Waterproof walkie talkies are not archaic , they will never be. For someone who camps and sails a lot, I know why it is imperative for me to have one in my survival kit. While most people rely on mobile or cellular phones these days , I still carry my trusty walkie talkies each time I would go camping, fishing or sailing  . Have you ever realized what you’re supposed to do when you can’t get a signal on your phone and you want to communicate with someone so bad ?

Walkie talkies have drastically improved over the years. Aside from the benefit of extended range, you don’t have to worry so much about the hefty price tag attached to them  . They come in various sizes, colors and cool features. Personally, I prefer a waterproof walkie talkie that comes with an interference eliminator and built in weather condition alert signal. You can even find units that have an emergency button that has the ability to transmit an emergency SOS signal should the need arise.

The convenience and ease of operation that waterproof walkie talkie radios offer is the main reason why you need them in your survival kit. A lot of campers find walkie talkies to be a very useful way to communicate with their fellow campers. Cellular phones do not usually work (no signal) in separated or mountainous areas which is why two way radios are a staple in every camper’s bag. They are a great item to have just in case someone gets lost while camping.

I would definitely recommend purchasing walkie talkies that has up to 30 miles range. Of course it will be more expensive but your peace of mind is priceless. Knowing that you can still reach somebody as far as 30 miles is what you’re actually paying for. Two way radios have a lot of great features and most units already include chargers, ear buds, microphone and spare batteries. Some units are specifically engineered to work really well even if signal is being blocked by metal or some terrain. The walkie talkie is indeed the only device that can work when all other communications fail.  

What do you think of when you say, “let’s go hunting?” I picture a couple of friends and myself fully geared up in our ghillie suit . Snipers depend on the ghillie for camouflage as they sneak up to the enemy or game and shoot them down one by one, single handedly. The hunting ghillie suit had its origin as a hunter’s camouflage in the Scottish Highlands. The landed gentry had servants whose sole purpose was to look after the game of the landlord. They were called ghillies. To keep track of the game they used the first versions of the suit to blend with the surroundings. Later on a Scottish regiment was created from the ghillies and used in the second Boer wars. These men came to be known as snipers for their rare ability to shoot a very small bird called the sniper.

Sniper units are an important part of military and all snipers depend on the ghillie suit to sneak up to the enemy unnoticed. However, ghillies are still used by game hunters. Nowadays, Hunting is not as popular as it was earlier (I beg to differ) because of animal rights laws that have been put in place to protect endangered species. Ghillies are mostly used by photographers and bird watchers and by paintball and airsoft enthusiasts. Though, I still use my ghillie to go hunting!

The ghillie suit is a piece of clothing which offers good camouflage in areas with heavy underbrush as the suits are covered with local vegetation. The suits designed that you are able to attach local vegetation as the wearer moves along. It is generally made of nylon or burlap to which a mesh is attached. Over this vegetation is stuck to provide the perfect blending with surroundings. The chest areas of the suit are generally bare to facilitate crawling and arm movement, though designs vary. The suit is spread over the back and may come as a pair of shirt and pant or as a single piece. It also contains a hood.

Hunting ghillie suits are different from military suits as humans and game have different levels of perception. The military sniper must use a ghillie suit that can defy the reasoning of a human mind. That means it must resemble the exact shade of the vegetation and the texture and the form must be completely blended with the surroundings.

Game cannot reason as much. They are not really sensitive to shades of the same color and texture of the material. They also cannot make much of patterns. So it is enough to have a ghillie covered with green vegetation that breaks the human form.

It is really important to sneak up close to game for a successful hunt. Game like deer has good senses and smart reflexes. They can run fast and scamper to safety in the blink of an eyelid, on sensing a human approaching. And humans do not have the stealth or running power of predators like lions and cheetahs. So a hunter’s success depends a lot on the ghillie. It lets the hunter get close to the game without creating any interference. From the close quarters the hunter can than take aim and shoot.