Survival Thread

[XS]

Something I've always carried that I've never seen anyone mention, especially when I lived and camped in the Rockies, was a small magnifying glass as a backup ignition source. It didn't weigh anything, and was small enough that you couldn't break it unless you really tried. Plus once it did get me out of a sticky spot when we got snowed in, that's another story though.

 

[a6m5]

First I've heard of that!

I do have couple of magnesium fire starters, but I don't carry them(city slicker). I should at least keep one in my car. You never know when you might need something like that.

Speaking of survival gears, I've yet to purchase a genuine Leatherman tool. I really need to get one. Those things comes in so handy!

 

[slims]

Did you get the Maxpedition pack yet? My thoughts would be to stay away from the military style packs like Alice and Maxpedition and go with a hiking backpack. Hiking packs are generally lighter and a lot more comfortable while still durable. The Gregory pack I used on my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail last year weighs about the same as that, is a larger capacity, has more padding on the hip belt and shoulder straps and is still going strong after the 6 month trek.

Sure the military style packs have more compartments but hey stuff sacks work in the same way.

As for the leatherman, get one. They'll serve you well for life. Useful for everyday tasks and survival stuff

 

[a6m5]

Sacks(waterproof) are the way to go. I did end up with the Maxpedition though. They are military style, also WAY overpriced, but I like how thorough they are in explaining the details in design, also their durability. I did get a Leatherman. I can't remember the name of it, but it's the basic one. I keep it in my car.

Reason I'm reviving this thread is this:



It had me cracking up. It's the bestest retail survival kit ever.

 

[Danoff]

How much food (and water) should be stored away to prepare for an unexpected emergency?
A. Personally
B. Locally
C. Nationally
D. Corporately

So I have a life straw equivalent (I forget the brand name) that enables one to drink from any freshwater source. They cost about $15, and can process something like 10,000 gallons of pond water. I also personally keep about 12 days worth of food (for the whole family) in the form of MREs and whatever sits in my pantry and freezer. I also have a small generator and at any given time there is enough gas in the various fuel tanks to keep it going for weeks. I figure in complete isolation I'm good for at least 2 weeks of keeping the family relatively content.

What I'd love to have is antibiotics. But I don't have a license for that.

 

[a6m5]

So I have a life straw equivalent (I forget the brand name) that enables one to drink from any freshwater source. They cost about $15, and can process something like 10,000 gallons of pond water. I also personally keep about 12 days worth of food (for the whole family) in the form of MREs and whatever sits in my pantry and freezer. I also have a small generator and at any given time there is enough gas in the various fuel tanks to keep it going for weeks. I figure in complete isolation I'm good for at least 2 weeks of keeping the family relatively content.

What I'd love to have is antibiotics. But I don't have a license for that.

I've been looking into storing water after reading an article about the Cascadia Subduction Zone recently. Latest info seem to indicate how if we get hit by this quake in the Portland Metro, normal FEMA recommended 3-day kit would not be enough.

I always stocked my cupboard with bottled water, batteries & non-perishable food, enough to last me a week, so I didn't really worry about anything. I don't know if this article was exaggerating or what, but it suggested even the 2-week supply may not be enough, because Cascadia quake would destroy most of the bridges & roads. There will be no Federal help arriving for weeks.

First thing I did was order couple of these Waterbricks. That's 7 gallons, but if help really didn't arrive for couple of weeks or more, 7G won't cut it. My coworker suggested straw, or other filtration system, so I was thinking about looking into those. Just for me, 7 gallons in Waterbrick, probably another couple gallons in retail water bottles + some way to filter water should be maybe enough. If I survive the quake or tsunami in the first place(not really worried about the tsunami lol).

My local grocery store got some MRE last year, and I've always wanted to try them out? I bought some & was super surprised when I found out how short shelf life they had. Packets had codes printed on instead of expiration dates & when I looked them up online, they were all expiring within months. One article I read on it said that freeze dried MRE's used to last long time, but modern day MRE's tend to have short shelf life. I think I'll stick with canned foods & maybe retail freeze dried stuff.

 

[Danoff]

I've been looking into storing water after reading an article about the Cascadia Subduction Zone recently. Latest info seem to indicate how if we get hit by this quake in the Portland Metro, normal FEMA recommended 3-day kit would not be enough.

I always stocked my cupboard with bottled water, batteries & non-perishable food, enough to last me a week, so I didn't really worry about anything. I don't know if this article was exaggerating or what, but it suggested even the 2-week supply may not be enough, because Cascadia quake would destroy most of the bridges & roads. There will be no Federal help arriving for weeks.

First thing I did was order couple of these Waterbricks. That's 7 gallons, but if help really didn't arrive for couple of weeks or more, 7G won't cut it. My coworker suggested straw, or other filtration system, so I was thinking about looking into those. Just for me, 7 gallons in Waterbrick, probably another couple gallons in retail water bottles + some way to filter water should be maybe enough. If I survive the quake or tsunami in the first place(not really worried about the tsunami lol).

My local grocery store got some MRE last year, and I've always wanted to try them out? I bought some & was super surprised when I found out how short shelf life they had. Packets had codes printed on instead of expiration dates & when I looked them up online, they were all expiring within months. One article I read on it said that freeze dried MRE's used to last long time, but modern day MRE's tend to have short shelf life. I think I'll stick with canned foods & maybe retail freeze dried stuff.

Yea the filtration straw is kindof a no-brainer. It costs next-to-nothing and could really bail you out in a pinch. I figure between toilet tanks, hot water heater, some bottled water, and two filtration straws, I'm probably good for a while.

My MREs have a 5-year shelf life (roughly) from the date they get delivered. I've been buying one pack of 12 every year, the first one expires this year, so after 5 years of buying them I'll finally get to experience the majestic taste. Actually from what I've read they're pretty decent. The MREs have been running me about $120/year. But I figure it's worthwhile to have a little extra in every department. Hmmm... maybe I should go get some more bottled water.

A while back costco was having a sale on Mac and Cheese tubs that lasted like 20 years or something. They were getting slammed by people who wanted food reserves.

27 lbs of food for $90 with a 20 year shelf-life. Not too shabby.

 

[a6m5]

I'll finally get to experience the majestic taste.

I want a review.

MRE Santa Fe Beans & Rice were gross. It had "expired" couple of months prior, but it was fine. My impression: "Survival Food"

I also tried Mountain House brand freeze dried meal a year or two ago, they tasted like survival food, too. My expectations seem to be too high. I like how MRE you can eat them straight out of the package if you needed to. Freeze dried, you have to boil water first, but I definitely preferred them over MREs. More I think about it, I think I prefer canned food.

If you find out which filtration straw you have, please let me know. I'll probably look into them sometime & go that route also. 👍

 

[Danoff]

I want a review.

MRE Santa Fe Beans & Rice were gross. It had "expired" couple of months prior, but it was fine. My impression: "Survival Food"

I also tried Mountain House brand freeze dried meal a year or two ago, they tasted like survival food, too. My expectations seem to be too high. I like how MRE you can eat them straight out of the package if you needed to. Freeze dried, you have to boil water first, but I definitely preferred them over MREs. More I think about it, I think I prefer canned food.

If you find out which filtration straw you have, please let me know. I'll probably look into them sometime & go that route also. 👍

This one:

 

[a6m5]

I'll start there. Thanks @Danoff 👍

 

[Danoff]

I want a review.

MRE Santa Fe Beans & Rice were gross. It had "expired" couple of months prior, but it was fine. My impression: "Survival Food"

I also tried Mountain House brand freeze dried meal a year or two ago, they tasted like survival food, too. My expectations seem to be too high. I like how MRE you can eat them straight out of the package if you needed to. Freeze dried, you have to boil water first, but I definitely preferred them over MREs. More I think about it, I think I prefer canned food.

Did not care for the MREs, and it has sent me looking for an alternative. Not because I couldn't eat it, but I feel like it's wasted money to try to make it more palatable given that it's still not very palatable. A jar of peanut butter has 3,000 calories and lasts 2 years... might be just as easy to eat too.

I'm still trying to figure out what a good replacement is.

 

[a6m5]

Have you ever tried MRE Heater @Danoff



My grocery store got more MREs couple of months ago & when I saw "Jalapeno Curry Beef", I had to get it(three words I like put together). I'm sure I'll be disappointed again, but it's only like $2 & change or something. I already had the heater from last go around, which I never used. It was like $1.50, I'll try it on my curry for sure.

 

[Danoff]

Have you ever tried MRE Heater @Danoff



My grocery store got more MREs couple of months ago & when I saw "Jalapeno Curry Beef", I had to get it(three words I like put together). I'm sure I'll be disappointed again, but it's only like $2 & change or something. I already had the heater from last go around, which I never used. It was like $1.50, I'll try it on my curry for sure.

Yea, mine had heaters. They didn't work that well, so I ditched them and heated it with boiling water.

 

[a6m5]

Yea, mine had heaters. They didn't work that well, so I ditched them and heated it with boiling water.

Maybe they are designed to be used in middle of the desert. Bummer.

 

[Boston77]

I always heated my MRE’s on my tanks exhaust out pipe. Took about 5 minutes for a steaming hot meal.

 

[Danoff]

So my MRE replacement looks like this:

3 jars of peanut butter, 6 cans each of black beans, corn, pears or peaches, and chili.

That's roughly as many calories as a 12 pack of MREs, costs about half as much, and would be more pleasant to eat. It's less portable.

 

[Rallywagon]

Mmmmm, MREs. Gotta make sure to get the proper military ones, with the Tabasco hot sauce, instant coffee and powdered shake mixes. So good. Ok, so, maybe not so good, but I've had worse defac food.
I personally dont store much for food. I have a couple of rucks filled with tools, sleeping bags, tents, etc. But likely in the next few years here we are going to be getting some property up north deep in the woods where we will be storing some things like seeds, and setting it up for survival situations. I've been learning what native wild plants can be eaten or used for medicines. That's likely when we will be picking up some pistols and rifles as well.
My moms husband is more of a prepper though and has tons of canned and dried goods and the alike. He's also been keeping a store of seeds and whatnot as well. One good think about Michigan though. Water is abundant. So on that front at least we will have no worries.

 

[a6m5]

So my MRE replacement looks like this:

3 jars of peanut butter, 6 cans each of black beans, corn, pears or peaches, and chili.

That's roughly as many calories as a 12 pack of MREs, costs about half as much, and would be more pleasant to eat. It's less portable.

Considering, canned food's like ten times better than MREs or freeze dried in my book. While may not be a good option for "survival", like in the woods or something, but for emergency food to keep around the house, I think they are great.

In the Pacific Northwest, we aren't really worried about typical doomsday prepper scenarios like storms, civil unrest, etc. However, one real threat is the earthquake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone & I didn't think the typical FEMA suggested 72 hour kit be enough. I guessed I should probably store couple weeks worth of food & water, but in the very link provided, it does say to expect the services to be out for at least two weeks, if not more.

I should invest in the water filtration you recommended already. You can never have enough water(not lucky like @Rallywagon ). I sure would hope for some government help in that department, but man, there are so many frigging people in Pacific NW & some people around here are self-centered even when everything's going good. I don't even want to think about their behavior when they run out of something as basic as food & water. Will we be the community that comes to aid of others when disaster hits, or one that go looting the neighbors?

 

[Rallywagon]

Considering, canned food's like ten times better than MREs or freeze dried in my book. While may not be a good option for "survival", like in the woods or something, but for emergency food to keep around the house, I think they are great.

In the Pacific Northwest, we aren't really worried about typical doomsday prepper scenarios like storms, civil unrest, etc. However, one real threat is the earthquake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone & I didn't think the typical FEMA suggested 72 hour kit be enough. I guessed I should probably store couple weeks worth of food & water, but in the very link provided, it does say to expect the services to be out for at least two weeks, if not more.

I should invest in the water filtration you recommended already. You can never have enough water(not lucky like @Rallywagon ). I sure would hope for some government help in that department, but man, there are so many frigging people in Pacific NW & some people around here are self-centered even when everything's going good. I don't even want to think about their behavior when they run out of something as basic as food & water. Will we be the community that comes to aid of others when disaster hits, or one that go looting the neighbors?

If things go bad, you can be guaranteed that there is going to be looting all over the country, especially in and around cities. In fact, depending on the situation, we even have plans to do a bit of looting. We plan on hitting up every pharmacy we can. My wife has a form of urticaria that causes her whole body to itch all the timeas well as requiring anti-seizure meds. We can stock up on allegra for the itching, but the other we can only ever have a month worth supply of. Without either one, my wife's quality of life will begin to diminish quite quickly.
idk if we would loot anything else, and again, this is all dependent on the situation. I mean, if this a walking dead everything is gone type situation, every store honestly is free game. But anything less, we would be just waiting it out.

 

[a6m5]

If things go bad, you can be guaranteed that there is going to be looting all over the country, especially in and around cities. In fact, depending on the situation, we even have plans to do a bit of looting. We plan on hitting up every pharmacy we can. My wife has a form of urticaria that causes her whole body to itch all the timeas well as requiring anti-seizure meds. We can stock up on allegra for the itching, but the other we can only ever have a month worth supply of. Without either one, my wife's quality of life will begin to diminish quite quickly.
idk if we would loot anything else, and again, this is all dependent on the situation. I mean, if this a walking dead everything is gone type situation, every store honestly is free game. But anything less, we would be just waiting it out.

I appreciate your honesty + I can't really see authorities looking to prosecute families who took medication from deserted pharmacies. If you take along things you don't need for survival though, that's criminal in my book.

I'm of course talking about emergencies due to natural disasters or something though, not "zombie apocalypse". If the government's gone, I can't even imagine what we'd all be drawn, or motivated to do. I have fantasized that "Dawn of the Dead" scenario where you can just own the mall or something, but that's about it.

 

[Rallywagon]

Yeah, in the scenario that all civilization has gone to hell in a hand basket, our main goal is to just get as far away from cities and people as possible.
If it's just an extended power outage type deal like happened in the early 2000s, (2001?) Something that isnt likely to break society as we know it, then we certainly won't be out there looting.

 

[Danoff]

Regarding the scenario to prep for... I do think that's an important element of "prepping".

I don't think there's a ton of point in trying to prepare for an end-of-the-world scenario. Many of those involve me being likely dead anyway, and the rest of them are so chaotic that I'm not likely to be able to think ahead about how to prepare. Nuclear detonation is possible, but not particularly likely in my area, and very difficult to prep for properly.

Mostly I'm just prepping for a blizzard or other extreme disruption of typical services (maybe an EMP or other catastrophic power outage). I'm not willing to put a ton of money into it, but a little goes a long way. I find that many people are not equipped at all to handle even mild disruptions to services. Spending a little money on emergency preparedness can make a huge difference. An inexpensive gun in an inexpensive gun safe. A water filtration device. More canned goods (etc.) than you'd otherwise keep in stock. And in my case a small generator and a way to connect it to circuits on the house so I could run a fridge, or a furnace, or some lights. I also have a few gas cans that I keep loaded with some stabil to keep them from souring (I rotate these through the various engines periodically to keep them fresh).

Total cost is really not that much.

Gun: a few hundred
Ammo: another hundred maybe
Food: was spending about $100 per year to keep extra, now it'll be more like $60.
Water: $15 filtration device
Generator: $1000 (hand-carry honda one that you see on the back of campers).
Gas: nil
Home power transfer switch: uh... that's a toughie. This ran me a few hundred in parts, but I think installation could run like $1000 or more.

Not a ton of extra expense, but it greatly extends a level of comfort and survivability in any reasonably likely emergency setting. One thing that I'm probably a little short on is home medical supplies. I keep some basic painkillers around and some cold medicine, but I couldn't set a broken bone or stitch up a major laceration. That seems like it would require some basic training.

 

[Michael88]

Regarding the scenario to prep for... I do think that's an important element of "prepping".

I don't think there's a ton of point in trying to prepare for an end-of-the-world scenario. Many of those involve me being likely dead anyway, and the rest of them are so chaotic that I'm not likely to be able to think ahead about how to prepare. Nuclear detonation is possible, but not particularly likely in my area, and very difficult to prep for properly.

I live relatively close to several ''shoddy'' nuclear powerplants, and since I have served in the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical warfare unit (NBC) I used some of my knowledge to prepare for a reactor meltdown fallout scenario. I think its actually one of the most likely disaster scenarios for me.-

You have to assume that the information you get from radio or TV is severely outdated, which means you MUST NOT run to your car and flee from the potential fallout zone. You will get stuck in traffic and the risk of getting exposed to high doses of radioactive particles is very high. You'll have to wait it out at home.

So you need food and water for -in the worst case scenario when nobody comes to evacuate you- several weeks, depending on the weather. Windows and door slits/gaps need to be sealed with duct tape immediately. Decontamination is a very length process and one that cannot be done in most homes, so forget about leaving the house during that time.
It makes sense to use iodine pills to saturate your body with that stuff so it will not absorb radioactive iodine. You don't need to use iodine pills if you are 30+.

After 2-3 weeks and hopefully a couple days of rain the radioactive dust will start to settle a little and to be bound to the top layer of soil, that's when you can move and leave the disaster zone.
For that it is advisable to use a good new (not surplus) protective mask with a filter that is rated P3 and for radioactive iodine, the main radioactive particle you will face from a reactor failure. Having reached a safe zone you have to get rid of your clothes, shave all your hair and contaminate.

That's about all you can do to prepare for such disaster. Not running out and fleeing like a headless chicken and having some food and water are the most important things-

 

[Danoff]

I live relatively close to several ''shoddy'' nuclear powerplants, and since I have served in the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical warfare unit (NBC) I used some of my knowledge to prepare for a reactor meltdown fallout scenario. I think its actually one of the most likely disaster scenarios for me.-

You have to assume that the information you get from radio or TV is severely outdated, which means you MUST NOT run to your car and flee from the potential fallout zone. You will get stuck in traffic and the risk of getting exposed to high doses of radioactive particles is very high. You'll have to wait it out at home.

So you need food and water for -in the worst case scenario when nobody comes to evacuate you- several weeks, depending on the weather. Windows and door slits/gaps need to be sealed with duct tape immediately. Decontamination is a very length process and one that cannot be done in most homes, so forget about leaving the house during that time.
It makes sense to use iodine pills to saturate your body with that stuff so it will not absorb radioactive iodine. You don't need to use iodine pills if you are 30+.

After 2-3 weeks and hopefully a couple days of rain the radioactive dust will start to settle a little and to be bound to the top layer of soil, that's when you can move and leave the disaster zone.
For that it is advisable to use a good new (not surplus) protective mask with a filter that is rated P3 and for radioactive iodine, the main radioactive particle you will face from a reactor failure. Having reached a safe zone you have to get rid of your clothes, shave all your hair and contaminate.

That's about all you can do to prepare for such disaster. Not running out and fleeing like a headless chicken and having some food and water are the most important things-

I'm pretty sure the radiation would cook me in my house. I'm about 20 miles from the center of Denver, so if Denver got nuked, which doesn't seem particularly likely, I'll be getting dosed pretty heavily. Fallout will land on my roof and there's only wood between my roof and the basement. I have one spot in my basement that's surrounded by concrete tightly on 3 sides, but the top is just wood. Not great for tornadoes (at least a direct hit) or overhead radiation.

How effective is iodine really at preventing radiation poisoning?

 

[Michael88]

How effective is iodine really at preventing radiation poisoning?

It is effective when taken immediately, problem is if you are too late your thyroid gland is quickly saturated with the radioactive iodine and you'll be in a world full of crap. You need to get the proper informations quickly to act accordingly, otherwise its too late. Also if you are in your mid 30's and older the thyroid gland absorbs so little iodine you won't really have to bother with iodine pills. Its especially the kids and young people who will absorb the most so if you have kids you should get those pills.

Of course, there are other radioactive particles so just taking iodine pills wont save you if you don't us protective measures quickly.

Also I am pretty sure I would get cooked too if my country got nuked, now living in the middle of the second largest city with several huge industrial areas in close proximity. But nobody would survive a large scale nuclear war for long so us getting cooked quickly may be the best way out. Unless maybe New Zealanders or those living in Madagascar, far away from the prime targets.

 

[Danoff]

It is effective when taken immediately, problem is if you are too late your thyroid gland is quickly saturated with the radioactive iodine and you'll be in a world full of crap. You need to get the proper informations quickly to act accordingly, otherwise its too late. Also if you are in your mid 30's and older the thyroid gland absorbs so little iodine you won't really have to bother with iodine pills. Its especially the kids and young people who will absorb the most so if you have kids you should get those pills.

Of course, there are other radioactive particles so just taking iodine pills wont save you if you don't us protective measures quickly.

Also I am pretty sure I would get cooked too if my country got nuked, now living in the middle of the second largest city with several huge industrial areas in close proximity. But nobody would survive a large scale nuclear war for long so us getting cooked quickly may be the best way out. Unless maybe New Zealanders or those living in Madagascar, far away from the prime targets.

 

[W3H5]

Most realistic scenario in my part of the world is drought and/ or civil unrest.

I have a reserve tank on my property that holds around 200 gallons which is always full and several of my immediate neighbours are cops. Hopefully I’m well covered.

 

[Blood Eagle]

Yea, mine had heaters. They didn't work that well, so I ditched them and heated it with boiling water.

The secret to MRE heaters in my experience is the less water the better. They are serious about the "do not overfill" warning. For military Flameless Ration Heaters (FRH) it hardly takes any water to light them off. But never throw those away. You can use the FRH for things like hand warmers with gloves and if you have wet boots you can place them inside the boots and they will stay hot for several hours and will aid if not totally dry out the inside of wet footwear.

 

[Rallywagon]

They are also fun to throw into bottles....

 

[a6m5]

This will get me to 50% of @W3HS :

Always thought this was pretty smart product. It's only $35 & get you 100 gallons if you are able to act quickly enough to fill it. Also, I ordered that portable filtration you recommended on this page @Danoff It'll be a nice addition to just bottled water & survival filtration straw. 👍

The secret to MRE heaters in my experience is the less water the better. They are serious about the "do not overfill" warning. For military Flameless Ration Heaters (FRH) it hardly takes any water to light them off. But never throw those away. You can use the FRH for things like hand warmers with gloves and if you have wet boots you can place them inside the boots and they will stay hot for several hours and will aid if not totally dry out the inside of wet footwear.

Reminds me of those old school G.I. canteen cups. So many different uses. 👍