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watching a new show and its making me think

so i have been watching two seasons of a show called the colony on net flix basis is the world ends you have a small group of people in an area with limited supplies.... survive....!

and watching this makes me think about how much I know and how much I dont know. Some of the ideas did not impress me when others made me put it in my mental note book like hey remember that.

but it also made me think was i ready, if i ever had to be in that situation. I do have a survival pack that i built a little while ago when i went on a camping trip it was my just in case bag that has many supplies, with 12 day survival supplies. ammo, medical supplies. for giggles i have protein seed kits.

does anybody have a just-in-case pack and what are some unusual items that others might over look, that you carry in yours or any unusual ideas that are good knowledge to have.

heres mine
surgical skin stapler with quick clot sponge. for major cuts people always think bandages and such but never about major cuts i have had to use one on my knee in the ozarks it hurt like hell but did come in handy because we were miles and miles for any where.

a good how to: that i like to store in my mind is when you get or are lost and need to start a fire and maybe do not have a fire starter or lost yours but find your self with a broken or dead cell phone which is now useless the battery can make a great one time fire starter. i tried it a few times with a few old batts i had from old phones sitting around took me a few times and was not as easy as it looks but i did get it to work a few times a few different ways.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsbfsHj8ec0
 
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Interesting thread idea, tommyguns. I'm just in the process of putting together stuff for long-term food storage and such, thinking about emergency supplies for the cars, just in case, and purchasing a few things for an everyday emergency bag -- medical supplies, that sort of thing. Some of this stuff is great to have to camping, hunting, etc. And though I'm not a gloom-and-doom guy, I understand that stuff happens -- severe hurricanes, tornado outbreaks, etc. -- that can disrupt normal food chains, medical treatment and stuff.

I remember driving into the area hardest hit by Hurricane Andrew in South Florida years ago. It was like a war zone, complete with military helilcopters constantly overhead. If you didn't have something tucked away for that rainy day, you didn't have it and there was no where to (legitimately) get it.

Just like the Boy Scouts say, Be Prepared.

Thanks for sharing the ideas, and I hope others add their ideas.
 
Good thread idea.
http://www.theplacewithnoname.com/blogs/klessons/index.html
This guy has some good observations about real life emergency scenarios he took away from Katrina. He applies the take aways to everything from another huricane evacuation to fire in the middle of the night. It's good stuff.

http://zombiehunters.org/forum/
Zombie Squad is slightly more "adventurous" but has good info (a little sifting may be required).

Speaking of fire in the middle of the night, I was driving to work yesterday morning with the dual band radio going in the back ground. I was listening to a fire call out in the next town over. It's not even 7:00 AM yet, about 15 degrees with a delightful little breeze, snow and ice on the ground. The family did make it out of the house and gathered in front of the burning house, watching their everything go up in flames. I hope they at least had some kind of grab bag with clothes in it and a thumb drive with important info so they can try to get back on their feet with a minimum of hassle.
 
thanks its took a while for anybody to post I was worried people would think I was a " foil hatter" lol

I do not think anything bad will happen in my life time or worry about any sort of doomsday kinda thing but it is nice to know that for the little bit of cash i spent to turn my camping/ hunting pack into a survival pack need be to me it was well worth it. Allot of people joke about the ZOMBIE take over and trust me im zombie nut I do understand it is not practical but reading books like "the zombie survival guide" by Max Brooks even tough I do not share his views he had some great ideas like in the event of something going wrong fill your sinks and tub with water for drinking, honestly I didn't think of that or how in the show I mentioned there number one source of water was rain water or creek water, in the event of a real global epidemic chances of the rain being acid rain or the creek water being contaminated is very very high and that is something even hows, books etc over look for sake of entertainment.
 
I do the prepping thing as well without trying be be a "Tinfoiler". Just grew up doing Boy Scouts and then lived in Utah(Mormons are generally great preppers) for my Jr and Sr year of high school.

I have a two week BOB for the wife and I in case we need to get outta Dodge. I also do my best to keep 30-45 days of basics on hand for a "Bug In" scenario. My basics are things I would use everyday anyway so I am really not out anthing, these included things like dried beans, rice, flour, canned meats, TP, etc. I tend to buy these type of items in bulk and sharpie the purchase date on the, them just purchase more and rotate to the front.

Your hardest thing to prep is water, but water is alot more prevelant in our houses than we give it credit for. Depending on your house size your average water heater is between 40-60 gallons. In an emergency just shut off the inflow to prevent contamination and you have 50 gallons(+/-) you can use from the drain valve. Your toilet tanks have roughly 3 gallons each, remember this is fresh water as long as you don't use the toilet pucks. It might not be what you want to drink, but would be fine for pets or hygeine use. In my apartment we also have a water cooler so we have 3-5 gallon and 2-3 gallon jugs full at anytime. Add in a flat or two of bottles and you easily have a months worth with moderate rationing.

Its amazing to me that for a $100-200 dollars you can have a pretty good 4-6 weeks supply of basics for two people. I wish more people would take this kind of stuff seriously, it might really help mitigate the next Katrina.

Oh and I love Max Brookes stuff, as any zombie lover does! And while I like all the zombie related gear, to me Zombie Apocalypse just means being prepared for the worst possible scenario that you never thought could happen. I actually was one of the few that thought it was a good idea for FEMAs campaign, whatever works to get people thinking.


Jay
 
I try to keep an all weather get home kit in my truck. I work about ten miles from home. I figure will take me three hours to walk it with breaks:wink1:, but if that way is blocked for some reason it turns my three hour walk into about a 4 to 5 hour walk.
 
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I used to teach wilderness survival and primitive living skills so I love threads like this. I have a survival pack with about 8 days of rations. Ive been tweaking it quite a bit over the last year. I have some candies and little kids toys. Never know who you'll run into and bringing a smile to another may be just what I need to feel closer to 100%

Maybe Im a softie but after being a part (instructor or participant) of dozens of survival focused trips Ive learned that gear preps us to survive but it doesnt prepare us for the emotional and mental stress that makes it hard to live.
 
Honestly I think the most important thing to have in a survival situation is knowledge. Think about the show you're watching, too. If those people didn't -know- about things, they wouldn't get anywhere! I'm a hobbyist prepper, but I have a few gripes about common prepping practices (at least that I've encountered when talking to people.)

1. High focus on gear, low focus on actually using it.
2. Bugging out...when you have a wife and kids/toddlers. Are you going to leave them behind, or what?? Are they as "prepared" as you are for an event?
3. Bugging out...no physical preperation. (this is a big one IMO.) "I've got a 50lb pack...never walked 5 miles with it!" Get out there!

Anyway, I don't want to get ranty...but if you want to prep, I think the best thing you could do is actually use your skills. Build something...by hand. Get water from a local source, purify it. Go gather some nuts/fruit/or edible plants. Figure out what resources you have locally that can be used.

For instance, I recently learned while playing around that in a survival situation I should NOT use Mulberry wood to start a fire. My goodness, that stuff just does NOT burn!! Would have never known if I wasn't out there actually trying to use my skills.
 
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