Jacob S Paulsen's Blog, page 5

Breath – A Book That Made Me Healthier And Changed My Life

My wife and I have a sleep divorce. If you are unfamiliar with the term this is a situation in which a married couple no longer sleeps in the same room.

Over the last few years, we have struggled to sleep in the same bed and while I was previously embarrassed to admit it I've found research that suggests that about 25% of married couples sleep in separate rooms and as much as 46% wished they could (nytimes.com July 31, 2019).

The struggle is real. Ami has a hard time sleeping… generally speaking. We've been through 4 mattresses, an untold number of special pillows, and a variety of other minor adjustments all in the last 5 years as the challenges have increased. All that aside I'm the largest contributing factor as my snoring makes it difficult to fall asleep or return to sleep after a middle of the night disturbance.

That is when I stumbled upon a podcast that led me to buy this book:

There are endless tools and suggestions on the market to help deal with snoring but for the greater part, they treat the symptom and not the cause. This book promised to actually help me fix the underlying issue.

It has now been 3 weeks since I finished reading the book and here is my report.

The book is full of amazing research and insights about curing some diseases and eliminating common respiratory issues. With that in mind I'm going to share the 3 core lessons I learned from this book:

1: Breathe through your nose, not your mouth

I'm a huge mouth breather and apparently, that has a significant negative impact on my health. The nose does a lot to remove bacteria and moisten the air but furthermore; not breathing through the nose leaves it inactive and harmful bacteria will grow in the inactive nasal passages.

During my adult life, I've come to expect one good sinus infection per year and now I'm wondering if I could eliminate that issue from my life by breathing through my nose.

Retraining the subconscious part of my brain that currently breathes primarily via my mouth is a challenge. Among the various useful tips in the book, I've taken to taping my mouth closed when I sleep. I use a cloth surgical tape that is designed to play nicely with skin and this has mostly worked.

Not only am I breathing through my nose during the night hours but this has the added benefit of effectively eliminating my snoring.

Before I started the nighttime “Tape” routine I downloaded an app to help me track my sleeping and snoring data. After all, I needed to establish a baseline before I could know if the tape was having any impact on the quality of my sleep or the amount of snoring (More about the app(s) I recommend at the end of this article).

For example here is a regular night for me without taping my mouth shut:

As you can see appx 9% of my sleeping time was spent snoring (40 minutes in total). I'd embed the audio recording samples here if I thought it was valuable but none of you want to hear it.

Contrast that with this night where my mouth was taped shut the entire night:

Zero percent. Zero minutes.

Now to be fair breathing through the nose, while it may effectively eliminate my snoring, I do make a sound when breathing through my nose that; while maybe not as annoying or loud as snoring, is still undesirable to Ami my wife. However, that too maybe something I can address which leads me to my next lesson.

2: Nasal Obstruction Is Real But Treatable

Perhaps one reason why I and many others primarily breathe through the mouth is that we feel we cannot get enough air through the nose.

Before the age of 10, I had two nasal related surgeries to help me breathe better. The first was a removal of the tonsils and second a surgery to remove adenoidal tissue. Later in adulthood, it was recommended to me to perform sinus rinses using a neti pot in order to help treat and prevent sinus infections.

It was then that I learned I have a deviated septum. A condition in which the bone and cartilage that divide the nasal cavity into two separate passages are significantly off-center or crooked. I thought this made me different and could explain away my mouth breathing. In the book, James Nestor reveals research that shows about 70-80% of people have a septal deviation of some degree though many cases are minor.

For me, it isn't minor. I basically have one nasal passage that works and one that doesn't. This not only decreases the amount of air I can breathe through my nose but also makes the sinus rinse impossible to perform as the liquid cannot pass through one side.

All those excuses aside Nestor taught me some things I didn't know. Nasal obstruction is treatable. One can expand the nasal passages and in making them larger you can breathe better.

The First Tip I learned from the book is that the simple act of breathing through the nose expands the nasal passage and conversely, not breathing through the nose causes the nasal passages to shrink. I can testify to this. As I began making a concerted effort to breathe through my nose I felt a dramatic shift over the course of about 3 days. Initially, it was challenging and I felt I wasn't getting enough air but I kept at it. Incrementally over several days I felt the passage open more and more and while my obstruction challenges aren't fully resolved by just using the nose; it did make a noticeable difference.

I also learned from the book that nasal obstruction is a relatively modern problem. Anthropology has demonstrated consistently that humans from 300+ years ago didn't have these issues. Our great great great great grandparents had large mouths and large nasal passages. About 300 years ago there is a distinct shift in human skulls in which the brain cavity increases in size but the pallet and the nasal passages shrink.

Most experts attribute this to a changing diet and the consumption of soft processed foods. In other words, we no longer chew hard foods and as such our jawbones have shrunk and this has led to overcrowding in the mouth and nasal obstruction. 300 years ago there was no market for an orthodontist because everyone had straight teeth.

While my family will tell you I can eat an impressive amount of food in a single bite my mouth does suffer from overcrowding. Like most adults, I've had wisdom teeth removed and have had braces twice and still have crooked teeth.

The takeaway is the Second Tip I learned from the book. Chew harder foods and exercise the jawbone. Even in adulthood, we have the capacity to add bone mass to our body and by exercising the mouth you can expand your pallet and in turn, increase the size of your nasal passages. My immediate action plan has been to eat more beef jerky and while I have no idea if this is having an impact on increasing my airways I do note how little jerky I have to consume for my jaw to feel tired.

There is also great information in the book about using expanders and other strategies to expand the size of your nasal passages.

3: Air is Not Air. Breath is Not Breath

A good number of chapters of the book teach how changing how you breathe has an impact on the body. It sounds weird at first. After all, how could changing the length of your inhales and exhales make any difference? If the net same amount of air passes into the body each minute or each 10 seconds why would it matter?

It matters. Here I won't detail out much of the book (you should just read it) but I will share that for everyday core health the body is at the highest degree of optimization when you inhale for 5.5 seconds and exhale for 5.5 seconds which leads to 5.5 breathes each minute. I have been trying to practice that a few times a day and right before sleep for a minute or so. I can't say if that is impacting my health. I don't see an immediate impact but I do believe in the science presented in the book.

Resources:Sleep Tracking Apps:

I started with SnoreLab. SnoreLab is available for both iOS and Android and is a top-quality solution for tracking your sleep and snoring. This app is a freemium model product. Some features are free but many of the best features, while free at first, will eventually be locked out if you don't upgrade and pay for their service. Ultimately I left SnoreLab because I like having all my data in Google Fit and SnoreLab isn't compatible with Google Fit.

I moved to Sleep as Android. As the name implies this app is not available for iOS, only Android. That said it has just as amazing of a toolset as SnoreLab but will sync with Google Fit. It is also a freemium model so after my 1-week free trial ran its course I paid $15 to unlock all the premium features permanently. Can't recommend this enough.

I also wear a fit-bit style knock-off device that tracks my sleep to some degree and provides some data. However, it doesn't have the ability to “hear” snoring and track that aspect of my sleep which is an important data point for me.

The Tape:

As part of my business Mountain Man Medical, we stock 1″ cloth surgical tape. The style of tape is perfect but ideally, I think 1.5 or 2 inches wide would be preferable but I'm getting along with the 1″ tape I have in my warehouse. Here is an option on Amazon I've recommended to a few people.

Don't complicate it. Just tear off a strip wider than your mouth and put it over your closed lips. Some experimentation will be necessary to figure it out but I think you will be surprised how easy this is and just how little it will bother you. It didn't have any negative impact on my sleeping at all.

The Official Website:

The author, James Nestor, has an official website full of videos and other expert advice on breathing. I highly recommend you buy the book and consume the resources on his website here.

The post Breath – A Book That Made Me Healthier And Changed My Life first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

Firearm Trainers Association: How To Change Your Marketing Strategy In A Constitutional Carry State

Guest post I wrote for the FTA about overcoming the challenges of marketing firearm training classes in a state where no class is required to carry concealed. Firearm Trainers as a whole aren't known for being great marketers so this is ultimately an introduction to marketing funnels.

The post Firearm Trainers Association: How To Change Your Marketing Strategy In A Constitutional Carry State first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

Facebook and The Gun Industry – What You Need To Know

Operating a business in the firearm industry even if you don't sell guns, comes with complications and risk. This article is part of a series of articles I'm publishing about various online platforms, merchant providers, and tools that have policies related to the firearm industry.

Aside from being a popular social media website and platform, Facebook is among the largest online advertising publishers. The nature of the platform and the amount of data it collects about its users makes it among the more effective places to reach a target audience. My company has spent several million dollars in Facebook advertising and that has led to some valuable insights I would like to share with the industry at large.

What Is Facebook's Advertising Gun Policy:

“Ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition, or explosives. This includes ads for weapon modification accessories.”

One of the things I really appreciate about Facebook is the level of specificity they provide. For example, here is a list of things they specifically mention as being allowed: safety courses, training or licenses, books, videos about safety, plastic guns, swords, toy weapons, mounted flashlights, scopes and sights for firearms. Hunting, self-defense, and military clothing. Gear such as shooting targets and clay throwers. Holsters and belt accessories. Gun safes, mounts (including bipods), gun cases, and slings. Equipment and protective clothing (including vests). Paint, coatings or wraps for weapons and magazines.

Here is a list of things specifically not allowed: firearms, firearm parts, paintball guns, bb guns. Firearm silencers or suppressors. Weapons of any kind including pepper spray, non-culinary knives/blades, tasers, nunchucks, batons, or weapons intended for self-defense. Fireworks and explosives.

In addition, ads may not promote the “use of weapons,” “brandishing of firearms,” or “sale of weapons.”

In the past, Facebook specified that you could not run an ad for anything if that ad leads someone to a website where the above-prohibited items were being sold even if the product being advertised was not prohibited. Recently Facebook updated its policy and I no longer see that restriction.

The most confusing part of the Facebook policy is the claim that ads cannot promote the use of weapons. That would seem like it stands in contrast with allowing an advertisement for a product that is used with a gun. After all, if you are advertising a gun holster aren't you promoting the use of a gun? Maybe its just me, but in case that confuses you as well I think the core takeaway is that the ads cannot be about shooting guns. As long as your product isn't specified on the naughty list above you should be fine.

What Can You Expect From Facebook:

Facebook must employ thousands of ad moderators because I'm pretty sure they look at EVERY ad we deploy as a company. Maybe I'm on some flagged list of advertisers that warrants that level of attention or maybe they just look at all ads that closely.

Regardless you should expect that your ads will be reviewed by a moderator to ensure compliance with their guidelines. Along those lines I have good news and bad news.

The Bad News: Their moderators seem extremely inconsistent. I have had sometimes the same ad running 32 different times (targeting different audiences) and 12 may be approved and 20 denied. The ads are identical. Clearly, they are all compliant or not. With each ad we submit I feel like it is a 50/50 gamble that it gets through the initial moderation process.

The Good News: 98% of the time when they reject an ad for being non-compliant we simply appeal that decision and they approve it after the appeal. So the good news is there is actually a way to appeal a denied ad and whatever higher level, better-trained, moderators deal with the appeals seem to be more clear on their own guidelines and generally approve my ads.

In addition to being compliant with the policy as stated above, you should also take care to note that Facebook also monitors the number of people who complain about your ad. Targeting non-gun friendly people with your gun-related advertising is likely to cause people to report your ad or complain about it. Enough of those actions will lead to your account being frozen or deleted.

What Are Your Options – Should You Do Business With Facebook?

If your products and services are compliant with the Facebook advertising policy I see no reason you shouldn't at least consider advertising on their platform if it is profitable.

I understand the desire to not “feed” and give your business to companies that don't fully support the second amendment but if you can serve gun owners and help more people get education, training, and qualify firearm-related products by advertising on Facebook I would say you aren't just supporting Facebook as a business; you are also leveraging Facebook as a business to help out the gun community.

It is also worth noting that Facebook's ad policies are pretty comparable to most other large service websites and publishers. If you can't abide by Facebook rules you won't be advertising on any major online website or publishing platform. That is a business decision you get to make.

My Suggestions To Any Firearm Industry Company Relating to Facebook Advertising:If you sell ammo, guns, knives, pepper spray, or anything else explicitly against the Facebook policy but want to run ads on Facebook I would set up a separate website/URL for the sale of the products that are not against the Facebook policy that you want to advertise. This will reduce drama with Facebook when their moderators click through on your ads to your site and DON'T see prohibited items for sale.I would be cautious about imagery. If you can sell your product without a picture of a gun I would do that or test that first. If you do need to include the image of the gun in the advertising image I suggest you make it a small part of the overall image. If the gun stands out as the main object in the picture you will have much less success with passing the moderators.Facebook has an option where your ad account can get certified to run “Political Advertising.” I would go through that certification process. During an election season, Facebook moderators often see ads relating to firearms as a political topic and will reject your ads because you are not certified to run political advertising. Getting that done proactively will save you energy and frustration later.Create a new page on your website called “Weapons Policy.” On that page write up a paragraph or two about how your company does NOT sell weapons. Specify that you do not sell any of the items on the Facebook naughty list. Add a link to your Weapons Policy in the footer of your site along with your privacy policy and other similar links. We made this change in 2016 and include the link to this page in every appeal we make. I've seen several other companies steal that idea and I'm confident it has had a significant positive impact on our approval percentage.Where possible avoid the terms gun, pistol, and firearm. Even though this shouldn't have an impact in determining if your ad is compliant or not we saw a large reduction in denials when we substituted those words with semi-automatic or just left those words out entirely.The post Facebook and The Gun Industry – What You Need To Know first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

PayPal and the Gun Industry – What You Need to Know

Operating a business in the firearm industry even if you don't sell guns, comes with complications and risk. This article is part of a series of articles I'm publishing about various online platforms, merchant providers, and tools that have policies related to the firearm industry.

PayPal is a merchant provider that enables small businesses and helps them accept credit card payments online in a secure way. In addition to being its own payment gateway and merchant provider, PayPal also has the benefit of being an online bank where you can keep a balance. You can get a PayPal debit card, send money to/from other PayPal users and transfer funds back and forth with other bank accounts.

What Is PayPal's Gun Policy:

“You may not use the PayPal service for activities that: relate to transactions involving … ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (k) certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law.”

Not exactly specific is it? Virtually everything my business sells MIGHT fall into their list of prohibited items. Or it might not because who is to say WHICH certain firearm accessories are on the PayPal naughty list?

I called PayPal. They were unable to provide me with a list. I was told explicitly that “holsters, bags, and tactical gear” are all ok. Many years ago I also had a PayPal representative explicitly tell me firearm training and classes are ok. Beyond that nobody knows. I'm not even sure if PayPal knows from one day to the next what is prohibited.

The most troubling thing is the lack of consistency. I know several businesses that only sell training classes and have had PayPal delete their account. I know at least one company that only sells holsters and yet PayPal froze their account.

Further, they don't seem to be educated enough to enforce their own policies. For example, they restricted my company's account because of a transaction for “dummy ammo.” Dummy ammo is very obviously not ammunition and is in fact a safety product that renders a gun safe but even after a phone call PayPal's compliance team couldn't reconcile the possibility that anything with the word ammo wasn't against their policy that prohibits ammunition.

What Can You Expect From PayPal:

An important clarification you need to note about PayPal. Different from other merchant providers; when a customer places an order on your website and checks out using PayPal the list of items by title, that make up that order, is sent to PayPal.

If someone purchases a holster on my website and pays with a traditional credit card merchant that merchant provider will only get an order number or whatever I've programmed for them to receive. Something like “Concealed Carry Inc Order #5555555. PayPal on the other hand will get the exact title of the holster being purchased. In my opinion, this level of data transfer to PayPal is a HUGE privacy concern for my business and our customers.

PayPal appears to conduct audits from time to time on accounts looking for keywords against a “naughty list” of keywords. Since the actual product names show up in a PayPal transaction this is something they can do.

*Note: Based on my interviews with companies who have dealt with these issues as I have, I suspect that PayPal might only conduct these audits on accounts that either have high balances or a volume of activity that is higher than normal for that account.

PayPal has different types of account restrictions they can apply. If for example, they see just one product you sell that is in violation of their “policy” they might put a restriction on your account only until you remove that product and stop selling it. However, if they think your core business is fundamentally in violation of their policy they might fully delete your account.

Is there an appeal process? Not really. You can contact PayPal customer support via phone and get a supervisor on the phone but their ability to help you is very limited. They can't tell you what is or isn't prohibited and at best they can “add notes to the account for the compliance team to review” but that isn't likely to have any impact on anything.

If your account has recently been restricted I suggest you do whatever they request in order to be compliant. My rule of thumb is to always play by their rules to avoid potential issues.

What Are Your Options – Should You Leave PayPal?

This is a difficult one. As a general rule, I prefer to not work with companies that don't have clear rules or a way to appeal when you feel you have been restricted regardless of following those rules.

Sadly however PayPal isn't just another behind-the-scenes merchant provider that will process a credit card charge. They have worked hard to build a brand that many consumers equate with trust and security. Customers like PayPal because they feel it is more secure than giving their credit card info to some random website.

As a large eCommerce company that processes millions of dollars each year on our website, we have the opportunity to conduct experiments in real-time with a substantial amount of traffic. Those experiments have shown that offering PayPal as an option at checkout increases the conversion rate by about 10%.

Thus removing PayPal as an option would be the last resort that would almost certainly cost us as much as tens of thousands of dollars each year.

My Suggestions to Any Firearm Industry Company Relating To PayPal:If you sell guns, ammunition, knives, or firearm parts that replace OEM parts on a firearm I strongly suggest you do NOT use PayPal. Perhaps on the checkout page, you put a note to the effect of “We do not offer PayPal as a checkout option because PayPal specifically prohibits the sell of our products on their platform.” Such a statement might lessen the negative impact of your conversion rate.If you think your business fully complies with PayPal's policy you need to acknowledge the possibility that at any point they may choose to shut you down. There may not be any rhyme or reason. Just expect it as an eventual inevitability.Setup a dedicated bank account to tie to your PayPal account. This is valuable for a number of reasons. First, you limit PayPal's access to all the funds in your business's primary bank account. Second, if your account gets shut down and you decide to open a new PayPal account you will be unable to do so using a bank account previously connected with a PayPal account that was restricted or shut down.Maintain a low balance. Pick a balance number that is appropriate for your business that you want to maintain there for whatever working balance reasons and frequently transfer anything over that dollar amount out of PayPal. I suggest that working balance never be more than $2500.See if there is a way with your eCommerce solution to restrict the data being sent to PayPal or even block certain products from being paid for with PayPal. Perhaps you too sell dummy ammo and don't want to trust PayPal compliance officers with knowing the difference.On your website, if you accept PayPal, you should be able to add a note on the checkout page to the effect of “While we do accept PayPal to meet the demands of many customers please note we don't recommend paying with PayPal. PayPal will receive all the data about the products you are purchasing which we feel is an invasion of your privacy. Further, PayPal has proven to be against the second amendment and we don't suggest patronizing companies that don't respect your constitutional rights.”The post PayPal and the Gun Industry – What You Need to Know first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

OKC Changed My Life But It Can Also Heal Our Nation

This will be published on April 19th, 2021 exactly 26 years after the Oklahoma City Bombing. The lessons learned that day by our nation need to be refreshed and reshared.

April 19th, 1995 at 9:02 am

In April 1995 I was 11 years old. I have some memories of people referring to the “Oklahoma City Bombing” later in life but I have no memory of the event taking place when I was in the 6th grade.

You can get all the specific details on Wikipedia if you like but in short, a man named Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb in the front of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. 168 people were killed including 19 children. 324 buildings within a 16 block radius were damaged. This was the deadliest terroristic act in the US up until 9/11.

April 10th, 2021 at 6:16 pm

I was in Oklahoma City attending an event at the invitation of CCW Safe; a company that I do business with and greatly respect. I slipped out of a social event in the evening and walked 4 blocks to the memorial.

The museum, which no doubt is amazing, was closed when I arrived. I was restricted to experiencing the outdoor, public memorial itself.

I hope you can visit the memorial yourself one day but with brevity in mind here are few things worth noting about the memorial:

In this picture, you see a reflection “pool” which I believe runs where the street recently was in front of the building. The van which contained the bomb was likely parked in what would basically be the middle of this picture.

Across the pool, you see some “chairs.”

This picture is now from the south side of the memorial from the plaza looking north. These chairs sit exactly where the building previously stood. Each chair represents a specific victim. The chairs are positioned in rows based on the floor of the 9-story building where those victims died. In the background of that picture you can almost see the survivor tree.

The survivor tree is a tree that was in the parking lot in front of the building. The bomb was placed between the building and this tree. The tree survived the bombing and today stands as an important symbol. The tree leans away from the explosion.

The tree is surrounded by a short wall. On the outside of the wall is written “To the courageous and caring who responded from near and far, we offer our eternal gratitude, as a thank you to the thousands of rescuers and volunteers who helped.” It faces an orchard that is dedicated to those responders.

On the inside of the wall is written: “The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.”

This message was sprayed on a wall of a neighboring building on the day of the bombing by a member of the Oklahoma City Police Department.

The memorial has many more components and ultimately I think any American should visit it themselves. I'll certainly be back when the museum is open.

The Best Part Was Yet To Come For Me

I finished my walk through the memorial and returned to the social event. The founders and executive team members of CCW Safe who were hosting the event are all former OKC cops. It naturally occurred to me that they were all likely on the force at the time of the bombing.

In the next hour, I spoke to 4 members of the executive team of that company. Their stories were shared with me personally and I don't have permission to share them on this public website. However, their experiences ranged from pulling out bodies, identifying them, responding to the initial blast, securing the site, etc. One of them is married to someone whose father died in the blast. One of them was a part of team 5 which is referenced in one of the pictures above. All of them lost people they knew well.

My experience over the course of about 2.5 hours was personal and moving. I read letters from family members to their dead parents (now posted to the fence at the memorial) and I heard several first-hand accounts about the tragedy and aftermath.

Hate And Violence Are The Problems

McVeigh had some problems. Anyone who kills 168 people and doesn't regret it has problems. That said I think a lot of people in America today could relate with McVeigh.

He was disgusted by what he (and millions of other Americans) saw as Federal failures at Waco and Ruby Ridge.

He was passionate about firearms and the second amendment. He felt that the only way to “fix” the country was to start a revolution against the government. He saw himself as a patriot, not unlike the founding fathers.

Sound familiar? For as long as our country has existed there have been people who were not happy with the conduct of the government or a group of people.

Today many feel or perceive that the division is greater among the American people than ever before. Unity is missing and brotherhood is gone.

Feeling that the only way forward is to resort to extreme beliefs, hate, and violence is to give in to the evil that leads to tragedy and division; NOT healing and growth.

It may not always lead to the death of 168 people, but hate and violence always destroy the most important part of the American Spirit.

The residents of Oklahoma City have a memorial in the middle of the city that stands as a reminder of the tragedy that comes when we fail each other.

The post OKC Changed My Life But It Can Also Heal Our Nation first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

USA Safe & Vault – Choosing A Gun Safe?

Interviewed along with 25 other industry experts about what to look for when buying a gun safe.

The post USA Safe & Vault – Choosing A Gun Safe? first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

Firearm Trainers Association – Another Look at Cancellation Policies

Guest post I wrote for the FTA about how cancellation policies affect up front conversion rates in eCommerce

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Firearm Trainer’s Podcast – Affiliate Marketing Programs

My 10 Items – Stripped Down Bug Out Bag

Recently a family member has turned me onto a TV show on The History Channel in which contestants are left fully alone in a wilderness survival situation and the person who “survives” the longest wins a sum of money.

I really enjoy the TV show and one of the unique elements of the show is that each contestant can only choose 10 items to take with them (aside from clothing and a few other things). It got me thinking… if I ever have to bug out I have a pretty hefty bag and each member of my family has their own unique bag… but if I was limited to 10 items what would they be?

Bear in mind of course that my objective isn't to win a TV show prize but to last an undetermined amount of time outside of the city in a true survival scenario.

I am presuming of course that I already have my standard EDC items on me. Clothing, a pocket knife, my handgun, and a simple flashlight, and a few other things. With that in mind what follows is my 10 items that would make up my “limited” bug out bag. In no particular order…

Number 1: Henry Survival Rifle and .22lr Ammo

I love my Henry Survival Rifle. It packs down small with the barrel, frame, and magazines stowing in the stock of the rifle.

It has proven reliable for decades of US Military and civilian use. .22 ammo is cheap, stores pretty well, and you can keep A LOT of it in a tight space.

This should be an effective tool for hunting small game and getting enough meat for a small family in most environments.

Click Here to Learn More ~$400 + Ammo

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Number 2: Solar Panels W/ Anker USB Portable Charger

I have purchased and tested a number of portable solar panels and I think this 28W BigBlue is really excellent especially for the price. Pair this with the 26800mAh Anker Power Charger and you should be able to store enough electricity from a single day of good sunlight to be able to charge all the other various things (see my below list) for about a week or more.

Instead of packing a ton of batteries, I'm effectively choosing electronic items below (like my flashlight, lighter, etc) that all recharge via USB and thus I can capture power from the sun, store it in the Anker charger, and then recharge my other various tools as needed.

For this particular article we are focused on only 10 things but consider the number of items you can source these days that can be recharged with USB power. Any type of battery, small vacuums, lanterns, coolers, heaters, bug zappers, and more.

Below I talk about a lighter, ham radio, and headlamp that will all recharge from my solar panels with power bank setup.

Click Here For the Solar Panels $73.96. | Click Here For the Anker Charger $59.99

Number 3: Trauma and First-Aid Kit

Crap happens and any bug-out bag without appropriate medical supplies is a bad situation waiting to happen.

Basic things like a good band-aid can prevent nasty infections and of course, more serious injuries can require a splint, tourniquet, heavy gauze, etc.

I would make sure your medical kit includes at the minimum: Tourniquet, Pressure Bandage, Chest Seals, Hemostatic Gauze, Elastic Wrap, basic first aid stuff like band-aids, and a splint.

I think the Wind River kit from Mountain Man Medical has about everything you could need. I would add a moldable splint to the kit and then call it good.

Click here for the Wind River $190. | Click here for the Moldable Splint $6.99.

Number 4: 1-2 Large Heavy-Duty Tarps

Tarps can be handy for a number of things but the obvious critical use is shelter building.

Shelter along with food and water is one of the three critical elements to any survival situation.

Also, tarps can be used to collect rain water.

A good tarp is going to set you up for quick and long-term success in most environments. The right tarps can also double as a thermal blanket.

Click here to learn more $34.99

Number 5: USB Rechargeable Arc Lighter

Obviously, you need a fire starter.

I've used a fair number of Ferro rods, and the “everstrike” style lighters but my current favorite option is an “Arc Lighter.”

Arc Lighters run on electricity, not lighter fluid. Unlike a Ferro rod, an Arc lighter works every time and isn't susceptible to wind.

A charge will last a long time on these things but of course, you can recharge it from the solar panels.

Click Here to Learn More $12.99

Number 6: Baofeng UV-5R+ Ham Two Way Radio W/ USB Recharger

Communications are important in any survival situation.

While I happen to be a licensed HAM operator, you don't have to be licensed to buy and own a HAM radio, and in an emergency, you don't need a license to operate the radio either. Sounds like a no-brainer right?

Also, a Ham is going to give you access to emergency frequencies and the NOAA weather broadcast. You don't need a traditional emergency radio if you have a HAM.

By default, most handheld radios will require an AC outlet to recharge but the handheld radio I recommend will recharge using a specialized but low-cost USB cable once again meaning I can use my solar power to recharge my radio!

Click Here to Get The Radio $29.99. | Click Here to Get the USB Charger $5.99

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Number 7: 620 LB Paracord With Integrated Fishing Line

Some time Google the phrase “survival uses of paracord” and spend the 10 minutes it will take to read all the various ways paracord can come in handy in a bad situation.

You want to make sure you purchase quality paracord and I prefer a paracord that is made up of fishing line, snare wire, and tinder among other things.

This means I can buy a single product (about 100 feet of strong rope/cord) and also have in it some fishing line and tinder if needed.

Click here for my favorite paracord $29.98

Number 8: Bushcraft Survival Knife

I don't think I have to explain the value of a good knife in a survival situation. You want a strong, high-quality, fixed blade.

This is one of those types of products where you can spend $20 up to $2000 if you really want to. Here are two options worth considering:

–Marakniv 4.1″ Fixed Blade Knife $17.99
–Celtibero Cocobolo Knife $129.95

[hr]

Number 9: Water Filter & Canteen

Technology has had a great impact on water filter options in the last 15 years.

You probably have a few Life Straws sitting around somewhere but I've recently upgraded to the “Survivor Filter” Kit.

This tool will filter 264 gallons per filter and comes with 5 extra filters. That is a lot of water.

In addition, is will screw onto a traditional water bottle which I think is a nice feature despite the small profile.

Click here to see the “Survivor Filter” $40.00

Number 10: USB Rechargeable Multi-Mode Headlamp

In an ideal world I would have a number of lantern, handheld light, and headlamp options but if I'm stuck with only 10 items I'll take a really good headlamp.

Once again I'm choosing a headlamp that can be USB recharged so I can utilize my solar panels.

A good headlamp should have some different brightness levels and an adjustable head as well.

Click here for the QS Headlamp I Use

[hr]

If you are interested the TV show referenced above is “Alone.” You can find at least one of the 7 seasons on Prime, Hulu, and Netflix.

Space matters and while you may not be limited to 10 items in your bag, making sure you have the best gear matters!

The post My 10 Items – Stripped Down Bug Out Bag first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.

My 10 Items

Recently a family member has turned me onto a TV show on The History Channel in which contestants are left fully alone in a wilderness survival situation and the person who “survives” the longest wins a sum of money.

I really enjoy the TV show and one of the unique elements of the show is that each contestant can only choose 10 items to take with them (aside from clothing and a few other things).

It got me thinking… if I ever have to bug out I have a pretty hefty bag and each member of my family has their own unique bag… but if I was limited to 10 items what would they be? 

Bear in mind of course that my objective isn't to win a TV show prize but to last an undetermined amount of time outside of the city in a true survival scenario. I am presuming of course that I already have my standard EDC items on me. Clothing, a pocket knife, my handgun, and a simple flashlight, and a few other things.

With that in mind what follows is my 10 items that would make up my “limited” bug out bag.

In no particular order…

Number 1: Henry Survival Rifle and .22lr Ammo.
I love my Henry Survival Rifle. It packs down small with the barrel, frame, and magazines stowing in the stock of the rifle. It has proven reliable for decades of US Military and civilian use. .22 ammo is cheap, stores pretty well, and you can keep A LOT of it in a tight space. This should be an effective tool for hunting small game and getting enough meat for a small family in most environments.
Click Here to Learn More ~$400 + Ammo

Number 2: Solar Panels W/ Anker USB Portable Charger
I have purchased and tested a number of portable solar panels and I think this 28W BigBlue is really excellent especially for the price. Pair this with the 26800mAh Anker Power Charger and you should be able to store enough electricity from a single day of good sunlight to be able to charge all the other various things (see my below list) for about a week or more. Instead of packing a ton of batteries, I'm effectively chosing electronic items below (like my flashlight, lighter, etc) that all recharge via USB and thus I can capture power from the sun, store it in the Anker charger, and then recharge my other various tools as needed.
Click Here For the Solar Panels $73.96. Click Here For the Anker Charger $59.99

Number 3: Trauma and First-Aid Kit
Crap happens and any bug out bag without appropriate medical supplies is a bad situation waiting to happen. Basic things like a good band-aid can prevent nasty infections and of course, more serious injuries can require a splint, tourniquet, heavy gauze, etc. I think the Wind River kit from Mountain Man Medical has about everything you could need. I would add a moldable splint to the kit and then call it good.
Click here for the Wind River $190. Click here for the Moldable Splint $6.99.

Number 4: 1-2 Large Heavy-Duty Tarps
Tarps can be handy for a number of things but the obvious critical use is shelter building. Shelter along with food and water is one of the three critical elements to any survival situation. A good tarp is going to set you up for quick and long term success in most environments. The right tarps can also double as a thermal blanket.
Click here to learn more $34.99

Number 5: USB Rechargeable Arc Lighter
Obviously you need a fire starter. I've used a fair number of Ferro rods, and the “everstrike” style lighters but my current favorite option is an “Arc Lighter.” Arc Lighters run on electricity, not lighter fluid. Unlike a Ferro rod, an Arc lighter works every time and isn't susceptible to wind. A charge will last a long time on these things but of course, you can recharge it from the solar panels
Click Here to Learn More $12.99

Number 6: Baofeng UV-5R+ Ham Two Way Radio W/ USB Recharger
Communications are important in any survival situation. While I happen to be a licensed HAM operator, you don't have to be licensed to buy and own a HAM radio, and in an emergency, you don't need a license to operate the radio either. Sounds like a no-brainer right? By default, most handheld radios will require an AC outlet to recharge but the handheld radio I recommend will recharge using a specialized but low-cost USB cable once again meaning I can use my solar power to recharge my radio!
Click Here to Get The Radio $29.99.Click Here to Get the USB Charger $5.99

Number 7: 620 LB Paracord With Integrated Fishing Line
Some time Google the phrase “survival uses of paracord” and spend the 10 minutes it will take to read all the various ways paracord can come in handy in a bad situation. You want to make sure you purchase quality paracord and I prefer a paracord that is made up of fishing line, snare wire, and tinder among other things. This means I can buy a single product (about 100 feet of strong rope/cord) and also have in it fishing line and tinder if needed.
Click here for my favorite paracord $29.98

Number 8: Bushcraft Survival Knife
I don't think I have to explain the value of a good knife in a survival situation. This is one of those types of products where you can spend $20 up to $2000 if you really want to. Here are two options worth considering:
–Marakniv 4.1″ Fixed Blade Knife $17.99
–Celtibero Cocobolo Knife $129.95

Number 9: Water Filter & Canteen
Technology has had a great impact on water filter options in the last 15 years. You probably have a few Life Straws sitting around somewhere but I've recently upgraded to the “Survivor Filter” Kit. This tool will filter 264 gallons per filter and comes with 5 extra filters. That is a lot of water. In addition, is will screw onto a traditional water bottle which I think is a nice feature despite the small profile. 
Click here to see the “Survivor Filter” $40.00

Number 10: USB Rechargeable Multi-Mode Headlamp
In an ideal world I would have a number of lantern, handheld light, and headlamp options but if I'm stuck with only 10 items I'll take a really good headlamp. Once again I'm choosing a headlamp that can be USB recharged so I can utilize my solar panels. A good headlamp should have some different brightness levels and an adjustable head as well.
Click here for the QS Headlamp I Use

If you are interested the TV show referenced above is “Alone.” You can find at least one of the 7 seasons on Prime, Hulu, and Netflix. 

Space matters and while you may not be limited to 10 items in your bag, making sure you have the best gear matters!

The post My 10 Items first appeared on Jacob S. Paulsen.com.