Gear Review: 3 Pieces of “Have-to-Have” Prepper Gear from County-Comm

So on that note, My good  “be a prepper too” friends (ha ha, made a joke Mike)  at County-Comm have sent me a few more things to Review for you guys, and I have to say, one of them is my favorite so far. All 3 pieces of this gear is a definite “Must Have” for the Prepper IMO, because each of these things first of all, fulfill a definite NEED and besides that, can also fill many ROLES within the self-sufficient/prepper lifestyle.

 

Frontier Emergency Water Filter

Specs:

Weight: 1oz
Color: OD Green
Filters Capacity: 30 Gallons
Quality: 99.9 Cryptosporidium & Giardia Removal
Straw: Length 6 in. & diameter Mouth .5
Straw Material: BPA-free plastic
Filter length: 3.75 in. Diameter: 1 in.
Filter uses compacted carbon powder to create mechanical filtration only allowing particles smaller than 2 microns through, and as a chemical filtration allowing the carbon to absorb any unwanted chemicals.

Now this is one of those “no brainer” pieces of kit. There is no reason in the world that any serious prepper would not have one of these in his BOB, VBOB, Go-Bag, Survival Pack, Range Bag and just for the heck of it, one for the kid’s school backpacks too.

Let’s face it: no person alive can escape the “Rule of 3’s” (3  minutes without Oxygen, 3 Hours Without Shelter, 3 weeks without food but only 3 Days without Water.) Having clean drinking water is a MUST to survive. That is why one of the FIRST things you should stock all your serious PREPPER packs with is:

• 2 or 3 of these Frontier Emergency Straws (Figure 2 per person)
• Bottle of Aquamira Water Purification Drops or Tablets
• Large Volume Water Purifier (Katadyn, Sawyer, etc.)

Not to get too deep into the “planning” part of prepping, but you should always have a “Shelter in Place” plan and a “Mobile/Get the Hell out of Dodge” plan. The reason being, you never know which will be better until THAT DAY COMES. Having been through 4 hurricanes, 3 tornadoes and one major flood, I can attest to this fact! Sometimes going “mobile” is a decision  nature makes for you!

Having a few of these Frontier Straws and a bottle of Aquamira Tablets in your BOB is the perfect “Mobile” Plan For the single person. It will take up very little space in your pack but yet will be one of the most important things you carry. For those of you taking care of of a family, invest in a large capacity Katadyn Water Filter.

Another thing about the frontier straw is it is “all-in-one” self-contained unit. The plastic bag it comes in is used as a handy water container, and if needed, you could even use the cardboard that the directions come on as tinder to start you a fire if needed! The guys at County-Comm were thinking of everything!

Tube-a-Ton (Black Delrin)

From County-Comm’s website description:

The Tube-A-Ton is a multipurpose self defense tool built to hold small survival kits including: AA battery, geo-caching, pet identification, emergency cash stash, water purification tablets storm proof matches, cotton balls for fire starting, pills, needle, thread, etc. One side of the Tube-A-Ton is a battery locker which fits AA batteries perfectly. Brand new, never used overrun from government contract. Each side has a tight o-ring seal to prevent exposure to moisture in the toughest conditions. Has large loop hole for attaching lanyards and split rings for EDC (Every Day Carry).

The Tube-a-ton represents one of the many “neat” pieces of kit you can find at County-Comm! This thing is BOTH a self-defense kubotan and the perfect micro storage tube. I quickly found out when you stash a couple of extra AA Batteries on each side  it gives the tube just the right heft for the perfect striking tool. The unit comes with washers to make it watertight, so don’t stress about the weather.

As the description states, the sky is the limit on what you could stash in this thing, but whatever you decide, I can guarantee it will hold up, the material this thing is built from (Delrin), a DuPont resin that is used primarily as a replacement for METAL in all types of commercial and medical applications. That being said, if you ever need to use this thing as a striking tool, take heart! It will do the job and then some!

Maratac TLL Strobe Light Rev 2

This nifty little gadget is without a doubt the neatest thing I have EVER got from County-Comm! Now I will admit, I am a flashlight geek, but this light goes way beyond just a good flashlight; it is 3 things in 1: Flashlight, Lamp and Strobe.

First the specs:

• Length: 3.45″ Diameter: 1.25″‚
• Weight: 60 Grams Without Battery & 130 Grams With Battery. (Just over a 1/4 of a pound)
• Comes with extra o-ring
• LED Type: Cree XP-5 R5/G2 with a life span up to 50,000 hours. ( Diffused Beam )
• The reflector is aluminum alloy
• Flashlight body is made of aircraft grade aluminum covered with Type III Military grade anodization.
• The lens is a sealed polypropylene sphere.
• Has standard tripod mount threaded bottom for easy mounting
  • Ultrapod Mini Tripod ( Mini Tripod Optional )
• The TLL’s proprietary circuit design features reverse polarity protection and runs off of one C Cell battery that provides 3 levels of operation ( Constant High / Constant Low / Stobe )
• Twist on for High
  Twist on again for Low
  Twist on again for Strobe
• 3 Second Memory and then resets

Using a single Duracell C Cell battery we got the following results:

• Constant On, Low mode, 40 lumens output for upto 375 hours
• Constant On, High mode, 300 lumens output for upto 75 Hours
• Strobe mode, 300 Lumens output for upto 150 Hours ( 70 Beats Per Minute )

Now like most everything in County-Comm’s inventory, this piece of kit has a military/emergency services background. It was initially designed as a safe way to set up LZ markers (Landing Zones) when flares were most likely either too much of a fire hazard or just too much of a hassle. The way a civilian could utilize this nifty piece of gear is virtually unlimited; just a few suggestions:

• Mark a duck or deer blind
• Mark your vehicle in a large, strange parking lot
• Emergency Light when broke down on side of road
• As a Camp Light when camping or hiking
• As a Reading Light when the power goes out
• Attach a string of paracord and hang it around your neck as a homing beacon when either lost in the woods or maybe during hunting season during low light while walking to your blind so you don’t get mistaken for a deer! Sounds crazy, but that why Blaze Orange is mandatory in some states, but what good is Blaze Orange when you can barely see?

These are just a FEW examples, but when you get to thinking about it, Every GO-BAG needs one of these; it is just too utilitarian to not have one, seriously! And besides that, look at the battery usage times! Talk about the EXTREME Prepping Light! Off of one C Battery you get (on low with 40 lumens) over fifteen and a half days of run time! on high you get 3 days, but hey it pushing over 300 Lumens! On Strobe, with 300 lumens you get 6 days of run time. Talk about MAXIMIZING battery power, friend, this gadget does it and then some.

Plus it is a Maratac product, and if you guys have been paying attention, (I already reviewed their Extreme AAx2 Tactical Light) Maratac does not play around when it comes to quality or toughness! One really cool feature you will find on just about every Maratac light is the fluorescent green ring around the bulb; after being on for a while, it glows green for a good span of time to make it easy to find in the dark; very neat feature! It also has holes in the bottom cap to attach a lanyard or a foot of paracord.

Stay Prepared, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!