Did some running around today to pick up a few ‘nice to haves’ and to do some price checking. I was looking for 15-gallon blue barrels, NATO-style gas cans, and MagLites. Of those three items, you’d think the MagLites would have been the easiest. I mean, every Lowe’s and Home Depot would have them right? Well…you say that….
Turns out that Home Depot, Lowe’s, Murdoch’s, and a handful of other places that you would think would carry them…didn’t. I wonder if maybe MagLite did some sort of change to their pricing or distribution program and got dropped from the stores. Oh, sure…they’re available elsewhere but I really expected them in home Depot.
While I was at Murdoch’s the woman in line in front of me asked the clerk about canning jar lids. She said that their website reported they had three boxes of them in stock, she wanted them, but didnt see them on the shelf. The guy told her they keep them behind the counter because…”Theyre a high theft item.” Canning jar lids. High theft item. let that ferment in your brain for a minute. As someone opined to me after hearing that, “Youd think someone who would steal canning jar lids would be too lazy to can.”
As for the 15-gallon blue barrels I wanted…nada de suerte. Same for the gas cans. And, yes, they’re available online but I find it interesting that the local supply is picked over so thoroughly. Signs of the times, it seems.
In the course of my travels I also hit the restaurant supply place and while they had a pretty normal selection of stuff, some things were absent…certain cooking oils, large cuts of meat, etc.
For me, all the things Im after are just really gilding the preparedness lilly. I’ve got enough of pretty much anything that I’ll come out the other side of whatever happens just fine. But it’s interesting to see the evidence that theres a restlessness amongst the natives.
Too lazy to can but not too lazy to fence.
Part of the problem is the shipping delays. About two weeks ago,we ordered something with overnight delivery at work. It only had to travel about 250 miles from NJ to just north of Massachusetts. It took a week – and no refund on the overnight premium.
Canning lids. Meth? I know its canning season and it picked over pretty good but, the loss due theft?
Canning lids are traveling the same road as ammo. When the customer is limited to only one box at the register…
The story kinda finishes it’s self from there.
We noticed a shortage of the less expensive Zippo lighter units (plain jane model). The more expensive $20 and up okay. Ronsonal and Zippo ighter fluid seemed pretty normal, but we keep over a dozen bottles sealed for future use. Making fire here and now can be important, especially in winter.
have you seen the price of propane tanks?! i went hunting for some to add to the stack. the 20’s were 20 bucks higher than this past spring,the 30’s were 100 bucks! and the 100lb talks had doubled. ouch.
Picked up 2 for $12 each,pretty good deal,now to get them filled and a heater.
Did you check Big R for the 15 gallon barrels? Where I live they have a bunch of them…
I have seen plenty of jars and lids with bands here, but no lids on their own.
Just a guess here, but I’m thinking Lowes-Home Despot, etc. don’t carry Mag-lite anymore cause they are made here in the USA and not from chinklandistan of chineseium anomaly aluminium, soon to be in short supply cause of a sudden shortage of Manganese. And all that aluminum stuff, yeah the US hasn’t got squat for reserves. Oh Joy! Spect your beer stash to go up cause of the cans shortage. This from a guy that works for a luminium mfg. I just love misspelling luniminium.
No surprise about not finding Maglites. There are a lot of brands that are cheaper and better than Maglite on the market. My local HD carries a better quality Chinisum Maglite clone at half the price.
Regarding the 15-gallon blue barrels and canning lids. As I’ve written before, America is in the middle of a pandemic with a death rate that’s 7X more than the normal flu. Of course, there are bound to be supply chain and theft issues.
Same thing happening around me, but when I questioned the store manager, he told me things just weren’t coming in. No meat, no milk, no prego. Costco and Sam’s both out of TP and paper towels. I haven’t been able to get my cat’s favorite food for two months now. Good thing I have a stack of cases of it.
Have you looked at getting the cat food online?
We were close for our cat and dog food last year.
Steelheart
“You’d think someone who would steal canning jar lids would be too lazy to can.” They most likely are. They also know the lids are in demand. Those lids will show up on Craigslist, Offerup, or the local swap meet…
In L.A, the biggest target for theft in grocery stores… Beer? Booze?… Nope; TIDE LAUNDRY DETERGENT. The dindus load up their carts with the stuff, beat feet to the door, and resell the detergent in the ‘hood. Then they load up on meth…
AHH! A nation without laws is SUCH a utopia…
https://nymag.com/news/features/tide-detergent-drugs-2013-1/
so both the maglite and the surefires can be upgraded with LED modules.
Amazon and ebay sell them. Many different options. I like the single mode
for both my Maglites and Surefire lights. If the module for the surefire doesnt work you will either have the put on the secondary spring on the module or take it off. not a big deal.
I now by Fenix tactical lights with a second button for brightness levels . I like the king that use the powerful and rechargeable 18650 or 2x cr123a
and the AA versions of Fenix lights. I like Streamlight also but prefer the Fenix.
I like the D-cell Maglite for it’s non tactical appearance and the fact it can double as a billy club. To many tactical flashlights big enough to use as a club are designed to look like a weapon and if I have to deal with a self defense case i don’t want anyone trying to claim intent because my flashlight looks like it belongs to John Wick or on a Call of Duty game.