News & Media Center

Believe it or not: hurricane season has arrived. After a record-breaking season last year, the Palmetto SC Region of the American Red Cross is prepared for whatever storms come South Carolina’s way this season. The Red Cross wants families to begin preparing now for the season.

Exploring nature and sleeping under the stars can be viewed as an economical vacation. But buying gear and booking campsites or renting an RV can add up. With some cost-saving strategies, camping can fit a variety of budgets, whether you’re planning a car or RV camping trip or backpacking. Try these tips to enjoy the outdoors free of technology, traffic and a big tab.

Global warming, nuclear meltdowns, earthquakes, and hurricanes...oh my! Here's how these readers prepare for it all.

This week, we scanned Amazon's bestseller list for the highest-rated survival tools, then pulled the best, most authoritative reviews for each. 

WASHINGTON TERRACE — A 61-year-old man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, a day after he allegedly assaulted three people during lunch at a local senior center. Police say the man’s motive was to get back at his former bandmates who were playing at the senior center during the lunch. 

When the need for physical survival is acute, there are three necessities that we must attend to: fire, water and shelter. Whether those items are purchased and carried with us or we learn how to utilize primitive skills and available materials to create them, they are the minimum of what we need to survive in the wilds of this world.

Another tale of the heroism and fortitude that dwells within each of us tells of a woman's surviving naked and alone in the wilderness for nearly a month. No matter how easy it may feel to quit ‑ how much we may want to just lie down and die ‑ there is always a deep reserve within us that will survive no matter how great the challenge.

71-year old Washington woman survives in the wilderness for six nights with no equipment and no gear except the most vital tool of all: the will to survive. While this is not a tool that can be purchased, it is one that can be trained and refined and encouraged. No amount of skill or kit will save you when you need it the most if you are not determined to make it through.

USCCA (United States Concealed Carry Association) Expo is being held in Atlanta, Georgia from April 29^th to May 1^st at the International Convention Center. Among all the vendors and booths that will be in attendance, the USCCA will be featuring many products for the fastest growing demographic of shooters in America today: women.

An invasion of the home of an 81 year old man and his invalid sister ended in the fatal shooting of the invader. The suspect woke the homeowner by standing over his bed and demanding money, before the gentleman fired a single round from the pistol kept on his nightstand, ending the attack.

Legally armed man in Charlotte North Carolina defends himself from three armed robbers. The legally armed civilian was working after midnight on a Sunday morning when three men broke into the Pizza Hut where he worked. 

A would-be victim in Plantation Florida turns out to be a Concealed Carry Permit holder who was indeed carrying his pistol. Because of this responsibly armed citizen, an attempted armed robbery was foiled and innocent lives were potentially saved.

President Obama on Sunday used a rare address to the nation from the Oval Office to acknowledge that the deadly attack in San Bernardino was a terrorist act `” and he called for banning popular semi-automatic rifles. 

The U.S. Senate Thursday afternoon voted procedurally against a revived Manchin-Toomey bill to expand the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks to cover private gun transfers. Co-sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Patrick Toomey (R-Penn.), the measure was defeated by an even wider margin than when it was first proposed in 2013.

NSSF HAILS ENACTMENT OF PRIORITY LEGISLATION . . . Late on last Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act of 2015. In an important accomplishment for America's hunters and target shooters, that legislation included a provision precluding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from asserting Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) authority over ammunition and its component parts. 

U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) today introduced the NSSF-supported Alternative Ammunition Manufacturing Act (H.R. 3802) to help ensure ammunition manufactures gain the certainty needed to produce alternative types of ammo. The measure requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to issue a ruling within 60 days of receiving a waiver application, or else the application will be automatically granted.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation this week joined forces with the National Rifle Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, Seattle-based retailers and gun owners in filing a lawsuit in King County Superior Court challenging the City of Seattle's recently approved sales tax of $25 on each firearm sold and five cents for each round of ammunition (two cents for .22 caliber). NSSF and other pro-gun groups fought the city ordinance, labeled a "gun violence tax," but the City Council nevertheless approved the measure on Aug. 10 and Mayor Ed Murray signed it last week.

Haix is already a big dog in Europe, but is just now getting around to trying to get more into the North American market. As a part of that I got the chance to check out their Mission boots in Desert Tan, the main series in their military line. The pricepoint likely has been one thing to slow the penetration to us cheapos here in the US, but Haix is a great example of no compromises and getting what you pay for.

Simple large capacity modular pouches are still a bit on the rare side these days so it was refreshing to see a whole line from Dunamis Gear. Although a small company, one can tell a lot of care goes into these pouches with attention to detail and use of quality materials. They take the end result quality very seriously by guaranteeing Duramis Gear products for life.

Starting with the Front Zip style pouches, they are log like in shape with a 2 slider zipper going down the front side, kind of like having a duffel bag as a pouch. 

I've been rocking my old SureFire E1B backup light as a part of my EDC (every day carry) loadout for quite some time, but while wanting to try out using the Thyrm Switchback with it I was sad to see this model was not supported. Since Surefire doesn't make the E1B anymore this made sense design wise on the Switchback and ended up as a good excuse to try out the EB1. (Yes the names are a bit confusingly similar)

This is a review I should have done a while ago as I've been using ALS (Automatic Locking System) holsters for a while now. Safariland didn't actually send me anything so I didn't have the usual feeling of obligation to get something up in a timely manner, however I tend to always think better late than never. In summary when it comes to a full on combat / duty style holster, I think the ALS series is the best thing out there.

There are a lot of medical pouches out there these days so always good to see some unique designs like this one. ITS Tactical has been around as a tactical resource site for a while now, and like us started to apply that knowledge to gear designs of their own. Collaborating with Zulu Nylon Gear, their kit is made in the USA and at the mil-spec standards expected of hard use tactical gear.

Phokus Research Group has been up to some crafty products for a while, one being their Sons Trauma Kit which offers an interesting alternative to traditional medical blow out kits. Rather than being a kit with a fancy pouch, the kit is shaped flat and slim sitting behind one's armor plate to make a great use of tactical space savings.

As usual I am catching up with reviews, but as a plus to that is has given me more time to beat up on this here fine Strandhögg Plate Carrier. Even though First Spear has moved more towards their modular AAC system I think the Strandhögg is still definitely worth talking about. For starters, if one is unfamiliar with First Spear, this vest is a great example of their 6/12 design tech and The Tubes hardware.

There is a lot of decent kydex out there so always nice to see a company keeping things fresh with new ideas like Pitbull Tactical. Their main product has been the Bloodline holster line in which the latest generation has some pretty sweet features. The general size and shape of the Bloodline is about what most would expect a modern kydex holster to be, however the hole placement and clips hardware offerings allow for not only height adjustment, but cant (angle) adjustment, and the ability to convert back and forth from OWB and IWB setups. (OWB = Outside the Waist Band and IWB = Inside the Waist Band)