ITS Tactical

Not too long ago, before Fastex buckles, SureFire flashlights and freeze dried Mountain House meals, a person’s survival was directly related to their skill and knowledge of their environment. The fur trappers who preempted the European expansion westward knew this better than most. In the early 1800’s, some of the most capable men were driven to the life of fur / beaver trapping in the Rocky Mountains. Hostile Indians, Grizzly Bears and some of the harshest weather known at the time constantly threatened their lives. Even if these men were hardy enough to survive the elements, they still had to figure out how to gather food, build shelter and start a fire in conditions that ranged from 90 degree heat to -40 degrees with heavy snow fall.

Since the first article in this series, Modifying an FJ Cruiser for Overlanding, Toyota has announced that they’ll be discontinuing the FJ after 2014. According to Jalopnik, Toyota has sold more than 200,000 of them since debuting in 2006 and needless to say there’s enough of them out there if you still want to find one.

Last time, we explained the rationale behind the need to have a ghillie suit in one’s arsenal. This segment will explain the construction methods of one of the easiest ghillie suit designs, the decoy bag suit. The title may be a little misleading because the ultimate decision on the total cost for this project will depend on your ability to hunt for a bargain. Between Amazon, Wal-Mart, eBay and other craft or sporting goods retailers, there’s a good chance that you can come in quite a bit under budget.