Jared's Review of Eton Microlink FR 160

Well I happened to get an early Christmas present and after a few days of testing it out I figured I better make a review.  I wanted this product for Christmas and got it so that's good.  I tried charging a cell phone off of it and it is not enjoyable, but it works.  The charge rate is about the same as my normal house charger but that takes almost 3 hours to charge my phone and I could not imagine cranking that thing for 3 hours.  Either way this thing is pretty sweet and seems rugged enough for me, which is saying a lot.  I just hope the crank doesn't break sometime while I'm trying to charge my phone lost in the woods.  Anyway looks like I got something to add to my camping supplies for the summer when hopefully at least some of us quad survival members do some hardcore camping.  I said I hope it didn't happen last summer, but this summer I am going to try to change that.  The radio works fine so far easily picking up local stations without even putting up the antenna. Anyway I'm rambling I hope you enjoy the review.

Update:
So I have no also used this for 3 days straight ice fishing, and it has lived up to expectations.  We used it as a radio in the ice shack.  Then a radio and a light in the shack when it got dark.  The radio lasted almost a whole two days before we had to charge it.  When we did a minute of cranking would give us about 20 minutes of radio and light before we had to crank again.  Nothing has been broken on this yet, but I am worried about the antenna now since it is being beat around.  So far so good I've been very satisfied.

Wisconsin Deer Season 2011 YouTube Video

Well after trying for many hours to get this video in working order I have given up and decided to post it up on YouTube in its current state.  I apologize, but considering nothing went on anyway I'll post it.  I hope you enjoy our lack of excitement during the Wisconsin Deer Season.  Either way we had fun spending time in the woods and as you can all agree it's better than being in the city and doing nothing.  Here is the video...

New Item in the Quad Survival Store

We have a new item in our Zazzle store.  It's a Quad Survival mug.  It's got a B.A. font that shows in front when you hold it right handed and a Celtic font when you hold it left handed for Jared.  It would make a great Christmas gift to give any of us Quad Survival members, or just for yourself to put beverages in.  Either way if you care to check it out on the link below.
http://www.zazzle.com/quad_survival_mug-168801191877714653

First Annual Black Forest Lodge Awards

Welcome to the first annual Black Forest Lodge Awards.  This is a random collection of random awards that happened throughout the deer season.  Now onto the awards...

3 most amazing things that happened during the season:
1.  George set the record out of the BFL at 1 minute 34 seconds while setting the car on fire, and fought the log and the log won.
2.  Jake rose to the level of wizard status
3.  Old Man Rounce actually went hunting for two days

Biggest Puss Wagon:

Eric.  For hiding full beverage containers around the BFL and emptying out a full beverage container and filling it with water for playing cards.  Note: Eric claims he did not leave containers all over, but we are giving him the award anyway.

Laziest Hunter:

Look to see the tp

Jared.  For using the truck as a deer stand and driving the truck to random trees in the woods to take a poo.  On a side note he also confused Coke with Diet Coke which takes skills.

Worst Shot:
Tommy.  For shooting his deer in the foot first.  Since he is also the only one who ended up getting a deer he also gets...

Best Shot:
Tommy.  For being the only one to get a deer this year while at the BFL.

Most Improved:

Ryan.  For going out hunting more than one day this year.  Although he isn't actually hunting perhaps by next year he will have a gun and a license.

Best Mustache:
Jimmy.  Although he had a lot of beard going on, he also was the only one able to make his mustache curl up thus giving him this award.

Best Beard:
Andy.  With a goat beard that all men and some women were jealous of Andy wins this award hands down.

Most Badass:

George.  For cutting his lip in half with a log then coming back after his emergency room visit to continue partying, and for getting the record for driving out of the BFL at one minute and thirty four seconds while setting the car on fire George easily wins this award.

Black Forest Lodge Man Of The Year:

Jake.  This award is given to the man who most strives to be the manliest hunting man around.  Jake wins this award because he almost did everything that was possible at the BFL this year.  He would party at night and still be up in his stand by five in the morning.  Then after a long day of hunting and consuming he would then cook supper for everyone and then let the cycle continue.  The fact that he reached wizard status only helps prove that he is deserving of this award.  When lesser men such as Jared wanted to call it a night so they could attempt to get up early, Jake called them puss wagons then manned up and continued to do all he could to have a good time and still got up in the morning to hunt.

2011 Wisconsin Deer Season

Another deer season has come and gone. Once again, it was more about the friendship and adventure than any actual hunting. Plus, it's always nice to have an excuse to shoot some guns, talk about the good old days, and discuss anything and everything.






Although Eric, Jared, and I did not have any luck as far as even seeing a deer, we did have fun hanging out in the woods and enjoy eating Jakes --Jareds brother -- famous open fire grilling. I always enjoy cracking jokes and comparing Jared to his Grandpa. The Old Man is always a pleasure to be around and he's usually good for a laugh or two. One of my favorite lines of the whole week was having him inform me that Jared and I look like "A**holes with ears" with our Movember Mustaches.




My dad and Paul did have better luck hunting this year but I doubt they had as much fun as we did. My dad bagged himself a 9 point buck which provided a lot of meat for our family this year. Paul shot a doe which he named Sally. He also provided a little bit of controversy for the season. He shot a nice buck and put it down. However, another hunter came along and said he had shot the buck first and therefore he should get the animal. Paul not knowing the official guidelines for this kind of situation allowed the other hunter to keep the buck even though he felt he deserved it for providing the kill shot. I will have to defer to more experienced hunters for their take on the situation.

I look forward to this summer when we will all hang out at the Black Forest Lodge again...if it's standing after the harsh winter snowfall.

End of Wisconsin Deer Season

We'll the Wisconsin Deer Season is over for me.  Overal it was ok.  I got more days in of hunting than normal, but pretty much no one got a deer including me (Jared).  Eric and Paul still have today to try to get some deer though.  It sure beat sitting in North Dakota ad doing nothing.  Look for a youtube video to hopefully go up soon I took of us huning, which for some reason Eric did all he could to ruin it every time I started recording.  I don't know why he did this but hopefully I'll get something worth watchin out of it. 
We are supposed to get a new deer camp next year so I will end this post with the sign in the old Black Forest Lodge.

Wisconsin Deer Season so far

Well so far I (Jared) have had two days of hunting and no success.  Hunting reports though are showing the same lack across the board.  After sitting for most of the two days us quad survival members are deciding to walk all over the land looking for deer with also no luck.  Hopefully soon I get something before the end of the season, but it isn't looking good.

Wisconsin Deer Season

Well it's time for that national holiday known as Wisconsin deer season.  I hope everyone took some time off for it.  Remember to be safe and get the big one, but leave at least a buck and a big doe for me.  I'm hungry and don't get to start hunting till Tuesday.

-Jared

Jared's Christmas list

Thanksgiving and Wisconsin Deer Season is right around the corner!
With that said I better put out a Christmas wish list right now, before I am to busy hunting and eating.  Anyway this is my Christmas wish list with some things attainable, and some things not.

1.  GE DV1HD Waterproof Digital Camcorder, 2.5" LCD Display w/ Floating Strap, and Bonus 4GB Memory Card Value Bundle $92 from WalMart
Why?  Because, Quad Survival needs an HD camera for making videos for you all to enjoy.  I noticed it has risen in price which is not good, but it's Wal Mart it should drop again.  If not then Jared Angry. Anyway onto number 2

2.  Callaway Men's RAZR Hawk Driver (Left-Handed, 10.5 Degree Loft, Adila RIP Graphite, Regular Shaft)

Why?  Because although I am too poor for golf as of late, and my game needs to be worked on, I still want some new golf equipment for when I'm not in school, or hunting and fishing.  Also I noticed the price has already severely dropped on the driver since last year.  This was my favorite driver at a range day I went to in the Spring.  You can go view that on my other blog here.

3.  Duke Body Trap

Why?  Because, I am hungry and wanna get me some rabbit stew.  Also, there are so many rabbits running around town here in North Dakota and we all know you can't shoot in town.  I need to improve my lack of trapping skills anyway.

4.  Pietta Model 1858 New Army .44 Caliber Revolver with Starter Kit $240 Cabela's

I want to get into black powder shooting and this would be my choice to start it.  Yes I know there is a cheaper revolver with starter kit out there for less, but it is a Confederate revolver and I will save that one for Ryan to purchase.  According to my horrible math shooting black powder is actually pretty cheap including cleaning the firearm after each time out shoot which I usually do with every gun I have every time anyway.  If I like it who knows maybe I will get into cowboy action shooting.  Who doesn't like pretending they are someone cooler than they actually are.

5.  Suunto X10 Wrist-Top GPS Computer Watch with Altimeter, Barometer, Compass, and GPS

Now let me start this off bad.  This watch gets horrible to O.K. reviews.  It has had a history of issues such as the bezel falling off, it not actually being waterproof, and the finish falling apart.  Recent reviews have apparently shown signs of improvement not enough to justify the high price tag yet though in my opinion.  Now onto the good.  Why do I want this watch?  Because, it does everything an outdoors techie would want, and I like watches.  It has goodies that not many other watches posses let alone posses together in the same watch.  The part that really sells me is the GPS.  As my fellow members of Quad Survival know that we are excellent at getting really lost in the woods.  The other features are useful too though.  Wouldn't you like to get a warning of a sudden pressure drop (a sign that bad weather is coming, although some of us can feel the pressure drop), or knowing the temperature.  Unlike other GPS watches this one is currently the only one actually made for the outdoors instead of just running.  This drives me up the wall, because I want a better quality product with these features, but from my knowledge this is currently the only one.  This is pretty much the most way out there gift I know I will never get, and I know I would never buy with my own money until a better product comes out.  Either way it's a pretty cool watch if you got it for free or extremely discounted.

Sks disassembly with 50 round magazine reassembly

Well after a few Brandy on the rocks I decided to make our first YouTube video of me (Jared) partially taking apart my sks and reassembling it with a 50 round magazine.  It's a fairly simple video, but it is a start.  Go ahead take a look at it if you have an sks or just got one this could help you slightly.  Of course if more requests come I could go into more detail on my sks.

By the way.  To make Eric feel bad (for fun not for being mean) I would like to mention the Chinese sks is better than the Yugo one.  Papow!  Alright everyone have a good night.

Jared's moustache (yeah I say it the classy way) for Movember

Well I am working on my moustache for Movember.  I am trying to get the Doc Holliday from the movie Tombstone which looks like this.

I don't know if I can pull it off fully before deer season.  The part I am worried about is the tips of the moustache.  First I have to get it to grow out well enough to be able to curl it up every so slightly.  Secondly I cannot find moustache wax anywhere in town.  Looking through the internets it seemed CVS would be promising but no such luck.  I will have to try to scrounge up some money and get some online.  Finally I have to not ruin the end of the moustache by trimming to much off of it.  Do I think I will win the moustache contest?  Probably, but now that we have Paul in the contest now I have some real competition.  I have no idea what his looks like and feel like keeping what mine looks like a slight secret in hopes Paul, Eric, and Ryan don't try to do a specific style of moustache like me.  I have already herd that Eric has shaved once basically disqualifying himself from the contest, but you never know he could surprise me.

I have been really excited the last week of so for deer season.  I will get somewhere between 2 and 4 days of the Wisconsin deer season depending on how nice my instructors are to me.  It is getting so bad that I find myself thinking of deer camp and deer season while in class, exercising, eating, the list goes on. haha  Anyway deer season cannot come soon enough.

Jared doing some upland hunting in North Dakota

Well I (Jared) decided to do a little evening upland game hunting in North Dakota since I don't have any homework tonight. I probably won't get anything but sure beats sitting around.

Welcome

So this is basically to explain the reason for Quad Survival. Ryan, Eric, and I always have a lot of fun having outdoor adventures together and they usually end up very comical. In the last few years, Ryan's brother-in-law Paul has joined us in our wonderful adventures. Some time this summer we got the crazy idea of us recording our adventures for the world to see. We came up with the name Quad Survival due to the fact there were 4 of us. Our first episode at the time was going to be a survival contest to see who would win 24 hours in the woods using only their survival skills and some equipment. We thought it would be a great contrast with different skills and types. What different skills and types you ask? Well here is the rundown we thought of at the time.

Paul: The Native American with natural born skills of survival.


Eric: The subscriber to every major outdoor magazine, REI member card holder, and Subaru owner. Basically he is the hippie outdoorsman.


Jared: The native Wisconsinite a.k.a. drunken redneck. This basically explains it all. He tends to be the one that drinks most in the group, which isn't saying much, and has no formal knowledge of outdoor survival other than what he thinks will work and has never left the midwest. He also wouldn't survive in the wilderness without a firearm with an excessively large amount of ammo and booze.


Ryan: The Southerner. Although Paul is also a southerner he has the unfair Native blood so Ryan gets the southerner title. Ryan is the least outdoorsy of the crowd which rounds out this group of misfits. He also could be the sleeper member of the group beating them all in outdoor skills, but no one knows yet.


So that is why we think it would be comical for other people to view our adventures.


We are currently working on how to record our adventures. The only thing we have so far is Jared's Epic 4g which records in HD, but we hope somehow we find enough cash to get this. Now no one run to Wal-Mart and purchase all of them, we want at least one. Our first planned episode (if you could call it that God knows what we will come up with) will be the national holiday known as Wisconsin Deer Season. Speaking of that we are all growing mustaches for Movember and you can even buy a shirt we created on Zazzle about it right here. As you can see we are still in the process of getting this plan fully rolling, but stay tuned there might be a how to video or two before the Deer Season episode shows up.