The world we live in seems to be crumbling around us these days. I want a pair of jeans that allows me to carry everything I need to deal with unforeseen events, without advertising my preparedness to every passerby. I need to wear these jeans for work and chores. They need to be functional....

How would you define yourself in a single word? Perhaps it’s a family title — mom, dad, husband, or wife. Or maybe it’s a professional title that represents your life’s work, such as soldier, officer, firefighter, or doctor. There’s one term that encompasses each of these titles, and likely applies to every one of...

We've started spending more time with Body Armor and plate carriers here on OFFGRID in the last months, and if you look at the numbers, that has been reflected by the country as a whole over the last year. Although it can be a daunting subject to breach into from the outside, sometimes that...

Humans have been making clothing with built-in pockets since at least 1200 AD, when our ancestors started cutting slits in their tunics to access coin purses or keys stashed in their undergarments. However, the concept of storing tools on a belt is far older than that of carrying them in our clothes. The frozen...

I once heard a very interesting, if not somewhat grim, outlook on interpersonal conflict from a soldier I served with. Roughly remembered, it goes something like this: “All things being equal, tactical advantage goes to he who cares the least about what he cares about the most.” I imagine this has to be the mindset...

When people think of winter, they think of holidays, family, snowmen, and skating. What can be a fun time can also become a disaster if you’re ill prepared. Things that seem trivial the rest of the year can become a life-or-death scenario when the mercury plunges. Sometimes a sudden emergency becomes a double whammy...