category_outlined / Hunting & Fishing

RECOIL OFFGRID June/July #25 2018


United States
Read Morekeyboard_arrow_down
6 Issues


access_time4 min.
every parent’s worst nightmare

I’m the product of a very overprotective mother. Growing up, I had a hard time understanding her insistence on always knowing where I was and what I was doing. When I was a kid, I remember she had a bumper sticker on her car with a phone number to call for anyone with information about a missing girl named Laura Bradbury.Laura, who was 3½ years old at the time of her disappearance, was abducted in the fall of 1984 during a family outing in Joshua Tree, California. She accompanied her brother to a campsite restroom and waited outside. When he returned moments later, she had vanished. No one saw a thing. A subsequent search of the area and exhaustive investigation turned up little if any promising leads. The case went…

access_time8 min.
gear up

1MAKE & MODELOutdoor EdgeLe DuckOAL6.25 inchesMSRP$35URLwww.outdooredge.comNOTESOutdoor Edge makes a variety of tools that are smartly designed, well built, and crazy affordable. One such example is the Le Duck, named so for its fowl-looking pommel. This little knife is adaptable thanks to its blade profile and carry options. Made of 8Cr14MoV stainless steel with a Blackstone coating, the razor-sharp fixed blade has a generous belly that allows for detailed slicing and a strong point for thrusting. It comes with a polymer sheath that has a removable clip, which can rotate 360 degrees for multiple carry positions. Also included is a paracord lanyard so you can use the Le Duck as a neck knife. Though made of thermoplastic rubber and a little small even for our medium-sized hands, the handle is comfortable…

access_time7 min.

If you haven’t thought about getting a carabiner, you’ll be a convert soon after trying one. It’s an incredibly useful tool, and you don’t have to be a mountain climber to appreciate it.Aside from using them for climbing, rappelling, or caving as intended, ’biners have all sorts of improvised functions, including, but not limited to, rigging a shelter, acting as a tourniquet (when coupled with a cord), being used as a striking implement, and linking smaller packs to your get-out-of-dodge bag. Of course, you can use them for more mundane roles, such as a keychain or to attach a water bottle to your hiking pack.The predecessor of the carabiner was made in the 1800s for French cavalry troops called carabiniers, who used metal spring hooks and slings to carry their…

access_time2 min.
what if?

One minute, she was there — holding my hand, just like she always did. And the next minute she was gone. The sickening panic began to rise within me, like a surge of nausea — but far worse. I whirled in circles looking for her, but in the press of people, there was no trace. As soon as my wife saw the look of fear on my face and realized our child wasn’t standing with us, she began to shout our daughter’s name. But over the din of the busy public square, no response could be heard. Our child was gone.In this installment of RECOIL OFFGRID’s What If?, the editors asked us to explain our own approach to one of the most horrifying scenarios that a parent can face —…

access_time9 min.
journalist and mother: jacki billings’ approach

PrepAs any parent knows, a simple trip to the grocery store with a child in tow can quickly turn into a nightmare without some foresight; so a trip overseas definitely entails some heavy preplanning. To avoid any hiccups, I’d focus on four areas:Research and more research: Months before we even set foot on an Air France flight, I’d begin to meticulously gather data about our French destination. Aside from the usual hotel and restaurant recommendations, I’d seek out specific data on the tourist locations we intend to visit. I’d want to know when the busiest times are, if there are any sketchy neighborhoods nearby, if there are travel advisories for the area, and the location of important establishments like police stations, hospitals, and the U.S. Embassy.I’d pick up a physical…

access_time7 min.
survival expert: tim macwelch’s approach

PrepDo My Homework: Planning and research are a vital part of all forms of preparedness. So the planning for a trip so far from home would be much more extensive than the planning for a local getaway. I’d endeavor to find out as much information about higher crime areas in Paris, then pick a hotel and plan activities in a “safer” part of town.We’d also take the time to learn a little bit of the language. Yes, English is a common language in Europe, but it’d be foolish to expect everyone to speak a little English. To increase our chances of successful communication despite the language barrier, I’d pick up an English to French dictionary. Any traveler should know more than just “Where’s the bathroom?” in the local language.Wherever you…