Odds ‘n Sods:

 
JRH Enterprises is having an early Black Friday sale on New Gen 3+ Pinnacle Autogated PVS-14s, all ITT made tubes, with 5 year warranty. Comes with all the accessories plus a FREE weapons mount and shuttered eye guard. JRH is also throwing in an Infrared Beacon as well, all for $2,595. They also have other Black Friday sales in progress on FLIR Scout Thermal Imagers and
Dakota Alert (MURS band) perimeter security alarms.

   o o o

“When a right devolves into a privilege…” : Washington D.C. gun owners will be forced to submit fingerprints and pay a fee.

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Tim J. sent a fascinating interview video: Meet Fred Bieser, World War II Airplane Turret Restorer

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T.C. in Minnesota saw a great charity promotion when preparing to pre-order some chicks from Meyer Hatchery. When you place an order you can add a “Meyer Meal Maker” chick to your order and receive one free chick to raise to laying/butchering age and then they ask that you donate the eggs or meat to a local needy family or to a charity.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It seems to be the fate of all nations, that as they grow in wealth so they lose their manly virtues. With wealth comes corruption, indolence, a reluctance to make sacrifices, and a weakening of the feeling of patriotism. Power falls into the hands of the ignorant many. Instead of the destinies of the country being swayed by the wisest and best, a fickle multitude, swayed by interested demagogues, assumes the direction of affairs, and the result is inevitable—wasted powers, gross mismanagement, final ruin." – George A. Henty, The Young Carthaginian, 1887

Notes from JWR:

November 25th is the birthday of economist and comedian Ben Stein. His unscripted monologue on economics from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of the most memorable scenes in American cinema. By the way, Stein spends part of each year at his second home in Sandpoint, Idaho, so he should be called an honorary Redoubter.

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Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest ends in just five days, so please e-mail us your entry soon. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum.

Pat’s Product Review: EnGarde Hard Body Armor

Since 1980 I’ve had a real interest in body armor. Back then, I ran a gun business and I was contacted by a fairly large Oregon police department to bid on a request–they wanted for some soft body armor. I placed a bid, and much to my surprise, I won it! At that time, the biggest name around in soft body armor was Second Chance. I contacted Rich Davis at Second Chance, and told him I had won a bid to supply a fairly large police department with soft body armor. However, I didn’t have the funds to purchase the armor from Second Chance. No problem! Davis simply had me add the name of Second Chance to the bid, and he sent me the armor, and he received a check, and sent me my share.

EnGarde Body Armor contacted me, and wanted to send me one of their hard body armor carriers, complete with hard body armor panels to test for SurvivalBlog readers. Over the years, I’ve tested many different types of soft and hard body armor, some failed my testing, while some more than lived up to their claims. While I make no claim of expertise’ in the area of testing body armor, I have walked away with some interesting results over the years. One company, that is no longer in business – wonder why? – is because their armor failed miserably in my testing – simply placing their soft armor panel in front of a phone book, and firing a 9mm round, that the company claimed their armor would stop. Unfortunately, I was performing this test in front of a police department, that was interested in purchasing this T-shirt style soft body armor. Not only did the 9mm round in question completely penetrate the vest, it also completely penetrated the phone book behind it. I didn’t win an order for body armor that day. However, I’m glad I performed the test, seeing as how I was a retail dealer for that particular brand of body armor – it opened my eyes!
 
EnGarde Body Armor is located in The Netherlands, however, they have offices all over the world. So, if you live in a country outside of the USA, and wish to purchase their body armor, please contact them, for a location near you. The USA has very strict laws regarding the export of body armor – you simply can’t live in another country, and if you happen to see body armor for sale in the USA and want a dealer to ship it to you – they can’t! It’s against several Federal laws!
 
A little background on EnGarde is in order. They are a leading manufacturer of high quality armor products, utilized by law enforcement, military and civilians all over the world. They also take great pride in the performance, comfort and durability of their products. Their vests outperform the standards set down by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) which is recognized the world over for testing and setting the standards in body armor protection levels. To be sure, you can’t just purchase any old body armor – you have to understand the threat-level you will be facing, and act accordingly in picking the right threat level for your needs. Over the years, in law enforcement and in private security work, I only felt the need for soft body armor – designed to stop most common handgun rounds. However today, I might look at things differently if I were still involved in those lines of work.
 
I received the EnGarde T.R.U.S.T.  plate carrier that is normally offered with a Level IV level. Mine came with two Level IIIA soft panels. The Level IV plates are for stopping high-powered rifle rounds, like those you’d encounter on a battlefield: 5.56mm 7.62×39 and .308 Win. I believe that many SurvivalBlog readers are more interested in hard body armor, than they are the soft panels, if it came down to a TEOTWAWKI scenario – then again, I could be wrong. However, the set-up I received was Level IIIA and it will also stop many common handgun rounds, as well as some rifle rounds.
 
You will find two different types of hard body armor on the market, one is from steel plates that are called AR-500 steel, and the other are ceramic plates, which is what EnGarde sells for their hard armor needs. Of course, there are endless debates as to which is better, the AR-500 steel plates or the ceramic plates? And, I have no intention of getting into that debate here, or through e-mails. Both types of hard body armor have their pluses and minuses. The AR-500 steel plates are heavier than ceramic plate. The AR-500 steel plates can take many multiple hits without failing. The ceramic plates are lighter – quite a bit lighter and more comfortable. However, they aren’t rated to take as many multiple hits. I believe NIJ tests armored plates – for hard body armor – to withstand 6 or 7 hits without failing. And, if you are in a place where you have been hit 6 or 7 times by high-powered rifle rounds, you should be in a different place – simple as that. Some claim that ceramic hard armor plates are a bit fragile, and you shouldn’t drop them or they’ll crack or break in short order. And, to be sure, the plates aren’t just manufactured out of ceramic material – Aluminum is added to the ceramic plates – and some companies closely guard their secret formulas for good cause. Again, I’m no expert in this field, so keep that in mind.
 
According to the NIJ standard, a Level IV plate should be able to stop one (only) round of .30 Caliber (7.62 NATO) armor piercing round (AP M2 ball) at 2,880 FPS. Most level IV ceramic plates in the market tend to fall apart after one hit from an AP round – the EnGarde can take several rounds of fire. Unfortunately, my precious few rounds of 7.62 NATO AP ammo had been used for testing another hard body armor, so I didn’t have any AP rounds to test on the EnGarde ceramic plates.
 
Before testing the EnGarde hard body armor, I placed the two hard ceramic plates, along with the two soft armor panels in the plate carrier that was sent to me – it was easy to insert the plates and the soft panel, however it took a little bit of time to get the carrier all adjusted so that it was comfortable. I wore the carrier and plates around my homestead for several hours, and made a few more small adjustments. And, as time goes by, you will probably make a few more adjustments, so it all fits and feels just perfect on your body. I will say though, that the ceramic plates with the soft armor panels in the T.R.U.S.T. carrier were very comfortable to wear. And, if something isn’t comfortable, you’re not going to wear it – period! A lot has to do with the plate carrier you select, and how many adjustments are available on the carrier.
 
Now, while the NIJ testing facility has their scientific methods for testing body armor, I prefer to just do it out at my usual shooting spot, and I simply placed the hard armor against a tree and fired at it from 25 yards away, with a Springfield Armory M1A rifle, loaded with military surplus ammo – ball ammo. I don’t know what the ballistic were, as my chrony long ago gave-up the ghost. I fired at the EnGarde hard plate 10-times, and not in the same area – I fired at various areas of the vest, and there was no failure – however, I was getting close. Another 10 rounds and the ceramic plate had failed. Now, that’s not to say ceramic plates “failed” my test – far from it. It outperformed NIJ hits by quite a bit. The ceramic plates are meant to break apart – that’s the way they are designed – they captured the bullet fragments as the bullet hits.
 
I still had one ceramic plate left for testing. On another outing, I took a bolt-action .30-06 rifle, with some FMJ ammo, and once again, at 25 yards, I began firing at the plate. To my surprise, the plate held-up for the first four rounds. I reloaded and began firing again, and this time, between rounds, I went downrange and checked the plate for penetration. It was on the 8th round, that there was a failure of the plate. Again, while I use the word “failure” the plate performed as expected – it actually performed better than expected.
 
I also tested the soft armor panels, that are rated to withstand 9mm and similar handgun rounds, not rounds fired from a rifle. And, to be honest, I lost track of the number of hits the two soft panels took from a 9mm and .45 ACP handgun rounds – without failure. But both panels were starting to look pretty ragged – but they didn’t fail! Now, the idea of having the soft panels behind the hard ceramic armor is to absorb some of the blunt force trauma – and that’s a good thing. And, you can also wear the soft panels as a stand alone set-up, if you  feel you will only be facing common handgun rounds. You actually have the best of both worlds with this set-up from EnGarde Body Armor.
 
The two ceramic hard armor plates are rated at threat Level IV, and the two soft armor panels are rated at Level IIIA – you are actually getting two different vests, for the price of one – if you use the T.R.U.S.T. carrier by itself, or you can purchase another carrier for use with the soft panels – a carrier that is more appropriate for soft body armor panels.
 
My testing wasn’t scientific. Then again, if someone is shooting at you in the field, you’re not concerned with how well the armor stands up under controlled scientific conditions – you only care that the armor does what it’s supposed to do – stop the bullets from penetrating your body – and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
 
I’ve looked around and found hard body armor, with ceramic plates (only) in a carrier, for as much as $2,000+ now keep in mind that, that is just for two ceramic plates and a carrier. I’ve also seen ceramic plates with a carrier for under $1,000 and everywhere in between. And, in many cases the seller was a private individual, so you have no idea how well the armor was cared for. Buyer beware!
 
Now, math wasn’t my best subject in school, however I did learn to add and subtract, if nothing else. I’m told by Iwan Luiten, at EnGarde Body Armor, that his product manager informed him that the EnGarde T.R.U.S.T. plate carrier, is normally offered with the Level IV and Level IIIA panels, and the entire set-up is priced at $599 USD plus shipping. Now, in my book, that’s one heck of a deal, on not just the plate carrier with the Level IV hard armor plates, but you are also getting two 9mm soft armor panels. That is a deal you don’t want to miss out on, if you’re in the market for hard body armor. I’ve seen soft body armor cost a lot more than this – and with this EnGarde set-up, you are getting a carrier, plus hard plates and two soft panels!   – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Letter Re: Homemade Soap Making Instructions

Mr. Rawles:

Here is a recipe for soap, not food,. This has saved us a lot of money and aggravation over the years. We decided to make our own laundry soap after my daughter (now four years old) was born. Her skin wouldn’t tolerate any artificial perfumes or dyes and she would break out in horrible acne if exposed to artificiality of that sort.

The basis of this recipe we found online, then modified it to meet our needs. It includes only shelf-stable materials and is suitable for both washing machines and hand-washing.

The ingredients include:

–One bar of soap, grated. The soap you use is up to you. We’ve used Ivory, Octagon, soap made at home with lye and vegetable fats, homemade soap with animal fats and lye, a soap called Zote( that is usually marketed to Latinos), Fels Naphtha, and a wide variety of whatever is on hand, all with good results. The Zote is marketed as a laundry soap. It comes in a 14 oz. bar, significantly larger than a standard 4-5 oz bar of soap, so we usually make a double batch when using it. (If the math seems off, adjust it. I’m saying only what has worked for us.)

–1 cup of washing soda. This is not baking soda. I have read that you can make washing soda out of baking soda by baking it (which eliminates some of the carbon and some oxygen, as I understand it). But as the two are approximately the same cost to begin with, I see no sense in converting sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate. The only reason I can think of is if you should choose to store only baking soda and not washing soda, or if you should happen to run out of bicarb.

–1/2 (halfa) cup of borax. Some people use only a quarter cup of borax, claiming it doesn’t cause clothing to break down as quickly. They might be right. They might not. YMMV. We use a half cup and have seen no inordinately negative effects in four years.

–3 gallons of water. Just water.

First, start by boiling about 2-3 quarts of water in a stainless steel pot. DO NOT use your good cast iron for this unless you want to ruin the seasoning/coating. Turn the water down to a simmer after it boils.

Begin adding the shredded soap slowly, allowing a small quantity to dissolve before adding another bit. Use a large stainless steel or plastic spoon to stir. Stir constantly until all soap has been added and is dissolved. You will end up with a thick mixture I call “soap soup” just because it’s fun to say.

Into a five-gallon bucket or other large container, place the borax and washing soda. Pour the soap soup in with the other ingredients and stir with the stainless steel spoon until the dry ingredients are dissolved (or nearly so). We use a round kitchen-size trash can with marks on the outside to show three gallons and six gallons are. You’ll have to measure those ahead of time.

Add enough warm water to bring to three gallons. Stir wholeheartedly, making sure everything but the bucket and spoon dissolves. Cover the mixture and allow it to sit for 24 hours before putting it in bottles. You don’t even have to bottle it: You can use it straight out of the bucket. However, we found it best to save up empty laundry detergent bottles for a month or so before beginning this project. If you stir the bucket thoroughly before bottling, and shake each bottle thoroughly before using, you’ll get the optimum distribution of materials for each load of laundry.

At one cup of laundry detergent per load, this makes 48 loads. I usually make a double batch, which is 96 loads — meaning about two or three months worth of laundry for approximately $6 invested in the detergent. I’m an EMT and my uniform must be changed and washed after each 24-hour shift, at least, to get rid of the mixture of sweat, blood, and red Mississippi mud. I have a 4-year-old, my wife is a professional, and I work 48-96 hours a week and consequently I do a lot of laundry.

Before bottling the soap, I add 30-40 drops of tea tree essential oil to the mixture. That might sound like a lot, but 30 drops over 96 loads is actually a very small quantity. My wife has a history of MRSA and the tea tree oil seems to be effective in keeping that particular infection at bay. Put it this way: She hasn’t had an outbreak since we started using the oil. You could also add other (and more) essential oils to the soap mixture, should you want your clothing to smell pretty. I prefer my clothes to smell like nothing at all (call it OPSEC), and a third of a drop of tea tree oil per load leaves nothing noticeable behind. Lavender and other flowery oils do leave a smell.

So, for five or six cents per load of laundry using shelf-stable ingredients, you get clothing that is very clean, smells of nothing at all (unless you want it to), and turns whites more white while leaving colored clothing still colored.

As always, thanks JWR for your time and energy in keeping this blog site up. – J.D.C. in Mississippi

Letter Re: Source for Custom-Made Web Gear?

Mr. Rawles,

I was just informed by Valerie at TacticalTailor that due to high demand, their custom shop is not currently accepting additional work. Perhaps your readers know of someone providing a similar service (or that would like the launch one)?

Thank you, – D.D. in Colorado

JWR Replies: I’m sure that there are many others, but the first custome makers that comes to mind are Mystery Ranch for backpacks and The Vest Guy for magazine pouches. If any blog readers in the United States do custom work in nylon, leather, or Kydex, then please let me know and I will post contact info is that you can connect with customers.

Letter Re: The Serval Mesh Network

Mr. Rawles,
If you have not yet heard of the Serval Project, I would encourage you to check out the web site. This is an Australian based non-profit that is attempting to build the software and hardware for a mesh network that can be erected post-disaster. It is all open-source and there is even a free Serval app available at the Google App Store.

For those of you not familiar with the idea, mesh networks are self-contained networks that run off of the same protocols as the internet, using the same hardware, but are not necessarily linked to the actual World Wide Web (hence, no ‘off-switch’). Each item on the network, be it a laptop, desktop, android tablet device, or android smart phone would be connected to each other, using the app or other software, giving each user the ability to place a phone call, send a text or image, etc. with any other entity on the mesh network. Literally, two devices can connect to each other with no other technology required. There are other apps similar to this, such as Open Garden, but Serval looks to be entirely self-contained.

One issue with android phones is the range (however, there seems to be a work around that adds range to the phones if they are rooted). The people at Serval are attempting to remedy this by designing and building an ‘extender’ that they claim will push the maximum range to kilometers. It is called a Serval Extender, and while it is not available yet, this is an open source movement that many people are working on, and it is only a few months along in its development. Therefore, I expect to see several items available to enhance this concept on the internet soon, either for sale or the instructions as a free download (It would be similar to the Raspberry Pi or Arduino concept, which is open source hardware that is now widely available with tons of resources on the internet for free).

Keep in mind, the original intent was for post-disaster networks to spring up with ease. The designer was inspired by the Haitian earthquake. He realized that once the cell network went down, there were potentially hundreds or thousands of smartphones that could be used to communicate which instantly became useless. He conceived Serval as an app that could go on each phone, and you could immediately be part of a this new network.

Assuming the technology survives an EMP a group could deploy this network and use existing phones, tablets, computers, and their chargers for commo gear. You even keep the same phone number! The messages are sent encrypted. Unless the looter bad guys have Serval on their phones, you could probably consider the network private. I doubt any other device would be able to translate the signal, although it would be pretty easy to detect. This, in my opinion, is more advantageous than GMRS or CB because of the ability to send texts and images. The power requirements for these would be negligible, low in fact. One small PV panel could run the extender, one more to charge the devices, or just use hand cranks.

I think this would create an interesting dialogue on SurvivalBlog.com, and I hope others look into this. I look forward to the responses! – Dan in Florida

Letter Re: Light Blocking Suggestions for Windows

James:
In response to the recent article: Light Blocking Suggestions for Windows, I’d like to mention that another very low cost option for blacking out windows is a roll of roofing (tar) paper. It takes up very little space. It can also be used as expedient, water-resistant repair material.  – Pat O’C.

JWR Replies: Tar paper does indeed have many uses, but I’de recommend that you use it outside, rather than inside widows. Tar paper is notorious for outgassing. The distinctive tarry smell can linger for many months or even years in a confined space, so I would recommend never storing or using it inside a living space. It is also important to avoid using tar paper on the outer (exposed) layer of roofs that will be use for drinking water catchment.

Recipe of the Week:

Homeschool Mom’s Cheesy Chili Mac Soup

1 T. butter or oil
1 lg. onion, chopped

Saute the above for a few minutes. To it, add:

1 lb. ground beef or other ground meat
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin

Cook until browned. Then add:

2 1/2 C. milk (use fresh or canned reconstituted, I find soups are a good way to rotate storage milks)
2 C beef broth (I like to store the little Knorr Homestyle tubs that you reconstitute, no MSG in them)
1 8oz. pkg cream cheese

Stir together, bring to a boil and add:

1 1/2 C. pasta of the smaller variety, such as macaroni or little shells

Cook until pasta is done, then add:

2 C. shredded cheddar
1 jar of salsa

Stir together until cheese is melted, and serve. My husband and kids like to eat this soup with tortilla chips.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Famous Chili Recipes

Macaroni Recipes

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Odds ‘n Sods:

G.G. flagged this: Imagining the Post-Antibiotics Future

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Further down the slippery slope to tyranny: Police Find Hidden Compartment in Man’s Car, but No Drugs or Illegal Items – So Why Was He Arrested? (Thanks to J.B.G. and H.L who were the first of many readers to send this link.)

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Another one of Mikey Bloomberg’s “crime fighting” anti-gun mayors is headed for the Big House, this time ironically on a gun charge: Marcus Hook mayor convicted in guns episode

   o o o

Meanwhile at the U.S. Patent Office: United States Patent – Number 8,436,730   May 7, 2013. “A system for disabling a fleeing vehicle via disrupting the vehicle’s onboard computer or electrical system.”

“The system optionally includes a tracking system for tracking the vehicle’s location and/or a remote sensing system for identifying a payload contained in the vehicle or asset. A launcher of the disabling/tracking device may be handheld or vehicle mounted, and may use high pressure gas or another propellant to launch the projectile at a fleeing vehicle. The system may include a tether for connecting the disabling device to a power supply disposed on a pursuit vehicle or a handheld launcher.”

   o o o

Reader Jason K. wrote to warn of a new Federal appointments steam roller: Senate Ends Nomination Procedural Fillibuters. Jason’s comment: “After this unprecedented and tyrannical move today, we must have to ask ourselves: “When is enough, enough?” When do we realize that the time is coming, very quickly, where a man must decide which side of the line he stands on, whether on the side of tyranny, debasement, slavery and evil, or whether he stands on the side of Freedom? I fear we may have just had our Enabling Act of 1933 moment (read: Reichstag Fire.) This does not bode well for the Republic. The storm clouds grow darker with every passing day.”

Notes from JWR:

November 24th marks the day that John Knox died, in 1572. (He was born in 1514.) AtheistAgendaPedia says: “Born near near Haddington Scotland. He was influenced by George Wishart, who was burned for heresy in 1546, and the following year Knox became the spokesman for the Reformation in Scotland. After imprisonment and exile in England and the European continent, in 1559 he returned to Scotland, where he supervised the preparation of the constitution and liturgy of the Reformed Church.”

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Today we present another entry for Round 49 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $8,500+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), F.) A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy. G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225, and I.) VPN tunnel, DigitalSafe and private e-mail annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad. They have a combined value of $265.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 23 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $210 value, and G.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., F.) A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises , and G.) A Nesco / American Harvest Gardenmaster Dehydrator with an extra set of trays, and the book The Dehydrator Bible, from Mayflower Trading. (A $210 value.)

Round 49 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Consider The Little Things, by R.P.

I hope some of you know most of these things, but I’m sure most of you won’t know all of these things.

I took a camping trip not too long ago where I made one of my favorite childhood camping dishes, the hobo dinner. I’m sure those of you who camp have had it a few times. Put some potatoes and veggies in some aluminum foil and throw it right on the fire. Easy enough. Tastes great. Don’t even need a plate. I, however, am not your average cook. I like to try new things, and I don’t eat plain old potatoes. I need cheese, so I added some. All was going well until it came time to eat and guess what, the cheese stuck to the aluminum foil and I didn’t get any of it. Not a lick. The potatoes were still edible, of course, and I didn’t go hungry by any means, but it teaches a good lesson. It’s the little things that make or break your meal. So it is with life and so it will be when the SHTF or TEOTWAWKI comes. Just FYI, add the cheese after it cooks and it works great, now on to it. As the appropriately named hobo dinner shows us, those who have nothing find ways to make something that works. You need a meal? You don’t have fancy cookware or a nice electric stove? No problem if you’re a hobo, and it shouldn’t be a problem for any of us to survive given almost any situation. Just use your head and think of those little things. The ones who have invested hundreds of thousands won’t necessarily be the ones still living, and thriving, in a bad situation.

I don’t sweat the big things, I’m sure there are a million articles on them already and you have read them all, but I hope there are a few little things here that will give you food for though, and that might just save your life some day.

First things first, don’t panic. Could this be obvious enough? If I were reading a top five list of things that will save your life in a disaster and this was number one, I would roll my eyes and toss the list aside as obvious and unhelpful. Wait! Don’t toss it aside so easily(note to self). Even those of us that have a set plan and have rehearsed it to death need to take a minute and assess the situation. Time is not always our enemy. A well panned trip tomorrow may be more successful than a rushed one today. We are all human and can and will make mistakes. A few minutes of planning or double checking can save hours or lives later. There are very few situations when acting instantly is the only thing that saves your life, and presumably when that time comes you are prepared enough to make the quick choice. You can’t, however, be prepared for everything and until you’ve been in a bad situation, you can’t be sure how you will react. You can, however, try and get into the habit of good planning now. It’s also a good exercise in using your head. A tool you should never be without, so don’t leave it behind. Daydream, just as a fellow prepper enjoys sci-fi to get ideas, I daydream. It’s also often a valid way to entertain yourself when bored. Imagine you’re at work and there’s a zombie attack. How do you get out? Where can you get supplies? Do I think that a zombie attack will ever happen? No, but if there’s an earthquake guess what, I already know where supplies are and an evacuation route. Ever tried making up a lie on the spot? It’s more difficult than you think. You will inevitably find yourself regurgitating information that’s already in your head. It’s very difficult to think of something new on the spot. If you haven’t already planned on possible evacuation routes and know where supplies might be, you may find yourself walking the wrong direction and right past valuable supplies as you try to get out. Don’t panic, analyze the situation and take things one step at a time.

Water, hopefully, you already have stored. You can’t go long without it. I won’t try to tell you how much to have or how to store it, I hope you already know, but here are a few things about water you may want to think about. If you are ever without water for a long period of time, life will change drastically. By long period of time I mean like…three days. I’m sure we would all be fine for a day or even two before it starts to get really annoying that we have to bring in water to flush the toilet or can’t take a shower. What happens in four days or a week. Your daily routine will change dramatically. Think about this for a second. Who is really ready to haul a gallon of water to the bathroom every time they have to use it, or take a sponge bath because there is no shower? Even if you have a little water stored, lets say a few 55 gallon barrels, that is hardly any at all. Given the average family of four and each person needing a gallon of water a day, that’s 120 gallons just for a month. Those two 55 gallon barrels just ran out on you. I’m not concerned with can you get more or how much you currently have stored. What I really want to bring out here is are you prepared for how your life will change? Running water is nothing short of a miracle and we take if for granted much too often. Say you have an unlimited supply of water. Are you prepared to get it to where you will use it? I have some water stored in my basement. Just thinking about hauling gallons of water up the stairs every day makes me inwardly sigh. What a bother. Maybe a should add a water pumping system in my house to easily move water upstairs manually? Just a thought. That’s what I hope to invoke here. For those of you planning on bugging out, what about filters. I’ve got a great filter you say, it can purify 100 gallons a day or I’ll boil water till the cows come home. Great, good for you for having an alternative, but that won’t do you any good while bugging out. Do you have a small and effective filter for the road? If for some reason your chosen transport fails, are you aware how long it takes to walk to your bug-out local? How much water will you need for that trip? To end my thoughts on water, do you know how much water weighs? Eight pounds per gallon. That’s 440 lbs. for that 55 gallon barrel. It’s not moving anywhere. Safest thing in your house if you get robbed. They aren’t taking it with them. I’m promise.

With food storage, I hear stories that I really hope aren’t true. Like the guy who has 365 cans of soup and thinks he has a years worth of food. Good luck with that. He may survive but I can almost guarantee he will be crazy by the end of the year. Don’t ever forget the old adage, variety is the spice of life. You have an unlimited supply of spirulina, meal worms, rabbits or even wheat. I don’t care what it is. You better have a lot of something to go with it because you’re going to get sick of it really fast. We are blessed to live in a country where we have just about everything. That variety is great for everyday life. The transition to nothing will be as hard for some as the actual living afterwards. Don’t discount those stories of people who commit suicide because they just lost everything. It will happen. Life can’t just be, it has to be worth living. Concentrate less on staying alive and more on living. There is a huge difference.

Travel and bugging out. What a huge topic. Let me just say a few things. There are about a dozen situations I can think of off the top of my head that would prevent someone from using a motorized vehicle. Too big, too noisy, no fuel, roadblocks, just to name a few. Have you ever tried to walk somewhere, and I don’t just mean down the street? I mean walk 30 miles to the next town or 100 miles to your bug-out locale. The average human walking speed is about 3 miles per hour. Assume a bad situation where you may only make 2 or less. Even at the small distance of 30 miles to travel, that 30 min trip by car now takes you 15 hours to hike. That’s 15 hours that you may be getting shot at or avoiding hazards or whatever else may happen. What if you’re trying to outrun something like an angry mob or radiation. Good luck with that. Unless you’re a marathon runner you probably just ran out of time. I see people paying lots of money for these big bug out vehicles. Well guess what. If it hits the fan, it may be the guy with a nice bicycle and some leg muscle that lives to fight another day. You could easily increase speed to 10 miles per hour on a bike, or more. They’re inexpensive, easy to use, and allow for more weight for supplies than you could comfortably hike with. There are great fold up models if you work in an office building and want one with you at all times. Over-reliance on tech may well be a downfall for many. How many can navigate to their bug-out without GPS or a Google map? There are places I’ve been to a hundred times in my youth that I would get lost going to now, at least without glancing at a map first. How many of us have a good paper map and know how to use it? How many are prepared, both physically and mentally to leave everything and jump on your bike and go? For those bugging-in, you may still want a bike. I consider it a vital piece of equipment. That mile to the grocery store, without a car, gets old really fast.

Now let me say something that may be a touchy subject for many. I think that the prepper community is great. I’m glad that so many people are taking thought for tomorrow, but I’m afraid that too many aren’t taking thought for today and are being way too narrow in their preps. Don’t miss the forest for the trees. Don’t get so caught up in planning your bunker for a nuclear strike that you die when a big earthquake hits. Don’t be so concerned with yourself that you forget about the six family members you have that will show up at your house and turn your food storage from a nice one year supply to a two month supply. Don’t spend so much money prepping for an attack that when you lose your job you can’t pay your bills, lose your house and thereby lose all your preps. The best prepper is a well rounded one. Have things, have skills, have people. You loose just one leg of a three legged stool and you will find it very hard to sit. Health is a big one, I’ve seen people with all the preps in the world and they are in such bad health that I expect they will be the first to go. A healthy person with a pocket knife and a head full of knowledge may be the only one to make it out, all your fancy preps notwithstanding. Prioritize, getting a personal trainer may be more worthwhile than another year of food or a better bug-out vehicle. A five dollar map may save your life when your $400 GPS fails. Plan generally for all possibilities and then add extra supplies for the most likely SHTF scenarios, not the other way around.

The way I see it most people are prepared for the imminent catastrophe. The whole prepper community is ready for it to hit the fan tomorrow, but I don’t think they are actually ready for it to hit next year. It’s very likely that there will not be one huge life changing event, but that a collapse of life as we know it will be a long and grueling process. You most likely wont wake up one day and say, times up, red light, everyone to the bug-out location. Most likely, life will get worse and worse over a period of weeks or even months and by the time you realize it’s time to go it may be too late. You had gas last week, but you’ve been going to work and running the generator every day and now the tank is empty and suddenly you can’t get more. Now it’s time to bug out, what do you do? It’s usually the combination of things that get you. You have a car, but no gas. You have food, but not enough people to stop that 10 person gang. You have a bunker, but you find after a few days that you’re getting claustrophobic. You have all the preps that man can buy, but you panic in the heat of the moment and get yourself killed. Life will change once TEOTWAWKI hits. Don’t just prepare for it, but for after it, and don’t let your hobo dinner be ruined because of the cheese. It’s those little things that will get you in the end.

You are the light of the world, let your light shine forth. Save someone.