This Week: The purpose of a last ditch kit… What I carry in mine… The winner of the Spy Kit… Putting a credit freeze with all three bureaus… Taking a Tactical Pen on a Caribbean cruise… And, moving to the place I call home.
In the back of my car I have my Escape Bag. This is a backpack that contains numerous items to help me survive the first 72-hours of a crisis. However, what if during a crisis I were unable to reach my bag? Or maybe the bag was slowing me down and I needed to run for my life to escape a dangerous situation?
Or what about if you travel often like I do and it’s impractical to haul a large backpack around the country?
Well, that’s where a last ditch kit comes in. As the name implies, it’s a bare-bones kit to keep you alive when you’ve had to ditch your Escape Bag or your other supplies because of some crazy circumstance.
And while a lot of folks put together their last ditch kit in a small cloth pouch, I prefer to use a water bottle such as a Nalgene bottle.
In this Nalgene bottle I keep the supplies below. Just remember, the point of this kit is not to include the kitchen sink. It’s bare bones with only the necessities that can fit in a small pouch or bottle.
-$60 in cash in a Ziploc bag
-Credit card knife
-10 feet of paracord
-Chlor-Floc (water purification used by the military)
– Datrex Emergency Drinking Water pouch
– MET-Rx Big 100 Colossal Meal Replacement Bar
-Poncho
-Swedish FireSteel
-Bic lighter
-Dryer lint in a Ziploc bag
-Spy Flashlight
-QuikClot
-Small roll of duct tape
-Tylenol
Of course, you can configure your last ditch kit however you wish, and I hope the items above have given you a few ideas. I also hope you never have to ditch your main set of gear for this, but since life is unpredictable it’s always a good idea to be prepared.
MAILBAG
Before we get to the mailbag, I want to announce the winner of the Spy Kit. Congratulations to Terey B.! I hope you and your daughter enjoy this kit and it will be shipped to you within 48 hours.
From Lisa A: Last week you mentioned putting a freeze on your credit, I’ve done that with one credit bureau but I’m wondering if I need to do it with all three of them.
A: You do need to do it with all three of them so you need to make sure and do it with Experian, Transunion, and Equifax.
From Rod S: I’m pleased you mentioned VPNs in this issue… I’ve been using them for a good while now ESPECIALLY if I use public WiFi (i.e. libraries, restaurants, etc). Good issue once again!
A: Glad to hear you’re using Virtual Private Network, I wish more people were doing so. (TunnelBear is the VPN I use and that I talked about last week.)
From Dr. Robert G: I just read the question by the former LEO on third-party defense. Your answer was absolutely correct. I am both an attorney and a 36-year law enforcement officer (professor, author, and former military officer, etc.). I am not representing anyone when I opine on this and anyone concerned should seek competent legal counsel in their State. You were correct when you stated that self-defense and defense of a third-party are common law and, often, statutory defenses.
A: Thank you for sharing as I know that deadly force law confuses many people.
From Al H: My wife and I are taking a Caribbean cruise at the end of the week with several shore excursions. You have indicated a number of times that tactical pens aren’t a problem on planes but do you know if that’s true with cruise ships and shore excursions into foreign countries?
A: I have flown all over the world with my Tactical Pen and gone into court houses, and other highly secure buildings and I’ve never had a problem bringing my Tactical Pen. So, while I’ve never taken it on a cruise, I doubt you’ll have any issues and if I were going on a cruise I would definitely bring mine.
From Rod S: Jason, I’m considering moving from Virginia due to progressive politics…. can you recommend Cedar City as a good place to move to? One of our 3 daughters lives in SLC.
A: I hate to give away the best-kept secret, but yes, I would highly recommend Cedar City. My wife and I love it here. It’s a good small town, no traffic, and people with good values. I have no desire to ever move back to the Washington, DC area after living here.
From Brent A: In regards to all the products you sell online, will they be brought to the escape and evasion course so I can buy any of these from you in person? Thanks.
A: Only a few items will be brought to the course (including the Tactical Pen) so your best bet would be to get the items from our online Spy Store here.
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