Being into preparedness leaves you with various worries that the sheeple usually dont get. Part of it is because we generally think about ‘the unthinkable’ and do not subscribe to the ‘it’ll never happen to me’ philosophy. Naturally, one of our bigger concerns is that someday Something Bad is going to happen while we are travelling or otherwise away from our fortified homes and bunkers. The irony of having a years supply of food water and fuel stored and then being 2000 miles away from it when you need it is not lost on me. Anyway, the girlfriend, who has of late been reading Aherns The Survivalist series, had a dream last night that she was far and away from the safety and security of Zeroland and stuck on the East Coast when fanatical Muslims start dropping nukes. At that point it basically becomes every post-nuke ‘leave the relative safety to wander the wasteland and find your loved ones’ movie. The obvious solution is to simply carry with you what you need. Given todays stormtrooper mentality at airports and whatnont, transporting an AR, Glock and an 870, even though perfectly legal, still poses risks. Thats in addition to having to pack along some water purification gear, spare ammo, clothing, boots, backpacks and the usual summary BOB gear. A more practical alternative, if its a place youre going to be visiting more than once (like your folks’ place that you visit twice every year), would be to cache a small amount of The Usual Goodies in a nice, sealed, unobtrusive box that you can leave in place. I had to think about this and while I never did anything about it, I thought that one of the best ways would be to get one of those Rubbermaid black-n-gray storage containers in a reasonable size, stuff it with The Usual Goodies (some freezedrieds, water filter, ammo, flashlight, lightsticks, backpack stove, fuel, knife, clothes, etc.) and simply UPS it to my destination a few days before my arrival. When Im ready to leave (assuming I choose not to leave said package there) I UPS it back to myself. Not cheap…probably $30 each way in shipping but, man, wouldnt you want to spend $30 for the relative security it would provide if you got stuck in Chicago, NYC or LA during a blackout, riot or other Really Bad Thing?
Naturally, this begs the question, what would you pack? Well, obviously you cant pack everything you want to…and equally obvious is that certain disasters will call for different goodies (and quantities of goodies). For example, a blackout seldom lasts more than three days and I’ll be using up batteries alot faster than I’ll be using up, say, soap. Contraversely, if its a riot Im probably going to be using up more ammo than batteries. Naturally, I realize that you cant really pack enough gear to handle trekking 2000 miles back to the heavily armed, well stocked and remarkably friendly oasis that is Zerotopia but I think you can pack enough gear to get you through the immediate crisis until such time as things have calmed down to the point where normal (or semi-normal) transportation services are available.
Your typical BOB is a good place to start. They usually cover the immediate basics of water, food, and that sort of thing. In fact, simply tossing youre average BOB into a hardsided container and mailing it to yourself would put you order of magnitudes ahead of the population.
Anyway, I think that I need to add to the long list of projects Ive been wanting to do…I need to come up with a list of items for a prolonged away-from-base period of time that can all be packaged into a relatively small container for long-term storage, handle the rigors of frquent travel (being shipped around the US), take advantage of local resources to minimize materials needing to be packed (i.e. not needing to pack ten gallons of water since its quite likely local water resources will be available. Simply pack water container and purification instead. [although to be safe a few of the lifeboat-ration packets of sterile water would be a good idea]), and generally give the preparedness-minded individual a serious leg up on the rest of the sheeple. (To say nothing of a nasty surprise to the predatory types…)
Definitely some list-making to do…..
This is like an apocalyptic version of a Carlin routine.
One of the things to consider is that the addition of ammo and camping fuel will make your package ORM-D hazardous material. Not a big deal, but something to consider.
I’ve been having some thoughts about water purification gear, having dealt with that stuff a bit. Hiking water filters tend to be pretty expensive. It seems like an inefficient use of resources to pack one away and then never use it for its intended purpose, which is really just to be damned light in addition to being capable of filtering water.
I’m considering the use of standard 10″ filter housings for a similar purpose. These are the type used for under-sink filter units. One can buy a housing for about $15 and a suitable filter for about $10 that (IIRC) is roughly equivalent to the hiker’s stuff. The only thing lacking at that point is a bit of tubing and a hand pump capable of generating 50-60PSI water pressure. When space and weight aren’t as much of a consideration, that’d make a filter setup cheaper, and also capable of producing a greater quantity of filtered water more quickly. For vehicle deployment, one might also consider a 12VDC pressure pump manufactured by a company like Shurflo. These can be found relatively cheaply on ebay.
I’d be more concerned about biological beasties than about hard water or off-flavors. Do the under-sink units filter out that stuff?
The ability of the under-sink filter units is entirely dependent on the cartridges that are being used. There are very many different types to suit different purposes. For this purpose, I am specifically thinking of the CeramiKX made by KX Industries. There’s some info here and a data sheet in PDF here. It has a nominal particulate removal rating of .2 microns and an absolute particulate removal rating of .5 microns. This filter works quite well for a number of little nasties including E. Coli and Giardia. This is about as well as any of the hiking filters work. Note that in spite of the name this isn’t a true ceramic candle filter, it is extruded carbon. However, based on the specifications, it works just as well and at about $15 each are quite a bit cheaper.
The main benefit to the approach of using the standard 10″ filter housing stuff is that there’s a huge volume of it and one can find cartridges for just about any sort of application. There are any number of filters available for removing things like VOC’s, lead, phosphate, etc. One can also use reverse-osmosis, ultra-violet treatment, and deionization, depending on one’s goals. Folks are even using RO units with special-purpose filters to desalinate water on small sailing vessels. This obviates the need to bring along a great deal of fresh water for long voyages.
to be
more realistic is to permantly cache such a container at your friend or family members home, refreshing contents when making a trip there. sad case would be inspectors opening up your usp package en route bringing down the wrath of whatever laws they think you broke. pack wisely. Wildflower
This is a very good article on Water Treatment, and how make makeshift filters in the field. Definately good survivalist material.
http://www.survivalistbooks.com/faq/waterfaq.htm
What is your plan?
I’m certain that the members of the LJ survivalist community know the material requirements for their survival, so I see the question as: “What is my Escape and Evasion Plan for this trip and what do I need to effect that plan”?
Material requirements support the plan, if you employ the reverse, then the list becomes large and your footprint may become cumbersome. Presumably, you’ll be traveling light and fast, so footprint becomes an issue. It’s a matter of economy.
I recommend drafting a E&E Plan, briefing it to all concerned and tooling the mail ahead BOB to support the plan. Establishing sustainment caches along the E&E route is another consideration.
I’m going to pick up a Katadyn filter and a coupla forward osmosis bags for the water issue abroad and (hopefully) a Berky :-)for the home.
ok, I missed a meeting… WTF is a BOB? Last I knew, that was something women kept in their nightstands to keep them company on lonely nights!
BOB= Bug Out Bag, AKA G.O.O.D gear (G.O.O.D = Get Out Of Dodge)
yes, i’ve been heeding the Commander’s advice and taking what steps i need to take to have my own BOB ready/close at hand for when/if the “REALLY BAD THING” happens
ah… ok, that makes a LOT more sense.
Except for me. I live within around a mile of one of the identified ground-zero military targets on the northern plains. I probably won’t even notice it when the stuff hits the fan.
For anything less than that, well, a case of scotch and a thousand round for everything in the safe was MY Y2k plan.
yeah i know the feeling(lives in a city between Ft Mc Coy to the west & Volk Field/Camp Williams (ANG base) to the east)
that should give you a good idea of where i live
excellent info source – thanks!
Reminds me of a planning exercise I should flesh out this year: the Tornado Kit.
This is what goes with me into the “tornado shelter”. The assumption is that I will be in much more reasonable condition than my material possessions 😉
Glad you liked it.
Ive been meaning share this with the Cmdr and the group of LMI’s after I picked it up.
I need get back to reading the stuff on that site.