Ok, we should all by now be familiar with the “you should have a disaster readiness kit capable of supporting you for 72 hours” stuff. Granted most of us could probably muddle through by emptying our cupboards and drinking water out of the toilet reservoirs if we absolutely had to (consider for a second if you REALLY want that to be your plan however), but there are more dignified ways of surviving for a few days.
Some of us go a step further, preparing for all manner of catastrophic disruptions of the our daily routine. So before something big goes boom, and you’re standing in the dark take a moment to assess the risk and figure out what level of preparation YOU are comfortable with.
Personally, I’ve always been pretty casual in this regard. I always have a surplus of canned goods on hand that would feed us for about a few weeks (more if rationed carefully), enough fuel to refill the cars gas tank on a moments notice (or run the generator for a few days), travel documents and cash on hand and ready to go.
Scattered around the house and car we have a well stocked first aid kit, a “power outage kit” that includes flashlights, spare batteries, hand crank radio, candles and playing cards etc.
Our preparations appeared adequate to me, but seem mainly built around sitting out any disaster in the comfort of our home. In order to better balance out the arrangements to include “bugging out” (which would, under the existing arrangement involve ALL sorts of running around the house, and inevitably forgetting some items) I recently ordered a “3 day / 4 person” survival kit from Costco, and added an additional 7 days of concentrated rations and a stack of MREs (bringing the grand total to just over two weeks of mobile food for three people), which gives us a pretty robust kit if we did have to hit the road (better if we retained the presence of mind to throw some of those previously mentioned canned goods into a box on the way out).
Costcos’ 4 person 72 hour kit is pretty good, but I’ll beef it up a bit over the next little while (it IS meant to be a 3 day bag, not a “few week” bag).
(if you don’t have the cash, you can always use their content list as a template and assemble your own bit by bit).
Greg’s emergency kit list:
1. Gun;
2. Sack; and
3. Nieghbours who are firm proponents of gun control.
Ah yes – my old Y2K.plan, solid, safe and easy. I’d still consider this my plan A – my stockpiles are a bonus plan.
You have ‘a “power outage kit” that includes flashlights, spare batteries, hand crank radio, candles and playing cards‘
I assume your kit also includes one of those ‘emergency’ smart phone chargers – you may not be able to talk to anyone when the s**t hits the fan, but at least you’ll be able to play some games … LOL!
(e.g. … http://tinyurl.com/azv6ztt )
I have a commercially prepared go bag with a few replacements/upgrades (LED flashlights etc.). I also have an extendable baton, pocket knife, bokken and yet another large flashlight stashed within arm’s reach of the bag, and a plan for where to go for each of several disaster scenarios. No firearms at this juncture but they may be coming before long.
Lets be honest Erik, when the fit hits the shan we will both be at work.
Pieter, therein lies the rub. It’s impossible to be prepared and equipped for every disaster at all times. You just have to hope you and each loved one has enough mental and physical capacity to take actions that enhance their ability to survive bad things happening to and around them.
Dad: Nice find! My kit now includes a AA powered cell phone charger (although I expect that cell service will be one of the first thing to topple if a disaster strikes).
Carbonman: Firearms are no more a part of my “go bag” or “bug out bag” than my passport, cash or the USB key with scanned copies of important documents.
That said as I go out the door I’m going to make a series of decisions, and augmenting the bag with tools or items that I own would be prudent. That may include firearms (restricted, unrestricted or both) if the circumstances warrant.
As Al Capone is often quoted – “You can get farther with a kind word and a gun, than you can with just a kind word”.
Piet: Too true. Like most preparation exercises, this is another one where I’d rather have it and NOT need it, than need it and NOT have it.
A few bucks spent here and there (Ok, maybe more than a few bucks – breakdown so far – Initial 72hr kit $140, additional concentrated rations $60, MREs $180, MEC rations $30, two 40L capacity backpacks to move the kit to $100 – so $510 so far altogether) is not going to adversely impact my standard of living (I’m not building a mormon stocked bunker here – yet anyway), but the bags will be there if needed.
I’ve got a small pile of concentrated rations, and a smaller pile of MREs, BUT have ordered a sampling from Mountain Equipment Co-op. The have a variety of freeze dried dinners (including Vindaloo), and even have freeze dried ice cream bars and other treats (I’m thinking “Yippee” for the Vindaloo, and “Happy Jilly” for the ice cream).
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/HikingCamping/Food/PRD~5024-515/backpackers-pantry-chicken-vindaloo.jsp
Take a look through their Hikers foods for yourself. It’s PRICEY as hell (around the cost of an MRE but without the side, heater etc). Once they arrive I’ll get Jilly to help me evaluate them, and post the results.
Costco also has Mountain House freeze dried meat/veg/fruit etc;
http://www.costco.ca/Mountain-House%C2%AE-%E2%80%93-No.10-Can-Sampler-Kit.product.10346145.html
60 servings for $160 = $2.60 a meal instead of the $7-9 of MRE or gucci hiker meals.
Get the feeling the Mountain House stuff would be better for “bug in” situations where you’re mixing the freeze dried meats with potatos, rice and pasta to spread it out over a longer period.
Still, lots to read about and experiment with out there.