Now I’m not talking about guns, and food. We all know that we will need to arm ourselves and be able to eat and drink. Nor am I referring to shelter and medical supplies. Again those are important, but I am talking about the true work horse that you will use hard and never say thank you too. Your knife.

As a can opener, a lock pick or whatever you use it for, it needs to be sturdy and well made. And yes in the event, and only as a last ditch effort, be able to take down a walker. Machetes are nice and do have a true propose, size and weight can be a huge draw back however.

I have a few favorites on this list. But today I present to you the Gerber Ultimate Survival Knife. The Bear Grylls designed edition. In the last 5 years this is one of the knives I can truly say that I think that they got it right from the start. Overall a sturdy abuse-ready tool, that with a little TLC will survive as long as you hope too.

I’ve had mine now for about a month. And believe me; I am not being nice to it. It has cut through several lengths of heavy nylon and natural fiber rope. Opened a can of dog food, which it did with ease, but I do not recommend doing it often. I used it to make kindling and yes even start the fire (more on that in a bit). I hammered the blade through some pretty green limbs as well. All that was required of me was to run the blade over a wet stone and wipe it off after the dog food incident. So far so good.

On to the technical stuff. The drop point, 4.8-inch blade is nearly a ¼ inch thick at the spine, hollow ground, and made from 440A steel with a Rockwell score of 55-59 (57+/-2), making for good strength and easy sharpening. Now one drawback for me was that it has a larger than normal serrated edge. I tend to like straight blades but it still cut very well. The handle has a great ergonomic shape that fits well in the hand with a double guard to prevent slippage and a textured rubber grip that is easy to maintain, even in wet conditions. The pommel of this knife has a nice solid stainless steel checkered pattern. I did not get a chance to pound the snot outta anything with it but it has the feeling that it could take quite a beating. It also gives the tool an overall weight of 11.2 Oz. Very well balanced.

When fully disassembled, the knife and sheath break down into four pieces: a Ferro cerium fire starter rod, the knife, the Zytel sheath with a diamond sharpening stone on the back side, and the heavy-duty nylon platform. It sits nicely on the hip and again has a great weight.

So when you have set up a safe haven and are now getting down to the basics. Make sure you have the best tools to work with. This knife isn’t gonna make living easy. But it will make surviving possible. Thanks for reading, and remember, “Keep your blades sharp, and your ammo dry.”

Unless you want to end up drinking your own piss…

Zombie State takes the zombie challenge from a first person experience to a global challenge the way no other game has!

In this exciting and challenging game players act as the leader of an entire territory. Players are rapidly overwhelmed by the spread of zombies and by random outbreaks within their territory. Each player must move fast to successfully test technologies that will help him or her combat the spread of the infection. Players may utilize technologies in military advancements, medical breakthroughs, and in physics and science. Each player harnesses these technologies individually or in combinations that will help them stave off the walking dead and ultimately halt the spread of the disease.

If players can’t stop the progression, they are forced to try and maintain some corner of civilization within their territory, in hopes that they can hang on long enough to reclaim and rebuild their territory at a later time. Players do not compete directly in military combat, but will struggle along their borders where they try to reinforce them or redirect the spread of the walking dead to try and keep the zombies out of their territory. The most powerful technologies and combinations thereof will lead to a player’s supreme victory.

Zombie State is a viral game of global proportions for 2-5 players ages 13 and up.

The Game Includes:

• 1 Box full of good old-fashioned fun
• 1 Map of the World
• 1 Rulebook
• 30 Freedom Point Pawns
• 30 Military Units
• 60 six-sided Population Dice
• 1 twelve sided die
• 5 Player Technology Sheets
• 60 Technology Marker Counters
• 140 Zombie Tokens
• 96 Resource Cards
• 45 Random Event Cards
• 25 Razed Border Counters
• 15 Quarantine Counters
• 30 Resource Counters
• 1 Starting Leader Card

Zombie State is available now and costs $59.95 for US shipping. You can buy it here.

The creators Firebongo have now put Horace as well as these Zombees up for sale, so now you can have your very own!

They’re cute, they’re cuddly, and they’re hungry… for braaaaaaains!

Firebongo!’s handcrafted, plush, undead, snugglers are only the beginning of the ZOM plague. Bring the epidemic to your hometown. But be warned: ZOMs will steal your heart along with a few other choice body parts.

You can buy Zoms on the Firebongo Etsy Store.

Fork paper shooting targets are individually designed from the ground up. All our target designs start with a rough character concept and basic outlines and compositions for the targets are done on the computer. The guide lines are then printed out and transfered to 18×24 drawing paper where the targets character image is hand drawn and rendered with charcoal. Once the targets charcoal drawing is complete, it is photographed and downloaded into professional digital imaging and graphic design software where finishing touches are added along with “Bulls-Eye” style circle guides for a focal point on the target and also to measure accuracy. Every shooting target has a record keeping area for the shooter to record basic information of the shots fired, type of gun used, ammunition, etc.

Fork Targets also sell monsters, terrorists, bandits as well as seasonal targets for you to shoot up.

This tee pays homage to both the old school EC horror comics and original stereoscopic red and blue 3-D. While the image already messes with peoples vision, it is brought to life when you slap on the pair of the 3-D glasses that come with this insanely rad shirt! (YES! THE 3-D REALLY WORKS!)

It comes courtesy of Monster King Productions‘ Stephen Vincent who also produces exclusive canvas paintings of homages to famous zombie films and scenes.

This 3D Zombie Tee is available to buy for $20. Click the image to enbiggen.

As this is an energy drink containing caffeine (and the remote possibility to turn my baby into a zombie that would eat me from the inside out), I let my husband, Justin, be the guinea pig. He’s an avid drinker of energy shots/drinks, so I felt his was a decent opinion to get (especially since those things never seem to do anything for me).

My husband dutifully twisted off the opening of one of the IV bags and drank the green liquid. Given that he didn’t immediately start retching and turning into the undead, I felt it was safe to continue the review of the zombie blood. His opinion:

It’s sweeter compared to other energy drinks, maybe too sweet. It tastes like a melted Icee Pop, a warm melted Icee Pop, but a little thicker. Doesn’t have the bitter taste like a 5-Hour Energy shot or the like. It’s not disgusting and it’s easy enough to drink, but I think it would taste better cold.

After about 20 minutes, I asked him if he noticed any extra energy and he said he didn’t really notice anything, but then again, he hadn’t been very tired before.

First taste wasn’t a complete win, but it wasn’t a failure either. My husband put the second bag of blood in the refrigerator for the next day. This time around, he did need a boost and the bag was chilled and ready for part two of the taste test. Once again, Justin risked his life for the sake of a website review and tried the zombie blood. The verdict:

It tastes better cold, more or less like a thick sugary liquid treat. I didn’t really notice anything to spectacular other than maybe the same boost as a cup of coffee and it didn’t last long. It is important to note that I have a high tolerance to caffeine and energy drinks. I like the packaging, though, but if it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I would ever buy it.

So there you have it. Zombie Blood Energy Potion tastes okay and the caffeine gives you a little bit of a boost, though nothing a steaming cup of joe couldn’t do. However, this could be a great gag gift for the zombie aficionado in your life and would definitely garner you a “how cool is that” comment.

You can buy Zombie Blood Energy Drink from Harcos Labs or find out more on Facebook or Twitter.

It’s a little inflatable zombie with a sand (or something) base that you can punch over AND IT GETS BACK UP! Just like a real zombie.

There’s not much more to it than that. Currently it sits on my desk at ZC HQ and every time something goes wrong or we run out of zombies to kill I’ll flick it over with a ping.

Teehee.

I’m doing it now.

So, if you’re looking for a cheap gift for a stressed out zombie hunter this blow-up zombie toy could be the perfect thing.

Enter Alex Chenery of Dark Bunny Tees, a UK based t-shirt designer who doesn’t rely on the name of the film to make you excited to wear a movie t-shirt again.

Alex creates very limited edition runs (100 or less) of cult movies which inspire him; taking the characters from the movie out of the confines of the film and into a part of their world that you don’t see. Each t-shirt is given life as a stylized ad, utilizing key scenes and characters, which evoke memories of the film while bringing something new to the table (or at least your chest).

When wearing one of these tees expect friends to to stare at you for a bit before the penny drops and they give you the ‘nice t-shirt’ nod perhaps even with an “ahhhh”.

Despite only having been around for a little over a month DBT (as I like to call them) already have 2 classic zombie films t-shirts ready, although the Shaun of The Dead (with Day of the Dead homage) t-shirt isn’t available to buy yet, but you can fawn over it while they get finalized. Check out the designs below (click to pop up detail).

The Dawn of the Dead shirt is available to buy now from Dark Bunny Tees and you should still get it in time for Christmas. Why not head over to the site and check out what else is available or follow them on Twitter to find out when the Shaun of the Dead shirt is released.

A good multi-tool is a must for when the zombocalypse comes, you simply won’t be carrying a full tool set with screwdrivers, saws and pliers and yet each of these is incredibly useful in a variety of survival and everyday situations.

Leatherman tools are easily the number 1 multi-tool, with over 30 years of experience and a 25 year guarantee on their knives, these things are built to last.

Let’s look at the stats. The Charge TTi has 19 different tools:

1. Needlenose Pliers
2. Regular Pliers
3. Wire Cutters
4. Hard-wire Cutters
5. Wire Crimper
6. S30V® Stainless Steel Clip Point Knife
7. 420HC Serrated Knife
8. Cutting Hook
9. Saw
10. Wood/Metal file
11. Diamond-coated file
12. Scissors
13. Large Screwdriver
14. Large Bit Driver
15. Small Bit Driver
16. 8 in | 19 cm Ruler
17. Bottle/Can Opener
18. Wire Stripper
19. Lanyard/Ring

INCLUDED BITS: Phillips and Flat Tip Eyeglasses Screwdriver Bit, Hex 5/32″ and 9/64″ Bit, Hex 1/8″ and 7/64″ Bit, Hex 3/32″ and 5/64″ Bit, Hex 1/16″ and .050 Bit, Square Drive #2 and #3 Bit, Screwdriver 1/8″ and Torx #15 Bit, Phillips #1-2 and 3/16″ Screwdriver Bit.

Note, that you’ll have to carry most of these seperately to the knife.

it features:

• Stainless Steel with Premium Titanium Handle Scales
• Stainless Steel Body
• Outside-accessible Blades for One-handed Opening
• All Locking Blades and Tools
• Fixed Lanyard Ring
• Quick-release Lanyard Ring
• Removable Pocket Clip
• Leather or Nylon Sheath
• 25-year Warranty

and measures

• 4 in | 10 cm (closed)
• 8.2 oz | 232 g

It’s also pretty sexy.

The Ti of the TTi stands for Titanium but this is only for the exterior of the multi-tool as the blades themselves are stainless steel. Again though, the Leatherman goes that extra mile and is crafted from S30V steel, which is 4x tougher than ATS-34, although only half the toughness of D-2.

If you’re not a knife geek then what this means for you is that the blades are made to be and stay sharp, have the flexibility for precision cutting and be hard enough to stab zombies in the face without shattering.

Check out Crucible Sevices for some knife stat porn and the Rockwell scale for more information on hardness.

The XTi isn’t cheap, coming in at about £160/$160 new but for something that will get everyday use for possibly 25 years you can’t grumble at the price.

Aleady this week I used mine to strip wires for my sub-woofer, put together a chest of drawers, open a couple of bottles of beer to celebrate and there are loads of these examples on the Leatherman site, including this one from Rolf H from Sweden.

Last weekend my wife was in charge of the finger food for the VIP room during a musical event. She asked me to put a toothpick thru a black olive and into two pieces of Swedish hard cheese. When I opened the olive jar I realized she had bought the wrong kind of olives, the sort with the stones.I took my Leatherman Charge, pushed the needle nose pliers into the first olive and was able to remove the stone without ruining the rest of the olive.With this great tool I successfully completed my 50 cheesy snacks and saved the day.

There are of course more serious applications, the Charge TTi can be used for tightening rifle screws, nocking arrows, skinning and gutting animals or cutting through seatbelts in emergencies and all the general advantages having a knife confers in a ZPAW.

I wouldn’t be without my Leatherman and it’s a staple part of my emergency kits, the TTi comes with my full recommendation but if you can’t afford it make sure you have some sort of multi-tool knife.

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