Yesterday, ProPublica published a massive list of Trump administration officials, including over 400 names. Among the individuals it highlighted is a man named Jon Perdue, a special assistant at the Treasury Department. Perdue is the author of a book on “the nexus of Latin American radicalism and Middle Eastern terrorism” and a member of a relatively obscure think tank. He’s also a self-described expert in guerrilla warfare who invented a survivalist gadget bow to use after the apocalypse.
The product in question is called the Pack Bow, and it was apparently featured on CNBC’s Make Me a Millionaire Inventor in 2015. Its site is currently accepting preorders in the form of mailing list signups, and yes, that’s the only shot we could find of the Pack Bow in action above. The site’s ad copy is like the start of a D&D session set in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road.
The worst has occurred. You always knew it was possible, but never dreamed it would happen so soon. The power grid is down, and you are surrounded by chaos. There’s not much time — you can only grab a handful of things, so as you head out the door, you grab the Pack Bow.
Not only is it a bow (with a self-containing quiver), it’s a compass, adjustable hanging rod, tent pole, walking stick, fishing pole, spearfishing rig and is wrapped in paracord. It also holds emergency supplies like bandages, matches, and water purification tablets so that when you need them, and you likely will, you’ll be prepared.
You never know what’s ahead. With the Pack Bow you have a better chance of surviving it.
There’s also a helpful diagram.
Few of us at The Verge would describe ourselves as experts on survivalism, guerrilla warfare, and archery. But we do love gadgets, and we have questions.
- If you’re the kind of person who buys a survivalist bow, wouldn’t you already have a bug-out bag that contains just about everything here except the bow, plus other supplies that you’d need to take with you anyway?
- How do the fishing pole and spear fishing rig work? Is the spear just the bottom of that walking stick?
- Speaking of poles, how helpful is a single tentpole? Are you supposed to team up with other people in a Voltron-like Pack Bow squad?
- What are the odds of this being a decent bow? We’re seriously asking on this one.
- How do you dub your product “a survival knife on steroids” and not think of including a knife?
- If you work for one of the most powerful forces determining global stability but have a financial incentive to start destroying civilization, is that a conflict of interest?
While we’re pondering these, you can enjoy some of the incredible feats of archer Lars Anderson, a man who — unlike this bow — we would 100 percent pick for our apocalyptic RPG party.