How Kevlar Works
Body armour is a net, not a wall. It catches the round and spreads the blow, and the spreading is something your ribs are going to remember.
GearThe Satellite Phone
A sat-phone is the right tool when there is nothing else, and a serious mistake the moment you forget that talking to a satellite means a satellite knows where you are.
GearBlades That Earn Their Place
Most of what gets sold as a "tactical" blade is jewellery for men who watch films. Here is how I actually chose mine.
GearWhat I Actually Carry
After thirty-five years the kit got smaller, not larger. The things that survived all earned it. The rest sat in a drawer, which is where most gear actually lives.
GearThe Go-Bag
The test of a go-bag is not what is in it. It is whether you can find it, lift it, and be gone before you are fully awake.
GearChoosing a Knife (and Why It's a Tool)
Everyone wants to talk about a knife as a weapon. I have used mine a thousand times for everything except that, which is exactly the point.
GearA Watch, Not a Phone
A good mechanical watch keeps time, points you north, and feeds nobody's database. Three reasons I still wear one when the young ones laugh.
GearThe Flashlight Rule
Light wins more situations than amateurs expect, and gives away more than they ever notice. Two ways to make it, and the discipline that keeps it from making you the target.
GearCash and Documents
Money in one pocket is money already lost. The case for value in several shapes, split across the body, and the discipline of the record you never keep.
GearThe Laptop and the Phone
The last ten years made the phone the loudest thing a man carries. Here is how I chose and separated my machines, and the discipline that outlived all of them.
GearPacking to Disappear
The man who can carry his life on his back walks out the door in a minute. The man with three suitcases negotiates with his own possessions while the moment closes.