Home Sweet Home on the Range–Bedroll Basics, by D.K.

When assembling your post-apocalyptic, biker zombie, total collapse of civilization kit (or just getting started in camping) one item you should consider as part of your kit is a classic bedroll.

History
A classic bedroll, not the stuff of Hollywood or television, but the kit of real working men is both comfortable and multipurpose.  They are not lightweight, small, or easy to backpack.

Please allow me to share the road I took to get to my current bedroll.  I will try to describe the attributes of a good bedroll, suggest the minimum bits for a good durable bedroll, and provide some links to historical information on military use of bedrolls.  Finally, there will be some links to sources of commercial bedrolls in case you wish to buy rather than roll your own.

I got my first bedroll when I started with the Scouts – the Troop I joined was led by combat Vets from both WWII and the Korea conflict – it really was a para-military uniformed youth training organization with a focus on ‘real’ military skills – just as Lt. Gen Robert Baden-Powell had first envisioned in 1907.  That early experience and training from these Vets has stayed with me.

Anyway, the bedroll was an old tarp, as an adult I now see it likely started life as a WWII or Korean vintage Jeep trailer cover.  This cover held a pair of Army-issue wool blankets – all given to me to ‘get started’.  The system worked to keep me warm at night, if not all too comfortable.

I used this setup until I started in serious backpacking.  Short of funds, I upgraded to a new system using a surplus Case, Water-repellent, for Bag, Sleeping and a home made wool blanket liner.  The liner was made out of the blankets on hand.  Mom (gotta love ’em) helped me to cut and sew them into a modified mummy style reaching to my armpits.  The blanket leftovers were made into a kind of cape.  I re-waterproofed the poplin case by soaking it in raw linseed oil.  It took the poplin fabric a while to dry completely in the AZ sun/heat, but when completely dry, was proven to be a waterproof and windproof cover.

When I landed a job as a staff member at the local Scout mountain camp, I purchased a ‘real’ (commercial) sleeping bag.  By the end of the summer, the bag was completely shot – sleeping every night in the bag for just under 90 days destroyed it – lesson learned.  I also had to carry a ground cover and tent when away from the main camp.  Later, I worked for a Geoexploration company while in college.  This job meant sleeping in the field for 4 or 5 days a week – with very limited space in the truck to carry personal gear.

That bedroll was made from my recycled Scout tarp, a pair of new surplus wool blankets and three commercial furniture pads obtained used from the local rental outfit.  When warm, the pads were a comfy mattress, when cold, they helped the wool to keep me toasty.  A second tarp was used in very rainy weather as a wedge tent to keep the water out of our faces.

In the military I used the issue bags, but I had my wife make another semi-mummy liner from a surplus wool blanket – on the really cold nights it made a difference.  I spent one of the most miserable Fall nights in my life sleeping in Death Valley using a pair of issue poncho liners and a poncho.  I think my wool ‘liner’ would have made a big difference, but the wool liner was left at home to save weight.  Never again.  I also added a shelter half to provide shade/wind protection in my ‘go kit’.

This brings me to describing the attributes of a good bedroll:

First, the bedroll must be durable – as in brick outhouse durable.  This means it must stand up to nightly use for weeks on end.  It must suffer and survive abuse like rocky ground, rubbing against other kit, heat, drenching rain, (well below) freezing cold and dirt.  It must be able to survive a soaking and be usable within a short period of time. 

Second, your bedroll should be a stand-alone item for use.  Your bedroll should not require an additional ground cloth or tent to be used.  As I mentioned earlier, a second tarp is nice, but should not be required.  If a second tarp is used, it may be lightweight as it will likely receive little abuse from day to day s use.

Third, the bedroll must be comfortable!  If you are forced from your home/primary shelter, you will spend up to 1/3 of your life in this bedroll.  That means you must be able to adjust to extremes in temperatures, ground conditions, humidity and rain.  After busting hump for 12 hours, a bad night’s sleep can make a tough job into one that is unbearable. 
Your bedroll should be easy to enter and exit – especially for that late night nature call or zombie attack.  The size you ultimately choose will depend on your style of sleeping.  I can no longer stand the confines of a mummy style system for long periods, for example, so mine is large and roomy.

Fourth, the bedroll must be easy to maintain.  Cleaning and maintenance of the bedroll components must be done without commercial washer/dryers or sewing machines – if you cannot take care of your bedroll in the field, you face some very bad nights indeed.

The bedroll should have room for some of your kit (small tool/sewing kit, extra socks, a clothing change and perhaps a hygiene kit) without compromising the waterproof nature of the bedroll.  At the very least you should certainly keep a set of loosely fitting polypro long johns, a poly baklava and a set of heavy (wool, of course) socks to sleep in during colder weather.  A pocket for a pillow is a nice touch.

The bedroll will not fit a stuff sack, so you must be able to roll it in such a manner as to allow the cover to keep rain, mud, dust and bugs out of the bedding.  That also means good solid roll straps, at least three, that are large enough to hold the roll and stay put.  You should consider a couple of additional straps to provide a means to attach the bedroll to your transportation – from a truck or a donkey to a hand cart.

The basics parts of a bedroll – you can add as you learn.
A sturdy bedroll is made of:
A cover or shell that is both waterproof and brick-outhouse durable.  This is the make or break item on a bedroll.
Bedding, warm, durable and with the ability to accommodate changing weather.  I have some pretty strong ideas of what works and that will be shared a bit later.
An insulator or mattress – both for comfort and to reduce loss of body heat into the ground.  A means to hold this mattress is a real plus.
A storage system to accommodate those few additional sleep related items you do not want in your ruck or haversack.
Straps to hold the bedroll, well, rolled.

Lets see how these mandates have worked out in the current edition of my latest bedroll.

Cover:
Made of Number 1 canvas duck, it was cut, washed in very hot water to shrink the weave and reduce shrinkage while in use.  Beginning with a large piece of canvas to reduce the number of seams, the material was cut into 3 pieces.  Using a local tent maker, the cover had webbing (tape) sown into the 1.5 inch edge seams, double stitched with heavy, waxed, UV stable thread.  An additional roll of thread was purchased for any future repairs that might be needed.  Sown with industrial machines, each corner was bar stitched and industrial brass grommets were placed across the ‘top’ and down the ‘open’ side to almost waist level.  All seams were sealed to stop water infiltration.

At the top, an additional piece, just under 4 feet in length, slightly more than the width of the ‘bag’ was attached at the time that seam was taped and edged.  The third piece was sewn to this flap to make a pocket prior to attachment to the cover.  This pocket has a slot (that may be laced shut) to allow access.  The entire piece of fabric was waterproofed.  This hood can serve as a mini-tent in bad weather.

A quick note here – how you waterproof the cover fabric matters.  Check the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any waterproofing material used.  Some ‘classic’ methods may carry a health risk – for example, commercial “boiled linseed oil” may contain drying agents that pose a health hazard.  All linseed oil is both flammable and material may heat and burn spontaneously if not dried completely.  Commercial waterproofing products may not be compatible with your cover material.  Read the label completely – ask questions is you are not sure.  Always check the MSDS.

The actual size of your bedroll cover will be determined by how you sleep and the type of bedding / mattress chosen for your system.

Bedding:
If you have not figured it by now, I am quite partial to wool blankets as bedding. On the plus side – Wool is durable!  In researching the web for some additional data for this piece, I found several WWI Army Quartermaster Corps issue blankets for sale – and some still used by re-enactors.  Wool is naturally fire resistant; wool will offer insulation even when damp.  Wool can absorb almost 20% of its weight in water before reaching total saturation– that is defined as the point at which absorbed water begins leaking back out of the fabric – in other words, onto your skin. 

On the minus side, wool is a natural product that loses some strength or can break down when overheated – hot water is okay, steam is not – so drying via a campfire is best done carefully.  Wet wool also loses some strength – so, again, dry it carefully.  Dry wool can become quite brittle – usually not a problem when used as bedding – just use care in storage to avoid too dry of conditions.  Insects are also a consideration in storage.

I found that our local Army-Navy surplus store had some of the “Italian military” surplus blankets recently seen in various on-line outlets.  Reasonably priced, they weight over 5 pounds each, a good sign of quality in a woven wool blanket.  Initially compressed from long storage and reeking of insect repellant, after several washings they are now fit for duty.  Three of these blankets and a wool liner from a national outdoor supplier and we have almost all that is needed for a comfy set of bedding.  The liner, of Merino wool, allows me to keep the other blankets clean should I have to hit the rack while dirty.  There are liners made of linen, polypro, and fleece that will likely work as well – I just happen to like wool.

The mattress
Right now I am back to an interlaced pair of furniture pads, as I have used before.  This is a stopgap measure while looking for a suitable covered closed cell foam pad.  Several commercial products are offered by different outfitters, some with a cover for the pad to resist moisture accumulation.  My concerns lie with both the durability of any of these products as well as the finished width – all I have seen offered are relatively narrow – about 25 inches or so.  The Pacific Outdoor Equipment Mega Mat looks – at 32 x 78 inches – like it might be a good pick, I am trying to find a local source for some hands-on time – at $150 or so, not an instant choice.

Wrapping it all up
Keeping things tidy are a set of straps I talked the parachute shop into sewing up for me some years back.  Made from salvaged C-60 cargo parachute harnesses they are stout, to say the least.  Any surplus store should have these kind of heavy duty strap sets – ensure you have the buckles that match the webbing.  Too large and the strap will slip, too small and you cannot lace the webbing through the buckle.  If you can find some Capewell release type buckles, you will be pretty close to bombproof strap sets.  At least one pair of large/long straps will allow you to secure your bedroll to transport.  My bedroll rides in the truck or on my home-made cargo cart.

How well does this work?
Well for me, just fine.  I just finished a week-long gig at a remote camp here in Alaska and slept both cozy and warm, despite the cold and rainy nights.  In this case, I did nave an unheated shelter – open to the wind – but was as toasty as can be.  Getting out of bed in the morning was a bit of a challenge though.

Will this setup work in the dead of an Alaska winter?  To be honest, I hope to never find out, but it goes in the rig when traveling out of town in case an avalanche or bad accident closes the road.

If you plan on only ‘truck camping’ you may wish to consider a reproduction M-1935 Bedroll with blankets – designed for use with an issue cot, these are well thought out military ‘system’ and should provide good service for temperate climates.  Any good tent maker should be able to fabricate one from canvas goods on hand.  The so-called Auzzie swag bags are another possibility to consider.

Random thoughts:
A maintenance kit should have a sewing awl, thread, good size chunk of beeswax in a tin and a half a toothbrush to apply the wax.  A few large needles, heavy thread and a small set of scissors will help keep your blankets or clothing in good repair.  Learn to use a ‘blanket stitch” or “lock stitch”
A good way to keep the loose stuff in your bedroll less loosely is to cut up an old set of BDU or ACU pants.  Cut the leg just below the cargo pocket and sew the cut end shut.  Use this as stuff sack for socks, drawers, etc – using the drawstrings to close the sack.  This sack will allow you to roll loose items with fewer lumps.
A pair or two of very heavy wool socks will keep your toes warm, and may be used to fashion a neck or ear warmer and in a pinch,,or as as hand warmers/mittens.

 

Want to buy and not build? Try some of these links to see they have what you are looking for:

Letter Re: Archiving Downloaded Instructional Videos

Jim,

With all of the talk about the so-called Internet Kill Switch, and more and more people referencing online instructional videos, it might be time for people to start downloading these videos to their local computers. An easy way to do this is with the Firefox Fast Video Download plug-in. While watching an unlicensed video on YouTube and other sites, select the Tools menu, Fast video download, and then select the video you want to save. The videos may have the name of the video or a generic name like youtube_video. The extension may be .flv or .mp4, or there may be one or more of each. Select the format that you want (I personally prefer .mp4) and save the file, renaming it if you need to. To playback either of the files I recommend the VLC Media Player, which is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The combination of the Fast Video Download plug-in and the VLC Media Player give you a free way to build up that survival video library and use it without an Internet connection, anywhere. – LVZ in Ohio

Letter Re: Solar Storms

Hi Jim,
Your note of last night regarding the pending solar storm was the strongest prep wake up call I’ve had yet. Especially as I finished reading One Second After Been just last night! I’ve been up all night making sure things are in order the best I can.

Now that I’ve done what I can, and still wound up on adrenaline, I spent some time digging through the Internet for more EMP information. I thought that this Huffington Post article really explains some of the real dangers quite well – such as how the transformers that are damaged by solar storms weigh over 100 tons, cannot be field repaired, and must be replaced – yet there is a 3 year waiting list for new ones right now! Yikes!

God bless, and praying this storm is only a wake up call and not the full deal! – Steve C

Two Letters Re: TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility

Sir,

As a recent “convert” to Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy, I very much identify with the author of “TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility.” I did, however, take issue with his conclusion regarding
his treatment of family members in a Schumeresque world.

Having recently presented my “list of lists” to my wife, she made the comment to me that my quantities were off. As a future pastor (I am currently serving in the Navy and preparing to enter seminary) she made the point that if the SHTF we would undoubtedly be taking in strays from my congregation who did not heed the warning signs. I thought this was an excellent point, and I think that all preppers should take this in consideration and consider expanding things like stored food quantities to allow for family members and friends who may show up at your door.

One of the biggest things I have respected about your philosophy is that it has a perspective firmly centered on Christ, and the truth of His Word to us. I believe that in a case WTSHTF, we will have an immense opportunity to see the way that God may bless us and bless others by association. But more importantly, I believe that we have to cling to right principles of doctrine. Though the author of this recent article makes a very fair case for turning aside even lazy family members, I believe we must adhere to the words of 1 Timothy 5:8: “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an
unbeliever.” James 1:27 and Matthew 25:34-40 are other good verses to help us call to mind that Christian preppers are preparing for the Kingdom as well, and part of that means putting our faith in Him and following His instructions to us. I believe that if we were to find ourselves in a situation where we feel we would be endangering our stockpile (and our immediate family) by taking in strays, we must remember to approach such a situation prayerfully and even make the hard decision to trust beyond our own understanding, where God may be providing in ways we have yet to see unfold. Regardless of circumstances, I believe we cannot fail where we exercise faith and follow the Lord’s lead.

In closing, thank you for all your work, and especially for the highly excellent read that “Patriots” is. I look forward to reading your further work in the series.

Very Respectfully, – Michael W.

Dear J.W.R.:
I thought that I would share a quick note of how I overcame a similar situation of warning those that I love. I have been a long time preparedness minded person, and it has become a passion in my later years. I have five brothers and sisters, and my wife has the same. The family knows of our preparedness, and all think that I will have enough for everyone when the SHTF. With that in mind, I have tried my hardest to get them involved. The best thing that I have found is to apply to their strengths. I tried the just warning them path and met with resistance. After a lot of prayer and pondering, it came to my mind that if I used the strengths they each had, they would become excited and want to help. For example. I have a sister-in-law who has thought about food storage, but has never been motivated enough to do it, and certainly did not do anything past that. So in getting my medical supplies in order and to obtain things that are not common to Wal-Mart, I sat her down and told her what I was doing and what I wanted it for. I explained how critical the medical supplies are for a situation that I feel is right around the corner. With her being a home care nurse she took to it like a duck to water. We created a spreadsheet for what we have, what we need, what cost are involved, and what training we need. I have some supplies, and she has some. She thinks it is awesome. If she comes to the table with her food, and the best medical supply kit ever, she is more than welcome in my group. We have done the same with those who have auto skills on getting our travel vehicles ready. We have an engineer who took to ham radio, mother-in-law that took to the garden. I still have those who think that I am crazy and laugh, but I have been able to focus on the strengths of others and have got some great help. The best part is, we are getting experts is each field. This allows me more time to focus on other factors that I have been put in charge of and not have the stress and the worry of having to carry all of the weight. Keep up the great work and God bless. Thanks, – S.C.L

Economics and Investing:

B.B. was the first of several readers that sent us this: Commodities – Wheat Soars; Rogers Sees ‘Much Higher’ Food Prices. Got your wheat yet? Stop dawdling!

L.J. in England sent this: Food prices to soar 10% in time for the New Year.

Reader J.C. sent this: Global Wheat Shortage Feared.

“Boosters” spotted this: Is the End Game Hyperinflation or Debt Implosion?

James Altucher: 7 Reasons Not to Send Your Kid to College. (A hat tip to L.L. for the link.)

Allen E. forwarded a news item: A Run on Spanish Banks?

K.A.F. sent this: World oil prices approach $82

S.M. kindly sent us a whole raft of economic articles:

Faltering US recovery trips dollar

China Seeks to Widen Gold Market

Superman Comic Saves Family Home From Foreclosure

Pending Home Sales Hit Record Low

Cash Strapped California Consider Legalizing Sports Gambling

Stimulus Slammed: Republican Senators Release Report Alleging Waste (Really, government waste? It couldn’t be.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

K.A.F. sent an item for the “Surely, you jest” Department: EPA to Crack Down on Farm Dust. Perhaps cattle could be tranquilized or trained to not raise dust. They should commission a study.

   o o o

This is His Grandfather’s Bug, But Now It’s Electric. (Thanks to Len for the link,)

   o o o

Reader Susan Z. sent this: Arizona Sheriff: ‘Our Own Government Has Become Our Enemy’

   o o o

F.G. sent this: Rabid dogs kill at least 78 people in Bali, Indonesia.

   o o o

K.A.F. sent the link to this web page: The Sun as You’ve Never Seen It Before. 16 slides of the sun and the CME.

Note from JWR:

Headlines like this one (from Monday, August 2nd) serve as wake-up calls: NASA scientists braced for ‘solar tsunami’ to hit earth; The earth could be hit by a wave of violent space weather as early as Tuesday after a massive explosion of the sun, scientists have warned. Are you prepared? Have you prepared your family for the big Coronal Mass Ejection(CME)? The one big enough to take down the power grids? Have you thought through all of the implications and interdependencies, and made adequate preparations, accordingly? I pray that you are already well-prepared. If you’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for a few months, at least you’ve been warned.

—

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

TEOTWAWKI: Getting Folks to Recognize the Possibility, by M.G.K.

This article is about something that many preppers think about, convincing friends and loved ones that TEOTWAWKI could happen at any moment.  For most of us this idea hadn’t occurred to us until we stumbled across it or a good friend hinted at it.  The important thing to remember is that we had to come to believe it ourselves for it to make an impact on our lives.  I think the greatest fight all of us have is getting people that we love to actually consider that TEOTWAWKI can happen and that it is a reality that looms in front of us.

I am not a long time prepper.  For the most part, I used to think that people that did this kind of stuff were backwards and slightly paranoid.   I became a believer about six months ago.  As a science teacher I have the summers off so my last month has been spent in reading, reading, and more reading about prepping.  My mindset has totally changed and I actually think about the future and becoming self-sufficient day in and day out.
For myself, the idea of an economic collapse has always been at the back of my head but I always thought this could be survived with little preparation.  What changed it all for me was the idea of an EMP burst over North America.  As a science teacher, this idea came across to me as very plausible as I know the ids myself was no.

This has changed my mind set into prepper mode.  I turned to my wife that day and told her about what an EMP burst could do.   We talked about it and within a minute she became a prepper too!  God, I love that woman.  As fiercely independent as she is, she can understand sense when she hears it.  Over the next month I started thinking about my immediate family and started making short term plans for if it happened tomorrow.  Then I made plans for if it happened in three months, six months, a year, and so on.  My wife and I, being at a flexible point in our lives, have made plans to move to the country sometimes in the next one to two years and onto a wooded property in the country that we can farm, defend, et cetera, should the SHTF.  Needless to say, every day that passes I will be a little bit more prepared.

Enough of my short history, now let’s get to the heart of the letter.  Right now, most of us can think about extended family members that have very little or no knowledge of TEOTWAWKI and are woefully unprepared.  If you’re like me this probably makes your stomach turn a little as you picture them when the SHTF and what life would be like for them.  How do you and should you approach them with this knowledge?  As much as it kills me to write this, not all of my family members are mentally prepared to survive and would be a total hindrance in a survival situation.  I must think of my wife and my four kids before I think of them.  Deep in my heart, I know I am the kind of person that must warn them, whether they are mentally prepared or not.  I will tell you my story of trying to convince my family members of TEOTWAWKI.

I used different tactics for each of my family members.  For the ones that were money-minded, I approached them with the idea of a total economic collapse.  For the ones that are science-minded, I approached them with the idea of an EMP burst.  I learned these two ideas as best I could so I could field and answer any questions that were thrown at me.  Finally, my parents passed away years ago but I still have three sisters, and one brother that I could warn.  This is my story and their reactions, from oldest to youngest.  Remember, to everyone my attempt to convince was very low-key and I was not standing with a “The End is Nigh” sign on a soap box.

1.) My oldest sister and husband are money-minded and very well-off financially.  They would probably be able to build whatever and buy whatever if they could be convinced.  I was laughed at by my brother-in-law.  He is convinced that the financial doomsayers just want to sell gold.  I warned them, smiled, thanked them for their time and went away never to mention this again.  I do not think they will ever be convinced that the world will ever change from the current situation, until it is too late, that is.

2.) My brother is overweight and aged beyond his years.  Despite working in a shipyard his entire life he is very sedentary and because of this he has major health problems.  He accepted the idea of an EMP burst but he and his wife said they are convinced that the military could stop this.  His reaction was to totally bury his head in the sand, convinced the government will protect us no matter what happens.

3.) My middle sister is five years older than me and is the closest to me.  I came straight out and told her what I believe and she believes now too.  She and her husband have actually been prep minded for a long time but had no idea what they were preparing for.  I told her husband to Google “SHTF”. He and I now have regular discussions.

4.) The youngest of my sisters is a tragic story in my family.  Although she is 42, because of drug usage she looks like she is 65.  Her daughter, my niece, is the fourth child in my family and we have full custody of her due to the situation.  The only reason I approached her with this was because of my niece.  Being drug addled it just turned her paranoid and I had to wash my hands of it and leave.
This does more than just warns the people involved, it clears my conscience if TEOTWAWKI does occur.  They all now have an equal chance to prepare, lose weight, get off of drugs, etc.  I was able to convince 25% of my family members and now include that sister and her husband in future plans to survive when the SHTF together. 

If you plan to approach family members with this, here is some advice:

A.)  Make a mental list of family/friends that you want to warn.  Family members were a priority but now at this point I shall move on to close friends.

B.)  Think of their interests and decide which TEOTWAWKI scenario to approach them with.  Know all about it.  My family members are all very intelligent and will “what if” you to death, so you have to know your subject matter back and forth.

C.) Do not beat them over the head with it, introduce the ideas in a casual conversation, plant a seed, answer questions, and let them come to conclusions.  You know your family members and can gauge how to approach this.  I suggest approaching family members one by one with these ideas.

D.)  Be prepared for reactions that range from being laughed at to being believed.  If you are laughed at, don’t get angry, just tell them that you love them and just thought they should know the possibility exists.  At this point, wash your hands of it.  You tried to tell them.

As mentioned earlier, my wife and I will purchase a country property within the next one to two years.  My four family members listed above will know where it is.  I will let them know that they are all welcomed there should the SHTF when they meet the following conditions:

1.) They have stored three months supply of food for every member of your family on our property or they carry that quantity in their vehicles when they arrive,

2.) They are willing to defend the retreat property.

3.) They, and all members of their family, will be assigned duties and accept as heavy a workload as their health allows.

As sad as I am to say this, if a family member shows up at our property and cannot agree to the foregoing, I will give them a pack with one week’s food in it and send them on their way.  Will this be hard? Yes, indeed!.  I refuse to let my wife and four children go hungry for the benefit of people who were warned and simply refused to listen, family or not.  These are adults I am dealing with and as adults they should be able to make informed decisions. 

Will I give up on the family members that refuse to believe?  No, I have their e-mail addresses and will send them links to continue to encourage them to prepare for the worst.  If they come around to the SHTF mindset and begin preparing, then they are more than welcome at our retreat.  In the meantime, I share my survival books with my brother (who like me, has always liked this kind of stuff) in hopes that when the SHTF, maybe something in there will help him and his wife survive.   As long as I know I have tried, then I know I will be able to sleep at night.   Good luck convincing your own family, and God Bless.

Three Letters Re: Real World EMP Effects on Motor Vehicle

Sir,
I read the report in the government document regarding the effects of EMP on vehicles. The vehicles were only tested at 20k V/m then up to 50k V/m if they survived the first test. The reason that they were not tested beyond 50k V/m is that is what is the “known” maximum that would be released. The Russians have purpose-built EMP warheads that are speculated to emit 1m V/m to 2m V/m (100k V/m to 200k V/m). These weapons would completely destroy sensitive engine management controls. To put this in a little more perspective, the Starfish Prime test in 1962–that blew out street lamps [hundreds of miles away] in Hawaii–was only 5.6k V/m.

Setting all of this aside we still have a greater threat from an coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. If the United States were to be attacked with EMP weapons it would be bad, but localized to our continent, Canada and Mexico would feel some of the results. If we have a massive CME it could have the same EMP effects except worldwide, and at a higher V/m than any weapon could produce. Nuclear weapons emit 50k V/m voltages in milliseconds, a CME hit could last for minutes. If we were attacked it would be possible we could get help from allies, but if it were to be a solar event the whole planet could be in the same boat.
Here is a segment from a Future Weapons episode that shows a vehicle experiencing just such an event, and it does not restart.

This is why I am keeping my non-computer controlled 1980s era 4×4 diesel truck. – The Last Conservative in California

Hi Jim,
Michael Williamson provides some very usable data, and considering the already existing, grounded shielding built-into vehicles, this resistance of automobiles and trucks to EMP makes sense.

However, most EMP measurements I’m familiar with, particularly after a nuclear detonation, occur in the hundreds of thousands, not just tens of thousands of volts. I think we still need to actively prepare for an EMP event. Besides, the way I store my unused electronics (in Mylar bags, placed in ammo cans, connected to earth ground) and electronic motorcycle components also helps to protects them from fire, flood, etc.

While an EMP event would be classified as “seldom” in a risk assessment matrix, its severity would be off the scale, to the point where those of us with anything electronic, and working, would be perceived as gods. Cheers, – J.E.

Dear James,
I’m responding to Michael Z. Williamson’s letter “Real World EMP Effects on Motor Vehicles” regarding the likely outcome for our transportation system after an EMP event. Based solely on the simulations he cited, his is a reasonable view. Unfortunately, simulations aren’t the real world, and I doubt our transportation system would hold up.

In all transportation concerns, I place heavy emphasis emphasis on the word system. It’s reasonable to regard the transportation system as a living organism, and we all know there are numerous ways to kill any organism. In the simulation, all the cars restarted, and that’s comforting. But – one out of 18 trucks had to be towed in for repairs. Here’s a thought experiment based on the 1/18 failure rate: I’m assuming that the disabling damage was to electronics, and that the damage rate held nationwide. First, the backlog for replacement electronic parts would stretch into months or years.

Sure, you’d probably find a handful of electronic control modules (ECMs) or the various sensors for any given engine at truck dealers in any major city. Problem is, there are tens of thousands of trucks in proximity to any major city on any given day. If one out of twenty of those trucks failed, it would take a week or two just to tow them all in to the shops. Available parts would quickly disappear into the trucks towed in first. (The lucky recipients might be the tow trucks, for all we know.) And, if components failed on the truck, who’s to say any replacement parts on dealer’s shelves will be any good? Then there’s the still-running fleet’s need for ongoing repairs, including plenty of their own electronic issues. Sure, those trucks survived the initial burst, but what would happen to the failure rate of their electronics? Also, how will the electronics manufacturers function after EMP? Will they be able to produce more parts, and what’s that time frame? There are further issues, but at least the problem is in focus now.

If one in twenty trucks nationwide were inoperable it would put a serious crimp in just in time (JIT) deliveries. As your readers know all too well, JIT inventories/deliveries are already stretched to the breaking point. Combine that with a bit of nervousness on the part of the unprepared…

Trucks also carry fuel. Minus fuel distribution, the transportation system grinds to a halt in a matter of days. I’ll skip past the distribution challenges, and pipeline/refining SCADA issues (all very real, but hard to relate to) and focus on a link we all know well: gas pumps. When you stick your credit card in that slot, you’re effectively operating an ATM – an ATM that dispenses liquid gold instead of paper money. ATMs depend on a working power grid, along with functioning Internet/telecom and banking systems to operate. Don’t bet on using cash, either – if electronics at the station or in the pump are fried or if the power grid is down, the pump simply won’t run. The brain (car computers) may survive, but if the blood (fuel) doesn’t flow then your car is dead anyway.

In survival planning, we generally deal with icebergs. It’s small comfort that a visible part of this iceberg fared well in a simulation – a government simulation at that! Cars/trucks in close proximity to miles of conductor (power lines, pipelines, rails etc.) may experience much stronger pulses than were simulated. How will they fare, and does it even matter? I say it doesn’t. I remain convinced that the transportation system will collapse after an EMP event, and that it will fail at multiple weak links. At least some of the cascading failures would have nothing to do with the vehicles themselves, and some of those would occur in systems I haven’t even addressed here.

EMP is a grave scenario, and I’m praying we never find out about it firsthand. As always, James, thanks for your yeoman efforts on the SurvivalBlog.

Regards, – Fred H.

Economics and Investing:

Reader Brian B. wrote to re-emphasize the importance of the recently-released CBO report titled: Federal Debt and the Risk of a Fiscal Crisis. Brian’s comment: “Many people submit links to economic news to alternative media, but when the CBO (government entity) unveils a document that reaffirms the poor state of the economy, it becomes completely unnoticed by mainstream media. Perhaps your readers can reassure themselves how the outlook of the next decade might shape up to be.”

From M.E.W.: Greenspan Says Home-Price Drop May Bring Back Recession

M.M. sent us this editorial by former Reagan White House staffer David Stockman: Four Deformations of the Apocalypse.

Scott B. alerted me to this: Layoffs to gut East St. Louis police force.

F.G. flagged this item: America’s new debtor prison: Jail time being given to those who owe.

From K.A.F.: Oil Tops $80 a Barrel for First Time Since May as Equities Rise

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader A.S. wrote to mention that he liked a piece by novelist Matt Bracken, posted over at the WRSA web site: Bracken: The CW2 Cube — Mapping The Meta-Terrain Of Civil War Two. Please don’t mistake his comments on racial demographics as racism. Matt Bracken is not a racist. He is a realist.

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Chicago Times – Cops love iPhone data trail – Evidence Never Deleted. Here is a quote: “Every time an iPhone user closes out of the built-in mapping application, the phone snaps a screenshot and stores it. Savvy law-enforcement agents armed with search warrants can use those snapshots to see if a suspect is lying about whereabouts during a crime.” (Thanks to F.G. for the link.)

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Slide Rules (EMP Proof Calculators) on sale at ThinkGeek. (Thanks to Elite for the link.)

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U.A.E. Is to Bar BlackBerry E-Mail Over Security Issues. Reader Michael H. asks: “Could this sort of regulation spread to other nations?”

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 30 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will include:

First Prize: A.) 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 500 round case of Fiocchi 9mm Parabellum (Luger ) with 124gr. Hornady XTP/HP projectiles, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $249 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 30 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

How Zombie Banks are Ruining the Future, by James D.

The banks of the world are in a mess, but thankfully they are sorting out their problems.

Except that they’re not.

In the boom years, banks gave out more and more mortgages to riskier and riskier home owners, with the understanding that if things turned really bad, these mortgages would be terrible loans that would lose a fortune.

So when things did turn bad and the home owners could no longer pay for the mortgages, these mortgages bankrupted the banks that gave them out.

Except they didn’t.

The problem with mortgages for banks is that they don’t know how bad the situation is until they sell the underlying houses. If I buy a house for $300,000 with $50,000 of my own money and a mortgage for $250,000 from the bank, the worst that the bank is expecting is that if housing prices go down to $250,000, then the bank can foreclose on the mortgage (chuck me out) and sell the house to get back the amount of the mortgage. I’ll lose my $50,000, but the bank will get back its $250,000 and come out even.

So what happens if the housing market goes so bad that the house is now only worth $200,000? In theory, the bank sells the house and loses $50,000 itself, and I lose my $50,000, and we both move on poorer but wiser. [JWR Adds: In actuality, if the foreclosure sale results an a $200,000 price, then, in theory, the homeowner loses $100,000 and is still obligated to repay the $50,000 shortfall to the bank. (One exception is in states with “non-recourse” loan laws.) But from a practical standpoint, this doesn’t always happen, even where it is the law.]

Except that the bank doesn’t sell.

Understanding why is the most important lesson of the current financial crisis. The good news is that it’s actually pretty simple.

Let’s imagine a bank with a million loans just like mine. That means it has $250 billion dollars of debt across the million houses. In normal times this isn’t a problem, because the bank will make back this amount of money plus interest over the next 20 years or so as everyone pays back their mortgages. The bank makes money, people get houses, and everyone is happy.

Now even in normal times, things can still go bad on some houses, and the bank might lose money on some loans. So the bank needs some reserve cash to act as a buffer against trouble. Let’s say it’s got a 10% buffer – that is, it has $25 billion dollars of cash lying around as a buffer against its $250 billion in mortgages.

So far so good, as long as things don’t go really bad. Which they do.

Let’s say houses lose on average one third of their value – so my $300,000 house drops in value to $200,000.

And let’s say the bank forecloses on all its loans and sells all the houses for their true current value of $200,000. The bank loses $50,000 on each sale, so for 1 million houses, that means the bank loses a total of $50 billion.

Now the bank had a cash buffer against bad times, so things should be okay, right? Well, the answer depends entirely on how much the housing prices drop and how big the buffer is. In this case, the bank had a buffer of 10% of the total loans ($25 billion), so if it loses $50 billion foreclosing all the loans and selling all the houses, then the bank has a problem. It has not only used up all of its buffer, but it still needs to find another $25 billion.

In other words, the bank is bankrupt, big time. No one wants a bank worth minus $25 billion.

So what’s the bank to do? Well, if the whole situation is exactly as described above, then the bank is bankrupt and everyone at the bank is out of a job. But how can a bank with $25 billion in cash (the buffer) be bankrupt? I mean, the bank manager can walk down to the vault and feel all that money, and it’s a lot of money!

The problem is that the bankruptcy is only theoretical until the bank actually forecloses on all of the houses and sells them at their true market price. So the bank avoids foreclosing, or if it is forced to foreclose, it avoids selling the houses – that way it can pretend that things are not as bad as they seem.

To do this, the bank has to engage in some creative accounting – in other words – lie. It needs to pretend that the housing crisis is not as bad as it seems and pretend that the true worth of the houses is not really $200,000, but maybe something closer to $250,000. But how?

Well, the bank deliberately sells only a few houses. And surprisingly, it sells the best houses on its books rather than the worst. This way, the bank sells a few houses for, say, $240,000, and claims that these are the worst houses, and that sure, it will lose some money along the way, but overall the buffer will be enough, and that things will get better in the future, and so the bank isn’t bankrupt and everyone at the bank keeps their job (and bonuses).

So it is in the interests of the bank to avoid facing the true value of the houses, which means avoiding selling poor houses, and avoiding foreclosing where possible.

Now despite the enormity of the situation, most bankers are not bad people through and through. Most would find it hard to sleep at night if the situation described above was crystal clear to them. So the banker needs to engage in some psychological gymnastics to avoid facing grim reality.

The bankers persuade themselves that while things might be fairly bad at the moment (of course, not as bad as reality, but still, pretty bad), if things get better in the near future, then the problem evaporates and the bank is ok.

In our example, the bankers might persuade themselves that the houses are now worth $226,000 each, which if all foreclosed and sold would use up $24 billion of the $25 billion buffer (so, happily, the bank isn’t bankrupt, just in difficult times). But if everyone just holds on and waits a few years, the houses will go back up to, say, $270,000, and so everything will eventually be alright (even if the home owner has still taken a bit of a dive).

And here’s the crucial psychological trick – the banker might be right. Who knows what the future will bring? Maybe things will get better, and all the worry was for nothing. So the banker engages in some fudging around home sales, throws in a dash of good old optimism, and presto, no crisis.

And you know what? This strategy has been a pretty good strategy in the past. Things have gotten better more often than not, and banks and home owners avoided a whole lot of trouble by skipping over temporary bank insolvency until times were better again.

But sometimes things don’t get better. Or more exactly, they don’t get better soon enough.

So what happens then? What happens when things don’t get better, and banks are stuck in a situation where they really are insolvent, but they are fudging the books and engaging in optimistic self-deception to avoid facing this reality? You get a “Zombie” bank. A bank that is actually dead, but still walking around acting as if it is alive.

And worst of all, we all know what Zombies do. They eat the living.

So Zombie banks try to solve their problems by draining money from the parts of society that are doing well – other successful businesses, home owners with good mortgages, and so on. They do this by charging more than they should for loans using unfairly high interest rates.

Now in a normal free market with lots of competing banks, this strategy wouldn’t work, because the banks who are free of bad mortgages would charge businesses and people a fair interest rate, and because this rate would be lower than the Zombie bank rate (because the Zombies need to charge higher rates to make up for their bad past loans), no one would go to a Zombie bank for a high interest rate loan.

So the free market works – good banks make fair loans to healthy businesses and people, bad banks fail to get new business because their rates are too high, and eventually the bad banks go bust.

Except this isn’t what is happening today.

In today’s world, almost every bank is full of bad mortgages. So every bank is now a Zombie bank – and there is nowhere else to go for a loan with a fair interest rate.

In other words, the successful businesses and people of today are paying extra above the fair rate they would otherwise pay in order to help the banks recover from their bad loans of the past. It’s like a tax on successful businesses and people today to make up for the mistakes of bankers from yesterday.

Now even this lousy approach has sometimes worked in the past. When it works, you get slower growth, because the successful businesses and people are paying more than they should for loans (so the businesses have less money to employ staff, the people have less money to buy goods and services), but so long as the total Zombie bank “tax” is less than the pace of new growth, things work out eventually.

But what happens when grow is poor? When businesses can barely employ the staff they have even at a fair interest rate?

Well, that is where we are now. A society full of Zombie banks charging too much for loans to make up for past mistakes just at a time where society is barely keeping its head above water as it is.

Now this story simplifies many complicated dimensions of the banking and mortgage market, such as how housing prices drop with increased supply (selling a million houses at once would force the prices down even more, because there wouldn’t be enough buyers) and how banks avoid foreclosure by dropping monthly repayments to levels that will never pay off the mortgage, but which are enough for the bank to pretend it doesn’t need to foreclose. There are hundreds of other factors, such as how some banks sold the mortgages to other banks or government, how government keeps interest rates low to avoid even more foreclosures, and so on.

But none of these factors change the fundamental problem – the banks are broke due to bad loans, and they’re hiding it in the hope that things will get better.

And here’s the dilemma that may cost us our comfortable life as we know it – we can’t get out of this trap. We either face the fact that our whole banking system is bankrupt with all the chaos that this would entail, or we stumble on with the undead ruling the finances of our society, trying to regain life by sucking it out of the living, but in the end only destroying the living without regaining new life.

And all for three bad decisions: first, too many bad loans to start with, then second, dodgy home sales to hide true losses, and finally, believing the world will get better soon when it won’t.

Sometimes optimism is the worst approach to life.