Reader Q&A for 2/6/2013

I finally got enough questions in to do another Q&A post. If you would like your question to be answered on the blog just send me an email to James@survivalpunk.com. Since mail volume is still slow you are nearly guaranteed to have your question answered. This week most the questions came in from Facebook, which is also ok if you prefer that way. I have a good selection of question for you this week on wide selection of topics. So lets get down to it!

In from email we have a question from Matt:

My name is Matt and I’m from  TX.  I was made aware of your blog after listening to you on Episode 1001 of the Survival Podcast!  I really enjoy reading your blog man.  It’s always clear, concise and easy to follow.  I’ve been a prepper for about 3-1/2 years now and have slowly been transitioning to a paleo life style.  My question is what do you take for Paleo lunches during the week?  I’ve grown tired of grilled chicken with veggies or a salad everyday for lunch?

Thanks for the great question Matt. I used to have a simi regular weekly post on what I was taking for lunches. If you search the blog for Meals for the week I have a few of them showing what I made and how I cooked them and stored them. Basically I take one of my day’s off work and cook all my lunches for the week at one time. Doing it this way means I only am cooking for about an hour or two since I’m cooking them all at the same time. In the summer this can make the apartment really hot. I get on food kicks, where I will eat a lot of the same meals over and over. For this though you can just cook in a bigger quantity anything you normally like to eat, let it cool then separate into containers. Put all but what you will be eating the next day in the freezer and just take out that one every night. So no need to be stuck eating only chicken and veggies or a salad everyday. I’ve taken paleo chili, taco seasoned meat and shredded red cabbage with salsa, Brats and sauerkraut, homemade soups, paleo Shepperd pie the list goes on and on. The easiest method is brown some meat in a skillet with some oil, add some veggies use your favorite spices and cover until the veggies are cooked. The sky is the limit.

Up next I have two question from my Friends at Zombease, who just happen to be turning one year old today so head over to Facebook and like them and check out their site for great tips.

Zombease: what is your favorite survival knife, and why?

My favorite survival knife is actually two of them. I have found for my survival and camping needs that a two bladed approach is best. I test and play with a lot of knives and right now it will say it is the Buck Hoodlum and a Mora knife. The Buck has been previously reviewed and lamented about by me. I am a big fan of a large survival knife for wood processing. Being able to baton a big piece of wood right down the middle is a huge time saver. I have used the Buck to chop wood in half but prefer to use a saw for that. I pair the buck with the much cheaper and lighter Mora knife for smaller tasks. The Mora is easy to sharpen, cheap and light. In fact with the relative light weight of the Buck the two of my weight less than some large survival knives. I know it weighs less than an RTAK

What extra clothing do you recommend packing in a bug out bag and why?

 

Socks! Socks are the number one most important item I pack. Two pairs, extra, as a baseline. I use a wool outer and a synthetic inner layer. Besides that pack for the weather and location. Here in TN in the summer you can toss the cotton kills rule out the window. It is hot and humid. So I will pack cotton and synthetic during the summer months. Usually I go with one change of clothes. Also I pack normal clothes, things I would be willing to wear everyday. In the summer I will pack jeans or cargo pants, winter probably tack light pants or even wool dress pants from the Goodwill. I stay away from packing out cammo and lean more towards being a grayman. In winter I will bring an extra shirt, wool, pants and socks. I try to wear as much to not pack it so I will wear a coat, hoodie or sweater and take off as I get too hot.

Up next is one from Moutain from the Paleo Professional.

Civilian backpack or military backpack, and why?

 

My thoughts on this have started going in a different direction. My first pack was a surplus Large Alice Pack. I still have it and love it. Next was an MARPAT Marine assault pack. I still use this one for most camping trips and vacations. It’s huge and easier to get to stuff than a top loading pack. I’m starting to move away from the military packs though. They tend to stand out a big where as the generic hiking packs are so common they are completely ignored. Another factor is that the civilian hiking packs tend to be lighter, though not as tough. It’s a trade off. If someone needed a cheap B.O.B and grabbed an Alicepack I wouldn’t fault them though I would recommend a hiking bag now.