Watchman Privacy Podcast: "Shadow Loadout: Combat Zone Deployment Kit" (Video Course)
Episode Date: June 8, 2025
Host: Gabriel Custodiet
Guests: Stephen Harris (main expert), Urban (guest commentary)
Bundle Discussed: Shadow Loadout (Shadow Loadout Course + Solkoa Survival Kit Teardown)
Episode Overview
This special episode marks the launch of the Shadow Loadout Bundle at escapethetechnocracy.com—a five-hour+ video bundle comprising two knowledge-dense courses originally created by survival expert Stephen Harris. The first part, “Shadow Loadout,” delves into overlooked yet vital gear and principles for military deployment, personal security, and preparedness. The second part, “Solkoa Survival Kit Teardown,” is a detailed walkthrough of the top-tier survival kit designed for real-world escape and evasion scenarios, relevant to both military professionals and civilians.
The discussion covers mindset, equipment, real-world stories, and the crucial connection between personal privacy, data integrity, and physical survival.
1. The Shadow Loadout Course: Why It Exists
- Background: Developed from Harris’s experiences consulting and teaching U.S. Special Operations for over two decades, the course began as a list for a Ranger deploying to Eastern Europe (06:38, 12:15).
- Core Philosophy: Goes beyond standard issue/checklist gear, focusing on the lifesaving “little things” no one tells you about, but that make the difference in critical moments (10:12).
- Audience: While inspired by military deployments, all content is applicable for civilians seeking higher preparedness for emergencies or travel.
"The shadow loadout is everything that is hiding in the shadows that you didn't see or no one else told you to take and you didn't know about."
— Stephen Harris (22:39)
2. The Harris Approach: Mindset First, Gear Second
Seriousness and Integration
- Context: Survival and operational security are inextricably linked with data privacy and personal safety (05:39).
- Quote:
"What good is your double-encrypted Veracrypt container... if you're dead?" (07:06)
- Training Mindset: Overprepare (train for a level 7 when you may only face level 5); knowledge and adaptability are core (20:40).
- Applicable Principles: Every item reviewed comes with its reasoning, alternative uses, and limitations—Gabe describes taking pages of notes and actively buying items after watching (25:08).
3. Essential Gear & Concepts (Shadow Loadout Highlights)
Power & Charging (49:14+)
- "Two orders of magnitude" power: Techniques for charging devices in the field (e.g., car battery harvesting), best battery/power bank choices, and why the quality and rating of your cables matter (lighting, durability, actual wattage tested with hardware).
- Gallium Nitride Chargers: Lighter, smaller, and more efficient—a must over old brick chargers (58:50).
- Testing: Always test your gear; own robust, “Harris approved” items.
“If you like Gabe to have a battery... that you can go and harvest the power off of a car battery, anyone's car battery... run your iPhone for an entire week.”
– Stephen Harris (49:38)
Communications
- Garmin InReach & Messenger Devices: Satellite texting that works globally; why you never take Bluetooth, AirPods, or Apple Watches into actual combat—OPSEC first (17:55).
- General Principle: Always have a reliable, standalone, non-compromising comms option when traveling or deploying.
Health & Body
- Tourniquets & Monitoring: Carry, understand, and train with trauma tools; use digital heart-rate and pulse-ox devices (from a $15 fingertip clip to a $700 Apple Watch) to rapidly check survivability after trauma (69:24+).
- Redundancy: “Two is one, one is none, three is a guarantee” (78:53).
“Your health monitor on your wrist or that I can slip on your finger is really important.”
– Stephen Harris (69:24)
Water Purification
- The Grail Water Purifier: Surpasses Berkey/Lifestraw; robustly field-tested with all conceivable pathogens; doubles as an innocuous insulated bottle (36:18-40:59).
- Advantage: Perfect for travel, emergencies, and routine camp use.
“Screw your damn Berkey. God, I hate that thing... The Grail is relatively new... and it came out with flying colors.”
— Stephen Harris (36:18)
Comfort & Effectiveness
- Beyond “The Cake”: Standard gear is necessary; but small upgrades (“icing and candles”)—comfy sleep kit, boot inserts (“shin kickers” for escape/evasion), etc.—significantly boost your combat/coping effectiveness (27:24).
- Quote:
“Whether you're at 60, 65% combat effectiveness or 80%... can make the difference of whether or not you get off the X.” (28:17)
4. Food: Counterintuitive Survival Nutrition
- Calories Trump Nutrition: In real emergencies, you're not going to get scurvy for months; seek dense, shelf-stable calories (shortbread, Biscoff, nuts, honey) over ‘healthy’ specialty foods (88:33).
- Demo: Harris teaches teams to buy the maximum calories/$ (“Donuts. ...Yes, that's what you're going to eat” 89:22).
- Tactical Shortbread: Lorna Doone and Walker’s Shortbread tested, preferred; caloric, tasty, easy for all ages, even viable as barter/gifting in emergencies.
5. The Solkoa Survival Kit Teardown
What Makes It Exceptional
- Creator: Bart Combs, 40+ years Seer (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) expert; kit is standard for professionals, but Harris makes its secrets available to civilians (116:10).
- Approach: Not a first aid or fire kit, but an escape/evasion system (115:05, 116:10).
- Method: Harris destroys the kit on camera, testing all items in practical, outside-the-box ways—every piece explained for primary and secondary uses.
“The box is an entrenching tool... you can literally dig a hole for water, for hiding... you can cook on top of the lid.”
– Stephen Harris (156:42)
- Improvisation: Simple items (Ziploc, 4-mil bags) have infinite uses—floatation, waterproofing, carrying, ad hoc pillow, even phone protection (138:57+).
- Map Study: Knowledge of physical terrain is your #1 escape asset. Memorize the road grid, hospitals, embassy/consulate, and landmarks before you arrive. Always print a paper map (150:36 – 174:39).
“Map study. The number one skill. The first thing you do.”
– Stephen Harris (150:36)
6. Mindset & Training: The Universal Takeaway
Testing & Knowledge
- Principle: Don’t just buy a kit—use, break, and understand the gear. Knowledge trumps possession; improvisation is survival (122:50, 130:12).
- CPR Analogy: Like with first aid, the most important thing you walk away with is not the equipment but the skill and mentality to use or improvise tools as needed (169:13).
Contingency for All Environments
- Field Examples: Adapting gear and mindset for deserts, urban, jungle, regions under political unrest, and foreign travel (173:46, 174:39).
- OpSec/Culture: Knowing how to physically and culturally blend in, observing local customs, and respecting local dangers—true preparedness goes far beyond items.
"A country can go from perfectly innocent to non-permissive with one tweet."
– Stephen Harris (166:51)
7. Memorable Quotes & Moments
- "If you like what I've been saying, this is unconscious competence... If you don't, well, there's a 90-Day Fiance marathon on A&E." (107:32)
- "You are now enabled with knowledge... that's the most powerful thing in the world." (130:12)
- Harris running over a crank-radio with a 9,000 lb Dodge diesel to demonstrate “tactical crapital” (109:08)
- “We want you alive, my friend… Gabe doesn’t know you, but we want you alive.” (185:39+)
8. Timestamps: Key Segments
- 00:00 – 04:03 – Episode/product introduction; Stephen Harris background
- 07:06 – Security vs. gear: "What good is your double-encrypted Veracrypt container...if you're dead?"
- 17:55 – Critical comms gear for actual deployment
- 22:39 – Origin and meaning of "Shadow Loadout"
- 28:17 – Combat effectiveness: Why details matter; “getting off the X”
- 36:18 – The water purification story and field testing
- 49:14 – Field power: “two orders of magnitude” battery tip
- 58:50 – Gallium Nitride chargers and cable testing
- 69:24 – Tourniquets, monitoring, health metrics
- 88:33 – Survival food priorities: “You need calories.”
- 107:32 – Storytelling, purpose, and pricing of the course
- 114:55 – Solkoa kit and course philosophy summary
- 150:36 – Map study: first step of any international travel
- 169:21 – The “CPR class” analogy—takeaway is mindset/knowledge, not gear
- 185:39 – Closing reflections: “We want you alive.”
9. Actionable Takeaways
- Always test your gear. Knowledge is the ultimate tool.
- Prioritize calories, power, water, and medically relevant items for any survival loadout.
- Mindset: Tool improvisation, skill redundancy, and map knowledge are paramount.
- Never underestimate non-technical items (bags, maps, simple food) for survival and evasion.
- Respect local customs; know region-specific risks.
- Train for more than you expect to face—overprepared is just right.
- Don’t just own a kit—practice with it, adapt, refresh, and personalize for every context.
10. Closing Thoughts & Bundle Details
The Shadow Loadout Bundle is recommended for anyone serious about personal resilience, evacuation, or survival—civilians and military alike. The material is relentlessly practical, with a unique emphasis on mindset, adaptability, and critical-thinking over mere gear accumulation.
Available at: escapethetechnocracy.com
Contents: 5+ hours Shadow Loadout video, 2-hour Solkoa teardown, item checklist, open file formats (no DRM), supportive of Watchman Privacy & Stephen Harris.
"We want you better. We want you alive."
– Stephen Harris (185:39)