, with Side Zip – find it here >

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B003Y5J3II/UK/magnumboots-21/"> Stealth Force 8.0

Checkout my selections from the full range of other Magnum Boots right here – Magnum Boot Range

Want to see the full technical review and the field test.? – take a look at my video and see what happens.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq6UYsVgBmg

In conclusion -

Do they work in the field.?

As you have seen in the video – the answer is definitely a great big yes – I couldn’t fault their performance in any way. Totally waterproof, comfortable and a pleasure to wear.

Overall, a great pair of tactical ‘safety’ boots – highly recommended.

Magnum Unisex Adult Stealth Force 8.0 Leather Ct/cp-sz Boot

Price Disclaimer

Read the independent views on the Magnum Stealth Force Boots – and here lots more information on how they performed by the personal review from Dave the ‘boots test pilot’.

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Hi Tec Altitude V I WP Hiking Boots – Test and Review

UK Prepper — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 17:40:00 +0000

Hi Tec Altitude VI WP Hiking Boots – Test and Review

Click all images for larger view

This review is for the all new Hi-Tec Altitude VI WP hiking boots [2014].

These boots are the latest addition to the, already superb, Altitude range, and very first thing you notice about these boots is they have a feel of traditional quality.

They look every part a truly traditional hiking boot with some very good double stitching leather to every seam – the all natural leather upper panels are fitted together perfectly.

I particularly like the style of the cow branding etched into the rear of the boots.

The lacing eyelets are a kind of gun metal, riveted into the boot and really set the boot off – the top two eyelets being open style which I like a lot, making life easier when donning and doffing your boot.

See the full Hi-Tec Altitude Range here

Technical specification of the boots:

Fully waterproof leather upper
Ortholite footbed – gives you better comfort
CMEVA midsole – gives added cushioning
All rubber outsole – for durability and added traction

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UK Non Lethal Self Defence Weapon – LED Strobe Torch

UK Prepper — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 13:34:47 +0000

UK Non Lethal Self Defence Weapon

LED Strobe Torch

With the UK laws being so strict on the possession of weapons and the carrying of weapons, it makes life very difficult to defend against, would be attackers.

You are breaking the UK law if you are stopped and searched, and found to be carrying an offensive weapon.

However, there are a few reasonable steps you can take to ensure you have a chance of preventing an attack from happening – these are all legal, non lethal and designed to give you the precious few seconds to make an escape without the attacker pursuing you.

In previous articles I cover the UK alternative to a Legal Pepper Spray and also Self Defence for Preppers, however, in this article I shall be reviewing another very good alternative UK non lethal self defence weapon.

The LED Strobe Torch.

A torch, in itself, is generally not considered an offensive weapon. It has a very obvious use and carrying one, especially at night, is considered, by the police to be a sensible idea.

*if the torch is modified, IN ANY WAY, to become an actual self defence weapon. Then that is definitely against the current UK weapons laws – so don’t even think of it..!

How can an LED Torch be an effective Self Defence Weapon.

I am not talking a piddly little low powered torch. The type you would get from you local garage – I am referring to a proper quality LED Tactical Torch that offers the features needed to be effective.

Review of the Klarus XT11 Tactical LED Torch

The XT11 is an ideal tactical torch for us preppers, and as a non lethal self defence weapon, it is perfectly legal to carry around here in the UK, 99.999% of the time it is exactly what it’s supposed to be – a torch..!

But the XT11 has added features that make it a good self defence weapon if ever needed.

How can a torch help defend against an attack..?

With the Klarus XT11 the first thing to bear in mind is that it’s made of metal – an anodized aluminium alloy body, with NO PLASTIC PARTS.
It has a metal front facing ‘STRIKE RING’, primarily designed for smashing and breaking glass panels.
The torch output is a very high, white light, putting out over 800 lumens light output
It has a defensive full power STROBE ACTION which is activated at the touch of a button.
Lanyard attachment to ensure you do not accidentally drop it.
The military grey anodizing makes it inconspicuous at night

Using it as an actual defence weapon would be the very last level of self defence if all else has failed or an attacker has already got hold of you.

The strike ring, on the front of the Klarus XT11, would inflict some serious damage as it is designed as a ‘break glass’ tool. (as you can see in my photo here on the left)

So striking someone who is attacking you will certainly make an impact.

The main defence function of the Klarus XT11 is the very high powered strobe effect that is activated at the touch of a button.

* In any dangerous situation, awareness and trying to pre-empt the danger involved is an essential part of being prepared. This, in itself, goes a long way to ensuring you are ready for any attack. I have made a short video showing the effectiveness of the Klarus XT11 and how it can be used to give you that small window of time to keep your distance from an attack and also make an escape and get away from a dangerous situation.

Klarus XT11 Demo Video

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXcbFlTrj4c

As you can see in my video, this is another piece of equipment that is well worth adding to your prepping kit.

As well as a full on survival torch I think it’s defensive features are excellent. Yes, I know, it’s not the cheapest of torches, coming in at just under £70 all in from Amazon but, what you are getting is full on reliability and quality with a huge light output – 800 lumens is some seriously bright light.

The instant reaction I get when strobing this torch at anyone – even for a second or two – is they will immediately put their hands up to cover their eyes and they back off. It’s an instinctive reaction that they cannot stop themselves from doing.

Of course while that’s happening - you’re off…..

Klarus XT11 Tactical LED Torch (2 x CR123)

List Price: £109.95

Current Price: £64.99

Price Disclaimer

If you’re interested in this torch, heres the information >

Happy prepping folks….

Also see:

UK Legal Pepper Spray Alternatives for Women

Personal Attack Alarms for Women

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Best LED Torch – KLARUS ST11 Tactical torch – full test & video review

UK Prepper — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 17:33:54 +0000

KLARUS ST11 Tactical torch – full test & video review

Buying a torch that’s suitable for prepping is far more in depth than just going to your local store and trying to pick up the best LED torch for your money.

In fact, it is essential to go to the more specialist manufacturers to get a true preppers torch that has all the requirements for survival and prepping use.

As with a lot of our kit, there are definite requirements that must be met in order to determine if a torch is suitable for prepping, and, in this review I’m testing one of the latest additions to the exceptional Klarus range of torches, spotlights and key-chain lights - the Klarus ST11 tactical LED torch – which has been supplied by torch specialists TactLight, who export within the UK and all over the world.

Klarus have a huge range of LED torches - and most of them are suitable for prepping in one way or another, however, I have chosen the ST11 Tactical as it is one of their latest editions to the range, and is packed with all the good features we like to see in a quality torch.

My own general opinions:

Straight out of the box, this is every bit a tactical torch.

Very stylish, which looks and feels just right in your hand. There are several light setting and other features which take a little time to get used too and master, but once I had played around with the torch it becomes common sense, and soon becomes quite logical to understand and operate.

On close inspection it’s easy to see why these torches have such a good reputation – the precision engineered body is spot on with quality machining and quality knurling on the main grip area.The front bezel and rear button guard are polished stainless steel and again, precision made to fit very nicely.

The ST11 is charged via a screw in end cap and then plugged into a USB port. I like this idea as the torch can actually be charged anywhere via a portable solar power pack or even from a wind up radio with a USB port.

I found the screw thread was, again, quality engineered and a very smooth operation when it comes to changing over to the charging cap.

Specifications:
LED Type: Amazingly bright CREE XM-L2 with life span of up to 50,000 hrs.
Battery: 2x CR123A (3v) / 1x 18650 (rechargeable)
Function: There are two switches – a tail switch and a side switch; the tail switch provides on, momentary-on and off functions and the side switch changes modes, gives fast access to the hidden strobe and SOS modes, and allows the light to be switched off in standby mode.
This is where the ST11 excels above other dual switch flashlights. When in standby mode, the side switch provides on, momentary-on and off functions, as well as mode changes and quick access to the two flashing modes – Strobe and SOS. Strobe is very effective for personal safety at night and a memory feature means the torch can remember the last lighting mode that was used. The tail switch can be pressed again to switch the torch completely off.
Switch: Forward clicky tail switch that is recessed to allow for tail-standing. There is also a side switch that is recessed into the body, but as easily accessible.
Performance: Highly efficient performance due to the digitally regulated output, which maintains constant brightness.
Protection: Reverse polarity protection circuit protects against incorrect insertion of batteries. Sealed with O-rings for excellent water resistance and improved service life. Waterproof and Dust Resistant to IPX-8.
Dimension: 141mm (Length), 36mm (Head), 25.4mm (Body)
Weight: 146g (without battery).
Finish: Tough, sealed body with HA Type III anodising.
Colour: Military grey
Reflector: Orange peel for an even beam profile with good beam throw – 177m.
Lens: Toughened, ultra clear glass.

So, first impressions were good – take a look at my full test and video review to see exactly how it performed:

KLARUS ST11 Tactical torch – full test & video review

video coming soon

Conclusions on the Klarus ST11 Tactical LED Torch

l have struggled to find anything wrong with this torch – maybe the ability to add an additional coloured lens or a strike bezel might improve it a bit, but, to be honest, they’re quite low down on the list.

It looks good and is all the part a solid bit of kit, well manufactured and just works well – as far as the best LED torch goes, it’s up there with the big boys. The range of beam is more than enough for most preppers requirements and having the four power modes really makes this a versatile torch for any condition.

The strobe function is very powerful and overpowering and could even be used in a self defence situation to disorientate a, would be, attacker. Along with the SOS function this really does make the Klarus ST11 Tactical LED Torch the full package.

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Hi Tec Phoenix Hiking Boots – Test and Review

UK Prepper — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 15:58:46 +0000

Hi Tec Phoenix Waterproof Hiking Boots – full test & review

Click all images for larger view

I have chosen the Hi Tec Phoenix Hiking Boot for this weeks review as it is an excellent choice of boot, especially if you prefer the more modern styling for your hiking boots as compared to the military style boots in the Magnum range.

Firstly, I have to say it was a pleasure testing these boots as I always have my apprehensions about trialing “new” boots and especially as their first planned outing was a rather grueling 10K hike which consisted of part road, part muddy pathways and quite a few hills. But these boots proved they were easily up to the challenge and performed faultlessly throughout the entire day, as you will see in the video below.

Initial thoughts on the Hi Tec Phoenix:

Very much a modern styled and very a ‘good looking’ boot, which looks every part like a quality hikers boot with some good, high, front and rear protection – something I like as I tend to be a “lazy” hiker and often scrape the front of my boot and scuff them when going uphill over rough terrain.

The overall feel of the Phoenix is that of a tough hiking boot, very solid and well fitted together – I especially like the styling and comfort of the ankle collar, this worked well for me with the rear part of the collar set lower to prevent any rubbing at the back of your ankle – I prefer this style as my laces to be quite tight around that area and, in the past, have found a higher collar to be quite uncomfortable.

The grip pattern on the sole is pretty standard, so a well tried and tested favourite there then, and I had no problems with grip during the hike. In fact the sole is quite solid compared to boots I have had in the past and I found there was very little twisting of the sole of the boot when I went over rocky areas – this was very good as my feet didn’t slip about quite as much as usual.

The actual overall thickness of the sole is about 25mm with an additional 10mm of very nice cushioning, so my foot was already up off the cold, wet floor right from the start.

I have always been a fan of the particular lacing method that has been incorporated on many hiking boots, and it’s good to see the Phoenix using it, as I have wide feet I like to keep the lower lace quite loose and the upper part much tighter around my ankle – this method gets a big thumbs up from me..!

Price wise, from size 7 to size 13, you’re going to be paying around £60 all in [inc VAT & delivery] Now for my way of thinking I would say that’s very good value for money considering these are up there at the top of the range for hiking boots.

more information on these boots, visit Hi Tec here – Hi-Tec Men’s Phoenix Hiking Boot

Click here for the full Hi Tec Hiking boots range.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwUUcAffUjc

Technical specification of the HI Tec Phoenix Hiking Boots

Rubber MDT durable ‘hiking’ outsole.
Waterproof bootie construction to ensure you keep your feet dry
Rustproof and gilly lacing system
Collar is soft padded to give added comfort
Ortholite sockliner gives you added cushioning plus, anti-odour and anti-microbial properties

Conclusions.

All in all the Phoenix proved to be a very capable hiking boot, as you saw in the video, it was quite a difficult walk with lots of different terrain to give these boots a good test.

They kept my feet nice and dry throughout the hike and were very comfortable, especially as it was their first time out.

A lot of thought has gone into making these boots perform to high standards and for most of the time I didn’t really know I had them on..!

They were very comfortable and a pleasure to go hiking in.

Without doubt, I highly recommend the Hi-Tec Phoenix as a serious hiking boot and will definitely be including them in my survival equipment as a permanent addition.

Click here for the full Hi Tec Hiking boots range.

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Hi Tec Hiking Walking Boots

UK Prepper — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 17:29:12 +0000

Hi Tec Hiking Walking Boots - SURVIVAL & EVERYDAY USE

The Hi-Tec range of hiking footwear is probably one of the very best choices of boots for any preppers, hikers or walkers.

These boots offer us preppers the very latest in design and technology, giving us quality kit when we need it most.

Here’s a couple of top quality boots from the Hi-Tec range – for a look at the full Hi-Tec Boot Range go to > bottom of this page.

Hi-Tec Men’s Eurotrek Waterproof Hiking Boot

Hi-Tec Waterproof Eurotrek Hiking boot is a very popular walking and hiking boot, and is part of Hi-Tec’s light hiking collection, these boots are built to meet the needs of the outdoor hiker.

Laced with the latest technologies and material features, including: ion-mask hydro-management, this offering lives up to the Hi-Tec core values of comfort, lightweight and value. This is a full grain leather, waterproof and breathable walking boot,great for every walk no matter the weather.

UNDER £60 inc VAT & delivery

see more details here: Hi-Tec Men’s Eurotrek Waterproof Hiking Boot

Hi-Tec Sports Men’s V-Lite Altitude Ultra Luxe Wpi Walking Boot

Waterproof, full grain leather upper, with a rubber sole make this a truly traditional hiking boot

sizes from UK 7 – 13

UNDER £80 inc VAT & delivery

see more details here:

Hi-Tec Sports Men’s V-Lite Altitude Ultra Luxe Wpi Walking Boot

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Bahco Laplander Folding Saw – testing and review

UK Prepper — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 17:18:57 +0000

Bahco Laplander Folding Saw - testing and review

In this review I will be testing the Bahco Laplander – a well designed lightweight folding saw.

It is made in Sweden and, of course, uses a good quality steel with a super sharp edge and from many of the other write-ups I have seen, is considered to be right up there at the top of the class for folding saws.

First impressions of the Bahco Laplander Folding Saw are its
weight – at only 6.4oz you barely know you have it in your hands – I like this a lot as I find having to fight with a heavy saw just doubles the effort.

The cut and design of the teeth literally double the cutting stroke each pass, as the teeth will cut using both the pushing and pulling stroke, combined with a very aggressive tooth design it made cutting timber a very easy job, requiring very little effort.

In the closed position the Bahco measures 9 inches and when full open is 16 inches, with the actual cutting blade measuring 8 inches – which I found to be a very nice, comfortable size. [7 tpi]

The actual cutting teeth are super sharp and as they face both ways so you have to be very careful when cleaning the blade off – you cannot simply run your hand down the blade like a normal saw to clear it. All the teeth are hardened and coated to help reduce friction and prevent corrosion – so another nice touch.

I quite like the feel of the handle – it’s like a rubbery plastic called ‘Stanoprene’ over a solid plastic frame which give a nice feel and lots of traction- even with wet hands I found it quite hard to slip off.

With such a sharp blade Bahco have added a safety lock to ensure it can’t be accidentally opened and keeps the blade tucked away nicely – good idea I think…

As you will see in my video review, the Bahco makes cutting timber into nice, usable pieces a very easy job – in fact, I think this saw is a lot faster than most other methods and gives you a cleaner cut.

Bahco Laplander Field Test Video Review

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyRIDmcqQ_Q

Conclusions:

This saw has got to be up there as one of the best folding saws in its class and performed every task I asked of it with minimum effort, every time.

The Laplander is now a permanent part of my bug out kit and will certainly be coming with me on every camp trip and, to be honest, it is only really restricted by the length of the blade.

For more in information, reviews and prices please click here for the Bahco Laplander Folding Saw

Happy Prepping Folks

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Bushbox XL Survival Stove Review

UK Prepper — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 14:28:49 +0000

Bushbox XL Survival Stove Review

stove tested: Bushbox XL with Combination Kit

The Bushbox XL [extra large] is the bigger brother of the Hobo Stove, also made by the Bushbox Company based in Germany.

The XL version I am reviewing here has a radically new design which makes this stove very compact and extremely easy to set up, fold down and carry.

In fact, the XL is possibly one of the easiest to assemble survival stoves that I have ever known – it goes from folded down to being ready for use in seconds.

Folded down and inside its carrying case I measured the overall dimensions to be only:

210mm x 95mm x 20mm thick MAX. – Weighing only 800 grams

This was an comfortably acceptable size and weight to carry considering the finished, usable size of the stove.

*The standard XL comes as the stove with the two trivet stands as you can see in the picture above and is packed in a fitted cotton pouch.

The

" href="http://www.ukpreppersguide.co.uk/product/B00E67MTX4/UK/bushboxxlreview-21/">basic Bushbox XL is very reasonably priced at under £75 inc VAT and delivery -

The Bushbox XL reviewed here had the additional accessories that make up the Combination Kit and these are a Heavy Duty Outdoor Carry Bag and a Universal Grate, shown below. This is priced at under £87 inc VAT and delivery -

The outdoor carry bag is very well made and fits the stove plus the universal grate perfectly – the carry bag also has a sewn in ‘D’ ring which, again, is very well fitted and would need a lot of pulling about to work loose – this is a good feature as it means everything can be easily attached to your rucksack leaving valuable space inside.

this is my test & video review of the

BuxhBox XL Outdoor Survival Stove with Combination Kit

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOcWH7Hm1rY

As you can see in my video, the Bushbox XL had a good field test and certainly worked 100% on a rather cold and chilly day ( the water in the cup was certainly well below 10 deg C ) but there was absolutely no problem starting and maintaining a good amount of heat – the opening where you can feed the twigs into makes everything so easy and maintaining the fire was simple.

One point to note – keep the ash pan ( bottom tray ) clear of any debri or fallen ash, I just used a longer twig to brush it out – if it builds up you loose air flow through to the fire grate ( I had to clear the ash a couple of times ) by keeping it clear there was none of this huffing and puffing at the fire that you normally get with some wood fires..!

So, a final verdict on the BushBoxXL – can’t be anything other than excellent.

The design is very good, it’s compact and easy to store, works exactly like it’s supposed to do, kept a nice tidy fire going for as long as I wanted and folded away simply and easily at the end of the day.

I would definitely advise any hiker, camper or Prepper to get one of these as a serious addition to your survival kit.

Bushbox XL Combination Kit

Current Price: £81.54

Price Disclaimer

What wasn’t included in the video was the fact that once the water boiled I removed the cup and stocked up the stove with some more larger twigs and made myself a lovely camp fire which burned for ages and gave off some nice heat – just to finish off the day nicely…..

Happy prepping folks..

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Lifesaver Water Filter Bottle – full review

UK Prepper — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 14:19:24 +0000

Lifesaver Water Filter Bottle – full review

bottle tested: Lifesaver 4000 UF

There are a few choices when it comes to filtering water in a survival situation and as preppers we all like to keep things nice and simple – for that reason I am testing the Lifesaver 4000 UF ( Ultra Filtration ) Water Filter Bottle from the Lifesaver company here in the UK.

I have never been much of a fan of fiddling about boiling up dirty water and adding various tablets and chemicals to try to make dirty water into clean drinking water – yes I know it is still a choice and it’s something we should all have a knowledge of, but for me keeping things simple with minimum hassle have always been a survival priority.

Carrying bottles full of drinking water is a definite strain on yourself and your resources, after all you can only carry so much at any time – so from a sheer practical point of view it makes sense to filter your drinking water as you go rather than try and carry or horde it.

The way I look at it is that I would rather have a stream delivering unlimited amounts of water, even if it is dirty, grubby and undrinkable water than have to keep trying to find and to keep carrying thousands of bottles.

In fact any water source will do – it gives you a relatively unlimited supply to draw your water from and will certainly make your life much easier.

In a survival or bug out situation it’s just one less thing to worry about.

When I received my Lifesaver bottle I read the instructions fully ( something I advise you to do fully and make sure you carry out the setting up and flushing procedures correctly ) I also gave it the once over and, having read various reviews, also checked the bottom O ring seal to ensure it was in place and seated firmly – apparently this can come adrift and cause it to leak at the bottom – however, mine was perfectly fine and seated in the pump end cap.

The filter bottle itself is about the same size as a standard 1.5 litre bottle and it fits nicely in the side pocket of my bug out bag – having set the lifesaver up I then set out for a field test – my full review from kitchen to smelly, grubby water test is in the video below:

You can also find the review on my YouTube Channel; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ-b4t9DLfk

Information & Specifications:

The principle of the LifeSaver is quite simply really – You fill the bottle up from a water source [any water source will do *except salt water* mine was a nice grubby stream as you will see] and then the ‘dirty’ water goes through a course pre filter which catches odd debris like leaves etc.

When the main bottle is filled up [ the bottle holds 750 ml ] Replace the end cap and after a few pumps to pressurize the bottle you can release the drinking nozzle and the “dirty” water passes through the main cartridge and then through an activated carbon filter to give you clean, sterile drinking water.

Very clean, sterile drinking water actually – the cartridge has minute pores which can filter down to 15 nano metres – this will stop parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungi and waterborne pathogens and the activated carbon filter takes out the bad tastes, instantly…!

You can see this and more in the video – I found the final result quite amazing..

The 4000 litre model costs under £125 inc VAT & delivery: Lifesaver 4000 UF Water Filter Bottle

The LifeSaver 4000 UF delivers 4000 litres of clean, sterile drinking water and when the filter has dispensed the 4000 litres it will automatically shut down – the filter itself is given a two year shelf life from the initial activation process which I simply done at my kitchen sink.

When the filter gets to the end of its 4000 litres of usable life you simply remove the old filter and replace it with a new cartridge – new cartridge costs under £95 inc VAT & delivery - Lifesaver Systems Ltd 4000 UF Cartridge – White, Medium
This effectively gives you a complete new water filter and 4000 litres of sterile drinking water all over again.

Calculations & Costs based on 1 persons water requirements per day of 5 litres:

With the 4000 UF filter you will get 5 litres/day for TWO YEARS

*there is also a 6000 litre bottle available which give added value for money – prices below:

With the 6000 UF filter you will get 5 litres/day for THREE YEARS

The average price for a 4000 UF cartridge is £95 inc VAT & delivery – so that is equal to an amazing 2.4 pence per litre...!

The 6000 UF cartridge costs around £110 inc VAT & delivery which makes and even better saving of just 1.8 pence per litre…!

So this really is a huge saving when stocking up a water cache and trying to store bottled water at a bug out location.

* the Activated Carbon Filter will last for 250 litres – these are dead simple to change over when needed and with that in mind it’s worth investing in some spare filters along with the bottle – fortunately they are cheap and come in packs of 4 for under £20 inc VAT & delivery – LIFESAVER® Replacement Carbon Inserts (Four-Pack)

To match the 4000 litres capacity of the filter cartridge you would need 16 activated carbon filters.

Along with a couple of replacement cartridges I have also invested in a some of the course ‘pre filters’ to ensure I have all the main filters as ‘spares’ for as and when I require them. Just a sensible precaution I think – the pre filters cost £12 for a pack of two - LIFESAVER Pre Filter Discs (2 Pack) - there is no real lifespan for these pre filters as they can easily be removed on thoroughly washed out and refitted, but I just wanted to know I had spares if needed.

LifeSaver 4000 UF water filter bottle full review and field test:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ-b4t9DLfk

Final thoughts:

The LifeSaver 4000 UF water filter bottle gets a big 10/10 from me – I didn’t find a single thing that I could give a bad mark to.

It did exactly what it said it would and has now proved to be a permanent addition to my survival kit

My advice to any anyone preparing for a survival situation, whether that’s out camping, hiking or prepping – is to make sure you add one of these to your survival kit as soon as you possibly can.

for more information, reviews and prices click here for the Lifesaver 4000 UF Water Filter Bottle

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Magnum Original Side Zip Boots Review

UK Prepper — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 19:26:13 +0000

Magnum Original SIde Zip Tactical Boots Review

In this survival kit review I am testing a pair of Original Side Zip boots from Magnum. The side zips are part of Magnum’s “Force” range and very much a tactical boot.

In the review I take these boots for a nice 10k hike across fields and through forest with very uneven and muddy ground as well as about 1k along stone paths.

I have been wanting to test out these Magnum boots for a while now, especially to see how their featured zip action works with the slip on – slip off, feature.

Technical Stuff

This is pretty much straight from Magnum themselves - as they know how the boot is really made..!

Available in UK size 4 – 13
YKK circular side-zip for quick donning and doffing
Ballistic Nylon and Natural Leather upper section
Comfortable suede ankle collar
High traction oil resistant carbon rubber sole
EVA wedge for additional underfoot comfort
Steel shank for torsional rigidity
Removable contoured insole
Tested and certified to European Standard EN 20347
SRA slip resistant
Cambrelle® linings – offering abrasion resistance that adapt to foot motion

Non technical stuff – Just my opinion…..

These side zips are one good looking pair of boots and very well styled – They look as good in the field as they do walking down the street.

They are extremely well styled, but the most striking part of these boots is their weight – modern technology has allowed Magnum to produce a boot that is not only very tough and durable but is feather light as well.

Throughout my 10k walk with these boots on, never once did they feel heavy or cumbersome – in fact, I found the complete opposite, as it was just like walking in my slippers…!

The Magnum Original Side Zip Boot is only available as an online offer and can be found at this link – Online offer

Checkout my selections from the full range of other Magnum Boots right here – Magnum Boot Range

So, ‘do they work in the field’.? – take a look at this video and see what happens.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfhF43j-eyY

In conclusion – Do they work in the field.?

A resounding yes they do. This boot is just a part of their Magnum Essential Equipment and the side zips are one of many quality Magnum boots to choose from – I think I’m off now to check out their full Boot Range.

Happy prepping folks…..

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Essential Survival Aids – Bushbox Hobo Pocket Stove Review

UK Prepper — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 19:25:20 +0000

Bushbox Hobo Pocket Stove Review

Manufactured in Germany and made of 100% stainless steel, this survival stove is definitely one of the most compact units I have seen.

In this review I will cover the assembly and dismantle of the Bushbox Hobo Outdoor Pocket Stove
as well as finding out “Does It Work In The Field‘.?

Specifications:

Weight – 260 grams
Width – 80mm
Depth – 80mm
Height – 115mm
Folded size – 90mm x 115mm
Fuel – trangia, gel fuel, esbit tablet or wood twigs
Carry case – cotton pouch
Materials – stainless steel [1.4301]

The assembly of the Bushbox Hobo Stove is very easy as seen here

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCqTOVQB3h0

‘Does it work in the field’ - full field test review

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9QLRdsoyNc

Does it work in the field.?

Without doubt this little Hobo stove works well and especially worked well under the conditions I put it through – the air was cold and damp, the water was cold, around 5 deg C, the cup was cold as well – I think with a little bit more practice I can get that boil time down to quite a bit less.

So it’s the old saying, practice makes perfect and I will certainly be using this stove again and again and maybe even put another video review as my ‘ boil time test’ record gets better……

So, in conclusion, the Hobo Stove certainly gets my vote as a very compact , versatile and effective survival stove and is an ideal bit of kit to carry in an EDC or Bug Out Bag.

I like the idea of being able to use any fuel type very much, but most of all the Hobo performed excellently with twigs that were just laying around the forest floor.

My only possible dislike is the cotton pouch, as I don’t see this lasting too long – so I am on the lookout for a small plastic container that gives a snug fit for the components to slide into.

Overall, the Bushbox Hobo Stove performed very well and is now a permanent addition to my survival equipment and at under £30 inc VAT and delivery I think it is very good value for money – for more information with customer reviews and prices please click this link to the BushBox Outdoor Pocket Stove.

Happy Prepping Folks…

Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Stove

List Price: £19.90

Current Price: £25.90

Price Disclaimer

Notice

Just a quick note folks:

My full test and video review of the BushBox XL will be going online this weekend 15th Dec 2013 – so check back and see how the Hobo stoves Big Brother really performs out in the field…

Bushbox XL combination stove review

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Esbit Pocket Survival Stove Review

UK Prepper — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 21:31:32 +0000

Esbit Pocket Survival Stove Review

If you are one of those preppers wishing to travel light and compact, there are a few choices of cooking stoves available to you on the market today.

But for sheer simplicity and ease of cooking I think the Esbit Pocket Stove ranks among the top.

I wanted to see exactly how well this bit of German engineering would actually perform out in the field and could it be classed as a real survival stove.

Firstly, the Esbit will fit comfortably into the leg map pocket of your cargo trousers as it measures only 130x95x35mm and weighs 360grams when fully loaded with a pack of the solid fuel tablets.

I found the idea of carrying the fuel tablets inside the stove is a good one as it keeps everything nice and compact and in one place due to the two sides folding down to keep everything locked together. Of course it would also, easily fit into an unused space within your rucksack as well.

Now, the Esbit is very much designed for the solid fuel tablets. In fact I did not even attempt to try with any other fuel as, during my field test, it performed more than adequately with the tablets only.

The unit tested was the Standard Esbit Pocket Stove with the 12x14g tablet pack – I found this offers very good value for money and can be bought for under £15 inc VAT & Delivery.

Click here for a direct link to the Esbit Pocket Mini Folding Stove with 12x14g Tablets.

You can also buy extra packs of the Esbit Solid Fuel Tablets for under £9 inc VAT & Delivery

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK1b4IAduxg

*note:

In the video my test was using the Esbit for the 1st time – now I’m sure I can better the boil time by quite a lot as it was a very cold damp day, with very cold water and a cold cup – even putting a lid on the cup would of speeded things up a lot.

So I shall be practicing a few more times with this and will do a follow up video to see how fast I can get the water to boil on one fuel tablet – “watch this space”…….

“Does it work in the field”?

This stove performed very well and done exactly what it said it would. It will definitely be a new addition to my hiking rucksack, especially when out in the open and I don’t have any natural fuel source around me [eg: twigs etc]

A definite value for money little cooking stove that will save you time and effort when you need a quick brew.

So, in conclusion, I recommend the Esbit Pocket Stove to anyone prepping, hiking or as your light weight cooking stove when just out walking and fancy a brew… .

Click here for a direct link to the Esbit Pocket Mini Folding Stove with 12x14g Tablets.

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Whats in your Survival Tin

UK Prepper — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 10:43:06 +0000

Compact Survival Equipment – the Survival Tin

Space and weight are very important and many people tend to make the mistake of over packing, which can cause some to leave their survival kit behind for short excursions. Once you begin to leave your survival gear behind is when your health and survival is in jeopardy. A compact survival tin however is the perfect solution because it can be carried in your pocket, briefcase, satchel, glove compartment or in any small personal pack that may be used by joggers, hikers and, of course, preppers.

Contents of your survival tin can vary but there are certain essential items that you will need to ensure your survival.

Your tin should have a #1. water bag to carry water in and #2. water purification tablets.

You will also need the means to create fire so have matches and an alternative fire starting means such as magnesium sticks or a good quality #3. Ferro rod.

The Gerber Bear Grylls Ferro Rod [shown here] is an excellent tool for this and sells for around £10 on Amazon. Click here to see more info reviews and prices on the Gerber Bear Grylls Fire Starter Ferro Rod

Next, you will need #4. cordage that is strong and lightweight – 550 parcord is ideal although this can be carried by means of a paracord bracelet to give a good amount of cord.

You will also need #5. wire for bindings, shelter building and animal snares.

Have #6. fishing line and hooks, a #7. sewing kit with various needles and needles and thread along with #8. fishing line can be used to suture wounds.

Make sure you have a #9. small knife preferably a multi-tool, #10. candle, #11. dry tinder, #12. mirror, #13. whistle, and #14. razor blades.

You can also add tea bags, instant coffee, bouillon cubes and salt packets along with a small button compass.

You can make your own survival tin or you can just purchase one with all the needed items. As shown here right here with the Mountain Survival Tin
or the Combat Survival Tin. Both are very good, contain the essentials for survival and both are under £20 which is very good value.

Generally though, most outdoor enthusiasts prefer to build their own compact survival kit, so they are assured that the items are exactly what they feel they need and can withstand the rigors of camp life.

Keep in mind the #15. tin itself can also be used a piece of survival equipment because of the shiny nature of the inside of the lid it can be used as a signal mirror.

Your survival tin should be carried with you at all times,

So it is important that it be compact and lightweight. Many Preppers have what is a called an everyday carry kit so they are never left without the means to survive regardless of the situation.

Many hikers, campers and hunters find that after they have packed their backpack with food, water and a change of clothing the weight is more than they anticipated so adding any more gear is not an option.

People naturally assume they would simply come home once their supplies have been depleted never giving a thought to what if they become lost, injured and thus are stranded. Supplies have run out and all you have left in your pack is a change of clothes.

Having the right survival kit packed away in your trousers pocket or coat pocket assures that you have the ability to gather water, purify that water, start a fire and signal for help. With cordage, you can also put together a shelter and wire can be used for that shelter and for making snares.

The fishing kit allows you gather food, and fishing is considered the quickest and most reliable way to gather food in a survival situation.

View more info and prices about the CB CK015 Combat Survival Tin

The right sized tin can literally fit in the back pocket of your trousers and in any coat pocket. Have several on hand so one can be kept in your vehicle, in your handbag, satchel and hiking pack.

The good thing about a survival tin is the cost

They are very cheap to buy, with most priced at under £20 for a good quality kit with the essentials you need. You can always add or take away to suit your needs. You can even have several made up for different conditions and situations.

Once you have the items, a survival tin can be assembled in minutes and it may very well save your life one day, so start now, gathering the needed items and remember redundancy is the best backup plan there is.

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Essential Survival Aids – Cooking Stoves

UK Prepper — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 10:23:13 +0000

Survival Aids – Stoves

One of the top 5 survival skills is being able to get your food and cook that food. Nowadays there are many survival aids which allow you to do just that with relative ease.

Modern design and materials now mean it is possible to have a very efficient cooking stove that is light and durable and will produce good heat with the minimum of fuss.

These modern stoves also use a tiny amount of fuel, normally just twigs, and are highly efficient at maintaining good heat for a longer time.

Why would you want a stove?

In the past cooking over an open fire was your only option and yes it works fine and is all well and good but we are talking Survival Aids that make your life easier – an open fire is great and often essential for some cooking, especially larger, more bulky foods but also for heat, drying clothes, to ward of animals or for physiological comfort.

But for purely providing a near instant, confined and controllable heat to boil water or cook on, an open fire is not the best choice by far.

If you are on the move and just want to heat a meal then an open fire can be the last thing you want to mess around with.

What are the requirements when choosing a stove?

Cooking stoves come in all shapes and sizes, are made from different materials and use various methods for producing a efficient and reliable long lasting flame that is suitable for boiling water and cooking.

But from a preppers view point they need to light, compact, reliable and easy to use. The choice of fuel is also an important factor when choosing a good stove for your requirements.

If you have to carry around bulky, heavy fuel containers as well as your stove it’s just not going to give you room for all the other essential bug out bag equipment they you need to have with you for successful survival.

What type of survival stove is best?

As a prepper, ‘less is more’, and if you can reduce the amount you carry then you reduce the weight or leave yourself room for other items.

So, the No:1 choice has to be a stove that will work using a local foraged fuel source, ie: wood and twigs – so long as your near a tree or bushes, you have fuel, simple as that really – it’s a ‘no fuss’ energy source.

Generally there are only three types of fuel source, namely, solid fuel [wood, twigs, solid fuel, dry fuel tablets], alcohol and gas. However some stoves are capable of running several different fuel types which can be very handy.

Downside of using a survival stove.

The good points far outweigh the bad points here but there are some.

The stove needs to be kept quite clean inside which means emptying the burnt ash and debris every time before reusing – not too much of a pain but needs doing for an efficient heat.
The outside of the stove will get very hot, even the double walled stoves will get too hot to touch, so this means you can’t just get up and leave camp – you have to wait a bit for it to cool sufficiently to pack away

What survival stoves are best for preppers?

There are a few very very good ones on the market in the UK today that tick all the prepping requirements.

Lightweight
Robust
Easy sourced fuel
Compact

I truly believe that using any of the modern survival aids is the way to go when it comes to efficient prepping – yes, of course you must have a good knowledge of the top 5 basic survival skills – but it’s all about making your life easier and a survival stove will do just that.

Below is our Survival Aids for Stoves comparison chart for the top 6:

The guide below will help you choose the best type of survival stove based on your own personal preferences -

Use the up/down arrows to select the best combination of your requirements.

Choose from:

Type
Price range
Overall size
Compactness and folding
Fuel type
Weight
Overall ‘value for money’ rating

Description	Price £££	Overall Size mm	Folds flat	fuel type	Weight grams	Value for money
Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Stove flat pack, fits into any pocket. Made in Germany from 100% stainless steel. Also comes with two trivets for any pot size	26	115x90	yes	Wood multi-fuel, can be used with organic matter, Trangia & Esbit	270	3 stars for price but can be quite awkward to put together
Bushbox Outdoor Stove XL large version of the standard bushbox Only 1 cm thick when folded Only requires a few small twigs to produce good heat allowing you to boil half a liter of water in under 3 minutes, grill meat or cook your meals.	70	190x125	yes	Wood multi-fuel, can be used with organic matter, Trangia & Esbit	800	4 stars for a good solid unit but a little pricey
Firebox 5" Folding Campfire Stove Multi-fuel Cook Stove. Compact and is Easy to Set Up. It effortlessly opens into position, and when it's time to go it folds flat - ready to slide into your pack.	53	190x125	yes	Wood multi-fuel, can be used with organic matter, Trangia & Esbit	998	4 stars for a nice solid bit of kit, folds out nice and easy ready to use. Heaviest of all the stoves here though
Stainless steel ultra efficient rocket stove Handcrafted and made in the UK. Just need a few sticks to boil a kettle for a cup of tea and powerful enough to cook camping meals	40	165x90	no	Wood	413	4 stars for a easy to use design and good price. Unusual design could be a bit awkward and bulky in the kit bag
Solo Stove Efficient and ultra clean burning. Features a secondary combustion via a unique double wall construction. Made using premium quality fully hardened 304 stainless steel and nichrome wire	63	145x110	no	Wood Bio-fuels	250	5 stars for a very efficient heat method. Just about the perfect size - not too big or small. Lightweight and reasonably prices for a good unit
Wild Woodgas Camp Stove Burns exclusively wood and twigs to give an efficient flame. This is a 'passive-flow' woodgas stove, meaning the secondary air holes are powered by convection rather than batteries and a fan. Made from high quality, heat-resilient stainless steel.	50	160x130	reduces to: 75 x 130mm when packed down	Wood can also run on alcohol burner or solid hex-tablets if requed	280	5 stars for heat method and design. Nice size and weight. Compact down for storage easily. Top quality unit

I hope this article has given you a better understanding of essential survival aids like the survival cooking stove and helped you choice.

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UK Knife Law

UK Prepper — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 07:34:20 +0000

What are the UK Knife Laws

Owning and carrying a knife in Britain has always been an area that preppers need be fully aware of but do you know what the UK Knife Law actually is?

If you were to go out carrying a knife, would you know if your breaking the law or not?

Could you be stopped by the police and searched and what are your legal rights if you are stopped?

British knife laws are among the very strictest in the world

- and quite rightly so – We all want to be able to move around without the fear of some lunatic wandering around with knives hidden on them. Statistics have shown that a zero tolerance to anyone carrying weapons saves lives.

I, for one, am quite happy to be stopped and searched for a weapon at any time – I own knives that I use for various jobs as well as specific hunting and bushcraft knives, along with many other UK Preppers, it’s up to you to comply with the UK Knife Laws and just be sensible.

These are the current laws you need to understand before buying and venturing outside with any knives.

correct as of September 2013

The laws about buying and carrying a knife depend on the type of knife, your age and your circumstances.

Basic laws on knives

It is illegal to:

sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery and kitchen knives) to anyone under 18

carry a knife in public without good reason – unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, eg a Swiss Army knife

carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife (the list of banned knives is below)

use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)

Lock knives (knives with blades that can be locked when unfolded) are not folding knives, and are illegal to carry in public.

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is 4 years in prison and a fine of £5,000.

Good reasons for carrying a knife

Examples of good reasons to carry a knife in public can include:

taking knives you use at work to and from work

you’re taking knives to a gallery or museum to be exhibited

the knife is going to be used for theatre, film, television historical reenactment or religious purposes (eg the kirpan some Sikhs carry)

A court will decide if you’ve got a good reason to carry a knife if you’re charged with carrying it illegally.

Knives that are illegal

There is a complete ban on the sale of some knives:

flick knives (also called ‘switchblades’ or ‘automatic knives’) – where the blade is hidden inside the handle and shoots out when a button is pressed

butterfly knives – where the blade is hidden inside a handle that splits in two around it, like wings; the handles swing around the blade to open or close it

disguised knives – eg where the blade is hidden inside a belt buckle or fake mobile phone

gravity knives

sword-sticks

samurai swords (with some exceptions, including antiques and swords made to traditional methods before 1954)

hand or foot-claws

push daggers

hollow kubotan (cylinder-shaped keychain) holding spikes

shuriken (also known as ‘death stars’ or ‘throwing stars’)

kusari-gama (sickle attached to a rope, cord or wire)

kyoketsu-shoge (hook-knife attached to a rope, cord or wire)

kusari (weight attached to a rope, cord or wire)

This is not a complete list of banned knives. Contact your local police to check if a knife is illegal or not.

You must be able to comply with the above information
If there is any reason for a police officer to suspect you may be carrying a weapon he/she has the legal right to stop and search you, right there and then – no ifs or buts – if you have nothing to hide and are within the laws stated above you are perfectly legal.
To see your rights with regards to the powers of Stop and Search click here.

What weapons are legal to buy and own?

There is quite a variety of weapons that any UK Prepper can buy and own. Most preppers will have several decent hunting and bushcraft knives as well as an axe or machette. But most prepper will be using them ONLY for their prepping skills having selected their survival knife specifically for a purpose.

see legal weapons allowed in the UK
see how to choose a survival knife

I hope this topic of the UK Knife Law was helpful to everyone – happy prepping folks…..

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Guest Post: My Best Survival Knife

UK Prepper — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 09:37:50 +0000

My Best Survival Knife

Guest Post by, MonkeyPrepper

What is all the fuss about choosing the best survival knife.? There is just so much information on line nowadays that surely it must be easy to decide what is best for you.?

Now obviously, as a prepper, I have several survival knives – that goes without saying.! Along with pocket knives and a multi tool knife I like to have all the bases covered – but my survival knife is a bit different due to the amount of work I do with it – its not just for show.!!

I’ve had several knives of varying types over the years and slowly they have been left behind in my shed as I found they were just not suited for my needs and eventually they were relegated to gather dust in my shed and were slowly and surely upgraded to a better performing survival knife.

Yes, I still like to use my ‘old faithfuls’ – I have one knife that has been with me since 1978..!! –

This is my number one favourite

– it’s a Diawa full tang 130mm smooth blade with a false edge top and some thumb traction grooves. It just feels good in your hand and fit perfectly for all my uses. The handle finger groove has a solid front guard with gives me extra leverage when I need it. I especially like the the deep ‘choil’ at the base of the blade – this is great when choking down on the knife for fine work

And is tough – maybe because it’s an old knife [over 35 years old] – but the blade thickness is 4.5mm – and that’s a thick solid blade that’s hard to bend or break.

I always take this knife with me whenever I go on any survival training or camping, fishing etc….

This is my newest edition to my survival knives.

This is my latest addition to my collection – and I must say, will probably stay with me for a very long time, and It’s The Gerber Ultimate Fine Edge - [ see our review here ] – there’s a lot of hype about the whole Bear Grylls thing but the key point is it is made from one of the best knife manufactures, Gerber and it really performs well in every aspect as a full on survival knife – I really like it – cost me about £55, so not hugely expensive, but considering what you get for your money, I think it’s good value.

I actually think this knife has got everything you need and I like using it a lot. At the moment it’s my most used knife and performs just how I like it.

So that’s it really. My favorite and my best.

Happy prepping everyone – Monkey Prepper.

info, reviews and prices here> Gerber Bear Grylls Ultimate Fine Edge Knife

UK Prepper Guide says:

A big thanks to Monkey Prepper for a great article on My Best Survival Knife – look forward to more

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UK Preppers Guide» Reviews & Guides

Grilliput Fire Bowl and Barbecue Test and Review

Testing and review of the Grilliput Fire Bowl and Folding Barbecue Grill.

With this type of equipment the only way to really see how it performs is to see it in action

- so this is my video review below -

Performance wise – well, it does exactly what is says on the tin..!

Conclusions:

UK Gun Laws

Do you know the UK Gun Laws

What is meant by the term “firearm”.?

Who can legally own a firearm in the UK.?

What is a ‘good reason’ to own a firearm.?

The cost of a firearms certificate.

Common sense ownership in the UK.?

What firearms can you legally own in the UK.?

Airgun Laws UK

Air Rifle & AirGun Law in the UK

Who can buy an air rifle.?

Your duty of care..

Using an airgun

It is illegal to shoot an airgun on the following land:

Transporting airguns

DD Jungle Camping Hammock Review

Camping Hammock Review

Choosing your hammock

Introducing the DD Jungle Camping Hammock

So how does it work and what makes this a good choice of camping hammock..?

Conclusions:

You can add to this hammock setup to make things even more comfortable, namely:

Will you need Body Armour when SHTF

Will you need Body Armour when SHTF

Adequate body armour may be the difference between survival and defeat.

These are some of the various concealed clothing – protection level 3A

Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove Test and Review

Bushbox Ultralight Outdoor Pocket Stove Test and Review

Specifications:

Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box Review

Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box Review

Specifications:

This is my full review and test of the Bushbox Outdoor Pocket Micro Stove EDC Box

Best Value For Money Hunting Crossbow UK

Best Value For Money Hunting Crossbow UK

Crossbow Laws UK

Do you know the Crossbow Laws in the UK.?

What does the law say:

Crossbows Act 1987

1987 CHAPTER 32

1; Sale and letting on hire.

2; Purchase and hiring.

3; Possession.

4; Powers of search and seizure etc.

5; Exception.

So, in a nutshell, the above official government laws mean……

Best, value for money, 150lb Hunting Crossbow;

Bugging Out to a Foreign Country

Ever thought of Bugging Out to a Foreign Country..?

They don’t dig shelters that have no sunlight, and won’t built fortresses, that can be beleaguered.

Edible insects UK

Edible Insects UK

Edible insects Uk – test & review

Bushtucker Bug Banquet BugFest – May Prize Draw

Welcome to our FREE PRIZE DRAW for May – NOW ENDED

enter for a chance to win one of three top prizes of Bush Tucker Bug Banquets.

Kindly donated by our friends over at BugGrub.com

Prizes: 1st place – 7 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

Prizes: 2nd place – 5 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

Prizes: 3rd place – 3 Piece Bush Tucker Banquet

Best Legal Folding Pocket Knife for UK Survival

Best Folding Pocket Knife Reviews and Comparison Guide

What is constitutes a folding pocket knife.

So what makes the Best Folding Pocket Knife for Survival here in the UK.?

But, what is the right knife for you?

Avoid buying cheap.

For more reviews on other survival knives, please see the selection below:

The Wilderness Gathering, a festival of Bushcraft

THE TWELFTH WILDERNESS GATHERING - 14th to 17th August 2014

The Wilderness Gathering has, without a doubt, become the premier family event for all those interested in Bushcraft and the great outdoors.

UK Legal Pepper Spray for self defence

The alternative UK Pepper Spray for Survival Defence

So what are the alternatives to pepper spray for members of the public…?

THE TWELFTH WILDERNESS GATHERING - 14^th to 17^th August 2014