a mix of everything

[butterbean]

hi all

this is just a long post with a mix of stuff

I’ve spent the last month or so reading through as many threads as i can to try and get some knowledge behind me, after all these floods the uk has been having and the weather in general, i decided to stop thinking about prepping and actually attack it properly and sort myself out, i sat down and had a think about what scenario i think is most likely to affect me and my family so i at least got myself on the right path.

1 of the main things i picked up from reading lots of this site is everybody is going to value some things over others and people have different priorities so i had to make sure that I’m doing what i feel is right.

because i work away from home, all the time, usually its around 170 miles but for the last couple of months and for the next 2 months I’m 300 miles from home. so I’ve focused my prepping on a GHB. I’m never too far from the car so i keep my bag in there. at the moment its just an everyday rucksack but after looking around at new bags i really fancy the 5.11 rush 72, but thats for when the cash is available.

hopefully should i be in a situation when SHTF i can still drive home but I’m getting the gear together to be able to walk home, and i know thats gonna take a long time, more time than i can carry food and water for so I’m going to have to source stuff along the way.

once i had really made my mind up to go down this route and start officially prepping i kind of went into a bit of a panic mode and made a huge list of things i thought i would need to get and i started to get a few little bits. this week i have got myself

a survival bag
compass
maps of areas i work in and maps i would need to get home
a multitool
lighter
paracord
glow sticks
water purification tablets (100)
catapult and shots
coin stash of 20p’s for the phones
sas survival guide
whistle
tin mug
gorrila tape
travel sewing kit
flint and steel fire lighter
wind up torch (the 1 where you squeeze the trigger and it winds about 50 times for you)

and I’m currently looking for a sleeping bag
some sort of divvy
cooking stove
decent walking boots, i like the look of those magnum boots but i want to find a place to try them on first.
and i would like a survival knife, i like the bear grills gerber 1 that has the sharpener built into the sheath,


i already have a decent first aid kit in the boot as I’m a works first aider

i always carry my klarus xt11 torch
small keyring multitool
thermal hat and gloves
paracord bracelet
paracetamol and ibuprofen, upset stomach tablets and general stuff like that
sharpie marker


like i say i kind of panicked and just bought stuff off the top of my head but now I’m trying to sort through things properly.

im also going to start stocking food and water when I’m home next,
Im planning on working out what food i need to get for me and my wife, things we’ll actually eat if we need to,

and then theres the skills, I’ve been watching a lot of youtube videos on how to start a fire different ways, how to actually use the water purification tablets (couldn’t find many decent informative ones but it seems easy enough)
how to set up camp ( i think i need a basher)


another thing I’m saving for is laser eye surgery, it might sound daft to some people but i hate wearing glasses as it is and in the future should anything happen that changes the availability of new glasses and mine are broken or lost i don’t want to be stuck in a struggling situation

something I’m finding very hard is drawing the line of who I’m going to try and provide for should the need arise, theres a long list of family who i don’t think i could say no to in a dire situation. but i can’t afford to provide for everybody.

if anybody has made it this far down the post, has you found yourself in a situation like this, first the panic buying and wanting to get prepared quickly and then the realisation you can help all your loved ones?

any comments on the stuff i have or want or missed out would be greatly appreciated.

Butterbean

[Arzosah]

Butterbean, you're doing great! Well done - its always good to keep a focus, and your focus is a very realistic one, to get home, when you're often at some distance.

The things I'd say to do now, in addition, are:
- get some water at home - even a couple of 5 litre bottles, they're £1.10 or so in the supermarkets - if you have a burst water main, even, you'll be thankful you have those.
- water in the car, at least a 2litre bottle. You've got the water purifiers, which is a good idea, but you probably don't want to fall back on them straight away.
- you haven't mentioned food in the ghb - something really easy and quick - dried fruit for energy, roast peanuts for protein, crisps.
- you've got the mug and the firelighter, the stove is on your list - you need either some teabags or some sachets of coffee I'm about surviving efficiently and comfortably, me

As for what you store at home, I've followed a prepping rec. that says store a week's worth of food that you don't have to cook - so, tins of potatoes, soup, baked beans, peas, sweetcorn, a tomato sauce and pickled onions to spice it up, more dried fruit, that sort of thing. By the time you've eaten that, if the situation is still ongoing, you've got more idea of whats happening, and more time to prepare your longer term food preps - sprouting dried beans, regular cooking on a camping stove or rocket stove, that sort of thing.

My eyes are fine, but if I needed glasses, I'd certainly think about laser eye surgery, I can understand that. And I *definitely* understand about the panic buying and further realisations.

Can I just add - toilet paper and research the hygienic disposal of because if you need your stored water, your toilet won't be functioning either.

[butterbean]

thanks, some great stuff there,

toilet paper is something i must add today, can't believe i overlooked something like that.

i suppose it would be a good idea to get the basics like the water and food stores for home,

i think I'm going to go shopping tonight now to get water and food for the ghb, once i have it then thats sorted then. luckily I'm in scotland at the moment so asda is open late what with the no sunday trading laws.

great idea with the tea and coffee, in my hotel room there is about 20 individually wrapped teabags, coffee sugar and milk. i can just chuck them in. nice 1

ill have to make myself a list of the stores for home, I'm not going to be home for another 3 weeks so i have time to prepare for the shopping trip so its not a wasted trip

[Yorkshire Andy]

and I’m currently looking for a sleeping bag
some sort of divvy
cooking stove
decent walking boots, i like the look of those magnum boots but i want to find a place to try them on first.
and i would like a survival knife, i like the bear grills gerber 1 that has the sharpener built into the sheath,

look into the snugpac range of bags..

http://www.snugpak.com/outdoor/sleeping-bags


as for a Bivvy not Divvy thats what us yorkshire folk call a thicko
look at the British army goretex bivvie bags

eg

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Briti ... 4ad011fdce

I got a brand new one recently for £30 from a army surplus market stall

if the stove is for cooking on the move

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEXI-COOKER-H ... 4ad06c359f

something like that small light and reliable (and the hexi blocks double up as fire lighters

with a crusader cup or mess tin to cook in / eat/ drink from

boots are a very personal choice try loads on and break them in before you need to hike 300 miles


avoid gimicky knifes i have this one

http://www.gerbergear.co.uk/Hunting/Kni ... nife_46904

and for sharpening

http://www.military1st.co.uk/products/p ... wwodgSYACA

[butterbean]

as for a Bivvy not Divvy thats what us yorkshire folk call a thicko

i did mean bivvy there, my laptop seems to want to auto correct each time i type it.
we have a lot of divvy's by us in leicester, and thats a thicko as well

those sleeping bags look brilliant, especially being able to add the extra length for tall people, I'm just over 6"3 so that option is great

[Rearfang]

On water I carry a katadyn water filter as it an filter almost any source of water excluding sea water even own urine and could filter enough water to last a sole travler years
Ps it's the ceramic version

[lonewolf]

have a look at the Sawyer mini filter, small and light to carry but filters out 99% of pathogens.

[butterbean]

something i forgot to mention,

I'm wondering if any1 thinks the bushnell back track is any good, i think for my situation it would be a good idea for getting home but i don't want to waste my time or money on something that isn't any good. of course ill have my map and compass but the idea of is seems so simple

[ForgeCorvus]

PM me your address and I'll send you an alky stove (a home built Pop-can one, weighes nearly nothing), you'll have to source your own meths and bottle though

[preppingsu]

A good thread here on how to make your own little stove (and maintain OPSEC )


viewtopic.php?f=44&t=3660