I’m Mike Dawson. I’m a veteran, and I make the Blackout Fox videos on YouTube, with practical tips on staying prepared in unstable times.
This is my website. The videos are quick walks down a store aisle. Here I slow down and write each lesson out in full: what to buy, why it works, how to use it safely, and where the numbers come from. You can read it at your own pace, check my sources, print it and keep it on the shelf.
What I cover
The army learned a lot about staying alive the hard way: from bad water, bad feet, wounds that went bad, and cold that soaked through. Most of those lessons come down to cheap, boring things you can buy at a farm store, a surplus store or a big-box store. That’s what I write about:
- Supply runs: what to buy, aisle by aisle, and what to walk past.
- Water and food storage: keeping a real supply safe at home.
- Power, light and fuel: propane, gasoline and lighting, without fire or carbon monoxide.
- Field medicine: cleaning wounds, controlling bleeding and buying trauma gear that won’t fail.
- Field hygiene: feet, bugs and the habits that keep a household healthy.
How a field note works
- BLUF first. Every guide opens with the bottom line up front: a short, straight answer.
- A draw list. What you need, why, and roughly what it costs.
- The lesson behind it. Usually a piece of army history, checked against the record.
- How to use it safely. My safety rules follow official guidance (CDC, EPA, NFPA and the like), even when folklore says otherwise.
- Sources. Linked where each fact is used, and listed at the end.
My editorial policy explains how I check facts.
What I won’t do
- Sell you fear. Calm people make better decisions than scared ones.
- Use affiliate links, or take money to recommend gear.
- Pretend a web page is training. My medical guides are information. Take a hands-on Stop the Bleed or first aid class, and get real care for serious injuries.
Blackout Fox is independent. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or any store or brand I mention.
Start here
New to this? Read 9 cheap Tractor Supply items worth stocking and what sells out first in an emergency. Then work out how long your fuel lasts with the propane runtime calculator.
Rather watch? The videos are on my Blackout Fox YouTube channel.