The Case For Sensible Disaster Preparations....The Zombies Are Not Coming.

    Living in Southern California for most of my life; I have had more than my share of experiences with natural and man made disasters. Earthquakes, flash floods, forest fires, high tides and riots. It would be a fool who didn’t make some kind of sensible preparations beforehand for most likely scenarios. Experience, brings knowledge and in most cases banishes undue fear. That being said since the start of the Survivalist movement of the 70s, which I think was more an indication of distrust of the government, I have seen an industry built on and driven by people’s fears and ignorance. You will not, I repeat, will not be ready for everything that can occur. Who could have foreseen the speed in which the Rodney King verdict would devolve. Earthquakes come when they come and you will never know their size or strength.

    Everybody is getting in on the action. Home Depot, Walmart all have some ready made backpack stuffed with subpar junk that they sell to people who haven’t thought about the likely scenarios or what they will realistically need. Idiots like Jim Baker and Alex Jones are also cashing in by playing on people’s fears of the Rapture or some looming foreign invasion. For the people who are preparing for the Rapture, Zombie Apocalypse, Solar/Magnetic storms, the “looming financial crisis” (that’s been looming for the past thirty years), the UN troop invasion, FEMA camp roundup, gun confiscation and any number of basically stupid, conspiracy theory driven nonsense; you are delusional.

    It is simply not realistic or practical to try and prepare for everything, but that doesn’t mean you can’t weather the storm. A long time ago I decided to treat emergency/disaster preparation as planning for an extended, unwelcomed and unplanned camping trip. My basic needs to be met were to be for shelter, fire, food and water in the immediate term. If my apartment or house were still intact, I would shelter in place. If fire, flood or earthquake destroyed my living quarters then I would have to move. In the event that I had to move, I have a go-bag in my car that is already in place with things I will need or will find useful on the road to where I will eventually go. Whether you call it a go-bag, bug out bag, get home bag, etc;  for me it has to be light enough to carry, ready at a moment’s notice and be inconspicuous. My go-bag has always been in my car and over many years experience; I keep what I realistically need and I chuck the rest. I do not store food or water in the go-bag, but I keep a way to make fire in the bag and a water container and the means to purify water. If I am forced to leave my home; I also have my important documents, some cash, spare meds and glasses ready to go.

    It’s not a bad idea to have flats of bottled drinking water on hand, but there is only so much you can store. I supplement this by having metal and plastic containers that I can purify and then store water in. Iodine, potable aqua, or simply boiling water will work and won’t be as expensive as the water filtration systems that are really meant for backpackers with no access potable water. With regard to food, I stay away from expensive freeze dried boutique meals, MREs and bulk packed foods; almost always these are an avenue to separate the scared  and uninformed from their money. If you want bland, boring food that will fill you up and sustain you for the near term, you can do just as well by visiting your local 99 cent store, WalMart, Target or supermarket. I have a lot of SPAM, Ramen and canned veggies and soups. To cook all this stuff, you don’t need anything fancy or expensive. I don’t like alcohol fuel stoves or really anything meant for cooking a meal for one backpacker. Coleman dual fuel stoves, propane stoves, or butane stoves that you can usually find in a lot of Asian markets are the ticket. They are cheap, easy to find and simple to use.

    Most of the 24HR “Survival Kits” you see being sold at any of the big box stores are going to be a ripoff. The backpacks are so flimsy and cheap as to be laughable and the contents are worse. Make your own survival kit, it will be usually better and cheaper. Starting with the backpack or duffle bag, make sure it’s decent quality and test it out when loaded to see if you are able to carry it for a few hours. If you’re the sort of idiot that does the one strap thing on backpacks, learn to use both straps or use a duffle bag.

    Unless you have emergency first aid training, been an EMT or know how to start an IV, don’t carry more than you need. A way to disinfect wounds and dressings are a good start. Most of the first aid kits you can buy are either going to be seriously inadequate or expensive. The idea of getting first aid training is not a bad one and the American Red Cross is a good resource as far as getting the knowledge and on what you should realistically have in your first aid kit. What you will find out is the more you know, the less you need to carry.

    The concept of EDC, Every Day Carry, is a helpful one as far as developing an attitude of sensible preparedness and do it for yourself. However like anything it can be carried to ridiculous lengths. I will normally carry a small flashlight, swiss army knife, pen and a watch. If you choose to carry a multi-tool instead of a knife, wonderful, go for it. Unless you are in the habit of wearing cargo pants and shoving your pockets with every goddamn thing; you are going to be forced to pare down to what you can comfortably carry in two pockets.

    You will take note that in all of the preceding advice, there was not one mention of guns or shooting it out. With the exception of the LA Riots, my primary concern after fires and earthquakes wasn’t to protect my hoard of ammo, guns, food, liquor, etc. because everybody else was in the same boat and were also concerned about housing/shelter, food, clothing, water and their immediate safety and health. I knew eventually that things would get back to normal and that I needed to take care of myself and my family until services were restored.

Are they hunting or is it a direct action mission? You can't be ready for everything, but you can prepare to make things less worse.

Simple first aid kit for disinfecting wounds, bandaging cuts and some aspirin. With some training from the American Red Cross, you can usually improvise in the field.

Small toiletry kit, a shave, a brush and a wash do wonders for morale...

With the exception of the emergency radio, knife and canteen cup, everything else fits into the Nalgene water bottle.

I keeps binos, about 7-8x, so I can see what's going on. Situational awareness is useful.

The current iteration of the go bag, a simple black cordura nylon duffle bag. Low profile, simple and cheap. Some change in clothing and the preceding items with some extras are stored in the car as I figure that I'll either be in the car or close to it when something occurs.

The previous iteration of the go bag, an older model Eagle Industries Ranger Assault backpack. The concept of the three day assault pack itself was lifted from civilian backpacks, but made stronger so withstand abuse. Still a good pack and I would have no reservations about using it again. The newer versions all have some sort of PALS webbing so you can overload yourself into a heat casualty.

 Butane powered stove. The cartridge are cheap and the stoves at last count, go for something like $20.00. They are more than good enough and the cartridges last me about a week. These things are dead simple to use.

Cheap Staples brand notebook and BIC multi-color pen. You can use it when your smartphone dies.