Weather is often changes unexpectedly. You may walk out of the home when sun is shining and it is warm outside. But then cold wind blows and it starts to drizzle. That is when light packable jacket may help you and save your day.
This 5.11 jacket is inexpensive, lightweight and packable. It is made of very thin nylon. Packable into its own hand pocket.
5.11 Packable Jacket is just about $30. It is good to have it in your EDC bag or glove compartment of your car.
5.11 Packable Jacket
There are microphone loops at both shoulders.
5.11 Packable Jacket Mic Loops
There is one document pocket at chest and two hand pockets.
All zippers are from top manufacturer – YKK®.
Advertised as rain and wind resistant. It is wind resistant but not water resistant, my shoulders were wet after just 5 minutes of light rain. But I think you can’t require more from inexpensive windbreaker, can you?
Condor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket Review: Rain and Snow
Condor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket Review: Rain and Snow
There are a lot of soft shell jackets available on the market. Condor and Rothco jackets are the most popular ones. They have very similar look, materials and price. But there are some differences between them.
I have chosen Condor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket and really happy with it. I will try to give you as much info as possible in this review.
It is warm, breathable, water resistant and windproof.
Let’s have a closer look at all features of the jacket. It has Teflon coating, YKK zippers and breathable shell technology:
Condor Summit Jacket FeaturesCondor Summit Jacket FeaturesCondor Summit Jacket Features
Condor Summit Jacket has a lot of different pockets.
2 shoulder pockets with two 4″x4″ (10x10cm) shoulder patch panels:
Here are photos which illustrate what happened after 2 hourse of light rain and one hour of heavy rain:
Condor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket After the RainCondor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket After the Rain
Jacket was dry inside. The material of the Condor Summit Soft Shell Tactical Jacket works very good, you can see lots of water drops on the jacket but it is not wet. Only small areas of the outside layer were wet.
Here are several photos to show what happened to this soft shell jacket after several hours of wet snow:
Condor Summit Softshell Jacket after SnowCondor Summit Softshell Jacket after Snow
Outer shell was mostly dry. Good result.
Highly recommended soft shell jacket. High-quality and inexpensive.
Good First Aid Tactical Kit is very important for any prepper. You can create one yourself or get stocked one.
Tactical Trauma Kit #1 by Elite First Aid comes in a very good pouch (you can choose color) and contains a lot of things. But I would really recommend replacing some of them.
There are following items in Elite First Aid Elite First Aid Tactical Trauma Kit #1
Latex Tourniquet
Should be replaced with Combat Application Tourniquet immediately!
Latex Tourniquet
Bleedstop Bandage
Good but you should replaced it with Olaes or Israel bandage. They work much better.
Bleedstop Bandage
Latex Examination Gloves (pair)
Good but should be replaced with Nitril gloves which are more durable. Also some people suffer from latex allergies
A hatchet or small hand axe is a multi-tool that can be used to cut, chop and hammer if you purchase a traditional type hatchet. The typical hatchet will have a cutting edge and a hammer edge that can be used to hammer nails, break glass for emergency extractions and you can do flint knapping to make arrowheads or even fishhooks. While it is not designed for flint knapping, it can be used for this purpose in emergencies.
In a survival situation a hatchet is indispensable because it can be used to chop wood, or even chop trees down to make shelter, chop through ice to obtain drinking water or to cut a hole for fishing. The striking end can be used to hammer stakes into the ground, smash rocks to make smaller cutting tools or used as a blunt instrument for non-lethal self-defense. The metal of the hatched head can also be used to create a spark for fires if struck with flint/hard stone or you can use with a Ferro rod.
Tactical hatchets while they have a cutting/chopping edge they are typically designed for when you find yourself trapped and have to cut or break your way through a door or even a wall. A tactical hatchet may have slots in the head to shut off gas meters or open the valves on certain oxygen tanks and these are typically carried by first responders or military personnel.
The piecing spike would be used to break through stone, brick, light metal, glass or wood barriers. Typically, a tactical hatchet would be lighter so they are not as useful for chopping larger pieces of wood and most have a straight handle, which can make chopping awkward. The holes in many tactical hatchet heads are designed to lighten the hatchet and do not serve any other purpose. Many of these types are designed for throwing and thus could be considered a self-defense or even a hunting weapon as well.
The typical so-called camp axe/hatchet is ideal for hikers, hunters and campers. You have the cutting edge and hammering edge combined. The shape of the handle is perfect for swinging and delivering blows, and at the same time allowing you to maintain your grip. You can still purchase hatchets with wooden handles and the handle is inserted into the hatchet head. Some prefer wooden handles and others like fiberglass or even all steel handles.
Obviously, a wooden handle will require maintenance to keep the wood from drying out and cracking. If you buy a quality product however, there is no reason why a wooden handled hatchet would not last you a lifetime. Note how the wooden handle is inserted into the hatchet head in the above picture. This means that over time, the head may loosen but on the other hand, you can change handles if you break or splinter it or it otherwise becomes unusable. A one-piece hatchet if for some reason you damaged or broke the handle it would be difficult if not impossible to repair.
Before buying a hatchet, know what you expect it to do. If you are a hiker or camper your hatchet will be expected to chop wood, cut rope and hammer in stakes and in some situations it may be needed for digging holes if you need to search for water or extract edible roots from the ground.
For bug-out-bags, or home emergency kits a traditional hatchet would be ideal as tool for cutting, chopping or even to help extract you from a damaged building. A tactical one is ideal if you are looking for a self-defense weapon that can also be used for chopping, cutting and for making, an emergency egress or used for rescue operations.
