My gear so far...

How are you preparing
Fredex
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:55 pm

My gear so far...

Post by Fredex »

I quite like reading through what others have and find it helpful to see what I am missing so I thought I'd share my gear... even if I am primarily doing it just to actually work out what I've got as recently I've just sort of been randomly buying anything that looks useful. It just seems like with the state of the world at the moment there's a higher chance of a serious conflict breaking out than at any other time in my life and even if that doesn't turn out to be on apocalyptic levels I can easily see temporary shortages and issues so since Trump's twitter rampage in August I've been stocking up. Warning: this may get long... I like to type.

Water - I've got about 150L in plastic jugs so about 2 weeks for 5 people and the tank in the loft should double this. I'd like to add to this more but space is an issue. Also got a water filter and there's three small rivers within a half hour walk with the nearest (and cleanest looking) being only about ten minutes away in a secluded wood where no one ever seems to go. In the event of serious civil unrest I'd be comfortable holding up for a few weeks to let things die down and refill from there at night if necessary. Also some lakes and reservoirs further away but that would be less ideal without transport.

Food - about 2-3 weeks of pasta, rice, canned meat and fruit, lots of jam and honey stashed away with plenty of sauces and seasoning to make it more palatable and add some vitamins. I would estimate that at any time there's probably another 2 weeks of food in the kitchen if we prioritised and used up frozen and refrigerated food first. Also have an air rifle that I've used for pest control before and pigeons regularly frequent the garden. About 20 minutes away there's a field which always has hundreds of rabbits just sitting around in it at night too. Never seen any fish in the rivers but there are lakes further out and I've seen people fishing in the canal a couple miles away so I have a little fishing kit. In summer and autumn there's a good supply of blackberries, apples, elderberries and some other less palatable but no less edible berries in the area and I've made jam lots of times before... though I do need to stock up on sugar. I found a whole load of hazel trees hidden deep in the woods nearby recently that I doubt anyone knows about and there's never a shortage of nettles either if things came to that. Gotten pretty good at identifying edible plants recently but have some pocket books on it in case.

Fire - in my bag I've got lots of disposable lighters, a couple zippos with wicks, flints and fuel to keep them going for ages and some firesteel if all else fails. I'm adapt at building fires as I've camped a lot but I need to practice starting them without a lighter. In my bag I've got a hexi cooker with maybe a week's worth of fuel with mess tins and sporks. Also got a Biolite stove and pot for it though in the event of an EMP that isn't going to be as effective and I'll lose the battery charging ability that provides. I have a few steel water bottles to decant clean boiled water into to let it coil down. I put an old vape mod and RDA that I don't use anymore in my bag too primarily as a means to recharge the 18650 batteries for my torches but it also makes for a very good firelighter and quick way to seal and sterilise cuts with the red hot coils.

I have two torches that use either 18650 batteries or AAA and enough charged batteries of both types in my bag to keep them going for weeks. For recharging them I've got a great little handcrank/torch/radio/powerbank with a small solar panel and USB charging plus a small USB battery charger. A pair of walkie talkies that run on AAA so they can be charged either from the handcrank or the Biolite stove. Besides from a spare torch in my bag I've got all my electricals in an ammo tin which (and this is where I thought I might be going crazy) I coated with foil and copper tape inside and built a cardboard box into as an insulator. The items inside are then wrapped in layers of foil and plastic or inside additional tins and I've also got an old phone in there which I plan to download offline maps to. It's impossible to say if it would actually be enough to safeguard them from EMP but after adding the makeshift foil faraday cage it does block phone and wifi signal 100% so it could at least work in principle. If not then I'd ditch the electrics and the tin would still be useful in a bugout situation as an airtight container for food, for holding water or just to use as a step to reach something or seat to get off the wet ground. The resealable bags and foil the items are wrapped in would be useful for food or tinder storage too. I found a perfect size tool bag to hold the tin to make it less conspicuous and easier to carry so I can double my storage by taking the tin out of the bag and carrying it separately.

Everything else is in my main bag where I have:

First aid kit (including scissors)
Small sewing kit (also including scissors because why not?)
Scalpel, blades and long sharp tweezers (because for some reason the first aid kit didn't include such things)
Lockpick set (that I've practiced with)
Two compasses
Water filter
Steel water bottles and belt/molle bag holders for them
1l Plastic water jug (mostly because it fits so perfectly in a molle pouch I couldn't not take it but also to sterilise water by leaving it in the sun if fire is not an option)
Spare torch
Steel mirror
Whistle
Small piece of photoluminescent plastic (very useful to quickly charge up with a torch point blank to use as a nightlight for half an hour or so. Saves batteries and attracts less attention)
10x Macro lens from my old camera for firelighting in the sun and potentially for first aid like removing splinters
Folding shovel/pick
Hatchet
Several knives and multitools
Small pocket hand drill (good for bow/shelter building or just creating sawdust for tinder)
Arrowheads (though my attempts at making a bow and arrow leave something to be desired thus far)
Folding saw and a wire saw
Small crowbar and boltcutters I've got in another bag but may prove too cumbersome
Slingshot (not as good with it as I am the air rifle but would be better than trying to get a bird or rabbit barehanded)
Small fishing kit
Emergency mylar blankets, sleeping bag and tent
Hammock with mosquito net (even without trees it makes a comfy sleeping bag)
Couple tarpaulins, extra carabiners, paracord and some strong nylon string too
Hexi stove, mess tins, pot, biolite, lighters, lighter fluid etc
Enamel mug (let's hope I can make do with blackberry leaf and nettle tea)
Waterproof tin with survival, plant and mushroom identification handbooks inside
Zippo petrol handwarmer
Bandanna
Various hardy fruit, veg and herb seeds
Thick leather gloves and warm socks in a waterproof bag
Travel towel
Toothbrush
Duct tape
Sunglasses and safety goggles
Anything that can be in a waterproof container, tin or resealable bag is in one so I'd have no shortage of storage for food or tinder

Also have cotton and wire for vaping which may sound crazy but... I did this partly in case I was lucky enough to find any liquid for a nice little morale boost but also because the wire could be used for snares and the cotton for first aid or firelighting... all about the multipurpose ideas.

I know I could do with adding some more tents and sleeping bags if my intention is to bug out to the woods or walk to somewhere safer (live near an RAF base in a densely populated area so might be better to head out to the countryside) however for 5 people that's adding a lot of bulk (and expense). I've got an old tent and some sleeping bags in the garage but I've built surprisingly comfortable shelters in the woods many times before with no tools and nothing but fallen wood... and that was without the tarps and paracord which would make getting out of the rain easy. Confident enough that I could scrape by out in the woods well away from any chaos making do with acorns and crab apples whilst everyone else is fighting over the last tin of beans but (if you've managed to get this far) if I'm missing anything let me know. Thanks.
pseudonym
Posts: 4550
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: My gear so far...

Post by pseudonym »

Fred, please pop over and make an introductory post as requested in the Forum Rules.

I've approved this post as you've put a lot of effort into it.

I normally delete them. :mrgreen:

Many thanks.
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
Fredex
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:55 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Fredex »

pseudonym wrote:Fred, please pop over and make an introductory post as requested in the Forum Rules.

I've approved this post as you've put a lot of effort into it.

I normally delete them. :mrgreen:

Many thanks.
Ah no problem, done. I did look at the rules but must have missed that one. Thanks.
jeebus
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed May 18, 2016 2:52 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by jeebus »

Hi, sounds like you're well on your way - much further than I am anyway. Skills like shooting and learning how to forage are invaluable. What pocket books do you have/recommend on identifying edible plants, as this is something that I'd like to learn myself.

It seems as though you've got the foundations down - it may be worth working towards building up your stash of food at home even more. And perhaps adding water purification tablets as well as using a filter seeing as you're fortunate enough to live near a water source.
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Arzosah »

Great post! I like foraging too, though I don't do enough of it.

Couple of things stood out to me:

- dried foods, do you have any lentils and rice? I mention lentils specifically because they don't need to be soaked for as long as beans, need less water to prepare them, and they complement rice nutritionally. Dried foods are great space savers.

- you've got seeds, which is a great idea, but they don't last as long as you might think, I've read several experiments by preppers over the years ....

- photoluminescent plastic is a very interesting idea! Must follow that up ...

- if you have to travel any distance at all across country in bad times, boltcutters and very thick gloves might be a very good idea indeed, I agree.

- sunglasses and safety goggles - absolutely. I'm amazed at the number of people that don't list them. I have normal safety type goggles for working with electric drills on metal, and a couple of extra pairs of poundland type diving goggles for portability.
Fredex
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:55 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Fredex »

jeebus wrote:Hi, sounds like you're well on your way - much further than I am anyway. Skills like shooting and learning how to forage are invaluable. What pocket books do you have/recommend on identifying edible plants, as this is something that I'd like to learn myself.

It seems as though you've got the foundations down - it may be worth working towards building up your stash of food at home even more. And perhaps adding water purification tablets as well as using a filter seeing as you're fortunate enough to live near a water source.
Oh yeah I forgot I do have 100 purification tablets in the bag though I'd probably reserve them for emergencies where I need water fast or can't hang around to boil it. Likewise with the water filter. It's rated for 100000 gallons or something absurdly optimistic but I don't totally trust it so long run I'd probably build a charcoal filter, replace it regularly and still boil anyway.

I've got an old copy of the SAS survival guide which has got some good tips in it. Food for Free and Mushrooms by Collins Gems are pretty good though I've found they are by no means exhaustive on what is and isn't edible and do miss out some important information. For instance from the book I could easily identify Rowan which I had never tried before and now really like but it wasn't until I searched online that I found that the berries contain parasorbic acid raw which can cause digestive issues if eaten raw in large quantities however when cooked this converts to sorbic acid which is a common food preservative. Logically then they could be a great thing to add to jam made from other berries to help preserve it if you have no sugar along with crab apples for the pectin to thicken it up. Might even be helpful preserving meat. The book doesn't include common sense things like that unfortunately.
Fredex
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:55 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Fredex »

Arzosah wrote:Great post! I like foraging too, though I don't do enough of it.

Couple of things stood out to me:

- dried foods, do you have any lentils and rice? I mention lentils specifically because they don't need to be soaked for as long as beans, need less water to prepare them, and they complement rice nutritionally. Dried foods are great space savers.

- you've got seeds, which is a great idea, but they don't last as long as you might think, I've read several experiments by preppers over the years ....

- photoluminescent plastic is a very interesting idea! Must follow that up ...

- if you have to travel any distance at all across country in bad times, boltcutters and very thick gloves might be a very good idea indeed, I agree.

- sunglasses and safety goggles - absolutely. I'm amazed at the number of people that don't list them. I have normal safety type goggles for working with electric drills on metal, and a couple of extra pairs of poundland type diving goggles for portability.

There's always lentils in the kitchen but personally I find them disgusting so I'll stick with rice and pasta and just increase how much I have. I do need to stock up on flour, sugar and salt for bread, jam and preserving food now that I think about it. I mean with something like pasta I find it confusing when it says recommended portion 200g but then says this is only 300 something calories when most days all I will eat is maybe 400g of pasta with some ham and cheese on it... well below the recommended calorie intake. So I think by sleeping alot to preserve energy you could stretch food like that pretty far but definitely needs some things to complement it for nutrition in the long term.

Also have huge amounts of tea in the kitchen at all times and it occurs to me that something a lot of people wouldn't think of is eating the steeped leaves afterwards. Sometimes I eat green tea leaves anyway but in a survival situation it seems like a good way to reclaim some water that would otherwise be wasted, get some vitamin K and just something warm and bulky in your stomach. Less palatable with black tea though.

I will look at rotating the seeds but I've planted chilli seeds and pumpkin seeds I took from fruit maybe 5 years ago without a problem. Less seeds do germinate as they get older but I mostly went for packs with 100 or more seeds in so there should be a fair bit of redundancy. I would think getting more seeds every few years would be safe enough. I'd like the find some potato seeds from the fruit but garden centres only seem to sell seed potatoes and obviously they're only good for a couple months at best.

Herb seeds like basil seem like one of the best things to have. Easy to grow, no waiting around for fruit, better source of vitamins than almost any salad leaves and adds good flavour to anything. Only issue might be that they die out in winter and the seeds are awkward to produce and gather it seems.

Gloves are essential for more situations that I can probably think of. One primary consideration was harvesting stinging nettles.

Will probably replace the goggles with something better maybe ski goggles since the ones I've got I found lying on the side of the road and they're pretty cheap. Come to think of it I found the glasses case I've put them in too...
pseudonym
Posts: 4550
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: My gear so far...

Post by pseudonym »

Toilet paper.... worth it's weight in toilet paper. :mrgreen:
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
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Deeps
Posts: 5797
Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:36 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Deeps »

Fredex wrote: I mean with something like pasta I find it confusing when it says recommended portion 200g but then says this is only 300 something calories when most days all I will eat is maybe 400g of pasta with some ham and cheese on it... well below the recommended calorie intake. So I think by sleeping alot to preserve energy you could stretch food like that pretty far but definitely needs some things to complement it for nutrition in the long term.
I reckon you're right for long term but short term I wouldn't get too bogged down with getting enough calories or a balanced diet, not being hungry is probably most important, it can stop you sleeping. Most of us have a few spare calories stored away about our person to carry us through. If you're 'on the march' having a breakfast and an evening meal can see you through, a couple of brews along the way for morale help but its more when you stop that you feel hunger.

It really depends on what you're prepping for and what scenario you end up in I guess.
Fredex
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:55 pm

Re: My gear so far...

Post by Fredex »

Deeps wrote:
Fredex wrote: I mean with something like pasta I find it confusing when it says recommended portion 200g but then says this is only 300 something calories when most days all I will eat is maybe 400g of pasta with some ham and cheese on it... well below the recommended calorie intake. So I think by sleeping alot to preserve energy you could stretch food like that pretty far but definitely needs some things to complement it for nutrition in the long term.
I reckon you're right for long term but short term I wouldn't get too bogged down with getting enough calories or a balanced diet, not being hungry is probably most important, it can stop you sleeping. Most of us have a few spare calories stored away about our person to carry us through. If you're 'on the march' having a breakfast and an evening meal can see you through, a couple of brews along the way for morale help but its more when you stop that you feel hunger.

It really depends on what you're prepping for and what scenario you end up in I guess.
I'm not bogged down with it at all really. What I meant was that I don't really think the RDA is accurate or really reflects the life style most people lead so trying to calculate how long you can stretch food based on that doesn't really work. When I've bothered to track my diet in the past I found that I never eat anything close to 2000 calories a day yet at my height and weight calculators recommend even higher calorie intake than that even when you select inactive lifestyle. Really I have no need to eat 2000 calories since I just work at the computer all day and that is probably the case for a large percentage of the population. I've tried using food calculators to work out a diet that fills 100% of the vitamin, mineral, protein, fat, etc requirements and it often seems impossible to actually fill them without eating an entire trough of food a day. The whole 'five a day' thing is also woefully inadequate as a lot of the things that say they count towards it are pretty much worthless to the point where a frozen pizza can be technically healthier than a green salad. So I don't really consider any of it to have much value.

Even when I've undertaken serious physical exertion like going up Ben Nevis or going down and back up the Grand Canyon in one day I probably only had between 2000-3000 calories with the rest of the energy assumedly being filled in with body fat so unless surviving requires those extremes every single day I think a small amount of food go further than expected.

Short term nutrition definitely isn't as important but the timeframe depends on what kind of nutrient you are missing. For example a lack of vitamin C could apparently cause scurvy within a few months. Or if you were solely foraging fruit and plants to survive and getting no animal products then the short term effects of B12 deficiency might just be weakness, depression and anaemia so nothing critically life threatening but I think I read somewhere that if that deficiency lasts 5 years or so it can actually cause permanent mental issues which is why vegans often need to supplement it. So I think some reading on basic nutrition should be an essential for long term survival... frankly it's something I wish we'd actually been taught at school instead of them just repeating 'balanced diet', 'food pyramid' and 'five a day' until the terms became meaningless.

Just wondering if stocking up on some vitamin supplements could be a good idea and how long they actually keep for. I've put away some lime cordial and effervescent vitamin C tablets primarily to make water stored in plastic containers for extended periods more palatable and taste less... plasticky but it seems like something that could be worth exploring.