Blog - Tactical & Military Surplus Gear

Counter-Tracking and Anti-Tracking in the Backcountry: Breaking Sign, Route Choice, Terrain Masking, and False Trails (Safely and Legally)

What Tracking Really Looks Like on the Ground (and Why It Matters) Tracking in the backcountry is rarely one perfect boot print in soft mud. Most of the time, it’s a chain of small indicators that add up: scuffed duff, a bent blade of grass, an unnatural line through brush,

Swiftwater Fording and Pack-Ferry Techniques: Reading Current, Footing Strategy, Team Crossings, and Rope-Assists

Swiftwater risk decisions: when a ford is the wrong answer A safe crossing starts with an honest go/no-go decision, not foot placement. In military training we treated water obstacles like any other hazard area: you don’t “try it and see.” You assess, you plan, and you pick the lowest-risk option

Tarp Shelter Systems for Wind and Heavy Rain: Ridgelines, Storm Pitches, Guyline Angles, and Runoff Control

Wind-and-Rain Tarp Mindset: Think in Systems, Not Just Shapes A tarp in calm weather is forgiving. In wind and heavy rain, it becomes an engineering problem you solve with simple parts: anchors, lines, fabric tension, and drainage. If one part fails, the whole shelter starts to unravel. In military fieldcraft,

Foot Care for Long Rucks and Multi-Day Hikes: Hot-Spot Drills, Blister Taping, Sock Systems, and Field Treatment

Why feet fail on long rucks (and why “toughness” doesn’t fix it) Long distance under load doesn’t destroy feet because you’re weak. It breaks feet down because friction, moisture, heat, and pressure stack up for hours without a reset. In military movement, you learn fast that discipline beats motivation. Foot

Survival Fishing Without a Rod: Handlines, Improvised Hooks, Fish Traps/Weirs, and Safe Processing

The survival fishing mindset: calories, risk, and time-on-task Survival fishing without a rod is an exercise in priorities. You’re not “sport fishing” anymore. You’re trying to turn water into calories without burning more energy than you gain. You also need to avoid injuries that slow you down. In the field,

Map-and-Compass Navigation in Real Terrain: Declination, Bearings, Resection, and On-the-Move Corrections

Map-and-compass navigation as a system, not a party trick A lot of people treat map-and-compass work like a nice-to-have skill-right up until the day it isn’t. Real terrain doesn’t care if your GPS is out of battery, if tree cover blocks satellites, or if your phone took a swim. When

Snow Blindness, Dust, and Debris: Eye Protection, Emergency Eyewear Fixes, and Field Treatment for Corneal Irritation

Snow blindness (photokeratitis): the UV injury you don’t feel until it’s too late What’s happening to your cornea on snow, water, and high rock Snow blindness is basically a sunburn on the surface of your eye. UV light reflects off snow and water and hits the cornea and conjunctiva hard,

Hand-and-Arm Signals for Silent Team Movement: Command Sets, Lost-Contact Procedures, and Night Variations

Why silent movement fails without a signal plan Noise discipline is only half the problem Most people think “silent movement” just means you stop talking. In real terrain, silence is about staying coordinated without creating a verbal signature that travels farther than you think. Wind can carry a shout across

Pace Count and Dead Reckoning: Building a Personal Navigation System When Visibility and Landmarks Fail

When GPS Dies and the World Turns Blank: Why Pace Count and Dead Reckoning Still Work If you’ve only navigated with a phone line on a screen, low visibility can feel like someone turned the map off. Fog deletes ridgelines. Snow erases trails. Night reduces everything beyond your headlamp to

Trekking Pole Techniques for Steep and Unstable Ground: Planting Angles, Bracing Moves, and Self-Belay Methods to Prevent Falls

Why trekking poles prevent falls on steep and unstable ground Steep terrain exposes one simple truth: your balance margin gets thin. On flat trail, a small stumble is a shrug. On scree, wet roots, or hardpan above exposure, that same stumble can turn into a slide or a bounce. Related