Mr Rawles,
You’re regularly posting first hand stories about the need to test gear. Imagine my surprise when my arrogance that that didn’t apply to me proved false! You really do need to test equipment and skills! Unused tools (both physical and mental) are useless tools!
I store gas for my lawnmowers in two five gallon plastic containers. I figured that I’d pour what was left in them into my car when I put the mowers away for the winter. I know you always recommend being able to relocate more than one tank of gas away, so I figured I’d keep them rotated and full, emptying them into the car instead of bothering with fuel stabilizer. Lo and behold, you can’t just pour gas from these containers into a gas tank! Even with the nifty built in nozzle gadget that makes it perfect for lawnmowers – it doesn’t fit in my car! I need to buy a long-stemmed funnel like the kind my dad’s been using for decades. Your readers should check their equipment and their gas tanks for compatibility.
I also assumed I was good at building a fire from nothing because I was in the Scouts “back in the day”. Once again; unused skills deteriorate and disappear. I’ve been building fires in my home and in my backyard with big handfuls of crumpled newspaper. I thought I was skilled because I was gluttonously using an overabundance of available resources. Tonight I tried building a fire from a small handful of crumpled (and dry!) leaves. It turns out that often leaves will just smolder. I managed to build up my fire using two or three cotton ball sized pieces of newspaper instead of the six or seven whole sheets I used to use. But in doing so I also discovered the small pocketknife I regularly carry is only useful in shaving off tinder – it’s useless in splitting logs for kindling. My bugout bag has several larger knives, but now I will consider adding a hatchet (recommendations?).
I will also be making about a million fire wicks out of leftover supplies from an entertaining bout of candle making in my old apartment.
Finally, a note about teamwork and information. My wife is definitely coming on board for the whole “Preparedness” mindset. She’s started taking a martial arts class (a real one; not cardio kick boxing or other useless courses), we talk about what to do in case of emergencies, we’ve bought a small treasure of gold and silver, etc. However, the other night we learned something very valuable. We heard what she thought were gunshots (I think it might have been people using up old fireworks – but I digress) and she went to bring the dog inside. She brought with her an unwieldy lopper that I had left by the door. As I saw her coming back in, I asked her why she didn’t bring the pepper spray. She replied that she didn’t know where it was. Now, on your advice I bought several cans to (pardon the pun) pepper around the house, including basement and bugout bag. And I’ve told and I had shown her where they are. But she forgot. That’s another lesson: you might as well not even own any piece of equipment that you forget about when it counts.
You can’t possibly be too organized, you can’t possibly rehearse too often, and there’s no such thing as being too prepared.
We all are sending well-wishes and prayers for the Memsahib. – C.