This blog post is going to sound insensitive, please don’t take it that way. This is just the rambling of a normal man who is questioning the world. I am in no way trained as a Sociologist, Doctor, or any type of educated scholar. Just take it for what it is, words.
I see Ebola, and all sorts of natural disasters in the news and I can’t help but think to myself about balance. I feel that mother nature installs a series of checks and balances in the world, an order that needs to be adhered to. If something steps out of line, bam, the bubonic plague, or maybe a hurricane comes and puts motherfuckers in check. Human beings are apex predators, we are at the top of the food chain, but that doesn’t automatically guarantee our survival.
We vaccinate our children to keep them from getting sick, slather them in hand sanitizer, and keep them secured in the proverbial bacteria free comfort blanket. Sure, a lot of this is because of the media creating panic and fear in parents, and the first thing they do is rush to get a flu shot, or antibiotics. Then you have mother fucking Dr Oz with the latest heath fad, telling these stay at home mothers what the best anti anxiety medication they can take is.
What happens if we let a handful of people die from germs? What happens if we stop talking prescription
pills to make us happy, stop vaccinating our children, stop rushing them to the doctor at the first sign of a cold, stop popping antibiotics like candy? What happens when society, as a whole, stops being pussies, and thinks?
Natural selection. We would create a super race of the hardest people on the planet. Healthy genes, clear heads, strong immune systems, the ability to adapt, and prevail. Got someone trailing behind and bringing up the rear? He will get his. The weak ones are always the first to go.
Survival is the victory to the strongest and most prepared.
Leave a comment below. Let me know your views.
Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course LLC
The are all types of bags in the tactical/prepper market today. Bug Out Bags, Get Home Bags, Shit Hits the Fan Bags, while most carry the necessities for survival, people forgo the creature comforts they are accustom to when building a wearable bag. Truck bags are a different type of beast altogether. Your vehicle carries the bag, so weight saving isn't high on the list, yet useful items are. When I make a truck bag, I want it to contain stuff I need now, not the stuff I need if I am living in the woods for a month or two.
So where to start? First off, identity your needs, and wants.
Needs:
-Water
-Fire/Signal
-Shelter
-First Aid
Your needs are the basically the bare essentials you want in any bag you carry. It's stuff that is important to have, could get your ass out of a jam, and save your life.
Wants:
Man, I can go on and on in this section. It all depends what you want to haul around. It is 100 percent subjective to YOUR needs. Fuel, tools, tent, guns, floodlights, the possibilities are endless, however for the sake of this article, the wants will be constrained to the limits of the size of the bag. Great thing is, you can add and subratact gear and tools to fit your requirements.
The bag itself (pictured above) is from LA Police Gear, it's their Tactical Bail Out Gear Bag, and it sells for around 19 dollars, however they run sales often, and can scoop it up for as low as 15 dollars.
I haven't used this bag before, so I cannot confirm on how well it will hold up, but the bag is a best seller (over 130,000 sold), so I doubt there were alot of problems.
-It is made from 600 Denier Nylon
-Has a hidden full size gun pocket.
-Has a slot to fit iPads, tablets, and small laptops.
-The bag is sectioned off down the center, and is covered in a loop type fabric, so you can attach your holders that are velcro based.
-The bag measures approximately 16" x 11" x 6.5" externally (15" x 10.5" x 6" internally.)
-Includes a padded and removable shoulder strap.
-Numerous pockets, to stuff all type of shit in there.
-High quality zippers with paracord pulls (which I will probably replace)
Part 2 of the article will include all the gear that I have stuff into the bag. Be warned, this fits MY needs, not yours. So choose your gear carefully.
A one minute and fifty second trailer was released yesterday for the upcoming movie "American Sniper." American Sniper details the life of Chris Kyle, US Navy Seal, who is the most lethal sniper in American military history. Kyle was so infamous during the Iraq war, that the insurgents dubbed him Shaitan Ar-Ramadi, (Devil of Ramadi) and had an 80,000 dollar bounty on his head. As you may, or may not know, Chris Kyle was killed in the United States by a troubled Marine, who is now awaiting trial for his death. Bradley Cooper who plays Kyle, has vowed to tell this story for him, and all the veterans who have sacrificed for our country. American Sniper is being directed by Clint Eastwood, who already has some great films in his quiver as a director (Grand Torino, Heartbreak Ridge.) The film is slotted for a limited Christmas Day release, opening wider on Jan. 16. I will say this, make sure you read the book before you watch the movie.
American Sniper on Amazon
Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course LLC
Company Spotlight: REI
Ok, I know what you're thinking, REI is a huge corporation blah blah. True, they are, but they operate completely differently than your average Dick Sporting Goods, Academy's, and Walmarts. To be honest, I didn't know much about REI until they opened up a retail store near my house.
REI was founded in 1938 in Seattle, Washington, and quite refreshingly, they are a privately owned, American company. They operate as a quasi Co-Op, basically if you purchase a 20 dollar lifetime membership, and you will get an annual dividend check equal to 10 percent of what you spent throughout the year. Doesn't sound Ike much, but if you spend anytime outdoors, it adds up pretty quickly. I was able to buy a Jet Boil, and a new headlamp with my last years return. Their stores are always beautiful, clean, well stocked, and have helpful employees that know what they are talking about.
So why am I writing this blog? Because I had an unusual experience from REI last week, and wanted to share it. I received an email, showing the Salomon Speedcross 3's were on sale. Awesome, I wanted another pair, so I went to the website, and found the Speedcross's, which at the time were backordered, no big deal. I ordered them and went about my day. Later on that week, I received a shipping notification, so I made arrangements for someone to be at the house awaiting the UPS driver. Dude never showed up, yet the tracking number said they were left by the door. So the next day, I filed a claim with UPS, which was a huge waste of time by the way, and while waiting for UPS to call me back, I took a chance and called REI, just to inform them about the situation.
I was taken back, because right off the bat, I had a human on the other line. But not just any human, a human who spoke English, and who was friendly. I am 32 years old, and I have never had a nicer customer service representive talk to me on the phone, she genuinely showed concern, and cared about what I was going through. After explaining the situation, she put me on hold, and transferred me to another friendly customer service representive who wanted to verify my shipping address, they were going to overnight me another pair of shoes. I was shocked, I didn't get a run around, an excuses, nothing. UPS made the fuck up, and they were making it right. They both appreciated me shopping with their company, and thanked me for being a member.
I base my purchases mainly on customer service, if you're a dickhead, don't return emails, I'm not going to spend my hard earned money with you. It's something I emulate in my business, I respond to emails, comments, and questions, because I appreciate everyone that supports this brand. But REI, has cemented themselves into my life now, just by the way they treated me over the phone. Simple as that.
Steven LaBarre
Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course LLC
Atmospherics, and situational awareness.
I’m sure most of you know what situational awareness is, and how it is relevant in your day to day lives. Most of you are concealed carry permit holders, fathers, mothers, protectors. People depend on you to keep them safe. People with a decent grasp of situational awareness also take into account the atmospherics in their current location without even knowing it.
Atmospherics, or environmental recon, is the rhythm, the energy of people, vehicles, noises, cameras, music. It encompasses all of your senses. What are you picking up? What are you feeling? Is there tension in the air? A confrontation? A loud muffler? Someone paying too much attention to your children?
When I enter a space I immediately start taking in atmospherics, and start assessing the situation, even if there isn’t a particular threat I’m looking for. It is just second nature to me. I, for one, do not want to take my family into a compromising situation, or one that has the potential to turn dangerous.
I was in my local coffee shop a few weeks ago and as soon as I walked through the door I felt something. It was just a touch quieter than it normally is and there was electricity in the air. Something was off, and my body, gut, and mind was firing all sorts of signals to find out what the abnormality was. Turns out it was a couple tucked away in the corner having a mute, semi violent (i.e. grabbing arms) argument/confrontation. Other customers were aware of this incident, as were the employees, yet not one mother fucker wanted to open their mouth about it (Bystander Effect, which I will have an article about soon). I didn’t say anything either, but I did assert myself into the situation unknowingly to them. There was a rack of coffee mugs and various gifts in front of their table, so I took several minutes to peruse everything on the rack. They eventually got up and left. They walked to their vehicle and I took a mental picture of the douche bags license plate to pass along, if need be.
It doesn’t take a lot of time, just look around, process your thoughts, feelings, and senses. Identify the exits, potential threats, and always listen to your gut. With the complete awareness of your situation, you will be better able to make rapid decisions (fight or flight), and you will be in a better position to protect yourself and your family.
Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course
It's not everyday that a product impresses me right from the get go. However with the Tac Rabbit EDC pouch, it did exactly that. First off, the new Multicam Black fabric is quite fancy. Not many companies are using the Black in their designs due to its recent release date. It doesn't shout "tactical operator" like normal Multicam does.
Moving on, upon inspection of the pouch, everything is stitched nicely, and the finish work is impressive. Little features like the heat shrinked 550 cord on the zipper pull, and the hidden reversed pocket on the inside make it seem like some thought was put into this product.
I should also note, that this pouch is in testing stages, there are some changes I would make for this pouch to be perfect, which I will get into later. (When I called the owner of TacRabbit, with my findings, they were already working on them).
I typically use this pouch when traveling, while at the gym, or when I don't feel like stuff a bunch of shit into my pockets. I am able to fit a large knife (ZT301), my wallet, keys, cell phone, chap stick, earbuds, and still have some room to spare.
All in all I was impressed with the durability, I have thrown it across the pavement filled with rocks, allowed my 1st grader to play with it outside, kicked it around the gym on accident, and still looks brand new.
Good: American made, Veteran owned small business, high attention to detail, quality product, price (when released will be very competitive).
Bad: Needs belt loop. -see below
Now, I have talked with Jada, owner of TacRabbit with some of my findings, he agreed with them for the most part. My biggest issue was lack of a belt loop, he laughed, and was actually working on that as we were talking. Some other development findings I shared with him was a slot to slide your ID in quickly, and easily, also the future addition of a removable modular organizer, for different storage options. (Pens, cell phones, camera, lighter, multitool, etc.
You can find TacRabbit at:
www.facebook.com/pages/Tac-Rabbit/308561689277634
www.tacrabbit.com
instagram.com/tacrabbit
Steven LaBarre
Stay the Course LLC
