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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Top 10 Survival and Preparedness Apps


Fernando,

I am a police officer(patrol and SWAT) in the United States. I have
read your book and followed your blog pretty closely and have been
impressed with your level of insight and levelheadedness. Every day,
more and more guys in my profession are quietly talking about what the
future is going to hold for us up here and there is a subdued but
growing interest among us in the survival movement.

Anyway, I know you are a big iphone fan, as am I, and I was wondering if
you had any favored iphone apps in relation to survival that you would
like to share with us. I didnt find any posts to this effect on your blog.

Please do not use any of my information whatsoever if you wind up
posting this.

Keep up the good fight and stay safe.

In liberty,

J

Hi J,
I find that the iphone already has an impressive number of features, Its quick, user friendly, and there’s a world of apps out there for it.
Before going into apps, what everyone with an iphone should do is get an Otter Box Defender case.
OtterBox Defender Case for iPhone 4 (Black, Retail Packaging, Fits AT&T iPhone) 
I can’t remember how many times my phone has fallen into pavement already, only to survive thanks to this wonderful system. The Otterbox ad claims you can run over it with a 4x4, I’m just happy it tolerates as much abuse as it has already. So first of all, make your iphone as impact resistant as possible. The case works with a belt holster that fits wide riggers/instructors belts, and can be adjusted to any angle. For walking I prefer vertical, and I just twist it to horizontal position when driving or seated. Cant recommend this product enough.
As for apps:
Not as useful in Argentina but a terrific application when moving around first world countries and needing to find an ATM, gas station, etc in a city you don’t know.
A basic survival, including edible plants.
It includes first aid and well known military manuals info, escape & evasions, etc
Flashlight for your Iphone 4
Neat app. As the gov. becomes desperate for more money, and social unrest becomes more common, you’ll definitely want this one.
Trapster alerts you of police speed traps, cameras and road hazards.
So as to know whats going on
This App became famous during the earthquake in Haiti, saving a man´s life.
Uses the GPS and sends a signal with your preset info such as gender, age, personal heath data in case you're in an accident, trapped or kidnapped.
Allows you to follow emergency frequencies of police, EMS, coast guard, fire departments and other emergency frequencies.
This is a ballistics trajectory calculator for long range shooting.

Looking forward to reading what you guys have in your phones.
Take care!

FerFAL

9 comments:

Doug from Oz said...

I actually found out about the Otterbox Defender case from your blog. You mentioned it in that list of items in your travel bag. (The one with the items in front of the saddleback briefcase) so I bought one. First time I've ever felt like my iphone was properly protected! It isn't obvious how to open it to put your phone in, but just look it up on YouTube. Only drawbacks are I can't feel the vibrate alarm much, and it attracts dust more than my old case. For that kind of protection who cares! I have much more important things to spend $200 on than a new screen!

Pete said...

Leave it to Ferfal to find a new way to make survivalism 'modern'! Forget making fire with bow strings and rocks, give me an iPhone and I'll survive no matter what! Great post!!! Keep it up!

The Urban Survivalist said...

I rock a droid x. The compass app is good. I'm not sure how well it works if service sucks, though. I also like the flashlight. I use I Heart Radio quite often. Kitco's app has proved invaluable when I'm out buying or selling precious metals (or if I just want to keep track). Drudge Report has it's obvious utility. It's pretty bad when THAT is the website I trust the most for the most pertinent information of the day. If you prefer to find the headlines yourself you could always just use the newspapers app. Shopsavvy has stopped me from making some spur of the minute purchases. As for your run of the mill, traditional "survival" apps I've found the knot tying app to be pretty useful. There's also an app I found that let's you inventory all of your storage food. I'll stick to doing that on paper thank you very much.

Anonymous said...

What's essential is a 'Emergency Mobile Phone Charger' or 'Battery Charger Pack with USB' or it's equivalent for the iphone. Basically something that allows you to charge your electronic devices using AA batteries. Portable solar chargers are available too.

FerFAL said...

Agreed, A solar charger or battery pack is needed. Anyone ha a good oen worth recommending?
FerFAL

Nrepose said...

An outstanding article Ferfal, thank you. I use Android and I have been fairly successful at finding similar Android apps. I need some advice on one similar to iSOS, however. That looks like a great app for anyone. Any suggestions? Thanks so much. Nr

Anonymous said...

"Agreed, A solar charger or battery pack is needed. Anyone ha a good oen worth recommending?"

A friend bought me the Freeloader for Christmas. Not only does it charge a variety of phones and devices, it also has adjustable pins for charging a variety of camera batteries. And it fells like it's solidly built.

Anonymous said...

Freeloader on sale here. I have no experience with it, just noticed sale at a geek place I frequent.

Too bad it won't charge a netbook.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/dads/beb8/#tabs

Steve

Doug from Oz said...

The reviews on Amazon seem to indicate the Freeloader isn't very good for charging an Iphone. Another thing I've wondered is if the phone would need to be removed from the Otterbox to use the charger? The Otterbox adds some thickness to the base. Many of the pics of different chargers seem to have them clipped directly to the base of the phone.