Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 4

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 4

In previous blogs I’ve stressed the importants of keeping your torso free of gear. Wearing too much gear on you does three things: First, you are broadcasting to everyone you have a lot of things to help you survive and more of a reason for them to attack you. Second, if another human or zombie attacks, you are going to be encumbered by all of that gear on. Lastly, it’s more things for someone else to grab onto in a confrontation. So where do you put all of your essential gear then? Simple. A backpack.

Backpack

Here is what a backpack should have: It needs to be super durable, have a large carrying capacity and, most importantly, it needs to look like a normal bag. Some people go a little crazy when it comes to bags and think they need to go military style… Bad Idea. It may not seem like a big idea if you are wearing normal clothing and keeping on the down low.  However, it will stick out like a sore thumb in a city if you are carrying around a camo military style backpack. Even more so if you ARE wearing normal clothes. It’s just one more thing that could separate you from the masses of survivors and make you a target… If you can ignore the risk altogether, do so by carrying a normal looking bag.

BDS Tactical 3-Day Pack

This is the kind of backpack I would carry. It has the shape of a normal school style bag but has a lot of awesome features. It has a capacity of 3100 cubic inches so it can fit a ton of items; it comes in colors that are NOT camo (black being my preferred choice), has a slot for a 100oz water bladder and it has MOLLE webbing so you can hang extra things on it. The waist strap is removable or you can tuck it in which is nice. Some people may argue the MOLLE webbing is military. True, but it doesn’t have near as much as most military bags and I think the normal shape and color off-sets it enough to justify having the extra storage/MOLLE option. http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-three-day-pack.cfm

On a side note: What is the obsession/logic behind camo? Seriously think about that. Camo is made to help whoever is wearing it blend into the environment similar to the camo pattern. It tricks the mind and blurs the human shape into the surroundings thus keeping you concealed. If you are in a city, which is made up of mostly concrete, brick, and metal…. How does wearing multicam or ACU prints help hide you? Even if you had on UDC (urban digital camo) or A-TACS, you will stand out walking amongst others and people will think you are Military/Police personnel, which is illegal like I mentioned in a previous blog if you are not. You will definitely stick out MORE wearing any other camo pattern in a city because you don’t match anything in your surroundings and are just drawing more attention to yourself. In an urban environment you should wear neutral colors that let you hide in plain sight; blend in with the people around you and make people pass over you. To me that makes more sense then looking like a tool wearing woodland camo in the middle of New York City.  That is unwanted and stupid attention that could have easily been avoided.

/Rant

Be Prepared. Be SMART. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 2

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 2

This blog will be over the importance of protecting your torso from zombie and human attacks alike while still keeping with the Grey Man idea. I’m going to show you some gear, give a brief description of them, and then close with how they all coincide with the Grey Man Theory; Max protection, minimal detection.

Slash Proof Hoodie

Created by Blade Runner in the UK where knife attacks are prevalent, these hoodies have a level 2 EN388, 6.2 blade cut resistance rating. Thanks to the 180-gram Kevlar lining, these hoodies can stop most knife attack slashes that occur during muggings and knife fights. This means you have a lightweight armor alternative that is on the down low and can help stop a zombie’s bite from ripping through your arm causing infection. Their bite may still hurt since… ya know… you’re being bit… but at least skin wasn’t broken and you aren’t going to turn into a dead head.

Chest Rig

A chest rig is a great piece of gear to have to carry all your combat and first aid items, walkie-talkie, knife etc. Only problem is it makes you look like military/police personnel, which (if you aren’t military or police personnel) is illegal. The one in the picture is a lil to bulky for me. The reason I chose it though was to show one of the main features I love which is the center chest pistol holster. The one I would actually use is lower profile with not as many bells or whistles. Pix further on.

http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd_bds_tactical_land_warfare_chest_rig.cfm

Multi Proof Vest

This is more for protection against other people. In a situation where people are probably going to kill you for the shirt off your back, you need all the protection you can get. Another product of Blade Runner, this vest has an NIJ protection level of II; it can stop bullets up to .357 JSP magnum and FMJ 9mm rounds going 1400 FPS and 00 buckshot. It is soft armor and only weighs around 4 pounds so it’s light. This can also stop attacks from edged weapon stabs using up to 16 Joules of force AND stops 100% of all slashes. http://www.bladerunner.tv/Ballistic_Chart.htm

http://www.bladerunner.tv/covert-vests-lightweight-bulletstabproof-vest-threat-level-p-834.html

Bring it all together….

So how does this work in conjunction with the Grey Man Theory?  It’s simple. You have all of your tools at your disposal in a discreet, easy to access set up and you have all the protection you need without broadcasting it. Wear the multi proof vest, throw on a shirt, put on the chest rig and wear the slash proof hoodie over that. When not fighting you can zip up your hoodie and look like a normal person walking the streets. However, as soon as shit hits the fan, you can easily access your weapons or, God forbid, take a bullet from the majority of the handgun and shotgun rounds you will face or a slash from a broken bottle.

The biggest concern I get from people when I talk to them about this set up is this: “But it looks funny wearing my hoodie over my chest rig/tac vest. I look like I’m obviously hiding something under it.” My response to that: You’re carrying to much stuff on your torso. The majority of your gear should be in a sturdy, weight-distributing backpack (which will be in another blog) that allows the rest of your body to move freely and look like you’re not carrying anything.

Here’s a picture of the chest rig I want. It allows me to carry 4 AR15 30 round mags (more than enough), 6 pistol mags, and a 7” knife while staying low profile enough that it doesn’t look funny under a hoodie. Combine this rig with the side body upgrade (picture to the right) that adds 2 extra pockets and a handgun holster, this is an awesome incognito setup. You can build your own chest rig here: http://www.bdstacticalgear.com/pd-bds-tactical-molle-vehicle-operators-chest-rig.cfm

Not convinced that it won’t look funny or will be hard to work with? Try it yourself sometime. If you streamline your rig to the essentials to surviving a short firefight, you would be surprised at how normal it looks. Here are some pics of me as proof.

Now, I’m 6’4” and around 215 pounds. This is a random hoodie in the size I normally wear.  Don’t believe I’m not wearing anything underneath it?

                               

Underneath the hoodie I am wearing a cross draw TAC vest with 4, 30 round mag holders and 3 pistol mag holders. In the cross draw holster I have a full size 1911. This setup is WAY bulkier than the rig I talked about earlier, and even this doesn’t look or feel weird wearing a hoodie over it. If I can pull off a bulky tac vest with a full size handgun; imagine how inconspicuous a low profile chest rig with a subcompact handgun would be.

There you go guys: My thoughts on how to protect your torso and arms and carry some gear. This system will allow you to become more inconspicuous to other survivors. You will look like an unarmed survivor making his way to safety and if the need arises where you have to protect yourself, you will have the element of surprise. If a zombie surprises YOU and tries to bite the arm you used to open a door, you will be confident in the knowledge the bite will not break skin and infect you. All of this while staying lightweight and streamlined, which will allow you to travel faster, travel further, and feel less encumbered by a mountain of gear.

Be Prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt

Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 1

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse; Blog 1

I’m thinking, for the sake of keeping people interested, I’m gonna do 2 or 3 different pieces of gear, ideaology and/or weapons per blog. Pretty sure if I did 5 blogs in a row about camping gear or clothing people would stop reading. So, I’ll mix it up.

Weapons

I know there are people out there who HAVE to have a firearm going into the Zombie Apocalypse. That’s fine by me. But some people go a little overboard and think they need a Gatling gun or rocket launcher or some other crazy weapon. My questions to those people: How do you plan on affording one? How are you going to run carrying a 250 lb M61 Vulcan rotary cannon? Did you know 100 20mm rounds that a minigun fires weigh over 20 pounds? No? That’s why I’m here. My vision of a weapon is a little smaller but still packs a punch.

My weapon of choice is a handgun, more specifically, a Glock. The gun in the pic is my favorite: A Glock 30, which is a .45 AUTO subcompact zombie stopper. Fits in your hand and has the accuracy and power of a full size .45 Glock. Let me tell you why I prefer a handgun and then I’ll get into Glock itself

      

       

Handguns

1)   Handguns are cheap: You can get a decent handgun for a few hundred bucks.

2)   They are light: An average semi auto handgun weighs around 1.7 pounds loaded.

3)   They are easy to hide: You can buy a compact or subcompact handgun and carry one without anyone every knowing.

4)   They are legal: If you go to classes and get a concealed handgun license, which I highly recommend, you can carry your weapon on you, HIDDEN, without getting in trouble with the law.

Equally important is this helps you look like a normal, harmless person trying to survive. This is one of the facets of the Grey Man Theory. You look unimposing and can hide in plain view. However, the moment someone comes up and tries to take your supplies or hurt you, you have the element of surprise and can pull out your weapon to defend yourself. Best part? You can do this LEGALLY since you have your CHL.

Glock

1)   They are accurate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWgYIef1ZUE skip to 8:10…The Glock he is using is stock… ‘nuff said.

2)   They are built like tanks: http://www.theprepared.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90 The Glock in that article had been buried in dirt, mud, cement, and submerged in salt water. It was ran over, thrown on the ground and even SHOT. It still fired accurately. That’s what I’m looking for in a gun. Especially in a situation where I might not be able to clean it properly on a regular basis.

Gloves

Your hands are important and are vulnerable to a zombie bite during close encounters. You need a good pair of gloves that protects your wrists and hands. The Wiley X combat assault gloves do just that.  Made of FR treated goat leather with a Nomex-Kevlar blend, they are durable, fire retardant and slash resistant. Although they are made of leather, they are supple and thin enough to give you great finger dexterity and “feel of touch” so you don’t compromise controlling your weapon. They also have injection-molded knuckles for added protection and striking power. Zombies and knives alike will have a hell of a time getting through these. http://www.botachtactical.com/wicacoasgl.html

So there you go; your first look about what I think about when it comes to gear selection. I hope this was helpful and gave some ideas of your own for what your arsenal needs. Thanks for reading.

Be prepared. Be Smart. Be Incognito.

                                                (8bit) Brandt