Beyond the Pocket: IWB For Your Kit

Whether a suit, shorts or skirt, you'd be hard pressed to find a more supportive place to carry a knife when wearing lightweight fabrics. Not only will this reduce the visible wear and tear on your apparel, but the reduction of travel will keep most knives from skipping around in unstructured pockets. To those of you who concealed carry, this isn't going to be a foreign concept. To the rest, however, I hope you'll come at this with an open mind. Not only is it discreet, but the characteristics of weight distribution are truly second to none. Now what am I going on about? Well, I'm talking about inside the waistband carry (IWB) for urban preparedness.

I regularly carry a Cold Steel Recon 1 in such a way, and after a little bit of time in the waistband, I find that it all just melts away. Now, this isn't a one size fits all solution - you're going to have to find out whether your gear fits your form. But after a decade of carrying fixed knives and folders this way, I have yet to encounter any exceptions.

While some consideration should be made of the legalities in your jurisdiction, there's something to be said about the discretion offered by IWB carry in a less than permissive environment (or even your workplace). By tucking your folder behind your belt buckle - or behind the hip when wearing a suit jacket - you'll find that most deep-carry knives disappear entirely, leaving your pockets safe and your needs secure. I’ll let you decide where this fits best.

Anyone else considering Inside the waistband for Urban Survival? Feel free to share your Thoughts Below.

EDC, KnivesJHApril 26, 2023Prepping, Urban Prepping, Urban Preparedness, Urban Survival, Every Day Carry, EDC, Knife, SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, City Prepping, Apartment Prepping

Sticking to the Menu When Building An Urban Preparedness Pantry

While long-term food supplies seem to capture our hearts, many don't sufficiently plan for what is required inside of a year. It's easy to get carried away with our short-term selection, but the problem with non-perishable food like canned goods, is that we tend to contribute just a little too much to landfill. So how do we buck this trend when prepping for events like job loss or natural disaster? We plan our urban preparedness pantry around our daily menu.

On Shotguns: Shotgun Breaching For The Urban Prepper

We've all encountered a locked barrier at some point in our lives. Locked keys in the car? Call roadside assistance. Late night as a teen? There's a basement window for that. At the end of the day, these are all easy fixes with ample opportunity. But in an urban survival scenario where self-rescue is required - and a locked door may hold you or your loved ones firmly in harm's way - a heavy-handed solution may be the only way to safety. If a lockpick or hard kick won't clear a path, perhaps it's time to knock a little louder. Enter the shotgun.

The Nail That Sticks Out Gets Hammered

During a period of civil unrest, you're either a number or a target. No matter how well equipped you or your small group may be for conflict, full battle rattle is going to draw a world of unwanted attention from the hoods and have-nots. That overt plate carrier and camo you're wearing? The city will eventually swallow you whole, thinking you're another cop, criminal, or loot drop. But at what point does our affinity for load bearing equipment or camo become a liability in urban preparedness? With big city problems, I figure it's sooner rather than later.