The Apocabox — A Nifty Way to Encourage Self-Reliance

After several subscribers on my YouTube channel recommended it, I got a subscription for Creek Stewart’s Apocabox. I’ve done dozens of product reviews, but this is the first time I’ve done an actual box-opening video, where I hadn’t examined the product before the shoot. To top it all, when the Apocabox arrives in the mail, you don’t even know what’s in it.

Let me explain. The Apocabox bills itself as a “Hand Selected Collection of Survival Tools & Gear.” Every two months, a box arrives in the mail with a selection of tools and gear typically valued at $100 or more at retail prices. You don’t know what’s in it. You open the box, discover the contents, and put the stuff to work. It’s like Christmas, but 6 times a year.

We’ll see shortly what all was in my first Apocabox, but I want to go ahead and give you a heads-up on what I like best about the gear. I like nifty gear, of course, but a ton of stuff won’t save your bacon if you don’t also have skills.

I’m not going to oversell this — it’s not economically possible to send you the finest, most robust survival knife, night vision, and tactical armor at the prices charged for this subscription. What you’re getting instead is a means to develop survival skills and self-reliance, and that’s where its greatest value lies, in my estimation.

For example, included in this month’s box is a deadfall kit with instructions. There’s a bag of sticks for you to carve into the deadfall trigger mechanism, with a set already carved, as a model.

Now let’s put this into real life practice. Imagine you buy a one-year subscription as a Christmas present for your kids. When that box arrives, you can go spend a couple of hours teaching them (and maybe yourself) how to make a deadfall. That’s some quality time and lifelong memories for them, not to mention a skill that they could actually put to use one day.

The point is, it’s the kind of gift that gives back, and you can get immediate benefits, not just if the bottom falls out.

Overview of October 2015 Apocabox Contents

1. Recipe Tips for Sustainable Living – Stacy Harris Cookbook. Retail value $25. You know me; I really enjoy good food. I have literally hundreds of cookbooks, and I tell you this is a good one. Every recipe is photographed, and they are just the kinds of dishes I dig the most.
2. Not If But When Patch. $5. lol. Nuff said.
3. Paracord Sling. $25. A clever way to carry 65 feet of extra paracord (280 lb test). Comes with swivel mounts attached.
4. Bushcraft Fire Kit. $30. I’m all about redundancy when it comes to fire starting. This kit comes in a hand-made faux leather pouch with drawstrings, two rolls of “wood wool” (wax-impregnated wood shavings), eight cotton fire tinder tabs, and two small backup ferro rods, perforated for carrying, e.g., on your boot laces.
5. Bug Out Coffee Bar. $3. Coffee drinkers will be mighty grumpy when the SHTF. Caffeine withdrawal symptoms are flu-like: fatigue, headache, drowsiness, aches, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Some people suffer worse than others — I’m one of them. Yes, it’s comical from a distance, but it can literally be debilitating. These 100% organic, vegan, gluten-free bars can tide you over until you get some coffee, or at least get you through a few days of camping without having to brew coffee every day.
6. Adhesive Wound Closure Strips. $3. These are an excellent item to add to your first aid kit. I have five kids, so I’ve used them several times over the years on wounds too deep for a bandaid but not quite warranting a set of stitches. I also have a suture kit and a stapler, but if I can use these instead, I rather, wouldn’t you?
7. Figure 4 Deadfall Trap Kit. $18. Probably the coolest item in this box. Probably everyone has heard of a deadfall trap, and even seen one, but rarely do people make them anymore, in part because they’re illegal in most jurisdictions that I know of. Still, making a deadfall is a fun project, has a definite cool factor, and could some day be a life-saving skill.
8. Figure 4 Deadfall Bandana. $6. Again, here is a multitasking item — a bandana with instructions on how to make a deadfall. Very cool.

Overview of the Oct 2015 Apocabox contents.

Sustainable Living cookbook. Very nicely photographed, and some scrumptious looking recipes.

Wound closure strips are a useful part of your first aid kit. I’ve used them many times.

65 feet of 280 lb test paracord in a sling with swivels.

Even the packing paper has a use — for starting fires.

Waxed wood shavings, cotton tinder tabs, and two perforated ferro rods.

Everyone should practice making a deadfall.

Not a bad idea for caffeine addicts like myself. A few people (I’m one of them) get painful, debilitating flu-like symptoms on caffeine withdrawal.

The cost of a subscription is $50 plus $8.95 shipping every two months. You can find out more at MyApocabox.com.

~Sno