How prepared are we?

[griz]

Probably medium catagory for me. At home the answer is yes to everything. In car yes to most of the emergency stuff but no to most of the self defence. My vehicle is subject to searches at work and weapons are not allowed. On my person I always have a knife but consider it a tool instead of a weapon.

I'll echo what Shackle Me Not said, mindset is the best defence. As an example, I drive an above average number of miles, often at weird hours and where help can be a long way away. So for me it makes sense to bias the list toward mechanical fixes that can prevent long walks. Accordingly I'll add a good flashlight and cell phone to the car list, and I no longer wait until the tires are bald before replaceing them.

 

[entropy]

I'm generally prepared. I live in a rural area where self-reliance is the norm, not the exception. At the moment I don't have a fire extinguisher in the new truck, because we just got it, but that will soon be rectified. A Grundig cranker has been on my 'to get' list for a while, I collect oil lamps, a practical as well as fun hobby, and of course I collect guns also. I have some medical training (was in a Med. Bn in the Army) , actually practice with my swords more than knives, and to answer Topgun, I can (but wouldn't) take gold with my guns, but in a SHTF situation, the reverse would take a lot of gold just to get my extra 'junker' guns.
I am in agreement that minset is the best defense. A gun is merely a tool, like that fire extinguisher by the stove. The mind is the weapon, and I keep mine handy at all times.

 

[Highpower1]

How prepared are we?

okay, let's see how I do.



Do we prepare for other needs like we do self-defense? For that matter, how prepared are we for self-defense, do we prepare in other ways or do we only prepare with guns? I have studied Akido, Judo, BJJ, and Vale Tudo for a number of years. I'm a personal protection instructor in fact. Now that I'm married (going on 2 years) my wife is now training.

Public safety:
Do you have a fire estinguisher in your car? In your home? Are you CPR and first aid certified? yes Fire Ext. in all 3 vehicles, I have 6 estinguishers in the house in various places. I'm 1st Responder certified, my wife is recently first aid & CPR, AED certified (plus the added training that I have given her)

Car trouble:
Do you keep jumper cables in your car? A blanket? Tools? Car parts? Water?
All of the above, plus a space bag with 2 days clothing, shoes, & jacket in them. Also, add a nice knife, 2 flashlights, duct tape (gotta love ducttape) misc tools that will work on my vehicles

Disaster:
Do you keep a stash of food and water that will keep you for a few days if a natural disaster knocks out the power in your area? Do you have enough for a week? A month? More? Do you have a battery or crank powered radio? Do you have a stash of candles and matches or a flashlight or battery operated lantern and extra batteries? yep got those cover'd as well. The wife thinks i'm wierd by keeping alot of extra food around. Plenty of flashlights, batteries, & yep even got the crank radio just in case I run out of batteries for the boombox

Self-Defense:
Do you own and practice with a knife? Pepper spray (or other less-lethal weapons)? Do you know any martial arts or other hand to hand combat techniques? yep, already answer'd that one above.


This is a good post, the only thing that I don't keep around the house and I really should in the safe is spare cash. I have been meaning to put some money away just for this. Looks like a good a time as ever to put a lil cash away in the safe just in case.

 

[borderguy]

I've got all the basic stuff and a bit more.

As a Firefighter in KA I taught Earthquake Preparedness, 1st Aid and CPR.
There is a lot of good info out there for free to take advantage of.

Just remember to keep a low profile. Those less prepared have a habit of knocking on your door when things go south.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Thanks SteelyDan,

Before Y2K I saw BayGens locally at gunshows for approx. $75 IIRC.
I thought they would be cheaper after Y2K and I'd pick one up when the calm returned.

Some consumer I am!
Next time I saw one it was almost 100$.

I'll look into the Grundig models. A few months ago when I was surfing for details they had some very cool features.

Communication or at least the ability of receive informtion impresses me just as much a key element of being prepared as having extra food and water.
Not knowing what is going on near to and outside you immediate area could turn out to have a very negative outcome.

S-

 

[riverdog]

I drive a truck and keep lots of stuff in the back under the bed-cover. One of my backpacks is a Maxpedition Condor which I use as a survival kit, it stays in the truck. I won't detail what's in the kit, there are lots of variations to survival kits, but suffice it to say that I could live out of the back of my truck for an extended period. Are we talking wilderness survival or urban survival? Long term or overnight? Preparedness is largely a state of mind -- get the training and then start selecting your tools.

Another forum I follow is at Survival.com, Ron Hood's website. Ron used to do wilderness training for individuals and groups, now he makes and sells simply outstanding "how to" video's on various aspects of survival. I highly recommend checking out his website Hoods Woods. One of his latest video's is on Urban survival. Other video's detail various aspects of wilderness survival (fire, shelter, navigation, et al), survival kits, and then there's the cave cooking series. All good stuff.

 

[Topgun]

Grundig AM-FM-SW crank/battery radio at Radio Shack.....$39.95

 

[chaim]

Some good responses to this thread so far. I'm glad to see the interest.

This is a good post,

Thanks, a couple people have said that so far. I don't post here as much as I used to, so when I do post a topic I don't want just another "9mm v. 45acp" thread .

the only thing that I don't keep around the house and I really should in the safe is spare cash. I have been meaning to put some money away just for this. Looks like a good a time as ever to put a lil cash away in the safe just in case.

Now that is a great idea. Short of something along the lines of nuclear war where society completely collapses, cash will be very useful. If the power is out for a week or two in a large area, the banks probably won't have their systems up for you to access your accounts.

Are we talking wilderness survival or urban survival? Long term or overnight?

Yes. Whichever is closer to the situations you think you will be more likely to face.

Long term or overnight

Again, whichever you think you are more likely to face. I'm not really asking what people think they should have, but what they have done to be prepared. If you just prepare for a snow storm or minor hurricane/major thunderstorm that knocks things out for a few days, fine (and that is the most likely in most areas). If you prepare for Hurricane Andrew at the minimum or a nuclear war, that is fine too.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I live in SE PA, outside of Philadelphia. I keep a number of items in my truck:

--First aid kit
--Tool kit
--3 road flares
--Fix-a-flat
--Bike pump
--12v air compressor/light (just got it)
--a few Cyalume lightsticks
--jumper cables
--a big piece of contactor's paper to use as a ground cloth in case I need to get on the ground underneath the truck
--spare quart of oil
--2-D cell flashlight
--12v spotlight
--CB radio
--USGI casevac blanket
--USGI poncho liner
--poncho (not a GI one)
--knit watch cap
--fleece jacket
--E-tool
--extra windshield wiper fluid
--container of hand wipes
--Hoppe's Bench Rest (hey this IS a gun board!)
--stroller (Don't laugh. I have two small kids and if I were to get stranded, a stroller beats carrying them.)
--roll of electrical tape

Stuff to add:
--a few different size hose clamps and hoses
--pre-mixed antifreeze/water mixture
--maybe a small container of road salt or sand, for traction

It actually doesn't take up that much room. I keep most of it in a duffle bag in the cargo area (I drive a '97 Expedition).

 

[entropy]

Hey, so do I! Actually, my wife drives it more than I do , glad to hear you can put a lot of stuff in there without taking too much space; I also have an '84 Bronco that was my backwoods bug-out buggy until we got the Expedition. I'll still keep the Bronco, now I can 'customize' it the way I want and not have to worry. There is a first aid kit in the Exp., but no other stuff yet. Might be a good weekend project come Friday or Sat.

 

[Caliburn]

OK, I'll play

Public safety:
Yes to all except fire exting. in car. Good idea, hadn't seen a need before. Probably never need it, but a $5 extinguisher might save a $20,000 car.

Car trouble:
Yes to all except extra parts (fuses only)

Disaster
Food and water at home, yes. Easily last a couple months, might last 6 or more on reduced intake.
Yes to all others.

Self-Defense:
No non lethal gear or practice. Yes to martial arts.

Cash on hand, yes. Zero debt on credit cards, car, mortgage - I wish!!! I'm getting there though.

 

[Series 70]

Yes to all except fire exting. in car. Good idea, hadn't seen a need before. Probably never need it

That's what I thought once. Then we smelled something as we pulled into a restuarant parking lot. Popped the hood and THERE'S A FIRE! Oh, crap - the car's on fire! No fire extinguisher... what to do... liquid - we need liquid! Quick, dear get me the bottle of windshield washer fluid from the trunk...

Now, I know what you're thinking - there's alcohol in that stuff. There sure is, and I knew that, back in the recesses of my brain, but I poured the stuff on anyways.

Fortunately, the resulting conflagration died down when the alcohol had burned off - pretty quickly. Didn't spread the fire and I was able to beat it out with a rag. Pretty exciting there for a minute. Turns out a wiring harness had frayed and caused the fire. I unplugged it (for the aux blower) and we drove it for a couple days until I could get it replaced.

And that's why I have fire extinguishers in my car.

 

[litman252]

Well, I kinda fall a little short on most Items.
What is the best place to pick up a flashlight for the car?? Brand??? First aid kit???

House supplies are fair, non-leathal training are less than ideal.

Tony

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Flashlights, in my opinion: from $3 to $15 Walmart gives a good selection at good prices; $12 to $30 Home Depot, Lowes, etc. gives good selection and price, including several decent cigarette lighter rechargables; from $30 to $300 well supplied gun shops and/or specialty self-defense web sites are the way to go; and from $150 to $400 websites give far more choices and prices that range at least 15% less usually.

First aid kits; get some good ideas from a search here as far as contents and then you will save two-thirds of the cost to supply them yourself from a discount drug store, large grocery, discount department store or Walmart.

I hope that helps and gives you a good start.

If you start with the least expensive flashlights, under $10 each, it is a good idea to get two or more for the car as they are not as reliable as the more expensive ones.

 

[Ryder]

Natural emergencies not really. I have gadgets but I don't haul them around with me like a mule. They are useful for more than just emergencies so I don't save them for such. Coping isn't so hard that I worry about having it easy.

Personal emergencies - I have extensive training but would not get involved unless I was asked for help. I know a lot of wannabe heroes and I've told them not to resuscitate me. I don't care to die more than once. How do I know others are not of the same mind?

As for un-natural emergencies. Yes, I have the tools and know how to use them.

 

[chaim]

What is the best place to pick up a flashlight for the car?? Brand??? First aid kit???

A small Mini-Maglight sized flashlight is pretty much perfect for the glove box or those storage compartments in the doors. I have a Mini-Maglight and several similar sized flashlights from various other companies. The only one that didn't last long is a store brand one I picked up at the Bass Pro Shop. I'm also thinking of going smaller and getting a keychain sized light in case the power ever goes out when I'm not at home (it would be nice to be able to navigate my way out of the office).

For the first aid kit, there are many ways to go. You can get a basic kit for $5 or so at Walmart or the local outdoors/sporting goods store all the way up to a few hundred bucks for something the size of a small backpack. I have one of the $5 kits with a couple additions. What will you most need in the car? Some band aids mostly, some burn cream, some antiseptic cream, some gauze for larger wounds, tweezers and scisors, maybe a good knife (for cutting the gauze, or if you are really unlucky for cutting your seatbelt), etc. If you are well trained in first aid you may want more in case you are the first to come across a bad accident, but most people can probably make due with the $5-15 kits (face it, you are still more prepared than 95% of the people out there).

 

[2400]

Public safety: Do you have a fire estinguisher in your car? In your home? Are you CPR and first aid certified?
Yes, to all

Car trouble: Do you keep jumper cables in your car? A blanket? Tools? Car parts? Water?
Yes, to all

Disaster: Do you keep a stash of food and water that will keep you for a few days if a natural disaster knocks out the power in your area? Do you have enough for a week? A month? More? Do you have a battery or crank powered radio? Do you have a stash of candles and matches or a flashlight or battery operated lantern and extra batteries?
Yes, to all, 1 week minimum

Self-Defense: Do you own and practice with a knife? Pepper spray (or other less-lethal weapons)? Do you know any martial arts or other hand to hand combat techniques?
Yes, to all except pepper spray

 

[Aguila Blanca]

All "cars" are 4WD Jeeps. I carry jumper cables in all, first aid kits in all, fire extinguishers in all, and space blankets in all. In the two that I use most frequently (one's a PU) I also carry tools, a surplus wool blanket, and a surplus field jacket with liner. Also both lined and unlined leather-palm work gloves.

The house has a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and another first aid kit in the bathroom. I stock bottled water and canned food enough for about a week. I have two gasoline powered generators. The larger one will power critical circuits in the house. The smaller was a mistake -- it was all I could get when my mother was out of power after a storm many years ago. It proved to be too small to run more than the pump OR the boiler at one time, but it's a quality unit so I keep it for back-up.

 

[Zach S]

Public safety:
Yes. Yes. No. No.

Car trouble:
Yes. No (have an extra coat though). Yes. Yes. Yes.

Disaster:
Food for maybe a week, and that may be strecting it thin. Batterry powered AM/FM radio, CB as well, plenty of batteries. A few candles, mainly flashlights and batteries.

Self-Defense:
Yes, no (my knife is a tool, better weapons can be had in a pinch, if you can recognize them). No. No, kinda (no formal training, just a lot of street fights against more than one agressor).

 

[Caliburn]

Food?

Some of you only have one week's worth of food on hand? How can that be? Even before I made a point of stocking up, if I only "had" one week on hand, there'd still be stuff I don't count - a couple cans of tuna fish here, some canned soup stuck back in the cupboard, a box of crackers, popcorn ready to be popped, half a bag of flour, all that stuff that you don't think about but is still there in a pinch.

We had a huge ice storm here a couple years ago that shut the town down for two solid days. On the second day I saw a neighbor in his car, sliding down the hill sideways. He said he needed to run to the store. I was thinking, unless he needs a prescription, what the heck is so important that he was risking at least his car? (And mine. If the dumb*** had skidded into my car I would have been very .) Especially since the news was already saying that the ice would be melting by evening. He couldn't wait 6 hours to go shopping? Could he be that desperate for food after only a day and a half?

Make sure you're never in that position. Next time you shop pick up some spam, a bag of rice, some pasta, and canned fruit cocktail or something, and stick in in the back of the pantry. For ten bucks you'll have a week's worth of emergency food. Even if you have to stretch it out by reducing your intake, you might even lose a little of that extra weight.

 

[SteelyDan]

Yeah, this isn't rocket science. A 10# bag of rice and a 5# bag of beans (it's best, nutritionally speaking, to combine the two because the proteins are more digestible or something) will feed a family of 4 for 10 days. And it will cost less than $10. They do have to be cooked, though.

Quick note on the car flashlight. If you live in a colder part of the country, regular alkaline batteries don't work too well at lower temperatures, especially below freezing. You can always try warming them up in your armpit, but a better choice may be a lithium-battery flashlight. Personally, I use a Streamlight TwinTask 2L (i.e., two lithium) model. It's about the size of a Maglight 2AA, but you have the option of switching between the Xenon bulb (really bright but only lasts about 3 hours) and two different LED settings that last a long, long time. It's about $30 or so.

 

[deputy tom]

chaim,check with your local YMCA as they might provide weekday CPR classes.Good thread by the way.tom.

 

[chaim]

Some of you only have one week's worth of food on hand? How can that be? Even before I made a point of stocking up, if I only "had" one week on hand, there'd still be stuff I don't count - a couple cans of tuna fish here, some canned soup stuck back in the cupboard, a box of crackers, popcorn ready to be popped, half a bag of flour, all that stuff that you don't think about but is still there in a pinch.

I can't speak for others, but I'm not talking about stuff in the pantry in my "regular" food supply that would keep for a while and I can try to drag out. I'm talking about food specifically stashed for emergencies (usually selected based on the lack of a need for refrigeration and cooking). Of course, with a camp stove (and I always have a stove and propane fuel for it) much of the pantry food will still be good, so there may be at least another weeks food in a pinch. Though the extra bag of beans and rice is actually a pretty good idea if you do have a camp stove to use if your utilities are knocked out for a while.

 

[Mr Jody Hudson]

Yes, YMCA is an appropriate CPR resource. Also, contact the local Red Cross. There are several good courses available... Usually from free to cheap. I do suggest getting one of the barrier valves to protect yourself from the fluids that are involved... in addition to saliva, vomit is often present! A good protective CPR valve AND the attached plastic sheeting to add a more protective, larger, barrier between you and the person you seek to help is another good thing.

A small bottle of Oxygen and a mask or nasal tubes are a good idea too and can make all the difference in a lot of situations. You can even get little oxygen tanks that are just a bit larger than the C0-2 cartridges you use for a pelet gun.

Plus you can get a cool black pouch, with a valve, sheeting and gloves to attach to your belt like a magazine pouch... IF you have any room left for another black pouch on your belt; I don't. All my belt space is taken up and I have a pretty long belt.

Oh, you can get a little oxygen cartridge and mask in a belt pouch too...

One of my surgeon friends used to say that he had been in some hospitals that were no better equipped than my Suburban... I'm not that well prepared medically these days. No major meds, cord clamps, oxygen or field surgery tools, no cot and no Ringers Solution with IV these days either...

 

[SteelyDan]

One last thought on the rice and beans thing. They do need to be cooked, and in an emergency situation the gas and electric could be out. Now, if you don't have some backup cooking options I think you've got your head in the sand, but that's not my point. Normally, you have to boil the stuff for an hour or so, which can use a lot of fuel, even if you're just gathering sticks from the backyard. But there is a more efficient alternative. Boil the proper amount of water and pour it into a good-sized thermos bottle. Leave it there for a minute to warm the thermos, return water to pot and wait till it starts boiling again. Put rice and beans in thermos, then add water and seal. Go to bed, and the next morning it will be ready to eat. This way you only have to use maybe 5 minutes worth of fuel instead of an hours worth.