Mr. Rawles,
First let me say how much I enjoyed your novel “Patriots“, I have read it three times now and am eagerly awaiting its planned sequels.
I just wanted to mention/remind your readers as to the importance of sturdy clothing in a “Grid Gone” scenario. It is my belief our clothing (very taken for granted) will suddenly become an extremely important part of life and not just “frosting on the cake” so to speak. I was reminded of this when I had a yard sale one day and a woman from an ex-soviet satellite country arrived as an “early bird”, she was returning to her country and was buying up all our used clothing and even bought a couple of used suitcases to put it in. (I consider yard sales more for recycling rather than a money making event) The best we could surmise from her broken English was that clothing was at an extreme premium in her county and could be resold, traded or worn. New clothing was just something that was purchased on occasion since most money went to food and shelter.
“Grid Gone” means hard physical work every day, which will be very tough on clothing . Although Mil-Spec uniforms are tough, resilient clothing that I highly recommend, I have found another source of clothing that has spawned some interest. “Fire Hose” cotton canvas, the same that is used to wrap around fire hoses. I have been purchasing some clothing made of this material and have found it to be quite tough in my outdoor activities, and very easy to repair (if you can rip it) due to its tight weave. The DuluthTrading Company has some good quality clothing made of this material at a reasonable price.
A couple pairs of pants, shorts, coats and vests made of this material and tucked away may prove to be a valuable resource. (Note: this material is not light weight, the coats and jackets can be real “hanger benders”) I am also looking into finding a supplier of this material in bulk as I believe it would make a great shelter and utility material also. Look forward to survival blog every day. Thanks, – Big Mike in Pennsylvania