It’s curious a specialty tool like this would be called the Trucker’s Friend. For certain it is a tool a trucker would want to have in their tool box, but its usefulness goes way beyond that limited functional area. I would say this tool is by all regards a prepper’s friend as well.
SKIP AHEAD
Trucker’s Friend, A Serious Prepper Tool
The Trucker’s Friend is available from Innovation Factory. To be honest, the package the tool is attached to actually lists fields in which the
Features
For a rather compact hand tool its features are many. It is useful for
SHTF Tool
This is the tool for worst case scenarios like a catastrophic social collapse, dirty bomb, attack, extended power grid failure, EBT card’s go
Other characteristics of the Trucker’s Friend include a super user friendly handle. It is a rubberized covering with finger grooves molded into the handle cover. The manufacturer calls it a “shock absorbing Powergrip.” Indeed it is. You can get a really solid hold on this tool and as I noted when using it in a swinging or chopping action, the grip does not slip. Some of the tools on the market today have slick plastic grips to which I have to add double-sided sticky tape in order to get a firm grip. You don’t need that with this tool.
Also important to long term use and reliability is not only the cast alloy tool-steel blade, but the shank which has been heat treated for added strength. The fiberglass handle then is inserted up into the shank. The handle is non-conducting, which is a nice feature for many working applications.
The finish on the metal is a rust resistant matte black finish. It does scratch and mar, but is not damaged in the classic sense. It holds up well outdoors. Rust can be easily taken off with some steel wool. There is a leather cover available from the manufacturer, too, which I would recommend purchasing along with the tool not only for safety sake, but also to offer a measure of tool protection from the elements.
- ALL PURPOSE TOOL: The Trucker’s Friend is an all-purpose tool, built tough and originally designed...
- INCLUDED FEATURES: In any situation that requires hacking, prying, pulling, or pounding you will...
Last update on 2022-08-09 at 12:32 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Field Use
Barring the absence of hunting season where I could really put this tool through some practical paces, and as I intend to do this fall, I did
The next trick was to extract the nail. The nail puller does work, but the nail head groove could be a little deeper or something. The big nail head I was using managed to slip out of the Trucker’s Friend's extractor claw several times. There is another pry bar on the head end of the tool with an insert groove and a hole at its terminal end. I used that too, and with the nail shank and head fitted into that hole, the extraction power is positive.
Though I did not have any wood to chop or a tree to cut down (the wife frowns on that in the yard), I did have several over-sized roots to sever from a water willow growing its way toward the house foundation. The Trucker’s Friend made short order of that chopping task. I have not yet sharpened the factory edge, as I wanted to see how it would chop fresh from the package. It “done” good as they say here in the Deep South. The handle on the Trucker’s Friend is super.
Conclusion
How else can the Trucker’s Friend be used? Imagine its multiple uses around a Bug-Out base camp either a fixed location on rural property
The Innovation Factory’s Trucker’s Friend is made in the U.S.A and is backed by a “hassle free” lifetime replacement guarantee. If this Trucker’s Friend does not make it through the usual rigors of a SHTF, then you are in much worse deep doo-doo than you might suspect. Keep the Trucker’s Friend close and buy more than one.
- ALL PURPOSE TOOL: The Trucker’s Friend is an all-purpose tool, built tough and originally designed...
- INCLUDED FEATURES: In any situation that requires hacking, prying, pulling, or pounding you will...
Last update on 2022-08-09 at 12:32 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
All Photos by Dr. John J. Woods